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NintendoWare Weekly: Picdun, Ubongo
Okay, so today's not the most exciting Wii and DSi Shop update ever. But it will be the most exciting 3DS eShop update ever! Or, at least, the first. That's expected late this evening. Now, as for those WiiWare and DSiWare games. Picdun for DSiWare actually looks pretty cute: it's a first-person dungeon game whose maps are revealed as pixel images as you explore. DSiWare is also host to Dreamwalker, a maze game about tilting a maze to guide a sleeping character through dreams. Also, there's something called "Crazy Cheebo: Puzzle Party." Ubongo, a board game seen on DSiWare a couple months back, returns this week for a WiiWare engagement.%Gallery-125395%
E3 2011 reader meetup: Retro City Rampage
Between now and next Friday, when we'll be holding our semi-annual E3 reader meetup, Joystiq will be putting the spotlight on each of the games folks will be able to go hands-on with. First up is VBlank Entertainment's long in-development XBLA/WiiWare title, Retro City Rampage. Born out of VBlank Entertainment founder Brian Provinciano's urge to craft an 8-bit demake of Grand Theft Auto 3, Retro City Rampage was originally known as "Grand Theftendo." The ambitious project eventually took on a life of its own, evolving into a full-blown WiiWare title, and finally blooming to XBLA. As huge fans of 8-bit games and, uh, games in general, RCR hits all the right notes with us. The concept is essentially an elaborate homage to the history of video gaming, mixing all of the game mechanics that come along with that -- a pastiche of gaming history's tropes, memorable moments, and go-to themes, if you will (peep our reference-filled preview for a taste). We'll have the game (and its developer!) on-hand at next Friday's E3 reader meetup for you to check out, but in the meantime VBlank's sent over some new screens of RCR's Chinatown area, as well as revealing a new character: "The Great Gamedini." Mr. Gamedini is described as a magician whose wish will be your command ... should you be able to find the right codes. As VBlank tells it, "his dog ate his codebook." Blasted dogs! Take a peek at both the new area and new character in our exclusive gallery below.%Gallery-125316%
La-Mulana explores Japanese WiiWare this month
This year's big Nicalis-published, retro-inspired, cave-exploring WiiWare remake is La-Mulana. It's a side-scrolling platformer that stars a whip-wielding archaeologist who keeps his laptop handy at all times. Developer Asterizm announced today that the WiiWare remake will be released in Japan on June 21. " To our fans" in other regions, "you just have to wait a tiny big longer." Publisher Nicalis tweeted that it will announce the North American release date after E3.
Fallout Online's future in doubt as Interplay crumbles
Fallout Online and several other Interplay-developed titles may be in serious jeopardy, according to a US Securities and Exchange Commission report filed by Interplay last week. Develop discovered the filing, which spells out dire financial concerns for the immediate future of the company. Multiple times, the report states: "If we do not receive sufficient financing or income we may (i) liquidate assets, (ii) sell the company (iii) seek protection from our creditors including the filing of voluntary bankruptcy or being the subject of involuntary bankruptcy, and/or (iv) continue operations, but incur material harm to our business, operations or financial conditions. These conditions, combined with our historical operating losses and our deficits in stockholders' equity and working capital, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern." Similarly worrying, the company's current cash balance is approximately $3,000 (yes, that's just three thousand dollars, seriously), and it's operating with nearly $2.9 million in debt. The filing also illuminates the company's shift from paying its developers upfront for projects to working on a "net revenue sharing model," where devs get a cut of the final sales rather than paid when their work is complete. While that model sounds hugely profitable for third-party devs, and has been sporadically successful in the movie business, it seems to signal something less than wonderful in Interplay's case. Additionally, the company's credit agreement has ended, which Interplay says "has resulted in a substantial reduction in the cash available to finance our operations." Rather than assure investors that everything will work out, the company again warns of potential negative outcomes, saying instead, "There can be no assurance that we will be able to enter into a new credit agreement or that if we do enter into a new credit agreement, it will be on terms favorable to us." Currently, Interplay has five known projects, ranging from a lawsuit-entangled Fallout MMO to a sparsely detailed Earthworm Jim sequel. Several WiiWare and DSiWare projects are also in the works, though the fate of all five games could be grim given the wording of the company's SEC filing.
NintendoWare Weekly: Super Adventure Island, House, Valet Parking 1989
How timely! One day before Takahashi Meijin leaves his post as Hudson Soft's resident PR expert/hero/mascot, Nintendo has released a Virtual Console game starring Takahashi (or, as he's called here, "Master Higgins"), namely Super Adventure Island. On DSiWare, we get to experience one of the most delightfully random release days since the service started. There's a game about parking cars with an early GTA-style top-down view, an A-Team pastiche, and an episodic House, M.D. adventure game. Examine the full list of releases after the break.%Gallery-124786%
NintendoWare Weekly: Puzzle Quest, Overflow
We certainly didn't expect Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords to be released on DS this week, mostly because it was released on DS in 2007. But new publisher 1st Playable Productions has surprised us all with a DSiWare version. If you missed out on it then, you can get it now without undertaking a heroic journey to the store. In addition to subverting our expectations with a "new" game from four years ago, DSiWare also hosts a shmup about conserving ammo. Meanwhile, WiiWare features a game about ... pouring liquids. But, like, with puzzles and stuff.
NintendoWare Weekly: Chrono Trigger, Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove
It's an oldie, but a goodie -- actually, you know what? It's a bestie. Square Enix's beloved SNES RPG Chrono Trigger arrives on the Wii Virtual Console for 800 Points, giving us yet another platform upon which to totally hang with Robo, Frog, Lucca, the prehistoric one, the princess, and that one wizard guy. Oh, Chrono Trigger. It has obviously been far too long. Other games added today include Big Bass Arcade on DSiWare, in which bass -- preferably big bass -- are pulled from bodies of water using sticks and twine, and Natsume's gothic rhythm title, Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove: Monster Mix for WiiWare. Check out the full list of new releases below!
NintendoWare Weekly: MDK2, Mighty Milky Way
A classic game is newly downloadable on Wii today, but it's not a Virtual Console title. IdeaSpark Labs' remake of BioWare's PC/Dreamcast/PS2 action adventure title MDK2 is up on WiiWare, allowing you to see that cool ribbon parachute thing again. DSiWare has WayForward's Mighty Milky Way, an action puzzle game that depends on the creation of a path of tiny planets for the character Luna. There's also the gothic-esque timed platformer Tower of Deus and Whack-a-Friend. The latter makes sense as soon as you learn that the DSi camera is involved.
NintendoWare Weekly: Bit. Trip Runner demo, Rival Turf!
Gaijin Games has made it simple for you to try out its super-hard platformer Bit.Trip Runner, releasing a demo on the Wii Shop today -- just as it has for most of the Bit.Trip games. You should absolutely try this one, unless you get frustrated easily. Also on Wii today: Rival Turf!, a game that isn't actually very good, but has a distinctive box art that ... also isn't very good.
NintendoWare Weekly: Inchworm Animation, Airport Mania
Today's DSiWare and WiiWare lineup definitely looks like the work of a company that isn't paying the strictest attention to its current generation of consoles. As Nintendo turns its eye toward the future, the downloadable Wii and DS lineup is looking pretty sparse. The good news is that Flat Black Films was finally able to sneak its remarkable-looking animation app, Inchworm Animation, into the DSi Shop. That DSi in your hand just magically became an animation studio. Or it will, later, if you buy the program.%Gallery-122193%
MDK 2 parachuting onto WiiWare May 9
Raise a (radioactive) toast, as a release date has finally been set for the WiiWare version of MDK 2. Nintendo's website lists the title for a May 9 launch at a price of 1000 Wii Points ($10). We checked with Trent Oster, head of developer IdeaSpark Labs, who confirmed both the date and price. Remember, be mindful of the pumpernickel. It tends to explode.
NintendoWare Weekly: Mega Man X
We didn't have to wait long for Mega Man X on Virtual Console. It was announced for Japan just last month, and it's on the Virtual Console in North America today! Of course, if you count all the time since the original 1993 release, including the years since the Wii first came out, it's a longer wait. WiiWare offers a Bit.Trip Core demo today, and on the total opposite end of the "crazy hardcore" spectrum, My Little Baby. DSiWare has a very cute submarine game, a piano teaching tool, and the third DodoGo puzzle game.%Gallery-121503%
Retro City Rampage shirts, posters, and pins up for pre-order
You can't buy VBlank Entertainment's parody-rich Retro City Rampage yet -- and you'll definitely never be able to mail-order it, since it's digitally distributed -- but you can start shopping for tie-in goods right now. Developer VBlank Entertainment partnered with Fangamer to produce a series of official items including t-shirts, buttons, and posters. The $40 "Rampage Combo Pack," shipping in June, features the "Theftropolis" shirt designed by Jon Kay, an 18" x 24" print of a new poster design by Maxime Trépanier, and a set of Retro City Rampage pins. The items will also be available separately, in case you don't want to spend too much more than the cost of the XBLA/WiiWare game.%Gallery-121157%
NintendoWare Weekly: Play with Birds, Escape Trick
Today, you have the choice between carefree flight and life-or-death escape. On WiiWare, a minigame collection called Play with Birds lets you ... play with birds. Meanwhile, on DSiWare, you can attempt to find a way out of the mysterious prison into which you've been thrown unjustly. For a different kind of high stakes, DSiWare's Art of Ink lets you simulate tattooing your customers. You'd better do it right, because there's no DSiWare laser tattoo removal game yet.%Gallery-120842%%Gallery-120841%
NintendoWare Weekly: Super Bonk, From the Abyss
The future of Bonk: Brink of Extinction may be uncertain, but that doesn't mean you can't download a new (to Wii) Bonk game today! If you prefer your adventuring to be more technologically advanced, there's also a game about using an underwater vehicle to capture fish. DSiWare features baseball management today, along with fantasy-themed puzzling and Anonymous Notes Chapter 1 - From the Abyss -, a DSiWare spin-off of an obscure DS dungeon game.%Gallery-120348%
First real and fake BurgerTime HD trailers
MonkeyPaw Games is going back to the kitchen to create a new serving of BurgerTime -- which is a good idea, considering the original burgers are now 29 years old, and that's disgusting. For those of you interested in sampling BurgerTime HD's new recipe, you'll find a trailer after the break. Also after the break is MonkeyPaw's heartbreaking April Fools' Day joke, a trailer for the "Delicious Edition" DLC, which replaces Peter Pepper with Burger King's eponymous, creepy monarch. It was a joke, but ... we would have been totally into playing as the King. So much so that we would have walked into a Burger King and purchased Burger King food to make that happen. We were willing to go that far.
Fez on WiiWare not 'worth our time and effort,' dev says
It's pretty likely that Fez won't be gracing WiiWare, judging from some not-so-nice things one of the developers had to say regarding Nintendo's platform. Phil Fish, the game's co-creator, told Destructoid back at PAX East that "WiiWare just wouldn't be worth our time and effort," and described it as "a dismal system" that he avoids as both a consumer and a developer. "No demos? F*ck off," he concluded. Of course, there are demos on WiiWare now, but for years that wasn't the case. When questioned on the possibility of 3DS, Fish commented that anything he'd produce would have to be a different game entirely -- kinda like Super Hypercube, his stereoscopic 3D game. It's hardly a confirmation, but we're fairly certain the man doesn't go around winking and nudging people, willy-nilly. That'd be weird!
BurgerTime HD coming to PSN, XBLA, PC & WiiWare this summer
After showing the game at GDC, MonkeyPaw Games has officially announced BurgerTime HD, its first experiment in "evolving" a retro game as opposed to merely re-releasing it. The announcement adds lots of meaty information to the, uh, news ... wich. The updated version of Data East's classic burger-stacking platformer is being developed by Frozen Codebase, and it's coming to XBLA, PSN, PC and WiiWare "early this summer," according to MonkeyPaw president John Greiner. A peck of Peter Peppers will be able to play together, since the game now includes four-player online multiplayer, along with split-screen local multiplayer. Leaderboards, DLC and chat will help add a modern flavor to this culinary concoction. We'll let MonkeyPaw describe the updated gameplay, since we don't know if we'd ever be able to generate a sentence this wonderful on our own: "A unique cylindrical playing field reinvigorates the familiar classic gameplay of creating enormous hamburgers while fending off wieners, condiments and spices." The enlarged 3D landscapes offer "numerous paths of burger creation." Screens of all three console versions are available after the break.
NintendoWare Weekly: Demos, Faceez: Monsters
With the 3DS now out in stores -- and unable to support DSiWare until May -- we expected Nintendo's download service to become a total ghost town today. It's definitely a slower day for the service than most Mondays, with just two new games (one of which is Faceez: Monsters, allowing us to relive the joy of finding out something was called Faceez), but releases are still happening. What we didn't expect was for WiiWare to go quiet(er). There have been occasional no-release days in the past, but today marks the first time in the history of the service that only demos have come out.%Gallery-119849%
River City Ransom 2 barfing on Japanese WiiWare this summer
A sequel to the teen-brutalizing, coin-collecting, sushi-eating NES classic River City Ransom (pictured) is in the works from the delightfully-named developer Miracle Kidz. It sounds like a pretty authentic follow-up -- right down to its reported launch on a Nintendo platform. According to Andriasang, the sequel will punch its way to the Japanese WiiWare this summer and will be ported to the PC as an "online title" in 2012. There's been no word on whether Miracle Kidz has plans to localize River City Ransom 2 for North American players, but we like to think that we believe in Miracles. And also Kidz.
