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This Week on the Nintendo Channel: Imagine Ice Champions
Last week, Nintendo offered a demo of My DoItAll, and we didn't really mind, because despite being kid-focused and a non-game, it was kind of a novelty, worth trying out for a few minutes. This week, though, we're faced with the dreaded "I" word: Imagine. The one new demo on the Nintendo Channel this week is Ubisoft's Imagine Ice Champions, the sequel to Imagine Figure Skater. Maybe there's some novelty value in getting to try an Imagine game without any commitment -- just to see what it's like -- but we doubt this is going to send anyone running to the Wii.We've got the full list of returning demos after the break, as well as this week's rather large crop of videos.
DS Daily: Imagine
You may have noticed that we occasionally poke fun (and bile) at Ubisoft's Imagine series, and frankly, today isn't going to be any different. We're still holidayed out, and that means we need to have a little fun ... and that means it's time to design your own Imagine title. Imagine Making Piles of Cash might be fitting (if somewhat depressing, really), and no one really wants to play Imagine The Guy Who Washes Your Car, but it might have hilarious boxart. Anyway, imagining new games for Ubisoft is totally in the spirit of the franchise, right? Sure. We're playing Imagine Working for Ubisoft.Apologies to anyone who works at a car wash (or Ubisoft). You were an easy target.
Nintendo's move 'away from the hardcore' cited in N-Revolution mag's closure
MCV reports that Imagine's Nintendo-only UK magazine, N•Revolution, will cease publication. In this day and age, with ad revenue and readership down – not to mention a little thing you're using called the internet – this move doesn't exactly come as a surprise. Its publisher's reasoning for the closure does.Imagine's managing director, Damian Butt, says that Nintendo's focus is shifting away from the magazine's readership, i.e. core gamers. "It has become increasingly obvious that Nintendo's strategy...has moved increasingly away from the hardcore gaming community that is our specialty," Butt explained. Still, Butt says that Imagine – which also publishes gamesTM – will continue to work with Nintendo to "drive purchases of Nintendo software." We're sure it will be in an entirely objective, unbiased, above-the-board way ... of working with a company to positively influence software sales through editorial. What could be wrong with that? Oh.
Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine beta keys now available
If you've played Persona 3 or Digital Devil Saga, then you're already familiar with Atlus Games's Shin Megami Tensei line. While the laurels of that line lie in the many single player games, the Shin Megami Tensei series is going into the MMO realm with the new game, Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine.Imagine is being carried in the US region by Aeria Games, the people behind Shaiya and Dream of Mirror Online, and they've just started their beta test via Filefront. Just simply click on the link and you'll be given a key and a download link to the client. The game will be free to play, and supported by a microtransaction system.Also, as a small side note, Aeria is currently having trouble with the ImagineUpdate.exe file. If you download the client, run the ImagineClient.exe file without running the launcher shortcut. Otherwise, if the launcher is run, you corrupt the installation and have to re-install.Otherwise, happy demon hunting![Thanks Tony!]Update: Aeria Games has gotten the launcher back to normal. Double click it and run it to update properly!
DS Daily: A little too much
As DS gamers, we get exposed to a lot of games. Are there any you wish would just stop flooding the handheld? Are you sick of seeing training games? What genre/series are you fed up with hearing about? What do you think the DS could use less of?
PSB pushes out Imagine loudspeakers, leaves nothing to the imagination
PSB is noticeably proud of being based in Canada, but its patriotism is just slightly overshadowed by the pride put forth in the construction of its new Imagine line of loudspeakers. On course for a CEDIA debut, the Imagine crew consists of the Imagine T three-driver tower, Imagine B two-way bookshelf, Imagine C dual-woofer center channel and the Imagine S dual-two-way surround. The new family is available as we speak, though they aren't for the short-on-cash crowd; the C alone is $800, while the floodstander rings up at two large per pair. Full release (with all the juicy details) is just after the break.
DS Daily: Imagine some random job
So we've got what now ... rock star, teacher, babyz (sitter), chef, animal doctor (because veterinarian probably has too many syllables for a single word), and now wedding designer. There are probably even a few of Ubisoft's Imagine titles that we missed in that list, but hey -- we can't remember them all. But we can imagine the future of the line. What do you think about Imagine: Trophy Wife, or Imagine: Reality Show Star?
E308: Imagine Rabbidz
I couldn't think of a worse place to demo Imagine Party Babyz than E3. There are no very small children, no casual gamers, and no ... whoever else could conceivably be expected to be in the audience for the Imagine series -- just jaded, bitter journalists. And me.As far as I could tell, I was the first person to try it (or among the first, I'm guessing, because the attending Frag Dolls didn't seem to have been forced to play the demo hundreds of times, even though I did lose at multiplayer). And far from the nefarious destroyer of gaming you may imagine, Party Babyz is actually kind of a good game. Because it takes its design cues straight out of Rayman Raving Rabbids. Only with doughy little sprogs instead of rabbids.The minigame I played, in which you bottle-feed your baby character, is exactly the burping minigame from Raving Rabbids 2. You start by shaking the Wiimote to shake the bottle, then you upturn the Wiimote to simulate holding the bottle up. Points are awarded for every second or so that the baby drinks. When the baby has had enough, you lower the Wiimote and hit A to burp the baby. I don't know if it would still be fun if I weren't thinking about Rabbids while playing, but it was definitely actual fun under those conditions.%Gallery-23971%
Imagine Figure Skater could be good, might not be
This could really, totally be a good game. Last time we checked, figure skating is a sport accompanied by music. It requires rhythmic motions and impeccable timing. All of these features are perfect for adapting to the touch screen on the DS. Tracing skating lines, tapping at the appropriate times, using smooth stylus skills -- yep, sounds like a winner.Imagine Figure Skater is marketed towards young girls, what with the absence of any male characters and the emphasis on hair and accessory customization. Sure, some of us might not have considered playing a figure skating game in any form, but we probably said the same thing about lawyers. In any case, the first screenies are in the gallery to start you down the long, complex road of "Should I buy this game when it comes out in August?" The answer is ...%Gallery-25900%[Via press release]
Babies Party their way onto Wii
The most notorious game in Ubisoft's Imagine series of girl-focused casual games is headed to the Wii -- as a party game, of course. Babies Party combines the babysitting theme of the DS game with 30 minigames including (according to the press release) "memory games, puzzles, coloring and cutting up activities."You can choose to play either as a baby or a babysitter. It's unclear exactly how the gameplay will change, but we imagine that there are different minigames involving taking care of babies as opposed to being babies. As with pretty much every Wii game that gets announced, Babies Party will support the Balance Board in some games.Babies Party enters the exciting genre of baby-based party minigames created by the Korean arcade series Come On Baby, which also made use of innovative controllers.%Gallery-23971%
Imagine a ton of screens for Ubisoft's casual/training games
Ubisoft released information for four Imagine series games at their Ubiday event: Imagine Teacher, which we're in the uncomfortable position of kind of liking; Imagine Rock Star (Imagine Girl Band in the UK, because apparently there are no rock stars there); My Fashion Studio (Imagine Fashion Model in the UK); and My Secret World by Imagine. We've heard of Imagine Rock Star before, but the other three are new as of yesterday, and we had yet to see screens of Rock Star and its nonsensical drum kit. My Secret World is a diary program, including some scrapbook-type stuff and custom avatars. My Fashion Studio is precisely what it sounds like!We've got galleries for Imagine Rock Star, Imagine Teacher, My Secret World, and My Fashion Studio, all visible after the break. You'll have to head over to IGN for videos of My Secret World and Imagine Teacher. The style of Teacher tells us right off that it's not for us (as if the Imagine name didn't do the trick), but we still think the implementation is inspired. As for the rest: My Secret World is almost incomprehensible, and My Fashion Studio is a paper doll simulator. %Gallery-23943%Read - My Secret World videoRead - Imagine Teacher video
We're learning to like the idea of Imagine Teacher
During their Ubidays press event, Ubisoft unveiled a new entry in their infamous Imagine series of games that someone guessed girls might like (based on what girls on TV seem to enjoy or something). Imagine Teacher trains girls to ... well, train children, using, of course, a series of teaching-themed minigames.The game traces an elementary school teacher's job duties chronologically, starting with lesson planning and seating charts, and progressing to individual lessons. Each subject's lesson is presented as a minigame, followed by another minigame in which you grade your students' work. The day ends with classroom cleanup and parent-teacher conferences.We're trying our hardest to hate this, but the truth is that Imagine Teacher sounds irresistably clever, and we would really like to play it. Pretty embarrassing, but there, we said it.
Ubisoft announces unimaginative 'Imagine Rock Star'
Say what you will about Ubisoft's Imagine line of games (targeted at girls aged 6 to 14), they're generally pretty original. There are precious few game makers trying to tap into the figure skating, fashion designing, and animal healing segments of the burgeoning DS game market. Unfortunately, the same can't really be said for Ubisoft's latest Imagine game announcement, Imagine Rock Star.Not to focus on the negative, but when Imagine Rock Star comes out in June, it will bump up against a veritable cornucopia of competing DS rhythm games, including a couple that have a very similar premise of multiplayer, "join a band" action. We don't want to sell it short before we see it, but we find it hard to "imagine" (ha!) that this game will bring something new to a genre that's already getting a bit overcrowded. Especially when the "ability to customize the look of each band mate in order to become the most stylish rockers" is a major selling point. Then again, we aren't girls aged 6 to 14, so what do we know?
Buy two games, save ten bucks at Toys R Us
We'll take almost any encouragement to buy a bunch of games, and there's little better incentive than a package deal, through which we "save" money by buying more stuff. Retailer Toys R Us knows this, and has dangled the carrot of reduced-price DS games at us with a "buy one, get $10 off" sale. The ad says "all DS games," but the sale is actually restricted to a selection of TRU's offerings.That's fine, though, because there's enough here for just about anyone to be driven into an impulse purchase! Standouts include Flash Focus, Professor Layton, WordJong, Cooking Mama 2, and even some pre-release stuff like Rondo of Swords! Or you could finally pick up the whole Imagine collection.
Hands-on with Moneual's tubular I*magine HTPC
Moneual's distinctly atypical I*magine possesses more than just good looks, as this surefire conversation piece not only enables users to shout commands at it, but you can flip it upright on a pole if you so desire. Thankfully, this thing is actually coming to America for a pretty fair price, so head on over to EngadgetHD for all the dirt (and photographs) you need.
John Lennon on iTunes
Imagine all the people... downloading John Lennon's songs. It isn't hard to do-- John Lennon's music is now available on the iTunes store as of last night. Right around 3AM, reader Ricky (thanks!) saw the graphic above pop onto the store, and noticed that Working Class Hero, among other albums, had arrived, and then disappeared about half an hour later. He speculated that they were working on a full release today.And he was exactly right-- Apple has announced that sixteen of Lennon's solo works are now for sale on the iTS, including the "digital debuts" of the Lennon Legend and Acoustic collections. Additionally, for the next 30 days, six of the albums will include exclusive video content-- Working Class Hero looks like it has a "Give Peace a Chance" video on it, and Imagine includes a video for the classic title track. And all of the albums are available not only regular price ($.99 a song), but also at iTunes Plus prices, which means $1.29 a song, but completely DRM free.First Paul McCartney, now Lennon, and the Beatles has to be just around the corner. Power to the people, right on!Thanks, Ricky and Zack!
GoPlay magazine goes online-only
There are tons of fan-published PSP magazines out on the Internet, and now they're going to get some serious competition. GoPlay, "the UK's best-selling independent PlayStation Portable magazine," will soon switch from its traditional newsstand distribution to a strictly online-only one. According to GI.biz, the format change will "make it easier for readers to access content on their PSPs".The current issue of the magazine features Star Wars: Lethal Alliance and costs £3.99 on newsstands. It's not clear how much the digital version will cost, if anything at all.
Imagine Publishing behind GTA4 hoax
QJ reports that they have discovered the nefarious creator of the fake GTA4 screenshot. It turns out that the infamous email from a "disgruntled Rockstar employee" came from the mail servers of none other than Imagine Publishing. Imagine is responsible for several UK gaming mags including X360 and Retro Gamer. So why in the world would a publishing company release a fake screenshot? I think QJ has the right answer: Imagine wanted a story for their next issue. What do you think? Was it a prank gone too far or a diabolical corporate scheme?
Blast from the British gaming industry's past
Nothing beats a good dose of nostalgia, and this BBC 2 documentary from the mid-eighties is certainly a joy to behold twenty years on. It focuses on Imagine Software and Ocean Software and their struggles to create innovative titles on a platform which has been pushed to the limits, in a market flooded with hundreds of developers and beset by piracy.For those who watch this video and wish they were back in the heyday of the bedroom coder, we hear you; casual games seem to be the way forward for indie developers, until a working time machine hits the shelves.
