NiGHTS
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Sega considers reviving classics like 'Crazy Taxi' and 'Jet Set Radio'
Sega is considering reviving multiple classic game franchises, including 'Crazy Taxi' and 'Jet Set Radio.'
The Daily Grind: Should MMO nights be darker and different?
While some MMOs don't even bother with a proper day/night cycle these days, the ones that do have pretty well-lit nights. It's basically day with a blue filter overlaid for thematic purposes, but if you stub your toe, it's usually because you're not paying attention, not because you simply can't see the root in front of you. But there are those who would very much like a more immersive night: darker, different, and even more challenging. These nights might require a torch or flashlight to see what's in front of you, and they may also feature a different set of nocturnal beasts that emerge when the sun goes down. What if nights required warmer clothes to enable us to brave the colder environments? If you had your druthers, would you like your MMO nights to be darker and different? How so? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Breakfast Topic: Bringing back the night
Have you ever thought it odd that when night falls in Azeroth, the stars appear, the sky darkens, but the landscape itself remains as bright as it was in broad daylight? Once upon a time, the nights in WoW looked something like the above screenshot. I can't pinpoint the source since it was so many years ago, but the original reasoning was it changed so people who could only play during the night wouldn't have to always play in the dark. The current official line is that it was purely an art decision. There have been innumerable threads on the official forums pleading for the return of dark nights. Blizzard has been listening and in patch 5.4 they added a "test case" for darker nights, but only in Stormwind, Orgrimmar, and Vale of Eternal Blossoms. The difference is there, but you need to compare before and after screenshots to really notice it. It still doesn't scream "night has fallen."
PSN Tuesday: Day 1 Digital, NiGHTS, Silent Hill: Book of Memories demo
Today kicks off Sony's Day 1 Digital initiative, which sees some of the holiday's most high-profile games available as day-one downloads on PlayStation Network. Resident Evil 6 and NBA 2K13 are the first two games available as day one downloads in October.On top of the Day 1 Digital promotion, PSN users can pre-order Assassin's Creed 3 and snag a pair of Sega PSN games today: Sonic Adventure 2 and NiGHTS into DREAMS. More PSOne Classics are available on PS Vita today, including several Square Enix and Capcom games like Parasite Eve, Chrono Trigger, Resident Evil 2 and many more. Finally, a Silent Hill: Book of Memories demo is available for PS Vita owners.The full list of this week's content, hit up the PlayStation Blog.
Nights HD includes Christmas Nights, arrives October 2 on PSN and October 5 on XBLA
Nights Into Dreams HD and Sonic Adventure 2 will both cost $9.99 when they launch on XBLA and PSN this October. Both games in the "Sega Heritage Collection" will be available on PSN October 2, and on XBLA October 5.Both games have extra content that will be exciting in varying levels, as well. Sonic Adventure 2 is upgradable with "Battle Mode" DLC for $3, which adds the GameCube-specific content including new maps and characters. And Nights includes "free access" to the content from Christmas Nights, the hard-to-find expansion disc that was only available through magazines and other special giveaways!%Gallery-165617%
NiGHTS transformed for Sonic and All-Stars Racing
In what counts as a massive media explosion for such a little franchise, NiGHTS' new HD update will occur alongside the franchise's appearance in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. During a "Summer of Sonic" event over the weekend, Sega showed footage of NiGHTS and Reala (as vehicles) in the upcoming racer.The dreamy flight game will also be represented in track form, with Spring Valley shown as a prototype, and another track based on Nightmare is in progress at developer Sumo Digital. It's nice to see NiGHTS come back into prominence, even if he has somehow transformed into a car along the way.
NiGHTS Into Dreams gets a sweet sixteen present: an HD re-release on XBLA, PSN, and PC [update]
Everyone's favorite surreal flying game for Sega Saturn, "NiGHTS into dreams...." is getting an HD rebirth "this fall" from Sega. Planned for Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and PC, NiGHTS is an HD update of the original Sega Saturn release from 1996. Not that you weren't expecting one, of course.Beyond the beautified graphics, Sega's adding a 16:9 aspect ratio, leaderboards, Achievements/Trophies, and "an optional Saturn Mode" (which reverts the game back to 1996 graphics). No release date is given just yet beyond the amorphous "fall," but there is the snazzy new trailer above. And these screens below. And hey, if you can't wait, you could always go play the game right now on your Saturn.Update: We asked Sega whether the Christmas NiGHTS content would be part of the HD re-release, and were told, "Can't confirm anything about that yet." We have to keep an eye out in "the coming weeks," as Sega has "a lot of stuff in the air right now for this year."%Gallery-159788%
Sega teases ... something to do with NiGHTS
Sega's Facebook page features the above screenshot, of "Stick Canyon," an environment from the Saturn classic NiGHTS into Dreams. This could portend an HD re-release like we're seeing for Jet Set Radio and some Dreamcast games, or it could be a new track for Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed.The screenshot itself doesn't appear to be new – identical-looking renders of the Stick Canyon location can be found on NiGHTS fansites from years ago. We've asked Sega for more information, but in the meantime, something NiGHTS-related is happening!
Virtua Fighter, NiGHTS characters in Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
Apparently, Sega's plan is to represent every Sega franchise ever in Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing -- except, of course, for Segata Sanshiro. The publisher announced two more playable characters today (well, four, actually, in pairs): Virtua Fighter's Akira and Jacky, and Bonanza Bros.' Mobo and Robo. The Virtua guys appear to be riding in a red Ferrari, which would add the OutRun franchise to the list as well. All these reveals are in line with the character portraits found hidden on the website. NiGHTS will appear in the game as well, though not in a capacity that will cause superfans "DiGi" and "Trippy" to lose their bets and burn their NiGHTS memorabilia collections. The androgynous dream-monster will appear as the flagman in the racing game.
Rumor: NiGHTS was once a 360/PS3 game
Okay, this is all pretty tenuous, but super interesting: apparently, a Sega of Europe employee kept a blog last year in which he revealed some stuff about NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams that he shouldn't have, well before the game's release. The posts have since been removed, but the Wayback Machine allows us to have a look back!According to the blog post, Journey of Dreams was originally developed as an Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 title, and was hastily shunted to the Wii when the platform's success became obvious -- despite protests from director Takashi Iizuka. The 360 version was at least far enough along to be playable! The quick change in plans meant that NiGHTS' development time was effectively shortened. If you didn't like the game, you have something on which to blame the problems!Also interesting, if this blog post is really as vintage as it looks (we don't discount some kind of Internet trickery): the blogger dropped a pretty big hint about a future Sega game, saying that Sonic Team should be freed from Sonic games, "... before they release another Sonic game with a transforming Evil 'Night' Sonic who looks like a werewolf and can stretch his arms out Dhalsim-style. It will happen, mark my words."%Gallery-4673%[Via tssznews, via NeoGAF]
Top 5: Christmastime in Gaming
Ahh, Christmastime. Every year, we look forward to cherished traditions such as fighting traffic, stressing out over finding gifts, and even the occasional Black Friday trampling. Yet one would be surprised to learn that December 25th has a history which shares very little with frivolous lawsuits and Bill O'Reilly frothing at the mouth. Indeed, aside from its litigatious and hostile depiction on the news, Christmas is largely an excuse to shower our loved ones with food, presents, and joy. It's also an easy inspiration for a stressed columnist trying to finish his Christmas shopping to create a Top 5 list. As such examples of religious-based holidays are rare in gaming, this list will not be Nintendo-specific. For those who celebrate the date, I wish you a Merry Christmas. For those who don't, I wish you well just the same. NEXT >> #ninbutton { border-style: solid; border-color: #000; border-width: 2px; background-color: #BBB; color: #000; text-decoration: none; width: 100px; text-align: center; padding: 2px 2px 2px 2px; margin: 2px 2px 2px 2px; } .buttontext { color: #000; text-decoration: none; font: bold 14pt Helvetica; } #ninbutton:hover { text-decoration: none; color: #BBB; background-color: #000; } The Top 5 is a weekly feature that provides us with a forum to share our opinions on various aspects of the video game culture, and provides you with a forum to tell us how wrong we are. To further voice your opinions, submit a vote in the Wii Fanboy Poll, and take part in the daily discussions of Wii Warm Up.
Check out the full set of Amazon Wii deals before they vanish
We thought we had missed the opportunity to post the full list of Amazon Black Friday Wii deals, but we've checked this morning and every item isn't sold out! In fact, a lot of stuff is still in stock! Bless Amazon for making it possible for people to grab a huge deal without waking up at 2AM or waiting in line in the dang cold. We may regret sharing this with you, as we have yet to get in on the $10 Resident Evil 4 or NiGHTS, the $26 de Blob, or the $8 Perfect Shot. But it's the holidays! 'Tis the season to be sharing, Fred.
Ask WoW Insider: Minimum raiding requirements
Every Monday, we put a question back to you readers, and see what you have to say about a current issue in the World of Warcraft. This week's question actually comes from our Guildwatch column -- Lugbruz is an officer in Reforged on Runetotem (they just downed M'uru -- grats!), and he has a question about how much you need to raid to be successful:Are there other guilds who have a 3 night/week raid schedule (or less) who have enjoyed success in high-end raiding? We killed Mu'ru before the nerf and don't know of any other crew has gone so far with so little time. Our primary competition of the server was at equal progression with us pre-nerf and they're a 5 night/week crew.We assume that 3 nights (4 hours per raid) is the minimum, but can endgame be done with less?Lugbruz
Ten for under twenty at Gamefly's sale
In these belt-tightening, penny-pinching times, it literally pays to have a nose for the bargains. That's where we, or rather Gamefly, comes in. The game rental outfit has a broad selection of used Wii software for low, world banking crisis-friendly prices, and we chose ten of the best sub-$20 games to tempt you. Thar be bargains ahead! Baroque for $12.99 Battalion Wars 2 for $17.99 Blast Works: Build, Trade, Destroy for $9.99 Dewy's Adventure for $13.99 Geometry Wars: Galaxies for $16.99 Mercury: Meltdown Revolution for $15.99 NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams for $12.99 No More Heroes for $17.99 Sega Superstars Tennis for $9.99 Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure for $17.99 There's actually a ton more we could have mentioned, including Super Mario Galaxy for $32.99, Super Smash Bros. Brawl for $30.99, and Metroid Prime 3 for $26.99. Sadly, "One hundred and fifty-eight for under forty-two" just doesn't work as a headline. Hit up the "Source" link for the full set. %Gallery-3283% [Thanks, William!]
Excellent games for cheap Wii owners
What's more fun than dropping fifty bucks on a new game? Dropping fifty bucks on three new games. Diverging from their usual retro theme, Racketboy has posted a wonderfully long list of Wii, GameCube, and (obviously) WiiWare games that you can buy for less than $20. While people were busy complaining about the lack of quality third-party Wii games, a bunch of third-party Wii games came out and dropped in price immediately.The list is populated by awesome shooters like Geometry Wars: Galaxies, Blast Works, and Ghost Squad, mascot games like NiGHTS, Sega Superstars Tennis, and Rayman: Raving Rabbids, and Elebits-style games like Elebits. And that's just in the Wii list! Each game also has handy Amazon and eBay search links attached. Go hit the ATM and check out the list!
Gamefly sales continue to tempt us
Gamefly is having a sale on some of its used-but-in-great-condition games again, also offering free shipping to spice up the deal a bit. As always, we're passings these savings along to you, while picking out a few we think are worth highlighting for their respective prices: Dragon Blade: Wrath of Fire for $12.99 Dewy's Adventure for $14.99 NiGHTS for $14.99 Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law for $14.99 Manhunt 2 for $14.99 Victorious Boxers: Revolution for $15.99 Soulcalibur Legends for $15.99 Bleach: Shattered Blade for $17.99 Metroid Prime 3: Corruption for $27.99 Super Mario Galaxy for $36.99 Click on the picture or "source" link to see the full list of Wii games, but keep in mind that you might be able to find some of them cheaper elsewhere.
NiGHTS' price continues to wane
Amazon has dropped the price of NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams even further, from a tempting $20.99 to a tantalizing $16.88. At that price, it's almost irresistible! We know this because we are currently almost failing to resist it. Amazon's price for new copies has finally dipped down just below Gamefly's price for used copies, and, as with Gamefly, free shipping is available.The rapidly-falling price for what was supposed to be the triumphant return of a beloved franchise doesn't really bode well for the future. We shouldn't look forward to a localized version of the PS2 NiGHTS into Dreams remake, for one thing. Or anything that doesn't star Sonic and about a billion other anthropomorphic jerks.%Gallery-4673%
Amazon Falcon Punches Brawl price to an effective $30
Amazon is now offering Super Smash Bros. Brawl at a reduced price of $40. We doubt this markdown is permanent (since demand is still awesomely high) but we don't know how long the new sale price will last. Brawl for $40 may indeed be awesome, but it gets better! The $10 gift card offer we mentioned last week is still in effect, bringing the price down to (basically) $30. That's as cheap as you're likely to see it -- until the next unexpected markdown, which will probably be next week (judging from recent history). Oh, and while you're shopping at Amazon, why not throw a $20 copy of NiGHTS in?
NiGHTS: Journey of a cheap game
If you're buying a GameCube controller at Amazon, why not buy a cheap Wii game to go with it?NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams is now marked down to $20.09 at the online retailer, which is a hard-to-resist price for an unused copy of Sega's game. Although it didn't get the best reviews, twenty dollars isn't a lot to ask when it comes to reliving a beloved franchise.Does anyone who owns NiGHTS want to make a recommendation for or against it?[Via CAG]
NiGHTS: Journey to awesome free stuff
NiGHTS Community, a site for obsessive NiGHTS fans, came into possession of some rare Journey of Dreams memorabilia earlier this year when Sega gave the administrator a private demo of the game (!) Instead of hoarding it forever or selling it on eBay, the site has decided to give it away in a contest. And the prizes are all being given away individually instead of as a giant pile, so you have half a chance.You could win a PAL copy of NiGHTS or much more interesting (but less playable) stuff, such as a glow-in-the-dark sticker sheet, a Japanese promotional poster, or a two-track soundtrack sampler which apparently was never made available outside of Sega of Europe! We hope you can fulfill your dreams of having stuff with pictures of NiGHTS on it.
