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Steel Diver out in Europe on May 6
European 3DS owners: Do you all harbor an unspoken, shared desire to live the life aquatic? We can't blame you -- as promised, things truly are better under the sea. Fortunately for you, Nintendo has announced that the naval combat simulator and North American 3DS launch title Steel Diver will make its way to Europe on May 6. This information comes to us from the game's official European site, which doesn't include any information on why the game's taking over a month to travel overseas. Are submarines just that slow?
Reggie Fils-Aime on the competition and what it means to be a 'garage' developer
A few minutes before Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime handed over the first 3DS sold in the US (as seen above), he spoke with me on how the new portable stands out from the competition, what Nintendo considers a "garage" developer versus an "indie," and what he's playing at launch (spoilers: it's not Nintendogs + Cats) "At its heart, what Nintendo's trying to do is to bring more and more consumers into gaming. And to do it in a way that's fundamentally different than anyone else," Fils-Aime told me, explaining his company's continued adherence to the "Blue Ocean" business strategy. "With the Nintendo 3DS -- yes, it's a handheld, but 3D in the palm of your hand without glasses. A full range not only of games but of other elements -- photography, video. It's not what people expected. Which is, at its heart, what the Blue Ocean strategy and Innovator's Dilemma (which was the other book we used to demonstrate our strategy) are all about." Because of this strategy, among other things, Fils-Aime remains unconcerned with the competition -- whether that competition be from Sony's upcoming NGP platform or from the smartphone crowd. "First off, it's a product that isn't out yet," he said of the NGP. "It's a product that hasn't had an announced price point, it hasn't had an announced availability. So, how that product impacts us is to be told in the future." %Gallery-119783%
Super Mario Galaxy 2 on sale for $35 through Dell
Dell has marked down Super Mario Galaxy 2 to $35. For a high-profile game just released weeks ago, that's a pittance -- less than a pittance. If you gave Dell a pittance, you'd get a trifle back as change. It's a good deal, is what we're saying, for a game that is "the best Mario game ever." In fact, at this point, the only valid excuse for not trying out Galaxy 2 is, well, motion sickness. If you're prone to that particular ailment, the game's less magical and more the worst experience of your life. [Via GoNintendo]
New DLC makes Animal Crossing avatars look even more punchable
To celebrate the release of Punch-Out!!, Nintendo is offering a gift to European Animal Crossing: Let's Go to the City players on Little Mac's behalf. Is it enough to bring prodigal Crossers back into the Wii game? Well, only those who love headgear. We kind of think the protective boxing equipment looks slightly supervillain-esque, which is a bonus. From now until June 5, Let's Go to the City players who have WiiConnect24 on can get a gift of green boxing headgear just for turning the game on and checking their mail. The headgear will be stuffed into a letter. The item has yet to appear on the North American DLC hub, but we're confident American gamers will be able to protect their avatars' squishy heads soon. [Via N-Europe]
Analyst: Poor Wii Music, Animal Crossing sales stamina to blame for downturn
Wii sales have been the lowest they've ever been in Japan. Is the Japanese public losing interest? Screen Digest analyst Ed Barton told GameBizBlog that the Wii sales downturn is mostly due to the lack of staying power exhibited by Animal Crossing: City Folk and Wii Music. Barton says that the continued success of Wii Fit and Mario Kart Wii only back up his claim. "These are older games that obviously have shown tremendous stamina, but Nintendo always needs to bring out new ways to drive console sales forward, and we just didn't see that with Wii Music and City Folk." Even though both titles sold decently enough (Animal Crossing was one of the region's top 10 selling games in 2008 and Wii Music debuted with 92,000 units sold in its first week), they lacked the necessary sales stamina of Wii Fit and Mario Kart Wii. He says that there isn't much hope on the horizon either, despite the imminent release of Monster Hunter 3 on Wii. He warns that trying to transfer the user base from handheld to home console is risky and that the gamble may not pay off for Nintendo. Barton is of the mind that "it won't have the same level of success that it had on the PSP."
Nintendo opens NA Animal Crossing: City Folk DLC hub
North American Animal Crossing fans finally have a place to check for upcoming DLC updates to City Folk. Nintendo has opened an Animal Crossing: City Folk DLC hub site outlining downloadable content and game updates specifically for the NTSC region. A similar site is already available to Japanese gamers. Currently, the hub lists a special "shamrock hat" (available until March 24) delivered to town via a letter with the attached item with special Spring content coming soon. Let's hope that the update also means that North American City Folk will get as much cool content as their Japanese counterparts. [via GoNintendo]
Missouri Police say adults shouldn't play Animal Crossing
Son, turn the game box off and come over here. Now, since you turned 18 your mom and I have been meaning to talk with you about your little habit. No, not the smoking or the drinking. Really, we're fine with all of that. No, what we're concerned about is the time you spend exchanging friend codes with all those people in Animal Crossing: City Folk. We've been talking to Detective Andy Anderson of the Mid-Missouri Internet Crimes Task Force, who says that he "cannot come up with any legitimate reason that an adult would be playing that particular game." Now, heaven knows what you've been putting in all of those letters and gift boxes, but Anderson told ABC affiliate KMIZ that you, and others like you, are likely playing Animal Crossing and similar games "for the wrong reasons." Sure it's addicting, but it's also evil, so please, son, do us all a favor and put the controller down and go play something more your age. But before you go, tell your mom to put down that galdarned Peggle and bring me a turkey pot pie. I'm glad we had this little chat. [Via Game Politics]
Animal Crossing City Folk for thrifty folk
It's not too often that a major first-party Nintendo release gets a price drop. That makes today's Amazon deal of the day, Animal Crossing: City Folk, somewhat of a novelty. If you thought $50 was too high for what seemed like a minimal content upgrade over Wild World, how does $30 sound? We're guessing it's going to sound pretty good to a lot of people -- enough people that Amazon will run out of stock before the end of the day. As usual, the person who benefits most from this deal is Tom Nook. Sometime within the 5-8 day Free Super Saver Shipping period, Tom Nook is going to find himself with a veritable army of new indentured residents. %Gallery-27704%
Lock up your children: Mr. Resetti may 'disturb' them
FACT: Animal Crossing games would be a lot less awesome without Mr. Resetti. The maddened mole teaches his lessons through tough love, subjecting players to lengthy, unavoidable rants every time they "forget" to save their game. Now, we're willing to admit that our parents contributed in some small way* to our upbringing, but would we be the same, upstanding citizens we are now without the firm intervention of Resetti? No. That's why we were disappointed to hear that the mole now carries his own warning, in case he makes kids burst into floods of tears or something. Madness, we know, but it's all there in black and white, in your Animal Crossing: City Folk manual: "Mr. Resetti's purpose is to teach players the importance of saving. However, parents should be aware that his personality and tone of voice, while intentionally humourous, are authoritative and may be disturbing to young children." Wow, protective, much? * Kidding, obviously, if you're reading, Dad. %Gallery-27704%
New features for Pikmin, Mario Tennis Wii-makes revealed
When Nintendo announced that they'd be porting GameCube titles to the Wii with updated features, many responded with trepidation, fearing Nintendo was attempting to fix things that were far from broken. Japan will see if these fears are merited as the first of these Wii-makes hits store shelves tomorrow in the form of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, but Famitsu recently dropped some details about changes in two titles that might be more successful in tickling your fancy -- Pikmin and Mario Power Tennis. Famitsu reveals that Nintendo's floral take on Lemmings (which is dropping in Japan on Christmas) will feature a new save system that stores day-to-day records of your play time. Whenever you boot up Pikmin, you can continue your game by jumping back into any day of your choosing. Unsurprisingly, a new feature revealed for Mario Power Tennis is a renovated, Wii Sports Tennis-esque control scheme -- though the new title will be compatible with the Nunchuck, likely giving you control over your character's movements on the court. Japanese racqueteers can pick up Mario Power Tennis on January 15.
Animal Crossing: Wild, Racist FILTH [update]
Update: Nintendo has issued an official statement. Head past the break to read it. Nintendo is, famously, very politically correct where Animal Crossing is concerned. In the games, any festivals or holidays with even a hint of religious overtones are quietly repackaged: Easter becomes "Bunny Day," Christmas is "The Night that Jingle Comes to Town," and so forth. This keenness to be inclusive and totally inoffensive means Animal Crossing: Wild World was the last game we expected to spew racist terminology. Because that's what it's done ... albeit accidentally. If you've played an Animal Crossing title before, you'll know that you can teach your fellow villagers words, which they'll then use to greet you. Naturally, this is open to player abuse, as you can enter cuss words and other rude terms -- something that not even Nintendo is above doing. MTV Multiplayer's Stephen Totilo recently received a copy of Wild World from Nintendo, so he could test the Wii/DS transfer feature in City Folk. The copy had been played before, because it was full of rare, unlocked items, but those weren't the only secrets the cart held. As he started chatting to his village's animals, Totilo suddenly found himself being racially abused by a sheep called Baabara. "How are you, N---a?" is just one greeting he received from the woolly fascist. Whoops! Maybe triple-check the next batch of press-only carts you send out, Nintendo? Now if you'll excuse us, we're off to phone the Daily Mail. %Gallery-20387%
Press-only Animal Crossing features N-word [update]
A pre-played version of 2005's Animal Crossing: Wild World for DS, sent out to media outlets to encourage connectivity with the recent Animal Crossing release for Wii, contains at least one shocking addition, reports MTV Multiplayer. Importing the saved data from the DS cartridge sent by Nintendo into Animal Crossing: City Folk introduces a host of changes into the game, including one, suddenly no longer E-rated character, Baabara, who now greets players with: "How are you, Ñ---á?" [edited; original creator added diacritics] To clarify, this generally offensive slang term (preceded by another potentially offensive phrase above it) is not included in the retail release of the game. Rather, whomever Nintendo employed to play the version of Wild World sent to press with all of the game's items unlocked, purposely "trained" the Baabara character to use the term. Further, introducing this kind of offensive content into a new copy of the game, from a stranger via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, is nearly impossible. To import content from another game cartridge over the internet requires two users to first exchange their unique 16-digit codes before they are able to share data. In other words, your kids are safe -- unless they or their "friends" are the creators of such content. What MTV Multiplayer and other outlets have discovered is an isolated matter. Still, since the media serves as a filter through which you receive your news about Nintendo products, Nintendo clearly needs to work harder to prevent the kind of incident highlighted here from happening again. Also, an apology would be nice ... Update: And here's that apology ... "We regret that an offensive phrase was included without our knowledge via a wireless function that allows user-generated catchphrases to spread virally from one game to the next," said Nintendo in a statement sent to us. The company is asking that the 14 affected copies it mailed out to the media be returned. The full statement is posted after the break. [Note: As this post contains sensitive material, this is just a friendly reminder to keep the comments clean -- or face the perma-banhammer. Thank you.]
Metareview -- Animal Crossing: City Folk (Wii)
Paradoxically, it's the cause of the absolute saddest thing on the internet, but Animal Crossing has also been a source of joy for millions. Judging from the tepid reviews, Animal Crossing: City Folk's biggest problem appears to be not that it's more of the same joy-inducing escapism, but rather that it is the same joy-inducing escapism. 1UP (C): "Somehow, despite two previous time-sucking outings into the open world of Animal Crossing -- each fully preparing me for what to expect in a sequel -- City Folk still rouses some excitement at the prospect of collecting more rare furniture, fossils, and that one elusive bug or fish. But all of this quickly subsides upon your introduction to Tom Nook, everyone's favorite predatory lender. That's when the realization quickly sets in: This is all just the same old routine with extra goodies that do little to change things in any meaningful way." GameDaily (70/100): "Sadly, local co-op isn't an option, the graphics look last generation and we had little fun using the WiiSpeak microphone. If you're a fan of the series, you'll want to move into this City right away. Otherwise, pay a casual visit before you settle down." Games Master UK (80/100): "It's still a great game but fans of the DS version are going to feel short-changed by the lack of imagination in this Wii retread. For everyone who missed out last time, or if you're keen to start such an epic afresh on the TV, this may well be the family game that sends Wii Sports into permanent retirement."
Animal Crossing: City Events
Special events form a crucial part of any Animal Crossing game, giving players dates to look forward to and a chance to gloat about owning the full set of Pascal's ship-themed furniture. Like I just did there. Last month, Nintendo Power revealed Pavé (a peacock who runs the Samba Carnival-esque Festivale), Labelle (the third Able sister), Zipper (a bunny who appears on Easter -- SORRY -- "Bunny Day"), and Phineas (a beaver who turns up randomly to give out pinwheels and balloons), and now Famitsu has shed light on a few old and returning events and their respective characters. The fishing (October to April) and bug-hunting tournaments (June to September) are back, as is the aforementioned hippy otter Pascal and (obviously) Joan the turnip-selling warthog. There's also a comeback for one of the rarer characters in the first Animal Crossing: Wisp the Ghost, a spook that occasionally appeared at night who could be caught in your net, and forced to do your weeding and paint your roof! %Gallery-27704% KK says: buy Animal Crossing: City Folk to visit the city, reach out to friends, and make Iwata cry!
City Folk crossing into central mainstream with new ad
It's easy to hate on the new Animal Crossing: City Folk ad. Gut reaction is that it's not for us, for the real gamers, so clearly, Animal Crossing itself isn't, either. But that isn't the case; if you liked Animal Crossing at all before, you'll probably like it now. So, no, this commercial isn't for us. It's for everyone else, everyone who thinks Animal Crossing might not be for them. And when taken that way, it seems pretty effective to us. %Gallery-27704%
Animal Crossing: Let's Go to the City (from the DS)
The latest trailer for the rapidly approaching Animal Crossing: City Folk offers a look at the process of migrating your DS Animal Crossing: Wild World character into City Folk. You may not be able to keep your house or your possessions, but migration allows you to maintain your character's appearance and Tom Nook shop catalog. If you want, you could probably recreate your DS house as soon as you got the money. Head to the link for a second, longer trailer which shows the DS-Wii move in more detail, including the specific steps for moving your character. %Gallery-27704%
Animal Crossing: Emotional, Spendthrifty Folk
Animal Crossing: City Folk is sticking to the formula laid down by Wild World fairly rigidly, but it's not all a rehash. Some new outlets and characters can be found in the city section next to your village, two of which have been recently showcased in daily videos at City Folk's official Japanese site. The first of these stars Dr. Shrunk, whose dubious comedic talents have finally landed him the big one: a gig at City Folk's Theater. Here, you'll be able to watch the good doctor take to the stage, 'enjoy' his stand-up routine, and hopefully learn a brand new emotion in the process -- as you do. The second video (after the break) covers the Auction House (where you'll be able to offer items for those on your Wii's friend list to bid on), which appears to be manned by a Gyroid. Perhaps they ran out of ideas for new talking animals. %Gallery-27704%
Animal Crossing: City Folk in Creepy Mii Masks
We spent our limited Animal Crossing: City Folk time at E3 messing with the new Mii masks, reducing an effigy of a normally jovial executive to a blubbering mess. Should you want to follow our example, it's quite easy to do! And just a little bit off-putting, as this video of the new salon shows. You just go to the salon, choose the Mii you'd like the mask to resemble, and then ... a giant machine, buzzing and arcing with electricity, clamps down over you and reshapes your head! If you think about it like that, it's a bit weird that the Mii mask blinks and displays emotions. But, then again, you have to earn each emotional display by watching stand-up comedy, so maybe we're already in Weird City. %Gallery-27704%
Joystiq impressions: Animal Crossing: City Folk
Animal Crossing is a one-hit-wonder. You might like it and play it forever, hate it and avoid it completely, or think it was catchy and then just get tired of the tune. Animal Crossing: City Folk does little to change our perception. This is Animal Crossing, again; go fishing, pull weeds, repeat. Some love it, some hate it, and some just want something new. From what we saw at the Nintendo Media Summit, the city is just another place to go. Instead of Tom Nook's shop in your own town, you can buy from an upscale store. Instead of waiting for the fortune teller to visit, you can see her in the city. A few minor additions include a city-based auction house and theater where you see shows. The rest of the updates seem equally subtle. You can play with your Mii face. Up to four players can meet in one of their towns or the city. Gamer can talk over the WiiSpeak microphone (sold separately). You can type messages by plugging in any USB HID keyboard. Otherwise, it's Animal Crossing again. %Gallery-33749%
Pikmin remake launches Dec. 25 in Japan, Nintendo unveils more 'Play for Wii' titles
This Christmas, Japanese gamers will be able to waggle flowery lemmings to their hearts content. Nintendo has announced (via IGN) that the Pikmin remake for Wii will launch December 25 in Japan for 3,800 yen (approx. US $36). The game is part of Nintendo's new "Play for Wii" series, which will be a collection of GameCube titles revised with Wii controls. Before Pikmin (and not counting previous Wii remake Resident Evil 4), Nintendo will re-release Donkey Kong Jungle Beat on December 11. Upcoming titles in the collection include Chibi Robo, Pikmin 2, Mario Tennis GC, Metroid Prime, and Metroid Prime 2 Dark Echoes. No word on any release dates outside of Japan, but we'll be live at Nintendo of America's press conference in San Francisco later today.
