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Nintendo concerned about your body, launching Wii Fit Body Check Channel
Previously, they were content to let you use their games to monitor how much you weighed and how often you walked, but now Nintendo of Japan is showing an increased interest in what's going on with your body. In April, they will launch the "Wii Fit Body Check Channel", a Wii channel co-developed with NEC, Hitachi, and Panasonic Medical Solutions.The Channel will allow users to send BMI data from Wii Fit as well as the step data recorded from the Personal Trainer: Walking pedometer, and receive personalized guidance from health professionals about how to stay healthy. Our predictions: if you are only sending in data from one game, you will be told, "Maybe you should buy the other game too".It's possible that this Japanese channel relates to the "Nintendo Active Health" trademark registered in Europe earlier this month. If it does refer to the same initiative, then Nintendo may be planning to offer health advice worldwide! Good news for people who want a game company all up in their business.%Gallery-33410%[Via Engadget]Source -- HitachiSource -- Nintendo
100 Classic Books for under 20 British Pounds
Nintendo plans to confront the ailing economy head-on ... by making 100 Classic Book Collection really cheap! As with many of its Touch! Generations titles, Nintendo has confirmed a budget price point of £19.99 for the game, and a UK release date of December 26.If, like us, you've been keeping one eye on the game's Amazon listing (which has had that date for a while, but it's nice to get official confirmation, right?), you'll know you can get it even cheaper: just £14.99 (just over $22). That's under fifteen pence a book! Fifteen pence for portable copies of Sense and Sensibility, Treasure Island, Moby Dick, and a wealth of Shakespeare and Dickens (there's a full list after the break) sounds like a bargain to us.* The pound is currently weak, so anybody thinking of importing?%Gallery-38092%
DS Novel coming to UK as 100 Classic Book Collection
DS Novel was hanging out on European release lists for over a year without so much as a word about when it's coming out or what it is. It seemed likely that the title would be a localized version of the hit literature collection DS Bungaku Zenshuu -- and it is!Rather than translating 100 Japanese novels, which would have been pretty dang cool, the UK release of 100 Classic Book Collection (as it is now known) features works from writers like Jane Austen, all three Brontes, Charles Dickens, Shakespeare, and other favorites whose works happen to be in the public domain. The full list of novels is available at the cart's Amazon listing. 10 more books will be made available over Wi-Fi.100 Classic Book Collection also features book search, custom recommendations, and a bookmarking feature. It should be interesting to see if Nintendo polish (implemented by developer Genius Sonority) can make this competitive with the free Moon Books Project (a project which, by the way, has had a pretty rough time lately).%Gallery-38092%[Via GoNintendo]
What's Cooking with Jamie Oliver's Trailer
One of the biggest -- and weirdest -- surprises of E3 was What's Cooking? With Jamie Oliver. Far from a Cooking Guide ripoff, What's Cooking is some kind of hands-on cooking trainer combined with an interactive recipe book. It seems like, even if people don't want it or don't like it (or it turns out not to be good), significant enough thought (and budget) has gone into this game to prevent its classification as shovelware.This NSFG (Not Safe for Greenhough) trailer doesn't feature any of the 3D kitchen stuff or the simulated cooking, focusing instead on the actual recipes. But man, that sweet potato soup sounds good.%Gallery-27845%
Not-So-Iron Fanboy, Part II: Evaluation
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Cooking_Guide_for_DS_Can_it_make_you_a_better_cook'; So we've tracked down ingredients, crafted our meals, and gobbled down the results ... but how effective is the Cooking Guide, really? Will it turn a total newbie into a master chef? Will it at least help you make dinner? The intrepid DS Fanboy "chefs" who undertook the cook-off are back for a deeper look at the title, which is headed soon to the U.S. Once it's out, should you give it a shot? Let us help you decide.%Gallery-22839% 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; }
More Korg DS-10 info than we can understand
1UP's interview with Korg DS-10 producer Nobuyoshi Sano and Korg staff covers a lot of little details that we would never think to ask! For example, about linking up eight systems playing the thing and using one as a master. And about interfacing with other synthesizers.But the parts of it that are simple enough for non-synth users (and non-programmers) like us to parse sound pretty neat. Prospective DS DJ types will be pleased to hear that Korg has, uh, "designed a type of limiter circuit in DS-10's internal mixer" in order to boost the program's sound output beyond the normal quiet DS levels. It's really not as technical as we make it sound, but we can't help but get into "WHAT IS THIS CONTRAPTION" mode whenever we see a screenshot of Korg DS-10 in action. %Gallery-27318%
E308: Cooking Guide headed to the U.S.
Bad cooks, don't worry -- now you can bake your cake and eat it, too.Nintendo is bringing its delightful-looking recipe game, Cooking Guide (known as Cooking Navi in Japan) to North America this November. Now you don't have to worry about paying a small fortune to import the nongame from Europe!Cooking Guide mostly caters to those of us that are helpless in the kitchen, like this blogger. We're ready for Nintendo to help our cooking skills this November, and before you know it, we're sure we'll be competing on Top Chef. Gallery: Cooking Guide: Can't Decide What to Eat?
Games for Health Conference presenter on Japan's training game market
Games for Health is a conference organized by the Serious Games Initiative on the subject of games' application in the health care field. Serious Games Japan's Toru Fujimoto gave a presentation at this conference offering an overview of Japan's serious games market. Naturally, the DS came up, as it would in any discussion of either serious games or games in Japan.Echoing Yoshiki Okamoto's statements, Fujimoto believes that the Japanese DS library has been flooded with too many nongames. "It looks attractive because of Brain Age sales, but if you're not Nintendo, it doesn't sell," Fujimoto said. "Nintendo has the top 7, 8 sellers in the top 10. You need a good game, a good customer base and a marketing budget." He also suggested that these training games are being put together with lacking (or no) research, offering a quote from Dr. Ryuta Kawashima about potential liability from serious games. Could bad training games hurt people as well as the DS?
My word! You can coach your vocabulary for $10
Have you tried the demo for My Word Coach (available via the Wii's Nintendo Channel) and enjoyed it? If so, you might be looking to pick it up cheaply, thereby sparing your wallet and improving your vocabulary in one fell swoop. Currently, then, you can head on over to Amazon and get the game for the hard-to-resist price of $9.99. Like most Amazon sales (excluding the Deal of the Days, of course), this one is without rhyme or reason, so we can't tell you how long it will last.%Gallery-3340%[Via CAG]
Oz needs better cooks, so Nintendo sends Cooking Navi to the rescue
It looks like we have some good news for Australians who need some help in the kitchen. Shaberu! Cooking Navi, the DS guide to preparing tasty food, is heading down under, according to a recent filing with the Australian Classification Board. The game will be called Cooking Guide: Can't Decide What to Eat?, and will hopefully be available in the country soon. But, the way Europe is still waiting, we're not sure you should be holding your breath down there.
English of the Judo chop
If we lived in Japan and needed to learn English, English of the Dead would clearly be our choice of software. Yet, we're not saying that Paon doesn't have a fun idea for their English training game, too. New Horizon English Training Course DS might not have zombies, but it does have Judo.As you may have guessed, the way in which this title handles its English quizzes is through sports minigames. It's unclear how exactly the Judo game works, but there's also a marathon event (during which players must write out the correct letters quickly in order to run fast), and a weight training game (which has players identify whether or not a translation is correct). Of course, in our hearts, zombies still win -- every time.[Via Siliconera]
Video Navi: Making desserts with your DS cookbook
We shouldn't have watched this video -- it just made us hungry. Not that you shouldn't watch it. We're sure your kitchens contain more than just ramen and old cereal, so you should be fine to sate any hunger pains that may arise from watching this trailer for Kantan! Tanoshi! Okashi Navi DS.Cravings aside, we really like the idea of a game that turns our DS into a portable cookbook; especially if said cookbook contains recipes for making sweets and desserts. Unfortunately, this game won't help you at all if you can't speak or read Japanese, so don't even think about importing it unless you have such language skills. We also wouldn't recommend holding your breath for localization, as you'd surely end up dead and we'd feel really bad about the whole thing.[Via Gemaga]
Driving Theory Training is bad in theory
Not many things sound as riveting as driving theory; for example, watching paint dry is probably a lot less exciting. You probably don't need our snark to tell you, though, that Driving Theory Training is an awful idea. The entire purpose of this British nongame is to prepare people for their driver's license test. As an interactive study guide, it's probably not a bad thing -- but we'd prefer to study the old-fashioned way and save our money. We don't mind edutainment, but the thought of something as dull as driving theory on our DS seems rather unnecessary.Should you think differently, though, you better hope that you live in the UK. We're sure learning British driving lessons as a U.S. driver would be a bad idea, as you'd wind up driving on the wrong left side of the road. If you are British, though, you'll be able to train in driving theory as soon as this summer.[Via GamesPress press release]
Calligraphy Training brushes away our doubts
You might not remember the footnote mention of a Calligraphy Training (non)game for the DS -- it was two years ago, after all -- but some more news has recently surfaced about the title. Set to release in Japan on March 13th, this training game is aimed at teaching folks how to properly draw Japanese characters. One of the coolest things about this nongame is that it will ship with a special brush stylus. That alone has us starry-eyed in love with Calligraphy Training, but that's not even all the game has to offer. Apparently, the game has a multiplayer mode that lets up to six players compete over who's calligraphy is the most accurate. We're sure that's a better idea in theory than in practice, but it's still a nice feature.Game Watch also reports that there's a quest mode included in Calligraphy Training, as you'll be helping a wanderer to perfect 3099 different characters. Not bad for a simple little calligraphy game, Nintendo.Before you think "neat" and then forget about this game for the rest of time, you can head on over to its official website to watch some video footage, should you feel so inclined.[Via Modojo]
An avalanche of Wii Fit videos [update]
Game Informer put up a plethora of new videos, focusing on the many things one can do in the upcoming Wii Fit from Nintendo. Aside from the yoga and ski jumping going on, the title looks like it's going to have a lot of stuff to do. We're not sure it'll help us lose weight or be a more healthy person, but it's looking like we're going to at least have fun with the title. And, that's what's most important, after all.Hit up past the break for videos. And, take note: all of the videos automatically start up, so be prepared for that.
Iwata: Wi-Fi to get expanded this year
Nintendo head honcho Satoru Iwata recently conducted an interview where his comments regarding Nintendo's Wi-Fi Connect were pretty darn interesting. While the dreamer in us was hoping for a retooling of the useless Friend Code system, such is not the case. What Iwata hopes to do is expand how the DS is used to access information, such as possibly downloading surrounding map data after getting off of a train. The idea of being able to do things such as this with your DS is something we definitely can get down with, but we wonder about the execution. The homebrew community can definitely come up with applications to cater to these needs, but an official Nintendo solution, a kind of "all-in-one" thing would be great. Get on it Nintendo, we need more excuses to carry our DS everywhere.[Via Nintendic]
Because painting tanks is calming
Yes, we know that one of the themed games in the Paint by DS catalogue is centered around painting military vehicles, but we're still mystified every time we see something from the title. Is penciling and shading the side of a bomber particularly zen? Or is it just that it's completely manly? If so, we can only hope you still have a headband or two lying around. In the meantime, you can check out some new screens. Shockingly, they include military vehicles. Yeah, we're still surprised by that.Really. Tanks? What happened to great works of art, or kittens, or Jesus?
Paint by DS trailer shows gameplay footage
We're definitely intrigued by Paint by DS, a digital coloring book of sorts, seeing as we're such horrible artists ourselves. Granted, it's a niche title if there ever was one, yet we're very much charmed by this little nongame.Still, some things about it just don't sit too well with us. One off-putting thing is that there are themed versions of the game. The theme game showcased above was "Military Vehicles," and we have to wonder, how many of you out there are just dying to color in tanks? It seems like an odd choice, especially when mixed with the peaceful music of the above trailer. If you're like us and don't appreciate the themes, though, you can always get the regular version of the game, which is filled with some artistic masterpieces that you'll probably recognize. We might even see other themes in the future, ones that actually appeal to us, so all isn't lost.If you're in Australia and Japan you might have even tried this nongame already. It won't come to Europe until next week and the US until, oh, sometime next year.
Iwata says: more features, expanded audience for DS
Just when we were beginning to think it was no longer possible to further expand the audience of the DS (it's everywhere), Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata says the company is planning to do just that. In a recent Wall Street Journal article, Nintendo execs mentioned practical, wireless content for use in "train stations, amusement parks or museums" (where have we seen that before?). There was also mention of a television-programming feature for Japan that would allow users to check listings and plan out their viewing schedule. We can't help but wonder if it's related to that TV tuner that recently resurfaced, since it sure sounds like it.Personally, we welcome our new DS overlords in every part of our daily lives -- if Nintendo can manage something a little classier (and more common) than the Nintendo Fan Network that debuted at Safeco Field this year. The DS has a lot of useful functions that can certainly be exploited for more practical uses, and we already carry one around, so we hope some of these make it over to our side of the ocean.[Via Engadget]
Some My Word Coach footage for you
You know, we could use not only a coach for our words, but perhaps a coach in all things in life. We already have a coach for when we need to get down to business, but what about a coach to tell us what to choose when we're presented with the question of paper versus plastic at the grocery store? What about a coach to help us through the difficult task of deciding to go with whole wheat or white bread on our hoagie? What about a coach that could help us in picking out the appropriate pair of underwear for the day ahead? Actually, we don't think any coach would be up for that task.Looks like we'll just have to settle for My Word Coach ... for now.%Gallery-3340%
