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This Week on the Nintendo Channel: Nintendo gives you a pile of trash
If you've been doing your due diligence with Animal Crossing: City Folk, know that Nintendo has a full month of activities ahead for October. The first item on the agenda is giving you a nice pile of trash. No, seriously, if you connect your Wii to the internet, you can get a letter from Nintendo with a free pile of leaves attached. It should go wonderfully with that trashcan you have sitting in your house's corner. Head past the break for the rest of this week's content on the Nintendo Channel.%Gallery-27704%
BlizzCon 2009 Insider Trader: Cataclysmic professions part two
A week has passed since BlizzCon 2009 and we're still digging up more news, getting clarification from the blues, and analyzing all of the panels. Last week, Insider Trader discussed some of the major professions-related features coming up in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, the next expansion pack. Pass through the break to learn all about: Profession racial abilities and how they will be changing. The new direction for Alchemy. A totally revamped Fishing system! Archaeology details and speculation about the leveling process. The evolution of Inscription. Then, continue on to part three of this discussion to learn more about: Reforging and (not) repairing our own gear. Woodworking. Profession specializations and the new direction for differentiation.
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]
NintendoWare Weekly: Calculators, Clocks, and Fish
This week, Nintendo has a double dose of downloads -- both on the DSi -- for the Animal Crossing fans out there. Complementing Nintendo's handheld offerings are one new WiiWare game and a C64 title for the Virtual Console. So, quit wasting time here and head past the break to check out this week's content on the DSi and Wii.
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%
Animal Crossing: City Photo Contest
One of the more fun, and less discussed, new gameplay additions in Animal Crossing: City Folk is the ability to take snapshots and save them to an SD card for sharing. Nintendo and their Digicam Print Channel partner, Fujifilm, are taking advantage of the new functionality with a new contest for Japan designed to encourage online photo sharing.Until January 28, photos uploaded to the special Animal Crossing section of Fuji's photo sharing site, Fotonoma, will be eligible for entry in a contest. Winners in each of two themes (favorite photos and shots showing off fashion) will receive prizes, including a new Fuji digital camera, a Wiimote and Nunchuk, or Animal Crossing postcards. It sounds like a fun and novel way to interact with other Animal Crossing fans while possibly winning stuff!%Gallery-27704%[Via Inside-Games]
Wii Warm Up: Crossing into 2009
Animal Crossing: City Folk was seen as a bit of a disappointment by some longtime Animal Crossing players, due to the fact that it is extremely similar to previous iterations, with a perceived lack of much new content. But the real worth of any Animal Crossing game is revealed by its longevity, and we thought we would query you guys about that as we begin 2009.Are you still actively participating in your town's life? If so, how long have you had the game? Do you foresee City Folk becoming a long-lived pastime for you, or will you put it down as soon as something else catches your eye?%Gallery-27704%[Image via Technofranki]
Fanswag: Animal Crossing goes to ...
Well, our latest giveaway has come to a close and we've been waiting long enough to select a winner. The lucky recipient of Animal Crossing: City Folk is none other than: Beerbandit, who loves to fish Congrats to our winner and better luck next time to all of you. Keep your eyes on Wii Fanboy. We'll be starting up another giveaway soon.%Gallery-27704%
Target puts select titles on sale
Target is having a sale where key Wii titles will be discounted. As you can see above, qualifying titles include Shaun White Snowboarding, Animal Crossing: City Folk, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. If you didn't get check any of these titles out, but wanted to, now might be the time to head on over to your local Target store. Also, we're not sure if the sale price on Madden 09 applies to just the Xbox 360 version, or all versions of the game, so keep that in mind if you're thinking about throwing the virtual pigskin around.
Little Magician's Magic Name Change
IGN sneaked a preview and a bunch of videos out for Little Magician's Magic Adventure right before the holidays, and we didn't want to miss the chance to talk about it or to share it with any of you who might not have seen it. The game has another new name for North America: Magician's Quest: Mysterious Times, and IGN's preview makes it sound like a much deeper take on its obvious inspiration, Animal Crossing.The pictograms that are used to string together spells can also be used to converse with neighbors: "Slide in the "greetings" tile and the characters will say hello back. Get more complex though, and the system allows you to combine these, by say, adding a greeting and then a weather icon to, at least in theory, talk about the weather with a character."Random day-to-day gameplay is only part of it: the game includes 52 quests, one a week, that use the magic your character learns in school. We're very quickly becoming big fans of this thing! The first video footage is above, and you can see more (or this in a larger window) at IGN.%Gallery-30083%
Wii Warm Up: Saturday special
With Animal Crossing: City Folk having released for awhile now, we were wondering how many of you managed to catch a performance or two by the one they call K.K. Slider. We used to catch his Saturday concerts all of the time in Animal Crossing: Wild World, so we're anxious to hear your thoughts on the dog's performances in the new game. So, have you caught a show yet? Thoughts?
Reminder: Animal Crossing still up for grabs
Like free stuff? Well, why not try and win a game for free, on us? This week's we're giving away a copy of Animal Crossing: City Folk for the Wii. Want to get in on the action? Check out the original contest post right here.Best of luck to you all and, remember: this contest ends Sunday night and you can enter once each day.%Gallery-27704%
Animal Crossing: Let's Get a New Disc from Nintendo
When Animal Crossing: Let's Go to the City was released, Australians discovered, to their horror annoyance, that the DS Suitcase feature was unusable in their region. Since the Australian release of Wild World on the DS used the exact same code as the North American version, the Wii game identified it as coming from the wrong region.Australians who would like to be able to transfer their DS characters and catalogs into Let's Go to the City are advised to contact Nintendo to exchange your disc for a new replacement, which will allow the DS Suitcase feature to work with Australian copies of Wild World. Unfortunately, of course, if you want to use your DS character, that means starting over in Let's Go to the City.%Gallery-27704%[Via VOOKS]
Fanswag: Animal Crossing: City Folk
Are you all ready for another fanswag giveaway? Our latest game up for grabs is Animal Crossing: City Folk. We're running this giveaway starting today and ending Sunday, December 21st at 11:59pm ET. The winner will be selected the following day via random drawing. To enter, simply tell us what your favorite activity in Animal Crossing is. Do you love to fish? Dig for fossils? Catch bugs? Tell us!One lucky reader will walk away with a copy of Animal Crossing: City Folk ($50). Of course, we've got a couple of rules. For one, you have to be at least 18 years of age and a current and legal resident of the United States or Canada (excluding Quebec). Also, you may only enter once per day. Before entering, make sure you read the official rules right here, too! Best of luck to you all and thanks for reading!%Gallery-27704%
Wii Warm Up: Did your animals cross?
Animal Crossing is one of those games that really seems to produce severely divided opinions. Some people scoff at the mere mention of the franchise while others are willing to sit, bloodshot and cramped, for hours, pruning weeds and fishing. Y'know, doing all those Animal Crossing kinds of things.This Animal Crossing has some neat additions, but the gameplay is, well, it's Animal Crossing. Knowing that, did you try it? Is that what you wanted? If you're not much into the franchise, did you at least rent it, or maybe borrow the game from a friend?
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%
Animal Crossing DS-to-Wii transfers region-locked, busted in Australia
Nintendo of Australia took a shortcut with their release of Animal Crossing: Wild World on the DS: it's a direct copy of the US version -- "ESRB rating and all," as Vooks says. That shortcut has come back to haunt them with the release of Let's Go to the City. Vooks' Daniel Vuckovic attempted to use the DS Suitcase to transfer his Wild World catalog and character to the new game. Instead of a catalog loaded with playroom furniture and Mario accessories, he was presented with this error message, as well as a similar one on the DS. This is significant for two reasons that we can think of: first, it's definitive proof that the DS Suitcase is region-locked. If your copy of Wild World is imported, the gates to your Wii town are firmly closed. Second, it means that Animal Crossing: Let's Go to the City is basically missing a feature in Australia. Nintendo is just having terrible luck with this DS Suitcase thing!%Gallery-27704%
