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Brawl screenshot decrypter: use it for good
Well, this is officially awesome: a homebrew program called bin2jpg has been designed to convert Super Smash Bros. Brawl screenshots saved to an SD card into .JPG format. Now you'll be able to display your awesome victories on the Internet, and illustrate strategies with helpful screenshots.Those two things we mentioned? Not going to happen. The only things that Brawl screenshots will ever be used for, ever, are: Peach upskirts Horrible webcomics Even so, we're happy about this development, and will continue to be until we see the first horrible webcomic. [Via 4cr, image created by GBATemp forum member SpikeyNDS, found here]
Rumor: The early-Brawl-selling side of Sears
digg_url='http://digg.com/nintendo/Rumor_Sears_selling_Smash_Brothers_Brawl_Early'; A GoNintendo reader, PRC902, reported that Sears was selling Super Smash Bros. Brawl early, and provided the above picture as evidence. The picture comes from NeoGAFfer Tenbatsu, who may or may not be the same person, and doesn't actually explain where the game came from, which is not much confirmation that the game is out on Sears' shelves. We did some journalism and called our local Sears, who didn't have the game in stock. So that's the end of that chapter. Or is it? Sears' website lists the game as in stock and, in fact, accepted our order (done also for journalism). If it ships within the next couple of days, there's a pretty good chance we'll be receiving it early. We will, of course, let you know what happens. We're hoping for either an early copy of the game or a $10 gift card.
Nintendo using its totally unnecessary Brawl ad budget
We'd think this commercial for Super Smash Bros. Brawl was a fan-created fake if we hadn't, uh, been forced to watch it before our chosen video on Gamevideos. News appears everywhere, even in the way of other news! It's about as basic as a commercial can get: it shows some characters doing a few moves and poses, then cuts to the boxart and text reading "March 9, 2008." It doesn't really need much else.The question, of course, is "does Brawl really need any advertising?" This isn't a Metroid Prime 3 situation, in which a good game needs a bit of a push to get into as many hands as possible. This is Super Smash Bros. It's basically the only game that was a genuinely huge hit on the GameCube. There's no concern that it'll undersell.
Nintendo rubbishes Brawl delay claims
According to Nintendo, yesterday's news that Brawl had slipped to a fall release in Europe was nothing more than "pure speculation and guesswork."But hold on, we hear you cry, wasn't Reggie Fils-Aime himself the source of this news? Well, yes, but it looks as though his comment was taken in the wrong way. Instead of saying Europe would be getting Brawl in the fall, Reggie simply stated that the game had been removed from the winter/spring release window. In other words, it was all a simple misinterpretation!Here's EGM editor Shane Bettenhausen to sooth our fears: "Reggie did tell me (and the other media present) that the release had been pushed out of the winter/spring timeframe due to the amount of localization required to get the game up and running with all the various European languages. But Reggie did not say when Europeans will get Smash Bros., just that it would be at a later date than the US."Phew! So perhaps now we can all stop shouting and angrily throwing stuff about (we've replaced the two posters we tore down, but our Chocobo plush is a goner).
Europe to suffer the horror of a Brawl-free summer
The last GDC edition of the 1UP Yours podcast reveals a vaguely depressing tidbit about Super Smash Bros. Brawl. How depressing it is depends on your outlook. Shane Bettenhausen reported that during a lunch meeting with Reggie Fils-Aime, he said that Nintendo is planning to release Super Smash Bros. Brawl in the fall.Specifically, the discussion was framed in terms of Wii Fit and Mario Kart Wii. The reason given that those two games are being released in Europe first is that "they don't get Smash Bros. until fall." The part about Reggie starts at about the 37 minute mark. It's worth a listen in general for some (secondhand reports of) surprisingly strong anti-Xbox posturing from Reggie.Why do we say that this is potentially not very depressing? Because fall of this year is still this year, and that's pretty good for Nintendo of Europe.
GDC08: Convention Associates get their Brawl on
When I had my Brawl play session, I didn't go to Nintendo's booth. I went to an after-hours tournament for GDC volunteers, organized by my friend (and Wii Fanboy alum!) Nathan Mallory. Not only did I get to play Brawl for the first time on a huge screen, I got to see an exclusive, little-known piece of GDC culture. I brought the Mahalo Daily video crew along to document the event and get interviews with some of the Community Associates. The video's up on Joystiq now. If you don't mind seeing the final Japanese game (and therefore possible character spoilers) go check it out!
Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 2/11-2/17
The Wii extended its hardware lead over the PSP this week (which dropped to third), as Smash Bros. continued to dominate in software. Family Ski fell out of the top ten, but still shows some legs at spot sixteen.Predictably, Nintendo's big games (i.e., games with "Wii" in their titles) are still doing well on the charts. Super Mario Galaxy, which has been in danger of falling out of the top thirty, managed to hang in tough despite the big load of new releases littering the chart. The Wii also had the second best showing of games this week, with six in the top thirty (the DS was first with fifteen). With the exception of Namco Bandai's Family Ski, though, they were all first party titles.The hardware and software numbers are listed for your perusal after the break.
Sakurai has "no plans" to port Smash Bros. to the DS
To be honest, we never really thought about the possibility of Smash Bros. on the DS. In a recent interview with Masahiro Sakurai, however, Matt Casamassina of IGN asked the genius game creator if there was a DS port in the works.Once Casamassina asked the question and touted a DS version as the "next logical step," we found ourselves agreeing with him. The DS is in need of more good fighters, so why not one filled with Nintendo characters? Sure, there would be limitations, but it could work.Of course, as soon as we started to fall in love with the idea, our hearts were crushed. While Sakurai said that there would be no control limitations when bringing Smash Bros. to the DS, it just isn't something that he'd be interested in working on. Cementing the issue, he said, "I personally have no plans to do this myself. If, in the future, such a thing was to be planned, it would be up to Nintendo to decide how and when and in what way they would like to create that sort of game."Although this doesn't rule out the possibility of a DS port at some point, we're not sure if it would even be worth it if Sakurai wasn't involved. How about you guys? Do you agree with Casamassina that Smash Bros. is "perfectly suited" for the DS? And, if so, would you still want the game without Sakurai's touch?
A few things you won't find in Smash Bros. Brawl
While you already know tons of information about the upcoming Smash Bros. game, you should probably know what not to expect. Many of your hopes and dreams have given birth to compelling rumors, but it's time to put those rumors to rest (and never wake them again).Masahiro Sakurai managed to clear up some things in a recent interview with IGN -- things we may have already known, but didn't necessarily want to believe -- so check after the break to see what's not in store for you this March (or June).%Gallery-10206%%Gallery-6869%
GDC08: Super Smash Bros. Brawl: played it.
So there's this fighting game coming out, and it's got, like, a bunch of Nintendo characters in it? They all fight each other in these wacky game-inspired stages, and there are items and things like that. It's called -- let me check my notes -- Super Smash Bros. Brawl. I played it. I was lucky enough to have a friend who was holding a tournament for all the volunteers, which meant that my non-volunteer self was able to sign up and play a round (or more if I hadn't choked). If you're interested in hearing about this obscure indie title from an up-and-coming company called Nintendo, check out my post at Wii Fanboy.
Canada gets its own Brawl tournaments
Oh, great! Another series of Super Smash Bros. Brawl tournaments -- even farther away from Texas! Even so, many of you will be happy about this: Nintendo is holding Brawl tournaments in Canadian EB Games stores, located in multiple stores in Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, and Halifax. Qualifying rounds will be held April 4th-6th, 11th-13th, and 18th-20th in each of these locations, followed by regional semi-finals. Nintendo will fly the finalists to Toronto for the final round and a shot at a trip for 2 to New York City (and the Nintendo World Store). It's a shame that these tournaments won't be pre-launch like the U.S. ones, but that just means more time to practice!
Another Week In Japan: Hardware and software numbers 2/4-2/10
We had a nice little surprise on the Japanese sales charts this week, as Family Ski showed that it has some legs. Debuting at spot twelve last week, Namco Bandai's title inched its way up while other new titles fell, claiming eighth place. As for Brawl, the game was predictably unable to maintain its outrageous first week sales, but still sold well and took the first spot convincingly. Some regulars made their return to the top, like Wii Fit and Wii Sports, while others fell off the chart completely, like Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games.The Wii also continues to reign as the top seller in hardware, selling more than triple the amount of PS3s. The PSP, however, is trailing closely at its heels. All in all, we think it was a good week for the Wii, but take a look for yourself after the break.
Nintendo announces North American Smash Bros. Brawl tournaments
Impatient to get your Brawl on? Some of you North American gamers could get a chance to play Nintendo's all-star fighter as early as this Saturday, when Nintendo kicks off the first of four regional Smash Bros. Brawl tournaments across the United States.The regional tournaments will take place in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, and New York City, with a maximum of 256 participants at each location. The winners from each tournament will meet in New York for the finals, with the grand prize winner walking away with a crystal-coated Wii, home theatre system, and (of course) a copy of Super Smash Bros. Brawl.The three finalists will win non-crystal-coated Wii consoles, extra Wii remotes, copies of Brawl, and Best Buy gift certificates ranging from $250 to $1,000. Regional tournaments register players on a first-come, first-serve basis, so we'd recommend getting there nice and early to compete. The first tourney is this Saturday, February 16 in Los Angeles. Full regional tournament details after the break.
Smash Bros. Brawl sales exceed 1 million in Japan
And so the total number of Japanese people that we utterly despise rises to 1 million. Actually, it's 1.08 million, which is the number of Super Smash Bros. Brawl discs that have been sold since the game's launch on January 31st. Reuters reminds us that it took Wii Fit seven weeks to accomplish a similar feet feat, with even Wii Sports (sold separately in Japan) dallying for 11 weeks before crossing the 1 million mark. There aren't many weeks left between us and the game's American debut, but by then it'll be our turn to become targets for an entire continent's hatred and jealousy.
Another Week In Japan: Hardware and software numbers 1/28-2/3
As we informed you yesterday (and predicted last week), Super Smash Bros. Brawl ripped up the Japanese sales charts. Selling an incredible 820,000 copies in a mere four days, that's not a game to be messed with.Some other Nintendo titles didn't fare as well, however. Super Mario Galaxy nearly fell out of the top thirty this week. Brawl, it seems, is starting to cannibalize Galaxy's sales. Wii Fit's streak as the number one game also ended with Brawl's success. Not only that, but Wii Fit was pushed to number five by the plethora of new games released last week. Most of the other Wii games got knocked down, too, like Wii Sports, Wii Play, Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games, and Mario Party.Family Ski represented the top third-party Wii game this week, ending up at number twelve. That's not too shabby, especially considering that the game was rumored to have poor first-day sales. Oh, and did we mention that the Wii was the top seller in hardware, for the second week in a row? We wonder how long Brawl will be able to keep it at the top.The full hardware and software numbers are listed after the break, as usual.
Brawl sells over 800k in its Japanese debut week
Normally by this time in the week, we'll have shown you the Japanese hardware and software sales numbers. Unfortunately, the Famitsu charts didn't leak, and full Media Create information (including hardware sales) won't be released until later tonight.That hasn't stopped us from finding out about the smashing success of Brawl in Japan, though. According to numbers from both sources, the game has sold over 800,000 copies in its first week alone. Also, keep in mind that because of release dates, "first week" translate into only four days.To put that into perspective, that's almost as much as Super Mario Galaxy has sold in Japan since its November release. If Brawl had sold another 50,000 units, it would have surpassed Galaxy's total sales. Also, the game will probably eclipse juggernaut Wii Fit in a matter of a week or two. We're so in awe that we're not sure what else to say. Will "wow" suffice?
Readers pick best webcomic: "Falcon ..."
Falcon Winner! (Sorry, we couldn't resist.) The winner of this week's webcomic wrapup knows the meaning of a good Captain Falcon gag -- thank you, GamerPALs for also promoting educational values and loud screams in public places.Second and third place goes to VG Cats (note: published before spoilers) and Penny Arcade, respectively. Thanks to everyone who voted, and be sure to let us know of any game-related webcomics you stumble upon this week!
Brawl demands a clean home
The Japanese Super Smash Bros. Brawl launch has been successful, selling approximately a freaking ton of copies, but not without a few issues. Rumored supply constraints and a required system update (which was detailed on an instruction sheet shipped with every copy) kept the launch from being called perfect, and now apparently there are reports from the Japanese gaming public that some Wiis are having trouble reading the game.Nintendo responded to this latest concern by stating that Brawl is the first Wii game to come on a dual-layered DVD, and is more prone to read errors from dirty laser lenses than normal game discs. They have offered to clean any affected Wiis free of charge. In the meantime, quit blowing into the disc slot! Just because the Wii plays NES games doesn't mean it's an NES.
Rumor: Resident Evil 4 to blame for no Capcom in Brawl
Before the deluge of Super Smash Bros. Brawl information following the Japanese release, we were still all hoping to see Mega Man, Leon Kennedy, or maybe even Ryu appear in the game's sizable roster. Now that the dust has cleared, with no Capcom characters in sight, the only question left to ask is: why?Kotaku has reportedly spoken with insider sources at Nintendo, who claim that the lost exclusivity of Resident Evil 4 caused Nintendo to reconsider the inclusion of Capcom characters in Brawl. RE4 was originally meant to be exclusive to the Gamecube, but concerns over sales led Capcom to release the title on PS2, and later on PC, with additional content.While Nintendo has the right to be peeved about the broken exclusivity agreement, the addition of Capcom's franchises to the Brawl lineup could have only benefited Nintendo, and created more hype for the title (if that's even possible). While we're a bit unsure whether to buy into this rumor, if true then we can only hope that Capcom and Nintendo kiss and make up in time to offer some new characters as downloadable content (hey, we can dream, can't we?).Update: Slight factual error corrected; Capcom announced the PS2 version prior to the release of the Gamecube version. [Thanks, 2bit]
Wii Warm Up: Meeting expectations
Japan, you have it; North America, it's coming soon; Europe and PALS -- sigh. We're talking about Super Smash Bros. Brawl, of course. We've been talking about it a lot lately, in fact. With all the awesome developments, modes, characters, stages, smashes, and everything else, the game seems like everything we've been dreaming of. We're sure it will have a smattering of good reviews soon, making us even more excited.But, does that ever worry you? Do you think you might get to a point where there's so much hype, and you're expectations are so high, that no game could possible meet them? Not even the great Brawl? Sometimes, when you don't think much of something to begin with, it can pleasantly surprise you. When you expect a game to be one of the greatest you've ever played, though, it has a long way to fall. Is anyone worried?
