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Dubious WiiWare sales numbers
We don't know how a Ruliweb poster came across these statistics for Japanese sales of four WiiWare games. They could be inaccurate, they could be stolen from some analyst, or they could even be totally made up. Don't start writing any in-depth articles about these sales numbers or anything like that. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King is the biggest surprise here. We weren't sure how a very nontraditional Final Fantasy game (with grating DLC) would sell, even in Japan. If this report is to be believed, we have our answer: very well! Kotoba no Puzzle Mojipittan Wii: 72,971 Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King: 129,904 Dr. Mario & Virus Buster: 43,354 Pokemon Ranch: 234,745 [Via NeoGAF]
Wii Warm Up: On the revised WiiWare roster
We know we had a WiiWare-centric Wii Warm Up recently, but with all the news of some new games hitting WiiWare that we weren't all aware of before (uh, hello Alien Crush sequel), we felt the topic needed to be revisited. Of course, we don't have to tell you how excited we all are for the sequel to Alien Crush.What about you all, though? What WiiWare title excites you most? Are you down with the sequel like we are, or are you looking forward to something else? Tetris, perhaps? Dr. Mario? Block Breaker Deluxe? Where do you stand right now?
A welcome dosage of Dr. Mario
Josh Thomas from WiiFolder has compiled an excellent two-part video tour of Dr. Mario's Virus Buster for saps like us who are impatiently awaiting WiiWare's arrival in the west. Sure enough, against all reasonable odds, the footage above and after the break has actually managed to raise our excitement levels for the game -- we now particularly want to try out the Wiimote-specific mode (especially with three other people), and were delighted to hear that online play is totally -- that's totally -- lag-free (despite Josh being based in the U.S. and his opponents being in Japan). Finally, we were less than delighted to learn about Josh's record online -- just four wins from 35 matches. We suspect our own tally will be crushingly similar come May.
WiiWare Japan launch: Trailers and gameplay
Thanks to the good folks at NintendoWorldReport, we've got some videos for you from some of the launch titles for Wii Ware in Japan. With it hitting Japanese Wii consoles earlier today, we imagine Japanese gamers are doing what they usual do: enjoy being alive and laughing at the rest of the world. You can't blame them. We would be jerks, too, if we had it that good.Anywho, hit up the video above for your first taste of Wii Ware goodness. Then head past the break for the rest.
Takahashi Meijin to show off Wii Ware in Japan
Hudson's Takahashi Meijin, the star of Adventure Island, will be a featured guest at a Wii Ware event hosted by Japanese cell phone company KDDI. The KDDI Design Studio will take place on April 1st and 2nd in Harajuku, and will feature playable versions of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life As a King, Dr. Mario & Bacillus Extermination, and Hudson's Star Soldier R. Admission will be free. Plane tickets to Japan continue not to be. Takahashi will participate in a "talk show" as well as game demonstrations. He rose to fame with his Star Soldier shooting skills, so attendees should expect some feats of button-mashing from the Meijin on the new version.
Japanese Wii Ware page debuts
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Japanese_Wii_Ware_page_debuts'; The steady stream of Wii Ware news continues, this time with Nintendo's launch of its official Japanese site for the video game download service. So far, the hub lists almost a dozen upcoming titles, attaching new screenshots to some of the releases: FFCC: The Young King and the Promised Land StarSoldierR Word Puzzle Mojipittan Wii Pokemon Ranch Dr. Mario's Virus Buster Marubou Shikaku Magnetica Bomberman Okiraku Ping-Pong Wii Angels' Solitaire Joysound Wii LostWinds and other western-developed games are noticeably missing, but that doesn't necessarily mean they aren't planned as launch or near-launch titles for other territories. Much to our disappointment, the page neglects to mention any specific pricing for the titles. One worthwhile detail that we spotted is the above screenof Dr. Mario's four-player cooperative mode. The puzzler was already perfect before -- now it's even perfecter. There's also a multiplayer shot for Magnetica (Puzzloop) worth checking out! [Via NeoGAF]
Wii Warm Up: Wii Ware progress report
Even though no one outside of Japan knows when to expect Wii Ware, the game service has had quite a few interesting titles announced for it. But, what game or games are you most excited about?Let's give it a little rundown, shall we? We have a pretty looking spin-off from Square-Enix, a few possible adventure titles, a platformer, some puzzle games (including a beloved classic), a unique butterfly simulation, something currently called Project Bang! -- oh, and then there's the one with the Pokemon. We haven't even mentioned the slew of others that came with Wii Ware's original announcement, and then there may even be some that we've forgotten.We know you have to be at least a little bit excited for Wii Ware. So, tell us -- which games most strike your fancy?
The doctor is on (your torso)
Love Dr. Mario above all others? Then this might be the most awesome thing you've ever seen -- or at least one of the most unique. It's a handmade tunic accented with bits of a licensed Dr. Mario fabric. Obviously, at $60, it's a little pricier than most of the gaming-related items like this we've seen, but in our esteemed opinion, it's as incredible (or more so!) than some. It's also nice and stretchy -- the better to fit a variety of sizes.
No concrete date for Wii Ware launch, says Nintendo
Following yesterday's news of developer Engine Software's Project Bang! being the next title to hit Wii Ware, many were wondering what was up with the blurb about Wii Ware launching in March of this year. Personally, we'd like to see the service launch in March. It's as good a time as any for us.But, Nintendo isn't willing to confirm or deny that is the launch window for their download service. "Nintendo has not made any official announcement regarding the launch of the WiiWare service," Nintendo commented. So, with no news on what exactly Project Bang! is and no solid launch date for Nintendo's service, we're left where we started. And that place is desperately waiting for the day we can download Dr. Mario on our Wii.[Via Go Nintendo]
Anniversary aftermath: Next year's awesome games that you forgot about
We spent yesterday going through the big releases that've been announced for next year so far -- Smash Bros. Brawl and/or Wii Fit likely topping your personal "must get" list -- but what about the second-tier games that don't usually receive much press or attention? Though we haven't forgotten about the low-key releases, we've collected a selection of games and media to ensure that these titles stay on your mind too! Read on for our top ten list of awesome 2008 games that you totally forgot about!
Nintendo unveils more WiiWare titles, new Dr. Mario details
Following last night's unveiling of upcoming Wii Ware titles, Nintendo has announced its first-party lineup for the downloadable service when it hits Japan in March. In addition to last night's Dr. Mario and Pokemon Farm announcements, Nintendo will also release Maruboushikaku and Minna de Puzzloop (known stateside as Magnetica). Maruboushikaku involves three screens displayed, each with its own pattern (circle-, line- and square-based). We don't yet know the objective of the game, but your actions in one window will affect the other two. The game previously known as Pokemon Farm is officially titled Pokemon Bokujou Channel (Pokemon Ranch Channel) and will let you take your Miis to the ranch to take pictures of your pokemon and send your friends. Pokemon management was mentioned, but no information on whether you level up your characters in the channel. Dr. Mario & Saikin Bokumetsu (or "bacteria extermination") will also feature your Mii characters in-game and has options for online multiplayer. Saikin Bokumesu is a minigame from the Japanese Brain Age 2 and will feature four-player online co-op. IGN has a handful of pictures from the game. Star Soldier R, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Young King and the Promised Land and Moji Pittan Wii were also announced last night. Wii Ware is coming to Japanese consoles in March.
Slew of new titles announced for Wii Ware
Though its potential can't be denied, Nintendo's Wii Ware channel, an upcoming download service for new Wii games, didn't impress us much with the seemingly low-budget titles announced for it so far. Nintendo amended that worriment today at its Tokyo conference by revealing a lineup of impressive projects in progress, turning our "Excitement Level" knob to eleven, one measure greater than what we previously thought the mechanism allowed. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Little King and the Promised Land (1500 Wii Points, March), a "country-building sim," stands out from the bunch, promising an exclusive side story which takes place after the original GameCube game. This marks the fourth entry to the series and the second Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles title announced for the Wii. Square Enix has already made a teaser site for you to load up and immediately close once you've realized that there's almost nothing there yet. Hudson, having kept things on and poppin' on the Virtual Console side for some time now, demonstrated its commitment to the new service by announcing new games like Bomberman, Star Soldier R, and Joysound, the last of which will be a karaoke title. Namco Bandai also chimed in with Mojipittan, a Japanese word puzzle game. As for Nintendo's contributions to the Wii Ware channel, the company announced Dr. Mario (!!!), Pokemon Farm, Puzzloop for Everyone, and Maruboushikaku, all of which appearing to have some form of Mii integration. You can preview screenshots for those titles at the Famitsu links below. Read - FFCC: The Little King and the Promised Land teaser site Read - FFCC: The Little King and the Promised Land screenshots Read - Star Soldier R screenshots Read - Mojipittan screenshots Read - Dr. Mario, Pokemon Farm, Puzzloop for Everyone, and Maruboushikaku screenshots
Readers pick best webcomic: prescription meds
Scott Ramsoomair's VG Cats has caused more than a few commenters to overdose (har har) in dismay, but nonetheless it was the voted the best game-related webcomic this week. Second place goes to Hijinks Ensue, followed by Three Panel Soul in third. We're awarding Ctrl+Alt+Del an honorable mention since we should have put them in the running but subsequently overlooked them in the selection process. Thanks to everyone who voted and be sure to let us know of any game-related webcomics you stumble upon this week!
