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New dieting app uses DSi camera for time-lapse humiliation
Namco Bandai's DSiWare fitness app, Diet Memo, has been officially revealed, after the title showed up in the original Namco Bandai DSiWare announcement back in February. Non-game diet stuff might not be the most exciting thing in the world, but this one at least seems to be implemented smartly.Diet Memo uses the DSi camera extensively, for before-and-after photos of your stomach and other areas in which you hope to lose weight. You can also snap pictures of food you've eaten and annotate them with calorie data. According to Andriasang, the game can store up to ten meals a day for 90 days, though if you're eating ten meals a day, you may not need such a sophisticated weight loss product (here's your new plan: don't do that).It also lets players record their weight twice a day, providing a graph of the long-term changes in weight and body fat. This can be exported to CSV and transferred to a computer via SD card, so players can obsessively chart their own stats -- which is both really creepy and very helpful for dieting. Diet Memo will be out tomorrow in Japan.[Via Gpara, Andriasang]
NintendoWare Weekly: Overturn, Sexy Poker, Tecmo Bowl
This week is a special one for Nintendo fans. Not only do we finally see an end to the Virtual Console drought, but we also get fighting robots and a new Art Style game. Oh, and then there's Sexy Poker, Gameloft's odd strip poker game for WiiWare. We guess the company never heard of Google image search?%Gallery-35205%
VC/WiiWare Friday: At least there's Monkey Island
Today's Wii Shop releases in Europe worry us a bit. After two weeks of nothing on the Virtual Console in North America, the first week in Europe post-Hanabi Festival offers ... also nothing. No Virtual Console games. This is a bit troubling, on account of the fact that we like Virtual Console games.We can only distract ourselves from our increasing panic with a decent-looking WiiWare selection -- three games, one of which is the first Tales of Monkey Island. And on DSiWare, Guitar Rock Tour, from the shockingly wealthy Gameloft. Driift Mania (WiiWare, 1-8 players, 800 Wii Points) Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 1: Launch of the Screaming Narwhal (WiiWare, 1 player, 1,000 Wii Points) The Three Musketeers: One for All! (WiiWare, 1-3 players, 700 Wii Points) Guitar Rock Tour (DSiWare, 1-4 players, 500 DSi Points) %Gallery-64680%
Beneath a Steel Sky remastered for iPhone
We are in the midst of a full-blown adventure game renaissance, thanks to the sudden proliferation of new adventure games and the (long-awaited) rediscovery by publishers of their own back catalogs. The latest adventure game to be brought back is Revolution Software's Beneath a Steel Sky, which may be best known these days for the fact that it's available for free and works with ScummVM.The new version, Beneath a Steel Sky Remastered, won't be free and won't run in ScummVM, but it will have the advantage of running on iPhone. The update will include new content like fully-animated cutscenes from Watchmen artist Dave Gibbons. Creator Charles Cecil expects to charge around $2 or $3 for the title."Yes, you can jailbreak your phone and play the game for free," he told Eurogamer. "But if you like the game and like the kind of games we make, then pay us a little bit of money and, if it's a big enough success, we can reinvest the funds. We can start to look at a potential BASS sequel."According to the announcement, the iPhone version will be out this fall. Revolution Pocket has plans for other mobile platforms, including Android, PSP Go, and DSiWare.
The Tower DS being built in miniature
The Tower DS, the latest handheld version of Vivarium's SimTower/The Tower simulation series, has yet to be released outside of Japan, but it's being re-released over there -- or, at least, the last level of it is. The 1,000 point The Tower DS Classic, out August 26, includes the final stage from the DigiToys-published DS game, with tutorials and explanatory text to help players jump right in. The good news, potentially, is that some company is more likely to translate and release a low-risk downloadable game than a cartridge, so there's a more reasonable chance that this smaller Tower will make the move outside of Japan.
NintendoWare Weekly: Monkeys, Musketeers and more Sudoku
Just as expected, today marks the release of the first episode of Tales of Monkey Island on WiiWare. If comical puzzles aren't your thing, there're also puzzles of the humorless variety in a bit of Sudoku for the DSi. Or, if you're looking for some swordplay -- without the insults -- there's a new WiiWare game featuring The Three Musketeers. Oh, and it would appear Nintendo has run out of steam on the Virtual Console, as this week marks the second in a row where there has been no new Virtual Console game. Hey, Nintendo, looking for an idea of what to release next? How about that game starring the boy from Onett?%Gallery-64680%
Card Hero, Magical Drop hit DSiWare in Japan next week
Nintendo has announced a bunch of new DSiWare games headed for Japan next week. Most notable among them is a stripped-down battle game based on Intelligent Systems' Kousoku Battle Card Hero. Card Hero Speed Battle Custom includes one-on-one card battling against CPU, local wireless, and online opponents. The other big title (to us) is a DSiWare version of Data East's falling-block puzzle series Magical Drop -- which is, as far as we can tell, the first new Magical Drop game since 1997.The rest of the surprisingly bulky DSiWare lineup, including Othello, crossword, Game and Watch, and travel guide software, is detailed at Andriasang. Screens and video are available at Nintendo's DSiWare site.
Pop developer making non-game DSiWare apps
Nnooo, creator of Pop, is working on a series of DSiWare productivity downloads called myLifeCollected, designed to make your life easier. If you didn't know Nintendo-related news you were going to complain about today, it's already made your life easier!The first app, called myNotebook, is a 32-page virtual notebook with auto-save and ink color features. Users can select lined, square, or blank backgrounds for each page. Pricing and release date have yet to be announced. Nnooo is planning to make myNotebook available in three different color varieties when it comes out.For those of you waiting for Pop + Solo (What? We liked Pop), Nnnoo says that it's been submitted to Nintendo for approval.[Via GoNintendo]
NintendoWare Weekly: My Life as a Darklord
This week, Square Enix's WiiWare follow-up to My Life as a King finally releases. We've heard favorable things about My Life as a Darklord, but could it be worth 1,000 Wii Points? While we can't answer that yet (mostly because weekly content doesn't unlock until 12pm ET), we will say that if it's anywhere near as fun as My Life as a King, it's probably going to be worth keeping an eye on.%Gallery-48531%
VC/WiiWare Friday: Number 300
It's a very momentous week for the PAL Virtual Console. Not only is it (still) a Hanabi Festival, the 300th Virtual Console game has been released in the region. It's either the wonderful Compile shooter MUSHA or the Konami table tennis game Smash Table Tennis, so ... let's say it's MUSHA. It sure took a while for Smash Table Tennis to show up, though.This news managed to overshadow the launch of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord, but don't miss it if you want to play a tower defense game ... from inside the tower! MUSHA (Mega Drive, 1 player, 900 Wii Points) Smash Table Tennis (Famicom Disk System, 1-2 players, 600 Wii Points) Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord (WiiWare, 1 player, 1,000 Wii Points) A Little Bit of ... Puzzle League (DSiWare, 1 player, 500 DSi Points)
NintendoWare Weekly: Bit Boy!! brings the bits
This week's biggest release is undoubtedly Bplus' Bit Boy!!, an odd title that pays homage to the various bits that make up gaming's past. Bit Boy!! runs the gamut from gaming's humble beginnings during the 4-bit era, all the way up to the last generation's 128-bit capabilities. The goal is to rescue Bit Boy Kubi's pals, who've been imprisoned across the various worlds.
Watch the DSiWare Game & Watch games
Nintendo has videos of the DSiWare releases of Game & Watch games on its DSiWare site. Famitsu also has screens. In both cases, though, there aren't really any surprises. The presentation is pretty straightforward: an authentic recreation of the game on the top screen, and a logo on the bottom screen. That's perfectly fine with us, because the games look like they're supposed to. Even though no announcement has been made about a North American release, we much prefer this delivery method for Game & Watch games over the Club Nintendo method. It's cheaper to just buy a DSi and then grab these for two bucks each than to buy a bunch of other stuff and then use points from those purchases.
Game & Watch & DSiWare
If you've been having a tough time accruing enough coins in Club Nintendo to get your very own copy of Game & Watch Collection for DS, know that Nintendo is planning to parcel out nine different Game & Watch classics to DSiWare in Japan. Kotaku reports that Nintendo will be offering each individual game for a very reasonable 200 DSi Points over the summer, meaning you can have your own piece of gaming history on the go for a measly $2. There's no word on these escaping Japan, but considering that a majority of the content offered on DSiWare there has made its way over here, it's likely only a matter of time.%Gallery-25216%
Electroplankton makes weird noises on Japanese DSiWare this week
Nintendo continues to release bite-size portions of old DS games as DSiWare games, which may rankle some, but we think its latest broken-up DS game makes a lot of sense. The company plans to release Electroplankton in Japan as ten individual 200-point downloads, each consisting of one of the "plankton" instruments from the "game."This Wednesday, Tracy, Hanenbon, Nanocarp, and Beatnes will be available on Japan's DSi Shop. On July 22, Rec Rec and Lumiloop will be released. Finally, in August, Sun Animalcule, Luminaria, Marine Snow, and Volvoice will be available.This could be the perfect venue for creator Toshio Iwai to release future musical toys. Could Electroplankton continue this way, with new instruments being released periodically? It's probably not wise to hope for anything that isn't a segment of an existing game, but it's possible!
NintendoWare Weekly: Bit.Trip: Core becomes 100th WiiWare game
Folks, it's time to break out the party hats and noise makers because, just as expected, Bit.Trip: Core is the 100th WiIWare game to release on the service. Why, we remember our little pal doing finger paintings and learning to ride a bike like it was yesterday. They grow up so fast!
VC/WiiWare Friday: Happy Hanabi Festival
Nintendo of Europe's Hanabi Festival returns, bringing with it, of course, import games! Fantastic stuff is available this week on Virtual Console: Pulseman, a Mega Man-style platformer from a pre-Pokemon Game Freak, and Ogre Battle, the legendary strategy title from Yasumi Matsuno's Quest.This week's awesomeness extends to WiiWare, with both Bplus's Bit Boy!!, the maze action game that shuffles between various levels of retro, and Gradius Rebirth, which settles at the 16-bit era. And on DSiWare, the Mario calculator and clock apps arrive. Roll your eyes all you want, but they're surprisingly delightful. Details after the break.Nintendo also announced Hanabi Festival titles you can expect in following weeks: Bomberman '94, Kirby's Dream Land 3, Zoda's Revenge: StarTropics II, MUSHA, Detana!! Twinbee, and the NES Smash Table Tennis!
Renegade Kid working on platformer for DS
Renegade Kid is apparently working on a kid-friendly platformer for the DS while it develops a sequel to Dementium. The developer showed IGN that its other new project is Maximillian and the Rise of the Mutant Mudds. Players will use a water pack (think Mario Sunshine) to double-jump chasms of doom and squirt the baddies to death.Renegade Kid plans to push its already impressive technical knowledge with the DS even further with Mudds. The developer doesn't know if it'll go the retail route or check out DSIware, and there isn't so much as an inkling of a release window. Check out a video of the game after the break.
NintendoWare Weekly: Water Warfare in for a Reel Fishing Challenge
It wouldn't be Monday without new games to download across Nintendo platforms. This week's highlight is definitely Hudson's first-person soaker, Water Warfare. It's a neat concept, but we really think Hudson could've spent some time tightening up the graphics on level three.%Gallery-48416%
VC Friday: Hudson Powers Up
This week in Europe, Hudson Soft has one release on all three Wii download services. That's a pretty impressive feat, even if the individual games don't seem that exciting. We suppose 50 sudoku puzzles for 200 points is nice, and SimEarth is a good game.The Hudson releases are joined by Taito's Puzzle Bobble/Bust a Move update and by Altered Beast. Now, we love Altered Beast more than most people (by which we mean we love it some), but 900 points for the arcade version? What's that about? WiiWare: Puzzle Bobble Plus! (1-2 players, 800 Wii Points) Water Warfare (1-2 players offline, 2-8 online, 800 Wii Points) Virtual Console: Altered Beast (Arcade, 1-2 players, 900 Wii Points) SimEarth (Turbografx-16 CD-ROM, 1 player,800 Wii Points) DSiWare: Sudoku 50 for Beginners (1 player, 200 DSi Points)
New Tingle game and new Tingle 'game' revealed
The mysterious Tingle game that Nintendo's been teasing was revealed last night -- when it was released. Dekisugi Tingle Pack is a DSiWare download that is actually not a game, but a set of little tools and apps, all starring Link's "pal."The included utilities are a fortune-telling program (hence the fortune teller on the website), a calculator, a little dancing Tingle image that dances in front of your photos, a timer, and a coin-flipping minigame.But don't get upset about the secret Tingle project being a 500-point non-game and not a real game, because the latest issue of Famitsu reveals another Tingle DS game, this time more in the style of Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland. The new game, called Irobuki Tingle no Ai no Balloon Trip (Color-changing Tingle's Balloon Trip of Love) features the green-suited adventurer searching for, yes, love. The teaser site offers a fake news report, a fake dating show, and some Flipnote Studio Tingle animations, all in celebration of this new game.%Gallery-66675%[Dekisugi Tingle Pack screens via GAME Watch]
