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Flipper Critters video provides pinball fix
The Nintendo Gal has been so kind as to upload this very delectable, mouth-watering video for Flipper Critters, a game that seeks to revolutionize the way we think about pinball. The footage presented really conveys an awkward approach to the timeless flipper-flapping past time of gaming. This isn't to say that the awkwardness presented is to be taken negatively, however, as we're very excited to give the final product a go after seeing this footage. Beyond the video, Nintendo Gal's kindness even extends to offering up a plethora of screenshots as well.[Via Nintendo Gal]
Nintendo not ditching DS Phats
A Nintendo UK spokesperson, apparently without name, recently told the entirely credible Gameindustry.biz that they would not be phasing out the original DS (in the UK at least), like they did in Japan. In light of the recent noble announcement, we can't see this statement lasting long, They've already given Europeans a snazzy new color, so why would they even keep the older, more affordable units around?Wait, do we even care? We've all got DS Lites by now anyway, right?
Qool Labs intros pair of Pocket PC phones
Singapore's CommunicAsia expo, which ended last week, is still leaving us with little bundles of mobile joy here and there. Today we present for you Qool Labs' QDA Icon and QDA Lite, Windows Mobile 5.0 follow-ons to last year's QDA Oh!. The Icon is the more interesting of the two, rocking four honest megapixels on a CCD sensor, A2DP support, and a RAZR-like etched keypad. The Lite offers a more run-of-the-mill 2 megapixel CMOS camera and mainstream design but includes WiFi, which the Icon does not. Expect both tri-band Pocket PCs to make their way into Asian consumers' hands later this year.[Via Slashphone (Icon / Lite)]Read - Qool Labs QDA IconRead - Qool Labs QDA Lite
Pink DS Lite could be hitting Japanese shelves next month
German website Gamefront is reporting that Japan's female consumers will be able to get their hands on a pink edition of the wildly popular DS Lite. Upon crawling the internet for signs of validity to this claim, Japanese gaming site Nintendo Inside is also reporting on the rumor. The speculated date is July 20th, so we assume an announcement will come from Nintendo in the next few days, unless of course this is all bogus.
Huge summer Circuit City sale [Update]
[Update: A commentor, and employee of Circuit City in IL, by the name of Hughes has said that his store is putting these sale items out July 3rd. Any more employees want to step forward to confirm this day?]A poster over at CAG reports of a sale going on over at Circuit City, officially starting July 4th weekend, in which a slew of Nintendo DS titles will be going on sale for $8.96 a piece. While some of the titles are best avoided, getting a copy of Advance Wars for such a small sum is a blessing most divine. The list, unchanged from its forum post, reads: Advance Wars Asphault GT (DS) - $5.96 ATV Quad Frenzy Burnout Legends Dig Dug: Digging Strike Dragonball Z Supersonic Warriors 2 FIFA Soccer 2006 Finding Nemo Goldeneye Rouge Agent Great Juju Challenge Gulty Gears Dust Strike Incredibles Rise Of The Underminer King Kong Lunar Dragon Song Madden 2005 Madden 2006 Meteos Metroid Prime Pinball Monster Truck Need For Speed Underground 2 Pac N Roll Pac Pix Pokemon Dash Polarium Scooby Doo Unmasked Spongebob Yellow Avenger Spyro Shadow Legacy Star Wars Episode 3 Revenge Of The Sith Texas Hold Em Tiger Woods 2005 Trace Memory Ultimate Spiderman Urbz: Sims In The City I know I'm picking up Advance Wars, Metroid Prime Pinball, and Lunar Dragon Song. How about you guys? Any reports of this sale going on early? Any Circuit City employees want to verify the date the sale starts? Bueller?[Note: You must be registered for the forums to see the thread.]
Another DS Opera browser preview
After his graduation from the Academy of One-upmanship, .ed began to look all over the web for an opportunity to utilize his new degree in the field. It wasn't very long until he came across the first DS Opera Hands On review. With the stage properly set, and the stars aligned accordingly, .ed went ahead and attempted to one-up Jon. Containing a massive collection of pictures, as well as in-depth look at everything the browser offers, from clicking links to fonts, .ed's in-depth look at the browser on the DS has given us a very good scoop on what to expect from the final product. Money well spent on that degree there...
Electroplankton creator working on Wii project?
Yes, it is a slow news day.As such, the possibility of Toshio Iwai, the man behind Electroplankton for the DS, commented to Nintendo of Europe that he could possibly get on board with creating a title for the Wii sometime in the future. When asked what his next project for Nintendo was and whether he was interested in working with the Wii or not, Iwai said "I am thinking of it." We realize that this comment could very well shatter your mind, but it's our job to report the most important news in the world.Like I said, kind of a slow news day.
Portrait of Ruin drops the touchscreen stuff and hints at Wi-Fi
In having a chat with Koji Igarashi, the man behind the upcoming Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin for everyone's favorite handheld, Game Informer managed to squeeze such deliciously sweet juice from the man as if he were a large citrus fruit. On second thought, that analogy is a bit gross. Forget I ever wrote it.So, onto the things that matter then? Game Informer put the man to work, grilling him as if they were the police who were holding their prime suspect in a double homicide. The first thing they started questioning him on was touchscreen functionality in the new game, something that this blogger felt was an unecessary addition to the gameplay in Dawn of Sorrow. Like any respectable individual, he is able to recognize his own mistakes."My concern was over the Castlevania pure action gameplay, which you actually had to stop and let the user use the stylus to do something. So now that it's approximately two years after the launch of the hardware, I took it easy (laughs)." Later on he commented that "It felt a little uncomfortable after beating a boss to get your stylus out and draw a magic seal. It seems to stop the moment of pure action."Naturally, Game Informer would bring up something about Wi-Fi connectivity, and Igarashi commented that he was thinking about implementing a single unlockable level for some co-op gameplay. He also said that he thinks he's able to implement full co-op into the game, but wants to tackle the challenge of successfully utilizing any co-op this time around before attempting such a huge task.
DS Lites available in Spain
We received word from DS Fanboy faithful, and Barcelona native, Eric Lussier that UK-based retail chain Game Stores Group has been selling DS Lites, of both the white and black variety, to patrons fresh off the street. This means that all you readers who live in the area can rush down to the shop and pick up your DS Lite a whole day early! Seriously, what are you doing?! Stop reading! Go, go now!
Opera announces browser release date for Japan
Releasing to the Japanese gaming public on July 24th, the Opera web browser for the DS will initially only be sold online for 3,800 Yen (around $33 US) and come standard with a memory expansion pack. Nothing has been said as to release date for US launch of the browser, but we assume we'll be hearing more once July 24th hits and Japanese impressions are measured.
Mysterious Thief Rousseau trailer excites
The odds of this game hitting the US are fairly slim, but nonetheless it has managed to stir large amounts of excitement in a few of us. This rather lengthy promo trailer shows some of the wide range of masks available to Rousseau, along with how they would be used in the game.
Black DS Lite comparison shots
Spuderstercool, the luckiest man in the UK right now, was up late taking some comparison shots of his black DS Lite against his DS Phat and PSP. Why he wasn't up late playing it is beyond me, but I guess the man is just a giving person, generous in his torture for all you European gamers chomping at the bit to get your hands on this ebony beauty. What a guy!
Black DS Lite's flesh compared to PSP, DS Phat
Spudstercool, the tipster that sent us shots of the black DS Lite yesterday, was busy last night taking a few more photos of his black DS Lite alongside his PSP and now discarded DS Phat. This thing is hawt. Some answers to questions in the earlier comments thread: The DS Phat goes for around £70 on eBay.co.uk although GAME stores will give you £40 towards a DS Lite if you give them your DS Phat. The North American release date for the black DS Lite is, as yet, unannounced. You can import a U.K. DS Lite to your country without worrying about region encoding for games, but you'll still need to figure out a way of converting the UK DS Lite's 3-pin 230V/50Hz power adapter to your local mains power.
DS Lite theft won't affect European launch
We're sure the heinous theft of oodles upon oodles (see: a couple millions worth) of black DS Lites caused a few sleepless nights for you European gamers desperately waiting to get your hands on what is the ultimate handheld console on the market today. Well, if reassuring words that your DS is well on its way and would never leave you hanging on launch day are something you need to hear read, then Next-Gen.biz has got you covered. In a response dished out by a nameless Nintendo spokesperson, there will be "little impact on the European supply as the licensed producer is rushing additional output."
Starfox Command screens and info
In their ongoing coverage of Starfox Command, Famitsu has revealed some interesting tidbits about the game as well as unveiled several new screenshots and game art. Turns out Fox is all alone now, with his comrades having gone on to greener pastures. With Falco off exploring the vast regions of space, Peppy taking up the role of a general, and Slippy having found the toad of his dreams, Fox continues to fight the good fight alone. This game also marks the return of Star Wolf.Gameplay will be handled via two distinctly different modes. In the map mode, you're charged with using the stylus to trace out a route to your designation, encountering enemies along the way, which then takes you into the adventure mode where you can fly your plane and take out said enemies.
Mario Hoops 3 on 3: The Controls
Siliconera has a nice breakdown on how the touchscreen-exclusive controls will work on the DS. By tapping on the screen, you'll be able to make Mario dribble, with the faster you tap naturally causing him to up the speed of his dribble. While in possession of the ball, swiping the stylus across the touchscreen in the direction of the basket will cause Mario (or whichever subsequent character is holding the ball) to shoot the ball. On the opposite side of the ball, swiping the stylus across the touchscreen in the direction of your opponent will cause your character to attempt a steal on the ball. Of course, it wouldn't be a Nintendo sports title without crazy power shots and this game does not disappoint. As Mario, in activating your special shot, the game asks you to trace out the letter M on the bottom screen, which will cause Mario to turn up the heat with a flaming basketball. Other characters will have their own unique special shots as well. While I failed to get my hands on it during E3, I'm very excited for this game's release.
Japanese enjoy in-flight DS action
Japan International Flights (JAL) recently announced a promotion where in-flight-modified DS Lites would be available for use to passengers who choose to fly with the company during the period of June 1st - August 31st of this year. Only 4 games are available at the moment, such as Mario Kart DS and DS Golf.Now, I'm no scientist, but I'm pretty sure that us Americans fly more than anyone else. So why not introduce this kind of promotion over here in the states? Imagine Business Class travelers being handed a DS Lite with Brain Age upon taking their seat! Isn't that the type of person that Nintendo is trying to get the DS into the hands of?[Via Newlaunches; Thanks Steve!]
Nintendo's DS section gets facelift
Nintendo has gone ahead and tossed a fresh coat of paint on the DS section of their website to coincide with the release of the DS Lite this Sunday. The day draws near, and even though some of you folk were able to capitalize on the ignorance of retail employees around the country, there are still a few of us living in the dark and waiting for the Lite. So do we think this design is better than the previous one?
Whopping 22 minute vid of Phantom Hourglass at E3
This video shows the entire demo of The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass that was available at Nintendo's booth during E3. The video, which is filmed exceptionally well, shows all of you exactly how Link will control and interact with the environment. Just make yourself some popcorn before starting to watch, this video is on par with the length-time of a full episode of Scrubs.
Major Nelson scores DS Lite
I never did comment on how my hunt went for a DS Lite around the Orlando area (see: unsuccessful). Well, turns out Major Nelson, an employee of those Microsoft folk, managed to acquire a DS Lite at a Seattle-area retailer. I must've checked about a dozen places (Target, Walmart, CompUSA, Circuit City, Best Buy, etc...), but I guess I can be a good sport and congratulate him. I'm sure the pain of working for Bill "Cream Pie" Gates, however, is all the satisfaction I'll ever need.
