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Nintendo takes the fun out of discovery with New Super Mario Bros. Wii tips video
Remember all those secret areas and level-skipping tactics from way back when you first played Super Mario Bros. on NES? Back before you could watch videos created by Nintendo showing off those very same tricks passed from friend to friend by word of mouth – before the internet was even a gleam in Al Gore's eye! Though our old, embittered brains remember those days fondly, you kids today with your shiny electronics and worldwide exchange of information get the not-so-secret tips straight from the horse's mouth (in sorta high-resolution, no less) on New Super Mario Bros. Wii. After watching the video you see above, we came to a scary realization: there are people out there who might not have any 2D Mario strategies already embedded in their brains. Folks, if you don't have any sort of tactic worked out for red coin collection, we're not sure this video can help you. Or if anyone can, for that matter. Thankfully, we have a much cooler video after the break. %Gallery-75137%
Here's what you're Gameflying this holiday season
While it may initially seem the only game releasing this holiday season is something called Modern Warfare 2, some titles -- like Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed II and Nintendo's New Super Mario Bros. Wii -- actually have the guts to stand up against the most important game of all time ever seriously. Game rental service Gamefly recently gathered data on which titles its users are actually looking forward to this holiday season, offering the info in one convenient list. For the all platforms list, the three titles mentioned are unsurprisingly present and joined by other popular recent releases like Batman: Arkham Asylum and Halo 3: ODST. On the home console side of things, the Xbox 360 and PS3's most popular title is obviously Modern Warfare 2, while the Wii's big hit is, also expectedly, New Super Mario Bros. Wii. For handhelds, gamers are ticking Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story and Dissidia: Final Fantasy for rental on the DS and PSP, respectively. Overall, the list is fairly unsurprising, though we guess one could argue that it's surprising all of these people want to rent Modern Warfare 2 and haven't already purchased it.
New Super Mario Bros Wii launch event in NYC this Saturday
Nintendo is holding a little family-friendly launch fiesta for New Super Marios Bros. Wii this Saturday, November 14, at its flagship store in New York City. The House of Mario will "transform" Rockefeller Plaza into the Mushroom Kingdom, providing demo stations, "costumed characters, trivia challenges, prize giveaways (while supplies last)." The event takes place from 3-7PM and NSMBW is available to purchase early from the Nintendo World Store during that time. The game officially launches the following day, November 15. If getting it a day early seems worth the trip, remember to add NYC's lovely (8.875%) sales tax to your budget.
EEDAR predicts Nintendo dominance, weak GTA and Brutal Legend performance in October sales
EEDAR has released its predictions for October sales charts in North America. Analyst Jesse Divnich expects year-over-year declines for every console except the PS3 -- but also expects the Wii to regain its place at the lead, with an estimated 600,000 units sold. Divnich predicts that the Wii will remain at the top for the rest of the year -- based partly on New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Divnich expects the title to lose initially to Modern Warfare 2 in November, but pick up sales in the holidays and become the best-selling game of the year. Other games expected to pick up in the holidays include Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City and Brutal Legend. Divnich expects both games to underperform in October (coming in at under 100,000 and 300,000 units, respectively), but to receive significant boosts in the holidays. Demon's Souls, however, may exceed expectations. Divnich estimates that Atlus's punishing RPG sold 100,000 copies in October.
This Week on the Nintendo Channel: It's a New Super Mario Bros. world
Nintendo has unloaded a pair of TV spots for upcoming New Super Mario Bros. Wii and they're pretty slick. Each features a foursome of gamers playing the new Nintendo title while surrounded in what seems to be a convergence of the Mushroom Kingdom and reality -- not unlike the plot of the horrible 1993 film. Unlike that movie, however, these ads are entirely watchable. But, before you boot up your Wii and check 'em out for yourself, head past the break to see the rest of this week's Nintendo Channel content.
This is the story of New Super Mario Bros. Wii
We know many Joystiq readers don't want to read spoilers on the site. That's why, for your sake, we've carefully posted the intro movie to New Super Mario Bros. Wii after the break. The upcoming 2D platformer returns the series to its roots, but adds a number of features that make it "new" -- it says so on the box. New power-ups and the addition of multiplayer radically change the feel of NSMBW, but we're not sure if gamers are prepared for the revolutionary new story featured in this latest adventure. Check it out after the break. [Via GoNintendo]
This Week on the Nintendo Channel: Hangin' with Mr. Miyamoto
This week's Nintendo Channel highlight is obviously the play session of New Super Mario Bros. with Nintendo Week hosts Gary and Alison, along with Nintendo's Bill Trinen and gaming icon Shigeru Miyamoto -- a video which even has a brief look at Excitebike World Rally. It's not that there's anything terribly exciting or new in this video, but, well ... we just love New Super Mario Bros.! Is that such a bad thing? Oh, and by the way, Shiggy is totally a tweaker.
Dress up at Australian New Super Mario Bros. Wii midnight launch for fabulous prizes
If you live near Melbourne, Australia, you'll have the opportunity to pick up New Super Mario Bros. Wii a bit early, and either vie for a lovely prize or laugh at people in silly costumes! Nintendo is holding a midnight launch event for the game on Wednesday night, November 11, at its "Nintendo Experience" EBGames store.Attendees will have a chance to win the glass laser-etched Mario statue seen above, provided they're willing to dress up as their favorite Mario character. Does the Kuribo's Shoe count as a character?If you don't already have a costume, you'll have the beginning of a (terrible) Mario outfit once you pick up your pre-order: EB in Australia is giving away Mario baseball caps with reserved copies. [Via GoNintendo]
Survey says, yes, teens and tweens still want video games this holiday
Image credit: alliet What we want to know: If 86 percent of surveyed youngsters are asking for at least one video game this holiday gift-getting season, what miserable manner of childhood have the other 14 percent been living? No doubt leading a crusade to bring joy to teens and tweens everywhere (and, uh, recoup some losses), retailer Game Crazy has put together a handy buyer's guide for concerned parents.Don't know which video games to get your kids because they haven't clearly indicated them in large, bold, triple-underlined letters on their wish lists? Just follow these simple guidelines: For the "Girly Girl" whose fashion obsession is getting way too costly: Wii Sports Resort For the "Music Addict" who's not worth spending real guitar lessons on: Guitar Hero 5 For the "All Things Sports" lover who's just a tad bit uncoordinated to enjoy "outside" sports: Wii Sports Resort For "The Adventurer" who needs to learn that "real life" is largely confined to the indoors: New Super Mario Brothers Wii Oh, and parents, whatever you do, don't buy the oft-requested "Call of Duty" for your kids. It's rated M -- for Mature! -- for a reason. Might we suggest Ubisoft's wonderful line of imagination-expanding titles in its place? Don't worry, their initial weeps are totally normal. Trust us. They'll thank you later, once they've grown up to become animal doctors, champion riders, master chefs, movie stars, and ... babyz.
New, super character art from New Super Mario Bros. Wii
The new multiplayer mode in New Super Mario Bros. Wii is great, as is the apparent difficulty of the new levels. We're curious about the Super Guide feature as well. But for some Mario fans, the real draw to the latest sidescroller can be seen above: the Koopalings, returning for the first time in a traditional Mario game since Super Mario World. While, of course, we'd still prefer a 2D adventure, Iggy, Morton, et al. have made the transition to 3D quite well! Nintendo released that render along with some other character and enemy art, and an image of the bizarre all-red box art. See what a Goomba looks like now in our gallery. Spoiler: pretty much like it always looks. %Gallery-76522%
Shock! Nintendo developing another 'new Mario game' says Martinet [update]
Ahh, the world of social networking services, where everyone from Joystiq to Charles Martinet (the voice of Mario and many other Nintendo characters) can coyly hint at things of interest to the world. Why just yesterday morning, Martinet dropped hints at an "Awesome new Mario game." Normally such a statement would provide us little in the way of excitement, except it came paired with "And it's not NSMB [New Super Mario Bros.] Wii, and it's not Galaxy 2," as well as assuring us "it's going to be crazy fun!" Considering the recent release of Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story and the two he mentioned in his Tweet, we're fairly sure Mr. "It's a me, Mario!" is dropping his dulcet tones into an unannounced "new Mario game." We've shot Nintendo a note for some clarification and will update this post as soon as we know more. Update: Unfortunately, The Big N hasn't offered us much in the way of information, saying, "We're always working on new games and experiences, but we have nothing to announce at this time." [Via GamingTarget]
New Super Mario Bros. Wii is 'pretty difficult'
New Super Mario Bros. Wii is "pretty difficult," series creator Shigeru Miyamoto told us at a NYC press demo yesterday, acknowledging complaints that the previous 2D iteration of the franchise was too easy. After our disastrous performance in last week's hands-on, we'd agree with that assessment. While "Demo Play" makes concessions towards novice players, NSMBW celebrates hardcore gameplay. By earning the super coins hidden through each level, you'll be able to unlock a series of "Super Guide" videos that highlight "super skills" tactics. These videos will reveal how to get infinite 1-ups, find the secret goals and show alternate ways of playing the game. (One video we saw showed three Yoshis working in tandem to lick and spit a hapless Luigi throughout the level.) The newly released video above highlights some of the various stages in NSMBW. Does it look "difficult" to you? You can also check out North America's all-red packaging after the break. %Gallery-75137%
UK retailer offering Limited Tin Edition of New Super Mario Bros. Wii
We've all heard the complaint, and most of us have thought it ourselves: New Super Mario Bros. Wii looks great, and we appreciate the new multiplayer focus and all, but you just can't easily use the box as a coin bank. And that's a shame. Well, there ain't no shame in UK retailer GAME, who is taking preorders on a Limited Tin Edition of the game. The Tin Edition comes in a rather fetching tin case, with a slot at the top that makes it suitable for use as a bank. It'll be out in Europe on the same November 20 date as the normal edition, for 49.99. The regular, non-tin version is currently on the site for 34.99.
Miyamoto foresees more user-generated content in the future
Nintendo designer Shigeru Miyamoto may not play many of his competitors' games, but he does see a future where games like LittleBigPlanet will become increasingly commonplace. After demoing a few levels from the upcoming New Super Mario Bros. Wii, we asked Miyamoto if he'd ever consider giving everyday players the tools to make their own Mario levels. "This is an area that I have a lot of interest in, and I think that the side-scrolling Mario games in particular are well suited to that idea," Miyamoto said (as translated by Bill Trinnen).Miyamoto then pointed to previous Nintendo works in an attempt to prove his openness towards the idea. "Of course the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series is one that's made in North America by NST, but it's one that I've been involved in and from early on. We did have a lot of discussions about how to enable that kind of level creation in that series. And of course, more recently on Nintendo DSi, we have released Flipnote Studio, which is another kind of utility or tool-type of software that's really about letting users let their creation out and share it with others."Neither examples have the depth or scope of what we wanted Miyamoto to do: Confirm a LBP-esque community-driven Mario platformer. As implausible as that may sound, Miyamoto reiterated his interest, and admitted that the future will see more of these kinds of games. "And I think those types of interactive experiences are going to continue to broaden and we'll see a lot more user-generated content going forward. I've always had an interest in those kinds of creative tools, so I will definitely be open to ideas like that in the future."
Miyamoto expects sustained sales for New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Nintendo's resident gaming legend, Shigeru Miyamoto, foresees long-term -- nay, long-tail -- sales for New Super Mario Bros. Wii, a prospect that isn't completely insane when you take a few things into account: The game has Mario in it. Its DS counterpart is the second highest-selling DS game of all time and has sold consistently since its release in 2006. It's super fun. So, when Miyamoto says that the game "will continue selling even after one year has passed" during a play session in Japan (translation), we have a tough time arguing with the guy. Any sane person would, right? [Via andriasang]
Hands-on: New Super Mario Bros Wii
Like New Super Mario Bros. before it, New Super Mario Bros. Wii is instantly playable, addictive and fresh. It plays like every Mario game before it, embracing its NES legacy by requiring players to hold the Wii Remote on its side. Although the gameplay is immediately recognizable, the addition of four-player competitive multiplayer makes it feel, as the title reminds us, new. After even just one level, we had to question, "Why didn't Nintendo think of this sooner?"New Super Mario Bros. Wii makes the arbitrary distinction of offering a "cooperative" Story mode, and a competitive multiplayer mode, but after a level or two, it's clear that there really is no such thing as cooperation in the Mushroom Kingdom. There's no real reason to switch between either mode, as both feature the same levels and a finite number of lives for the players. The only real addition to the competitive mode is the scoreboard at the end of a level, which ranks players based on their score, coins collected and the number of enemies defeated.Why do we say there's no real cooperation in the Mushroom Kingdom? Simple: there are so many ways of being murdered in NSMBW. You can grab a fellow player and throw him down a cliff, into an enemy or into some molten lava. Grab a Yoshi and eat your friend ... and then spit him into a Piranha Plant. They won't be your friend anymore! You can even kill someone before they get to live a full life, by finding their spawn bubble and destroying it in an -- ahem -- inconvenient place (over a pit, perhaps?).%Gallery-75137%
Nintendo announces October stops for World of Nintendo tour
The World of Nintendo is a lot smaller than the regular world, as the whole thing can be picked up and moved around from town to town. This is mostly due to the fact that the World of Nintendo isn't actually a world at all! It's a traveling showcase of new Nintendo games. Today, Nintendo announced the tour's next stops.If you'd like to get an early look at The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks and New Super Mario Bros. Wii -- and why wouldn't you -- check out America's VideoGame Expo in Philadelphia from October 9 through 11, and NYC's Big Apple Comic-Con from October 16 through 18. In addition to those games, Nintendo will offer demos of a "selection of downloadable game titles on the WiiWare and Nintendo DSiWare services," and of recent Nintendo releases like Punch-Out!! and Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box.Does it strike anyone else as odd that Nintendo has given a name to showing new games at conventions?
Nintendo describes 'Demo Play' option in New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Nintendo's finally dropped the curtain on Miyamoto's "Demo Play" idea for upcoming New Super Mario Bros. Wii and it turns out the option is less of a handholding through the entire game and more of an instructional tool on overcoming those tough spots. Nintendo of Europe updated its site, saying that while watching the demonstration go down in real time, the player can choose to intervene whenever they wish and take control themselves. We can't imagine the need for this system much in NSMBW, though. We're sure the game tape can be solved through a combination of running, jumping and, uh, running and jumping. [Via Siliconera]
New Super Mario Wii, Zelda: Spirit Tracks & others dated for Europe
Arguably the two biggest titles set to release on their respective platforms this year, New Super Mario Bros. Wii and The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks have both been dated by Nintendo of Europe. NSMBW is set to invade living rooms on November 20, while Spirit Tracks will be pulling into the station on December 11. But that's not all, as Nintendo has also dated Wii Fit Plus for October 30 and plans to cater to your inner fashionista with Nintendo Presents Style Boutique on October 23. Nintendo of America previously confirmed NSMBW for November 15 and Zelda for December 7; and Wii Fit Plus releases ... this Sunday! Time to sculpt that perfect figure again. %Gallery-64968%
New Super Mario Bros. Wii coming down the pipe Nov. 15
Though the recent Nintendo press release announcing the Wii's new $199 price point was, for the most part, completely devoid of surprises, one new nugget of info was embedded in the stuff we already knew -- the release date for New Super Mario Bros. Wii has transformed from the ever-ambiguous "holiday 2009" to a decidedly more rigid "November 15." We can think of one mustachioed plumber who's not afraid of a little Modern competition. Bold, sir. Rather bold. %Gallery-64968%
