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DS Daily: How are you protecting your handheld?
With a gun?No, but seriously, what kind of case set up do you have there? You can see this blogger's case above (got it at E3), and even one of our staff has their DS Lite insured (ask your agent). What about you guys? How is your beauty protected? Take a picture, describe it to us!
Pokemon Day celebrated at Yankee Stadium
While we find our alliances align themselves toward a different baseball team, it's always nice to see our obsessions getting along. Celebrating the release of Pokemon Diamond & Pearl at Yankee Stadium yesterday, fans under the age of 14 received a free Pokemon t-shirt. Usually, freebies at baseball games are sponsored, with that sponsor's logo all over what it is (free hats are often ruined that way), but with Nintendo sponsoring their own product here, we're sure those shirts are probably pretty sweet.Did you get one? Take a picture and send it in to us!
Nintendo Korea set to take legal action on pirates
Nintendo's piracy woes continue as the latest news from Korea, which you may know "officially" received the DS back in January, shows that piracy fanatics have found ways to copy game cartridges with a special machine, posting the titles on the internet and selling them on discs. Nintendo announced that it plans on taking full legal action on anyone caught pirating its games, hopefully putting some scare into the folks responsible over there. Of course, if history is any indication, this will not be the case and those pirates will continue to do what they do.See also: Yarrr (or, how to spot pirated games)
Next Kingdom Hearts game coming to portables
Square Enix's Tetsuya Nomura recently told Famitsu that the next installment in the Kingdom Hearts franchise won't be gracing consoles and won't even be Kingdom Hearts III. Instead, portable gaming enthusiasts look to be the ones who are lucking out, as he said the next title in the franchise will be another spin-off set to grace handheld platforms. "[It] would be hard to choose if to make the game for the PSP, NDS or the cell phone," he said, leaving us a bit puzzled in the statement's wake.Why would it be a hard decision? For one, a spin-off title from the franchise already released on the GBA, so there is some familiarity with Nintendo's hardware on his side. Plus, the Nintendo DS is the hottest handheld on the market, so wouldn't it be in his company's best interest to bring it here? Sure, we can understand the difficulty of deciding between the DS and cell phones, but we really don't think the PSP is in the running much, unless it looks to be a graphically-heavy title.
WRUP: Get crackin' on those unfinished games edition
We were looking over this week's releases, seeing if we wanted to pick anything up, when today's DS Daily topic hit us kind of hard. You see, if anyone has a lot of unfinished games, it's us. Blogging takes a lot out of the team (and our cruel overlords' whips don't help), so our unfinished stack is fairly tall. Given that, we wondered if any of you were planning your weekend around putting a dent in an unfinished game (or games).What are you playing this weekend?Previous posts: What were you playing?
DS Fanboy presents: Game Night 5/3/07 aftermath
As you all know, I was unable to attend Game Night yesterday evening. In going over some of the comments, it seems that some of you managed to have fun playing with your Pokemans. Sadly, I still haven't received my copy (it's in the mail though!), but you can bet that come next week, I'll be ready for some of that sweet, sweet dueling action. If you're not one for that sort of thing, vote for something else! We're game! What do you want to play on 5/10/07? Pokemon: Diamond & Pearl Custom Robo Arena Mario Kart DS Tetris DS Clubhouse Games Animal Crossing: Wild World
DS Fanboy presents: Game Night 5/3/07
Another week, another Game Night. And, as we said last week, tonight's theme game will be none other than Pokemon Diamond & Pearl, allowing those of you with a love for those battling whatchamacallits to see how your team fares against the DS Fanboy community. For the usual information, including where we're meeting up, head past the post break.
DS Fanboy Poll: Do you homebrew?
We've been known to ask you guys a question or two, but this one is long overdue. Sure, we post the stories in the homebrew community, but do you care? Are you a homebrew aficionado or could you care less? Do us a favor and let us know in the poll below and share your horror stories in the comments. Or your favorite homebrew apps. Do you homebrew? I've been known to dabble, but not often. I love running homebrew apps on my DS, it's the best! I create my own apps, 1337 haxxorz got nothin' on me. I have never tried and probably never will. What is homebrew?
Famitsu makes with the Phantom Hourglass screens
Famitsu has posted up a slew of new screens for Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, giving us a glimpse into the Wi-Fi Connect compatible gameplay and some of the title's locales. Of course, as with every instance in which we're shown anything on Phantom Hourglass, it leaves us wanting more. So, it's kind of a love/hate thing, you see. Join us past the post break where the rest of the images have been secured.
Play! Ouendan! 2! Demo! [update 1]
Those of you who can get to a Japanese download station on March May 10th will be able to try out the highly anticipated rhythm action title Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2. That's right, a demo will soon be available a full week ahead of the March May 17th release date. We're not sure which stage (or stages) will be featured in the demo, but we're really hoping its the one where you get to sell shoes to aliens. We've always wanted to try that.As detailed elsewhere on these pages, the new game will feature many of the characters from the original game, as well as a new playable cheer squad. There's also going to be a versus mode, although online play remains unconfirmed.[Update: Those "M" months are so confusing!]
Japanese show contestant plays Super Mario Bros. with eyes closed
For how many hours we've spent playing the game (heck, we still play it on the Virtual Console almost daily), we can't say that we could clear world 1-1 with our eyes closed. Oh no, that honor is held down by the Japanese gamer above, who busts out the DS and shows us all how to do it. And, you know what? He doesn't make it look easy ...Check out the video past the break.
UK seniors are crazy on the DS
Today's edition of the Manchester Evening News is quite the read for DS lovers, as a rather large story focuses on Nintendo's handheld and how seniors in one community are utilizing them. Playing titles such as Pac-Man and the requisite Brain Training, older folk in this community are doing away with the normal nights spent at the Bingo Hall for that of the ultra-bright dual screens. The manager of the community home, Gil Menguy, says the handhelds have become so popular that they're already looking to add more titles, such as "murder mysteries, fighting games, and football games." We're pretty sure we can think of at least one that falls into that category.[Thanks, Joby!]
Metal working meets gaming
Reader John, who is a metal working champion, made this for someone else from sterling silver. He says it was his first attempt and he plans on making more, which is a notion we can't help but support. The world needs more Game Boys, whether they be functional or not.See also: Game Boy coin purse is as charming as the real system
First day sales data shows Revenant Wings selling 180K in Japan
Reports in Japan show Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, the DS spin-off of Square Enix's PS2 title Final Fantasy XII, selling 180,000 copies of its initial shipment of 450,000. In case you were wondering whether or not this news is impressive, rest assured it definitely is. And we're sure those lucky folk who were able to get out to the local store and wait in line for hours so that they could procure a copy are probably loving the game so far, deeply immersed in their title.Lucky jerks ...[Via QJ]
Quake plays like a dream on the DS
When the first version of Quake DS was released by coder Simon Hall, we all saw his ambition. However, the first version of the game was not able to match that ambition, instead providing us with a slower, uglier version of Quake on our DS. Well, we're glad to report this is not the case any longer, as the second version of his project has released, offering up a slew of improvements. Of course, if you want to play this, you're going to need a flash card for your DS, along with a copy of Quake for your PC (supports retail and shareware).For a full breakdown on what's new, head past the post break.[Thanks, wraggster!]
DS Lite invades your breakfast
The fine folks at Hudson, who have a wonderful sense of humor, sent the box of cereal you see on your right to the crew at GameSetWatch. Meant as a spoof on their latest title for the DS Honeycomb Beat (check out the Metareview over here), the cereal within is actually Honey-Comb from Post, so it's totally edible and kind of a nice gesture, if we may say so. As you can see in the box to the right, it features a DS Lite, along with a couple of choice slogans, including "fortified with 200 puzzles" and "Excellent source of Brain Teasing (1 player per serving)." Also of note, are the "Gameplay Facts" on the side of the box, which you all know is the usual place nutrition facts are listed. How do they know it isn't chock full of poison (rather than delicious cereal), though?Their dachshund Rollo taste-tested it for them!
WRUP: Gotta catch 'em all edition
This week's releases saw North America receiving Pokemon Diamond & Pearl and it only took 5 days for the game to sell a million, meaning we're all still loving those little monsters, making them battle for our amusement before cramming them back into their tiny Pokeball prison. As such, we know what you're playing this weekend, you don't even have to tell us! Plus, with a challenge sitting on the table, we're all going to need to train our guys long and hard if we plan on destroying the competition come Game Night.So, have fun with those Pokemon this weekend!Previous posts: What were you playing?
DS Fanboy presents: Game Night 4/26/07 aftermath
Last night's Game Night session was full of Poke-fever, much as we expected. Everyone talking about their line-ups and discussing the things they like and dislike about the game. Some of us, however, were a bit under the weather and couldn't last the duration. We did see enough to know that you're probably wanting to play Pokemon Diamond & Pearl again next week, so we're just going to go ahead and declare it:Next week's Game Night game is Pokemon Diamond & PearlWe'll see you there for some battling action!
Lifesigns producer dissects the game
While the comparisons between it and Trauma Center: Under the Knife are unavoidable, they are kind of inappropriate. See, in Lifesigns: Surgical Unit, the action is a bit more realistic, as the game has you playing a doctor who doesn't have magical powers. That's not to say the omission of such character characteristics will make it any less of a game, but for those looking for a more authentic experience on the virtual operating table, Lifesigns: Surgical Unit is going to be a game to watch.Jay Podilchuk, the game's producer, recently conducted a small Q & A with Siliconera, pointing out the reality-grounded story and gameplay of his title compared to others available on the market. Jay explains that the gameplay will include more than just the need to diagnose patients. Players will also need to exercise some bedside manner, allowing the doctor to extract information from the patient before diving into the diagnosis stage. Once diagnosed, the surgery portion will begin.Other than that, Jay doesn't really have much more to say. He does manage to tease us, however, with the idea of localizing the sequel. This is only if the first game sells enough, obviously.
Through Wii and DS sales, Nintendo sees record profits
Nintendo reported a final revenue of 966.5 billion yen and operating profits of 226.0 billion yen for the year ending March 31, 2007 today, managing to break previous records set by the company and completely stump the staff on how much that money would weigh if it were all laid out on one massive scale. We're pretty sure it would weigh more than a tractor trailer filled with bears riding scooters. In other words, it would be completely ridiculous.The majority of this huge surplus in cash money for Nintendo comes mainly from the DS, which has sold over 23 million units and 123 million games over the last year. Of course, that's not to say the Wii hasn't done its part, managing to sell 5.84 million consoles in the less-than five months since its launch. Games for the system have sold a combined 29 million copies. Given these numbers, Nintendo must be expecting a lot from both systems over the coming year, right?Yes, they do, stating that they expect the Wii to sell a total of 14 million consoles and 55 million games during the fiscal year beginning April 1, 2007. Nintendo also expects the DS to continue its strong sales, stating that they expect to sell 22 million dual-screened systems and 130 million copies of software for it. This brings the company to a projected consolidated sales increase nearly 18 percent to 1.14 trillion yen and operating profits growing nearly 20 percent to 270 billion yen.
