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All but one Future publication saw circulation dip in 2009
[Image credit: benben] Can you guess which of Future Publishing's nine magazines didn't lose readership in 2009? If your money was with Edge, you've got our permission to give yourself a nice big pat on the back. Go ahead, we'll wait. Done? Good. Like we were saying, the UK game mag publisher saw shrinking circulation numbers in 2009 -- the same year that saw the closure of PlayStation World by Future and the shuttering of long-running US gaming mag EGM by Ziff-Davis. While Edge circulation numbers rose by (a somewhat meager) 109 readers, Games Master dropped by 6,636 (to 34,313), PC Zone by 7,666 (to 11,357), and Xbox World 360 by 5,156 (to 25,874). While those numbers might seem a bit on the low side, that has more to do with the smaller size/population of the UK than anything else (though, of course, dropping readership numbers don't mean good things for any publication house). According to the GamesIndustry.biz report, Future blames the circulation drops on "slowing sales and ad spend [advertisers spending on print advertising]." We've dropped the entire list of circulation numbers after the break (care of the UK Audit Bureau of Circulations), should you be so inclined to peruse all the stats.
Official Nintendo Magazine launching down under
Cheer up, Aussies and Kiwis -- even though your local Club Nintendo appears to have gone completely AWOL (checking ... nope, still nothing), you'll shortly be getting your very own version of Official Nintendo Magazine, basically the UK equivalent of Nintendo Power. That's ... almost as good. Right?Like its Brit cousin, Official Nintendo Magazine - Australia and New Zealand will be assembled by the talented folks at Future, the same name behind such excellent time-wasting periodicals as N64 Magazine, Amiga Power, and Arcade, and who currently churn out Edge. The first issue, a special edition no less, should be hitting shelves in December for AU$8.95.[Via press release]
Animal Crossing Wii @ E3 FTW ZOMG ... maybe
Tom West of Official Nintendo Magazine went ahead and stated in his blog that "Animal Crossing Wii wil be unveiled at the conference." Referring to E3, of course. Top brass probably had an issue with this particular choice of words, and the blog entry now reads "everyone is hoping that Animal Crossing Wii will be there." Too late, hot plate! You can't outrun the internet, don't even try.Adding even more fuel to the fire, GAF'ers discovered Nintendo Norway has listed Animal Crossing on its 2008 release list, meaning we see game --> wait a short period of time for game --> buy game. Not a bad sequence of events, don't you think?Our rapid-fire E3 coverage will be starting very soon, so stick around for all the latest on Animal Crossing Wii and other games featuring utopian societies of anthropomorphic creatures.
Nintendo UK mag promises Animal Crossing deets
Animal Crossing is coming. This is a fact. What form it will take when it does arrive is a deeper mystery. Somebody at the UK edition of the Official Nintendo Magazine knows the answer to this, damn them, and they aren't afraid to shout about it.The above image (art from Animal Crossing: Wild World on the DS) appears on the "Coming Next Month" page in the latest issue of the mag, and was dutifully scanned and internetalized by a Go Nintendo reader for all of us to speculate about. "It's been a while," reads the accompanying caption, keeping us on tenterhooks. "It's time to revisit an old friend. How's your village doing these days?"All of which is very exciting, but by the time the next edition of Official Nintendo Magazine appears (August 1st), we may have already heard more from E3. Either way, we'll know something about this game soon. Prepare your Golden Shovels, everybody!
Winning Eleven's Mii support video turns heads
Very big heads, that is. The folks behind the Official Nintendo Magazine posted a video showing off Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008's RTS-esque plays and what the pitch will look like when you replace your team of normal-sized-head players with a squad of Miis, goofy expressions and all. It's worth watching the five-minute clip for both of those details!The game looks as goofy as NBA Jam's Big Head code, except with soccer! Also, PES 2008 matches will feature full commentary by Jon Champion and Mark Lawrenson, and not some guy yelling out a bunch of foolishness like "Razzle dazzle!" and "Boomshakalaka!" If that sounds like a minus to you, you always have the option of shouting those lines out yourself; that's what we do whenever we're at the dinner table. Kick the read link below for the video. %Gallery-14410%
Nintendo has no plans for a Kirby game on the Wii
At least, that's the statement that the UK's Official Nintendo Magazine is giving. When questioned about a possible upcoming Kirby game in the "Ask Nintendo" section of the latest issue, the magazine responded, "There are no plans right now for a Kirby game on Wii but there are plenty of Kirby fans out there, so in the meantime look out for Kirby in the upcoming Super Smash Bros. Brawl which will be released in 2008."Well, it doesn't look good, Kirby fans. Hopefully Brawl will be enough to ease some of your cravings for the little pink puffball, but we all know it ain't nothing like the real thing, baby.
Hold your breath and rev your chainsaw [Update 1]
We've known for quite some time that Capcom would be developing a Wii-exclusive Resident Evil title. Would it be the next game in the main franchise, a true RE5, or perhaps a more direct sequel of the Gamecube and PS2 mega-hit Resident Evil 4? Or would it be one of those Outbreak/Zero/Veronica spin-offs that no one really cares about? According to the most recent issue of the Official Nintendo Magazine (UK), we won't have to wait much longer. Though the news was too fresh to make the August issue, they apparently have some exclusive info on REWii, as evidenced by a rather obvious silhouette of Leon Kennedy. The issue is due for release somewhere around August 6th.[Update 1: Clarified August vs. September issue mix-up.]
