ssbb
Latest
Smash shortage threatens Japan
In what must be the biggest threat to Japan since Godzilla, reports are coming in that retailers might not be able to meet demand for Super Smash Bros. Brawl come January 31st. According to Canned Dogs, Lepton (a games retailer in Japan) bemoans that the store is only getting 154 copies of the game from Nintendo. That's not even close to meeting the 800 preorders that the retailer has received, let alone walk-ins. Lepton is even paying over retail price to get Brawl from other sources (meaning they'll lose money by selling the game), so that the store can honor more of its preorders. Because the entire country seems to be facing shortages, though, Lepton has only been able to come by 100 extra units, even at inflated prices. The initial Brawl shipment for Japan is reputed to be only 300,000-400,000 copies, which is not much for a popular title in a country with 5 million Wii gamers. Import retailer NCSX is also reporting a small supply, and has stopped taking preorders as a result.Does this mean we'll see riots in Japan on the eve of February, incited by frustrated gamers longing to get their hands on the Wii's most anticipated game to date? And, is it possible that North American gamers will face similar shortages when Brawl releases here in March? We can only hope the answer to both of these questions is, "no."[Via Japanator]
Wii, Smash Bros. demo kiosks to hit Japan
Remember way back when Wal-mart was concerned about playable Wii kiosks causing kids to break their arms or knock over expensive electronics (or both)? Apparently Japanese retailers never got over these fears, because up to this point there hasn't been an official, playable Nintendo kiosk to be found in the country. This is about to change, though, as IGN reports that 30 shops nationwide will roll out Smash Bros. Brawl-infused kiosks on Jan. 26, three days before the game's Japanese release.Despite having about a bazillion control schemes, Smash Bros. is notable for not requiring the Wii's trademark waggle in any way shape or form, presumably making it safe for Japanese in-store play. Whether the kiosks will last past the relatively sedentary game (and whether the Smash Bros. demo will come to U.S. Wii kiosks) is still unknown.
Dojo update: Trying out the Wi-Fi
Of all the new features Brawl will bring to the Smash Bros. table, the ability to fight opponents online is arguably the most eagerly anticipated. Still, some might argue that Nintendo just ain't that great at this online malarkey, and that Brawl's Wi-Fi mode could be a big, fat fly in an otherwise quite lovely tub of ointment. Director Masahiro Sakurai is clearly aware of these concerns, because today's dojo update features footage of an online scrap between Nintendo's headquarters in Kyoto and the development team in Tokyo -- apparently, this is pretty close to the distance between Las Vegas and Los Angeles, which Google Maps tells us is 435 kilometers, or 270 miles. The resulting four-man online brawl looks buttery-smooth and fills us with hope. %Gallery-10206%%Gallery-6869%
Dojo update: The Mushroomy Kingdom
It makes perfect sense: Super Smash Bros. Brawl is a game that oozes Nintendo from every pore. And if there's a level in gaming that is more quintessentially Nintendo than World 1-1 from Super Mario Bros., we have yet to see it. It is iconic.The Mushroomy Kingdom -- note the extra "y" -- is Brawl's re-imagining of the most famous stage in Nintendo, nay, videogame history. It's not aged well, however. Nearly a quarter of a century has passed since Mario last visited 1-1, and it shows -- just look at the state of that flag. Some things haven't changed, though. As you fight, the stage still scrolls gently sideways, and every block and pit is still in place, just ... older. Better still, selecting this level may occasionally allow you the chance to visit World 1-2. Awesome, much?Just looking at these pictures brought a smile to our faces this morning, and listening to the Mushroomy Kingdom theme only helped matters.%Gallery-10206%%Gallery-6869%Read: Mushroomy KingdomRead: Super Mario Bros.: Ground Theme
Dojo update: Zelda's Final Smash
A Japanese magazine revealed that Zelda would deploy Light Arrows for her Final Smash earlier this month, but today's dojo update is still worth a skim for those in search of greater detail, not to mention new screens of the move in action.You only get to fire a single Light Arrow as part of this Final Smash, so missing isn't the best idea (Sakurai hints that the Arrow will be easier to dodge in a one-on-one match). The good news is you can fire your precious projectile as either Zelda or Sheik, with some aspects of the attack (such as the direction your opponent gets knocked in) changing, depending on who is used.One thing is true of both fighters, however: the Light Arrow packs some real punch if it does find its target. As Sakurai puts it, once characters are hit, they're "pretty much done for." Anyone tempted to give Zelda a whirl in Brawl?%Gallery-10206%%Gallery-6869%
Nintendo accidentally confirms Lucario, Ness, Jigglypuff for Brawl
A small slip-up on the Nintendo of Japan website has revealed three previously unannounced characters in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Fan favorites Ness and Jigglypuff will be returning from the previous Smash Bros. titles, while the pokémon Lucario will also be joining the ever-growing ranks.Nintendo of Japan recently posted a 5-minute video explaining the many features of Brawl. In one section of the video, the sticker-collecting feature is shown off. A small set of icons along the bottom shows which character can equip each sticker, and originally showed small icons depicting Ness, Jigglypuff, and Lucario.Nintendo of Japan has since updated the video, conspicuously whiting out these icons and effectively assuring us that this is "for real." More than simply confirming new characters, this news also confirms that the Brawl roster will exceed those characters announced on the official blog, which is just good news for everybody. Check out the original, unedited footage after the break. The icons appear very briefly around 4:20.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Video introduces the new Smash Bros. Brawl fighters
With the slow information leak coming out of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, we fear that the effect may have been something akin to Chinese water torture for the staff. A few of us (who shall remain unnamed) have taken to cosplaying different characters from the game, either by wearing elaborate character costumes, or, in some of the more desperate cases, just shouting their names repeatedly.The worst part is that some of our now mentally unstable staff can't even remember what fighters are in the game anymore. We're sure that we've seen a Wu-Tang Clan costume or two, and at least one of our staff has taken to dressing as Chun Li. Thankfully, GameTrailers has put together this video profiling some of the new fighters from the game to help us keep them straight. It pulled us back from the edge, we hope it does the same for you.
Dojo update: Lift off!
It's been just over a week since we discovered Captain Olimar would be making his presence felt in Brawl, yet already we've learned more about his capabilities and his stage (which, by the way, looks pretty great). Today, we got the skinny on his Final Smash, titled "End of Day."Grab the Smash Ball as Olimar, and night immediately sets in. As in the Pikmin games, that's the signal for the diminutive cosmonaut to head to the safety of his ramshackle spaceship, so he can take to the night sky and avoid the vicious beasts that lurk about on the ground below. Of course, his opponents won't have the same privilege, meaning they'll get chomped on by hungry Bulborbs, and suffer considerable damage in the process. There's even a spectacular coup de grâce to this Final Smash, with Olimar's ship crashing back to the stage seconds later with a bang, hurting any brawlers who are close by.Sakurai notes that End of Day won't deal as much damage in one-on-one scraps, but also points out that you're less likely to have your KO stolen in such a match (which seems pretty obvious, really, but we're not going to question the man).Anyway, that should be pretty much it for Olimar and his Pikmin chums; anybody else get the feeling that we're closing in on the end of dojo updates? We do, and this makes us sad pandas.%Gallery-10206%%Gallery-6869%
Dojo update: Another character unveiled!
Oh. It's ... Sheik. Everybody back to work! We're sorry, but you'll have to forgive our lack of surprise. You see, we already discovered that Zelda's tomboy alter ego would be appearing in Brawl.Nevertheless, we did learn some new tidbits from today's dojo update. For example, we now know that swapping between Zelda to Sheik is dead easy -- it's allocated to the down special move -- and that there are benefits to using both. Apparently, the two are completely unique characters, and comparing Sheik's moveset with Zelda's proves this to be true.Finally, if you're wondering where Sakurai and his team took the design for a Twilight Princess-era Sheik from (you'll recall that she doesn't appear in the game), it's taken from a bit of concept art that was drafted up during development. So now you know: at one point, Nintendo was kinda thinking about including Sheik in Twilight Princess, but never got around to doing so. %Gallery-10206%%Gallery-6869%
Sheik returns in Smash Bros. Brawl
Gamers concerned that their favorite gender-confused Zelda alter-ego would be absent from Brawl have absolutely nothing to worry about. The Hyrulian princess's down-special move will still transform her into Sheik, now re-imagined to match the visual style of Twilight Princess.According to the official Smash Bros. Brawl blog, Sheik's look is based on an early design drafted during development of Twilight Princess, meaning that at one point Sheik was a shoe-in for Link's grittiest adventure to date. Sheik appears to retain the needle storm, chain, and vanishing moves from Melee, and shares the "Light Arrow" Final Smash with Zelda.
It's worth the wait: Smash Bros. Brawl scores 40/40 from Famitsu
The good citizens over at NeoGAF have picked up the latest issue of Famitsu, and revealed that Super Smash Bros. Brawl has garnered a perfect score from the Japanese magazine. Well, at least we now know it'll be worth all the delays.Brawl is only the seventh game in Famitsu history to receive a 40/40. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was the first back in 1998, followed by Soul Calibur, Vagrant Story, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Nintendogs, and Final Fantasy XII. Of course, Famitsu's score just represents the opinions of four reviewers, so we'll have to wait for more reviews to come out before we decide whether or not this is worth the purchase (yeah right).[Via Game|Life]
Nintendo's three GDC sessions: Wii Fit, Wii menu, and Brawl character library
For anyone headed off to GDC next month – or for those of you bashing the Reload button at home – you may want to pencil in some or all of these Nintendo sessions to your no doubt already busy schedule. First up is "Wii Fit: Creating a Brand New Interface for the Home Console" presented by project lead Takao Sawano; second up is "Planning the Wii Menu: From Pre-Launch to WiiWare" presented by team leader for Nintendo's Network Group, Takashi Aoyama; last up is "Building Characters: The Super Smash Bros. Brawl Postmortem," a postmortem for the recently delayed game, presented by developer Masahiro Sakurai.While you can bet we'll be at the Wii Fit and SSBB sessions, we're not sure how interested we are in experiencing the Wii UI if we're not clumsily trying to find something while being auditorily assaulted by the shopping channel's hypnotic jingle. Oh, who are we kidding? We'll go anywhere that jingle tells us to go, like compliant rats lined up behind Nintendo's pied piper.
Dojo update: Distant Planet
We've already been introduced to Olimar and his Pikmin buddies and shown the kind of stuff they can pull off when working together, so today's update focuses on Olimar's stage. Predictably enough, it's the very same planet that the intrepid astronaut was forced to make an emergency landing on in the Pikmin games. It comes complete with Onions that will produce items if you throw a numbered Pellet into them, as well as some pretty inclement weather. And if you're wondering what Onions and Pellets are, we advise you go hunt down a copy of Pikmin or Pikmin 2. No, seriously, do -- you won't regret it for a moment.Incidentally, taunting a Bulborb many times your size by standing on its snout is not wise.%Gallery-10206%%Gallery-6869%
Smash Bros. Brawl delayed: March 9 in US, January 31 in Japan
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Smash_Bros_Brawl_delayed_March_9_in_US_January_31_in_Japan/'; Nintendo of America just sent word that the US version of Smash Bros. Brawl is getting another delay, albeit much shorter than the last one. Instead of February 10, Brawl is now expected to come out one month later on March 9. The reason, according to Nintendo, is that "development is taking slightly longer than expected." The official US Smash Bros site has already been updated to reflect the change, as well as include a brief note of apology.The Japanese SSBB site also notes that Brawl is delayed one week in the region, from January 24 to 31. Europe's release date is still TBA 2008.
Rumor: Super Smash Bros. to hit VC when Brawl releases
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Rumor_Super_Smash_Bros_N64_Hits_VC_When_Brawl_Launches'; Because Super Smash Bros. Brawl won't consume enough time on its own, rumor has it that the game's release will be accompanied by the appearance of Super Smash Bros. on the Virtual Console. We're not sure where you stand on purchasing a fuzzier, arguably inferior fighting game on the very same day you get to take home your shiny new copy of Brawl, but we imagine that very few of you will need your arm twisting.This particularly juicy slice of speculation first appeared in Nintendo Power, and we wouldn't bet against it being true, especially as the Virtual Console debuts of Metroid and Super Mario Bros. 3 more or less coincided with the releases of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and Super Mario Galaxy respectively.On an entirely separate note, how much has that original boxart aged? Day-um.
Too good to be true: Wal-Mart cancels Brawl preorders
Disaster! Just as we assumed, the epic Super Smash Bros. Brawl preorder deal we featured this morning was a total boner on Wal-Mart's part, as evidenced by the now-missing product page. But instead of honoring the $19.82 price for anyone who ordered the game before its listing was pulled -- like we all hoped the retail giant would do, despite our usual pessimism -- Wal-Mart has canceled the reservations, presumably refunding all charges. Already, notification emails are being sent out with the following message: "We have received your request to cancel the item(s) listed below from your order." We tried arguing over the phone with a Wal-Mart customer representative (1-800-966-6546, not 1-800-966-6456, the number the email advises you to call) that we had made no such request, but our protests found no purchase; we were told the distributor canceled all orders, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl will be relisted online tomorrow with its regular $49.99 price. We haven't been this sad since we saw that episode of Fresh Prince in which Will Smith reconnected with his father, only to find himself abandoned by his dad again shortly afterwards. [Via Our Heartbroken Inboxes]
Friday Video: Now playing (except not)
It's tough to wait on that special game, and even worse when it was initially supposed to have been released already. We're sympathetic about delays; we understand that sometimes, it takes a little extra effort to deliver the best of all possible experiences. That doesn't make the waiting any easier, though. Video-creation-inclined Smash Bros. fans, however, have been busy over the past year, trying to make the time pass a little more quickly (or at least, less painfully) with video treatments, and we've got the latest in this week's spotlight.
Dojo update: Getting the most from your Pikmin
It appears that Olimar in Brawl is pretty much the same as Olimar in the Pikmin games: helpless without his loyal, plant-based cohorts. It also transpires that he's going to be the fighter of choice for those who like to think a bit more strategically.Case in point: as in Pikmin 2, Olimar will be able to pluck five different types of Pikmin from the ground, all of which are imbued with different qualities. Red Pikmin have high attack powers, and are fire-resistant. Yellow Pikmin have a longer attack range, electrical attacks, and travel in an arc when thrown (perhaps useful for taller targets?). Blue Pikmin are generally more durable, while the heavyset Purple Pikmin have strong, body-slamming attacks, but are slow, and don't fly very far when thrown. Finally, the creepy White Pikmin can poison enemies. All of which is admirably faithful to the wonderful Pikmin games.You can have up to six Pikmin following you about when they're not being tossed onto enemies, and laying into them with their tiny plant fists. Whichever Pikmin is at the front of the line is the one you'll use next (so here, you'll attack with a Red Pikmin), and you can recall the lot of them by pressing down on the d-pad. Of course, the Pikmin serve other uses beside attacking, and it's at this point that we must reserve a special mention for the excellent Pikmin Chain, a potentially life-saving maneuver, as well as simply being an amusing sight.As unconventional as he sounds, does anybody here think they may warm to the idea of using Olimar? %Gallery-10206%%Gallery-6869%
Wal-Mart 'ends' $20 Smash Bros. Brawl pre-orders [update]
[Original headline: "Wal-Mart offers $20 Smash Bros. Brawl pre-orders"]We know, we know. This Wal-Mart listing for Super Smash Bros. Brawl pre-orders at the bargain price of $19.82 is almost certainly a technical error. But, if you're going to buy the game anyway, we figure there can't be any harm in putting your name and two sawbucks down. Worse case scenario, your order gets canceled. Best case: You save $30.That said, there is yet a third possibility that's downright mind-blowing. What if this is the actual price? Can you imagine how that would (continue) to move systems? Can you imagine what a sales juggernaut that would be? Sure, the Wii may not need the extra help, but come on, let us have our fantasy until reality brings it crashing down around us, OK?Update 1: Looks like Wal-Mart is running a major pre-order sale, which also includes reduced prices for upcoming Xbox 360 and PS3 titles.Update 2: Super Smash Bros. pre-order price has been changed to $49.82.[Thanks, Dalibor]
Bargain Brawl: Preorder for $19.82! [update 2]
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Preorder_Super_Smash_Bros_Brawl_for_Less_Than_20'; You'll be kicking yourself for months if you don't rush over to Wal-Mart's online store right now to put in your Super Smash Bros Brawl preorder before someone at the giant retailer wises up and updates the listing. At $19.82, this is likely the lowest you'll see this game priced for the next couple of years, so you would be a fool to not immediately pounce on this. And you know how we feel about fools -- we have no pity for them. None!Here's a protip for those of you who missed out on this reservation deal because you didn't hear about it until much later in the day: read Wii Fanboy more often.Update: Sale's over, kids! We hope you took advantage of this while it lasted!Update 2: Wal-Mart has canceled all preorders. :'o([Thanks, John, Keith, and Mario!]
