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Sega Superstars Tennis bombs, marked down to $20
Despite our enthusiasm (and the enthusiasm of Sega fanboys everywhere) over Sega Superstars Tennis, a release that drips with fan service, the game failed to inspire consumers to rush out and buy the game like they did with Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games? Not enough Mario, perhaps? Or olympics?Whatever the case, slow sales for the tennis title has given GameStop early cause to slash its prices for Sega Superstars Tennis across all platforms, and you can now buy the Wii game for as little as $19.99. It's a great bargain, considering the game was released only a month ago! You can order Sega Superstars Tennis through GameStop's online shop, but why not save a few bucks and pick it up at one of the retailer's local stores?%Gallery-15155%[Via GameStop circular]
Barnyard Blast creators' latest weird title: Tennis Elbow
Sanuk Software, whose claim to fame (in our eyes) is the satirical Barnyard Blast, are now working on a tennis game for Europe, called Tennis Elbow, to be published by Neko Entertainment. With Barnyard Blast, we found the title interesting because Eric contributed to it; with this, the title is notable because it is an injury. Tennis Elbow is still early (the weirdly identical screenshots look mocked-up), with no European release date yet. Sanuk promises 250 different opponents in 90 tournaments, in five different kinds of courts. With that many matches to play, your character is liable to suffer ... some kind of stress-related ailment.What's with the "FAT" signs on the stands?
Highland Spring promo gives away Wii consoles in UK
As if the Wii needed any more advertising, a new joint venture between Nintendo and Highland Spring, a bottle water provider in the UK. Also, the promotion will feature tennis superstar Andy Murray, as well as the possibility for UK citizens to win a variety of prizes.It will start in just over a month, in May of this year. One free Wii will be given away each week, with 32 finalists heading to Roehampton to meet Andy Murray. One lucky finalist will even get to test their abilities against him in a match of Wii Sports: Tennis.You can enter via text message or by hitting up the official contest site right here.
Metareview: Sega Superstars Tennis
Sega and Sumo Digital may have served up a worthwhile tennis option for the Wii, but can the DS title rock the court? From the early reviews, it looks like the character roster is the best thing the handheld has going for it, though there are some solid gameplay mechanics buried beneath the fanservice. IGN: 69% -- Solid, but too easy. "If you replaced the traditional tennis courts with ones taking place in such SEGA universes as Sonic the Hedgehog's Green Hill Zone, the Nights dreamworld Nightopia, and House of the Dead's Curian Mansion, and then replace the professional athletes with Sonic and Tails from Sonic the Hedgehog, AiAi from Super Monkey Ball, Beat from Jet Grind Radio, and Ulala from Space Channel 5, you'd get SEGA Superstars Tennis. And that's exactly what Sumo, the developer of Virtua Tennis, has done for SEGA ... But compared to other tennis games, it feels more automatic than it should be."GamePro: 45% -- This is on the DS why? "The final thing to keep in mind when avoiding Sega Superstars Tennis for DS is that the game looks better on consoles. Also, the play style isn't really suited to handhelds, since there doesn't appear to be a way to save your progress in a tournament. While the character roster has potential, the tennis here is just too gimmicky and frustrating to recommend."Nintendo Power: 80% -- The Nintendo magazine found themselves immersed in a solid experience -- for both tennis and Sega fans. "The default button-based control scheme is less forgiving than that of the Mario titles, calling for more precision and tighter timing -- either a welcome challenge or a minor frustration, depending on how much you mind AiAi acing one past you ... Control issues aside, Sega Superstar Tennis is swimming in clever game references and should be fun for even a casual Sega fan."%Gallery-13434%
No online in Sega Superstar Tennis Wii because of 'time constraints'
As huge fans of Nintendo, we often find ourselves being their harshest critics. One of the problems we've always had with the company was its lack of devotion to a competitive online arena, where gamers could do comparable things online with their Wii that the Xbox 360 and PS3 can do.Why do we bring all of this up? Well, the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game will have the online play and it's missing from Nintendo platforms because of "time and development resource constraints." We just wonder what kind of constraints would allow them to include it into the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions and not in the Wii version? Hey, we're willing to wait a little longer so long as what we're getting is a complete product and not the table scraps left from the other versions of Sega Superstars Tennis. Sure, we get the best control method (presumably), but is it worth it?Regardless, we're still excited for the game. We just wish we could enjoy the game with you.%Gallery-15155%[Via Go Nintendo]
Ulala packing tricks in Sega Superstars Tennis
Sega just served up more footage of Sega Superstars Tennis, and all the ingredients are in place for one of the most quintessentially Sega experiences in years: cartoon monkeys called Amigo, blue skies, Ulala, and Sonic's horrible voice. Playing tennis to a rousing rendition of Samba de Janeiro, even in videogame form, feels a bit weird, but we strongly suspect we won't care!Past the break: footage of Ulala playing on home territory. The resolution of the video isn't the best, but we're sure she plays a shot through her legs, a la Martina Navratilova!
Video: Sega Superstars Tennis mini-games
GameTrailers has posted a handful of new Sega Superstars Tennis videos. It looks like Sega's new tennis title will come packed with various mini-games. The two latest videos show off both a ring collecting Sonic mini-game and a another -- the objective of which we can't quite discern -- based on ChuChu Rocket. The games look entertaining enough, but let's just hope the tennis is up to snuff. After all, mini-games are mini for a reason. Having said that, we pray that there's a Space Channel 5 dancing mini-game with "Space Michael."
Sega Superstars Tennis de amigo
We haven't seen much Samba de Amigo related media for Sega's upcoming tennis game, aside from a handful of screenshots. Fortunately, the Samba stage looks to be pretty great, if we do say so ourselves. The above trailer may be super short, but the stage seems to have all the elements of "awesome," like a cheetah band, good music, and bra-wearing cacti. It's nice to see some fun characters make a return from the original Dreamcast game -- we're sure our favorite maraca-playing monkey would be lonely without them.After the break, you can also check out the intro trailer for the Sonic's Green Hill Zone court.
European wait for Sega Superstars Tennis gets a little shorter
Europe might not be able to Brawl with Sonic in March, but they can make the speedy blue hedgehog pick up a tennis racquet in Sega Superstars Tennis. Originally dated for March 28th, Eurogamer reports that the game won't take as long to hit European shores as we originally thought. While the game's release was only bumped up eight days to March 20th, Europeans can rest assured that they're getting it only two days after us folks in America (compared to the usual gap, that's not so bad). Some of the staff at Nintendo Wii Fanboy are super hyped about this game for the Jet Set Radio references alone, so we hope those of you in Europe who feel the same way enjoy these good tidings. Unfortunately, once again you'll be forced to choose between motion controls and online play.%Gallery-15155%
Tennis Harrier
We're pleased to see that the bizarre Sega-history minigames are intact in the DS release of Sega Superstars Tennis. Here, Ulala, a dancing reporter from a satellite-based TV station in a retro-futuristic musical world, is taking a break from rescuing Michael Jackson from TV-faced aliens to play Space Harrier using a tennis racquet. So, you know, it's your basic tennis game.And since we follow all Jet Set Radio-related developments eagerly, we'd like to point out that the second-best-known member of the GG's, Gum, is visible in these screenshots as a playable character. It remains to be seen if you have to jump on top of a car in order to convince her to join.%Gallery-13434%
Wii goes to the Oscars
A lot of things happen at the Oscars, many predictable, and some unexpected, but there's one thing we don't usually expect to see: video games. It's a measure of just how out-of-control the Wii movement is that the console turned up at this year's awards as a joke unto itself that featured host Jon Stewart losing his dignity in a game of Wii Sports tennis to young songstress Jamia Simone Nash of nominated film August Rush.It's not the first time the Comedy Central "anchors" have exploited the Wii for humorous effect, but the Daily Show's host seemed to need a little more practice with the sports simulation. Either that, or he just wasn't used to the enormous screen the game graced during the awards show. See for yourself in the video after the break.
Wii Warm Up: You're getting served
Rarely has a single game been associated with a console as much as the Wii's pack-in, Wii Sports, has with the Wii. It's so strongly identified that "playing Wii" is often shorthand for "playing Wii Sports." With pretty much every Wii owner obsessed to a degree with Wii Sports tennis, do we need more tennis games? Is it a matter of a popular game creating a market, or are more tennis games on the Wii redundant?
2K announces Top Spin 3 for Wii
Most of us who own Wiis also own Wii Sports by default. The game full of glorified demos turned out to be a gem, and even if everything had been nixed except for Wii Tennis, this blogger would have been happy with it.That's why we're excited about Top Spin 3 for Wii. Although 2K didn't make note of motion controls for the Wii version in the press release, we'll assume the game will have them (2K would be daft not to take advantage of the Wiimote). After how fun Wii Tennis was, we could only imagine that a game completely devoted to tennis would be even better.That's not to say that Top Spin won't face fierce competition (namely with Sega Superstars Tennis.) We think there's a market for both games, though. Some people will want to play with beloved Sega characters, while others might want to play with actual tennis stars. And, some folks might prefer a light-hearted title involving minigames, while others might want a true-blue tennis title. If Top Spin offers online play, that in itself might also be a draw for 2K's tennis over Sega's game, which lacks that vital feature.Yet, we have to say that the list of playable pros is a little flat (where's recent Aussie Open champion, Novak Djokovic? And why is Rafael Nadal only playable in the PS3 version?). Of course, that's just us nitpicking, since we happen to be big tennis nerds.
Sega Superstars Tennis bringing back awesome minigames
Whatever you think of Sega's output since the Dreamcast bowed out of the industry, Sega titles have a history of containing outstanding minigames. Remember how you once skipped three days of university to ace every minigame in Crazy Taxi, or how you would turn down nights out with friends because you wanted to knock down giant skittles in Virtua Tennis? Well, probably not, because those are my memories, but you get the picture.Anyway, Sega Superstars Tennis looks like it will resurrect this proud tradition of awesome minigames. They're full of very Sega-esque tasks, from collecting golden rings to fending off the living dead to guiding mice into rockets. All of which is enough to make us forgive the game's other imperfections, like the lack of online play, or NiGHTS' plainly ludicrous voice. Go past the break to see why we're looking forward to playing minigames on the Wii again!%Gallery-15155%
2K announces Top Spin 3 for DS
For all of you looking for fast and furious Tennis action without the resulting elbow pain, look no further. 2K has announced that Top Spin 3, the latest iteration in their, you guess it, tennis franchise, will be gracing Nintendo systems. Development duties will be handled by PAM development, a 2K studio, and release is currently planned for spring 2008.Head past the break for the full press release.
Fault! Sega Superstars Tennis to lack online play
Sega Superstars Tennis' joyful habit of meshing together franchises such as Jet Set Radio, Samba de Amigo, Space Channel 5, and OutRun has already left us smitten with the game, even though it's just tennis.Indeed, our extreme fondness for the title meant it only hurt more to hear that this celebration of Sega awesomeness would not have online play in the Wii version. The sad news was casually revealed in an IGN preview of the title, though we had our suspicions back when the game was announced. We'd gladly exchange the one noteworthy perk of the Wii version -- multiple control schemes -- for a chance to face down fellow Beat fans from other continents.%Gallery-15155%[Via Go Nintendo]
Sega Superstars Tennis: controls, minigames, and awesomeness
We know that Sega Superstars Tennis is a tennis game with a bunch of Sega folks in it, but until now we haven't known much else. How would the Wii controls work? What kind of special powers can each character use? CVG sat down with Sumo Digital to discuss the Wii version and get some specifics.First, and most important for distinguishing between the Wii and other versions, the controls. SST will in fact use a motion-based control setup. As Sumo describes it: "We take the Wii remote's speed and direction and use this to determine the shot you get. But of course, as with real tennis, the better your timing, the better the shot you'll do." With somewhat direct translation between movement and in-game response, this sounds much more Wii Sports and less Rockstar Table Tennis.The developers also revealed some of the minigame options, which are unsurprisingly based on Sega classics, and can be played single- or multiplayer. They described a Space Harrier game in which the player hits tennis balls at the arcade game's enemies, and a Puyo Puyo game involving a wall of Puyos that must be cleared with tennis balls. In addition, new screenshots (in our gallery) reveal a House of the Dead zombie-killing minigame, and Sonic, Chu Chu Rocket, Super Monkey Ball and Jet Set Radio minigames that we don't quite understand. The screens don't depict the Wii version, but they illustrate new gameplay elements and that is important.Finally, a couple of new characters were revealed, with an indication that some were still being kept under wraps. In addition to the ones we've seen, Shadow the Hedgehog, Reala from NiGHTS, and Gum from Jet Set Radio will be playable.%Gallery-15155%
Sega Superstars Tennis piles on the Jet Set Radio references
If, like us, Sega Superstars Tennis has driven you into a tennis frenzy (a "tenzy"), you will be very happy to gawk at these new screenshots. If you're not into tennis, but all about Sega (which we were until Sega convinced us fully) you can enjoy picking out characters in the background of the Jet Set Radio stage.In this screenshot, there's an obvious police contingent surrounding the stage, leading us to wonder if they're there to spectate or if Captain Onishima will be arresting us for playing tennis. And on the right side: Jet Set Radio one-punch knockout broadcaster Professor K! In another screenshot, you can see the jumpsuited GG, Tab. We love you, Sega Superstars Tennis, for looking like Jet Set Radio sometimes. You can also check out a bit of character art here.
Sega Superstars Tennis continues to be awesome despite apparent lack of Alex Kidd
The latest batch of screenshots from Sega Superstars Tennis doesn't reveal any new characters at all, and that unfortunately includes the rumored Alex Kidd. We can't imagine that Sega would be withholding Alex from these screens for some kind of big reveal, unless ... oh, no. They're relaunching the character! It's more likely that they just forgot about Alex Kidd and neglected to include him in the screens. Luckily, we can distract ourselves from the paucity of Kidds with new screens and character art of the other players. Look, Beat looks kind of cel-shaded as a result of his low-polygon model!
Sega Superstars Tennis boxart misses a Beat
Come on, Sega. We're doing our very best to love your new mascot tennis game, and for the most part it's been quite easy. Putting wonderful Sega characters into a wonderful Sega tennis game (Virtua Tennis) is exactly what we'd ask for if we were asked, and if we were clever enough to think of it. Virtua Tennis is excellent enough when it's all boring humans, and can only be made better with space reporters and two different varieties of cartoon monkey.But the European boxart for Sega Superstars Tennis dampens even our enthusiasm somewhat. We understand the reasoning (he's very popular) but we still would have chosen not to put that hedgehog front and center. But in their zeal to sell this to Everybody, Sega has failed to emphasize the most amazing thing about the game: the wide variety of Seganess found within. And in so doing, they've given a bland box to what looks like an extraordinarily jubilant game.Some other characters are indeed on the box (in the area not taken up by Sonic), but where's Beat? Where's NiGHTS? Where's Alex Kidd (who we have yet to see)? Where are the wacky Sega backdrops? With the Sonic-themed stage (which looks the most like a normal, boring tennis court of any of them) and the centered Sonic, somebody could walk by and mistake this for a Sonic Tennis, which nobody wants.[Via GamesPress]
