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'The Last of Us' and 'Wii Sports' join the World Video Game Hall of Fame
This year's World Video Game Hall of Fame inductees were selected ahead of other finalists such as Angry Birds, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, FIFA International Soccer and Goldeneye 007.
Nintendo Switch Sports hands-on: Reviving a surefire formula for fun
Following up one of the Wii's most memorable titles, Nintendo Switch Sports is reviving the motion-controlled antics with tennis and bowling, while adding four new sports in volleyball, tennis, badminton and chambara. And it's a blast.
'Nintendo Switch Sports' brings back Wii-style bowling, tennis and more on April 29th
'Wii Sports' lives again in Nintendo's latest sports title.
Wii Sports Club boxed copies join Team USA in July
North American retailers join the Wii Sports Club on July 25, when boxed copies containing all five sports arrive on store shelves. Nintendo of Europe already announced the HD-make boxes over there on June 25. The motion-controlled sportsaganza hit the eShop in November, first bringing tennis and bowling before driving forward with golf. The Wii U-packaged game adds baseball and boxing to the mix, and both sports become available online on June 26, a month ahead of the retail release. Presumably they'll follow the same pricing model for the other sports, which are currently available through $2 day passes for all sports or with a $10 permanent unlock per sport. The boxed copy has the best value with a suggested retail price of $40, ten bucks cheaper than getting the five sports online. [Image: Nintendo]
Wii Sports Club adds Golf
Wii Sports Club, the Wii U HD-make of Wii Sports, adds Golf to its roster today, including a course based on NES classic Golf. As revealed in this morning's Nintendo Direct for Europe and North America, the additional sport is being made available on the eShop today. As the image above shows, you can watch the GamePad as you make your swing to see your club impact with the ball. Per the other modes, you can take Golf for a spin in a 24-hour free trial. You'll then have to pay $10 to permanently unlock it as an individual sport, or cough up $2 to unlock all available sports across a 24-hour period.
PSA: Trial bowling and tennis at the Wii Sports Club, starting today
Here we are, breaking the first rule: Mainstream darling Wii Sports is now available on the Wii U eShop as Wii Sports Club. Albeit only with Tennis and Bowling, with the HD port due to add Boxing, Baseball, and Golf in the "months ahead," last we heard. In addition to hi-def sprucing and Wii MotionPlus support (you'll need the MotionPlus add-on or a Wii Remote Plus to play), Club brings online versus mulitplayer to the Wii Sports experience. Players can tie themselves to regional clubs, and increase their club ranking by taking on members of rival clubs. Unlike the original game, which came bundled with the Wii, there are a couple of pricing models to get your head round with Wii Sports Club. You can either purchase a $2 Day Pass, which lets you play all available sports across a 24-hour period, or you can get permanent access to a single sport for $10. In simpler terms, you can effectively unlock the full game of five sports for $50. If you'd prefer to just check out the Club first, there's a 24-hour trial period that activates when you first start up the game. I had a quick go this morning, and both Bowling and Tennis worked well online, with games easy to set up and without noticeable lag. For the record, I was excruciatingly awful at Bowling (double figures, people), but I thwacked my way to a superb Tennis victory of 7-4. And now I need a lie down.
Wii Sports Club brings back Wii Sports in HD, various pricing models
The fab five Wii Sports games that helped sell millions of original Wii consoles are coming back in HD for the Wii U. Nintendo announced this morning that Bowling, Tennis, Baseball, Boxing and Golf will be released individually with HD graphics on the Nintendo eShop. Tennis and Bowling will be available November 7 through the Nintendo eShop, with Boxing, Baseball and Golf in the "months ahead." The new versions will also include "enhanced controls" with the Wii MotionPlus, along with online multiplayer versus mode. It will also allow players to register and create state or regional clubs. "People will be able to play casually against members of their own club, or take on members of rival clubs to increase their club rankings," is how Nintendo describes it. Now for the pricing: Downloading Wii Sports Club will grant a 24-hour trial period to available games. After the trial, there is a "Day Pass" available for $1.99 or a permanent purchase of an individual sport for $9.99. Using our Fisher-Price calculator with big, bright buttons, we calculate the full game to cost $50.
Nintendo Wii console drops to $130 in two-game bundle
With both the holidays and the Wii U fast approaching, Nintendo has decided to drop the price of its older Wii console to $130 when sold with Wii Sports Resort and Wii Sports. The cheaper package should arrive in the States by October 28th and will ship in black (alongside black Wii Remote Plus and Nunchuk controllers), thereby replacing the current New Super Mario Bros. bundle that sells for around $150.
We want to play Peter Molydeux's 'CasCore' prototype
One of our favorite Twitter accounts, @petermolydeux, is a constant source of entertainment, but now he's taken it to the next level. Rather than leave it up to us to imagine his insane gaming ideas, he's gone ahead and created a video proposal for CasCore, a game that marries the casual gameplay of Wii Sports' bowling with the hardcore survival-horror genre. Give your imagination a break already and check out the prototype video above. How else will you see a child's dreams crammed into a bowling ball?
European blue Wii bundle takes Mario & Sonic to the Olympics, sends US gamers home without a medal
You didn't expect the Olympics to land in London without a video game tie-in snapping at its heels, did you? Of course not, but did you expect it to be bundled with a powder-blue console? Here's the skinny: Nintendo's Mario & Sonic at the 2012 Olympic Games Limited Edition Pack pairs the outfit's upcoming Gamecube-free Wii refresh with the ghetto fabulous chromatic pop of the 1970s' tackiest grooviest tuxedo craze. Like the "Family Edition" bundle that clued us in on the hardware refresh, this package has only been announced for Europe, and there's still no word on how much either set will cost. Nintendo of Europe says they will be announcing additional bundles later this year, but if you just have to have a matching console for your blue Wiimote, you can pick one up November 18th.
Nintendo to release streamlined Wii in the UK, at reduced, holiday season price
It may be a while before we see the Wii U hit the market, but it looks like a refreshed version of its predecessor will be hitting the UK market just in time for the holiday shopping rush. According to the UK's Official Nintendo Magazine, the refreshed console will sport a streamlined look and adjusted configuration, designed for horizontal orientation, rather than vertical. It will also be included in a "Family Edition" bundle scheduled for a holiday release, alongside a Wii Remote Plus, Nunchuk controller, and editions of Wii Party and Wii Sports. The downside, however, is that the slimmed-down Wii won't be compatible with GameCube games or controllers, though it will reportedly be sold at a reduced, unspecified price. No word yet on whether Nintendo has a similar update in store for markets outside of the UK, but we'll let you know as soon as we find out.
'Nintendo Selects' a slightly different set of games for Europe
Nintendo's new Mario Kart Wii pack is coming to Europe on May 20, at a "reduced trade price" around £129/€150. The budget "Nintendo Selects" line will launch in Europe the same day, featuring a slightly different lineup from the American version: Wii Sports, Animal Crossing: City Folk (under the overlong European title Animal Crossing: Let's Go to the City), Mario Strikers Charged, and WarioWare Smooth Moves. Mario Super Sluggers isn't part of the series because it was never released in Europe!
Wii drops to $150 on May 15, bundled with Mario Kart and wheel
Nintendo has officially announced an impending price drop for the Wii. As of May 15 (confirming our earlier report), the Wii will be sold at a suggested retail price of $149.99, and will come bundled with Mario Kart Wii and the Wii Wheel accessory. The new price applies to both black and white system models. Now that Mario and his comical transportation have been crammed into the box, Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort are out. On May 15, the original sports collection will join the "Nintendo Selects" line of budget-priced software, alongside The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Animal Crossing: City Folk and Mario Super Sluggers. Expect to pay $19.99 for each of those (and accept the obligatory punishment of polluted box art). %Gallery-122793%
Rumor: 'Wii Select' budget line launching this month
After only four and a half years, it looks like Nintendo is finally ready to introduce a line of budget titles in North America. Kotaku reports that the "Wii Select" line will launch alongside the newly discounted Wii, which is rumored to drop to $150 two weeks from now. The first titles reported to be part of the $20 lineup include The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Mario Super Sluggers and Wii Sports. Yes, Wii Sports is supposedly being removed from its position as the longstanding pack-in for Wii console bundles. Taking the bundle's place will be a Mario Kart Wii bundle, which will be sold at the rumored $150 price point.
Wii Ping Pong paddle reviewed, loved, unavailable for purchase
We've seen our share of downright silly controllers for the Wii (we're looking at you, CTA), and we were expecting more of the same, but we'll be darned if no less an authority than self-avowed Wii Sports Table Tennis addict Paul Govan (from Gamepeople.co.uk) hasn't given the Wii Sports Table Tennis Bat high marks all around: it's weighted like a proper paddle, the build quality is decent, comes with a battery and a charger and, most importantly, it "replicates all the features of [the] Wiimote and MotionPlus perfectly." Unfortunately, the reviewer states that this is a prototype from an as yet unnamed Chinese manufacturer, and has no idea when they might become available. Way to harsh our buzz, man.
Nintendo Wii gets American Heart Association's stamp of approval
When we heard that Nintendo and the American Heart Association would be making an announcement today, we (and most everyone else) assumed that it would have something to do with Nintendo's forthcoming Vitality Sensor. As it turns out, however, it's something altogether more surprising -- the AHA has announced that it's actually putting its stamp of approval on the Wii itself (as well as Wii Fit Plus and Wii Sports Resort). That's obviously a first for a video game console, and fairly unprecedented for the AHA -- as ABC News points out, the association hasn't seen fit to put its seal on other "active" things like baseball bats. It apparently had some small incentive to do so in this case, however, as the organization says it will be receiving a cool $1.5 million from Nintendo over three years as a result of the partnership. Head on past the break to see the AHA president explain the arrangement. [Thanks, Katie]
Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver reaches 8.4m sold; other Nintendo million-sellers revealed from last fiscal year
As an addition to its overall earnings report, Nintendo has released a list of first-party million-sellers from its last fiscal year (ending March 31). Many of these games, including Wii Sports and Wii Fit, have been out for years, but still managed to sell more than a million units over the last four quarters! On DS, Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver have sold an astonishing 8.4 million copies -- 3.78 million in Japan, where the game's been out since September, and 4.62 million outside of Japan in just a few short weeks of availability before the close of the fiscal year. Nintendo's Japan-only Tomodachi Collection sold 3.2 million copies, and Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box moved a respectable 2.43 million copies outside of Japan. Even Style Savvy, which has a somewhat low profile in North America and Europe, sold 1.21 million copies in those territories. As for two perennial bestsellers, Mario Kart DS and New Super Mario Bros. each sold over three million copies outside of Japan in the last fiscal year. Nintendo's marquee 2009 Wii titles, Wii Sports Resort, Wii Fit Plus and New Super Mario Bros. Wii, sold more than 10 million units each in North America and Europe alone; and worldwide, those titles sold 16.14 million, 12.65 million, and 14.7 million copies, respectively, through the fiscal year. But if you think those are big numbers, think again. Thanks to Wii Sports being bundled with the Wii system outside of Japan, the game now totals 63.46 million units sold. Heck, even Link's Crossbow Training (bundled with the Wii Zapper) broke a million sold in the last fiscal year. Head past the break for the complete list of million-sellers from Nintendo's fiscal year ending March 31, 2010. Source [PDF] - Supplementary information about earnings release [Nintendo]
Free Wii Sports Resort with Wii hardware at Target next week
Target is stepping up to match Walmart's $199 Wii bundle, which contains both Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort. While it won't come in a single box like Walmart's bundle, Target is offering a free copy of Wii Sports Resort with MotionPlus (normally with every Wii system purchased starting April 11. The retailer is also offering select Wii games including Super Monkey Ball: Step and Roll and the inexplicable Just Dance for $30 each. Though it's hardly competing with the pre-order deal Amazon has, Target also has a bonus offer for Splinter Cell: Conviction on Xbox 360, in the form of a one-month Xbox Live card with purchase.
Walmart-exclusive Wii bundle includes Wii Sports Resort
Walmart just announced an exclusive Wii bundle, containing both Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort, as well as the necessary MotionPlus attachment. It'll be available in stores today, and on Walmart.com this Sunday. There's no reason not to pick this one up instead of the normal Wii package: this new bundle sells for the same $199 price! According to Walmart, it'll only be available "while supplies last," which, given the history of the Wii platform, could be a surprisingly short time. Update: We were additionally informed by a Walmart representative that the bundle contains "[one] normal Wii console you would purchase -- comes with all the same components -- for $199, except that you're getting Wii Sports Resort (with the packaged Wii MotionPlus)." Still quite a deal!
Seniors can be tricked into exercising with video games, study might suggest
It doesn't take a research grant to figure out that exercise -- heck, just walking around the block once a day -- can have a dramatic effect on a person's well-being. The problem is that so-called "older adults," who are particularly prone to a mild but no less debilitating depression known as subsyndromal depression (SSD), are really just too bummed out to do much of anything. Here's where the grant money comes in: Dilip V. Jeste, MD, and his team of researches at UCSD gathered up 19 seniors diagnosed with SSD and had each of them play Wii Sports for 35 minutes, three times a week. "The study suggests encouraging results from the use of the exergames," Dr. Jeste reports. "More than one-third of the participants had a 50-percent or greater reduction of depressive symptoms." Additionally, most participants claimed that learning to to play those darned vidja games was actually pretty easy -- even enjoyable. Uh-oh. Red flag! You see, had Dr. Jeste continued his study, he might have found that his guinea pigs would soon discover that Wii Sports can easily be played with the slightest flicks of the wrist and, ah yes, it is nice to just sit back on the couch again, but, oh boy, this game is really getting boring, so let me just get on the dag blasted google and see what -- here we go -- "the best videogame right now," okay, the yahoo's answer says: World of Warcraft. Warcraft, eh? That certainly sounds better than bowling. Couldn't hurt to give it a quick gander ... click.
