Visitors Online: 2079
Members: 46
Guests: 2033
Most users online: 8960
on Feb 12th, 2007 15:51:30.
Newest member, tronic111
Threads: 167344
Posts: 715827
Members: 388193
Sponsor
WII News is a News and downloads site for the
Nintendo Wii, We have all the latest emulators, homebrew and all the downloads on this site,
we also cover commercial gaming and console news. Part of the
DCEmu Homebrew & Gaming Network.
Nintendo Wii Consoles from HK imported WorldWide SuccessHK the Hong
Kong online Store sell all versions of Nintendo Wii and also the
latest Wii Games cheaper than most stores worldwide.
pembo has updated BootMii Configuration Editor to v2.0
BootMii configuration editor allows you to change the values in the /bootmii/bootmii.ini file without having to take out the SD card and edit it on a PC.
Version 2.0
Settings Dialog to change editor settings. This can be accessed by pressing the ‘HOME’ button. The settings are persisted to the langauges file, so if you change the language/skin, whenever you load BootMii Configuration Editor, your selected options will be the default
Internationalisation Supported (Currently English & Spanish Langauges available). Further langauges can be added by editing the bce_messages.xml file. See the readme.txt for details of how to do this
Please be careful if you do edit the XML file. A corrupt/non well-formed XML file
will result in a Crash of the Wii and will dump the stack to the screen.
Ensure you take a backup of the original before attempting to make any custom changes
Currently you can only use characters in the standard ASCII character set,
e.g. [0-9] [a-z] [A-Z] Some puncation characters may also cause issue
It is recommended that you do not use characters with any accents/umlauts/etc
as this will cause an issue
If you do create a translation for a new language please let me know and I’ll then include it in the next release!
Skins/Colour Change. The application can now be presented in a number of look & feels. Initially the following skins are available:
Windows - Windows Installer/DOS like look/feel with a blue background and grey windows
Console - Black background, white text with other colour text to highlight options/selections
Inverse Console - White background, black text with other colour text to highlight options/selections
Custom Skins can be added by editing the bce_messages.xml file. See the readme.txt for instructions on how to do this.
Online version Checking. When the Editor is loaded, it performs a check to see if the version running is the latest available version. If a newer version is available, then a message is shown for a few seconds during startup to indicate this. This online checking can be disabled if you do not wish BootMii Configuration Editor to check for a new version or do not have the wii networked. If you wish to disable this check, see the instructions in the readme.txt
Please be careful if you do edit the XML file. A corrupt/non well-formed XML
file will result in a Crash of the Wii and will dump the stack to the screen.
Ensure you take a backup of the original before attempting to make any custom changes.
I’m sorry for those of you who will be disappointed that I’m not posting to talk about Wii64 or WiiSX right now, but I have another little release I’d like to announce. A month or so ago, I was working on porting OpenJazz, a Jazz Jackrabbit 1 engine, to the Wii, and I got it in a pretty polished condition. However, I didn’t release it earlier because I couldn’t get the network support just right. I’ve decided to roll it out in its current state without networking and hopefully someone else interested in the project will pick it up because I’d like to focus more on Wii64. Anyone interested should check out: the google code page.
This is a massive release Super Mario Galaxy is now playable in this build and that should mean many other Wii Games are too, this makes this emulator great for Both for Gamecube and Wii Games, firstly heres a video:
Never mind what's at the bottom of this barrel, here's a list of 29 Wii games from Nintendo and the amount of hours people play them, per gamer.
(The following stats are pulled from the usage data shared by more than two million Wii users through the system's Nintendo Channel. For more information about how we calculate these total playtimes, check out this week's earlier Wii stats post)
Average Per-Gamer Playing Time For Nintendo's First-Party Wii Games (as of July 1)
(Release Dates in Parentheses)
Super Smash Bros. Brawl (March 2008) — 68 hours, 51 minutes
Animal Crossing: City Folk (November 2008) — 54 hours, 16 minutes
Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn (November 2007) – 46 hours, 40 minutes
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (November 2006) — 46 hours, 9 minutes
Wii Sports (November 2006) — 35 hours, 47 minutes
Mario Kart Wii (April 2008) – 31 hours, 40 minutes
Super Mario Galaxy (November 2007) — 27 hours, 37 minutes
Super Paper Mario (April 2007) — 24 hours, 13 minutes
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (August 2007) 21 hours, 37 minutes
Mario Party 8 (May 2007) — 20 hours, 39 minutes
Pokemon Battle Revolution (June 2007) — 20 hours, 2 minutes
Wii Fit (May 2008) — 18 hours, 18 minutes
Mario Super Sluggers (August 2008) — 17 hours, 39 minutes
Excite Truck – (November 2006) 12 hours, 39 minutes
Battalion Wars 2 (October 2007) — 12 hours, 23 minutes
WarioWare: Smooth Moves (January 2007) — 11 hours, 39 minutes
Excitebots: Trick Racing (April 2009) – 10 hours 56 minutes
Wii Play (February 2007) — 10 hours, 7 minutes
New Play Control! Pikmin (March 2009) – 9 hours, 44 minutes
Endless Ocean (January 2008) — 9 hours, 41 minutes
Wii Music (October 2008) — 9 hours, 17 minutes
Wario Land: Shake It! (September 2008) — 8 hours, 47 minutes
Punch-Out!! (May 2009) – 7 hours, 55 minutes
Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree (June 2007) — 6 hours, 56 minutes
Mario Strikers Charged (July 2007) — 6 hours, 18 minutes
New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis (March 2009) – 6 hours, 14 minutes
Link's Crossbow Training (November 2007) - 4 hours, 55 minutes
Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast (October 2007) — 4 hours, 41 minutes
New Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat (May 2009) – No Data Listed
On most TVs and projectors movies and games are too dark or missing detail in dark scenes. GammaX fixes this by adding a Gamma Boost without washing out the picture.
Simply plug the GammaX directly into the HDfury2, HDfury, HDfury Gamer Edition, or any device with RGB output and enjoy a more vibrant picture with perfect shadow details!
Using the original HDfury or HDfury Gamer Edition? The GammaX also includes a cable driver which lets you use monitor cables or long RGB projector cables (any length) without having to plug the HDfury or HDfury Gamer Edition directly into your TV!
The included power supply is not needed when the GammaX is used with the HDfury2, simplifying the cables and connections. (The power supply is needed for HDfury, HDfury Gamer Edition, or other RGB source users).
Many projectors and displays only work with either positive or negative sync RGB signals. The GammaX provides a user selectable positive or negative sync switch for displays that only accept negative sync such as the following projectors: Barco 800-801-808-1208, Dwin 500-700, and so on.
The GammaX is 100% Plug-and-play. No configuration or extra steps required. GammaX works at all resolutions, including 1080p and beyond.
Note: GammaX does not support component signals, only RGB. This includes the HDfury2 set to component (YUV) output mode. If you wish to add Gamma Boost to a component-only capable display, use the Box1020 instead.
- Input: RGBHV HD-15 D-Sub (VGA) Female Connector (direct connection to HDfury1 or HDfury2)
- Output: RGBHV HD-15 D-Sub (VGA) Male Connector (direct connection to TV)
- Cable driver built in allowing you to use an analog output cable of any length. Useful for using the original HDfury or HDfury Gamer Edition with monitor cables or long RGB projector cables. No need to plug the HDfury or HDfury Gamer Edition directly into your TV!
- Power supply included for use with HDfury, HDfury Gamer Edition, or other RGB sources
- Power supply not needed if used with the HDfury2, the HDfury2 supplies the power
- Plug-and-play, no extra steps required
- Adjustable Gamma Boost for restoring lost shadow details
- Slide potentiometer for easy Gamma Boost adjustment
- Compatible with all RGB sources
- Supports all standard HD formats and SD formats: 1080p-1080i-720p-etc. in NTSC-PAL-SECAM
- Supports all PC resolutions including extremely high resolutions such as 1600x1200-100Hz and 1920x1440-60Hz
- 450Mhz large signal (-3dB) bandwidth for virtually lossless video processing
- Full dynamic range for maximum picture detail at all resolutions
- User selectable positive or negative sync output for displays that only accept negative sync (ex: Barco 800-801-808-1208, Dwin, etc.)
- Precise black levels - no black crush or missing details or washed-out whites
The Wii's September 29 prequel to last year's Dead Space has a control scheme EA's Visceral Games couldn't put on an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. A new EA trailer shows how it works.
Dead Space Extraction will be out September 29. As you watch, remember, EA calls this a "guided first-person experience." Different platform. Different style of game. Do you like what you see?
There are several offerings spread across DSiWare, WiiWare and Virtual Console today - all in celebration of another Hanabi festival. This typically fills Nintendo's online cupboards with old games previously restricted to Japan, and bumps the price up a bit in the process.
Those oldies are action platform Mega Drive game Pulseman, and SNES strategy game Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen. Both cost 900 Nintendo Points (GBP 6.30 / EUR 9 approx - online-bought points and shop-bought points differ in price).
Today also marks the release of Konami's first WiiWare game Gradius Rebirth, which will be followed by top-down racer Driift Mania later this month and Contra Rebirth in August.
Gradius Rebirth is joined on WiiWare by Bit Boy!!, a pixelated RPG, which has 4-bit dungeons, 8-bit caves, 16-bit strongholds, 32-bit labyrinths, 64-bit arenas and 128-bit worlds. Apparently. Gradius Rebirth and Bit Boy!! cost 600 NP (GBP 4.20 / EUR 6 approx) each.
DSiWare boasts two Mario-themed extras - a clock and a calculator - for 200 NP (GBP 1.40 / EUR 2 approx) each. There's also Brain Challenge, which isn't Brain Training but might as well be. Brain Challenge costs 800 NP (GBP 5.60 / EUR 8 approx).
Ashes Cricket 2009 will be the first cricket game on Wii when it bowls into shops in August, and we've got some new screens.
Fully licensed players, kit and stadia will feature, along with four-player gameplay and modes including an Ashes Series, Test Matches and games limited to 20 overs, whatever that means (Ed - you what?*).
As you'd imagine you bat using a swinging motion with the Wii Remote, which'll let you drive, cut, slog and nurdle your way through innings, apparently.
"When fielding, players will use the Wii Remote to polish the ball, set their field and bowl accurately applying swing/turn to their deliveries in order to take those all important wickets," explains the press release, because we've given up trying to form sentences with all these cricket terms(*).
"Ashes Cricket 2009 will also feature a Scenario mode that will pit players against more than 50 match defining moments, such as scoring vital match-winning runs, taking dramatic last-gasp wickets and seeing off the oppositions' danger men to succeed."
So, a game about the sport fat men can be pro at is coming to Wii in August.
The number one game in the Japanese chart comes as no surprise following news earlier in the week that Wii Sports Resort shifted over 350,000 copies during its first four days on sale.
The Nintendo title, bundled with the new MotionPlus add-on, tops the all-format software chart for the week ended June 28 with a total sales of 359,690, outselling the second biggest selling title - Tomodachi Collection - more than five times over.
Its success may have impacted slightly on the Japanese hardware chart for the week too as sales of the Wii were up slightly from 19,386 last week to 21,790.
The console's DS stablemate delivered a near identical performance to the week prior with 45,480 units sold (39,995 DSi and the remaining for the DS Lite) compared to 45,995, and PSP sales remained solid at 26,789 units.
PS3 continued to take steps in the right direction with 11,310 sales, up from 10,359 the week previous. The software chart delivered similarly good news for the system, with three new PS3 releases - Atelier Rorona: Alchemist of Arland, BlazBlue and Agarest Senki Zero - debuting in the top ten.
The Xbox 360 and PS2 systems sold 5,766 and 3,578 units respectively.
The full hardware charts from Media Create follow:
Nintendo DS - 45,480
PlayStation Portable - 26,789
Nintendo Wii - 21,790
PlayStation 3 - 11,310
Xbox 360 - 5,766
PlayStation 2 - 3,578
The top ten best-selling games in Japan follow:
01 Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo) - 359,690
02 Tomodachi Collection (Friend Collection) (Nintendo) - 71,692
03 Atelier Rorona: Alchemist of Arland (Gust) - 43,243
04 Ken to Mahou to Gakuen Mono. 2 (Sword & Magic & School 2) (Acquire) - 38,614
05 BlazBlue (Arc System Works) - 33,768
06 BlazBlue (Arc System Works) - 24,812
07 Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days (Square Enix) - 22,114
08 Agarest Senki Zero (Compile Heart) - 14,466
09 Monster Hunter Portable 2 G (Capcom) - 12,985
10 Sloane and MacHale's Mysterious Story (Level 5) - 12,537
David Amor of Buzz developer Relentless believes that the unexplored casual genre will deliver radical new IP that will sell tens of millions.
Speaking to Develop in an interview published today, Amor drew on the phenomenal success of certain casual IPs, adding that the winning formula is not likely to go away.
“I think that casual games remain an untapped genre; I’ve worked in more traditional genres for years and years before saying “right, let’s make games for other people”, and I don’t think we’re anywhere near discovering how many games can be made to satisfy that audience,” he said.
“Guitar Hero did well, Buzz did well, SingStar did well, Wii Fit did well; this isn’t the end of that.”
“There are games, currently un-thought of in the casual genre, that will sell tens of millions. I’d rather have a business in that category rather than more established ones to be honest with you.”
If you have ever played Mario Paint for the SNES, then you have probably played the Gnat Attack game (also known as Coffee Break). My game is a spinoff of this, created for the Wii. I took many creative liberties with it, including redoing all of the sound effects with my brother and my girlfriend, and switching up the game modes just a bit.
There are two main game modes, the "Classic" mode, which is level based much like the original. There is also a "Swarm" mode which features endless enemies.
Changelog
V1.3 - 07/01/09
Classic mode supports 2 players now.
An options menu has been added to select graphics mode and toggle music/sfx.
Swarm mode uses new swatter graphics.
Screen shots can be taken by pressing the 1 button at any time.
Pressing the 2 button brings up a help screen.
Pressing plus during gameplay pauses game.
Added border during gameplay.
Nintendo's puzzle-solving, riddle-spouting hero Professor Layton is known for his ability to perplex and bewilder, but his latest announcement may be his most brainteasing ever -- he's been invited to mix it up in Smash Bros.
Before you get too excited, though, calm yourself and re-lower your expectations. It seems that it's nothing more than a gag, and not a real confirmation of his addition to the fighting series' roster or a new Smash Bros. game in development.
This all came to light courtesy of Twitter, where Nintendo has set up a regularly updated page for the character under the name TopHatProfessor. Through several "tweets" issued throughout each day, the good Professor reflects on life, offers advice on how to be more gentlemanly and delivers riddles that he then invites his Twittering followers to answer through direct messages back to him.
It all seems to be for the purpose of drawing attention to the upcoming August release of the newest game in the DS series, Professor Layton and The Diabolical Box. But the top hat hero certainly got a bit of extra attention yesterday, when he began to imply that he'd been asked to join the Smash Bros. lineup. His first tweet on the topic was this:
I received an invitation this morning to something called the "Grand Smash Brothers Tournament". Does anyone know anything about it?
Atari's slow collapse continues with the loss of the company's most lucrative franchise. No, not Ghostbusters -- it's Dragon Ball, which has produced approximately a billion video games so far. The franchise will now go back to Namco Bandai, the original Japanese publisher of the series. According to a statement by Namco Bandai, the agreement will run for five years beginning in January 2010 and will supersede any existing publishing rights. In addition, Namco Bandai will publish the upcoming Dragon Ball: Raging Blast game for Xbox 360 and PS3, Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo for Wii, and Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans for DS all this year.
The loss of the Dragon Ball franchise is perhaps the greatest evidence of the financial challenges that face Atari. Earlier this year, the company pulled out of E3, sold its European publishing division, and even sold exclusivity rights for Ghostbusters, all presumably for a small cash influx. With Phil Harrison recently stepping down from his position at the company, it's clear that Atari will see even more troubled times ahead
Awesome news for No More Heroes fans: creator Suda 51 told Edge that he wants to continue the series. "I really want to make NMH a big franchise," he said, "and with this second episode have bigger success."
Slightly less awesome news for certain No More Heroes fans: if the series does continue past Desperate Struggle, it probably won't be on the Wii. "I think this is the last NMH that is going to be developed on Wii," Suda said. "To expand NMH to new possibilities, we need a new platform. Wii is a great platform, but we've done everything we can with it now."
Recent comments from Suda suggest that he's looking toward the Natal-enhanced Xbox 360 for at least one future project -- and No More Heroes was originally planned as a 360 game. Perhaps he's realized that charging Travis Touchdown's beam saber could be made even more embarrassing without a Wiimote prop.
In any case, it may be a bummer for Wii-only gamers, but at least if No More Heroes comes out on one of the other consoles, the "hardcore" types will be able to admit it's wonderful without having to say something nice about the Wii.
Three teens swiped a neighbors Wii and enlisted the help of a mother to pawn the stolen loot.
Joshua Carter (18), Patrick Early (16) and Derrick Henson (13) have all been arrested on felony charges for stealing a neighbor's Wii. According to Early, his mother, 41-year-old Maxine Law, helped them unload the console at a local pawn shop — even though she knew it was stolen.
The Florida state attorney's office is looking into the matter, and Orlando's WFTV reports that it is possible that Maxine Law could be charged with dealing in stolen property and contributing to the delinquency of minors. You'd think that someone named Law would know better.
Voice-activated exercise specialist VPT Technologies has been spotted trademarking the names Fitness Hero and Workout Hero.
Siliconera laid eyes on the patent, which mentions "a web-based videogame system to connect all users in a safe and secure global network".
Phrases like "align the various markets" and "synergistic" are thrown in almost for fun.
Activision has had immense success with Guitar Hero, which has lead to spin-offs of Hero-related rhythm titles. DJ Hero arrives on its wave of marketing-powered excitement this autumn.
Gearbox appears to want a piece of the Hero pie as well, having recently trademarked a quartet of familiar sounding names: War Hero, World War II Hero, Modern War Hero and Brothers In Arms War Hero.
If you subscribe to Nintendo Power, the latest issue should be arriving at your house very soon, and Aeropause has the scoop on some details on Nintendo's upcoming line-up from the issue. Most important to folks reading this text is likely what Miyamoto had to say regarding the new Legend of Zelda game announced back at E3: "I don't think it's going to be that radically different." But, what about the theory that the girl being the Master Sword? Surely that is the plan for the game, and surely that is radically different!
And, in typical Nintendo fashion, that's all Miyamoto had to say. He left us hanging to speculate, and we're sure most will be able to turn this appetizer of a quote into a five-course meal. Have at it in the comments below!
Take-Two and Rockstar are expected to release two brand new downloadable episodes for Grand Theft Auto IV in fiscal 2010, and release GTA V the following financial year.
That's according to analyst Todd Mitchell, who told GamesIndustry.biz that following the release of Xbox 360 exclusives The Lost and the Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony, two all-new episodes are due – possibly across both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 platforms.
"I would expect that there would be two more pieces of downloadable content for GTA IV, that's what has been indicated to me, although formats are unsure. It's been indicated to me to me that would be the case," said Mitchell, of Kaufman Bros. Equity Research.
Mitchell also stated that he's expecting Grand Theft Auto V to be released in the 2011 financial year, and there's also the possibility of a new GTA title for the PlayStation 2 next year.
"Coming out of E3 there was no commitment to a new Grand Theft Auto, and I think that's because of Rockstar's track record with delivering on time," said Mitchell.
"Of the three, I'm least confident in saying for sure there will be a new GTA for PlayStation 2, but the track record shows that PSP titles have been repositioned [on PS2]," he said, referring to the recent announcement of GTA: Chinatown Wars for the PSP.
Despite all the talk of Rockstar's biggest franchise, Kaufman Bros. has upgraded Take-Two to a 'buy' rating because the publisher is demonstrating that it no longer needs to rely on GTA to score blockbuster hits.
Newly announced Rockstar title Agent will be released in 2010, said the company, along with an as-yet unannounced title from 2K Games
"We believe Take-Two has a solid line-up for fiscal 2010 even without a GTA V release," noted Kaufman Bros.
"Our outlook includes expected strong sell-through of Bioshock 2, and the release of two 'AAA' titles, each from Rockstar (Red Dead Redemption and Agent) and 2K Games (Mafia II and TBD), reiterations of 2K Sports and 2K Play's annual line-ups, an expected GTA title for the PS2, expected strong sell-through of GTA: Chinatown Wars for the PSP, and new GTA DLC for the Xbox 360 and PS3.
"We now look for the release of GTA V in fiscal 2011, and believe IP introduced in fiscal 2010 can be turned into iterative franchises that will improve Take-Two's long-term earnings profile by lessening its dependence on GTA," said the firm.
Mitchell added: "What we're saying is Take-Two is now becoming a proper company rather than a one hit wonder. After GTA V in 2011, they can come back with more franchises and not be forced to rely on that every other year," he said.
Kaufman Bros. expects fiscal 2010 revenue for Take-Two to hit USD 1.3 billion, and USD 1.6 billion in 2011 with a GTA V release.
"Now that this shoe has dropped, and a case can be made for solid profitability in fiscal 2010 without GTA V, and the follow-on of higher earnings in fiscal 2011 with a GTA V release, we believe the investment case for Take-Two has improved and investors can begin to get more constructive with the name."
The current generation of games consoles could struggle to deliver the types of game experiences the majority of gamers want and end up as niche products within a couple of years, according to Playfish chief executive Kristian Segerstrale.
As the demand for social games distributed via Facebook and other social networking sites grows, he predicts that incompatible, prohibitively expensive games consoles could fail to compete with the more accessible and connected experiences online services can deliver.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Segerstrale said: "I think that games consoles - while they might be an important part of the industry now - might become niche in the next couple of years. It's not at all clear if it even makes sense to deliver this type of gaming on a home console."
While Microsoft's move to market the Xbox 360 as a social entertainment experience is a step in the right direction, ultimately the platform cannot compete with PC and other internet connected portable devices, he predicts.
"The challenge is, no matter how social you try to make a console not everybody has one. Not all your real world friends will have the same console as you do. No matter how social you make it you will only reach, if you like, vertically. You will only reach your friends who have an Xbox 360."
Going on to discuss EA's entry into the social gaming market, Segerstrale was positive about the publisher's involvement, saying a big presence in the market by them will lead to higher quality experiences for users.
"They clearly believe, much as we believe, that games are becoming services and that retail distribution for games will decline quite rapidly from here onwards. And I think that the most important thing for social games is to ensure the quality of the end user experience."
"The only threat that I see to the industry is that in the search for early profit and maximising early results for companies, companies will act overly aggressively in how they try to monetise users, which is not good for anybody," he added.
Picture the scene: you've been working at Nintendo in Japan for 10 years. You've worked both as a programmer and as a designer on titles as ubiquitous as Wii Play and Wii Fit. So what do you do?
You quit the company in order to start a website dedicated to user-generated pictures of action figures, of course.
According to an article on ITmedia, Motoi Okayama, 33, is a self-confessed internet addict - "to the point where people wondered when I was able to sleep", he said - and was growing disillusioned with the fact that his job at Nintendo didn't give him the opportunity to work with the internet.
"Thinking about my 10 years at Nintendo, I started to get impatient, that there were these things I wanted to do. The fact that I didn't get to have an influence on the internet disappointed me. Nintendo has a very strong family-orientated brand, and I felt certain resistance to being able to start up any new online services.
"Nintendo doesn't have any projects relating to the internet, and it'll never pull out completely from packaged goods. It just seemed the next step."
The website, FG, was launched nine months ago, and now features 18,000 members. And it's not the last he plans to create, either: "Because I've come late to the net business scene, I want to try all sorts of weird things, and keep on creating new services."
The current-gen UK console install base has hit 24.2 million units, according to data released by Chart-Track.
Wii comfortably leads the way in the UK with 5.4 million units sold as of June 27, 2009. Xbox 360 sales are currently at 3.9 million while PS3 sales sit at 2.2 million, says Chart-Track.
On the handheld front DS sales are approaching ten million units and in comparison PSP has shipped 3.3 million units so far.
Nintendo's still winning then. Full data follows:
DS - 9.4 million (including 300,000 DSi sales)
Wii - 5.4 million
Xbox 360 - 3.9 million
PSP - 3.3 million
PS3 - 2.2 million
Universal Music has pledged its back catalogue to a new karaoke game set to challenge SingStar. CasualGaming.biz's sister site MCV has revealed that French label Mindscape will publish U-Sing in time for Christmas across the UK and Europe.
The firm has previously signed distribution deals with UK publishers for releases in the territory – such as its deal with Koch for Deal Or No Deal and Golden Balls games, plus the upcoming Coronation Street title.
However, MCV reveals that U-Sing will be independently published by Mindscape following the deal with Universal.
A Mindscape spokesperson told MCV: “U-Sing will offer the whole family the chance to sing the hits of Universal Music – from the biggest known classics through to the latest trendy tunes.
“Each country will have its own list of most popular local and international artists.”
The U-Sing brand will become a full series in future, with each game offering different game modes and Voxler voice recognition technology.
They will be marketed in France, the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Benelux and Australia and will eventually become available on all platforms.
Artists such as Amy Winehouse, Black Eyed Peas, Girls Aloud, Paul Weller and Lady GaGa are on Universal’s books – but U-Sing’s song line-up is yet to be confirmed.
The title appears to fit with Universal’s ‘U’ re-branding. Its UK website was last year renamed to Umusic.co.uk.
Telltale Games has released a clip from Tales of Monkey Island, coming to Wii and PC later this year. See it here.
"It's a peek at the first few moments of Tales of Monkey Island Chapter One, 'Launch of the Screaming Narwhal'. You might notice that it includes an sample of some of the inventory-item-combining action you'll face while playing," says the dev.
Tantric has released a new version of his Dos Emulator for the Wii:
Features
USB Keyboard and mouse support.
Wiimote pointer support.
SD/USB mounting.
Most DOS games are playable.
Instructions
You need a Wii Remote and a USB keyboard.
The C: drive will automatically be mounted to sd:/DOSBox/ if loaded from apps/dosbox-wii/. Otherwise, the directory the dol is loaded from will be mounted as C, and sd:/DOSBox as D (if present). The Z: driver is a virtual drive that is part of DOSBox.
Other drives can be mounted using the MOUNT command. Prefix sd: for an SD card, and usb: for a USB drive. The Wii's DVD drive and network folders can't be mounted at this time.
The configuration file is loaded from the directory the dol is located in (if present) and sd:/DOSBox/dosbox.conf otherwise. This file will be created automatically after you start DOSBox. Please edit it with a text editor to choose settings appropriate for each game.
Press the Home button, type "exit", press Ctrl+F9, or press Reset (on the console) to exit.
0.73.02 - July 1, 2009
Upgraded DOSBox engine to latest SVN
Fixed lockup when only using the Wiimote (no attachments connected)
Compiled with latest libogc and SDL Wii
In "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was.
Harry suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching.
Meanwhile, the students are under attack from a very different adversary as teenage hormones rage across the ramparts.
He is determined to make his mark, albeit a dark one. Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same again.
See Harry and friends in action before the movie hits the cinema. The Half Blood Prince is available on multiple platforms:
Xbox360™
Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince US US$ 64.90
Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince ASIA US$ 49.90
PlayStation3™
Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince US US$ 64.90
Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince ASIA US$ 49.90
Nintendo™ Wii
Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince US US$ 54.90
PlayStation2™
Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince US US$ 44.90
Nintendo DS™
Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince JPN US$ 48.90
Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince US US$ 34.90
Sony PSP™
Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince US US$ 44.90
Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince ASIA US$ 42.90
PC Game
Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince (DVD-ROM) US US$ 34.90
Normally when Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter whips out his crystal ball and starts getting the vapors, he doesn't have time to turn on his minirecorder and take down the futurespeak channeled through his body. Luckily for us (and you!), he not only recorded it this time, but also wrote it down in the form of the 2009 Interactive Industry Report! We delved through the beast of a document this afternoon and found an interesting segment regarding the Nintendo Wii relying on "slower adoption rates of current generation technology" (read as: high-def displays) to help boost sales.
Pachter writes on page nine of the report, "The global recession served to benefit Nintendo at its competitors' expense," referencing Microsoft and Sony as having slower console sales this generation due to HDTV functionality built into the systems. He argues that consumers who might purchase the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 are more likely to buy the Wii not only because of the lower price point, but because of the subsequent HDTV purchase price. "Expect most consumers to defer purchasing a PS3 or an Xbox 360 until they have purchased an HD monitor," Pachter explains. Though we're not convinced that the same folks who would be purchasing an Xbox 360 or a PS3 would be running out to buy a Nintendo Wii in every case, we digress.
Among the many fascinating (and not so fascinating) takeaways from Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter's recent and massive industry report are revelations about the current console adoption rate. As much as the Wii has seemingly penetrated previously untapped demographics (see grandma's now defunct bridge club) and ostensibly raised console adoption rates to new highs, the current generation is practically dead even with the last one when comparing the two generation's first four calendar years on the market. That is, from 2005 (when Xbox 360 launched in late November) through 2008, the current generation of consoles (Wii, PS3 and 360) combined for approximately 78 million unit sales, according to Wedbush Morgan estimates. Comparatively, from 2000 (the year PS2 launched) through 2003, the previous generation (GameCube, PS2 and Xbox) combined for 78–79 million unit sales. However, in this pivotal fifth year, Wedbush Morgan predicts the current adoption rate will begin to pull ahead of the previous rate.
Remember the rumored Wii version of Brütal Legend? It was rumored that EA planned to release a Wii version of the game, developed by someone other than Double Fine. The very mention of the project made Tim Schafer uncomfortable.
According to Destructoid, that Wii release, which we don't even know was real to start with, has been canceled. "Word has it that quality assurance testers who moved from Electronic Arts to Double Fine were recently let go," Destructoid notes, "after the demise of the project left their services unnecessary."
Whether the game was real and canceled or never existed at all, the net effect would seem to be the same: no Brütal Legend game on Wii. If it really was so bad that EA decided to cancel the project, we can only feel grateful that the company didn't subject Wii fans to the kind of embarrassment we had to endure whenever a screenshot of the Wii Dead Rising came out.
Industry veteran Ian Livingstone has warned that 2009 will be an all or nothing year for publishers, as new releases either climb high in the charts or completely sink at retail.
Speaking exclusively to GamesIndustry.biz, the life president of Eidos said that publishers are pumping more money into developing and marketing bankable franchises, leaving smaller titles choked on store shelves.
"A lot of titles have already hit the shelves and there is a deluge planned for Christmas, but I think 2009 will be remembered as the year of 'roast duck or no dinner'," he said in an interview published today. "Big ticket titles continue to sell well but many of the smaller titles will probably disappoint their owners."
"There's a glut of product and in a discerning market there is no room for mediocrity. To make a suboptimal game with a suboptimal marketing spend is a recipe for disaster," he added.
"I think we'll continue to see more production resources going into fewer titles supported by even bigger marketing budgets. Publishers are continuing to raise the investment bar, ensuring the mega-franchises will rule."
Wii Sports Resort has sold 353,827 units in its first four days on sale in Japan. The Nintendo game, which comes bundled with the new Wii MotionPlus add-on, was released on June 25.
The sales figures, reported by Famitsu and translated by Kotaku, put the game just behind Mario Kart Wii and Super Smash Bros Brawl which shifted 608,000 and 816,000 units respectively during the same period, making it the third fastest-selling Wii game in the region.
Wii Sports Resort - Nintendo's long-expected follow-up to Wii Sports - was announced at E3 last year. It will be released in the West in late July.
It’s news that will be greeted with nothing less than total delight from its hordes of fans – 505 Games has captured the rights to publish a video game based on cherished film licence Grease.
The game, which is being developed by UK outfit Zoe Mode, is being produced in conjunction with Paramount Digital Entertainment (who will also co-publish the title) and will allow players to sing and dance alongside Danny and Sandy using motion controls, microphones and the DS’ touch screen.
“We are really excited about working with Paramount Digital Entertainment to turn this world famous film into a video game for the very first time,” 505 MD Ian Howe stated.
“Working with such a well known and much loved brand is a great opportunity and we believe the collaboration further strengthens 505 Games’ entertainment portfolio.”
Paramount Digital Entertainment’s senior VP of video games John Kavanagh added:
“Paramount Digital Entertainment is pleased to be working with 505 Games to develop Grease. Grease is the ideal opportunity to reach a broad gaming audience who love to sing, dance and have fun with a party-style game.”
This is the first gameplay footage of FIFA 10, EA's next footy effort packing all of that juicy new tech it talked about early last month.
It's only a short trailer, apparently all actual gameplay footage, and it looks really bloody nice. Slow motion slide tackles, furry grass and realistic ball physics are all present and correct.
According to EA it "features core gameplay refinements based on responsiveness and intelligence, plus a completely overhauled Manager Mode that includes more than 50 major improvements."
A release issued back in May unveiling 'Countdown To A Healty Body - Active Health With Carol Vorderman' stated that Active Health could sync with Wii Fit. Nintendo's let us know that it won't, it was a mistake.
The original release explained that the DS title will link up with Wii Fit. Turns out, it won't.
"Active Health allows you to input any exercise completed on Wii Fit into your personal activity log but the two systems do not directly sync with one another," Nintendo has explained.
Active Health With Carol Vorderman is due to be released on August 7. We're sure you're gutted.
suloku offers a first version of the port of the freeware "Meritous" for the Wii game action / adventure / dungeon crawl directed by Lancer-X/ASCEAI PC.
Quote:
Far below the surface of the planet is a secret. A place of limitless power. Those that seek to control such a utopia will soon bring an end to themselves.
Seeking an end to the troubles that plague him, PSI MERIT user journeys into the hallowed Orcus Dome in search of answers.
