All Things Digital's Peter Kafka interviewed Netflix CEO Reed Hastins during this year's CES. When the topic of Netflix's availability on gaming consoles arose, Hastins said that the chances of Netflix coming to the Nintendo Wii were "excellent". This lends credence to the rumors of a Wii/Netflix partnership that first surfaced in early 2009. While still a rumor, I'd say this one is almost certainly true.
SEGA announced today that Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing will allow you to race as your Mii on the Nintendo Wii version of the game. Players can take on the likes of Sonic, Dr. Eggman, Ryo and Amigo, as their Mii races towards the checkered flag on tracks inspired by your favorite SEGA worlds.
For more information on Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing, check out our recent preview.
Ahhh... My good friend and game industry truth-sayer Michael Pachter speaks again. The man continues to amaze me, I know analysts can seem a little... let's say 'slow', but Michael is the master of slow and not in the tortoise kinda way. Here is a snippet from a post on GameIndustry.biz:
Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter has said that he's certain a high definition version of Nintendo's Wii home console will be released. Nintendo needs to recapture the market for core gamers and overcome the image it's cultivated as a console for parents and children, said the analyst, speaking to AFP.
"Nintendo has to overcome that," said Pachter of the lack of hardcore titles in development for the Wii from third-party publishers. "A Wii HD would really position Nintendo well, which is why I'm absolutely convinced there is a Wii HD coming. "Businesswise, they can't have people saying that their machine is a toy for my mom," he added.
While I won't go so far as to say that there is no Wii HD coming, Mr Pachter is once again missing the point of the Wii -and- totally ignoring the facts. Nintendo owns nearly half of the console market and shows not signs of slowing down. They have opened up what was thought to be a niche market (casual gamers) and proved that it is huge. As a bonus, they have given their long-time fans refreshing new ways of gaming (If you haven't already, you've -got- to try Mario Kart's control scheme). Nintendo doesn't need HD. Period. Sure, we'd like it, and we'd like some more storage space as well, but in the end, Nintendo has put forward a very successful strategy that doesn't require top of the line graphics to keep going strong.
A bit of controversy around Wii Fit. With the often incredibly funny happenings over at WiiHaveaProblem.com fresh in mind, the fun anecdotes that focus on Wii Fit are rolling in. A new post on Nexus404 has word of Wii Fit having the audacity of calling a 10 year old fat. A blurb:
According to the Daily Mail (duly credited), the offending Wii Fit balance board, based somewhere in the South East of England, horrified the family of a 10 year old girl who's billed as being 'solidly built' (purportedly her father's words, not ours) when it called her 'fat'.
"She is a perfectly healthy, 4ft 9in tall 10-year-old who swims, dances and weighs only six stone," said the father, who did not want to be named for fear of embarrassing the girl further, states the Daily Mail who also reports that obesity experts are now calling for Nintendo's Wii Fit to be banned as far as young children are concerned.
Nintendo have responded by issuing a press statement reading: 'Nintendo would like to apologise to any customers offended by the in-game terminology used to classify a player's current BMI status, as part of the BMI measurement system integrated into Wii Fit. [The] Wii Fit is still capable of measuring the BMI for people aged between two and 20 but the resulting figures may not be entirely accurate for younger age groups due to varying levels of development.'
To be honest, if someone is fat, why not just say it out loud? People call me baldy, and for good reason. Being politically correct only gets you so far in life. :) But when you do, you should get it right. Six stone for a 10 year old girl seems to me to be a perfectly healthy weight. For the full article, check out Nexus404. :)
Activision, Inc. announced today "Pitfall: The Big Adventure" for Wii™ is in development at Edge of Reality and will swing onto shelves this Fall. With more than 10 million Pitfall titles sold to date, Pitfall: The Big Adventure will introduce the franchise to a new generation of gamers while bringing a fresh Pitfall experience to long time fans.
"Pitfall is one of the most legendary franchises in the history of videogames, so we look forward to releasing a new version exclusively for Wii," said Dave Oxford, Activision Publishing. "What could be more fun than using the Wii Remote™ to swing on a vine over blood thirsty crocodiles as retro-cool Pitfall Harry?!"
Set in the Peruvian jungle, Pitfall: The Big Adventure combines the action of reptile dodging and vine swinging with clever puzzles. The game will feature over 60 levels spanning lush rainforests, creature-filled caves, and glacial mountains.
Within these dynamic worlds, players will explore cavernous jungles, discover lost treasures, battle shamen, narrowly escape treacherous traps and outwit creatures using innovative, accessible game mechanics developed specifically to take advantage of the Wii motion sensing controls.
"Wii is a natural and perfect fit for a Pitfall game, and it's been fantastic to revolutionize this classic franchise through the application of the innovative Wii game mechanics. It's a completely new experience for the gamer," said Binu Philip, President, Edge of Reality.
I have a totally dull, tan colored PC sitting under my desk. To me, a PC is a tool that I use for a particular job. I use it for surfing, writing and editing reviews and -of course- playing games (which sometimes is a job too). But case modding has become very popular amongst PC gamers. Some of the case mods are true pieces of art. Interestingly enough, console owners have started doing this too. Below, one of the coolest looking case mods ever:
Don't you love analysts that don't analyze before they speak? According to Kotaku, Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter says that Nintendo has been diverting its Wii's to Europe. The reason for this is allegedly that there is more money to be made in Europe due to the weak Dollar. A snippet from Kotaku's post:
Wedbush Morgan analyst and Kotaku reader idol Michael Pachter went on record with the Dallas News with his theory on one reason it's still so damn hard to find a Wii. The United States dollar, he's paraphrased as saying, is so limp, that Nintendo is shipping excess consoles to Europe to meet demand there, squeezing out a bit of extra profit when all is said and done. It's not like Nintendo is completely abandoning American gamers—it sold 432,000 Wiis in February—it may just be allocating stock to its first class customer base.
Well Mr Pachter. I am from Europe and my wife has been trying to buy me a Nintendo Wii since the beginning of November as a Christmas present. Knowing her tenacity, I can tell you that it is no fault of her that it hasn't been Christmas for me yet.
Mr Pachter has been making a fool of himself before, so I guess it should have been expected...
Normally the HG team is a pretty laid back crew when it comes to deciding who will be reviewing a particular game. Yet when it came to decide who would be writing the review for the upcoming Super Smash Bros Brawl things got pretty heated. We managed to smooth things out only just in time (the subject of the squabble had already shifted towards the arena would be the stage for 'sorting it out the hard way'). This new trailer shows what this little brawl was all about. :)
Tired of the wire between your Wiimote and Nunchuck? So are we. IGN reports that help is on the way. Oddly enough, it is not coming from Nintendo, but from Nyko. While greatly appreciated, one has to wonder about the durability.
Today, IGN can exclusively reveal that Nyko will beat Nintendo to the punch with a wireless Nunchuck alternative. Set to make a public debut at CES next month, Nyko's Wireless Nunchuck will mirror most aspects of the first-party model but will finally cut the cord between the controllers.
As a fan of most things Bioware, Dragon Age II should be on my 2011 wish list. And yet, it isn't. More worrying still, why does Bioware seem hell-bent on keeping it that way?
Call of Duty Black Ops
Portal 2
Tropico 3
Nintendo have announced a North American release date for the supremely popular Wii title, Xenoblade...