Wired is reporting that the previously Japan-Only "Everybody's Nintendo Channel" will be Launching in the US alongside Nintendo's Wiiware service this may. The service will be known as the "Nintendo Channel" in North America and will feature preview videos, downloadable DS games,game demos and more. The channel will be available in the Wii Shop for free. Head on over to Game|Life for the full scoop.
I recently found out that DepletedDuracell has been making Wiicast Comics in our fourms. They're quite awesome. Head on over to the thread and check 'em out!
Prepare for a shock. EGM is reporting that a next-gen version of Splatterhouse is on the way. Did you download the original from the Virtual Console? You better have. There's no details as of now and no console has been confirmed. We'll find out later this week when the magazine hits subscriber's mailboxes. I don't know about you guys but the idea of swinging the Wii remote to whack goo monsters with a 2x4 has me as giddy as a schoolgirl.
This past march The Speed Gamers raised close to $1100 for St. Jude's Children's Hospital. This June they'll try to beat the clock again to raise money for Autism. Just as last time, I'll post the live feed and support these amazing guys in their endeavor. You can watch their new promo above (made by our own Marth18!)Check out all of the details at their website.
Details: We will be gaming for Autism live on web cam June 13th-16th. Currently The Autism organization we are gaming for is unknown. 2 web cams will be used to keep traffic minimal and to prevent lag for viewers. All the audio will be from the same source so that you can here the host clearly. The 2 web cams will give you different views, one of the host, another a direct stream of the gaming action. 3 gamers will be completing 7 games in 72 hours. Heres the list of games . The Legend of Zelda, Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link, Zelda: A Link to the Past, Zelda:Ocarina of Time, Zelda: Majoras Mask, Zelda:Windwaker, Zelda:Twilight Princess 3 hosts (not the same 3 who will be playing the games) will be reading through emails and keeping things interesting. We will be giving out Zelda games and merchandise to a few lucky people who email us. Upon completion of each game a name will be drawn. That means a total of 7 chances to win.
What a beautiful way to start a Monday! As of this morning, the classic beat-em-up River City Ransom is available to download. If you've never played RCR you owe it to yourself to plunk down the 500 Wii Points to do so. Phantasy Star III was also released today but really, I'd rather spend my 'A' button pushing time beating the crap out of bad guys than navigating battle menus. Here's the official word on the matter:
Wii-kly Update: Two New Classic Games Added to Wii Shop Channel
Helping out your friends is often as easy as a ride to the airport or a kind word of advice. But when they fall victim to dastardly kidnappers, things get a little more complicated. Step up and find out what it takes to rescue your imperiled pals in the latest additions to the Wii™ Shop Channel. Both of these classic titles feature distinctive rescue-driven storylines and villain-busting action to help bring out your inner hero. Isn’t that what friends are for?
Nintendo adds new games to the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time every Monday. Wii™ owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points™ to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week’s new games are:
River City Ransom™ (NES®, 1-2 players, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older—Mild Suggestive Themes and Mild Violence, 500 Wii Points): River City Ransom takes place in River City, where our heroes, Alex and Ryan, find a letter on Ryan’s locker from a guy named Slick. The letter says that Ryan’s girlfriend, Cyndi, has been kidnapped, and Slick has taken River City hostage with the help of countless gangs and evil bosses. It’s up to our heroes to save poor Cyndi and free River City from the clutches of Slick and his underlings. You can play as Alex and take on the challenge alone or battle with two players simultaneously as Alex and Ryan. Kick and punch to fight your way through gang members, evil bosses and other goons, or use a variety of weapons including a chain whip, brass knuckles and a tire, to name a few. Raise your stats by eating right, and gain new techniques by reading books. With your fighting prowess and never-ending spirit, the bad guys won’t know what hit them.
Phantasy Star™ III Generations of Doom (Sega Genesis, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone—Mild Fantasy Violence, 800 Wii Points): As Rhys, the crown prince of the Orakian kingdom of Landen, you are engaged to be married to Maia, a woman from a rival kingdom. But Maia is kidnapped on your wedding day, setting you on a quest filled with twists and turns that will reintroduce you to people and places from previous Phantasy Star games. This epic spans several generations of characters, and your choices will dramatically impact the way the story unfolds, which makes it a great game to play all the way through more than once. In Phantasy Star III, things aren’t always what they seem—check it out and watch the mysteries unfold.
As much as I gush about Nintendo's little white box, there's things I dislike as well. Here's a short rant of things I hate about Owning a Wii.
#5 Two Color Disc Art
Game covers can be amazingly beautiful. Artist put a lot of time and effort into making the covers of games look the best they can. Why are Wii owners stuck with lame dual color disc art that looks like it was printed using a LightScribe drive on someones HP instead of glorious full color like those other consoles? Would it really increase costs that much for full color printing?
Two Color Discs, For Shame.
#4 AA Batteries
Come on, Nintendo! Would it really been hard to add a USB connection port to the Wii Remote? You've got TWO on the back of the Wii that are unused! Why must you make us buy hundreds of AA batteries?! WHY?!
The Nyko Charge Station. A must Have for any Wii Owner.
#3 No DVD Playback
Well, We were promised DVD playback via an 'Internal Attachment'. Where is it Nintendo? It's been two years! Even the Gamecube had a version that played DVDs (The Panasonic Q)!
#2 512MB of Internal Memory?
Seriously? Even with the plans to launch Wiiware and hundreds of Virtual Console games available we still have to micro0manage our memory by deleting games or moving them onto SD cards. What gives Nintendo? How about external HDD support? C'mon, you know you want to!
SD Cards. Better stock up!
#1 Shovelware
Okay, we get it. The Wii is VERY popular. This does not mean that you can let any dude off the street release a piece of crap game on you system. What happened to the Nintendo Seal of Quality? Now, it's just The Nintendo Seal. What happened to the quality? If you put more time reviewing 3rd party software for quality, core gamers would be much happier.
*Shudder*
So there it is. My top complaints about the Wii. What about you guys? What irks you about the system?
