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Japan’s largest magazine gives the game a perfect rating.

The first verdict on Smash Bros. Brawl is in, and boy is it positive. Japan’s Weekly Famitsu reviewed the recently delayed fighter in its latest issue, and awarded it a rare perfect rating.

Each of the magazine’s four reviewers gave the game a 10 out of 10 and offered up some glowing comments. All reviewers made particular note that the game’s single player mode is long and that you can get plenty of fun by just playing the adventure mode. One reviewer even had high praise for the way the game presents its story.

Smash Bros. joins a select crowd of perfect score recipients that includes the likes of Final Fantasy XII, Soul Calibur, Zelda: Wind Waker, and Nintendogs. Japanese shops often post copies of the Famitsu box reviews next to games on retail shelves, so a perfect rating may have some effect on sales.

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More on Hudson’s multi-faceted Wii sports title.

Hudson has released further details - including new screens - of it’s Wii Sports challenger Deca Sports. Featuring 10 distinctly different disciplines, it promises to fully utilise the unique controller and should go some way towards quashing the Wii drought in the coming months.

The 10 sports on offer are beach volleyball, snowboard cross, badminton, basketball, curling, figure skating, archery, supercross, soccer and kart racing. Of particular interest to us is Curling – as anyone who has witnessed the frenzied antics of curlers in full effect at the Winter Olympics will attest, it truly is the sport of kings.

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Retailers get a chance to spend the week restocking hits and cashing out gift cards as a thin release lineup of offerings hits stores.

The first half of 2008 looks to be a big one full of anticipated games like Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Metal Gear Solid 4, and Grand Theft Auto IV, but the first week of the new year shows little to suggest the coming storm.

In fact, only Nintendo’s Wii is expected to see any retail releases at all this week. Destineer has a handful of budget titles on tap for Nintendo’s newest console. Kidz Sports: Basketball and Myth Makers: Orbs of Doom join a trio of motor-minded offerings in Kawasaki Quad Bikes, Rig Racer 2, and Monster Trux Offroad in new release aisles this week. On the downloadable front, the Wii Virtual Console welcomes the NES version of arcade classic Bubble Bobble (500 Wii points, $5), the Genesis action role-playing game Light Crusader (800 Wii points, $8), and the NeoGeo side-scrolling action game Top Hunter (900 Wii points, $9).

In a smidgen of non-Wii-related release news, Microsoft is adding SNK Playmore’s Metal Slug 3 to the Xbox Live Arcade for 800 Microsoft points ($10). The game includes local multiplayer for up to four players, with online play supporting up to six gamers.

This week’s new releases are listed below (list taken from retailer information–actual dates may vary).

DECEMBER 31, 2007
Kawasaki 4X4 Quad Bikes (Wii)
Bubble Bobble (Wii Virtual Console)
Light Crusader (Wii Virtual Console)
Top Hunter (Wii Virtual Console)

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Take photos of exotic animals in this new Wii effort from Majesco. Info and pics inside.

Third-party publisher Majesco Entertainment on Thursday revealed that is planning to release Wild Earth: African Safari for Wii. The title puts players in the role of a photo journalist sent on an adventure through Africa’s Serengeti National Park to photograph and chronicle 30 different exotic animals, from elephants and hyenas to rhinos. The title, which appears to be an enhanced port of an earlier PC version, is developed by Super X Studios. A summer 2008 release date has been set.

“Wild Earth: African Safari encompasses several great passions — photography, travel and the outdoors — and combines them into a fun and informative interactive experience,” said John Merchant, marketing manager, Majesco Europe. “With exclusive new features found only in the Wii version, Wild Earth: African Safari lets people experience one of nature’s most complex and diverse habitats, without needing their passport or inoculations.”

Players will wander the African territory and take pictures in order to put together “informative magazine-quality pictorials.” Nabbing the best photo will have to be balanced against drawing too close to the animals. According to Majesco, the Wii remote will begin to rumble as players near and frighten animals, making the picture photo much more difficult.

There are two new features exclusive to the Wii build of the game, including a three-player cooperative mode and a Safari mini-game in which “gamers can play the animals’ perspective using intuitive gestures via the Wii remote.” Talking Drum Records has additionally provided an atmoshpheric soundtrack for the console game.

Full features at a glance:

• Complete 11 picture-taking missions with both primary and secondary objectives. Investigate the bold hyena during a midday thunderstorm. Observe gentle giraffes in the hidden valley from the aerial view of a helicopter. Meet a family of elephants as they take care of their young, etc.
• An exclusive new Safari Mini-Game mode only for the Wii lets you use the Wii Remote to play from the animal’s perspective in 11 different games
• Includes more than 30 African animals including: cheetah, crocodile, crowned crane, elephant, flamingo, frog, bat, gazelle, giraffe, hippo, hyrax, leopard, lion, ostrich, oxpecker, pangolin, rhinoceros, suricate, tortoise, trout, vulture, warthog, wildebeest and zebra
• Brand new cooperative multiplayer mode gives players the choice to drive the vehicle or snap photos while playing with anywhere from 1 to 3 friends

And More…

Online-ready and at a bargain rate.

Many months ago, IGN reported that Nintendo was set to publish a title called Wii Chess, which is exactly what the name suggests: namely, chess for the company’s hit console. Now, German news source Der Spiegel has updated with new details about the game. According to the publication, Wii Chess will feature an online component in addition to local multiplayer. It will also include several different gameplay types and will sell for a reduced price tag — in the neighborhood of $29.99. Der Spiegel states that a January 18, 2008 release date is panned for Europe.

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Dungeon-crawler and action-RPG in one. First details, screens and video.

Publisher Atlus on Wednesday revealed that is planning to release the dungeon-crawler / action-RPG, Baroque, for Wii and PlayStation 2 next February. The project, designed for the hardcore RPG crowd, revolves around a dark storyline in which death is just the beginning. Verbatim from Atlus:”You awaken to find the world in ruin, your heart beset with unexplained guilt. A cataclysm has destroyed the cities and empires of men and disfigured the spirit of humanity. In this nightmare, it falls to you to descend a mysterious tower in search of absolution. Battle merciless foes through treacherous dungeons, scour for new items to aid you in your travels, and unlock the secrets of a devastated land. You will find death in the depths, yet learn that death is not the end of the story; in the twisted world of Baroque, it is only the beginning.”

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Plus, first Square Enix RPG!

We thought the big news in Japanese Virtual Console land came earlier today when Nintendo announced that Pokemon Snap would be updated for its VC release with e-mail functionality.

But then we saw the full list of December titles for the Japanese service. Included in the list are a certain Super Mario Bros. 3, along with the first RPG from Square Enix.

No, it’s not Final Fantasy, and it’s not Dragon Quest. Instead, everyone’s favorite RPG maker has chosen the late SNES title Treasure Hunter G as the first entry in its genre of choice.

Here’s the full list of December titles for the Japanese service.

[SET FOR DECEMBER RELEASE]

• Downtown Nekketsu Koushinkyoku (Arc System Works, Famicom, 500 points)
• Pokemon Snap (Nintendo, N64, 1,000)
• Rolling Thunder 2 (Bandai Namco Games, Megadrive, 600)
• Gate of Thunder (Hudson, PC Engine, 600)

[SET FOR DECEMBER RELEASE]

• Super Mario Bros. 3 (Nintendo, Famicom, 500)
• Metal Slader Glory (Hal Research, Famicom, 600)
• LunarBall (Pony Canyon, Famicom, 500)
• Super Street Fighter II (Capcom, Super Famicom, 800)
• Treasure Hunter G (Square Enix, Super Famicom, 800)

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Send pics of your Pokemon to friends.

A new twist for Virtual Console owners will arrive in early December as Pokemon Snap arrives on the Japanese version of the service.

The classic 1999 N64 title, in which players take pictures of their Pokemon, will hit the service with a brand new feature for the Wii: the ability to send pics to friends. You’ll be able to post your pics as messages to the Wii Message Board and send them along with comments to friends in your friend list.

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Well, one number, at least.

A tiny bit of extremely rare insight into Nintendo’s Virtual Console sales status was provided today at a press conference held in Tokyo by Nintendo and NTT to formalize their upcoming business tie-up for Internet service.

During a Q&A session following the press conference, Nintendo’s Shinji Hatano fielded a question regarding the current success of the Virtual Console service. In addition to reiterating a past figure of 7.8 million downloads so far, he revealed that the service has generated 3.5 billion yen (approximately $33 million) in sales.

The Nintendo executive said of these figures, “We’re currently unsure if this is a lot or low. They’re not bad figures.”

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Find out why this has absoultely nothing to do with you.

As previously announced at Nintendo’s Fall press conference, Nintendo and Japanese telecommunications giants NTT East and NTT West are teaming up to get Wii owners connected to the internet. Today, the three firms held a press conference in Tokyo to formalize their plans.

Nintendo and the two providers will be offering a cheap way for Wii owners to get started with a super-fast fiber optic connection. Starting 11/29, the providers will begin taking orders for the Simple! Convenient! Leave the Wii Connection to Us Pack. Yes, this sounds much better in Japanese.

The 6,800 yen pack includes everything needed for a “Flet’s” fiber optic internet connection, including the setup charges for the connection, a wireless access device from Buffalo (Wi-Fi Gamers), and a 1,000 point Wii Point card. In addition to this, customers can select one of two free options: in-home setup service by NTT professionals, or a bonus 1,000 point Wii Point card.

Those who want a full wireless router instead of the Wi-Fi Gamers device can add 2,000 yen to the price to get Buffalo’s Air Station WHR-G router.

In addition to this package, the the NTT companies and Nintendo will start as of 11/29 joint management of the new Wii Flet’s Connection Support Center, a consulting service for those with burning questions about internet service through the Wii. This service, will start off with small capacity, on the scale of under 100 people, but will be expanded if traffic warrants it.

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Get your first look at Namco’s latest RPG.

Following up on the game’s proper unveiling last week, Bandai Namco has opened up a full website for Fragile, an original Wii RPG in development over at Tri-Crescendo. Access the site by clicking here.

The site has most of the info that we posted in last week’s update, but it also gives you a chance to hear a bit of the game’s soundtrack, and view first footage.

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Use your Miis in Camelot’s new golf game.

Capcom Japan shared a few new screenshots earlier today of its upcoming Wii golf game, along with one awesome new bullet point: Mii support!

We Love Golf! will let players use their Wii avatars as playable characters. The characters will appear directly on the green, and will animate in line with the action.

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Mario’s still got it.

Not only is Super Mario Galaxy the best-reviewed game of this generation, with the highest review average of any title on Wii, Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, but it’s also the biggest early success story for Nintendo. According to the publisher, the platformer has sold more than half a million units in America since it released last week.”Super Mario Galaxy had the strongest one-week debut of any Wii game to date and has also become the best-selling Mario title ever in its first week, with U.S. sales of more than 500,000, based on internal sales figures,” said George Harrison, Nintendo of America’s senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. “It makes an easy gift choice as the holiday shopping season kicks off.”

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Wii and DS are the two best-selling systems for the month. Details and comments from NOA inside.

Until last month, Nintendo’s Wii and DS systems collectively held the top two spots on NPD’s videogame hardware sales charts since November of 2006. Then, Master Chief stepped in to help Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console edge past sales of Wii in September - if you’re counting, by about 26,000 units; 360 sold through 527,000 consoles in September and Wii 501,000. Well, another month has come and gone and Nintendo’s two platforms have reclaimed the number one and two positions in October, according to NPD.Wii was the overall best-selling system for the month with 518,000 units moved. Another 458,000 people bought Nintendo’s handheld, meanwhile. Some 366,000 people picked up an Xbox 360, 286,000 a PSP, 183,000 a PlayStation 2 and 121,000 a PlayStation 3.

Unsurprisingly, the best-selling game in October was Halo 3 with almost 435,000 units sold. The second best-seller was Guitar Hero 3 on Xbox 360 with about 380,000 in sales. Activision successfully tapped into the Nintendo audience, too, though, as Guitar Hero 3 for Wii was the third best-seller for the month with almost 290,000 units sold. It beat out Guitar Hero 3 on PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3, the latter of which didn’t even make it into the top 10 best-sellers for the month. Wii Play continued its successful run with another 240,000 unit sold.

“It’s the fastest-selling console that we can remember,” Nintendo’s vice president of marketing and corporate affairs, Perrin Kaplan, said of Wii in a telephone conversation with IGN Wii. “And I think it’s going to continue to get bigger.”

Wii outsold Xbox 360 in October without having a Halo 3 killer. How? “It’s apples and oranges. So many millions of people are enjoying the Wii experience and so many millions of others want to have it,” said Kaplan. “It really, in many ways, has very little to do with the other companies. Those who are hardcore gamers are going to own several systems. And you have to remember that there are millions of gamers who have yet to experience Wii Sports for the first time.”

Asked if she thought Halo 3’s boost to Xbox 360 sales would represent a peak point for Microsoft’s console, Kaplan responded, “I think time will tell. I just know that Nintendo has really true expansion that’s going on in a pretty amazing way.”

Going forward, Nintendo’s focus is to make sure that “product gets into the hands of consumers.” Kaplan declined to give exact monthly shipment numbers for Wii, saying only that the company is on target to release 17.5 million consoles globally by the end of its fiscal year. “We’ve raised our projections several times this year. We’re ramping up production. Obviously, the demand is there.”

Kaplan “absolutely does think” that Wii’s hardware sales figures will be larger in November than they were in October. Sales will be spurred by the recent release of the company’s flagship holiday title, Super Mario Galaxy, which debuted to rave critical reviews on November 12. So far, the game has performed “crazy good,” according to Kaplan. “The launch of Galaxy has done really, really well. We’re looking to put together some numbers for you soon.”

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PS2 version in the pipeline too.

Atari has confirmed that Wii and PlayStation 2 versions of Alone in the Dark are in development alongside the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC games already announced. Both of the new versions have apparently been designed from the bottom up to utilise each machine’s potential, but will boast many of the features crammed into the next-gen games. That’ll be guns and scary monsters, then.

The Wii controls will be adapted to work with the game, with players using the Wii-mote and Nunchuk to manipulate objects in real time, “enhancing the player’s immersion in the experience” according to Atari. Quite how this will materialise into the game remains to be seen but if it’s anything like the Wii version of Resident Evil 4 we’d be suitably happy.

Mathias Hautefort, executive vice president of publishing and production at Atari, claims the conversion from next-gen systems to less powerful machines has been tricky, saying: “Realising the enormous ambition of Alone in the Dark is a huge technological challenge, which becomes even more demanding on Wii and PlayStation 2.” However, he believes that dev team Hydravision will deliver on its promise, adding, “We’re certain players will be impressed, not least with the Wii game which is perfectly adapted to the gameplay thanks to the console’s unique controllers.”

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That channel formerly known as Check Mii Out hits European Wiis - and we, er, check it out.

If you’re a Wii owner, you’ll probably fall into one of two camps when it comes to Nintendo’s channel updates. Either you’ll consider them harmless added value with just enough addictive whimsy to keep you occupied for a couple of minutes in moments of vague boredom, or you’ll be on the side that bangs and wails and upends tables, frothing and glowering at the injustice of it all. ‘Why are you wasting all this time when you could be making games?!’, you’ll bleat at anyone who’ll listen - usually on internet forums. ‘How dare you foresake me with your dedication to the casuals, Nintendo?’, you’ll shout. Camp number one: we have an update! Camp number two: bugger off.

Yes, that’s right, mere hours after our American cousins, Nintendo has flung its gift of popularity at unsuspecting European Wiis in the shape of the Mii Contest Channel. Previously, Nintendo has referred to its long-promised update as the Check Mii Out Channel, including in its latest US press release, so we’re not quite sure what happened there.

Anyway, in case you’ve not been paying attention, the basic premise this time around is the wholesale whoring of those Miis you probably created when you first got your console then completely forgot about 20 minutes later. With the advent of the Mii Contest Channel, you can frogmarch the pinnacle of your creativity right out in front of adoring eyes, ready to be judged, insulted or revered.

Nintendo’s Mii Contest Channel comes in two parts - the Posting Plaza and Contests. The first lets you share your funny-faced creations with the world, swiping anything you might take a particular fancy to, and the second presents a variety of theme competitions to participate in. The general idea is that you whisk up a Mii to match the task then upload the fella, ready to be judged by Wii users across the globe. It’s then possible to keep yourself updated on your progress via the ‘Results’ tab and see how close your Mii is to victory.

There’s not much to report on the latter section of the channel just yet, given that Nintendo is operating contests on a fortnightly cycle - the first week offering ample time to prep your Mii around the given theme (currently ‘Mario without his hat’ in honour of upcoming Super Mario Galaxy’), ready for upload via the Submit panel and the second week for voting all entrants. This being the case, we’ve got no idea how the voting process actually works right now, with most of the Contest section inaccessible until next week.

Of far more interest is the Posting Plaza, which is already heaving with an impressive roster of nifty Miis. Currently gathered under the heading of ‘Today’s Top Miis’, you’ll find an amazing spectrum of familiar faces including - in no particular order - Peter Griffin, Mr. T, Mario, Darth Vadar, South Park’s Kenny, Ali G, Jack Black and, er, Hitler. These are all gleaned from either a regional or worldwide selection, but you’re free to alter that on a whim.

Miis can be viewed based on a number of categories, including Top 50, Pot Luck and your own personal Favourites. It’s also possible to search for Miis via either their unique reference code (looking not unlike Nintendo’s dreaded Friend-related digits of doom) or by a combination of gender and ‘talent’. You can select your Mii’s particular talent during the posting process and these cover a wide range of activities including Comedy, Acting, Art, Athletics and Conversation. Clearly we got bored of scrolling down the list after the letter ‘C’. Finally, you can also check out Miis based on Mii Artisan Rankings. Here, you’ll find a list of top-rated Artisans (that is, the Mii you’ve chosen to represent yourself on the Contest Channel) and all their majestic creations for easy browsing.

However you choose to check out Miis, they’re all displayed in static groups of 50 on the main screen. Static, that is, unless you hit the ‘Parade’ button, in which case Miis will dash onto the screen in groups of three and perform a nifty move to win your affection. It’s a pointless but classically Nintendo touch and its hard not to melt a little as Hitler prances into the spotlight and either karate chops, goes down on one knee or makes hearts fly out of his bottom in a bid to capture your heart.

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The Wii will be primarily a game machine for the time being.

Looks like potential Wii owners are going to have to judge the system exclusively based on its gaming (and photo management, internet, weather, and so-on) functionality for the time being. Nintendo Japan has posted a message at the Q&A section of its site stating that the promised DVD-ready Wii won’t make it out in 2007.

As reason for not introducing the new model this year, the company cited a need to need to maintain effective production in order to keep up with worldwide demand for the Wii.

This DVD-ready system would basically be just like the current Wii, except with the ability to play DVDs. According to the Q&A, it would have no external changes to the hardware or any other added functionality.

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Traveller’s Tales and TT Games now part of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment following acquisition.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group has announced its aquisition of UK-based developer Traveller’s Tales and its publisher TT Games, both behind the hugely successful LEGO Star Wars series of games.

Jon Burton, managing director of Traveller’s Tales noted of the acquisition, “After 18 years in the video games industry, the opportunity to become a meaningful part of the world’s leading entertainment company is the fulfilment of a dream. Now that we are part of Warner Bros., I think it’s safe to say we are exactly where we want to be.”

Despite the move, TT Games will continue to manage its existing relationships with LEGO, LucasArts, and Guinness World Records, ensuring upcoming titles like LEGO Batman and LEGO Indiana Jones will be unaffected.

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Consoles and handhelds fly off the shelves in island nation as the holiday season approaches.

Sales of hardware units were up across the board in Japan last week, according to figures released by Media Create.

Nintendo’s DS Lite continued to remain on top, despite the PlayStation Portable’s three-week surge following the release of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII and the new PSP Slim.

Unit sales were up across the board compared to the week before, with the DS Lite shifted 76,243 units on the week, with the PSP being its stiffest competition at 59,792 systems. The Wii sold 27,502 units, while the PlayStation 3 followed with 18,785–widening the gap from PlayStation 2 sales, which stood at 11,698. Xbox 360 figures were also up for the week, rising to 3,718.

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IGN uncovers new videogame nemeses for the Dark Knight’s upcoming LEGO adventure.

During last Friday’s Wii LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga public unveiling at Nottingham Game City, Jonathan Smith, head of production at Traveller’s Tales Games let slip a few tidbits of information regarding upcoming title LEGO Batman.

Having wowwed the crowds with a toy lightsaber taped to a Wiimote, Smith wrapped up proceedings with LEGO Indiana Jones trailer before turning his attention to the Dark Knight’s LEGO debut, revealing that Batman villains Nighthawk and Man-Bat are among the denizens of Gotham City who’ll make it into the game.

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