Make Way for the New DS

While lots of rumors and speculations have been swirling about a looming announcement from Nintendo, it seems that someone has finally broken a story. MCV is reporting that tomorrow morning, Nintendo is going to be announcing a brand new and upgraded model of the Nintendo DS.

Apparently, this DS is going to be designed to compete with the PSP, which is kind of rocking the DS in terms of sales recently. While nobody knows all of the additional features, it seems that it’s going to feature both an MP3 player as well as a camera of some kind. Looking forward to seeing more about this tomorrow. Who else is excited about the new DS?

Source- MCV

New Final Fantasy for the Wii

Since the Tokyo Game Show is on its way soon, you can expect tons of new info to come out of Japan like this over the next few weeks. In the newest issue of Shonen Jump, Square Enix has dropped that a new FF: Crystal Chronicles game is coming to the Wii in January.

The new game is called Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time. It’s no Final Fantasy XIII, but hey, Final Fantasy is Final Fantasy. Apparently, it’s coming to the DS too, and will allow online playability between DS and Wii users.

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Retro: Playable Famicom in Wii Music

In an act of total fanboy service, Nintendo has stuck the original NES into Wii Music’s broad and eclectic repertoire of instruments. While I kind of made fun of this game, and still am inclined to, some of the game-related sounds coming out of this seem like they’d be a lot of fun to do stuff with. Plus, I’m a dork for all things related tot he original Famicom.

Rayman Raving Rabbids: Heroes Spoof

I enjoyed the first Rayman Raving Rabbids for the Wii alright. It was a good time, I had fun with some of the mini-games, but let’s get real- the rabbids were the best part of the darn game. And even better than the game, the promotions and commercials they appeared in always made me chuckle.

This newest commercial even pulls a spoof on the new season of Heroes, poking fun at the Level 5 business we’ve been seeing on all the teasers. Fun stuff. Any of you dudes into Heroes, or does your heart pull favorably towards some other show? Me, I’ve lost some faith in Heroes recently…

The Revolutionary Controller?

A lot of debate has generated over the last few years about what makes the perfect gaming console controller. While many swear by dual analog sticks over something like say, the Wii-mote, it’s hard to ignore how overly complicated and cumbersome some controls have become.

On the flip side, the Wii needs a ridiculous amount of accessories and peripherals to even play all of the games you might want to buy. And not everyone likes waggling. So, what’s the perfect controller look like? The guys over at NintendoWiiFanboy have tried to put that together.

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Today’s WTF: Wario Dominates YouTube

This falls under the category of the oh-so-rare “good” WTF. Nintendo just put up a new Wario video on YouTube, and I demand that you go watch it. It’s a very clever piece of marketing from Nintendo, and I admit to giving out a “WTF” once I saw that something wasn’t quite what it seemed.

Normally, I would just embed this, but in this one instance, it would kind of ruin what Nintendo’s got going on. So go ahead. Go check out Nintendo’s YouTube Wario video. You won’t regret it.

The Super Mario Wish List

For many, the name Mario is synonymous with platform gaming and console gaming as a whole. Nintendo’s mustached mascot has become a global icon over the past couple of decades, and his self-titled platformers seem to show no signs of slowing down any time soon.

With the release of each successive proper Mario title (let’s just exclude Super Mario Bros. 2 and Super Mario Sunshine, shall we?), Nintendo has found ways to up the ante, building on the formula and shaking it up enough to make it new and exciting.

SMB3 added super suits and a huge world where players could explore new areas by choice, Super Mario World expanded the exploration and included new platforming elements, Super Mario 64 blew open the Mushroom Kingdom into three dimensions and Super Mario Galaxies stretched those dimensions upside down and around curved planetoids.

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Wii Music: Harpsichord Beats Dog

After the recent “dog” demonstration from Nintendo, I had to say that my hopes for Wii Music were all but dashed upon the rocks of my sanity. There’s no way on the lord’s green earth that you would catch me playing a dog instrument.

However, the new Harpsichord demonstration definitely looks promising. Beyond just waggling and dongling, the player looks to be totally engaging with the instrument in a realistic way, without paying $200 for a box full of goofy plastic peripherals. Cool stuff. Maybe I can play the wicked riff from “In My Life” by the Beatles.

Seth MacFarlane Does Mario

In the classic case of two great tastes that taste hilarious together, Seth MacFarlane, creator of Family Guy, has introduced a new web product called the Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy. One of his first installments tackles Super Mario Bros. More specifically, Mario saving the Princess.

If you’re a fan of the humor of Family Guy, this should be right up your alley. The Star Power tune gets me every time.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGE34VAqYTk[/youtube]

World’s Most Useless Toaster

But it makes for a pretty awesome NES system, no?

Once again I am baffled by the ingenuity of some people. This seriously has to fall under maybe the coolest Nintendo mod I’ve ever seen. It even has a “making of” video to match! Seeing the SMB3 cartridge in their is wrecking hell on my nostalgia gland, as well.

If you guys had a thing like this sitting in your room, which old games would be the first ones you pulled out?

Source- WiiFanboy

WiiMote Mods are Mod-tastic

More mods, anyone?

After posting some pretty sweet Wii Case Mods, WiiFanboy has also followed up with a list of 5 Great Wiimote Mods. I have to admit, some of them are just ridiculously awesome. As I said before, I can’t even see 1) where people get the imagination to perform these kinds of modifications and 2) where people learn how to make these things into anything they want.

Personally, I prefer the Power Glove and the Gun models. Thoughts?

Source- WiiFanboy

Sonic Rolls for Initiative

Sonic the Hedgehog was just about one of the best reasons to own a Genesis back in the day, but dude hasn’t aged all too well in the recent years. In fact, he is said to be on street corners, selling his fur and… other… unmentionable services to random passersby.

However, things seem to be on the up and up for our dear spiky blue friend, what with Sonic Unleashed showing off totally retro 2 1/2 D gameplay full of all the Sonis tropes we know and love. And now, there’s the Sonic DS RPG that’s set to hit at the end of this month, produced by none other than developer Bioware.

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Neo-Geo on the DS

I’ve never been one to do much homebrew action. But I know that some people out there are into violating their own electronics like a prison cellmate, so I thought I’d post this guide I came across over at DS Fanboy about playing NeoGeo games on your Nintendo DS through NeoDS.

Metal Slug X and King of Fighters, anyone? You can find the actual guide at RacketBoy. Video demo below.

Microsoft: Wii Wins, We Won’t

Looks like MS has accepted along with everybody else that Nintendo has won this round, and is now shooting for 2nd place in the console war over Sony’s Playstation 3. Essentially, they’ve figured out what everyone else knew almost a year ago.

Don Mattick, senior VP of Microsoft’s interactive entertainment division, recently told Business Week that even with the new Xbox 360 price drop, they don’t figure that they’re in any place to catch Nintendo at this point. And let’s face it, the Wii is essentially a Benjamin factory for Nintendo these days.

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Wii-markable Case Mods

While browsing the interwebz as I am wont to do, I stumbled across a particularly cool piece over at WiiFanboy that I just had to share. They’ve put a gallery together of 5 of the most ridiculously awesome case mods that they’ve seen for the Wii.

They’re actually incredible on so many levels, particularly the Mario Galaxies and the Zelda mods. Sometimes, I wish I had the artistic ability and technical know-how to pull off such a feat, and then I remember that I am worthless. Anywho, go check out the wii-markable mods.

Have you guys seen any particularly supreme PC or console mods? Link ’em!

Virtual Console Gets Super Mario RPG

So I might have a reason to get the Wii going again. Let me sidestep the crude joke you were no doubt going to insert into that thought and say that Super Mario RPG has landed on the Virtual Console as of Labor Day. That’s yesterday, if you are too lazy to look at a calendar.

Super Mario RPG is no doubt one of the finest games I have ever played, so this news thrills me like no other. It’s a great combination of platforming and RPG tropes, and at the time of its release, I had never really played another game like it.

Do yourself a favor and get it, for the love of things holy and bright. How many of you have played this game before? Thoughts?

PAX: Waggle Fight!

I was actually surprised by how much Nintendo had to show off in its section, including Animal Crossing, Super Mario Sluggers, Wii Music, Tales of Symphonia Wii and Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels. Since we had a fun discussion about it on GamerSushi the other day, I figured I’d capture some dudes going at it, waggle style.

Rumor: Waggle Your Saber With More Accuracy

Everyone knows that one of the first things they geeked out about when they imagined playing the Nintendo Wii was some kind of super badass lightsaber dueling game. This fantasy may or may not have included a sarlacc pit and jedi robes.

Well, in addition to their other two lightsaber dueling games (The Clone Wars:Lightsaber Duels and The Force Unleashed), it seems that LucasArts might have a third one in the works—this one utilizing one-to-one motion with Wii’s new MotionPlus.

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