Yikes. Be careful with those Wii-motes, kiddies. Not only do they cause all kinds of personal injury as well as property damage, but they are a damage to our cute and cuddly pets. Especially if you are bowling like a maniac and smack your new puppy in the noggin.

A family in Marquette, Michigan learned this the hard way because it is exactly what happened to Ozzie, their brand new miniature Sheltie. Apparently, the dog’s owner was playing Wii Sports when she swung her Wii-mote at the precise moment the dog jumped up towards her. She hit it in the head and killed it.

Fortunately for them, their neighbors came over and did doggy CPR (wtf) to bring the little guy back. They took him to the vet where he was treated for brain swelling, etc and now the dude is ok.

So, lesson learned. Be careful with your Wii-motes, people. For the love of all things furry.

Source- 9 News

Lots of people crack on Nintendo for not making hardcore games anymore. Today, a patent went public that may confirm this suspicion for many people: Nintendo’s Kind Code. What is it, exactly, you ask?

Though there is a lot of techno mumbo-jumbo to the patent and not many specifics are known yet, basically, the Kind Code allows you, if you get stuck at a point in a game, to become “unstuck”. This works by choosing a hint in a menu, or selecting an option that lets the game take control. If you’d like, you can also just load up a developer’s saved game with full stats/health/etc, and jump into any point of the game you want.

The idea is that this will turn more casual people on to hardcore games, so they don’t have to worry about getting stumped, or they can start the game from where ever they want, or they can just watch the game play itself.

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With what seems to be just a so-so year for the XBox 360 and a stellar year for the PS3 coming up, one wonders what Nintendo is up to for the future. So far, there are many that feel that Nintendo has left the hardcore gamers behind, but the overwhelmingly huge sales that they’ve been raking in deserve lots of praise.

Well it was only a matter of time before someone put together a list of the most anticipated Wii games of 2009, and Gamasutra delivered. I actually have to say that I’m pleasantly surprised by the list, as there are a couple of more interesting and normal games (rather than Wii Ware) that will be hitting. Apparently, the new Tenchu is actually showing lots of promise, Sin and Punishment 2 looks great and some of the other exclusives look rather unique.

Another interesting thing about the list? Most of the games on it are coming before the summer. So what’s Nintendo got up its sleeve? Thoughts?

Source- Gamasutra

In the epic fanboy debates of ages past and present, the ultimate factor always turns out to be console exclusives. Being able to tout a game that the other console doesn’t have wins major points, even if the other side pretends that they wouldn’t touch Halo or Metal Gear Solid if it was on their console of choice. Yeah. Right.

However, these days, console exclusives are light. Since games cost more to make, it’s just not financially reasonable to make an exclusive for one console when you can make more money by spreading the love and your game around.

Unigamesity has put together a list of the pure console exclusives from 2008, and compares their Metacritic ratings. Who wins? You might be surprised. For the record, I think Left 4 Dead should have been included on the 360 list. Sure, you can play it on the PC. But console-wise, you can only play it on the 360, which is what matters for the purposes of this argument.

Source- Unigamesity

Seriously. Kick me right in the nuts, because I must be dreaming. I’m not really sure how this hasn’t gathered more attention recently, but it’s true- Wii Sports is the best-selling game of all time, now at over 40 million copies sold, putting it past Super Mario Bros., the previous title holder.

Granted, these numbers are a bit skewed, as both of these games were bundled titles with their systems (a PS2 bundled game would have sold 100 million plus copies), but it’s still significant, as no game has ever sold more than the original SMB until now. And it’s Wii. Freaking. Sports.

Curious about the other top 10 best-selling games of all time?

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You all know that I’m not a huge fan of Nintendo these days. I won’t hide it, and very often (too often, I know) I like to prod Nintendo where I can, dishing out death by papercut through my snide remarks and witty criticisms. Most of that is due to the Wii, which I feel is a colossal stab in the back to the Nintendo hardcore, but unfortunately, the machine is a ludicrous success, so I guess it doesn’t matter.

Slapstic just recently posted an article titled Why NOW Is The Time To Abandon Ship On The Wii, discussing how 2009′s Wii prospects don’t look too promising. Mad World? Sin and Punishment 2? Wii Sports Resort? Apparently, that’s all we’re getting unless Nintendo has some tricks up their sleeves.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about joining this fellow writer and selling my Nintendo Wii as well. Still not sure if that is foolish or not. What do you guys think? Agree or disagree with the article?

Source- Slapstic

Wow, starting the new year off with a bang, eh kids? Already we’ve got a pretty epic fail/wtf-inducing moment to talk about. And this one just takes many a cake.

Apparently, a poster over at NeoGAF has informed the gaming community this his neighbor broke her Wii by putting a credit card in it. The defense? She was trying to buy VC games and she took “put in your credit card” a bit too literally. Now her Wii is broken.

Funny thing is, there are just as many games to play on it… Ok, I kid. I bash on the Wii too much, but let’s transfer that negative energy into making fun of this silly lady. How’s that for an epic fail? View some pics of the ordeal here.

Source- Kombo

Just a warning: watch this at your own risk. You thought the music in that WoW video was bad? Wait til you get a load of this ADHD freak’s screaming about his new Nintendo Wii. I’m not trying to be a grinch, I mean it’s cool that he’s excited. But still.

Major props to Nintendo for keeping the excitement for this going 2 years later. Seriously, I thought it would fade by last Christmas, but I was dead, dead wrong.

At least, that’s what analyst Colin Sebastian is predicting with his apparently magnificent prophesying abilities. In a report to investors, this dude listed a bunch of games up for release this year, and included the mention of a new Zelda title.

Seeing as how the last game released with the Wii in November 2006, this doesn’t seem to be too far off the mark. Given Nintendo’s track record in the last two years, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them bust out some crazy release dates on people part of the way through 2009. They did the same thing just this year with Mario Kart Wii, a flagship title for the console.

So what do you guys think? Excited at the potential of a new Zelda game dropping this year? What improvements or features do you hope Nintendo’s added to the mix? To think, you could have two games to play on your Wii instead of just the one. I kid. But really, share your thoughts.

Source- GameSpot

When there’s something strange, in the neighborhood… Who you gonna call?

Addictive song aside, this trailer actually arouses an incredible fanboy lust inside my nerdy heart. The Ghostbusters franchise is one that I love, and I’ve always felt that there was lots of untapped potential there in terms of more stories for the crew. This game will feature 4 player co-op from what I’m told. Just don’t cross the streams!

It’s no secret around these interwebz that while I respect the Wii’s bone-crushing grip on the marketplace this generation, I have a strong disdain for its gaming lineup and its gimmicky system. I will admit that it has served up a couple of titles that moved some small part of me to want to play, but overall, I have been a disappointed heap of a person.

Seeing Wired’s Top 5 Wii Games of 2008 only confirms these feelings of bitterness. I mean, besides Super Smash Bros. Brawl, this list has virtually no substance. This is not me disagreeing with the list. This is me completely agreeing that these are the 5 best games that Nintendo had to offer, and being horribly saddened by that realization.

What do you guys think? Will Nintendo redeem itself in 2009?

Source- Wired

Why am I so in love with this young songwriter? Well, allow him to serenade you with tales of Mario Kart with both his voice and guitar, and perhaps you too, shall be wooed. Also, there’s a moustache. My favorite line is about the sparks. And the different cups. Tear.

Sigh. Another really cool trailer for Prince of Persia. I guess you can watch it and get happy or something. Me? I’ll just sulk because it means another $60 out of my pocket. Thanks video gaming. You rule like a kick in the nuts.

Another trailer is out for Call of Duty: World at War, this one featuring sneaky foes hiding in secret jungles, ready to strike at a moment’s notice. This game released this week a little under the radar, considering how much hype was centered around it, but so far I’m only hearing great things. In particular, I hear the Pacific levels are wild and epic, with some huge clashes.

Has anyone played this? Tell us your thoughts!

We don’t like to post two videos in a row here, but this one is so cool I just had to make the exception. This is some kind hack/mod of Resident Evil 4, where a Link model was added. It is kind of awesome looking, and I kind of wish that the whole thing was in Hyrule, etc. Give it a watch.

Remember when your teacher would give you progress reports and it always said something like, “Not living up to potential”?
Yeah, me either. But I am sure it happens to people out there, just as we know that some games are not living up to their next-gen potential. This post will examine these chronic underachievers.

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So Nintendo has taken the time to put together a big mega list of every Nintendo game being released in 2009. This list includes both Wii and DS titles from first, second, third and every party in between. There are a surprising amount of games on there, so it’s definitely worth a look.

Now, how many of these games will be good and how many am I looking forward to? Umm… that part is a little harder to quantify. In a season where we’ve seen so many great releases and Nintendo has offered nothing, it’s hard to get excited about an Animal Crossing title in 2009 or a Dead Rising port.

But then again, I’m cynical. I do want Sin and Punishment and Super Punch Out, though.

What about you guys? Anything on the list you’d like to get your hands on for next year?

Source- Kotaku

For you cheaters out there who don’t want to earn anything (you know who you are), Kotaku has posted the color code to enter into Guitar Hero: World Tour to unlock every single song in the game. Back in my day, kids had to walk four miles in snow to get their cheat codes, and now you’ve got your bloggers just posting them for free!

All old man-ness aside, it’s actually pretty helpful for you guys that are going to be playing the game, I’m sure. My friends and I did this for Rock Band 2 and it made the game instantly more fun. Since doing this opens up all 84 songs to your playing enjoyment, I’m sure it’s a tempting offer. I mean, I’m lazy, so I’d probably do it, too.

Anybody going to get this game, or has already gotten it?

Source- Kotaku

Since Treyarc announced CoD: World at War’s Zombie co-op mode, I’ve been dying to see a little bit more gameplay. What you see here is some of the basic components of the mode, including the economy system, where players can buy pieces of lumber, furniture, etc, to barricade the zombies from attacking.

To me, the cool thing is that it’s all of the WWII action tropes combined with something you don’t always play. Plus, it’s limitless, so that’s a good time. Looks like a blast.

Over the years, I’ve owned a lot of consoles. At one point or another I’ve been the master of the NES, Atari, Sega Saturn, Sega Genesis, Sega Dreamcast, Sony Playstation (uno, dos, tres) the GBA, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 64, XBox, GameCube, XBox 360, PSP, the PC and Nintendo Wii. I like consoles, and the games that come with them. Each console represents a unique period of my life, in which I had a chance to become familiar with the system like a new friend, watching as they grew into their own.

The newest generation of consoles is starting to gather its steam, and so far things have been decent. However, as of late, more and more people are starting discussions about the next generation beyond the 360, the Wii and the PS3, speculating about development and wanting to know when the new systems will drop. My question is: is it time to be talking about this already? Have the big 3 earned an investment in a new console just yet?

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