Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Lots of people have been speculating that the next entry in the Lego games franchise, to follow up Batman and Indiana Jones, would be something to tie in with the release of the next Harry Potter film. However, gaming site videogaming247 claims a source let slip to them that, instead, the next Lego game by developer Travellers Tales would be Lego Rock Band. Let the chorus of "what???" begin.

While this one is a tough rumor to swallow, for reasons of rights, viability, and silliness -- and we're always mistrustful of these anonymous sources, no matter who they're talking to -- Lego Rock Band would be both hilarious and completely awesome, so we're going to cross a few fingers.

Animal Crossing: City Folk was seen as a bit of a disappointment by some longtime Animal Crossing players, due to the fact that it is extremely similar to previous iterations, with a perceived lack of much new content. But the real worth of any Animal Crossing game is revealed by its longevity, and we thought we would query you guys about that as we begin 2009.

Are you still actively participating in your town's life? If so, how long have you had the game? Do you foresee City Folk becoming a long-lived pastime for you, or will you put it down as soon as something else catches your eye?


[Image via Technofranki]

2009 promises to be a busy year for Platinum Games, home of Clover alumni and all-round awesomeness. MadWorld will be curb-stomping our happy, grateful faces into pulpy mush in March, Infinite Space will grace our DSes, and the company is also developing some game for the others.

Faced with such an intimidating stack of deadlines, the company took drastic action, and designed a new logo. Replacing the old design is what looks like a slightly shorter, plumper version of the PlayStation "P," alongside ... a star? A shuriken? Something great, anyway. Something which will fill the the worker ants with pride and increase output by 493% this calendar year. Oh, and it's all lovingly rendered in "Platinum Silver," don'cha know.

Company President / CEO Tatsuya Minami will be discussing the deeper meaning behind the new logo later. There's always a deeper meaning behind these things.

He's back at it again. Following up his incredible display centered around Super Mario Bros. 2, drummer extraordinaire Andrea Vadrucci has put together another video of himself. This time, he's banging out some key tunes in Super Mario Bros. 3. As one would expect, his execution is near flawless and, well, it's just a great video to watch. Check it out already.

[Via Kotaku]

For the few of you out there still waiting to sink your teeth into Rock Band DLC, Harmonix has announced the company is getting closer to flicking the switch that will turn on the tidal wave of DLC awaiting Wii gamers. As you all know, we're supposedly getting all of the DLC from the first game, as well as the second (and a bunch of free tracks, to boot). If you're keeping score at home, that's a lot. Right now, Harmonix is working on getting the 20 free tracks available, as well as 30 from the Rock Band DLC catalogue, to start.

Of course, a lot of you still feel cheated by Harmonix and have decided to go with Guitar Hero: World Tour instead, as you've made known time and time again. It's perfectly understandable. We probably would've done the same thing if we had a lot of money to blow on plastic instruments. The problem is that when you work for cruel masters like we do, you're only paid in vicious beatings.


[Via CVG]

If you're one of the eight individuals on the planet yet to acquire Guitar Hero Something, roughly now would be a good time to start. In a heartwarming display of post-festive cheer bid to rid itself of excess stock, the troubled Circuit City is offering savings on two Guitar Hero game/guitar bundles: Guitar Hero III and Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, both for $47.99.

Alternatively, if you're a grizzled, orange-button-happy Guitar Hero veteran whose home and life is being gradually consumed by plastic peripherals, Amazon is willing to sell you Guitar Hero World Tour for $34.99 -- sans another instrument.

Source: Guitar Hero III Wireless Bundle -- $47.99
Source: Guitar Hero Aerosmith Special Edition Wireless Bundle -- $47.99
Source: Guitar Hero World Tour -- $34.99

[Via Punch Jump]

According to a business statistics group, Market Share, the PS3 delivers more web traffic than the much more popular Wii. Stats put the PS3 at a 0.04 share of the overall internet market, with the Wii trailing behind at 0.01. With more Wii consoles out there than PS3s, and a superior method of browsing (controller vs. Wiimote, Wiimote wins), we're a tad bit shocked.

Of course, one must take into account the fact that the Wii's web browser is no longer free. For a large part of the console's first year on the market it was, so that likely has a lot to do with how many folks are using their console to surf the web. The PS3's browser has always been absolutely free.

How many of you use your Wii to cruise the seedy backstreets of this intertron we all know and love?

Remember the kid that was so happy to get himself an N64 for Christmas? Of course you do, who doesn't? Well, it would appear the torch has been passed on to a small Canadian child, who is a bottomless well of excitement upon receiving a certain gift this Christmas. We won't ruin the surprise (you probably already guessed, anyway), so just head past the break and watch the video. Oh, and if you need a refresher on the N64 kid, hit up the video above.

The white coats at Nielsen have been at it again, analysing our gaming lives and charting the consoles we use most. Unlike the Nielsen study we posted about previously, this one takes into account pre-Wii/PS3/Xbox 360 platforms. This means that the PS2 stormed to a predictable, convincing victory: 30.2% of "all measured console minutes" were dedicated to Sony's nine-year-old machine.

Despite its smaller user base, the Xbox 360 was second with 18.3%, while the Wii came third with 13.5% -- high enough, we feel, to put any no-doubt-hilarious Wii/dust jokes to rest. Excellently, the GameCube is following the PS3 more closely than you'd think.

A quick disclaimer before you scuttle past the break to see the data in full: these numbers cover January to October 2008, there's no word on whether non-U.S. gamers were surveyed, and handhelds aren't mentioned, though are presumably bracketed in the "Others" category. Multiple console owners who are richer than us: how closely do your own habits follow this pattern?

We just figured out what makes zombies so appealing to game developers. The Uncanny Valley effect created by motion-capturing real people (like Japanese punk band Gagaga SP) and transferring their movements to imperfect 3D models is a good thing when the result is supposed to be off-putting and creepy.

This video (it's the one on the far left of Capcom's movie player widget, labeled "new", if you're browsing the site) features cameos from a bunch of Dead Rising characters, as a zombified Gagaga SP performs the new Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop theme, called, uh, "Dead Rising." The very existence of this video has suddenly made the game more awesome! It's cool that Capcom has put so much effort into something this goofy and fun.

If you happen to have a Japanese cell phone, you can download the song. If not, and the song has well and truly bored into your head as it has ours, you're just going to have to watch the video again, or you can stream a sample of just the audio here.

[Update: added embedded video.]

[Via Wiiz]

Despite reporting on it back in 2007 and reading the Wikipedia entry so many times, we're still foggy on what market capitalization is -- we think it's basically how many shares of stock are in the public, multiplied by the cost of one share. We have an impressionistic idea of what it means, though: the bigger the number, the more likely the company's executives are to have Segways (for example).

So how did Nintendo fare? They finished 2008 with the fourth-highest market cap in Japan, according to the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The number, 4.7813 trillion yen ($52.7 billion), is way down from where it was in 2007, but what isn't? A halved market cap actually sounds bad, and it probably is, but they're still in the top 5 companies, and still selling tons of systems and games, so it's probably nothing to worry about. First-place Toyota dropped 54% themselves!

[Via Kotaku]

With our shelves and Wii fridges creaking under the weight of new games from the holidays, Nintendo has generously given PAL gamers a week to catch their breath -- at least, we think that's the idea. Both WiiWare titles this week probably only appeal to a handful of people. The fifth and final episode of Strong Bad Episode 5 is great, obviously, but only if you're in the teensy minority who grabbed the first four instalments.

Meanwhile, Fun! Fun! Minigolf is allegedly so fun that maker Shin'en felt the need to tell us of its fun-ness twice over. But is a zany-looking chibi minigolf game really the title to stop us from getting our fingers gooey? Hint: no.

• Strong Bad Episode 5: 8-Bit is Enough -- WiiWare -- 1000 Wii Points
• Fun! Fun! Minigolf -- WiiWare -- 900 Wii Points

Hudson has launched the site for their WiiWare snowboard racing game, Snowboard Riot, along with a new gameplay trailer. We've never been overly interested in snowboarding games, but the smooth motion evident in this trailer is quite appealing, as is the combat aspect of the game. The fact that it's not a full-priced game certainly doesn't hurt our impression either.

We thought we had found a negative in the Oakley sponsorship, which seemed a bit crass, but then "Goggles can amp up player abilities!" popped up and the partnership instantly jumped from "crass" to "unintentional self-parody", at which point our laughter allowed us to forgive Hudson for taking advantage of a lucrative opportunity.

We hope that a) this turns out to be okay when it comes out (maybe this month, as it's due out this month in Japan) and b) we can find people to play with online. You guys like combat racing, right?


[Via WiiWare World]

There must really be something to this Nintendo/Dentsu "Wii no Ma Channel," the video service announced last week. Times Online calls it a "television channel" featuring "a family- oriented blizzard of cartoons, "brain-training" quizzes, cookery, educational and other lifestyle shows." In other words, not just occasional offerings.

The prospect of a Wii-based television channel apparently has traditional television channels worried. According to the Times, a Fuji TV executive called the possibility of Nintendo media dominance "the stuff of television producers' nightmares", expressing fears that Wii-based programming could cut into prime-time viewership for Japanese television.

Thanks, unnamed Fuji Television executive! We're much more excited about this Channel now.

[Via GoNintendo]

Since everyone else seems to like the Wii, too, it stands to reason that at least a few of you out there probably had some Wii-themed multiplayer moments over the holiday season. We want to hear about your all-gamer matches as well as those moments when grandma asked if she could get in on that "video bowling." Bonus points* to anyone who happens to have family video hanging around on YouTube.

*Bonus points are only redeemable in our hearts.