November 18th, 2009 — Nintendo DS / DS Lite, Nintendo DSi
Last week, Square Enix announced a new entry in Taito’s long-dormant
Lufia(or
Estpolis) series for an unknown platform. As it turns out, it’s not entirely
new, though enough is being changed that it might as well be. The new
Lufia is, in fact, a remake of 1995’s
Lufia II, redone in 3D for the DS.
According to IGN’s summary of a Famitsu article, that’s not the only change. The game is now an action RPG instead of a turn-based game — with combo-based attacks, and the ability to launch enemies into the air, as well as switch party members mid-combo. In addition, it will be fully voice acted. Estpolis will be released in Japan on February 25.
Square Enix’s new Lufia game is a Lufia II remake originally appeared on Joystiq Nintendo on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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November 18th, 2009 — Nintendo DS / DS Lite, Nintendo DSi
The Game & Watch Collection is a popular catalog item for Club Nintendo, but this year’s gift for Japanese gamers who reach Platinum status takes the Game & Watch nostalgia even further. It’s a real Game & Watch.
Nintendo is producing a new run of the classic handheld Ball, specifically to give away to Club Nintendo members who accrued 400 points or more in the last year. It’s a replica of the original, with a Club Nintendo logo added. Like the other Platinum awards, this doesn’t cost any points (so Platinum members can still buy Wii de Ultrahand), and will be sent out to everyone who qualifies.
As usual, gold members get a calendar.
[Via Andriasang]
Club Nintendo Japan sending Game & Watches as Platinum gifts originally appeared on Joystiq Nintendo on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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November 18th, 2009 — Hacks & Mods
November 18th, 2009 — Nintendo DS / DS Lite, Nintendo DSi
In a refreshing move, Toys R Us revealed some November video game deals for Sunday, November 22 through Thursday, November 26, available both in-store and online. Therefore, they won’t require you to stand outside in the middle of the night or battle other deal-seekers for possession of a “doorbuster” (which Toys R Us is also reportedly doing). Even better, Toys R Us is the only retailer we know of handing out Cold Stone gift cards with purchases.
Starting on Sunday:
- all DS and PSP games will be buy one, get one half off.
- Wii and Xbox 360 Arcade hardware purchases will be bundled with (seriously) a $15 gift card for Wendy’s, Subway, or Cold Stone Creamery — deal available in-store only
- “Select video games” will be bundled with a $25 iTunes gift card — deal available in-store only
- The Beatles: Rock Band standalone software will be $49.99.
- The Beatles: Rock Band “Special Value Edition” will be $134.99.
- “Select video game storage units” will be $34.99.
From Friday, November 20 through Sunday, November 22, both TRU stores and Toysrus.com will offer a “Ready to Play DS Lite Pack” for $157.95, containing a DS Lite, a case, various accessories, and two DS games from an “edited assortment.” TRU says that, when purchased as part of this set, the DS comes out to $64.99.
Toys R Us announces pre-Black Friday game deals originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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November 18th, 2009 — Nintendo DS / DS Lite, Nintendo DSi
Tecmo has just
announced a spring release date for
Monster Rancher DS and
Again …
again. But in Europe this time! Last week, Tecmo announced March release dates for the Cing-developed adventure game and monster training game. Tecmo Koei Europe has followed suit, though with a less specific spring release window.
Monster Rancher DS, of course, is a game about creating and training monsters — in this game, monsters are generated either by speaking into the microphone or drawing. Again is an adventure game about an FBI agent who investigates crime scenes in both the past and the present.
Again and Monster Rancher DS also headed to Europe originally appeared on Joystiq Nintendo on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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November 18th, 2009 — Nintendo DS / DS Lite, Nintendo DSi
Namco’s just unleashed its first two Dragon Ball games after wrestling the license back away from Atari and we’re looking to gift one of you Super Saiyan wannabes with the above prize pack. The gotta-have-it item is obviously the Instant Anime Character Costume, which features an orange t-shirt, blue wristbands, hair gel and completely ridiculous Namco employee pose cover art. Oh, if only our legal department would let us keep it!
- Leave a comment telling us who your favorite character from the Dragon Ball series is (full list here)
- You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec)
- Limit 1 entry per person per day
- This entry period ends at 11:59AM ET on Tuesday, November 24
- At that time, we’ll randomly select one winner to receive Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo for Wii ($50 ARV), Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans for DS ($30 ARV) and an Instant Anime Character Costume ($20 ARV)
- For a list of complete rules, click here
Joyswag: Super Saiyan prize pack originally appeared on Joystiq Nintendo on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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November 18th, 2009 — Hacks & Mods
November 18th, 2009 — Hacks & Mods
If you’re marooned on a desert island, you want to have a Professor who can build useful items out of coconuts. [LostMachine] is one of those guys, and he’s currently building a land-loving pirate ship. The wacky vehicle will use the giant wheel above to propel the vessel while the captain sits comfortably in the lofty crow’s nest. A crack-pot concept? Not really, he plans to take this to Burning Man where it will be a fairly useful build compared to the folks who have really gone off the deep end.
The story here is the build quality. Take some time to watch his videos which we’ve embedded after the break. In the first, he details his method for creating a precisely level building surface on top of his uneven driveway. This is accomplished by welding supports in a circle that are level compared to the center point. He goes on to share his liquid-cooling system for cutting the pipe supports with a custom-built jig and an old windshield washer pump from an RV (second video). The final video shows the construction of the wheel which came in with 2000 welds and about 250-300 hours of construction time.
If you hadn’t guessed, [LostMachine] is a structural engineer. Unfortunately he was laid-off this spring which has put a damper in his building schedule. We hope that with a quality project like this in his portfolio a new job is just around the corner for him.
Creating a level surface on an uneven driveway.
Cooling jig to cut fish mouthed joints in pipes.
Building the big wheel.
[Thanks Rebecca]
November 18th, 2009 — Nintendo DS / DS Lite, Nintendo DSi
Toys R Us announced today that its “Big Gift” layaway program will now include video game hardware. TRU CEO Jerry Storch states that it was the “number one” request from customers. For those who don’t know what layaway is: it’s the practice of a company holding onto a “purchased” product until the customer has paid for the item in full. For the TRU program, customers must deposit 20% of the console’s total purchase, including tax, and a “$10 service charge.” Payments can be made at the store in cash, check, credit card … wait, what? If someone has a credit card, then — nevermind. Payment must be made in full before December 6. There will also be a fee for canceled orders and the program is not available in Maryland.
The retailer is also expanding its video game trade-in program, which began in September, to include video game hardware. The program begins this Friday, November 20, and works almost the same way as the software trade-in: customers go to the “guest service desk,” their items are scanned, an offer is made and they receive a gift card if all is approved. We’ve listed all consoles and handhelds available for trade-in after the break.
Continue reading Toys R Us expands layaway to include consoles, adds hardware to trade-in program
Toys R Us expands layaway to include consoles, adds hardware to trade-in program originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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November 17th, 2009 — Nintendo DS / DS Lite, Nintendo DSi
Pictured: A successful commercial
Speaking during a presentation at the recent Montreal International Game Summit (as covered by Edge), EEDAR Director of Analyst Services Jesse Divnich highlighted a tenuous connection between game review scores and commercial success. In the case of Nintendo’s DS, Divnich is quoted as saying “scores don’t matter.” But do they matter among a more dedicated gaming audience?
“When we did compare Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 only games, we did, to no surprise, find that review scores highly correlated to sales,” Divnich told Joystiq. “However, marketing correlation was still just a tad bit more.” According to EEDAR’s research, marketing has played the “more crucial role” with DS games and, to some degree, Wii games (a point Nintendo’s Reggie Fils-Aime seems to agree on).
While emphasizing that his aim was not to dismiss the value of critical evaluation, Divnich suggested that marketing plays a more persuasive role in what has become a burgeoning industry. “Video games are now a mass marketed product, it is a product that targets all major demographics, very similar to television or movies or any other sector within the entertainment division.” While Joystiq readers may lock out the din of marketing as they tap the F5 key and anxiously wait for review embargoes to lift, the industry has grown to encompass people who aren’t as exposed to the likes of Metacritic.
It seems that being informed takes precedence over being entertained — at least until you start playing the game. “Quality does matter,” concluded Divnich, “but marketing matters just a little bit more.”
Commercial success dependent on ‘more than just quality,’ Divnich suggests originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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November 17th, 2009 — Nintendo DS / DS Lite, Nintendo DSi
Having gotten the obligatory joke out of the way in the first post about SouthPeak’s Crime Scene, we’re now free to look at, you know, the game and stuff. And it certainly delivers on the promise of the title! It’s basically a crime scene on the DS for you to explore. You have to comb through whole rooms, collecting fingerprints, footprints and other evidence. You get to tweeze – and swab.
Crime Scene is one of the few M-rated games on DS — joining an elite club comprising games like Resident Evil: Deadly Silence, the Dementiums, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, and, of course, Touch the Dead. With that rating, it may turn out to be a more realistic, serious take on crime than the other cop games on DS.
Investigate a Crime Scene trailer originally appeared on Joystiq Nintendo on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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November 17th, 2009 — Nintendo DS / DS Lite, Nintendo DSi
You may have completed Metroid Prime Trilogy and begun to enter Full Excitement Mode[TM] for next year’s Metroid Other M, but there could be even more Metroid in store under Prime’s banner of first-person action. Nintendo’s Kensuke Tanabe, who oversaw development on the Prime games for Nintendo at Retro Studios, recently told ONM that Nintendo is “always planning to make new games in the Metroid Prime series.”
Tanabe didn’t speak of a continuation on Wii, but noted that depending “on the timing and the situation, we cannot deny the possibility of realising it on DS or DSi.” Though Retro hasn’t isolated itself from the franchise, we know Nintendo isn’t shy about sharing Samus with external developers. Just don’t call it “Metroid Dread,” guys. Bad memories.
Nintendo not done with Metroid Prime series originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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November 17th, 2009 — Hacks & Mods
November 17th, 2009 — Hacks & Mods
[Harm's] tumbling robot from a few years back is an excellent study in simple motion. Foregoing wheels or legs, he uses four flippers to roll the robot around the room. Two motors are used, each in charge of two flippers. Identical but separate circuits drive the motors with a 74HC240 gate IC monitoring the continuously rotation. When a flipper becomes stuck, the circuit reverses the rotation of the motor so the simple bot can tumble its way out of a jam.
The circuitry is less advanced than some of the BEAM builds we’ve seen before. That doesn’t diminish the cleverness of his design and we think BEAM robotics are great way to get your head out of the computer code and go hardware only. After the break you can take in some video of the tumbling motion. We’ve also included a video of another bot from his website that uses concentric rings for another type of unique locomotion.
[Harm's] ‘W’ bot uses concentric rings for locomotion.
[Thanks Thomas]
November 17th, 2009 — Hacks & Mods
We’re sure you’ve heard about Xbox 360’s facing an other round of bans from Xbox Live last week. It seems that living in a hole, or even in Grenora, North Dakota couldn’t help you escape hearing this from every news source possible. Apparently, this has caused a slew of banned consoles to go up for sale in a buyer-beware quagmire. This is a joke in several ways; didn’t the hardware problems of the machine already make the used market risky enough? Now consumers will be even more wary, losing game sales because less people are buying used consoles.
If you have just the right kernel, and a copy of your CPU key, and a second unbanned Xbox 360, you may be able to reactive your machine. But how many people have those things available to them? Undoubtedly an Xbox 360’s desirability is greatly diminished if Xbox Live is removed from the equation. This is something Nintendo could learn from when it comes to the Wii (no online multiplayer with New Super Mario Bros Wii?… Really?). So whether you are the one who was banned, or you decided/were tricked in to purchasing a banned console, what are you going to do with it now that online play is out of the picture?
We’ve seen the console emulating SNES games and even XBMC run with the help of Ubuntu. Leave us a comment and tell us if you are planning to just go without Xbox Live, use the machine as a desktop running Ubuntu, or spearhead the effort to repurpose this powerful (and flawed) hardware platform. Will you go out and capitalize on cheaper hardware, or have you been burnt by the grim reality of a crippled rig?
November 17th, 2009 — Nintendo DS / DS Lite, Nintendo DSi
The WiiWare demo program arrives in Japan today, offering many of the same demos found in North America. Bit.Trip Beat and NyxQuest are out, and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon is in. Oddly, the Japanese site for the demo program mentions a January 31 end date, which the North American page doesn’t. We don’t know if that’s the end of the whole demo thing or just the expiration date for this set of demos.
Also on the Wii today in Japan: two Namco arcade games which are personal favorites: free-scrolling shooter Bosconian (with fantastic “ALART” voice samples), and Pac-Man creator Toru Iwatani’s weird Libble Rabble. Genterprise continues its budget series on DSiWare, with a top-down racer and a VR-looking action game:
- Bosconian (Arcade, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points)
- Libble Rabble (Arcade, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points)
- G.G. Series Tetsubou (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points)
- G.G. Series Drift Circuit (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points)
- Art Academy (First and Second Semester) (DSiWare, 1 player, 800 DSi Points each)
- Demos: Pokemon Rumble, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord & World of Goo
Japanese Nintendo downloads: Trial edition originally appeared on Joystiq Nintendo on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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November 17th, 2009 — Hacks & Mods
November 17th, 2009 — Hacks & Mods
November 17th, 2009 — Nintendo DS / DS Lite, Nintendo DSi
If you hope to save all of your footsteps for entry into Personal Trainer: Walking — really make them count by having them tabulated by a video game — this Amazon deal is perfect for you. The game, with two Activity Meters, is Amazon’s Deal of the Day for $29.98.
You may have to do some uncounted walking to pick it up (trips to the mailbox or the front door, a small amount of day-to-day movement until it arrives), but at least you don’t have to walk around a store to pick it up, dooming yourself to several steps that don’t contribute to a running total on your DS.
Get a cheap Personal Trainer: Walking without walking too far originally appeared on Joystiq Nintendo on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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November 17th, 2009 — Nintendo Wii
After our post about the Drivekey Wii Mod Chip and the requirement (Or lack of) for a Drivekey Update, we’ve gotten numerous emails and comments about the DriveKey chip not working in certain models of the Nintendo Wii with the newest update from Nintendo themselves. We hear you all. And we are in contact with the good folks behind the actual Drivekey at the factory level to get some updates from them as to when they will release a newer version of the Drivekey firmware.
We’ll keep everyone posted in the next coming days once we’ve heard back from the factory to determine when they will release a newer version of the drivekey firmware, which we are sure will be coming very shortly!
November 17th, 2009 — Hacks & Mods
[Pcmofo] has shared a well-built, well-explained example of how to implement an RFID key system for a door. We call this the right way because it is well thought out and functional. In the past we’ve seen doors that unlock via a secret knock, keypads, and RFID, but they are all non-permanent solutions capable being transplanted from one door to another. Rather than building a mechanism to turn the door handle, this implementation uses an electric strike mounted in the framing of the door to allow access. These are used for security doors in buildings and are built to keep your door secure.
The hack in this case is the electronics. Using an AVR ATmega168 running the Arduino boot-loader, [pcmofo] has prototyped a two-part design. An RFID reader is mounted outside the door with data wires running to the inside where the microcontroller resides. A hard-coded RFID card is used as a “master” to train any number of tags for entry. The master puts the device in training mode and the next tag to be read is added to the list of tags authorized to open the door.
We like messy wires and quickly thrown together devices but this is built to last and will look great once mounted in an appropriate enclosure.
November 17th, 2009 — Hacks & Mods
November 17th, 2009 — Hacks & Mods
November 17th, 2009 — Hacks & Mods
November 17th, 2009 — Hacks & Mods
An exhibition just wrapping up at the Russian Frost Farmers Gallery in New Zealand presented an interactive artwork hack. Called the Radio Assisted Drawing Device (R.A.D.D), it is a plotter that mounts on the wall. It isn’t computer controlled, but rather relies on a remote control with two sticks to move the plotter Etch-a-Sketch style.
A clear gantry mounts vertically and travels along the top edge of the wooden backing. A slot cut in the acrylic steadies the plotter and allows for smooth vertical movement. Obviously built by hand, the mechanics seem to have tight tolerances for precise movements of the stylus. See the exhibit in the video after the break.
Wouldn’t you love to have one of these on the wall at your next party? It adds a whole new spin on a guest book.
[Thanks Rich]
