Gamernode: Latest Wii News

Smash Bros. Brawl delayed

On today's update on the Smash Bros Dojo, Sakurai posted, "Due to delays in the completion of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, we've had to change the release date of the game to Sunday, March 9th. I deeply apologize to the people who have looked forward to playing the game for so long and ask that you hold on just a little longer. Thank you for your patience."

So there you have it; Brawl has been delayed until March 9. A few writers are still awake right now, but I got chosen to be the bearer of bad news. Why? I'm not sure. Maybe other people thought if they didn't write the story, it wasn't true. Or maybe they didn't want to be shot for being the messenger.

Am I the only person who doesn't really care about this game? And does it make me a bad person if I find my SSBB-obsessed friends' reaction t...

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January 14th Virtual Console releases

Is Nintendo slowing things down on the Virtual Console?

This is the second week in a row that only two games have found their way onto the release list, making early 2008 a slow time for the classics.  Today's update consists of the Dr. Mario- and Tetris-inspired Pac Attack, as well as Riot Zone for the Turbografx16.

In Pac Attack, falling blocks and ghosts must be cleared before they fill up the screen. The big difference between this game and Tetris is that when a number of ghosts are lined up, Pac Man comes down for a quick snack, munching all he can. Riot Zone is a fairly generic Final Fight clone that was released just following Capcom's classic.

Read on for more details from Nintendo's press release:

Pac-Attack (Super NES®, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 800 Wii Points): Pac...

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Sam & Max coming to the Wii

According to a German press release via JoWooD (which published Sam & Max: Season 1 in Europe), it appears Sam & Max will be coming to a Wii near you. While I admit my German isn't exactly fluent (or existent), it's hard to miss the meaning of the release. You know, the little things -- like Sam & Max and Nintendo Wii in the same sentence. (A quick run through Babelfish and a quick confirmation from a German speaking friend also help.)

No word yet on whether or not the Wii title will be a new game or a port, but I'd venture a guess that we'll be seeing Season 1 on the Wii. With Zack & Wiki and now Sam & Max, the Wii is becoming the go-to console for good ol' fashioned adventure games. If anyone happens to read German or wants to attempt their own translation, the relevant portion of the re...

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Captain Olimar & Pikmin joining Smash Bros roster

It had been a while since a new Super Smash Bros Brawl character was last announced, but a couple of days ago, game director Masahiro Sakurai introduced Captain Olimar to the fray via the Smash Bros Dojo blog.

Olimar comes equipped with all five types of his little friends, and without them, he's pretty much useless. The critters can be plucked from the ground anywhere Olimar stands, with each type of terrain lending itself to the production of certain varieties.

Each color Pikmin has it's own properties, such as flame-based attacks for red Pikmin or long-range for Yellow ones. They are further detailed over at the Smash Bros Dojo, along with a few nifty special moves.

I, for one, am pretty interested to see these guys in action. Only one month to go...

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Wii Fit moves 1 million copies

Wii Fit is the brain child of Shigeru Miyamoto, but unlike his other creations, it is strictly aimed at the casual crowd.

When unveiled at E3 last year it intrigued people, but many hardcore fans felt betrayed in that Nintendo's biggest announcement didn't involve a new game from the main Nintendo franchises.

Nintendo though, is obviously onto something when it comes to appeasing the casual gamer. Wii Fit has moved over one million copies since its release in Japan. Surprising, but not totally unexpected. Now the question becomes if Wii Fit will become a hit on American shores and elsewhere. With one million copies already sold in Japan, it maybe an indication that Nintendo has another winner. But this isn't a sure thing.

Remember that the Japanese and American markets have different tast...

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New term in medical dictionary: Wii-itis

When you leave the creativity up to the Ph.D. stiffs this is what happens.

This may be the nastiest series of gaming related illnesses since those Japanese Voltron games started giving people seizures, or that time Warcraft killed off half of China.

There's a nasty new medical condition in town and its called Wii-itis. At least that's what the New England Journal of Medicine is calling it. Like I said, very creative.

Doctors are reporting a large increase in the number of people complaining of aches and pains since the Christmas season. They are attributing it to the fact that because of the Wii, folks are getting up and about and using muscles they haven't used in a while, such as rotator cuff muscles.

They are also saying that some people have gone overboard with it, and are play...

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Nintendo's Wii scores an Emmy for excellence

The Emmy Awards, from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences have bestowed the coveted award for excellence in engineering creativity to Nintendo's Wii for its motion-sensing controllers and to the DS' touch screen control.

Nintendo of America VP of operations, Don James said, "The pioneering interfaces for Wii and Nintendo DS reflect our long tradition of seeking new ways to enhance the gaming experience for users at every level. We're grateful for this award and thank the academy for honoring us a second time."

Last year, Nintendo scored an Emmy for its plus-shaped D-pad configuration.

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Codemasters' CEO says Wii might not last

A lot of people love the Nintendo Wii, including the Queen of England! While Nintendo has been enjoying plenty of success with its platforms, some game publishers are saying the opposite.

Rod Cousens, CEO of Codemasters, voiced some comments to GameDaily BIZ about Nintendo's console dominance and the possible introduction of a Wii successor.

Cousens points out that Nintendo has been widely successful for its games on its own platforms. While that's great, it leaves out other third-party developers who are itching for the spotlight.

"The global event that's been marked as a surprise for most people is the huge success that Nintendo's achieved in every territory... The challenge that third-party software publishers face in supporting that market is that it's clearly a market dominated by the f...

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January 7th Virtual Console releases

It's the first Virtual Console update of the new year, and we are all rewarded with....a 33% decrease in the number of games released this Monday. Somehow, that seems wrong.

Anyway, this week we have Star Tropics, which is quite possibly the most easily found NES title of all. All of the used game shops that I've visited over the years have always had stacks of it just laying around, and now you can have it, too. King of Fighters, on the other hand, was always a fun time - even though it is quite lackluster by today's 2D fighter standards.

Read on for details from the press release:

Star Tropics™ (NES®, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone-Mild Fantasy Violence, 500 Wii Points): Find out just how resourceful you can be in this classic game, with its mixture of adventure and RPG elements...

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Long live the Queen. She's a Wii fan too

It's already a given that Nintendo's Wii crosses the age barrier as both young and old join in the fun. But there is also another barrier that the Wii has broken through--royalty. It turns out that the Queen of England has become the Wii's newest fan and a hardcore one, at that.

A Buckingham Palace insider told UK publication, ThePeople that:

"When she saw William playing a game after lunch at Sandringham she thought the Nintendo looked tremendous fun and begged to join in. She played a simple ten-pin bowling game and by all accounts was a natural.

"It was hilarious. William was in fits of laughter. He was enormously impressed at having such a cool gran (grandmother). And although she is 81 the Queen's hand-eye co-ordination was as good as somebody half her age."

Price William received the Wi...

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Is Sadness coming or not? Nintendo doesn't know

Polish developer Nibris, and their [supposedly] upcoming Wii game, Sadness, have been shrouded in mystery for quite some time now. What's more is that once we all start to forget about them, a holiday card appears, piquing everyone's interest once again.

A GoNintendo reader responded to this tease by asking Nintendo exactly what the deal is. Here's what a Nintendo customer service rep had to say about the enigmatic game:

"At this time, Sadness has not been announced for release on the Wii console. Since this title would most likely come from one of our third-party licensees, I'd suggest contacting them for more information."

Hmm. So tell it to us straight, Nibris, are you really making this game, or are you just having fun toying with our emotions? That wouldn't be cool. 

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Little brother does a wee on his big brother's Wii...

The UK Metro reports that four year-old Ellis was getting tired of Danny's fixation with his new Christmas present--a Nintendo Wii.

He was feeling quite the dejected and ignored little sibling and decided to take revenge on him by weeing on his big brother's Wii game console.

The resultant aftermath of this liquid assault blew out the Wii and basically trashed (or waterlogged) the £250 (495 USD) priced game machine.

Kerry Emsley, the mother of the two boys, said of the incident "Danny was speechless with rage, Ellis knew he had done something wrong and went and hid under his bed."

Good thinking.

The father of Danny and Ellis was searching for months for the rare machine and finally scored one for Christmas for the boys. But now, it's all water under the bridge, so to speak. The parents are su...

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If the Wiimote doesn't work, hit it!

Wired's GeekDad recently had quite an interesting experience with Nintendo's tech support line, regarding the functionality (or lack thereof) of his Wii remote. After opening up an xmas Wii for his kids and putting the thing to work for a while, the motion detection on one of the remotes went dead.

Replacing the batteries, re-synching, and resetting the remote yielded no breakthroughs with the problem, so the GeekDad sucked it up and gave Nintedo a call. The conversation went a little something like this:

Friendly Nintendo Help Desk Lady: "Okay - I want you to take the remote, button side down and smack it into the palm of your hand two or three times."Russ: "You've got to be kidding"Friendly Nintendo Help Desk Lady: "No sir, do it hard enough that I can hear it across the phone line but n...

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Psyclone Wii-mote charger stirs up a big storm

A charging device for WiiMotes may not only be faulty, but may also cause damage to the motion controllers as well, as many found out during the Christmas holidays.

The Psyclone Essentials Recharge Station for the Wii, which is sold by many big box retail stores such as Circuit City and Target, has been reported to melt or damage WiiMotes if left in the charger too long or in less sever cases-simply does not charge the controllers at all.

According to reviews of the Psyclone recharing station on Amazon.com, almost all of them have warned that the unit is a fire hazard or a product that will permanently fry your Wii controllers. Apparently, the warnings and high disapproval rating of the Psyclone charger has had its availability status on Amazon changed to ‘currently unavailable.'

Howev...

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December 31st Virtual Console releases

Today marks the final Virtual Console update of the year, and at least one game on this list is worth making a fuss over.Anyone who hasn't played the classic action-puzzle game Bubble Bobble owes it to themselves to give it a try - especially if a friend is available to make the journey as well.

In addition to this gem, Wii owners also have the opportunity to play Light Crusader, a Genesis action-RPG, and SNK's Top Hunter. The latter's unique gameplay elements, like retractable arms, interactive environments, and dual planes to travel on, make this one an interesting play, too.

Read on for Nintendo's full descriptions:

BUBBLE BOBBLE® (NES®, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points): BUBBLE BOBBLE's release in 1986 introduced the two bubble dragons, Bub and Bob, and brand new play m...

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Red Steel 2 on the way for 2008

According to the UK Official Nintendo Magazine, it has been confirmed that Red Steel 2, for the Wii, is in development and is slated for a release date sometime in 2008.

When the Wii debuted in 2006, Ubisoft was one of the first game publishers to publicly voice its support for developing Wii games at a time when other game companies took a "wait and see" approach.

Ubisoft's first foray into the Wii world was with Red Steel, which received mixed reviews and was criticized for its poor controller scheme, which was ironic seeing that the Wii was all about its new motion controllers.

The only real details about the new game are that it will sport, "better controls, better AI, better multiplayer and online play."

The first Red Steel game was a disappointment for many as there were high expectati...

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17 WPS (that's Wiis Per Second) sold at Amazon

We all know that the Nintendo Wii was a hot gift item this holiday season, but exactly how intense was the demand? If online retailer Amazon.com is any indicator, the desire for the Wii reached an absolutely ludicrous level.

While the console was available, Amazon reports that it sold about 17 Wiis per second, or about 1500 in the time it will take you to finish reading this article. Among the website's other top sellers were the latest Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean DVDs, Garmin GPS systems, and Apple Macbooks. On December 10th, overall sales peaked, reaching as much as 62.5 items per second.

It's times like this that I wish I could go travel back in time and purchase a large chunk of Amazon stock.

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Dart pro almost loses match due to video game

If you've ever seen any of the darts competition on ESPN, it's a marvel how the pros can pinpoint their throws so accurately in such tight hit patterns.

James Wade, a professional dart competitor wasn't doing so well in his second round at the PDC World Darts Championship and complained about having a stiff back and shoulder problems.

He finally won, but with a lot of effort against a less than able opponent who scattered his darts as if he were shooting them out of a shotgun.

Wade racked his brain on what could have caused his painful condition and thought back to the day before--what did he do the previous 24 hours to have caused his injuries? Was it an alien abduction? Did he get mugged in his sleep? Maybe he did some sleepwalking and accidentally fell down the stairs?

To all these, the an...

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Is a picture worth as much as the real thing?

Ok, so let's say that you have the ability to draw, and because you're so good at it, whatever you created turned into the real version. That would be pretty cool, although I wouldn't get much out of it because I can't draw a straight line let alone anything worthwhile.

Well Christine and Justin from Wants for Sale run a website where whatever they draw, they sell for the exact amount of what the real thing is actually worth. Want a picture of buffalo wings? They'll sell it to you for $12.70, then take the money and spend it on an actual plate of buffalo wings. Sounds crazy right? Maybe so, but they managed to draw (and sell) some of their favorite video games and consoles, including this Wii (pictured to the left) for $270.92; they've also managed to sell drawings of Guitar Hero, Halo 3, ...

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(PARODY) Smash Bros. Brawl update: Giygas!

I had to put "parody" in the title like that so no one gets any ideas and then complains that I lied. THIS IS 100% FAKE. That being said, it's so well made and so realistic looking (if you pretend the drawings are in-game graphics, of course) that I HAD to share it. The captions, the writing, the word usage... Perfect. If only this were real, it truly would have been a great Christmas.

If you want to see more artist by this guy (is his name Champ or Ian?) you can check out his gallery. Some odd stuff in there, but you can't argue that it's all high quality.

 Hit the full story for the image. 

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