On display at the Nintendo E3 2009 press conference was a handful of yet-to-be announced portable gaming titles for the DS and DSi Shop.
A new Kingdom Hearts portable game was announced, the first DS version of the Square Enix and Disney collaboration franchise. RPG fans have even more reasons to be excited as Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story and Golden Sun DS were also announced. Expect Bowser's Inside Story this fall, while Golden Sun DS should arrive in 2010.
Nintendo showcased a desire to appeal to fans of James Patterson novels as Women's Murder Club: Games of Passion looks to provide a new way to enjoy the crime-solving novels. Using the DS, players will uncover clues, inching ever closer to the truth.
A brand-new intellectual property developed by Ubisoft, C.O.P.: The Recruit, was announced for the Nintendo DS. Gameplay footage reminded us of Grand Theft Auto, except for the fact that now you'll be playing as the police.
(Credit:
GameSpot)
Finally, Nintendo stressed how the DSi has made it easier to share gaming experiences. This philosophy will take shape starting with the announcement of two new titles to be available via the DSi Shop. Mario VS. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again will allow users to design and trade their own custom levels over the DSi's Wi-Fi connection. WarioWare: DIY branches from the same school of thought, allowing you to design and create your own WarioWare mini games. Minis March Again will be available for download June 8, while DIY should be available later this year.
That's all for the portable side of things, but make sure you check out the big Wii announcements from the Nintendo E3 press conference!
Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of monster hits like 'Donkey Kong,' 'Super Mario Bros.,' and 'The Legend of Zelda,' discusses his newest game, 'Wii Music.'
(Credit: James Martin/CNET News.com)Last Monday, Nintendo released its latest would-be blockbuster game, Wii Music.
The new game, for the company's monster hit console, the Wii, is from Nintendo senior managing director Shigeru Miyamoto, one of the video game industry's true legends. This is the man who developed titles like Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros., and The Legend of Zelda, and who is viewed among gamers with a level of reverence that may be unsurpassed.
Wii Music is a participatory game that, at its simplest form, lets players have fun making music. Unlike hit franchises like Rock Band and Guitar Hero, which at their core task players with playing music on fake guitars and drums to the accurate beat of existing songs, Wii Music is more about putting musical tools in the hands of a broad spectrum of players, from kids to grandparents, and letting them find their own creativity.
For Nintendo, the game comes at an important time: the holidays are approaching and the company needs a new standard-bearer game to help sell Wiis during the coming months. To be sure, the Wii has never had any problems moving units--usually selling out within hours of retailers getting shipments. Still, with the economy rapidly deteriorating around us, even Nintendo could use some help.
And where better to look for that help than to Miyamoto, a man who is seen as the king of gaming creativity and whose nose for simple and silly fun may well be unmatched in the industry.
On a recent publicity tour for the game, Miyamoto took some time to sit down with CNET News to talk about the game. Nintendo mandated that the discussion be related solely to Wii Music, meaning that his former work was largely off-limits, except in the context of the new game.
Q: Where did the idea for Wii Music come from?
Shigeru Miyamoto: When we first came up with the concept for the Wii itself, we wanted the Wii to be a device that everyone in the house would relate to, so we needed to have several key software topics available for people to play: sports, health and fitness, and music. So that was the genesis for creating Wii Music. Our initial experiments were finding ways to use the Wii remote and nunchuk to perform different instruments, and then we experimented with using the Wii remote to conduct an orchestra. We found that both of those produced an experience that was fun. I've been a musician for the last 30 years, and I've thought back often on what is the most enjoyable part of playing and performing music. So we worked very hard to take the experience and joy of creating music and really implement that into the Wii Music experience.
The classic ape makes a comeback and competitive eating gets its own game--all on the Nintendo Wii console.
Virtual Console
- Donkey Kong 3 (1986, NES, 500 Wii points): Stanley the Bugman's greenhouse has been infiltrated by Donkey Kong. Armed with a can of bug spray, you must chase the ape away before he destroys the greenhouse.
- Ninja Commando (1992, NeoGeo, 900 Wii points): Ninja Commando is a top-down, vertical-scrolling shoot em' up, known for its unintentionally funny English translation.
WiiWare
- Major League Eating: The Game (Mastiff, 2008, 1,000 Wii points): Based on competitive eating contests held by Major League Eating, the game features a number of rounds that cover twelve different foods.
What games do you think are missing from the Wii Virtual Console? Sound off here!
The year was 1983--the last De Loreans were produced, the final episode of M.A.S.H. aired with more than 125 million viewers tuning in to watch, the "Just Say No" anti-drug campaign debuted, Jaws went 3D (don't know why), and the A-Team released so much ammunition without ever hitting anyone--Oh, What a Feeling!
I take good care of my stuff.
(Credit: Matthew Fitzgerald - CNET)This time portal has been initiated because I've dug something up from my closet. Not a skeleton, but a working 1983 original Game & Watch Nintendo Popeye tabletop system. For those who don't know how the Nintendo tabletop models worked, the LCD is mounted on the top of the game and reflects onto the mirror. It is illuminated via an opaque panel on the top, which works as a natural light source in order for the game to be visible. Color is simulated with a colored film placed over the LCD. The convenience of a rechargeable battery pack or adapter didn't exist. Instead, two "C" batteries powered it. The tabletop also doubled as a clock, hence the name Game & Watch.
Back when the adorable factor was high and worries nonexistent, I was an arcade-playing fiend. A single quarter and it was on like Donkey Kong; taking down anyone who put their quarter down on the machine to battle. The extent of the obsession showed every Sunday, after church, when I detoured to the only eatery known in the neighborhood to house arcade games, on the way home. Imagine an angelic little girl, in her Sunday dress, shiny Buster Brown shoes, and ribbons in her hair, feverishly slamming on the fire button while rolling a track-ball back, forth, up, and down, with such psychotic focus in her eyes. How adorable is that?!
So, when the opportunity came to purchase something that emulated the coin-operated arcade experience, in the form of a portable tabletop, I was there. The next three Christmases I got one; Galaxian, Donkey Kong Jr. (Nintendo version), and Popeye. However, the honeymoon was short-lived once the NES console came into the picture.
Popeye was a single-player game and the plot was simple: Bluto has kidnapped Olive Oyl, tied her up, and Popeye must save her. The goal is to box Bluto on the landing till he falls off. With each win, Olive Oyl kicks a can of spinach toward Popeye. Eating the spinach allows Popeye to knock Bluto out, onto a hanging hook, with one punch. There were two levels: Game A (easy) and Game B (adding in a shark to sporadically come up from the water to poke Popeye in the--err--bum, sending Popeye back a step.). For 8-bit graphics on a 4.5-inch screen, the colors were rich and vibrant, and the gameplay was neverending.
Ironically, Popeye was the least favorite of the three, but it was the only one I've found thus far. In the meantime, some co-workers have been playing with it relentlessly, while waxing nostalgic. Amazing how something so simple can be so addictive.
Dream Authentics Tabletop Arcade
If the need to recapture those moments has hit close to home, check out the Dream Authentics Tabletop Arcade (MSRP $2,495.95). Although it's helluva lot of money, it does include 160 arcade classics--Asteroids, Bubble Bobble, etc.--in one machine, on a 19-inch flat-screen LCD.
Imagine you have a time machine, a pocket full of quarters and a Walkman with Siouxsie and Smiths cassettes (OK, you can bring your own). Your mission is to travel back to the '80s, the golden age of arcade games, and play your favorite one.
Which would you pick?
New Pac-Man editon
Would you sidle up to Asteroids, Frogger, Centipede, Donkey Kong? ... Need to jog your memory? Check out this News.com gallery of the classic games of the 1980s.
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