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    Nintendo's Rob Lowe discusses casual versus core product cycles

    May 28, 2009 - 12:30am


    In an interview with Casualgaming.biz, Nintendo UK product manager Rob Lowe was asked if the casual, family-friendly gamer has become more valuable to the video games industry than the core gamer. "There is clear room for both and any publisher can demonstrate clear value in both casual and hard core," he responded, suggesting Nintendo sees the benefit of having titles aimed at both markets. A fair assessment from the company who reigns supreme in the hardware sales charts. According to Lowe, casual and core software have the same ability to sell, but each at a different pace. While core titles usually sell well within a short time, casual games have a better ability to sell consistently throughout their lifespan on the store shelf. "For every Carnival Games there is a BioShock and for every Wii Fit there is a Resident Evil 5," Lowe said. "It's really just different product cycle." A strong argument, even if Lowe couldn't name two recently released core titles on his own platform.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Hudson bringing Sudoku to DSiWare this summer

    May 27, 2009 - 11:00pm

    Hudson has announced that it will be bringing Sudoku to DSiWare in two different flavors. Sudoku Student and Sudoku Master will both be made available this summer at a"very affordable price point." The games will each feature puzzles hand crafted by Nikoli, the Japanese puzzle company. It's unclear exactly what the differences are between the two titles, though the press release does mention that Sudoku Master features "a class certification mode, which tests advanced players' puzzle solving abilities and rates their skill levels." Sure, Sudoku's getting a little bit tired nowadays, but with the puzzles coming to DSi there's now literally no way to escape them. May as well just give in.Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Nintendo's E3 '09 Conference: Let's play bingo!

    May 27, 2009 - 6:10pm

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    We're one week away from the industry's biggest event, and Joystiq wants to play prediction bingo! For our second annual E3 Expo bingo cards, we've decided to poll our entire staff for their safest and wildest predictions for each of the big three media briefings.Today we look at Nintendo -- this generation's sales behemoth. Click on each of the squares above for more information about our predictions. Nintendo's E3 press conference is scheduled for next Tuesday, June 2, at 9:00 am PT (that's 12:00 pm Joystiq Time / ET). As always, we'll be liveblogging the event, so you can play along in real time with us.Download a copy (PNG file) and play along! And remember to have fun! This feature is a game, after all.Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Ghostbusters DS almost visible in new trailer

    May 27, 2009 - 5:20pm

    Atari's latest trailer for Ghostbusters: The Video Game finally gives us a look at the DS version -- sort of. You can see it on the tiny screens when the floating DS turns to face us. Right there, behind the character art. We think it looks pretty good. While we're on the subject of Ghostbusters on DS, we hope the Ghostbusters' games' approach to multiplatform game design pays off, because it's the kind of approach we like to see. Rather than having developers create stripped-down versions of another developer's game, Atari (actually original publisher Sierra, we guess) got Terminal Reality and Red Fly, developers who know what they're doing on their respective consoles, to make different games for the different platforms. So this DS game isn't a crappy version of an Xbox game, for example.
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    Desperately Struggle not to freak out at new No More Heroes 2 details

    May 27, 2009 - 5:00pm

    The latest Famitsu issue, in addition to some stuff about Metal Gear or whatever, also features a blowout article about the latest game from Kojima's friend and colleague Suda 51, No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle. The article shows that the UAA assassin's organization and its liaison, Sylvia Christel, have returned, along with (necessarily) new assassins like the #50-ranked Nathan Copeland. Desperate Struggle occurs three years after the events of the first game, and Travis Touchdown has been called back into action after Bishop from Beef Head Video is captured by gang members, according to IGN's translation.To take on these new assassins, Travis Touchdown has developed new techniques -- like dual wielding beam sabers, as seen in the scans. It may just be because the scans are tiny, or because we're insane for No More Heroes, but it seems the graphics have been refined for this adventure. We'll find out on the 30th when a new trailer debuts!Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Atlus goes beyond Trauma Center for new Wii game 'Hospital'

    May 27, 2009 - 4:55pm

    In this week's Famitsu, Atlus has revealed a "spiritual successor" to the Trauma Center series that expands the game's scope beyond surgery. Hospital, created by the same development team as the hit surgery games, stars six different medical practitioners, each with a different specialization. Only one of the six is a Trauma Center-style surgeon -- Prisoner CR-SO1, a convict whose sentence was reduced in exchange for his surgical expertise.The rest of the group include a diagnostician, a paramedic, a cosmetic surgeon (who performs non-life-or-death procedures like hip replacements), an endoscopic surgeon, and a forensic examiner. Each character features a different style of play.According to 1up's translation of the article, producer Daisuke Kanada told Famitsu that the game "completes one of the goals for a medical series that we've been striving for before, and it's also a wholly new title, not a sequel to Trauma Center. It's not just a surgery game, but an entire hospital in game form.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Don Flamenco punching loop intact in Punch-Out!! for Wii

    May 27, 2009 - 4:00pm


    Some of the more experienced Punch-Out!! players probably know of the trick to defeating Spain's resident matador, Don Flamenco, in the original game. However, in the years between that title and his appearance in the new game, it would seem he has learned nothing. With some carefully timed punches, Little Mac can turn Flamenco into the best two-stepper this side of the MIssissipp'. Head past the break to watch the trick in action.[Via Go Nintendo]

    Continue reading Don Flamenco punching loop intact in Punch-Out!! for Wii

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    Pick your poison with Guitar Hero: Smash Hits pre-order bonuses

    May 27, 2009 - 3:40pm

    Several big retailers are offering their own individual incentives to pre-order any console version of Activision's Guitar Hero: Smash Hits, which comes as no surprise to everyone on this big, blue spinning rock. The Guitar Hero franchise is big business, and when you cull the cream of the crop from each game and put that into a new game, well, then you have a recipe for success.We've listed the pre-order incentives for GameStop, Best Buy, Amazon, and GameCrazy past the break, so click through to check them out.

    Continue reading Pick your poison with Guitar Hero: Smash Hits pre-order bonuses

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    Ubisoft gives clearer picture of Splinter Cell, Red Steel release dates

    May 27, 2009 - 3:15pm


    We still have no idea why it's taken Sam Fisher so long to return to us, but at least now we have a better idea of when he'll be back. Ubisoft narrowed the release date for Splinter Cell: Conviction to Q3 of this fiscal year (between November 2009 between December 2009) in a conference call this morning.We also got narrower release windows for games like Assassin's Creed 2 (Q3), Red Steel 2 (Q3) and Ghost Recon 4 (Q4). You can check out the full list right here.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Shaun White Snowboarding sequel is Wii-exclusive

    May 27, 2009 - 3:00pm

    click to make with the bigness
    Ubisoft has announced that its sequel to last year's multiplatform Shaun White Snowboarding is coming exclusively to Wii. Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage is being developed by Ubisoft Montreal and is planned for a holiday 2009 release.The move to a single-platform release may seem surprising, but it's made less so when you consider that the Wii version of the first game outsold other versions by nearly a 2:1 margin. We've contacted Ubisoft for comment on the decision and to clarify whether or not this news marks a full-stop for the franchise on other platforms. In the meantime, start waxing those balance boards.
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