Home

    Wii News

    Ghibli discusses The Another World in latest Famitsu

    May 21, 2009 - 7:15pm


    The latest issue of Famitsu includes an interview with Studio Ghibli president Toshio Suzuki, who discusses the company's collaboration with Level-5 on the development of Ni no Kuni: The Another World. The game, in which you play a boy who is transported to a mysterious world in order to bring his mother back to life, is being made to celebrate Level-5's ten-year anniversary. According to Suzuki, when Ghibli's entire team is working on a project, they tend to generate about five minutes of high-quality animation per month. Even for animation, that's pretty slow, but it means that the overall quality of the product will be impeccable -- if you've seen any of Ghibli's movies, you'll know that's generally the case.Studio Ghibli tends to shy away from video games and Level-5 seems to be very lucky to have the chance to work with the animators on The Another World. A composer close to both Level-5 and Ghibli introduced the two at a time when the animation studio had just finished work on its latest piece and, with the absence of nothing better to do, agreed to work on Level-5's game.
    Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Ask Joystiq Nintendo: StarBlade edition

    May 21, 2009 - 6:15pm

    This week, we take a brief look at a Japanese Virtual Console Arcade game that is quite a bit cooler than expected. At the current rate of one game per week, who knows when this game will reach us (or if), but at least in this case the implications it carries outweigh the game itself.If you want us to use old games as evidence for new trends (or ask us anything else), send an email over to asknintendo AT joystiq DOT com! [Image via The Arcade Flyer Archive]

    Continue reading Ask Joystiq Nintendo: StarBlade edition

    Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Groovin' Blocks heading to Groovin' disc release

    May 21, 2009 - 5:15pm

    Empty Clip Studios today announced that, thanks to the WiiWare release of its puzzle game, Groovin' Blocks, Zoo Publishing has picked up distribution rights for a disc-based version of the game. Essentially, Zoo saw the Wii game and thought, "You know what? This would make a great Wii game."The disc release of the musical falling-block game will be expanded with new levels and music, and will be made available in both North America and in Europe, where the WiiWare version has yet to be released. In addition, Zoo will release an iPhone version of the game, which, of course, won't be on disc.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Childhood comes to life in Lego Battles trailer

    May 21, 2009 - 4:00pm

    Remember when you were a kid and you thought your LEGOs were real, when you just knew that they burst into life when you weren't looking? Watching this latest trailer for LEGO Battles is like catching them in the act. There's nothing quite like watching pirates battling aliens or wizards and knights taking on the hordes of the plastic undead. Basically, we're talking LEGO bedlam here. Throw in some firecrackers and bottle rockets and it would be perfect.Granted, the trailer is a little short on actual gameplay, but the kid in us heartily approves.
    Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plummeting Price

    May 21, 2009 - 1:40pm

    Amazon is offering us a brief reprieve from the Square Enix Tax that is usually applied to Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume. For the Deal of the Day offering, Amazon has cut the SRPG's price in half to a reasonable $19.98. At the very least, it's a cheap boost for your Square Enix Members points, with a bonus video game included.According to reviews, that video game might actually be a good one, among the best of the surprisingly large number of strategy RPGs on the system (which includes a surprising number of SRPG spin-offs of other series, like Blue Dragon). If tri-Ace had to take out Valkyrie Profile's battle system, we're glad it at least replaced it with something fun.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Suda51 talks about the films that inspired No More Heroes

    May 21, 2009 - 12:40pm


    It's no secret that we're madly in love with Suda51's No More Heroes and take every opportunity available to talk about it. But, where does such an idea come from? Does it simply leap from the darkest corners of Suda51's brain? During his "The Birth of No More Heroes" presentation at The Nordic Game Conference, the man said several movies played a big part in shaping the themes of the game, and the title's main character, Travis Touchdown, was directly inspired by the antics of Johnny Knoxville in Jackass. That explains the gratuitous amount of shopping carts in the game!Other films played crucial roles in helping Suda51 conceptualize the game, such as Mel Brooks' classic, Spaceballs, which Suda credits for giving him the idea for Travis Touchdown's signature weapon, the beam katana. The list keeps going on, as Suda also gives credit to classics Dirty Harry and El Topo for helping the dream of No More Heroes become a reality.Suda's presentation not only talks No More Heroes, but it also deals with the films that inspired his other games. So, if you're a Suda51 fan (or a Grasshopper Manufacture fan), you'll want to check out 1UP's transcript of the panel.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Retro Adapter outclasses the Classic Controller

    May 21, 2009 - 11:40am

    Next month, developer Komodo and distributor Innex will one-up (or two-up, we guess) RetroZone's RetroPort Wii controller adapters with their Retro Adapter. Instead of merely allowing you to use a NES or SNES controller with Virtual Console games, the Retro Adapter features ports for NES, SNES, and Nintendo 64 pads in one $20 device. The adapter, being released almost just in time for the release of Majora's Mask on the Virtual Console, purportedly supports true analog control for the N64 controller.Innex will be demonstrating the product at E3, and we're going to do our best to get all those new games or whatever out of the way so we can spend some time with it.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    See Punch-Out!!'s super secret boxer in action

    May 21, 2009 - 10:30am


    OK, so you may have already been exposed to this information (in fact, we've been holding off on talking about it to give you a chance to discover it on your own) but there's a super-secret boxer in the new Punch-Out!!. Now that the veil of secrecy has been lifted by pretty much every other site, though, we figure we might as well help you ruin the surprise for yourself if you're in to that sort of thing.So, take a peek below the jump if you dare, but, seriously, don't get mad at us if it's spoiled for you. Fair warning.[Via GoNintendo]

    Continue reading See Punch-Out!!'s super secret boxer in action

    Permalink | Email this | Comments

    THQ ships gold-plated Wii to Queen of England

    May 21, 2009 - 9:30am


    Buckingham Palace will be getting a special delivery today as THQ plans to deliver a golden Wii earmarked for the Queen.The pack will also include a copy of the newly released BIG Family Games, as Philip, Charles and the rest of the royal gang compete for the living room crown. The publisher hopes the PR stunt will amuse Queen Elizabeth, though we hope the 83-year old monarch doesn't throw her arm out swinging the console's presumably heavier gold-plated remote.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    EA wants to 'take some risks' on Wii

    May 21, 2009 - 3:00am


    According to EA's Joe Booth, plans for the Nintendo Wii are "long-term" at EA, as the company tries to strike a good balance of titles for the popular platform in 2009. In an interview with the Official Nintendo Magazine, the senior producer for Electronic Arts' Nintendo group said the company wants to "take some risks" with Nintendo's home console."The industry has woken up to the Wii," Booth told the mag. In his own estimation, Booth -- who is overseeing Need for Speed Nitro for Wii -- feels the Wii has a lot of "new energy," which drives his group's passion. Perhaps Nintendo's energy stems from sailing high above the competition in hardware sales. Electronic Arts has a slew of Wii exclusive software planned for 2009, including EA Sports Active and Dead Space: Extraction, along with special Wii versions of its annual sports franchises. [Via Edge] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments