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    More Wii games from EA thanks to low development costs

    February 4, 2009 - 6:16pm

    EA's John Riccitiello has made a strong argument for why EA is looking to increase its Wii development. It boils down to the fact that developing for the Wii is a lot cheaper than for other current-gen consoles. Riccitiello said during EA's Q3 2009 earnings call that "development is typically a third to a fourth as much for a Wii game than it is for a PS3 or an Xbox 360 game." When put like that, it's a wonder anyone develops high-definition games at all.Riccitiello went on to explain that this is largely due to Wii developers "producing less art than for high-definition games." As a result, EA will be giving the Wii as much developmental emphasis as the 360 and PS3 enjoy collectively, seeking to "rival Nintendo on their own platform." If the announcement of Dead Space for the Wii is any indication, more emphasis will also be put on bringing more hardcore experiences to the console, rather than ports of the latest Madden or block-based puzzle games.Source - Ricitiello: Wii development is 'a third to a fourth the cost' of next-genSource - Ricitiello: Wii to get 'half our emphasis'Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Get an early taste of what Dead Space Wii could be

    February 4, 2009 - 5:00pm


    With yesterday's announcement that EA's very creepy, very good Dead Space would eventually make its way onto Wii, it seems the community has been left with nothing but questions. Well, we can't answer any of those questions right now, but we can present to you the next best thing: a video of someone playing the game with a Wiimote. Head past the break to check it out.

    Continue reading Get an early taste of what Dead Space Wii could be

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    Hudson confirms new Adventure Island and online FPS for WiiWare

    February 4, 2009 - 4:00pm

    This June, none other than Hudson's Master Higgins himself, Takahashi Meijin, revealed early plans to make a new Adventure Island game for the Wii. We've heard almost nothing since then, until today!Hudson has told WiiWare World that a new Adventure Island is on the way to Europe for this April. We can assume it'll show up worldwide at some point as well, like every other Hudson WiiWare game.In addition, the company has announced a new WiiWare FPS called Onslaught, whose defining characteristic is that it isn't Adventure Island. We're willing to look past that flaw, however, for a four-player online multiplayer WiiWare FPS (seriously) about "blasting a massive number of enemy creatures to feel the exhilaration". Onslaught is set for European release in March.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Rumor: Gauntlet DS has died

    February 4, 2009 - 3:15pm


    Gauntlet DS has been removed or changed to a nebulous status on several retail sites. GoNintendo took notice that the title was removed from GameStop; allegedly, Amazon told customers that the game had been "canceled." Furthermore, Eidos no longer makes any mention of the title on its site.A source familiar with the development of the title has confirmed to Joystiq that Gauntlet DS has indeed been scrapped; however, we've contacted both Eidos and developer Backbone Entertainment to learn what has (or hasn't) befallen the DS dungeon crawler. We'll update as soon as we hear something official.
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    LEGO Battles break out on DS this summer

    February 4, 2009 - 12:42pm


    Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and TT Games' latest LEGO game, coming this summer for DS, is not built around any license. Well, other than the LEGO license. But there's no Batman or Star Wars or anything like that: this is pure LEGO. LEGO Battles, developed by Hellbent Games, sounds like a kind of LEGO-based strategy game, in which players build and defend bases in the LEGO Castle, Pirates and Space Themes, using units mixed and matched from the sets. The press release promises "pirate swordsmen fighting side-by-side with wizards and aliens; dragons battling ninjas; and pirate ships launching broadsides against spacecraft and knights!" In addition to the single-player mode, local multiplayer battles will also be available. And because we haven't said the word "LEGO" enough in this post: LEGO.
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    Peggle DS is the ultimate version, says PopCap

    February 4, 2009 - 12:00pm


    Everyone is joining the "ultimate edition" bandwagon. We've heard the term recently used by EA, and now we're hearing it from PopCap's vice president of video game platforms, Greg Canessa. In an interview with Pocket Gamer, Canessa calls Peggle: Dual Shot for the Nintendo DS the "ultimate adaptation of Peggle," and boasts that the DS version has the most content/levels out of any other edition. Apparently, it's "truly tailored to and optimized for the device and the audience." It's not surprising to hear companies push late multiplatform releases as being the "ultimate." After all, there needs to be an incentive for gamers to pick up something which they could've gotten elsewhere before. In the case of portable Peggle, it's already available on iPods and mobile phones. Those still looking to score the ultimate hit, however, can look forward to March 3.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    DoubleTap games formed, aimed at DS

    February 4, 2009 - 11:10am


    A pair of 'key execs' from THQ's recently axed Helixe game studio have banded together to form a new development company called DoubleTap Games. Prior to being dissolved as part of THQ's 'significant business realignment,' Helixe focused on creating games such as Wall-E and Ratatouille for the Nintendo DS. Now, without the benefit of THQ's numerous movie licenses, DoubleTap aims to bring "new games and franchises" to Nintendo's portable later in 2009.The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based outfit is headed by Kurt Bickenbach and Richard Corredera, with a developer staff the company boasts as having more than 50 years of collective experience with such outfits as Looking Glass Studios, Sony Online Entertainment and, of course, THQ. No specific details regarding the company's plans have been announced, though Corredera states that DoubleTap has "great publisher relationships and a few titles already on the slate for development." In these tough economic times, it's always warming to hear of those adversely affected who are able to move on and jump right back into the skillet.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Dead Rising: Chop Till the Special Forces Show Up

    February 4, 2009 - 11:00am


    The Special Forces soldiers from Dead Rising are making a return appearance in the Wii remake Chop Till You Drop, storming the Willamette Mall to, basically, shoot at Frank West and take his pants. Well, it's more complicated than that, but as the new screens illustrate, that is what happens. And even though they aren't zombies, Frank seems perfectly happy to shoot them right back and take their pants guns. With the game finally out in Japan on the 19th and North America on the 24th, we'll finally know the answer to the question of whether the Dead Rising Wii remake idea was worthwhile, or if the mad science experiment of reanimating the 360 game created a monster.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Analyst: median Wii game price dropped to $40 in 2008

    February 4, 2009 - 10:10am

    In case you hadn't noticed (we're imagining Rich Uncle Pennybags types who just keep handing cashiers wads of cash until they look satisfied), game prices have been moving upward in this console generation. $59.99 is the new base price for console games, and limited editions drive the prices up further -- except on the Wii.EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich made statements in the group's February "Expose" document that support the conclusions of Signal Hill's Todd Greenwald -- that the "average MSRP could flatten or fall in 2009." According to his estimates, the median MSRP for Wii games at release has already fallen: from $49.99 in 2007 to $39.99 in 2008. The proliferation of budget shovelware certainly has a lot to do with this trend, but cheap shovelware is a lot less obnoxious than expensive shovelware. Plus, the widespread lowering of initial prices should lead to a similar trend among non-shovelware publishers, as well.[Via GoNintendo]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    New Indy's 'Fate of Atlantis' bonus is Wii-only

    February 3, 2009 - 9:56pm

    We've updated our post from earlier this afternoon but thought a fresh post might ensure you'd spot it (see? It worked!). We've just heard back from a publicist at LucasArts who told us that, while the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings will indeed feature LucasArts' seminal adventure gaming classic Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, that bonus "will be on the Wii version only." That leaves PS2, PSP and DS gamers all reaching for the same thing: ScummVM.
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