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    Swag Saturday: Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure (Wii) [update]

    August 22, 2009 - 9:00pm


    Update: This contest is now closed, dearest readers. Winners will be contact via email within the next 48 hours (or thereabouts), so check those inboxes. We'll see you again next week!With BlizzCon wrapping up today as well as GamesCom, it's a heavy news weekend here on the Stiq. Thusly, we're bringing you this week's Swag Saturday a bit late in the day, but we're throwing in a real gem to make up for it. We have one copy of Capcom's critically acclaimed Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure for the Nintendo Wii. In honor of Blizzard's annual soiree, we want your best ideas for a new MMO for the WoW developer to create. There is but one stipulation: the game must be made for the Nintendo Wii. Putting aside Wii's online concerns and the relative inability to communicate, how does the game work with the console? How does Blizzard make its next MMO for the Nintendo Wii? Good luck!

    • Leave a comment telling us your best ideas for a new MMO made by Blizzard for the Nintendo Wii.
    • You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada, excluding Quebec.(Nous sommes désolés, Québecois!)
    • Limit 1 entry per person.
    • This entry period ends at 3:31 pm ET on Sunday, August 23. We'll randomly select one at that time to receive: one copy of Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure (ARV $70).
    • For a list of complete rules, click here

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    Pocket Gamer: Nintendo looking to revamp DSiWare, compete against PSP Minis

    August 22, 2009 - 8:00pm


    According to the UK's Pocket Gamer, Nintendo is launching a new initiative to reinvigorate the DSi's digital distribution platform, DSiWare. Though prices will stick to the current model ($2, $5, $9), the piece reports that developers will have a lower barrier to entry for publishing their games on the DSiWare store. Nintendo apparently still has some say over developer pricing, as it will charge developers different rates based on a game's file size -- the example given being a $5 game must be under 200MBs, otherwise Nintendo charges a higher royalty rate.After Sony announced the upcoming Minis for the PSP this week, it appears as though Nintendo has responded. Considering the fairly light support that the company has offered in the way of DSiWare -- that is, if you're not into themed clocks and, um, more clocks -- we're hoping that this effort will revitalize the downloadable game catalog on Nintendo's newest handheld.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Rock Band Weekly: Tom Petty, Billy Idol, Jet

    August 22, 2009 - 2:00pm


    Whoops! In case you didn't notice, we let this week's Rock Band Weekly slip -- there were a few more pressing matters to attend to at the time. Alas, dear reader, spread across the various platforms you have a veritable smorgasbord of downloadable music at your finger tips. The premiere of Tom Petty in Rock Band? Got it. How about some Billy Idol? That's here too. Head past the break for a week's worth of Rock Band DLC across all four platforms.
    Select a platform below to view complete DLC listing:

    [Image credit]

    Continue reading Rock Band Weekly: Tom Petty, Billy Idol, Jet

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    Impressions: James Cameron's Avatar

    August 21, 2009 - 8:00pm


    Today being "Avatar Day" (what, didn't your calendar tell you?), we figured it's the perfect time to fill you in on what we've seen of the gaming side of James Cameron's much-talked-about mega-project, James Cameron's Avatar. The Game, as it's subtitled, is split into two distinct products on consoles. (Additionally, there will be portable versions for DS and PSP.) The games aren't typical movie-license rehashes and tell their own stories, separate in plot from the movie, in turn contributing unique elements to the Avatar universe.Ubisoft likens Avatar to Harry Potter, "an incredible entertainment phenomenon." Understandably, you might not have made the same connection, but then, the marketing push is only now beginning to rev up (did you catch the movie trailer yet?). Excuse us then, if we prematurely deflate some air out of the tires:

    Jump to a platform-specific preview above or read both after the break.

    Continue reading Impressions: James Cameron's Avatar

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    Papercraft recreates Wii Sports Resort's Wuhu Island

    August 21, 2009 - 7:15pm


    You know, we often wonder why we don't have a large, flammable recreation of Wii Sports Resort's Wuhu Island sitting on our desk, but then we remember most of our work is done while being chained to a laptop in some random dungeon in Philadelphia. While we may be starved for sunlight (not to mention just plain starving), seeing things like this piece of papercraft gives us hope. Hope that we can make cheap pieces of art when we're finally so malnourished that we can slip out of our shackles. Hit up the gallery below for more Nintendo-inspired papercraft, including this awesome Wolf Link.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Video interview: Freestyle Games' Jamie Jackson

    August 21, 2009 - 7:00pm

    Freestyle Games' upcoming DJ Hero is quite possibly the most refreshing addition to the music genre in quite some time. We chatted with Jamie Jackson, Creative Director of the game, to talk about introducing gamers to the world of scratch. Below is a small text excerpt of the entire video interview.How did the DJ Hero concept come about?About three years ago, we were looking into a concept for a hip-hop game that took into account all four pillars of hip-hop. But really quickly, we decided the DJ element was much more inspiring, and had more to do with it. It actually allowed us to branch out ... It wasn't just hip-hop, it was dance, it was electronica, it was drum and bass. And we could still bring in things like rock, and motown, and bring in all these old classic songs as well.So how do you translate the process of DJ'ing to a videogame?What we wanted to do was give something to the consumer that wasn't too intimidating, so we kind of took the core elements, which is scratching and cross-fading, and then we made the game based on those two things.

    Continue reading Video interview: Freestyle Games' Jamie Jackson

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    GamesCom Scribblenauts booth is wide, wide-ruled

    August 21, 2009 - 6:00pm

    5TH Cell creative director Jeremiah Slaczka pointed out this picture, taken by Krystian Majewski, of the GamesCom 2009 Scribblenauts booth. It's ... a bit bigger than the E3 booth, which consisted of two demo DS stations in the back of the largely Batman-themed WB enclosure. Like, behind it. "It's awesome WB is embracing it so much," Slaczka told us about the increased presence, "and really supporting the game."Majewski's Flickr gallery also contains images of items summoned in Scribblenauts, including stuff we hadn't seen before like "river," "echidna" and "lich." Hey, topical! For more Scribblenauts fun, check out the newly redesigned US site, which now shows a Flash simulation of gameplay in the background!Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Square Enix's 'Cross Treasures' influenced by V-Jump reader feedback

    August 21, 2009 - 5:00pm

    Square Enix and V-Jump magazine have revealed a collaborative DS RPG called Cross Treasures. The game has character art from Shinya Suzuki, artist for the Jump-featured "Mr. Fullswing," and elements of the game are actually being designed based on feedback from V-Jump readers. This is presumably the Square Enix/V-Jump project teased back in April.According to Siliconera, Cross Treasures has a unique networking mode, in which players design "his or her game world" and share it with up to three others, in addition to fighting monsters in multiplayer.net. "Your custom world is also connected to worlds made by your friends resulting in a Cross Treasures multiverse."Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Little Burger King's promotion for Little King's Story

    August 21, 2009 - 4:00pm

    Marvelous is taking an extra step in Japan to market the upcoming release of Little King's Story, and it's one that makes a lot of sense: the company is partnering with Burger King to promote the strategy game. Burger King restaurants in Japan are displaying the poster depicted to the right, and will also have LKS placemats. According to Andriasang, Burger King's mail magazine will also include Little King's Story information. In addition, a small army of Burger King employees, led by a real little king, will lead an assault on a nearby McDonalds in an attempt to take down Ronald. We may have made that up.It's pretty amazing that Little King's Story is a big enough game to get this kind of promotion, which is reserved in the US for huge franchises. Either that, or Burger King is a small enough operation.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    The sights, sounds, and spiderbots of Spyborgs

    August 21, 2009 - 1:45pm

    We didn't realize Spyborgs had such cool music. We watched the GamesCom trailer above expecting to hear the normal crunching metal and explosion noises you'd expect from a sci-fi brawler. Instead, we got something that makes us want to turn the video on, get up and just dance.After the break, see a boss battle against a guy named Colt in a huge spider robot thing. Now there are the sound effects we expected, as a team of Borgs violently dismantles a mech in some kind of lava pit. Spyborgs will be out September 22, one of the few Capcom releases to remain in 2009.

    Continue reading The sights, sounds, and spiderbots of Spyborgs

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