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    Easy Piano easing into North America next year

    November 4, 2009 - 5:45pm

    Band Hero's reign as the DS music game with the silliest peripheral in America will soon be over. Valcon Games has announced that it will release Easy Piano, the piano teaching game with the 13-key keyboard attachment, in North America. It'll join the piles and piles of other games coming out in early 2010, but then those don't have keyboards.

    Easy Piano includes a piano teaching system -- a mini Miracle Keyboard, essentially -- but also allows players to record four three-minute long performances, and includes a piano-based rhythm game. What it doesn't include, for obvious reasons, is DSi compatibility. Maybe the company will make a version for the DSi XL that connects wirelessly to one of those floor pianos from Big.

    Also, we've changed our minds -- Band Hero is still the silliest.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    No Doubt suing Activision for Band Hero 'circus act' appearance

    November 4, 2009 - 5:40pm


    The multi-platinum rock band No Doubt has filed a lawsuit against Activision in a L.A. County Superior Court claiming its likeness was "transformed" into a "virtual karaoke circus act" in over sixty songs in the recently released music title, Band Hero. According to TMZ, No Doubt claims gamers were only supposed to be able to use their likeness with three of its own tracks; however, the band is available as playable characters through the game's entire music catalog.

    Of particular note is lead singer Gwen Stefani's displeasure that her likeness can be used to sing "Honky Tonk Woman" by the Rolling Stones -- a song which references sex with prostitutes -- using a male voice and mannerisms. For its "circus act" inclusion, No Doubt is seeking an injunction to halt the "unauthorized use" of the band's name and likeness, as well as an unknown amount of damages (aka mad monies). Seems like Activision can't keep rock stars happy, dead or alive.

    [Via TeamXbox]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    2009 Club Nintendo rewards have arrived!

    November 4, 2009 - 4:45pm


    Several Joysitq staffers were pleased to discover that the 2009 Club Nintendo rewards have begun to arrive today. For those that need a reminder of what the gifts are, Platinum members got to choose between a real life Mario hat or a download of Doc Louis's Punch-Out!!, a special version of Punch-Out!! featuring Little Mac's trainer, Doc Louis. Meanwhile, Gold members were limited to one gift, a 2010 Nintendo calendar. Check out the gallery below for images of all the different gifts. Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Joyswag: Cooking Mama 3 and Cake Mania 3 (DS)

    November 4, 2009 - 3:15pm


    In our latest Joyswag, we're hooking one lucky reader up with a pair of new Majesco DS titles: Cooking Mama 3 and Cake Mania 3. Keep 'em to yourself or pass 'em along as a gift this holiday season. See how you can enter to win below:

    • Leave a comment telling us whether you prefer to bake or cook
    • You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec)
    • Limit 1 entry per person per day
    • This entry period ends at 2:59PM ET on Tuesday, November 10
    • At that time, we'll randomly select one winner to receive Cooking Mama 3 for the Nintendo DS ($30 ARV) and Cake Mania 3 for the Nintendo DS ($20 ARV)
    • For a list of complete rules, click here

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    Space Invaders Extreme Z invades Japan's DSiWare

    November 4, 2009 - 12:45pm

    Taito surprised us with a last-minute addition to the Japanese DSi Shop, and a rather awesome one at that: a modified downloadable version of Space Invaders Extreme 2! Space Invaders Extreme Z features three "courses" of increasing difficulty based on SIE2's levels, playable in "score attack" and "time attack" modes.

    Space Invaders Extreme Z is available on DSiWare now (in Japan only) for 500 DSi Points. It's the first DSiWare game from Taito, who has released several WiiWare titles including Space Invaders Get Even, Bubble Bobble Plus, Rainbow Islands: Towering Adventure! and Arkanoid Plus -- all of which were released in North America.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Japan receives special Zelda Spirit Tracks stylus with purchase

    November 4, 2009 - 11:45am


    Japanese purchasers of The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks will receive a transparent quill stylus as a gift when they put down their yen for the game. AndriaSang reports that the stylus will be given out on launch day as an "early buyer bonus," but there's no need to pre-order. If the plastic quill seems familiar, it's because Nintendo used it as a bribe back in 2007 for registering Phantom Hourglass and filling out a survey. Spirit Tracks choo-choos into retail on December 7. We're currently unaware of the quill being offered as a pre-order in North America but if the retail masses out there know differently, please let us know in the comments.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    CBS bringing Diagnosis Murder, some other stuff to gaming platforms

    November 4, 2009 - 6:00am


    CBS announced today that it's bringing a wide array of its TV programming to the video game world, mainly via the PC, Wii and DS. As you can see after the break, the company revealed equally insipid-sounding game versions of Survivor, Hollywood Squares, The Amazing Race, and Criminal Minds, but we don't see how we're supposed to care about any of it when it was also revealed that a Diagnosis Murder game is in the works. We're assuming it's a Visceral-developed "dark" take on the DM mythos, with a Gothic Dr. Mark Sloan walking a demonic version of Los Angeles, solving murder mysteries with a caduceus-shaped staff dipped in angel blood. We assume this because we laid out the design doc pretty clearly in our letters, and we can't fathom why CBS would want to disappoint us.

    Continue reading CBS bringing Diagnosis Murder, some other stuff to gaming platforms

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    Zombified Londoners take to the streets for Resident Evil

    November 4, 2009 - 2:00am


    Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles may not come out until November 27 in the UK, but a gaggle of Resident Evil fans recently took to the streets to celebrate the impending release regardless. Following the end of the London Games Festival, Capcom organized around 50 undead at the Tate Modern for a good ol' group shamble. As you can see in the image above captured by The Tanooki, the event erred on the side of Shaun of the Dead rather than 28 Days Later. Though now that we think about it, we're not sure if it's more or less terrifying if zombies are smiling. We're thinking more.
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    Deal watch: Game discounts at Amazon

    November 3, 2009 - 10:00pm


    Amazon is tempting us to dip into our holiday savings by discounting many new games. Numerous titles, like those seen in the image above, have been marked down by $10, while others -- including many Wii games -- have smaller discounts applied to them. Listed after the break, you'll find the most significant deals, but you should also try perusing Amazon to find others. If you do, be sure to post them in the comments! [Via GamerDeals.net]

    Continue reading Deal watch: Game discounts at Amazon

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    Miyamoto: Next Zelda will use MotionPlus for more realistic swordplay

    November 3, 2009 - 6:30pm


    Nintendo's resident legend, Shigeru Miyamoto, has revealed that the next installment in the Legend of Zelda series on Wii will make use of Wii MotionPlus for more realistic sword combat and targeting. "In this (installment of the series), we're using MotionPlus to make you feel much more like you're actually fighting while holding a sword in your hand," Miyamoto disclosed during an October 30 Q&A session, as translated by GameLife."In the previous game, you aimed at things by pointing at the screen, but this time we'll use MotionPlus to create a much more convenient targeting system and a more pleasurable playing experience," Miyamoto added.Despite these revelations, Nintendo has yet to officially state whether Wii MotionPlus will be an option or a requirement for playing the game. When this next Zelda was announced during E3 2009, Miyamoto could only say that MotionPlus-exclusivity was "possible." These gameplay elements -- especially the swordplay -- only make it seem more likely.[Via GameLife]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments