@ds posts(Subscribe to this feed)
Ghost Trick possesses Japan June 24, Capcom releases demo
by JC Fletcher 
{ Mar 11th 2010 at 3:45PM } 
However, if you can't wait that long, and you don't mind clicking through a bunch of Japanese text, you can play the TGS demo right now! Capcom posted a flash demo to the Ghost Trick site.
Gallery: Ghost Trick (TGS 2009)
Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest makes 'Move' to PS3
by JC Fletcher { Mar 11th 2010 at 11:40AM } 
[Wii version]
Warner Bros. Interactive has revealed that, in addition to the previously announced PS2, PSP, DS and Wii releases, it's putting Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest on PS3 -- with PlayStation Move support. The kid-friendly LOTR game will now be released this fall (delayed again!) on all five platforms, with the Wii version developed by Headstrong Games (yes, that Headstrong Games) and the others by TT Fusion. Of course, the Wii and PS3 versions will be the only ones with motion control, and they will also be the only versions featuring two-player co-op (with the second player controlling Gandalf).The PS3 version won't be an exact port of the Wii one, but it's the same idea -- a game for which the Wii was originally the lead platform, now spreading to the PS3 thanks to the existence of a very Wii-like motion controller. It may be the first, but this is definitely not the last time we'll see this!
Majesco cooks up Crafting Mama for DS
by JC Fletcher { Mar 11th 2010 at 10:33AM }
In a series of 40 projects, players will create things like birdhouses, quilts, kaleidoscopes and adorable new aprons for Mama to wear, as well as Mama dolls. Of course, these creations will all be realized through the familiar touch-based minigames, played alone and in multiplayer, which so many of us have grown to love in the utterly populous Cooking Mama game franchise. It's kind of crazy that a company can announce a game about making quilts and birdhouses, and we can already pretty much imagine how to play it!
Majesco plans a fall 2010 release for Crafting Mama, but we suspect the publisher is at least considering bumping that up a bit.
Ubisoft prepping short film, a Ghost Recon: Future Soldier prequel
by Richard Mitchell { Mar 10th 2010 at 5:40PM }
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Ubisoft will release a short film ahead of the release of Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. The film will be helmed by Francois Alaux and Herve de Crecy, the duo that just won an Academy Award for their short film Logorama. We're assuming the Ghost Recon film won't be quite as cheeky. The short, which will serve as a prequel to Future Soldier, will be a 20-minute live-action film, reportedly with a budget between $8–10 million. It's being written by Tim Sexton, co-writer of Children of Men.
The project is in line with Ubisoft's ongoing strategy to expand its scope of media to include more than just video games. Last year, the company released the Assassin's Creed: Lineage short film series to promote Assassin's Creed II. Later in the year, Ubisoft Montreal's Yannis Mallat envisioned a future where Ubisoft crafts films and games using the same assets, which is precisely what it did with Lineage. Given the talent and financial backing behind the Future Soldier film, it looks like Mallat's future could be a bright one.
[Via Big Download]
The project is in line with Ubisoft's ongoing strategy to expand its scope of media to include more than just video games. Last year, the company released the Assassin's Creed: Lineage short film series to promote Assassin's Creed II. Later in the year, Ubisoft Montreal's Yannis Mallat envisioned a future where Ubisoft crafts films and games using the same assets, which is precisely what it did with Lineage. Given the talent and financial backing behind the Future Soldier film, it looks like Mallat's future could be a bright one.
[Via Big Download]
LukPlus looking for Coropata publisher at GDC
by JC Fletcher { Mar 10th 2010 at 4:15PM }
We sampled Coropata at TGS and found it charming, and we'd appreciate the opportunity to do things like buy it in a store and read all the text. We admit that a cutesy, anime-style puzzle game similar to The Incredible Machine may be somewhat of a niche interest, though.
Japanese Nintendo downloads: Mega Man 10, Moon Cresta
by JC Fletcher { Mar 9th 2010 at 1:43PM }
In any case, Mega Man 10 is up on WiiWare in Japan today, and it's likely to overshadow anything else available this week, including the ancient Moon Cresta:
- Mega Man 10 (WiiWare, 1 player, 1,000 Wii Points)
- Moon Cresta (VC Arcade, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points)
- G.G. Series Throw Out (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points)
- Renjuku Kanji: Shougaku 4-nensei (DSiWare, 1 player, 500 DSi Points)
- Renjuku Kanji: Shougaku 5-nensei (DSiWare, 1 player, 500 DSi Points)
- Brain Challenge (DSiWare, 1 player, 500 DSi Points)
- Let's Golf (DSiWare, 1 player, 800 DSi Points)
This Week on the Nintendo Channel: Pokemon TV spots
by David Hinkle { Mar 8th 2010 at 5:15PM } 
Oh, you don't believe us? Well, that hurts our feelings, but, by all means, check out the full list of this week's content past the break for yourselves. We'll just wait for you in the corner with our broken heart.
Flipnotes from the PAX 2009 show floor
by JC Fletcher { Mar 8th 2010 at 3:15PM }
Showing what can be done in a few minutes by a talented artist, and building on the excitement of a popular convention, makes this initiative a great promotional tool for the free app (and for the DSi in general), which is why Nintendo waited until six months after the event to release these!
Nintendo leading fans on wild Pokemon chase in New York City
by JC Fletcher { Mar 8th 2010 at 2:15PM }
Nintendo's usual launch events take place at the Nintendo World Store in Rockefeller Center, but this one is located in (and around) the Times Square Toys 'R' Us. Should you show up at the NWS, you'll just have to do a little extra walking.
NintendoWare Weekly: Final Fantasy II, Max & the Magic Marker
by JC Fletcher { Mar 8th 2010 at 10:10AM }
Or you could bypass that whole Final Fantasy thing and play a cute game about a kid and his amazing drawing ability.
Gallery: Max & the Magic Marker (WiiWare)
Nintendo Power: Scribblenauts sequel coming this Fall
by Ben Gilbert { Mar 6th 2010 at 7:09PM } 
As evidenced by the image above, the latest issue of Nintendo Power reveals a sequel to 5th Cell's Scribblenauts for the Nintendo DS. According to a report from GoNintendo, the magazine feature additionally details the game's release window ("fall"), that it will receive "10,000 more words" and "120 new and improved levels," and will have a focus on the use of adjectives. Thankfully, the report also notes intentions to improve the game's controls -- a major setback of the first outing. We've shot an email to the developers and will hopefully have more information on the game sometime soon. For now, you can check out the full magazine cover right here.
Nintendo's Dunaway says DS has 'room to grow' in US market
by Andrew Yoon { Mar 4th 2010 at 9:30PM }
Yet, in spite of its success, Dunaway believes there's still a lot more to be done with the US market. Dunaway notes that -- in terms of market penetration -- "in Japan, one in two consumers has a DS." But in America? "It is one in four. So we have room to grow." Essentially, if Japan is the benchmark for America, Nintendo must sell twice as many DS systems as it already has.
If there's one thing we've learned not to doubt this generation, it's Nintendo's ability to sell systems and make money. In January, the company was able to sell over 400,000 units in America -- and that figure is likely to grow with the introduction of the DSi XL in March. Perhaps we need to add even more money to this already-overused JPG.
[Via Edge]
WayForward behind another new WB game, 'Galactic Taz Ball'
by JC Fletcher { Mar 4th 2010 at 2:30PM }
Taz hate water, but love gallery
Is Taz even still a popular character? Warner Bros. seems to think so, having announced Galactic Taz Ball for DS, the latest to come from the longtime collaboration between WB and developer WayForward (most recently, the two announced Batman: The Brave and the Bold, but also partnered for Duck Amuck).
Galactic Taz Ball, set on floating chunks of Earth that Marvin the Martian is in the process of stealing, combines two forms of gameplay. In the "Overworld" areas, you control Taz by moving the stylus trackball-style, turning into a tornado if enough speed is gathered. In the "Underworld," the game becomes a "side-scrolling puzzle game" in which Taz explores the Martian's machinery. Taz Ball will be released in Europe and Australia this May, with a fall release following in North America.
Gallery: Galactic Taz Ball (DS)
Internet heroes help blind gamer beat Zelda: Ocarina of Time
by Griffin McElroy { Mar 4th 2010 at 12:00PM }
Transcribing OoT in this manner took Williams and "three other diehard gamers" two years, but allowed Jordan Verner, a blind gamer living in Ontario, to finish the game for the first time. If that doesn't make you just a little verklempt, then you probably have robot parts where your heart should be.
[Thanks Kevin!]
