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Amazon deals: peripheral sale; $20 credit for $80 purchase

by Alexander Sliwinski { Dec 30th 2009 at 5:00PM }

Have your peripherals gotten dirty, like, just plain filthy? Well, don't touch them! You could catch something. Instead, consider buying clean ones during Amazon's peripheral sale. Controllers, adapters, wires, and even Microsoft Points cards are included, with discounts ranging from 10–25 percent off regular prices. The sale doesn't appear to have a clear end date, so you could have any number of days to take advantage.

In a separate promotion, Amazon is offering a $20 credit toward a future video game purchase (made by March 31) when spending at least $80 on select software. This promotion ends January 2, and the credit will be applied directly to your account after the items ship. Only one credit per household. Void where prohibited. Don't stare directly into the sun. Always tip your waitress.

Rock Band Weekly: Paul McCartney, Blink-182, Psychedelic Furs, Ramones

by Alexander Sliwinski { Dec 30th 2009 at 1:00PM }

Paul McCartney, in a non-Beatles outing, rings in the new year for next week's Rock Band Weekly update. The 67-year-old rocker (good on him!) will have the company of a Blink-182 pack, along with individual tracks from The Psychedelic Furs and The Ramones. Ringo might be in there too, but nobody would notice either way -- poor Ringo.

Check out pricing and track details for the console releases after the break.

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Modern Warfare 2 reigns over UK charts for seventh week

by Alexander Sliwinski { Dec 30th 2009 at 12:00PM }

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 may have only sold 2,000 more units than FIFA 10 during the week ending December 26 in the UK, but it was enough for Infinity Ward's unstoppable shooter to hold the top spot for a seventh week. Meanwhile, with no high-profile releases following the solstice, the rest of the chart appears to be a dance of all the other titles moving up and down a couple notches.

Assassin's Creed 2 climbs back up two spots to third, with the next four spots occupied by Wii titles. Wii Sports Resort, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, Wii Fit Plus and New Super Mario Bros Wii hold spots four through seven, respectively. The only real mover is James Cameron's Avatar, which used those long blue legs to reach eighth place.

Gallery: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (11/10/09)

Source -- Call of Duty is in 7th heaven [Chart Track]
Source -- All formats chart [Chart Track]

College Humor writes a complaint to Mario Bros. Plumbing

by David Hinkle { Dec 30th 2009 at 12:45AM }

We've all seen Super Mario Bros. parodies before -- some that even make Mario a pretty sick and deranged dude. Been there, done that. But, what makes this College Humor video so special -- aside from its unusually grody depiction of the brothers Mario -- is its surprise ending. We won't spoil it for you, so you'll have to click on over if you want to check it out.

Fast Draw Showdown shows up on WiiWare Jan. 5

by JC Fletcher { Dec 29th 2009 at 10:45PM }

Do you hate mid-90s FMV game actors? Do you love light gun games? You're going to be thrilled about this upcoming WiiWare release from Digital Leisure. This Monday, you'll be able to shoot several of those actors in Fast Draw Showdown on WiiWare.

Originally released to arcades in 1994, Fast Draw Showdown is a series of -- what else? -- showdowns against various Old West stereotypes, culminating in a match against real-life quick draw expert Wes Flowers. There's a trailer after the break -- if you pretend to shoot at everyone on the screen, it'll be just like playing the game!

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We choose you: WiiWare Pokemon Rumble TV spot

by Alexander Sliwinski { Dec 29th 2009 at 6:15PM }

The only real takeaway here is that a WiiWare game appears to have received a legitimate commercial for television. OK, so it's Pokemon Rumble, and yes, it's one of Nintendo's biggest franchises, but it's still a brave new world when a downloadable title gets some legit marketing dollars. We haven't actually seen the commercial on TV, but it's apparently playing during non-Adult Swim hours on Cartoon Network. Check out the 15-second spot for the 1500 Wii Point game after the break.

[Via GoNintendo]

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Rumor: EA Sports working on manly football fitness game for men

by Justin McElroy { Dec 29th 2009 at 5:45PM }

EA Sports Active may be fine for the ladies, but we want to get trim with more manly pursuits, like lumbercraft and bronzemanship. According to a rumor posted by Destructoid, we may just get our wish. The site reports that, according to sources close to the project, EA Sports is creating NFL Trainer for Wii, which will help players work on their technique and get fit with a variety of football drills.

As if that weren't manly enough, there's talk of an included football peripheral to plug your Wiimote into. Can you imagine the rush of pretend-throwing the old virtual prolate spheroid down the e-gridiron? If that's not enough to put hair on your chest, we don't know what is.

Ogre Battle 64 on Japanese Virtual Console in January

by JC Fletcher { Dec 29th 2009 at 4:45PM }

[GameFAQS]

Ogre Battle, the greatest Queen-influenced strategy game series of all time, will make another appearance on the Virtual Console in Japan next month, following the 2009 release of Ogre Battle for SNES (which made its way around the world). Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber will be released on Virtual Console some time in January, according to Nintendo's most recent Virtual Console schedule.

Siliconera notes that releasing international versions may not be as simple for Ogre Battle 64: developer Quest was an independent studio at the time of the Atlus-published game's creation, but is now owned by Square Enix. If Quest (and therefore Square Enix) has the rights to the IP, then Atlus may not be able to publish the VC release Stateside. Perhaps the two companies can come to an agreement over the right to upload a file to a server.

See the rest of the Virtual Console offerings for Japan after the break.

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Phoenix Wright demo added to Japanese Wii Shop

by JC Fletcher { Dec 29th 2009 at 3:00PM }

Here's a good sign that Nintendo may continue supporting the WiiWare demo program, which, honestly, we were skeptical about. Two more demos have been added in Japan: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Aim! Light Adventure Team and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.

A demo for Phoenix Wright is a great idea -- some people just need to try the game before they realize how much fun they could have arguing murder cases. But Mystery Dungeon? There's already a demo for one of the three WiiWare Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games. Does the other one play differently enough to require a different sample?

[Via GoNintendo]

WiiWaa has the plushiest peripheral ever

by Andrew Yoon { Dec 29th 2009 at 5:00AM }

At first, this trailer for WiiWaa had us quite skeptical. Seeing a Wii Remote shoved down the throat of an adorable plush doll clued us in. Certainly this had to be another fake Wii game, a la Mass: We Pray!

However, it didn't take long for this trailer to work its magic on our cold, Scrooge-like hearts. Translating playtime with a real-world doll for a video game is rather brilliant, transforming an inanimate toy into something much more engaging and interactive. We can already imagine parents fighting each other at Toys 'R' Us for a WiiWaa plush/game combo set at Christmas next year -- provided the game is, y'know, real.

[Thanks Andrew C.]

VC in Brief: Pilotwings (SNES)

by David Hinkle { Dec 28th 2009 at 8:15PM }

Virtual Console aficionados have been waiting a long time for this one. Pilotwings is finally here and it's pretty much just like you remember it: highly repetitive; punishingly difficult, but as rewarding as ever. Check it out in the latest episode of VC in Brief above!

Pilotwings (SNES, 1 player, 800 Wii Points)

Every week, we like to check out what's new on the Virtual Console. We offer these videos as a sort of taste to help you decide whether or not you would want the game in question. We also toss in our own two cents because we're pushy jerks like that.

Now Playing: December 28, 2009 - January 3, 2010

by Andrew Yoon { Dec 28th 2009 at 7:00PM }

It's the calm before the storm.

Choose your platform to jump to a specific release list:

Last updated: Wednesday, 4:45 PM

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Explodemon prototype videos reveal explosive gameplay, Bangai-O inspiration

by Andrew Yoon { Dec 28th 2009 at 5:15PM }

Remember Explodemon? If you don't, don't blame yourself -- the title was revealed back on April Fool's Day and hasn't been heard of since. While its core concept -- a superhero powered by self-detonation -- may seem familiar after the XBLA release of 'Splosion Man, these prototype videos show a very different direction for the upcoming PS3/PSP/Wii platformer. Perhaps an analogy would best sum up our impressions:

Explodemon : Mario :: Splosion Man : Sonic (the good 2D kind, mind you)

Jonathan Biddle, design director at developer Curve, recently wrote about the various inspirations of Explodemon, a design that has been four years in the making so far. According to Biddle, players are encouraged to get as close to enemies as possible when exploding themselves, a mechanic ripped from Dreamcast's Bangai-O. "It's risk/reward in a distilled form, and is pure Treasure genius." You can see it in action after the break.

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ASCII Media Works tracks Japan's top selling games of 2009 (so far)

by Griffin McElroy { Dec 28th 2009 at 4:00PM }

[GAME Watch]

Yes, the year technically isn't over yet -- but let's be honest: Nobody's going to be buying any new games over the next four days. As such, Dengeki publisher ASCII Media Works thought it appropriate to track the 30 best-selling games in Japan for 2009. Or, rather, 99 percent of 2009.

There aren't too many big surprises; Dragon Quest IX took top honors with 4,089,136 units sold, and Pokémon Heart Gold and Soul Silver came in second with 3,301,873 in sales. Despite having only been out for a little over a week, Final Fantasy XIII actually managed a sixth place finish with 1,455,505 units sold. Check out the full list of top-selling games after the jump.

[Via Kotaku]

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This Week on the Nintendo Channel: No More Heroes 2 teasers

by David Hinkle { Dec 28th 2009 at 3:15PM }

To say that No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle is an odd game is a gross understatement. The first game was certifiably insane (in a very good way), and the pair of new trailers for the game (one above, one past the break) on the Nintendo Channel keep that theme alive. They're both just downright odd, mixing together -- you know what? Just watch them. We're not even going to attempt to define what's here.

Head past the break for the full list of this week's Nintendo Channel content.

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