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Canadian receives spirit of N64 kid for Christmas
by David Hinkle 
{ Jan 2nd 2009 at 2:37PM }
Remember the kid that was so happy to get himself an N64 for Christmas? Of course you do, who doesn't? Well, it would appear the torch has been passed on to a small Canadian child, who is a bottomless well of excitement upon receiving a certain gift this Christmas. We won't ruin the surprise (you probably already guessed, anyway), so just head past the break and watch the video. Oh, and if you need a refresher on the N64 kid, hit up the video above.
Gallery: Retro Mods
Wii doubles December sales, breaks PS2's all-time record? [update]
by Chris Greenhough { Dec 30th 2008 at 4:30PM }
[Update: Sorry, but it looks like I got this one horribly wrong, folks -- the WSJ was in fact referring to November sales. Thanks, Jay!]
Big surprise: early reports from the NPD indicate that the Wii utterly owned December, "doubling" its sales from December 2007. As it shifted 1.35 million units a year ago, that means this December saw approximately 2.7 million Wiis sold. For those who care, PS3 December sales dipped 19% from 2007, while the Xbox 360 got an 8% year-on-year lift.
More precise data concerning the Wii won't be released until the middle of January, but this could mean the Wii breaks the all-time record for U.S. hardware sales in a single month. Currently, the PlayStation 2 holds that honor, with -- aha! -- 2.7 million sales in December 2002. It's going to be close, in other words.
[Via SlipperyBrick]
Couple come to blows over Wii gift
by Chris Greenhough { Dec 29th 2008 at 3:52PM }
Man, some people's kids. A couple from Portsmouth, New Hampshire got themselves arrested on Christmas Day for exchanging punches over an unwanted gift -- a Wii, of all things. Heath Blom and Randi Young , aged 8 26 and 6 24 respectively, repeatedly punched one another, pulled hair, and ended up tumbling down two flights of stairs together. Joys be thine!
Things started turning sour when poor Heathy-Weathy didn't get the $1,000 RC airplane he had asked his grandparents for. When his girlfriend produced a Wii, he "got really upset," Young told The Boston Herald. Blom admitted he had "disparaged" the Wii (and somehow we don't think he was offering a sober criticism of third-party support), which understandably peeved Young.
The argument mushroomed from there, with Young packing her bags and some punches being thrown, mainly in the direction of the deserving Blom. It all finished with the pair falling down the stairs together, and the police arresting the loons shortly thereafter.
Gallery: Wii and friends: A Great Match
[Via Shacknews]
PSA: Wii slot is for discs only, not credit cards
by JC Fletcher { Dec 29th 2008 at 11:00AM }
According to HUELEN10, some neighbors with whom he is casually acquainted informed him that they had just given their kids a Wii for Christmas, and then solicited game recommendations. HUELEN10 suggested a few retail games as well as the Sega Master System version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Unfamiliar with the Virtual Console, the mother asked for further explanation, which HUELEN10 offered, saying, among other things, that it requires the user to "put in her credit card when prompted on the Shop Channel, and get the amount of points she wanted."
Which she did, unfortunately. Some time later, the mother called her neighbor, furious that their new Wii had been broken by following his advice. She put the credit cards into the Wii, just like he said.
Right into the disc slot.
And when one didn't work, she went ahead and jammed two more credit cards in there. Now, with three unusable credit cards and one busted Wii, she has demanded that HUELEN10 pay for repairs.
Look forward to a new warning screen on Wii games, right after the Health and Safety screen and the wrist strap warning!
It's-a Mario World: Our Unfulfilled Christmas List
by Kenneth Caldwell { Dec 27th 2008 at 3:33PM }
In the days immediately following Christmas, we do several things: Sink hours into replaying timeless Mario classics (currently we're collecting Ace coins in Super Mario Advance), ponder all kinds of Mario-related things we could buy with our Christmas money and begin scrawling out a list of Mario gifts we want for next Christmas. Pretty standard, right? Problem is, there are so many wonderful Mario trinkets and toys that have been released in the last twenty years that it's hard to decide which search terms to use on eBay.
Worry not, Mario fiends! This week we present a gallery teeming with Mario stocking-stuffers old and new. Yeah, some of them were released only in Japan over ten years ago, but that doesn't mean we can't covet them greedily. Others are available on shelves at the time of writing. Either way, you're sure to be amazed at the breadth of material goods upon which Mario's trademark has been shamelessly stamped. Check out these sweet toys!
Worry not, Mario fiends! This week we present a gallery teeming with Mario stocking-stuffers old and new. Yeah, some of them were released only in Japan over ten years ago, but that doesn't mean we can't covet them greedily. Others are available on shelves at the time of writing. Either way, you're sure to be amazed at the breadth of material goods upon which Mario's trademark has been shamelessly stamped. Check out these sweet toys!
It's-a Mario World is a recurring feature in which the ubiquity of Nintendo's flagship character is celebrated. Check back each week to find out what strange and wonderful thing has us seeing power stars. * * * Link of the week: Mario vs. Master Chief!Merry Consumermas ... so what didja get?
by Ross Miller { Dec 25th 2008 at 12:20PM }
For a trip down memory lane, check out our Consumermas posts from 2006 and 2007.
The obligatory 'What did you get?' post
by Joystiq Staff { Dec 25th 2008 at 11:30AM }
Merry Christmas and thanks for reading!
The obligatory 'What did you get?' post
by David Hinkle { Dec 25th 2008 at 11:30AM }
Merry Christmas and thanks for reading!
Wii Warm Up: Procrastinators, unite!
by David Hinkle { Dec 24th 2008 at 10:30AM }
Show and Tell: The holiday spirit
by Alisha Karabinus { Dec 23rd 2008 at 1:30PM }
While we're often awash in gamer crafts -- particularly in this space! -- we just don't see that many holiday-themed gamer projects. Every year there's the occasional tree or set of ornaments, but it just seems there should be more. We dug around and managed to find a few interesting projects, however, and the results range from edibles to a pixelated tree. Just jump into the gallery below to check out holiday projects!Gallery: Show and Tell: The Holiday Spirit
Show and Tell is all about fan stuff, so long as it's Nintendo-related. We love to see your collections, your crafts, your frosted creations, your t-shirts and swag of all sorts.Just snap a few pictures, tell us what's up, and send it all to showmeit [at] dsfanboy [dot] com. We'll take care of the rest. Not a handy type, but found something neat? Send us a link instead.2008 holiday card blowout, now with exclusive music!
by Kevin Kelly { Dec 23rd 2008 at 12:29PM }
click for all the Holiday cheer!
It's that time of year: delayed travel, cold weather, spiked egg nog, and holiday gaming cards from the video game industry. They range from Konami's fairly plain jane attempt (No Snake? No Hideo?), all the way up to the custom old-school card created for us by The Minus World. What, no $20 gift card love from Sony this year? (But they did give us their AC Adapter peripheral.) At least Sony tried -- where's the love Microsoft, Nintendo? We'll even accept some coal -- just send us something for the holidays! Please?
Foundation 9 wins the award for the niftiest card so far this year. It sent out a holiday card with an exclusive CD inside, complete with 11 tracks of holiday chip tune music created by 8 Bit Weapon, Leeni, Computeher, and others. We've got an exclusive track that you can enjoy without leaving the warm comfort of this post. Check out Doctor Octoroc's version of "We Three Kings" right here. Happy Holidaze!
Some notable cards:
- "Barack O'Clause" from Reverb Communications
- LittleBigChristmas from SCEA
- Christmas Kingdom Hearts from Square Enix
- Little Sister figurine from 2K Games
- Christmas Cthulu from Penny-Arcade
- A Fallout Christmas by Bethesda
Gallery: Game Industry 2008 Holiday Cards
Top 5: Christmastime in Gaming
by Kaes Delgrego { Dec 22nd 2008 at 12:50PM }
Ahh, Christmastime. Every year, we look forward to cherished traditions such as fighting traffic, stressing out over finding gifts, and even the occasional Black Friday trampling. Yet one would be surprised to learn that December 25th has a history which shares very little with frivolous lawsuits and Bill O'Reilly frothing at the mouth.
Indeed, aside from its litigatious and hostile depiction on the news, Christmas is largely an excuse to shower our loved ones with food, presents, and joy. It's also an easy inspiration for a stressed columnist trying to finish his Christmas shopping to create a Top 5 list. As such examples of religious-based holidays are rare in gaming, this list will not be Nintendo-specific. For those who celebrate the date, I wish you a Merry Christmas. For those who don't, I wish you well just the same.
The Top 5 is a weekly feature that provides us with a forum to share our opinions on various aspects of the video game culture, and provides you with a forum to tell us how wrong we are. To further voice your opinions, submit a vote in the Wii Fanboy Poll, and take part in the daily discussions of Wii Warm Up. Joys be thine: Rock Band getting Holiday-themed DLC [update]
by Chris Greenhough { Dec 18th 2008 at 6:19PM }
[Update: Ruh-roh -- Harmonix has just sent out a press release in which the Wii isn't mentioned. Looks like we're waiting for these!]
Here's something to while away those Christmas Day hours traditionally spent arguing with family/feigning enthusiasm for horrible presents: Rock Band downloads! Harmonix has announced a trio of Holiday tracks, all of which should be available for download on December 23:
Here's something to while away those Christmas Day hours traditionally spent arguing with family/feigning enthusiasm for horrible presents: Rock Band downloads! Harmonix has announced a trio of Holiday tracks, all of which should be available for download on December 23:
- "Hanukkah Blessings" by Barenaked Ladies
- "Christmas Is The Time To Say I Love You" by Billy Squier
- "Blue Christmas" by The Pretenders
Gallery: Rock Band
Jane Jensen teases Gray Matter with Christmas tale
by Jason Dobson { Dec 18th 2008 at 11:15AM }
As of now, Gray Matter, which was handed over to French developer Wizarbox last September, is still on track for release in 2009. While you continue to wait, check out the story on Jensen's blog, which is available for download in PDF format.
First LittleBigPlanet level pack coming Dec. 18
by Ross Miller { Dec 16th 2008 at 5:00PM }
The first one, Festive Level Pack, is coming this Thursday, December 18, and includes two new costumes, one new create material, two new objects, six new decorations and a "ton" of new stickers. It's worth noting that levels are not included -- sorry folks, this is a DIY set. The pack will only remain in-store until January 8, 2009. Looking for free handouts, TinyBigTim? Don't forget you've got a gratis Santa costume available now.
