nintendo-dsi posts(Subscribe to this feed)

Following last night's NPD report for February, Nintendo has issued a press release lauding the amazing selling power of its own products. In typical fashion, the gaming giant that got your grandma into gaming has managed to sell a ridiculous amount of DS and Wii systems in the U.S. -- 1.9 million in the first two months of 2010, to be exact.

As impressive as that 1.9 million figure is, Nintendo's ability to break its own records is even more impressive. In selling 613,000 DS units throughout February 2010, Nintendo has managed to set a new monthly record, besting the previous top-selling month of February 2009's figure of 597,000 units. It would seem that two things are certain in this life: we're all going to die one day and before that day comes, each of us is going to own nine DS systems.

With March 28 fast approaching -- that's the release date for the DSi XL -- Nintendo is hoping to further build on the success of its now six-year-old handheld. And, to think, even after all that time, the gif still hasn't gotten old.

Because your EA Sports games need that extra oomph, EA has signed a deal with Sakar International to produce a lineup of attachments for your Wiimote and -- wait, DSi? Sure enough, the press release mentions "realistic-looking EA Sports golf clubs, tennis rackets and baseball bats for the Wii and Nintendo DSi as well as fitness gear for use with EA Sports Active" as part of a deal EA announced last month.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 and 11 on Wii will get a series of golf club attachments for kids on up to adults -- extendable up to 24 or 36 inches depending on the set you acquire -- and Sekar will also offer baseball and racquet accessories for other Wii games like Grand Slam Tennis. As for the DSi, the press release mentions five-in-one carrying kits themed around football, baseball, basketball and soccer -- each kit will include a game case, skin, stylus, and clip-on earphones or headphones.

Then there's the EA Sports Active stuff, which comes in two flavors: Starter Kit and Gym Kit. The first will retail for $19.99 and comes with a Wii Balance Board bag, yoga mat, fitness cord, armband and legbands, while the Gym Kit will set you back a bit more at $39.99 and includes a gym bag, yoga mat with a fitness cord and wrist and ankle weights.

While we can't really comment on these proposed attachments without at least seeing them first, we just hope EA reads the internet every now and then. Some attachments are great, while others are just a painful memory you wish you could forget.

You likely know Aardman Animations as the creators of the hilarious cheese-loving man and surprisingly capable K-9 duo, Wallace & Gromit. To celebrate last month's release of The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks in Europe, Nintendo tapped the studio to create a trio of custom animations paying homage to the game in Nintendo's free animation app for the DSi, Flipnote Studio. Now we get to see their labor bear fruit and, oh my, these came out looking sharp, as the video above this text can attest.

However, the real feather in this (Minish?) cap is the odd video past the break showing Link's game-long companion, Zelda. For us, the uneasy feeling we get witnessing Link's lack of concern seeing Zelda in poltergeist form is only exceeded by Zelda's apparent glee, despite being a creepy specter. That just weirds us out!

THQ describes the latest SpongeBob SquarePants game, SpongeBob's Boating Bash, as its "first demolition derby style party game," which makes it perfect for when you want to throw a demolition derby style party without all the cleanup.

Boating Bash puts SpongeBob and his friends behind the wheel of customizable "boat mobiles," as they attempt to knock parts off each other's vehicles to earn points and advance through the game. The ultimate goal of the thousands of violent collisions? A driver's license, of course!

Boating Bash will be out on Wii and DS this spring.

This week's Nintendo Channel update has been pumped up beyond all recognition, and not because there's a bunch of new stuff to look at. In fact, there's really not that much at all, save for some new No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle teasers; however, the inclusion of a brief Muscle March info trailer is enough for us to question whether or not this week's update is on some kind of performance-enhancing drug. We've contacted the appropriate authorities, but in the meanwhile, head past the break for this week's content.

Netherlands-based handheld gaming studio Engine Software has developed a cool new piece of tech for the DSi: motion sensitivity. To show off this breakthrough, the company has developed a brief demo video of TILT, a kind of Marble Blast Ultra clone where the player guides a ball around the gameworld by tilting the DSi. It's not the first we've heard of this kinda tech, and it won't be the last.

Engine Software isn't stopping with just this tech demo, however. The company is currently working on a full DSiWare game that will incorporate this new technology; though it likely won't be a full version of TILT, but rather an entirely new game. Head past the break to check out a brief video showcasing the tech.

Nintendo's been on quite the roll recently, providing plenty of content in its weekly offerings -- and today is no different. There are ten new titles to check out, including high-profile downloads such as Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth, Oregon Trail and -- finally! -- Pilotwings on the Virtual Console. Head past the break to check out the full list.

Mega Man 10 isn't the only pseudo-NES game coming out of Capcom in early 2010. Capcom is expanding Airtight Games' jetpack adventure, Dark Void, with side-scrolling DSiWare game Dark Void Zero.

Zero follows Rusty, one of the first humans to land in Dark Void's world, as he fights the Witchers with Nikola Tesla's help. Like Will from the next-gen games, Rusty has a jetpack, which can be used to hover in place or fly upward. Unlike the next-gen adventure, Rusty's fight is presented as a somewhat Metroidvania-style NES game, with graphics reminiscent of Capcom games like Strider and Bionic Commando.

Rather than making a quick promotional game, Capcom seems to have gone all out for Dark Void Zero, recruiting Dark Void composer Bear McCreary to create an authentic NES soundtrack for the game. Capcom has also invented a fiction not just for the game, but about the game, portraying it as a lost dual-screen PlayChoice-10 project. See a trailer and some thrilling in-game footage after the break. According to GameSpot, Dark Void Zero will be available in January for 500 DSi Points.

Nothing's ever going to top Nyko's crazy Zoom Case, but Datel Japan's bulky DSi speaker attachment thing -- the official title is the Sound Speaker DSi -- is definitely making a strong play for Most Crazy DSi Accessory Ever. As you can see, the accessory is not only meant to protect by consuming the handheld whole, but it also amplifies the DSi's audio ... because that's what you want from your DSi. The multitasking capabilities of Datel's device also allow you to charge your handheld (through an included AC adapter or some AA batteries) after you've spent hours being kind of a jerk.

The Datel Sound Speaker DSi runs 3,990 yen (about $45) and can be purchased here.

[Via GoNintendo]

Nintendogs is being released as a DSiWare game! But instead of being distributed over the Internet like most non-cartridge DSi games, Nintendogs will be distributed on the new iQue DSi when it launches in China. That's right, instead of a cartridge, it's being delivered on a whole DSi.

The iQue DSi will launch in China (with piracy-averting free Nintendogs) on December 15. Like other regions, iQue will offer 1,000 free DSi Points to new buyers, which they can spend on games including Paper Plane, Bird and Beans, the clock apps, and WarioWare: Snapped.

[Via Andriasang]

Using its cost-effective ESRB method of announcing new games, Atlus revealed a new DSi program called PhotoWorld. As you may expect from a game with that title, it involves taking pictures with the DSi camera. Players shoot a self-portrait and then "customize the pictures with a variety of stamps, photo effects, and text boxes."

As Siliconera notes, Atlus already sort of has a program like this on DSiWare. Nintendo's Sparkle Snapshots is based on Atlus's popular Print Club (Purikura) booths. We look forward to finding out how this one differs -- there's absolutely no way it could be any more sparkly, that's for sure. Of course, we aren't even sure this is DSiWare -- while this sounds like the kind of thing you would sell as a download, all we know is that it's for the DSi.

There's some classic platforming to be had in both Rayman and Shinobi in this week's Nintendo downloads, and even a way to deal with Jack's overabundance of stress in Stop Stress: A Day of Fury. There's over ten titles in all, so cruise past the break for the full list.

Nintendo announced that over 1.5 million of its various game systems were sold last week. Not last month, last week. Thanks to Black Friday and two new DSi bundles, Nintendo could afford all the trimmings for a resplendent company Thanksgiving. Not that we know whether or not Nintendo had one of those. The point is, Nintendo sold a bunch of stuff and made a lot of money.

According to Nintendo's estimates, more than 550,000 Wii systems were sold last week, and over 1 million DS and DSi systems. The release of two new DSi bundles (along with a few crazy prices) could have had something to do with that last statistic. By selling that many handhelds, Nintendo broke its own sales record for the holiday weekend! Though the company didn't manage to beat last year's 800,000 Wiis sold, which means that, despite still selling a huge number of Wiis, and despite all those DS sales, Nintendo is completely doomed, right?

Apparently, Jon Heder has been spending his downtime with Nintendo's Flipnote Studio. The video above shows the actor knows how to do a thing or two with Nintendo's software, though you'll find his doodlings are severely lacking in Ligers. Still, it's a neat video for some very neat -- and very free -- software for your DSi.

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

If you thought last week's NintendoWare Weekly update was huge, well ... you'll probably think the same thing about this week's update! That's mostly because Nintendo provides quite the overweight offering this time, with a total of ten new titles available for your post-Thanksgiving download. Loosen that belt and make some room for more by heading past the break for the full list of this week's releases.