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Wii Blaster coming June 27th

Posted Jun 19th 2007 9:50AM by Jason Wishnov

You've gotta admire it ... this thing is a gun. A real sawed-off shotgun feel to it, isn't there? As you might expect, such a beast of firepower is not a first-party product, but nevertheless, it's the first Zapper-like Wiimote attachment to hit shelves come June 27th. Not just any shelves, mind you ... it's a Gamestop exclusive.

An interesting note is the Nintendo Duck Hunt comment. We've seen ESRB confirmation of the NES classic, but as of yet, there has been absolutely no additional functionality in any Virtual Console game thus far. Hmmm ... it's enough to get those rumor-wheels a-spinnin' ....

[via Joystiq]

Wii Warm Up: Composure

Posted Jun 19th 2007 9:00AM by Jason Wishnov
Filed under: Features

Videogame music has come a far cry from the beeps of yesteryear, with amazing works coming from both studios and independent remixers alike. A musical score is now a critical component of game design, and the big names in gaming are some of the most forward-thinking pioneers in the musical world today.

Most classic Nintendo themes have been crafted by the well-known Koji Kondo, but Nintendo's consoles have been host to dozens upon dozens of brilliant composers. So, who's your favorite? There's a ridiculous list composing for Super Smash Bros. Brawl, found here (which interestingly omits the famed Nobuo Uematsu, who already composed the game's title theme). Which names stand your hair on end?

Wonders never cease

Posted Jun 18th 2007 10:00AM by Jason Wishnov
Filed under: Fan stuff

The above picture shows one Stephen Fischbach, who suffers from cerebral palsy and is unable to walk or speak, enjoying a game of Wii Sports baseball with his family. It's a wonderful image, and one that we hope everyone, no matter their console allegiances, can fully appreciate.

[via Digg]

Japanese hardware sales, Jun. 4 - Jun. 10: Harry Potter edition

Posted Jun 15th 2007 10:30PM by Jason Wishnov
Filed under: Features

The final release of Harry Potter, one of the most widespread, wonderful literary series ever written, is coming to a close come July 21st. We'd like to take a moment and salute J. K. Rowling for reintroducing the better part of a world to the joys of reading, because hey, if no one read, we'd be out of our jobs. Pick up Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as soon as you can, guys. Trust us.

Harry Potter and the Japanese Hardware Sales

"Harry," said Ron, slightly out of breath, "Snape'll go nutters if we're late again. Remember what he did to Neville?"

"Yeah," replied Harry, throwing himself down a shifting staircase and sprinting through the corridors. Snape had used a particularly nasty hex on the frequently tardy Neville, turning his hands into N-Gages. Harry allowed himself a momentary shudder.

They rounded a corner and began the descent into Snape's dungeon of a classroom, Harry's least favorite place at Hogwarts. Even disregarding his immense dislike of Severus Snape, Harry had never had much of a knack for Potions; it was always his lowest grade of the term.

Suddenly, Ron stopped dead ahead of him. Harry slammed into his back, nearly toppling the two down the hard, stone stairs.

Continue reading Japanese hardware sales, Jun. 4 - Jun. 10: Harry Potter edition

More Soul Calibur Legends details

Posted Jun 14th 2007 10:40AM by Jason Wishnov
Filed under: News

Gaming mag Famitsu has revealed some more details about the upcoming Wii exclusive Soul Calibur Legends. We assume that the creators of this action title felt that choosing a main protagonist from the existing fighters would cause unnecessary flamefests, so they felt fit to introduce the sixteen year old Iska. Among playable characters are Taki, Mitsurugi, Ivy, and Siegfried (Nightmare), though interestingly, no one mentioned Iska himself.

Traditionally, the A and B buttons have mapped to horizontal and vertical slices, respectively. In true waggle fashion, Namco has felt fit to physically map these actions to the Wiimote. We're wary; the recognition will probably be fine, but seeing as how at least two-thirds of all moves in previous Soul Calibur titles involved the use of one (or both? What the heck?) of these actions, this might wear out its welcome very, very quickly. Also, the nunchuck is shaken for "evasion," whatever that means (guard impact?).

The title will allow for tag-teaming against a boss, as a second player can join in for cooperative fun. There's traps and obstacles and all that lovely goodness as well; for some more minor details, check out the in-depth IGN report. With the announcement of the true Soul Calibur 4 for the PS3 and 360 yesterday, are you guys still excited for this?

Wii hits an unofficial eight million sold

Posted Jun 14th 2007 9:50AM by Jason Wishnov
Filed under: News

Start your engines, fanboys. According to vgchartz.com, which is where we go to hang out when we're bored, the Wii just yesterday surpassed eight million units sold since its November 19th launch in North America. That's fast. That's really fast. Check out this graph with the option "align launches" enabled; it's staggering.

So, here we go. By the end of year, Nintendo Wii sales will most likely have surpassed the Xbox 360's one-year head start to become the current generation leader, and heck, we might just "win" this thing. Who'd have thought such a turnaround was possible? And why the hell didn't we buy NTDOY stock? Dammit.

Bask in the glory, guys. Most likely, one of those eight million is yours.

Virtually Overlooked Week: Jason's picks

Posted Jun 13th 2007 10:50AM by Jason Wishnov
Filed under: Virtual Console, Features

Virtually Overlooked has taken over Wii Fanboy! All this week, members of the staff will be outlining their personal picks for future Virtual Console releases.

Growing up with gaming is an interesting thing these days. Many of you are part of the first generation that was quite literally born into a household with a gaming console, as I was. In my experience, if you start off in life gaming hard, you don't stop. Therefore, in the very near future, I will able to ask a random middle-aged man if he wants to go play Guitar Hero 4, and it won't be totally weird.

Who am I kidding? This isn't Japan, and that guy will probably think I am, in fact, totally weird. But man, screw those non-gamers. The hardcore, like you and I, have tons of gaming memories, and thus we frequently long for the games of yore to be released on the Virtual Console. But they have not yet appeased my feral hunger, and thus do I lay these games out in a commanding fashion for Nintendo's minions to take note.

You, of course, may gaze as well.

Continue reading Virtually Overlooked Week: Jason's picks

Wii Warm Up: Flash in the pan

Posted Jun 12th 2007 9:00AM by Jason Wishnov
Filed under: Virtual Console, Wii Warm Up

Thanks to the Wii's internet browser, we can already enjoy plenty of flash-based games for the Wii. New flash games come out every day, and while most are simplistic and lacking in depth, some shine like diamonds in the rough.

Tell ya what. Why don't you recommend a flash-based title that you'd like to see on the Wii? While you have already seen through our thinly veiled desire to simply waste away the day with your favorite flash titles, it's worth a look. Some many aspiring game designers would love to see their titles on an official Nintendo downloading service, so why not give it to them? Which ones do you guys want?

The Short Cuts entry that better freaking win

Posted Jun 11th 2007 10:30AM by Jason Wishnov
Filed under: Fan stuff, Video

Japanese hardware sales, May 28 - Jun. 3: Explanatory Aqua Teen edition

Posted Jun 9th 2007 4:45PM by Jason Wishnov
Filed under: Features

We know, you were disappointed. Last night, as you happily refreshed Wii Fanboy every nine seconds or so looking for this week's Japanese hardware sales, the vim slowly faded from your eyes as the hours ticked into oblivion. We would never willingly deprive our readers so; we were unavoidably delayed! You see ....

Thousands of years ago, before the dawn of man as we knew him ... there were the moon men, reigning over the Earth. But this was not the Earth you knew! It was covered in jelly and high-density motor oil, making the planet very slippery. The moon men blamed the corporations, and there was a war and many were killed. The battle raged for millennia until 8000 A.D., when the moon men realized they were not actually from the moon, but from rural Pennsylvania. They then built a monument to the moon but then the Quakers stole it and filled it with oatmeal, and no one knew what flavor. Californians were highly displeased and turned all the Quakers invisible, which is why you never see them anymore. And that ... is where babies come from.

- DS Lite: 123,140 4,321 (3.39%)
- Wii: 69,748 11,104 (18.93%)
- PSP: 26,358 261 (1.00%)
- PS2: 11,814 503 (4.45%)
- PS3: 8,998 629 (6.53%)
- Xbox 360: 2,219 175 (8.56%)
- Game Boy Micro: 310 97 (23.83%)
- GBA SP: 247 41 (14.24%)
- Gamecube: 226 30 (11.72%)
- DS Phat: 71 10 (12.35%)
- GBA: 16 1 (5.88%)

[Source: Media Create]

Stream iTunes to your Wii

Posted Jun 8th 2007 10:40AM by Jason Wishnov
Filed under: Fan stuff, How-tos

As the console is generally hooked up to a far larger sound system than the computer, it generally behooves the player to make use of a system as a music- or movie-playing device. We admit, the 360's streaming capabilities put it in a class of its own, but the Wii's easy-to-use internet browser has landed it at the center of many a drunk YouTube gathering. We'd previously reported on the success of Last.fm on the Wii, but now you can get your own music collection playing through your five point one, via iTunes.

The process is a bit lengthy, but it's very step-by-step. Would any readers like to test this out for us? It's kinda early, and there are gentle hobos living in the attic; we don't want to wake them, you see.

[via GoNintendo]

Rumor: Marketers head for the hills, a fond farewell to Kaplan and Harrison

Posted Jun 7th 2007 9:50AM by Jason Wishnov
Filed under: Rumors

It's a wild week in the world of Nintendo's upper management in marketing ... we think. Recently, Nintendo's marketing department was told they'd need to ship off to either New York or San Francisco from their current homes in Redmond. According to Game Informer, as astounding 90% decided to remain in the area and take severance pay. What's even more shocking are that Beth Llewelyn (senior director of public relations), Perrin Kaplan (vice president of marketing and corporate affairs) and George Harrison (senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications) are among the dearly departed. From Nintendo, we mean.

Those are some big names dropping from Nintendo's ivory towers, and we've got to sad we're sad to see them go. George was always a nice, candid fellow, and who can forget drunk Perrin (pictured above)? Now that was a classic. We would like to reiterate that Game Informer's claim has not yet been corroborated, so we'll post an update with confirmation or denial when we get it.

[Thanks, Jensonb!]

Wii Warm Up: An aural discussion

Posted Jun 7th 2007 9:00AM by Jason Wishnov
Filed under: Wii Warm Up

The ESRB website typically reveals upcoming titles for the Virtual Console, and though it's by no means any sort of surprise, it looks like Sonic the Hedgehog 2 will soon be coming to a Wii near you. This prompted some discussion among the staff, of course, and after several fingers were dislocated and a kidney stolen in the night, we reached no definite conclusion. Which of the four major Sonic titles of the 16-bit era was the best? Some say Sonic 3 (and what charming, handsome fellows they must be), but others say Sonic and Knuckles (the more crude, surly members of the staff, certainly).

I mean, we already totally know what the right answer is, but do you guys agree? Which of the three remaining are you most excited for?

Wii Warm Up: Tendencies

Posted Jun 5th 2007 9:00AM by Jason Wishnov
Filed under: Features, Wii Warm Up

The sporting world is notorious for superstitious tendencies and odd behavior. Players always have the same meal preceding a game; they won't cut their hair until they lose; they'll wear the same jock str ... egh, never mind. The point is, despite overwhelming scientific evidence, people still continue to engage in silly habits for luck and good fortune.

As a gamer, do you have any particular habits before tournaments? Barring competitive play, are there any strange habits you have while gaming in general? Some of us here tend to spin the Wiimote around our fingers when we perform something of note, and others blow on the DVD before insertion into the Wii, harkening back to the NES days. Man, we're weird.

Nintendo files for "invitation system" patent [update 1]

Posted Jun 3rd 2007 7:15PM by Jason Wishnov
Filed under: Rumors

[Update 1: Slightly altered the headline.]

According to U.S. Patent No. 20070123353 (are there really that many patents? No. 1 must be for "fire"), Nintendo is contemplating an "invitation system for [online videogames]." A fairly standard feature of Xbox Live, this would enable Wii users to be automatically notified of any friends logged into Nintendo servers, and enable the ability to invite said player to join them in whatever wonderful fantasy land in which they currently reside.

This technically may not even be for the Wii, but with rewritable firmware and a crapton of yen to replace their entire online infrastructure, hey, you never know. If you have ridiculous superstitious tendencies, please feel free to perform them ... now.

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