Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Starting tomorrow and lasting until Saturday, Toys R Us will be offering select Wii games at 50% off. These games are actually some quality titles, too. None of that burning through their stock of Anubis II or anything, we're talking top-notch games. So what's on offer?

• Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
• Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles
• BWii: Battalion Wars 2
• Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

Not bad, right? So be sure to check their site first thing tomorrow. Who's planning on picking up a game? And what game would that be?

[Thanks, TheResidentEvil!]

The top Wii game last week wasn't Mario Kart, or even Wii Fit. Rather, beloved roguelike Shiren got the coveted title, as Shiren the Wanderer 3 debuted in second behind the PS3's new Dragon Ball Z. The previously mentioned Nintendo games did show up in the top ten, though, along with Family Trainer.

We're happy to see both Smash Bros. Brawl and Battalion Wars 2 hanging tough in the top thirty; the previous week had us a bit worried. In hardware, though, the Wii remains sandwiched between the PSP and the DS:

Just click on past the break if you'd like to see how Wii software fared.

Wii Fit gained some competition last week, as Family Trainer finally made its debut in Japan. Even so, Namco Bandai's game couldn't overtake Nintendo's six-month-old fitness title. Many Wii games were also pushed to the bottom of the top thirty in this week's chart, with Smash Bros. Brawl in danger of falling off completely.

Despite less than stellar software sales, Wii hardware performed well. Yet, once again, the Wii fell behind the currently dominating PSP:

The software figures are located after the break, so click on.

If you keep up with Japanese hardware and software sales, you may have noticed an unexpected game in the top ten these past two weeks. Said game is none other than Battalion Wars 2, the tactical action title that's one of our favorites here at Wii Fanboy.

Normally, software that's considered "western" doesn't fare too well in the East, but Kuju London's creative director Tancred Dyke-Wells thinks differently about BWii (called Famicom Wars VS in Japan). "I have the impression that a certain western exoticism plays a part in attracting attention to the title," Dyke-Wells told GamesIndustry.biz. Yet, if you've ever played or seen BWii, you'll know that it has more charm and softer aesthetic than most of the games from the West that Japan is used to seeing. It's this combination that Dyke-Wells thinks Japanese gamers found most appealing.

Since we love it so much, we're definitely happy to see Battalion Wars 2 do well in Japan. In total it has only sold 40,000 copies as of the end of May, but that's probably indicative of stock more than anything. Hopefully the game sees more weeks of success, as it's certainly deserving.

No new Wii games debuted last week; at least, none that ended up in the top thirty. There was one teensy weensy title that was introduced into the Japanese market, though. You may have heard of it: Guitar Hero III.

To put it bluntly, sales for the game were low. In fact, it didn't even make the top fifty in Media Create's charts, and Famitsu reports that the title only sold 1,300 copies. Compared to sales in other regions (like North America and Europe, for example), where Guitar Hero III performed fiercely, you can see that tastes often differ between western and eastern gamers.

Other than that, there's not to much to report about the software charts. Battalion Wars 2 managed to hang in the top ten, while Mario Kart Wii slipped into third place. Meanwhile, Smash Bros. Brawl might be in danger of falling out of the top thirty soon.

In hardware, the gap between the Wii and the PSP lessened as sales for Nintendo's console rose, while sales for Sony's handheld fell. Still, the PSP had a lead of about 15,000 units last week, keeping the Wii locked in its second place spot:

The software numbers are located after the break, so go on and take a look.

The new kid on the Japanese Wii software block last week was Battalion Wars 2, which faired well enough in its debut to hit the top ten. Will it stay there? Our guess is no, sadly. Still, it's nice to see the game get some recognition in Japan.

Once again, the only non-Nintendo title for the Wii that made the top thirty was Deca Sports, which dropped thirteen spots from the week before. Ouch. We're not sure what made Japan fall so out of love with Deca Sports in one week, but the game seems to have lost some of its legs. Smash Bros. Brawl also took a spill, falling from tenth place to nineteenth.

The other noticeable drop was Mario Kart Wii, which only fell one spot, but an important spot -- from first to second -- and finally succumbed to the frightening power of Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G. Hardware was also a PSP victory, as the handheld beat all other systems by a convincing margin.

Now that you've seen the hardware numbers, check past the break for the software sales.

If you're one of the cool kids that visits Wii Fanboy often, you probably know that we love bargains. Even more so, we love sharing them with you. We thought we'd tell you, then, that aside from Circuit City having some sweet deals this week, GameFly is also looking to take money out of our pockets.

From today to the 19th, GameFly is having a storewide sale, which means cheap games galore. The catch is that they're used, but that's not a big deterrent since the game conditions are usually tip-top.

Some highlights include:

• Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law -- $14.99
• NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams -- $17.99
• Battalion Wars 2 -- $27.99
• Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles -- $29.99
• Metroid Prime 3: Corruption -- $29.99

We also found some other nice sales over there, so it's worth checking them out if you're craving a new (yet used) Wii game.

Update: The price for the used game from Gamefly is $29.99. Sorry I neglected to put that into the post. BFF again?

We tried to tell you all about how Battalion Wars 2 is a lot of fun and you should play it. Heck, it's even great with friends, both online and locally! And now is the time for you to get a copy of it yourself, for pretty darn cheap. Sure, it's used, but it beats paying $50 for it new, right?

Oh, and you could always bring it to Game Night. You know we like to play games every Thursday, don'tcha?

Why do we love the Wii with friends? Because we want all to share the splendor and majesty that comes from playing the best home gaming console around. So that's why we set out to bring you a nice, easy package of great multiplayer games for the Wii.

Both online and local multiplayer is covered, as well as games that have released and those that are still in production. We hope you find this useful in your own life, in some small way, or at least a good place to link a friend who has no idea what they're getting into with the Wii. So read on and see what we have in store, then come back here and tell us what multiplayer experiences you enjoy most on the Wii!

The price for Battalion Wars 2 keeps on dropping on Amazon -- first it fell to $32.99, and now you can pick it up for $25.83. Not that we're complaining. Any chance to pick up a good game cheaply is okay by us. We're especially glad that this price qualifies BWii for Amazon's free shipping (by eighty-three cents).

This isn't Amazon's "Deal of the Day," so we don't know how long this pricing will last; make sure you take that into consideration when you debate whether or not to jump on this sale.



[Via GoNintendo]

With the end of 2007 approaching at near lightning-fast speed, we thought it would be nice to check out what you, the excellent reader, thought about the games of this year. First up, we have the obvious: first-party games. We have a good idea which game you're going to say, but in the name of healthy debate, check out all of the choices past the break.

Although the Wii had many good games this year, it's clear that some developers noticed the Wii's hype and have put out some unsatisfactory products in an attempt to ride the popularity wave. We're often critical of such games, "tsk, tsking" at them to our hearts' content, but it makes us feel better when developers notice this trend since they're the ones with the power. It's up to the developers to really push themselves and the machine they're working with, and as time goes on, the process becomes easier and more efficient.

Tancred Dyke-Wells, the creative director of Kuju (the company behind the Wii's Battalion Wars 2), recently criticized many Wii developers for "under-exploiting" the little white console. We tend to take his word seriously, since we think that BWII "has just about everything that fans of first-party Nintendo games are looking for," as you can see in our review of the game.

Dyke-Wells' main beef with developers is with the way in which graphics are handled on the system. While the Nintendo Wii can't compete in the graphics department with Sony's Playstation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360, he believes that the Wii is a "pretty good piece of kit" that overpowers the GameCube "by a factor of two."

In the end, Dyke-Wells thinks it comes down to how much respect these developers have for their companies, their products, and their consumers, and we can't help but agree. The possibility of making a quick and easy buck is tempting, but we expect developers to make good games simply because they can.

[Via Aussie-Nintendo]

Well, our giveaway has come to a close and it's time to crown a winner. We're sad, to be honest, because we would have liked to have held onto these games for just a bit longer. But, such is our lot in life. Oh well, at least we can enjoy making one of our readers the happiest person ever!

The winner of our giveaway is:

• Ankabut, who wished the Wii a very happy birthday!

Congratulations, Ankabut! We'll be in contact to get all of your info. For the rest of you, better luck next time and thanks for reading Wii Fanboy!

To celebrate the release of the Wii on this day a year ago, we're hooking one lucky fan up with a bunch of sweet gaming action. While we would've liked to give away a free Wii to mark this special occasion, alas we could not find one (who can, anyway?). So, you'll have to settle for a bunch of free games, instead!

We're looking to make one lucky winner the happiest person on the planet by hooking them up with:

• 1 copy of Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure
• 1 copy of Namco Museum REMIX
• 1 copy of Dancing with the Stars
• 1 copy of Battalion Wars 2
  

Before entering, please hit up the official rules page. Also, as usual, you have to be 18 years of age or older and live in the United States. Only one entry per person, so multiple comments will get you disqualified. Also, be sure to get your comment in before Thursday, November 22nd at 11:59PM EST. We'll select the winner come Friday.

Best of luck to all of you and, as always, thanks for reading Wii Fanboy!