As Miyamoto picked up 2007's MVP gong
Posts with tag famitsu
Famitsu knows a legend when it sees one
As Miyamoto picked up 2007's MVP gong
Famitsu checks out Hudson's non-WiiWare Bomberman [update]
Update: This actually is the WiiWare Bomberman game.Famitsu recently got a taste of what Hudson's Bomberman that
Head on over to Famitsu to check out the screens.
Gallery: Bomberman
Metareview: Mario Kart Wii
NGamer UK -- 88%: NGamer UK claimed that not enough effort had been expended on the local multiplayer mode, that balloon battle "still stinks," but that the online modes were well-executed, and that overall Mario Kart Wii is "a really solid Mario Kart with a terrific online setup. There's plenty here to make up for the disappointment of local multiplayer, but it does stop short of magnificence."
Eurogamer -- 80%: Meanwhile, it looks like yours truly may have spoken too soon when it comes to the Wii Wheel -- according to Eurogamer, the peripheral is "ergonomically brilliant, satisfyingly solid and adorably chunky." Which is good news, considering the gimped Classic Controller and GameCube pad controls. They seemed to like the rest of the game as well: "Ultimately, the sheer sensory pleasure of playing Mario Kart Wii - from the charming animations, to the bopping tunes, to the sugar-rush boosting, to the exquisite steering - far overcomes the few concerns we have about it. It still has to be docked a mark for the awkward structure and compromised battle modes - but it's still unreservedly recommended to anyone for whom Mario Kart is a gaming cornerstone. And really, that should be everyone."
Nintendo Power -- 90%: Nintendo Power was more effusive in its praise, claiming that: "With more features, modes and multiplayer options than ever before, fans should be revved up to get behind the wheel." [May 2008, p.86 -- excerpt found at Metacritic]
* Also worth noting is Famitsu's 37/40 score, a combination of one ten, and three nines.
Gallery: Mario Kart Wii
Famitsu causes worry over Oboro Muramasa Youtouden
According to the magazine, Vanillaware's Oboro Muramasa Youtouden is "struggling," making us super sad pandas. Not only does the game look gorgeous with its beautiful 2D sprites and atmospheres, but also -- well, actually, now that we think about it, we don't know much about this title other than how it looks. And, considering that we haven't seen any new information or media since last fall, we're not too surprised that it might be in danger of falling by the wayside. Keep in mind, though, that we don't know exactly what this "struggling" pertains to, so it may not be as scary as we think. Until further details are released, we'll just have to hope for the best.
In other Famitsu news, King Story seems to be doing well and should release in Japan this summer, showing that at least one game we're excited about is on track.
Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 3/17-3/23
Goodbye, Family Ski and Winning Eleven: Play Maker 2008 -- we hardly knew ye. While Family Ski enjoyed a seven-week run in the top thirty, Wining Eleven (aka Pro Evolution Soccer) only lasted for four. It's no coincidence that they fell off this week, though, as fifteen spots were taken up by new releases.The big Wii dog in town was not Brawl (which ended up 7th), and not even Wii Fit (which ended up 5th), but new release Deca Sports. We can't help but wonder if the appearance of Deca Sports will have an effect on that other sports game for the Wii. Is there room for both on the charts? (We think so.) And will Deca Sports have the same longevity as Wii Sports? (Probably not, but we're sure the game will do well for itself.) It's also worth noting that Deca Sports had the third highest third-party sales debut for the Wiil, following only Dragon Quest: Swords and Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles.
Continue reading Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 3/17-3/23
Ace Combat team making Wii flight sim
Click for larger version.
Remove Petit Copter from the equation, and pickings are awfully slim when it comes to Wii flight sims. So what's a budding Biggles to do? Pray for a Wii update to the absolutely flawless* Pilotwings 64? Well, that's one option (and something we do on a daily basis anyway), but Bandai Namco is hoping to provide another in the form of Sky Crawlers, a flight game based on an animated film that's to be released on August 2nd in Japan.
The latest edition of Famitsu has the first shots of the title, in which the Wiimote doubles up as your throttle, and the nunchuk is used to steer. Even though the film is based on a fantastical premise -- youngsters fighting a war organized by adults as a form of entertainment -- the game features realistic visuals.
In summary, we're keen to see more of this, particularly as it's developed by the same team behind the Ace Combat series. With any luck, we'll be able to banish the craptacular likes of Wing Island from our memories forever.
* Seriously, don't argue with me here. Like, seriously. I have maimed for less.
Brawl sells over 800k in its Japanese debut week
That hasn't stopped us from finding out about the smashing success of Brawl in Japan, though. According to numbers from both sources, the game has sold over 800,000 copies in its first week alone. Also, keep in mind that because of release dates, "first week" translate into only four days.
To put that into perspective, that's almost as much as Super Mario Galaxy has sold in Japan since its November release. If Brawl had sold another 50,000 units, it would have surpassed Galaxy's total sales. Also, the game will probably eclipse juggernaut Wii Fit in a matter of a week or two.
We're so in awe that we're not sure what else to say. Will "wow" suffice?
Mii support, bike wheelies, and an April date for Mario Kart Wii
Three pages packed with Mario Kart Wii info and screenshots charged out of Famitsu this week, rounding the corner into someone's scanner and speeding right to your computer screen. In addition to revealing an April 10th release date for Japan, the magazine shows our mascots pulling off aerial tricks and racing against Miis! Will these personalized characters be a new standard for multiplayer games on the Wii? If it's easy to implement, why not?
Mario Kart Wii will also have GameCube controller support, multiplayer for up to twelve people online, online leagues, global rankings, time attack sharing/rankings, ghost uploads/downloads, and 32 different courses -- 16 of which are new, the remaining 16 being classic tracks. We're sure we spotted Delfino Square in at least one of the screens! You can have a look at the scanned pages yourself after the post break. The first one of you to identify the figure drifting past Luigi on the top left of the first page wins a cookie.*
Gallery: Mario Kart Wii
*A cookie made of lies.
Continue reading Mii support, bike wheelies, and an April date for Mario Kart Wii
Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 1/21-1/27
Let's face it: the Japanese sales numbers for the week of 1/21 are just foreplay. What we really want to know is how Super Smash Bros. Brawl did, although rumors are coming in that the game sold a whopping 500,000 copies in its first day. All this hype even catapulted the Wii above the DS in hardware sales last week, according to the numbers released by Famitsu. We think the Wii will hold the top spot in Japan for at least another few weeks, while it basks in Brawl's glory. The Wii may have made a stir in the hardware charts, but all's boring on the software front. Wii Fit shows us its well-toned legs by remaining at the number one spot, and Super Mario Galaxy has fallen out of the top ten once again. Wii Play also slipped a bit, losing some of its former dominance.
To see the Japanese hardware and software figures for last week, look no further than after the break.
Continue reading Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 1/21-1/27
Another week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 1/14-1/20
The Wii continues to flip-flop positions with the PSP, this time ending up on the more favorable side of the coin. Regaining the second place spot with 76,000 units sold, the Wii only dropped 6,000 units from last week's numbers.
Wii software continues to do well, too -- at least concerning "Wii" and "Mario" games. Wii Fit sales in Japan were even greater than DS handheld sales. Super Mario Galaxy also ended up back in the top ten, in part because of consistent sales, and in part because a few DS games lost steam.
Some other Wii games didn't make the top of the charts, like Trauma Center: New Blood (which sold 3,100 copies last week in its debut).
Check out the actual sales numbers and rankings for hardware and software after the break.
Continue reading Another week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 1/14-1/20
Another week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 1/7-1/13
Since we already knew about Wii Fit's million accomplishment, there wasn't much surprise in the software charts. Super Mario Galaxy, however, finally fell out of the top ten as it makes it way toward the million mark.
Hardware:
- DS: 103,000
- PSP: 84,000
- Wii: 82,000
- PS3: 34,000
- PS2: 15,000
- Xbox 360: 5,500
Continue reading Another week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 1/7-1/13
Brawl scores 40/40 in Famitsu, flawless victory
We don't normally highlight a single review, preferring to study the opinions of multiple publications at a time, but this Super Smash Bros. Brawl perfect score from Famitsu gives us a chance to break out of our routine; as you can see from the post title, it has also provided us an opportunity to bring back Mortal Kombat phrases. "Get over here!" Remember that one? It's from Scorpion.Super Smash Bros. Brawl joins the ranks of The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, Soul Calibur, Vagrant Story, Zelda: Wind Waker, Nintendogs, and Final Fantasy XII, all being titles that received a 40/40 score from Japanese video game magazine Famitsu, or four 10/10s from a panel of four reviewers. The critics applauded Brawl for its enjoyable adventure mode, brilliant Final Smash moves, and outstanding (!) presentation.
While Famitsu's scores shouldn't always be taken seriously, as the reputation of its reviews ranks far below that of an esteemed magazine like Edge, Famitsu hardly ever hands out 40/40s, awarding perfect scores to only seven titles in the past ten years. Perhaps this Super Smash Bros. Brawl game turned out alright after all.
Another week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 12/31-1/6
The Wii got a huge boost in hardware sales thanks to the New Years holiday, which is known to be big for consumerism in Japan. All system sales increased, in fact, but the gap between the Wii and PSP widened as the Wii sold almost 80,000 more units than it did the previous week. The bump in hardware sales also affected software sales, helping Nintendo regain its domination in the charts. The top twelve games were for Nintendo systems, with a lot of those games either having the words "Wii" or "Mario" in their titles. Wii Sports and Wii Play continue to bully newer titles out of the top ten, while Wii Fit nears the million mark (and according to some trackers, already reached it as of today). Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles also shows some legs by barely making the top thirty, selling 21,000 copies last week for a total of 234,000.
It will be interesting to see whether Super Mario Galaxy can hang in the top ten, but regardless, it seems that the game will hit one million sales relatively soon. Also, expect a huge drop in sales all around next week, as holiday spending in Japan finally comes to an end.
The hardware and software numbers are listed after the break, for your viewing pleasure.
Continue reading Another week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 12/31-1/6
Another week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 12/24-12/31
Normally we bring you Japanese sales charts on Wednesday, but since Japan was on vacation this week, that didn't exactly work out. It's back to work for Japan, however, which means that the sales numbers for games and hardware for the week of 12/24 were finally released.So, how did Nintendo fare? While software sales were good, the company certainly lost its dominance in the charts. The week of 12/17 had Nintendo in nine out of ten of the top spots, while the week of 12/24 had the company in only seven. (Note: When "only seven" is a bad week, that's a good thing.)
To see what this means for the Wii (and to view the actual Famitsu sales numbers), check after the break.
Continue reading Another week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 12/24-12/31
Another week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 12/17-12/23
The Wii did well last week in Japan, finally managing to outsell the PlayStation 3 again by five to one. Wii Fit, Super Mario Galaxy, and Mario and Sonic continued to find success in the software sales charts, while Wii Sports and Wii Play extend their quests toward spectacularly high numbers.We're glad to see that Super Mario Galaxy is doing well (the game is great, in case you haven't noticed), and are still awed by the phenomenon that is Wii Sports. Only one game in the top ten (and top fifteen, for that matter) was for a non-Nintendo system, which exemplifies the company's current dominance in Japan. Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon is mysteriously missing from the charts, however, leading some to speculate that the game sold less than FIFA 360 (which took the last place with 2,400 copies sold).
Check after the break to see the sales numbers for Japan's hardware and software.
Continue reading Another week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 12/17-12/23
