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The Escapist : Jimquisition : When Piracy Becomes Theft

Kid Icarus: Uprising preorder nets you 800 Reward Zone Bonus Points ($10 value) and an exclusive pack of AR cards at game launch

Preorder Rhythm Heaven Fever and grab $5 off

Thanks to Alejandro and Microtic for the heads up!

Coming from Nintendo's Facebook page...



Want to be part of the creative process? Vote here by hitting Like if this is your pick for the collectible reverse cover for Xenoblade Chronicles.

Check out the covers and vote here

Wouldn't it be nice to see Henry Hatsworth return? For all the sequel love the industry gets, there are still some gems that only had one chance to wow us with their gaming goodies. It's high time these characters got a second chance!

Can't wait to get your hands on Resident Evil: Revelations tomorrow? If not, why not check out this 6-page Iwata Asks on Resident Evil: Revelations!? Maybe they'll explain why they decided to put a spelling error on the spine!

Amazon (orders ship free, or ship free with a combined total order of $25 or more)

Pre-order bonus offers: $10 Amazon store credit with your Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D pre-order (3DS, $39.96, free S&H, available February 21st, release date delivery also available), Free 3D Classics Kid Icarus download with your Kid Icarus: Uprising pre-order (3DS, $39.99, free S&H, available March 23rd, release date delivery also available)

Coming soon, available for pre-order: Resident Evil: Revelations (3DS, $39.99, $10 price drop, free S&H, available tomorrow), Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir (3DS, $39.99, free S&H, available April 13th), Rhythm Heaven Fever (Wii, $29.99, free S&H, available February 13th), Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 (DS, $29.96, free S&H, available February 28th), Heroes of Ruin (3DS, $39.99, free S&H, available March 31st), Mario Party 9 (Wii, $49.99, free S&H, available March 11th), Tekken 3D Prime Edition (3DS, $39.95, free S&H, available February 14th), Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure (3DS, $39.95, free S&H, available March 31st), Tales of the Abyss (3DS, $39.96, free S&H, February 14th)

The Disney sale that never ends: Save up to 50% on select Disney video games - selection includes Disney Epic Mickey, Disney Universe, Phineas and Ferb, Cars 2, and LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean. For Wii, DS, 3DS and other popular systems.

Walmart

2 Nintendo Wii games for $30 - selection includes Namco Museum MegaMix, Dragon's Lair Trilogy, De Blob 2, LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, Jewel Quest Trilogy, Toy Story Mania, MySims Agents, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, and more.

2 Nintendo 3DS games for $30 - selection includes Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition, Raving Rabbids Travel in Time 3D, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars, and more.

2 Nintendo DS games for $30 - selection includes Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals, LEGO Batman, Gardening Mama, Final Fantasy III, De Blob 2, Crafting Mama, Bejeweled Twist, Professor Layton and the Unwound Future, Personal Trainer: Walking, Picross 3D, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, Pokemon Ranger: Guardian Signs, Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box, Plants vs. Zombies, Tetris Party Deluxe, and more.

Portable system bundle offers: 3DS bundle ($169.96), DS Lite bundle ($99.00), DSi XL bundle ($169.00) - bundles include base system, free travel case, and select free game.

Other retailers

Gamestop Pre-order bonuses: Free 3D Classics Kid Icarus download with your Kid Icarus: Uprising pre-order (3DS, $39.99 new, available March 23rd), Free set of exclusive Pokemon themed Wii remote skins with your Pokepark 2: Wonders Beyond pre-order (Wii, $49.99 new, available February 27th, backordered)

Exclusive Gamestop pre-order offers: Gamestop exclusive 3DS Circle Pad Pro accessory (3DS, $19.99, available tomorrow), Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii, $49.99, available April 2nd, exclusively available via Gamestop and Nintendo.com)

Best Buy: Bonus 3DS case with Resident Evil: Revelations pre-order (3DS, $39.99, $10 price drop, free S&H, available tomorrow)

Toys R Us: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword with Music CD (Wii, $39.99, save $10.00); Buy 1, Get 1 40% off all video games priced $19.99; Free 3DS case with your Resident Evil: Revelations pre-order (3DS, $39.99, free S&H, available tomorrow); 50% off any Wii video game priced $49.99 with the purchase of Just Dance 3 (Wii, $39.99); Free 3DS system case ($9.98 value) with purchase of a base 3DS system ($169.99)

Toys R Us, in-store only: $20 gift card with the purchase of a black Nintendo Wii with New Super Mario Bros. Wii/Galaxy soundtrack bundle ($149.99), $10 gift card with the purchase of Resident Evil: Revelations (3DS, $39.99, available tomorrow)

Thanks to GrubberGamer for the heads up!

The following predictions come from Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter...

- year-over-year software sales dropped by 12 percent to $505 million
- low sales blamed on a lack of high-profile games released until the end of the month
- forecasts that late 2011 games like Activision's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Ubisoft's Just Dance 3 will be two biggest software titles
- these will sell around 800,000 and 600,00 units respectively
- major publishers will have "an opportunity to grow revenues by 10 percent or more annually for the next several years."
- software sales at retail will likely begin to see monthly growth in May
- "175,000 Wii units (down 45 percent year-over-year), 390,000 Xbox 360 units (up 2 percent), 235,000 PS3 units (down 12 percent), 65,000 DS units (down 78 percent), and 215,000 3DS units."
- January's total hardware sales will fall by 18 percent year-over-year
- sales will jump back up once price cuts for the consoles

- takes place after the events of the movie
- free-roaming game
- set in Manhattan
- side missions for the player to discover
- includes challenges and mini-games
- developed with a more “realistic” mindset
- exciting new interpretations of fan-favorite Super Villains
- all-new villains created specifically for the game

"...movies and such are much better at telling stories in an effective and enjoyable way than games are. ...while there is a story (in Kid Icarus: Uprising), we don't advance it by forcing players to sit and watch some tedious briefing scene or anything." - Masahiro Sakurai

Perhaps Sakurai feels he can't effectively tell a story through games, but I've played many a game that handles story elements better than movies and TV shows. All depends on the people involved.

This soundtrack is now available in Japan for the price of 3,150 yen.

Just as we said last week, someone was willing to put the Resident Evil Game Boy Color ROM online if they reached a goal of $2,000. I'm not sure how Capcom feels about this, but the goal was met and now the game is online to download. I wonder if Capcom is going to mention this on their official blog...

"To be honest, I think that the HD images which have become mainstream in the TV industry are, for me personally, still rather over the top for the world of video games. There's a tendency for developers to allow all their energy to be diverted into maintaining the high quality of the graphics. ...I was really averse to allowing the quality of the graphics to drop just because we were working on Wii, which doesn't have HD graphics. I do really think that, in the end, what we've created can hold its own against other hardware. We've successfully implemented the texture of rocks and water, for instance. The other important area is the motion. I think the graphics have a beauty that's almost photographic. Rather than everything being clear and sharp, there are shadows in the background and slightly blurred elements that actually lend the graphics the feel of a photograph. I think that we achieved the perfect balance because this game was on Wii." - Sakaguchi

There's no doubt that The Last Story is a beautiful game. With that said, I think just displaying the game as-is but in a higher resolution makes it just that much better.

LOS ANGELES – February 6, 2012 – D3Publisher (D3P), a publisher and developer of interactive entertainment software, today announced iCarly™: Groovy Foodie!. The game is based on iCarly, Nickelodeon’s top-rated live-action series for kids and tweens. iCarly: Groovy Foodie!, available this summer exclusively for the Nintendo DS™ family of hand-held systems, offers highly addictive gameplay where fans serve wacky meals to crazy customers in a game that ‘dishes out’ all the random fun from the show.

“The latest iCarly video game offers a perfect combination of action-puzzle gameplay, hilarious elements from the hit show, and gives fans the opportunity to play as Carly and Sam for the first time ever,” said Bill Anker, vice president of business development and licensing, D3P. “The game blends these features with the humor and randomness of the popular TV show to offer fans a new and authentic experience.”

In iCarly: Groovy Foodie!, Carly and Sam get in trouble and must complete community service by making their imaginative food creations. Fans of the series can play as both Carly and Sam, and interact with the cast, as they share special skills that tie into each character’s attributes from the show.

Players set the menu, prepare dishes and serve plates to customers quickly, while even more starving customers flood each location. They will dish out more than 20 infamous iCarly dishes like Doughnuts on a Stick, Fudge Balls, and Spaghetti Tacos to crazy patrons in fan-favorite locations that include Webicon, Ridgeway Junior High, the Groovy Smoothie and more. The addicting game features several finicky types of hungry customers including students, senior citizens and more, each with their own likes, dislikes, and unique traits.

iCarly won “Favorite TV Show” at Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Award three years in a row (2009-2011) and was nominated for a 2010 Primetime Emmy Award in the Outstanding Children’s Program category. iCarly currently ranks as one of the top series on all TV with kids and tweens, averaging 4.7 million total viewers.

iCarly: Groovy Foodie! is the ultimate food-dishing game for fans looking to team up with Carly and Sam in their wild escapades this summer. iCarly: Groovy Foodie! is under development by WayForward Technologies, Inc. and is currently rated “RP” (Rating Pending) by the ESRB. For more information in the coming months, please visit D3Publisher at www.D3Publisher.us.

Hmmm...isn't that interesting. Looks like there's some Legend of Zelda love going on with these SpiritHoods products. Too bad the site doesn't make mention of The Legend of Zelda. Not as far as I can see, anyway.



I wonder if this kind of thing will get the company in trouble. Thanks to Mohan for the heads up!

- 3DS is the fastest selling console during the first ten months in Italy
- 243,700 Nintendo 3DS consoles were sold in the first 44 weeks after launch
- to compare, Nintendo DS and the Wii sold 108,000 and 63,600 units respectively
- Nintendo had 72% of the handheld market in Italy during 2011

Here's a nice feature that we don't often see companies taking advantage of. Those in Japan that download the demo of Denpa Ningen can bring their save file over to the full eShop release later this week. This means your time spent in the demo will actually mean something when you buy the full game! Just a little extra bit of attention that I'm sure many players will appreciate.

Since we announced Toki Tori 2 last October, we have been steadily releasing information about the game's design to our community. With today's blog update we think our players should have the complete picture of where we want to go.

Update 17: Knowledge Unlocks!
Today's update concerns what we call 'knowledge unlocks', which we think will set the game apart from similar titles. It means we will never artificially lock anything from the player, as long as they can think of a solution we will let them determine their route through the game completely from the first level on. As ever, feel free to comment and let us know what you think!

Check out more screens in our Flickr set

6th February 2012 - Hironobu Sakaguchi’s latest RPG The Last Story™ arrives exclusively on Wii later this month, adding another head-turning title to the list of exclusive adventures on offer for Wii players.

From today, you can discover more about the latest title from esteemed game creator Hironobu Sakaguchi by visiting the official website for The Last Story, watching a newly released teaser video for the game and reading an exclusive interview with some of the people who brought it into being.

The official website for The Last Story is now live and transports players to the world of Lazulis Island; hub of a war-torn empire characterised by magic, mercenaries and monsters. Check out the site for details on the game’s innovative combat system, customisation options and 6-player online battle mode – as well as more info on the story and footage of the locations that bring The Last Story to life.

On top of that, the official website is also home to the first in a series of new teaser videos introducing the larger than life cast of The Last Story and offering a sneak peak at some of the stunning events the game has in store.

One look at the beautiful visual style of The Last Story makes it easy to see the love and attention to detail poured into the game, and a newly-published interview in the Iwata Asks series offers more insights into the creative process behind the RPG. In the interview, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata meets with the game’s director Hironobu Sakaguchi and character designer Kimihiko Fujisaka to talk about bringing their grand vision for The Last Story to life.

The limited edition bundle of The Last Story contains an exclusive SteelBook™ cover, a copy of the game and a The Elements Of The Last Story package, which includes The Premium Soundtrack CD and The Illustrations art booklet. The CD features a 7-track selection of music from the game composed by Nobuo Uematsu who has also collaborated with Hironobu Sakaguchi on many of his previous iconic RPGs.

Check out a new website, teaser video and interview for the The Last Story ahead of its release on 24th February and discover the latest details on a game destined to take Wii players’ breath away. You can visit the official website for The Last Story at http://www.nintendo.co.uk/laststory.