Wii U Message Board

#wiiu The hit basketball series NBA 2K is returning this October, of course. Sports games usually come back, and this time NBA 2K13 will have competition from a returning EA-made NBA Live. More »

Novelist John Beiswenger has dropped the lawsuit against Ubisoft, in which he alleged the Assassin's Creed universe stole ideas from one of his books, Link. Gametrailers, whom Beiswenger sued in the same case, settled with the author on May 18 under undisclosed terms.

Beiswenger voluntarily dismissed all action against Ubisoft before any formal adjudication on the validity of his claims could begin - the Internet made up its mind about his claims a while ago. Beiswenger has dropped the case, citing the expense of federal litigation:

"I filed the Complaint and Motion for Preliminary Injunction in federal court because I believe authors should vigorously defend their rights in their creative works; otherwise, the laws protecting them simply have no purpose," Beiswenger's official statement reads. "Regrettably, the resources required to defend those rights are unavailable to many individual creators. As a result, rampant infringement is occurring with impunity."

Beiswenger was seeking $5.25 million in damages and the potential cessation of all Assassin's Creed endeavors, including the third game currently due out in October. Beiswenger filed the dismissal "without prejudice," meaning he can pick up the claims and the case again in the future.

If he ever does, we don't think Ubisoft will sweat it too much; the Internet has already done most of the debunking already, unless Beiswenger can somehow prove that he owns the rights to "spiritual and biblical tones" or "assassinations."

#wiiu Our pal at Game Trailers, Geoff Keighley, will be debuting the demo of the next-gen Unreal Engine 4 graphics tech some time during E3 on Spike, but in the week before E3 he's breaking some Nintendo fan's hearts. He Tweeted last night that the Wii U, Nintendo's console that's close to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in terms of horsepower, will run the Unreal Engine 3 and appeared to dismiss the chance of it running the PS4/Xbox720-caliber Unreal Engine 4 tech. More »

Metro: Last Light is not in development for Wii U, THQ global brand manager Mark Madsen told Digital Spy.

Last Light was included in a Nintendo promo reel for the Wii U at E3 last year, a move Madsen said wasn't premature. "No I don't think it was a bit too early [to show the game at E3]," he said. "As we got along in the development process, we just really wanted to focus on what we knew, focus on PS3, 360 and PC."

Last Light may not hit Wii U, but if it does "it won't sim-ship with the other SKUs." At the moment THQ and developer 4A Games are unsure about "what we can do to maximise the code for the Wii U," Madsen said.

#culturesmash This weekend, a Tokyo Disney Sea visitor suffered quite a scare. While riding the Raging Spirits rollercoaster, the safety bar raised while in motion. The 34 year-old man tried to get out of the car and injured his leg. Thankfully, the man had only minor injuries. More »

#nintendo Nintendo does a lot of things very well when it comes to software. Like, you know, games. Its console menus, though, could do with some work. More »

This voice acting-oriented episode of Inside Rocksteady Studios is the first time we personally have ever seen either the Joker or Batman's voices come out of real human bodies, and suffice to say that oh man is it weird.

It's almost like Batman and the Joker are providing voiceovers for Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, instead of the other way around. Seeing the Joker's spooky laugh come out of a hunched-over Mark Hamill is an image that'll stick with us for a while, and his cheshire cat grin didn't help much either. The video also features Stana Katic (Talia in Arkham City and Detective Becket on Castle), but seeing her perform isn't so much of a head trip, considering that it's basically just Detective Becket with an undercover accent.

You're reading Reaction Time, a weekly column that claims to examine recent events, games and trends in the industry, but is really just looking for an excuse to use the word "zeitgeist." It debuts on Fridays in Engadget's digital magazine, Distro.
If the world does come to a wailing and irreversible halt in 2012, the most terrible loss (besides billions of lives, the infrastructure of civilization, your dog, etc.) will be the glaring glut of video games already scheduled for 2013. Promising brand builders like BioShock Infinite, Tomb Raider and Devil May Cry are all bailing on 2012, and inevitable behemoth Grand Theft Auto V has yet to pick a landing zone.

Most of these games are massive, costly undertakings that can't afford to stumble out with stuttering marketing campaigns, let alone on a stage crowded with other huge products. If we're to predict the emergence of powerful next-generation platforms, care of Sony and Microsoft, the movements of third-party publishers should give us our first clues. No manufacturer is in a position to escape the catch-22 of a new console launch on its own: You need standout games to get the system out there, but it's tough to obtain and support those games properly with an install base that starts at zero.

During the week of E3, on June 6, Video Games Live will take over the Nokia Theater L.A. Live arena. Being E3 and all, and L.A. being one of the most frequently played venues for Tommy Tallarico's live video game concert, this year he wanted to add some special scores - like Austin Wintory's Journey score, conducted by Wintory himself.

It's just one of the more recent audio accompaniments added for the June 6 show. There are also select tunes from Skyrim, which will be handled by a secret guest conductor; composer Russell Bower will conduct some Diablo 3 tunes. Donkey Kong Country, Star Fox and even a Street Fighter segment - to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Capcom's fighter - are planned. Akira Yamaoka will also play guitar at some point.

Finally, there's Earthworm Jim to consider, a game that Tallarico himself worked on. Apparently folks have been asking him to add it to Video Games Live for quite some time now, which we're totally in favor of - as long as we get that thrash metal remix of "Use Your Head" we've been waiting our entire lives for.

Every month, the NPD Group releases a report on the previous month's US sales in the game industry, both consoles and software. While that monthly report is already "projected to 100% of the market," according to NPD Group's David Riley, next month, it'll get bolstered by the nation's largest retailer: Walmart. Despite being revealed this past February, the past several months of NPD reports haven't included Walmart's numbers.

"Our enhanced retail coverage, including the additional of several new retailers, begins with May data released on Thursday, June 14," Riley told me in an email this morning. While he couldn't supply a list of all of the retailers involved, he told me, "Yes, it does include Walmart."

With any luck, the addition of Walmart to NPD's stable of retailers reporting - which already includes America's largest game retailer, GameStop - will help to thwart claims of NPD being a "very poor indicator of the industry's performance." Then again, between the lack of digital sales accounted for in NPD's monthly report and the urge of publishers to spin poor sales numbers, those complaints likely won't stop anytime soon.

In January, 2012 was looking like the year to beat for its sheer volume of high-profile games. But 2012 has quickly become the year many developers have set aside as one for polish and refinement. It has quickly become the year of the delayed game.

With so many projects being moved to 2013, Joystiq decided to put together a list of the major names you'll have to keep track of for at least seven more months. Did anything on your "Most Anticipated" list get pushed to 2013?

#wiiu Over the weekend, a new photo surfaced of what's supposedly the Wii U controller. It looked, well, different. More »

What will you be doing on June 5 at noon ET? Nintendo sure hopes your answer to that question revolves around its impending E3 2012 press conference, and it's got a whole bevy of options should that be the case. Beyond partnering with Viacom to broadcast the show live (and commercial-free) on Spike TV and MTV2 (there's still an MTV2?!?!), Nintendo will offer the conference via internet on its usual E3 site.

Nintendo's E3 presentation this year will focus on its next home console, the Wii U, though we'll no doubt hear a few new nuggets about the 3DS. As always, we're hoping for a triumphant return from Ravi Drums. Don't keep breaking our hearts, Nintendo! Let Mr. Drums free!

Sony and Microsoft are also streaming their respective press conferences; more info can be found on each here and here.

Aliens: Colonial Marines launches on February 12, 2013, Sega announced this morning. The Gearbox Software-developed game was previously given a "fall 2012" launch window, and was planned as a Wii U hardware launch title (the game was also planned for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC), though no hard date was ever given before. In fact, despite the February 12 date announcement, the game's Wii U version still doesn't have a date. "A release date for the announced Wii U version will be revealed at a later time," the press release reads.

Upset? That's understandable, but Sega's hoping to deflect some of that rage with a new trailer, which we've dropped just above.

#rumor An image published to Twitter, and since taken down, by a QA tester for LEGO developer Traveler's Tales, depicts a WIi U controller with traditional twin analog joysticks, not analog pads similar to the 3DS', as had been shown in earlier images of the controller. More »

#rumor It reads like fan fiction and the rumor's original reporter—who uncovered PlayStation All-Stars six months before it was announced—concedes that nothing about it is confirmed. But Retro Studios is said to be working on, or at least to have considered, Star Fox-Metroid Fusion Saga, a mashup of third-person action gameplay with aerial/space combat. More »

"We look forward to launching Darksiders [2] beginning on August 14 in North America," announced THQ CEO Brian Farrell during an investor conference call today. Farrell said that the delay from the previous June date was a "demonstration of our commitment to quality" - and that, after discussions with retailers, the publisher determined that "mid-August is a more favorable release window."

Pre-orders for Darksiders 2 are more than five times what they were for the first game at the equivalent point before release, Farrell noted. THQ is accompanying this release with double the marketing spend of the first game as well - it needs a hit game, and badly.

#assassinscreed Have you seen the amazing debut gameplay trailer for Assassin's Creed III? It debuted today. Watch it clean. And then watch it up top, with commentary from me. More »

You'll be doing a lot of things with Assassin's Creed 3 protagonist Ratohnhaké:ton - like chasing down Redcoats and murdering them, running away from murderous Redcoats, sneaking up to silently murder Redcoats, and engaging in open battle with Redcoats. Beyond all that, however, you'll also be fighting terrifying, wild bears.

The gameplay trailer for Assassin's Creed 3 above - unlocked by the community this morning - shows the first Connor-on-Bear action we've seen. It also gives a first glimpse at the game's new "chain blade," but the most important part is still dude fights a bear.

#avengers Marvel's just announced that their premiere superhero team will be hitting game consoles later this year, confirming recent rumors about such a game's existence. More »

Ubisoft and Marvel are partnering on an Avengers game for ... Kinect and Wii U? It's an unlikely pairing - the controller-free format and the format with a giant controller and an extraneous screen; but for a franchise that pairs a half-naked monster man with an armored plutocrat, perhaps it's appropriate.

Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth is in the works at Ubisoft Quebec, and will allow players to use motion controls to fight off the alien Skrull. "The idea that we're making a motion-control version of 'The Avengers' is a unique proposition if you compare that to superhero games of the past," said Ubisoft marketing VP Tony Key, as reported by the Washington Post. "This is the perfect type of game for that because these characters are very action oriented. They're always fighting and throwing things." Those rowdy kids.

As suggested by the Skrull invasion storyline, the game deviates from the movie, instead drawing from the "Secret Invasion" comic crossover event, which featured Skrulls posing as Earth superheroes.

Before there was, uh, that other game called Alien Hominid (and Castle Crashers), there was the original Alien Hominid, a free browser run-and-gun game that debuted on Newgrounds. And that original game has now surpassed 20 million play sessions, The Behemoth has announced.

The brain child of Tom Fulp and Dan Paladin, Alien Hominid was built in Flash and released on Newgrounds way back in 2002. It would eventually be ported to the GameCube and PS2 in 2004 (and Europe would see Xbox and GameBoy Advance ports), then to Xbox Live Arcade in 2007. Currently, The Behemoth is working on Battleblock Theater.

#assassinscreed Earlier today, we got to see just a portion of a new Assassin's Creed III trailer. Just a glimpse! Like this series on Facebook and you can see the whole thing! More »

New Assassin's Creed protagonist Ratohnhaké:ton (er ... Connor) isn't the smooth-talking debutant that kicked off Assassin's Creed 2. Instead, he's a brutal hunter, stalking his targets from treetops before leaping down on them for the final blow (you may already know this stuff).

Moreover, he's a crack shot with a bow, as seen in the latest teaser for Assassin's Creed 3. Ubisoft is goading fans to do its viral advertising with promises of a lengthier trailer after reaching a certain level of buzz on this Facebook page, which we totally do not support. On the other hand, we're totally down to see what happens to the flailing Redcoat. All in all, we're feeling an awful lot like Natalie Imbruglia this morning.

#alien The much-hyped Ridley Scott movie Prometheus isn't the only big Aliens-related project that might change the way we think of one of sci-fi's best series. More »

#nintendo Sometimes console makers like to promise the world for their new gaming systems, making lofty claims about how awesome their launch lineups will be. Those claims are never true. More »

Nintendo isn't breaking out hardware or software sales predictions for the Wii U just yet, unlike its other consoles. Instead, it's masking said predictions by mixing them in with those of the Wii. Bizarre? Yes, bizarre.

Anyway, Nintendo's looking at a combined total of 10.5 million hardware units moved between April 1, 2012 and March 31, 2013 for the Wii U and Wii. While we can't parse the numbers, we can speculate based on the last fiscal year's Wii hardware sales. So! Nintendo sold 9.84 million Wii units in fiscal 2012, meaning Japanese console manufacturer either expects a sharp dropoff in Wii sales (likely) or a not-so-hot holiday for the Wii U (less likely).

The same bizarre conflation applies to software sales, with Nintendo predicting approximately 70 million units sold across both the Wii U and Wii consoles. And last year? The Wii moved 102.37 million software units. Not too shabby! So, again, Nintendo either expects a massive dropoff in Wii software sales (likely), or for Wii U software to not do super great between the console's holiday launch and next March.

Nintendo's announcement of losses for the fiscal year ending March 31 remains shocking, even though we had advance warning in the form of company forecasts. The actual results, with net sales of ¥647 billion ($8 billion!) were ¥12.3 billion lower than forecasted. The full-year loss was 37.3 billion yen ($461.2 million).

Nintendo said its effort to boost 3DS sales was successful, and that software sales were slower than expected in the US and Europe over the holidays. In addition, the reduced selling price of both the Wii and the 3DS, and, of course, the strong yen, contributed to the losses. The 3DS was actually dropped below cost in the 2011 price cut, the financial report reveals.

By the middle of the next fiscal year (the one that started April 1), Nintendo expects to stop selling 3DS below cost - we assume not by raising prices, but by reducing production costs. In addition, it expects to improve its fortunes with New Super Mario Bros. 2, the 3DS Animal Crossing, the new Brain Age game, and an Asian launch of the 3DS. Oh, and, of course, the Wii U.

#nintendo It's not just the 3DS that's getting full-scale digital downloads this year. Nintendo's new Wii U console will be getting the feature as well. More »