Wii U Message Board older than one year ago

Sign-in to post

Posted by Joystiq Mar 15 2014 00:30 GMT
- Like?
Indie developer Black Forest Games announced that its Commodore 64-era revival project Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams has crested one million sales units across all available platforms.

Funded by a successful Kickstarter project, Twisted Dreams is a dimension-shifting platformer that launched in 2012 for Windows, with ports for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii U arriving last year. Black Forest's recent sales milestone comes in the wake of Twisted Dreams' recent appearance in Humble Indie Bundle 11, where it accompanied standout indie hits like Guacamelee, Monaco, and Dust: An Elysian Tail.

Black Forest continued to update the Windows version of Twisted Dreams with new content in the years following its initial release, including holiday-themed Christmas and Halloween levels.

[Image: Black Forest Games]

Posted by Kotaku Mar 14 2014 12:00 GMT
- Like?
Sometimes using real people in your advertisements makes things more real. Sometimes, it makes things more awkward.Read more...

Posted by Joystiq Mar 13 2014 14:30 GMT
- Like?
Rhythmic auto-platformer Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien is a million-seller for Gaijin Games, and the Californian studio is celebrating the fact with a limited-time price cut. The game is $5 on all platforms - it launched at $15 - while iOS adaptation Bit.Trip Run is down from $4 to just 99 cents.

Runner 2 continues the Bit.Trip Runner mix of excellent music and challenging 2D levels to jump and slide your way through, but it swaps out the first game's retro soundtrack and look for more modern stylings. It also features the narration of Mario voice actor Charles Martinet, and that probably alone makes it worth the $5. [Image: Gaijin Games]

Posted by Joystiq Mar 13 2014 13:00 GMT
- Like?
Yacht Club Games announced a short delay for retro platformer Shovel Knight so it can make sure the final version is polished to satisfaction. The Wii U, 3DS, and Steam game was due on March 31, but it's now expected to surface a few weeks after that.

"This isn't a major delay, or a long one," reads an update on the Kickstarter page, "it's simply a stretch of time to get everything polished and aligned. While major development is quickly drawing to a close, there are still some external factors, like submission preparation, which need a little bit more breathing room before the game goes live."

The delay should see Shovel Knight arrive close to exactly a year after it was crowdfunded, when it received more than four times its asking amount. Backers clearly bought in to the game's 8-bit aesthetic, as well as the clear nods to classics like Castlevania, Mega Man, and DuckTales. Let's hope the delay helps the final game to deliver on its potential in spades. [Image: Yacht Club Games]

Posted by Joystiq Mar 13 2014 03:30 GMT
- Like?
Saturday, March 15, is Disney Infinity Day at GameStop, and the retailer plans to celebrate with a round of price drops accompanying the debut of the game's final two playable character figurines.

Disney Infinity's Phineas and Ferb Toy Box Set will be available exclusively at GameStop this Saturday, introducing Phineas and Agent P as playable characters and adding series-themed items, buildings, and backgrounds to the game's sandbox-style Toy Box component. A wider retail release for the set and individual figurines will follow on April 1.

Customers who purchase the Phineas and Ferb Toy Box Set at GameStop this weekend will receive a code for a downloadable Phineas and Ferb mini-comic, along with a free Disney Infinity poster, while supplies last. Disney Infinity fans will also get the chance to complete their collections for cheap, as GameStop is offering a buy two get one free sale on individual character packs, along with a 50 percent discount on all play sets and accessories.

[Image: Disney / GameStop]

Posted by Kotaku Mar 12 2014 23:00 GMT
- Like?
It's been a struggle for Nintendo to sell the Wii U. People got confused about it early on. And there's been some difficulty communicating just what's cool about Nintendo's latest console to the average consumer. So why not have Mario show the nice people what Wii U can do?Read more...

Posted by Joystiq Mar 11 2014 17:00 GMT
- Like?
Club Nintendo is offering new rewards for loyal customers, namely the sort of rewards you put other items in. Those with 700 free coins can pick up a green Mario-themed accessory basket that measures just under a foot wide. Don't be fooled by the name, as Nintendo can't stop the rebels among us from putting anything other than accessories in the basket, like cats. Or other, smaller baskets.

Club Nintendo's two other new physical rewards are Animal Crossing-themed pouches. Available in both pink and blue, the pouches store handheld systems as large as the 3DS XL for 500 coins. We're eyeing up one of the pouches to store candy instead, because Nintendon't tell us what to do.

As for the loyalty program's featured eShop game downloads, players can pick between four games until April 6: Kid Icarus of Myths and Monsters on 3DS (150 coins), Number Battle on 3DS (200 coins), Yoshi on Wii U (200 coins) and Bonsai Barber on WiiWare (250 coins). [Image: Nintendo]

Posted by Kotaku Mar 05 2014 19:38 GMT
- Like?
While Ubisoft's charming platform role-playing game Child of Light is skipping Nintendo's last-gen console, the spirit of the Wii lives on inside it's utterly charming co-op gameplay. Read more...

Posted by Kotaku Feb 27 2014 20:52 GMT
- Like?
Surprise new Wii U game on the horizon: Swords & Soldiers II, a sequel to the very good side-scrolling real-time-strategy game that debuted on the Wii in 2009 , is in the works for Wii U and will be playable at PAX East in April. Read more...

Posted by Joystiq Feb 24 2014 21:30 GMT
- Like?
This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go. Days after having soaked in the culture of Tokyo's suburban streets, I played Tengami for the first time, and it was the perfect set up to blow me away. Nyamyam's point-and-click (or point-and-tap) adventure draws inspiration from Japanese fairy tales, and when you see it in action for the first time it certainly feels magical. Its papercraft world, glossed in subtle, flowing shades of red, green, and blue, folds in and out frame-by-frame through some meticulous 3D wizardry. Sliding to turn and fold the paper of its pop-up landscape is an elegant pleasure, and walking in its world and visiting its lovingly detailed shrines makes me wish I'd really taken the time to explore Tokyo's rich history, rather than spending all my hours and yen in Akihabara arcades - that was great too, but still.

Tengami is the creation of a three-man team, which explains why it took more than three years to create. As Nyamyam's Jennifer Schneidereit told me in September, a good year or so was spent on the 3D digital editor that makes the game's pop-ups mirror the physics of paper. The technical aspects run even deeper, like how the book's look and feel is based on a natural Japanese paper that has watercolor-like gradients, or how its puzzling temples have their roots in the schematics of real Japanese shrines.

Posted by Joystiq Feb 20 2014 16:30 GMT
- Like?

Batman Arkham Origins: Blackgate will receive a Deluxe Edition version on April 1, Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment announced today. The Deluxe Edition will launch digitally on PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U and PC via Steam after Blackgate was previously only available on Vita and 3DS. The transition to consoles and PC isn't a total surprise: Blackgate was spotted on the Xbox Games Store earlier this month and on Steam in January.

Batman Arkham Origins: Blackgate Deluxe Edition will include "enhanced high-definition 2.5-D graphics" as well as a new map and hint system. Deluxe Edition owners will be able to unlock a Zero Year Batsuit skin in addition to all the outfits in the game. The game will cost $20 on the PSN, Xbox Live, Nintendo eShop and Steam digital platforms. [Image: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment]

Posted by Joystiq Feb 16 2014 22:30 GMT
- Like?


Disney Interactive may have passed up the opportunity to produce Star Wars-licensed games in favor of developing Disney Infinity, but that doesn't mean The Force is completely absent from the studio's toy-collection game. The Disney Infinity Fans community has uncovered a green lightsaber weapon hidden in the game.

The lightsaber, according to a video posted by "Sheriff Woody," is given as a reward to players who collect every character in the game. Sheriff Woody got his hands on Phineas and Agent P - the two figures yet to be released in stores - and was able to complete his collection early, hence the reveal.

The Force is strong with this one. [Image: Disney]

Posted by Kotaku Feb 16 2014 19:00 GMT
- Like?
The dulcet, Brokaw-esque baritone of Peter Cullen (Optimus Prime) introduces you to Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark, due to arrive sometime this year. In science fiction—whether video game or film—nothing says "mailing it in" like a title with a colon followed by "Rise of the Something-Something." [IGN]Read more...

Posted by Kotaku Feb 16 2014 16:19 GMT
- Like?
Yesterday GameXplain found eight minutes of stuff to discuss in the two-minute trailer introducing Punch-Out!!'s Little Mac to Super Smash Bros. Today, they offer this fine-toothed combing of the Mario Kart 8 trailer, and after a whopping 26 minutes, there is nary a nit left to pick.Read more...

Posted by Joystiq Feb 15 2014 11:00 GMT
- Like?
Since making Mutant Mudds Deluxe, an improved version of platformer Mutant Mudds, available on Wii U, Steam and PSN last year, developer Renegade Kid has seen the best sales on Nintendo's console - even better than PSN and Steam combined.

Renegade Kid co-founder Jools Watsham revealed the news on Twitter earlier this week. Watsham added in a follow-up tweet that 3DS has undoubtedly been the most popular platform for Mutant Mudds Deluxe, which was unlocked as a free content download on 3DS in the original Mutant Mudds game.

The varying length of availability on each platform is worth noting when comparing sales. Mutant Mudds Deluxe arrived first on 3DS in early 2012, followed by ports to PC and iOS later in the year. A Steam version was made available last November, then the PS3 and PS Vita versions launched in December. Watsham didn't say where iOS fits into all of this.

Renegade Kid is currently working on a few different games for 3DS, including atmospheric first-person shooter Moon Chronicles, loot-focused platformer Treasurenauts and horror FPS Cult County. Renegade Kid has also promised a sequel to Mutant Mudds, but development is currently on hold until work on Treasurenauts has been completed.

Posted by Kotaku Feb 15 2014 00:00 GMT
- Like?
Did you wonder what caused all the changes in Sonic's new design? Well there's your answer right above. It has to be Little Mac, the newly announced character in Super Smash Bros. Wii U!Read more...

Posted by Joystiq Feb 14 2014 20:30 GMT
- Like?
Amazon's clearance category has been updated with dozens of new price drops on featured games for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U, and portable platforms. Gamer Deals has compiled a list of the retailer's current discounts, spotlighting a number of high-profile multiplatform releases.

Amazon shoppers can currently pick up a copy of Capcom's Wii U action-RPG Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate for $25.25, while Sega's 2011 platformer Sonic Generations is up for grabs at $14.96. Other highlights include Zone of the Enders HD Collection for $9.99, Ni no Kuni for $19.93, and Lego Batman 2 for $14.95. Note that supplies are limited and Amazon's listed prices rise as demand increases, so if you want to score some of these deals, you'd better act fast.

[Image: Capcom]

Posted by Kotaku Feb 13 2014 22:34 GMT
- Like?
Starting in April, Nintendo says they'll be releasing GBA games on the Wii U's Virtual Console. They announced the news in a Nintendo Direct today, mentioning names like Metroid Fusion and Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga as some of the GBA games that we'll be able to buy and download this spring.Read more...

Posted by Kotaku Feb 13 2014 22:36 GMT
- Like?
What could help sell Wii U consoles? A new Mario Kart. This new trailer for Mario Kart 8 shows that Bowser's little Koopalings are all playable in the new racer.Read more...

Posted by Kotaku Feb 13 2014 22:43 GMT
- Like?
The next big Wii U RPG still has no release date—other than "2014"—but it continues to look great. Read more...

Posted by Kotaku Feb 13 2014 22:44 GMT
- Like?
The sequel to Bayonetta got a new trailer today. Still cool, still chaotic, still stylish. Check it out here.Read more...

Posted by Kotaku Feb 13 2014 11:00 GMT
- Like?
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U are scheduled for release this year and can't come out soon enough. Why does Japanese game development take so long?Read more...

Posted by Joystiq Feb 08 2014 00:00 GMT
- Like?
Proving that fan affection for Resident Evil is as undying as the franchise's hordes of shambling corpses, Capcom has announced that the high-definition remake of Resident Evil: Revelations has surpassed 1 million total sales.

Our review of Revelations, a console and PC remake of the original 3DS game, describes it as a successful, if middling port: "Resident Evil fans will want to see the story, and will forgive the design flaws and wacky dialogue. For everyone else, the game doesn't hold the HD spotlight well. This was a quality handheld title, but on a larger screen it falls into the middle of the pack."

A post on Capcom Unity announced the sales numbers: "Just a quick little pat on the back for RE Revelations - the console/PC versions have passed the 1 million mark in worldwide sales and are currently sitting pretty at 1.1 million overall." As we reported earlier, both Dead Rising 3 and Monster Hunter 4 have passed the million shipped and sold marks, respectively. [Image: Capcom]

Posted by Joystiq Feb 07 2014 10:00 GMT
- Like?
Sega Sammy revealed Sonic: Lost World shipped 640,000 units across Wii U and 3DS in 2013, as the company looks ahead to the mascot's new guise in the also Nintendo-exclusive Sonic Boom. The figure comes via newly published financial reports for the nine months ending December 31, 2013, in which Sega Sammy also shipped 680,000 units of Football Manager 2014 on PC. The company didn't state if either figure included download sales.

The two games contributed to total Sega Sammy's total nine-months packaged software shipments of 6.31 million, down year-on-year by 9 percent. However, the company noted "favorable" performances for Phantasy Star Online 2, and other downloadable games like smartphone entries Puyopuyo Quest and Chain Chronicle.

Sega put down 14 million yen to acquire Persona dev Atlus from Index in November 2013, but the company's nine-month figures show a net profit 44.3 million yen, which converts to around $434 million dollars. The company made substantial gains in the period through sales of investment securities and non-current assets.

Sega Sammy's financial report comes the day after the company unveiled Sonic Boom, a game with a new art direction that looks to take the mascot in yet another fresh direction. It's due this year, with western studios Big Red Button and Sanzaru handling the Wii U and 3DS versions respectively.

YouTube
Posted by Joystiq Feb 06 2014 17:00 GMT
- Like?

New games! Yes, it would be nice to have a few more exciting eShop-only types, but at least we can start sending that tumbleweed on its way.

Bravely Default headlines the also-at-retail games, and we'd recommend checking it out. In our four star review, we lauded the 3DS JRPG for mixing Final Fantasy sensibilities with modern design. Whether a new promo trailer really conveys that ... well, it doesn't, but it made us chuckle so we're throwing it in here.

On the downloadable-only front, felonious indie Retro City Rampage comes to 3DS with lots of major tweaks, and it's another we had plenty nice to say about. Also, bike-former/plat-biker Urban Trial Freestyle is down to $3.50, starting later today and ending February 20. Oh, and don't forget the Super Indie Connection sale runs until February 13.

Posted by Kotaku Feb 05 2014 15:00 GMT
- Like?
Like the daily newspaper, the printed phone bill and personal checks, the video game instruction manual is facing extinction in our increasingly paperless world. Hold off on mourning, though. Nintendo has spent the last year or so quietly implementing a digital revival that's been a joy to behold.Read more...

Posted by Joystiq Feb 05 2014 00:30 GMT
- Like?
The '90s Arcade Racer publisher Nicalis details its latest development milestone in a recent status update, reporting that the Wii U port of its throwback racing game is shaping up nicely as it speeds toward a mid-2014 release.

"Fidelity, image quality and a smooth framerate are our priorities," Nicalis explains. "Wii U is proving very capable of running the game at 60fps at 720p with 4xMSAA and FXAA resulting in a crystal clear image."

Funded last year by a successful Kickstarter project, The '90s Arcade Racer aims to recreate the sheer speed and blue-skies atmosphere that defined classic Sega racing games like Daytona USA and Super GT. The game's development team later partnered with Cave Story publisher Nicalis for assistance with Unity programming, physics, and production. The '90s Arcade Racer is due for a digital release this year for the Wii U, Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android platforms. [Image: Nicalis]

Posted by Joystiq Feb 04 2014 18:00 GMT
- Like?
Nintendo has bought back 9.5 million shares of its own stock, valued at 114.2 billion yen ($1.1 billion), in its first step to stabilize the company's changing financial situation. The family of Hiroshi Yamauchi, Nintendo's late (and great) CEO, sold back a portion of its shares during this buyback, according to the acquisition document. We got wind of the Yamauchi family's involvement yesterday.

Nintendo's year-on net profit fell by 30 percent in the final nine months of 2013, pulled down mainly by poor Wii U sales, the company reported. Net profit during this time was 10.2 billion yen ($99 million). Nintendo expects to post a net loss of 25 billion yen ($242 million) for its fiscal year ending in March.

Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata and his board members are taking temporary pay cuts, French news outlet AFP reported. Iwata will take half of his salary for five months, and board members will see cuts of 20 percent to 30 percent. Iwata took a similar pay cut in 2011, that time to offset poor 3DS sales. [Image: Nintendo]

Posted by Joystiq Feb 03 2014 23:30 GMT
- Like?
Heart Machine's stylish action-RPG Hyper Light Drifter is gunning for a closed beta release in June, its developers announced via Kickstarter.

While the full version of Hyper Light Drifter was originally set to launch in June, Heart Machine has since decided to scale up the game in response to an unexpected outpouring of backer support. Pitched as a modest project developed by a team of two with a funding goal of $27,000, Hyper Light Drifter ended up earning more than $645,000 over the course of its Kickstarter campaign. Developer Alex Preston explains that the project evolved as a result, demanding "polish and finesse that I was not originally afforded."

Hyper Light Drifter is now set to launch for Windows via Steam in December. Ports for Linux, Mac OSX, PlayStation 4, PS Vita, Wii U, and Ouya will be released in the months afterward. [Image: Heart Machine]

Posted by Joystiq Feb 03 2014 22:45 GMT
- Like?
Though Disney Infinity is an undeniable hit, the Wall Street Journal reports "several hundred" employees at developer Disney Interactive are to be laid off later this week.

Citing unnamed sources "close to the company," the report claims that these layoffs are "expected to begin after the media giant releases its quarterly financial results Wednesday." The Wall Street Journal offers no concrete motivation for the mass dismissal, though it references a recently announced effort to reorganize Disney Interactive by president Jimmy Pitaro.

Intriguingly, the report also mentions Disney Infinity expansions based on Star Wars and Marvel Comics. "New versions of 'Infinity' featuring characters from Disney's Marvel superhero unit and the Star Wars universe it acquired along with Lucasfilm in 2012 are being developed," the Wall Street Journal claims, again citing an unnamed source. While this would be the first confirmation we've seen of such additions to Disney Infinity, it comes as no surprise that Disney Interactive might want to tap those two, wildly profitable licenses for its game. [Image: Disney Interactive]