Wii, the best selling console worldwide to date + 3DS still selling fine

Bravo, my boy! 

Recent figures of the three leading consoles show that the Wii has outsold both the Xbox360 and PS3 in total sales to date.   

Official Figures: 

Wii - 95 million
360 - 66 million
PS3 - 62 million 

And the once predicted doomed 3DS is now soaring in sales. especially in Japan: 

1. 3DS: 84,789 (Last week: 80,960)
2. PlayStation 3: 22,924 (21,155)
3. PS Vita: 18,942 (15,219)
4. PSP: 16,008 (17,181)
5. Wii: 10,396 (10,173)
6. Xbox 360: 1235 (1588)
7. DSi XL: 1180 (1200)
8. DSi: 738 (822)
9. PlayStation 2: 713 (903) 

Note that sales are subject to change in a flash, but it's great to see Nintendo's consoles doing great after all the predictions of gloom and doom.

Wii, the best selling console worldwide to date + 3DS still selling fine

What is the future of Nintendo Home Console Support?

Are Wii U ready?

In an attempt to broaden an audience of a new fan base of paying gamers, it would seem logical to release a game on every system not only to benefit the gamers that don’t have the other systems, but also for the game developers themselves to gain more feedback to make even better games. So why on earth do the developers opt to the pick-and-choose option to releasing a game(s) on a select few systems rather than all of them, and shun a perfectly good fan base just because of fear that the potential buyers would be few and would rather buy the same game on HD supported systems? Yes, I’m talking about the third parties, and that system I was referring to is the Wii . 2011 was both a hit-and-miss for third party games on the system: on one hand we did get Rayman Origins out of nowhere, but on the other hand we could’ve gotten more for a system that’s on it’s last life. It’s times like these when the Wii’s hardware comes back to haunt it and the system not supporting HD graphics is a big turnoff for third party developers that want their games to look perfect. Wii’s first-party support this year is nothing to sneeze at though, and I have to hand it to Nintendo for handling yet another stellar year, and Skyward Swords delivered what it promised, but I just wish third parties did the same.

Here's a couple of examples of third-party ignorance: Capcom could have very well released Marvel vs. Capcom 3 on the Wii, but shunned it downed, and as if to point the middle finger at Nintendo gamers later released Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and made Pheonix Wright of the prior DS exclusive Ace Attorney series one of the playable characters. And most recently SEGA announced that they would not be releasing Sonic 4: Episode 2 on WiiWare because of updated graphics from the first episode (and at this point you know that whenever a developer comes up and says, “This game will have improved graphics…” you know it won’t be coming to the Wii). SEGA also didn’t release Sonic Generations on the Wii last year, but oddly released it on the 3DS instead. It was later made clear by the “In 3-D!” logo on the Xbox360/PS3 versions of the game that SEGA didn’t release the game on the Wii because it didn’t support 3-D. You can easily say: “But they gave us exclusives Tatsunoko vs. Capcom and Sonic Colors a few years back so stop whining!” but again I question why they would shun a new fan base and release the game on all systems except the Wii when they could’ve made more profit off of it. And they choose not to do it when 2011 looked like it was the last year of the Wii? Come on now!

This is what I originally feared for the Wii U: third party developers would look at the system, think they would have to use a gimmicky controllers whether they want to or not, and just doom the system with cash-in shovel ware and give other systems actual games just like how they treated the Wii (I‘m staring at you SoulCalibur Adventure). We’ve already lost Capcom, and other companies like Ubi-Soft have just used the Wii as a dart board to randomly shoot shovel ware at the system until the whole Wii game aisle at Best Buy is infested with garbage games shadowing good games like weeds choking on flowers, because Wii remote wagglin’ is so compulsory and necessary it must be in every game they make NO MATTER WHAT! (meanwhile, the Virtual Console controller stares on blankly)     

But I got news for you: the Wii Isn’t done just yet, shovel ware is on all systems and we must accept it, and Crapcom was always Crapcom (just sayin‘). In it’s life time, the Wii has accomplished creating a whole new fan base of people that never have played games, gave us exclusives that you can’t play anywhere else, and made us feel young again with Virtual Console, but I still feel only 60% of the system has been really tapped and explored. Nonetheless, the Wii will not die in infamy and just be considered a “fad toy”. No, it’s legacy will live on forever - in a new form called the Wii U. Here’s to hoping that third parties will give the Wii U a chance; make us proud to be Nintendo gamers.

What is the future of Nintendo Home Console Support?

2012 Nintendo game release dates

And finally we get concrete dates on some of the other talked about games last year that couldn't make it before the end of this year, those that aren't named Zelda or Mario Kart or 3D Land. And some of them have really been sitting in TBA for a long, long time now *glares at Kid Icarus Uprising*

It's been in the 3DS hot seat since the console's revealing at E3 2010 but never made it to launch or anywhere near that. No idea why, but it's now slated for March 23 2012, according to Nintendo.

Remember this thing? I just posted about it right below this, and it's going to US as well, but not with Monster Hunter 3G in tow. Rather, it'll be released together with Resident Evil Revelations on February 7 2012. The catch? 3DS' very own frankenstick will only be sold in GameStop, much like the cautious limited US release for Xenoblade Chronicles. I don't understand why Nintendo are giving GameStop the exclusive treatment, it's just limiting sales.

The adorable Rhythm Heaven Wii which made a decent wave in Japan some months ago gets a new title, Rhythm Heaven Fever, and a box art bursting with color! It's coming on February 13, one week after RE Revelations.

No it's not a Mario bowling game, this is Mario Party 9, and it gets a 2012 release date on March 11. That's a goodd way to fill up the release schedule pre-E3 2012....maybe. I do dig some Mario Party though; been itching for something better than the mediocre MP8.

Okay so this may not be on every Wii gamer's wishlist but it's definitely something worth noting anyway since Pokepark 2, right from the first revealed screenshot, already looks ten times more polished than the first game and features at the very least more replayable minigames and battle games. Instead of Beyond the World, the US subtitle is Wonders Beyond, and it's coming on February 27, 2012.

Other release dates to look out for:

• Tales of the Abyss for 3DS, February 14
• Mario and Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games for 3DS, also February 14
• Tekken 3D Prime Edition for 3DS on February 2012
• Metal Gear Solid 3D on Q1 2012

And some other things including downloadable eShop and VC games are coming out too. Good ones at that; a Jett Rocket sequel on 3DS, VVVVV and Kirby's Block Ball among other things.

We've yet to hear from the other 3DS big titles like Luigi's Mansion 2 and Paper Mario, but time will tell.

2012 Nintendo game release dates

Xenoblade, are thou standing before me?

It’s official. Xenoblade is finally coming to North America via Gamestop exclusive! Surprised? I can’t blame you. With Nintendo’s response to Project Rainfall with a frequent "We never say 'never,' but we can confirm that there are no plans to bring these three games to the Americas at this time. Thanks so much for your passion, and for being such great fans!" chances of this game getting an American release just became dimmer and dimmer as the months went by. And considering Nintendo’s history of not bringing new IP titles overseas (Fatal Frame 4, Mother 3, Freshly Picked Tingle’s Rosy RupeeLand), it seemed uneventful  that we would ever see Xenoblade. So it was a big slap in the face when this title was announced for Europe and soon Australia along with Pandora’s Tower and The Last Story; two other Japan exclusives. Not bashing Nintendo or anything, but that was a pretty dumb move.

But it’s finally coming. You can now pre-order the game on Gamestop. This is really happening!  

This is not a time to hesitate; we need to show Nintendo that there ARE gamers like us that will buy these kinds of games. If you are the kind of gamer that is sick of seeing games like Mother 3 not being localized then you must act. Nintendo is not going to localize games that don’t sell: YOU have the power. Buying this game will say: “Yes Nintendo, we still support you! We are still your core gamers!” Make this a reality! AND If you don’t want new IP’s to become dust in the wind like the sadly underappreciated titles Drill Dozer, Chibi Robo, and Elite Beat Agents, which never became full series, then like I said before: you must be ready! We may never get a chance like this again, so we mustn’t fail. Spread the word. Tell every gamer. The final year of the Wii will not be in vain!  
 
It’s coming. Can you believe it? And it’s all thanks to an unlikely source. Here’s to you Gamestop; I never thought I’d see the day that you’d do something that made me want to come to your store.

Xenoblade, are thou standing before me?

What Kirby's Return to Drealand could have been

These two were from an untranslated Iwata Asks interview on Kirby's Return to Dreamland and its protracted 7 year development cycle. Post-Gamecube era, it seems two diffeent visual styles were considered for the Wii version but were dropped for normal 3D graphics on a 2D plane.

....when it could have been a whole lot more stylish. I don't care much for the second style, which is isometric but would look quite bland in actual play if not done right.

But the first one.....GOD. It's a Kirby version of the amazingly good cel-shaded style of Wario Land Shake It. Everything looks so adorable in that style....I'd really kill someone just to get my version of the game with those semi-anime graphics with fluid animation. Dang.

What Kirby's Return to Drealand could have been

Kirby's Return to Dreamland footage!

There's been more than ten videos of note ever since our last post on the game. Aw let's just post a whole lot of these shall we?



Opening scene of the game showing the spaceship crash and Kirby volunteering his help, with that happy smile of his as always.



Video of most, if not all the Copy Abilities in the game



Some multiplayer footage



Some more gameplay, with a boss battle!

Kirby's Return to Dreamland footage!

Wii sales collapse after Wii U announcement

The moment Nintendo's brand new shining star was revealed to the world, Japan dropped whatever remained of Wii sales like a bowling ball, bringing it down to just under 7500 units last week and ranking it 4th overall in hardware sales.

Depending on how you see it this could be a good or bad thing. People in Japan must be getting excited for the new tech and are putting the old console down to save up for it- the backwards compatibility is helping to accelerate the process. Or you might say the market for Wii is saturated, which has been the case for the whole of last year already.

Wii sales collapse after Wii U announcement

Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword offscreen footage

I have to admit, the trailer looked really jaggy to me, but I'm really pleasantly surprised at how vibrant and fluid the game looks in motion. Definitely a far cry from the deathly black and brown Twilight Princess, for the better.

Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword offscreen footage

Kirby Wii- gameplay videos

This game gets cuter and cuter the more I see of it! From these two you can catch some co-op gameplay and a few of the stages in more detail. New abilities too- like the Monster Flame ability very early into the second video. Very, very nice.

Kirby Wii- gameplay videos

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 coming to Wii?

Found on a display at E3, image from GoNintendo.com.

Well this is weird. Modern Warfare has never been on Wii before. There's a lot of story to cover, and the graphics will definitely be scaled down anyway, so why? Not that I'm complaining.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 coming to Wii?

Fiery Red 3DS and gold Wiimote Plus

New colors for our Nintendo hardware!

The Fiery Red 3DS will join the blue and black 3DS on July 14th of this year. And no, it's not a limited edition color nor a Mario 25th anniversary gift- it's a permanent addition to the lineup.

The gold Wiimote Plus, emblazoned with the Skyward Sword logo we've actually heard of during the early parts of Nintendo's E3 press conference. From observation alone it's possible that this could be bundled together with Skyward Sword when it is released come year-end.

Fiery Red 3DS and gold Wiimote Plus

E3 2011 Showfloor- Nintendo Wii

Ah, to finally reach the end of Wii's life cycle. The past five years haven't been easy. Although hailed as a revolution in gaming at first, it was and still is treated like a baby's toy by most people wanting better graphics and more mature games. Didn't stop Wii from being the top of the pack this generation in terms of sales, but at this point in the Wii's life, you can see where their worries stem from.

This year, the showfloor had six Wii games worth looking at, all from Nintendo (the rest being your typical shovelware). Kirby Wii which you can see in the post below this, Zelda: Skyward Sword, Rhythm Heaven, and unrevealed at the press conference but was on showfloor, Mario Party 9. Also present at the show were Mario and Sonic at the London 2012 Olympics and of course, Wii Play: Motion.



Gameplay is identical to the Rhythm Heaven released for DS and GBA (Japan only), with an art style reminiscent of Wario Ware Smooth Moves from all the way back at launch day.



Seeing Kirby Wii in action finally made me so happy I could almost cry. How long has it been since the last proper Kirby console game? (and no, Epic Yarn doesn't count even though it's awesome in its own way) Though I'm not fond of the logo- I really hope this isn't the final name...



Flying on islands in the sky? Final frontier for Zelda in terms of transportation- at first there were horses, then there were boats, and now Link rides on birds! Land, sea, sky! Looks like a long way down if you let go. I'm glad they ditched Twilight Princess' dark graphics for something with more vibrant color, which just adds to the excitement.



And yet again another Mario Party game. We never get tired of this stuff, don't we? It's up to its ninth game, for chrissakes



Mario and Sonic, with a lavish opening cutscene like the one from four years ago. There are screenshots if you're willing to hunt them down- or I might just bring them over here in a bit! There's also a 3DS version.



Wii Play Motion, showcasing six different minigames out of the 12 available. Where's the ice-cream game? I wanna see that.

E3 2011 Showfloor- Nintendo Wii

Why Sonic Generations isn't coming to Wii

Well, it was at one point, but then Sega made the really shallow excuse people have been using ever since the Wii came out, like a student whose dog eats his homework every night.

'ZOMG NO HD GRAFIX LOLOLOL'

I don't know about you, but I have been quite pissed at Sega ever since every other console got it and Wii got the shaft, left with nothing but goddamn Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Sure I don't play Sonic games much, but losing a potentially good 3rd party title for this superficial and lame excuse really irks me.

Then there's this, which Sega mentioned in an interview.


'The primary goal for the console versions of Generations was re-imagining the series' classic zones in vivid, high-definition graphics. The Wii hardware wasn't a good fit for that concept, so we abandoned development on that, and decided that for our Nintendo audience, we would make a fresh start with a N3DS version of Generations.'

Okay, why 3DS and not Project Cafe, if they're looking for HD graphics? I'm baffled. Also, remember when they re-envisioned the classic zones in HD before on X360? Didn't turn out too well either eh?

Why Sonic Generations isn't coming to Wii

Wii Play Motion first trailer

What to say about this collection of minigames this time...Even though it's probably the last thing you'll ever want to see, remember where this game stems from- a million seller tech demo with tons of room for improvement, made by Nintendo and not by Wii shovelware king Ubisoft. And it still features Miis! Better looking ones at that- almost every aspect of the original Wii Play has been graphically enhanced (well, enhanced by Wii standards anyway), which is most apparent in some of the returning favorites like the shooting game and a new variant of Pose Mii. And all the games use Motion+ too. WPM is the original game's long-awaited answer to the highly acclaimed Wii Sports Resort.

You know, I'd actually dig some more Find Mii. I love that game.

Wii Play Motion first trailer

Wii Play Motion screenshots

Lots more here!

Wii Play Motion screenshots

Wii Play: Motion!

Surprise announcement from Nintendo today! No one had ever seen this box before and suddenly out it comes- a Wii Play 2! Like Wii Sports Resort was to the original, this Wii Play adds Motion Plus support to the (apparently) 12 games available on it, which is by the way also the same number of games found in WSR.

Comes out June 13 this year, and like Wii Play, is bundled with a Wiimote. Wiimote Plus this time, probably all the oversupply from the Flingsmash bundles that didn't sell.

Wii Play: Motion!

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword new trailer

Japanese footage revealed at GDC by Nintendo. Bring on E3 2011!

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword new trailer

Get ball of yarn with Kirby's Epic Yarn preorder

Now here's something your cat would really appreciate.

But what's IN the yarn is what its human master would appreciate! Wonder if it's Kirby plush toys? It wouldn't make sense if it wasn't. Only in Australia.

...And what if there's nothing in the ball of yarn? Well, like I said, it makes a good cat distraction for a couple hours, or if you somehow enjoy knitting as much as you enjoy gaming (ooh).

Get ball of yarn with Kirby's Epic Yarn preorder

Rhythm Heaven Wii trailer

Written by pikaby



Apparently shown alongside the new Kirby Wii game yesterday in a Nintendo investor's meeting (so it wasn't leaked out of the top-secret games factory as I initially thought). Now with real rhythm and a minigame to show. No mention of a release date yet.

Rhythm Heaven Wii trailer

Pokemon game for 3DS is being made

Written by pikaby

Link

This comes from Official Nintendo Magazine UK, quoting Iwata-san while he was talking to investors "We are also developing Pokémon related products on the Wii and 3DS." No other details were given at the time.


Let the speculation fun begin. Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire remakes or Pokemon Grey for 3DS? Pokemon Battle Revolution 2 for Wii, with added story mode, more battles, and even minigames? Or will Nintendo just screw us over and make Pokepark Wii-style spinoffs? (to be honest though, I did enjoy Pokepark Wii)

Pokemon game for 3DS is being made