Well earlier today gamestop added 3 new wii bundles. No they are not trying to make you buy more they are actually giving you a item for free. You have 3 bundles to chose from. wii with a  free rubber duck, water gun, or pirate tatoo set. they are all priced 249.99 and avalible to online customers only. strange i know why they added these bundles is a head scratcher.

[source]

Anyway I’ll be having dinner with the Ubisoft team tonight in SF and the main event will be tomorrow. We have a topic in the forums open for you to ask Ubisoft whatever you would like:
http://forums.wiinintendo.net/viewtopic.php?f=173&t=6256

(I’m so glad the iPhone added cut and paste)

Here is my itinerary:

- 9:30am – Introduction to line up of games
- 10:00am – Red Steel 2
o Intro by developer Jason Vandenberghe followed by Q&A
o Demo of Red Steel 2
o Hands-on of Red Steel 2
- 11:00am – Rabbids Go Home
o Intro and Demo of Rabbids Go Home
o Hands-on of Rabbids Go Home
- Lunch
- 1:00pm – Academy of Champions
o Intro by developer Carsten Myhill followed by Q&A
o Demo of Academy of Champions
o Hands-on play Academy of Champions
- 2:00pm Shaun White Snowboarding World Stage
o Intro by developer Stephane Blais followed by Q&A
o Demo of Shaun White Snowboarding
o Hands-on of Shaun White Snowboarding
- 3:00pm C.O.P The Recruit
o Intro by developer Nouredine Abboud followed by QA
o Demo of the game
o Bloggers play C.O.P The Recruit
- 3:30pm Might and Magic DS
o Intro and Demo by Daniel Riaz
o Hands-on play of Might and Magic DS
- 4:00pm TMNT Smash
o Intro by Community Developer Li Kuo followed by Q&A
o Demo of the game
o Hands-on play of TMNT

This is the second Furry Legends trailer, filmed from the BETA version of the game.

Experience traps, dangers, humor, fun, puzzles and many more in Furry Legends! You can learn more about the game at http://furrylegends.com

This is the same as Guitar Hero: Smash Hits in the US, this is for our Euro brethran

Sumthing Else Music Works, Inc., through its licensing relationship with SEGA, are today set to release the MADWORLD Official Soundtrack featuring twenty original Hip-Hop songs from the inventive Action game developed by PlatinumGames. MADWORLD Official Soundtrack is released today to retail outlets through Sumthing Else Music Works www.sumthing.com, and will be available for digital download on Sumthing Digital www.sumthingdigital.com and iTunes.

“There are a total of twenty tracks on the MADWORLD soundtrack and they are all original songs that we produced especially for the game,” said composer and soundtrack producer Naoto Tanaka. “I would make the backing tracks (or the beats) and then we would hand them off to these talented artists to get their performances. It was a pretty big challenge, especially as it was my first time with this kind of collaboration, but I think luck was on my side and it turned out to be extremely successful.”

[Electronic Theatre]

Individual songs (200 Wii points)

* “Brother” — Pearl Jam
* “Alive (Live: Drop in the Park)” — Pearl Jam
* “State of Love and Trust (Live: Drop in the Park)” — Pearl Jam
* “Space Truckin” — Deep Purple
* “Bad to the Bone” — George Thorogood
* “Cream and Bastards Rise” — Harvey Danger
* “Forever” — In This Moment
* “Closer” — Lacuna Coil
* “Swamped” — Lacuna Coil
* “Mica” — Mission of Burma
* “That’s How I Escaped My Certain Fate” — Mission of Burma
* “That’s When I Reach for My Revolver” — Mission of Burma
* “Gone Away” — The Offspring
* “Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)” — The Offspring
* “She’s a Handsome Woman” — Panic at the Disco

Listen: Download mp3

Highlights:

Wii Sports Resort

- It’ll sell a lot
- They’ve all had a chance to play it
- Only 1 or 2 duds
- Craig doesn’t like cycling
- Just sit there and drum the controllers for cycling
- Some games clearly not MotionPlus
- Airplane game probably not using the attachment (if it does, probably for the hell of it)
- The airplane game still feels good…Makes Craig want Pilotwings
- Have noticed a lot of drift – As you’re playing it gets out of calibration
- Can push down on d-pad with sword fighting for calibration – Not ideal
- Weird that this is sort of the revision 2 of the Wiimote and we still have to deal with these issues
- Don’t have as much control in frisbee golf compared to the dog-throwing mode
- Matt really enjoying archery – gives you a really long range (depth) to the course – Get a taste, then you wish it isn’t as shallow
- Wind should play a bigger factor in archery
- Wii Sports Bowling is the same game

Wii Sports Resort games in general/games Nintendo Team doesn’t like

- Wake-boarding – not much too it, Craig convinced it’s not MotionPlus at all
- Basketball mode, since it seems it’s about timing
- Power-cruising (Bozon) – felt it just feels like tilt to move, revving your wrist a lot
- Canoeing – Craig likes it, only good when you’re playing with other people
- Cycling – Not very good, just drum the controller and tilt
- Bozon doesn’t like airsports, Bozon/Craig do – Matt not a timer on the exploration mode
- Like archery, frisbee stuff, swordfighting, table tennis (controls are great, still very timing based) – bowling/golf are marginal updates
- Tiger has better putting than in Wii Sports Resort golf

The Conduit

- Gave it an 8.6/10
- Misspelled Matt’s name in the credits
- Liked the game, thought it was pretty good
- Good shooter, problem with it is that it doesn’t feel new at all
- Doesn’t push the genre forward other than controls
- Felt like Perfect Dark – straightforward FPS, couldn’t knock it for that because he still had a lot of fun
- Intense, controlled well
- Frame rate online dips but still a lot of fun
- Not the greatest FPS of all time but still a damn good one
- Nintendo Team is aware of the reviews that Wii owners have been complaining about
- Online mode is a big deal for Wii, people are having a lot of fun

Overlord Dark Legend

- 7.5
- Had a lot of potential
- Visuals were getting there
- Framey, had slowdown and camera issues
- A lot of good stuff but there were times where tech was holding it back
- Storyline was funny
- Controls well done
- Frame rate is a killer, it got in the way of gameplay
- Minion AI very dumb sometimes

Harry Potter

- More of the same
- EA hasn’t used the added time to make the game better
- Can tell it’s been shelved for awhile
- Dev team has immersed you into Hogwarts, feel like you’re a part of the school
- Flying stuff is pretty good – simple but cool
- Story crudely composed – cut-scenes clip, animation stiff, lip-syncing off
- Nearly Headless Nick will guide you around – funny and a great guide
- Harry Potter controls like a tank
- Overall Matt had fun of the game, it’s a good update but not anything amazing
- If you’re a Potter fan you’ll probably like it, if not it won’t draw you in
- Review tomorrow
- Hoping next year’s version will use MotionPlus
- Matt thinks EA needs to rethink their approach to the series and make a Wii-exclusive game which takes advantage of the system

Renegade Kid

- Got quick preview of Maximillian and the Rise of the Mutant Mudds
- Interesting since it’s their attempt at a different genre
- It’s a 3D platformer
- Has a lot in common with Super Mario Sunshine
- Max’s main gadget is his water pack
- Shoot water at mud characters
- Demo was very, very short (1-2 mins)
- Controlled pretty well
- Hold L or R button to go into first-person, control view point and gun by aiming with d-pad, aim with a face button
- Can also use touch screen for camera view
- Engine’s good
- Very early in development
- Has a lot of potential
- Could be retail or DSiWare release – Haven’t made a decision yet

Flower, Sun, and Rain

- Pretty cool
- Biggest problem is that it’s very obscure and strange
- Old game from PS2
- Puzzles are tough to figure out
- Feels kind of dated
- Probably will frustrate more than it pulls people in
- Gave it a 5.0

Overlord Minions

- Craig liked what they did for the DS version
- Follow the minions instead of the overlord
- 4 different minions, have their own abilities
- What wrecks the game is some of the most insensitive touch screen controls you could possibly have in this kind of game
- Controls like Phantom Hourglass – Control characters with stylus but then you have gesture controls too (work only about 50% of the time)
- Very frustrating experience
- Some clever puzzles
- Craig couldn’t get over touch screen controls
- Not shovelware but didn’t produce good-controlling game

Transformers (DS)

- Better than the original, better than the console versions
- Still has its problems
- Well-produced
- Gave it a 7.0
- Have voice-acting
- Don’t play direct with people online – Download a mission, play it, upload your score, depending on whether you’re an autobot or decepticon, mark that place on the map and take over the world
- Online is kind of like a weird version of Risk

Reader questions

- FPS on dual thumb stick feels archaic but still haven’t seen anyone that just locks the cursor in the center of the screen
- Bozon and Matt would recommend Tiger Woods MotionPlus bundle over Wii Sports Resort, but if you’re not a golf fan you should buy Wii Sports Resort
- Have no idea how well The Conduit sold – Matt has an interview with marketing director of SEGA about their sales projections – Will be tracking the game closely
- Predictions for The Conduit for the end of the year – 250K – 300K for Bozon, Matt agreed with it – Matt optimistically HOPING for above 500K – Probably 250,000…Matt doesn’t think that’s enough for a sequel
- Not sure what’s going on with Orbital Media or Racing Gears DS, will try to find out
- Guys handling Rock Band 2 DLC delay juggling a lot of stuff
- Little King’s Story better than Overlord, but don’t have cursor control, still really fun

[NeoGaf]

My Life as a Darklord came out in Japan today and before purchasing it players are warned the game has downloadable content. The complete list varies more than My Life as a King. Players can purchase items like a Shock Whip, spells like Firaga, monsters such as Ogres and Sahagins, artifacts, and dresses for Mira.

So far the total amount of downloadable content is 1,200 Wii Points ($12), which is more than the base game. My Life as a Darklord costs 1,000 Wii Points ($10). Monsters, items, and trap treasure chests are 100 Wii Points ($1). New clothes for Mira cost 200 Wii Points ($2) a piece.

[Siliconera]

NINTENDO DOWNLOAD – IT’S NO REEL FANTASY: WATER, SUDOKU AND SILVER STARS CAN BOOST YOUR SKILLS

June 29, 2009

This week’s new downloadable games include a trio of WiiWare™ titles – two built around water-themed challenges and one designed to keep your mental chops in top shape. For Virtual Console™, you’ll find a memorable SEGA character making his return in a classic single-player sci-fi adventure. Rounding out the lineup is a new Nintendo DSiWare™ title that’s sure to have sudoku fans reaching feverishly for the nearest stylus.

WiiWare

Water Warfare™
Publisher: Hudson Entertainment
Players: 1-8
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) – Cartoon Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points™
Description: Water Warfare is a comical first-person shooter that uses water guns to battle and soak opponents. A map with a particular theme – Playground, Beach, Plaza or Nature Park – is generated automatically when the game begins, so you can think up new strategies each time you engage. Game modes include Single Player Missions, CPU Match and 2-Player Split Screen. On top of that, players with broadband Internet access can use Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection to battle with up to eight players from around the world, or participate in Ranking Mode.

Reel Fishing® Challenge
Publisher: Natsume, Inc.
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Reel Fishing Challenge offers a fun and challenging experience for novice fishers and master anglers alike. Put your skills to the test and discover new types of fish in the challenging mission mode, or relax and enjoy the game at your own pace in free play mode. No matter which mode you play, the game’s beautiful graphics and natural setting bring the fishing experience to life. Choose from a variety of lures to attract and hook the game’s numerous fish. Each fish looks and moves like the real thing – it’s the closest you can get to real-life fishing without putting on your waders.

Silver Star Reversi
Publisher: Agetec, Inc.
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Silver Star Reversi has two modes: 1-Player mode allows you to play a match against the computer opponent, and 2-Player mode allows you to play against another person. In 1-Player mode, you can choose from five different computer opponents, turn the background music on or off, adjust sound effects and access in-game help features. During each match, you can also redo your last move, save the game at any point, or resign from the game. After a match has ended, you can review each move and resume the match from any point you choose.

Virtual Console™

Fantasy Zone™ II: The Tears of Opa-Opa
Original platform: SEGA MASTER SYSTEM
Publisher: SEGA
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Mild Cartoon Violence
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Ten years have elapsed since Opa-Opa restored peace to the Fantasy Zone. Now history is repeating itself, and the planets that make up the Fantasy Zone once again find themselves attacked by the mastermind of the Nenon planet forces. This mastermind is secretly constructing a huge fortress in the Fantasy Zone and aims to put an end to their ambitious plans. Just as he did 10 years ago, Opa-Opa must do battle to save the Fantasy Zone.

Nintendo DSiWare™

SUDOKU MASTER
Publisher: Hudson Entertainment
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points™
Description: SUDOKU MASTER offers 150 unique puzzles that beginners and experts alike will enjoy. A handful of tutorials will help you learn the rules and controls as you go, and handy features like Write Mode and Temp Numbers make Sudoku pleasantly user-friendly. Feeling confident? Then try your hand at Title Mode to work your way up from Rookie to Sudoku Master. All puzzles were created by Sudoku veteran NIKOLI Co., Ltd., and tips from Sudoku godfather Maki Kaji are offered between games.

Nintendo adds new titles to the Nintendo DSi Shop™ and the Wii™ Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time on Mondays. Users with broadband Internet access can redeem Wii Points or Nintendo DSi Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel. Nintendo DSi Points can be purchased in the Nintendo DSi Shop. A Nintendo Points Card™ can be purchased at retail locations. All points from one Nintendo Points Card must be redeemed in either the Nintendo DSi Shop or the Wii Shop Channel. They are not transferable and cannot be divided between the two systems.

Remember that both Wii and Nintendo DSi feature parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit Wii.com or NintendoDSi.com.

[Nintendo PR]

BREAKING NEWS: RISING STAR GAMES ANNOUNCES FRAGILE FOR EUROPE

Rising Star Games Confirms Release of Fragile: Farewell Ruins of the Moon in PAL Territories

29th June 2009 – Rising Star Games is pleased to confirm securing the publishing rights for the much anticipated fantasy adventure title. Fragile: Farewell Ruins of the Moon developed by Tri Crescendo, the team responsible for Baten Kaitos and, more recently, Eternal Sonata exclusively for Wii™. Fragile is scheduled for a Q1 2010 release in the PAL territories.

“Fragile has a great team of creative designers who in turn have brought to life a beautiful art style that pushes the limits of the Wii console without compromising on gaming quality” stated Tyrone Walcott product manager at Rising Star Games. “This announcement will delight European gamers and the Otaku community. Rising Star Games has again shown its commitment to bring the best games from Japan.”

For members of Rising Star Games exclusive Hoshi Club, this information was released exclusively 72 hours earlier. “We’re incredibly excited about bringing Fragile to the PAL territories. There’s been a massive upsurge of interest for this title since being showcased in Famitsu (Japan)” explained Simon Alty, Rising Star Games’ Head of Brand. “The feedback from fans in our forums was that this was a title they wanted us to champion and we are very excited to respond to that ‘fan power’ with this announcement.”

Fragile takes place in the near future, in a world that has lost its population. You play as Seto, a young boy searching through the abandoned cities and facilities of this world, trying to learn the truth behind the disappearance of all the people, and to find someone to keep him company. In addition to exploration, Seto has to deal with ghosts who appear in the ruins.

Players will be able to explore a dark and abandoned world with the aid of their Wii Remote™ that functions as a flashlight and as a proximity sensor to hunt down invisible ghosts. The cinematic presentation, joined with an emotional soundtrack, bring the tale of a lonely and lost individual to life as players encounter memorable characters and discover the back story behind scavenged objects that provide insight on people’s last days before the apocalypse.

When: Saturday July 18th
Where: Denver, CO | JJGames Store | 7975 E Harvard Ave, Ste G | 80231
Games: Nintendo World Championships & Nintendo Campus Challenge
Prizes: $200 JJGames gift cards, free t-shirts, and NWC and NCC reproduction
cartridges
Website: http://www.jjgames.com/page/retro-game-championship-2009

About the games:
Nintendo World Championship (On 5 TV’s): A game created for a Nintendo video
game competition in 1990. Players have 6 minutes to get 50 coins in Super
Mario Bros, finish one lap in Rad Racer, and get a high score in Tetris. The
competition was loosely based on the movie The Wizard.

Nintendo Campus Challenge (On 5 TV’s): Another game created by Nintendo for
competitions on college campuses in 1991. You have 6 minutes to get 25 coins
in Super Mario 3, 100,000 points in Pin-Bot, and a high score in Dr. Mario.
There is only one known copy of this game in existence..

Earlier this month, I took Wii MotionPlus for a swing with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10. It was then that I realized truly what Wii MotionPlus had to offer. The device worked great with Tiger Woods and I made a bold statement: “Wii MotionPlus is set to truly re-define the way we play games”. The only way to prove that was to use it with another compatible game, one that was designed from the ground up with Wii MotionPlus in mind. And so, I got my hands on a copy of Wii Sports Resort. After a few hours, I’ve explored the many aspects of the game and have a very good sense of how good the game is, as well as how well Wii MotionPlus can enhance gameplay.

To make things easier, I’m going to divide up my impressions. This post will include my general thoughts on the game, but future posts will detail each of the activities. If you have any questions, feel free to post them in the comments and I will try my best to answer them. Anyways, on to my thoughts…

Time to start out with another bold statement: Every Wii owner should have Wii MotionPlus. It is a very fun game that has things for everyone in it and can even satisfy the hardcore gamer with the sword fighting, among other things. It also comes bundled with Wii MotionPlus, so the price is a bargain. If you enjoyed Wii Sports, you will absolutely love this game. If you hated Wii Sports, then there is a good chance you will enjoy this game. It feels like a Wii Sports-type game (because it is), but the sports in the game are much more fun and engaging than the first. Heck, even two of the sports reappear from the first game.

Don’t get me wrong, this game isn’t perfect. I found some of the sports, like Frisbee, just weren’t that fun for me personally. There is at least one or two sports in here that will appeal to you since there is a wide variety of them in the game. My favorites are Swordplay and Air Sports. Wii MotionPlus makes Swordplay so much fun and challenging at the same time. There is even a mode where you can fight waves of opponents and it made me so much more excited for Red Steel 2. And Air Sports… it’s so simple, yet there is plenty to explore and collect.

Even Archery is a lot of fun to play. The controls seem very natural and it’s satisfying when you do good in the game. In fact, almost all of the sports feel natural when you are playing them. There are a few times when you do need to calibrate your controls, but they are done in a non-intrusive manner. Before a sword match, you have to press the A button on-screen and your device is calibrated. Hold down A to start when playing Archery and calibration is set. You don’t even know the game is calibrating the device half the time because of the manner it’s done.

And even if that isn’t enough, just press the + button during a sport and lie your Wii Remote face down on a flat surface. In a second or two, the device is calibrated and ready to go. Very simple. I’ve only had to do that a few times since it’s mostly not an issue in the game. The 12 sports in the game are very intuitive and easy to learn. Some of them are more fun than others to me, but that all comes down to personal preference.

After a few hours of gameplay, I would say that this game is a must buy title for any Wii owners. If you don’t have it pre-ordered yet, go do so. I’ll explore each sport in detail over the next week or so, time permitting. Remember, feel free to post questions and I will answer them in the comments area.

A sequel to the 2007 “The Gamer”, “The Gamer 2″ is a tour de force. Donkey Kong and his henchmen from the gaming universe are back, and this time, The Gamer will need to pull out all the stops in order to defeat them.

Featuring games such as Tetris, Doom, Pokemon, Smash Bros. and more, “The Gamer 2″ is everything a sequel should be.

[Thanks Chris]