Sonic the Hedgehog returns!
A good array of titles this week, with the 2D return of Sonic the Hedgehog taking top billing of course. DSiWare fans can get a pinch of Sonic creator Yuji Naka's latest platforming adventure, Ivy the Kiwi?, but there's also sports and puzzle games if platforming isn't your thing. Let's do it to it!
Decent showing for party title
Wii Party is likely to be one of Nintendo's sleeper hits this Christmas, its deadly combination of Mii characters and a bundled Wii Remote all-but assuring it'll sell shedloads in the run-up to the Yuletide season.
Down from seven to five
It's that time of the week again: the UK sales charts are in and it's time to see how the Move is faring in software sales. Last week's line-up saw seven titles across the top 40, whereas this week sees a slimmed-down proportion with five motion-supported titles in the chart.
Try to contain your surprise
Trey Smith, Creative Director of recent Wii slam-a-jamma NBA Jam, is an old head in this industry, having been working on games for the best part of a decade. He must have seen his fair share of problems in his team, but when quizzed by the MTV Multiplayer blog what did he state as the number one biggest problem affecting the games industry? Gamers with bad attitudes.MTV: What do you think is the biggest problem current games suffer from?Judging from some of the negative reaction surrounding the announcement that NBA Jam will have no online play it's understandable why Smith might feel that way, but do you agree with his assessment?
Trey Smith: I think one of the biggest problems right now is the actions and attitude of some of the gamers out there. You know who they are. If they spent less time spewing ignorant hate on the boards and in online games, and more time rallying behind the great games they love and helping to build a thriving community that welcomes everyone that shows up to play with them - everybody wins. Nothing wrong with a little smack talk here and there, just wish gamers respected each other more.
No prices yet but still, rejoice!
We brought you news of a rumour that a red Wii was coming to Europe, but now we can officially confirm that lucky Europeans will be able to buy the console before the month was out. Not a home console kind of gamer? Then you'll be pleased that the red DSi XL is on the way too.
Blame must be divvied out more evenly
We know that the DS has suffered a great deal from the impact of piracy, with many titles failing to gain the sales they deserved, in part due to the ease with which software is pirated on the device. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata isn't convinced the blame lies squarely at the feet of pirates however, acknowledging his company has a part to play in promoting great software.I do not think we should attribute bad software sales solely to piracy. Even with piracy, as long as we can create products which can attract attention from many consumers and which can greatly entertain them, that software can make it to the No. 1 position of the hit software sales chart.This isn't the first time Mr Iwata has stressed the importance of great software, doing so previously when discussing how good games can triumph over economic troubles.
Go behind the mask
The Sly Collection is set to revamp all three Sly Cooper adventures from the PlayStation 2 in brand new HD-o-vision, with some 3D effects and PlayStation Move minigames thrown in for good measure. Now we've got some fresh screenshots of the pack to share with you, but they may not be quite as polished as you'd expect.
RT @segafusion: Today is the day: Sonic 4 is here! To celebrate, the Sega Fusion team are all spiking up their hair and curling into balls.
Yes, you
We may never know if Shantae: Risky's Revenge sells as well as WayForward hoped, what with strict limitations on the discussion of sales figures, but one aspect of the game that's definitely doing better than expected is the original soundtrack.
I'm awake and too excited to go back to sleep. It's almost here - it's really nearly here!
My name is James Newton, and this is my website - a collection of my writings about
videogames, music and all my other thoughts.