PopCap confirms download title staying away from Australia and New Zealand

Fans of WiiWare in Australia and New Zealand are used to seeing titles face long delays or not make it across at all, but it still stings every time. Sadly there's more bad news: we recently interviewed PopCap's Ty Roberts who confirmed to us that Bejeweled 2 won't be heading to Nintendo's download platform Down Under.

Ty Roberts: We are working on the European release for sure. I’m hoping that will get out shortly. We’re not doing Australia or New Zealand this time around. Since we typically release digitally downloadable titles, people all over the world have access to our games already.

It's disappointing to hear this very promising title won't be available for players in Australia and New Zealand to download.

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Ocarina of Time still number one

It seems the plumber's latest adventure can do no wrong, scoring top marks at many well-respected publications around the world. In fact, it's got so many high scores that reviews aggregator Metacritic places it at second spot in the list of the highest-rated games of all time with a score if 98, level with Grand Theft Auto IV, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 and Soul Calibur II, which starred Link in its GameCube edition.

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You know Goombas, right? Mushroom things from the Mushroom Kingdom that get flattened very easily. Well, yes, but you may remember they looked a little different in the classic Super Mario Bros. movie: in fact, you'll probably never forget that unbelievable film. Now you can keep a piece of that unforgettable character with your very own bust.

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Here's a heartwarming story for you: a young girl, frustrated at not being bought a DS console by her parents, wrote a letter to Nintendo as part of a school project, praising the company and explaining her situation. Signing off with a polite – if somewhat cheeky – request for a console, she was understandably thrilled when Nintendo obliged by sending her a console. Sadly the girl's teacher wasn't quite as impressed, only awarding the letter a C grade.

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VP of publisher relations puts foot down

Reaction to Sony's PlayStation Move controller has been a little mixed among Nintendo fans, not to mention the response to its initial launch line-up which looks to repeat some of the Wii's success in bringing motion control to the masses. Sony aren't interested in making another Wii though, going out of its way to tell developers not to bring rehashes of Wii titles across. Sony's Vice President of publisher relations Rob Dyer laid out the letter of the law in a recent interview with Gamasutra:

It was never going to work, anyway. It didn't work on the Wii for a reason. That category didn't. Why did you think it was going to work on this one, as well?

Despite his protestations we already know of several titles making the transition from Wii to Move, so don't be surprised to see familiar boxart in smaller, clearer boxes when Sony's new motion controller launches later this year. And don't be surprised to see them not selling on PS3 either.

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Looks like a remake of the third title

Tactical battling on the go is a big win for us here at Nintendo Life Towers: many's the hour we've spent on Advance Wars and Fire Emblem, so the opportunity to get more of either is something we welcome with open arms. We already knew about a new Advance Wars, but today the Japanese Fire Emblem site has been updated with a new trailer showing the game's animated cinematics and little else.

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Debate opens: is this a glitch or just a skill?

This one will probably divide opinion, but this video of a Super Mario Galaxy 2 speedrun exploits a trick for extending Yoshi's flutter jump to previously unheard-of lengths.

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Not a story from The Onion, we promise

It may not be a huge deal but Japanese police have arrested a 52-year old man for selling modified Wii consoles and copied games after he made over £20,000 (about $28,000) selling the units over a two-year period.

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Also includes free arm-punching ability for screen-peekers

In the clamour to get as many titles online as possible, the simple pleasures of sitting down with a few friends to blast each other to smithereens has been lost on Wii somewhat. Josh Olson, senior producer of shooter sequel Conduit 2, wants to bring those days back by promising offline support for every online play mode.

Everything you can do online, you can do via splitscreen to include all competitive modes and the cooperative Team Invasion mode. We’ve spent a lot of time on a sweet splitscreen exclusive as well, namely the ability to lean over and punch your buddy in the arm if he looks at your screen.

Olson also confirmed split-screen for two players will be horizontal or vertical split, so you can pick the one you like most – or your opponent likes least.

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God, just realised it's only Monday. Bring on the weekend!