by N Rumas - 05.03.07

Quite a bit of interest to share this evening…
First up, the always-insightful Ars Technica has an article up analyzing the issue of declining Virtual Console sales. On this note, I think Nintendo would be wise to start seriously promoting the VC and create some real incentive (lower prices & rumble support, anyone?) for people to purchase games. It seems to be turning into a massive missed opportunity.
Moving on to something happier, new screens of DK Jet Race show Donkey Kong riding on both Rambi and Enguard from DKC, which makes me wonder if the title’s racing is going to encompass more than just airborne jet barrels. I sure hope so, cuz the cancellation of GC’s DK Racing still makes me cry.
Next up, if you haven’t already heard, Nintendo has announced its 2007 Wii lineup for Japan, and it’s packed to the brim with heavy hitters, including Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3, Smash Brothers Brawl, HAMMER, Distaster, and more. Quite an awesome list, and I really hope all the titles on it do hit in 2007 (in the US, too!), but I’m not holding my breath just yet. We’ll see.
On the comics-to-film front, the Stan Winston-designed Mark III costume Robert Downey Jr. will don in the Iron Man film has been revealed, and it looks like it’s been virtually lifted from the pages of the comic. Though I’ll always prefer the more crude first costume, it’s nice to see that the movie’s being so faithful to the source material.
Some final tidbits: One Piece for Wii seems to be coming along nicely, Miyamoto slept like a baby through Koji Kondo’s GDC presentation, and the Game Boy purse is absolutely beautiful. That’s all for now!











“Distaster: Day of Dislike… A real-time contempt-simulation coming soon to a Wii near you. You will NOT like it!”
KiddKalen - 05.03.07 1:25 am
Shiggy looks so peaceful.
mizzle - 05.03.07 1:36 am
He’s not sleeping, he’s deep in thought, it’s a Japanese thing apparently.
Matthew(Someguy) - 05.03.07 2:23 am
Regarding Virtual Console sales declines - I think it would really benefit Nintendo if they included bonus points with certain game purchases. Not full 2000 point cards, mind you. Even a 500 point card would be really awesome of them. For instance, buy Super Paper Mario and get 500 points so you can check out Super Mario Bros. if you wanted to.
Also, what’s the deal with North America’s Nintendo fan club not giving away awesome stuff like its Japanese counterpart? It would be great if there were bonuses other than the three free issues of Nintendo Power. How about bonus VC points for every 5 games registered? Surely it can’t hurt them.
Shaun - 05.03.07 8:09 am
Was there some other outfit they were going to use? Kind’ve like how they changed the X-Men’s outfits to something approaching real-life? I watched plenty of Iron Man as a kid and that’s the outfit he wore. XO Manowar’s outfit looked cooler, but I mean, he’s not Iron Man.
Baramos - 05.03.07 10:50 am
It would be awesome if Brawl was ready sometime in the summer.
DarkTide - 05.03.07 10:52 am
When you mentioned the Mark III costume for some reason I imagined Robert Downey Jr wearing a Japanese Master System costume.
Am I weird?
Repsode - 05.03.07 11:00 am
REPSODE: Good, it wasn’t just me then.
0x15e - 05.03.07 12:50 pm
Love the Iron Man costume! And seriously, about the VC, they need demos of the games! I’ve been hesitant to buy certain games and blow my points when I don’t know if it’ll be any good or not. Reviews only tell you so much. The TB16 games in particular…I’m sure some of them are good, but I’d like to try them out before dropping the points…I never had a TB16 in the golden years. I had an SNES and guess what…I buy mainly SNES games on the VC. Cost is an ever-present issue as is the lack of any update to the game, like online multiplayer or getting rid of unnecessary jaggies…come on. It’s becoming a blown opportunity. God, if half of the games on the VC had improvements made (licensing issues be damned), sales would pick up.
On a happier note, I was happy to purchase Punch-Out, even though Piston Honda kicked my ass…
DCSimian - 05.03.07 1:54 pm
www.vc-reviews.com
Because of them, Ive learned the joys of many games I’d have missed out on. Conversely, because of them I’m often broke.
mizzle - 05.03.07 1:59 pm
I’m still of the opinion that Shiggy was reading something and not sleeping. On one hand it’s funny to think he slept but I highly doubt he would have that type of disrespect for a peer.
Telka! - 05.03.07 10:30 pm