Finally, we come to the last list, my anticipated games of 2009 for the Nintendo DS. And quite a long list it is. This year is shaping up to be a good one for the little dual screen handheld.
Archive for the ‘DS’ Category
Welcome to the Club (Nintendo)
December 18, 2008
Club Nintendo is live! Well, sorta. For many years, Nintendo fans in North America have watched with envy as people in Japan and Europe enjoyed the benefits of Nintendo’s loyalty program. Registering purchased hardware and software earns you points (“coins”) which you trade in for items. Nintendo resisted starting up Club Nintendo in North America due to cost, but finally relented to demand and announced in October that it would be coming before the end of the year. It’s buggy, but it’s here!
Just go to club.nintendo.com to sign up. I was able to transfer my previous nintendo.com login to Club Nintendo, and I’ve been able to take a few surveys and earn a few coins, but it sends you back to the login screen frequently as well. Rewards include the lusted after Game & Watch Collection DS game, playing cards, DS and game card cases, game racks… about 11 things to choose from that cost between 300 and 800 coins each. You get 50 coins for taking surveys about Wii games, 30 for DS games, and 10 for WiiShop Channels/games. You get an additional 10 points for then registering the game you took the survey on.
I’m sure site stability will improve over the next few days. Register now! If you link your old Nintendo account, it should pull over surveys for previously registered games (although it could take hours right now as the site is slammed). Then get out all your registration codes and start putting them in. That should get you some points and more surveys. Lastly, don’t forget to link your WiiShop account to your Club Nintendo account. You have to do that on the Wii in order for the games you purchased there to show up in Club Nintendo. Good luck.
Have Mario Call or Email Your Friends
December 13, 2008
It’s-a true! Head on over to http://mariowishlist.varitalk.com and you can have Mario call your friends or email them a voice message. Build your Wish List and let Mario personally deliver it to your loved ones.
You can customize it with names and wacky relationships (hero, love bunny, princess), pick the Nintendo DS you “want” for the holiday you are celebrating, and pick up to 3 DS games you “want” as well. Mario then calls or emails the recipient with a personalized Mario message! Have-a fun!
2008 Nintendo E3 Press Conference Thoughts
July 15, 2008Ok, on to the Nintendo press conference. My thoughts…
Paradigm shifting… can’t argue that Nintendo has done some of that this gem. Speech is a little dry.
Animal Crossing: City Folk. I loved the original Animal Crossing, so I’m glad this is finally official. New big city, auction house… The style is very much like the previous one.
WiiSpeak community microphone… it’s good to see Nintendo finally bring voice chat to the Wii. Don’t know how well a whole room microphone will work in a busy house full of kids, though. Fits the Nintendo philosophy where parents can monitor online chat.
Wii software sales and total library in the first 19 months of console life, compared to 360, PS3, PS2, is leading the pack. I thought there was nothing to play on the Wii??
Star Wars: The Clone Wars looks good. Holiday 2008. Doesn’t use the new motion thingy.
Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party…. uses the Balance Board for some things. They show some young kids playing it, and I bet mine would probably like it.
Call of Duty: World at War. Looks decent. Obviously won’t have the graphics of other systems, but it seems pretty good. It will support the Wii Zapper too.
Guitar Hero On Tour Decades for DS. Song share between versions. I’m enjoying the original, so I’m sure I’ll like that.
Spore Creatures. Meh. Looks a little Pokemon-ish to me. Announced awhile ago.
Speaking of… Poekmon Ranger for DS. Meh. Not my thing.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. I think I’d like that. No screenshots though. Could look like ass if they don’t do it right, but I’m not a graphics whore if the gameplay is good.
Wii MotionPlus. Announced a couple of days ago. Should quell the bitching of waggle-hater crowd.
Wii Sports Resort. Bet they’ll sell a ton. Packaged with Wii MotionPlus and a new jacket. “That’s why they call me The Reginator.” Heh. Not launched until next Spring 2009.
Wii Music. It finally arrives, after being talked about since 2005. Certainly a different take on the music genre. 50 instruments. Another use of the Balance Board too. The kids are going to go totally nuts over this! They get really frustrated that they can’t play Guitar Hero or Rock Band yet because the control schemes are too hard.
That’s it. No rumored Kid Icarus. No storage solution. Overall I think it’s a steady pace for Nintendo. Nothing mind-blowing, but then Wii and DS have been selling like crazy, so why change what isn’t broken. I don’t think they needed to hit one out of the park this year (Sony does!) , and they didn’t, but it was pretty solid I’d say. I’m sure the “hardcore gamers” will say they are disappointed again though.
Zelda Cake
October 5, 2007
Since The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass came out this week, a picture of a Zelda wedding cake is probably in order, curtesy of Kotaku. The cake is based on The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, but since the two share similar art styles, it looks like it could work for either.
Speaking of Phantom Hourglass, if you picked it up this week, don’t forget to register the game on Nintendo’s website and get a free feather stylus.
Phoenix Plushie
September 2, 2007
According to a press release by Capcom, if you pre-order Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations from Gamestop or the Capcom Online Store, you can get a free Phoenix Plushie. What better way to show some Phoenix love.
I don’t see the offer yet on either site, but I’m sure it will appear shortly.
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Ace Attorney Music Fans Rejoice!
July 26, 2007
You don’t see game soundtracks released in the US very often, which is a shame. But for fans of game music, Capcom announced via their forums that two Ace Attorney soundtracks were coming our way.
http://www.capcom.com/BBS/showthread.php?t=16010
“Gyakuten Saiban Meets Orchestra” will be released as “Ace Attorney Meets Orchcestra” and “Gyakuten Saiban Meets Jazz” as ”Ace Attorney Meets Jazz.” Let’s hope this brings about more game soundtrack releases and doesn’t end up as a failed one-off experiment.
