Majesco has revealed a new game for the DS in Hot 'N Cold. What's it all about? Well, it's basically a scavenger hunt, much like Mystery Case Files: Millionheir. You hunt down items in virtual environments, as evidenced by the screens in our gallery below. Unlike Mystery Case Files: Millionheir though, the game is fully 3D and will feature "large environments that break new ground in the hidden object genre by being fully 3D."
Check out some screens in our gallery below and look for this game to hit store shelves in "early 2009."
No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle might be the biggest news of TGS involving Suda 51 and the letters "D" and "S," but it's not the only such news. Marvelous and XSEED have confirmed a US release for the DS remake of Suda 51's PS2 adventure game Flower, Sun, and Rain, which stars Sumio Mondo, a man forced to relive the same day, in which a sunny resort is blown up by terrorists.
Of course, the game is coming out in Europe this November, so waiting until the US release may only be a cost-cutting measure on the part of impatient Suda fans. But we're happy to be able to go into a store -- eventually -- and buy it!
Yes, indeed. Not sure what's going on here, but Nintendo's European site has updated with the surreal news that Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon will be released in Europe this December 5th -- also known as before North America. This is one of those incredibly rare examples of Europe getting thrown a bone first. Our gobs? Smacked!
We're still no closer to a specific release date in North America, with "first half of 2009" about as accurate as it gets. Maybe the rapidly weakening pound will soon make importing from Europe an attractive investment again! Stranger things have happened. This news, for instance.
Club Nintendo and its assortedfreebies may not be the only service Nintendo of America intends to import from Japan. During its megaton-filled Media Summit last week, the big N briefly discussed "Nintendo Zone", a new service that will appear soon at "DS Station" download kiosks in Japanese stores and fast food restaurants.
Nintendo Zone will be compatible with both the DS Lite (remember that?) and DSi, will offer demos and one-off content, and looks like it will make the trip to North America, after the above trademark was spotted in the USPTO database. While we're still short of an official confirmation, Siliconera notes that this was registered on October 2nd with Club Nintendo, Sin & Punishment, and Rhythm Heaven.
Well, nut. Acorn, really. Plush acorn ... in the grip of a plush squirrel. Never mind. Chances are, if you're a fan of, uh, fantasy-themed farming simulations, you've already got a copy of Rune Factory 2 preordered -- if only because there are no games in that narrow subgenre that aren't called Rune Factory.
But hey, even if you don't care about growing whatever or tending whatever or fighting whatever, Natsume will give you this plush squirrel if you preorder their game from Amazon. They keep trying to use cute plushes to sell us games ... and it continues to have a shockingly powerful effect on our resolve. Marvelous is at least as talented at designing adorable, plush-ready mascot characters as they are at designing repetitive, addictive games.
For the first time in ages, we're actually intrigued about Guitar Hero on the DS. It's less to do with the games, and more about how Activision plans to squeeze the franchise and Guitar Grip onto the GBA slot-less Nintendo DSi (and squeeze it on they will, believe us -- those sales figures can't be ignored).
Still, it's not an immediate problem. While Activision scratches its head over a solution, there are still 80 million or so GBA slot-equipped DSes out there that can accomodate Guitar Hero: On Tour Decades and its lumpy, hand-torturing peripheral. We imagine there'll be no shortage of takers for this sequel, which Activision has just confirmedwill launch November 16th. One day less to wait, then!
An interesting week for releases around the globe, though the news will, of course, be dwarfed in the wake of all things DSi. Among this week's noteworthy titles are Prey the Stars (at last!), and Korg DS-10 for Europe.
Those of you who intend to import a DSi from Japan next month may wish to revise your plans, as Nintendo has now confirmed that all DSi software will be region-locked. "DSi software (software that is only compatible with DSi) is region-locked, e.g: European DSi software can only be played on European DSi consoles," stated Nintendo's spokesperson to CVG, brutally driving a stake through our dreams of ever playing Japanese DSWare.
There are elements of the DSi that are region-free -- you'll be able to surf the 'net wherever you are in the world, exchange photos with friends in other regions, and still play non-local DS games on the DSi -- but it looks like we can forget about importing Japanese DSi software. It simply won't work.
Nintendo's messenger says this is because the DSi "embeds net communication functionality within itself" and provides "net services specifically tailored for each region." The fact that each region has unique age limits is also mentioned. What a thoroughly depressing start to the week! We're off for coffee and extra donuts.
Dementium: The Ward hit Japan this year (along with a colorful launch event for the game), yet is now enduring its first public outcry in the country. According to Yahoo! News (and Google's translation tools), the Japanese Association of Psychiatric Hospitals has requested that the title be removed from shops instantly, arguing that the game could instigate "discrimination and prejudice" against sufferers of psychiatric disorders.
Interchannel distributes the game in Japan, and has yet to comment, but Mike Wilson of [U.S. publisher] Gamecock did proffer a view to MTV Multiplayer, stating that the criticism is down to a "lack of understanding or appreciation (and therefore fear of) games outside our little sub-culture." He also confessed to being "thrilled" by the extra attention the game has enjoyed as a result; as the game failed to penetrate the Japanese top 30, we know what he means.
When the DSi was unveiled, the DS Fanboy offices were filled with nothing but whooping and hollering, for Nintendo managed to actually improve on what we considered was the closest to perfection a handheld device could be. The DS Lite has great screens, is smaller than the Phat and has a huge library of great games. How could Nintendo even improve on that? Well, they did, with the DSi, but one individual sees the new handheld as an avenue for pirates to perform their dastardly deeds.
Team 17's studio director Martyn Brown has been eyeing up that SD slot as a potential source of piracy. "Adding an SD slot makes a bunch of sense for downloadable content given the way things are going," Brown said. "I just hope they've done something to counter the mass piracy that exists via the R4 on the Lite. It scares me that with an SD card input, that might leave it even wider open that it was on the original device." He brings up a valid point, but we guess we're just going to have to wait until Nintendo reveals more about the security features of the handheld.
Either way, we're sure the homebrew community will have a field day once it releases to Japan in November.
Before G4's Dan Hsu spoke to Reggie Fils-Aime about the DSi, the closest estimate we had for a North American release date was "well into 2009." Reggie has narrowed the window a bit, saying that because of strong DS Lite sales (Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G hasn't happened here to distract people from the DS), the DSi launch is "going to be in our next fiscal -- so, certainly after April."
He then went on to downplay the immediate importance of DS Shop downloads in North America, in a way that we can't help but read as stating the obvious given that we won't be able to buy anything to play DSWare until "down the road:
"We believe that as we continue to drive sales for DS hardware in total, the biggest opportunity's going to be on packaged software. Down the road, with the DSi Shop and downloadable software, certainly will be a growing opportunity and something developers are excited about, but it really is much longer down the road."
Posted Oct 3rd 2008 12:00PM by JC Fletcher Filed under: News
One of the less-reported announcements from Nintendo's conference is the "Personal Trainer" series of games. We were a bit confused to see the announcement of Personal Trainer: Cooking when we're still waiting for Cooking Guide. And then about two seconds later we figured it out. Personal Trainer: Cooking is Cooking Guide. We're guessing, but it seems like a fairly uncontroversial guess.
Nintendo's press release about the conference details Personal Trainer: Cooking and two other Personal Trainer titles that make it much more obvious that these are existing/known training games. Personal Trainer: Math is "a collection of basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division drills based on the Kageyama method." Which means it's Maths Training, released in Europe back in February. And Personal Trainer: Walking "will introduce a wireless pedometer, letting consumers not only track every step they take, but also turn walking into interactive entertainment." It must be Aruite Wakaru Seikatsu Rhythm DS (Learn by Walking Rhythm DS), then!
Cooking will be released on November 24, and the other two will appear sometime next year.
Reggie could only offer an incredibly vague "well into 2009" when asked about the North American launch date for the Nintendo DSi, but Nintendo's European arm has been a little more specific. Over at the official site, the company says the DSi will hit Europe in Spring 2009, instantly bringing hope to North Americans who may have feared a release at the wrong end of 2009. It would be highly unusual if Europe received a piece of Nintendo hardware months before the U.S, so we're suddenly more optimistic about seeing this in North America soon ... ish.
Nintendo's fall media event confirmed a US release for the newly-announced Mario & Luigi RPG 3, as if we didn't expect it! The date wasn't specified beyond "2009," leading us to wonder if it will be positioned to coincide with the DSi. Or not. There are plenty of dates in one year for both.
Also coming in 2009, specifically the first half: Rhythm Heaven, which has been selling like crazy in Japan. We really shouldn't let all the new hardware and new game announcements and such overshadow what is really important in life -- which is Rhythm Heaven.
Nintendo just confirmed that Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, a remake of the original NES / Famicom game, would be winging its way to the U.S. in the first half of next year, and while that happy news alone would have been enough for us, it's also going to receive a bunch of brilliant, extensive features for its WiFi mode.
Like another much-loved Intelligent Systems-developed strategy title, Fire Emblem's online mode will feature full voice chat, as well as the ability to lend units to friends and have them returned after battles with improved stats, news that is +10 win. On top of this, there'll also be a Wi-Fi store with a constantly changing inventory.
Majesco has revealed a new game for the DS in Hot 'N Cold. What's it all about? Well, it's basically a scavenger hunt, much like Mystery Case Files: Millionheir. You hunt down items in virtual environments, as evidenced by the screens in our gallery below. Unlike Mystery Case Files: Millionheir though, the game is fully 3D and will feature "large environments that break new ground in the hidden object genre by being fully 3D."
Yes, indeed. Not sure what's going on here, but Nintendo's European site has updated with the surreal news that 
