The "self-help" era is upon us, even finding its way into the video game industry as of late. Aside from the obvious fitness awareness game on Nintendo's other system (we mean Wii Fit, of course), there have been quite a few attempts to help gamers improve their lifestyles and habits. Take, for example, the upcoming My Weight Loss Coach and Ubisoft's "Easyway" title to help people quit smoking.
Our favorite approach so far, though, was when DS Fanboy reader Dan used Pokémon to quit smoking. If there's anything we've learned from Dan's inspiring story, it's that the best way to curb an addiction is to replace it with another. We then decided that we wanted to help more of our fine readers that are suffering from such torments day in and day out. Pokémon may cure smoking, but what about other plaguing ailments? We're happy to say that after months of testing on monkeys and small children, we've finally come up with a few perfect video game cures.
So, look no further than Dr. DS Fanboy, and check out our ultimate self-help guide to find the fixes for your addictions.
Every once in a while, GameFly throws a storewide sale our way. Fortunately, now is one of those times -- until May 19th, at least -- so it's worth checking out the used games that the site has to offer. Whether you're looking for something fun to play during Game Night or just want to pick up a cartridge that you don't already own, there are a lot of noteworthy titles available.
Here are some that we found intriguing, either because they're awesome games or they're just too cheap to resist (or some combination thereof):
The first (less convincing) sign is that Apollo Justice's (loud) Nintendo Europe webpage has the string "AceAttorney3" in its URL. That doesn't really mean that the third Ace Attorney game isn't happening, rather that Apollo Justice is the third Ace Attorney game to be released, and that whoever created the URL didn't save a space for the realAA3.
More troubling is the fact that there is a site for Trials and Tribulations, but there are no longer any links to it. Could this point to a cancellation? Court Records members speculate that T&T would get a higher PEGI content rating than the other Ace Attorney games, and because of that, Capcom wouldn't benefit from releasing it. In any case, both the U.S. and Japan have cheap and plentiful Trials and Tribulationses. Feel free to partake!
Will the line-up of DS demos available on the Wii's Nintendo Channel change every week? We're not sure, but it's starting to look like it; at least, some of the demos available have been rotated out in favor of fresh meat. If you were looking for something that was previously available, it might just be gone. Lesson? Download quickly rather than putting it off, because the demo you want may just disappear!
Peek past the break for the current list of available demos -- you may be surprised at what you'll find!
This week is certainly interesting, if not packed with releases. Here in the U.S., we get our hands on Nintendo's answer to the DS crossword title, and our pals in Europe will be spending a little quality time with that ace attorney Apollo Justice. Japan, however, is taking a holiday.
Brain Voyage
Crosswords DS
Speed Racer
Travel past the jump to see what's cooking in the rest of the major markets.
Not only did the PSP gain momentum with the hideous brown, er, we mean shiny bronze model that released in Japan last week, but the Wii also beat out its portable cousin, sending the DS to third place in hardware sales:
PSP: 92,411
Wii: 48,796
Nintendo DS: 42,435
PlayStation 3: 9,107
PlayStation 2: 7,108
Xbox 360: 1,283
DS software fared better, though, with two new releases gracing the coveted top ten. Taiko Drum Master: 7 Islands' Adventure was the shining star of the week, reaching almost 56,000 sales. Summon Night gets an honorary mention, though, as it debuted in the fifth spot.
To check out the other new releases and software placings, just keep on reading ... forever.
The Ace Attorney series is dear to our hearts, so when any information crosses the intertubes regarding Capcom's lawyering games, we foam at the mouth like rabid raccoons. Today's tidings regard both the Gyakuten Meets Orchestra concert, which took place in Tokyo, and the upcoming spin-off title starring Miles Edgeworth.
As much as we love Gyakuten Saiban and its music, we obviously weren't able to able to drag ourselves to Japan for what we're sure was an awesome concert. From what we understand, though, the CDs that you see so deliciously stacked in the video above will be made available for purchase on July 16th. Do want.
Also in the video (around the 4:00 minute mark) is a trailer for Edgeworth's game, called Gyakuten Kenji in case you haven't been keeping up (for shame!). The trailer is mostly just moving versions of screens we've already seen, but it also features a new character that will be showing up
Check after the break to see some promotional photos for Gyakuten Kenji, some artwork from the event (want!), and some Gyakuten Saiban swag, including an orchestra-themed tumbler (want want!) and even Snackoos (want want want!).
As "Chompman" explains, "There's no spoilers in Apollo Justice that would stop you enjoying Trials and Tribulations if you played it afterwards though." Well, that makes it okay. European gamers are certainly used to later game releases by now, but out of sequence? That's a new and special way to irritate a fanbase.
Oh, by the way, the U.S. version of Trials and Tribulations is $18.99 at Amazon.
While playing Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, we learned a neat little fact about cards. Apparently, a deck of cards represents a calendar year -- there are four suits because there are four seasons in a year, and there are fifty-two cards because there are fifty-two weeks.
Also, if you assign each card a numeric value from one to thirteen (with an ace equaling one, a king equaling thirteen), they will add up to 364. That's why there are two jokers: One makes the year complete, since a year has 365 days, and the other is there because there's an extra day during leap years.
Are there any cool little facts you've learned from games that you've played? Maybe even something less trivial than the card fact above? Share them with us. This way, you'll have some ammo when people scold you about not learning anything from video games.
Posted Mar 6th 2008 10:30AM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News
Minae Matsukawa's final Apollo Justice developer blog entry has once again lifted the curtain on the development of our favorite DS lawyer-adventure series. Without going into too much detail, Matsukawa described the creation of the first video for the series to use motion capture, for which a male research-and-development team performed a female character's movements, and was a "natural" at it. What wasn't natural: Apollo's name. Apparently it took 22 meetings to come up with "Apollo Justice!"
In case you're in Tokyo, you like game music, and for some reason you weren't planning to go, Capcom will also make an "exciting announcement" at the Gyakuten Meets Orchestraorchestral concert in Tokyo this April. Matsukawa didn't say what the announcement would be, but come on -- it's Gyakuten Saiban 5.
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney has been out long enough for the superfans (in the U.S.) to have gotten through the game, and for me to have finally made it to Gamestop to pick it up. So most of us who want to play the game have had time to become accustomed to the new cast.
If you've played through the whole series: do you like the new characters? Will you play future games starring Apollo and friends? Are you interested in his storyline? Have you ordered your own red vest for Apollo cosplay?
If Apollo Justice is your first Ace Attorney game: how did that happen?
There's no doubt that, although niche, the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney series is beloved by many. Capcom had a great thing going for it with the first three games: a fun concept, compelling gameplay, and some ridiculous but lovable characters. After hearing that Capcom would be changing things around by introducing Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, I started to get nervous. Why mess with a good thing and change a winning formula?
Innovation is necessary to keep any franchise alive, but at the expense of characters that fans have grown attached to, I wondered if it was worth it. Could Capcom really pull this off without alienating either longtime fans or curious newcomers? The task seemed daunting. Yet, if any series could pull a transition like this, it would be this one.
With this week's big release being Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, you can bet we're dying to sink our teeth into the game. Not only are we looking to see how the newbie attorney handles himself, but also how Capcom handled developing the latest iteration in the series specifically for the DS, instead of the GBA-to-DS porting that went on with previous installments. Of course, it's not that the porting was a bad thing; the Ace Attorney games are some of our most favorite of all time.
So will you be tackling some of Apollo's cases this weekend? We know we will.
With the release of the latest Ace Attorney game, those of us in North America finally get to see the new hero in action, Apollo Justice. And, now that the game has been out for a few days, some of the reviewing outlets have gotten the requisite amount of time in with the game.
How are the reviews? Generally positive, we're happy to report.
1UP (85/100) says this game's writing is great: "The localization team at Capcom should be commended for writing dialogue that is genuinely funny. Basically, if you're a fan of the earlier Phoenix Wright games, you will laugh...a lot. Couple the comedy with Justice's engrossing story and you have a case that would be criminal not to take."
IGN (83/100) finds the game to be incredibly charming: "The gameplay and static looks of Apollo Justice are just as we've seen them before, and the music will be both familiar and new, but Apollo Justice retains a lot of the charm Phoenix Wright held before it, and adds to the series' legacy. What's old is new again, and damn good, too."
Nintendo Power (80/100) thinks the game is a perfect fit within the series: "With that said, the latest Ace Attorney game is an excellent continuation of the series, featuring more compelling mysteries to unravel and lots of memorable characters." [Mar 2008, p.86]
While we're sure many English-speaking, Ace Attorney-loving Europeans arranged to have the game imported already, the rest of you will be glad to know that Apollo Justice has been given a release date.
Europe can expect the game on May 9th, which is tantalizingly far away for fans, but we've seen worse than a three month delay. Take Trials and Tribulations for example -- where is that game?
Nintendo of Europe still doesn't list an official date for Phoenix Wright's third foray in the courtroom, and we haven't heard anything from Capcom, but the unofficial date of March 21st has popped up on some sites like GameSpot UK. While a March date is unlikely (as we probably would have heard something concrete by this point), let's hope it's correct so that non-importing Europeans can play their games in order.
See also:2008's Biggest Blips -- Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney
The "self-help" era is upon us, even finding its way into the video game industry as of late. Aside from the obvious fitness awareness game on Nintendo's other system (we mean Wii Fit, of course), there have been quite a few attempts to help gamers improve their lifestyles and habits. Take, for example, the upcoming My Weight Loss Coach and Ubisoft's "Easyway" title to help people quit smoking.
Capcom released 
Will the line-up of 
This week is certainly interesting, if not packed with releases. Here in the U.S., we get our hands on Nintendo's answer to the DS crossword title, and our pals in Europe will be spending a little quality time with that ace attorney Apollo Justice. Japan, however, is taking a holiday.
Not only did the PSP gain momentum with the hideous brown, er, we mean 
This thread on Capcom Europe's forums is from earlier in the month, but the info contained within is still worth noting. There's still no European release date for 
While playing 
While we're sure many English-speaking, Ace Attorney-loving Europeans arranged to have the game imported already, the rest of you will be glad to know that Apollo Justice has been given a release date.
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