"Thousands of gamers, anime fans and cosplayers of widely varying quality descended on ExCel, an exhibition centre in London, for one of the biggest events in the collective industrys’ calendar today, the 15th MCM Expo. Running for two days, 23rd May and 24th May 2009, those few Electronic Theatre readers who managed to miss today’s show may just have enough time to organise the necessary travelling arrangements, and grab that Bomberman outfit they’ve been saving for a special occasion."

"On Wednesday afternoon in Kyoto, Japan, Nintendo Co. Ltd. allegedly held a private conference at the Rihga Royal Hotel, where company leaders spoke to third-party publishing partners about a new service in the works for Wii owners. Called 'Wii Expand,' the addition, which utilizes the recently-released Wii System Menu 4.0's new SD card compatibility, enables players to download game expansions, modifications and updates. Insiders who attended the exclusive event said that Wii Expand would lau..."

"You know that game you play for hours every single night, and dream about playing throughout every single day? We can’t stand the damn thing. You remember that game you treasured as a child, the one you still get warm and fuzzy and misty-eyed just thinking about? Seriously, it sucks.

What follows are the “classics” our individual staffers consider crap. The overrated gems we just don’t understand. You may not agree with us, but that's okay - in most of these cases, we don't even ag..."

The NPD Group has released the top twenty software and top ten software by platform lists for the recently unveiled February 2009 sales numbers yesterday, showing the top rankings in software sales for the month. The top ten rankings for accessory sales are also available.

Numbers inserted where known.

Top 20 Games of February 2009
01. [WII] Wii Fit (Nintendo) - 644k
02. [360] Street Fighter IV* (Capcom) - 446k
03. [PS3] Street Fighter IV* (Capcom) - 403k
04. [WII] Wii Play (Nintend...

"Most classic video game heroes were grizzled and muscle bound dudes, at least until Samus Aran came along. Nintendo's hardcore bounty hunter crushed the notion that female characters couldn't compete with the steroid-using men in most adventure games, and when Tomb Raider's Lara Croft arrived, the following ladies achieved gender equality, thanks to their brains and combat skills."

"

1. Blue Shell
2. Farsight
3. Golden Gun
4. Helicopter
5. Hammer
6. BFG 9000
7. Mini Nuke
8. Hammer of Dawn
9. Fireball
10. Pistol

"

"Having attended many many (many) MegaCon's in the past, I really feel that this little Orlando geek convention has hit a nice stride. At first I came for the comics, and kept coming despite the growing number of anime fans. But then came the video game fans, card gamers, RPGers, wrestlers, actors, playmates, and as years have passed, it is really becoming the east coast *bleep* cousin of the San Diego Comic Con (we have belly dancing at our cons, eat that Cali!)"

In a press release today, Nintendo has announced that it has formed a new subsidiary company with Sora, Ltd., the studio helmed by Super Smash Bros. creator and director Masahiro Sakurai. This new subsidiary, Project Sora, is jointly owned by both companies, with Nintendo owning 72% stake, while the other 28% belonging to Sora, Ltd.

Project Sora currently has thirty employees, and is seeking to hire more. Masahiro Sakurai has been named the director of software development for this new s...

The NPD Group before the weekend released the top twenty software and top ten software by platform lists for the January 2009 sales numbers, showing the top rankings in software sales for the month. The top ten rankings for accessory sales are also available.

Numbers are inserted where known.

Top 20 Games of December 2008:
01. [WII] Wii Fit (Nintendo) - 777k
02. [WII] Wii Play (Nintendo) - 415k
03. [WII] Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo) - 292k
04. [360] Left 4 Dead (Electronic Arts) - 243k...

"So, what of the Wii for the future? At Nometet.com we hope that game developers will wise up to what’s good about the Wii, and make a game where you can wave your Wiimote about and make your own moves, where you can use the balance board to shift the centre of gravity of your character, leading to a sweet game not unlike Mirror’s Edge only a lot more advanced. We predict said game will arrive at the same time as the nuclear apolocalypse. Or when people stop worrying about Sarah Palin. The a..."

"There are a couple hundred registered users here, so I figured that I'd give you guys a chance to respond via the comments section and name your top 5 games from last year. Sure, I'm a little late to that party, but by now you've all had time to sit back and contemplate your picks. You don't have to give reasons behind your top 5 (although you can), just list them like this!"

The NPD Group has released their hardware and software numbers for the month of December, representing sales for the United States for the five week period of November 30th to January 3rd.

Notables this month:

• DS breaks PS2's record for most hardware sold in a single month, becoming the first to sell 3 million units (PS2 was 2.7 million)
• Wii Play top seller for both this month and the entirety of 2008
• Mario Kart DS breaks into the top ten this month

Hardware numbers:
NDS: 3040.0k (608.0...

"It's a frequently cited fact that Mario is more recognized worldwide than Mickey Mouse (whoever that is), meaning everyone everywhere should know what he looks like, even if his official look has matured over the years.

But in his near three decades of existing, not every official or officially licensed representation of the mild-mannered jumping guy has stuck with the program. History is rife with Mario drawings that are off, laughably bad or just plain wrong. Take our trip down memory la..."

"Fanboys have been plaguing the Internet for quite some time with their silly propaganda, heinous slander, & a laggard intellect that leaves the rest of us sane humans flabbergasted at the fact that these are the type of people we not only have to deal with on forums or blogs, but also in person typically at retailers where I purchase my games from. I just don't understand the logic behind being a fanboy, I mean the way I see it it's a lose lose situation. These companies do not compensate you..."

"Let’s not forget about the console wars! There are sale charts, there are fanboys slamming other fanboys’ data, there are all sorts of ways to “decide” the winner of the console wars… One of them is, of course, checking the exclusive games and that’s exactly what we’re planning to do now. So, the battle is on: PS3 vs. Xbox 360 vs. Wii – which console has the best exclusives?"

"We look at the top 12 games from several platforms in order to determine which are the Top 12 Overall Games for 2008, and you might just be surprised at the ‘overall’ winner for 2008 - coming from an Xbox site. OXCGN (aka XboxOZ360-gamer) has always maintained that the staff are “gamers” - not fanbois. Most have more than 2 consoles and platforms to play games on and simply enjoy ‘gaming’ period.

So what better way to round off the year than to take a look at what we believe to be th..."

"Gaming is absolutely an obsession for many of us, but this feature is all about saluting those people - the guys and gals who take it to the next level. The freaks (and we mean that in the nicest possible way) with the talent, creativity and - importantly - time, to create truly mind-blowing gaming projects that become part of gamer culture. Today we're going to showcase ten of the most impressive, hilarious and breathtaking creations to emerge from the DIY scene."

"

1. Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
2. Monopoly
3. Mario Kart Series
4. Castle Crashers
5. Super Smash Bros. Series
6. Rock Band
7. Wii Sports

"

Stuck for buying a game this Christmas Wii owners? Be stuck no more! There's a great variety of games out there just waiting to be bought and played. The Christmas list is separated into four categories "bargains for the cheap, essentials to prevent embarrassment, socializers to bring everyone together and epics to log the hours". Each game has the name, a picture, price, rating and a description.

What will you buy this Christmas?

Do you enjoy games with collectibles? Then this list may be just the thing for you! Whether it's collecting letters, fossils or skulls these games are the top providers for those who love a good scavenger hunt. Collectibles have always made for good fun and lengthening gameplay, so here's the twelve best for you by gamedaily.com.

Australia gets to see its software sales for 16th of November! What topped the all consoles category? Surprisingly it's the game that's had a lot of criticism, Wii Music! Call of Duty: World at War then took second and third place on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 respectively.

Wii Music also topped the Wii section. This was followed by the popular Guitar Hero: World Tour and then the ever well selling Wii Fit.

Brain Training has done well again on the Nintendo DS taking first. MySims K...

Software Sales for the week ending on November 9th for Australia are in! The winner, Gears of War 2 for Xbox 360! This was followed by Smackdown Vs Raw 2009 for Playstation 2 in second and Wii Play for the Nintendo Wii in third.

Wii Play also took out top on the Wii chart, Mario Kart and Wii Fit still going strong in second and third respectively.

Nintendo DS top sellers were obviously for the more intellectual customer. Number one was Sight Training followed by Brain Training and More...

Iran White of wiirincontrol.com discusses how Super Smash Bros. Brawl was a big improvement, but it's not perfect. He outlines how it is flawed, the online experience being a disappointment.

The idea was what was said to be lacking in the last edition of the series. It would add massive reply value, along with the obvious that you could take on anyone around the world.

So what brings it down? It's constantly plagued by lag, you're a lucky gamer when you have a lag-free match with frien...

"What I think (and this is of course my interpretation; I'm not trying to put words in Leigh's mouth) is that in the case of games that are different in some way (like a new IP, or a sequel from a new developer as in the case of "Silent Hill: Homecoming"), a lot of videogame critics obsess about the small stuff because they don't like the big picture. Here's my best example: "The Simpsons Game." Yes, it had some camera problems and yes the gameplay wasn't too fresh. But it was a parody of vide..."

Bret Elston over at GamesRadar goes through the changes in the size (both general and relative) of one of the oldest and our favorite hero/villan pairs in video gaming history- Mario and Bowser.

From the original NES games to the new Wii releases - things have gotten a little different throughout the years.

"1. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
2. Super Mario Galaxy
3. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
4. Okami
5. Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure
6. Super Paper Mario
7. de Blob
8. Wii Fit
9. Super Smash Bros. Brawl
10. Resident Evil 4
11. Wario Land: Shake It!
12. SSX Blur
13. Scarface: The World is Yours
14. Trauma Center: New Blood
15. Boom Blox
16. Medal of Honor Heroes 2
17. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
18. No More Heroes
19. Mario Kart Wii
20. Excite Truck"

No this isn't a article ripping off Super Smash Brothers. In fact this is the first episode of a series called "There Will Be Brawl". Videos which show a side of Brawl you don't see on your Nintendo Wii. Luigi is selling mushrooms, Mewtwo is a gang boss and the Ice Climbers have become muscles for hire. If nothing else it has high production values for a video of its kind. Check it out at the source. Oh and there is swearing, yes swearing.

Australian software sales for the week of September the 21st for all consoles, the Wii and the Nintendo DS.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed heavily dominated the all consoles top ten, also managing a respectable second on the top ten Wii games from being beaten by Wii Fit which also managed third being the best all console seller other than Star Wars. Wall-E managed top spot for the DS chart closely followed by Cooking Guide: Can't Decide What To Eat.

Overall the Nintendo Wii was by far ...

GameVideos has recently posted up a video about Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It's a compilation of a number of glitches and bugs present within the game on the Nintendo Wii.

Who would you like to see in the next installment for the Super Smash Bros. series?

One blogger named Shane Burley has written his wish list. He has six suggestions all up, with his number one being Mega Man!

IGN is reporting that Nintendo of America has scheduled a press event that will span across two days, October 2nd and 3rd. Details and possible announcements are currently unknown and was not given out by the company. However, this coincides with multiple sources stating that Nintendo of Japan will have their press conference on the same day. Could we see some megatons?

Last year's fall press conference brought us news such as Sonic in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Monster Hunter 3 Wii-exclu...

"Before the over the top, logo heavy madness of today’s next-gen masterpieces became the visual norm for video game cover art, there was the basic beauty of the Atari 2600’s approach to package design. Clean composition and vague descriptive text came together to create something that was just so…intangibly fresh and mesmerizing."

"It's hard to say if the last week of the Olympics gave Segas' Beijing 2008 - The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games a boost, but that hasn't stopped the PlayStation 3 version of the game moving up four spots from the previous week, into sixth spot. The Xbox 360 version of Beijing 2008 also made it into the charts, though at the much lower position of number 10. Nintendo's Brain Training series are regular contenders in the charts, with Dr Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brai..."

"Through Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, a vast number of Target Smash!! and Home-Run Contest submissions have poured in from players of all regions.

I distribute one submission per day, but it's not really obvious which submissions are setting records, is it?

To that end, I put together a list of the world records for each character for you to take a look at. The data is current as of the end of July, 2008.

"What?! How did someone pull THAT off?" ...I'm sure most of the records will surpr..."

In a surprise press release today, sales trackers NPD Group, Enterbrain and GfK Chart-Track Limited have announced that they will be collaborating on an all new Top Global Markets Report for video game sales, which will combine the trackers' US, Japan, and UK data, respectively, in a sales ranking chart to track the global sales of video games. They are currently working on incorporating the other countries they cover, namely Canada (NPD) and the rest of Europe (GfK). This is the one of the...

"Video game characters are increasingly becoming the poster children for gym membership. With most of gaming’s heroes and heroines being chiseled, pert and with cheek bones you could grate cheese on, there seems to be less and less room for the more gelatinous gentleman in the industry.

That’s why we thought we’d celebrate those characters who said no to Atkins and still managed to pull off moves that would shame most gold-winning Olympians. But while they might seem fighting fit on your..."

"Sales for Nintendo Co.'s Super Smash Bros. Brawl for Wii rose on Mon. following a 20 percent price cut at retailer Amazon.com.

By Mon. evening, Smash Bros. Brawl held a sales increase of 1,200 percent to rank at No. 2 at Amazon's Video Games division.

The title, which was released in Mar., is selling for $39.99, down from an MSRP of $49.99.

Brawl is the latest entry in the popular franchise that pits characters from the Nintendo universe into a melee match.

It includes new online ..."

Curious about what's selling in the UK right now? Chart Track has you covered with an all-format list. The attached image shows us what's doing good (Soul Calibur IV, Big Beach Sports, Call of Duty 4, New Super Mario Bros., NFS: ProStreet) and what's waning (Lego Indiana Jones, Super Smash Bros., Metal Gear 4, Race Driver). Check it out!

Nintendo Magic over at Flickr has uploaded some pretty cool Nintendo-related cosplay for us to view! These pictures range from Jigglypuff the Pokemon, Daisy of the Mario series, even to Snake who is in Super Smash Bros. Brawl!

"It’s been almost a year since Nintendo stepped onto the stage of their E3 2007 press conference and threw the industry a curveball with their new take on gaming.

Let’s run down some of the major announcements at last year’s conference:

* “Wii Fit” revealed and demoed
* “Super Smash Bros. Brawl,” “Super Mario Galaxy” release dates
* Wii Zapper announced
* “Mario Kart Wii” and wheel peripheral shown

More importantly, Nintendo did the opposite of their wild..."

"10. Wii Play (Wii) 411,416 copies
9. Mario Kart DS (DS) 416,935 copies
8. Mario Party DS (DS) 497,547 copies
7. Wii Sports (Wii) 544,958 copies
6. Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3) 576,437 copies

Not sure which is more impressive: A month old game like MGS4 making it into the top ten or a two and a half year old game like Mario Kart DS doing it. YOU DECIDE! Hit the jump for the top five.

5. Pokémon Ranger: Battonage (DS) 576,467 copies
4. Wii Fit (Wii) 1,443,167 copies
3. Mario Kart Wii (..."

"In an interview with Official Nintendo Magazine in the United Kingdom, Masahrio Sakurai, director for Super Smash Bros. Brawl told the magazine that at one point, Brawl's roster was much larger.

The interview, which will be available in it's entirety this Friday when the magazine is released, has Sakurai saying "I had a lot more characters, for example..", but he said that as the game moved closer to completion, more and more characters had to be cut, leaving gamers with the roster the fin..."

"With E3 around the corner, everyone can speculate all they want about what’s really coming, but no one knows for sure. Nintendo needs to live up their word of satisfying the “core” gamer. Up until now, they’ve essentially left hardcore gamers on the back burner. Casual is what they’re aiming for, but neglecting those who got you here won’t help.

What bothers me about this is Nintendo’s definition of a “core” gamer. Back in early May, Nintendo Senior Marketing Director in Europe, L..."

"There has been a new commerical on Australian TV showing four dazzlingly white toothed, good looking 'Friends' completely immersed in the new Wii game Super Smash Bros Brawl.
Slightly out of focus in back of shot a girl player looks to be having a better time than Meg Ryan at a coffee shop with Tom Hanks. I realise that Nintendo believe they are a girl friendly console, but are we really expected to believe that your girlfriend or sister (hopefully they are different people) is going to get..."

"You know the score. All your favourite Nintendo characters jammed in to one game blowing each other to pieces until only one remains etc.. A simple formula, but a very effective and successful formula. The Supersmash Bros. series is famed for its pick-up-and-play nature with easy to figure out controls and a learning curve of about 5 minutes for first time players. Because of this, it fast grew in to one of Nintendo’s most popular titles and one of the best multiplayer games available on Nin..."

To round out his look at the strengths of the DualShock 3 and the 360 Wireless, Fuchal of NextGG.com offers his reasons behind the WiiMote officially 'rocking'...

"Until recently, Microsoft could brag about how Live was by far the most feature-complete online service on any platform, with a unified Friends list, the best online shop, voice and video chat as standard and a consistent and stable online experience. But in recent months there’s been a shift in the market, and even bigger changes are coming. Microsoft is the only player to charge for online play, and their policy has landed some of the best online games on the 360... but as PC and PlayStati..."

"HW
PlayStation 3 208.7K
PlayStation Portable 182.3K
Xbox 360 186.6K
Wii 675.1K
Nintendo DS 452.6K

SW Top 10
Top 10 SKU's May 2008 Rank # Units
(includes CE, GOTY editions, bundles, etc.)
360 GRAND THEFT AUTO IV TAKE 2 INTERACTIVE (CORP) APR 2008 1 871.3K
WII MARIO KART W/ WHEEL NINTENDO OF AMERICA APR 2008 2 787.4K
WII FIT W/ BALANCE BOARD NINTENDO OF AMERICA MAY 2008 3 687.7K
PS3 GRAND THEFT AUTO IV TAKE 2 INTERACTIVE (CORP) APR 2008 4 442.9K
WII PLAY W/ REMOTE NINTENDO OF AME..."

"Who'd have thought that drinking and the Wii would go so well together? Nintendo is hosting a Wii Sports Boxing contest in New York City at a bar called Sutton Place at 1015 2nd Ave., on Thursday, June 12, at 7 pm.

Don't expect to see two muscular brutes slug it out with Wii controllers though--this contest is reserved for women only. Participants will have a chance to win a Wii by boxing friends, colleagues, or anyone else who wants to be the next million-dollar baby."

"Re-affirming the “Nintendo hates Europe” tag for so many Wii owners this year was the delay between the release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl in North America and the region (it’ll now reach Europe on June 27). To try and justify the wait, Nintendo’s Laurent Fischer spoke to Official Nintendo Magazine, and explained that localisation is more than just “swapping over some words.”

Laurent explained:

“Every time you go through localisation you then have to put it through a test, wh..."

"U.S. Video Games Industry - April 2008

April 2007 April 2008 YTD Apr 07 YTD Apr 08
Video Games $839 million $1.23 billion 47.0% $4.18 billion $5.47 billion 31.0%
Video Games Hardware $339.2 million $426.2 million 26.0% $1.62 billion $1.84 billion 13.0%
Video Games Software $389.4 million $654.7 million 68.0% $1.97 billion $2.88 billion 46.0%
Video Game Accessories $110.4 million $154 million 39.0% $584.4 million $750.6 million 29.0%

Hardware
PlayStation 2 124.4K
PlayStation 3 1..."

"The game features a large cast of characters like Meta Knight, Pit, Zero Suit Samus, Wario and even Snake. The previous game, Super Smash Bros. Melee, was developed for the GameCube and it is considered by Nintendo one of its best-selling games of all time."

"PSP　99000
Wii　49000
DSL　40000
PS3　11000
PS2　7800
360　1900

1.Mario Kart Wii　143000　(952000)
2.MHP2G　120000　(1851000)
3.Senjou no Valkyria (PS3)　78000
4.Taiko no Tatsujin DS 2　60000
5.Summon Night (DS)　44000
6.WiiFit　36000 (1890000)
7.Bokura ha Kaseki-Horida (DS)　25000　(65000)
8.DS Bi-Mozi Training　22000　(185000)
9.Musou Orochi: Maou Sairin (PS2)　18000　(332000)
10.Pokémon Ranger: Batonnage (DS)　17000　(463000)

11 DS NARUTO 15000
12.Mario Kart DS　14000　2979000
13.Pro Baseba..."

"Like a piece of gum that’s lost its flavor and causes your jaw to ache more with every labored chew, Super Smash Bros. Brawl fever has cooled. Gamers have moved on to bigger, better things and are eagerly anticipating other Nintendo ventures (Mario Kart Wii, anyone?). But before you shelve Brawl for good, be sure to squeeze the last ounce of fun from this shiny game disc - savor every moment, every movement and every loading screen. Or, if you can’t bring yourself to do that, at least compl..."

"As spring bounds in and summer edges closer, a range of new titles make their way on to the Nintendo DS and Wii. With some familiar faces, as well as brand new experiences on both consoles, there will be something for everyone to enjoy over the coming months

From fitness to finding the ultimate brawler, an exciting line up of titles is heading to the Wii over the next few months! The much-anticipated European launch of Wii Fit arrives on Wii 25 April. Bundled with the pressure sensitive Wi..."

"Retailers are having trouble selling new games on Wii because publishers are relying on traditional advertising methods for videogames, an analyst has said.

Retailers have expressed concerns in a recent New York Times article, which investigated how many games were being sold for Nintendo's console.

Speaking about Super Smash Bros. Brawl, GameStop employee Xavier Pervez said, "We sold a couple thousand copies in the first week, [but] it's dropped off significantly now. Maybe 100 in each..."

"Industry Sales
Mar-07 Mar-08 CHG
Total Video Games $1.1B $1.7B 57%
Video Games Hardware $377.9M $551.3M 46%
Video Games Software $579.1M $945.6M 63%
Video Game Accessories $139.5M $220M 58%

HW Sales

Hardware Mar-08
PlayStation 2 216K
PlayStation 3 257K
PlayStation Portable 297K
Xbox 360 262K
Nintendo DS 698K
Wii 721K

SW Sales
Top-Selling VG Software - March 2008

Platform Title Publisher Release Date March Units
WII SUPER SMASH BROS: BRAWL NINTENDO OF AMERICA Mar-08 2..."

"Remember when that little game nobody paid any attention to called Super Smash Bros. Brawl came out ... it was last month, remember? Well, GameStop helped promote the indie title by holding a tournament to support the game's fanbase and raise awareness. According to GameStop, the tournament had over 75,000 players and, following a couple semi-final rounds across the country, culminated last weekend in San Jose with Lee Martin of Houma, Lousiana, emerging victorious."

"This Smash blog has spanned about 300 posts in almost 11 months, but now it is time to say goodbye.

Before creating this site, I knew I wanted it to be updated 5 days a week and support several languages. It was clear that this would be a massive scale for a website dedicated to a single game.

A lot of people around me were particularly concerned when I told them I planned to write blog posts while development was ongoing and continue to provide updates. Some argued, some just looked co..."

"I can't count the number of times I've heard people talk about getting bested at a videogame by a kid. These stories typically involve people in their thirties (or much older) playing games with their sons/daughters (or nieces/nephews or younger sisters/brothers or younger cousins or friends' sons/daughters, etc.) and getting totally dominated, which then leads them to write on their blogs or talk to their friends about how they can't believe how good this kid is at playing videogames. We've ..."

"Thanks for all of your submissions!

Please understand that snapshots depicting inappropriate content or containing inappropriate comments will not be eligible for selection.

To this point, I’ve received a great number of screenshots that focus on peeking at the undergarments of certain Brawl combatants. So let me just say it again—shots like these will never be posted to the Dojo or sent out to users via the Smash Service."

"When it came time to pop the question, reader Brian Klima did it right. No scoreboard message at a baseball game, no skywriting, no jewelry buried in the dessert. He proposed marriage to his one true love with all the charm and romance that is Super Smash Bros. Brawl Grab your hankies and hit the jump.

In Brian's words:

"I came home from work with the ring on Wednesday, and while she was attending her grad school classes, I got to work on a custom level that would successfully convey my..."

"You may have noticed that the game mode called The Subspace Emissary does not feature any dialogue. It’s still fun that way, but there may have been some story-related items that didn’t fully make sense.

So let me tell you some of the story background you couldn’t have gleaned from the movies. There are some big spoilers here, including the final boss, so you may want to skip this post if you haven’t beaten it yet!"

"Ok Ok Ok, I know some of you have heard our shows, and read our articles. I know by now it may seem that we are out to destroy Nintendo and everything it stands for, but that is far from the truth. I like that Nintendo is about family much like in the vain of Disney, however Disney has shown that it has the abillity to offer adult content without insulting our intelligence. I don’t think the same can be said for the “Big N”.

Now before I get knocked in the head with your hate, we all ca..."

"01./00. [PSP] Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (Capcom) - 880,468 / NEW
02./01. [NDS] Pokémon Ranger: Batonnage (Pokémon) - 105,855 / 348,000
03./00. [NDS] Mobile Suit Gundam 00 (Bandai-Namco) - 48,646 / NEW
04./05. [WII] Wii Fit (Nintendo) - 41,837 / 1,794,000
05./00. [PSP] Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion: Lost Colors (Bandai-Namco) - 34,472 / NEW
06./07. [WII] Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Nintendo) - 34,180 / 1,524,000
07./00. [PS2] Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion: Lost Colors (B..."

"When they’re all lined up like this, it becomes obvious that there is roughly 6-year blank before and after Pikmin. While there have been big series since then like "Animal Crossing," "Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day," and "Wii Sports" it does seem that coming up with a completely new character-driven series has gotten more difficult recently"

"01. Pokémon Ranger: Batonnage (DS) - 242,000 / NEW
02. Deca Sports (Wii) - 65,000 / NEW
03. Armored Core: For Answer (PS3) - 54,000 / NEW
04. SimCity DS 2: Kodaikara Mirai e Tsudzukumachi (DS) - 49,000 / NEW
05. Wii Fit (Wii) - 48,000 / 1,752,000
06. Tales of Rebirth (PSP) - 47,000 / NEW
07. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii) - 41,000 / 1,490,000
08. Crayon Shin-Chan: Arashi o Yobu Cinema Land (DS) - 35,000 / NEW
09. DS Bimoji Training (DS) - 35,000 / 101,000
10. Time Hollow: Uwareta Kak..."

"It’s a really great premise, but, by the end a few things hold it back from really reaching the pedestal worthy of its star power. The SSE mode is a really great addition to "Brawl", and an impressive evolution of the adventure mode from "Melee", but some glaring problems stand out.

Nevertheless, I want a sequel. I’ll explain why."

"Never mind all the options. I now know the best way to control “Super Smash Bros. Brawl.”"

"Game reviewers are taken to task often brutally if the readership catches even a whiff of bias. Lately, discussions of game journalism have revolved around whether reviewers should be “fully objective” or not – as if such a thing were possible. Game reviewers are cut of the same cloth as their audience, and having made their career out of it, might even be more likely than the audience is to have a few hairs rise on the back of their neck at the sound of the Hyrule Overworld theme, no matt..."

"The Wii was given to the winner of the Super Smash Bros Brawl Competition. We used over 20,000 Swarovski Crystals to create this unique design. Retail price is $4,000."

"Loved:
* Tons of Characters: Impressive from the get go, once you've unlocked all of the characters that Super Smash Bros. Brawl has to offer you'll have one of the greatest assemblages of video game legends of all time at your disposal.
* Excellent Music: The musical talent assembled for the game reads like a who's who of famous Japanese game composers. Akihiro Honda, Koji Kondo, Yoko Shimomura - the soundtrack alone is worth the $50 price tag.
* Their Level Design, Your Level Design: As ..."

"At the initial menu’s you have the choice to play a match with registered friends or anyone from god knows where. This is where Ninty’s online implementation takes a nose dive. Now I’m not sure if the servers were flooded because EVERYONE was trying to get their online Brawl on, but initially I gave up trying to connect a random match because for the first half hour I attempted, it would leave me stuck on the screen before the stage started and then say that the connection was dropped."

"Looks like Super Smash Bros Brawl is having some problems working on a few Wii out there. We've only received a handful of complaints about this here at Kotaku, but it's a big enough problem that Nintendo already has a site set up to deal with the problem in North America.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl utilizes a double-layer disc which has a large memory capacity. A very small percentage of Wii consoles may have trouble consistently reading data off this large capacity disc if there is some..."

"Xbox 360:

Condemned 2: Bloodshot

Pro Evolution Soccer 2008

PS3:

Condemned 2: Bloodshot

Pro Evolution Soccer 2008

Nintendo Wii:

Super Smash Bros Brawl

House of the Dead 2 and 3 Returns

George of the Jungle

PS2:

Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters

Pro Evolution Soccer 2008

WWE Smackdown vs Raw Superstar

Buzz! The Hollywood Quiz

Buzz Jr. Robo Jam

El Tigre

George of the Jungle

Sprint Cars 2: Showdown at Eldora

World Heroes Anthology

PSP:

Pro Evolution Soccer 2008

World C...

"

"01./00. [PS2] Gundam Musou Special (Bandai-Namco) - 149,846 / NEW
02./01. [WII] Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Nintendo) - 67,007 / 1,358,000
03./03. [WII] Wii Fit (Nintendo) - 64,429 / 1,610,000
04./00. [NDS] Soma Bringer (Nintendo) - 50,844 / NEW
05./00. [360] The Idolm@ster: Live for You! (Bandai-Namco) - 43,697 / NEW
06./02. [NDS] Etrian Odyssey II: The Royal Grail (Atlus) - 24,664 / 94,000
07./04. [PSP] Musou Orochi (Koei) - 24,350 / 71,000
08./05. [NDS] Harvest Moon: Shining Sun and Fr..."

"Masahiro Sakurai and his team at Sora have drowned the fighter in high-caliber presentational extras, from a superb soundtrack to gorgeous full-motion cut-scenes. These, coupled with all of the characters and stages to see and master, the many unlockable trophies and stickers, the stage builder, the screenshot and replay tools, and so much more, combine for an exceptionally deep experience overrun with replay value.

You will play the game to death when you get it. But unlike so many singl..."

"Our resident retail mole and NWR Forums regular UncleBob has informed us that his Walmart store has already received shipments of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Nintendo's all-star fighter for Wii. This delivery, and presumably many other deliveries in the Walmart chain of stores, comes eleven days ahead of the official March 9 North American release date of the game.


A pallet full of Super Smash Bros. Brawl,currently residing in
an unidentified Walmart warehouse.

Walmart computers will no..."

"Nintendo love spills from every pore and the multiplayer can't be beat, but Smash Bros risks growing too familiar. It never breeds contempt, but it doesn't quite muster that Galaxy magic."

"

"

"Speaking to 1UP, Reggie answered a question regarding why Wii Fit and Mario Kart was coming to Europe first by saying, "Yeah, but they don't get Smash Brothers until fall."

Reggie cited the reason as a production problem, claiming that Nintendo would have to open and convert new factories in order to step up disc duplication, which would no doubt prove costly and wasteful in the long run."

"REDMOND, Wash., Feb. 13, 2008 - Attention all Smash fans: Put up your dukes! Just before the launch of the much-anticipated Super Smash Bros.® Brawl, Mario™ and friends are hosting four regional Wii™ tournaments. The competitions will visit Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston and finally New York for a Midnight Madness Launch event at the Best Buy store at 622 Broadway in New York. All of the 256 participants at each location will receive a $10 Best Buy gift card. One lucky grand prize winn..."

"Mashing buttons equals victory
Say what you will about the different attacks and the interactive stages, but Super Smash Bros. Brawl is nothing but a glorified button masher. We're sure that throwing a well-timed Pokeball will often lead to success, but with so much going on, especially with F-Zero racers knocking into you and waves of lava swallowing everyone up, it'll be difficult to get your bearings, let alone become a hardcore master.

Star Fox overkill
Although we don't mind three c..."

"01./00. [WII] Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Nintendo) - 819,647 / NEW
02./00. [PS3] Devil May Cry 4 (Capcom) - 205,390 / NEW
03./00. [PS2] Tales of Destiny: Director's Cut (Bandai-Namco) - 116,928 / NEW
04./00. [PS2] Haruhi Suzumiya's Wonderment (Banpresto) - 114,335 / NEW
05./01. [WII] Wii Fit (Nintendo) - 73,325 / 1,356,000
06./00. [PS3] Disgaea 3 (Nippon Ichi Software) - 54,596 / NEW
07./00. [360] Devil May Cry 4 (Capcom) - 40,023 / NEW
08./04. [NDS] Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games ..."

"Super Smash Bros. Brawl is more aptly named Melee 1.1:
At the end of the day, it all boils down to one verdict: too much rehashing, and too little "new" content, filler aside. Of course, there's the old saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," but personally, I couldn't help but feel a tinge of disappointment. Franchises are meant to evolve, especially a 10-year-old one like Smash Bros. For those who wanted a Melee 1.1, that's great, but I'd rather have stuck to the original instead of she..."

"NGamer has compiled a reason for every letter of the alphabet why Super Smash Bros. Brawl will be one of the best games of 2008."

"This is a huge week in sales for Japan. Smash Brothers sold roughly 1,000,000 units in its debut week, but two other titles debuted with sales of over 100,000 – including Devil May Cry 4 which hit 205,000 for PS3. The Smash Brothers debut is the largest opening week in Japan in at least nine months. Adjusted for their console bases, Smash Brothers reached about 20% of Wii owners in week one, while Devil May Cry 4 reached about 11% of all PS3s owners (and a comparable number of Xbox 360 ow..."

"Brawl has a lot to live up to. A lot. Not to mention pushed back release dates and rushed shipments.
This is the game many Wii owners have been waiting for. But does it live up to those expectations? Yes, yes it does.

When you're in the thick of it, the PR machine is a little off putting — unless you've already made up your mind that SSBB is going to be ZOMG great.

Just as Super Mario Galaxy turned traditional platform gaming on its ear, SSBB sticks by those conventions and sticks by ..."

"This is not a vast change for the series. From a basic gameplay standpoint, you're getting the same experience you got in Super Smash Bros. Melee on the Gamecube, though it's ben refined and improved from just about every front.

Here are some of the newbies you start out with:
Pit (Kid Icarus) - Feels like a mash-up of Link and Kirby, Pit dual-wields a pair of swords, but he can also whip out a bow and arrow to take you down from long range. His wings are for easy saves when you're knocke..."

"As Super Smash Bros. Brawl (SSBB) fans in North America anxiously await the March 9 launch of the highly anticipated title, the wait in Japan is over. Japanese gamers came by the masses throughout Tokyo today to pick up a copy of the game, with shortages now appearing evident in the region."

"01./01. [WII] Wii Fit (Nintendo) - 89,248 / 1,283,000
02./00. [PSP] World Soccer Winning Eleven: Ubiquitous Evolution 2008 (Konami) - 76,669 / NEW
03./00. [PS2] Lucky Star: Misasagi Sakura Gakuen Sakura Fuji Festival (Kadokawa Shoten) - 71,512 / NEW
04./02. [NDS] Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games (Nintendo) - 50,169 / 140,000
05./04. [WII] Wii Sports (Nintendo) - 25,788 / 2,714,000
06./03. [NDS] Mario Party DS (Nintendo) - 21,840 / 1,581,000
07./05. [PSP] Monster Hunter Portable 2nd ..."

"After reports emerged of Brawl encountering errors upon booting (and also of sluggish video playback), Nintendo have sat down, looked at the problem and decided that problem is not on their end. It's on your end! They reckon it's all down a dirty disc lens, caused by a buildup of dust and...tobacco. Other games haven't seen this problem because Smash Bros is one of the few Wii games to date to ship on a super-sensitive, dual-layer DVD. And because Average Joe can't clean a disc lens himself, ..."

"I’ve introduced quite a number of game modes to you here on the Dojo. However, the sheer number of modes is such that I worry I might have confused some of you with all these explanations.

So I decided to rig up a short movie that showcases each mode. There are so many modes that the video moves at a rather brisk pace, but it lets you absorb everything in one quick shot.

... ...Or it might just confuse you further.

Sorry about that, but there’s just so many modes in here, you know?"

"Back before Super Smash Bros. Brawl was released, footage of Nintendo Co., Ltd. in Kyoto and SSBB developer Sora in Tokyo playing each other online surfaced. The online aspect of the game looked very smooth with no lags whatsoever. I'm assuming it is smooth. Assume because I haven't been able to clock a single online brawl.

Sure, the interface is nice and all, but in the last a hour and a half, I've logged on almost twenty times. I have connected to the game's servers, and I have picked my..."

"For those living under rocks, Super Smash Bros. Brawl went on sale today. (Devil May Cry 4, too!) Not all stores in Japan were doing pre-reserves. Know what that means? LINES. In front of the Akihabara Yodobashi Camera, there were a hundred people lined up by 9:00am. The line grew to something like 500 people an hour later. Meanwhile, at the Yodobashi Camera, the first in line got there at midnight. By 6:00am, the line grew to thirty people and mushroomed to 300 people by 9:00am.

We're hea..."

"Iwata
Because we don’t often have the opportunity to sit down and talk about Smash Bros., I’d like to use the last part of this interview to turn back the clock and talk about the start of this series, beginning in 1999 with the Nintendo 64 title Super Smash Bros. You and I were responsible for developing this prototype.

Sakurai
Right. We called it "Kakuto-Geemu Ryuoh" (Dragon King: The Fighting Game)

Iwata
At that point in time, we weren’t utilizing any Nintendo characters, and w..."

"On the eve of Super Smash Bros. Brawl hitting Japan, we've gotten our copy and are starting to dive in! Watch this space for new videos, impressions, and more, as we'll be adding lots as we go.

"

"Mario [Mario Series]
Luigi [Mario Series]
Yoshi [Mario Series]
Peach [Mario Series]
Bowser [Mario Series]
Donkey Kong [Donkey Kong Series]
Kirby [Kirby Series]
Pikachu [Pokemon Series]
Jigglypuff [Pokemon Series]
Fox [StarFox Series]
Falco [StarFox Series]
Zelda/Sheik [Legend of Zelda Series]
Link [Legend of Zelda Series]
Ness [Earthbound Series]
Ice Climbers [Ice Climber Series]
Samus [Metroid Series]
Captain Falcon [F-Zero Series]
Marth [Fire Emblem Series]
Gannondorf [Leg..."

"Looks like this week's release of the Wii fighting game Super Smash Bros. Brawl in Japan is more of a paper launch. Retailers are reporting that Nintendo is only shipping enough games to fill a tiny fraction of retail orders on January 31.

NCS says this means, for example, that vendors who ordered 100 copies of the game will only receive 25.

"Nintendo has badly cut preorders placed by all distributors and is only shipping very limited quantities into the market this week," writes Hong K..."

"n case you didn't know, Brawl was released in Hong Kong last night. Thanks to BrawlCentral.com (Website is down at the moment) to their leaks dozens of pictures along with a few videos. Two characters that are returning without a doubt are Marth And Ness. Which you can see in the following Japanese Introduction to Super Smash Bros. Brawl."

"Thirty Games Worth of Music
Iwata
Let’s talk about music next. The music for the previous Smash Bros. titles was truly amazing, but the music for Smash Bros. Brawl is something else entirely.

Sakurai
You think we went overboard?

Iwata
Maybe just a bit. (laughs)

Sakurai
(laughs)

Iwata
Actually, the department that handles contracts and copyrights said this game has thirty games worth of music.

Sakurai
Wow. Sorry for getting so carried away. (laughs)

Iwata
Naturally t..."

"Sure, it's not the game. It's not even the whole manual. But there's a fever amongst you for all things Super Smash Bros Brawl, and you'll take anything and everything you can get. Like this! Sent through by someone who works at the Seattle printing press that's handling production of the game's Norteamericano manual, this is the raw run-off of some of the manual's pages. Nothing on there that'll really rock your world, but hey, if you lean close enough to the screen I'm sure you can conjure ..."

""

"Final Smash
Iwata
Let’s talk about some of the new fighting features. First and foremost, why don’t we talk about the Final Smash?

Sakurai
Absolutely. I think it’s the biggest feature we added.

Iwata
Can you give us a brief overview?

Sakurai
Simply put, it’s a special move that can be used only once. During a match, there’s a small probability that an item called the Smash Ball will appear. By picking up this item, you can use that character’s Final Smash. People who have ..."

"


Lately, we have heard only good things about Super Smash Brothers Brawl, but now a Japanese game developer who uses the alias “JC Barnett” has expressed concern for the new Nintendo Wii title. Surprisingly, I basically agree with his opinions of Super Smash Brothers Brawl and the Nintendo Wii. He believes that this game will confirm the fact that the Wii is not appealing to hard-core gamers and that future developers need to stick to casual games for the system. He also mentions that ..."

"If a delay didn't hurt enough, reports of a shortage of copies of Super Smash Bros. Brawl should have Japanese gamers clutching their chest and their reserve tickets.

Our sister site Japanator points to a couple of shortage issues that have already arisen in the island country. Japanese game retailer Lepton says that they are only getting 154 copies. We wish them luck in filling their 800+ preorders. Yikes!

J-blog Canned Dogs says that the store is going as far as to purchase copies fro..."

"Iwata
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, there were some big developments for solo play.

Sakurai
Whoops! (laughs) Maybe I did go a bit overboard.

Iwata
It’s just that Smash Bros. has always been played as a fighting game and I didn’t think it would be possible to make the single-player Adventure Mode a primary form of game play. However, I was impressed by how well it turned out. Can you talk about why you were set on developing an Adventure Mode and how you got there?

Sakurai
Well, a..."

"With expectation levels building to an absolute frenzy with Nintendo fans as the retail release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl looms ever larger on the horizon, lucky gamers in Japan will tomorrow (Jan 26) get the opportunity to put the game through its paces courtesy of demo units at 30 country-wide retailers."

"Well, what do we have here...

Several memorable characters compete for brawl supremacy—that’s Super Smash Brothers Brawl in a nutshell.

But what about the past fights for each of those characters? What were they like?

It may sound impossible, but you can experience those battles in Brawl as well!

That’s right, for the first time ever, you can play trial versions of these games by the miracle of Virtual Console!

That’s what Masterpieces is! Here you can relive the greatest b..."

"While it’s true you can battle over Wi-Fi, your connection environment and the distance between players can cause great changes in speed. That fact probably makes you a little uneasy.

So, we conducted an online battle between Nintendo’s headquarters in Kyoto and the development team in Tokyo. The distance between Kyoto and Tokyo...is nearly the same distance between Los Angeles and Las Vegas."

"Ah, the Mushroom Kingdom. Most Smash players recognize this place from previous games in the series, where the world was represented in a pixel-art style reminiscent of the original Super Mario Bros.

But why the "y" on the end of "Mushroom"? What’s the difference?

This time around, we’ve designed a stage that recreates the layout of World 1-1 in Super Mario Bros.—but with rich backgrounds added to the mix.

The kingdom you once knew has turned to ruins over the long years, and it i..."

"If the following screens are true gamers, be prepared to be blown away. As if we needed any more reason to feed our need for this game how about 44 of them! 44 looks to be the magic number of characters playable in the new Smash Bros. Brawl, although none of the screens are confirmed as of this point."

"It’s Manaphy! This Pokémon also appeared in a movie.

This Manaphy is quite different from the other Pokémon that appear in this game. So much so that you’ll think, is this even possible?! Or words to that effect."

"Remember all that talk about a mystery developer being tapped by Nintendo to work on Smash Bros. Brawl? A couple of weeks before the game's Japanese release, and the developer has finally been revealed. When pounding the eggs out of Yoshi as Mario, you'll be experiencing the handy work of the makers of the Grandia and Lunar franchises.

That's right, GameArts! The Japanese developer, known for its RPG series as well as the Sylpheed shooting series is the mystery developer mentioned by Smash..."

"There’s a web page nestled within Nintendo’s official site where Mr. Iwata, President of Nintendo Co. Ltd., interviews other Nintendo employees. This corner of the website is known as "Iwata Asks."

For some reason, I, Masahiro Sakurai, was invited to one of these interviews.

Wha--?

But I’m not a Nintendo employee! I-is this OK? Are we seriously doing this? Oh, is that so? All right, well, if you insist!

I imagine this interview should give you a tiny glimpse behind the curtains..."

"Hello, Everyone. My name is Satoru Iwata, President of Nintendo Co., Ltd. Beginning today, I would like to deliver an interview that explains the vision and the development process behind the creation of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. But before we begin, I would like to offer an apology.

With the completion of the game falling behind schedule, we were unable to keep our promised release date, despite our greatest efforts in attempting to release this game on time. I would like to extend my mos..."

"It’s not everyday we find out new information about Super Smash Bros. Brawl before it’s official on the Dojo. We recently learned of the stickers update on the Dojo, where you can attach stickers to characters to power them up, however some are restricted to certain characters and the details are marked with little icons of the characters face to tell the difference. When some stickers were shown in a recent Japanese Brawl video, the details part was blurred out, but the video was updated w..."

"Use Zelda’s down special move to transform into Sheik! Once you do so, you’ll have access to a new character completely unique from Zelda.

Sheik doesn’t appear in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, but we based her model on a design that was drafted up during the development of that game."

"As if you couldn't be any more excited for Super Smash Bros. Brawl: NeoGAF has scans from Famitsu magazine that show that the game has received a perfect 40/40 review score.

The four reviewers praised the lengthy single-player mode ("you forget the time") and the "surprising" Final Smash super moves.

Yes, it's generally agreed upon that Famitsu scores, and the vast majority of other Japanese magazine coverage, are mostly determined by the exchange of money or other considerations that f..."

"Nintendo UK has refused to comment on whether the recent official delay of Super Smash Bros. Brawl in Japan and the US will impact on the game's as yet unannounced European release.

Earlier today we reported on word from Nintendo that the North American release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl for Wii will now be on March 9, a month later than the previously confirmed February 10 date.

Currently the game is still without a European release date and was missing from Nintendo Europe's most rece..."

"Pikmin’s protagonist, Captain Olimar, was forced to make an emergency landing on this unexplored planet.

Let’s just call it the Distant Planet for now, shall we?

The flooring in the middle of the stage is made of vines and is very bouncy.

As you play, you’ll see numbered Pellets fall from the Pellet Posies around the stage. Grab one of these and throw it into a nearby Onion to get items.

Also, this planet experiences frequent torrential downpours. When things get wet, you’ll w..."

"Super Smash Bros. Brawl, one of the most highly anticipated games of this or any other year, was already delayed from late 2007 until February 10 for North America. Now, reports are pointing to yet another delay, this time to the second week of March."

"Goodness! Captain Olimar joins the fray with five colors of Pikmin in tow! He plucks Pikmin from the ground and they fight as his allies.

Without Pikmin, Olimar can’t even do a Smash Attack. And the short-lived Pikmin tend to scatter. Theirs is a fated symbiotic relationship."

"Dive into a ruthless battle with an army of enemy pawns: the Multi-Man Brawl!

Multi-Man Brawl hosts a wealth of different brawls, including the widely recognized 100-man Brawl.

This is the Multi-Man Brawl menu.

Speaking of the Multi-Man Brawl, what could the enemy team of fighters be this time around? It’s the Fighting Alloy Team!

Red Alloy! He’s not the leader or anything!

Blue Alloy! For some reason she seems kind of gentle.

Yellow Alloy! Those horns are scintillating!
..."

"Expectant Wii fans (im)patiently waiting for the arrival of Super Smash Bros Brawl – and its impressive canon of prominent battling Nintendo characters – are facing the possibility of receiving an advance playable demo of the game via the Wii’s Shopping Channel."

"This is another story I’ve been sitting on, and so far I haven’t seen anything to prove it false. With the Japanese release date quickly approaching, it does make sense that Brawl has gone gold in Japan. Just imagine all the videos and leaks that will happen once the game hits there!"

"In the last game, you plopped the coins you collected into a prize-dispensing machine for a chance to get trophies. That was fine and all, but I got to thinking that there really wasn’t any strategy involved.

So this time, I dropped it. Instead, you’ll be getting your trophies in THIS kind of game!

I dub this the Coin Launcher!

I’m gonna have you play every inch of this game!

That option on the right is the entrance to the Coin Launcher.

That thing down below is the launcher..."

"Wired's annual Vaporware Awards went up yesterday, and because this is the Internet quite a few of the slots went to videogames. But we're not nearly done yet.

We have some slightly different rules for this list. The game in question didn't have to ever have an official 2007 release date attached to it, just as long as the hype coming from the publisher vastly outweighed the substance."

"Well, I really do love Super Smash Brothers. It’s a great series…but, Nintendo hasn’t asked me yet if they can use Mega Man in their game. I’m still waiting…we have a little bit of time left, it’s not coming out for another few months. They might get around to asking us if we’d like to put Mega Man in Super Smash Brothers. Maybe if somebody from Nintendo is listening to this podcast, they’ll give me a call."

"This appears in Metroid Prime. It’s the first spaceship Samus infiltrates.

What you see in the background is the Parasite Queen.

Th-the power went out?!

For a spaceship that just causes trouble, it sure does have a lot of problems.

But what really defines this stage is the way it rotates 180 degrees.

The siren scream is a warning!

Suddenly, it flips...

The terrain inverts!

When the siren goes off, jump into the air to flee.

But when you’re in a pinch, so is your o..."

"The Mario Circuit stage appears! Of course, we HAVE shown it briefly in past movies...

It’s a so-called figure-eight course, and you do battle at the crossing of the 8.

It hurts when the karts racing around the track hit you. They come in from the side and from the back of the screen, so be careful.

When they come from the front, look out below.

When they come from the side, look out above.

The karts are serious about their race. You can get a general idea of their location on..."

"Hotly anticipated Wii title Super Smash Bros. Brawl won't be coming out in Europe until after June 2008, Nintendo has confirmed to VideoGamer.com.

We thought something was up when we noticed the game was absent from Nintendo's updated schedule, distributed to media this morning. This seemed odd considering Mario Kart Wii, another high-profile first-party Wii game, was listed as coming out in Q2.

When contacted by VideoGamer.com a Nintendo spokesperson revealed that SSBB won't be out unt..."

"A selection of different costumes in a beat-'em up is nothing new but when the outfits area s good as those in Smash Bros. Brawl it's something to get excited about. Especially when you see Mario dressed up in his Fire costume.

Each character has six different coloured costumes and you can select them by pressing buttons on the character selection screen. Some of these costumes are brilliant. In addition to Mario we can see Zelda in an old dress, Samus in his Fusion suit and we really lik..."

"The latest sales are in from Japan for the week starting 12/11 and ending 18/11, and surprisingly, the PS3 is holding on in there with its new 40GB model, fighting off Nintendo’s Wii for another week."

"Saki Amamiya appears from Sin & Punishment: Successor to the Earth! This title is currently available via the Virtual Console.

He uses his weapon, the Cannon Sword, which combines a sword and a gun into one to slice and shoot!

As with the original title, he speaks in English.

He rivals just about any main character. There were many requests from users for his inclusion, and he IS pretty cool, so I did what I could to include him. After all, this game does let you enjoy a dream cast o..."

"Even among Smash players, there are some people who just aren’t that good at action games. With that in mind, I’ve been thinking about how I can convey the fun of Smash to newcomers. I’ve been thinking about this type of thing since long before I joined this industry.

So, for this game, I’ve prepared a new kind of mode. It’s called Spectator, and you’ll find it in the With Anyone menu. If I had to describe it in a word, it’s "watching!"

You can enjoy watching matches between othe..."

"If you want to show your opponent a little flair, you can do moves unrelated to battle—it’s called taunting. You do it with the +Control Pad, except when using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk.

This time, you do one of three different taunts, depending on the direction you press the +Control Pad!

There are a variety of patterns for you to enjoy.

With Wii Remote + Nunchuk control, taunts are handled with the 1 Button (up taunt), the 2 Button (down taunt) and the 1 and 2 Buttons simultaneo..."

"Norfair is the location in Metroid where the enemy boss Ridley was. There was a lot of lava, and it seemed like a rather hot area.

Whoa! That looks hot.

As you can imagine, the lava level will indeed rise and cover the platforms. It’s dangerous to touch it.

That dangerous-to-the-touch lava comes flowing from a number of places, so be careful.

The tension rises. Yes.

When the lava wave appears, a single safe area will also appear. If you can get in, you’ll be safe...but surely..."

"Solid Snake wasn't enough for Super Smash Bros. Brawl's star-studied roster; a second Metal Gear Solid character, the uni-eyed Grey Fox has joined the fight! But unfortunately you won't be able to play as him..."

"The summit? The summit of what? If you must know, I suppose it’s the summit of Icicle Mountain. And I guess there are vegetables there after all.

In other words, it’s an Ice Climber stage.

At first glance, it appears to be a normal glacial peak. But after you fight for a while...

A pop! A crack! It’s breaking?!

Th-the terrain is sliding downhill!

It’s finally arrived at the sea. And with a splash, too!

Hmm. Talk about hectic. And rumor has it, you can’t get careless onc..."

"This is the classic single-player mode—hence the name, Classic.

In this mode, you try to clear each stage as you go.

Choose your favorite character and a difficulty level, then start the match!

Fight whoever appears!

The world you fight in is pretty much determined based on stage number. Stage 1 is based on The Legend of Zelda. Stage 3 is based on Pokémon. And each time, the characters are chosen randomly.

You’ll also find the status of enemies and rules of the match vary sl..."

"You can create your own stages this time?! No way. REALLY?! With a feature like that, won’t I be able to play this game forever?!

Those who enjoy a little effort may be able to enjoy this stage builder for the rest of their lives.

You start by choosing the size of the stage, the background pattern, and the music that will play. Oops! Sorry. For music, you’ll only be able to choose from the songs you have available.

Basically, you choose parts from the palette on the side and place ..."

"A handful of tipsters have written in today to let us know about a potential look at one unannounced character who may be appearing in Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii. Accomplished voice actress Alesia Glidewell, who will perform Zero Suit Samus' speaking parts—which I can assume amount to brief proclamations of victory and simple catchphrases—also lists Krystal from Star Fox and Knuckle Joe from the Kirby series in her online resume.

Knuckle Joe has already been confirmed as an Assi..."

"The self-proclaimed king of Dream Land formally joins the brawl! Mechanizing his wooden mallet, he delivers a mighty, earth-shaking blow!

He joins as a member of the heavyweight class alongside Bowser and Donkey Kong. Can he defeat Kirby?!"

"A target-breaking mode has appeared in every game in the Smash series. It’s a mode that challenges you to break ten targets within a given time limit—basically, a game for those who salivate at the thought of speed runs.

It’s outdoors now, giving it a refreshing visual appearance. This time, there are five different maps of varying difficulty—challenges you can take on with your favorite character.

Each of the five maps is distinctive.

Some levels have items as well, so you may ..."

"Speaking to Stephen Totilo of the MTV Multiplayer blog (via Joystiq), Kaplan said the following about the new February 10, 2008 release date:"

"There are only a few nonsense stages in the only "slightly" nonsensical Smash. But there isn’t any stage more nonsensical than this.

PictoChat?! What is THIS?!

It’s a fun little sketch-and-chat software with wireless functionality that’s built into the Nintendo DS!

At first, there’s nothing there. It’s just flat.

Of course, you can climb up on the doodles.

You may get knocked about by side winds.

There may be things you want to ride on moving around.

Hot! HOT! Are th..."

"If you've been religiously following the Smash Dojo updates, much like I have, you'll have noticed that each respective character series has gotten its own icon which would appear in the header of each of the new posts. For instance, Sonic's icon is the hedgehog head:"

"Kiwibox brings you exclusive footage of Super Smash Bros Brawl on the Nintendo Wii from the E for All conference.

"

"Once there was a legendary man. He knocked heavyweight boxers many times his own size to the mat en route to a W.V.B.A. title.

Little Mac appears from Punch Out!

I can do it! I’m the one!

... But isn’t he a little small?

Don’t take him too lightly just because he’s small. There’s an authentic fighter in him.

A fierce dash!

One! Two! Powerful jabs!

And his special move is his uppercut!

Resurrecting this legend for the current generation is something we can all enjo..."

"1. (1 / 1) Dragon Quest IX NDS Square Enix
2. (2 / 2) Final Fantasy XIII PS3 Square Enix
3. (3 / 3) Biohazard 5 PS3 Capcom
4. (4 / 4) Metal Gear Solid 4 PS3 Konami
5. (6 / 6) Monster Hunter 3 Wii Capcom
6. (5 / 5) Super Smash Bros. Brawl Wii Nintendo
7. (7 / 7) Dragon Quest VI NDS Square Enix
8. (8 /10) Dragon Quest IV NDS Square Enix
9. (12/ 9) Lost Odyssey Xbox 360 Microsoft
10. (11/14) Final Fantasy IV NDS Square Enix
11. (9 / 8) Shin Sangoku Musou 5 PS3 Koei
12. (14/20) Dragon..."

"We've touched on this before but today we're being given a bit more information on Smash Bros. photography!

Pause the game at any time during a brawl and you'll be able to take a photo. So if you see anything funny or unusual, all you have to do is press pause and you can capture it forever. Then you can save it to your SD card or send it to friends online via Wi-Fi Connection."

"Without a doubt Smash Bros. Brawl is the most anticipated of the hardcore Nintendo titles hitting Wii thus far. We saw it unveiled at E3, we've watched and waited as daily updates hit the Smash Bros. Dojo, and now we're finally back from our first hands-on with the game. Our analysis: Brawl owns our soul.

Bozon's Impressions:
At the Nintendo Media Summit here in San Francisco, CA, Smash is easily the top playable title. Lines for Brawl are filling fast as titles such as Link's Crossbow Tr..."

So, Nintendo sent out new PR, detailing their new release schedule. Unfortunately, that includes Brawl on Feb. 10

However, there are some very amusing and hidden gems. Assassin's Creed apparently is set to be released February '08, and Advance Wars: Days of Ruin will be releasing on January 21st. There are some delays, including February 4th for Professor Layton (originally Dec. 3). It is shaping up to be a great end of '07/early '08.

Take note that this is a partial list. Most not...

"Smash Bros. Brawl Delayed Until Feb. 10th In North America
by Billy Berghammer
POSTED: 10/11/2007 11:21 AM

hile many Nintendo fans were hoping Super Smash Bros. Brawl would make it stateside this year, after Nintendo held their Fall briefing in Japan earlier this week and announced a delay, people got nervous.

Today at Nintendo's Fall Gamers' Summit they revealed that Super Smash Bros. Brawl will also get pushed back in North America, and be released on February 10th.

Game Informe..."

"First, and most disappointingly, is the news that Super Smash Bros Brawl has been delayed. Japanese gamers will see Mario and co bashing each other about in January next year, but who knows when it'll reach the UK? Hopefully March?"

"The one whose Smash appearance has been most desired dashes in from far away at supersonic speed.

Sonic the Hedgehog crashes headlong into battle!"

Hi folks, Nintendo just let out the big one.

From Ge-maga via IGN, a live-blog of a live-blog of Nintendo's Japanese Fall Press Conference has let loose the megaton.

Here are the notables (Thanks evilmax17 at CAG for list compiling. Thanks!):
Fire Emblem DS
Mario Baseball Wii - Super Mario Stadium Baseball
7,800,000 VC downloads (JPN? Worldwide?)
Pokemon Ranch: Wii Ware, can upload Pokémon from DS to be raised on the Wii.
Dr. Mario: Wii Ware
Nintendo Wii Ware with three screens
...

"NINTENDO NEWS: WANT TO PLAY GALAXY AND BRAWL? VISIT NINTENDO'S BOOTH AT E FOR ALL

Oct. 9, 2007

You might want to get in line for Nintendo's booth at the E for All Expo now.

Nintendo will be showing a huge lineup of cool games for both Wii™ and Nintendo DS™, including the hugely anticipated Super Mario® Galaxy and Super Smash Bros. ® Brawl. The Oct. 18-22 event at the Los Angeles Convention Center will be the first opportunity for the public to get their hands on these games and t..."

"I will announce this right here, right now. In Adventure Mode: The Subspace Emissary, you can also play with two players simultaneously!

So, whether you’re siblings or close friends, two can play together.

Of the two, one will be the protagonist. Essentially, the camera follows the protagonist, so the other player has to keep up.

Basically, it is the same as a standard Smash brawl, so if you take damage and get knocked off the screen, you lose a life.

However, this mode features ..."

"The Dojo updated this morning with an update sure to please Mother/Earthbound fans. Sakurai confirmed that Lucas, the star of the Japanese-only Mother 3, will be joining the Brawl roster. Perhaps this exposure of the character will help Mother 3 release well in the US, so could a release date not be far off? But what about the fans of Ness? Chances of him returning are sort of slim now, but it’s still possible as Sakurai even teases on the issue in his post."

"It’s Mr. Resetti from Animal Crossing. At long last he makes his appearance!

I’m just going to come out and say it: when Mr. Resetti appears, all he does is lecture you. Whether you’ve reset the game or not, he just lectures...

With Mr. Resetti, you can enjoy these terribly appreciated lectures even in Smash. He’s an Assist Trophy like no other."

"The legendary mercenary makes his miraculous Smash debut! This law-breaking news roared around the world.

He comes fully loaded with cool and showy weapons that only he could possess. Couple them with these different worlds, and it will clear a path to new horizons."

"A younger version of Snake is seen hovering down into battle before squaring off against Super Mario’s arch nemesis, one King Bowser, in what appears to be a bout taking place outside the Mushroom Kingdom’s royal residence. The earlier trailer saw the Metal Gear Solid star hiding in his trademark cardboard box, but whether it has been included in the main game is not yet known."

"This game supports Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. If you connect your Wii to the Internet, you can enjoy linked battles with distant people!
There are two primary connection methods. The names of these methods are "With Friends" and "With Anyone." The menus and structures of each method are pretty different.
Wii friends who have registered one another’s names can play together freely. If you’re registered as friends, you can check each other’s status. If a friend is online and you earn his ..."

"A young girl from the Sacae plains, Lyn (whose true name is Lyndis) makes a guest appearance from the Game Boy Advance game Fire Emblem.

She wields what looks like a classical Japanese sword, so she’s similar to Samurai Goroh, but her sword strokes are a little different from his reckless slashing.

You’ll get helplessly cut down if you suffer a solid blow from this blade. If you call her forth as your ally, grab your enemies to make them easier for her to hit."

"The previous game, Super Smash Bros. Melee, featured Pokémon Stadium, but it’s been upgraded for this game into Pokémon Stadium 2.

This time around, you’ll see guest Pokémon appearing in the background.

But as time passes, the terrain transforms into four different types:
"Electric," "Ground," "Flying," and "Ice."

For these four transformations, we’ve chosen types that were not present in Melee.

Terrain that changes suddenly makes fights excitingly unpredictable."

"Characters like Pit, Meta Knight and the Pokémon Trainer’s Charizard are envied at first glance for their wings.

Rumor has it they can use those wings to sail through sky like gliders. But that can’t be true, can it?

Magnificent!

From the perspective of the rules of Smash, I sense that mastering this skill could be quite beneficial. That is, IF you can master it...

You don’t have to hold down the jump button, though. At the peak of your midair jump, you can also rapidly tilt t..."

"It’s the old enemy of the Star Fox team, Andross! He appears here in his original form, the one with the most impact.

Whoa! He’s huge."

According to the official Havok website, the upcoming Wii entry to the Super Smash Bros. series will use 'Havok Physics.' By using dynamical simulation, Havok allows for more lifelike worlds and animation, such as ragdoll physics. Brawl is the first game in the series to use Havok Physics.

Also on the list of Wii games using Havok Physics is Disaster: Day of Crisis, Nintendo's upcoming action-survival game.

"Donkey Kong’s pal has finally joined the battle! Unfortunately, screenshots fail to truly capture the way he moves.

He scrambles around the battle, using whimsical fighting moves while wielding both his Rocketbarrel Boost and Peanut Pop Gun!"

"The videogame industry’s annual summer drought is finally coming to an end (Editor Stevie has been dreading his weekly New Releases post for months), and the collective sighs of relieved retailers is now audibly mixing with the breathy anticipation of developers gearing up to unleash their wares upon the expectant masses.

In celebration of 2007’s richest gaming months still being ahead of us, this lowly writer discusses which of the big three home consoles (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Ninte..."

"No way! The Pokémon Trainer has finally arrived. And it looks like he doesn’t do his fighting directly.

Instead, he uses the three Pokémon with him—Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard—to do the fighting for him.

The Pokémon Trainer watches from the background.

He needs to use his three Pokémon to fight. So the only ones who fight directly are the Pokémon.

I guess you could say using this character is like playing three for the price of one!

And the Pokémon Trainer uses a ..."

"Super Smash Bros. Brawl: The Subspace Emissary is a robust side-scrolling action game!

More than anything, Smash Bros. is a competitive action game. People have been kind enough to praise its multiplayer, but we’ve never been able to create a fully fleshed out single-player game.

This time, though, we’ve managed to create a complete side-scrolling action game. It’s storyline isn’t overwrought—it’s hastened along by a bunch of quick movies.

The Adventure mode also emphasizes cha..."

"I’ve been working with Sakurai for a very long time with this new Smash Bros., because the Wii came out and when discussion for a new Smash Bros. took place nobody could think of anyone other than Sakurai working on it. He was kind of the default, and I was very happy to hear that he would be working on it. Actually, my designers did work on the designs for Sheik and Link and Ganondorf. So they submitted the initial designs, and so it would fit in the Smash Bros. Brawl environment, they’ve ..."

"From Fire Emblem, Ike appears! The fact that he can wield a two-handed sword with a single hand is a testament to his magnificent strength.

He brings his special move "Aether" with him as he crashes the Brawl party. Try for a single-stroke finishing blow with his mighty blade!"

"Yoshi’s back and bursting with personality! He can launch consecutive attacks and even smack around enemies below him mid-flight.

Among other things, he can now use his up special move, the Egg Toss, to increase the distance of his jump. That’s enough to earn him a hearty welcome, isn’t it?"

"This stage is based on the look and feel of Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat, which was played using the DK Bongos.

The key here is to keep climbing up and up.

The screen slowly scrolls upward, so if you don’t want to get left behind, you’d better get to climbing. Oh, and don’t forget to pummel your opponents on the way.

The screen’s constantly changing, so it’s fun just to watch, too.

Hey! What’s at the top? Huh?

Hmm...I wonder..."

"I’ve been following this story for a few days now, and I still don’t believe it to be true. Since the Sonic gurus over at Sonic Stadium posted, I feel a little bit safer making a post! Long story short, a magazine scan popped up that says Sonic is already in Brawl, and Sega just needs to give the final okay. Check out the scan for yourself (not in English). I think it looks fake…how bout you? Can anyone confirm? Thanks to everyone that sent this in."

"Wait a second... Is this...an Animal Crossing stage?! And the name...well... Go ahead and poke fun if you must.

It’s very clearly the world of Animal Crossing—even the changing scenery of day and night is determined by the Wii’s internal clock.

And what do you think of all those guests hanging out? There sure are a lot. It’s like they all came to watch the big event.

But there’s more...

If you play a match here on Saturday at 8PM...

Oh, I’m too excited to even say it!"

"During its press conference during 2006's Electronics Entertainment Expo, Nintendo took the wraps off its next installment in the highly anticipated brawler featuring classic video game characters, Super Smash Bros. Brawl on the Wii. At the time, the game was dated to arrive in early 2007, though that date was later bumped at the Nintendo Summit in May. However, Reggie was quick to reaffirm that Super Smash Bros. Brawl would still make it to market in 2007.

Now, a year and some change lat..."

You may not remember who Dr. Wright is, or what game he's from, but old gamers will be able to tell you that he's from the SNES version of SimCity.

And his power... as an Assist Trophy, Dr. Wright has the power to make buildings pop-up out of no-where... I believe he did this in SimCity as well.

"This area appeared in the Wii game The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. If you’ve played that title, you ought to remember this place.

And the enemy leader, King Bulblin, makes cameo appearances. Occasionally, he uses bombs to blast holes in the stage.

But don’t worry. The missing chunk will be magically transported via portal to fill in the gap."

"There’s a variety of attacks in Smash Bros., and they all involve some combination of strength and direction. Let me start here by talking about strength.

Standard Attack

If you just press the attack button, you’ll perform a standard attack. These are generally speedy.

Strong Attack

When you tilt the stick in a direction, you’ll do a stronger attack in that direction. These attacks usually have longer reach.

Smash Attack

Now, if you simultaneously tilt the stick and press..."

"Disappointing news for Nintendo fans looking for hands-on impressions of Super Smash Bros. Brawl -- the Wii fighting game won't be playable at next week's E3.

Game|Life's media relations representative at Nintendo confirmed the news this afternoon, but stressed that Smash Bros. was still very much on for its 2007 release date.

Several never-before-seen Wii titles will be announced and playable at the show, but due to the constrictive, tightly scheduled nature of this year's scaled-back ..."

"The biggest and the heaviest of fighters, Bowser has a slightly different flavor this time around!

To be honest, there are a LOT of characters that offer a slightly different flavor this time around. If you think they’re all going to be the same as they have been, it’ll be rough for you."

"What’s an Assist Trophy?!

Well, these are characters who appear to aid the fighter that called them forth. Basically, they’re guest characters separate from Smash’s playable roster!

Super Smash Bros. Brawl is sort of like a festival that all sorts of characters show up for. Bear in mind, though, that you can’t control any of the characters appearing on these pages. Let there be no mistake about that.

In any case, you won’t know who is in an Assist Trophy until you use it.

Ass..."

"Among the songs played in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time were many famous tunes that had a profound effect on the future of the series.

We’re using those songs in an extravagant medley here—it’s the preeminent Zelda listening experience!

And to think this will be played in-game. I think that’s just fantastic."

"Just like Link, Zelda’s design has also changed.
She has a slightly more subdued color scheme.

Her movement capabilities are not that good, but her magic adds power to her physical attacks. There’s a reason why her hands and feet glow, after all."

"The Lylat System is the general term for the region of space featured in the Star Fox games.

Here, you will fight on top of a spaceship while warping to various locations.

"The fight rages on as the ship barrels through asteroids, dogfights, and even the atmosphere of Corneria."

""Many fans clamored for Wario to join the fray, and so now he finally makes his appearance...in his WarioWare costume.

It’s rumored that this unpredictable character will give birth to a form of martial arts that other characters cannot even see.""

""What is Volt Tackle? It’s Pikachu’s Final Smash!

That pretty much describes it. You don’t need an Electric Ball to unleash it, but you do need a Smash Ball.""

"Is he using the Triforce to slash enemies? Or is it the Triforce doing the slashing?

You don’t have time to ponder such questions, as Link has just grabbed a Smash Ball.

Light shoots out from the Triforce on the back of Link’s hand, striking his opponents!

Link dashes into the fray! Enemies are trapped by the Triforce.

He strikes repeatedly with lightning speed!

And then comes the finishing strike! SKRAAAAH!

If you suffer this fate, there is little hope for you. But rememb..."

"When broken, many items tumble out of crates and barrels.
Previously, wooden crates and barrels were pretty much garden-variety.

This time around, these items change visually to match the mood of the stage."

"This song appears in a variety of games in the Metroid series.
It’s the theme song for Samus’s arch-nemesis, Ridley.

In the original game, most of the places where you heard this song were the sites of fierce battles.

As such, this arrangement features a suitable sense of cruelty and tension. It’s magnificent!"

""The pastel stage of Yoshi’s Island...
Mmm... It feels nice and peaceful here."

"Shy Guys often make guest appearances, and the Support Ghost can appear suddenly, aiding players on occasion."

"The highlight of this stage is its seasonal changes, as it goes from spring to summer to fall and then winter."

"It certainly has its own distinct air.
Change is sometimes good.""

"Fox is just one of many so-called speed characters. His costume has been completely updated, so he’s full of fighting spirit.

Run! Fly! Move boldly! For such moves are the essence of Fox!"

"Ever wonder what controls will be implemented in Super Smash Bros. Brawl? Well, another update on the official website, Super Smash DOJO has revealed what controllers are compatible with the upcoming video game from Nintendo.

As you can see in the image on the right, Super Smash Bros. Brawl will have full use of the Wiimote, the Wiimote and Nunchuk, the classic controller, and the GameCube controller. So it really boils down to a matter of preference. You want the rumble? Use a GameCube co..."

"Super Smash Bros. Brawl is Nintendo's latest incarnation in the popular Super Smash Bros. series of titles featuring all new characters ranging from Kirby and Wario to Samus, and even Metal Gear Solid's Snake."

"Characters hold the Cracker Launcher with both hands, and then unleash a wave of colorful explosions upon enemies. Characters can move around and jump while holding this item. Players can tilt the control stick up or down to aim the Cracker Launcher at different angles, although Director Masahiro Sakurai did not clearly specify if he meant the GameCube or Classic Controller, or the Wii Remote and Nunchuk."

Fans looking forward to Super Smash Bros. Brawl will know by now that the official site for the upcoming Wii title has been updated with a countdown to a site relaunch in under one week's time (at time of writing). Who knows what we can expect to see by early next week. Let's hope the hype doesn't end up killing the Smash Bros. faithful in the process.