Everyone loves robots. I think they have ‘em in that new Meet the Robinsons movie. I bet R2 could bowl a perfect game if he wanted.

Some kids from Battle Bricks went and made a Lego robot that’s capable of bowling in WiiSports. Sure, it defeats the purpose of the game, but it’s another feat in itself to be able to build something that can do what this contraption does.

Battle Bricks

All these interviews! Nintendojo recently spoke with Hudson’s John Lee, Director of Marketing. Check out the excerpt below, and hit the link for the first half of the interview (and a link to the second)!

ND: What’s it like to have old series like Bonk and Bomberman find new life on the Virtual Console?
JL: Dream come true for me, actually! I love the classic Turbo games, and as any Turbo fan will tell you, we are always evangelizing how great that system was. We’re always trying to bring more people on board. Now that these games are out on the VC, reaching a whole new audience, people are finally going, “Oh yeah, these games really are great!”

Nintendojo

While I might not be the NiGHTS obsessive guy on the staff, I cannot deny the excellence of these scanned screens from Portuguese magazine Maxi Consolas (best name ever).

More after the break!
Continue Reading »

Mario Strikers Charged Football will not only be a Wi-Fi enabled game, but it may be the first for the Wii anywhere outside of Japan. Charged Football will land Down Under on June 7th, well before Pokémon Battle Revolution hits the States on June 25th. Pokémon doesn’t yet have a date in Australia, so there is a chance that game will still be the first.

Aussie-Nintendo

A New York Times article by Seth Schiesel takes another look at new groups of people enjoying video games, courtesy of systems like the Nintendo DS and Wii. Excerpt and link below.

Aside from casual PC games the other big spur to increased gaming by older players has been the recent introduction of two new game systems by Nintendo of Japan. The hand-held DS and the home Wii console (pronounced “we”) are specifically meant to buck the industry trend toward increasing complexity and instead provide a simple yet captivating experience for players of all ages and degrees of coordination. In many games, players need only swing and twist the Wii controller rather than have to master complicated combinations of buttons and triggers.

New York Times

WWE is heading to the Wii! Whoa, that rhymes. Speaking of rhyming, everybody needs to check out Acceptable TV. It’s basically Channel 101 (both are the creations of Dan Harmon), only on VH1. Now if you are unfamiliar with Channel 101, then you need to seriously re-evaluate your life.

But I digress…onward with the highlights of IGN’s interview with Cory Ledesma on THQs upcoming SmackDown vs Raw 2008:

• Every animation is going to be completely redone for added realism.
• There will be eight different fighting styles- hardcore, high-flyer, brawler, powerhouse, showman, submission artist, and two others.
• Each wrestler combines two different fighting styles to better match their real life counterparts.
• The submission system now uses the analog sticks, which react to your movements in real time.
• The new career mode is “WWE: 24/7.” The goal is for your superstar to become a legend, which could take years!
• Online support is essential to THQ, although they have yet to announce online support for the Wii.
• They also stress that each version of the game is going to take advantage of each platform’s strengths, although once again, no specific plans have been announced.

You can check out the full interview on IGN.

Once again, Europe makes America jealous. Check out Europe and Australia’s VC titles this Friday:

• Dragon’s Curse (Turbografx) - 600 Points
• Punch Out!! (NES) - 500 Points
• The Legend of the Mystical Ninja (SNES) - 800 Points

N-Philes

Gainesville, Florida will play host to the first ever Gator Wiilympics on April 7th. Proceeds from the WiiSports tournament will go towards the Invisible Children charity for children in Uganda. Below are some of the basic information about the event:

• Saturday, April 7, 2007 - 12:00 pm
• North Central Baptist Church, 8001 NW 23rd Ave, Gainesville
• Events are 1-on-1 tennis, 2-on-2 tennis, bowling, golf, and boxing
• $5.00 to compete in 2 sports or $8.00 to compete in 3 or up to all sports
• All proceeds to go to Invisible Children, a charity that benefits children in northern Uganda who are at risk of being kidnapped to fight in a rebel army.

Head on over to the link below for more information if you’re interested! If anyone gets a chance to go, please let us know how things go and send along some pictures!

Gator Wiilympics

I can’t begin to tell you how amazing it is to come across a video that isn’t featuring the original Mario theme. Not only is this song my super secret ringtone, but this rendition features a xylophone. Sorry guy with dual guitars, but we have a new winner for the coolest video game music video!

Kotaku

A few months back, a “Hold on Tight!” fan commercial was made with impressive quality. The creators decided to go ahead with a new commercial, “Hold on Tight! 2 - The Wrath of the Nunchuk,” shown below.

YouTube
Original “Hold on Tight!” Commercial