I’ve always wanted to make photo mosaics. It’s just a really cool concept that I have yet to approach, though I don’t yet have the time nor computer power to put one together. Sure, there are programs that can create photo mosaics for you, but what’s the fun in that?

Here we have some creative minds that decided to put files on their SD card that when zoomed out on in the photo channel create impressive mosaics. I’ll let you see the final results for yourself.

Kotaku

Those of you who scour the internet for rumors may have heard of Killer 7 being listed on the Capcom website as a Wii game. Capcom has officially come out and said it’s not true and that the listing was a mistake. They did, however, leave the door open for the possibility in the future, especially after seeing such a pleasing amount of interest for such a game.

Sharp-eyed browsers of the website may have noticed that the Killer 7 gamesheet was showing a Wii symbol yesterday. We are sorry to disappoint Killer 7 fans who thought this meant a Wii version might be on the horizon, but we can confirm that there are currently no plans for a Killer 7 version for the Wii platform.

The interest this seems to have generated on the internet is quite gratifying, but we’re going to have to disappoint you this time. The innovative control system of the Wii would seem like a good match for the innovative gameplay of Killer 7 and we cannot completely rule out the idea of a Killer 7 Wii at some point in the future. However we can confirm that  there are no plans at the present time to make such a game and there is certainly not one in the pipeline that we are not telling you about.

Capcom Europe

While you may not be Jordin Sparks (or you know, any of the Idols from the previous, better seasons), perhaps you’ve got a voice that will make the Japanese public go gaga. Square Enix’s Nobuo Uematsu is rearranging Final Fantasy IV’s “Theme of Love” song into a vocal piece for the upcoming Nintendo DS remake.

They have yet to sign a vocalist, however, and it seems that almost anyone over the age of 18 and without a current recording contract is eligible to send in an application before and through July 31st. I must say that even though I have yet to play Final Fantasy XII, Angela Aki’s “Kiss Me Good-Bye” ranks among the most played songs on my iTunes. And I barely have any video game songs on there! If any of you get the gig, 1.) make sure it’s amazing, and 2.) come back to The Tanooki for an interview.

Final Fantasy IV DS
via Wired

Looks like some patients at the Riley Hospital Rehabilitation Center are having tons of fun getting better. An article excerpt below, with the link to the full article afterwards:

The gaming console has been incorporated into the center’s rehab program for patients who have suffered a stroke. The idea was suggested by Dr. Janet Coyle, a hospitalist at Riley.

“Dr. Coyle got one (Wii) for Christmas and after playing on it for awhile, she realized that it would be wonderful for our stroke patients,” said Ben Rucks, director of rehabilitation services at Riley.

“Unlike other video games — which only use the thumbs — the Wii requires use of the whole body, balance and hand-eye coordination,” Rucks said. “This is especially ideal for stroke patients in their recovery.”

Meridian Star

(Re-) Introducing the Super Scope gun:

So what’s the big deal? Well, if you look closely, Wario is moving. Yes, that’s right, you can now use the rapid-fire Super Scope to dish out some damage while on the go. Run and shoot, jump and shoot, you name it. Makes you wonder how exactly you’ll be controlling Wario’s running, jumping, and use of the item at the same time, doesn’t it?

Smash Bros. DOJO!!

Seems these Mario cakes are the trend for 2007. Too bad my birthday already passed. This time, however, it seems there were cupcakes in addition to the usual Mario cake alone. Maybe Heather’s trying to 1-UP the rest of the Mario cake makers out there, hm? Haha. Yeah. Laugh at my joke.

Anyway, here’s what Billy had to say about the cake:

“This beautiful (and delicious) birthday cake was a surprise from Heather for my 30th birthday. She also made power-up mushroom cupcakes and invincible star cupcakes. It was awesome!”

Many more pictures after the break!

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Nintendo is currently hold an event for retailers in Japan, letting them know what to expect this summer and fall. This June 23rd (which also happens to be the Japanese release of The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for the Nintendo DS), Nintendo Japan will be releasing two new colors of the DS Lite - Metallic Rose and Gloss Silver - shown below.

In addition, the following release dates were given for Japan:

Nintendo DS
Chibi Robo DS - 5 July - 4800 yen
My Housekeeping Diary - 12 July - 3800 yen
Slide Adventure Magkid - 2 August - 5800 yen (includes slide controller)
Donkey Kong Jungle Climber - 9 August - 4800 yen

Wii
Mario Party 8 - 26 July - 5800 yen

Will there be more? Check back later!

Vooks

AMN’s Lucas DeWoody has a two page article up on the seeming demise of the Zelda series. It’s no secret that sales of Zelda games have been dropping over the years, despite the quality of the games remaining arguably at the high level they’ve always been at. DeWoody first looks at how Nintendo’s handling of Twilight Princess seems to have done more damage to the franchise than good, before going on to talk about the similarities between Zelda’s current state and the already-seen demises of such franchises like Kirby, F-Zero, and Star Fox.

What’s disturbing is that all of those franchises were huge in their days, but a simple loss of faith from Shigeru Miyamoto signaled the turning point for all of them. The Zelda received this comment from Shiggy following the poor sales of Twilight Princess, despite his acknowledging of the game’s quality. Will we have to turn our heads away as the Zelda series dies a slow and embarrassing death? Or can something be done to revive and save it?

AMN

Supposedly, Nintendo will be holding a retailer event in Japan to showcase their summer and fall Nintendo DS and Wii lineup for the homeland. This event is said to be taking place on the 30th in Japan, so any news should come in during the early AM hours here in North America.

It’s highly doubtful that we’ll get anything megatonially groundbreaking, at least not to us Westerners. It is possible, however, that we might somehow hear about Japanese release dates on some of the big games we’re waiting for, which could them suggest a release timetable for North American, European, or Australian release.

Cubed3

Nintendo president, Reggie Fils-Aime, recently sat down with the Wall Street Journal and talked about third party success on the Wii and the recurring idea that graphics will play a major role in the console wars further down the road.

Even though he admitted the no third party game has yet to break the one-million sales mark, they’re getting close - at least two Ubisoft titles are closing in on the milestone. In addition, while many large publishers early on kept initial focus on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and decided to create or utilize second string development teams for Wii game production, the shift in support in favor of the Wii is moving resources to development for Nintendo’s console. As the big publishers and developers start putting more resources into Wii production, the game quality will go up and the sales will follow. Reggie himself expects to see great success from EA’s Boogie and RedOctane’s Guitar Hero III.

In response to the widespread claim that the Wii will age faster and have a shorter lifespan due to its graphical inferiority to rival consoles, Reggie simply had this to say: “I guess when you’re not doing well you have to grasp at something.” After all, how’s that DS doing?

Wall Street Journal
via Gamasutra