Daily. Haha.

So I finished my spring semester of school yesterday and made the two hour drive home after getting soaked in a downpour while loading everything into my car. Alright, it didn’t downpour the whole time - just when I went out one last time to actually get into car. I finally get home and find everything just as I left it - including these old Sega Game Gear collectible cards that came with some bubble gum. I was reading one of the game tips on these cards to Matthew over spring break, just for fun. If you can’t read it above, you can read a close-up image here.

Can you imagine getting walkthroughs like that for today’s games? Or someone reading it to you as you play? “Wait, slow down, I lost you after ‘Begin the level…’”

News & Information
Ex-Nintendo president named Japan’s richest man
Peter Moore wants to pump you up
Dr. Mario given a title, price, and date
GameStop ceasing Wii Fit pre-orders
Nintendo plays Big Brother with the Nintendo Channel
Select Wii games on sale at Circuit City next week
VGChartz data shows record-setting April for Wii
MLB Power Pros 2008 ships in July for Wii, Fall for DS
Top Chef heading to Wii?
$10 off Wii Fit at Best Buy
Hanabi Festival continues as PAL regions get four VC games
Pay-to-Samba coming in August
At the Drive-In’s “One Armed Scissor” confirmed for GH: Aerosmith … I think

Game Media
European Wii Fit website launches

Society & Culture
reNESED makes the original NES chic, attractive
NES controller coffee table promotes playing with furniture
Metroid Prime 3…D! Sort of.
‘Will It Blend?’ takes on a Wii Remote
Prince William beats 18-year-old in Wii Tennis at a social gathering

I have no picture for today, so I dug up this shot I took about a week or two ago. Nice, I know. Anyway, what happened today? Nintendo continues to produce success story after success story after success story and so on. Oh, and the Brawl hype train is still in effect. It’s your average 2007 day! Don’t have many more of those left, hm?

I’ve got some awesome things to post still tonight, and I’ll try and get the rest of them up before going to bed. Don’t worry, everything will go up, so stick around - the night is young.

News & Information
Amazon moves 17 Wii consoles per second during this holiday season
Nintendo sells 3.5 million hardware units in a week?
Top 10 Blunders of 2007 for gaming industry
Professor Layton finds his way to Brawl’s release week…again
Japanese hardware sales, December 17-23
Japanese software sales, December 17-23
Microsoft coming to Nintendo’s partners for help
Super Smash Bros. goes “gold” for the first time since 2001

Game Media
As if Brawl wasn’t already going to make you throw around cash…
Alvin and the Chipmunks for the Wii will make you cry
SimCity DS 2: a game for all-time
What the weekend, What the night is all about, Let’s Brass

Society & Culture
Lunch AND gaming on-the-go
Why buy a Wii when you can buy a painting of one for the same price?
84-year-old woman defeats bowling champ at WiiSports bowling
Play-Asia releases Phantom Hourglass gashapon set
How the Hedgehog Stole Christmas

Alright, kiddies, off to bed with you. News is slow this week, so you’ll be able to catch up in the morning. Hopefully Santa will come visit your house, but as you can see, Gizmodo noticed that Emperor Palpatine decided to capture him and take over Christmas. So maybe the “big guy” sneaking into your house will be Darth Vader tonight, I don’t know. Anyway, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from all of us at The Tanooki!

The Tanooki
The Tanooki Show #2- December 22, 2007
Happy Holidays from The Tanooki!

News & Information
Donkey Kong Country 3 could be in your virtual stocking
Available this week at retail: December 24, 2007
Baroque Wii to echo the Saturn original
Flyer advertises “new” Wii SKU to torment us on Christmas Eve
DKC3 comes as a Christmas surprise down in Oz

Game Media
F-flab Wario makes his return in Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Society & Culture
Nunchuk modded to resemble analog NiGHTS controls on the Saturn
Nintendo donates Wii to girl with muscle disease
11-year-old donates Wii to help donation for the needy
Another reason why cigarettes can be costly

So it’s blue boy’s birthday today. How many were hoping for Mega Man in Brawl? I know I was. It didn’t happen, but we can all keep hoping. I mean, Snake and Sonic were unveiled at press events, so they’re probably saving for the next big conference…between now and January 24th…because other than annual award ceremonies, there are plenty of events, right?

News & Information
Cybernator and some other games hit North American Virtual Console
Available this week at retail: December 17, 2007
President Reggie’s New Deal: GameStop rain checks
Conductors must choose: Wii-mote or Baton
BBFC continues their quest to block Manhunt 2
North America’s World Ends this Spring as well
Byyyyeeee! No Kirby Wii in the foreseeable future
Nintendo explains why you can’t save VC games on SD cards

Game Media
Smash Bros. site updates with Co-op Events
Opening video to Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity

Society & Culture
Happy 20th Birthday, Mega Man!
How to perform the Mario theme? Let us count the ways…
Awesome Game Boy Color touch screen mod

So I got this new phone, all set up and everything, and then I realized why I liked it so much. Oh well. I just need to make sure I don’t mix things up when I’m grabbing one in a rush and heading out the door.

Lighter day in terms of news, but that’s a Sunday for you. Weekends tend to be slow, so we try to fill them up with other things. Like this Fire Emblem review. Maybe next week, we’ll try something different. Like a mailbag edition…or something else. Anyway, today’s articles are linked below.

The Tanooki
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn - Wii Review

News & Information
Google Zeitgeist reveals online demand for the Wii
Nintendo’s factories working at full capacity
Maintenance Mode lets you disable the Wii Message Board!
Less than stellar first day sales in Japan
NPD Group Canada: November Sales and Figures

Game Media
New FFCC: The Young King and The Promised Land trailer
Blue Dragon Plus scans
NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams videos
Atlus announces Baroque for the Wii

Society & Culture
This portable Super Nintendo is biodegradable

So here in the Midwest, it kinda snowed a little bit today. And by a little bit, I mean a little over a foot. It’s too bad this wasn’t in a few days - you kiddies might have had some snow days next week. No finals, and you’d get to spend hours playing NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams or something.

Lots of posts today. Hopefully I’ll be able to take a breather tomorrow and work on some features that are about a month late. I know for sure Matt’s got something lined up, so be sure to check back often tomorrow. Today’s posts are listed below.

News & Information
Goichi Suda considers having more heroes
Greenpeace responds to Nintendo response to Greenpeace report
Guitar Hero III comes down with Mono; Activision sued
Sega’s Magical V Engine is essentially a lip syncing tool
The British are coming! …to France to buy Wii
Galaxy claims top spot on Australian charts twice in a row
Nintendo stocks stall following November PS3 surge
Famitsu reviews Final Fantasy IV and Card Hero DS
New details about Nintendo’s Wii Chess
Intel wants in on the next-generation of gaming
Nintendo missing out on over $1 billion this holiday
Pokémon site plagued by mysterious shadow (it’s Darkrai.)
Dragon Quest IV remake surpasses the million mark
Burrrrrrn: Miyamoto has never heard of Ratchet and Clank

Game Media
Super Smash Bros. Brawl updates as of December 15, 2007
Different Japanese and North American boxes for Brawl
Iizuka discussion from Journey of Dreams pre-order DVD
Cruis’n comparison: Wii to… N64?
Family Ski: The ultimate ski control setup

Society & Culture
This mushroom won’t make you bigger in bed
Real Galaxy footage? Pfft. When plumbers fly…
It’s based on actual Japanese history. So here’s this giant NES controller…
Halo DS sold on eBay after a single bid
Triforce of wonder, Triforce of night
Playing Pac-Man on a GBA 1.0 using a DDR pad
This is what a Wii for a Rockstar looks like
Man donates Wii to replace a child’s stolen Christmas gift
Princess Peach ranked #15 on Forbes Fictional 15
Do you want a Wii bit of candy?
Custom, hand-airbrushed Twilight Princess Wii
‘Tis the season for weighted Tetris cubes

‘Tis the season, right? It looks like Toad won’t be having a merry Christmas this year, thanks to Becky. Way to go. Nah, I’m just kidding. Matt and Becky put a ton of talent into making today’s festive creation, and I can’t wait to see what other crafts the Nintendo community out there can put together leading up to the holidays.

Today was an exciting day, as it seems that the entire staff is supposedly now on an easier schedule. That means you should be seeing more action on these pages over the next few weeks, at least until Joey leaves for the Rose Bowl. Who knows, maybe we’ll get the staff together and do some group projects…

Anyway, today’s articles are linked below. Have at it, since I know we were posting a little quickly throughout the day - too quick for you to enjoy at the time.

The Tanooki
Mario, Toad, Link, and Mega Man rock the (gingerbread) house

News & Information
PAL Virtual Console - December 14, 2007
Wii? Oui! Nintendo’s newest console sells 1 million in France
NPD Group: November sales and figures
Online voice chat a possibility for Wii
Online play is not planned for Virtual Console games
NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams MEGA-soundtrack announced
How Okami Wii came to be
Dragon Quest Swords to launch in NA with bonus features
Castle of Shikigami III headed to the Wii
‘Mario & Sonic’ take first place in the United Kingdom
Ubisoft says: Wii = marijuana. Wait, what?
Capcom apologizes for pre-order mishap; offers plushies
Kaboom Kaboom announced for the DS
Photo Channel 1.1 denies Apple Lossless support
Nintendo counts chickens early; names DS winner of 2007
No games for you! VC Gift feature is region-locked
Pokémon president Chiba retires, Okubo to take over
Game Rankings moves to 3 decimals; OoT/Galaxy keep battling

Game Images & Video
Smash Bros. site updates with Waluigi (AT)
Smash Bros. site updates with Stafy (AT)
Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword scans
Mistwalker marches on with Away: Shuffle Dungeon

Society & Culture
Kid smokes pot, dad puts his Guitar Hero 3 on eBay
Obama speaks on video game censorship
DIY Multi-touch Whiteboard using the Wii remote
More photos of the Donkey Kong monster truck
Nintendo Christmas tree all set for the holiday
Make your own papercraft Thwomp!
‘Tis the season for expensive Nintendo shirts
The race for a green console: “I’ma gonna win…suckers!”

The Wii is no longer the whitest console this generation - at least, not the most attractive kind of white. See that ceramic white PS3 above from Kotaku? It’s so beautifully tempting. If they ever released that here, I don’t know what I’d do. If only I had such a purty finish on my Wii…

It’s good to have the majority of my fall semester out of the way and devote my time back to the site. I’m aware of all the submissions to my inbox over the past week while I was busy, and will get to them if the rest of the staff hasn’t already. Also, if you’ve sent in a request for link trading any time the past few weeks, I probably haven’t seen it…yet. You can either wait while I sort through my mail or resend your request and I’ll get right to replying - it’s been a hectic time for everyone, and I’m just glad to be getting back to work.

There was a lot posted today, and you can check out all 24 posts linked below. I’m personally calling it a night (though I can’t speak for the rest of the staff), but I’ll be back covering more news early tomorrow.

News & Information
Majesco Entertainment announces Wii exclusive Wonderworld Amusement Park
The Wii is just a toy
A look at Nintendo’s new San Francisco offices
Europe’s World Ends this coming spring
Reggie hopes Nintendo doesn’t need another handheld
Nintendo of Europe reveals Q1 2008 release schedule
Wii Fit storms out of the gates in Japan
New Wii colors NOT confirmed for Japan
Nintendo Europe confirms Brawl for after June
Spielberg’s Wii game renamed Boom Blox
Square-Enix confirms Feb. 26th release date for Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors
Mario 3 finally heads to Japanese Virtual Console
UPS delivery personnel may need military escorts soon

Screens, Scans, & Video
Smash Bros. site updates with Rotation mode
We Love Golf turning into a regular celebrity outing
Final Fantasy IV remake includes math and movie watching fun!

Society & Culture
Marshall Wii gives college students everywhere an idea…
Pac-man exhibit gives “cubism” a whole new meaning
Happy Christmas: Boy donates Wii to toy drive
Why play Tetris on a DS when you can play it on a building?
Love at first sight? Donkey Kong and Beer Pong
Blondes vs. Brunettes: Brain Training to see who’s smarter!
Pre-bloodied No More Heroes styled Wii
Donkey Kong monster truck hits the dirt

Six. That’s the number of “guitars” I have for those music games that I seem to be addicted to. After receiving my replacement Rock Band guitar, I took a look around my room and thought, “holy crap, that’s a lot of fake plastic guitars sitting in my room.”

There are the two SG controllers from the first two PS2 games, the Wii Les Paul, the two Rock Band Fender Strats, and my prized posession, the Les Paul for the 360 version of Guitar Hero III. I couldn’t get used to the Fender after being so accustomed to the “click” from Guitar Hero guitars, so I tried to track down a Les Paul for the 360. There was only a small snag in that plan though, since every store in Chicago was completely sold out of the Guitar Hero III bundles for the 360 for weeks.

Thankfully, I made good with a manager at a Gamestop 10 miles away from my apartment. When I asked if he had any in stock, he told me no, but then said, “Let me check to see when I will be getting more in…Ah, yes, I will be getting six in tomorrow at around 11.”

Funny, because each and every time I inquire about the status of anything at Gamestop, I have always been told that “I have no idea and there is no way of checking. At all. Seriously, don’t ask again.” Oh but it doesn’t end there, he also offered to take my name and number down so he could put one aside as I made the hour long trip to purchase my copy.

So, if anybody from the Gamestop on Canal and Roosevelt (the older store, not the new one across the street) is reading this, your store is my absolute favorite place for games. Everytime I visit, you guys are not only extremely friendly, but you guys are knowledgeable without that “the customer knows absolutely nothing about the industry” attitude. Cheers!

Tanooki Original
Shiny Pretty Things — Women in the Marioverse

News & Information
Original NiGHTS port definitely not planned for Wii
Oh, Snap! N64 Pokémon spinoff heads to Virtual Console
Koizumi on taking Mario to the stars
Available this week at retail: December 10, 2007
DS is still “Most Wanted” in Japan
Kynogon bringing A.I. development tools to Wii
Koizumi the culprit behind game backstories

Screens, Images, & Video
Smash Bros. site updates with Bonsly Pokémon
Guitar Hero heading to… mobile phones?
Wii Shop Channel and Photo Channel Updates

Society & Culture
Have $15,000? Buy Darth Vader’s Wii
Glorious 2-D Metroid action on the Wii: Mock-Up
The Wii from 2121
Forget the Triforce: You want this Wii

Nothing out of the ordinary in terms of news today. Oh, except for the fact that Galaxy has sold half a million copies in the US alone. Guess we can’t keep a plumber on the ground. Combined with Canadian sales, Japanese sales, and now European and Australian sales, Galaxy is well beyond the million mark. I wonder how long until 2 million?

In other news, Japan got Nuts & Milk for the Virtual Console today. Sounds like a bad snack left for Santa or something. Do we have this on our VC yet? I’m going to go write a letter demanding it if we don’t.

News & Information
Japanese Virtual Console - November 20, 2007
Square Enix still doesn’t have a date for Dragon Quest IX
Nintendo Offically Confirms Two New DS Bundles
id confirms Quake Arena for the DS
Wii is a giant leap for the internet kind
The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return confirmed for the Wii
Rockstar appealing Manhunt 2’s ban in UK soon
Japanese DS owners want to watch TV. They all do.
Nintendo Replaces Broken DS for Free, Sign of Good Customer Service
Galaxy sells half a million in US alone in first week

Screens, Scans, & Video
Smash Bros. site updates with Training Mode
Smash Bros. site updates with Smart Bomb
Fragile scans, place ^ this side up
A handful of Ghostbusters screenshots
DIY printable cover for Link’s Crossbow Training

Society & Culture
More Samus Aran cosplay photos
Apparently Mario can improve your sex life
Gorgeous Samus Aran Custom Action Figure by Red3183