The new issue of Nintendo Power (the August issue) has new Zelda info! Kind of. Ok, so it has one single statement from Shigeru Miyamoto. That statement?

I don’t think it’s going to be that radically different.

Ok, well, that doesn’t really say a whole lot. I guess if any of you were worried that the next Zelda would be a soccer management simulator, you can lay those fears to rest. Keep in mind that this doesn’t mean that the new Zelda is going to be a rehash of previous Zelda games. Nintendo knows how to keep things fresh. Just look at Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask, and Wind Waker. The internet is full of alarmists.

Aeropause

Looking forward to No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle? Enjoy it, because it may be the very last No More Heroes game for Wii. Director Suda 51 explains his feelings:

I really want to make NMH a big franchise, and with this second episode have bigger success. I’m putting a lot of care into developing this IP, as I feel there’s a lot of potential. [However] I think this is the last NMH that is going to be developed on Wii. To expand NMH to new possibilities, we need a new platform. Wii is a great platform, but we’ve done everything we can with it now.

Suda has recently been making googly eyes at Microsoft’s Project Natal. Could the 360 be the next destination for No More Heroes, or will Suda opt for the PS3 Wand to keep things familiar while taking advantage of the system’s ungodly amount of horsepower? Maybe if Desperate Struggle sells enough, he’ll decide to keep the series where its fans are. Hint.

Edge-Online

There aren’t many things in this world that are better than Metroid. That being said, free stuff comes close simply because, well, it’s free. What scares me the most is the proposition of free Metroid stuff and its potential to overload the happiness circuits of fans everywhere.

For anyone daring enough to take the risk of cardiac arrest and pre-order the Metroid Prime Trilogy through GameStop, they’ll receive a free T-shirt. And a wicked art booklet. Oh, and a pretty nice poster as well. Wow, and it looks like they are moving Christmas to August …Maybe. Did I mention that these games are all really good? Because they are.

GameStop

In the first week or sales, Nintendo’s sequel to the best selling game in the history of the world has already unsurprisingly sold boat loads. If I had to venture a guess I would bet it was a cruise ship’s worth, keeping with the resort theme. Or maybe a sailboat. A big sailboat.

In just four days at retail, Wii Sports Resort pushed 353,827 units. This lands it behind just Mario Kart Wii and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which sold 608,000 and 816,000 respectively.

This is good news for developers looking to support Wii MotionPlus, but unsure of its future adoption rate. Looks pretty good right now. Resort comes to Western shores in July.

Kotaku

Disney has announced that Toy Story Mania (for Wii) will include a special multiplayer mode in stereoscopic 3D. The game will come shipped with two pairs of anaglyphic 3D glasses. Disney Interactive is excited about this new feature, will will also be implemented in the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the G-Force video game adaptation.

[These will be] the first games for next-generation systems to fully feature three-dimensional stereoscopic technology [which] adds to the already fun video game… and extends the gameplay by creating entirely new options for players.

Toy Story Mania is coming this fall.

Shacknews

Too poor/young for The Conduit? Hudson has you covered this week with Water Warfare, a completely non-violent first person shooter with online play and a ranking system. In fact, Water Warfare has one feature that’s missing from The Conduit: local split screen multiplayer for two people. (Of course, whether the game is actually any good is anyone’s guess.) Meanwhile, if you prefer your shooting even cuter, the Virtual Console has Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa from the Master System.

The DSi’s update is quite a bit smaller than the four-game update the Wii is getting. The DSi’s only new game today is Sudoku Master. If you’ve already finished all of the puzzles in Brain Age 1 and 2, however, this may be the best news you’ve heard all day. As always, check past the break for more details.

DSiWare

• SUDOKU MASTER (Hudson Entertainment, Players: 1, ESRB Rating: E, 500 Nintendo DSi Points™)

WiiWare

• Water Warfare™ (Hudson Entertainment, Players: 1-8, ESRB Rating: E10+, 800 Wii Points™)
  Reel Fishing® Challenge (Natsume, Inc., Players: 1, ESRB Rating: E, 500 Wii Points)
  Silver Star Reversi (Agetec, Inc., Players: 1-2, ESRB Rating: E, 500 Wii Points)
• Water Warfare™ (Hudson Entertainment, Players: 1-8, ESRB Rating: E10+, 800 Wii Points™)
• Reel Fishing® Challenge (Natsume, Inc., Players: 1, ESRB Rating: E, 500 Wii Points)
• Silver Star Reversi (Agetec, Inc., Players: 1-2, ESRB Rating: E, 500 Wii Points)

Virtual Console

• Fantasy Zone™ II: The Tears of Opa-Opa (SEGA MASTER SYSTEM, SEGA, Players: 1, ESRB Rating: E, 500 Wii Points)

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Have you ever heard of Dan Schoening? Probably not, and it’s not surprising. He’s a fairly accomplished artist, whose designs have been used in, among other things, the Wii version of the Ghostbusters game. Mr. Shoening is not happy, however. You see, he was promised an inclusion in the game’s credits, but his name is nowhere to be found. Dan Borth, CEO of Red Fly, the company responsible for developing the Wii version of the game, is well aware of this, and issued a statement regarding the matter on his blog.

After Sony, Vivendi, Atari all got their credits we had few spaces for ourselves and the others who worked on the games with us — Zen Studios, War Drum studios, etc. Many people didn’t make it and they worked many, many more hours on this game than Mr. Dan I can assure you. Does that make it right? No it doesn’t. That’s just how it played out.

So, essentially, his excuse is that there somehow wasn’t enough room in the credits for everyone who worked on the game, and it’s not such a big deal that Shoening’s name was omitted, because lots of names were omitted. Really. Borth did go on to thank Shoening for his contribution to the game, and to apologize because Borth does admit that Shoening really was promised a credit in the game. Still, it may have had more of an impact without the explanation.

True Game Headz

Nintendo tried all kinds of things when looking for new ways to control games, according to president Satoru Iwata. They even experimented with a camera, much like Microsoft’s Project Natal. After some research, though, they decided to go with the accelerometer in the Wii Remote.

Until they say when they’re releasing it, how much it costs and what software it comes with, we won’t know whether that is the route we should have taken. However [...] I think they couldn’t choose to release exactly the same thing.

Why not? That’s what Sony is doing!

Financial Times
via 1up

E3 was earlier this month and both Sony and Microsoft had their own take on motion control to unveil. Sony showed its own motion controller that uses the Eye Toy for added accuracy, while Microsoft boasted Project Natal, a special camera that reads depth. It seems that they’re both looking to take a piece of the Wii pie. Leading video game analyst Michael Pachter doesn’t see that happening, though.

Sony and Microsoft each fired cannon shots across Nintendo’s bow, with Microsoft’s Project Natal and Sony’s Motion Controller (based on the Eye Toy). We view Microsoft’s proposed offering as intended to provide a user-friendly interface for Xbox Live dashboard access, and view Sony’s offering as Wii-nis envy. We do not expect either to displace Nintendo’s Wii from its leadership position.

It will take a lot to steal the Wii market away from Nintendo. Whatever happens, competition is good for the industry.

Edge Online

One of the many (three or something) pre-order bonuses for MadWorld was a soundtrack CD. (An awesome, awesome soundtrack CD.) Well, that CD is going to be available starting June 30th. For a mere $15.99 USD, you’ll be able to get your dirty paws on the full 20-song album, either as a physical CD or download through Sumthing Distribution. It’s not available just yet, so you’ve have to wait a couple of weeks. In the meantime, there’s always YouTube.

Platinum Games Blog