Konami's Koji Igarashi, better known as Iga, has been responsible for all the recent Castlevania titles, from Symphony of the Night on. In a recent interview with Game Informer, he discusses how he feels a little confused about the next gen console war, and doesn't quite know who to side with.

Iga admitted that working on the PlayStation 3 would be his first inclination but that ultimately the price may be a major barrier. "... I'm confused with all of this next-generation news. I don't know what to do. I was really leaning toward PS3 in the beginning," he said. "But then at the Sony conference they announced the price and I was like, 'Mmm, maybe it's too expensive.'"

As for the Nintendo console, he confessed that he's had a hard time thinking of something that would take advantage of the Wii's unique controls. "When it comes to Wii, obviously the controller has a unique feature, but I just can't come up with a good idea that utilizes it. I mean, clearly you can with a lot of time," he said.

Interestingly, Iga said that he doesn't really view the Xbox 360 in a negative way, but he still feels that Microsoft is a bit averse to titles that are very Japanese.

"I'm not really negative over Microsoft, but for some reason they tend to back off a little when it comes to something really foreign. But if Japanese developers would say they're working on Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest or Metal Gear maybe, then I guess Japanese consumers would take it seriously and consider purchasing it. There has to be some killer titles to move the consumers into the 360 market," he explained.

Japanese developers are in a weird position in the upcoming generation. Sony may be pricing themselves out of the market, Wii is too odd to make traditional games, and the 360 is still having trouble penetrating the group. I'd be willing to bet Iga isn't the only one feeling a little unsure of who to side with. This uncertainty may mean that we won't see a really solid list of killer apps coming out of Japan until it shakes out exactly which system consumers are backing.

Source: GameDaily

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According to Spong (which is never the best way to start off a news article, but it's what we've got), the latest issue of Nintendo Power has named six titles which will be available with Wii at launch: Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii Version), Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Red Steel, Wii Dragon Quest, Super Monkey Ball, and Rayman Raving Rabbids.

This isn't a 100% guarantee of what will be launching with the system; Even if the Spong story is accurate, dates can change, or the list may not be complete. Other sites are noting Wii Sports isn't on the list, even though it was already promised as a launch title. But it's a fairly reasonable idea of what to expect come whenever the Wii ships.

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IBM has set a speed record with a chip that can run at 500 GHz when cryogenically frozen. Something tells me my stock case fans wouldn't quite manage the necessary drop to -451 degrees Fahrenheit.

• Soul Calibur 4 confirmed as.. existing in some form or another.
• Bandai Namco announces new Tales games for PSP and PS2.
• Indie game Rag Doll Kung Fu will be getting a retail version in August.
• THQ is too scared of WoW to put out their own MMORPG.
• The recently passed Louisianna game bill has been temporarily blocked by a judge while it's determined how unconstitutional the law is. Early signs say: A whole lot.
• Immersion debuts next-generation vibration for controllers that uses less power and space while simulating a wider range of feedback.
• Sony loses its case in Europe to have the PS2 classified as a computer (and earn a hefty rebate in import charges in the process).
• The VGA remake of King's Quest III is finished and ready for download.
• Superstar mode has been added in to the 360 version of Madden 07.
• Rumor: Microsoft planning 360 price drop for Christmas.
• A long interview at Nintendo Japan about Wii, NDS, the Game Boy Micro, and what Miyamoto is up to these days.
• Female gaming clans are protesting a "Miss World Series Videogames" beauty pageant.
• The Escapist asks, does the male-dominated video game culture actually exist?

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Next Generation has an opinion piece on backwards compatibility. They make some good points, namely that everyone says they want BC and then few ever actually use it. But they completely neglect to mention that some people want BC because they like to buy older games they never got around to. It isn't just for your existing library.

• Okay, so the Tomb Raider PSP remake isn't cancelled. But it seems Core's version of it was.
• GTA4 may run on the Table Tennis engine.
• Despite what this month's issue of PC Gamer says, Half Life 2: Episode Two is still on track for a holiday 2006 release.
• Nintendo still isn't sure how many buttons the Wii remote will have.
• Time to play what's wrong with this picture.
• A Nacho Libre game is coming to the DS. Is there really a game in this? Will anyone care enough to play it?
• Comparing the Wii remote to the original Revolution remote.
• What to expect from Street Fighter 2 on Xbox Live Arcade.
• The anti-game law Jack Thompson helped write has been passed in Louisiana.

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A judge in New York has been accused of playing solitaire during a trial. As the article notes, in February New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg fired a city employee for playing solitaire during work hours. Doing it during a trial is just a teensy bit worse.

• The Oblivion patch has fixed some issues while apparently causing new ones.
• Best Buy is taking pre-orders for Wii games, despite none of them having solid dates.
• James Cameron's big upcoming movie and game project may not be Battle Angel, but Avatar.
• Take Two filings show 3D Realms will get a $500,000 bonus if Duke Nukem Forever is completed by the end of 2006. Good luck with that one, fellas!
• Nintendo is planning a follow-up to the Brain Age series called Common Sense Training For Adults. Sounds like a lost cause.
• THQ is bringing Tetris to the 360, because it's such a damned hard game to find.
• New scans of Super Paper Mario, Mario Hoops, Starfox Command, and more. Slippy has a girlfriend? Is that Kasumi in Super Swing Golf Pangya? People still care about Tamagotchi?
• Student websites go down because someone took out the Xbox.

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Nintendo has been granted a patent for a "messaging service for video game systems with buddy list that displays game being played." According to IGN's decryption of the legal jargon, it describes an instant messaging service that isn't specific to any one system; accounts, messages and buddy lists would be shared across multiple consoles.

Interestingly, the patent was first filed way back in 2000 (the patent office doesn't like to hurry with these things), and thus the application comes with illustrations of how the service would work with an N64. But, again, it isn't tied to any particular system. IGN also says "the patent goes to great trouble to describe the messaging service working with portable game systems, as well as working within a device which emulates other game systems." Nintendo was making provisions for emulators back in 2000?

At any rate, it's true that companies often file for patents for things that never see the light of day. But this goes to show that Nintendo does have some sort of plan in place, and honestly, it would be really silly for them to not use it or something similar.

Source: IGN

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Gamasutra has an interview about the most controversial game you may not have heard of yet: Rule of Rose. Any game that inspires the question "What was the inspiration for using the sexuality of prepubescent girls as a theme in the game?" is worth examining more closely. Here's a trailer to further weird you out.

• A new patch for Oblivion is out.
• The Halo 3 making of the trailer documentary is up at Bungie's site now.
• Sony Computer Entertainment Ireland director didn't get the "baseless bravado" memo, says "We would never say we cannot fail."
• Sony CEO Howard Stringer admits his Xbox obsession.
• Look on in horror at the recently uncovered original Acclaim intro to the racing game Juiced. FMV with blue screened actors? 1994 has come to visit!
• Eurogamer interviews Gabe Newell about Half Life 2: Episode One.
• Comparing real life photos to Crysis screenshots.
• Animal Crossing on Wii may allow you to send letters to friends through e-mail or cell phones.
• Point Blank DS unexpectedly ships next week.

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At a press conference in Tokyo this morning, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata spoke about the business side of Wii. While the traditional plan for console makers has been to lose money on the system and gain it back in games, Iwata believes this won't be a very big factor for Wii.

"We can't promise we won't have even a one-yen loss, but we are not expecting an enormous loss," Nintendo President Satoru Iwata told a news conference in Japan this morning. "It is a strange notion that a game console always leads to mounting losses in the beginning...We are working to make the Wii business a healthy one from the first year."

Iwata also mentioned that the price and launch date for Wii will be announced "by September." While some have assumed the announcement will be made at the Tokyo Game Show, some have taken the "by" part to mean before September arrives, making the Leipzig Game Conference in Germany in late August a likely target. But who knows, maybe it was just a mistake in translation.

Finally, The Magic Box is saying Iwata mentioned that Virtual Console titles will range between 500 and 1000 yen ($4.50 to $9), but I can't find mention of it elsewhere. (Update: Ah, there are some pictures.) The Magic Box also says Nintendo announced Pokemon Battle Revolution for Wii, the latest in the Pokemon Stadium/Colosseum series, schedules for release in Japan in late 2006.

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Smash Bros. Brawl director Masahiro Sakurai has been answering fan e-mail on the Japanese Smash Bros. site, and fans on the Smash World forums have been translating his responses as they come in. Through this, occassional smatterings of new details about the game appear here and there, with the highlights from the most recent update covered below.

• As mentioned in earlier updates, they're working to "moderate" the speed of the game, most likely to slow it down.
• They will be adding one or two more non-Nintendo characters, but those characters must have appeared on a Nintendo system at some point (which covers just about everybody you'd want in the game short of Master Chief. Even Crash Bandicoot has appeared on a Nintendo platform).
• Not all characters will return.
• In contrast to the bold statement at last year's E3 that the game would be online, they say they're still working on it, and if it shows up, it won't have any kind of ranking system.
• The team didn't want to use characters that only appeared in Japan, though with the popularity of the Fire Emblem characters Roy and Marth, they may make exceptions to the rule.

The full translation of everything he talked about can be found at the Smash World forums.

Posted by Ermac at 03:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A recent interview with Satoru Iwata features a little new information on how the Wii's online services will work. Starting with this, about the "always on" WiiConnect24 service.

"Let's say your Wii is connected to the Internet in a mode that allows activation on a 24-hour basis," said Iwata. "This would allow Nintendo to send monthly promotional demos for the DS, during the night, to the Wii consoles in each household. Users would wake up each morning, find the LED lamp on their Wii flashing, and know that Nintendo has sent them something. They would then be able to download the promotional demo from their Wii's to their Nintendo DS's."

He doesn't mention it, but I can only assume (and hope) that it's an optional feature. It'd be kinda weird to have them sending you crap all the time you didn't want. Along those lines, I would also hope demos would be individually downloadable if you didn't want to sign up for a "give me whatever you've got" constant feed.

Iwata also talked about smaller, simpler games being offered on the Virtual Console, similar to the indie titles on Xbox Live Arcade. While this is in no way an official number, he offered a ballpark price of 500 yen (around $5) for such games. For comparison, Live Arcade games generally run from between $5 and $15.

Source: The Wiire

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I'm getting the news out the door early because omg omg Half Life 2: Episode One is out NOW.

• Andy Serkis' mortgage leads him to star in Heavenly Sword.
• Game critics have chosen their best of E3 awards, if you care about that sort of thing.
• Amsterdam drug addiction center opens up game addiction ward.
• Eight year Duke Nukem Forever team member leaves the studio. I hope this isn't a sign the game's in some kind of trouble.
• Phil Harrison calls claims of Sony ripping off Nintendo "stupid", says the PS3 is a computer and "We do not need the PC." Also, he's a nut.
• IGN relaunches their Dreamcast section, for some reason.
• If you didn't immediately storm every store in your city on the news that the DS Lite was available yesterday, you can use this map to find stores near you that have them.
• Isn't it weird hearing a story from Xbox's Major Nelson about his quest to acquire a DS Lite?
• The AV Club lists 11 of video games strangest moments.
• World of Warcraft has a higher MMO market share than all other MMO games combined.
• I'd say that if you have to explain why your screenshots looked like crap, you probably shouldn't have released them to begin with.

Posted by Ermac at 03:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Man. Guy just doesn't listen. No wonder Navi was having to yell at him all the damn time.

The Smash Bros. official site has been updated with Snake's character profile, including this, what appears to be the first shot from his stage. In additon, the site's message board was updated with a post from SSBB designer Masahiro Sakurai himself, talking about the results of their poll for which new characters people were most excited about.

Posted by Ermac at 12:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

This makes me glad I wasn't at the Nintendo World store to watch the E3 briefing. LOOK AT THOSE GRAPHIX

• There will be no version of DirectX 10 for Windows XP. It will be exclusive to Vista.
• Nintendo brings over the Touch Generations brand to America, marking games like Big Brain Academy and Magnetica.
• Xbox Live Vision Camera set for a September release in America.
• Alex Navarro from Gamespot gets gut punched on video for saying that the PS3 wouldn't be $500 or else you can "feel free to punch me in the stomach."
• Luigi hates Myspace too.
• GameVideos has a video tour of the new 360 dashboard update.
• Comparing the size of all next and current generation consoles, side by side.
• Summer isn't completely worthless.. FiringSquad has a list of the games coming out to fill in the summer gap.
• Will your games work in Windows Vista? ..Maybe?
• How to write an article on women in gaming.

Posted by Ermac at 05:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I'd like to give a big shout out to the Weather Channel, who proved themselves incapable last night of being a channel reporting the weather by airing some stupid show about the coast guard when all I needed was the damn radar. When it finally came up (once in a half hour), two seconds later my power went out. Thanks guys!

• Katamari's creator says the series will probably continue, just without him. But how will that affect the games?
• Gates not sold on motion controllers.
• Ken Kutaragi: PS3 is not a toy. So that means it's okay to spend $600 on it! Whew. Load off my mind.
• Man, the cast of FFVII have fallen on hard times.
• 73% of Japanese Famitsu readers believe Wii will win the console war.
• You know that Link, he's big with the gays.
• It's about time somebody finally offered up in-game Assassin's Creed screens.
• Star Fox DS renamed Star Fox Command; release date set for August.

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Reggie Fils-Aime, head of marketing (up until today) for Nintendo of America and Internet superstar has been promoted to president and chief operating officer for NoA. He is one of three promotions within the company, the other two being current president Tatsumi Kimishima moving to chairman of the board and chief executive officer, and Mike Fukuda moving from senior vice president of Business Development to executive vice president of Business Development.

From the press release:

In his new role as president and chief operating officer, Fils-Aime will lead the day-to-day operations of Nintendo of America while continuing to oversee the Sales & Marketing Division as the company prepares for the launch of Wii. He joined Nintendo of America in December 2003 to lead all Sales & Marketing efforts in the United States, Latin America and Canada. Prior to joining Nintendo, he served as senior vice president of marketing at VH1. He also has held key marketing positions with Guinness Import Co., Derby Cycle Corp., Pizza Hut, Panda Management Co. and Procter & Gamble.

Source: Go Nintendo

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