Hulu Plus Comes to the Wii

On Thursday, February 16 Hulu announced that its video streaming services would now be made available via Nintendo’s Wii.

Following Hulu’s announcement, anyone that owns a Wii was able to download a Hulu Plus app from the Wii Shop Channel. After downloading the app, users were able to immediately begin streaming Hulu TV shows and movies through their Wii.

In its blog post Hulu said, "We've optimized the Hulu Plus interface on Wii so you can easily point and click with the Wii Remote as you navigate through thousands of popular TV shows."

Hulu also made sure to mention that it plans to offer access to Nintendo 3DS users sometime later this year.

"With devices like the Wii and 3DS, Nintendo has earned diehard fans and loyal customers through its innovative approach to entertainment," wrote Eric Berman, Hulu’s manager of distribution. "And now together, we're bringing a new level of world-class entertainment right into your hands and home."

All of this news from Hulu is great, but it’s important for Wii users to keep in mind that although they can access some content on Hulu.com for free, Hulu Plus is a subscription-based service.

Hulu writes, “For $7.99/month, Hulu Plus subscribers can instantly stream current season episodes of hit shows like Modern Family, Dancing with the Stars, The Biggest Loser, Grey’s Anatomy and Glee. Kids can enjoy favorites from PBS Kids including Arthur, Dinosaur Train and Wild Kratts,” or users can, “call it a family movie night and pick from hundreds of popular Miramax movies.”

"The Wii console is the hub of the living room, and with the addition of Hulu Plus, millions of households now have even more options for streaming premium TV shows and movies," said Tony Elison, the Nintendo of America's senior director and general manager of Network Business.

For about the next three weeks, Wii users will have the opportunity to subscribe for a two-week free trial of Hulu Plus. After that they will be able to sign up for the $7.99/month plan or simply stream the free content that Hulu.com offers.

Sources: Hulu - It’s on like Donkey Kong. Hulu Plus now on Nintendo Wii and PCMag - Hulu Plus Added to Nintendo Wii

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Special Edition Gold Wii Remote to Be Released

On Monday August 29, Nintendo announced that it will be releasing a special edition gold Wii remote. The remote will be included in the limited edition Zelda bundle that also includes the first run of Zelda: Skyward Sword and a CD featuring different arrangements of the Zelda theme songs that can be found in the Zelda games that have been released over the past 25 years. The package will be released on Sunday, November 20 and will cost $69.99.

If you don’t want to spend $70, Nintendo is offering just the game and the CD for $49.99, but if you’re already going to spend that, you might as well spend an extra $20 to get the special edition shiny, gold controller.

The controller was first introduced to the public at the E3 conference in June, but they didn’t give out any information about a release date or pricing. The remote was designed by Shigeru Miyamoto, a prominent developer at Nintendo, and it features the Zelda 25th Anniversary logo.

Across the Internet there have been mixed emotions about the news concerning the limited edition package.

"Never mind that the Wii is on its last legs and people probably won't play any other games on it after this, they'll still hook people in with a new controller for the Wii even though the Wii-U is announced," wrote a commenter at GameSpot.

"This is a MUST BUY. All is forgiven NINTENDO," wrote a user at My Nintendo News.

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New Xbox to Debut at E3 2012?

So, this current generation of gaming consoles has been around for quite some time, six years to be exact, and a lot of people are wondering just how much life the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii have left in them. Many gamers are calling for a new wave of consoles and the newest Xbox could be revealed sooner than anyone might have thought.

E3 2011 has come and gone and any announcement of a new console would have been given at the event. Aside from Nintendo's Wii U, which I still can't figure out if it's a new console or a new controller, nothing about the next generation of consoles was talked about. Everything was based in the present and focused mainly around motion controlled gaming with the PlayStation Move and Kinect.

However, it has just been revealed that the highly anticipated successor to the Xbox 360 will be revealed at E3 2012. It has also been revealed that Crytek is making a next-gen Timesplitters 4 game. That is, of course, if the sources speaking on Videogamer.com are correct.

According to Videogamer.com, a "high-ranking industry source at Crytek" told the site that even though specifications for the next Xbox have not been finalized, Crytek is using Microsoft's DirectX11 for next-gen game development. The "source" also stated that Microsoft will announce the new console next year, most likely at E3.

According to the source, "Crytek believes that Microsoft will announce and launch its new machine ahead of rival Sony, though the developer is also investing resources into next-generation PlayStation development."

In addition to that, the source also claims that Timesplitters 4 is currently in development and using the CryEngine 3. It was also said that the game is already being demoed internally. Timesplitters 4 was also supposedly shown off in private last week at E3 2011. If that is true, then it is the best kept secret from E3.

The source went on to say, "As for the game itself, the new Timesplitters is reported to focus on the series' branching paths and exploratory nature, with sandbox-style gameplay elements a big priority. The current goal is for levels to feature multiple routes that lead to the same overall conclusion."

Naturally, both Microsoft and Crytek declined to comment on this news. While the announcement of a new Timesplitters game isn't too crazy, the thought of a new console at E3 2012 is insane. If this is true, and not some well developed hoax, and Microsoft does manage to pump out a console before both Sony and Nintendo, then Microsoft can easily sweep the competition in the next-generation console wars.

Source: IGN - Report - Next Xbox Debuting in 2012?

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New Updated Nintendo Console Announcement

Gamers around the world are hyped for the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) Conference in Los Angeles this week. There companies will reveal countless new games and Nintendo is expected to unveil an updated console.

So, do gamers even want a new, updated Nintendo console? According to data that was collected from Nielsen, there is almost a completely equal number of gamers that would like to see a console from Nintendo, Sony or Microsoft.

"Beyond expectations, nearly a quarter of gamers say they would buy a new console from Nintendo (27 percent) within six months of release, but a near-equal share say the same for new Sony and Microsoft consoles," Nielsen said in a blog post.

Nintendo has already confirmed that they will be showing off some new hardware at their Tuesday press conference but that won’t be happening during Sony and Microsoft’s press conferences.

Microsoft released some stats on its Xbox 360 on Friday, June 3. It showed that there is plenty of interest still in the Xbox 360, so there really isn’t a need for Microsoft to produce a new console right now; however, some are speculating that Microsoft will be announcing a new Xbox subscription TV service instead.

Sony, on the other hand, will most likely be focusing on its Next Generation Portable (NGP). The company has been posting previews about the device and the games that will be available for it on its Sony PlayStation blog.

So, because Microsoft and Sony are both focusing on things besides a new, updated console, if gamers are looking for a new console, they will either have to turn to Nintendo or simply wait on Microsoft and Sony. Nintendo said that it "will show a playable model of the new system and announce more specifications at the E3 Expo," so it will be very interesting to see what they roll out tomorrow.

Nielsen said that "Nintendo's comparatively larger Wii audience is behind much of the interest in the new Nintendo platform." They did, however, go on to say that the Wii gamers surveyed that also had experience with an Xbox 360 or PS3 "voice greater interest in a new Microsoft or Sony console than in one from Nintendo."

Nielsen reported that, despite this, it "will ultimately depend on the actual features, price point, and timing of release for the Nintendo console, versus satisfaction with currently owned platforms and other new system options."

Nielsen went on to report that the online chatter about Nintendo’s new console at the E3 conference is much higher this year than the buzz and hype was last year for the unveiling of Microsoft’s Kinect add-on for the Xbox 360. The talk about Nintendo’s new console has accounted for 22 percent of all of the current E3 talk right now. Last year, the Kinect was only able to grab 4 percent during the same period of time.

"Trended buzz shows a substantial increase in interest generated by rumors and confirmation of the new Nintendo console seven to five weeks pre-E3," Nielsen said. "This is especially so compared to 2010 buzz for Kinect and Nintendo's own 3DS handheld, which was unveiled last year at E3 as well. In the past several weeks the differences in chatter have narrowed, though it remains to be seen if any more key buzz-driving information will be released before the much-anticipated unveiling."

There is definitely a lot of hype surrounding the new Nintendo console unveiling. I personally can’t wait to see it, despite the fact that I am indeed a fan of Sony gaming products. One more day to sit and wait. I think I can make it until then.

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Decrease in Overall Gaming Sales, But Records Still Broken

Despite all of the new games, accessories, and improved gaming systems that were released this past year, gaming sales in 2010 definitely went down. Yes, there were huge accomplishments like Microsoft selling 8 million Kinect accessory packages in the first 60 days after its release, and the fact that the company sold more Xbox 360s this year than ever before, but sales numbers were still lower than last year.

On Thursday, January 13 the NPD Group published their December and annual reports concerning video games in 2010. The reports said that the total sales for video games in 2010 reached $18.58 billion. They went on to explain that this sales figure was less than the past two years. Sales in 2009 were $19.66 billion while video games brought in $21.4 billion in 2008.

NPD did offer an explanation for the drop in sales. They said that they could be attributed to the 13 percent dip in spending on console hardware and a 6 percent drop in new video game software sales. The firm went on to say that consumer spending for new and used games, as well as downloadable games, have dropped by one percent. Now on the other hand, the sales of video game accessories have gone up. In 2010 the sale of all video game accessories jumped a whole 13 percent above the sales numbers from 2009. For the month of December alone, sales reached $853.2 million.

One of the biggest contributors that even allowed the gaming sales numbers to be what they are for 2010 was Microsoft’s Xbox 360. Sales of consoles went up 42 percent in 2010 over what they were the year before. December was a record setting month for the five-year-old console. Sales numbers showed that Microsoft sold 1.9 million units, making it the best-selling month ever for the gaming platform.

Microsoft said that to accommodate the unexpected demands in December they had to make units available that had been set aside for January and February production runs. "Despite this, Microsoft still experienced out of supply situations in late December,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement that confirmed the news of the shortage. “It [Microsoft] expects supply constraint to continue in January and February as it works with retail and manufacturing partners to expedite production and shipments to replenish the channel."

Although Microsoft definitely had incredible sales numbers in December, the company with the top overall hardware sales for 2010 was Nintendo. The company sold more than 8.5 million DS systems for the year, as well as 7 million Wii consoles. For the month of December, the company sold 2.5 million DS units and 2.3 million Wii units.

Now everyone needs to remember that overall gaming sales also include PC gaming. In 2010 PC gaming has had a small increase since 2009. Its sales numbers grew an overall 3 percent over last year’s numbers in terms of selling software. NPD reported that consumers in 2010 seemed to spend more of their money on used games, game downloads, and digital copies of games. There were some new games in 2010 though that did definitely make a fine contribution to the PC gaming sales numbers. Blizzard’s World of Warcraft : Cataclysm expansion pack and the highly-anticipated Starcraft sequel, Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty, combined to account for 14 percent of the total PC gaming sales for the year.

On the console side there were some new games that definitely upped the gaming sales this year. The best of these include: Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops, EA’s Madden NFL 11, Microsoft’s Halo: Reach, and Nintendo’s New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Of these games Black Ops definitely nabbed the top spot. In the first two months, more than 12 million copies of the game were sold.

Although gaming sales have declined the past two years, plenty of records are still being broken, and we can all definitely agree that gaming itself isn’t declining. There were some great accomplishments, broken records, and new games that we saw in 2010. Who knows what will happen in 2011, but I’m sure that there will be even bigger and better things to come.

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2.5 Million Kinects Sell in the First 25 Days

In the beginning, I can definitely say that I had my doubts about the new motion-based controllers that Microsoft and Sony were releasing for their game systems, but it is now obvious that I was completely wrong about these products. I thought that anyone that was interested in motion-based gameplay would have already purchased Nintendo’s Wii. I also believed that the Xbox 360 and PS3 attracted a crowd that wouldn’t really care about motion-based gameplay, but these assumptions were definitely off-track.

Xbox Kinect is in direct competition with Nintendo’s Wii and Sony’s recently released Playstation Move. Although on Tuesday, November 30th Sony announced that they had shipped out 4.1 million Playstation Moves worldwide in the first two months of the Move’s release. Unfortunately for Sony, Microsoft announced on Monday, November 29th that 2.5 million Kinects were sold…in the first 25 days of its release.

"We are thrilled about the consumer response to Kinect and are working hard with our retail and manufacturing partners to expedite production and shipments of Kinect to restock shelves as fast as possible to keep up with demand," President of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft Don Mattrick said in a statement. "With sales already exceeding two and a half million units in just 25 days, we are on pace to reach our forecast of 5 million units sold to consumers this holiday."

The Kinect and the Move both feature electronic motion sensing technology, but with the Move you need a wand-like controller to be able to direct the game. With the Kinect, as the commercial says about one of the dance games for the Xbox 360, you can “shake everything…except a controller.”

Microsoft reported that it was recording its Kinect sales figures by looking at the sales through consumers, while Sony said that its sales figures represented the number of Moves sold to retailers. They also said that they counted a Move controller as a sale if it was either by itself or if it was sold as a part of the two different Playstation Move bundle packages that the company shipped.

According to analyst Michael Pachter, Microsoft has sold 325,000 Xbox 360s and Sony has sold 250,000 Playstation 3s in October. It is unclear so far as to whether or not these numbers have been influenced by the release of the motion-based controllers.

Microsoft said that Black Friday really helped to kick off the holiday sales of Xbox Kinect. Vice president of merchandising at Target Nik Nayar said that the Kinect was a “top performer” at Target stores during the Black Friday weekend. "We expect Kinect will be a must-have gift this holiday season, so Target will continue to receive consistent shipments of Kinect throughout December," he said.

Although I definitely had my doubts about the Xbox Kinect, I have been proved wrong. Microsoft has a hit on its hands with its controller-free Kinect system. Selling 2.5 million Kinects within the first twenty-five days is quite an accomplishment and not exactly what I expected. I feel that Microsoft’s Kinect will definitely do better than the Move. I believe this because of the new technology that Microsoft has to offer. The ability to be able to control a game without needing any sort of a controller is extremely alluring. Microsoft is sure to do well with this product, and I’m sure that the holiday season will only cause Microsoft’s Kinect sales figures to spike even higher.

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PlayStation Move Surpasses 4.1 Million Units Sold

The good folks over at Sony revealed today that sales for the gaming group's motion control device known as PlayStation Move reached over 4.1 million units sold worldwide. This number comes just two months after the device's release in September for North America, Europe/PAL territories and Asia and only one month after its release in Japan. Sony is looking at these numbers as a clear sign of success for the new motion controller as well as positive momentum leading into this year's holiday season and 2011.

The PlayStation Move controller is used in conjunction with Sony's Eye Camera for the PS3 in order to detect the precise movements, angle and absolute position in 3D space of the controller and the gamer. This allows gamers to intuitively play certain games as if they are actually participating in the games themselves. The device also captures the gamer's image to offer new augmented reality experiences in certain games.

In two months Sony has unleashed more than 30 games that are either supported by PlayStation Move or completely dedicated to the controller. Among the many successful titles gamers will find such games as Sports Champions, Start the Party EyePet Move Edition, MAG, SingStar Dance and a ton more. Platform defining games for the PS3 like Killzone 3 and LittleBigPlanet 2 are set to be Move compatible which Sony hopes will "further establish PlayStation Move as the must-have motion experience for casual and hard-core gamers alike".

There are more than 41.6 million PS3 systems around the globe, and the company believes it is poised to set yet another year of record success, despite being a 5-year-old console. The PS3 is definitely making waves in the gaming community with the PlayStation Move as well as support for stereoscopic 3D. However, the PS3 isn't the only system with motion controllers. The Wii from Nintendo was the first to introduce the motion controller to gamers but tends to focus more on family games and casual gamers. The PlayStation Move's biggest competitor will undoubtedly be Kinect from Microsoft. Not only is Kinect a motion control device, it completely forgoes using a controller at all by instead making the gamer's entire body the controller.

Regardless of competition, the PlayStation Move is obviously doing well. However, I feel like we will not be able to get a true grasp of just how well it is doing until after this forthcoming holiday season. Until then, we will just have to sit back and enjoy what Sony has delivered thus far.

Source: Engadget

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Zhu Zhu Pets Coming to Your Wii & DS

The super-popular Zhu Zhu Pets are coming to your Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS! Activision Publishing, along with GameMill Publishing, Inc., made the announcement earlier this week. The new game, called "Zhu Zhu Pets: Featuring the Wild Bunch," will be based on the popular toys from Cepia, LLC, and it will be released this fall. The game offers new hamsters and wild virtual adventures for fans of the toys.

Though a lot of details aren't yet clear, the new game will allow fans to care for and play with cute new hamsters, as well as some old familiar ones. The Zhu-niverse has been expanded and now includes action-packed gameplay. The Wii version of the game will be a great choice for family fun night because of its multiplayer options.

The game's initial release will be considered a "Collector's Edition," and it will come with a plush chipmunk named Nutters. This limited edition version will retail at $34.99 for the DS and $39.99 for the Wii.

Gary Miller, President of GameMill Publishing, said of the game, "The toy's passionate fans will love the fresh direction we've taken in 'ZhuZhu Pets: Featuring The Wild Bunch,' and it's fantastic that Wii owners can now join in the fun."

In a press release from the three companies involved, Natalie Hornsby, Vice President of Marketing for Cepia, LLC, stated, "'ZhuZhu Pets: Featuring The Wild Bunch' captures the imagination of those who adore our brand. This game is an important next step for us as we continue to evolve the ZhuZhu Pets experience."

The game has not yet been rated, and an exact release date has not yet been set. Zhu Zhu Pets were recently awarded with three toy industry awards: "Toy of the Year," "Girl Toy of the Year," and "Innovative Toy of the Year."

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Play My Dolphin, Win $10,000

Want to win $10,000? If you're a fan of WiiWare Games' "My Dolphin," your chances of doing that have become a lot easier. The Dolphin Trainer World Championship Hit contest will provide one lucky winner with the $10,000 grand prize. All you have to do is get the highest score in the game, making you the "best dolphin trainer." For every 50th (50, 100, 150, etc.) place, $100 will be awarded.

To enter the contest, you'll need to email your nickname, score, and a photograph of your ending screen with the score from the game to 100@my-dolphin.net. Anyone can apply between the dates of June 15, 2010 and August 31, 2010.

Announcements about the winners will be made on July 1, August 2, and August 20, allowing contestants to see who is the "middle ranking best 10." Upon completion of the contest, the winner will be notified via email.

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Kidz Bop Dance Party Coming This Fall

Kidz Bop is the most popular music brand in the United States for kids and now they're taking the music to a video game. Exclusively for Wii, Kidz Bop Dance Party: The Video Game will have your kids dancing in no time. Created by D3Publisher, the game includes chart-topping music and lets your kids have the ultimate dance party in their own living room!

The game features 24 of the most popular Kidz Bop hits, such as "Paparazzi," "Thriller," and "Get the Party Started," sung by kids, for kids. Users can customize their own characters by mixing and matching outfits and accessories. The game features five different modes: free play, challenge, dance off, shop and dress-up. You can dance alone or as a team, or play in two-player challenge mode. You can even have a dance-off and compete with your friends for the top score. If you make a mistake, you're not penalized and you'll learned tips and tricks from real kids that will help you become the next big Kidz Bop star!

“We’re thrilled to partner with Kidz Bop and create an interactive experience that encourages kids to get active, dance, and have fun with the latest music hits All the music tracks featured in Kidz Bop Dance Party! The Video Game have kid-friendly lyrics and the easy pick-up and play gameplay will make the game accessible to kids as well as parents. Kidz BopDance Party! The Video Game will be a game the entire family can enjoy together," said Alison Quirion, the vice president of marketing for D3Publisher, in a press release.

Victor Zaraya, the COO of Kidz Bop said in the same press release, "Millions of kids across the country have grown up listening to Kidz Bop and we are constantly looking for fun and engaging ways for our fans to interact with the music they love. Kidz Bop Dance Party! The Video Game is the perfect way to get kids up and dancing along to their favorite Kidz Bop songs.”

The game is schedule to hit stores on September 21.

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Sims 3 to Grace Consoles in Fall 2010

The Sims 3 will be breaking free of its "PC only" chains and will be landing in the homes of console and handheld gamers during the fall of this year. Publisher Electronic Arts has revealed that The Sims 3, an extremely popular life simulation title, will be ported to the Xbox 360 from Microsoft, the PlayStation 3 from Sony, and of course the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS. Conspicuously absent from this list is the Sony Playstation Portable, considering how well the PSP version of The Sims 2 sold. If you're worried that the transition from keyboard-and-mouse to thumbsticks-and-buttons won't go well, consider that EA assures us that it has "tailored each platform of The Sims 3 with exclusive features to allow for even more control, creativity, and connectivity."

From the initial announcement, it seems that the console and handheld version of The Sims 3 will be keeping many of the features seen in the initial PC launch of 2009. However, new to the consoles will be the addition of "Karma Powers". New instant and powerful mutations which will let you toy directly with your Sims well being. They include things like “epic fail” which allows you to bestow misfortune on your sims, “instant beauty” for a quick makeover, or “get lucky” to give them a boost to their status. But beware, EA advises that the use of the karma system may give unexpected results and even come back to haunt you. Presumably so players will not abuse the system.

Despite new content coming to the Xbox360 and PS3, it's the Wii and DS that by far have with the neatest sounding new content. The Wii gets a brand new beach town with its own unique residents, traits, careers and lifetime goals. In addition you'll be able to challenge your friends in a new "Life Moments" mini game mode to earn rewards. It also sounds like EA has added some exclusive "adventure quests" which are designed to give the player a more personal experience in each area as well as break up stretches of monotony that has plagued some of the earlier Sims titles.

The DS version will be getting a "never before seen" feature where the players will use the Nintendo DS's stylus to utilize their creativity and "build their Sims' homes with tools, draw walls and floors, and customize virtually everything from décor objects, textures, and much more." This aspect full plays to the DS's strengths allowing you to fully take control your Sims looks, attributes, wardrobe, and the aesthetics of their house. Also revealed about the Sims 3 is a slew of social features which will allow players to earn trophies and achievements which can then be shared via Facebook. The game will also include features to design, build, and share the objects and neighborhoods they create.

Scott Evans, the general manager of The Sims Studio, had this to say about newly announced console port. "We’re building on this foundation and applying new features that will make for a robust, deep and rewarding gameplay experience. I’m extremely proud of the game that the team is making and can’t wait to bring these exciting new features like ‘Karma Powers’ to life and get them into players’ hands.”

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PlayStation Move or More Like Wii HD?

When Sony unveiled the first details about their new motion controller, many people simply thought "Oh so its Wii HD" and it isn't too surprising why people thought that. While it may seem like an insult to some, the fact that Sony's motion controller is being called Wii HD may be a very good thing for publishers, developers and gamers alike.

Sony has an extremely great opportunity, one that Nintendo failed to capitalize on, and that is the market of hardcore gamers. Gamers have been begging for a long time to see more hardcore games on the Wii but whenever one does come out, people pass it over sending the message of "stop making these games" to developers. But now, thanks to Sony and their new motion controller, the new message might be "stop making these games.....for Wii."

Gamers on the 360 and PS3 tend to pick up and accept hard-core games on these systems. They also have a tendency to bounce between games more regularly. If you look at the sales charts for the Wii, you will notice that there is always the same 5 types of games. That is because those games are the ones people tend to buy and play continuously on the Wii. Party games like Mario Party and all the Wii Sports games are the primary appeal of Wii gamers. That, fortunately, is not the case for the 360 and PS3.

The problem with Nintendo is a perception problem that prevents their third-party developers from having success with adult-oriented games. On the other hand, Sony has the exact opposite problem. PlayStation Move will be coming to an audience already used to the onslaught of hardcore games and Sony needs to get Move to the people. Sony also face's the problem of convincing their user base that they need the Move rather than the Move being another peripheral or add-on.

One good thing is that even if Move is essentially Wii HD, it does give game makers another outlet for their projects. No more relying on the notably picky and unpredictable Wii gamer to grab your new motion controlled game. One big question is whether or not Move should target the hardcore gamers. Wii was a success due to the casual gamer, not the hardcore. But that is a different discussion entirely.

From what we can tell, Nintendo doesn't really seem interested in Wii HD anymore and Microsoft has completely thrown their motion controller idea straight out the window (not Natal, that's a different story). It seems only fair that Sony be able to give it a shot, especially considering that many gamers have been begging for it. Whether this idea is going to work or not is still up in the air. I guess we have a lot to look forward to the next couple of months.

Source: Gizmodo

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Disney's Guilty Party for Wii

Disney's Guilty Party is a new, upcoming mystery game for Wii. The family-friendly game is being created by Wideload Games, Disney Interactive Studios’ Chicago development studio and is set to be released later this year.

The game tells the tale of the Dickens Detective Agency and a master criminal named Mr. Valentine. Up to four players can play. Each player will pick a member of the Dickens family/detective to play and travel around the world to various locations to attempt to solve a crime. Players will work together to look for clues and when they think they have a suspect, attempt to solve the crime.

Tom Kang, studio head and general manager of Wideload Games says everyone loves a good mystery. "Mysteries are one of the world's most beloved forms of storytelling, and Guilty Party brings mysteries to Wii in a way that the whole family can play together," he said in a press release about the game.

Players will gather clues by interrogating suspects, exploring crime scenes and playing mini-games. Your Wii remote will transform into a number of detective tools, including a magnifying glass, flashlight, lock-pick, and fingerprint kit. Once you've found some clues, you'll piece together the clues from your detective notebooks to decide who is the culprit. You'll also track Mr. Valentine across the world, from a high-speed train to a leaky aquarium and everything in between, using your quick wit and reflexes.

Patrick Curry, the game director for Wideload Games says, the game plays like a board game. It will be great for family night. The game was inspired by classic detective stories and infused with Wideload's distinctive art and humor style. It's the first game being created for the company for Disney Interactive Studios.

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Top Selling Games of '09

Even though 2009 was a bad year for the US as a whole, financially, the gaming industry has something to celebrate. Last week, tracking firm NPD announced the United States retail console game industry made about $19.66 billion in revenue in 2009, which is down 8% from 2008's $21.4 billion. So what's the good news? December 2009 beat out other month's sales from both 2008 and 2009, and any other month ever. Could that be a sign of good things to come?

Entertainment Software Association president Michael D. Gallagher is looking at it as a positive. "Clearly, 2009 was a tough year for consumers and the national economy. However, the bigger picture is one that underscores the industry’s strength; 2009 and 2008 were the highest grossing years in our industry’s history. Our industry's structure is solid, and I anticipate a strong 2010 with a pipeline full of highly-anticipated titles," he said in a statement released with the study.

Portable hardware is the only aspect of the industry that saw an increase in sales last year (6%). Console hardware saw a drop of 13% with console software down 10% and portable software also down 10%. But NPD analyst Anita Frazier believes the new games on slate for 2010 will help turn things around, "Hopefully, the big increase in the overall install base of hardware systems will bring good things for software sales in 2010."

Speaking of software, NPD also released a top ten list of console games sold in the United States. Nintendo dominated the list with seven of the game (six were for Wii). But Wii didn't make the top spot. Xbox 360 received that honor. The entire list is as follows:

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox 360)


2. Wii Sports Resort (Wii)


3. New Super Mario Brothers (Wii)


4. Wii Fit (Wii)


5. Wii Fit Plus (Wii)


6. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)


7. Wii Play (Wii)


8. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PlayStation 3)


9. Halo 3: ODST (Xbox 360)


10. Pokemon Platinum Version (NDS)

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The Wii Could Become the New Home Lie Detector

When Nintendo first introduced the Wii in 2006, everyone was very skeptical. No one thought that the system would be able to come close to competing with Sony’s Playstation 3. Everyone laughed at Nintendo’s system’s old fashioned graphics and completely different type of controller. The name that Nintendo chose also caused more ridicule. A Wii? What on earth was a Wii? Everyone said that there was no possible way that the seemingly low-tech game system could stand up against Sony’s HD-capable PS3, but…we were all wrong.

We quickly discovered after the overwhelming sales of Nintendo’s Wii that a lot of people were not concerned about HD graphics, they just wanted to have fun. Honestly, the Wii can’t compete against the Xbox 360 and PS3 because its completely different. Its in a whole new category of gaming.

The various sensors that the Wii console utilizes are what make it the most unique. There’s the motion sensor based controller, the Wii Fit board, and so many more sensor based tools that will be coming out soon. One of these new tools is the Wii Vitality Sensor. This device attaches to your finger and monitors your pulse. This gives the Wii the ability to monitor your stress level while you play different games. Some say this could possibly keep you from playing if you get too nervous or maybe while doing meditation exercises. There are endless possibilities with this latest development.

With the Vitality Sensor, Wii could easily come up with a complete lie detector set. That could be an interesting new twist. So say that something gets broken at your house and nobody wants to own up to it, all you have to do is whip out the old Wii lie detector set and you’ll figure out exactly who did it.

Honestly, I kind of think this would just be too weird. Hooking your kids up to the Wii to see if they’re lying just kind of seems a little out there to me. Now this isn’t all that this new technology could produce, there’s plenty of other things that could come out of the Vitality Sensor. Whatever it is that Wii develops, its almost guaranteed to grab the gaming world’s attention.

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Looking at the Video Game World This Past Year

The video game industry has been a constant up and down rollercoaster this year. 2009 sales for Nintendo’s Wii, Microsoft’s Xbox 360, and Sony’s Playstation 3 and all their accessories and games have soared and plummeted during this year of recession.

The NPD Group industry analysis reported that last January sales were up 13 percent over the previous year. That boost continued into February when sales were up 10 percent over 2008. It was questioned why video game sales were up so much while jobs were disappearing rapidly. The conclusion that many came to was that the entertainment of a family game such as Madden 10 allows some great value for the dozens of hours of fun that your family can enjoy for around $50.

By March, the video game high was gone. Sales crashed as they went 17 percent below the previous year. This remained pretty constant month after month. The revenue figures proved that the video game industry was not recession-proof.

Now not everything was bad from there. Some individual games and companies did quite well. 2009 showed some great promise with the release of such games as Beatles: Rock Band, Assassins Creed II, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II. With Beatles: Rock Band, more than 700,000 games were sold worldwide in the first week. Activision’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 racked up sales of over $310 million on the very first day alone. It quickly became the fastest-selling piece of entertainment in history in November.

In September, PS3 won the monthly sales award, beating out Xbox and Wii for the first time in three years. This was because of the August release of the PS3 Slim. This offered a smaller version of the console that could be purchased for a very reasonable price of $299. Nintendo began to cut their prices in 2009 though. The Wii went from the original price of $249 to $199, and by mid-fall, Nintendo retook their top sales spot.

Although sales have been up and down quite a bit, the video game industry will never have to worry about plummeting permanently. They might have a few bumps along the way as we saw this year, but they will always spring back. It will be interesting to see were the industry will go in this coming new year.

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Suprising New Hardware in Next-Gen Consoles

How long has it been now since we first got our hands on the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3? If memory serves me right it has only been three rather short years since our lives were filled with motion controllers and blu-ray playing consoles and already there are rumors scurrying all across the web about the newest installments for each console and some of the new hardware each one may be bringing to the table.

Lets start with Sony. According to a report found in the Japanese press, Sony is apparently working on a multi-core design for the PlayStation 4. The PS3 currently runs on a Cell architecture which is one of the reasons the console is hard to develop for. Early on some of the different choices Sony was looking at were Intel's Larrabee and a modified version of the Synergistic Processor Unit. However, that is all over with now as it appears Sony is working with multi-core designs. However, I don't think this is anything to get to heated over yet because Sony also announced that a new handheld is due to come out before the PS4. The PSP2 isn't supposed to come out until 2013 so there is still a bit of a wait.

Switching gears over to Nintendo, rumors have already begun to surface for the Wii 2 as well. It seems that the powers that be over at Nintendo and the suits over at Intel have been discussing hardware to power Nintendo's new console. Word on the gaming street is that the two companies may be talking about using a GPU/CPU combo for the Wii 2, similar to Larrabee. We could very well see Intel powering the new console from Nintendo whenever it comes out.

It seems the only people not discussing a new console just yet is Microsoft. Microsoft still believes that there is a vast untapped potential in the Xbox 360 and that it still has a lot of kick still left in it. With the introduction of Project Natal, among other things, we may very well see the Xbox 360 go up against a PS4 or Wii 2 before we see an Xbox 720 or something like that give it a go.

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Valentine's Day Brings Pink and Blue Wiimotes to America

Back in October, all of us Americans sat in envy as we watched folks over in Japan sit down and enjoy some good ol' family fun on the Wii with their brand new blue and pink Wiimotes. Yep, while us yanks were still furiously swinging about our plain white and black Wiimotes, Wii fans in Japan were adding a dash of color to their lives.

We tend to look on in envy sometimes at the technology Japan gets and we don't. But that is no longer the case with these Wiimotes as Nintendo as revealed that they will begin shipping the blue and pink Wiimotes all over the US starting February 14th, Valentines Day.

Some people may be surprised that the Wiimotes are not making it in time for Christmas. But considering the Wiimotes are pink and blue, the typical colors for his and hers, it isn't surprising to see them coming out on Valentine's Day as they would appear to be a perfect Valentine's Day gift for that special Wii-loving someone in your life.

Both the blue and pink Wiimotes will come bundled with the Wii MotionPlus attachment and protective jacket. Nintendo is marketing these new Wiimotes with the notion that if coupled with the black and original white Wiimotes, every person in the party could have their own unique colored Wiimote. One thing that was a little disappointing was the fact that Nintendo does not plan on releasing nunchuks in matching colors as they did with the black Wiimotes. But nevertheless, the blue and pink Wiimotes are sure to be hot items come this February. Pricing hasn't been confirmed but the Wiimotes should cost the same $40 as the others.

Source: Engadget

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Friiboard, a new accessory for your WiiFit Balance Board

For fans of snowboarding and skiing games on the Wii, a new clip-on accessory is available to challenge your abilities and your injury resistance.

Its basically curved piece of plastic that you clip on to the bottom of your WiiFit Balance Board. It allows you to rock from side to side, and forward and backwards, to give you a more realistic feel while playing games such as Shawn White Snowboarding or Tony Hawk.

It sounds like a great idea, and for those who are experienced enough with snowboarding and skateboarding away from video games, you know, like outdoors, it may be a perfect match. But for novices or those who have little to no balance skills, you may want to stay away from this one until you are confident you won't be taking a header into your TV. The unimpressive $45 price tag is a bit steep too, especially considering its merely a piece of plastic.

Will New Wii Paid Video Service Bump Sales?

The Nintendo Wii is definitely still keeping its footing in the video game world. Recent survey statistics and a new stream of revenues insinuate that Wii is doing well and will only do better this Christmas season. Survey data from an online wish-list and gift-giving site called Lottay show that the Wii and all its games and accessories will definitely gain some more momentum.

The Wii and everything that goes along with the game system were wished for over twice as much as the PS3 or Xbox 360. Now a wish does not mean that the product will necessarily be bought for the hopeful recipient, but since there is a shortage of super exciting gifts this holiday season, the Wii and other less-new products should be able to be successful in sales.

Although Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello said just a few weeks ago that the Wii game system hadn’t been as strong as they imagined, Cammie Dunway, who is the executive vice president of sales and marketing for Nintendo of America, seems to remain extremely positive about the current sales and the future sales of the holiday season.

In the U.S., Nintendo’s focus for the Wii has been more on games and accessories for the system instead of additional services like the Xbox 360’s Xbox Live, which gives users access to Facebook, Twitter, and Last.fm.

Now in Japan, the Wii console is much more sophisticated that it is here in the U.S. Nintendo previously launched an advertising program to the Japanese systems that turns family time with the Wii into a somewhat commercial endeavor, and it also introduced a catering channel that allows users to order food from a variety of assorted vendors right through the console and have it delivered to your door.

Just this weekend, Nintendo has added a variety of interactive services, with a paid video download service for Japanese consoles. The new service, “Theater No Ma,” offers a range of movies, anime, and a variety of other downloadable content from providers such as Walt Disney and Sesame Workshop.

Services such as this have been available in the U.S. for quite some time but not so much in Japan. Nintendo researchers were able to find out that 87% of Japanese Wii users have their console hooked up the biggest screen in the house which is normally in the living room. This will cause the new video downloading system to most likely appeal to Wii users because of the ease and location of the TV and console. Nintendo hopes that this new paid service will bring in more revenue and bump their sales statistics up.