Holidash. Blogging the holidays so you don't have to!

JC Fletcher
- http://www.nintendowiifanboy.com

THE ERA AND TIME OF THIS STORY IS UNKNOWN. AFTER THE MOTHERSHIP "ARKANOID" WAS DESTROYED, A SPACECRAFT "JC Fletcher" SCRAMBLED AWAY FROM IT. BUT ONLY TO BE TRAPPED IN SPACE WARPED BY SOMEONE......

Watch children enjoy Taiko no Tatsujin Wii


The kids in this ad are totally enthusiastic, but we'd be even more excited than these two kids if we walked into the living room and found Taiko no Tatsujin Wii and two drums. These imaginary parents (of the future, since the game comes out December 11) were able to just go to the store and purchase the game, whereas anyone hoping to elicit an "Ohhhh, Taiko da!" (It's Taiko!) from us would have to order an import copy of the game and surreptitiously install homebrew software on our Wii.

The point is, basically, that we are intensely jealous of these children and their adorable, Taiko-tolerating cat. The girl just twists the knife by declaring that it's "like an arcade." Oh, right, they have arcades too.

Wii was most desired eBay item on Black Friday


eBay issued a press release touting the rush of activity on their online auction site last Friday, in which they celebrated the success of consumer electronics auctions. The press release noted the items for which more people searched eBay than any other, and our favorite console topped the list. The Wii was the most-searched item across all of eBay on Black Friday, and 3,171 of those searchers paid too much for it (an average price of $349) by buying on eBay.

The second most-searched item was probably picked up by most of the same people -- Wii Fit sold 1,059 units at an average $140 price. Congratulations to everyone who "won" one of these items, we guess! Although it's kind of sad to think of all those people either getting rid of their Wiis or grabbing them from stores for the express purpose of eBay markup.

[Via GamesIndustry.biz]

Fatal Frame IV may disturb Europe in February


All we've heard about the release of Fatal Frame IV in the US is that Nintendo apparently isn't publishing it. According to retailer Play.com and Official Nintendo Magazine (via reports on NeoGAF and also this sliver of a scan found on GoNintendo), the Tecmo/Grasshopper Manufacture survival horror title could be headed to Europe on February 6, under the name ... Fatal Frame IV, rather than the series' customary European Project Zero title.

Nintendo of Europe's apparent decision to publish this makes Reggie's snub seem just a bit more painful, though we believe that it would be good business for the newly-combined Tecmo/Koei to publish it in North America themselves.

Gallery: Fatal Frame 4

Wii Warm Up: Disaster planning


After delays and uncertainty, Disaster: Day of Crisis finally came out in Europe and Japan -- and pretty much bombed. New information suggests that Disaster may be planned for a North American release (although we suspect it's more that said release was planned years ago when the game was first unveiled, and just has yet to be cancelled).

But should it? Do you think the game has a better chance here than in other regions? Would you have any expectation of sales, especially given Reggie's low confidence (and thus low likelihood of promotion)? Personally, we want to play it and we don't much care if Nintendo of America profits on it or not. They've got enough money, but we don't have enough copies of Disaster. Feel free to speak from the position of "armchair business analyst" or "person who wants to play a game"!

Wii Warm Up: Day of buyer's remorse

Yesterday was the most hyped shopping day of the year. Some of you braved the morning insanity out in the retail world, and some of you (and us) took advantage of delightful online deals. One thing every shopping experience had in common: unexpectedly awesome deals other than the ones you'd planned to buy.

Did you make any impulse buys that you now regret? Did your money-saving efforts end up costing you a ton? Or are there deals that you regret not jumping on?

Rock Band 2 may not be ridiculously late in Europe


It's hard to be a Rock Band fan and a Wii owner. It's much, much harder to be a Rock Band fan and a Wii owner in Europe. While Rock Band first released on the Xbox 360 in the US in November 2007, people hoping to play it on their PAL Wiis didn't see it until September of this year, following delays.

The situation may not be as dire for Rock Band 2. Amazon.fr offers a January 22 release date for the Wii, PS3, and PS2 versions of the sequel. That's not that long after the North American Wii release in December! Not that we're sure it's coming out here in December.

[Via Wiiz]

Yes, you can get the Wii Speak Channel ticket when you buy a used microphone


It's hard to believe that so much controversy could be stirred up by the Wii Speak Channel. Chances are that, had the shocking Wii Download Ticket scare not happened, none of us would have cared much about it. After a statement from Nintendo that didn't quite answer a Edge finally got a point-blank answer from Nintendo on the subject of the eligibility of owners of used WiiSpeak mics to get Download Tickets. Good news!

"Any consumer who requires a Wii Download Ticket after purchasing a pre-owned Wii Speak Accessory may contact their local Nintendo Customer Services department, where they can request a Wii Download Ticket for the Wii Speak Channel for free."

You can't get the Channel for use with your WiiSpeak on a friend's Wii, and you can't get a Ticket for use with a third-party mic peripheral. But hey! Nintendo isn't nefariously penalizing used sales like we all assumed!

Ever since it was revealed back at E3, WiiSpeak has been the talk (both good and bad) of the town. Check out our hands-on time with the device, as well as the details you may have missed on the WiiSpeak Channel. Plan on picking one up? Then you might want to check out Game Night, where you'll surely be able to chat with your fellow Wii lovers in the future.

Check out the full set of Amazon Wii deals before they vanish

We thought we had missed the opportunity to post the full list of Amazon Black Friday Wii deals, but we've checked this morning and every item isn't sold out! In fact, a lot of stuff is still in stock! Bless Amazon for making it possible for people to grab a huge deal without waking up at 2AM or waiting in line in the dang cold.

We may regret sharing this with you, as we have yet to get in on the $10 Resident Evil 4 or NiGHTS, the $26 de Blob, or the $8 Perfect Shot. But it's the holidays! 'Tis the season to be sharing, Fred.

Life Force, Nobunaga, more on Japanese VC in December

The Virtual Console offerings for Japan in December are fairly lean once again. It's fairly depressing to see Nintendo of Japan adopting Nintendo of America's stance toward the Virtual Console (that stance being "there probably don't need to be many games on it.") At least the ones coming out are reasonably interesting! Well, except for another Wonder Boy.

We're definitely excited about Konami's Salamander on the Famicom, because it means we may see the American version, Life Force, soon! One of the other Famicom releases, Atlantis no Nazo, is featured in the latest Famicom Dojo video.

Other interesting additions include Nobunaga's Ambition on the Super Famicom (what a coincidence!) and a Taito platformer called Jigoku Meguri whose title translates to Tour of Hell. The full list is after the break!

Continue reading Life Force, Nobunaga, more on Japanese VC in December

Capcom shoots down Bionic Commando, new Street Fighters on Wii


We're just going to have to give up on this whole Bionic Commando thing. Capcom can't get it on Virtual Console, and, according to statements made by Christian Svensson, VP of Strategic Planning & Business Development, the downloadable Bionic Commando: Rearmed isn't going to happen on Wii either (though you can pretend it is, thanks to Mike!) He said on the Capcom forum that because of WiiWare's stringent file size limits, "It would not be an inexpensive process and I'm not sure the result would be completely satisfactory."

The same is true of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, or, as it would be known on the Wii, Super Street Fighter II Turbo Remix: "It couldn't ever be Wiiware, even at 480p." Although Svensson offers the faint notion of a future disc-based release. "We'll see how it does on its current platforms and then maybe we'll see." That's a lot of seeing!

In the same info-tastic forum post, Svensson mused once more on the possibility of Street Fighter IV. "In theory, with reasonable downgrades in visual quality including resolution reduction, yes." He raised the very valid concern of how to map the traditional Street Fighter control scheme to the Wiimote and Nunchuk (Tatsunoko uses a different control scheme). Our answer: arcade stick bundle. Look at Wii Fit, Wii Play, and Guitar Hero: Wii games with bundled peripherals sell fantastically.

[Via Nintendo Everything]

Cave Story videos are almost great

These videos of the Cave Story remake (best viewed at IGN in full resolution) clearly depict a work in progress. They'd better! The new graphics look very promising indeed, and the game looks appropriately smooth in motion. But the music is still janky (though not as janky) and every sound effect is rendered as loud white noise.

It's really distressing to have the usually delightful Grasstown stage marred by weird sound effects -- not to mention the occasional escape of text from the confines of the text box. We're giving Nicalis the benefit of the doubt, mostly because we want to make sure to continue sending good, happy thoughts their way. Cave Story requires your happy thoughts to live!


Nintendo Australia and EBGames opening 'Nintendo Experience' December 6


Nintendo of Australia has announced that they will open a special Nintendo gaming area above the EBGames store on Swanston Street in Melbourne, Australia on December 6. The opening of the "Nintendo Experience" won't just be a chance for people to come hang out at EB and annoy the staff, however -- Nintendo is throwing a launch event starting at 10 AM, and some kind of VIP event the night before.

The announcement hints at appearances by Nintendo characters at the morning event, so maybe you can finally get that "guy in a Pikachu suit" autograph. More exciting is the fact that the first 100 to go in will receive a free game, effectively avoiding prohibitive Australian game prices. Consoles will be given away at the event as well!

[Via Vooks]

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Girls vs. huge robots


The latest gameplay footage from Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes features a ridiculous-looking bout between a Morrigan/Chun Li team and the enormous Gold Lightan. The outsized robot seems to have little difficulty with the pair, as he grabs Morrigan out of the air and spikes her, performs deadly belly-flops, and even reflects one of Chun Li's projectiles with his hand. We suspect, of course, that the game's balance actually keeps the giant character from having any unfair advantages -- but he sure is intimidating.

As usual, the update includes a look at each character's minigame. Keeping Gold Lightan looking his best, and most intimidating, is the focus of his minigame, in which you polish his golden exterior. Morrigan's game involves grabbing a hero (Ryu in the screenshots), lifting him miles into the air, and then piledriving him into the ground. Chun-Li, in her minigame, chisels a statue from stone with her Lightning Kicks.

Amazon's Black Friday deals are worth staying home for

The Black Friday game deals that Amazon has revealed so far are among the most compelling anywhere -- and that's not even taking into account the fact that you don't have to face the teeming masses of retail zombies to get your hands on them. All you need is a finger hovering over the F5 key and a credit card nearby.

Amazon sent a partial list to Kotaku, with the promise that there will be lots more cheap games to buy come Black Friday. The standout among the Wii offers is the Animal Crossing/WiiSpeak bundle for $40, but we'd feel like victorious Black Friday navigators if we managed to score a $26 copy of de Blob or a $30 Wario Land: Shake It.

Oh, and they'll have Wii systems and copies of Wii Fit starting midnight (we assume PST, since that's when Amazon usually updates their deals).

Wii hardware Animal Crosses the 7 million mark in Japan

Enterbrain reports that the Wii system has, as of November 23, sold 7,000,000 units in Japan. To compare, the GameCube has sold 4 million in its home country (according to Wikipedia), and the DS has sold -- oh wait, that one doesn't make the Wii sales sound as good.

Helping to drive the Wii sales last week was Animal Crossing: City Folk, of which an astonishing 303,204 copies flew off of Japanese store shelves in its debut week. If we were feeling snarky about Animal Crossing, we'd say that between that and Chrono Trigger, it was a good week for ports. But that's mean.

Gallery: Animal Crossing: City Folk


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This Month's New Games

Name Date
King of Fighters: Orochi Saga
Nov 25
Ultimate Band
Nov 25
Mushroom Men
Dec 2
Iron Chef America Dec 5
Rock Band 2
Dec 16
Ultimate Shooting Collection
Dec 16
Neopets Puzzle Adventure
Dec 30

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