EA begins to slowly work the MySims brand into the ground with the addition of two all-new and completely predictable games for the Wii and DS - MySims Party and MySims Racing.
Yes, the adorable little MySims are ripe for exploitation, so here comes a mini-game compilation and a kart racer! MySims Party features more than 50 mini games that you can put your MySim through, though there is a bit of a twist. Rather than have all players control generic characters, each MySim in the game has different stats, so picking the right one for the job is half the battle.
Then there's MySims Racing, which pits MySim against MySim in intense multiplayer races for up to four players. Customize your car and take it to the track, each one filled with power-ups to help you get the jump on the competition.
Both games are due out this year for the Nintendo Wii, with a slightly slimmed-down version the DS at the same time. Both also take a beloved, time-honored brand and turn it into your average piece of borderline shovelware.
http://blip.tv/file/1644981EA ANNOUNCES UPCOMING TITLES FROM THE MYSIMS FRANCHISE
MySims Party and MySims Racing for the Wii and Nintendo DS Set to Release in 2009
REDWOOD CITY, CA â January 7, 2009 âElectronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), today announced the next two titles to be released within the MySims⢠Franchise. MySims⢠Party and MySims⢠Racing, available for the Wii⢠and Nintendo DSâ˘, will release in 2009.
âWhen we created the MySims world, we believed that the MySims characters could be part of a variety of different gaming experiences. We are thrilled to bring MySims Party and MySims Racing to fans and new players alike.â said Tim LeTourneau, Executive in Charge of Production for MySims. âWeâve had great success with MySims, with both the original game and this autumnâs MySims Kingdom. Players have really connected with the characters and now we are giving them two completely new and exciting experiences. We believe that MySims Party and MySims Racing, are great ways to couple the creativity and humor players love about the franchise with great multi-player arcade gameplay.â
MySims Party for the Wii MySims Party turns any gathering into an instant party with 50 mini games to choose from, each hosted by a different MySim. You and your friends have the chance to Stick the Trick in the extreme snowboarding mini game, outrun a robot in Robo Assault or shake your groovey thing with DJ Candy during the Go Go Dancing challenge. Each MySim character brings a unique combination of skills to the mission, with differing levels of endurance, speed and luck giving you the option to choose the best MySim for the task. You can play mini games one right after the other, or you and your friends can compete in a themed festival such as food, music or sports that offers multiple mini games.
MySims Party for the Nintendo DS Take the mini games with you! MySims Party for the Nintendo DS offers 40 mini games to choose from. These games, specific for the DS, offer hours of entertainment. You can dig up dinosaur fossils during Excavate-a-Saurus, join Goth Boy on a first person shooter mission during Haunted Hunted or rock out with Air-Guitar-Star!
MySims Racing for the Wii Race to the finish line in MySims Racing! Face a variety of tricky MySim opponents on a huge variety of exotic tracks! Take on up to three friends in intense multiplayer racing. During your race, find awesome power-ups such as the heat-seeking jack-o-lantern pumpkin or a bubble dropper that can help you wreck the competition. There are nearly endless customization options so that your car reflects your high-gear personality. You can swap bodies, change paint jobs and add tons of accessories. Not only can you change the look of your car, you can also improve power, acceleration and handling by mixing and matching engines, suspension and tires.
MySims Racing for the Nintendo DS Take the race with you! MySims Racing for the Nintendo DS allows you and up to three of your friends to race each other using local wireless or Nintendo Wi-Fi.
Things aren't going so well in the world of EA. Disappointing sales of games like Mirror's Edge and Dead Space have forced the company to restructure, letting go of 10% of its workforce. However, we see newfound hope for the company's bottom line with its latest Nintendo-focused efforts. EA is planning on expanding the MySims franchise with two new games that truly broaden what's possible in gaming.MySims Party promises to turn any gathering into an "instant party" by offering -- wait for it -- a variety of minigames to play with. Shake the Wii Remote to partake in 50 minigames, ranging from snowboarding to dancing. The DS version will feature 40 stylus-powered minigames. 2K Games also created a similarly innovative title, which sold over a million copies.In addition to the wildly innovative MySims Party, EA has another sure-fire hit on its hands. Nintendo fans will absolutely adore MySims Racing. We don't want to spoil the game's unique offering, so we placed that trailer after the break.
Does House of the Dead: Overkill brings arcade shooting to the Nintendo Wii? Yes, says the game's developer Headstrong Games.
According to Lead Designer Alastair Halsby: "We have done our utmost to ensure that it feels like playing an arcade machine — albeit an arcade machine that is out to entertain a paying customer, instead of one that is trying to lever money out of players. Our players have already paid their money, so it's also our job to make sure they have a thrilling ride."
What we've seen from this title appears great so far. And that 1970's pulpy grindhouse look? Love it.
Nicole Kidman. Liv Tyler. Fred Willard? Nintendo has roped in Spinal Tap actor Fred Willard to promote Personal Trainer: Cooking in this disappointingly disappointing clip.
Be warned, the below clip is blergh. And it's not because it's for some casual cooking game — that's not the problem at all. It's that it's something like seven minutes long. That's not casual! Casual is two minutes long.
(Then again, Crecente's video of this same game is fourteen minutes long — but doesn't feel like it's fourteen minutes long.)
We hate this Willard DS clip so hard. It's not funny. No wait, we love it. Did anyone ever come in and throw a pork chop at your face? Okay, we laughed. Still, this is totally not casual, this is 1am on Adult Swim, and we are confused.
Check out Aussie comedian Hamish Blake's take on the same ad. It's only thirty seconds, chuckle-inducing and edited down to a sharp point like the Willard one should be.
Say what you will about the efficacy of Wii Fit as a fitness tool, but at least one UK hospital has found a perfect use for its balance-centric design: helping amputees adapt to walking on their new prosthetic limbs. Nintendo World Report has a piece on Seacroft Hospital in Leeds, which is using Wii Fit's mini-games in addition to traditional physical therapy.According to Seacroft senior physiotherapist, Lynn Hirst, the key usefulness of the Balance Board and games is enabling patients to tell "where they are taking their weight" in real time. Hirst credits the mini-games with helping "[patients improve] their core stability and their balance." Hey -- that sounds like a great use for a Balance Board.
This has got to be the most work for the least return I've ever seen in a mod. The Geekothon points to a modder who completely gutted his DS Lite so he could:
A: Make it play videos B: Turn it into a Pez dispenser C: Add video camera support D: Swap out the logo
That's right. He tore apart a perfectly good DS so he could cut its case open and slap in a VAIO logo. Why? I don't know, but someone better getting cracking on the Pez mod, but soon.
Has it really come to this? Not even a DS hardware revision could salvage another woeful year for Japanese game retailers. Despite closing on a high note, 2008 marked a 15 percent decline in retail sales from the previous year. Hardware sales accounted for the biggest drop, managing a paltry ¥250.5 billion ($2.6b) in revenue -- down 23.5 percent from 2007. Software sales fared better, falling only 7.9 percent to a total of ¥332 billion ($3.5b). Internally, Japan is suffering through a recession, and, externally, global economic factors have crippled the country's export trade for some time. It's not just high-priced electronics that are turning off foreign consumers, though, in some cases it's the quality of goods. Exhibit A: Only one Japanese-designed game managed to crack our annual Top 10. (Hint: Not Wii Fit.)[Image credit: goodcatmum]
EA continues its onslaught of Hasbro titles this spring as the company reveals plans to flood Xbox Live Arcade with classic board games via the Hasbro Family Game Night channel.
Rather than release Hasbro Family Game Night as one complete package as they did with the Wii release, EA instead plans on releasing the games as a series of Xbox Live Arcade games on the 360. The line up includes Scrabble, Boggle, Yahtzee, Battleship, Sorry!, and Sorry! Sliders, which I am assuming is Sorry! played with Krystal burgers, though I could be wrong. Players will be able to earn trophies, furniture, and special themes used to decorate their own little virtual game room. The first titles will begin trickling out in the spring.
Along with this announcement, EA also announced Scrabble for the DS and PSP, both due out in March of this year. Both versions feature Wi-Fi multiplayer, furthering EA and Hasbro's plans to make family game night less cluttered but more expensive.
EA Delivers Scrabble to Every Major Digital Platform in 2009 and Brings Hasbro Family Favorite Board Game Experiences to Xbox LIVE Arcade
Highly Anticipated Hasbro-Branded Video Games to Be Showcased at Consumer Electronics Show Booth # 72201
2009 International CES Booth #72201 REDWOOD CITY, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Fans of casual, family-friendly games are about to see their circle of fun widen with a slate of new Hasbro-branded digital play experiences on a variety of platforms from Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ:ERTS) in 2009. Leading the charge is SCRABBLE, which rocketed to the No. 1 position on Pogo.com⢠with more than 2.5 million players laying down virtual tiles since its June 2008 launch. The best-selling crossword puzzle board game is on deck to land on handheld platforms including the Nintendo DS⢠and Sony PlayStationÂŽPortable system (PSPÂŽ) in March 2009 in the US and Canada. EA is also gearing up to inject nostalgic fun into the Xbox LIVEÂŽ Arcade by bringing perennial board game favorites to the popular platform. Under a Hasbro Family Game Night banner, games such as SCRABBLE (US and Canada only), BOGGLE, BATTLESHIP, YAHTZEE, CONNECT FOUR, SORRY! and SORRY! Sliders will begin to roll out in Spring 2009. EA will showcase the highly anticipated lineup at the Consumer Electronics Show on January 8-11, 2009 in Las Vegas.
âWe believe our Hasbro Family Game Night channel on Xbox LIVE Arcade will be one of the most dynamic and fun collections available on the platform,â said Chip Lange, General Manager of EA Hasbro. âWeâve been given the unique opportunity to create an exclusive EA Hasbro branded destination within the Xbox LIVE Arcade so players can easily find and play our lineup of family-friendly digital board games. Just as families have game closets in their home, they will also be able to stock a digital game closet serving up hours of interactive play for kids and adults alike.â
âThe consumer response to Hasbroâs brands arriving on digital platforms in such fresh, inventive ways has been incredibly positive,â said Mark Blecher, General Manager of Digital Media and Gaming at Hasbro. âSCRABBLE alone has taken the US and Canadian markets by storm in a very short period of time and we expect the momentum to remain at full throttle through the Nintendo DS and PSP handheld releases and beyond. The level of creativity and meticulous execution that EA has poured into the re-imagination of the SCRABBLE and Hasbro Family Game Night experiences have set the bar very high for the many other games under development, but weâre confident that weâve just scratched the surface of what digital fun feels, looks and plays like. Itâs going to be a very exciting year for casual game fans.â
SCRABBLE on the Nintendo DS and PSP will offer something for every crossword puzzle fan with three modes of play including: Classic, which offers traditional play; Speed, where players race the clock; and, the new fast paced SCRABBLE SLAM card game, where players try to be the first to discard all their SLAM cards by making four letter words. SLAM will be available for the first time digitally on the handheld versions of SCRABBLE. With six difficulty levels, SCRABBLE will serve up a Training mode with six training exercises that enable new or rusty players to polish their skills before their first big showdown. SCRABBLE comes loaded with extras such as SCRABBLE Word Finder and Wi-Fi multiplayer capability (both single and multi-cart play). Debuting in March 2009, the Nintendo DS and PSP games are expected to be rated âEâ for Everyone and carry an MSRP of $29.99.
The SCRABBLE Nintendo DS and PSP games will join the roster of previously released versions which have proven to hold great appeal, similar to its board game counterpart. In the past two years, EA launched three separate mobile versions of the game (in the US and Canada only) â including SCRABBLE for the iPodÂŽ, iPhone⢠and feature phones. Online versions of SCRABBLE also launched on Pogo.com and social networking sites in June 2008. All have been widely adopted and received accolades across platforms.
SCRABBLE was the No. 1 multiplayer game in its launch month, competing against more than 100 other offerings on Pogo.com. In July 2008, more than 5 million SCRABBLE games were played, equating to 4.3 million hours of play. SCRABBLE for the iPhone and iPod touch launched in July and quickly rose into the top 25 of all applications. Today, out of over 8,000 applications on the App Store, SCRABBLE remains in or near the top 50.
EA and Hasbro will stock Xbox LIVE Arcade with Hasbro Family Game Night, a crowd-pleasing assortment of games that are instantly recognizable household names such as SCRABBLE, CONNECT FOUR, BOGGLE, YAHTZEE, BATTLESHIP, SORRY!, and SORRY! Sliders. All games will feature both original and new ways to play, including a Party Mode that features multiple mini-game versions of each title. Additional customization features will allow players to earn virtual trophies, furniture and themes to decorate their personal virtual game rooms. The Hasbro Family Game Night lineup will take full advantage of Xbox LIVE community features such as online play, Achievements, the ability to launch new games without leaving the environment, and sharing customized space with friends. The EA Hasbro virtual game closet is slated to open in Spring 2009 with multiple games followed by additional releases throughout the year.
Does Wii Fit work? It's hard for me to tell, personally, as my Little Debbie Zebra Cake intake ratio is tied proportionally to my progress in the non-game. See, I'm not a scientist.
Thankfully, researchers at the University of Mississippi — specifically researcher Scott Owens — are evaluating Wii Fit's ability to make you more physically fit, doing it more scientifically, with control groups and larger sample sets. That's more respectable than me trying to remember if I played Wii Fit last week and tallying discarded Zebra Cake shrinkwrap.
The study, which kicked off in the Fall of 2008, will monitor the physical fitness of eight families. Researchers will chart the progress of the Wii Fit-using families, with and without the software, comparing it to the data collected in-game.
While we anxiously await the results, how's your own Wii Fit regimen treating you? Which regions could be described as "of steel"? Hey, keep it PG.
Earlier today we posted our annual Game of the Year awards. The deserving winners were the results of group thought, discussion and vote. The Judge's Awards, though, are all about one person's choice.
When we went through the process of picking our annual games of the year, I also asked each writer to nominate a single game for a judge's choice award. The idea here is that each judge would get a chance to pull out a game they think was deserving of recognition, but perhaps not of any of the official awards.
Their choices and reasoning follow:
Judge's Choice Awards
Audiosurf
Audiosurf takes any MP3 file you have and translates it into a rhythm-puzzle game that can be as fast-paced and frantic as an EBM tune or as relaxing as an easy listening selection. With variety limited only by your musical selection and community options that not only let you compare scores of friends and strangers but also helps you find people with similiar musical tastes, it really is the ultimate game for music afficianados.
Bionic Commando: Rearmed
The broadest measure of a video game's excellence is also the simplest: âWhat was the most fun?â This year, Bionic Commando: Rearmed was the pound-for-pound champion of fun. Not, âthought-provoking,â not âawe-inspiring,â not âmost visually stunning,â â just âI want to play thisâ fun. BCR flawlessly bridged the best of two generations, rendering the addictive, endlessly replayable world of the classic 8-bit platformer in the audiovisual tableau of a next-gen console â at a price cheaper than the original by half.
KORG DS-10
KORG DS-10 is not a game at all. Straight up, it's the Korg MS-10 synthesizer for the Nintendo DS. While mainstream music games let players pretend their making music, KORG DS-10 actually lets them make music.
Mushroom Men: Spore Wars
Mushroom Men: Spore Wars was the most fun I've had on the Wii in months. It offered a funny little story, interesting character design and amazing art and sound, all while still feeling very this generation. Spore Wars is a must have for any Wii gamer bemoaning the lack of traditional games on the platform.
No More Heroes
Grasshopper Manufacture probably didn't get enough credit — or a proper slice of those outrageous Wii sales — for what it did right with No More Heroes. It nailed motion control, gave the Wii an original, mature-themed adventure and made the best of the platform's horsepower, thanks to brilliant character design and cel-shaded visuals. No game was as squarely aimed at the hardcore gamer who happens to own a Wii, if only for the fact that its protagonist is the violent fantasy version of the geek playing it. Definitely the bloodiest Wii game of 2008.
Persona 4
Persona 4 is the JRPG so nice, they made it twice. The gameplay system improves on the innovative dungeon-crawling/dating sim combo introduced in Persona 3 while introducing a fresh take on the tired teen-saves-the-town plot line. The characters are diverse and entertaining - and with the benefit of decent voice-acting, they really draw you into your character of the gray-haired transfer student instead of isolating you as a cliche. And even if you're not into dungeon crawling or dating, the sheer amount of stuff to do in Persona 4 makes it well worth your money - something other $40 games on next-gen systems can't seem to offer.
Prince of Persia
We tried to do our GOTY awards a little different this year. Reward developers, instead of informing purchasers. And for the most part, I think we succeeded (even if we don't all agree on the ultimate winners). Oh, except for one thing: We didn't have an award for bravery.
I'd give that award to Prince of Persia. For taking "death" out of its stylish platformer. People have whined endlessly that it makes the game "easy", that it cheapens the experience, that removing "death" removes all consequence from the game. Rubbish. All it does is save time, all it does is remove frustrating repetition the bane of a platformer - so all it really deserves is applause.
Look, we know the economy is in shambles; a perambulating corpse, gnawing its way through the hopes and dreams of the global populace ... but this is getting ridiculous. Reports of "drastic cost cuts" at Sony have us really spooked - think not only "factory closures" but also "the abolition of several major divisions," according to the Times of London. (In response to the report, Sony told Reuters, "We don't have any such plan.")While there's no mention of specifics (will the PlayStation brand/division be affected?), the Times does quote a Credit Suisse analyst who says that, unless Sony takes aggressive steps to consolidate power in the hands of prez Howard Stringer - it will be unable to "close the gap with competitors such as Apple and Nintendo." Perhaps more evident to those of us watching the gaming industry specifically is the mention of "frustrations ... and a clear internal cultural clash between Japanese Sony and its US and European operations." We thought Kaz was going to bring some of that good, ol-fashioned American can-do attitude to Japan back in ought-six? Nevertheless, we want to talk to the investors directly:Listen guys, we know Sony's got some problems. We know that. But you've got to just chill out and relax - chillax even - and wait until the Big S shows off whatever Team ICO's got in the oven. Not buying it? How about this: Microsoft is feeling the economic pinch also, but the grapevine seems to think the Xbox division will be spared. Nintendo isn't the only competition out there, you know?
Role-playing game White Knight Chronicles has been the focus of much attention for its perception as a great white hope for the PlayStation 3 in Japan. It is from Level 5, after all.
You know Level 5, developers of the best selling Professor Layton series for the Nintendo DS, entrusted with Square Enix's most recent Dragon Quest entries. They know how to make million sellers.
While first day sales of 130,000 copies may not have seemed to reverse any fortunes for Sony's PlayStation 3 in Japan, the first week's worth of sales for the Level 5-developed title bode better for the game.
White Knight Chronicles raked in an estimated 203,000 copies during its first seven days on sale, according to a typically reliable Japanese blog. That's despite middling Famitsu reviews.
That's good. In fact, it's the third best debut for a PlayStation 3 game behind Metal Gear Solid 4 and Devil May Cry 4. Better than Yakuza KENZAN and Shin Sangoku Musou. In other words, not bad for a non-sequel.
Now that PlayStation 3 games are starting to have better sales legs in Japan, we'll be keeping an eye on sell-through of the game to see how well it holds up. Keep in mind these are unconfirmed figures and we'll wait for Media Create numbers to confirm.
Electronic Arts announced today that Scrabble will make its way to the DS and PSP in March, and to Xbox Live Arcade at a later date. Beginning in spring, XBLA will not only receive the perennial wordsmith board game, but also Boggle, Battleship, Yahtzee, Connect Four, Sorry! and Sorry!Sliders.In a very interesting development, XBLA will also receive a branded "Hasbro Family Game Night" channel. Chip Lange, general manager of EA Hasbro, says it'll allow players to easily find family-friendly digital board games. We only wish that Microsoft would extend such a courtesy to the high-quality European board games that are also available on the service.
Nintendo may have cleaned up in console sales in 2008, but more US gamers spent their free time time playing Sony's "last-gen" Playstation 2, according to Nielsen Media Research.âŚ
For $7, you can grant your Nintendo DS the fantasy it has kept secret until today: That it could one day charge alongside a Game Boy Advance SP, DSi, and PSP via a USB port.
Hot!
Sure, this cable is from Brando, and could very well toast all your handhelds with questionable craftsmanship, but just think of the tag team fun you'll grant your Game Boy and PSP on their way out.
Seven bucks to make a handheld's day. What's to lose? Oh, it's Brando. Might 'splode [Brando via DSFanboy]
If you've ever wondered "Does anyone actually browse the web on consoles?," Market Share has an answer for you: yes, but not very many people. The firm reports that .04% of all web browsing is performed on PS3, compared to the .01% of Wii, the only other current-gen console with a browser. Of course, PS3's browser is built-in; Wii's particular version of Opera costs 500 Wii Points ($5) and, well, people have to seek it out among the other WiiWare offerings. So, tell us, are you reading Joystiq on a console, and if so, which one?
[Via Edge Online]
Does House of the Dead: Overkill brings arcade shooting to the Nintendo 
This has got to be the most work for the least return I've ever seen in a mod. The Geekothon points to a modder who completely gutted his DS Lite so he could:
That's right. He tore apart a perfectly good DS so he could cut its case open and slap in a VAIO logo. Why? I don't know, but someone better getting cracking on the Pez mod, but soon.
EA continues its onslaught of Hasbro titles this spring as the company reveals plans to flood 
Does 
Earlier today we posted our annual Game of the Year awards. The deserving winners were the results of group thought, discussion and vote. The Judge's Awards, though, are all about one person's choice.
Role-playing game White Knight Chronicles has been the focus of much attention for its perception as a great white hope for the PlayStation 3 in Japan. It is from Level 5, after all.
For $7, you can grant your Nintendo DS the fantasy it has kept secret until today: That it could one day charge alongside a Game Boy Advance SP, DSi, and PSP via a USB port.
