Wii in the News

Capcom's Christian Svensson has briefly discussed Capcom's plans for digit download games for 2009.

The events unfolding within the offices of the Need for Speed franchise are certainly faster with more exciting sharp turns and a fuller pack of nitrous boost than any map in their games.

It was mid-December when Electronic Arts announced that they're canceling the NFS studio, immediately followed by news that developer Black Box will be moving in with EA Canada. And then just last week, a memo from EA's NFS studio leaked to the press, revealing the massive layoffs that have hit them recently.

Today though, the news that comes out relating to the franchise is way better than what we've seen as of late. EA's sent out a press wire announcing a revamped NFS franchise, with not just one, or two, but three new titles to fill up the roster this year.

Here are their profiles:

Need for Speed SHIFT
Platforms: PS3, Xbox 360, PSP, PC
Release window: Fall 2009
Developers: Slightly mad Studios in collaboration with executive producer Michael Mann (Black Box) and Patrick Soderlund (Senior VP, EA Games Europe)

• Players are thrust into the heart of the action with immersive and exciting features including a stunningly realistic first-person cockpit view camera and an all-new crash mechanic, providing an unrivaled sensation of the speed and feeling of racing a car on the extreme edge of control.

Need for Speed NITRO (Working Title)
Platforms: Wii, DS
Release Window: Fall 2009
Developer: EA Montreal

• Gamers can build up their boost as they drift and drag behind their opponents and use it strategically to change the course of the race, but watch out for the cops! Offering a fresh and unique visual style, the game features a variety of licensed cars which can be fully customized to let the game reflect the player s taste and personality.

Need for Speed World Online
Platforms: PC
Release Window: Winter 2009 (North America), Summer 2009 (Asia)
Developer: Black Box, EA Singapore

• Beginning in Asia, this Play 4 Free action racing game will give Need for Speed fans access to licensed cars, parts and multiple game modes. Players will prove their racing supremacy through the sophisticated online matchmaking features and fully customize their profile and their ride.

But apparently, that press release did not say all that there is to know about this product revamp. Franchise VP of marketing Keith Munro let it slip to Eurogamer that they are, in fact, working on one more title.

"Black Box is currently working on a future action title in the franchise." Action title for the NFS title? Will it involve more cops and chases? Could EA slip once again into focusing too much on churning out titles under the franchise, at the expense of diluting the essence of the game itself?

Fortunately, Munro says no.

This isn't about the quantity, this is about crafting different games for different audiences and their unique tastes in the driving category.

The motivation was purely driven by our understanding of racing gamers and their desire to experience different kinds of racing games. I would say that our strategy is the inverse of milking; it is an intentionally non-traditional approach.

We took a consumer-fast approach and spoke with the fans about what they would like from their Need for Speed. Player feedback was consistent - create custom simulation and arcade experiences but maintain the franchises' core values of street culture, attitude and beautiful licensed cars.

If that is the case, then I am definitely looking forward to their new titles. Admittedly, I was one of those who weren't all too happy with the direction the franchise took with Carbon (I am an Underground baby!). But hey, there's always a second chance for everyone, right? And thank God this time they're taking gamer feedback seriously. Cos you know, in this case, I think the adage "The Customer is Always Right" stands true.

Okay, maybe not always.

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Related Need for Speed Articles:

• Confirmed: Electronic Arts closes Need for Speed studio
• Black Box moving in with EA Canada, Criterion to handle next NFS game?
  

Torrence Davis of The Bitbag writes, quot;On this episode we debate how Netflix love is spreading all over Xbox Live. At any given moment a friend on your list might be watching Netflix. We talk about how seeing friends watch Netflix might cause a person to subscribe to it. We also discuss how Netflix is an added value to the Xbox 360 family. Also on this show: br br * Killzone 2 sales predictions br * New York Comic Con chit chat br * Resident Evil 5 impressions and debates on it's control scheme br * Hiphopgamer argues that the PS3 has Netflix too br * DLC vs Exclusive games, which do you prefer and why? br * GTAIV DLC headed to PS3 br * Hiphopgamer calls out Bingegamer br * Torrence reflects back on the craziness of Davis Daily 1-29-2009 br * and much much more…quot;

These videos are from what is certainly to be the now canned original look of the game before it got its supposed facelift.

img src="http://m2.n4g.com/8/News/253000/253129_1_hs.jpg" border="0"/imgbr /Lenny Kravitz and Steve Miller band are allegedly slated to be the next downloadable content packages for Harmonix's Rock Band platform. brbr The Kravitz songs to be included in the ever-growing library January 13 are the ones you would expect: br br Are You Gonna Go My Way br Freedom Train br Let Love Rule br Mr. Cab Driver br br The two Steve Miller band songs to be made available on January 20 are something to behold: br br Space Cowboy br The Jokerbr/

img src="http://m2.n4g.com/8/News/253000/253429_1_hs.gif" border="0"/imgbr /Left 4 Dead gets new content, more PixelJunk for your trunk and the possibility of another Mega Man WiiWare game as we start breaking our resolutions early this year.br/

For the week ending January 24th , hardware sales were up significantly from the previous year. However, the previous week saw a slight dip in year over year sales. With DS and Wii supply increasing steadily despite worries over Nintendo's earnings report, hardware sales trends are still positive even though the industry is starting to get grazed by the recession. br br Wii - 140,924 br DS - 109,055 br XBox 360 - 79,926 br PSP - 54,418 br PS3 - 52,841 br PS2 - 27,752

In December, Shootanto hit Japan's WiiWare service; a shooter that pits a pair of monkeys against a plethora of prehistoric baddies armed with magical coconuts. Yes, that sentence just happened. Take it all in. Not content with releasing one insanely ridiculous title, developer Grand Prix is back with the upcoming WiiWare sequel, Shootanto: Miraihen (Shootanto: Future Chapter).

Where will the (almost guaranteed to be Japanese exclusive) WiiWare title be set? Will it be a horrific future or maybe a land where man battles beast? Not quite. Shootanto: Future Chapter brings the shooter into the World War II setting. Honestly, we're thankful. We were getting tired of those "monkey throwing magical coconut" titles. Time they focus on a setting that doesn't get a lot of video game love.

Downgrade Alert! WiiWare's Shootanto sequel ditches T-Rexes for Nazis originally appeared on Joystiq Nintendo on Sat, 31 Jan 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CPC writes: quot;On the console side of things, Rahul reasons, it's not the customer but the companies - well, Microsoft and Sony - that can't afford to create any more machines along the lines of the Xbox 360 and the PS3. Their business model is to sell the console itself at a loss, and make a profit on the add-ons, games and licensing agreements. br br I certainly think he's right about the PS3; all the sales data points to it being convincingly outsold by the 360 (with the pair of them being crushed by the Wii). Yet despite bleak numbers, Sony can't afford to cut the price, because even at $400/#163;299, Sony still doesn't make money on each unit sold. The high price then contributes to the slow sales, and the slow sales mean that the PS3 platform isn't generating enough revenue to subsidise a price cut, or to fund a next-gen console. Microsoft's position doesn't look quite as bleak - the cheapest Xbox 360 can be had for #163;130, and sales are brisk - but then it did have to write off over $1 billion thanks to the high failure rate of the hardware.quot;

Filed under: Nintendo DS, Business

If the standard laws of the five-year console cycle apply to Nintendo's money-printing handheld, then said laws would dictate that the lifespan of the Nintendo DS (in its many, many forms) is nearing its end. The system's current install base of 84.1 million across the U.S., Japan and Europe is hardly anything to scoff at, and would certainly earn the device some form of lifetime achievement award at its retirement gala -- but according to Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata, the DS will break the standard five-year cycle, and further expand its install base in the years to come.

Iwata claims that should interest in the DS expand in the U.S. and Europe as it did in Japan (where nearly one in every five people currently tote the handheld), the system's install base will nearly double -- his estimate for the handheld's final tally is a nice, round 152.2 million units. That's ... a pretty specific number. We're not usually one for conspiracy theories, but we're wondering if that estimate isn't, you know, time machine-assisted.

Iwata: Total DS install base could reach 152.2 million units originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 31 Jan 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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