Gamertell

As the DSi’s Japanese release date of November 1, 2008, draws near, Nintendo has decided to release a trailer which details the system’s functions. The trailer features an announcer describing the Nintendo DSi’s various features and comparing its size to the original DS Lite. While I think that the DSi’s new features will impress players who desire to see Nintendo follow Sony’s lead of adding ‘additional features,’ it will seem out of place for gamers who expect the system to maintain Nintendo’s ‘games-first’ mentality.

Click through to view the trailer…

MORE »

One of the last quality titles for the Game Boy Advance is now available, and it isn’t one you’ll be finding in your local game store. Samurai Deeper Kyo, a top down action and fighting title based on the popular Japanese anime and manga series will be receiving a North American release. However the game is billed as an exclusive promotion for people who purchase copies of the full Samurai Deeper Kyo anime series DVD set.

MORE »

Ubisoft has proven is it not a one trick pony. Already the third largest western independent developer, Ubisoft looks to strengthen its position within the gaming world in 2008 with another strong lineup of highly anticipated original games, continuing franchises and multi-platform titles.

With the success of Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft is riding high after a groundbreaking year. Sales jumped 44 percent during Ubisoft’s fiscal third quarter with $625 million in sales. With last years success, Ubisoft is projecting that the company will make somewhere around $1.2 billion in total sales in 2008 and…

MORE »

It is no secret that the Game Boy Advance is dead or, at the very least, dying a slow death, barely kept alive by games based on popular children’s movies and TV shows. Rather than mourning and casting aside any hope, devoted fans of the system should instead look online for import games.

Due to the demise of the system, many online retailers who still carry import GBA games are reducing the prices of the titles. A game which normally would have cost $40 can be found for a fourth of the price.

When you add to that the fact that GBA games have no region protection and the DS is backwards compatible with those titles, it provides added incentive to see what is out there.

While many of the great GBA games were translated and released outside of Japan, there are still a few popular titles which never made it. Today we’ll look back Mother 1+2, Mother 3, bit Generations: Sound Voyager and Densetsu no Stafi 2. All four of these games would make a fine addition to your game library.

MORE »

GameDaily Biz recently reported that the Game Boy system may be done:

“Nintendo of America’s George Harrison, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Communications, has given GameDaily BIZ a pretty strong hint that Nintendo may be finished with the Game Boy product line.“

The comment was made in an E3 2007 interview, which also marks one of the first times Nintendo admits the DS really is replacing the Game Boy. That also means the Game Boy Advance SP, released in 2003, will be the final incarnation of the best selling game system ever.

When the DS was first released in November 2004 (the original grey version, not the sleek and shiny colored DS Lites), Nintendo was adamant that the DS was not another Game Boy product and likely not to replace the world famous handheld that crushed competitors throughout the years.

I cannot imagine the Game Boy name will fade away forever. Maybe we’ll see another DS released with some type of GBA design or nomenclature. Maybe I just need to learn to let go of those tiny carts. *sniff* *sniff*

Read [GameDaily Biz]

• Nintendo DS taps into e-reader market
• Walmart’s Cyber Monday 2008 video game deals
• Steal Princess to treasure-hunt in the US, after voyaging through Europe and Japan

This week’s three additions brings the total count to 90 games available for download through Nintendo’s Wii Shop (playable on the Wii).

Pac-Man (NES, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points) - If you don’t know what this game is, you’ve never played a video game, watched TV or otherwise been conscious for the past 25 years. For those eight people - you move a yellow, pizza shaped avatar around a maze, eating dots and avoiding four ghosts to earn the highest score. It was originally released in 1980 as a coin-op arcade game, then ported to the NES in 1984 and re-released in June 2004 as part of the “Classic NES Series” of games for the GameBoy Advance (as well as many, many other systems).

Ninja Gaiden (NES, 1 player, 500 Wii Points) -You play as Ryu Hayabusam flipping, climbing and slicing your way through this classic 2D sidescrolling platformer. As you progress your weapons get upgraded. Can you believe I used to play this game while studying Pyscholopharamacology (as in the course, not a recreational pastime) in college? Yep, I aced a course while kickin’ arse.

Ninja Spirit (TurboGrafx16, 1-2 players, 600 Wii Points) - This second Ninja game for the week is not as well known as Ninja Gaiden, but still a fun side-scrolling action game. You play as Moonlight who battles to avenge his father’s death. Weapons include the standard katana, shuriken, bombs and sickles. Even better, you can select between Original Arcade and PC Engine modes.

Site [Wii Virtual Arcade]

• Aonuma will not stop until he makes a game better than Ocarina of Time
• Nintendo DS taps into e-reader market
• Walmart’s Cyber Monday 2008 video game deals