OMG Nintendo

Just two weeks ago, Denise Kaigler told gamers that Nintendo would not drop the North American Wii price for the holidays... but evidence to the contrary may have already surfaced. An alleged early versiion of a Wal-Mart ad circular to be distributed later this month promises a "new low price" for the Nintendo Wii. The outlet that obtained (but didn't post) the leaked ad, Kotaku, didn't find out the new Wii price but could say that the price drop would be effective in the first week of October.

If early October seems like a strange time for a price drop, think again. Tokyo Game Show is coming up later this month and it's a perfect venue for announcing a price drop that would probably apply to Japan as well as North America. Nintendo is specifically participating in the Kyoto Cross Media Experience, a show that runs concurrent with TGS and usually plays host to major product announcements.

While Nintendo President Satoru Iwata was also singing the "no price drop" tune in August, since then we've seen sales of the PS3 soar dramatically in Japan while North American Wii sales have almost fallen to PS3 and 360 levels. The Wii's original $250 price point is pretty long in the tooth by now and Nintendo may have good reason to think it won't be competitive with $299 360s and PS3s as the system goes into its fourth holiday season.

The speculation tag is staying firmly in place for this one until Capcom decides to officially comment, but it seems that a sharp-eyed poster on the Shoryuken forums has discovered the remaining four secret characters for Tatsunoko VS Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars.

In the HTML code on the character site page, which is currently only showing some of the original line-up and the newly added Tekkaman Blade, there exists a Javascript function listing with button images for the rest of the cast... and four more.

The existence of this code has already been confirmed by several other websites but, as previously noted, Capcom has yet to comment on the validity of it. They could be legitimate or they could be placeholder names until the time to reveal their true identities comes.

Still, if they are legitimate, who are these new fab four?

Looking at the file names, we have:

'images/oncharactor_btn_zero.jpg'
'images/oncharactor_btn_frank.jpg'

'images/oncharactor_btn_yatter02.jpg'
'images/oncharactor_btn_joe.jpg'

This would indicate that the newbies for Capcom's side are some form of Zero from the Megaman X and Megaman Zero series, as well as Dead Rising's Frank West. For Tatsunoko we have Yatterman #2 joining her partner and Joe Asakura AKA Joe The Condor from Gatchaman making the third member of the Ninja Science Team to be included.

Until we know for sure, all we can do is keep a watch for whenever Capcom decides to confirm or deny this leak.

Late last week a lot of online sources picked up an interesting bit of info-- Capcom Japan had filed a trademark for something called "Okamiden." Fans wondered if this might be a game related to Okami just based on the title, though skeptics pointed out that it'd make little financial sense for Capcom to start making Okami sequels after everyone who worked on the original game left the company years ago.

Well, it... seems this might be exactly what Capcom is doing anyway! What you see above is a low-quality but most likely legit scan from the latest issue of weekly Famitsu. Sources indicated this issue would reveal what "Okamiden" was and from what we see above, it appears to be a Nintendo DS Okami sequel slated for sometime in 2010.

The timing for this might seem strange, but there's two pretty big reasons why Capcom might feel like giving Okami another go right now. The Wii remake of Okami that came out in the US last summer is coming out in Japan next month. Okami's version of the mythological creature Yamata-no-Orochi was also chosen to be one of the final bosses of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, a game that's picked up a sizable Japanese following.

While I'm pretty happy to see Okami back, it's pretty frustrating to see it happen after all of the people who worked to create the first gamei have long since moved on to working at Platinum Games. It's hard to believe a DS Okami sequel will be in quite the same spirit or will manage to be just as good as the original, though I'n sure Capcom will do their best with it. Here's to hoping for a pleasant surprise.

UPDATE: Capcom confirmed the legitimacy of all of this overnight, so it's not speculation anymore! 

We already know the ESRB can be a spectacular source of leaked info, but it's not the only ratings board worth your attention. Australia's OFLC is a government board that issues official ratings for games and it's responsible for one doozy of a leak: a rating for a product developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega called Sonic Adventure DX: The Director's Cut.

The original Sonic Adventure DX was a GameCube enhanced port of the original Sonic Adventure for the dearly departed Sega Dreamcast. The OFLC listing describes Sonic Adventure DX: The Director's Cut as a multiplatform release rated on August 18, 2009. That says nothing about when the game comes out or on which platforms, but given the title's GameCube roots, a Wii re-release with improved graphics and new controls feels like a safe bet. I also wouldn't be surprised to see it making its way to PS2, PC, or even Xbox Live.

As spotted by Engadget via Joystiq, and carried by Fark, Nintendo has put in an odd patent application.

And I quote:

[0004] Physical size is a significant problem with such prior designs. To be realistic and useful by older children and adults, the model's dimensions generally need to approximate the size of a real animal. Of course, most of us prefer not to have a full-sized model of a large animal in our living room or den. Inflatable toy horses are known but typically have been used as swimming pool toys which do not provide a very realistic riding simulation.

[0005] It would be desirable to provide an inexpensive, convenient way to realistically simulate, in the home, riding on horseback or on other animals.

What it boils down to is this: Nintendo's researching an inflatable cushion, meant for you to sit on and feel as though you're riding a real horse. The patent application itself is worth a couple of chuckles, and initially I thought they were insane. Of course, insane ideas that turn out to be money pinatas are Nintendo's stock in trade this generation.

As an interesting follow-up, the Fark comment thread on the article is short, but features user tyguy101aa trying his hand at a little viral marketing. His profile indicates he lives in New Jersey, and the only developer I can find that's headquartered there is Wii mainstay Majesco...

Many were disappointed that, while you can play as four characters in the upcoming New Super Mario Bros Wii, you only have the option of choosing between Mario, Luigi and two Toads. However, a current rumor spreading around the net like wildfire hints that this may not remain the case.

The story goes that a forum member at CheapAssGamer went to their local GameStop to pre-order the game and related these events:

“Stopped by GameStop this morning and was told that they are offering a free upgrade to the collector's edition of New Super Mario Bros Wii when you pre-order the game. I asked what was in the collector's edition and all they knew was that there was supposed to be some additional characters. Hope someone finds this useful."

Neither Nintendo nor GameStop has breathed a word about anything like this… yet. For now, this remains complete speculation but could this mean we’ll be seeing Princess Peach return to reunite the Super Mario Bros 2 line-up? Or will Daisy fill in for her if Peach is still kidnapped? Will we see Wario? A new character?

There is also the question of how much more will this "Collectors Edition" cost than the normal version. Not to mention the question of if these new characters will somehow be available to those who do not initially opt for the "Collectors Edition".

Or is all this a misunderstanding and the new characters are completly untrue? Once again, we must play the waiting game to find out.

A translation of the most recent issue of Famitsu revealed an article detailing the announcement of a new game for the Wii from Hudson Soft. Called Shadow Tower, the game features a look similar to the popular Team Ico works and follows the tale of an invisible boy as he tries to make his way up the titular complex.

A thing to note is that, since the protagonist is a shadow, he can only navigate or manipulate his surroundings by using the shadows thrown off by different objects. For example, if he pulls the shadow of a lever the actual lever will activate. Your protagonist is also assisted by a black butterfly. The butterfly can interact with light sources and other objects to throw off different shadows, making previously inaccessible areas reachable.

There is no release date on this game yet or any information as to how the controls will work. The brief description could potentially imply the shadow boy is moved by the Nunchuck and the butterfly is controlled by the Wiimote.

It is way too early to say that anything like that for certain, however, so we will simply have to see how this game develops.

After yesterday’s leak of the potential concept art for the rumored “Epic Mickey” game, more information has emerged.

An anonymous source has let slip that the game will be “Okami-like” with the player using the Wiimote to alter the terrain. To quote the source: "This 'painting your way' involves you drawing, etching and erasing whole or parts of levels as you go."

If true, then that means there is no doubt this game would be a Wii exclusive and if that were not enough, the information about the potential storyline is eyebrow rising as well:

"We've also been told that it'll be based around very old and/or forgotten Disney characters who are out to get their revenge on Mickey," according to the site, "presumably because they're jealous of all his fame and fortune."

This would explain the zombie robot Country Bear, as well as the image of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit being on the side of the rocket seen above. There is still no official word from Disney, however, so we will have to keep taking all this with a grain of salt until then.

This had better be real. It is sounding too awesome not to be.

Yes, that is a zombie Monstro with robotic arms carrying the shattered remains of iconic Disney World sights on its back. You are not imagining that picture.

What may surprise you is that picture is not some kind of fan work but “concept/inspirational” art for a mysterious new Disney game for the Wii codenamed “Epic Mickey”. Being developed by Warren Spector, the creator of the classic Deus Ex, it appears to be an oddly steampunk astetic with zombie robots.

The idea may be trying to draw upon childhood fears of some of the bigger and more unreal looking animatronics Disney would sometimes put forth. Just look at the zombie robot Goofy and zombie robot Country Bear beyond the jump and tell me that is not creepier than a normal robot zombie would look.

Unfortunately, Disney has yet to release a statement about the status of the actual game, so all of this is only speculation until then.