It’s Monday which means another set of Nintendo titles are hitting the virtual shelves. Available on the WiiWare service, Tales of Elastic Boy – Mission 1 truly stretches the possibilities for console adventure. Available today on the Nintendo DSiWare, Cosmos X2 which is a side scrolling shooter similar to R-type, myNotebook: Pearl which is a note taking application for your DS and Music on: Learning Piano which teaches you have to play the piano. Here are the full details for each title.

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To be honest, I’d almost begun to think North America wasn’t going to see a DSi price drop.  While other countries saw the price fall, ours had remained steady throughout the summer, with no indication that Nintendo would lower either the DSi or DSi XL MSRPs any time soon. However, today Nintendo made it official: the DSi will now retail for $149.99, and the DSi XL for $169.99: a $20 drop.

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It’s Monday yet again, and hard to believe that summer is almost over.  For those of you who may have started class already today, take some consolation in the fact that And Yet It Moves has finally arrived on WiiWare.  And, even better, for those moms (or dads) out there who have finally gotten rid of–that is to say–shuffled your children off onto those shiny yellow school buses, you can kick back and (finally) relax with either that game or even (gasp) a Virtual Console title, not to mention four other DSiWare releases for this week.  Hit the break for all the games released today.

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Oh, Dragon Quest, how they love you.  In Japan, anyway.  With the recent release of Dragon Quest IX for DS, however, Nintendo hopes to change that.  Through a careful combination of old and new, Nintendo, Square Enix, and Level-5 hope to make the West crazy for (or at least more familiar with) the iconic, “smiling slime” RPG.  Still, as gamers, we all know that while avoiding innovation can make a franchise feel stale, changing things up too much can ruin the core experience (just ask Sonic).  So has this group of developers and publishers succeeded in crafting something that can be successful outside of Japan?  An experience not just for the die-hard few, but something perfectly palatable for a wide-range of Western gamers?

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In case you aren’t familiar with the Metroid franchise, you can watch a 7-minute retrospective of the Metroid storyline, as told by heroine Samus Aran. This new Metroid: Other M trailer details what happened in the original Metroid for NES, the Game Boy’s Metroid II: Return of Samus, and the SNES’s Super Metroid. It concludes with CG-footage of the final Super Metroid battle with Mother Brain and a cinematic showing the Chozo Suit-donning heroine receiving an urgent distress signal. There’s no gameplay footage here, but it’s a quick way to learn about the series or remember the events of the previous titles. Check it out below.

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Black and white are so last season, right?  Well, if you like a little extra gold with your GoldenEye, you’re in luck: you can purchase a copy of the upcoming Wii title bundled with a limited edition (won’t-be-sold-separately) golden classic controller pro for $69.99.  The bundle is aimed at those who prefer the traditional control scheme a la the original N64 title (or those who just hunger for limited edition goods).  Of course, those not interested can still purchase the game for $49.99.  Both the bundle and stand-alone game hit stores in November. (more…)

Ah, Monday, Monday, so good to me.  It means it’s time for some fun new updates to Nintendo’s downloadable marketplaces.  Looks like the VC is once again left alone in the corner of the dance floor, as this week’s updates are for WiiWare and DSiWare only.  Today, you’ll find six new games to tickle your fancy, including more aquarium fun on WiiWare and some more puzzling adventures on your DSis.

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Considering that Mistwalker’s The Last Story is a Nintendo Wii game, it’s looking pretty good so far.  New screenshots of the RPG have been released on the official web page for your viewing pleasure.  If the logo looks familiar to you, that’s because the game was created by Hironobu Sakaguchi of Final Fantasy fame. The Last Story’s setting takes place on Ruri Island, and unlike many Final Fantasy games, you won’t find my science fiction elements here.  Sakaguchi has stated that he is trying to keep those elements to a minimum, and features bright and natural colors.

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So we don’t live in Japan where everyone plays Dragon Quest, population density is huge, and public transportation is extremely common.  Nor do we live in the land where having a bar where you can gather to play and exchange game items is not only normal, it’s expected.  As a result, many North American players have expected to miss out on the features of tag mode that helped make the game such a success in the land of the rising sun.  Nintendo seems to have realized this, and so has organized a series of Dragon Quest IX events at local retailers and malls to spread the word about the game and give US players the chance to get some new treasure maps.

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After Nintendo’s momentous E3 presentation, many (myself included) were anxious to know when we can get our hands on the 3DS, but all Nintendo would say was that it would release by Spring 2011.  Today, via a phone interview, Nintendo PR manager Yasuhiro Minagawa confirmed that on September 29th, Nintendo will reveal both release schedules and pricing for the new device. (more…)

In an attempt to put a stop to rampant piracy, Lodndon’s High Court has ruled that the sale of R4 cards and similar products is illegal in the UK. The ruling was made against a supplier of electronic devices to the UK, Playables Ltd, who argued that the device allows users to “play homebrew software”. They also argued that the device is readily available online for as little as £10 ($15). The court disagreed saying the device must circumvent Nintendo’s security system in order for the R4 card to function.

According to gamesindustry.biz Nintendo has said that over 100,000 copying devices have been seized since 2009. I’ve spoken to someone who lives in the UK and he told me that R4 cards could be bought in a store and they would even give you instructions on how to find the Nintendo DS games and the software required for the card to work. The devices bought online would do the same and could be bought in bulk. This is obviously a huge win for Nintendo and they are coming off another big win last week in the Hague District Court against 11 retailers accused of selling piracy hardware. Will this put an end to piracy in the UK, probably not, but it’s a great start.

[Source: gameindustry.biz]

It’s Monday! And not only does that mean back to the grind, it also means our fans over at Nintendo have once again betrothed our Wiis and DS’s with a slew of new downloadable goodies in the form of DSiware, WiiWare, and Virtual Console releases.  This week brings us eight new titles (no VC this week, sorry, kids), so get your points ready and check out the details below. (more…)

Nintendo will be at San Diego Comic Con next week (July 22 – July 25) and has announced what they’re bringing with them for their fans. It’s a small presence they’re bringing with them to the party, but adopters of the recently released Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies who bring their DS and their copy of the game can get a special goodie from Nintendo if you turn on Tag Mode. Head to the Nintendo booth (#2944) with Tag Mode on in your game and you’ll be able to download a special treasure map called Mortamor, never before released for North American fans! In addition to that bonus, they’ll have two games on hand with hands-on demos to check out.

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Layton fans have a spot of good news today: apparently the good professor has the ability to turn back time, as his upcoming game, Professor Layton and the Unwound Future will be arriving in North America a week earlier than originally announced, September 12, 2010. (more…)

In the times before voice acting in video games, text reigned king. There were plenty of games before and even after this current generation of consoles that told their grand tales almost solely through the art of the written word. Before video games, in an era where digital art as we know it wasn’t yet an idea, otherworldly adventures were experienced through the medium (or tedium) of books. Now, Nintendo has merged these books with their portable gaming system in a game appreciatively titled 100 Classic Books.

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