Tag Archives: wii

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Super Mario Bros voted greatest computer game ever

August 26, 2008 – 7:42 am

Here’s some news that near and dear to my heart, Super Mario Bros has been voted the greatest computer game…evar! (in one poll at least) “The classic platform game was first released in 1985 and has since become one of the biggest selling ever with more than 40 million copies flying off the shelves worldwide. In the game brothers Mario and Luigi – now recognized the world over – try to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom in a bid to save Princess Peach. Super Mario Bros 2 was released in 1988, and Super Mario Bros 3 in 1990. The third version was considered by many as the best, and has sold 18 million to date. The poll of 2,000 gamers, conducted by www.onepoll.com, revealed ‘old skool’ games are still firm favorites with Britain’s army of gamers.”  A few weeks ago I played Super Mario Bros. on the Wii, yeah, the original one from 1985, while the rest of the family watched.  I was flying through worlds jumping at nothing when a coin would appear.  My wife asked, “How do you remember that that invisiable spot became a coin?”, to which I couldn’t answer, it’s just that ingrained into my mind – the simple game means/meant that much!  What I like about this, and the other 19 in the list, is that it shows what really matters to make a game immortal as it were; it has to be creative and fun.  Damn to the graphics, the 5.1 sound, the online play, if the game isn’t fun, forget it. “This shows that classic games will live on forever in the hearts of computer game fans. The gaming industry is getting more and more competitive, releasing more and more innovative games by the minute – but this survey proves that sometimes the most simple formats work well to keep game players hooked.”

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General

Publishers shifting significantly to Wii

October 11, 2007 – 8:47 pm

Wii 3d logo(stated in Prof. Farnsworth voice) “Good news everyone!”  Outlook for new Wii games is very strong for 2008.  According to a new article by Screen Digest, “…publishers are “flocking to Wii” and that this holiday season will lead into a 2008 with plenty of Wii fun to come. “Nintendo’s success is reaping the rewards of great support from publishers … 86 titles are scheduled for release on the Wii in Q4, compared with 47 for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and just 38 for the PS3. Furthermore, a quarter of the Wii releases are exclusive to the platform, compared with eight for the Xbox 360 and five for PS3. Screen Digest sees Nintendo’s success and external support for Wii only accelerating, primarily thanks to the quickly growing installed base and lower cost of development on the platform. The firm “expects that the number of games available for Wii will surpass Xbox 360′s library in early 2008 at current release rates.” So momentum building with many more games for the Wii, and judging by past victories we can only anticipate more fun games from the original creative minds of Nintendo.

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General

Wii: good for the body, good for the brain

October 5, 2007 – 2:41 pm

Wii FitAnother article extolling the virtues of playing the Wii for fitness, this time not only for the body, but for the mind. “Physical therapists are turning to the Nintendo Wii to help the injured and infirm get their grooves back while increasing flexibility and strength. [...]Nintendo’s Brain Age series is popularly prescribed to help elderly patients stay sharp as a sort of “exercise” for the mind. therepy schedules [...] The Wii, though, is moving gaming out of niche applications and into the mainstream because the console is so accessible to such a wide variety of players. (You should see my four-year-old play Wii Carnival Games.) The upcoming Wii Fit could be a real killer in this category for those who don’t have the sense of rhythm that Dance Dance Revolution requires” Hmmm…I’ve looked at the Brain game available for the Wii with the idea that it would be cool for the kids, but now I have Carnival Games in mind too! They have more coverage on the topic in their Games for Health page, all nice to see, and check out the video of the action here. Again, I’d much rather the kids (and me) play some Wii games that make us think versus just watching TV.

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wii outsells PS3 in Japan 6 to 1

July 2, 2007 – 9:12 pm

Wii have a winner, by a long shot! “Nintendo’s Wii game console outsold Sony’s PlayStation 3 by a ratio of more than 6 to 1 in June in Japan, a game magazine publisher said, solidifying Nintendo’s leading position. Nintendo sold 270,974 units of the Wii in the four weeks ended June 24, compared with 41,628 units for the PS3 and 17,616 units for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 … The Wii’s lead against the PS3 was 4 to 1 in April and 5 to 1 in May.”

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The evolution of the video game controller

April 12, 2007 – 8:24 pm

2600 joystickLike a walk down memory lane, you’ll never forget your first…video game controller that is. That’s mine on the right, yeah, she got around a bit, but hey. So anyway, here’s a great site with an overview of the evolution of the video game controller, all the way back to the Magnavox Odyssey. Wow, I’ve owned 8 of those systems! Atari 2600, Colecovision, NES, Sega Genesis, SNES, Sony Playstation, Gamecube and now the Wii. Yeah, the only Nintendo I didn’t own was the N64, which supposedly rocked. Then if you really want to get into it, there’s a fantastic ‘family tree’ version with even more (all?) of the controllers; Sock Master’s Game Console Controller Family Tree! Much more in depth, with details once you click on them. Far out, fun to see how Nintendo lead so much of the way, but also to see how the Xbox followed Saturn’s lead. Damn, and I played the Atari Jaguar at a party (“avoid the ground!”) and that controller bit, hard. But check out ‘The Nintendo Game & Watch’, a Donkey Kong game from 1982; the case is a dead ringer for the Nintendo DS! Damn, this is fun stuff.

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