Left Turn at Albuquerque

3D has been all the rage lately. First Avatar and Alice in Wonderland in the movies and now.. video games? Yesterday Nintendo announced that they will be releasing a new 3D gaming system later in 2010 or in early 2011. It won’t require that you wear 3D glasses to play and will be backwards compatable with DS and DSi games. The 3DS may also feature a new thumbstick controller to make it easier to navigate characters in a 3D space. Hopefully Nintendo has learned a thing or two since the Virtual Boy and will do this system right.

Here is the Press Release from Nintendo:

March 23, 2010

To Whom It May Concern:
Re: Launch of New Portable Game Machine

Nintendo Co., Ltd. (Minami-ward of Kyoto-city, President Satoru Iwata) will launch “Nintendo 3DS” (temp) during the fiscal year ending March 2011, on which games can be enjoyed with 3D effects without the need for any special glasses.

“Nintendo 3DS” (temp) is going to be the new portable game machine to succeed “Nintendo DS series”, whose cumulative consolidated sales from Nintendo amounted to 125million units as of the end of December 2009, and will include backward compatibility so that the software for Nintendo DS series, including the ones for Nintendo DSi, can also be enjoyed.

We are planning to announce additional details at E3 show, which is scheduled to be held from June 15, 2010 at Los Angeles in the U.S.

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Apparently Mario & Luigi AKA the Mario brothers are done saving the princess and have decided to open up competing take-out joints in Manchester, United Kingdom. On top of the names, the colors of the stores are also the same of the Nintendo characters. Mario typically wears red and Luigi wears green while stomping on Koopa Troopas. Almost too many similarities for this to be a coincidence. Coming soon: Toad’s Tavern.

More @ Google Maps.

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Back in late 1987 Bandai released Stadium Events, a game part of the Family Fun Fitness series. Early the next year Nintendo bought the right to the series and re-released it as the the Power Pad. The two Family Fun Fitness-branded games that had already been released, as well as Bandai’s version of the running pad accessory, were pulled from shelves and destroyed due to Nintendo’s new Power Pad brand. In that time period there are believed to have been only 2000 copies of Stadium Events created and out of those only 200 sold to the public. Stadium Events is possibly the rarest game for the system that turned around the home console video game industry in the late 80’s which has been booming ever since.

Recently an Ebay auction popped up featuring a serious video game collectors dream, a sealed copy of Stadium Events. A copy of the game with the box included can go for over $10,000 but a factory sealed copy which was thought to not exist just sold for $41,300 in an Ebay auction.

Here are the words of the seller:

This was bought over 20 years ago so my memories are fuzzy (we have over 175 games – which, btw will be going up for auction in the coming months - all with boxes! – some unopened).  What I remember is that we bought it thinking that we could play it by itself and then realized that we needed the pad (?).  Somewhere in there it was recalled so the pads weren’t available when we went to purchase it.  We never got around to returning the game…lucky us!

More @ ebay & Wikipedia.

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There have been some pretty cool NES mods over the past few years but this one is one of the better ones I’ve seen. Here’s what the creator has to say about it:

“My nesP is basically a noname china brand portable media player, with the advantage of being able to play nes roms, and a nes controller hacked to the controls. First off the buttons on the original media player just sucked, they were so small and tight that my fingers could not easily push them. So I got the idea of modding a nes controller to it, that’s when I remembered about the above mentioned mod, and thought maybe I can cram this inside of a cartridge case with the controller. Well it worked perfect, it was like it was made to fit, I didn’t use any hot glue or anything other than some double sided tape to hold the battery in place. It’s a really tight fit though. It’s got 4gb built in memory, with a sd card slot in the inside so you could expand the memory if needed, and not only does it play nes games, but it also plays gameboy and gameboy color roms as well. 2.8” TFT LCD, built-in rechargeable lithium battery, Video player, MP3 player, FM radio, Picture viewer, Audio recorder, it’s got a camera and video camera (but I disabled them to fit in the case), built in speaker, and the best part… TV-OUT !!! so you can play on the big screen! The unit has 2 additional buttons on the front, ones power, and the other is used to navigate the main menu, basically it’s a ‘back’ button. And there is a small hole drilled in the back with a reset button behind it. The unit has 3 plug ins on the right side, AC power (to charge the battery) Mini USB (to put files on the thing) and the TV-OUT plug. I also spent some time and redid the images used for the main menu and the game selection screen.

Now last thing, this unit cost me a lot to finish, due to going through 3 game cases, 2 controllers, and 2 of the media player systems I used, so to recoup my loses, this thing is for sale. So if you’re interested drop me a PM. Thanks for looking.”

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A couple of days ago Nintendo announced that a new DS, the DSi XL will be hitting the U.S. shores next year. The name comes from the fact that the screens will be 4.2-inches, up from the DSi’s 3.25 inches. This will be the 4th version of the DS since it was introduced in November, 2004. It ships with your choice of dark brown, burgundy and natural white colors. The battery will last for roughly 4 to 5 hours. Before coming to the states, the DSi XL will be hitting Japan on November 21st and priced at ¥20,000 or about $221.

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Tetris was created on June 6th 1984 by Alexander Pajitnov, a programmer at the Moscow Academy of Sciences who worked on the game in his spare time. Although it was originally released on the PC, Tetris gained popularity on the Nintendo Game Boy where it sold around 35 million copies. Brain scans of Tetris players show the game trains people to use their brains more efficiently. Today Tetris can be downloaded or bought and played on most consoles and mobile devices.

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If you’re a fan of Guitar Hero or Rock band and the tons of controllers they come with then you may like this news.. if you’re into house music. According to DJ Hero’s Twitter page, the DJ Hero game will feature a controller that looks like what’s above. No word yet on if the turntable will spin partially of fully yet. The official webpage is now live too @ djhero.com although there’s not much on it yet.

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This was never an option from Nintendo during the NES days but it would have been a nice one.

Link.

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What do ceramic tile and classic NES game pixels have in common? Colombian artists Andres Barragan and Miss Vynilos have tiled a bathroom shower to resemble the Nintendo game Donkey Kong Jr. Each tile was put on the wall one at a time, tile by tile, based on a blown-up screenshot of the Nintendo game’s pixels.

More @ Technobob

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Nintendo’s latest handheld and third version of the DS, the DSi is ready to be released on April 5. The system will cost $169.99 and will come in either blue or black colors.

The DSi features:
Form: Nintendo’s slimmest DS yet.
Function: Backwards compatible with all DS games.
Features: new dual cameras and downloadable games.
Fun: all the Nintendo game and character fun you know and love.

Available for preorder from Amazon (limit 3 per household)

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Addictive game addicts rejoice! More Good news for Peggle and/or Nintendo DS fans. On March 3rd of next year we will be seeing Peggle make its Nintendo debut on the DS. Peggle: Dual Shot is being developed by Q Entertainment, the same group responsible for popular games such as Rez and Lumines. Not sure yet how the one touchscreen will fare with Peggle’s addictive gameplay but I’m sure it will remain just as addictive on the DS as it is on the other platforms.

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In 2005, Nintendo came out with a puzzle game double pack, Dr. Mario & Puzzle League for the Game Boy Advance. Puzzle games never get old so when you have two addicting puzzle games like these together in one cartridge, you have something fun for years to come. Both games feature multiple modes and countless options. If you have a buddy with the game, you can play vs them in multiplayer mode in either game.

Dr. Mario

In Dr. Mario, you must remove viruses by throwing vitamin capsules into a bottle. Since many viruses are trapped at the bottom of the bottle, you must plan ahead in order to eliminate them all.

Puzzle League

In Puzzle League, you’ll need to form chains of three or more same-colored blocks. When colors are matched, they will dissapear, scoring you points and clearing the screen.

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First of all, before you get too excited, it won’t be hitting the states until “late 2009″ which probably means it will be released about a year from now just in time for the next holiday season. The system doesn’t look or play that much different than the curent DS Lite. The screens will be larger but will remain the same resolution and only one screen will continue to be touch.

The unit is 12% thinner and will include an external three megapixel camera as well as a front-facing camera. In addition the DSi will have an SD slot and internal storage. Nintendo’s also launching an online DSi Shop to purchase games and applications. The unit will launch in both black and white colors.

More @ the official Japanese site.

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In June 1985, Nintendo unveiled its American version of the Famicom at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). It rolled out its first systems to limited American markets on October 18, 1985, following up with a full-fledged North American release of the console in February of the following year. Nintendo simultaneously released eighteen launch titles: 10-Yard Fight, Baseball, Clu Clu Land, Donkey Kong Jr. Math, Duck Hunt, Excitebike, Golf, Gyromite, Hogan’s Alley, Ice Climber, Kung Fu, Mach Rider, Pinball, Stack-Up, Tennis, Wild Gunman, Wrecking Crew, and Super Mario Bros.

1: 10-Yard Fight is a 1983 American football arcade game that was developed and published in Japan by Irem and published in the United States by Taito. The Nintendo Entertainment System version was developed and published in Japan by Irem and published in North America and Europe by Nintendo in 1985.

2: Baseball is a simple baseball video game made by Nintendo in 1983 for the Nintendo Family Computer, making it one of the first games released for the Famicom. It was later one of the NES’s 18 launch titles when it was released in 1985 in the United States. As in real baseball, the object of the game is to score the most runs. Up to two players are supported. Each player can select from one of six teams.

3: Clu Clu Land is an arcade and Nintendo Entertainment System game released in 1985 and was later released in North America on the Wii Virtual Console on September 1, 2008. The game was called Vs. Clu Clu Land in video arcades. The game has been re-released for the Nintendo GameCube in the game Animal Crossing.

4: Donkey Kong Jr. Math is a Nintendo video game where the player must solve math problems in order to win. It was released in 1983 for the Famicom and then outside Japan for the Nintendo Entertainment System two years later. The game was released in the United States before the NES ports of Donkey Kong Jr. and Donkey Kong.

5: Duck Hunt is a video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System game console system in which players use the NES Zapper to shoot ducks on screen for points. The game was developed and published by Nintendo, and was released in 1984 in Japan. The ducks appear one or two at a time, and the player is given three shots to shoot them down.

6: Excitebike is a motocross racing video game franchise made by Nintendo. It first debuted as a game for the Famicom in Japan in 1984 for a price of 5000 yen. It is the first game of the Excite series, succeeded by its sequel Excitebike 64 and the spiritual successor Excite Truck.

7: Golf is a sports-simulation video game released in 1985 for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was originally released in Japan in 1984 for the NES/Famicom. The golfer is a mustached man who resembles Mario.

8: Gyromite is a video game released in 1985 for the Nintendo Entertainment System, designed for use with the Robotic Operating Buddy. Gyromite is one of two games in Nintendo’s Robot Series.

9: Hogan’s Alley is a 1984 arcade game by Nintendo. It was one of the first games to use a light gun as an input device. The game flashes “cardboard cut-outs” of innocent civilians and thugs in front of the player and the player must react quickly to “take down” the bad guys and spare the innocents.

10: Ice Climber is a vertical platformer developed and published by Nintendo for the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985. The video game features Popo and Nana, collectively known as the Ice Climbers, venture up 32 ice-covered mountains to recover stolen vegetables from a giant condor.

11: Kung-Fu is a 1984 arcade game developed by the Japanese company Irem Corporation. It was manufactured under license in the United States by Data East. It was released in Japan as Spartan X and credited “Paragon Films Ltd., Towa Promotion”, who made the movie starring Jackie Chan, called Spartan X (Wheels on Meals) upon which it was based. The game contains elements of Bruce Lee’s Game of Death.

12: Mach Rider is a futuristic driving video game created by Nintendo. It was first released on October 18, 1985 for the Nintendo Entertainment System. A month later, on November 21, the title was released in Japan. On March 15, 1987 it was released in Europe and Australia.

13: Pinball is a 1984 arcade game created by Nintendo. It was ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System later that year. In 1985 it reached North America. The Nintendo Entertainment System version added an alternating two-player mode

14: Stack-Up (a.k.a. Robot Block) is a video game released in 1985 for the Nintendo Entertainment System, designed for use with the Robotic Operating Buddy. Stack-Up is one of two games in Nintendo’s Robot Series, the other being Gyromite.

15: Tennis is a video game released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1984. The concept of the game is very basic in that the player controls one person faced against an opponent CPU player. This game uses the same scoring system as “real-life” tennis. The game also features a doubles (2-player) option. The opponent CPU player can be set at 5 difficulties.

16: Wild Gunman is a light gun game created by Nintendo for use with the Zapper peripheral was released in 1985. The Famicom version was also available packaged with a plastic, western-style revolver accessory that could be used instead of the Zapper. Perhaps due to the public outcry at the time over realistic-looking toy guns, which resulted in a 1988 US Federal Law banning unmarked toy weapons, this accessory was never released in the US or European markets.

17: Wrecking Crew is a game for the Nintendo Entertainment System where the player controls Mario and attempts to destroy all of a certain set of objects on each of 100 levels. Each level takes place on a playfield divided into an invisible grid, each space of which can contain one object. Objects include destructible walls, pillars and ladders, indestructible barrels and ladders, bombs that destroy all connected destructible objects, and various enemies that Mario must avoid.

18: Super Mario Bros. is a platform game developed by Nintendo in late 1985 and published for the Nintendo Entertainment System, a sequel to the 1983 game, Mario Bros. In Super Mario Bros., Italian plumber Mario must save Princess Peach (Princess Toadstool in the US version) of the Mushroom Kingdom from the evil Bowser, king of the Koopas. In order to save Princess Peach, the Mario Bros. must conquer the eight worlds that comprise the Mushroom Kingdom.

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Justin at DeviantArt has posted some really neat 3D renderings of classic 2D NES games. The above screenshot is my favorite but there are also some great renderings of Excitebike and Legend of Zelda.

more @: nes–still-the-best

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