New Wii bundle includes NSMBWii, music CD; doesn’t include GameCube support

Posted on October 11, 2011 by John Scalzo

Nintendo is readying a new Wii bundle for this Fall that includes some new items, but subtracts one thing we’ve come to expect with the Wii system.

The bundle will be available on October 23 all decked out in black with a Wii Remote Plus, Nunchuk, and Wii system. The package will also include a copy of New Super Mario Bros. Wii and a Super Mario Galaxy soundtrack CD. The bundle price is the now standard $149.99 you’d expect to pay for a Wii.

But under the hood the console will be slightly different. This Wii system has been modified to operate in a horizontal position only. It’ll also be lacking GameCube support:

The newly configured black Wii console sits horizontally rather than vertically and is designed exclusively for Wii game play and entertainment experiences (GameCube software and accessories are not supported).

In case you haven’t bought a Wii yet and need backwards compatibility, the original Wii console with support for GameCube games and peripherals will still be available in stores priced at $149.99 (and including Mario Kart Wii).

Posted in News, Wii | Tagged ,

Bit.Trip Presents: Runner 2, Future Legend of Rhythm Alien announced

Posted on October 11, 2011 by Nicole Kline

Gaijin Games has announced a sequel to Bit.Trip Runner, which they’re calling Bit.Trip Presents: Runner 2, Future Legend of Rhythm Alien. Wow, that’s quite a mouthful! The video above shows some of their brainstorming about the sequel, and includes some colorful language, as well as a turkey suit. And, of course, Commander Video is back.

According to the press release, the sequel will bring “at least 10 new abilities, HD visuals, support for Achievements/Trophies/leaderboards, unlockable costumes and ‘LOTS more to be revealed later.'” This sounds pretty exciting, especially because this sequel is coming to the PlayStation Network and the Xbox Live Arcade sometime in 2012. No news yet on whether or not it will be coming to the Wii U.

For more information, concept art, and other details, check out the Runner 2 official website.

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Xbox 360 standalone 320 GB hard drive (with Lego Star Wars III) coming soon

Posted on October 11, 2011 by John Scalzo

Microsoft has announced the 320 GB hard drive featured in the Gears of War 3 Limited Edition Xbox 360 will be available separately later this month.

The drive will retail for $129.99 and it’ll be compatible with all Xbox 360 S models. If that price seems a tad high to you, don’t worry, Microsoft plans to package a download code for Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars with each drive.

OK, that’s still pretty pricey for a 320 GB drive, but that’s par for the course for Xbox 360 hard drives.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Vita owners may be able to re-download UMD titles

Posted on October 11, 2011 by Nicole Kline

Good news for those of you planning to buy a Vita at launch – rumors are abounding that Sony might be scheming a way to let you play your UMD library on your shiny new device.

According to Andriasang, there are two possible ways this might go down. One rumor going around is from a retailer who claimed to be at a Sony sales meeting. The retailer stated that “Sony had distributed a pamphlet outlining how Vita buyers may be able to make use of their current UMD collection on the new system.” Sounds promising, right?

Don’t get your hopes up too quickly. An interview with Sony Computer Entertainment development head Yoshio Matsumoto in the latest Dengeki PlayStation sings a different tune. According to Matsumoto, “Sony is looking into offering a service where owners of the UMD version of a game would be able to download the same title at a special price.”

Whether or not these are both part of the same plan is still a mystery. But I know what I’d really love: if I didn’t have to pay for a game a second time. Wouldn’t that be a grand world, full of fairness and justice?

Posted in News, Vita |

Daily Scoop: October 11, 2011 – Post-plague edition

Posted on October 11, 2011 by Nicole Kline

Whew! I’ve had a horrible flu the last few days that basically knocked me out of commission. I’m still dragging a bit – I’ve got that slightly stupid sick feeling – but I’m out of bed, and that’s what’s important! I’m back with a vengeance, ready to deliver you the hottest scoops on the Internet!

Let’s see, what’s going on? Amazon’s Deal of the Day in video games is the recently released Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 2 Innocent Sin by Atlus. This PSP remake – released in America for the first time – is just $29.99 today. Fans of the series who can’t afford it at $39.99 might think $10 off isn’t the best deal, but if it’s enough of a discount for you, you know what I say! Scoop it up :)

What else, you asked? Well, there’s one Lightning Deal up at Amazon as well:

2 PM PDT/5 PM EST: For those who love the classic gaming experience, this handheld breakthrough is sure to guarantee hours of fun on the go. (Could this be the PSP Go? No…)

Amazon’s also got new weekly deals up in video games:

That’s a lot of deals! I can’t stop laughing about Brink. What a sucker I was to pay full price! If only I’d waited…

T-shirt-wise, I’m loving today’s shirt.woot, which prepares you for Halloween by giving you “Other Uses for Candy Corn:”

Press Start to Continue →

Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

Fans tap Anderson Silva for UFC Undisputed 3 cover

Posted on October 11, 2011 by John Scalzo

More than 110,000 Ultimate Fighting Championship fans have spoken and they have selected UFC middleweight champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva as the cover athlete for UFC Undisputed 3.

Scheduled for a January 2012 release on the PS3 and Xbox 360, Silva beat out four other UFC champions (lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, and heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez) for the honor.

“Enabling fans worldwide to select the UFC Undisputed 3 cover athlete has been an incredibly rewarding experience,” said Danny Bilson, Executive Vice President of Core Games at THQ. “Anderson Silva possesses a tremendous work ethic and incredible prowess inside the Octagon, making him an excellent choice to serve as our cover athlete for the game.”

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Silent Hill: Downpour washing up in early 2012

Posted on October 11, 2011 by John Scalzo

Konami has confirmed that Silent Hill: Downpour will no longer make its expected October 2011 release date. Instead, the survival horror title has been pushed back to the much less scary timeframe of “early 2012.” No reason was given for the delay.

Silent Hill: Downpour is in development for the PS3 and Xbox 360 at Vatra Games.

[Source: MCV]

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Netflix kills Qwikster, “still considering” game rentals

Posted on October 11, 2011 by John Scalzo

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings sat down to a nice dinner of crow yesterday before composing a post on the company’s official blog that doubles as the obituary of Qwikster.

The ridiculously unpopular site split (Netflix would have been streaming-only, while Qwikster would have handled the DVD rentals) was announced just three weeks ago, but like the New Coke debacle, it has been quickly reversed. Hastings wrote in his post that, due to user demand, all DVD rentals and streaming services would stay under the Netflix name.

“This means no change: one website, one account, one passwor… in other words, no Qwikster,” he said. The July price increase will stay in place, however.

During the initial announcement, Hastings also revealed that Qwikster Netflix would be adding PS3, Wii and Xbox 360 games to its rental options. This plan appears to be on the backburner for the time beings as Steve Swasey, the Netflix Vice President of Corporate Communications, told GameSpot the company is “still considering” how to proceed with game rentals.

Qwikster may be dead, but hopefully our favorite Twitter user will keep the name alive for a good, long time.

Posted in News, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360 |