A licensed Wizard of Oz game doesn't seem like the biggest news, but the fact that XSEED is publishing it is a clue that there's a little more going on than the usual licensed kids' game. In fact, The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road is a localized version of Media Vision's RIZ-ZOAWD, which is nothing less than a Wizard of Oz-themed JRPG. XSEED has partnered with original Japanese publisher D3 to bring this weird game to North America.Beyond the Yellow Brick Road combines the Oz setting with turn-based Dragon Quest-esque combat, with certain enemies more susceptible to attacks from certain party members, and a trackball-like movement interface. You'll be able to send your flying monkeys out for it this fall.D3 is now a subsidiary of Namco Bandai, which means that The Wizard of Oz is the fourth Namco Bandai game to be picked up by XSEED.
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Last week, Square Enix president Yoichi Wada gave a statement to Japanese press that helps illustrate the company's (justifiable) sales expectation for Dragon Quest IX. "We're looking at reaching over 5 million copies of Dragon Quest IX shipped," he said, as translated by Kotaku. With three million shipped in the game's first week, 2.3 million of which sold right away, five million seems conservative, and we can only assume Wada is referring only to shipments in Japan.Somewhat less conservative is the forecast Wada made last year, of ten million units. While we have absolutely no doubt DQIX will break a record or two in Japan with the combination of Dragon Quest-level initial sales and DS-style longterm sales, that still seems optimistic.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

As late as May, a Boom Blox producer said that the series was always intended for the Wii, and other platforms weren't part of the plan (except for mobile, we guess). Now, some at EA are starting to change their stance, potentially laying the groundwork for a multiplatform release.Harvey Elliott, head of EA's Bright Light studio, told VideoGamer that he "wouldn't rule anything out, never say never." He said that Boom Blox is "about the motion control, it's about throwing a ball or throwing an object," and that right now, he "can't imagine that on other devices at the moment." Despite saying that a multiplatform release wasn't impossible, Elliott is "proud" that it's remained on the Wii so far, saying, "I think it's the right thing. Who knows for the future." So it's more of a "maybe, I guess" kind of thing than "CONFIRMED." Since the release of the last Boom Blox, two new motion-based interfaces have been introduced, both of which allow players to mimic the motion of throwing an object. Project Natal would actually allow the player to throw a real ball at the TV, if that player is stupid enough to think that's a good idea.
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It's amazing that it took this long for a game like Max and the Magic Marker to show up on the Wii, though we're definitely looking forward to trying out this WiiWare title at some point, hopefully before it releases this fall. Like we've said before, it looks like the interactive version of Harold and the Purple Crayon.We know Scribblenauts is for fans of language, so we hope Max will naut disappoint those who like to scribble. Check out the trailer after the break.

Continue reading Max and the Magic Marker scribbles down a new trailer

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