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    The Conduit sales fizzle in late-June debut

    July 17, 2009 - 12:02pm


    Once again, Sega places its hopes and dreams in the untapped hardcore Wii market, and once again it just doesn't pay off. With the June NPD sales figures comes a sad truth for those who've been hyping The Conduit since it first reared its head last April: according to those figures, the conspiracy-infused FPS sold under 72,000 copies between its June 23 launch and the NPD cutoff date of July 4, placing it at number 25 on the U.S. top sellers list.Sure, The Conduit hasn't been out for a full month yet, but that sales total has got to be a disappointing figure for Sega, whose last two adult-themed Wii releases, MadWorld and House of the Dead: Overkill, made even smaller impacts during their respective launch months (we suppose there's a little silver lining in The Conduit performing slightly better). We've contacted both Sega and High Voltage to find out how they're feeling about the game's somewhat underwhelming sales figures.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    VC/WiiWare Friday: Number 300

    July 17, 2009 - 11:30am

    It's a very momentous week for the PAL Virtual Console. Not only is it (still) a Hanabi Festival, the 300th Virtual Console game has been released in the region. It's either the wonderful Compile shooter MUSHA or the Konami table tennis game Smash Table Tennis, so ... let's say it's MUSHA. It sure took a while for Smash Table Tennis to show up, though.This news managed to overshadow the launch of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord, but don't miss it if you want to play a tower defense game ... from inside the tower!

    • MUSHA (Mega Drive, 1 player, 900 Wii Points)
    • Smash Table Tennis (Famicom Disk System, 1-2 players, 600 Wii Points)
    • Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord (WiiWare, 1 player, 1,000 Wii Points)
    • A Little Bit of ... Puzzle League (DSiWare, 1 player, 500 DSi Points)

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    Spyborgs team up to attack retail September 29

    July 17, 2009 - 10:35am

    Capcom has finally announced a date for its new Wii brawler, Spyborgs. The cooperative action game from Bionic Games will be out in North America on September 29. Originally announced at Capcom's Captivate '08 event, Spyborgs underwent major retooling, becoming a bit less "kiddie"-looking in the process. As the new boxart shows (in full after the break), the game carries a T rating.If you're eager to try out Spyborgs before September, you still have a week to plan a trip to the San Diego Comic-Con, where Capcom will offer the first public demo, as well as some unspecified Spyborgs-related giveaways. At the moment, Capcom seems to be the best reason to attend Comic-Con.

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    Activision confirms 22 more GH5 tracks, details pre-order bonuses

    July 16, 2009 - 9:15pm


    At this point, we're pretty much 100% confident that the "unofficial" Guitar Hero 5 track list we got last week was dead on. After confirming the entire list of bands back in May, Acitivision officially announced 22 more tracks today (in addition the already revealed 24, making a grand total of 46 out of 85 revealed so far. And wouldn't you know it, every one of those songs was already on that "unofficial" list we already had.The peripheral-inclined publisher also revealed the variety of pre-order bonuses that eager GH5 consumers will pick up alongside the game at various retailers, ranging from GameStop's two free playable songs (isn't that like, a demo?) to Amazon's promise of five free mp3s. Hit the break for all the officially confirmed tracks thus far.

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    Introducing new characters of some kind in TMNT Smash Up

    July 16, 2009 - 5:00pm

    The latest TMNT Smash Up trailer introduces Donatello and ... uh ... some other people. Man, we have been out of touch with Ninja Turtles for a long time. Who are all these people? We recognize Karai from Tournament Fighters (you may recognize her from the comics or whatever), but we totally had to look up "Nightwatcher," who turns out to be Raphael in a costume. That's really weird.The good news is that even if you don't follow the TMNT cast of thousands, the characters look fun to play. A turtle superhero! A woman with a sword! A robot! Totally great. And if you do know the characters, hey! There they are! See the trailer after the break.

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    McDonalds offering exclusive Dragon Quest IX minigame

    July 16, 2009 - 4:00pm

    Following the conclusion of the Pokemon Stamp Rally, the "Mac de DS" program at McDonalds will feature a promotion that ties into the biggest DS game of the year, Dragon Quest IX. Dragon Quest: McDonalds no Tabibito-tachi (McDonalds' Travelers) is a downloadable, battle-only Dragon Quest IX minigame in which players battle monsters in order to level up to level 10. It can only be played once per day -- if you want to continue leveling your character, you have to return to Mickey D's and grab the file again. Visit five times -- whether you complete the game or not -- and you get a free burger. It's a way for DQ fans to get a little extra content, and for that one guy who didn't buy DQIX to try out the game.The DQIX promotion runs from July 31 through September 1.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Where's Waldo? On Wii, DS, PC, and Mac this September

    July 16, 2009 - 3:00pm

    Finally, for those of us waiting since 1992's The Great Waldo Search for a new console Waldo-finding adventure, Ubisoft has released the first details and screens of Ludia's Where's Waldo? The Fantastic Journey, coming out on Wii, DS, PC, and Mac in September. iPhone, originally announced as one of the platforms, is conspicuously absent from the list.The Fantastic Journey allows one or more players to search not just for Waldo, but for his friends and other items. The multiplayer mode features power-ups that shake opponents' screens or cover them in paint, freeze the search window, or enhance items on your own screen.The first screens, available in our gallery, show the Wii version. We have to wonder at whom these are targeted: kids aren't going to remember, or even know, Where's Waldo, and the concept of just looking for a guy in a picture is kind of laughable now that the fad is over. Does that mean that this is intended to serve adults' Where's Waldo nostalgia? Is there such a thing?Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Nintendo has no plans for black Wii in US

    July 16, 2009 - 2:45pm


    Nintendo has stated it has no plans to release other colors of Wii in the US -- including the sleek black Wii launching in Japan on August 1. A Nintendo rep informed GameDaily of the devastating news, which we, of course, will take with a brick of salt. We know Nintendo to be a lie factory about its products, so we'll wait and see.Once -- if -- Wii sales ever drop off, we expect a freakin' deluge of Wii colors that'll make a gay Pride parade look like a drab, colorless scene out of Killzone 2.[Thanks, Ash!]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Tony Hawk Ride board will actually be white

    July 16, 2009 - 2:30pm


    You can only imagine how exciting this is for me personally. Now that Activision has revealed that the Tony Hawk Ride board peripheral will be white when it finally releases, I'm among the elite few who used it when it was black. I'm at the epicenter of the maelstrom, like a guy who saw the Kennedy assassination from a different angle, or Michael Jackson's personal sandwich crust trimmer who "had noticed that he'd been acting sadder than usual, now that you mention it!"RoboModo co-founder Josh Tsui also told GI.biz, "[the board] is the most advanced peripheral on the market. It really is going to usher a next generation of controllers for games." That's great Josh, but let's try to stay focused on this color change ushering in the next generation of my personal fame. Leave all interview requests, book offers, etc. in the comments below.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Dirt 2 release date all cleaned up

    July 16, 2009 - 1:30pm

    Codemasters today announced the official release dates for Dirt 2. The utterly filthy racing game will hit US shores on September 8, Europe on September 10 and the UK on September 11. For those out there who aren't filthy rich enough to own all the consoles, have no fear, for Dirt 2 will be available on PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, DS and PSP. Much like actual dirt, you should be able to find it just about anywhere.Unless you want to pick up the PC version, which was recently delayed in order to accommodate DirectX 11. Expect it to arrive in December.
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