Nintendophiles 10.22.08

Posted by Theo Fraser on 10.22.2008

This week’s Nintendophiles covers the all-new Nintendo Points system, the track listing for the free Rock Band 2 DLC, Broken Sword coming to Nintendo platforms, Monolith Soft’s new RPG project and a fresh look at the thrilling Dragon Quest IX on DS. Come on inside for all the info!




Welcome fellow Nintendophiles to another edition of....my news report. We seem to be in a quiet patch since the hustle and bustle of TGS has died down, and that's always a problem at this time of year as we gear up for all the releases in time for Christmas. Great for gamers, but not so good for reporters, as legitimate ‘news' tends to be thin on the ground. Still, let's take a look at what I've managed to rustle up for you this week.




Nintendo Points system clarified
Credit: Siliconera

Along with Nintendo's announcement of the new DSWare service at the Nintendo Fall Conference a few weeks back, it was declared that Wii Points would make the transition into ‘Nintendo Points', which could be used to be either Wii goods (Virtual Console and/or WiiWare games) or DSWare titles. The diagram below shows what the physical cards look like now, and what they'll look like upon the changeover.





Obviously nothing major, save for the inclusion of the DS logo. However, what hasn't been clear up until now was exactly how the system would work with regard to splitting points between the Wii and DS services.

After clarification from Nintendo themselves, it turns out that the points you purchase will have to be transferred in full to either the DS or Wii. So, for example, if you buy 1000 points, you'll have to transfer all 1000 over to the Wii, as opposed to just 800 for the Wii and 200 for DS. To some, this was probably to be expected, seeing as how Nintendo haven't got an overall digital distribution data system, but I can still see many being disappointed that they'll have to fork out for two cards if they want to buy something on the Virtual Console as well as DSWare. Perhaps Nintendo will look to rectify this situation in the future.




Revealed: Rock Band 2's Free DLC!
Credit: IGN, MTV Games

Purchase Rock Band 2 for the Wii this December (or on other consoles in November, if you're a dirty heathen) and you'll be able to enter a special code online which unlocks 20 downloadable tracks...for free! It's unlikely to provide extra incentive to buy the game, but it's a wicked bonus for those already planning to. Check out the line-up of songs you'll find...

• The 88 - "Sons and Daughters"


• Authority Zero - "No Regrets"


• Between the Buried and Me - "Prequel To The Sequel"


• The Cab - "Bounce"


• The Chevelles - "Get It On"


• The Cocktail Slippers - "Give It To Me"


• Dealership - "Database Corrupted"


• Endeverafter - "I Wanna Be Your Man"


• The Ghost Hounds - "Ashes To Fire"


• Hollywood Undead - "Young"


• Kutless - "The Feeling"


• The Len Price 3 - "If I Ain't Got You"


• Lesley Roy - "I'm Gone, I'm Going"


• Opiate for the Masses - "Burn You Down"


• Semi-Precious Weapons - "Magnetic Baby"


• Shaimus - "Like a Fool"


• Thenewno2" - Crazy Tuesday"


• Tickle Me Pink - "The Time Is Wrong"


• Underoath - "Desperate Times, Desperate Measures"


• X Japan - "I.V."

Well I feel distinctly un-cool having heard of just two of those bands, but whatever, apparently these are mainly up-and-coming bands so I guess I shouldn't feel too bad. Great perk for those bands though, getting an immense amount of exposure. And of course, it's a nice little gesture from Harmonix who easily could have slapped a price on it as a track pack. It'll be interesting to see if Guitar Hero and Activision follow suit with any freebies.




Broken Sword re-emerging on Nintendo platforms
Credit: Gamefront





The point-and-click adventure series Broken Sword is probably best known for its original PC outing, but an instalment has appeared on the GBA in previous years. Broken Sword 2 was originally supposed to be ported to the GBA as well, but licensing issues prevented it from seeing the light of day. Recently, however, German ratings website USK was found to list a brand new Broken Sword game, to be published by Ubisoft for Nintendo Wii and DS, giving Broken Sword fans their taste of the action on a Nintendo platform once again.

Point and click games work excellently on the Wii, as evidenced by Zack & Wiki, and we know from titles such as Hotel Dusk how well the stylus translates to the genre, so Broken Sword should fit right in. There's really nothing else to say about the matter, as a release date is a long way off yet, and it's not known if Ubisoft have already started development or if it is still in the planning stages. Whatever the case, we can simply be appreciative of the fact that it's coming full stop.




Monolith Soft move onto new RPG project
Credit: Gamekyo




With Disaster: Day of Crisis finished and ready for shipment, developer Monolith Soft are back on board the RPG train, starting work imminently on a brand new project for an as-of-yet unannounced platform. Yes, unannounced, but it's a pretty safe bet we'll see it on either DS or Wii, seeing as how Nintendo has a large stake in the company. RPG fans should be well acquainted with the developer, having been at the helm of the Baten Kaitos series, three Xenosaga titles and the recent Soma Bringer on DS, so this is definitely a prospect to get excited about.

A Baten Kaitos DS title has been rumored ever since the handheld first debuted, so it's possible that development could finally begin on this project, but then again Xenosaga has also oft been rumored for Wii. Plus, we can't rule out the possibility of an entirely new IP. Fret not, RPG-nuts, I'll be keeping a close eye on any developments regarding this one. Truth be told, I've no real experience with the Xenosaga series, but Baten Kaitos was great if you ask me (aside from the nauseating voice acting), so the mere suggestion of a further entry to the series has definitely caught my full attention.




Dragon Quest IX shaping up to be epic

It's been a while since we've seen anything from the Dragon Quest IX front, but Square Enix showed off a new trailer for the title at the recent Tokyo Games Show, and by the looks of things it is shaping up to be something really rather special.





I've got to say, I love the artistic direction. The anime-esque cutscenes look exquisite, and the actual in-game visuals look to push the DS hardware to the limits, as per usual with Square Enix. Dragon Quest is hugely popular in Japan, so I expect this to sell by the bucket load, but will it have the same success upon its eventual US release? DQVIII did reasonably well on PS2, so there's certainly an audience out there for it. Being on the DS should help too, reaching new demographics etc and opening up the series to those who may not be aware of its existence.





The 411 Games Crew

Vincent Chiucchi's Select and Start News Report features the latest on the Spore DRM front, Midway's title cancellations and criticism towards the games industry that games can't be emotional.

Joe Roche presents The Full Circle: 360 News Report

This week, Mark Salmela brings you a three-way Fact or Fiction, pitting himself against Derek and Drew Robbins to discuss topics such as Capcom's dominance in 2009, the success of the Tokyo Games Show, Bioshock 2, the delay of LittleBigPlanet and more.

Ty Huston debuts The Classic Flashback, which kicks off in style with a look at the original Fallout. If you're planning on buying Fallout 3 in the next couple of weeks, read The Classic Flashback to get up to scratch on the series' roots.

Derek Robbins hosts B3yond the Report this week, with news on Tekken 6 and Bungie's potential PS3 game!

Coming Attractions by Drew Robbins breaks down the week's releases, including Bioshock on PS3 and the awesome Fable 2.


Alrighty, time for me to sign off once again. I'm praying we get something juicy to sink our teeth into next week. Fingers crossed it's a busy 7 days for Nintendo!

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