How tough do you think you are? This week’s roster of new downloadable games from Nintendo gives you several ways to prove it. Now available for the WiiWare™ service, Rage of the Gladiator puts players face-to-face with flurry of fearsome foes, enhancing the motion-control action with support for the Wii MotionPlus™ accessory. Meanwhile, Wii™ owners with a taste for classic gaming can test their mettle against bloodthirsty vampires in CASTLEVANIA RONDO OF BLOODfor the Virtual Console™ service. Other fresh releases challenge you to excel as a sharpshooter, a prehistoric beast or a criminal mastermind. Whichever setting you choose, just be prepared to step up and show your stuff.

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Sometimes realism is overrated. Don’t we all need a regular jolt of fantasy to keep our imaginations alive and kicking? For Wii™ owners, this week’s new game lineup is set to deliver exactly that. Max & the Magic Marker for the WiiWare™ service imagines what would happen if your own artistic creation turned against you, while the Virtual Console™ service features a big dose of otherworldly action with the classic FINAL FANTASY® II. Browse all the latest downloadable games for the Wii and Nintendo DSi™ systems to help keep your imagination fueled to the max.

We’ve also got some free bonus inspiration for you this week: At last September’s Penny Arcade Expo, Nintendo invited professional artists to create one-of-a-kind animations using the Flipnote Studio™application for the Nintendo DSi system. The results are now online and ready for viewing at the Flipnote Hatena site (http://flipnote.hatena.com), including cool clips from top comic artists like Eric Jones, Christina Strain and Mike Choi. Check them out and treat your brain to extra helpings of creative juice.

WiiWare

Max & the Magic Marker
Publisher: Press Play
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Comic Mischief
Price: 1,000 Wii Points™
Description: One day Max gets a mysterious marker in the mail. Not knowing better, the first thing he draws is a wacky, purple monster. As soon as the marker leaves the paper, the monster comes to life and jumps off the paper and into another drawing. With the monster on the loose and messing with Max’s drawings, Max has no choice but to go after it. Armed with the magic marker, you must help Max track the monster through 15 inventive and challenging levels. You’ll need more than good will and quick reflexes to tackle the challenges ahead. Draw freely inside the game to help Max defeat enemies, overcome obstacles and solve puzzles. As you draw stairs, seesaws, balloons, surfboards and whatever else you can think of, your creations will interact with the physical environment, making every session unique.

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VC:
Moon Cresta (Hamster, ARC, 800)

Wiiware:
Mega Man 10 (Capcom, 1000 + DLC)

DSiWare:
GG Series: Throwout (Genterprise, 200)
Renjuku Kanji Shou-gaku 4-nensei (IE Institute, 500)
Renjuku Kanji Shou-gaku 5-nensei (IE Institute, 500)
Brain Challenge (Gameloft, 500)
Let’s Golf (Gameloft, 1000)

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The number 10 can mean a lot of things: perfection, loud volume or, in the case of this week’s downloadable game lineup, the return of a true gaming icon. Fans will thrill to see the legendary blue bomber landing on their Wii™ console with the arrival of Mega Man™ 10 for the WiiWare™ service. Elsewhere, players can test their skill at tossing darts, bashing moles, conquering the tennis court or tackling exotic golf courses. Whether you’re stocking up on living room-ready titles for your Wii console or grabbing on-the-go games via the Nintendo DSiWare™ service, March is off to a truly magnificent start.

WiiWare

Mega Man 10
Publisher: Capcom Entertainment, Inc.
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Mild Cartoon Violence
Price: 1,000 Wii Points™
Description: Fans of all ages can enjoy the newest entry in this historic 8-bit franchise. As a special service to new players, there’s an Easy Mode – a first for a Mega Man game. This new feature means novices and longtime fans alike can all have a shot at making it to the end of a Mega Man game. Also, you can now play as Proto Man and try Time Attack Mode from the beginning, or watch play-through videos from players all over the world.

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February 22, 2010 – Forecasting and Analyzing Digital Entertainment, LLC (FADE) has released its annual report for 2009 for Nintendo’s WiiWare and Virtual Console services. FADE estimates that the two platforms combined for $125 million in revenue in 2009, with the holiday rush just giving Virtual Console the edge over WiiWare ($66 million to $59 million).

While WiiWare grew by over 30% in 2009 compared to its launch year, Virtual Console slid almost 25% in 2009, leading to an small overall decline of 6% year-over-year. The main factors for the decline in Virtual Console revenue are an overall weaker and less numerous release schedule in 2009, combined with a promotion by Nintendo to give away a free NES game to Wii owners who had purchased the Wii Internet Channel – leading to over 500,000 free downloads.

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Let’s say you’re relaxing at home, but something doesn’t seem quite right. Maybe your house has ghosts. Clearly you need to get GhostSlayer, with its Wii MotionPlus™ accessory functionality, to figure out how to deal with them. Or maybe your house has a mouse. Mouse House™ puzzles seem the logical choice for you. Maybe you just need to get out of the house and try some fresh air with Family Go-Kart Racing. If it seems a bit brighter than usual outdoors, that’s probably because Aura-Aura, the star of Aura-Aura Climber™, has fallen out of the sky. While you’re out having fun, take and share some crazy pictures of your friends and family with Faceez, or spend a few relaxing hours directing flights with Flight Control™. And while you’re out there, you might want to spend some time helping a little boy recover his lost pet goldfish, Flipper.

Do you like EarthBound? Want to possibly see it on the Virtual Console? Then grab a postcard, write a simple message asking for it, and send it to Japan!

Things look kind of disheartening for fans of EarthBound; the EarthBound demo was stripped from Smash Bros. Brawl, word is NOA doesn’t want to release EarthBound on the Virtual Console, series creator Shigesato Itoi continues to say he won’t make any more games in the series, EarthBound cart prices are getting ridiculous, with loose carts going for $130 and complete sets selling for $300+, sometimes even over $1000. Even the box by itself sells for $80. Interest in the game is high, but it’s getting harder and harder to even play it legally.

Pretty much everyone in the Western gaming world knows EarthBound has a strong following, but it’s Nintendo’s Japanese headquarters (NCL) that pulls the strings and decides what gets released and what doesn’t. If NCL can be persuaded that there’s a demand for EarthBound, maybe there’s still hope for a Virtual Console release. It wouldn’t be difficult for NCL to make changes to the game if necessary; it’d only take an hour or two and a few changed bytes.

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In honor of Presidents Day, let’s take a moment to reflect on the qualities that make a great leader, plus some exceptional games you can use to nurture them. Problem-solving skills are a must, both in the Oval Office and in the new Phoenix Wright™ Ace Attorney: JUSTICE FOR ALL game for the WiiWare service. A way with words is essential, too, as you’ll discover in Scrabble™ Classic for the Nintendo DSiWare service. Real Soccer 2010 proves the value of teamwork, while Spotto! ™ highlights the importance of facing fearsome threats head-on. And while we’re not sure how effective a hedgehog would be as commander-in-chief, the SEGA classic Sonic & Knuckles™ – now available to Wii™ owners via the Virtual Console™ – demonstrates real bipartisan appeal.

From pulse-pounding action to mind-bending puzzles and beyond, this week’s lineup of new downloadable games offers a dizzying variety to satisfy players of all stripes. New additions for the WiiWare™ service include the sci-fi adventure of BLASTER MASTER™ OVERDRIVE and the speedy fun of Tomena Sanner, plus a pair of family-friendly games to help parents and their kids brighten up the dog days of winter. For the Nintendo DSiWare™ service, new attractions include the rocket-powered puzzles of Link ‘n’ Launch™ and the tower-defending thrills of Fieldrunners. And lest you should think cucumbers are only good for snacking, the Virtual Console™ debut of Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom lets Wii™ owners enjoy a quirky classic from the NES™ era.

WiiWare

WiiWare

Nectaris (1000pts – Hudson)

Virtual Console

Rockman 4 (500pts Famicom – Capcom)

DSiWare

Wanko to Issho ♪ (800pts – Gameloft)
Star Ship Defender (500pts – Nintendo)
Uso Hakkenki: Kokoro no Naka o Nozo Ichao ☆ (500pts – Genki Mobile)
G.G. Series: Assault Buster (200pts – Genterprise)
Uchimakure! Touchpen Wars (200pts – Tom Create)
From the Abyss: Anonymous Notes (200pts – Sonic Powered)

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