The Tendo Project – Daily Nintendo News

When it comes to preservation, video games are problematic. Hardware becomes outdated and the media that houses game code becomes obsolete, not to mention the legal issues with emulation. In short, one day, there may not be a way to play Super Metroid at all, and that's a scary thought. A new paper from the International Journal of Digital Curation, called "Keeping the Game Alive: Evaluating Strategies for the Preservation of Console Video Games," suggests several ways this problem can be tackled, and the pros and cons of each approach.

First, there's what the paper calls the museum approach, which is just what it sounds like: keeping the original copies of both game hardware and software in playable form. But since most consoles feature proprietary parts that are discontinued along with the system, this is really only a temporary solution, as eventually the consoles will break down and there will be no parts left to repair them.

Magnavox Odyssey.

Another approach outlined in the piece is backwards compatibility. This process is a great way of letting players enjoy old games, but it's not designed with preservation in mind: just because I can play GameCube games on my Wii doesn't mean I can play them forever. It's also not a guarantee, as the removal of backwards compatibility from the PlayStation 3 has shown us.

So the answer seems to lie in digital preservation, and the paper outlines two different options: the migration approach and emulation. Both allow you to play old software on modern computers, but present legal issues when it comes to ownership of the original game code.

The 27-page paper does a good job of outlining the potential upsides and downfalls of each of the various strategies, and is well worth a read for anyone interested in video game preservation. The conclusion notes that the only real possible, long-term solution is emulation, and that would only be possible with the consent and cooperation of hardware manufacturers, game developers, and publishers.

Read the comments on this post

Electronic Arts seems to be making good on its plan to turn Spore into a spinoff-heavy franchise, with games like Spore Origins on the iPhone and Spore Hero on Wii and DS. Now the company has revealed that the series will be making a return to the PC and Mac with Darkspore.

As the name implies, Darkspore is a much darker take on the evolution game. In addition to the thematic change, Darkspore will also see a drastic change in terms of gameplay. EA describes the game as "online, science-fiction action role-playing game." Players will take on the role of some sort of genetically mutated creature that can be customized by collecting various body parts and armor found throughout the game. EA claims there will be "tens of thousands" of collectible parts.

"Darkspore will feature three unique classes of five different genetic hero types, with a limitless number of upgrades and customizations available through the parts players collect on each planet level," the company states. "As players progress, Darkspore builds in intensity, with new planets and enemy forces requiring players to strategically select the right squad and ability combinations to succeed in their missions."

"Darkspore is inspired in part by the award-winning creature editor tech of Spore, but also in large part from the team’s own passion for gaming and prior experience,” Maxis GM Lucy Bradshaw said. "The team has combined these inspirations to produce a unique take on the action RPG genre."

The game is currently in development at EA's Maxis studio—the team best known for developing both the first Sims and Spore games—and, in addition to a full single-player campaign, will also feature a four-player co-op mode. Darkspore is set to hit both PCs and Macs early next year.

Read the comments on this post

It's NPD time again, and for the month of June there was very little in the way of surprises for video game hardware and software sales. Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption continues to be a big seller, while the Wii dominates the top 10 list and the Xbox 360 sees a big boost. Let's take a look at the numbers.

Microsoft

For the second month in a row the top selling game is the 360 version of Red Dead Redemption. In its second month the game managed to move around 580,000 units. The only other 360 game to chart in the top 10 was UFC 2010: Undisputed, which took the number eight spot. Meanwhile, in terms of hardware, the 360 came in second, trailing only the Nintendo DS, moving an estimated 450,000 consoles. That's up by over a quarter of a million from last month. This jump is no doubt due to the recently released slim version of the 360.

Sony

When it comes to software, the same exact two games made the chart for Sony, though in lower positions. The PS3 version of RDR took the third spot, selling around 380,000 copies, while UFC 2010: Undisputed on the PS3 took the tenth spot. As for hardware, the PS3 and PSP took the fourth and fifth spots respectively, though both saw sales increases compared to last month. The PS3 sold 304,000, more than doubling last month's numbers, while the PSP moved 121,000 handhelds, for an increase of 60,000.

Nintendo

The rest of the software chart was unsurprisingly dominated by Nintendo games. Super Mario Galaxy took the second spot with nearly 550,000 units sold, while New Super Mario Bros. Wii (4), Just Dance (5), Wii Fit Plus (6), and LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (9) round out the list. The lone DS game to chart was Toy Story 3, which placed in the number seven spot.

The DS continues to dominate the hardware sales numbers, taking first spot with over 500,000 units sold. The Wii, meanwhile, was the only console to see a drop in sales compared to last month. It placed third with 422,000 units sold, down 87,000 from May.

The introduction of the slim 360 clearly had a big impact on sales, though not quite enough to push the system past the DS. Or much ahead of the slumping Wii, for that matter. Meanwhile, RDR continues to sell steadily, on both the 360 and the PS3. In its first two months the game has sold nearly 2.5 million copies across both systems. June also marks the month that Pokemon has finally dropped out of the top 10, though with the recent release of Dragon Quest IX, it may not be long before we see another DS RPG make the list. Overall, the game industry is down 9 percent year-to-date versus 2009. 

Read the comments on this post

Sony has announced that the PlayStation 3 will be the first of the game consoles to get a taste of Hulu Plus, Hulu's subscription service with more content on more devices, and select PlayStation Plus subscribers are already able to play around with the video streaming service.

To get on the list of invitees you simply need to download the Hulu app from the PlayStation Store and request an invitation. Doing so does require a subscription to both services, however, meaning you'll need to pay $9.99 per month for Hulu Plus in addition to the $50 per year that Sony charges for PS+. This is only the case for this first-look preview, though. Sony has said that eventually the service will be available to all PS3 owners in the US.

It looks like it could be a while before Xbox 360 and Wii owners get a taste of the service, as Sony's announcement explained that the PS3 will be "the first and only console with dedicated gaming functionality that will offer Hulu Plus this year." Check out our hands-on with Hulu Plus to get an idea of how the service fares on the iPhone and iPad.

Read the comments on this post

Ever since the first Mario Party game launched, Nintendo has been releasing new entries in the series at a nearly annual pace. However, we haven't seen a new game since Mario Party 8 hit the Wii three years ago. And now we know why. 

Announced at this year's E3, Wii Party is definitely a spiritual successor to the Mario Party series, as it plays almost identically, but with a Mii-infused makeover.

Ars recently played a brief demo of the game, and unsurprisingly, there's not much we haven't seen before. Just like Mario Party, Wii Party is set up like a board game. You roll dice, move your character, and when everybody has gone, you play a mini-game.

Five different mini-games were on display during the demo, which were all fairly solid and featured some nice variety. One game had you racing a horse, flicking the Wii remote in the air to make it speed up. However, doing so used up your energy, so the key to winning was to balance out running quickly with running out of energy. 

Easily the most enjoyable game shown had players controlling balls by tilting the controller, with the goal of knocking your opponents into various holes found throughout the stage.

The familiar Mario Party board game setup makes a return in Wii Party

The other mini-games available include a balancing game where you have to keep an ever growing stack of presents from falling over by tilting the Wii remote; a simple tank game where the goal is to shoot your opponents from behind; and log jumping game, where one flick of the wrist lets you jump over logs, while several simultaneous flicks allow your Mii to essentially float through the air for extended periods of time.

Aside from the implementation of Mii support and, presumably, a number of new mini-games to play, very little differentiates Wii Party from past Mario Party games. The board game section is relatively simple, with a few expected features to keep things interesting—landing on some spaces will cause certain things to happen, such as sending a player either backwards or forwards by several spaces or having two players swap positions. Wii Party also takes place on the same tropical island as Wii Sports Resort, which is a nice addition.

When Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime announced Wii Party at E3, he described it as the company's "next bridge title," comparing it to New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Mario Kart Wii, both hugely successful titles. But whereas those titles were experiences that managed to appeal to both traditional gamers and the more casual Wii audience, Wii Party appears to be little more than Mario Party 8 sans the license.

Wii Party is expected to launch in North America this fall.

Read the comments on this post

Mickey Mouse may be a renowned animated film star, but his video game career has been spotty. Epic Mickey—developed by Junction Point, the studio headed up by Deus Ex producer Warren Spector—will mark the mouse's first starring game role in quite some time, and it looks like it might be his most interesting appearance. 

Combining nearly a century of Disney history with a morality system and a gameplay mechanic that lets you both destroy and shape the world around you, Epic Mickey looks ready to create a whole new generation of Mickey Mouse fans.

Read the comments on this post

The original Sin and Punishment was a cult classic for the Nintendo 64 among game importers in the US, and it finally took the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console to bring the game to the States. It was worth the wait, especially now that Nintendo listened to our American howls of agony at having to pass up such a great shooter and released its sequel on the Wii: Sin and Punishment: Star Successor.

Treasure has a reputation for creating beautiful, crushingly hard shooters for a variety of platforms—their releases include titles like Gunstar Heroes, Bangai-O, Ikaruga, and Radiant Silvergun—and this is a game that you shouldn't be ashamed to play on the easiest setting until you get a feel for the controls and the surprisingly many ways you can fight back against the overwhelming enemy forces. This isn't your standard shooter; you have plenty of moves at your disposal.

Read the comments on this post

It's been nearly a decade since Kirby starred in his own proper console game, but the wait will finally be over this holiday season with Kirby's Epic Yarn on the Wii. Revealed just a few weeks ago at Nintendo's E3 keynote, the newest Kirby adventure goes back to its roots, with some classic side-scrolling action and some of the most achingly adorable visuals around.

Ars recently spent some hands-on time with the new Kirby and, as it turns out, this is the kind of game you can't play without a big smile on your face.

Read the comments on this post

One of the common criticisms levied against Nintendo platforms is that they don't get enough third-party support. Instead, the majority of the best-selling games on both the Wii and DS are made by Nintendo. The company is looking to change all of that, however, with its recently unveiled 3DS.

"One of the major objectives of our E3 was to stress that it's important for Nintendo that we get this level of support from partners," Nintendo of Europe's Laurent Fischer told GamesIndustry.biz. "Of course we're happy about it, but it's more than we would have dreamed of with such support from our partners at this new time for consoles."

With the 3DS, Nintendo is looking to attract both consumers and developers.

According to Fischer, there are currently around 70 games—both first and third party—in the works for the new handheld, including titles from Konami, Capcom, Ubisoft, and Activision.

"For hardware that started its public life only days ago that's amazing, and what I was pleased with was you can see very, very strong support from everyone. You can see from the line-up that we have huge titles that no other publisher is doing, without us thinking twice about it. I couldn't see any publisher that isn't very motivated by the console so we're really pleased by that."

The Nintendo 3DS still doesn't have a release date, but you can check out our hands-on impressions from E3 for further details.

Read the comments on this post

Considering that Rare has been out of commission with Nintendo properties for some time (Banjo-Kazooie, which defected over to Microsoft when the company bought the British developer, doesn't count), the possibility of resurrecting Donkey Kong Country for a current-generation console seemed slim. However, in one of the few big surprises of the show—if you can call it a surprise, since rumors of a revival had been circulating around the 'Net the week prior—Nintendo unveiled a new Wii adventure for Donkey and company at its press conference. We couldn't be more excited about this; DKC just seems primed for a new installment, particularly given the dearth of good first-party platformers that don't star Mario on Nintendo's home console.

Read the comments on this post