Nintendo DS News.

Somehow, in the middle of the night, with almost nobody noticing, Nintendo today launched The Nintendo Channel. It's a new addition to the Wii that lets users preview upcoming titles, receive news, and download playable demos for the DS.



Spurred on by the huge success of Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G and Cris Core: Final Fantasy VII, the PSP has seen something of a second coming in the land of the rising sun recently. Nintendo still manage to hold onto the high rungs of the ladder rather substantially, wh...



Just get the damn things out already, Squenix! Today, Square Enix confirmed to the press that announcements regarding the well delayed European launches of both the westernised version of Final Fantasy IV for DS and the insanely hyped Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII will ...



Famed Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu recently published a list of their highest scored games of the year. What's interesting is the abundance of Xbox 360 titles appearing on the list, despite the lack of support for the machine in Japan.



February's NPD results were released today, and things are looking good for the industry, with sales of all consoles up from January. The DS regained its top spot, followed by the impossible to find Wii, Sony's PS2, the PS3, the Xbox 360, and the PSP.



After many years in the making. False news, false hopes, false dates; Maxis finally confirms an official release date for their highly anticipated life simulation game, Spore. Spore is to be released on September 7 for the DS, PC, Macs, and Mobile Phones.



Figures shift around a bit this week; the Wii has shot well into first place, likely due to the release of Super Smash Brother Brawl in the region (jealous), whilst the Nintendo DS has surprisingly slipped into third place.



It lends itself to few surprises, really. The DS Lite has always had a dominant place in the Japanese sales charts, though the PSP's rising popularity in the east sees it slowly creeping up on Nintendo's diminutive handheld, with the Wii sitting comfortably in third place.



A few days ago, Nintendo compiled a complete list of upcoming releases for the Nintendo DS and the Wii up to the end of Summer. Those hoping for the Wii to step away from it's casual gaming focus and embrace "traditional" gaming will be sadly disappointed though. It looks like casual gaming is here to stay.



You may have heard about a group of guys over at Cameronbanga.com who tried to beat Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Windwaker, and Twilight Princess in fourty-eight hours. During that event they were taking donations which all went to Child's Play. If you didn't hear, they failed to complete all of the games due to technical and water temple issues. All was not lost as they raised $1,200 for Child's Play.



Only a few days ago did we discover the existence of a DS bound Assassin's Creed, but it looks like Ubisoft and portable game specialist GameLoft have been hard at work on this title for longer than we might have thought, and it's already close to release.



Jeux-France has reported in Nintendo Power's newest issue details regarding the SEGA / BioWare joint effort in the Sonic RPG.



The ambitious Assassin's Creed is a title most of us have experienced at this point, and whilst opinions on the game are squarely split down the middle, it's sales have pretty much assured that a sequel is already in the works. Whilst we wait for that though, Ubisoft will be offering fans of the new franchise a DS prequel.



Newcomer REfanchris recently brought up the subject of games creation, curious about how to process of conceiving and developing truly a game comes together. A number of anecdotes on this subject were recently posted on GameSpot, from some of the most respected names in the industry, discussing just how how difficult even simply pitching a concept for a game idea can be.



On 18th December 1987, a fledgling company made a last ditch attempt at success, and released the aptly named Final Fantasy on the Nintendo Entertainment System, to an unsuspecting public.



To say that Final Fantasy fans are anticipating Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core would be something of an understatement. The game is already out in Japan and has done very well in sales, but Square Enix have finally relieved fan's anticipations by announcing the title's official release in the US, along with the rest of their release schedule for 2008.



Hosted once again by a celebrity who has nothing to do with the video game industry, Samuel L. Jackson, the Spike TV Video Game Awards or 2007 mark the fifth year for the constantly embarrassing event. It has also, by nature of being backed by an entire cable network, unfortunately become the planet's most visible game-awards ceremony, and it is all the worse off for it.



According to a new study, produced by Microsoft. At least 75% of parents are concerned with the content of video games despite great lengths of companies to stress the educational and social aspects of gaming.



With Christmas looming ever closer, higher console sales shouldn't really come as any surprise. What may come as a surprise though, are the figures. Video Game Chat takes a closer look at how each of the Big Three are fairing for the holiday season. In this report, Nintendo are the highlight.



For a long time, many an Australian gamer could tell you how long it would take to get many games on the store shelves and at times how impossible it was to find something aside from Final Fantasy. Now that may change as Ubisoft, the creators behind the Prince of Persia and Splinter Cell series have entered a deal with Square Enix to help with the distributions for both Australia and New Zealand.



Alright. I bought this game on Sunday, and have been playing it loads since then as Mum has been quite liberal with the 'TURN ME NET OFF' button.



It's a series that has been with the gaming community since the earliest days, and has grown up alongside many of us. From the earliest Cid, to the revolution of the PS1 era, to the many incarnations of the current generation, few franchises have endured with gamers for so long, and Final Fantasy Festival, an independent endeavour supported by Square Enix themselves, looks towards celebrating 20 years of history.



It certainly seems like Nintendo are keeping busy expanding the range and the scope of their gaming machines lately, much like the competition does. Along announcing this expansion into "practical" features for the console, the company has also dated not just the recently announced Game Gift Channel, but another new Wii Channel as well.



This news story is likely to seem a little surreal. Why? Because in the next few moments, you will witness the unthinkable; a universally recognised industry name complimenting the competition!



As if people weren't lauding over Nintendo's revived gaming dominance, Nintendo's market shares hit a record high for the company this week on the Tokyo stock exchange, prompting analysts to compare the company to another popular innovator, Apple Computers.



Being one of Japan's biggest names, it's no surprise that Square Enix would be out in style at the Tokyo Game Show, and the company didn't disappoint, with Final Fantasy titles galore, the announcement of three new installments of the Kingdom Hearts series, and even plans for a new Parasite Eve game.



On October 12, European DS enthusiasts will have one more DS Lite color to pick from - silver. No doubt this new paint scheme, which was standard for the DS Phat, will look ever so cool on the shrunk down, much more coolified DS Lite.



The Tokyo Game Show, Japan's seminal anual gaming event, is fast approaching, and Japan's largest game developer is set to mark its usual mark at the event; the company has released a full list of titles set to appear at the event, but the company's flagship title, Final Fantasy XIII, has simple been listed as "undecided."



Sonic Riders and Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 are set to feature on both consoles. The Sonic Riders title will return in February 2008 as a hoverboard-racing spin-off called Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity. While Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 will hit the stores October this year.



Many gamers have been lamenting the depressingly sparse release calendar for Nintendo's Wii console, and a dry spell for the DS (unless you like movie tie), so Nintendo's recent release schedule for the third quarter may finally give cause for celebration amongst the European Nintendo loyal...



This was the message from SE’s CEO Yoichi Wada when the company opted to make Dragon Quest IX: Guard of the Starry Night (tentative title) a DS exclusive game. The decision raised eyebrows last December but recently SE has made their reasoning more clear.



DS owners will get a double dose of Megman this year. The hero, known as Rockman in Japan, will be appearing on Mega Man ZX Advent and Mega Man Star Force. The former will retail at 29.99 while the latter will retail at 34.99.



It seems it's an active day for Chart-Track today, as they reveal yet another set of important industry figures. According to the company, they estimate that the unstoppable juggernaut which is the Nintendo DS has passed the 3 million mark in the UK



Many gamers were disheartened last year when news of Clover Studio's imminent closure was revealed to the public. Now, a couple of months later, the future for fans of Clover Studios may be brighter then ever.



Strange decisions all round with this one, as Square Enix announce that not only with the next sequel in the direct numerical Dragon Quest series will not only be handheld, but on the Nindendo DS of all choices!



Whilst many of us patiently wait for the sales information for the PS3 / Wii launches, Media Create have released Japanese hardware sales for the week ending November 12th.



As we reach the end of the year and approach the Christmas season, the three major hardware delevoper release their profit and loss figures to the public. Some may be surprised by the resuts.

Nintendo DS News