The game has already been released to many in Japan and last night came with a tidal wave of new information. Ness, Marth, Game & Watch, Luigi, and Ganondorf are back and Lucario, ROB, and Toon Link are new secret unlockables!

Labels: games, smash bros, wii

I recently found out from a noted Japanese leaker (the same person that announced a Kirby Super Star remake for the DS months before it was officially revealed) that two new Pokemon DS games would be coming out in 2009. The games are titled Pokemon Golden Sun and Pokemon Silver Moon. These would be remakes of the very popular and revolutionary Pokemon Gold and Pokemon Silver which were released in 2000 for the GBA.

Let's hope this information is true, but let's also think, how could they possibly improve Gold and Silver and/or include something that wasn't in Diamond and Pearl? Hmm...

Labels: DS, games, Japanese, nintendo

As some of you may know, I'm now helping out BrawlCentral.com by translating information that we get from Japanese sources about Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Many of these sources happen to be Japanese forums, so I know when to trust one piece of information when I get it.

A lot of people go to 2ch.com and run the Brawl discussion thread through Google Translator to see what they can make out from it. This is a bad idea on many levels. Not only is Google Translator, or any other online translating program unreliable, but the translated posts could simply be fans speculating or wanting certain things to be true. It's as if you're viewing a regular forum and people post their thoughts about a certain character or development. If someone were to translate that into another language, there would be misinterpretations and confusion.

Whenever I post something on Brawl Central or even translate any news I find, I try really hard to make sure that info is correct and not just something a fan said in Japanese. Forums are not my favorite place for information, so I avoid them. Magazine articles, and magazine clippings are the better type of source though.

Rest assured I won't post or submit any type of information that is skeptical or mistranslated.

Labels: games, smash bros, translation

Last night on 2ch, a person submitted a post stating he had the game and was playing it. To back up his statement, he posted two pictures - the disc, and a screenshot of the starting roster.

No one really knew what to make of this except take it as being fake until proven true. The picture could have been created, some said, and the disc could have been created with a label maker, others said. No one knew what to make of it.

The poster also said he had uploaded three video clips somewhere. I take it he meant mbga.jp, a website where you can upload your cellphone videos and share them with friends. But, no links were found despite this either. He wrote:

Clip 1
After, I chose Pit with the cursor as my character
("Battle On!" was heard)
My first oponent was Link
Clip 2
Menu
->I chose Subspace Emissary
->The "Input your name" screen
->Choose your Difficulty - Easy, Normal, Hard, Really Hard, Insane
->Movie (The first movie of Mario vs. Kirby)
Clip 3
Pit in a dark cave? Lasts for a few secs
Pit's name title appears etc.



Then suddenly this afternoon, a video on youtube was found of the poster playing his game. The first clip was what he described his first clip to be...



Is this definitive proof?

Labels: games, smash bros, translation, wii

I apologize for my absence this past month or so, but I was really busy with other things. It's ironic how I make my return on the day Super Smash Bros. Brawl is announced as delayed - again.

Originally the game was supposed to come out to the masses almost a month before Christmas. Holiday sales would have been sky-high and people still would have had plenty of time to get the game before Christmas Day. Nintendo announced that the game needed more time to be fully finished and more content was being added. This is always their reasoning for delaying a game. It's better to release a perfect game late than to release a flawed game quickly. It's not only Nintendo's unofficial motto, but it's a very Japanese way of thinking.

One of real reasons for the delay could also be attributed to its potential conflict with other games coming out around that time, specifically, Mario Galaxy and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. Based on reviews, both games did really well, and Mario Galaxy became one of the best reviewed games for Wii.

The delay pushed Brawl way into the new year, February 12, and would mean and early battle in the sales department for Nintendo. Nintendo games that have come out during the first quarter have usually done well by taking advantage of the season's typically bland releases. Resident Evil 4 was one of those games that was delayed, but its January release date made it a successful top seller. If you consider the hype behind Brawl, the amount of pre-orders in both Japan and the US, and its daily updates, this date would have been astronomical.

Instead, or perhaps, because of all this built-up excitement for the game, Nintendo decided to push the game back again until March 9. Was this a good idea? For Nintendo games sales, yes. For fans waiting for the game for more than a year, no. No one is really going to not play Brawl or protest the game simply because of another delay. Fans may get upset and complain, but it won't stop them from ultimately buying the game. On the other hand, Nintendo can only benefit from this because it will give itself time to produce more games and ship them to stores. Plus, this delay will only give Nintendo a bigger sales revenue when it's released due to the sheer amount of pressure that's been building for the game.

"Nintendough" knows what it's doing.

Labels: games, nintendo, smash bros, wii

I hope you all like the new look! I'll be adding more things to it to spruce it up a bit more. I also apologize for my lack of posts recently. I've been having some problems with my laptop. I appreciate your comments and patience~