Run with Busy Scissors on DS and Wii
If you want to pretend to cut hair in a Wii and DS game — and why not? Bonsai Barber was well-received after all — Little Orbit is preparing Busy Scissors just for you. Not only will you get to simulate “35+ real hairstyles with 7 cutting techniques” with the Wiimote or stylus, you’ll get to do so using virtual simulacra of real products from Toni&Guy. It’s like the realism (and product placement revenue) of a sports game!
Little Orbit will publish Busy Scissors worldwide this September. If you can’t wait to see it (and, conveniently, you’re a salon professional or something) you can see the game at America’s Beauty Show in March.
Run with Busy Scissors on DS and Wii originally appeared on Joystiq Nintendo on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Flight Control DSiWare cleared for landing on Feb. 19 and Feb. 22
Firemint’s DSiWare version of its iPhone hit Flight Control is preparing to descend to the DSi Shop. It’ll be out in Europe this Friday, February 19, arriving in North America the following Monday, Feb. 22, for 500 Points. And even if you’ve landed thousands of planes in the iPhone version of this air traffic control game, this version includes new maps!
The trailer after the break demonstrates the simple gameplay. Using the stylus, you direct the flight paths of swarms of tiny airplanes so that they all land safely. And then you declare “I am an air traffic controller!” Oh, no, that’s a different game.
Continue reading Flight Control DSiWare cleared for landing on Feb. 19 and Feb. 22
Flight Control DSiWare cleared for landing on Feb. 19 and Feb. 22 originally appeared on Joystiq Nintendo on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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First iPad Game Screenshot & Announcement Has Us Scratching Our Heads
We get a lot of press releases sent to us. Myself, it’s not unusual to see near a hundred of them hit my inbox in a day. With that much competition, its hard to capture our attention. But when I glimpsed an email saying that development studio “Bloober Team” is announcing the first title being developed exclusively for the iPad, and their calling it “Gender Wars: The Battle”, I couldn’t help but sit up and take notice. When I then read that the lead designer described the game like this,
“In a way, and I understand that it’s bit bold to say, we would like to create something similar to Metal Gear Solid for iPad.”
I start to scratch my head and a confused look passes over my face. Gender Wars? Solid Snake?
But it doesn’t end there so I am posting the original press release in full (minus legally sensitive info, of course) after the break so you can read it for yourself. It’s one of the stranger ones we have ever come across and was either written by some kind of genius, or someone on acid. We’ve also posted the game’s sole screenshot to be released so far. (For those not sure about clicking through, the screenshot does not contain any images of Gender-specific anatomical parts battling it out.)
Here are both the screenshot and the press release:
Epic saga of the future
Krakow, Poland – 5 February 2010 – Games developer and publisher Bloober Team, most famous for its WiiWare super production Last Flight, presents his newest IP – Gender Wars.
About the game
The game is turn based tactic game that will redefine whole tactic games genre with its casual, story-driven approach and easy click&shoot interface. “We wanted to make tactic game that will be easy to pick and play by anyone, in a short burst of 2-3 minutes per game, while offering enough in-depth complexity to play for hours” says Peter Bielatowicz, lead designer of the game.“In a way, and I understand that it’s bit bold to say, we would like to create something similar to Metal Gear Solid for iPad” Bielatowicz continues. “MGS was a stealth game, and stealth games before, like Tenchu, were considered to be more for hardcore players. But MGS was extremely easy to pick and play and so strongly story driven that many casual people were playing it just to follow the storyline and learning more advanced gameplay strategies as they played” he explains. “We want to implement the same flow in our game so a player can choose to focus on the story or the gameplay – according to what he prefers” Bielatowicz adds.
“Most of current tactic or strategy games on the market have very long learning curves and overwhelm player with too many information at once.
It throws off most of casual players. We will show completely different, minimalistic approach in our game” Bielatowicz continues. “We are testing our interface on gamers, and look how they approach the game and what are the first things that come to their mind when trying to perform some command” says Piotr Babieno, one of the game producers. “Then we simply implement our user interface to work this way” Bielatowicz adds.
The game takes place in the post-apocalyptic SF universe, and its storyline involves themes such as time travels, tragic love and epic military operations. “Everyone will find something for himself in the game, from space operas fans to hard military SF geeks” says Paweł Kobyłecki, one of game main screenwriters. “But this is too soon to speak about details at the moment” says Bielatowicz. “We will reveal everything in proper time, starting with series of feature films” he adds.
Comments on iPad
The game is being prepared iPad. “We believe that tactic games will be one of best and most successful games on iPad platform” predicts Babieno. “This kind of touch device with big screen helps you to command your units in most natural and intuitive way” he adds. “You have to also remember that the people will play iPad in longer sessions and with more concentration than they did on iPhone” comments Bielatowicz. “iPad is perfect device for people playing in train or airplane or at home rather than on the move like it was with iPhone. All designers shall keep this in mind when thinking about designing an iPad game” he ends.Teaser for the whole series
One of the most surprising things about the “Gender Wars: The Battle” is that the game alone is a teaser for other upcoming games from the series. It contains only the battle game mode and will focus on gameplay challenges. “It may sound weird, but after first tests of the battle module it turned out to play so well and entertaining on its own that we decided to release it as separate title” Piotr Babieno. “We want to tease players a bit and prepare them for the final game” Babieno explains. “The Battle will be released at very low price, so players can taste our quality without spending much” he adds. “Of course we will listen very closely to all the reactions and use players feedback to improve final game” Bielatowicz ends.“Gender Wars: The Battle” will hit the Apple Store with iPad release in late march. The details of the main game and its schedule are still kept secret.
###
About Bloober Team
Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Krakow, Poland, Bloober Team is an independent videogame developer focused on creating the highest quality digitally-distributed content.All trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
That was it. Are you interested? Confused? Both? Will you give the game a wide berth, or do they already have you excited to pick a gender and start going at it? Leave a comment and let us know.
‘All-Star Karate’ for Wii will teach you how to hit stuff
No, you won’t learn who the stars of karate are by playing THQ’s All-Star Karate. Rather than a licensed game featuring the biggest names in martial arts, All-Star Karate is a fighting game in the same casual Wii series as All-Star Cheer Squad. And though the final product may not turn out to be to everyone’s tastes, there’s something about a casual-oriented fighting game that sounds fascinating. Or, it would sound fascinating if not for all the minigames.
All-Star Karate uses the Wiimote and optional MotionPlus for motion-based karate moves in training. That training can then be put to the test in the Challenge Mode. Also neat (and likely to be overshadowed by the minigame-ness of the whole thing): a kata editor that lets you put together your own choreographed demonstration.
All-Star Karate will be available this spring. Beware of the stinky socks!
‘All-Star Karate’ for Wii will teach you how to hit stuff originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Cooking Mama taking on two more side jobs this year
In its latest financial results release, Majesco reported satisfying sales for its Cooking Mama franchise. It didn’t provide specifics, but CEO Jesse Sutton said that Cooking Mama 3 “performed well,” Gardening Mama was “very successful” and Cooking Mama in general was “the most successful third party franchise on the DS” and “an evergreen brand.” So, naturally, Majesco is going to retire the series on a high note.
Oh, did we say “retire the series on a high note?” We meant “release two more games this year.” Sutton said that following the success of the gardening-based spinoff, Majesco is working on two “additional extensions for 2010,” as well as looking to “new media channels” for further extensions of the brand.
Cooking Mama taking on two more side jobs this year originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 18:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Raving Rabbids 4, new Driver planned for Ubisoft’s fiscal 2010-11
DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHYUM, a new Raving Rabbids already? With Ubisoft’s latest financial revision citing underperformance in several aspects of its business during 2009 — including the DS market and “non-casual Wii titles” — the publisher plans to play it safer during its next fiscal year, starting April 1, 2010. That means “a greater number of franchise releases” and, presumably, a continued effort in the realm of Wii casual games. Naturally, Raving Rabbids 4 (as it’s currently titled) ticks both of those boxes.
The publisher also plans to release a new Driver game during the same period, though it hasn’t specified the target platforms nor how it intends to revitalize the franchise. The last time fans saw the action racer, it was hurtling over a cliff, Thelma and Louise style.
Raving Rabbids 4, new Driver planned for Ubisoft’s fiscal 2010-11 originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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No Wii is safe from ‘Attack of the Movies 3D’
Avatar may be the big buzz in 3D flicks these days, but for many, the technology is always going to be associated with monster movies and those red-and-blue anaglyph lenses. For those of us hopelessly infatuated with those ridiculous-looking lenses and cheesy movies, Majesco is publishing Attack of the Movies 3D for Wii.
The on-rails shooter features set pieces heavily inspired by movies, for up to four players to blast point-and-click their way through. With your friends, you’ll “battle large alien space cruisers, shoot underwater monsters, join the resistance against the machines and more” against enemies “culled from the annals of film history.” And you’ll get to do it in glorious red and blue — the game includes four sets of 3D glasses!
Attack of the Movies 3D is expected for release this spring.
No Wii is safe from ‘Attack of the Movies 3D’ originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 11:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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EA Sports Active stores open in Boston and San Francisco
If you live in Boston or San Francisco and are curious enough about EA Sports Active to go into a retail store devoted entirely to the fitness game, you’re in luck! And maybe you’ve also learned something about the amount of curiosity you have about EA Sports Active. On November 15, EA opened two EA Sports Active stores, featuring demo units of both Active and the new EA Sports Active: More Workouts, “Active Trainers” who will show attendees how to use the game, and even a supply of games to lend out to visitors so they can try it at home. The stores also take reservations for workout sessions. They’ll be open until December 14.
EA invited some bloggers to the Boston location for a tour and a workout. Not us, but fitness bloggers. You know, the people that someone might listen to if they cared about being healthy. Luckily for us, those bloggers took plenty of pictures of the inside of the Boston store. If you’d like to visit, the addresses of the stores are posted after the break.
Continue reading EA Sports Active stores open in Boston and San Francisco
EA Sports Active stores open in Boston and San Francisco originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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PopCap Games Secures 22.5 Million From Investors
PopCap Games may not be a company known to many hardcore gamers, but it is a hugely significant and powerful player in our industry. That’s because it is one of the biggest developers and publishers of casual games. While they have done a few more serious titles such as the turn-based strategy game, Shattered Union (actually published on the original Xbox and pC and well worth picking up), nearly of their games are light-hearted, simple, addictive, pick-up-&-play focused and small enough to be played entirely in your browser or on your cellphone. Some of their more well known titles like Bookworm and the Bejewelled games are available over Xbox Live, the Playstation Network, the Wii Channel, and soon DSiWare too. This means they can get to far greater numbers of potential customers than a company that chooses to focus solely on disc-based PS3 titles.
So that they could raise 22.5 Million isn’t that surprising, nor is their CEO’s mention of expanding “into social media and reaching new geographies.” Instead, what caught my attention was the mention of some of that capital possibly going for “potential aquisitions”. They may stay entirely focused on small, casual titles, but it would be very interesting to see them bring a studio under their wing that allowed them to try their hand at bigger titles with higher production values. Whatever they do, PopCap has a lot of imagination, and this influx of cash should only bring more fascinating titles from the minds behind games like Plants vs. Zombies.
Scene It? comes to Wii, PS3 this holiday
Great news: Holiday shopping for that uncle or aunt you don’t know that well but think might have a game system just got a lot easier. The Scene It? franchise is branching out this holiday season from the 360, bringing Scene It? Bright Lights! Big Screen! to the Wii and PS3, as well as to Microsoft’s box.
As an added bonus, the release makes no mention of special controllers for the Wii or PS3 version of the game, so hopefully Uncle Ernie won’t be able to guess the gift from the size of the package.
Scene It? comes to Wii, PS3 this holiday originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Top 10 Best Selling Games
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