“omg they’re selling out. they are humpin’ the cash cow like activision has been till shes dried up . they’re gonna beat the rock band name to a pulp until we are absolutely sick and tired of instrument rhythm games.” -fffunfarm06
“I’m so sick of these corny games. All of you people should just learn to play with REAL Legos.” -Troy Powers
LEGO Rock Band’s very existence is something that both the Joystiq staff and community couldn’t help but question. However, animator Matt Palmer revealed that developer TT Fusion also had doubts about the bizarre collaboration. “I know people were saying, ‘Oh, they’re flogging a Lego license again,’” he recalled during a Develop panel. “I’d say about 50 percent of our studio were for the idea, and about 50 percent were against it.”
Considering the game actually came out (this week!), it’s apparent that the team eventually banded together to finish the project. Why the change of heart, though? “Many of us started realizing that we weren’t just skinning one franchise on another,” Palmer explained, noting the need to hand animate the blocky Lego celebrity characters to capture their various “signature styles.” That’s … something. Right?
‘About 50%’ of Lego Rock Band team was against the game concept originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Despite the handicap of not being for sale in most of the world, Dragon Quest IX for the DS sold more copies than any other game in the world between July and September of this year, according to a Top Global Markets report. With 3,925,000 copies sold in Japan, it outsold the number two best-selling game for that period, Wii Sports Resort, by almost 1,000,000 copies — and that game was available worldwide.
Following Wii Sports Resort in the top five: Madden NFL 2010 at 2,612,000, Pokemon HeartGold And SoulSilver at 2,068,000, and Halo 3: ODST, which was only out for a week in Q3, at 1,847,000 copies. All these games have plenty more sales ahead of them as the holidays approach!
Dragon Quest IX is Q3’s top-selling game originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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This doesn’t just happen in the movies, folks — it also happens in Canada! Judge Marvin Garfinkle has agreed to release a rather problematic child on bail, granted he provides the court with his beloved console as collateral. The Winnipeg Sun reports that the 12 year old — whose name has not been released — has forked over his Wii and, among honoring court dates, must pledge to remain out of trouble, reside with his grandma and participate in a bail management program.
For being 12 years old, the kid certainly has acquired quite an adult-sized rap sheet over the last year, which includes assault, vandalism and even a case of disobeying court order by going to school when he wasn’t supposed to.
[Via Yahoo]
Canadian judge confiscates problem child’s Wii as bail originally appeared on Joystiq Nintendo on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We suspect that even if we started playing Sin & Punishment 2 now and kept playing until the North American release in spring of next year, we wouldn’t be able to play with the kind of skill and confidence on display in this video of Stage 1. The player in this demonstration on Nintendo’s site builds up a 16x multiplier immediately and hangs on to it throughout the level.
In more S&P2 news, Siliconera has been translating an Iwata Asks interview with Treasure, mostly about the development of the first game for Nintendo 64, a system that “didn’t work at all.”
Sin & Punishment 2 in the hands of an expert originally appeared on Joystiq Nintendo on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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And there it is. The first shot across the bow. The first salvo of sweet – yet brief! – holiday sales offers. The first indication that, yes, the day after Thanksgiving is going to be Hell for retailers once more. Behold: The video game-related Black Friday sales selections of Kmart and Sears, which we’ve posted after the jump. Please avoid trampling one another as you make your way down there.
Here’s a few big ticket items: Kmart’s offering a free copy of Halo 3: ODST with the purchase of every Xbox 360 Elite, and both stores are cutting prices on a ton of big-ticket games (L4D2, Dragon Age, Brutal Legend) by $20. November 27 is going to be a long, long day, friends.
[Via GamerDeals]
Continue reading Black Friday deals for Kmart and Sears revealed
Black Friday deals for Kmart and Sears revealed originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Gaijin Games has announced a release date for the third game in its abstract, chiptune-infused Bit.Trip series. Bit.Trip: Void, which involves using the Nunchuk’s analog stick to absorb and/or avoid dots based on color, will arrive in North America on November 23. “That’s right, the week of Thanksgiving!” the announcement notes. “Total sweetness in the village.” Like Beat and Core, it’ll cost 600 Wii Points.
If you like the music from the Bit.Trip games, you’ll also be delighted to know that the soundtrack for Bit.Trip: Beat is now available for purchase on iTunes and CDBaby, with releases to follow on pretty much every online and mobile music retailer you’ve ever heard of, and several you haven’t.
Finally, proving its allegiance to the chiptune community. Gaijin Games announced that it will sponsor this year’s Blip Festival in New York City. Classy!
Give thanks for Bit.Trip Void on November 23 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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With the major pound-packing holidays bearing down on us at breakneck speed, we thought it prudent to help a few of you shed those unwanted love handles with a free copy of Wii Fit Plus. Are you game? See below for how to enter — best of luck!
- Leave a comment telling us whether or not you actively exercise
- You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec)
- Limit 1 entry per person per day
- This entry period ends at 11:59AM ET on Wednesday, November 11
- At that time, we’ll randomly select one winner to receive Wii Fit Plus for the Nintendo Wii ($20 ARV) and a Wii Fit Plus workout shirt ($20 ARV)
- For a list of complete rules, click here
Joyswag: Wii Fit Plus and a Wii Fit Plus shirt originally appeared on Joystiq Nintendo on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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A rating on Germany’s USK database suggests that Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is being planned for Wii. “Objection!!”, you may say, thrilled to have the opportunity to work that in. “Didn’t Ace Attorney Investigations producer Motohide Eshiro already say that the series would remain on handhelds?”
While it’s true that future Ace Attorney games will probably be on handhelds, the series has already been ported to PC, proving that someone within Capcom — and not necessarily anyone involved with actually making the Ace Attorney games — has no issue with porting the existing titles, which is extremely likely to be what is happening here. And this is the same Capcom that said that Resident Evil 4 would be a GameCube exclusive.
Our guess would be an episodic WiiWare presentation of the first Phoenix Wright. Or a mistake in the rating description.
USK: Phoenix Wright holding court on Wii originally appeared on Joystiq Nintendo on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We’re going to approach this scanned Old Navy Black Friday ad with as much skepticism as we can muster, both because there are a lot of variables and because we, personally, are trying to convince ourselves not to join the Black Friday crowds at Old Navy, of all places.
According to the ad, the retailer will be offering free “Lego Rock Band video games” with purchases of $20 or greater on Friday, November 27. “Your preferred platform may not be available,” the ad warns, presumably due to limited overall supply. We’re wary that it could be a demo or something like that, but the fact that Old Navy will also be selling Rock Band 2 bundles, and giving away guitar controllers with said bundles, makes this doorbuster deal seem more likely. But it’s still crazy to hand out a $50 video game with $20 worth of clothes.
If you want to check it out for yourself, Old Navy stores will be open at 3AM that day. Have fun!
[Thanks, Kneon!]
Possible free Lego Rock Band with $20 Old Navy purchase on Black Friday originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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If you’re anything like us, you threw off your Taylor Swift comforter this morning, changed out of those Taylor Swift jammies, and thought to yourself, “Today is one more day to win a chance to meet Taylor Swift.” Thankfully, Activision and upcoming family-friendly music game Band Hero are teaming up to make that dream a reality.
If you purchase a copy of Band Hero in the month of Novemeber (why, that’s this month!), you can enter for a chance for two to meet Taylor Swift. Alright, alright, now calm down. You’re panting. It’s going to be alright. After you pick up your copy of Band Hero tonight, slowly remove the instruction manual from the inside of the game box and simply enter the code from its back at this website. According to the site, you could supposedly win some other stuff or something, but whatever.
Allow Activision to introduce you to Taylor Swift originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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