Monday, November 23, 2009

Nintendo Announces Two DSi Bundles For Black Friday

Nintendo has announced that they are releasing two DSi Bundles for this years Black Friday. these are going to be limited edition bundles which come with more than $20 worth of software pre-installed. these will be available from November 27th in the USA.


The white DSi Bundle is called the "Brain Age Collection". As well as having a white DSi, the DSi comes pre-loaded with:
  • Brain Age Express: Arts & Letters
  • Brian Age Express: Sudoku
  • Brain Age Express: Math
  • Clubhouse Games
  • Photo Clock


The Metallic Blue DSi is called the "Mario Collection". The Bundle consists of the Metallic Blue DSi which has the following software installed:
  • Mario vs. Donkey Kong:Minis March Again
  • Dr. Mario Express
  • WarioWare Snapped!
  • Mario Calculator
  • Mario Clock

Press Release

REDMOND, Wash., Nov. 23, 2009 – Two extraordinary releases from Nintendo are about to give Black Friday holiday shoppers an incredible value – but they won't last long. Starting Nov. 27, U.S. consumers can purchase Metallic Blue or White Nintendo DSi™ systems that come pre-installed with more than $20 in software value. These Nintendo DSi bundles are priced for the holidays and will be available while supplies last at participating retailers nationwide.

“These limited-edition bundles come packed with some of the great Nintendo DSiWare games and applications that have made Nintendo DSi such a big hit with shoppers young and old,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “The special price and pre-installed titles make the bundles a huge value for the holidays.”

Fans of global gaming superstar Mario™ will be especially eager to get their hands on the Metallic Blue Nintendo DSi, which comes pre-installed with five Mario-themed Nintendo DSiWare™ titles, including:

Mario vs. Donkey Kong™: Minis March Again: Can Mario and his Mini Marios rescue Pauline from Donkey Kong's clutches yet again?

Dr. Mario™ Express: Mario once again dons his stethoscope to battle the forces of illness in this downloadable version of the classic puzzle game.

WarioWare™: Snapped!: Wario™ returns with more manic action made especially for the Nintendo DSi system. WarioWare: Snapped! uses the built-in Nintendo DSi Camera to make players the star of the show by placing them right into fast-paced mini-games.

Mario™ Calculator: Mario and Luigi™ take a break from their normal adventures to dedicate their heroic talents to working with numbers.

Mario™ Clock: Mario Clock includes both analog and digital clocks that use the system's internal clock or allow you to offset the time however you like.

The White Nintendo DSi bundle is designed for anyone who has a passion for brain teasers. The special White system bundle comes pre-installed with the following Nintendo DSiWare title:

Brain Age™ Express: Arts & Letters: Test your spelling in Word Attack, enjoy literary classics in Reading Aloud and tune your musical skills in Piano Player.

Brain Age™ Express: Sudoku: Solve a variety of puzzles at three different skill levels using the touch screen and an intuitive interface.

Brain Age™ Express: Math: Players can enjoy a mix of new and familiar exercises, including Change Maker, Triangle Math, Sum Totaled and Multi Tasker.

Clubhouse Games™ Express: Card Classics: Play familiar favorites like Blackjack and Five Card Draw, or test your ability in the fast-paced Last Card, Last Card Plus and President.

Photo Clock: Experience all the enjoyment of a photo album while ensuring you won't lose track of the time.

Beyond the pre-installed titles, Nintendo DSi owners also have access to a wealth of additional games and applications in the Nintendo DSi Shop. Owners with wireless broadband Internet access can exchange Nintendo DSi Points™ for the titles and wirelessly download them directly to their Nintendo DSi systems. A Nintendo Points Card™ can be purchased at retail locations, or Nintendo DSi Points can be purchased online directly through the Nintendo DSi Shop.

Nintendo DSi is the latest iteration of the world's top-selling portable game system. Its unique features include dual screens, a touch screen and wireless networking capabilities to let friends near or far play together. Two built-in cameras and audio-manipulation functions let users create customized content and share it with others. Through the end of September, total worldwide sales of the Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi game systems have reached more than 113 million, according to Nintendo's financial statement. Of those, more than 33.4 million have sold in the United States through the end of September, according to the NPD Group.

For more information about Nintendo DSi, visit www.NintendoDSi.com.

About Nintendo: The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii™, Nintendo DS™ and Nintendo DSi™ systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold more than 3.2 billion video games and more than 535 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii, Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi, as well as the Game Boy™, Game Boy Advance, Super NES™, Nintendo 64™ and Nintendo GameCube™ systems. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario™, Donkey Kong™, Metroid™, Zelda™ and Pokémon™. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, visit the company's Web site at www.Nintendo.com.

Xbox Live Deals Of The Week

Microsoft, via Major Nelson, have announced this weeks Xbox Live Deals. these deals are for Gold Subscribers Only.

Fable II - See the Future DLC: Was 560 points, Now 400 points Peggle: Was 800 points Now 400 points


Death Tank: Was 1200 points, now 800 points



These deals are for this week only, their prices will increase back to their normal prices.

From Major Nelson Blog


Audio Re-Cap of The Weekends News (oldest to newest)

Here is today's Audio Re-Cap of The Weekends news.
Don't forget, you can subscribe to the Audio Re-Cap Podcast on iTunes. if you do, it would be great if you can review and rate the podcast.

A podcast is available on iTunes from:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=328547861

A RSS Feed from Podbean:
http://qtegamers.podbean.com/feed

And on qtegamers.blogspot.com:
http://qtegamers.blogspot.com/search/label/Audio Re-Cap


Re-Cap of The Weekends News (oldest to newest)

  • QTE Blog: Re-Cap of Yesterdays News (oldest to newest) http://ow.ly/163nlt

  • QTE Blog: Audio Re-Cap of Yesterdays News (oldest to newest) http://ow.ly/163nLK

  • iPhone: its being reported that Sega will release Super Monkey Ball 2 before the years out. it'll have 115 new levels http://ow.ly/EjDA

  • PC: Modern Warfare 2 has outsold Call Of Duty 4 in just 1 week. http://ow.ly/EjEq

  • 360: Microsoft denies that it was 1 Million consoles that got banned. they don't provide the actual number http://ow.ly/Elsr

  • DSi: Nintendo Everything have pictures from the DSi LL launch event in Japan and many comparison pictures http://ow.ly/ElsT

  • The Banned PSN Gamer is now suing Microsoft and Nintendo, for a Red Ring 360 and Nintendo Blocking Wii Homebrew http://ow.ly/EltH

  • PS3: it appears that Cross Game Invites are working with Modern Warfare 2. its speculated that this came with 3.0. http://ow.ly/EnbS

  • QTE Blog: Konami Have Released New Screenshots For The Nintendo DSi Only Game, Foto Showdown http://ow.ly/163qOg

  • 2K's VGA mystery Game has been revealed as the Spec Ops reboot. http://ow.ly/Eo3d

  • PS3: Noby Noby Girl, from Noby Noby Boy, has now reached jupiter. this has unlocked a new level. http://ow.ly/EAHS

  • PC: LEft 4 Dead 2 has been patched. many bug fixes, Linux fixes, menu fixes,graphic fixes, etc. http://ow.ly/EAJR

  • PC: Games For Windows Live has been updated to 3.1. its bought cosmetic changes and redesigns. http://ow.ly/EAL0

  • PS3: Ratchet & Clank Future A Crack in Time is the fastest selling Ratchet & Clank game in the series. http://ow.ly/EANr

  • QTE Blog: Android Game Of The Week – Jewels http://ow.ly/163Bdt

  • QTE Blog: What Have You Played This Week? http://ow.ly/163BKS

  • 360: Microsoft has said that its "well within its legal rights" to ban consoles and users from its service. http://ow.ly/EGOZ

  • 360: the Xbox 360 is 4 years old today http://ow.ly/EGPA

  • QTE Blog: QTE Tweets Of The Week http://ow.ly/163CT5



Sunday, November 22, 2009

QTE Tweets Of The Week

The Following are the top 10 most clicked QTE Gamers tweets of the week. The Owly service appeared to work all week so this should be the proper top 10.

10 PC: The Steam Unlock times for Left 4 Dead Have Been Released. Tuesday 5AM (GMT), Monday 9PM (PST), Tuesday 2PM (Japan) http://ow.ly/CSdw

9 Wii: Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 will be patched when it comes out in the UK this Friday. the patch updates player stats http://ow.ly/DqAI

8 QTE Blog: Sega has Released New Character Art For Mario & Sonic At The Winter Olympic Games http://ow.ly/1629cf

7 Gearbox Rejected a Blade Runner game for business reasons. they wanted it but didn't think it could make money http://ow.ly/COu5

6 QTE Blog: EA Has Released A New Trailer For Command & Conquer 4 On The PC http://ow.ly/162BIj

5 QTE Blog: EA Has Released A New Video For The Sims 3 World Adventures On The PC http://ow.ly/1626H9

4 QTE Blog: Sony Has Released A Walkthrough Video of adhocParty For The PSP http://ow.ly/163bHi

3 Robomodo have said they are working on something that will use the RIDE Skate Board, but they can't talk about it. http://ow.ly/Dd0L

2 Namco Bandai have applied for a trademark for Ridge Racer Accelerated. nothing else is known as yet http://ow.ly/Dn2m

1 PSP: Sony has said that there will be a delay in the Digital Release of Little Big Planet http://ow.ly/Dtzs


What Have You Played This Week?

Wow, writing it down it's shocking how little I played. The site kept me busy for sure...must make time for more games, lol.

Football Manager 09 – PC – I decided to go back to a favourite team in the game, FC bayern Munchen. They are not my favourite team, that's Ipswich Town, but they are one of the easiest teams to play as, which enables me to look for other players, tactics and such. Would love to get the new game, but unfortunately I can't afford it, but what is great about the Football Manager games is that you can play them for a long time, even if a new version has come out (typically as the newest Football Manager needs 1 patch for it to get great.)

Fat PrincessPS3 – Still disappointed with how few people are playing. At least Bots are fairly intelligent. Still surprising how few people don't understand what needs to be done to win. It feels like me and maybe a couple struggle to keep the team going sometimes.


TokobotPSPthis game is hard. No two ways about it. I'm near the end now and it just keeps getting harder. In particular i'm at a point where I have 6 minutes to escape. And it throws many difficult levels at you. At This point of the game many of the small slight issues with Tokobot become very apparent and become an issue. It is a shame, the story isn't that great, but the graphics, the universe that been created, and the Tokobots themselves are all great. I feel that this game hasn't been balanced right and that a sequel would have addressed issues like this. I'll try to finish it, but it's really hard.

Critter Crunch Demo – PS3 – i've been hooked on the art since it was revealed. And the art really is beautiful. It makes full use of 1080p and its not just backgrounds. Menus, characters, enemies...everything looks great and has a cute feel about it. The game play isn't bad either. The demo gives you a good idea as to what the game is about. If your not sure I fully recommend downloading the demo. I'm sure it'll help make up your mind.

What have you been playing this week? feel free to add your weeks gaming selection in the comments, or comment on my selection for this week





Android Game Of The Week – Jewels


Jewels
Developed By MHGames
Free
Version: 1.09
Size: 784KB

The Good
Graphics
Price

The Average
Music
Controls

The Bad
Game Modes

Jewels, like Bonsai Blast, is another game that has been on the Android Market for a while now. The game is very similar to PopCap's Bejeweled. Jewels has a fairly small file size, just 784KB, but still has high quality background artwork and jewels. The game loads fast straight to the high scores, but does require you to go to menu and pick a new game that way. Hitting new game reveals the games only 2 modes, Normal and timed.

Normal is much like Bejelewd, you play until there are no more moves available. There are no special powerups in the game, you simply touch the jewel you want to move and move it in the direction to get 3 or more of a kind. When you fill a bar at the bottom, you move to the next level and the bonus increases. The more levels you complete, the more bonus you get but it also means more jewels need to matched. Unfortunately, not long after level 3 I get the feeling that the amount of jewels needed to get to the next level increases too quickly and slows the games pace. What doesn't help the speed the jewels move after you tell them to, or the speed jewels drop from the top. It feels just a tad too slow and becomes more noticeable when you start progressing in Normal Mode and Timed Mode.

Timed mode is again like Bejeweled's Timed Mode. The bar at the bottom is continuously decreasing and you need to get rid of jewels faster to get to the next level where the bar decreases faster. This mode works fine for for the first 5 or 6 levels, but after that I find the speed of the jewels moving, deleting, and coming down from the top, start to become a hindrance.

Despite those issues, the game still plays very well. I haven't had any issues with the touch controls and find it very accurate. It knows which jewel you have pressed and which direction you want it to move. The two modes in the game do feel light as its possible to play through a game of each Normal and Timed very quickly. But as a pick up and play game, the two modes are over quickly enough to fill a short gaming burst.

This is a good Mobile version of a Bejeweled type game. The modes may be lacking, but Normal and Timed do provide good gameplay for short gaming bursts. I'd recommend this to all Android owners as it is very accessible, has a small file size, and works very well.