While we’re perplexed as to why it’s taken so long, the timing is somewhat fitting for Pikmin 2, considering we’ll likely see a reveal of Pikmin 3 as part of Nintendo’s E3 2012 lineup in June. The Pikmin series received quite a bit of attention during the GameCube era, partly since it was a new IP from Nintendo, which only arrive every eon or so. Beyond that, it was chock full of charming gameplay and visuals from the brain of Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto.

Both titles ring in at $19.99. Additionally, Nintendo has saw fit to drop the price of two of its top-selling Wii titles, namely Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Donkey Kong Country Returns. You can now pick them up for $29.99 each.

Here is the latest weekly update for you folks either on Nintendo 3Ds or Nintendo Wii. Click on the link to be forwarded to each titles profile page on Nintendo.com.

Nintendo eShop 
Blaster Master: Enemy Below - Using the strong weapons and high jumping power of his legendary battle vehicle, Jason must explore a subterranean region where a sinister life form resides. (For Nintendo 3DS™)

Nintendo eShop / Nintendo DSiWare™
Elite Forces: Unit 77 - Drive armored trucks and tanks, defuse mines, locate explosives and rescue hostages. Gather your forces into a crack squad or control a single game character based on the strategic requirements. (For Nintendo 3DS /Nintendo DSi™)

Check out more after the break.

WiiWare™
Carmen Sandiego Adventures in Math: The Lady Liberty Larceny - The Statue of Liberty has vanished! The Chief wants ACME’s best agent on the case. Carmen Sandiego is back, and only you can foil her V.I.L.E. plans. (For Wii™)

Also new this week:
•  WordJong Arcade (Nintendo eShop / Nintendo DSiWare)
•  Just SING! Christmas Vol. 3 (Nintendo eShop / Nintendo DSiWare)
•  Paint Splash (demo version) (WiiWare)

“What I really want to do is be in the forefront of game development once again myself,” explained Miyamoto.

He added, “Probably working on a smaller project with even younger developers. Or I might be interested in making something that I can make myself, by myself. Something really small.”

At 59 years old, Miyamoto has stood at the forefront of Nintendo for a long time. He feels the company’s in-house teams have learned enough from him to tackle further developments without his direct guidance.

“I’m saying this because I have a solid reaction from the existing teams. I was able to nurture the developers inside Nintendo who were able to create something like this or something like that.”

Miyamoto plans to start work on one of these smaller projects later next year.

As previously reported, the new Alan Wake is an downloadable Xbox Live effort, not retail-bound. Sounds like more an expansion pack type deal.

The full list of VGA “Game of the Year” nominees, which will be judged by select press outlets, include Batman: Arkham City, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, Portal 2 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

After 6 months since stating that 3DS sales are off to a smooth start and roughly 3 months since the handheld received an early price cut Nintendo now has to admit it has a very real problem. The company has forecast its first annual loss since it began reporting finances in 1981. Specifically, Nintendo expects to suffer a loss of ¥20 billion ($264 million) for the year ending March 2012. It seems the Wii 2 could be make or break for the company which was once leaps ahead of Sony and Microsoft.

“But one of the key reasons that such things as the core and the casual exist today is that we decided not to adopt HD on the Wii console,” said Miyamoto in a recent Iwata Asks segment.

He added, “Of course, besides that there are things like issues with the controller and the challenges that it brings, network functionalities and many other things, but I think HD was the biggest factor that everyone was able to clearly understand the difference.”

However, Nintendo chief Satoru Iwata feels the rift between core and casual is a ‘psychological barrier,’ one that he hopes the Wii U will break down.

“That core vs. casual debate seems like something that can never see a resolution, but with Wii U, I have a feeling that it all may change. I even feel that the barrier that separated the two genres was only something psychological, just an impression that people had about them.”

The survey, uncovered by Destructoid, sets out to gauge interest in a potential follow-up. There’s a run-down of potential gameplay features, including a 2 player split-screen mode.

“Players can choose to play single-player as Mickey or for the first time players can also choose 2-player split screen mode. In the 2 player mode, one person can play as Mickey wielding magic paint and paint thinner to dynamically change the world and the second player can play as Oswald the Lucky Rabbit – Walt Disney’s first cartoon star – with the power to fly like the helicoper and use electricity to fight or friend enemies and solve challenges,” reads the questionnaire.

Potential platforms listed are PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii. Given that the title has yet to be officially announced, these concept pitches don’t necessarily mean it will see the light of day. However, given that the original sold well and project lead Warren Spector has been intent on expanding reach beyond Wii, a sequel seems like a lock.

Another month, another round of NPD numbers. While the industry as a whole took a 10 percent dropoff in sales over last year, Microsoft pulled through with another strong showing, taking the top spot in terms of console sales with over half a million units sold throughout June. In fact, it was the only platform to show year-over-year growth.

That’s almost double from what the PS3 and Wii managed in June. The $500 million Kinect advertising push paid off, it seems. In terms of software, Rockstar’s L.A. Noire hit no. 1, followed by Duke Nukem Forever and Infamous 2. Full sales breakdown is below.

NPD June 2011 – Hardware
Xbox 360 – 507,000
Wii – 273,000
PS3 – 276,000 (approximate)
3DS – 143,000
DS – 386,000

NPD June 2011 – Software
L.A. Noire (360, PS3) 1 Take 2 Interactive
Duke Nukem Forever (360, PS3, PC) 2 Take 2 Interactive
Infamous 2 (PS3) 3 Sony
Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (Wii, 360, NDS, PS3, 3DS, PSP, PC) 4 Disney Interactive Studios
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (3DS) 5 Nintendo
Call of Duty: Black Ops (360, PS3, Wii, NDS, PC) 6 Activision Blizzard
NBA 2K11 (360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP, PC) 7 Take 2 Interactive
Mortal Kombat 2011 (PS3, 360) 8 Warner Bros. Interactive
Cars 2 (NDS, Wii, 360, PS3, PC) 9 Disney Interactive Studios
Just Dance 2 (Wii) 10 Ubisoft

 

Speaking to Joystiq at the Games For Change event in NYC, Valve co-founder Gabe Newell says the Wii U may be a good fit within the company’s development framework, referencing improvements on the graphics and CPU side:

Wii U seems to be a lot more powerful than the previous generation. It sort of fits better into the scalability in terms of graphics performance and CPU performance, so I think it’ll be a lot easier for us to fit it into our scalability model.

Now it’s a lot easier to look at Wii U and have it fit within that framework.

Half Life 3 on PC, Xbox 360, PS3, and… Wii U?

I talked with Miyamoto-san about how we should make The Legend of Zelda for the Nintendo 64 system, and he asked, ‘How about making it so that Link will not show up?’,” said Yoshiaki Koizumi. “He wanted to make it a first-person game.”

“He wanted to make an FPS (first-person shooter),” Iwata added.

“Right. In the beginning, he had the image that you are at first walking around in first-person, and when an enemy appeared, the screen would switch, Link would appear, and the battle would unfold from a side perspective,” Koizumi added.

The development team eventually backpedaled on the decision, deeming the perspective not “interesting visually” for a Zelda title. Makes you wonder about all the crazy Miyamoto ideas that never saw the light of day.

So, I think that, going forward, the question is really to what degree Nintendo can create a more flexible system for its consoles.

And, what we found at this point is that, as we discuss the online structure with different publishers, the things that the different publishers want to do are in fact seemingly rather different. Our current direction is how we can take the desires of the third parties and create a system that’s flexible enough to enable them to do the types of things that they might want to do.

It’s notable that Nintendo is trying its best to win third-party devs over, given that many have expressed frustration with the company’s current online approach. Here’s hoping concrete details aren’t far off.

Thanks, Gamasutra.

As shown in the clip, it features tilt-sensitive controls that move the HUD, while strafing is handled with the left analog stick. The demo tasked players with gunning down other human controlled opponents. Weapons included a laser beam with an optional charge, along with missiles activated by holding down the right trigger.

From our hands-on time with the title, movement was extremely fluid with no visible lag between the controller and TV. Take a look after the break.

During a developer roundtable discussion Miyamoto revealed that the long-in-production Pikmin Wii title will be making its way onto the Wii U. During the discussion Miyamoto revealed that he wanted to see it on the new platform and simply said “so we’re gonna make it on that.”

Nintendo has officially revealed “Wii U”, the new home console system previously codenamed Project Cafe. The “Wii U” controller features a touchscreen, microphone, speakers, gyroscope, inward facing camera and dual analog sticks.

The Wii U controller can stand as a standalone system with streamed content from the base station or as a companion controller to a game displayed on your TV. You will also be able to use the controller for video chatting with other owners without use of the TV.

The exact details of the console itself remain a mystery, however the early games shown off from various studios reveal that the console should be able to compete with the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in terms of graphic prowess. You can expect to play the new system sometime in 2012.

Nintendo has revealed a few conceptual games that pit the Wii U controller user against others using the standard Nintendo Wii controllers.

One of the first titles announced for the Wii U was a new Super Smash Brothers that will be developed for both the Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS with some inter-connectivity between the two systems.

Some more titles announced for the new system include Darksiders II at launch, Batman: Arkham City, Dirt, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Online, Metro: Last Light, Tekken, Ninja Gaiden 3, and Lego City Stories.

Shigeru Miyamoto just got on stage to announce the release date for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D on the 3DS and release window for Skyward Sword on the Wii. Ocarina of Time 3D will be coming next week and Skyward Sword will hit store shelves this holiday season.

In addition, Miyamoto also announced that Links Awakening will be coming to the Virtual Console today. Four Swords will also be coming to DSi this September for the absolutely low price of free!

Not surprisingly, given that the eventual launch is still a way’s off, there’s no word on what franchises Tecmo plans on bringing over. We’d say Dynasty Warriors is a likely bet, but beyond that, who knows.

Iwata says the mindset stems from Nintendo’s reliance on itself. Going forward, Iwata wants to team with outside partners to bolster marketing efforts.

“I now regret that we didn’t tie up with someone outside the company to market the Wii. If we had done that, the fate of the Wii might have been different,” conceded Iwata at a recent investor conference.

He added, “Now I am aware that we should not rely too much on ourselves. You will see what I mean by this when we market the 3DS and the Wii in the future.”

Thanks, Reuters.

As you can see above, Nintendo has confirmed plans to launch a successor to the Nintendo Wii next year. The memo, which was released today, also notes that the company will be debuting the new system at E3 this year in which a “playable” model will be present. Looks like those rumors were spot on. How will Nintendo innovate this time?

Many rumors have suggested the company will use a new type of controller that is able to view streamed content from the console/TV, giving each player a unique view. You can check out the memo on Nintendo Japan’s website here.

The timing seems right. Wii momentum, while still fairly strong, is slowing down. There’s also the obvious fact that a significant number of people have adopted HD-ready television sets since the Wii’s debut.

Reportedly, Nintendo’s new hardware will launch sometime in late 2012, and the company is already collaborating with external publishers to ensure a strong launch.

All we can say is that development is going well and we’re on the last parts of the game. We can’t really share much else at this point, but by the end of this year we should be able to announce something regarding it.

At the rate development is progressing, looks like we’ll see a reveal this year, with a release in 2012. We hope.

Thanks, GoNintendo.

We’ve not said publicly what the next thing for us will be in the home console space, but based on what we’ve learned on 3-D, likely, that won’t be it.

Nintendo’s reluctance towards glasses-based 3D comes as little surprise with the emergence of the 3DS. At any rate, we’re intrigued to see what the company comes up with as a major selling point this time around. Creating a successor to a console as innovative as the Wii is no easy feat.

Of course, while pushing the eco-friendly angle, the move carries a dual benefit: saving on printing costs. Is a future where physical manuals are delegated only to Collector’s Edition-type offerings coming? It looks that way.

I think there will be another console cycle. I think there will be really big f*cking games for them. I’m just guessing, but I think the next generation of consoles will be the last of that current form of console, where you go to a store and buy your $60 games. I think you’re always going to have these big epics; these Naughty Dog operas that blow everyone’s minds or stuff like Gears of War from Epic Games. Those aren’t going away and they shouldn’t go away. Those are amazing mainstays that make our medium so proud.

With consoles gone, what will replace them? Jaffe speculates that manufactures may launch their own gaming service in the cloud, akin to an Onlive type deal.

Certainly, digital distribution is the future, but will dedicated platforms disappear entirely? It’s almost hard to fathom that we could see it happen within the next ten years, really. But at the same time, entirely plausible. Platform antagonistic initiatives like PlayStation Suite are already a step toward such a future.

A Conversation with David Jaffe [IGN]

On the DS, Nintendo touts it as “the nation’s best-selling video game system of all time.”  That 47 million figure includes all hardware refreshes to date — from the chunky DS fat all the way to the supersized DSi XL. As for the Wii, it enjoyed its third consecutive year of shifting more than 7 million units in the U.S. alone, which Nintendo proclaims is “a feat never before accomplished in the history of video games by a home console.”

It’ll be interesting to see how the 3DS fares at its rumored $250-300 price point when it debuts stateside this March —  only a mere two months away. Expect launch details to drop later this month.

“We found the quality and development speed of titles made for us by the overseas studios to be lacking,” noted Ishikawa.

He further stated that while the firm will continue to collaborate with foreign studios, it will only do so under the watchful eye of its Japanese staff.

It’s likely that the recently released Splatterhouse is one of the underperforming titles Ishikawa refers to. The company originally forcecasted sell-through numbers in excess of one million worldwide, a lofty target that was later dropped to 350,000. Additionally, mid-development “performance issues” with the now-defunct BottleRocket prompted a significant delay.

After being rumored for revival, the SSX series is getting a new game entitled SSX: Deadliest Descents. Details are slim on the new title currently but from what we’ve gathered the game will allow gamers to race down real-world mountains from all over the globe. You can catch the reveal trailer after the break.

The delightful platforming romp, which sees players vying to restore a sense of color and vibrancy to a dull monochromatic world under threat from the evil Ink Corp, is due out on February 22 across DS, Wii, PS3, and Xbox 360.

For your viewing pleasure, a selection of direct-feed shots from the Wii edition can be seen after the break.

Infaune left Capcom in October, ditching his high-level role at the company to delve back into the creative side of the industry.

While the blog is entirely in moon-speak, a translation by Andriasang reveals that Inafune is exploring all venues, from online to social, the latter of which he mentions is an area that cannot go ignored. Further, he aims to challenge his “salaryman” image of the past by working on things that he wasn’t able to do while tied up with the bureaucracies of upper-level management.

Long-term, it still remains unclear as to where Inafune will end up, but his aspirations point to staying in the gaming industry. Whether that means joining ranks with a upstart studio or opening his own — no one knows for sure yet.

Nintendo attributed the brisk sales to its strong software lineup as well as the recent introduction of more timed bundles, which further bolstered consumer interest.

“For the past several years, consumers have decided that Nintendo defined both top value and all-inclusive entertainment, and that sentiment continues again at the start of this shopping season,” noted NoA president Reggie Fils-Aime.

Additionally, Nintendo plans on adding more demos to Monday. The logic behind offering demos for a specific amount of time baffles us, but at least Nintendo is getting into the practice of offering them. Hopefully a sign of things to come for the 3DS, sans the time-sensitive restrictions.

Acquired by Acti in 2008, a year after it picked up Bizarre, the Iowa-based studio was largely responsible for porting several Guitar Hero titles to PS2.

In an effort to ease the transition post-closure, the publishing juggernaut says it is working to redirect affected employees, which represent 1 percent of its workforce, “to other parts of the company where possible, as well as offering them outplacement counseling services.” Full statement is after the break.

We continue to streamline our music development resources to ensure that they are aligned against our slate and strategic goals. As a result, we are implementing a targeted reduction in jobs in our Quality Assurance team in California and closing our Budcat studio in Iowa. Budcat has been a great partner to Activision and has created a lasting impact on the Guitar Hero franchise.

Approximately 88 positions, or approximately 1% of our global workforce, will be impacted by these reductions. We are working to redirect those employees that are impacted to other parts of the company where possible, as well as offering them outplacement counseling services.

Update: Activision has released a statement, in which it squares blame on Blur for not finding a “commercial audience.” The publisher is exploring several strategic moves, including “a potential sale of the business.” Look past the break for more.

Over the past three years since our purchase of Bizarre Creations, the fundamentals of the racing genre have changed significantly. Although we made a substantial investment in creating a new IP, Blur, it did not find a commercial audience. Bizarre is a very talented team of developers, however, because of the broader economic factors impacting the market, we are exploring our options regarding the future of the studio, including a potential sale of the business.

Activision has placed UK-based outfit Bizarre Creations on the chopping block, according to a report from industry trade site Develop. Sources close to the studio say that around 200 jobs have been axed.

While Activision has yet to confirm the closure, the news is spreading across Twitter like wildfire. A statement is likely imminent. Under the stewardship of Microsoft, Bizarre churned out hits like Project Gotham Racing and Geometry Wars.

Activision bought out the studio in 2007, tasking it with the creation of Blur and James Bond 007: Blood Stone, the latter of which received little to no media attention in lieu of Goldeneye 007′s Wii re-imaging.

de Blob’s premise revolves around bringing color and vibrance to once-bustling locales of a dull monochromatic world under siege by the evil Ink Corp. If the gameplay clip below is any indication, it’s one to keep an eye on, especially if you fancy lighthearted platformers. The transition to HD really makes the visuals pop.

The record-shattering feat marks the second year in a row that Activision’s Call of Duty franchise has broke launch records across all forms of entertainment.

“There has never been another entertainment franchise that has set opening day records for two consecutive years and we are on track to outperform last year’s five-day global sales record of $550 million,” said Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick.

What’s looming on the horizon? In response to increased demand, Kotick says the company is committed to supporting fans “with new content and features on a more frequent and regular basis.” More DLC, anyone?

In a statement released today, a Viacom spokesperson said the company is in talks with “several potential buyers.” On severing its ties with the rhythm-based music genre, Viacom noted that its exit stems from a company-wide strategy of focusing on high-performing properties, a category Rock Band evidently no longer falls under.

Has the music genre hit its peak? Perhaps. Regardless, Viacom obviously isn’t willing to take any further gambles after Rock Band 3′s sluggish debut.

While it’s unclear as to which companies are scoping out Harmonix, EA and Activision are solid bets.

Speaking at the London Games Conference per a GameSpot report, Cousens reckons that in the next two to five years, titles like Battlefield: Pay4Free will win consumers over to the point of second-guessing whether to invest in new console platforms.

He attributes that mindset to a wealth of integration possibilities that only an open platform – like the PC – can provide, referencing EA’s goal to “grab the TV screen away from the console manufacturers.”

Cousens further noted that consoles do have a chance at surviving the transition if platform holders embrace openness, especially in the case of online services such as PSN and Xbox Live, the latter of which has been under heavy fire from devs over restrictions in the past.

Project lead Warren Spector gives insight into the creative challenges and opportunities involved with attaching stories to these characters, some of which have been delegated to mere cameo appearances over the years. Check it out – it’s an interesting watch.

A Wii exclusive, Disney Epic Mickey hits store shelves November 30.

Scheduled to hit iTunes and “other major digital media retailers,” the 30-track offering features music of film composer Sean Murray, marking his second collaboration with developer Treyarch following the release of Call of Duty: World at War. Fans can pick up the entire shebang for $11.99 or $.99 per track.

The Supreme Court of the US just held an oral argument this morning in the Schwarzenegger v. EMA case, a monumental hearing for the video game industry. This case is arguing whether or not a state law that restricts violent video games is in violation of the First Amendment of the US Constitution. On the side of California (Schwarzenegger) is Zackery P. Morazzini, Supervising Deputy Attorney General of Sacramento, California who argued that violent video games should be restricted because they are harmful to minors.

On the side of the Entertainment Merchants Association and the gaming industry was Jenner and Block LLP Partner Paul M. Smith Paul M. Smith who argued that such a restriction would be in violation of the First Amendment, arguing that games are a form of free speech and artistic work.

The hearing is now over and the justices will be deliberating the outcome for the next several months most likely, however the case seems to support the gaming industry in the end, although that’s just my personal opinion. The petitioners could not provide a solid definition of said violence or how a minor should be defined. You can download the full transcript below or jump past the break for interesting snippets I took out of the transcript.

Schwarzenegger vs. EMA Transcript (PDF)

Mr. Morazzini: The “obscene level of violence, if you will, is especially harmful to minors”   (Refers to Gentile and Gentile study suggesting video games are exemplary teachers of aggression)

Justice Sotomayor (in response): “One of the studies, the Anderson study, says that the effect of violence is the same for a Bugs Bunny episode as it is for a violent video. So can the legislature now, because it has that study, say we can outlaw Bugs Bunny?”

Justice Scalia: “That same argument could have been made when movies first came out … Every time there’s a new technology you can make that argument” (When discussing new medium and unknown sociological results of it)

Justice Scalia: “How is the manufacturer to know whether a particular violent game is covered or not?”

Justice Scalia: “What about excessive glorification of drinking, movies that have too much drinking? Does it have an effect on minors? I suppose so.” (So should we also create new laws and statues restricting these even more so?)

Justice Scalia: “So that’s basically all this is, is a – a law to help parents, is that right?”

Justice Scalia: “You should consider creating such a one. You might call it the California office of censorship … that would be very nice”

Mr. Smith: “We do have a new medium here, Your Honor, but we have a history in this country of new mediums coming along and people vastly overreacting to them, thinking the sky is falling, our children are going to be turned into criminals”

Mr. Smith: “Well, the events in a video game – what happens in the plot is a combination of what the game gives you and what the player adds to it. There is a creative aspect coming at it from the other side.”

Mr. Smith: “The child is helping to make the plot, determine what happens in the events that appear on the screen, just as an actor helps to portray what happens in a play. You are acting out certain elements of the play and you are contributing to the events that occur and adding a creative element of your own.”

Of course, Nintendo isn’t ruling out the possibility of a price cut entirely, with Iwata conceding that he “cannot say” that it will never happen. Chances are, retail performance of the Wii throughout this holiday season will play a major influence on the company’s agenda going forward.