Time for some more king-sized vehicular mayhem with the Wii. This time, it's all about the two-or-more-player video previews of Monster 4x4: World Circuit. These two videos, courtesy of Gamespot and uploaded onto YouTube by aussienintendo.com, feature the game's multiplayer action, including the soccer minigame 1UP previewed.

These videos don't include any shots of the competitive players and the Wiil in action - in any case, check out this article if you want to see the "standard" Monster 4x4 accessory. Keep checking back here for more updates on the game as they come. Meanwhile, here are the videos we're talking about, rolling in with king-sized wheels.
Two-player race

Soccer minigame

In another episode of Iwata asks, something interesting was confirmed by Satoru Iwata (actually by the guy he interviewed). Anyway, let's just jump to the pertinent quote to get this over with. Here it is:

"Iwata: I'm sure that for many people, just being able to see their digital camera pictures on the big screen will feel really fresh. Pictures they've only ever seen either scrolling through them on a 2 or 3 inch screen or on their computer, they'll be able to easily view them on their living room TV. People will get into the habit of sticking their SD Card into the Wii as soon as they get home after they've taken pictures. I think that will change the way people view digital camera photographs.
Kawamoto: Another thing which people have really enjoyed is the Slide show function. This allows you to play music as the console automatically displays your pictures in turn. If you put MP3 files in your SD Card, you can have your favourite songs as background music to ...

Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkachi 2 is about to hit the Wii in a couple of weeks and most just can't wait to get their hands on it; and the artbox shown last time just got most gamers teased. Although the 100 optional characters and the cool cell-shaded graphics are already great enough treats on their own, it's how the Wiimote and Nunchucks will be used that's making most crazy with curiosity and delight.

Here are three videos for those who are still thirsting for more DBZ for the Wii. The first video will show our chubby friend, Majin Buu take on Dodoria; the second shows our main hero, Son Gokou spar with Piccolo; and the last one has the Yamtcha and Krillin match.

Remember to take a look at the bottom right-hand corner as it will show how the Wii controllers will be used for this game. Although, it may not be as dramatic as most expect, at least there's still hope for us sedentary folks. The game will be out November 21.

Download: [Dragonball Z: Budok...

Wouldn't you like to know what other people think about you? Well, sadly we can't do that for you but we can give you the next best thing: Sony Australia's thoughts on Nintendo and in particular, the Wii. This is because Michael Ephraim, the well-known Managing Director of Sony Computer Entertainment Australia, recently spoke with the popular Australian newspaper - The Age - on what he thinks the Nintendo Wii will effect the launch of the PS3 at the retailers this Christmas.
If you are expecting the Sony Australia MD to slate Nintendo, look away now. "Nintendo is a great company as far as games development goes, they have been around for a long time, they know how to deliver an entertaining product. My only question for this Christmas on Wii is the price point. Even though it's affordable, at 400 plus whatever you need to buy accessories-wise, we're guessing you need to spend about 500 AUS to take home a Wii and enjoy it," Ephraim said when asked about Nintendo's goal of attra...

If you're living in the UK and you still haven't made your preorder for Nintendo's next-generation console then we suggest you head out and do so right now, because according to some branches of UK retail outlets Game and Gamestation, Wii preorders will be ending shortly due to increasing demand. With demand on the rise, it sure seems like those who didn't pre-order will have to wait for next year until they can get their hands on a Wii.

There's still hope though. According to C3, one of their readers have been informed by his local branches that the retailers will be receiving additional stock as thanks for their continued support during the decline of the Nintendo GameCube.

The pre-orders could quite possibly be on a "first come, first serve" basis, so we recommend that you don't waste any time and run out to your local retailers as soon as you can. You wouldn't want to be the only one in your neighborhood not swingin' around a Wiimote on launch day now, would you?...

Filed under: Fan stuff

Not thirty years ago, the question of who or what Nintendo is would have been answered "Nintendo? Who's he?" Several years later, Nintendo continues to shock gamers worldwide. Sure there have been some rough patches but with the success of the DS and the release of the Wii just around the corner, Nintendo could come full circle and then some.
News 4 Gamers posted a news segment that takes a look at Nintendo when the NES was first released. Gone is the banter that video games are the devil's work and you can't see a Jack Thompson for miles. It's just a great exploration of gaming at its popular birth.
See the video after the break and get ready to have tons and tons of flashbacks.
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In the most recent "Iwata Asks" interview, Iwata talks with Kouichi Kawamoto about the Photo channel for the Wii. Aside for some basic Photobooth functionality, Kawamoto mentions an interesting tidbit: MP3's stored on the SD card along with the photos will be played in the background during a slideshow.

While this seems horrendously not cool, consider the fact that this functionality is in fact very similar to the Xbox 360's ability to play personal tracks during gameplay. In fact, a developer could most likely easily implement this functionality into any game they desire, so keep on the look out. If nothing else, it's an easy cop-out if Nintendo wants to add an extra "music channel" to expand functionality.Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: Gaming
If hadn't already heard, today's the day to get on with your PS3 pre-order badself at your local EB Games or GameStop location. That is, if you haven't already done your pre-order somewhere else, or haven't decided to forgo the PS3 entirely for that attractive "Wii60" alternative. Unfortunately, the console looks to be in quite limited supply, so you had best get over there on the double if you don't want to be playing with your sister's Barbie dolls come this November. Reports vary, but from the sound of things, most stores are getting 16 units, with 2 of those available to store employees, which should give a pretty good indication of the scarcity of the PS3 headed into the holidays -- GameSpot and EB can't even guarantee those numbers to pre-order customers, who will be required to put down a $100 for this quasi-assurance. Oh well, you and your sister can always "B who U wanna B" this fall while you wait for those elusive blue lasers to stockpile.

...

Filed under: Rumors
Ah, Linux. Your nerdy appeal has won many a gamer. For the uninitiated, Linux is an open-source operating system that is vastly scalable and customizable for various platforms and applications, and as such, is perfect for homebrew development. One of the first tasks of any "console cracking" team is to get a version of Linux running on the box, as it opens up a myriad of possibilities. Certainly, the Wii would be a prime target, but ....

Nintendo may have already beat them to it. According to a rumor from Ars Technica, Nintendo is actually using a modified version of Linux as its primary operating system on the Wii. Though some security measures will certainly be in place, it probably won't be long before some clever haX0r figures out a way around the protocols in place. Exciting news for the homebrew community, to be certain. We recommend checking out the entire article; it's a good read.

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We have been reporting how retailers have been preparing for the two, much-hyped about consoles: PlayStation 3 and Wii. Target, for example, is already setting up their Wii section, clearing all GameCube games out of the shelves to make way for Wii. EBGames and Gamestop, on the other hand, have already announced that they are now taking pre-orders for Sony's PS3.

Most retailers are now scrambling to accommodate all the activity that will transpire once these much anticipated next-gen consoles are launched. Then again, maybe not...

There's this post from Brian Crecente of Kotaku that got us scratching our heads in amazement. Trooping to an EBGames store in Australia, he asked the manager on duty about the availability of PS3 and Wii during launch. The EBGames manager said each store will receive about 50 stocks of Wii, while the allocation for PS3s are only about four or five each store. He also blurted out that EBGames employees will get their hands first on the ...