In a previous entry, it was rumored that a "High School Musical" game is in the works for the Wii by Buena Vista. This buzz received quite a sting with some negative comments, like the movie is "gheyness incarnate" or to some such extent. Well, whatever the case, this could potentially be good news or bad news, depending on which side of the fence you are on.

It seems as if development of the game is going well, and more so, there's been some talk that the gameplay will actually have you singing musical numbers. Apparently, they just might release a microphone peripheral to bundle along with the game for US 69.99 this July (already?!). There's no word yet though if this is an attachment to the Wiimote or an entirely separate controller (much like the guitar controller for Guitar Hero II).

Think about it for a while, though. Even if you might emphatically hate the movie, that doesn't mean this is entirely bad news. If they're developing a microphone accessory for the ...

And let the games begin! Err, umm, actually they're already over. Yep! The Wii SportsTennis Tourney event down in Melbourne has already concluded last January 19, and the IGN team was able to get some footage of the action. In the event, your average gamer was able to play against Australian tennis players Pat Cash and Mark Woodforde - they might be good on the turf, but in the virtual world, who knows?

Safe to say, there weren't any smashed TV sets or anything. And if we'd push for a blatant pun, it was all love. The four finalists (seen in the pic below) competed for tickets to the Australian Open and each of them won their own Wii console.


The IGN team was even able to score a little sit-down with the two tennis stars in a quick Q&A, talking about the difference of Wii Tennis and the real thing. Now, it's your serve. Click the "Read" link below for the interview.

Filed under: Gaming
While a bevy of gadgets have been laid to rest for 15 seconds of YouTube fame, Sony's PSP has somehow eluded the brutal beatings that the iPod, PlayStation 3, Wii, and other highly coveted gizmos have suffered. Unfortunately, the PlayStation Portable has now received the same off-kilter treatment as the electronics that have come (and gone) before, as a couple of rowdy youngsters with a faux katana laid the smack down on a helpless PSP. Interestingly, the device seemed to hold up fairly well to the bashing it took, but we can't help but wonder just how sharp the sword was that was used in this melee. Seriously, we know how bad you want a PSP2 to finally surface, but we promise that getting medieval on your current rendition won't encourage those Sony execs to move their plans along any faster. If you dare, click on through for the ruthless obliteration.

[Via PSPFanboy]Continue reading Smash my PSP: katana claims victory over Sony handheld...

Filed under: Gaming

Looks like Nintendo got tired of slapping its own branding onto every one of the bazillions of beefed-up replacement straps it's been sending out to butter-fingered Wii owners the world over. Reports are coming in of some sort of ghettostrap, possibly built by a third party, being sent out instead of the fancy Nintendo version, leaving fanboys crestfallen at their newfound lack of total Wii branding. Not exactly the conspiracy of the century, but we want answers, and we want them now!

[Via Joystiq] 
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time
Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

NattyBumppo over at Somethingawful.com has just announced that he'll be leaving Nintendo of America (NOA), after a one and one-half year stint in the Big N's hallways.

But aside from sad goodbyes, this programmer's decided to look on the bright side of his stay, and is currently sharing some of the more interesting snippets he remembers in a thread titled "Inside the Mushroom Kingdom: Stories from Nintendo."

Mushroom-eating speculation aside, he offers many Nintendo fans among us a glimpse of NOA's office culture, and the sort things that can rub them the wrong way.

Here's a sample of one of our favorite bits:

You'd know this if you've ever been to Redmond, but Nintendo is completely and utterly surrounded by Microsoft. There are Microsoft buildings less than a quarter mile to the north, south, east, and west of the company's HQ. There's just one single, vacant lot to the north of NOA that Nintendo owns and Microsoft's constantly trying to buy, but N...

  
Just one word: Adorable! These snapshots were sent in to gaming site Kotaku by one of their readers. Yeah, we know it's not ours and all but heck, that baby is so damn cute! According to the father of this kid (who was the one who obviously sent the pics), he was rather pleasantly surprised and shocked to find her daughter "whoopin' ass" in Zelda: Twilight Princess.

We were looking at the monitor screen closely and if we are not mistaken, that kid just defeated the third level boss. We know that Morpheel is easy to beat like a cupcake but we don't want to hear anything about it, okay? That's really not the point of this post. If anything, its about how the Wiimote is user-friendly.

Or better yet, this one was about a plain feel good post. Got some cool and cute stuff such as these pics? You better send 'em in, too. After all, it's good to smile every once in a while.

 
Ever had that inkling to let the world know what games are on your mind? The U.K.-based GAME retail chain has just announced that it has begun its deliberations for last year's "Best Game of the Year", to be decided by its in-house panel of judges.

In connection with this, GAME has also announced its polls for the "People's Choice Awards", which allows fans to cast in their votes for their favorite games back in '06. For those wondering what titles are in the winner's circle, here's the shortlist:
Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii)Guitar Hero II (PS2)Gears of War (Xbox 360)Company of Heroes (PC)Brain Training (DS)Pro Evolution Soccer 6 ( PS2, PSP, Xbox 360, PC)LEGO Star Wars II (Xbox 360)Animal Crossing (DS)Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (PC)Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)FIFA 07 (PS2, Xbox 360, PSP, PC)Medieval 2: Total War (PC)The awarding will also include slots for "Best Portable Game", "Best Multiplayer Game", and "Best Hardware" titles, which round out this event's c...

Filed under: News, Controller


Well, either demand for replacement wrist straps was higher than Nintendo anticipated, or they just decided the new console and everything that goes with it was just too pretty. Whatever the reason, some gamers are crying foul because their replacement wrist straps are arriving, and they're not quite what was expected.

In a word, they're ugly. At least, that seems to be the general consensus thus far. But whatever your opinion on the aesthetic qualities of the new new wrist straps, they're certainly different from what we've seen before. But perhaps there is a method to the madness. It's been reported that the new end pieces are rubber instead of plastic. Perhaps the were concerned about a new bevy of Wii-based injuries now that the breakage issue has been addressed. Have cries of "you'll Wii your eye out!" been averted? Either way, reports vary; some folks have the new, rubberized version, and some folks have t...

Sacramento morning hosts running a "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" contest didn't stop a woman from apparently drinking herself to death. YouTube has the audio. In Bodyhack.

Alright folks, looks like there may be another shift in the Nintendo calendar for this year when it comes to two of the most-awaited titles for the Wii.

According to an "anonymous local Nintendo rep" that the guys from GameDrift have managed to get a hold of, Super Mario Galaxy may not arrive until Christmas 2007, while Metroid Prime 3: Corruption would probably be ready by this April.

In Super Mario Galaxy's case, we were sort of hoping for it to be released by around June, since Shigeru Miyamoto has once been quoted that "if it's not a launch title it will definitely be there within the first six months." But that's okay. If Miyamoto wants more time to work on his game, then we'd be happy to wait.

On the other hand, Samus' schedule seems to be a bit more orderly, as April sounds pretty much like the "sometime after March" time span which Reggie has mentioned some time back in November.

So, while we wait, we'll make the most out of using the ...