Nintendo has announced that the two previous games, alongside Corruption, will be released as a Trilogy on one disc for $50. This is great news to Wii owners who have only played Corruption and want to know the story that precedes it. And who want to experience arguably two of the best games ever released on the GameCube. It will be available on August 24.

The 3-in-1 Virtual Retro Adapter will plug into the Gamecube controller port and accept inputs from the original NES, Super Nintendo and N64 Controllers. It’s compatible with both 1st and 3rd party controllers and is set to launch June of this year, with an MSRP of $19.99. It’s manufactured and designed by Komodo and distributed by Innex

However, Factor 5’s German studio — and headquarters — located in Cologne, Germany, is unaffected by the closure and will continue normal operations.

Sony might not be accurate in their insistence that the DSi is ‘just for kids’, but when it comes to the home console market they’re a little more on the money. The largest demographic playing the Wii is the 6-11 age group, though whether that’s due to parental restrictions or the appeal of the games is a question to be explored. The Xbox 360 gets the most play time from the 12-17 crowd as the squeaky, crackingly pubescent voices uttering shrill profanities in your ear will attest to. The PS3 is the preferred system of adults, being played more by the 25-34 crowd, most likely because adults have a fair amount of disposable income and are generally disciplined enough to save the cash to buy the expensive system.

Though the price drop might reverse this trend, it seems that the PS2 is experiencing a sharp downturn in its popularity. The previous-gen console had for some time been getting the most play time, but from January 2008 to January 2009 the console’s usage was on a steady decline. One of the likely explanations is that PS2 use is dropping off as gamers switch to newer consoles: households with incomes above $60k showed a 25% drop in PS2 usage in 2008.

PC gaming is most common amongst adults by staggering percentages, with both the 25-54 and 55+ age ranges being the vast majority of gamers and having the most game time played. Believe it or not, World of Warcraft is not the most commonly played game on the list. In fact it’s #7 for both males and females from the 25-54 age range. Amusingly and unsurprisingly enough the top six slots are held by freecell, solitaire, hearts, pinball and minesweeper, all being titles included with a PC.

You play as Darth Vader’s secret apprentice, somewhere between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope in the chronology, that vast chunk of time where Vader was just getting started. Longtime fans of the series will be interested to note your character is named Starkiller, or the original name of Luke Skywalker. But anyway—Starkiller is dispatched by Vader to complete the work he began, the destruction of the Jedi throughout the universe. As you progress, you’ll have the opportunity to follow your master into the Dark Side, or separate into the Light Side, and thus have access to two different endings based on your choices.

Now, like I said earlier, the first few minutes were what had me so very hooked. This was because, for the first few minutes, you don’t play as Starkiller at all.

You play as Darth Vader.

Playing quite possibly the greatest Sith who ever lived—let’s remember that the guy’s going to hand it to Palpatine down the line—is like controlling a black-cloaked tornado. You’re dropped onto Kashyyyk, otherwise known as Wookiee Planet, and sent to take down a legion of walking furballs with blasters. This should make just about anyone’s blood run cold–Wookiees are badasses of the first order when sufficiently provoked—but not you. You are Darth-and-don’t-you-forget-it-Vader. You don’t run. You just stride in this coolly controlled fashion, striking down whatever walks in front of you with a flurry of lightsaber swings or various Force powers. It’s like controlling Jason Voorhees; a towering, hulking juggernaut that seemingly can’t be brought down no matter how many Wookiees take potshots at him. It’s a real jaw-dropper of a sequence.

It’s only too bad that the rest of the game can’t live up to this amazing opening, or to the hype it generated. Oh, sure, it’s FUN enough—Starkiller is a pretty entertaining sort and there are legions of enemies to strike down. But compared to that sweet taste I got in the beginning, the whole rest of the game just feels like a letdown.

The interesting part is, the PS3, Wii, PS2, Nintendo DS, N-Gage and PSP versions of the game are all different from the Xbox 360 version. Some have small differences, others have massive differences. For those who wonder, I’m handling the 360 version, so I’ll caution you all that your mileage may vary.

In summary, the plot is solid, and the first five minutes will grab your attention in a pure-on Force grip, but the rest of the game will not be so compelling. If you’re okay with a small disappointment in an otherwise fair-quality game, then your time spent playing Star Wars: The Force Unleashed will not be ill-spent.

Nintendo is launching an official line of games with just this in mind, called the ‘NEW PLAY CONTROL!’ series. The first two titles are going to be out very soon, one intended to appeal to the more serious gamer and the other for the casual type. February 6th will see the re-release of classic strategy title Pikmin. The game is more or less the same, with players taking the role of Olimar, an astronaut who crash lands on a planet and is forced to find pieces of his ship with the aid of the half plant, half animal, fully adorable Pikmin. The gameplay will utilize the WIi’s pointing capabilities, allowing players to easily select and order groups of Pikmin.

The other title is Mario Power Tennis, which will likely be quite similar to the tennis game on Wii Sports at the most basic level but with various kinds of shots including the Power Shots which vary by character. Some other fun features include ‘Gimmick Courts’ where you’ll have to avoid various impediments while you play including ghosts tossing banana peels under your feet. There are also a variety of mini-games that you can play, some of which are available from the start, others are unlocked by playing through the tournament mode including “Terror Tennis” where you hit balls at ghosts to keep them under control. Mario Power Tennis will be re-releasing on March 6th of this year.

Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto has told UK’s Channel 4 that he is worried about developers creating excessively violent video games,

“I don’t want to curb freedom of expression, but I am concerned that many developers focus just on excessive violence in order to stimulate people’s mind. I believe that there are more ways of grabbing players’ attention than violence alone.”

Miyamoto is a pioneer in the industry of video games, responsible for titles like Mario, Donkey Kong, and the Legend of Zelda.

“We need to eat in order to live, that’s our first priority,” Miyamoto added. “But entertainment and the enrichment of our souls must come in second place. Nintendo’s mission is to improve and to take advantage of cheap technology to create reasonable and affordable entertainment.”

Read (PCWorld)

“We’re pretty much at a state where we’re almost done with the engine. At the same time, we’ve also been working on content quite a bit because we had enough running very quickly on the platform that we were able to. But the biggest milestone or mark right now is that we’re almost done with the engine and it does everything that the PS3 did and then some, quite frankly. So we’re pretty happy with that.”

Obviously that is a slight exaggeration, as there is no way we’ll be seeing their next title outputting 1080p, but it does peak interest in what their upcoming title could truly hold. On that note, Julian understands that the focus on the Wii in not just about the graphics, but about the control, and figures he has it all figured out.

“But one of our main focuses is the innovation around the controls. Everybody is always talking about the motion control, but I think people are overplaying that a bit. I really, really love the pointing aspect of the remote. Although we’re going to use everything for what we have in development, I think the pointing stuff is probably the biggest innovation which we’re working on right now.”

I would have to agree with Julian on that point, so far we’ve actually come to realize that one of the biggest features the Wiimote has to offer, which so far has been somewhat underutilized in the IR functionality. Somewhat merging that bridge between the PC and consoles. Hopefully Julian can produce as good as the way he seems to be able to talk it up, and we don’t have another Lair on our hands.

Nintendo has stopped shipping of the wireless GameCube controller — known as Wavebird — to retailers. The Wavebird was one of the first true RF based wireless controllers, where now virtually all controllers are wireless on the current generation of consoles. Nintendo has said that the Wavebird will still be available on their online store, but didn’t mention for how long it’ll be available, or when, as it’s not listed online.

Exactly 4,179,963 units of the Gamecube were sold during the lifetime of the product. Astonishingly, the Japanese picked up 4,231,044 units of the Wii, having the new console outsell its brother in just over a year.

Only one word comes to mind: wow!

GameSpot (85/100) “Madden 08 seems to represent a tipping point of sorts for the series. You feel like the game is right on the brink of getting back to where it was four or five years ago in terms of stature and innovation.”

IGN (87/100) “Madden NFL 08 is a great game. It’s certainly the best Madden since the 2005 edition and a worthy offering for the new generation of gaming. The new animation system is outstanding and the game itself plays wonderfully.”

1UP (90/100) “You’ll find a much smarter brand of football in 08: Quarterbacks now scramble when no one is open, wideouts continue to make blocks 30 yards downfield, and defensive backs rarely fall for the deep ball. Some might even say that pass defense is a tad too stingy this season.”

GameSpy (90/100) “While it has been difficult to wholeheartedly recommend a Madden football game for a few years, Madden NFL 08 is a significant improvement over the series’ past, and has refined the formula in such a way that it actually brings something new to the game.”

Note: The reviews were based on the Xbox 360 version, which runs at a constant 60 fps, while the PS3 version runs at 30 fps, as several PS3 version reviews also point out.

• First place: Nintendo Wii
• Second place: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3
• Third place: Madden NFL 08 DVD

The winners will be picked next week on the August the 25th, where after the contest is reset, and three new games are awarded for the next week. No corporate people allowed, exit stage left.

Aka Paul Nation Aka Maverick

Special DB Editor Commentor Prize goes to Zac – Resident Evil 4Please send your postal info gday1234@gmail.com

Many Regards Paul Nation

• First place: Wii Remote Controller
• Second place: S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
• Third place: Resident Evil 4

The winners will be picked next week August 14, where after the contest is reset, and three new games are awarded for the next week.

Resident Evil 4 (Wii): Capcom releases the Wii version of the very successful GameCube game, and probably the best horror game ever made.

Sim City DS (DS): EA is ready with Sim City DS, the city building sim takes good advantage of the dual screen and the stylus on the DS.

Colin McRae DIRT (PC, Xbox 360): Codemasters’ latest rally game is set to give Motorstorm some serious competition. Next week the Xbox 360, PC, and PS3 versions will be released.

Transformers: The Game (DS, PSP): The movie is out in 3 weeks while DS and PSP owners will have a chance to play the game this week.

Some of the employees relocated to San Francisco and New York, while some, 60% in this case, chose to leave the company. Furthermore, Fils-Aime didn’t comment on the possible departure of George Harrison, Beth Llewelyn and Perrin Kaplan, the latter is know for several PR bloopers in recent time. Fils-Aime added that it was better to make the relocation now, when things are going good for Nintendo, as opposed to doing the move and restructuring when the company is in trouble, as many corporations chose to do these days.

Nintendo has now moved close to Silicon Valley, where a number of game developers are based, including EA and LucasArts. This was crucial according to Fils-Aime, who says spending time physically with developers is a must.

Resident Evil 4 for the Wii is mostly a port from the GameCube version, but with a few tweaks and of course full support for the new Wii controls. The game ships on June 19 in the U.S. and June 29 in Europe.

Kotaku has created a nice little graph outlining the first four month of sales for consoles in the last two generations. This is a great perspective on how initial sales don’t determine the overall viability of a console. Notably Gamecube ranked above PS2 by 20 thousand, but the same couldn’t be said at the end of their console lifecycles.

Read (Kotaku)