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Iwata: only 35% of Wiis are online, 20% of DS

Nintendo has never been known for fully embracing online gaming, and the Wii trails a distant third behind the PS3 and Xbox 360 when it comes to playing online — despite being the top selling console. Nintendo’s Satoru Iwata has revealed numbers on online connectivity, saying that 35% of Wii consoles are online and only 20% of Nintendo DS consoles.

Furthermore, Iwata said that those numbers will decline if the company doesn’t “take aggressive action” on the online front — which it of course plans to do. All we can say is; it’s about damn time!

WiiWare demos coming

Nintendo has revealed that the company plans on offering demos for their downloadable-only Wii games from WiiWare. Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata told investors during a Q&A session that the feature is in development, and will be tested with demos of a few selected titles, before demos are rolled out to cover most of the lineup. Nintendo hopes that the demos will increase sales in the WiiWare store, as it’s currently trailing competitors from Microsoft (Xbox Live) and Sony (PSN).

Next Zelda game to use Wii MotionPlus

Wii’s Motion Plus accessory makes the Wiimote a lot more useful, offering a true 1:1 motion sense, meaning that everything you do with the controller is exactly replicated on the screen.

Nintendo legend Shigery Miyamoto has said in an interview with Wired that the next Zelda game, widely believed to be released next Fall, will use the Motion Plus attachment for more accurate sword play, among other things. However, he didn’t mention whether the game will require the accessory, or whether it will be optional.

Iwata confirms, “The Wii has stalled”

In a rather surprising move, Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata said in an interview that the Wii “has stalled”, after selling 40% less units in 2009 compared to 2008. Iwata contributes the slow sales due to the fact that there weren’t many great games released on the Wii this year, “Games of high demand could not be continuously released and the good mood has chilled”, Iwata said in an interview with Japanese newspaper Mainichi.

He further revealed that Nintendo misjudged the market conditions, and concluded by saying that they are now focusing on next year, and is determined to deliver key titles that will boost console sales.

Resident Evil Zero gets Wii release date

Capcom has revealed the release date of the Wii exclusive Resident Evil game. Called Resident Evil Archives: Resident Evil Zero, the game will be released on December 1. The game is not a new title by any means, but a remake of the 2002 GameCube title of the same name, which will receive a minor visual overhaul with added motion controls, just like Resident Evil 4 did for the Wii.

Buy 2 Wii games at Target, get 1 free

From November 1 (or tomorrow), US retailer Target will run a Wii games promotion, where you can buy two Wii games and get a third one free. Luckily, there are no restrictions, and the deal applies to all Wii games (but only Wii games).

Nintendo reports declining profits

Nintendo’s latest financial results show a decline in profits, mostly due to lower Wii sales and a lower price on the console as well. The company reported a profit decline of 52% compared to last year, but still, unlike its rivals, Nintendo made a $750 million profit, and it still makes money on every Wii console sold, despite a new $199 price point.

Nintendo also revealed that the company has sold 56 million Wii units worldwide, while the DS has sold 113 million worldwide. Nintendo said they expect to sell 20 million Wiis this year, down from 26 million they projected last year.

“Hold your wee for a Wii” gets $16m awarded by court

Remember the infamous stunt a radio station pulled off a few years ago, when the Wii was in shortage? The KDND-FM radio station offered the winner of the “Hold your wee for a Wii” contest a Wii console, all the contestant had to do was to hold their wee, or urine. Sounds easy, right? Well, no.

Contestant Jennifer Strange died of water intoxication, and her family sued the parent company of the radio station, Entercom Sacramento LLC. Today, the court ruled in favor of the family, awarding them $16.5 million in damages.

GameStop to hire 15,000 part-time employees for holiday rush

Looking for a part-time job this holiday season and like video games? Well then, you should head over to your local GameStop and get an application as it was recently announced that the retailer will be hiring 15,000 part-time employees for this year’s holiday season rush.

Of course, since this is a seasonal job don’t except to hold onto the position for more than a few months if you are chosen. However, while you are an employee you will be given normal benefits like game borrowing and a discount.

via rttnews

Analyst: Netflix coming to Wii within a year

Game analyst Micheal Pachter predicts the Netflix movie streaming service to hit Nintendo’s Wii console withing a year, after being announced on the PS3 a year after hitting the Xbox 360.

However, he notes that Netflix might not be an integrated part of the Wii and PS3, because of the exclusive deal with Microsoft, meaning that a Netflix software DVD/Blu-ray drive will have to be present in the systems in order to stream movies.

Avatar launching on Dec 1

Avatar, the game based on James Cameron’s Avatar movie, will be launching on December 1, Ubisoft revealed. The game will be available on Xbox 360, PS3, PC, DS, Wii, PSP, and most likely on the iPhone/iPod Touch later. The game will use graphics and visuals directly from the movie, which will open in theaters late-December.

Buy 2 games get 1 free at Best Buy

It seems that Toys R Us and Amazon.com aren’t the only ones holding a buy 2 get 1 deal as it was recently announced that Best Buy too is hopping on the boat.

As you can see from the above leaflet there is a good amount of games included in the promotion such as Wii Sports Resort, Halo 3: ODST and Prototype. In fact, every new game priced $59.99 or under will qualify for this promotion, go figure!

If you want to get down on this promotion you better do so fast as it runs from October 25th – 31st.

via kotaku

Capcom pondering whether or not to charge for Monster Hunter 3 online play

If you didn’t know Capcom charges for online Monster Hunter play in Japan, frightening right? What’s even more frightened is Capcom is pondering whether or not to charge for Monster Hunter 3 online play here in the United States.

Don’t get too scared though as virtually every other Capcom title here in the states is free to play online so they will most likely keep with the current business model and do the same with the U.S. release of Monster Hunter 3 .

The game will be out for the Wii in March of next year.

Read (MTV Multiplayer)

Dead Space: Extraction met with lackluster results

Dead Space: Extraction made its way onto store shelves for the Nintendo Wii on September 29th and considering the reviews and media, we figured it would be met with some critical acclaim. Well, the numbers are in and to Visceral Games’ dismay, it was not met with the critical acclaim they had hoped for.

In fact, in its first week on store shelves (Sep. 29th – Oct. 3rd) the game only managed to push 9,000 copies. EEDAR analyst Jesse Divinch comments on the game’s less than stellar launch:

“Electronic Arts didn’t market Dead Space Extraction as much as it does with other titles. And the success or failure of a Wii title usually correlates directly to marketing spend. If Electronic Arts spent little on marketing, I am sure the sell through was no surprise to them. So I do not believe sell through was a disappointment to EA.”

Let’s wait until Visercal comments to see if what this analyst says is true.

via edge-online

Black Wii hitting UK on Nov. 6

Gamers in the UK unhappy with the current white chassis of the Nintendo Wii will be happy to hear that a limited edition black version will be hitting store shelves on November 6th. As for the rest of Europe, you’ll be getting it on November 20th.

This limited edition comes with a black Wiimote, Nunchuk and Motion Plus. If you want the fancy black Classic Controller Pro, you’re going to have to buy that separately.

via techfresh