1. Wii preorders begin today at EB Games/GameStop. Except in Canada. We have to wait until Monday.

   Which doesn’t matter for me, because I can’t afford to preorder. Kind of a sad irony, isn’t it?

   Go Nintendo has the full scoop for the US and Canada.

2. And don’t forget, Fry’s killer XBox 360 bundle sale starts today.
3. Early yesterday, Capcom announced the closure of developer Clover Studios, makers of games such as Viewtiful Joe, Okami, and the recent God Hand.

   A most unfortunate turn of events for a great game studio housing some of Capcom’s best creators, after the closure of Studio 8(creator of Maximo and Final Fight Streetwise) last year. It leaves one to wonder, “who might be next?”

   Next-Gen has a few Q&A from Capcom regarding the matter as well.

   GameSpy adds:

   “We guess mainstream gamers don’t like creative, original and artistic games, otherwise Capcom wouldn’t be closing down Clover Studio…”

   “While the games developed by Clover Studio have always garnered high praise, sales for its titles haven’t been as stellar.”

   But hey, at least we can always count on more World War II FPS and thug-life games to fill the void, right?

   Game|Life offers that the developers wanted to split from Capcom, and that’s the reason for the closure.

   That I can accept; just seems weak to close them down when two of their games have only just barely hit retail…

4. Splashman reports that Electronic Arts of Europe has moved to neutral territory, presumably as a means to try and escape backlash from those who feel they’ve done wrong.

   Or maybe they just like the scenery, I dunno. Where’s Burnout for the Wii already?

5. Microsoft is partnering up with Best Buy and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America to educate parents about video games in a campaign called “Safety Is No Game.”

   “With success comes responsibility,” Bach said in a statement. “We are unwavering in our commitment to address the genuine concerns of families on how to keep interactive entertainment safe and fun for our children.”

   I for one applaud the maneuver, as it shows the sort of initiative and action that might help keep some jerks in Washington off of our backs. Besides, the fewer gradeschoolers I have to hear about playing Grand Theft Auto and such, the better.

6. Nintendo and AiLive are providing Wii developers with a new tool called LiveMove, which will help teach the system gestures.

   Incidently, I had a feeling that things might only improve as the system continues on in terms of movement recognition, and I think this is a good step. Everything may not be 1:1 now, but one must remember that this is also just the beginning of the life of the system. Let’s not forget how other systems have advanced, including the arcade-imperfect Donkey Kong for the NES to the likes of Super Mario Bros. 3, or Super Mario World for the SNES to Donkey Kong Country.

   Go Nintendo provides a bit of video of the new program in action, and Kotaku even has a diagram.

   This is only the beginning.

7. So… is this like the gaming version of the NRA, or what?
8. And, the winner of Graphic Novel of the Year is…
9. Looks like Blizzard has royally boned a number of their World of Warcraft customers. Yikes.
10. It’s nothing official yet, but Engadget thinks that Europe may suffer yet another PS3 delay, for a possible May launch.
11. There has been some talk that Europe may follow Japan in selling The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess as an online-exclusive, but apparently that may not be the case after all.

LBD “Nytetrayn”

This entry was posted on Friday, October 13th, 2006 at 5:39 am and is filed under The Daily 'Shroom. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.