So, I haven’t had a lot of sleep this week. That caught up with me last night, as I’m sure some of you came to notice.

Naturally, that means a double-dose update tonight. Funfunfun…

But will a slow news week continue, thus making it easier? Let’s find out!

1. A TransFormers Cybertron-sized update!

   Ripped straight from the clutches of Oscar Mayer and Kraft, big-ass renders of The Movie characters. Furman talks “Devastation,” the Blackout/Scorponok 2-pack will be exclusive to Toys R Us, parodies are underway, a fellow ‘Sparker has made good by landing the role of Starscream in The Game, a preview of IDW’s Megatron: Origin series, and Titanium figures of War Within Sunstorm and Ultra Magnus are coming soon.

   The Movie merchandising madness spreads, with magic washcloths. Guess I can’t say much, I still have my Super Mario Bros. towel/cloth set, even though I don’t like to use them. Besides being too small to effectively work at drying, there’s just a point in one’s life when rubbing the visage of a cartoon Italian plumber all over your body goes from cool to disturbing, if not just creepy.

   Can’t say if that applies to alien robot trucks or not.

   I swear, Target is probably trying harder than anyone to make me move back to the US. Their latest ploy is mind-numbingly simple, cheesey, and perhaps most of all, cheap: a TransFormers: The Movie-themed transforming gift card.

   And I want one. I still have my empty light-up Wii gift cards that kind folk sent me as well.

   I have no idea who “Steve and Barry” are, but I don’t think I’ve seen them north of the border, which is too bad, because they’re offering a chance to win a trip to BotCon.

   I’ll make it someday. If I just keep telling myself that.

   Some new Titanium pics have surfaced, those being of a nice 2-pack of War Within Optimus and Megatron which is exclusive to Toys R Us, and more interestingly, the first shot of War Within Prowl, plus SDCC-exclusive Menasor, who’s… a Rodimus Prime recolor? Oooo-kay…

   Rounding things out on The Allspark are galleries of Movie Swindle and Bonecrusher.

   BWTF.com has some new reviews up as well: Titanium War Within Thundercracker, Titanium War Within Jetfire, and Movie Bumblebee.

   And over at IGN.com, Michael Bay has revealed some “new” pics of the bots, tho they may just be the same as Oscar Mayer’s.

2. Awesome.

   While perhaps not as well-known in the annals (that’s annals with TWO n’s, y’bunch of immature geeks) of video game history as Ninja Gaiden, another somewhat-legendary title from days long passed is coming to the Wii from Tecmo:

   Behold, Project Rygar.

3. Microsoft is making a Simpsons XBox 360 to promote the movie.

   Sadly, it’s not the Elite, and unfortunately, the “O” in “Movie” is too low to change the Red Ring of Death to the Pink Donut of Doom.

4. Rockman to become Rapman?

   Maybe not, but that’s not stopping Random from releasing Mega Ran, a hip-hop/rock/reggae album featuring samples from the classic NES title of similar name.

   It’s been said that music is a strong theme in the games. I’ve not really seen it, but this is at least a step in that direction. Look forward to hearing it, hopefully it’ll be as good as Random hopes.

5. Pirates of the Carribbean 3: At World’s End truly is the end.

   Or is it?

   It is.

   Unless it’s not.

6. Ok, time for some fun.

   Pick a game title, and imagine a spin-off that no one would expect to be made in a thousand years.

   Did you pick Gears of War and golf?

   Congraturation! You’re a real developer now!

7. SN/Playmore has a solution to the SNK Vs. Capcom Card Fighters glitches.
8. Ah, here we go.

   From a few days ago:

   Peter Moore says: “I can’t comment on failure rates, because it’s just not something – it’s a moving target. What this consumer should worry about is the way that we’ve treated him.”

   And now, today:

   “Is there anything else I can help you with… and by the way I am laughing at you.”

   I responded, “you are what?”

   And he enunciated, “I am laughing at YOU.”

   Better get crackin’, Petey.

9. New laws are being implemented in a few states as it pertains to the trading-in and selling of used games.

   Which I think is good, just in case such items are ever stolen. Not that that ever happens…

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. A little TransFormers to start your day.

   Looks like Oscar Meyer/Kraft have launched their TransFormers The Movie Lunchables web site, and surprisingly, it’s worth a look.

   IDW has a randomized preview of the upcoming TransFormers Spotlight: Galvatron comic, which marks the first time since the original toy’s bio that Galvatron is not an upgraded Megatron, but a unique character in his own right.

   In what one can only hope to be a sign of things to come, Hasbro is releasing a transforming GI Joe toy. We’ve already got Star Wars TransFormers, and numerous comic crossovers between the Robots in Disguise and A Real American Hero, perhaps it’s an idea whose time has finally come? If it means we get Rolling Thunder Optimus Prime and Megatron as Destro’s Dominator, then I welcome them.

   (And thanks to Robogeek28 for the images.)

   Coming June 2nd, TransFormers The Movie wristwatches, perfect for counting the minutes until the movie hits theaters.

   Barricade and Bumblebee may not be the only movie TransFormers getting the 2-pack treatment, as an image has surfaced of Decepticons Blackout and Scorponok in a two-pack of their own, but details on where it would be sold remain unknown.

   Few things in TransFormers sound funnier to me than “Bumblebee Unleashed,” a statue-esque figure of the movie version of the Autobot in a dramatic pose.

   Less humorous is Optimus Prime Unleashed, showing the Autobot Commander in a battle-ready pose on one side, and Evel Kneiveling off of Dead Man’s Curve on the other.

2. Press the Buttons has some new info surrounding Electronic Arts’ upcoming The Simpsons game, which will be featuring some spoofs of other popular titles.

   Wouldn’t it be cool if the Wii version featured a game of Homer throwing trash cans at Mario?

   GameTrailers has some videos of the game’s impressive visuals in action.

   Who knows? This might even be fun to play. Heck, the past few weren’t that bad, and Games Radar seems impressed.

3. Seems some fake info has been spreading about a “SEGA Vintage Collection” for XBox Live Arcade, but alas, SEGA says no deal.
4. Looks like The Sci-Fi Channel is looking to compete with Adult Swim by offering anime.
5. I still need to see the third, so I have no idea if this is good or bad. And even then, the franchise is in new hands. But regardless, three new Terminators seem to be on the way.
6. Napoleon Dynamite.

   On PSP.

   And it’s not the movie, either.

   I hope it’s interesting. Or at least, if it’s bad, make it an oldschool kind of bad, with a 2-D platformer featuring all manner of elements that make you say “WTF” and wonder what any of it has to do with the movie.

   Whoops, it’s on DS, too.

7. Namco has announced Soul Calibur Legends for the Wii, which will not be a fighter, but an action-adventure title that uses the Wii remote for sword-based combat.

   And Go Nintendo has some artwork as well.

   Me, I still need to get a copy of Soul Calibur 2.

8. Damn, Nintendo. Mortal Kombat Armageddon won’t have online?

   This can’t be helping that notion that third parties have a harder time competing against Nintendo’s homegrown wares…

9. Finally, something to show for DK: King of Swing 2.

   Glad to see K. Rool is back.

10. DOA movie thankfully still DOA.
11. Some club-joining today.

    First, UK joins the “it could only happen in America” club with a teen being shot for a game system.

    Simultaneously, XBox 360 joins the club for “systems people get shot for.”

12. And Nintendo of Europe joins the “things you should think but probably not say” club, of which Sony is so often a crown member. And I guess which Microsoft joined yesterday with Peter Moore’s bit on defective system stats.

    What does this mean? They’re all screw-ups, I guess. Doesn’t mean we can’t still enjoy what they get right, though.

13. Fourteen thousand dollars raised for a crippled classmate by a video game fundraiser at a Wisconsin High School.

    Maybe Cracker Jack ought to read about this. You know, so he can go on Fox and demonize them before the nation.

    In all seriousness, this rocks; it’s very impressive, and is a good note to end the day on.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. Wal-Mart is getting an exclusive TransFormers 2-pack featuring Movie Bumblebee and Barricade, and you’ll save a few bucks buying them that way as well. Plus, Allspark has a review of Bumblebee, in case you’re wondering how he is.

   Not much else happening, though some information has come out regarding the next cartoon, and BWTF.com has a review of Movie Jazz.

2. Funny, just the past Sunday, my brother-in-law and I were discussing movies, including TV shows that have been adapted, and we were a little surprised that after two Flintstones and two Scooby-Doo movies, that The Jetsons remained untouched.

   Oops.

   I must admit, though, the Jetson-ized view of the future is… well, let’s face it, a bit cheesey. Perhaps even “lame” in that it pretty boils down to little more than moving walkways and everything having arms. But that’s what makes this such a curious concept to me; going to live-action, there are only so many ways you can expect something like The Flintstones, Scooby-Doo, or others to go. But The Jetsons? It seems there’s a lot more potential going on there for it to be given a more contemporary makeover without necessarily losing the essence of what makes it what it is.

   On a related note, we also discussed how it’s probably only a matter of time before Saved By The Bell gets a big-screen treatment. We think something like The Brady Bunch Movie might be sort of ideal, with the kids timelocked in the early 90s while the rest of the world is in… I don’t know, 2010 or whatever.

3. Go Nintendo reports that EB Games has a pretty nifty Wii bundle up for sale.

   The contents look good, but I can’t speak for the price. Not to say that it’s bad, I just haven’t calculated everything to see if there’s a true “value” to the deal.

4. Go Nintendo confirms the ongoing news regarding Nintendo moving portions of their business out of Redmond. But only about 80 people from sales, marketing, and advertising.

   Strikes me as a less-than-stellar idea. Having them right there in the thick of things seemed ideal. Less mix-ups and the like.

5. WHY.

   WON’T.

   THIS.

   GUY.*

   STOP?!?

   Every time I think this idiot has hit rock-bottom, SOMEONE has to throw him a shovel!

   * …what, you think I’d call him a man? Get real.

6. So the latest from the Land O’ Gates is that Peter Moore is ducking questions about the XBox 360′s failure rate, and instead trying to tout their customer service, which as has been covered by Go Nintendo, isn’t batting a thousand, either.
7. Touching is good.

   Unless you’re a witch.

   And I guess even if you’re not.

8. So, as reported yesterday, Nintendo’s Wii site is offering preview videos of Virtual Console games.

   That’s good.

   But, you can’t view them on the Wii Opera browser.

   That’s bad.

   Um, I really don’t have anything else to pad out that sequence from The Simpsons. So we’ll just move on…

9. Assuming your 360 isn’t a member of Club Old’n Busted, then good news tomorrow on the arcade front as you’ll be able to Double your Dragons, and double your fun.

   And, there are six more games announced that are on the way, including Rush’n Attack, which in conversations as a child I mistook as RUSSIAN Attack.

10. For those who do more than just a little web surfing on their Wii, good news is that Google has released a special RSS feed reader for the Wii browser.
11. Spider-man 3: The Game only just came out, to a lukewarm reception no less, and already Activision is hyping the next.

    Friend or Foe? How about “Good or Bad?”

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

Sorry for the slapped-together update, I have to go downstairs and wait for the UPS guy, and I want to finish before he gets here. A late start hasn’t helped matters much, either.

1. TransFormers!

   Movie Prime is keeping his fish lips, Remy has galleries of protoform Optimus Prime and Alternator Rumble, the Allspark itself has galleries of Movie Bumblebee and Optimus, a new trailer for the movie is coming with Pirates of the Carribbean 3, and online before that, Cyber-Stompin’ Bumblebee and Optimus Prime are here, British actor Mark Ryan will be Ironhide and Hoist (the latter in the game only), and you can win a private screening of the movie.

   The main item that caught my eye today, however, is the TransFormers The Game: Cybertron Edition, exclusive to the XBox 360.

   This edition features the four issues of the prequel comic by IDW, behind-the-scenes content, and special packaging, but perhaps the most noteworthy addition is two exclusive unlockable Cybertron levels (one for Autobots, the other for Decepticons).

   It’s nothing new for a system to have exclusive content, though I wonder how good an idea that is. Lately, though, it feels more prominent, or maybe it’s just movie games. I see no reason that the Wii version of Spider-man 3 couldn’t have featured the New Goblin levels that use the SixAxis controller. Then again, maybe that mode uses all the SixAxis buttons, as well.

   It feels weird to say that I’m “stuck with” a Wii when it comes to this game and its version. The two levels aren’t enough to make me want to drop $500 for a new system, that’s for sure, and it’s hardly anything to really make such a decision around. At the same time, it feels like I’m still losing a little something, and I can’t help but ask “why?”

   Speaking of the games, Go Nintendo has pictures of the box art. Reminds me of something, but I can’t quite figure what…

   Over at BWTF.com, Ben has reviews up for BotCon Rhinox, Real Gear Spy Shot 6 and Longview, Movie Optimus, and Classics Grimlock.

2. Another week, another Virtual Console update.

   This week on the menu, we have the NES title Mighty Bomb Jack, Super NES’s Final Fight, and Ordyne rounds things out on TurboGrafx-16.

   Toasty the Frog is not amused.

   On a related note, sounds like we might soon be able to get 30-second video demos of the games available before downloading them.

3. …what the hell?

   Europe is only now getting Metroid Prime Pinball?

   Yeesh.

4. Rare seems to think that Goldeneye on the Virtual Console “is possible.”

   But enough about that, where’s Battletoads Arcade?

5. And so Shigeru Miyamoto made it in Time, and Go Nintendo has scans.
6. Speaking of which, he also could’ve made Halo. He just didn’t want to.

   I could have wanted to make Halo, I just don’t know how.

   He and I would make a great team that does absolutely nothing. And that’s how we likes it.

   And, as Kotaku puts it, has Zelda jumped the shark?

   Maybe not, as Peter Molyneux of Lionhead Studios picked it as his “Desert Island game” in 1up’s latest feature.

7. Eight years in the making, the sequel to the classic Atari 5200 game Adventure is complete.

   Long live The Square.

8. More on the XBox Live Marketplace crackdown.

   Long story short, if you’re not in the US and the Marketplace downloads were a major draw for you, stop and reconsider.

   God, the principle of this just pisses me off. This is the first time I’ve ever really heard of anything actively affecting Canadian gaming in a way that differentiates it from America.

   Well, besides French-fried instruction books and cases.

   I wish they’d just provide the content in its respective region; it seems more like a consumer choice if they’re going outside their boundaries to shop. This is sort of like saying if you go to Europe and buy something, you can’t bring it back with you…

   …which is sort of like what those idiotic region codes do.

   Which is all good and fine, until one region gets something the others don’t. Then they step in and tell you that not only is your region not getting it, but that effectively you CAN’T get it, even if you cross the boundaries.

   I’ve always found it annoying as piss, but been somewhat grateful it stops at the level it does. Can you imagine (despite the logistical nightmare of implementation) if these boundaries were placed on states?

   “Sorry, that’s a California-region DVD, you can’t play it on your North Carolina-region player.”

   Same thing, just on a different scale.

   I’ve been annoyed by seeing there’s something neat on the Cartoon Network or MTV or whatever website, to click over and be told I can’t see it because I’m not in the US.

   W. T. F.

   I just really, really hate being told I can’t watch something, for no better reason than what basically amounts to “because we don’t want you to.” If there were alternative ways for me to see it, then that’d be one thing.

   This is why fansubbing is such a big thing for fans of anime and such. Probably a lot of internet “piracy” in general.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. Just a reminder, today is Free Comic Book Day! Check the site if you don’t know the location of a participating dealer near you, and while you’re there, see what offerings are up for grabs.

   Odds are that if you’re even here reading this, there’s probably something you’d like.

2. The Allspark has a few TransFormers items today. New movie stills, a sneak review of the Leader-Class Movie Optimus Prime figure, an interview with the TransFormers The Game mobile phone publisher, some pics of Movie Scorponok and Blackout combined, and info on a new trailer to be shown with Pirates of the Carribbean 3.

   IGN has Micahel Bay talking a little about the movie as well.

3. As regards Castlevania: Dracula’s Curse, writer Warren Ellis has a few more things to say.
4. Video games… controlled… by bra and panties?

   What can you really say?

5. Ok, so instead of Nintendo of America as a whole moving, it looks like it may just be their sales and marketing team.

   And so my dream persists.

6. Nintendo’s battles against pirates continues.

   They’re missing the obvious solution, though.

   Clearly, the best way to fight software pirates is with software ninjas. And this is Nintendo, dammit, they’re kings in the land from which ninjas came! They even share the first syllable!

   It’d be a battle for the ages, no doubt.

7. $29.99 for Resident Evil 4 for Wii?

   Not bad.

8. And Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga for Wii as well? If it gives you “classic” control options, that’d be beyond awesome, especially since I never was able to buy either one before.
9. Looks like the Humane Society in Seattle is holding a Guitar Hero benefit, hoping to raise $5000.

   Joystiq thinks we can blow that number out of the water, and I do to. So if you’re over 21 and in the area, give it a go!

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. Slow news with TransFormers today, just three things:

   BotCon Dreadwind revealed!

   HBO TransFormers The Movie preview on June 27th!

   And it’s been nominated for an award, already?!

   And supposing that IGN isn’t your cup of tea, GameTrailers has the… er, trailer for TransFormers The Game, in standard and HD.

2. Evil Avatar reports that Commodore 64 title Impossible Mission will be coming to the Wii Shop Channel, but not the Virtual Console proper.

   I seem to recall seeing this title in Nintendo Power many years ago, mistakenly thinking it had something to do with another similarly-named TV show…

3. Success!

   Miyamoto is on the Time 100!

   It does sort of leave the question of where peoples’ priorities are, however.

4. In order to promote the upcoming Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer (man, who had the bright idea to use a numeric “4″?), Fox is going to be providing promotional literature for Free Comic Book Day, in the form of– what else? –comic books.
5. So the UK has this rather nice gaming magazine known as Edge. You might have seen it at your local newsstand or bookstore, imported at a hefty price.

   Well, good news comes from Next Generation, as they will be the official online host of Edge’s printed content.

6. Like Nintendo?

   Like Coke?

   Well, then you’re like me.

   Live in the UK?

   Alright, that’s where we differ, and where the advantage lies for you if you’d like to win one of ten “Ultimate Wii Games Rooms.

   The prize includes a Wii, Wii Sports, a Samsung 26? LCD TV, a mini fridge and a case of ?Fanta?, ?Sprite? and ?Dr Pepper?. The contest kicks off May 14th and will continue through July. Expect for this to be a massive campaign with print ads, TV spots, online promos and more.

   …strange, though. It’s normally Pepsi who teams with Nintendo…

7. Turns out that Super Mario Strikers Charged is online playable worldwide; the problem is, you’re more likely to suffer lag the further out you go, apparently.
8. I normally don’t report on rumors, but this one’s a bit juicy to pass up: Nintendo of America, moving?

   I’d be disappointed in one respect, because Redmond always looked nice to me, and seemed like a good place to visit if I ever wanted to see Nintendo for myself.

9. Microsoft is cracking down on XBox Live accounts that venture outside of a user’s region.

   Kotaku has a few cracks of their own about a better way to handle the problem.

10. Finally, Double Dragon hits Live next week.

    Wait, what am I saying “finally” for, I still can’t play it. Damn!

    At least it’ll be waiting for when I can… I guess…

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

Sorry if the update seems a little lacking in energy tonight, I was busy for most of the evening putting together a rather massive post at scans_daily, which you can read more about in the first item of “Points of Interest.”

1. TransFormers!

   The Allspark has gotten wind of some new recolors for the movie, featuring Starscream and Ratchet in more “traditional” colors for their characters. In addition, there are auctions on eBay that show off the 3″ Titanium figures, and new pics of the cute-ified Cybertronians of TransFormers: Heroes.

   Over at Action-Figure, Nomad gets up-close with the Leader-Class Optimus Prime Movie figure.

   In game news, IGN has a new trailer, while The Allspark has an exclusive preview of their own.

   Finally, around 20 rather questionable auctions popped up earlier today on eBay, showing off a mysterious new Alpha Trion toy, a remold of Vector Prime and possibly a BotCon/Club exclusive.

   Man, that last one really makes me wish I could go to BotCon… or at least afford Club membership.

2. Newsarama has an enticing look at the upcoming Iron Man movie’s armored costume for Tony Stark, and it looks slick.
3. Who will be the next Captain America? Newsarama offers a tease from the upcoming Fallen Son: Death of Captain America – Captain America one-shot.
4. “Build-an-Ogre?”

   The Build-a-Bear Workshop is adding Shrek toys to their lineup.

5. Today, Warren Ellis explains the lack of Grant in the forthcoming animated Castlevania: Dracula’s Curse movie.

   On a related note, new pics of the Castlevania figures have surfaced, now showing off Alucard and Succubus.

6. GameSpot says to expect Ninja Gaiden (E) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game (E10+) for the Wii Virtual Console.

   I say, “how in God’s name did Turtles II wind up with a more mature rating than Ninja Gaiden?!”

7. Making Counterstrike maps based on your school = bad idea.

   But you probably already knew that, didn’t you?

8. Joystiq does the right thing, and apologizes to David Jaffe.

   Huh, I thought he was talking about someone else.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

Wow, slow day today. Oh well, just gives me more time for Super Paper Mario. Does anyone want to see me review that?

1. TransFormers!

   Chevrolet gets in on the fun by letting you design your own Autobot on their website.

   Some new art has surfaced from the upcoming TransFormers/New Avengers crossover, and it’s looking nice. Can’t wait to see how this pans out.

   George Lucas was scheduled as a guest for Late Night with Conan O’Brien, the host of which made his way out to Industrial Light & Magic to check some stuff out, including new TransFormers movie footage.

   Speaking of the movie, if mobile phone games are your thing, here are some shots of the TransFormers: The Movie celphone game.

   And finally, TransFormersClub.com has provided a five-page preview of the upcoming TransFormers: Timelines Summer Special comic, featuring the Classics line. Scan size could’ve been a little better, reading is kind of tough.

2. A new piece of info about Castlevania: Dracula’s Curse presents a question.

   Yes, Mr. Ellis. Yes you are.

3. Free GameTap?

   They seem to think ads will cover the cost of people playing.

   It’ll at least get me to give the service a look, with the likes of Tomb Raider: Anniversary and SEGA Saturn games on there.

4. Go Nintendo updates us on the story of Miyamoto being on the Time 100: he’s #7.
5. David Jaffe isn’t just Calling All Cars, but it seems he’s dialed for a “waaaaaaaahmbulance” as well.

   Ok, so he takes his game reviews very, very personally, but is that a bad thing? I think it’d be more interesting if more spurned developers told reviewers to go crawl back between their momma’s legs.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. Wow, I missed all the fun this weekend.

   Basically, to make a long story short, UK’s The Daily Mail reported that Sony’s UK magazine published a story detailing a press event launch for God of War II that invited press to eat entrails from within a decapitated goat.

   You can just guess the reaction.

   Well, going by IGN and Joystiq’s stories, perhaps it’s not quite as bad as we’d initially been lead to believe.

   And let me just say, “GOD, I should HOPE not.”

2. The Official TMNT Web Site has reported the following good news for fans of Usagi Yojimbo:

   Jeff sent in this report:

   In the forum on usagiyojimbo.com, creator Stan Sakai states: “Space Usagi (and Rhogen) will be in a couple of episodes of next season’s TMNT cartoon. I just received one of the script outlines this past week, and it’s wonderful – lots of action, but still time for character and relationship development.”

   After contacting them for confirmation, it seems that 4Kids has ordered 10 more episodes of the Fast Forward iteration of the show, so it’s possible that this could be a part of that.

3. TransFormers news from The Allspark!

   It looks like the Alternators line isn’t over just yet; Rodimus is on the way, with a new paint job, but lacking his KiSS Play accessories. So a little win, a little loseWeight Exercise.

   Unfortunately, no confirmation as to how this figure will be made available, though SDCC is the common theory.

   It sounds like CostCo is looking to offer Leader-Class Movie Optimus with a Legends of Cybertron figure for a little bit of a better value.

   Speaking of the movie, looks like Goo Goo Dolls are on the soundtrack.

   Some of you may have owned a special Optimus Prime as a youth, one who seemed to be an avid sponsor of Pepsi. Now, word is that he may get another run, though details are sparce.

   Longtime TransFormers scribe Simon Furman answers a few questions over at the IDW forums.

   And finally, yet another BotCon exclusive has come to light, in the form of the Renegade-turned-Decepticon named Bug Bite!

4. A little update from the Castlevania: Dracula’s Curse movie blog, letting us know that the good Mr. Ellis is in fact not dead, and a little background on the man for those who don’t know, as well as the rather canon-sounding approach this film will be taking.

   “The film is, of course, set in Wallachia in 1476. We?ve worked with Koji Igarashi to get the film solidly inside the Castlevania timeline, and he?s approved everything I came up with, including some new embroidering to the timeline. To make it work as a film, I had to introduce new backstory, and I went through five drafts of the premise and three of the full outline to get the material where IGA wanted it. He remains absolutely passionate about Castlevania. After eight rewrites of pre-production material, I remain absolutely passionate about beating the crap out of IGA in a dark alleyway one day.”

   I eagerly await this one. And hope the alleyway is a bonus on the DVD.

5. Virtual Console brings three new games to Wiis around the country in the form of Castlevania for the NES, The Legend of the Mystical Ninja for the SNES, and Shockman for the TG-16.

   In addition, there was an update slipped out a few days ago for Star Fox 64, but no one knows what it does. In fact, one person has claimed that it actually puts slowdown from the N64 version back into the game, though that’s been unsubstantiated elsewhere.

6. The analytical firm of P, M, and O says that they are starting to really not care what analysts say.

   Your thoughts?

7. Ok. So when Microsoft announced the XBox 360 Elite, I’m sure some of us thought that MAYBE this thing wouldn’t have the problems that plagued the other iterations of the system.

   Oh well.

8. From IGN, Burnout 5 is indeed looking like a Paradise.

   I hope to get a chance to play it, though I’m not adverse to a Wii Burnout…

9. Looks like plans for a movie based on the manga Battle Royale may see some changes in light of the V. Tech shootings.
10. And here I’d thought Sony had forgotten all about their beloved character Parappa the Rapper.

    As it’s being made for the PSP, makes you wonder if it’s not a sort of quick-counter to Nintendo’s Elite Beat Agents/Ouendan properties.

11. Kutaragi may not be King of the Hill for Sony Computer Entertainment, but he’s not out of the picture yet, either. He’s already mapping out the plans for PlayStations 4, 5, and 6.
12. Over on Nintendo’s front, it sounds like they have a number of big releases planned for 2007.

    …Super Mario Galaxy, Project H.A.M.M.E.R., Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Disaster: Day of Crisis, Mario & Sonic, Super Smash Bros. Brawl…

    With those alone, I need more money.

13. Hmm, this strays a little from the norm, but is worth mentioning for at least one reader I know of.

    Looks like George Lucas is making documentaries for the History Channel that have been inspired by Young Indiana Jones, which will itself be coming to DVD with the documentaries included.

14. Well, hell.

    If you have SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS, maybe you ought to look at this.

    Hopefully, they’ll do the right thing.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. PMO’s coverage is More Than Meets The Eye with news from The Allspark on those Robots In Disguise!

   If you’re planning to go to BotCon, it may be to your benefit to know that 75% of the toy boxsets are sold, while a fourth hotel has been secured for accomodations.

   TransFormers.com has apparently been given a overhaul to reflect the upcoming movie, as well as showing off the new toys, including the first look at the deluxe Dreadwing figure.

   As for the movie itself, it seems to be receiving positive numbers from test screenings, which “blew Armageddon away”. Additionally, Ain’t It Cool News has the first review online, which has spoilers, but according to The Allspark, you’ll know when they’re coming before you run into them.

   And finally, the game for the movie has finally launched its website, while elsewhere, GamePro offers a preview.

2. Newsarama has some new info about Adult Swim, including its move up to seven nights a week. It also has a truly adorable Robot Chicken plush that I want to sit above my monitor.

   Other tidbits reveal that the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie was extremely profitable, and will be returning along with other shows and new programming.

   Most interesting is that the next season of Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law is reported to be its last. What makes this interesting is the impending PS2 game from Capcom… it would kind of suck to have a game released with no show to tie it into.

3. I don’t know what’s cooler, GI Joe 5-packs, a musical logo, or Pimp-Daddy Destro.
4. Great Googly-Moogly! Bloomberg is saying that Nintendo has 45 Wii and 79 DS titles in development.

   That’s a lot of waving and touching.

   GameSpot reports that “According to the Bloomberg news service, Iwata said the next batch of first-party games is due out at the end of summer–and just before one of the more crowded fourth-quarter release slates in years. No specific titles were mentioned as being part of the batch.”

   Go Nintendo has other notes from Iwata’s address.

5. Looking to upgrade to a 360 Elite? Worried about losing your hard-earned data?

   Worry not, for there are answers.

6. Nintendo has purchased a majority share in Monolith Soft, developer of Baten-Kaitos, though Namco-Bandai retains 16 percent.

   Not much else to say there, really, though some expect the Wii to perhaps gain more in the way of RPG offerings as a result.

   Oh, one other thing revealed from onNintendo is that they’re the ones who are developing Disaster: Day of Crisis for the Wii, a game I can’t wait to see more of.

7. May’s Virtual Console selection from Hudson.

   While there are some games that we just can’t wait to appear on Virtual Console, one has to appreciate the dedication to the relatively obscure stuff as well. I mean, in a way, it’s almost like getting all-new games for many.

8. Go Nintendo has been nice enough to post this “launch schedule of primary Nintendo products by region.”
9. Yes, there’s going to be some Gyakuten Saiban special on TV, but I really don’t care unless someone does us the courtesy of subbing it and putting it somewhere like YouTube.

   Hint hint.

10. Deaf gamers: the saga continues.

    I am in agreement, though, that game developers ought to keep such things in mind. Maybe there could be some sort of symbol among the rest on the package that indicates a game features no “sensitive” segments where hearing is required?

–LBD “Nytetrayn”