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In a recent press release, the big N let out some more info regarding their Virtual Console titles and the Wii Channels. Here’s some of what was mentioned in the press release as recorded byMoz La Punk: The Wii Shop Channel serves as Wii’s online storefront, where visitors can redeem Wii Points(TM) to download games or other items. Users need a high-speed Internet connection to access the Wii Shop Channel and choose from at least 12 classic Virtual Console(TM) games that will be ready to play on launch day....

Nintendo surprises (at least me) this week with an original WiiWare title calledYou, Me, and the Cubes(1-2 players, 1,000 Wii Points). The physics-based puzzle/action game where players control Fallos, weird human-like creatures whose point of existence is to balance on a field of 3D cubes. Players “create a pair of Fallos inside” the Wii Remote by shaking it, and then determine the best location to place them on the field in an effort to keep them stable....

Gaming on Nintendo’s portable systems is about to get cheaper. Starting on September 12, the Nintendo DSi will now cost $149.99, with the largerNintendo DSi XLdropping to $169.99. The “why is this thing still available?” model, the Nintendo DS Lite, will cost $129.99. Along with the press release announcing the price drops, Nintendo’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing Cammie Dunaway is quoted as saying something about shoppers wanting “to get the maximum value out of every dollar they spend....

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata responds to N’Gai Croal’s (of Newsweek’sLevel Up) concerns that only half of the Nintendo Wii’s software sales come from third-party developers, saying that while Nintendo first-party sales dominate now, we should look for that to decrease in the future. “I believe that third party publishers kind of look at the software titles that are being sold on Nintendo and they don’t want Nintendo to have more than one-third, otherwise, Nintendo will be too strong....

Overlord IIis my jam, which is why I’m bummed that I can’t get to check it out at E3. Luckily, our man Conrad Zimmerman is on the case, so stay tuned for our first impressions of the game coming soon. Those impressions can be yours to enjoy too, when anOverlord IIdemo makes its arrival. No details have been released yet, outside of a Tweet from theOverlord 2Twitter accountthat says: “I have exciting news for you all soon about theOverlord IIdemo, keep your ears to the ground my budding Overlord’s…”...

These days, the march of new technology is inevitable. Early adopters of the 3DS know that a 3DS Lite is going to be launched one day. We buy Xbox 360s and PS3s knowing that, in a matter of years, hotter, more powerful ones will come. Apple releases an iPhone every two weeks. It wasn’talwayslike that, and we weren’t always so accepting. A Youtube user has uploaded a news report from 1991, where parents are outraged over the release of the Super Nintendo....

When it comes to frivolous and greed-driven lawsuits, few disgust me more than those instigated by patent trolls. People who make vague patents and then sue whenever they can claim infringement should really be lined up and shot, but for now, Microsoft is going tohave to dealwith a group who have repeatedly tried to make money out of online gaming networks. Peter Hochstein and Jeffrey Tenenbaum (pricks) once patented a method of “communicating live while playing the same video game in separate locations” and have been milking their “idea” since 1994....

If you’re not familiar with Red 5 Studios, I can’t say that I blame you.FireFallis the first major project they’veannouncedsince they formed. That’s not to say that they’ve been idle — the game has been in development for nearly 4 years, and they’ve been reaching out in a major recruitment effort for years to draw top-tier talent to their banner. After catching a glimpse of the fruits of Red 5’s labor for the first time at PAX, it’s obvious that there’s no shortage of either talent or ambition behind FireFall....

Hideo Kojima is probably in tears right now. The newest Blu-Ray offering from Pioneer is a monstrous 400 GB disk. It is composed of 16 beautifully blue layers. Previously this feat was unavailable to Pioneer, but apparently lessons learned while making DVDs larger has helped the process. Pioneer had this to say toTechRadarabout the announcement: Since the optical specifications of the objective lens…are the same as those for the existing BD discs, it is possible to maintain compatibility between the new 16-layer optical disc and the BD discs....

Are you interested in 2K Sports’The Bigs 2? Do you live in or around New York City? Do you like winning prizes? If you answered ‘yes’ to those three questions, then I have a proposition for you, my friend. 2K Sports is holding a promotional event forThe Bigs 2at the Nintendo World Store in New York’s Rockefeller Plaza on next Monday, and if you’re good at the game’s Home Run Pinball mode, you can win some pretty kick-ass prizes for your prowess!...

It’s not just your local Walgreens that’s stocked to the gills with Halloween-themed pagan nonsense. Sony has jumped on the spooktacular bandwagonto provideHalloween costumes for PlayStation Home, thatSecond Lifething that nobody with a brain ever uses. Home users can choose from a Weary Wolf, a Franklystines, a Ghosty and a Skellington. A newBurn Zombie Burnspace is also available, and the US version of Home will go one step further, having the undead run rampant about town....

When one thinks of great games on the Nintendo DS, it is hard not to think about any one of theProfessor Laytongames. Level-5’s brilliantly charming and whimsical puzzle-solving adventure series is all but synonymous with the handheld. I recently had the chance to giveProfessor Layton and the Last Specter— the fourth in the series — a go at perhaps one of the most unique preview events I have ever attended. Tucked into a booth at the British pub The House of Shields, I was paired up with a team of fellow gaming journalists to tackle a small handful of puzzles — against the pressure of a clock — in an attempt to win a very coveted golden hat trophy....

It’s hard to imagine that Rare has been around for a quarter of a century, but time catches up with all of us in the end. And time has run out for the old gold “R” which has been the symbol of the company for as long as I can remember them having a logo. Behold the new Rare logo! It’s sleek and sexy and one of four versions that they released today....