March, 2004

March, 2004

3/29 Update

Classic NES Games Coming to GBA SP!

NINTENDO LAUNCHES CLASSIC NES GAMES FOR GAME BOY ADVANCE SP

The Games are, Like, Way Awesome, and the New Game Boy Advance SP is Bitchin'

REDMOND, Wash., March 29, 2004 - Wait 'til you hear! On June 7, Nintendo is going totally retro with a classic collection of eight Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)® games for the Game Boy® Advance and a tubular new Game Boy® Advance SP that looks like an itty bitty NES console. The '80s were, like, a long time ago. But everything from then is way cool again. Back then, games went from blocky bleeps and bloops to sweet side-scrollers like Super Mario Bros.® And the most excellent NES saved the day for the video game industry. Bonus!

"I mean, Donkey Kong and Pac-Man? These are, like, the best games ever," says Perrin "Mallrat" Kaplan, Nintendo of America's vice president, marketing and corporate affairs. "And if you aren't just dying to get your hands on the gnarly new Classic NES Limited Edition GBA SP, you're a total dweeb."

OK, so let's break it down: The bodacious new Game Boy Advance SP has the same guts and everything as a regular one, but its casing looks just like the NES. And it's still at an MSRP of $99.99. Be sure to get to the mall, like, really early, because it's a "limited edition."

The Classic NES Series, which you totally have to get, includes all the hottest retro games, each one at an MSRP of $19.99. Check it out:

Donkey Kong: The best game featuring a plumber rescuing a princess from a big ape pretty much ever.
Pac-Man: Hel-lo? If you don't know this game then where have you been?
The Legend of Zelda: Dude! How classic can you get? The righteous Link whips Ganon and saves Zelda. Link rules!
Super Mario Bros.: There are pipes and coins and these grody goombas and you just stomp away.
Excitebike: It's a rad motocross racing game that lets you rip around a track and kick up dirt and stuff.
Ice Climber: Like, duh. You climb the ice and whack monsters.
Xevious: Go to space and shoot stuff with your wicked spaceship.
Bomberman: Drop bombs on the baddies.

The worldwide leader and innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its popular home and portable video game systems. Each year, hundreds of all-new titles for the best-selling Game Boy® Advance and Nintendo GameCube™ systems extend Nintendo's vast game library and continue the tradition of delivering a rich, diverse mix of quality video games for players of all ages. Since the release of its first home video game system in 1983, Nintendo has sold more than 1.8 billion video games globally, creating enduring industry icons such as Mario™ and Donkey Kong® and launching popular culture franchise phenomena such as Metroid™, Zelda™ and Pokémon®. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere.

For more information about Nintendo, visit the company's Web site at www.nintendo.com.

Source: Nintendo Media Page

3/25 Update

Zelda Tidbits

The Zelda series has a new producer, Eiji Aonuma, who did some work with Majora's Mask and Wind Waker. Shigery Miyamoto, the creator of the series will still have the final say on anything that has to do with Zelda, however.

Aonuma hinted that Wind Waker II may feature connectivity with the Zelda game for Nintendo DS. He also promised changes in the series, and promised more information would be available at E3 this year

Source: Nintendojo

3/22 Update

Rumor: Wind Waker 2 to be Shown at Pre-E3 Press Conference!

According to some insider sources, Nintendo is planning on showing off Wind Waker 2, Metroid Prime 2, and possibly Mario 128, although that title has not been confirmed yet. Ganon's Tower will have more information as it becomes available.

Source: Nintendojo

3/11 Update

Nintendo DS Specs Revealed?

Rumor: Nintendojo found what may be the specs of the Nintendo DS. Aside from having two screens, it will have the power of a portable N64.

CPU Core

Main Processor: ARM946E-S (67 MHz)
Cache: 8 kilobytes for instructions, 4 kilobytes for data
TCM: 32 kilobytes for instructions, 16 kilobytes for data
Sub Processor: ARM7TDMI (33 MHz)

Memory

Main Memory: 4 megabytes (8 megabytes in the debugger)
ARM9/ARM7 Shared: 38 kilobytes (16 kilobytes x 2)
ARM7 Internal Work RAM: 64 kilobytes
VRAM: 656 kilobytes

LCD

Screen Size: 256 x 192, RGB pixels, two screens
Number of Colors: 262,144 (18-bit color)

2D Graphics Engine (A, B)

Backgrounds: Up to 4 layers
Objects: Up to 128 sprites

3D Graphics Engine

Coordinate Conversion Ability: Up to 4 million vertices/second
Polygon Drawing Ability: Up to 120,000 polygons/second
Pixel Drawing Ability: Up to 30 million pixels/second

Sound

16-channel ADPCM/PCM (Up to 8 channels of PSG can be established)
Microphone Input

Wireless Communication

Original protocol based on IEEE802.11

Input Device

Touch-panel
Digital-pad, A, B, R, L, Start, Select (X and Y are under examination)

Power Control

Can deal with sleep mode (wakeup is possible at a chosen time interval or due to wireless reception), 2D engine, rendering engine, geometry engine, and the LCD's power control.

Source: Nintendojo

3/8 Update

Next Gen Consoles!

Electronics Arts described the next generation of consoles at last week's DICE summit. Needless to say, the next generation of consoles will be very exciting!

100 times the physics of today's games
The ability to model Pixar quality characters, and possibly better by the latter cycles of each console's lifespan (i.e. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within)
Hydrodynamics
Realistic surfaces
Realistic mass and depth perception
High-resolution organics
Realistic eyes, hair, skin, and muscles
Graphics well beyond Doom III
Huge, immersive, living worlds; described as Zelda or Grand Theft Auto on steroids
Highly advanced computer characters, inspired to an extent by Will Wright's Sims games
There will be more awareness, memory, complex motives, higher learning, individualized agents with their own personal goals, and oh so much more

Source: Nintendojo