The Japanese firm cut its sales forecast of the Wii for the year to 10 million from 12 million and now reckons it will sell 14 million 3DS devices instead of 16 million – despite a “significant price revision” in August intending to shift more of the handhelds. ”We had higher expectations for the year-end season, but failed to meet them,” President Satoru Iwata told media in Osaka.

The Japanese firm’s net income for the October to December period was ¥21.9bn (£179.9m).

However, the company that brought the world the Super Mario brothers is not planning to be left behind for long. Iwata said that the new version of its Wii, the Wii U, would be going on sale in Japan, the US, Europe and Australia in the year end season.

Nintendo will be hoping that the U can raise its flagging fortunes, but the console won’t be able to do anything about the strong yen or consumer reluctance to shop in the face of a possible double-dip recession. The firm is also facing competition in new places, such as fondleslab and smartphone gaming.

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The latest addition to the Mario Party series encourages you to think one step ahead of your opponents to collect the most Mini Stars and defeat Bowser. Bowser and his buddies have stolen all the Mini Stars in the sky and it is up to you to achieve the ultimate goal of winning them all back, in order to become the Super Star.

Party Adventure is a new board game mode which allows four people to move through the board in one vehicle. Players take turns as Captain of the vehicle by hitting Dice Blocks to move the party forward, hoping to land on lucky spaces. The vehicles also help to streamline game play and keep everyone involved in the action. New strategies include find the best routes and positions during your turn, while also pushing your opponents into trickier spots. This game mode challenges you to work with and against your rivals to compete in exciting Minigames to get the stolen Mini Stars back from Bowser and restore the shimmering night sky.

Mario Party 9 includes 80 brand new Minigames, accessible to all Mario fans and which will find players making pizzas, escaping haunted mansions, and even racing snowmobiles. When playing on a board, the type of space the vehicle lands on determines what type of Minigame is played.

Boss Battle is a brand new Minigame where up to four players must put their differences aside and combine their powers to defeat a series of classic Mario boss characters to collect Mini Stars, leading to a final showdown with Mario’s ultimate nemesis, Bowser. Don’t be fooled into thinking this is a team game though, while you may need to work together to defeat the bosses, you will win Mini Stars depending on your ranking and the amount of damage you have dealt to each boss. Deliver the final blow for a bonus that increases your chances to win.

New Mini game modes also allow you to play Mini games without having to complete a board, ensuring you can always enjoy the action, as and when, you like. You and up to three of your friends and family can hone your skills at any Mini game in Free Play mode, or try the Extras mode that includes Goomba Bowling and the puzzle-based Castle Clearout.

Mario Party 9 features an array of your favourite Mario characters from the Mushroom Kingdom, as well as introducing a few characters which are completely new to the Mario Party series. Choose your favourite and keep the rivalry between you and your friends alive as in Mario Party 9 you don’t have to play against the computer in multiplayer – in the board game or the Minigames – and choose to play with up to three of your friends.

Mario Party 9 launches UK/Europe on 2nd March 2012 only on Wii.

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In 2011, Ubisoft’s Just Dance franchise came to the Kinect™ for Xbox 360 and the PlayStation Move for PlayStation 3 for the first time, in addition to its continued availability on the Wii system from Nintendo. Ubisoft recently broadened the brand with the release of Just Dance 2 Extra Songs and Just Dance Kids, they also launched Just Dance in Japan and Korea, selling more than a half a million copies in those two countries.

Ubisoft also expanded its dance game offerings throughout the year with the release of ABBA: You Can Dance, The Black Eyed Peas Experience, Michael Jackson The Experience, and most recently The Smurfs Dance Party. According to internal estimates Ubisoft games accounted for 64 percent of the dance game genre in EMEA in calendar year 2011.

Geoffroy Sardin, chief EMEA sales and marketing officer at Ubisoft stated:

“The Just Dance franchise continues to be first choice for customers around the world looking for games that let them dance and get the party started in their living rooms.”
“Our diverse dance game offerings ensure that everyone can find an accessible and enjoyable title regardless of platform, and that we have a broad base upon which to bring new ideas and titles in the years to come.”

Have you ever played any of the Just Dance titles?

If so what are your thoughts and what would you like to see happen with these type of games?

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Follow these steps to access the Netflix on your Wii.

• 1st off you need to simply visit the Wii Shop Channel.
• Select the “Wii Channels” from the main menu.
• Choose “Netflix Instant Streaming for Wii.
• Select “Free 0 Wii Points”, you will begin the download. Once Netflix Instant Streaming for Wii has finished downloading, it will appear on the Wii menu and you can view on your TV.

Dawn Paine, Marketing Director and Assistant General Manager at Nintendo UK, said:

“Netflix has been a partner of Nintendo of America for many years now and we are delighted to be able to extend the service to our fans from UK and Ireland. I for one look forward to be able to view my favourite TV shows and films via my Wii.”

Bill Holmes, vice president of business development at Netflix, said:

“We’re thrilled that Netflix is now available on Wii in the UK and Ireland coinciding with our launch,”

“The Wii has been among the most popular devices used by Netflix members to enjoy unlimited TV shows and movies streaming over the Internet from Netflix on their TVs. We expect the Wii will be one of the most used devices to enjoy Netflix in the UK and Ireland and are delighted to offer this additional value to Wii users.”

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Both Portal 2 and Skyrim were nominated for Game Of The Year as one of their nods. The other Game Of The Year nominees are Rocksteady Studios’s dark superhero game sequel Batman: Arkham City, FromSoftware’s immersive hardcore RPG Dark Souls, and Eidos Montreal’s acclaimed franchise update Deus Ex: Human Revolution, also all multiple award-nominated.

Other titles with multiple nominations include Naughty Dog’s action adventure Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, and Team Bondi’s detective title L.A.Noire. A diverse set of overall nominees include titles with digital-physical crossover (Toys for Bob’s Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure – for Innovation), free-to-play elements to the fore (NimbleBit’s Tiny Tower – for Best Handheld/Mobile Game), and even no visual display at all (Die Gute Fabrik’s Johann Sebastian Joust – for Innovation).

Overall, the Game Developers Choice Awards are open to any video game, with no restrictions or payment for game submission, with open nominations from a plethora of game professionals helping to choose this year’s finalists. Winners will now be selected by the Game Developers Choice Awards-specific International Choice Awards Network (ICAN), which is an invitation-only group comprised of 500 leading game creators from all parts of the video game industry.

The complete list of nominees for the 12th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards are as follows:

Best Game Design
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios)
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Nintendo)
Portal 2 (Valve)
Batman: Arkham City (Rocksteady Studios)
Dark Souls (FromSoftware)

Innovation
Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure (Toys For Bob)
Portal 2 (Valve)
Bastion (Supergiant Games)
Johann Sebastian Joust (Die Gute Fabrik)
L.A. Noire (Team Bondi)

Best Technology
Battlefield 3 (DICE)
L.A. Noire (Team Bondi)
Crysis 2 (Crytek Frankfurt/UK)
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios)
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (Naughty Dog)

Best Handheld/Mobile Game
Tiny Tower (NimbleBit)
Super Mario 3D Land (Nintendo)
Jetpack Joyride (Halfbrick)
Infinity Blade II (Chair Entertainment)
Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP (Capy Games/Superbrothers)

Best Audio
Bastion (Supergiant Games)
LittleBigPlanet 2 (Media Molecule)
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios)
Dead Space 2 (Visceral Games)
Portal 2 (Valve)

Best Downloadable Game
Stacking (Double Fine)
From Dust (Ubisoft Montpellier)
Bastion (Supergiant Games)
Outland (Housemarque)
Frozen Synapse (Mode 7)

Best Narrative
Portal 2 (Valve)
The Witcher 2 (CD Projekt RED)
Bastion (Supergiant Games)
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (Naughty Dog)
Saints Row: The Third (Volition)

Best Debut 
Supergiant Games (Bastion)
Team Bondi (L.A. Noire)
Re-Logic (Terraria)
BioWare Austin (Star Wars: The Old Republic)
Eidos Montreal (Deus Ex: Human Revolution)

Best Visual Arts
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (Naughty Dog)
Rayman Origins (Ubisoft Montpellier)
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios)
El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron (Ignition Japan)
Battlefield 3 (DICE)

Game of the Year
Batman: Arkham City (Rocksteady Studios)
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios)
Portal 2 (Valve)
Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Eidos Montreal)
Dark Souls (FromSoftware)

In addition to the awards for individual games, the Game Developers Choice Awards committee will be announcing its Special Award recipients in the near future, including honorees for the Pioneer, Ambassador and Lifetime Achievement Special Awards – as well as revealing the identity of this year’s Game Developers Choice Awards host.

Winners in all major categories will be honored at the Game Developers Choice Awards show, attended by more than 3,000 of the world’s leading video game developers, and taking place Wednesday, March 7th at 6:30 pm at the Moscone Convention Center during the 2012 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.

In 2010, the Game Developers Choice Awards added a sister ceremony, the Game Developers Choice Online Awards which honors online and connected games, held during Austin’s GDC Online . Highlights from the 2011 ceremony, which awarded Trion Worlds’ Rift as Best New Online Game and Mojang’s Minecraft as Best Live Game, will be shown during the main Choice Awards ceremony in March.

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It has a new controller which is approximately 5.3 inches high, 0.9 inches deep (not including buttons and other projections) and 9.0 inches long. The new controller incorporates a 6.2-inch, 16:9touch screen and traditional button controls, including two analog Circle Pads. This combination removes the traditional barriers between games, players and the TV by creating a second window into the video game world. The rechargeable controller includes a Power button, Home button, +Control Pad, A/B/X/Y buttons, L/R buttons and ZL/ZR buttons. It includes a built-in accelerometer and gyroscope, rumble feature, camera, a microphone, stereo speakers, a sensor strip and a stylus.


For storage the console will have internal flash memory, as well as the option to expand its memory using either an SD memory card or an external USB hard disk drive.Also up to four Wii Remote (or Wii Remote Plus) controllers can be connected at once. The new console supports all Wii controllers and input devices, including the Nunchuk controller, Classic Controller, Classic Controller Pro and Wii Balance Board. Four USB 2.0 connector slots are included. The new console is backward compatible with Wii games and Wii accessories.

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Four Categories were voted for by the viewers these were:

• Character of the Year
  The Joker – Batman: Arkham City
• Most Anticipated Game
  Mass Effect 3
• Trailer of the Year
  Assassins Creed Revelations
• NFL Blitz Cover Star
  Ray Rice

The main list of awards and winners are as follows:

• Game of the Year –  The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
• Studio of the Year – Bethesda Game Studios
• Best Xbox 360 Game – Batman: Arkham City
• Best PS3 Game – Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
• Best Wii Game – The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
• Best PC Game – Portal 2
• Best Handheld/Mobile Game – Super Mario 3D Land
• Best Shooter – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
• Best Action Adventure Game – Batman: Arkham City
• Best RPG – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
• Best Multiplayer – Portal 2
• Best Individual Sports Game – Fight Night Champion
• Best Team Sports Game – NBA 2K12
• Best Driving Game – Forza Motorsports 4
• Best Fighting Game – Mortal Kombat
• Best Motion Game – The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
• Best Independant Game – Minecraft
• Best Adapted Video Game – Batman: Arkham City
• Best Song in a Game – “Build that Wall (Zia’s Theme)” by Darren Korb
• Best Original Score – Bastion
• Best Graphics – Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
• Best Performance by a Human Male – Stephen Merchant as Wheatley: Portal 2
• Best Performance by a Human Female – Ellen Mclain as Glados: Portal 2
• Best Downloadable Game – Bastion
• Best DLC – Portal 2: Peer Review

Also revealed during the VGA Awards show were some World Premiers. Here are those along with titles so you know what you are watching:

Hitman Absolution
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Tony Hawks Pro Skater
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Tekken Tag Tournament 2
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The Last of Us
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Mass Effect 3
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Command and Conquer: Generals 2
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Rainbow 6 Patriots
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Alan Wake’s American Nightmare World
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The Amazing Spiderman
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Transformers: Fall of Cybertron
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Fortnite
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Diablo III
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BioShock Infinite
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Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
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The Lead Producer of Majesco Entertainment Lisa Roth had this to say on the announcement:

“These talented artists are played across the globe because their songs make people want to get up and dance.”

Zumba® Fitness 2 will feature the hit track “Pause” from international music sensation and Sony Music recording artist Pitbull, whose blended music is a favorite among the Zumba® Fitness community. Additional Zumba® Fitness 2 tracks announced today include an exclusive Zumba remix of “Poison,” the dance hit from former lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls, Nicole Scherzinger, and club favorite “We No Speak Americano” by Yolanda Be Cool & DCup, which has sold more than 1 million copies in the U.S. alone. The new title will also feature more than 30 new sizzling dance tracks from the Zumba® program, many created by Grammy-winning producers. The latest title gets players moving with Zumba creator Beto and international celebrity instructors Tanya Beardsley and Gina Grant as they guide players through exhilarating choreography that spans 20 different international dance styles. For the first time, players can customize their own class with their favorite routines, follow their improvement through an all new Progress tracker and track calories burned. Whether playing in Single Song, Full Class or Zumba Party modes that support up to 4 dancers, players will have a blast with this unique dance fitness experience that shapes, tones and transforms their bodies and makes them forget they’re even exercising.

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