Starting this Sunday, the Wii’s price will drop to $199, in response to price cuts by rivals Microsoft and Sony. The Xbox 360 Elite and PS3 prices have both been cut to $299 and Nintendo hopes this latest move will give a boost to Wii sales as we enter this year’s holiday season. Sales of the Wii console in 2009 are down 10% from 2008’s blistering pace and Sony is gaining momentum with their new PS3 pricing.
While the price cuts may help this years sales numbers, it looks as though 2009 will be the first year since 2004 that the gaming industry will see a year-over-year sales decline.
Last Friday marked the start of the second annual Mario Marathon, a multi-day event benefiting Child’s Play Charity, which supports children’s hospitals world wide by donating toys, games and books. Last year, the marathon lasted 57 hours, attracted 100,000 viewers and raised $12,000 for Child’s Play.
Here’s a clip, but if you want to donate this year, don’t delay. The marathon runs through July 15.
Built in “Demo Play” - Coming Soon to a Game Near You
Starting later this year with the release of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, players will be able to pause, let the game take over in order to complete a particularly difficult level, and then resume playing. Insiders are saying that this will “reduce the barrier of entry” and expand game audiences by not having to buy a cheat guide or visit a cheat site.
Last month, USA Today interviewed Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, who confirmed this optional feature called “demo play” (tentative name).
“In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, if a player is experiencing an area of difficulty, this will allow them to clear troubled areas and take over when they’re ready…. And yes, we’re looking into this for future games, too.”
Built in cheats - brilliant or disastrous? Either way, the PS3 and XBox won’t be far behind and that spells trouble for cheat sites.
Mike Smith over at Yahoo Games recently reported that Nintendo has filed for a patent that “hinges on making demonstration videos available to players while they’re playing the game, either as a thumbnail view or a full-screen animation. Players could interrupt the demonstration at any point, taking control back to continue playing without assistance. Think of it as a tutorial guide that lasts throughout the entire game.”
Wow. Real time cheat support without needing to leave the game. Gaming purists may argue this takes away the challenge of it all, but I think most gamers would be thrilled with a clue now and then.
Smith also reports that the patent application “also proposes to let players start playing at any point during a game — a feature that’s in many games already, but typically only unlocked once a player has already completed those levels. Just like skimming a newspaper article for the juicy bits, this would allow players to tackle games, in their entirety, at their own whim.”
Did you wait until the last minute to buy something for that special gamer in your life? Is it snowing/sleeting and you’d rather not venture out? Well, now you may not have to. GameStop has just announced that tomorrow, December 18th, they’ll be offering free 2-day shipping on all orders $39.99 or more exclusively through their affiliate network of sites (My Wii News is an affiliate). Just enter the coupon code: FREESHIP2DAY in the promotional code section of your shopping cart and click “Activate”. Offer expires 10 am December 19th. Just click on the image below to take advantage of the offer.
Mark | September 25, 2009
