Japanese Gaming Store Pics Galore!

I’m afraid to say it, but honestly, Japan is gaming’s motherland. The origins of the great games we see today started from deep within the Land of the Rising Sun. Gaming legends, such as Nintendo’s very own Shigeru Miyamoto, appeared from nowhere to dominate and shape the gaming world with great franchises like Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, Star Fox, Ice climbers, Wave Race, and well, basically every other first-party title ever created in the history of Nintendo. And while some hardcore gamers may disagree with this, the truth is that without Japanese developers (like Miyamoto) making our hobby what it is, our very own gaming community would be pretty dull. Mario, the mascot of gaming, and an inspiration to developers around the world, would not be here if it weren’t for Miyamoto. The Legend of Zelda franchise that every Nintendo fanboy has fallen in love with, would not be here without Miyamoto. But I’m not here praise all of Japan’s (or Miyamoto’s) accomplishments, I’m just here to show you some pictures of a Japanese gaming store.

Yes, pretty boring, I know. Especially after I just made Japan sound like the best thing since toilet paper. But I was just going with my parents to buy a microwave, and we stumbled upon this huge electronics store (which surprised me that there was one so big on the minuscule island of Okinawa, Japan.) But anyway, I am just going to share these with you, and this will probably lead to some good Japanese launch coverage of the next big games (Too bad I already missed smash bros!). Hopefully there is a good community here that will actually wait in line for hours and hours for a big game! Maybe I can interview some with my crappy Japanese skillz…

But anyways, enjoy!

(click picture to enlarge)

(wtf?)

(mmmm Wiiiii)

(Mario Kart? Nice!)

Well, there you go. Nothing special, but watch out for whatever the next big launch is because My Wii News is going to try to give some Japanese launch coverage! Stay tuned.

Online Details for Mario Kart Wii

Nintendo’s Mario Kart series is known for its action packed gameplay and awesome split-screen multiplayer. While Mario Kart DS made a decent online debut, Mario Kart Wii will be the first game in the series that includes online on a home console. So far, it seems like Nintendo is really pushing Mario Kart’s online potential!

Nintendo previously announced that Mario Kart Wii will use a “Mario Kart Channel” which will be accessible even while Mario Kart is not in the Disk Drive. You will be able to use this channel to view and download ghost data from any Mario Kart Player around the world.

The Channel also let’s you register your friends, and although they are still using friend codes, you will be able see your friends online status! This is a huge step for Nintendo’s rather protective online program.

The Channel even allows you to view the current rankings and competition around the world. Competitions are challenges that Nintendo will invite people to on a regular basis, similar to the challenges featured on Mario Kart DS.

Although voice chat would be nice and we could do without the friend-codes, it looks like Nintendo’s online interface is looking up!

No Voice Chat for Mario Kart Wii!

Well, it looks like its official… (though I hope its not) Mario Kart Wii will not feature voice chat this time around.

Instead, we can use text chat… Text Chat?!? For a racing game!?!

Here’s how it’s going to work, players can create rooms for your friends to join, which means you must add all your friends with those annoying friend codes, and while in those rooms you can chat with your friends while waiting for matches. It is very likely that you will be able use a USB keyboard though, which is pretty cool, but still nothing compared to voice chat. I guess Nintendo still has not learned. Please Nintendo, please change your mind!

How do you feel about this? Leave a comment below and tell us.