Nintendo sent out its release schedule for the first quarter of 2012 today, revealing release dates for the 3DS Circle Pad Pro add-on, Kid Icarus: Uprising, Tales of the Abyss and more.

Interestingly, Nintendo also says that the 3DS Circle Pad Pro will only be sold at GameSpot both at retail and online. Earlier this month, Nintendo announced a similar deal with Xenoblade Chronicles‘ release in North America.

Even if you’re not interested in the Circle Pad, there’s still quite a few titles in store for the Nintendo 3DS – but not so much for the Nintendo Wii and the regular ol’ Nintendo DS. To see the full release calendar, see below.

Nintendo 3DS

• Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 (January)
• Resident Evil: Revelations (February 7)
• Tales of the Abyss (February 14)
• Mario & Sonic at the 2012 London Olympic Games (February 14)
• Tekken 3D Prime Edition (February)
• Nicktoons MLB 3D (March)
• Horses 3D (March 6)
• NCIS The Video Game (March 6)
• Kid Icarus Uprising (March 23)
• Metal Gear Solid 3D Snake Eater (Q1)
• Rayman Origins (Q1)
• CRUSH 3D (Q1)
• Funky Barn (Q1)

Nintendo eShop

• Colors! 3D (Q1)
• VVVVVV (Q1)
• NightSky (Q1)
• Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword (Q1)
• Dillon’s Rolling Western (Q1)
• Kirby’s Block Ball (Q1)
• Mutant Mudds (Q1)
• Fun! Fun! Minigolf TOUCH (Q1)
• Jett Rocket Super Surf (Q1)
• Mighty Switch Force (Q1)
• Zen Pinball (Q1)

Wii

• Country Dance™ Special Edition (February 1)
• Rhythm Heaven Fever (February 13)
• PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond (February 27)
• MLB 2K12 (March 6)
• Mario Party 9 (March 11)
• Karaoke Joysound (Q1)

WiiWare

• La Mulana (Q1)

Nintendo DS

• Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 (February)
• Chess for Kids (February 14)
• NARABA: The Labyrinth of Light (February 21)
• NARABA: The Mysterious Palace Feb. 21
• MLB 2K12 (March 6)
• Silverlicious (March 20)
• Xia Xia (March 20)
• Gogo’s Crazy Bones (March 20)

Nintendo DSiWare

• Box Pusher (Q1)
• Cake Ninja (Q1)

Nintendo releases first quarter release schedule; 3DS Circle Pad, Kid Icarus dated is a post from: The Inquisitr

PopCap announced today plans to distribute their latest form of digital crack, Bejeweled 3, on “all major gaming platforms” in North America and Europe — in other words, Bejeweled 3 is coming to the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and the Nintendo DS.

Fans will be able to sink hours and hours of their time into matching three or more jewels on their platform of choice when it launches sometime around Q4 2011.

“Critics agree that ‘Bejeweled 3′ raised the standard for match-3 games to new heights,” Ed Allard, studio head at PopCap Games, said in a statement. “This holiday, we’re bringing that experience to PlayStation 3, PSN, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and Nintendo DS gamers with adaptations that look great and play even better on each platform.”

For the uninitiated, Bejeweled 3 offers “twice” the amount of modes found in Bejeweled 2, in addition to eight new game modes and a sound and graphics overhaul. As an added feature, Bejeweled 3 forces you to neglect all of your responsibilities, opting for just one more round of match-three goodness. Well, that last bit isn’t actually a feature, but it isn’t any less true.

Bejeweled 3 Coming to Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS is a post from: The Inquisitr

If ever there seemed a banker in the games industry, it was that the Nintendo 3DS was going to sell like crazy. Nintendo shifted nearly 150 million Nintendo DS units (counting all normal DS, DS Lite, DSi, and DSi XL units), and this was a DS WITH GLASSES-FREE 3D. How the bejeezus could it fail?

Well, it might. That is, the 3DS is in danger of failing compared to its obscenely successful predecessors. While the launches seemed to go reasonably well – a sellout of all 400,000 3DS launch units in Japan, and 500,000 units sold in the U.S. in the opening five days – analysts claim 3DS sales are dropping fast. Here’s Lazard Capital Markets man Colin Sebastian:

“Based on our recent checks, we believe that sales of the 3DS have slowed considerably since the initial launch window, although the Easter holiday could provide a near-term boost.”

In my position of Analyst for Noone, I’m going to make the WILD PREDICTION that the 3DS will live a full and unspectacularly healthy life, but come nowhere near the success of the other DS consoles. Nintendo’s arrogance over smartphone gaming and lack of an Apps Store rival have ensured that.

[Via CVG]

Analyst: Nintendo 3DS sales have ‘slowed considerably’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

In an interview with CNN, Tretton dismissed the Nintendo DS as a “babysitting tool,” suggested the Wii and Xbox 360 were losing momentum (there is, at least, some truth in this), and implied Sony’s products were all pretty much perfect. Let’s start with the Nintendo DS, sorry, Game Boy:

“Our view of the ‘Game Boy experience’ is that it’s a great babysitting tool, something young kids do on airplanes, but no self-respecting 20-something is going to be sitting on an airplane with one of those. He’s too old for that.”

And now the Wii and Xbox 360:

“They’re starting to run out of steam now in terms of continuing to be relevant in 2011 and beyond. I mean, you’ve gotta be kidding me. Why would I buy a gaming system without a hard drive in it? How does this thing scale? Motion gaming is cute, but if I can only wave my arms six inches, how does this really feel like I’m doing true accurate motion gaming?”

That’s when Tretton switches from troll to cheerleader, bragging over the PlayStation 3′s recent sale successes:

“If you’re really going to sustain technology for a decade, you have to be cutting edge when you launch a platform,” he said. “Here we are four years into the Playstation 3, and it’s just hitting its stride. We’ll enjoy a long downhill roll behind it because the technology that was so cutting edge in 2006 is extremely relevant today and is conspicuously absent in our competition.”

Note here how Tretton avoids mentioning the train crash that was the PSP Go!, or the fact that Kinect is outselling PlayStation Move to a quite embarrassing degree.

[CNN, via GamePolitics]

Sony: Nintendo DS is a ‘babysitting tool’, Xbox 360 and Wii ‘running out of steam’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

Nintendo’s 3DS handheld undoubtedly faces threats from upcoming rivals. However, the public’s appetite is strong for the first portable games device to feature glasses-free 3D.

Nintendo has stated that, two days before the 3DS launches on Sunday March 27, U.S. preorders for the handheld are almost twice what the Wii had at the same stage.

This rabid demand matches the eagerness already seen in Britain, where Amazon’s UK arm confirmed preorders for the console more than doubled Wii’s (it’s just a shame they forgot to mail some of them). Nevertheless, supply of the consoles seems to be healthy.

The 3DS is off to a cracking start, by all accounts. Are you picking one up this weekend?

[Via Gamasutra]

Nintendo 3DS preorders double Wii’s in U.S. is a post from: The Inquisitr

“We’re not going to try to match [smartphone game prices]. We’re just going to continually strive to not just maintain, but increase, the quality of the entertainment that we’re providing, and let it sort itself out. Again, we’re not worried about competing at a price point level. Now of course as a customer, if somebody said to me, ‘Hey, we’ve got Call of Duty on your portable device and it’s only going to cost you [$1],’ yeah, I’d be super stoked, really excited about that.”

“And I’d be really excited to see a great game at a really cheap price, but I just don’t think that you could make a game that’s immersive and as big as, let’s say Call of Duty, or any other large title, and sell it at that price point; it’s just not possible. The only way that you’re going to get a game at that price point is if it’s a limited version with limited levels or something. They’re going to have to reduce it to sell at that price. So that other game – because the content is valuable – it’s still going to be a viable product at a higher price point.”

In short, Konno is confident that customers will pay more if they know they’re getting a quality product. Hence Nintendo will continue charging a full $50 for a Nintendo 3DS game, arguing that the greater quality of the game makes it worth it, compared to a $1 smartphone title.

Sadly, I fear Konno might have called this wrong.

It’s not advisable to question Nintendo where portable gaming is concerned. Since the Game Boy launched in 1989, the handheld games arena has been utterly ruled by the company. Sony’s PSP posed the biggest threat to date, yet even that was heavily outsold by the Nintendo DS.

However, the iPhone and other smartphones are a serious threat to the 3DS. These new phones already have an installed userbase in the tens of millions, and can produce graphically beautiful games, like Infinity Blade:

Not too shabby, right? Most importantly of all, these games often sell for a few bucks at most.

Konno is right to point out that Nintendo’s console will have higher quality games. I have absolutely no doubt it will. It also has big brands such as Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, and Nintendogs. And yes, most of the iPhone library really is junk. Yet what Konno fails to recognize is that people are happy playing Flight Control and Angry Birds (both of which cost a buck each).

Consumers are satisfied by such games, and it’s astonishingly short-sighted of Konno and Nintendo at large not to appreciate this.

A new Zelda game will be a more immersive, content-rich game than Angry Birds. Yet people don’t seem to care. Why should they pay fifty notes, they might argue, when they can spend hours occupied with Angry Birds for a single dollar? But instead of competing with the Apps Store and pushing its downloadable games service for the 3DS (the 3DS eShop), Nintendo has delayed the launch of the eShop until May. For the next two months, the only 3DS software available to customers will be full price $50 games – hardly the stuff of impulse purchases.

I truly hope Konno is right and I am wrong. As a huge lover of all things Nintendo, I am buying a 3DS myself at the European launch this Friday. I hope I’m buying a console with a rosy future, and not one developers will abandon en masse to create cheap money-spinning smartphone games three or four years down the line.

The future, however, is unpredictable. Against smartphones, Nintendo could be in for the fight of its handheld gaming life.

[Konno interview via Gamasutra]

Nintendo’s arrogance over smartphone gaming could prove costly is a post from: The Inquisitr

If you’re picking up a Nintendo 3DS in North America next month, it’d sure be nice to know what you’ll be able to play on it, right?

Nintendo obliged us this morning, with a complete list of games available from launch day (March 27th in North America if you’ve forgotten). The company also revealed first-party games would be the expected $39.99, though naturally companies who are not Nintendo can make their own minds up about this.

Like so many launch line-ups, this follows a familiar pattern of more chaff than wheat, but there is some wheat:

♦ Pilotwings Resort
♦ nintendogs + cats
♦ Steel Diver
♦ Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition
♦ The Sims 3
♦ Madden NFL Football
♦ Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 3D
♦ LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars
♦ Ridge Racer 3D
♦ Super Monkey Ball 3D
♦ Bust-a-Move Universe
♦ Samurai Warriors: Chronicles
♦ Asphalt 3D
♦ Combat of Giants: Dinosaurs 3D
♦ Rayman 3D
♦ Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Shadow Wars

I’ve a feeling a few of you might be waiting for 3D Mario Kart, Zelda, Mario, or Kid Icarus before taking the plunge on this.

[Via press release]

Nintendo 3DS launch line-up, game prices revealed is a post from: The Inquisitr

You may have already seen some of Rémi Gaillard’s surreal, amusing real world Mario Kart vids. Well, this isn’t one of them. This is something a little more real. From special effects maestro Freddie Wong and friends comes this:

Those red shells actually give me the chills.

[Facerocker, via Kotaku]

[VIDEO] Real-life Mario Kart is really real is a post from: The Inquisitr

Because hackers won’t already be tempted enough to crack the Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo has gone on record as claiming the ‘heyday of piracy’ is over. The company has also said the 3DS is ‘probably one of our best pieces of equipment in [respect of piracy]‘. Way to start a fight, Ninty.

Speaking to CVG, Nintendo UK’s product manager James Honeywell had this to say:

“There’s definitely a step change coming and you see it in various countries around the world. People are aware that video games, music and movies make massive contributions to the economies of countries. They need to make sure they start protecting those things. I think perhaps there’s been a ‘heyday of piracy’ and we’ve now seen a lot of rules come in to stop it.”

I certainly hope he’s right. Nintendo itself felt the pinch of piracy strongly, with a worryingly high percentage of Nintendo DS owners playing downloaded games on flashcarts (which are perfectly legal due to their use for homebrew). However, Nintendo UK boss David Yarnton thinks some hefty prison sentences may have solved that issue:

“Recently there have been a couple of rulings with R4 [flashcarts] where people have been found guilty and had quite significant sentences against them. This now makes a precedent that potentially in the future it won’t be a viable thing for people to do.”

Yarnton was also quick to add that the 3DS could prove a tough nut to crack for would-be pirates:

“We can’t divulge any technical details on that but needless to say this is probably one of our best pieces of equipment in that respect. There are a lot of things we’ve learnt over time to try and improve the security and protection – not only of our IP but of our third-party publishers’ IP as well.”

Are you in agreement with Messrs. Honeywell and Yarnton? Has gaming piracy peaked?

[Via CVG]

Nintendo: Game piracy has had its heyday is a post from: The Inquisitr

Come this March, you shouldn’t expect your new Nintendo 3DS to last a long-haul flight. Nintendo has revealed that its next games handheld, released in Japan on February 19th, will have a battery life of between 3 and 8 hours.

It all depends how you use it, of course. Play a 3DS game with the screen’s backlight reduced (though not off), and you’ll squeeze out somewhere between 3 and 5 hours of gameplay.

Play a normal Nintendo DS game (remember those?!), and you can expect five to eight hours. Whack the screen lighting up, and naturally your battery life will go down faster.

3 hours may seem brief, but those aren’t such bad numbers, especially with the 3DS being such a powerful little blighter. Also worth noting: a 3DS will take 3.5 hours for its battery to fully charge.

[Nintendo.co.jp, via Kotaku]

Nintendo 3DS battery lasts 3 to 8 hours is a post from: The Inquisitr

It’s the start of a new year, and already there are at least sixteen thousand games I want to play. So yes, this list is tinged with a touch of personal bias, but I’d like to think there’s something for everyone here, no matter what your gaming tastes. So here we go, then – my most eagerly anticipated 11 games to play in 2011 (plus a long list of honorable mentions at the bottom, because I’m an indecisive bugger):

↑ Child of Eden (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | Q Entertainment)
When this music-based shooter was revealed back in June, I immediately proclaimed it one of my games of E3 2010. Compatible with Kinect, PlayStation Move, and (thank gawd) a standard controller, Child of Eden is an on-rails shoot-’em-up with gorgeous trance music, surreal visuals and jaw-dropping bosses – its wonderful E3 trailer must be watched!
Release date: Late-2011

↑ The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time 3DS (Nintendo 3DS | Nintendo)
It’s the most critically acclaimed action-adventure game of all time. In 3D. ‘Nuff said.
Release date: 2011

↑ Batman: Arkham City (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC | Rocksteady Studios)
Batman: Arkham Asylum rewrote the rulebook for superhero games. For so long a genre populated by industry jokes (Superman 64) and lazy cash-ins (almost everything else), here was a superhero game worthy of the label: beautiful, muscular, and sleek. The visuals, the style, the setting, the combat, and the feeling of actually being Batman: it was all pitch-perfect. Arkham City sees the Dark Knight take to the streets of a city beseiged by rival gangs run by Two-Face and Joker. Watch out for a Catwoman appearance.

Release date: Quarter 3, 2011

↑ BRINK (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC | Splash Damage)
BRINK immediately stands out thanks to its cartoony, Team Fortress 2-style characters, but it’s more than just a pretty face. In Splash Damage’s game, single-player links seamlessly with multiplayer (allowing up to eight players to drop in and out of its co-op mode), while previews have long talked of a nuanced yet brilliantly balanced class system. There’s also the SMART button (standing for ‘Smooth Movement Across Random Terrain’), a single button that lets you effortlessly leap, sprint, and vault around the game’s gorgeous environments.
Release date: Spring 2011

↑ Deus Ex: Human Revolution (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, OnLive |Eidos Montreal)
2003′s Deus Ex: Invisible War was by no means a terrible game, but as a sequel to the acclaimed Deux Ex, it didn’t feel worthy. Eight years on, and Deus Ex: Human Revolution looks like the sequel Invisible War should have been, with a teeming futuristic city and the Deus Ex spirit of exploration and discovery fully intact.
Release date: April 2011 or later

↑ The Last Guardian (PlayStation 3 | Team Ico)
To say The Last Guardian comes with a bit of a pedigree is like saying the Pope is a bit religious, or that Lionel Messi might be a bit good at football. Developer Team Ico has the acclaimed Ico (2001) and Shadow of the Colossus (2006) on its resume, and The Last Guardian seems to borrow heavily from each, with a dreamlike atmosphere, gorgeous, atmospheric visuals, puzzle-based adventuring, and a loyal companion to help you through your quest (in this case, a giant feathered beast resembling a griffin).
Release date:  Quarter 4, 2011

↑ Diablo III (PC, Mac | Blizzard)
Diablo III has been public knowledge for two and a half years now, even appearing on the 2010 equivalent of this list. However, there is serious hope for a 2011 release, with leaked documents from within Blizzard suggesting a Quarter 4 launch. Diablo II (released in 2000 – man, I’m bleedin’ ancient) is still regarded as the king of strategy hack-and-slash, so Diablo III‘s inclusion here should need no explanation. The game’s markedly more colorful appearance has already inspired the wrath of blowhard idiots who want a return to the darker, dingier looks of Diablo II, yet I’m betting they’ll be first in line to part with their cash.
Release date: Quarter 4, 2011

↑ Portal 2 (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, Mac | Valve)
Portal is now rightly considered first-person shooter royalty amongst gamers, a supremely clever, original beast that was the highlight of 2007′s The Orange Box. The 2011 sequel is a chance to flesh out the three- or four-hour original, and Valve is throwing everything at it: a longer single-player campaign, a bigger cast, co-op modes, online play, and a host of new environmental features. Given: (a) Valve’s track record and (b) the fundamental ingenuity of the portal gun, it’s hard to imagine this being anything beneath stellar.
Release date: April 21st, 2011

↑ Pikmin 3 (Wii | Nintendo)
Okay, so we don’t actually know if this is landing in 2011. Since it was first confirmed by Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto in mid-2008, barely a word has been uttered about the third game in the wonderful plant people series. But that was 2008, so it must be close … right? All we know is it’s coming, it’ll be on the Wii, and it shall be amazing. FACT. Also, I am a thirty-year-old man who freely admits to owning Pikmin plushes, so I may be a little biased about this.
Release date: ???

↑ Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (PlayStation 3 | Naughty Dog)
The Uncharted games do big, ballsy, blockbuster gaming better than every other franchise out there, and the third game is promising more of the same. The footage shown so far of hero Nathan Drake escaping a collapsing, burning chateau is hugely promising.
Release date: November 1st, 2011

↑ L.A. Noire (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | Team Bondi)
There’s a reason L.A. Noire is the only game on this list I’ve illustrated with a video clip: because I’m convinced its animation techniques could be revolutionary for games. With facial animation and lip-synching that comes astonishingly close to bridging the uncanny valley, Team Bondi’s crime epic does something no other game has asked of you: ascertain when another character is lying, based solely on individual tics and expressions. In my book – and excuse me if I sound like a press release here – that could be pretty amazing.
Release date: Quarter 2, 2011

Honorable mentions:

Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury (Xbox 360)
Bulletstorm (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC)
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, Wii)
Crysis 2 (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC)
de Blob 2 (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS)
Dead Space 2 (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC)
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC)
Gears of War 3 (Xbox 360)
Ico & Shadow of the Colossus HD Collection (PlayStation 3)
I Am Alive (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, Wii)
Killzone 3 (PlayStation 3)
Legend of Zelda: The Skyward Sword (Wii)
LittleBigPlanet 2 (PlayStation 3)
Mass Effect 3 (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC)
Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater 3D (Nintendo 3DS)
Nintendogs + Cats (Nintendo 3DS)
Okamiden (Nintendo DS)
Patapon 3 (PSP)
Rage (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, Mac)
The Witness (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC)
Tomb Raider (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC)

11 videogames you need to play in 2011 is a post from: The Inquisitr

Yes, it’s that time again. Time to sheepishly pick up the latest Pokémon game in the same year you turn 31, all while trying to shut out thoughts of how disappointed your father would be to see you like this. Shame, shame.

What I’m saying is: March 6th is the U.S. release date for Pokémon Black and Pokémon White.

That date means Black and White will release less than a year after the previous two Pokémon games, HeartGold and SoulSilver, first appeared in the States. It also means the games are likely to share a launch month with the Nintendo 3DS.

Black and White will add over 150 new Pokémon to the now-familiar catch-’em-all formula, including three new Starter Pokémon – Tepig, Oshawott, and Snivy. Furthermore, there’s a seasonal element to the games, with some Pokémon only appearing at certain parts of the year.

There’ll also be triple battles, rotation battles, and an in-game item that will let Nintendo DSi owners engage in audio- and video-chat with up to three other players (local or online). Here’s a freshly caught trailer:

See also: Ugly Pokémon will haunt your dreams

[Via press release]

Pokémon Black and White given U.S. launch date is a post from: The Inquisitr

If you’re still yet to pick up Nintendo’s excellent DS handheld, I’m not sure we can remain friends this could be too good to pass up. Right now at Radio Shack, you can grab a Nintendo DS Lite in-store for an extremely reasonable $74.97; just over the price of a brand new Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 game.

With the launch of the Nintendo 3DS early next year, I was always expecting DS Lite prices to start dropping like it’s hot, but not quite this soon! You can choose from Metallic Rose, Metallic Silver, Crimson and Black, or Cobalt and Black, but make sure you check stock availability at your local store to prevent disappointment.

[Slickdeals, via Joystiq]

Bargain!: Nintendo DS Lites $75 at Radio Shack is a post from: The Inquisitr

Michael Jackson: The Experience on the Nintendo DS has a novel way of preventing piracy: vuvuzelas.

These horrific sounding instruments gained worldwide fame during the 2010 World Cup, and now those who pirate Ubisoft’s game can relive those ear-splitting times.

Gamers who load up the ROM on their DS will be greeted by constant vuvuzela effects as the tracks play out, while icons vital to gameplay simply don’t appear, leaving the title unplayable. Witness the horror for yourself:

[Via Nintendo Everything]

[VIDEO] Michael Jackson game fights pirates with vuvuzelas is a post from: The Inquisitr

PSP 2 is coming … soon, but according to at least one analyst, it may as well not bother showing up. Speaking on his show Pach-Attack!, Wedbush Morgan’s Michael Pachter has predicted the console will be “dead on arrival”. He also claimed the gaming handheld market is “in trouble” and “reaching saturation point.”

The reason, predictably, is Apple.

As the iPhone and iPod Touch continue to birth hundreds of cheap (and occasionally very good quality) games, fewer people are shelling out $25 for a PSP or Nintendo DS cartridge, preferring to spend 99 cents on an iPhone or or iPod Touch app. Indeed, Sony seems to have foreseen this problem, and has reacted with the PlayStation Phone. As Pachter points out:

“We’re starting to see DS hardware sales crack, I think the big woody of the iPod Touch is cutting into the handheld market, I think the PSP is dead on arrival and I think the PSP2 is going to be dead on arrival.

“It looks to me like young kids are just as happy playing with an iPod Touch or a Nano. The Touch is cool, it plays games, plays music, they’re going to put a camera in it and you’re going to get all kinds of cool stuff.”

If, like me, you work in an office full of people obsessed with Flight Control and Angry Birds, it’s difficult to disagree.

[GameTrailers, via VG247]

Analyst: PSP 2 will be ‘dead on arrival’, game handhelds in trouble is a post from: The Inquisitr

Fancy a cheap game to go with the turkey sandwiches you’ll be eating for the next eight weeks? We have you covered! If you’ve change left over from Black Friday, you may want to consider some of the 70+ titles listed below; alphabetically arranged because we love you!

Note: Remember, once stocks are gone, they’re gone. Get your skates on.

0-9
- 3D Dot Game Heroes (PS3, Amazon, $20)

A
- Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth (Nintendo DS, Amazon, $20)
- Aliens vs Predator (PS3/Xbox 360, Amazon, $20.99)

B
- Band Hero + with $20 gift card (PS3, Gamestop, $29.99)
- Battlefield Bad Company 2 Ultimate Edition (PS3/Xbox 360, Amazon, $39.95)
- Bayonetta (Xbox 360, Amazon, $20)
- BioShock 2 (Xbox 360, GameStop, $20)
- BioShock 2 Special Edition 360 (Xbox 360, GameStop, $29.99)
- Borderlands (PC, GameStop, $39.99)

C
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360/PS3, Amazon, $14.99)
- Champions Online (PC, Best Buy, $4.99)
- Chrono Trigger (Nintendo DS, Amazon, $14.99)
- Civilization IV: The Complete Edition (PC, Amazon, $19.99)
- Civilization V (PC, GameStop, $39.99)

D
- Dead Space Extraction (Wii, GameStop, $9.99)
- DJ Hero 2 (Xbox 360, Amazon, $49.99)
- Dragon Quest IX (Nintendo DS, Amazon, $19.99)

E
- Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (Xbox 360/PS3, Amazon, $25)
- EVE Online Commissioned Officer Edition (PC, Amazon, $13.49)

F
- Fable 3 (Xbox 360, Amazon and Best Buy, both $39.99)
- Fallout: New Vegas (Xbox 360, Amazon, $39.99)
- FIFA 11 (Xbox 360/PS3, Best Buy, $34.99)
- Final Fantasy XIII (PS3, Amazon, $18.99)

G
- Grand Theft Auto IV (Xbox 360, Amazon, $12.99)
- Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3/PC, Amazon, $13.99)
- Guild Wars Trilogy (PC, Best Buy, $14.99)
- Guitar Hero Aerosmith + $10 gift card (Wii, GameStop, $19.99)

H
- Halo: Reach (Xbox 360, Amazon, $39.95)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 1 (Xbox 360/PS3, Amazon, $34.95)
- Harvest Moon Animal Parade (Wii, GameStop, $19.99)
- Harvest Moon DS (Nintendo DS, GameStop, $9.99)

J
- Just Cause 2 (PC, Amazon, $18.99)
- Just Dance (Wii, GameStop, $29.99)

K
- Kirby’s Epic Yarn (Wii, Amazon, $39.99)

L
- Lego Universe (PC, Amazon, $23.99)
- Little King’s Story (Wii, Amazon, $13.99)
- Lost Planet 2 (Xbox 360/PS3, GameStop, $19.99)

M
- Madden 11 (Xbox 36/PS3, Amazon, $34.99)
- Mass Effect 2 (Xbox 360, Amazon, $9.99)
- Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3, Amazon, $13.99)
- Michael Jackson: The Experience (Wii, Wal-Mart, $39.96)
- Michael Jackson: The Experience (PSP/Nintendo DS, Wal-Mart, $39.96)
- Monster Hunter Freedom Unite (PSP, Amazon, $14.99)

N
- Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (Xbox 360/PS3, Best Buy, $34.99)
- Neverwinter Nights 2 Gold (PC, Amazon, $14.99)

P
- Phantasy Star Portable 2 (PSP, Amazon, $29.99)
- Pokemon Heartgold (Nintendo DS, Amazon, $24.99)
- Pokemon SoulSilver (Nintendo DS, Amazon, $24.99)
- Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box (Nintendo DS, Amazon, $17.99)
- Professor Layton and the Unwound Future (Nintendo DS, Amazon, $17.99)
- Puzzle Quest 2 DS (Nintendo DS, Amazon, $10.89)

R
- Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (PS3, Amazon, $17.99)
- Red Dead Redemption (Xbox 360/PS3, GameStop, $39.99)
- Resident Evil 4 Wii (Wii, Amazon, $9.99)
- Resident Evil 5 (Xbox 360/PS3, Amazon, $14.98)
- Rune Factory 2 (Nintendo DS, GameStop, $9.99)

S
- Shaun White Skateboarding (PS3, Amazon, $14.64)
- Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable (PSP, Amazon, $29.99)
- The Sly Collection (PS3, Amazon, $29.99)
- Sonic Colors (Wii, Wal-Mart, $39.96)
- Soul Calibur IV (Xbox 360, Amazon, $10.99)
- Split/Second (Xbox 360/PS3, Amazon, $19.99)
- Street Fighter IV (Xbox 360, Amazon, $10.99)
- Street Fighter IV (PS3, Amazon, $14.99)
- Super Scribblenauts (Nintendo DS, Amazon, $22)

T
- Tekken 6 (PS3, Amazon, $19.99)
- Tekken 6 (PSP, Amazon, $9.99)
- The Orange Box (PC, Steam, $7.50)
- The Sims 3 (PC, Amazon, $19.99)
- Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 (Xbox 360/PS3, Amazon, $39.95)
- Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 (Wii, Amazon, $34.95)

V
- Valkyria Chronicles (PS3, Amazon, $19.99)
- Valkyria Chronicles 2 (PSP, Amazon, $29.99)

W
* WipeOut Pulse (PS3, Amazon, $12.49)

Calling gamers! All the best Cyber Monday deals: 2010 edition is a post from: The Inquisitr

But not just any glove, naturally. No, that glove. Michael Jackson’s single sparkly mitt was one of the many iconic things about the late singer, and now YOU can own your OWN Jackson glove. Yay?

There’s a catch, though. First of all, you’ll have to buy the forthcoming dance game Michael Jackson: The Experience. Not only that, but you’ll need to buy the Wii version. And NOT ONLY THAT, but you’ll have to buy it fast – these things will only be in launch units of the game. It doesn’t cost anything on top of the normal version of the game; you just need to buy it early.

Aaaaalso, developer and publisher Ubisoft has updated the tracklist for the game, which now includes ‘Dirty Diana’. Here are the songs we know about so far:

- Bad
- Beat It
- Billie Jean
- Black or White
- Dirty Diana
- Earth Song
- Ghost
- Rock with You
- Smooth Criminal
- Speed Demon
- The Girl Is Mine
- They Don’t Care About Us
- Thriller
- Who Is It
- Workin’ Day and Night

See also: [VIDEO] So much win: Dude syncs his Christmas lights to Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’

[Via press release]

Michael Jackson videogame to come with free glove is a post from: The Inquisitr

They may be cripplingly naff, but Rock Band developer Harmonix claims Bon Jovi remains one of the most requested artists for the series. The band has appeared before in the Rock Band franchise – ‘Wanted Dead or Alive’ was in the original Rock Band, while ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ (of course) popped up in Rock Band 2.

Now fans of Rock Band and that bloke from Ally McBeal can get excited all over again. That’s because Bon Jovi will release their Greatest Hits collection as downloadable content for Rock Band 3 on November 9, the same day the album itself launches.

According to the press release in front of me, the band’s guitarist Richie Sambora says, “The great thing about Rock Band is it gets music to a whole new generation of people, which is totally amazing to me.” Thanks, Richie.

Rock Band 3 is out October 26.

See also: Full Rock Band 3 tracklist revealed

[Via press release]

Bon Jovi Greatest Hits coming to Rock Band 3 is a post from: The Inquisitr

Nintendo showed off a truckload of games for the Nintendo 3DS yesterday (see a full video here). However, it isn’t one of Nintendo’s own games that really showed off the system’s technical prowess. While I love Nintendo deeply for bringing me a new Pilotwings title, Konami’s Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 3D Edition is the real graphical powerhouse.

Metal Gear games are famed for their looks as much as their terrible stories and awesome bosses, but this must be the most visually arresting handheld game … well, ever. It’s very clearly a game with 3D visuals, because the trailer wastes no time in throwing things RIGHT IN YOUR FACE from the first moment.

All in all, pretty stunning; check out the trailer below and try telling me PSP 2 doesn’t have a mountain to climb:

[Via YouTube]

[VIDEO] Is this the most beautiful portable videogame ever? is a post from: The Inquisitr

Nintendo has finally revealed its launch plans for the Nintendo 3DS, the next games handheld from the most successful games handheld company in the world. In what would have been the wee hours of the morning for many of us, Nintendo dropped loads of information on the console at its Tokyo conference. First, let’s get the essentials out of the way:

- The Nintendo 3DS will hit Japan on February 26th. Meanwhile, both North America and Europe will see it in March 2011. Yes, they’ve chosen to miss the Holiday 2010 season; turns out all the rumors and gossip about a 2010 release in Japan were just that. On the bright side, the extra waiting time should come in handy, because this will cost …

- ¥25,000 (almost exactly $299) in Japan. SRSLY. No pricing was offered for the western release, though I wouldn’t be surprised to see it arrive here at the $300 mark. I’ll be honest: it’s quite a bit more than I was anticipating. To date, Nintendo’s most expensive handheld at launch was the Nintendo DSi XL, for $190. If it does end up at $300, or even $250, it’ll be interesting to see how it fares with consumers.

Other details worth noting: The system will be offered in two colors (Aqua Blue and Cosmo Black), and will come with a rad charging cradle, a metal stylus, a 2GB SD memory card, and six augmented reality paper cards that can be used with the 3DS’s cameras.

It will also feature a ‘tag mode’ (whereby the portable recognises other 3DSes around it, and trades data for multiple games), and – of course – Miis. Here’s a quick video on all that stuff, featuring a Japanese lady in very snazzy plaid pants:

On top of all this, there’ll be downloadable demos, the ability to transfer software you downloaded for your DSi to your 3DS, and a portable Virtual Console, offering Game Boy and Game Boy Color releases, some of which will take advantage of the console’s 3D capabilities.

Oh, and there’s also a load of games to look forward to! Here’s a great little video showcasing many that will appear on or near launch. I really, really want about half of these:

Wow. Roll on 2011!

Nintendo 3DS launch date and price revealed is a post from: The Inquisitr