Tetris, soccer and a VC double whammy!
Brace yourself for a truly rare week: Virtual Console receives two games today, putting it level-pegging with WiiWare and DSiWare for the first time in ages. What's occurring this week? Read on and find out.
I haven’t written here for the whole month and with the last few hours of November now ticking away I thought I’d share this bit of gaming news with you.
As you know I write for three gaming websites, and recently the official Microsoft France blog asked me to write something to be posted on their blog. Yesterday it went up, and here it is!
http://xbox.frogz.fr/post/2010/11/29/Le-lancement-britannique-de-Kinect-vu-par-KINECTakucom.aspx
If your French is as good as mine, there’s an English version at the bottom, or reprinted below. The website itself also has a photo from my wife so double bonus!
Gamers up and down the UK braved the cold to get their hands on Kinect first, but customers in London were treated to a touch of glamour at Kinect’s official launch party.
Above a glowing ice rink at the Natural History Museum, popstar Leona Lewis took to the stage to perform several of her biggest hits whilst staff from Kinect developers Frontier, Rare and Lionhead were on hand to discuss the new technology.
Following the party, the countdown to Kinect was on at Game’s flagship Oxford Street store, where boyband The Wanted were on hand to try out the games and serve the first customers at the tills, even taking part in a Video Kinect call with gamers attending the midnight launch at Game’s Leeds store.
They weren’t the only special guests, however: Kinect’s creative director Kudo Tsunoda was on hand to check out proceedings, snapping photos and chatting to customers about the sensor, its games and the future of Kinect.
Of the launch titles, by far the most asked-for was Rare’s Kinect Sports, without a doubt one of the most impressive applications of the technology out there, and MTV’s Dance Central flew off the shelves too. Both titles seem to have captured the imagination of gamers and non-gamers alike, although many customers spoke of their excitement at playing pack-in game Kinect Adventures.
The readers and staff at KINECTaku joined in with the excitement on their forums and via Twitter gamers counting down to the launch of the sensor and sharing their hopes for the future.
Whilst the UK launch didn’t quite match the sensor’s global debut at Times Square for spectacle and impact, it still carried the same kind of atmosphere normally reserved for new console launches. The excitement surrounding the product was unbelievable, with all ages and levels of gaming experience eager to become the controller.
Kinect got off to a flying start in the UK, and once word of mouth begins to kick in Kinect looks like being a huge success for Microsoft.
James Newton, KINECTaku
Let accusations of bias commence now!
Fitness with a little slickness
This is the first time since Kinect’s launch we’ve had to say this, but when playing EA Sports Active 2, you’ll need a controller in your hand. Not to engage in any of the 70 exercises, which are all operated completely controller-free, but rather to navigate the wealth of menu and options screens that stand between you and your workout.
New Super Mario Bros. Wii is a global sales sensation, having racked up over 16 million sales worldwide since its release just one year ago, with four million of those sales in Japan alone, making it the territory's biggest selling Wii title.
Start pestering now
The special edition of Kinectimals comes with a plush toy, but gamers fond of cuddly cubs will soon be able to expand their collection starting next year.
Looking good
We reported on this Midna and Wolf Link statue the other day, and now anyone wanting to pre-order the pair from Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess can see what their money is getting them, with the release of the first photos.
So far Sony has been tight-lipped about sales figures for its PlayStation Move peripheral, only saying it had shipped 1 million Moves to America and not commenting on actual worldwide sales figures. Now the company has opened its mouth wide to shout "4.1 million units sold worldwide" in the form of this new press release.
Bringing Pac-Man with him
Physical fitness is but one part of Kinect's armoury: Dr Kawashima's Body and Brain Exercises wants to get your brain up and involved in the game too, and it'll be starting its cerebral crusade across Europe on February 11th next year.
May be announced at Spike VGAs
THQ studio head Danny Bilson has announced via Twitter that the publisher will soon be able to show off a brand new core title for Kinect, leading some to speculate it could be shown off at the Spike Video Game Awards later today.
My name is James Newton, and this is my website - a collection of my writings about
videogames, music and all my other thoughts.
