Japan’s biggest gaming magazine, the Famitsu [JP], has given Nintendo’s newest Mario game New Super Mario Bros. the highest honor in the latest issue. All four editors who tested the game gave 10 points out of 10, resulting in a perfect 40/40 score.

New Super Mario Bros. is already the fourth game in 2009 to get a 40/40 rating, even though until 2007 the magazine was well-known for not giving away this score easily. But the perfect rating isn’t that surprising, as the game seems to be really that good and many reviewers outside Japan gave it the thumbs up already.

Here is a time line for all of Famitsu’s 40/40-games so far:

1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998, for Nintendo 64)
2. Soul Calibur (1999, for Dreamcast)
3. Vagrant Story (2000, for PlayStation)
4. The Legend of Zelda – The Wind Waker (2003, for GameCube)
5. Nintendogs (2005, for the DS)
6. Final Fantasy XII (2006, for PlayStation 2)
7. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008, for the Wii)
8. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (2008, for PlayStation 3)
9. 428: Fusasareta Shibuya de (2008, for the Wii)
10. Dragon Quest IX (2009, for the DS)
11. Monster Hunter Tri (2009, for the Wii)
12. Bayonetta (2009, for PlayStation 3/XBox 360)
13. New Super Mario Bros.

Nintendo started offering a video distribution service for Japanese Wii owners this May, attracting about 800,000 customers by late September in this country. In the same month, Nintendo promised their free channel will be made available to Non-Japanese Wii owners next year, at the same time announcing they’ll start offering paid content (in Japan) very soon. And since the weekend, we have that fee-based streaming video service [JP] over here.

A lot of the content is still free, but the new service makes it possible to view popular TV programs and some Wii-exclusive content on your console. Wii users can now watch Disney and Pokemon anime, Sesame Street, movies, soccer games and other content. Wii-exclusive content includes a bunch of educational programs.

Nintendo initially managed to gather 15 content providers, for example Warner Entertainment and Disney, that will deliver about 250 different programs by next month. By next year, Wii owners are supposed to be able to choose between a total of 1,000 titles. Prices vary heavily, with titles costing between $0.11 and $11 (10 yen and 1,000 yen).

It’s not yet clear whether Nintendo will offer those paid services outside Japan next year as well.

It must be pretty darn easy being an analyst at one of those fancy Wall Street firms. Take this story, that Nintendo may well launch an on-demand video service for the Wii here in North America next year. Japan’s Nikkei reported the same thing nearly two months ago, but it’s only now that someone at Lazard Capital Markets has officially predicted such a store for the North American market.

Here’s what the analyst said, two months after the Nikkei said the same thing:

We expect Nintendo to continue experimenting with content delivery and eventually to launch a service in the U.S., establishing a family- oriented media hub in the living room, and providing a more competitive option to Xbox Live and PlayStation Home.

The Wii is a really strange system, no? Nintendo as a whole, too. While Microsoft and Sony welcome and promote violent games like Modern Warfare 2, Nintendo goes out of its way to promote New Super Mario Bros. , a game that’s going to be huge, yes, but is for a totally different audience.

Nintendo’s hasn’t really jumped onboard the online bandwagon, either. There’s no Xbox Live or PSN you can point to, downloadable content is rare (excepting the Virtual Console, which I wouldn’t really consider DLC in the traditional sense of the phrase), and there’s no emphasis on “extra” features, like Netflix, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

All well and good, yes, but I have one question: where’s the new Zelda? Surely I’m not the only person who looks at Nintendo systems as Zelda/Mario-to-TV adapters.

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The Nintendo Wii has long been associated with exercise. It forces players to get up and actually move. In fact, there is a whole market of accessories built around the Wii Fit. Sports Authority might not have any trouble selling the systems with Wii Fit if they are marketed with demo units available for shoppers to try out. I, for one, would much rather spend a couple hundred on the Wii than an entry-level treadmill or Stairmaster.

The WSJ is reporting that some stores could get the systems as soon as this week and Sports Authority has been working with Nintendo for almost six months. This might help Nintendo push a few more units into homes and regain a dominate position in the gaming console wars.

The Ready for Play pack includes a 20-pack of AA batteries, a copy of Mario & Sonic at the Olympics game, an Ultimate Gaming Ottoman, and your choice of any four Gear Monkey video game accessories. Sounds like a screaming deal to me. Go get one at your local store, or online.

Project Natal won E3 this past year. It came out of nowhere and surprised everyone. What was most shocking is how far along the system was developed. It looked almost ready for prime time, but yet the release date is seemingly far away. That’s fine but as time passes, the Wii gets a bit more stale and expectations rise.

The system has so much potential. Think about how it could change sports games, FPS, and general puzzle games. Suddenly you’re actually in the game as never before. It’s almost like Nintendo opened the door for next-gen gaming, but Microsoft could bust down the damn wall with Natal.

But not if the system is only between $50-$80 and 14 games are included like the rumor states. That’s right at the impulse buy price point - which is what MS is reportedly targeting – but also where all the novelty add-ons live. That price range shows that Microsoft wants to sell a crapton of Natals to the Wii crowd, but also doesn’t view the controller as a game changer.

It might have some sweet games that will give the Wii a run for it’s money, but unless Microsoft is taking a huge loss on each Natal sold, it’s probably nothing special. I’m not saying that an item has to expensive to be successful, but an $80 price tag on a controller that supposed to “next-gen” doesn’t exactly scream a premium product.

At $80, I expect Project Natal to be like the PowerPad: a fine accessory with a few good games, but not a must-have add-on. Now if the system were, say, $150 or more, I would have more faith in the system. The higher price shows that Microsoft stands behind the years of research and development and believes that the system is a worthy add-on to the Xbox 360.

At that price point Microsoft would have no chance in hell selling it unless there was at least one killer, mainstream game. The add-on would need the support of 3rd party companies and developers to get going, which would result in a wider variety of games. If the rumor is right, and the system is bundled with games, you can bet that, they are simple Wii Sport-ish games, which were cool about 3 years ago.

Let’s hope that Microsoft believes enough in the system to price it above the impulse buy price point. Let’s hope that the system lives up to its potential and not forced into parlor tricks but rather utilized for serious gaming too.

Also, don’t forget the prices of the Xbox 360’s current accessories. It costs $100 for a wireless adapter, $50 for a wireless controller, and $160 for a 120GB hard drive. I’m just saying, $80 doesn’t fit the pattern.

Does anyone seriously think that Nintendo is not building a high-def capable system? You can’t even buy a SD TV larger than 20 inches anymore. Reggie probably told the truth when he said “there is no Wii HD” as it’s probably not named Wii HD, but there has to be some sort of high-def gaming system in the works. If there isn’t, Nintendo is in trouble.

Nintendo made the right decision to make the original Wii not powerful enough to run HD graphics and therefore less expensive. It became an instant success because of not only the novel motion controller and easy-to-like bundled game, but also the relatively low starting price of $250 when compared to the Xbox 360 and PS3. If Nintendo had built a more powerful system, one of those points would have given way and events might have been a tad different.

Plus, back when the Wii came out, HDTVs were still a luxury. They were only available in larger sizes and a higher prices. Now tube TVs are all but gone and increasingly small LCDs are reaching 720p resolutions. By next year, 1080p will probably be the standard resolution for 32-inch or larger screens and every TV will be at least 720p; Nintendo will need to put out a system accordingly.

Of course this next-generation system will employ a motion control scheme. It’s not like Nintendo is going to take a step backwards. This system might not be called the Wii HD, but it’ll follow the Wii philosophy and be high-definition.

Even if Nintendo outs a system next year that’s as powerful and cheap as a nettop today, it will be able to handle at least 720p graphics with a good graphics driver. Nintendo has proved that gameplay and accessibility are more important in the marketplace than graphics, but as time passes and more households upgrade to high definition, it’s becoming the standard, and Nintendo will have to work within those parameters.

Reggie would never tell us a lie. He’s not like that. However, you can bet that Nintendo is working on a low-cost, but also high-def capable, Wii successor as we speak.

Made from real maple, the T-Freestyle is designed to work as either a snowboard or skateboard controller, the wooden deck replicates that flex and resistance that a real board posses, allowing for a better gaming experience. Thrustmaster also built in their new “rolling motion board” technology, which allows the controller to move like a real snowboard or skateboard, without dumping you on your tail.

The Thrustmaster T-Freestyle NW should be available at your favorite retailer at the end of this month, for the quite reasonable price of $29.99.

“If we felt like we could deliver the cinematic experience we were going for on other platforms, then we would gladly move to that platform. Right now, we don’t think the Wii can deliver the exact experience that we’re doing. We like to be very equal across all platforms, and if it’s not equal then we won’t do it,” said Bowling.

Oh I see how it is. Just because there’s no HD and a whole lot more arm-flailing, it’s not the same? Sigh. It’s actually not the same. He’s right.

At least we’ll have Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Reflex Edition on the Wii the same day as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 comes out on all the other systems. It’s probably just as good as the new game, right? Except older and less cinematic? And not as good?

Infinity Ward- Wii can’t deliver on our goals [Develop via Destructoid/VideoGamer]

Cumulative Year To Date Sales Worldwide

Total Worldwide sales to date for the Wii are sitting just under 55 million consoles sold, while the Xbox 360 and PS3 are at 32.7M and 25.7M, respectively. The year-to-date worldwide sales are a bit different, with the Wii outselling both its competitors at 11M, and the PS3 and 360 at 6.6M and 5.9M. Where the sales figures get interesting are when we compare the number of pre-price-cut console sales, with that of sales post-price-cut.

Before Sony cut the price of the PS3, the Xbox 360 sold 4.53M units worldwide YTD, compared to Sony’s 4.12M YTD. Since then, the PS3 has outsold the 360 by 1.1M units (thanks to the PS3 Slim, most likely). What’s even more interesting, as you can see in the graph below, is that Sony’s biggest surge in sales happened two full weeks after Sony’s price reduction – right after the price reduction in the Xbox 360. The Wii also benefited from their small decrease in price as their sales went from hovering around 175K a week to over 350K the week after the price drop, to now what is nearly 400k a week. So why the marked difference in effectiveness between the three, and why did sales increase for the PS3 only after Xbox’s announcement?

Weekly Sales Worldwide (Sep-Oct)

The answer to the first part of the question is quite simple. The Nintendo Wii has outsold the other two consoles since its debut. It appeals to a broader user base, and the recent price break made it that much more accessible to those who don’t have a console. More importantly, its broad user base is different than that of the 360 and PS3’s. Although the Nintendo Wii is not as advanced as the other two consoles, (on a specs basis) its motion sensor technology coupled with the success of titles such as Wii Fit brand the Wii as not only a video game console, but a fitness and lifestyle enhancer. This difference, along with the decrease in price, is why the Wii is again outselling both of its competitors.

The difference in the effectiveness of price-cuts for the PS3 and the 360 is a bit more complicated. These devices, for the most part, appeal to the same demographic: those who buy a console primarily as a gaming platform. However, the biggest difference between the two consoles is that the PS3 features a Blu-Ray player. It seems that the PS3’s price cut, making it the same price as the 360 Elite, caused consumers to flock to the system which will let them play their precious Blu-ray discs.

The surge in sales for the PS3 didn’t happen until after the Xbox’s price announcement for a simple reason: Microsoft had been saying that a price drop was imminent and consumers were waiting to compare the two deals. Unfortunately for Microsoft, by gradually phasing out the traditional Xbox Pro model and only leaving their bare-bones Arcade model (it doesn’t have a built-in harddrive) and their higher priced Elite, the PS3 became a more enticing deal for many consumers. Had Microsoft cut the price of their Elite to below that of the PS3, or better yet, priced the Xbox 360 Pro at $199 (the price of the Arcade SKU) instead of phasing it out, then they might have seen the same growth in sales that the PS3 has, and could possibly have taken some sales away from the Nintendo Wii.

While all three makers have seen a higher demand for consoles since the price drops, the PS3 is the clear-cut winner thus far. They have surpassed the 360 in worldwide YTD sales, and if they have a strong end of the year, could possibly take the number two spot in YTD sales in the US, where they have historically struggled.

Sales numbers and graphs were collected from VGChartz. For more information on how they gathered their sales figures, click here.

Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata said recently that his company would be testing out demo downloads of certain WiiWare titles this month. It’s unclear if this test program will only be for Wii owners in Japan or if those of us here in the U.S. would be able to participate as well.

Apparently the program “will cover just a few titles,” according to IGN.

Nintendo is apparently looking to attract more potential WiiWare customers and this program is an attempt to gauge whether or not offering game demos will ultimately result in increased purchases. As one of those potential customers myself, I’d like to add that I can’t believe it’s taken this long. Just make demos for all WiiWare games available already, eh?

Nintendo to Offer WiiWare Demos [IGN]

I think we’ve learned something today: not to buy stuff off the TV. QVC was selling, last night, a Nintendo Wii, Go Play Circus Star Games, and a bunch of accessories (golf club, tennis racket, etc.) QVC wanted $362.97 for the bundle, but if you look at the retail price for all this, it comes out to $239.97. Yes, that’s a $140 premium. For what?

To be fair, QVC later slashed the price of the little bundle to $318.20, which is still a hot $80 more than retail.

Never mind the fact that QVC is selling the bundle for that price, the real question is: who’s dumb enough to pay hand over fist for the bundle? And who still buys stuff from these channels?

Outrage!

Shocked? Not me. The constant one-upsmanship inherent in the weirder-than-weird world of Wii accessories and software will never, ever, ever end. Take this new entrant, due out in Australia next month. It’s called Baby and Me and features, you guessed it, an actual doll with a snap-in port for a Wii controller.

Oh, and there’s also Balance Board support so you can rock your baby to sleep and whatnot.

Your baby reacts by giggling, gurgling or crying through the Wii remote
Ten Baby Mode games including feed baby & send baby to sleep
Eight Play Mode games including rattle, catch, clap & balloons
Balance Board support: rock baby to sleep, burp baby, teach baby to walk
Customise baby with new clothes, accessories and playrooms

If the included baby isn’t to your liking, the game also ships with a pink Wii Remote holster which allows you to attach it to your dog or your little brother or an adult-sized doll – sky’s the limit here, folks. As if there are any limits to the Wii any more.

[Aussie-Nintendo.com via Kotaku]

It hasn’t been the best couple of months for Nintendo. Profits were down for the six months leading up to September, which the company blames on the strong yen and the Wii’s price cut. Net sales, too, were down, some 34.5 percent. Fair enough, and those reasons are likely to explain Nintendo’s situation, but is there something else going on? I know Pat Buchanan, the older gentlemen that he is, always uses the phrase “the chickens have come home to roost,” and I think it’s applicable here. Perhaps Nintendo’s strategy of selling the Wii to the “casual” crowd (housewives and the like, to simplify this) has finally run out of gas?

How many games were released for the Wii that appeal to the more hardcore among us? I’m thinking back to all the games I’ve played this year—Street Fighter IV, Resident Evil 5, Bioshock, Fallout 3, Race Driver: Grid, Forza Motorsport 3, and maybe one or two others that I’m forgetting—and none of them were available for the Wii. Now, I consider myself a hardcore gamer only in the sense that I’m not going to play something like Mario Party or some sing-along game; I’m not hanging out on NeoGaf debating the merits of Xbox Live vs PSN. So that’s where I’m coming from.

The point? I would say that there have been next to no games released for the Wii that interested me, a gamer who’d rather sit there and try to 100 percent Resident Evil 5 (well, Resident Evil 4… Resident Evil: 5 had too many things that annoyed me) than lose five pounds playing Wii Fit. I’m a gamer, not someone looking to have a fun evening with my grandkids.

I think that’s what it comes down to: Nintendo has made, if I may, mad money over the past few years by positioning the Wii as an entertainment device for the whole family. That’s all well and good, but when Single Professional Woman buys a Wii so she can host a Wii Sports party once a month, what are the odds that she’s going to keep buying game after game?

That’s not to say Nintendo is doomed, of course. I played the New Super Mario Brothers Wii a few weeks ago, and I can honestly say, “Now there’s a game that’ll appeal to the ‘hardcore’ among us.”

But what do I care? I’m most concerned with leveling my warlock in WoW.

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Nintendo via Kotaku,

“A new iteration of the Nintendo DSi™ system will be introduced in Japan on November 21, 2009, to be known as Nintendo DSi LL in Japan, and as Nintendo DSi XL in North America and Europe, it will offer a screen 93% larger than the current Nintendo DS Lite with a better view angle, an additional longer touch screen stylus, and preinstalled Nintendo DSiWare™ software. The new version will arrive in North America and Europe in the first quarter of calendar year 2010.”

Logic-Sunrise translated by Google,

• The console will carry a Blu-Ray, the primary function is to discourage piracy.
• It must therefore bear display 720P and 1080P, both for broadcasting video Blu-Ray for games.
• A release date for 2010 is planned.
• The output will be worldwide, orchestrated the same day in all countries.
• A bid to take over your Wii first generation is planned. (All your bases are belong to us?)

Everyone probably agrees that the Wii is past its prime technology-wise. Hell, it was sort out of date when it was released, but that hasn’t stopped it from winning the console war. Maybe the recent Wii price drop shows that an update isn’t that far off.

[thanks for the tip, Jon]

Nintendo UK just announced that the limited edition black Wii system will be coming out on November 6th, bundled with Wii Sports Resort. The limited edition bundle will include a Wii-mote, nunchuk, and MotionPlus peripheral, as well as Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort.

Nintendo UK also announced that they are releasing a black Classic Controller Pro. There’s no pricing on any of this new equipment, for the EU yet. Nintendo not only hasn’t announced a release date for the US on the new bundle, they’ve said that they have no plans to release any other colors of Wii until sales drop off on the original system. We are going to get black peripherals however.

[via Joystiq]

Oh, this is embarrassing. A man on the Home Shopping Network is demonstrating how much fun it is to play Wii Sports with one of those plastic tennis racket accessories. Gotta make the sale! And it all goes well until he raises his arm and goes for the serve…

BAM~! That’s one broken TV you have there, mister. Maybe you should have paid attention to the warning that comes on when you turn the Wii on: “please make sure the controller is strapped to your wrist, lest you break the TV, and look like a fool.”

Though full credit to the man for, as the Brits say, getting on with it.

And for the life of me I can’t get the video to queue up to where I want it, so you’ll have to skip manually to 4m53s if you just want to go right to the action.