Nintendo Unveils Game Release Schedule for Wii and DS

Nintendo has sent out its latest release schedule of games for the Nintendo Wii and DS/DSi.

Several highly anticipated games are on the list, including Punch-Out!!, a sequel to the classic Nintendo boxing game, that will be released on May 18. 2K Sports will try to preempt Nintendo by releasing Don King Boxing on March 31.

The Conduit is a first person shooter featuring a new graphics engine optimized for the Wii. Previews of the game have shown very high quality footage.

Games based on upcoming movies are also prominent on the list, including G.I. JOE: The Rise of Cobra, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 10 from EA Sports will have an early debut this year in June, rather than the annual August release.

LucasArts will release Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings for both the Wii and DS, while Rockstar Games will have Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars out on March 17 exclusively for the DS.

Several other games, such as The Godfather 2 and Wii Sports Resort are missing from the list as release dates have slipped or are not ready to be disclosed.

Nintendo Wii
2K Sports
Major League Baseball® 2K9 – March 3
Don King Boxing – March 31

Activision
X-Men Origins: Wolverine – May
Ice Age 3 – June 30
Transformers™: Revenge of the Fallen – June

Aksys Games
Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus – May 12

Atari
Ready 2 Rumble Revolution – March 17
Backyard Baseball 10 – March 31

Capcom Entertainment Inc.
MotoGP™ – Spring

Codemasters Inc
Overlord Dark Legend – Summer

Conspiracy Games
Real Heroes: Firefighter – April

Deep Silver, Inc.
Professor Heinz Wolff’s Gravity – April
Fritz Chess – May

Disney Interactive Studios
Hannah Montana The Movie – April

Electronic Arts
TRIVIAL PURSUIT™ – March
MySims™ Party – March
EA SPORTS Active™ – May 19
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 10 – June
BOOM BLOX™ Bash Party – Spring
MySims™ Racing – Summer
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince™ – Summer
G.I. JOE™ The Rise of Cobra – Summer
EA SPORTS Tennis (working title) – Summer

Hudson Entertainment
Help Wanted – Summer

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.
DanceDanceRevolution® Disney Grooves – April 2
Yu-Gi-Oh! ™ 5D’s Wheelie Breakers – May 19

LucasArts
Indiana Jones® and the Staff of Kings™ – Late Spring

NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc
Klonoa® – Q2

Nintendo
New Play Control! Pikmin™ – March 9
New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis™ – March 9
Excitebots: Trick Racing – April 20
New Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat – May 4
Punch-Out!! – May 18

SEGA of America
Virtua Tennis™ 2009 – May
The Conduit™ – June
Let’s Tap™ – June

Southpeak Interactive
Roogoo Twisted Towers™ – April 7
Pirates vs Ninjas Dodgeball™ – April 21

Zoo Games, Inc.
M&M’s Beach Party – March 10
Puzzle Kingdoms – March 31
Garfield Gets Real – April 7
Pennzoil’s Build-N-Race: “Speed Demons” – April 14
Jelly Belly Ballistic Beans – April 21
Smiley World Island Challenge – April 28
Garfield’s Pet Force – June 9

Nintendo DS
2K Sports
MLB® 2K9 Fantasy All-Stars – March 3
Don King Boxing – March 31

Activision
X-Men Origins: Wolverine – May
Ice Age 3 – June 30
Transformers™: Revenge of the Fallen – June

Activision/RedOctane
Guitar Hero® On Tour: Modern Hits – June

Aksys Games
Jake Hunter Detective Chronicles: Memories of the Past – May 26
Rockin’ Pretty – June 23

Aspyr Media, Inc.
Treasure World™ – June

Atari
Backyard Baseball ‘10 – March 31
My Horse and Me Riding For Gold – March 31

Atlus U.S.A., Inc.
TrackMania® DS – March 17
Tokyo Beat Down™ – March 31
The Dark Spire™ – April 14
Dokapon Journey™ – April 14
Steal Princess™ – April 21
101 in 1 Explosive Megamix – April 21
Super Robot Taisen® OG Saga:Endless Frontier™ – April 28
Knights in the Nightmare™ – June 2
Shin Megami Tensei®: Devil Survivor™ – June 23

Capcom
Mega Man Starforce 3 Black Ace – June
Mega Man Starforce 3 Red Joker – June

Codemasters Inc
Overlord Minions – Summer

Deep Silver, Inc.
Pet Vet: Down Under – March
Professor Heinz Wolff’s Gravity – April
Elite Forces: Unit 77 – April
DJ Star – May
Fritz Chess – May
The Humans – May
Horoscope DS – May

Disney Interactive Studios
Hannah Montana The Movie – April

DreamCatcher
Dreamer: Shop Owner – April 21
Dreamer: Babysitter – April 21
Dreamer: Teacher – April 21
Prank’d – May 19

Electronic Arts
Zubo™ – March 10
Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure™ – March 17
MySims™ Party – March
SCRABBLE™ – March
LITTLEST PET SHOP Spring™ – March
MySims™ Racing – Summer
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince™ – Summer

Hudson Entertainment
Miami Law – Summer

KOEI
Monster Racers™ – June

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.
Magician’s Quest: Mysterious Times™ – May 5
Yu-Gi-Oh!™ 5D’s Stardust Accelerators World Championship 2009 – May 19

LucasArts
Indiana Jones® and the Staff of Kings™ – Late Spring

Majesco Entertainment
Puffins: Island Adventure – April 14
Powerbike – April 28
Drama Queens – May
Marker Man Adventures – May
Hot ‘n’ Cold – May
Dawn of Heroes – June

MumboJumbo
Crazy Chicken Star Karts – March 31
Crazy Chicken Atlantis Quest – April 28
Crazy Chicken The Pharaoh’s Treasure – June 2
7 Wonders II – June 30

Nintendo
Rhythm Heaven – April 5
Personal Trainer: Walking – May 25
The Legendary Starfy – June 8

PopCap Games, Inc.
Peggle™ Dual Shot – March 3

Rockstar Games
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars – March 17

Southpeak Interactive
Roogoo Attack™ – April 7

THQ
Desktop Tower Defense – April 29

Ubisoft
Imagine® Makeup Artist – May 5
Imagine® Music Fest – May 5
Imagine® Boutique Owner – May 26
My Healthy Cooking Coach – June 2
Petz® Fashion: Dogz and Catz – June 9
Jake Power Soccer Club – June 16

Valcon Games
History Channel: Great Empires: Rome – March 17

Zoo Games, Inc.
Yamaha Supercross – March 10
Hands On!: Tangrams – March 24
Puzzle Kingdoms – March 31
Garfield Gets Real – April 7
Jelly Belly Ballistic Beans – April 21
Smiley World Island Challenge – April 28
Garfield’s Pet Force – June 9

How Many NES Games Can U Name in 10 Min

Provided by the beautiful Prissy

Isn’t she a cutie?

The Second Annual Xbox LIVE Arcade Awards

2008 was a banner year for Xbox LIVE Arcade titles and we’re going to kick off the Second Annual Arcade Awards on March 3rd. The cool thing is this year, you get to cast your votes directly on your Xbox 360 within NXE.

Voting starts next week, so read up on it before you cast your ballot.

Not sure what game to vote for ? Each Arcade title has a free demo to give you a taste of the action. To get you started, here are the categories and nominees:

Best Overall Arcade Game

Braid

Castle Crashers

Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2

Street Fighter II HD Remix

Portal: Still Alive

Best Original Game

Castle Crashers

N+

Braid

Penny Arcade Episode 1

Schizoid

Age of Booty

Best Family Game

Boogie Bunnies

Roogoo

A Kingdom for Keflings

Lost Cities

Meteos Wars

Best Co-operative Multiplayer Game

Castle Crashers

Schizoid

Bionic Commando Rearmed

N+

Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2

Best Competitive Multiplayer Game

Street Fighter II HD Remix

Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2

Soul Calibur

Meteos Wars

Age of Booty

Best Solo Game

Braid

Mega Man 9

Penny Arcade Episode 1

Rez HD

Portal: Still Alive

Best Innovation in XBLA

Braid (time travel)

A Kingdom for Keflings (use of Avatars)

Fable II Pub Games (retail game integration)

N+ (level sharing)

Duke Nukem 3D (dynamic replay)

Best Graphics

Street Fighter II HD Remix

Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2

Braid

Castle Crashers

Bionic Commando Rearmed

Best Classic/Remake Game

Bionic Commando Rearmed

Street Fighter II HD Remix

Mega Man 9

Galaga Legions

Rez HD

Xbox LIVE Policy on Gamertags and profiles

With the recent post on the Consumerist, I wanted to point out a couple of posts about Xbox LIVE policy that you may find relevant. The first post is from regular podcast guest Stephen Toulouse. Stephen and his team handle policy for the LIVE service, and therefore spend a lot of time developing the best policies that we use on the service. The second post is from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) where they give their take on the story. Hopefully you’ll take the time to read both which will give you a better understanding of the issues at hand.

Call of Duty: WaW ‘Makin’ map (Free)

Content: Makin Bonus Map
Price: Free
Availability: Not available in Japan
Dash Text: [ESRB: M (Mature) BLOOD AND GORE,INTENSE VIOLENCE,STRONG LANGUAGE] Free Multiplayer Map! The tide is out and the sun is high – this daytime version of Makin sheds new light on the battle!

Cocktails of Absinthe Brilliance

The mind melting spirit, absinthe, has been legal in the US for a while now – the fears of people descending into madness just for drinking it having been alleviated.

Yet a lot of you haven’t tried it, either because of its reputation, or because you didn’t want to drink it the traditional way, mixed with water that’s been poured over a sugar cube.

Le Tourment Vert Absinthe wants to change that. They’ve created “green fairy” infused cocktails using their traditional French absinthe that’s made with grand wormwood and anise, along with other herbs like eucalyptus, rosemary, coriander, sage, and fennel.

The five recipes below
are the ones they mixed exclusively for the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. I’m sure they made it easier to sit through 10 hours of indie directed “art”. And they’re a good way for first timers to give absinthe a try. You know, before the madness sets in.

www.letourmentvert.com

The Sundance Lift
To be served at every Sundance event
1 oz Tourment Absinthe
1 oz Tonic Water
1 oz 7Up (or Sprite)
2 Lemon Wedges
Build all ingredients in a tall glass filled with ice. Squeeze the 2 lemon wedges. Garnish with a lemon.

Green on Main
1oz Tourment Absinthe
1oz Sweet and Sour
1 oz Simple Syrup
Lemon Wedge
Shake well and strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon twist.

Tourment Trance
1 1/2 oz Le Tourment Vert
2 1/2 oz Cranberry Juice
2 oz Tonic Water Build over ice. Garnish with lemon.

Triple French Martini
1 oz Le Tourment Vert
1 oz Absolute
1 oz Chambord
1 oz Pineapple juice
Shake well and strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon twist.

Poison Apple Martini
1 oz Le Tourment Vert
1/2 oz Apple Pucker
1/2 oz Sweet and Sour
Splash of Cranberry juice. Shake well and strain into rocks glass.

Netflix To Offer ‘Streaming Only” Plans

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Netflix Inc Chief Financial Officer Barry McCarthy said on Wednesday it plans to offer its online streaming service on a stand-alone basis.

“We’re likely to do that in the foreseeable future,” McCarthy said at the Jefferies 5th annual Internet and Media conference in New York.

Netflix customers currently pay a fixed monthly subscription fee for access to the company’s popular by-mail DVD service, with about 100,000 titles, as well as its online streaming service, with more than 12,000 titles available for viewing.

Netflix recently said it had hit 10 million subscribers, and said last month its stronger-than-expected quarterly results were propelled by growth in its Web video streaming service.

The Watch Instantly streaming service was first available only on personal computers, but is now offered through various devices, including the Roku set-top boxes, Microsoft Corp’s Xbox, and LG Electronics Inc products.

McCarthy stressed the company still remains focused on providing a bundled offering, but said he understands that some viewers will find a stand-alone streaming service to be compelling, particularly as more compatible devices become prevalent.

SoftBank prepares to offer iPhone 3G for free in Japan

The iPhone 3G might be selling like hotcakes here in the US but it looks like other countries may be a bit reluctant to hand over standard functionality such as MMS and copy/paste in exchange for the smooth touchscreen ride the iPhone affords. According to a press release issued by SoftBank Mobile early this morning, the Japanese carrier is preparing to introduce some unheard-of pricing for the iPhone 3G — free. And you thought $99 was a good deal… Starting Friday and extending though the end of May, SoftBank’s “iPhone for everybody Campaign” will offer the iPhone 3G 8GB for free or the iPhone 3G 16GB for $117 to new subscribers. There is a mandatory 2-year contract involved of course, and but the iPhone data plan will run $44.75 per month as opposed to the standard $60. So basically, new SoftBank subscribers are looking at an instant savings of around $230 on either iPhone 3G model — standard pricing is $230 for the 8GB and $350 for the 16GB — and they’re saving over $15 each month on data. Ok AT&T, what’s up?

Apple getting ready to issue 10.5.7 update for OS X?

As rumors of Snow Leopard continue to swirl, it looks like Apple will be stringing Leopard along for quite a while longer before the next iteration of OS X debuts. According to reports, Apple has seeded a new OS X build to developers and testing is currently under way. The new build, 10.5.7, is said to focus on maintenance, security and synchronization. Apparently the seventh variant of Leopard is a pretty substantial improvement even in its current form — specific areas Apple is targeting with the update include graphics drivers, Time Machine, printing services, screen sharing services, MobileMe syncing, Mail and AddressBook syncing, AirPort services, text services and iCal. Beyond that, about 70 code corrections are said to have already been identified in the build. Needless to say if this rumor turns out to be true, we’re certainly looking forward to seeing an update that will resolve a healthy amount of the issues currently plaguing OS X. Of course we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves; we likely still have a few months before 10.5.7 sees the light of day considering testing has just begun.

PlayStation Network snags 20M users, Xbox Live still way more profitable

Sony announced a landmark this week for its PlayStation Network: 20 million users worldwide, as of February 20. According to the presser, that breaks down to 5 million in the first 14 months of service, 5 million more 8 months later, and an additional 10 million the 7 months after that. There’s quite a few caveats to consider here, as that includes PSP and PS3 users as well as anyone who wishes to use the official PS forums, whether or not they own one of the aforementioned consoles.

However, more interesting to us is a a note about the service generating $180 million life to date in revenue. It’s a stark contrast to Xbox Live’s reported $1 billion revenue since its 2002 launch, as of E3 2009. Based on figures from leaked to Seattle P-I this week, which said XBL had 10 million subscribers worldwide and a 56 percent Gold subscriptions rate in February 2008, we can do some fuzzy math. Assuming those Gold members paid the $50 annual subscription — or $4.16 monthly, the cheapest per month option — that amounts to $23.3 million for the month, not accounting for discounts or free Gold trials. Presuming no subscription growth for sake of argument — we know it’s growing — that’s $280 million annually, well over PSN’s life to date revenues. Say what you will about mean ol’ Microsoft charging for online play, the numbers seem to go in its favor.