By Hector Cortez Mar 25, 2009, 17:25 GMT
Nintendo President Satoru Iwata today revealed surprises during his keynote address at the Game Developers Conference. Iwata announced a new storage solution for Nintendo Wii, showed video highlights of a new Nintendo DS game from The Legend of Zelda franchise, along with more surprises.
Nintendo President Satoru Iwata today revealed surprises during his keynote address at the Game Developers Conference.
Nintendo DSiThe new portable Nintendo DSi system goes on sale in the United States on April 5. For the first six months after launch, consumers who buy the system and connect to the Nintendo DSi Shop will automatically receive 1,000 Nintendo DSi Points, which can be redeemed for downloadable Nintendo DSiWare games and applications through the Nintendo DSi Shop. In order to receive the free Nintendo DSi Points, consumers must access the Nintendo DSi Shop by Oct. 5, 2009, and the Nintendo DSi Points can be redeemed at any time after that (wireless broadband access required).
Similar to how the WiiWare service works in the Wii Shop Channel, the Nintendo DSi Shop will feature a variety of downloadable Nintendo DSiWare games and applications. These games and applications will be available at four different price categories: free, 200 points, 500 points, and 800+ points. Consumers can purchase Nintendo DSi Points in the Nintendo DSi Shop with a credit card or by purchasing a Nintendo Points Card at retail locations for redemption in the Nintendo DSi Shop. All points from one Nintendo Points Card will need to be redeemed at the Nintendo DSi Shop. Nintendo Points Card will start to become available at select retail locations beginning Apr. 5.
Iwata gave conference attendees a glimpse into some of the upcoming Nintendo DSiWare games and applications such as Moving Memo (name not final) and WarioWare: Snapped!. Moving Memo lets users create animated digital flipbooks of their own design, while WarioWare: Snapped! is a game that uses Nintendo DSi Camera functionality.
Nintendo DS & Nintendo DSi SoftwareThe new The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks game that Iwata announced will utilize the touch control of Phantom Hourglass. The concept behind this Zelda game includes utilizing a steam locomotive to travel around the world, switching Phantom and Link to explore the dungeons, and solving puzzles using new items.
WiiStarting today, Wii owners will be able to save downloaded WiiWare, Virtual Console video games, and Channels directly to High Capacity SD cards, in addition to SD memory cards. To play games that have been saved to SD cards, consumers will be able to select and launch them from an SD Menu icon on the Wii Menu. (Note that when launching games or channels from an SD card, an equivalent amount of internal Wii memory is required. To clear space from the internal memory, users can transfer games or channels from the Wii Menu to the SD card). This feature is included in the latest version of the Wii System Menu Update, which owners will receive immediately after performing a system update today.
Nintendo also revealed that Punch-Out!! will launch May 18, while Excitebots: Trick Racing will arrive on store shelves April 20.
WiiWareIwata unveiled a game for the WiiWare downloadable game service called Rock N’ Roll Climber, which uses the Wii Balance Board accessory to help users simulate the experience of rock climbing.
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