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  PUGGY BLOG
Michael Pugliese's Video Game News Blog


BRAND NEW PUGGYBLOG COMING SOON!

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks announced - March 25, 2009

Today, at the annual Game Developers Conference, Nintendo announced a brand new Zelda game for the Nintendo DS call "The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks"! Apparently, the big new feature is the ability for Link to control a train. There is also word of controlling a new sidekick character with the DS stylus. Nintendo says the game will be out this year. I will provide a link soonwhen more information becomes available.

Nintendo Announces DSi - October 2, 2008
Today, Nintendo announced a new version of the Nintendo DS called the Nintendo DSi. The DSi has almost all of the same features as the current DS lite but with a few interesting additions. The most noteable additions are a built in camera and music player. With the camera, you will be able to alter the pictures you take, as well as saving them to an SD card and viewing them on the Wii Photo Channel. The DSi will also have slightly bigger screens. Nintendo will also be launching an online download service very similar to Wiiware, specifically for the DSi. Along with this, the DSi will come with an internet browser built in. The Nintendo DSi is set to launch in America in 2009.

Interview with Koji Igarashi - August 20, 2008
www.nintendoworldreport.com recently held an interview with the creator of the "Castlevania" series, Koji Igarashi. He shares his thoughts about his most recent announcement in the series, "Castlevania Judgement", a fighting game currently being developed for the Wii. He also goes on to drop a few tidbits of information about his future plans specifically on Nintendo's Wiiware service. Check out the full interview here.

"A Guide to Starting a Career in Video Games" - August 20, 2008
It's always a great idea to get a head start on a career in the video game industry, or any other career for that matter! This Article from www.enhancegame.com not only talks about some of the diferent jobs of making a game, but also covers what you should be researching and practicing beforehand to get a good head start over the competition. You can take a look at the article here.

"Making Games for a Living" - June 22, 2008
Ever wonder what it's like inside a professional game development studio? The author of this article discusses his time as an intern for Electronic Arts (EA) and goes over some of the different branches and jobs of game development. Check it out here.

"Q&A with Gabrielle Allen" - June 22, 2008
This interview covers some of the main qualities you might want to reach for if you're thinking about making games on your own. You can also read about what kind of courses colleges are cooking up for video game development. Check it out here.

"User Generated Content: Past, Present and Future" - June 6, 2008
Lots of games these days feature some sort of creation mode which allows the player to create or edit their own content in the game. These games can be found across many different platforms, in games such as "Quake", "Warcraft", "City of Heroes", and also in many upcoming titles like "Little Big Planet", "Spore", and "Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts" just to name a few. Nintendo news site, Nntendoworldreport.com, takes a look at the past, present and future of this feature, specifically across the timeline of Nintendo's history. You'd be surprised to see how long this feature has been around and how far it's come! Check out the article here.

Itagaki Leaves Tecmo - June 5, 2008
Famed game developer Tomonubo Itagaki has resigned from Tecmo...and is suing them. Itagaki is best known for his direction in the "Ninja Gaiden" and "Dead or Alive" series. He states that the cause of his departure is from issues with Tecmo's president. He also goes on to apologize to his fans.

"Before the start of development on DEAD OR ALIVE 4, Tecmo Co., Ltd. had agreed to pay a completion bonus to me for this Xbox 360 title, which I produced. However, when the time came for the actual payment, Tecmo Co., Ltd. went against its previous agreement and refused payment....To All Game Fans: I truly feel sorry to all the fans of the games I have made. NINJA GAIDEN 2, which will launch on the 3rd of June will be the last NINJA GAIDEN I will create. I will also never be able to make DEAD OR ALIVE 5."
- Tomonubo Itagaki

"Video Games Live" Comes to Long Island, NY - May27, 2008
Do you love video games? Do you love video game music? The "Video Games Live" concert has you covered! "Video Games Live" is a music concert that exclusively performs video game music. They travel across the world and they've got everything from Mario to Halo. I've been to the phenomenal New York City concert, and now this September, they will be performing in Brookvillle, Long Island! You can check out their site here. The tour dates page says "coming soon" but my spidey senses say tickets will be available on June 3rd. Get tickets early!

Wiiware is Here! - May 27, 2008
Have you tried out Wiiware yet? It launched in America earlier this month! Wiiware is a service you can get on the Wii that lets you buy special games straight from the Wii Shop channel. The cool thing about these games is that they can either come from well known developers like Square Enix, or they can come from independant game developers like....well maybe you! For example, you might remember an addictive little flash game called "Defend Your Castle". Well, the same people who created it have just released a reworked verson for Wiiware! Check it out here!

"The State of Indie Gaming" - May 5, 2008
Gaming news website, Gamasutra.com has posted a lengthy article all about independent game development called "The State of Indie Gaming". This is a very interesting time for independant game developers. Have you ever heard of "Alien Hominid", "N", or "Line Rider"? What all of these games have in common is that they all started out as simple, fun, home made games, and are now being put on your game store shelves for all the world to play! You can find Gamasutra's article by clicking here. Could you be the world's next Shigeru Miyamoto?

Nintendo DS used as Wireless Tool in Disney World - February 29, 2008
Disney recently began a pilot program called "Disney Magic Connection" which uses the Nintendo DS as an interactive map for guests visiting the Magic Kingdom theme park in Orlando, Florida. Along with the built in map software, there are also special mini-games only attainable when in the area of certain attractions. This offers visitors a much more enjoyable experience when waiting on line. Currently, this program is being tested on random guests and families during their stay. It is not yet known if it will become a permanent feature for the entire theme park.

School uses Nintendo Wii for Gym Class - February 29, 2008
Students of the Chelsea Intermediate School in Frankfort, Illinois were pleasantly surprised when they found the Nintendo Wii being used in their Gym Classes. "They're going to play video games anyway, we might as well steer them to the right ones" says P.E. teacher, Don Prorok, who helped convince his school board to purchase seven Nintendo Wiis and 28 game controllers. The bundled game, "Wii Sports," is being used to excite and motivate students about physical fitness. They are encouraged to use any of the five multi-player games including Tennis, Baseball, Golf, Bowling, and Boxing which are all controlled with physical movements using the Wii controller's built-in motion sensitive technology.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Tournament - February 29, 2008

For those of you who don't know, Super Smash Bros. Brawl is a 1-4 player fighting game starring tons of Nintendo's mascots and more coming out for the Wii next month. Gamestop has just announced that they are having national Smash Bros. tournaments the night before its release in America, March 9th. The tournaments will start with local, district, and regional matches, and later the finalists will be flown to the national finals in San Jose, California! For more information on prizes and what stores are participating, you can visit:
www.gamestop.com/gs/ssbb/tournament/default.asp

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