One of Nintendo’s more controversial moves for the Wii in 2009 — the resurgence and re-purposing of GameCube games for Nintendo’s current console — has long been on Iwata’s mind, as I was reminded when I listened to these comments Nintendo president Satoru Iwata made to me in an interview almost three years ago. Read more…

I’ve learned the following things from my crunching of more than 1.6 million Wii owners’ gameplaying habits of 41 Wii games this month:

*“Animal Crossing: City Folk” owners are indeed hardcore — they played that game, on average, almost 10 hours of the game in December, the most intense game-binging I’ve seen since I started making these posts!

*The 2007-2008 Wii light-gun gaming renaissance was a bust. Not only did people barely touch their light-gun games, but they touched the “Zelda“-branded one the least.

*“Wii Play” continues to defy the critics, by actually getting played — a lot.

These are just some of the discoveries in MTV Multiplayer’s fifth monthly breakdown of Wii software usage stats. Remember! I’m not tracking sales. I’m tracking how much time the people who play and rent these games actually play them. Any game can sell. But only good games get played.

Check out the usage stats for 41 Wii games: Read more…

I played three WiiWare games for fun in 2008 and finished none of them.

As I did last year, I’ve compiled a list of the games that I played for fun in 2008. One list per major gaming platform.

(Check out the rest of my 2008 Gaming Playlists for other platforms, updated daily until New Year’s.)

Today’s entry is all about WiiWare, Nintendo’s new-in-’08 download service for original games.

What did I play? And why didn’t I finish any?

Take a look below: Read more…

I played 22 Wii games for fun in 2008 and finished five of them.

As I did last year, I’ve compiled a list of the games that I played for fun in 2008. One list per major gaming platform.

(Check out the rest of my 2008 Gaming Playlists for other platforms, updated daily until New Year’s.)

Today’s entry is all about the Wii, a system on which I played more disc-based games than I did on the PS3, but fewer than on the Xbox 360.

What did I play? And which five games did I finish?

Take a look below: Read more…

Yesterday, I received a press release from Nintendo hyping the creation of a Nintendo mini-store in the Toys R Us located in the heart of Times Square. Some said this store was only for the lazy. It’s a mere two blocks from the Nintendo world, after all.

I thought: this store might be for me – because I can practically see it out of my office window.

At lunchtime today, I decided to journey to the store to see what it was all about. I also hoped to do it quickly. And obtain a ham sandwich.

My 41-minute Adventure To The Nintendo Mini-Store

12:12 With snow falling outside I stand up from my desk, look out the window down at the Toys R Us on Times Square and decide to begin my journey. Read more…

Forget for a second that Rockstar Games released the almost-AO-rated game “Manhunt 2” on the Wii last year. (It didn’t sell well anyway).

Rockstar owner Take Two hasn’t really put much of its edgy content on the Wii. The 2007 and 2008 hits “BioShock” and “Grand Theft Auto IV,” for example, both came out for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 — but not the Wii.

Never fear, Wii owners. Take Two’s CEO said during a financial earnings call today that he now wants to make sure that all the company’slabels — Rockstar included, it seems — figure out how to back the Wii. Read more…

People are never satisfied. They always want to know what’s next. Even analysts.

On a financial call disclosing Take-Two Interactive’s fiscal year results, an analyst asked about what’s further in the future for the publisher, including “Grand Theft Auto” showing up in 2010.

“[As for] GTA in 2010 — it’s just way too early to talk about [with it still] at full price at retail,” said Take-Two CEO Ben Feder in response. “We’re not saying no, it’s just way to early to be talking 2010, especially ‘GTA’ in 2010.”

Does anyone expect a new “GTA” in 2010?

Earlier this year, Peekaboo Pole Dancing announced their plans to create a pole dancing game for the Wii.

I followed up with the company, known for the Carmen Electra pole dancing kit (the “Electra-pole”), to see if there’s been any deals made. Simon Kay, a rep for Peekaboo and licensing agency AT New Media told me via e-mail that they are still seeking a developer and publisher.

“We have not managed to tie up a deal for this yet but we still remain hopeful,” he wrote. “We have, however, connected with a company that is manufacturing a peripheral product and we are investigating mutual publishing opportunities. Please feel free to give a shout out to any developers or publishers who want to give this a crack. [The game] just needs someone with a little nerve.”

He added that Carmen Electra is “available to be involved” but is not associated with the project at this time.

[Photo Credit: Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images]

Related Posts:
Too Edgy For Wii, Carmen Electra May Pole Dance On Xbox 360
Wii Pole Dancing Game Intended For Fitness, Fun For Men And Women

Nintendo has released a long list of games slated for the Wii and DS for the first three months of 2009. And I’ve annotated it, hopefully in a manner that’s helpful to you.

How do we feel about this line-up?

Which games are you most excited about?

Mine are “Madworld,” “Zubo,” “Retro Game Challenge,” “Henry Hatsworth,” and “GTA: Chinatown Wars.” You?

Wii Q1 2009 Line-Up

Activision
Monsters vs. Aliens March 24 [Uh-oh The world's self-proclaimed biggest "pure-play" publisher has one game for the world's most popular gaming console in the first quarter of 2009.]

Crave Entertainment
Monster Pals March [No offense to Crave, but it's a bit unsettling that Capcom wasn't listed here. Could they have no games for the Wii for the winter?]
Solitaire & Mahjong February
Puzzle Challenges and More! February
Crayola Colorful World March Read more…

Wii has become to be the most popular vehicle for music games, but two years in a row, MTV Games and Harmonix have delivered “Rock Band” on Wii months later than its counterparts.

This year, “Rock Band 2″ will not ship for Wii until December 18. It might not make Christmas. That depends on when your retailer receives it.

Following an avalanche of complaints from fans, Harmonix took to their official “Rock Band” message board. Harmonix assured fans the studio is hoping to release future versions of “Rock Band” for Wii at the same time as everyone else.

“We’ve seen that many users in the Wii community have been unhappy with the period of time between Rock Band’s release on other platforms and on Wii,” said the company in a statement. “We want to apologize for the delay in getting RB2 onto the Wii and to reaffirm that we believe that Wii is an amazing and unique fit for Rock Band 2, and one that we care deeply about getting right. Going forward, it is our ambition to release future games on Wii simultaneously with releases on the other platforms.”

The first test case should be the upcoming Beatles-related “Rock Band” title next year. If you can, will you be picking up “Rock Band 2″ for Wii this holiday?

Related Stories
More ‘Rock Band 2′ Wii Questions Answered - SD Cards, ‘Guitar Hero’ Instrument Compatibility And More

Harmonix Answers Our Questions About ‘Rock Band 2′ Wii

Though the idea for “Deadly Creatures” was inspired by a dream that lead designer Jordan Itkowitz once had, the actual character design came from real-life influences in the deserts of Phoenix, Arizona.

Developed by Phoenix-based, THQ-owned developer Rainbow Studios, the T-rated Wii game features a tarantula and a scorpion as its protagonists as well as a plethora of other insects local to the area.

“We did a lot of research, and all the creatures in [the game] are things that we have in Phoenix,” Itkowitz told me during a demo held at the MTV offices earlier this week. In fact, a few team members went above and beyond by bringing their own specimens into the office, and someone even left Itkowitz a present on his desk… Read more…

Doing my daily search in the database of stock photo supplier Getty Images, I stumbled on some photos from a the launch party for “Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party” held last night at the Apple Lounge in West Hollywood, California.

Take a look at the pictures from the Ubisoft event showing famous people getting their Wii on, like celebutante Kim Kardashian, model/actress Vida Guerra and “America’s Best Dance Crew” judge Shane Sparks.

Only one of them was photographed sitting on a Wii Balance Board. And only one — hopefully — played it in high heels: Read more…