To quickly answer my tease of a question, the answer is yes, for Nintendo.

I want to clarify my beliefs here; I don’t think that we need an Xbox 720 or a Playstation 4, I’m totally cool with my 360 and the PS3 feels like it’s still just starting to get good.  The real thing here is whether or not Nintendo needs a new system, and I think that it is pretty clear that, yes, they do.

There is no denying that the Wii was a HUGE success, so much of one that in order to get across just how big of a success it was I had to go to all of the trouble of hitting the caps lock for a word.  But the Wii’s future is undeniably limited at this point; both of the major system competitors have motion control now, hell they have better motion control, and that’s in addition to their more powerful systems, better graphics, and better games.  Whether you like the Wii or not you can’t deny that this generation of consoles, while successful fiscally, was not necessarily a renaissance for Nintendo software.  There are great games on the system, some of the best games of all time are on the system (Mario Galaxy, Galaxy 2), but the truth of the matter is that I haven’t played my Wii for a very long time.

So now with the competition matching Nintendo in the motion control department it would only make sense that they are going to create a new console to try and get back some of that competitive edge.

With that in mind I would like to point out a few things that I think Nintendo should know.

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1. Don’t just boost up the graphics of the console.  The graphics war is a war that Nintendo will never win; they tried to do that with the Gamecube, and I believe we all remember how that turned out.  We’ve had HD consoles for the last six years, and we are still figuring out new ways to boost the graphics and use the technology.  I’d rather we all weren’t forced to update for all of our systems. That’s why I said that Nintendo AND ONLY Nintendo should create a new system– the 360 and PS3 are good.  So, with that in mind, Nintendo has to try to stand out from the pack. That’s what makes the company successful: when they’re pushing the foundations of gaming, like introducing a 3D world or motion control. What they don’t do well is play the system graphics pissing contest; it’s what made the Gamecube such a failure.

2. Bring the software.  One of the things that’s most frustrating about Nintendo is that what they do, they do so freaking well, and what they do is make kick-ass games.  That’s why people are willing to buy a whole other console just so they can play Mario or Zelda.  I’m not the first to admit that I own a Wii pretty much for the Nintendo games, to the exclusion of pretty much everything else (if I want a shooter I’ll buy it for the 360).  So if they are indeed releasing a new console they better bring it.  I’m talking Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Pikmin, Super Smash Bros., make the system worth buying, because God knows I won’t buy a console if there’s no software.

3.Go digital.  This has been a long time coming, but really, Nintendo, it’s time you learned to use the Internet.  Everyone else does, it’s the most annoying part of your console, and to be entirely honest it’s just really annoying that I can’t play Super Smash Bros. online without a friend code or a three-hour wait for a shitty connection.

4. Finally have a real controller.  If I have to no choice but waggle control I am going to hunt you down Nintendo, and I will throw my Wiimote in your face.

-Quinn Anderson

So what do you guys think?  Want a new system?  Don’t want one?  How hard does… suck?  Post below.

NeuroSky

The first booth I visited was NeuroSky, who were debuting their new Mindwave device. While the device doesn’t yet replace a conventional controller, it is a cheap alternative for research into how people play games. They had a few demos on the exhibit floor, and the Mindwave looks like an interesting direction for gaming. At only $100, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some interesting uses of the Mindwave soon.

Octodad

Octodad is a weird indie game developed at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. I was a bit intrigued by the bizarre-looking controls and quirky music in trailers. It’s a silly idea mixed with an interactive environment. The challenge comes not in the puzzles but in controlling this land octopus. It’s available free on the site for anyone to check out.

Minecraft

I was lucky enough to watch the GDC award show and got to see Notch go up and accept five awards for Minecraft. We’ve plugged this game before, but if you still haven’t played then you need to give it a try.

Tera

Tera had a playable demo I was lucky enough to get my hands on. They’ve made several efforts to improve on ‘classic’ MMO gameplay. Another journalist and I played with two of the developers in one of the dungeons. While it’s always a bit overwhelming to jump into the middle of an MMO like this, the UI was understandable, and there was a system that suggests combos for your character as you attack to make combat easier. The AI seemed to react well to attacks, rather than standing around weathering attacks. The boss battle the encounter ended in was a fairly epic affair, which required some quick attention on all our parts. The boss was over four stories tall, and the developers said there will be tons of giant monsters like that. Something they focused on was that enemies would telegraph big attacks so attentive players can avoid them. There will also be a dynamic encounter system, allowing for more re-playability for veteran players. Overall it looks like a cool MMO; I look forward to seeing the game when it releases.

GDC was a great conference. One of the main draws were the talks and round table discussions. I was lucky enough to attend the Better Writing in Games Workshop as well as one of the writing round tables. Almost a third of the exhibit floor was career booths where attendees could talk with recruiters. Especially impressive was the Blizzard career booth, and it had people lining up the entire convention. If you are a student, it’s a great idea to try and muster up the money for GDC just for the career-building aspect. I wished I had more time to explore the convention floor, but before I knew it I was on the plane back to Wisconsin. Before I could really relax, it was already time to leave for PAX East. We took several writers, so you’ll be seeing multiple articles this next week detailing our experience there.

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envelope on what the medium can be capable of. Sure, 2010 was an awesome year, but 2011 looks to be upping the ante and here are the top five games to look out for during the year.

5. Brink
Shooters are becoming more and more formulaic as the years progress, and what game better to break the cycle than one with the tagline “Defies all genres”. Brink is hard to define in any small amount of words, but the easiest way to put it would be Battlefield: Bad Company 2 meets Mirror’s Edge. With levels designed specifically to promote mid-combat parkour and intensely acrobatic battles, it’s hard not to see how Brink could redefine the way developers approach level design and the gameplay therein. Combat in Brink looks incredibly fluid, with combatants moving around, above, and below one another with speed and agility. Unlike in most other shooters where camping is encouraged, Brink seems to have a distinct focus on constant movement and surprising pathways through combat as the quickest way to success. The story behind Brink’s singleplayer is equally as interesting as its gameplay, but I’m going to refrain from any spoilers here.
4. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
One would be hard pressed to find someone who would say The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess was a bad game, and anyone that did would be lying to themselves. The problem with Twilight Princess was not that it was bad, but that it wasn’t what Zelda fans were looking for, which at the time was a step forward. Twilight Princess was not revolutionary like it was expected to be, but instead was a rehash of Ocarina of Time with newer visuals and a different story. Also, the Wolf stuff was incredibly lame. That said, Skyward Sword looks to be what Twilight Princess should have been. New visual direction, new controls, and a host of new gameplay devices that will hopefully be the step forward that the series needs.
3. Batman: Arkham City
If you have played Arkhan Asylum, you know why this one is on the list. Asylum was a game that was full of surprises and increasingly cooler moments that really made it an exciting new experience for the player. Rocksteady Studious, the game’s developer, has decided that for the sequel they would be moving Batman to a more open and engaging environment, a city sized Arkham Asylum with no guards or laws, only criminals vying for notoriety and infamy. It seems Batman will be spending the game sneaking his way through this new criminal city using his new found gadgets trying to save Catwoman from a public execution. Also, for those seeking a more mature Batman experience (as if Asylum wasn’t dark enough), Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy promises the game to be “really, really dark”. All of these elements put together is bound to create a fresh, exciting new experience.
2. Infamous 2
Flying around a city shooting lightning tornados and skating on train tracks is pretty much the coolest thing ever. In fact, the only thing that could make that experience better would be an awesome story to explain it, and in a nutshell that is Infamous 2. After the events of Infamous Cole has moved south to New Marais, which is essentially New Orleans, in hopes that he can increase his strength and powers to prepare for his eventual confrontation with the Beast (antagonist). The real star in Infamous is the fluidity of its gameplay. It is easy to run, shoot, and maneuver with ease, which leaves combat up to individual preference and creativity, creating a world in which combat and exploration are equal parts of success.
1. Bioshock Infinite
Whether or not you thought Bioshock was as revolutionary as everyone says it was is irrelevant. Bioshock pushed the story in games to a new level, it pushed level design

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to a new high, and above all it set an incredibly high bar for a successful sequel. Fortunately, Irrational Games is looking to step it up in Infinite by changing up the formula. Infinite is set in a sun bleached, 4th of July esque city in the sky. Without trying to spoil too much of the story, it’ll suffice to say that Infinite doesn’t just have a focus on surprising the player with a rich new world to explore, but also on a rich new story to unravel. Revamped and refined combat mechanics and better environmental combat also help to put a bow on what is essentially the best present a gamer could ask for.

Can Video Games Make You Smarter?

I’m sure we’ve all had an authority figure chastise us for playing video games when we could be doing something more productive. There were plenty of cases in my childhood when I should have been doing homework, but opted to glue myself to a video game. It’s too bad this article wasn’t around when my parents were reprimanding me for wasting my time. “More interactive and absorbing than passive forms of entertainment like movies and TV, video games promote higher levels of engagement because observers are actively and enthusiastically involved with on-screen activity,” writer Scott Steinberg claims. I agree with him wholeheartedly.

More and more games are appearing in classrooms, business training programs, and even medical schools. Running a guild in an MMO teaches personnel management and collaboration, and it’s much easier for that nervous beginner doctor to cut open a digital body. For more readings, also check out:

What Games Have to Teach us
Computer Game Boosts Math Scores
Positive Take on Video Games
Improved Decision Making

Video Games Played with Living Organisms

No, I’m not joking about that title. There really are video games played with tiny living microorganisms. Thanks to a group at Stanford University, players can control their microorganisms in several unique, but simple, games. Although I would like to agree that this technology will greatly assist research and further biological studies, the gamer inside of me wants to know if, someday, I could wage massive digital wars by controlling my army of microorganisms.

In general though, science plus gaming is an excellent combination. Science is using video games and video game technology to propel research with amazing results. If you want to aide biological science, you can download games that allow you to manipulate proteins and RNA (ribonucleic acid). And all that time spent making incredible graphics was not just for realistic blood spatter. For more on science gaming, check out:

Fold Proteins
Design RNAs
Graphical Chemistry

Cuba and Video Games

That’s right. Cuba is developing a video game. Not just any video game; a video game to teach children why paying taxes is awesome. If the children think taxes are cool, hopefully such enthusiasm will be passed along to the parents. This doesn’t seem like an initially bad idea, as I’m sure many boring subjects can be improved greatly via a game. But taxes? Maybe the children should instead play SimCity or some other business minded game to train about management of public money. I do, however, really want to see the finished product of this project. I can’t imagine what this game will look like, let alone how it will play.

Like I previously stated, it’s better to allow a new surgeon to practice an operation on a digital body than a real one. Using video games as means of training and preparing for real life scenarios is an accepted practiced, and becoming a frequent practice. Among others, the Secret Service, Montana firefighters, Tokyo toilet users are playing games for training.

Secret Service Training
Firefighters Digital Training
Potty Training

Dancing-Dancing 10 Year Old

Watching a five-year-old play DDR is one of the most bizarre, if not cutest things, I have witnessed in gaming history. Video games can inspire and encourage us beyond just education or entertainment. Watching young Ryota Wada reminds me that video games are more than just soulless electronic program. Video games have developed a life of their own and, as such, become part of our lives. Games are important to us and have amplified and expanded our world.

Video Games and Music
Exercise Regime
Real Power Glove
Playing for Charity

If you support the notion that games have indeed amplified and expanded our world, I highly advise you to visit Jane McGonigal’s site, a PhD who has recently made quite a stir in the news world. She hopes to see a game developer win a Nobel Peace Prize one day. She has also written a book, Reality is Broken: Why Games Make us Better and How they can Change the World, that I suggest any gamer look into.

So remember Gamezombies, the world of video games isn’t limited to your gaming platforms and any gaming websites you might visit. There is so much more out there about this immensely powerful, yet still growing, industry.

This upcoming release from AGEOD / Paradox France follows such successful historical strategy games as Birth of America, American Civil War, Napoleon’s Campaigns, and Wars in America. Pride of Nations is set to release in Q2, 2011.

Main Features:
•Immerse yourself in realistic historical gameplay set on a global map
•Play as the world’s Great Powers between 1850 and 1920
•Lead one of eight different countries, each with their own personality and agenda: USA, Great Britain, Germany, France, Japan, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Italy
•Experience the most original diplomacy model ever created for a grand strategy game
•Explore a revolutionary system for building armies and fleets
•Fight against a strong AI through a number of new game mechanisms
•Battle it out with others in multiplayer with anew simultaneous turn-based engine
•Engage in a detailed world economy with realistic components

For more information:
Web page: : www.prideofnationsgame.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ParadoxInteractive
Twitter: http://twitter.com/prideofnations
Forum: http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/

Feb 2, 2011 – Austin, TX – “Puppets are just something I’ve always loved,”
says Michael Wilford, CEO of Twisted Pixel Games and closeted marionette
aficionado. “What makes games great is that they are such a collaborative
process. I have over three hundred puppets in my basement, and Bill Muehl,
our Game Director, collects Western landscape photography. Oh, and of
course we have Dan Teasdale, our Design Lead, whose family was brutally
murdered by drug lords when he was a child, and who’s been on a mission of
vengeance ever since.”

Originally conceived as an Oregon Trail – style singalong, design decisions
throughout the project gradually axed all those elements in favor of the
single minded pursuit of revenge by a soulless puppet. Bill recalls, “I
tried to bring up compromise with Dan a couple times, but he’d just start
fingering that necklace made out of the ears of his slain enemies and stare
out into the distance. At that point I’d just mumble something and back
away.”

The player controls a marionette named the Gunstringer using Kinect’s unique
motion-based controls. The epic tale of the lonely gunman unfolds across
several acts, each performance taking place in a hand-crafted environment.
The Gunstringer has several weapons at his disposal, each tool of vengeance
unleashed through the player’s gestures. The game’s lavish production
features over thirty characters and countless animations.

Additional information about The Gunstringer can be found at www.thegunstringer.com.
The site features information about the game, the release trailer,
and our developer’s blog, covering thoughts from the team as their work progresses.

The Gunstringer is expected to be completed in 2011. Dan’s quest to temper
the pain in his soul with violence has not yet been given an end date.

About Twisted Pixel Games, LLC

Founded in 2006 by industry veterans, Twisted Pixel is the independent game
development studio behind the 2009 IGF finalist and 2008 PAX 10 Audience
Choice Award winning game The Maw for Xbox LIVE® Arcade, Steam, Greenhouse,
and Direct2Drive. Their accomplishments continue with the successes
of Splosion

Man and Comic Jumper. Twisted Pixel specializes in character-driven,
original IP titles that shake up what games are all about. Memorable
characters, creative gameplay, and impressive presentation is our focus.
Learn more at www.TwistedPixelGames.com.
and Twitter @twisted_pixel

“Together you must go behind enemy lines…and uncover his dark plans.”

Citizens of Middle-earth…the darkest enemy of the lands of the North will be revealed to you in the newest trailer for the upcoming Action RPG The Lord of the Rings: War in the North. Lurking in a yet unseen and unexplored theatre of Middle-earth, foul sorcerer Agandaûr —twisted descendant of the Black Númenórean — joins forces with Sauron in his assault on Rohan and Gondor.

Revealing more of the unexplored lands to the North, only whispered about in canon, the battle for Middle-earth’s fate wages on in this newly released trailer from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. A Fellowship of three….Human, Elf and Dwarf… join together and go behind enemy lines to uncover the dark plans. Traveling under stealth to Mount Gundabad, the way is treacherous. The power of the three together must be enough for victory. If they fail, all of Middle-earth is lost. Developed by Snowblind Studios, The Lord of the Rings: War in the North features online, interdependent co-op play for up to three players, as gamers join forces to do battle with the enemies of this world, while developing and upgrading weapons, skills and abilities to strengthen their party. The Lord of the Rings: War in the North embraces the mature and brutal combat of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth—forcing players to play together or perish.

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North is slated to launch on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Games for Windows in 2011. For more information please visit the official website at www.warinthenorth.com, the Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/lotrwitn and follow on Twitter @WarInTheNorth.

Sony has finally unveiled their next generation portable gaming device.  Codenamed “NGP” which stands for Next Generation Portable, this handheld gaming behemoth sports a plethora of new features that really set it apart from current generation handhelds.

These features include dual analog sticks (not analog nubs like the original psp); A 5-inch OLED touch screen; a touchpad on the back of the handheld; 3G, Bluetooth, WiFi, and GPS; a motion sensor similar to the Sixaxis and Move controllers; and cameras on the front and back of the handheld.

These new features could easily open up many new gameplay mechanics.  The touchpad on the back of the device is a very interesting concept.  It could allow one to navigate menus and use touch controls without having the player change his or her grip.  Another interesting feature is the front and rear facing cameras.  The main use for these cameras will most likely be video chat, but they could also be used for things like augmented reality.

The complete list of hardware specs:

The NGP’s powerful hardware can play games that have the graphics of modern console games.  At the NGP press conference, games like Uncharted and Metal Gear Solid 4 were shown playing on the handheld.  Franchises that are currently in development for the NGP include Hot Shots Golf, LittleBigPlanet, WipEout, Killzone, Resistance, and Uncharted.

The price for this new handheld has not been announced yet, although one can assume that it will be above 250 dollars.  Sony did not announce a release date for the NGP, however they did say that it will be releasing around the holiday season of this year.

-Kevin Durham

Announcements trailer released

NEW YORK – January 31, 2011 – Paradox Interactive and Taleworlds Entertainment today announced the newest addition in the action RPG series, Mount & Blade. Mount & Blade: With Fire and Sword features great new additions such as fully customizable troops, new siege options, and an exciting new age of weaponry and is set for a Q2 2011 release.

“This is a fantastic addition to the Mount & Blade franchise,” says Armagan Yavuz, Lead Developer & Founder of Taleworlds Entertainment. “The features included in With Fire and Sword fulfill many of our fans’ requests”

Get an overview of the war to come by checking out the announcement trailer!

With Fire & Sword also builds and expands upon the highly regarded combat system from Mount & Blade: Warband. Firearms have been introduced to the battlefield, opening up exciting new play-styles and options. Players can also utilize explosives for taking out groups of foes or to breach castle walls. In addition to the enhanced singleplayer mode, With Fire and Sword also provides a host of original multiplayer content including the new Captain Mode which allows players to control their own forces in online matches.

For more information, please visit
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•AC adapter for Nintendo 3DS
•SD Memory Card (2 GB)
•AR cards (6), reflecting the play outside the camera using the compatible software

It looks like it just might be worth its high price tag, but how many of you are going to wait until the alleged Ocarina and Star Fox remakes hit the shelves before picking up the 3DS?

-Jes Richards