Fast Food Panic Trailer

Gameplay trailer for the upcoming Wii/DS game Fast Food Panic.

Get The First Chapter of Tales of Monkey Island Free

Did you know that tomorrow is "National Talk Like a Pirate Day?". I did, but only because I have a brother who's big into the Ren Faire scene. But that's not the point of this post.

Telltale Games is celebrating the occasion by giving everyone the chance to Play like a pirate and offering the first chapter of Tales of Monkey Island: Launch of the Screaming Narwahl for free. If you haven't seen it yet our review of that chapter can be found here.

The game is worth every penny of the asking price of $0. Go download it if you haven't. It's a bit on the brainy side, meaning you'll have to do a lot of thinking outside the box, but I think you'll enjoy it and if you do there is another chapter available already and three more on the way.

Even better, through the 21st of September, they're also offering 50% off on the iPhone, Steam and Direct2Drive special editions of The Secret of Monkey Island.

Now get out there with your hook hands and your peg legs, hoist the mainsail and shove off for Flotsam Island. And don't forget to pick up a "U" tube while you're there.

Retro Redux: Wario Land 2

Here it is folks, as promised. Our second Retro Redux this week. Don't get used to it. I play through all of these games the week they show up on the site and some of them take a while to play through. I hope you enjoy this look back at Wario's second trip for treasure; Wario Land 2.

Wario has had a very colorful past when it comes to his appearances in video games. He’s been the antagonist in Mario platformers. He’s been the protagonist in his own titles, usually not by his own design. He’s a bit of the reluctant hero, and only a hero because his greed somehow manages to do something good. Wario Land 2 was the last game developed by Nintendo for the Game Boy and would also be redone to take advantage of the Game Boy Color.

1998 saw the release of Wario Land 2, the sequel to 1994’s Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3. This game saw the return of Captain Maple Syrup and her Black Sugar Gang. When this game starts the gang has broken into Wario’s castle, stolen his treasure, set of his alarm clock and left the water running. It might remind you a bit of the Wet Bandits from Home Alone. Wario wakes to the revelation that his gold is missing and sets off to find it. His first mission is to shut off that annoying alarm clock.

What follows is an adventure that makes a very nice swansong to Nintendo’s efforts on the original Game Boy. Wario Land 2 is full of branching paths through levels, multiple endings, Wario torture and more. This was Nintendo’s second attempt, after Wario Land, to branch the Mario series into something different and it completely works. Wario’s greed is the perfect start for a platformer and is the perfect counter balance to Mario’s wholesome goodness. Wario is out for money, he just got his new castle and now people are messing with him.

You’ll begin inside Wario’s castle and your first task is to turn off the aforementioned alarm clock which you will hear buzzing constantly along with the catchy Wario tunes that are built into this game. Enemies, unlock in traditional Mario games do not hurt our “hero”. They simply bounce off of his enormous girth and he’s able to pick them up and use them as projectiles. If the enemy doesn’t have some sort of spike or weapon on them, chances are they can’t hurt him. This is used to great effect through out the game and these enemies will be used to dispatch more dangerous foes, break open blocks that Wario can’t reach and help bounce him higher than he normally would be able to.

There are also, in traditional Wario Land fashion enemies that will cause something to happen to Wario. There are some blocks in the game that can only be destroyed with fire. Wario can’t carry a torch, but enemies with torches can light him on fire. While he’s engulfed in flames you can break the blocks in your way and wait for the fire to go out or find a source of water than can put him out faster. There are some enemies that will feed Wario cake causing him to double in size. He can then proceed to run over enemies that would otherwise cause him to just bounce backwards or destroy blocks below him that need a little more weight before they give up the fight. These enemies replace the hats that Wario used in the first game and would make appearance many years later on the DS in Wario: Master of Disguise.

There are a number of different paths in each of the levels. Many of them contain hidden treasures that are used to unlock things throughout Wario’s adventure. Some hidden treasures are simply bigger amounts of gold or hidden deposits of gold. Collecting all of the hidden treasure will reveal a different ending. After each level Wario has the ability to play a guessing game where a number is covered up by 9 squares. Paying 50 coins from the treasure you’ve accumulated allowing you to take a guess at the hidden number. You can keep paying these coins to uncover another part of the number. The more coins you pay, the easier it is to guess the number. If you guess correctly you receive a tile that uncovers part of a picture. Gain all these tiles and the Simon Says game unlocks.

The music in this game is some of my favorite from the Game Boy era. Granted, that history is relatively small as my original Game Boy library was very limited. It’s slowly getting bigger, but that’s a different story. The bleeps and bloops that system could put out created some very catchy tunes. The Tree Maze area is probably my favorite in the game and they use it to great effect, taking the same basic concept and molding it a little differently every time.

Wario may be the bad guy to Mario’s hero, but he still has been in some memorable games that are the perfect flip side of the coin to our favorite plumber. He started out as a villain in Mario’s adventures, quickly received his own game and has won the hearts of millions throughout the world. This second adventure of his sets the stage for the many different games that follow. They may all follow the same basic style of play, but you don’t always have to reinvent the wheel. Nintendo has been perfecting a great game over the years and Wario Land 2 is simply put a great game. You owe it to yourself to find this game in a vintage store if you can. It will play on the original Game Boy, Game Boy Color, or the Game Boy Advance, so you probably don’t have much excuse to not get a hold of this game.

More Price Drop Rumours Add Fuel to the Fire

This is getting a bit ridiculous and it's getting to the point where it can't be ignored. Those three ads are for Target, Best Buy, and Toys 'r Us. Best Buy is the newest and showed up today. Those images along with the word about a Walmart circular showing a new price for the Wii can't be coincidence. If it had been just one of those companies I could see this being a limited store based price drop, but four different companies all in the same time period showing the same discount? These all go in effect September 27, or the first week of October.

Rumors show up in my mail box every day and I don't post about them. If this had been a single store I wouldn't mention it, much like I have until now. But the evidence for a Wii price drop is piling up. Nintendo still won't comment other than to say they don't comment on rumor or speculation so we'll have to wait until TGS when the announcement could be made official.

Real Wii Football

Remember that Wii Football patent we told you about a few weeks ago? Well someone went and made a real one. It's not exactly the same. It has the buttons somewhat masked by the stitching to give it a bit more of an authentic football feel. There is also a wrist strap and a strap that goes around your hand to help prevent slippage.

My question is for anyone that has played Madden. Do you think Madden or NCAA would be better with this thing? I've played the game and I can tell you I don't think it would have been any more fun with this peripheral. It seems like it would make using the controller more clunky than it already is. What can't be determined from the picture is whether or not this has a place for the nunchuk to plug into.

This is also a peripheral that won't store very easily, which is something all the peripherals that Nintendo has put out can do. They're all small or like the balance board can be hidden behind the couch.

What do you guys think. Is this something you'd be interested in at all?

Source: Kotaku

Programming Note

Hey guys. Just a bit of an exciting thing. I'm going to get my first look at Max and the Magic Marker this weekend. I've also been allowed to do a bit of a hands on preview with the game so you'll get some impressions of the game next week. I would look for that to show up on Tuesday. Max is a side scrolling platformer where a little kid's imagination begins to run wild. Anything he draws with his magic marker becomes real and can be used to help him in his adventures. Look for that to show up on the site next Tuesday.

Also the guys at Press Play have released some new wallpapers for anyone interested. Visit www.maxandthemagicmarker.com and head over to the media section to get those.

Retro Redux: Duck Tales

What was the best thing about the 80’s? Was it parachute pants or bangles? Flock of Seagulls or Duran Duran? The answer is, of course, none of those. It was the resurgence of video games thanks to the NES and the fact that licensed properties made good games back then. They weren’t made to take you through the same adventure the character in a movie or a TV show had. They simply took basic concepts from the property and threw them in a video game.

Our Retro Redux today is probably the best example of that. Duck Tales for the NES was, in my opinion, the best game based on a movie or TV show and rivaled many games of that era. There aren’t many people who owned an NES who didn’t love this game if they played it and it’s for good reason. The game is simply classic platforming at its best.

Released in September of 1989 by Capcom, it was one of the few titles that didn’t have the word Mega Man at the front they were involved with. It took many of the elements of the Blue Bomber’s adventures and put them in a setting people would instantly recognize. Duck Tales featured some unforgivable platform elements set in a beautifully rendered version of Scrooge McDuck’s world. The basic premise of the game was simple. Scrooge wanted to be the richest duck in the world and it was your job to help him. There was no elaborate set up to get involved with the story. You simply were given a title screen then a list of five areas to play through and you set off collecting as much treasure as you possibly could.

Duck Tales featured five worlds; the Amazon, Transylvania, The Moon, African Mines, and The Himalayas. You could pick any of these you wanted and play through them in any order. Each of the levels featured a very non-linear path that you could follow and many times you would find yourself going back over places you had previously been just exploring everything there was to see in the world. The end of each of these levels also contained a treasure worth $1,000,000 that Scrooge was trying to find. They were guarded by bosses, who were mostly generic and unforgettable. The one exception was the villain Magica DeSpell who awaited you at the end of the Transylvania level. Once you accumulated all the treasures each of the worlds contained you were transported back there for the final showdown with Magica and Flinthart Glomgold.

The big hook with Duck Tales was the cane mechanic. Scrooge carried a cane with him that he could use to hurl large boulders at enemies like a golf ball. It could be used to bounce over thorny areas that you would otherwise get hurt trying to cross. It could be used to fling treasure chests into walls and break them. It was one of the most versatile “weapons” of that gaming era. It was a simple item to use, but in order to master it you spent a lot of time practicing. You would have to jump and press down on the D-pad as well as the B button in order to use it as a pogo stick. You could then launch yourself high in the air or land on the head of enemies to kill them. It was a great item that people still remember fondly to this day.

The levels themselves rivaled anything you would find on the system at that time. Everything was extremely well designed; brightly lit and vibrant. There were hidden paths everywhere that you wouldn’t think to look and most likely stumbled across accidentally. It was the closest thing you could get to watching a Saturday morning cartoon and I can bet you spent almost as much time playing this game as you did watching the show it was based on.

There were cameos by a number of characters in the show. Most of them were simply to tell you little things, like maybe one of your nephews had been kidnapped and you needed to find them in another level. Launchpad McQuack was available in every level to take you back to Duckburg early for whatever reason it would be. Maybe you just wanted to replay some of the level to get more money or you found an item that was useful in another level. Mrs. Beakley would give you health replenishing items. It was a virtual who’s who from the TV show.

Probably most well remembered is the audio from the game. The music from the Moon Level has been redone more times than Kathy Griffin’s face has. Every level had a song that you couldn’t get out of your head and even years later if you heard a small part you could hum the rest of the tune from memory. It was some of Yoshihiro Sakaguchi’s most memorable compositions.

There were even multiple endings that could be gained based on how well you did in the game. IF you collected over $10,000,000 and found both the hidden treasures, which I won’t reveal even today, you got an ending that showed Scrooge in the newspaper with a crown on his head and a new headline. There was a bonus that you could get with Launchpad that would make this much easier to accomplish.

Now let’s move on and talk very briefly about the Game Boy version of the game.

Released a year later this version has everything the NES version had scaled down a bit. The levels were not as big and didn’t have as much going on. This was simply something that had to be done to get games onto the smaller system. This didn’t diminish the quality of this game any. It was just as hard, but just as fun as it’s console counterpart. It really gave you the ability to take Duck Tales on the road with you.

The graphics for this game were just as good as the NES version of the game and had just as much quality even though the screen was smaller. Everything was just as detailed, the only difference was this was done in the monochrome fashion of the Game Boy. You just didn’t get the vibrant color palette.

The controls were actually a little bit easier in the portable version. In order to do the pogo jump with Scrooge’s cane you simply had to press the B button rather than doing to combo of B and down on the D-pad. This made the platforming a little easier, but the jumps were still just as unforgiving as the console version. Also gone were some of the enemy placements that made jumps hard on the console. It was just not possible to get bees flying over every gap in the Amazon because it would cause the system to slow down too much.

Duck Tales is a very hard game to come by in a vintage store and if you do find one it’s going to cost you a bit of a premium. This is because it is just simply remembered so fondly by everyone that played it and if they own a copy they’re not going to get rid of it. There aren’t many games in a console library that can lay that claim to fame, but Duck Tales is one of them. It simply combined everything that gamers wanted back then into one brilliant package that was the best the system could offer.

This was a licensed game made for gamers and enjoyed by gamers everywhere. If you’re listening Capcom, do whatever it takes to get this game on the Virtual Console so a new generation of gamers can enjoy it.

Note: Due to this Retro Redux posting early I will have another posted tomorrow, Friday, when you should normally be getting them. So you get a bonus Retro Redux this week.

Legendo Entertainment Announces Pearl Harbor Trilogy Coming to WiiWare

Not long ago Legendo Entertainment released The Three Musketeers: One for All on WiiWare. They've announced their follow up title Pearl Harbor Trilogy an episodic WiiWare game coming later this year. Check out the press release:

Legendo Entertainment, an independent publisher of computer and video games head-quartered in Sweden, today announced that Pearl Harbor Trilogy, an episodic air combat action game series, is in development for Wii™. Pearl Harbor Trilogy is a re-interpretation of Legendo’s popular PC title “Attack on Pearl Harbor” – with the first episode, “Red Sun Rising,” planned for a winter 2009 release on WiiWare™. The game is being developed by Legendo in cooperation with Arcade Moon, the Wii specialist label of 3D People, an independent game developer located in Slovakia.

Stanislav Petri, Aerial Star Programmer at Arcade Moon had this to offer, “We have tamed the innards of the Wii to make its GPU glow red-hot as we’re shooting for 60 FPS aerial dogfight action using all the tricks in the book.”

Bjorn Larsson, Executive Producer and head of lots of other things at Legendo Entertainment said, “The Wii Remote™ controller is a perfect match for aerial combat – we are currently trying a variety of control-schemes to see what works best, we want to bring players as close as possible to flying in their living rooms.”

In the premiere episode, “Red Sun Rising,” players will be dropped into the cockpit of famous USAAF World War II fighter aircraft — including the legendary P-40 Warhawk and the carrier-capable F4U Corsair as they battle with Japanese A6M2 Zero fighters and Aichi D3A Val dive-bombers in daring dogfights during bitterly contested air battles of the Pacific Theater, including Pearl Harbor, Wake Island and the Battle of Midway.

I've got a request for additional info from Legendo, so be on the lookout in the next few days for more on Pearl Harbor Trilogy coming up soon.

New LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias Screens

Frontier has passed along more screens from LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias. Check out the rest at our Flickr page.

Top 20 WiiWare Titles: Week of September 14th

This week’s Top 20 WiiWare titles are based on the information from the week of September 14th, 2009 (parentheses indicate the previous week’s rank).

1 Contra Rebirth (3)
2 Reel Fishing Challenge (1)
3 My Aquarium (2)
4 Tetris Party (6)
5 World of Goo (4)
6 Final Fantasy IV: The After Years (8)
7 My Pokémon Ranch (7)
8 Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 2 (5)
9 Texas Hold'em Tournament (9)
10 Sexy Poker (10)
11 Dr Mario Online Rx (12)
12 Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 1 (13)
13 Family Slot Car Racing (11)
14 Family Mini Golf (14)
15 Defend Your Castle (15)
16 BUST-A-MOVE Plus! (20)
17 Brain Challenge (17)
18 Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My life as a Darklord (19)
19 Water Warfare (18)
20 NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits (16)

Not a lot of movement this week. There were no new additions and no one dropped off the list. The one surprise is that after so long at the top Reel Fishing Challenge has lost the number one spot. It did have a worthy competitor. Maybe it can regain it's title next week.

The biggest movers were Bust-A-Move Plus! moving up three spots, and NyxQuest moving down four spots and being in danger of falling off the list.

Spore Creature Creator...Now in 2-D

Emeryville, CA – September 16, 2009 – The revolutionary Spore™ Creature Creator is going 2-D! Maxis™, an Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) studio, today announced Spore™ Creature Creator 2-D, a new Flash application where players experience an all new take on the variety and creative fun offered by the original 3-D Spore Creature Creator. Now available for free* at www.spore2d.com, players can create a creature from scratch or import a creature from the Sporepedia™, the library of 120+ million pieces of user-generated content in Spore. Five legs or ten, bat wings or horns; there are no limits to what users create. Once players have created their 2-D creature, they can embed it onto their social networking pages, and share it with friends via email. Spore Creature Creator 2-D takes creature-creating to new heights by making it a social, shared experience.

“Spore Creature Creator 2-D offers players a brand new way to express their creativity and share their creatures as it can be played by anyone with internet access,” stated Caryl Shaw, Sr. Producer of Spore Creature Creator 2-D. “The clean art style and intuitive point-and-drag functionality makes it easy for creators of all ages to get in on the fun. It’ll be interesting to see how players use this new creative application.”

Spore Creature Creator 2-D features the full suite of more than 250 body parts, including limbs, eyes, feet, heads, and fun accessories like antlers and wings. Once players create their ultimate creature, they can play with them in the Spore Creature Trainer mini-game. Once complete, players can easily send their friends an e-card of their creature at www.spore2d.com

The launch of Spore Creature Creator 2-D comes just weeks before the launch of Spore Hero for the Wii™ and Spore Hero Arena for the Nintendo DS on Oct. 6.

Spore Hero delivers the unparalleled creativity of Spore in an action-adventure game, exclusively for the Wii. Set in a rich and vibrant world, Spore Hero empowers players to become a Hero as they embark on an epic quest to save their creature’s home planet from destruction, engaging in fun battles and solving puzzles along the way. Players can collect and unlock more than 250 new creature parts, all with unique abilities affecting the way their creature plays and combats in the world.

Spore Hero Arena takes players on a quest to save their galaxy from an evil force. Throughout the game, players create their own unique gladiator hero creature and guide it from planet to planet as they fight enemy creatures, collect new parts, gain upgrades and unlock special abilities that will benefit their hero.

To play the Spore Creature Creator 2-D, please visit www.spore2d.com. To learn more about Spore Hero and Spore Hero Arena, play minigames and download fun content, please visit www.sporehero.com.

Wario Land: Shake It! Review

When Wario first debuted in the late 80’s platformers were the premiere genre in gaming. Mario got it all started then his evil counterpart was introduced. There have been a number of games in the Wario Land franchise. Wario Land: Shake It! is the latest in that series and brings a wonderful game with it.

The game opens up with a brilliantly animated scene by Production I.G. The brief anime style cartoon sets up the story where the evil Shake King has invaded the Shake Dimension and taken over as ruler. He’s kidnapped Queen Merelda and stolen the legendary “Bottomless Coin Sack”. Captain Maple Syrup, a recurring character in the series observes this and wants that treasure for herself, but does not want to get her hands dirty, so instead she enlists Wario’s help, and he’s all too willing to do it if treasure is involved. You are then transported to the Shake Dimension where Captain Syrup shows you the ropes. It’s here you learn the most important element to the gameplay; shaking everything is the key to rescuing the Queen. You obtain money in the world by shaking sacks of coins. Shaking enemies rewards you with more treasure or garlic to replenish your health. Shaking the controller will cause Wario to pound the ground to raise platforms and stun enemies. If you haven’t guessed by now, you’ll do a lot of shaking in the game. While that sounds like it would get tedious and boring, I can assure you it doesn’t. Shaking things is usually a matter of a quick flick of the remote and not an exaggerated shaking motion.

The Wii Remote is held on its side in traditional NES fashion. The D-pad controls Wario’s movement. You press the “2” button to jump and the “1” button to do a shoulder charge. Pressing down in mid air will cause Wario to do a butt stomp that can be used to dispatch enemies and break rocks below you. Enemies in the game have very little offensive abilities, though there are a few that can inflict damage. You’ll learn very quickly if part of them has a spike they can hurt you, if not you’re relatively safe. This creates the perfect balance between traditional platforming elements and a more laid back casual approach to the genre.

The game is presented in a gorgeous hand drawn style that looks very much like you’re watching a Saturday morning cartoon. The opening cut scene is, as mentioned before, done by Production I.G. and sets the tone for the amazing art style that you’ll come to love in the game. Every inch of the world is handled with amazing care and looks brilliant and vivid. You’ll find you want to see more games done in this style, as it fits perfectly with the Wii audience. The animation is fluid; everything flows together quite nicely and some of the things Wario does will have you laugh out loud.

The music in the game is what you would expect from this type of game. The musical scores for the different levels are all themed to what is going on on screen. Wild West levels are accompanied by acoustic guitar western themes. The areas modeled after Japanese villages all have a more laid back a serene feel to them. This is followed closely by a level set around a casino that is loud and in your face. You’ll find yourself lost in the music and it won’t get in the way. You’ll remember some of the tunes after playing. It all fits perfectly with the game. Each of the levels background music can also be unlocked and played on a virtual juke box when you just want to hear some of the music without all the accompanying sound effects.

There’s not a lot new in Wario Land: Shake It that hasn’t been seen in platformers before. The only real new mechanic is the shaking element. You can still torture Wario in all the ways you know and love. Set him on fire to break down areas of the levels. Crush him with snow and roll him down a hill to bust open frozen areas. Blow him up, drown him; you can do it all and he takes it all for love of the treasure. The only other element that has been added to make this game feel different is the run back. Once you get to the end of a level and rescue the Merfle that has been trapped you turn around and run back through the level as fast as you can. There are places that launch you out at a very fast speed to help this process as you’re on a time limit to reach the beginning of the level. If you don’t make it back you have to restart from the last checkpoint, if you touched it, and run all the way back again. It feels almost like this was tacked on to add some length to the game, but there are achievement tied to these run backs to give players an incentive to do their best with them.

There are five worlds with four main levels each. There are 3-4 bonus levels per world that can be unlocked by finding the appropriate shiny spot in different areas. Each of these bonus levels has achievements that are harder to gain than the normal worlds and this is where the difficulty of the game ramps up. The main levels are not very difficult and experienced gamers will find they can finish the main quest of the game in about 4-5 hours. The bonus levels add another 3 hours to the game and the achievements will add even more play time and replayability to the game.

Wario Land: Shake It! is a welcome addition to the 2-D genre that many gamers long for. If you’re looking for a solid platform game that you’ll come back to over and over you will probably find that in this title if you haven’t already picked it up.

Final Score: 4/5

New Spyborgs Webisode: Breach

Capcom has released the second in their Spyborgs webisode series. Enjoy!

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks Dated

Zelda fans can rejoice as the next installment of the series finally has a release date. In Nintendo's press release today regarding their fall lineup it was confirmed that The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks has been confirmed for release on December 7th, just in time for the holidays. Spirit Tracks, for those who don't yet know, is the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. It will use the same touch based mechanics of the previous title, but has replaced the boat on the ocean with a train over the land.

This makes two high profile games for the Wii, along with Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers, that will be coming out in December rather than the customary November time frame for holiday releases. Is this going to have any impact on their sales or will they be successful based on the franchises alone?

Castlevania: the Adventure Rebirth Rumours Are True

The rumor floating around the last few days about Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth coming to WiiWare have turned out to be true. Today, Nintendo released their fall lineup and included in that was the WiiWare release of the game.

The details of the game based on the ESRB website are:

Platform: Wii
Rating: Teen
Content descriptors: Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence
Rating summary: This is a side-scrolling action game in which players battle against monsters in Dracula’s castle. Players use a chained whip to fight their way through halls and dungeons filled with zombies, skeletons, flying eyeballs, and bats. The enemy creatures frequently shoot projectiles and attack players in hand-to-hand combat. If players sustain too much damage, they keel over and emit a burst of red blood. Some rooms in the castle also have spikes or spears stained with red, blood-like splotches.

I was hesistant to post the information before now due to it being simply a rumor and I would like to avoid confusion based around rumors. When the information becomes confirmed then I'll post the information that is available. This press release by Nintendo today confirmed the title and now you're getting the information available to us.

Stay tuned to Nintendo Okie for more details in the future as the game gets closer to release.

Bobby Kotick Took Fun Out of Making Games and More

These stories have been going around the past couple of days and I just wanted to comment on them. Bobby Kotick, the CEO of Activision Blizzard has made some rather disconcerting comments over the last few days that reflect poorly on his organization. Keep in mind, these comments do not reflect the attitudes of Activision as a whole, but still make you wonder what exactly is going on there.

From a Gamespot interview with Mr. Kotick:

"We have a real culture of thrift. The goal that I had in bringing a lot of the packaged goods folks into Activision about 10 years ago was to take all the fun out of making video games."

The interview went on to comment:

The executive said that he has tried to instill into the company culture "skepticism, pessimism, and fear" of the global economic downturn, adding, "We are very good at keeping people focused on the deep depression."

Why would anyone want to work at a company where the whole goal is to not have fun while you're there. The business of video games, is as a general rule, about making things fun. If games aren't fun people won't play them. If it's not fun to make a game it won't be fun to play a game.

This from News.spong.com:

"Today, we'll sell you for $100 a guitar. You might add a microphone or drums, you might buy two or three expansions packs, different types of music. Over the life of your ownership you'll probably buy around 25 additional song packs in digital downloads. So, what used to be a $50 sale is a $500 sale today."

I know that gamers are partly to blame because they buy all the things that he has said, but that doesn't excuse the fact that he throws those comments right back at the person telling them flat out they're taking advantage of you to make money.

Game companies are in the business to make money. That's the beauty of capitalism, but if you want people to continue to buy your products you generally have a bit more respect for them and don't treat them like they're idiots.

Come on Mr. Kotick, there are plenty of people at your company doing good things for gamers and we want to support them, but if you continue to make ludicrous statements like the ones above people are going to lose a lot of respect for Activision because you are the face of the company. These comments will only hurt the people who work for you in the long run.

Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition Launching Later This Month

Natsume, probably best known for their work on the Harvest Moon franchise has announced that Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition has gone to processing and will launch later this month. We've contacted them for some more information on the title so look for that in the next few days. Until then, enjoy the press release and a few screens of the upcoming safari adventure.


ANIMAL KINGDOM: WILDLIFE EXPEDITION TO LAUNCH FOR WII LATER THIS MONTH

Family-Friendly Safari Adventure Will Transform Every Player Into A Photographer!

Burlingame, Calif., September 15, 2009 - Natsume Inc., a worldwide developer and publisher of family-oriented video games, announced today that Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition has entered into manufacturing, and will be released for the Nintendo Wii September 22. The game will be available for an MSRP of $29.99.

"Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition is a fun safari adventure game that's also a great way to learn about animals," said Hiro Maekawa, President and CEO at Natsume. "This title is another great entry in our lineup of family-friendly games that provide a fun experience for players of any age."

In Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition, players take on the role of a wildlife photographer exploring the exotic and diverse wildlife of Animal Island. Each day, they'll be tasked with completing specific assignments, such as taking pictures of particular animals, groups of animals, or animals engaged in certain actions. Players will see a variety of exotic wildlife on their expedition, including gazelles, gorillas, and elephants.

Each animal is realistically detailed and behaves just like the real thing!

Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition boasts a diverse collection of environments. Players will explore savanna, jungle, desert, waterfall, and lake areas in their quest to capture the perfect picture. By watching each environment carefully, players will learn to look for signs that will lead them to the animals.

Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition will deliver a wild adventure the whole family can enjoy when it ships to retail this month. Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition is rated E for everyone by the entertainment software rating board (ESRB). For more information, please visit www.natsume.com.













Source: Press Release, Photos courtesy of Games Press

Results From Weekly Poll

This week's poll was pretty simple. A new, black Wii was released in the first part of August over in Japan. There has been a new color for the Wii Remote, Nunchuk and Motion Plus here in America. We at Nintendo Okie wanted to know if you would buy a new Wii just to get a new color. The results are in and here they are.

20% of you (1 vote) said you would buy a new Wii to get a new color.

80% of you (4 votes) said you would not buy a new Wii if it came in another color.

I think the thing about consoles is that in this generation they are so much more expensive than they were in the past and there is so much information tied to that system that it's not really easy to just pick up a new system and get the information over to it. Handhelds have the luxury, at this point, of being very easy to deal with. You don't have a lot of information that needs to be transferred and their price points are still low enough that it's possible to go out and pick up a new one to get the color that you want.

If console manufacturers had the luxury of not having to deal with piracy issues or the price points were about $100 less than they are now then people would be more inclined to go out and pick up a new console to have that color. Also, so many electronic devices are black and people really like to have a unified look to their entertainment centers. Black consoles all mix really well with the black or silver DVD player, the black of silver cable box and a blue or a pink Wii would stick out and look out of place.

There you have it. My thoughts on this week's poll. Leave us a comment down below and let us know what you think.

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 Hits Stores Today

The World's Largest Army of Super Heroes Returns to Retail With the Release of Activision's Marvel(TM): Ultimate Alliance 2

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Sept 15, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- The sequel to the greatest Super Hero(TM) action/RPG ever heads to retail stores today with the release of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 from Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI). Players will have the chance to experience Marvel's landmark Civil War storyline first hand, as they fight for their chosen side in the battle over the Superhuman Registration Act. In control of the largest army of heroes and villains ever featured in a game, players will assemble four-character dream teams, utilize their heroes' unique powers and, for the first time ever, fuse the abilities of two characters to unleash astonishing new attacks during battles.

"Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 builds on the gameplay that made the first title a hit and takes the experience to all new heights," states Rob Kostich, Head of Marketing for Licensed Properties, Activision Publishing, Inc. "Players will fight through cinematic and immersive environments, engage in graphically vivid and devastating fusions, and interact with or destroy everything in their path as they experience one of the most tumultuous political events ever imagined in comic book lore."

"Just as Civil War will be remembered as this decade's most memorable comic book event, so too will Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 go down as one of this generation's greatest Super Hero games," says Ira Rubenstein, Executive Vice President of the Marvel Digital Media Group. "The notion of heroes fighting heroes is compelling both in terms of action and storytelling, and Activision has brought it all to life in a way that's sure to please everyone who plays."

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 allows gamers to play as some of the most popular Marvel heroes and villains in an explosive action-RPG experience. For the first time, players will be able to take full advantage of the Marvel Universe by combining dynamic Super Hero powers to create over 250 unique fusions, such as a fiery tornado between Human Torch and Storm, or a powerful beam splitter between Wolverine and Iron Man. The game also features deep character customization, including upgrading abilities, powers and boosts on the fly, as well as storyline choices that will influence character stats. Gamers can play on their own or with up to three friends in co-operative multiplayer modes, allowing them to assemble unique dream teams from 24 playable heroes and villains, giving fans one of the most exciting action/RPG experiences of all time.

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 is available on the Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer entertainment system, by Vicarious Visions; the Wii(TM), Nintendo DS(TM), and PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system, by n-Space; and the PSP(R) (PlayStation(R)Portable), by Savage. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 is rated "T" (Teen) on all platforms except for the Nintendo DS(TM), which is rated E10+ by the ESRB.

Additional game information can be found at www.activision.com, as well as http://MarvelUltimateAlliance.com where consumers can also join the fight for Pro-Registration or Anti-Registration with Civil War Online.

Source: Press Release

Bonk Brink of Extinction Teaser

Nintendo Channel Updated

It's been a busy day for news today.

Nintendo has announced that the Nintendo Channel has received an update. There have been new features added as well as a weekly show that will be hosted and give some news about what's going on in the world of Nintendo.

Some of the features for the new and improved Nintendo Channel are:

- Higher-quality streaming videos

- Lists of top games that other viewers recommend

- The ability to rate and recommend Nintendo DS™ games.

All of the current features you already love about the Nintendo will remain, including the DS Demo downloads.

As part of the update, Nintendo Channel will also premiere Nintendo Week, a weekly, hosted series about what’s happening in the world of Nintendo. The premiere episode includes an in-depth look at Mario and Luigi™: Bowser’s Inside Story, an interview with the developers behind the Wii version of Guitar Hero 5, plus coverage of the new Nintendo DSi colors, Nintendo DSiWare games and other surprises.

The Nintendo Channel is available for free from the Nintendo Shop Channel. Head on over there if you don't have the channel or to get the update if you already have the Nintendo Channel.

Source: Press Email

Nintendo Download: Week of September 14th

This week's Nintendo Downloads got to us a little later than usual, but they're here now. It's a bit of a back to school special this week. DSiWare has an art studio that you can take on the go and an adventure in Toyland. WiiWare brings up three titles this week with a poker game an actual cart racer, and art by throwing balls at a wall. There is one classic Virtual Console release this week.


Nintendo DSiWare

Art Academy™: First Semester
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Art Academy is a portable art course that replaces the lecture-like structure of art school and the trial-and-error of working on canvas. Art Academy: First Semester can guide you through the basics of pencil and paints, using Nintendo DSi controls to draw like the real things. With your own paintbrush set and color palette, you’ll learn texturing and blending techniques, plus ways to depict light and shade. There’s also Free Paint mode, which allows you to select and draw from photos in your Nintendo DSi Camera Album. In just a few lessons, you’ll be discovering your inner artist and creating your own masterpieces with art skills that you can apply with real-life materials.

Oscar in Toyland
Publisher: Virtual Playground
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Comic Mischief
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Meet Oscar, the new kid on the block. This fabulous jump-and-run game is easy to play, packed with hours of fun and nonstop action, hundreds of collectibles and surprises. In psychedelic worlds of candy, soda pop, amusement park rides, board games, fairy tales and more, you’ll meet cool toys and animals in hidden rooms, bonus and bogus mini games. Use Wings to fly, Springy Shoes to jump, and Oscar’s secret weapon, his magical Yo-Yo, to swing and zap enemies in some of the craziest platform levels you’ll ever play.

WiiWare

Texas Hold’Em Poker
Publisher: Gameloft
Players: 1-6
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) – Simulated Gambling
Price: 600 Wii Points™
Description: Prepare to experience the intensity of a real Texas hold’em poker tournament. Whether you’re a poker novice or a veteran, you’ll enjoy Tournament, Cash Game and Heads-up modes with the simple-to-use Wii Remote™ controller. Hit the tables as one of six fun and charismatic characters, or import your own Mii™ character to really put on your poker face. Take on the world’s most prestigious casinos, from Monaco to New York, and challenge opponents who won’t hesitate to taunt or comment on your style, creating a very realistic poker atmosphere. You can also impress friends with wild poker parties, thanks to an online mode that allows you to play with up to five friends and create your own tournaments or join official Gameloft tournaments. You can even challenge random online opponents of any skill level. Even if you’ve never played poker before, you can learn all the rules and strategy with an Advanced Tutorial that teaches you everything from winning hands and betting to bluffing. Broadband Internet access required for online play. For more info, go to www.Nintendo.com.

Spaceball: Revolution™
Publisher: Virtual Toys
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Mild Fantasy Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: Steer your way through 15 diabolical levels in which you’ll have to reconstruct impossible figures with help from space energy balls. Race against the clock and evade obstacles to activate the correct boxes. Spaceball: Revolution will put your ability and your concentration to the test. The game also lets you compare your score with the best players around the world in various difficulty levels: Easy, Normal, Advanced and Master.

Mart Racer
Publisher: JoJu Games
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Alcohol Reference, Comic Mischief
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: You’re a sharp-elbowed shopper racing through the store to find items before your rivals do. Use your Wii Remote controller like a handlebar to control your shopping cart as you race through different types of stores. Vex your competitors by stunning them with plungers and stealing groceries out of their carts. Outrun them by using your drifting and aisle-jumping skills. Keep away from the security guards who want to stop the mall melee. The first player with a completed shopping list at the cash register wins. A simple and fun game that’s suitable for all ages, Mart Racer pits you against the computer or up to four players. Play with your friends and family on a split screen or compete online via Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection. (Broadband Internet access is required for online play.)

Virtual Console

Crash ‘N The Boys™ Street Challenge
Original platform: NES™
Publisher: Aksys Games
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Cartoon Violence
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Todd Thornley, son of the head of Thornley Industries, has had it with Crash and the Southside boys. With help from other high schools, Todd decides Hiller High will take down Crash and his Southside High cronies in an unsanctioned street challenge. Take control of one of four high school teams (with four playable characters per team) and make your way through five different sporting events. Dash and bash through the 400 meter hurdles; swing to victory in the hammer throw; swim and knock out your opponent while swimming; pole vault, jump and ride a unicycle across rooftops; and use judo to fight your opponent in a one-on-one brawl. Can you lead your high school to the top of the Street Challenge?

Source: Nintendo Press Release

Activision Announces Daft Punk in DJ Hero

Legendary Electronic Music Duo To Lend Unique Likenesses and Massive Variety of Music Exclusively to the Game

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Sept 14, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- For the first time ever in a video game, GRAMMY(R) Award winning DJ's and producing duo, Daft Punk, will start the party right with Activision Publishing, Inc.'s (Nasdaq: ATVI) DJ Hero(TM) on October 27, 2009. Featuring 93 exclusive on-disc mixes from some of the biggest acts in hip-hop, pop, rock and dance, players will be able to test their DJing chops as virtual recreations of the renowned twosome and experience their iconic sounds in eleven original mixes, including two signature "Megamixes," using their music. Among the mixes in the game featuring Daft Punk are:

-- Daft Punk "Around the World" vs. Young MC "Bust A
Move"
-- Daft Punk "Da Funk" vs. NASA "Strange Enough ft. Karen O,
ODB and Fatlip"
-- Daft Punk "Da Funk" vs. Queen "Another One Bites the
Dust"
-- Daft Punk "Robot Rock" vs. Hashim "Al-Naafiysh (The
Soul)" -- Produced and mixed by The Scratch Perverts
-- Daft Punk "Robot Rock" vs. Queen "We Will Rock You"
-- Daft Punk "Short Circuit" vs. Boogie Down Productions
"Jack Of Spades"
-- Daft Punk "Technologic" vs. Gary Numan "Cars"
-- Daft Punk "Television Rules The Nation" vs. No Doubt
"Hella Good"

Source: Activision Press email

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers Release Date

It will be too late for kids in North America to ask their parents for the newest game in the Crystal Chronicles franchise, but Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers now has a release date. After a long time of wondering if the game was even going to come out it has finally been announced that the game will launch in North America on December 26th. The day after Christmas is an unusual time to release a game, but it will be in stores for anyone looking to pick up a quality title with their gift money, or gift return money, for that matter.

The game was originally announced during Nintendo's E3 Press Conference back in 2006. We were shown a trailer for the game and then it just sort of fell of the map. It returned later in 2008 with an updated, more mature look and it was probably for the better. It's now been officially announced that it will come out this year and I, for one, am really looking forward to it.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story Ships Today

REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Sure, he’s a villain, but Bowser™ is one of the most beloved characters in Nintendo’s imaginative Mushroom Kingdom. Now, with today’s launch of the Mario & Luigi™: Bowser’s Inside Story game for the hand-held Nintendo DS™ and Nintendo DSi™ video game systems, fans will get to know the cantankerous King Koopa inside and out — literally. The new game finds Mario™ and Luigi™ getting inhaled by Bowser, sending players straight to the belly of the beast for an outrageous hand-held adventure.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story lets players adventure through two fun and hilarious storylines at the same time, taking control of the famous Mario brothers and even Bowser himself. Not only must players control Bowser to win back control of his castle from the evil Fawful, they’ve also got to muster the guts to help Mario and Luigi as they try to escape from Bowser’s body. Players can switch between the two storylines independently as they attempt to rescue Princess Peach™ and restore order to Mushroom Kingdom.

In addition to its inventive dual storyline, Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story makes creative use of the unique interface capabilities of Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi. Players will press buttons with precise timing to enhance their attacks, tap the touch screen with the stylus, blow into the built-in microphone and even turn the whole game system sideways and hold it like a book in order to successfully overcome obstacles and advance the plot. A lively mix of puzzles, character battles and humorous dialogue and storyline delivers all the action and amusement fans can stomach.

“The imagination and humor of Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story make it a can’t-miss adventure,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Featuring some of Nintendo’s most iconic characters, the game is full of hilarious surprises for fans and newcomers alike.”

For more information about Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, visit http://www.BowsersInsideStory.com.

Source: Nintendo Press Release

Help Wanted

Nintendo Okie is looking for some new people interested in doing a few different things.

First, we need someone who has a DS and is interested in heading up the DS coverage for us. You will be in charge of reviews, coverage and more concerning Nintendo's handheld platform.

Requirements:

1. Being the owner of a Nintendo DS.
2. Firm knowledge of the English language.
3. The time and desire to write reviews for Nintendo Okie.

If you're interested in this position, please provide two writing samples, preferably reviews for DS games. They do not have to be reviews of games that we have posted on the site. New reviews would be greatly appreciated, but not required. Any DS game will do.

Second, we're interested in doing a podcast and need someone who has some experience recording and editing a show that would probably last between 45 minutes to an hour.

Requirements:

1. Knowledge on the use of Skype.
2. Knowledge on editing and posting podcasts.
3. The time and desire to do this for Nintendo Okie.

Please submit a sample of no longer than 5 minutes in length.


Lastly, we're looking for someone who is interested in covering games for our European readers.  We have a pretty good following on that continent and since we don't have anyone there at the moment it would be nice to have someone more local doing coverage for us in Europe.

Requirements:

1. Knowledge of the English Language
2. You MUST live in Europe.
3. Be a fan of Nintendo.
4. Want to write for Nintendo Okie.

Note: As we are not a commercial site, these will not be paid positions. You are doing this to simply help spread the word about upcoming and recently released content covering all areas of Nintendo. You do not have to live in the state of Oklahoma, even if the title of the site says otherwise. I'm looking forward to seeing what you guys have. You can submit all inquiries to mailto:%20tonymiller@nintendo-okie.com

This Week in Nintendo History: September 13th to September 19th

Let’s settle down for another history lesson. Each week we’re going back in time to discuss the events that are most relevant in Nintendo’s history. Most of the time we’ll be discussing game announcements, but many times there will be more to discuss. This week we’ve got the birth of an artist, the release of two systems and a large amount of game releases. Let’s jump right in and see what this week holds for us.

The plumber we all know and love as Mario has been around since his first appearance in Donkey Kong. That game would put him in the minds of many gamers, but it wasn’t until Super Mario Bros. was released for the Famicom Disk System on September 13th, 1985 that he would truly be considered a star. This is the game that many credit as bringing the video game industry out of the decline it had been in since the early 80’s. It would also be the real start to hundreds of titles that would feature the famous mustachioed plumber. Super Mario Bros. is known for its solid platforming and timeless replay ability. It’s also as well known for its famous glitches, such as the Minus World glitch and the Infinite Extra Lives exploit. If you haven’t played this game and you own a Nintendo System, you don’t know what you’re missing. There are few Top 100 lists that don’t have this game near the top, if not at the number one spot.

September 14th, 2001 saw the release of the Nintendo GameCube in Japan. This system would be sometimes affectionately known as the Purple Lunchbox due to the handle on the back of the system. It was also known for its proprietary 8cm DVD discs that were created to help stop piracy of Nintendo software. The Gamecube would go on to fall behind both the Sony Playstation 2 and the Microsoft Xbox in sales during that console generation. The Gamecube was the first Nintendo system to not have a Mario title available at launch, instead giving Luigi the starring role in Luigi’s Mansion.

Virtual Console day, September 15th, 2008, this week brought us only one retro title that week, but it was a good one. Mega Man 2, originally for the Nintendo Entertainment System was released. The WiiWare service saw the release of the second episode of Strong Bad’s Cool Game For Attractive People; Strongbadia the Free.

September 15th, 1936 was the birthday of Yoichi Kotabe, an artist for Nintendo in Japan. The first game he contributed art to was Doki Doki Panic, which would become known as Super Mario Bros. 2 in America. He also helped to refine the look of Pikachu. Mr. Kotabe is a supervising artist for the Super Mario series and has been an official illustrator since the original Super Mario Bros.
He also worked on illustration for Nintendo's Game Boy title, Mole Mania.

Fast forward a bit to September 15th, 2002. Fans everywhere were introduced to the world of Animal Crossing when it released for the Nintendo Gamecube in America. In the game players would take on the role of a human in the town you helped create. Hijinks would ensue as you helped out the animals in your town. You also had to make sure you didn’t stay away from the game for long. If you did, upon your return, your town would be overrun with weeds. The game has gone onto to be featured on the DS and the Wii.

Star Wars fans got another piece of the story on September 16th, 2008. On that day Star Wars: the Force Unleashed hit stores for the Wii. The game featured motion controls lightsaber action as well as motion based force powers. The Force Unleashed bridged the gap between episodes III and IV and told the story of how the rebellion got its start. You played as a man named Starkiller, who was Darth Vader’s secret apprentice. He was tasked with hunting down and killing a number of Jedi, but was told to kill everyone on both sides as he was not to be discovered. The game also featured cameo’s from a couple of your favorite Star Wars heroes.

Press conferences are used by companies to make big announcements and Nintendo is no exception. During a press conference on September 16th, 2006 the Wii’s user interface would be unveiled. The Wii Channel Menu was shown to the world on that day. It features 48 slots over four pages of menu options that with the exception of the disc channel can be customized to the user’s liking. There have been a number of different channels released such as the Weather and News Channels, as well as the Nintendo channel which gives you info on upcoming games. You can use the Wii Shop Channel to buy Virtual Console or WiiWare games. Those games can then become a channel of their own on the menu. Through a number of different upgrades there has been a clock added to the menu as well as the use of an SD card for even more space. It’s a very user friendly experience and one of the better interfaces this generation.

The Game Boy Advance saw the release of another new game in the Castlevania franchise. On September 16th, 2002 Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance hit store shelves. Set in 1748, the game focuses on Juste Belmont, grandson of Simon Belmont, and his quest to rescue a kidnapped childhood friend. This game was the second game in the series to see release on the GBA. HoD was well received by critics getting an average Metacritic score of 87. Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance was re-released in North America in January 2006, along with Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, as part of Castlevania Double Pack. Both games are contained on a single GBA Game Pak.

Virtual Console day once again. This time it’s September 17th, 2007. One this day we saw the release of Yoshi’s Story for the Nintendo 64, Super Thunder Blade for the Sega Genesis, and World Class Baseball for the Turbo-Grafix 16.

It was a day of sadness for members of Nintendo’s NSider. On that same day the NSider forums were closed. It was rumored to be a temporary closing, but the forums have never been reopened.

Last week we covered the release of the Game Boy Micro in Japan. America got their chance to get their hands on the system this week as it was released on September 19th, 2005 here in America.

There were two game releases on that same day for different systems. The GBA saw the release of DK: King of Swing on September 19th, 2005. This game saw players swinging around on pegs collecting various objects in the world. It was well received critically, but has been met by players with mixed reviews, mainly over the art style. Many gamers felt the cartoonish look didn’t fit well after the more realistic 3-D graphics of the Donkey Kong Country series. It was also felt to be too short and very repetitive.

Also on that day the GameCube saw the release of Battalion Wars in America. This is a continuation of the Wars series that features the Advance Wars games on the handheld systems. Battalion Wars is a real time tactics, third person shooter style game where you have control over a number of different units like infantry, tanks and aircraft. This game has seen one sequel on the Wii. This game is a spin off of the Advance Wars series and differs in that it features real time game play elements rather than the turn based style of the handheld series.

One more week down in the history books. Leave us a comment and let us know what you think of the article. As always, if there is anything coming up that you know about and would like to see featured in the article let us know and we’ll include it when the time comes.