You guys never cease to amaze me. Last month, I was in shock about how many downloads we had, as we had just hit our 10,000+ download milestone at the time. But last month was nothing compared to the immense support you guys showed us this month. In February 2007 alone, you guys have now more than TRIPLED our previous download record, which was set just last month, especially considering it's the shortest month of the year! So, once again for setting another download record I would like to thank you all for supporting the podcast!
Since you guys have been showing so much support, I'm gonna let you guys in on a few things we have planned for the podcast.
This weekend we are planning on recording episode 20 of GamersCast, so be sure to look for that on the feed soon. We are also looking into our budgets to get ideas on how to give the podcast a few upgrades. The final design for the website is coming along great, and it should be launching early on this summer. We also may tentatively be going to this year's E3!
Our video game tournaments may be considered "dead" to some, but we have been re-doing the entire interface for that, so we will be able to get those up and running fairly soon as well.
Around the holidays, I decided that my New Years resolution for the podcast would be to get at least one thing on the feed every 10 days. In 2006, like Nintendo, there were huge droughts on the feed. We're going to make sure that doesn't happen again. And if for some reason it does get past 10 days (don't plan on it), you can expect to be bombarded with loads of content afterwards!
And of course, we have loads of reviews being planned for March, including reviews of:
- God of War II
- Excite Truck
- Sonic and The Secret Rings
- Mario Party 8
- Diddy Kong Racing DS
- Wii Sports
- Legend of Zelda: A Link to The Past (Virtual Console)
- Legend of Zelda (Virtual Console)
- Excitebike (Virtual Console)
- World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions
- Kirby's Adventure (Virtual Console)
- Kid Icarus (Virtual Console)
- Star Fox 64 (Virtual Console)
- Donkey Kong Country (Virtual Console)
- Super Mario World (Virtual Console)
- Super Mario Brothers (Virtual Console)
- And other possible Virtual Console releases!
Yes, I know some of these games I said were going to be reviewed in February, but we got really busy, but hey you also got a lot of reviews we weren't expecting to put up, also! I mean, we gave you a review of Crackdown, when I never said anything about that. We're also going to be covering loads of other stuff this month as well! So once again guys, thanks so much for supporting the show!
Oh yeah, and we're also gonna try and find a fix for the problem Wii users are having with the newsletter.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
The FCC isn't Nintendo's PAL
I recently just posted about how Nintendo's NTSC Wii Remotes were being branded with an FCC ID on the left side. Well, now I have found out that PAL Wiis use a separate Wii remote with the FCC ID of, none other than POO-WC45! The Wii is POO! Well, like last time, here's some links of interest for you PAL hackers.
https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/cf/eas/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm?mode=Exhibits&RequestTimeout=500&calledFromFrame=N&application_id=557156&fcc_id='POO-WC45'
https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/cf/eas/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm?mode=Sum&calledFromFrame=N&RequestTimeout=500&application_id=557156&fcc_id='POO-WC45'
https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/cf/eas/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm?mode=Exhibits&RequestTimeout=500&calledFromFrame=N&application_id=568746&fcc_id='POO-WC45'
https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/cf/eas/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm?mode=Sum&calledFromFrame=N&RequestTimeout=500&application_id=568746&fcc_id='POO-WC45'
https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/cf/eas/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm?mode=Exhibits&RequestTimeout=500&calledFromFrame=N&application_id=557156&fcc_id='POO-WC45'
https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/cf/eas/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm?mode=Sum&calledFromFrame=N&RequestTimeout=500&application_id=557156&fcc_id='POO-WC45'
https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/cf/eas/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm?mode=Exhibits&RequestTimeout=500&calledFromFrame=N&application_id=568746&fcc_id='POO-WC45'
https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/cf/eas/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm?mode=Sum&calledFromFrame=N&RequestTimeout=500&application_id=568746&fcc_id='POO-WC45'
Monday, February 26, 2007
Gamecube Officially Dead
Nintendo has offically announced that they will no longer be manufacturing Nintendo Gamecubes anymore, as of last weekend, that they will no longer be manufacturing Nintendo Gamecube consoles, so the stores will now be getting their last shipments of Gamecubes, for sale at retail value of $99.99 This is most likely done in response to their Nintendo Wii console dominating January's sales charts with an impressive 450,000+ units sold, while the Gamecube got the lowest sales of a mere 40,000- units sold.
The Nintendo Gamecube launched on November 17, 2001 on the night of a meteor shower (just like the Wii launch!). It was victim to the one-year headstart established by Sony's already successful PlayStation 2 (kinda like Xbox 360). Then, it quickly became a contender in the 128-bit console wars, with launch titles of Luigi's Mansion and Super Smash Brothers Melee. Then, after a long drought of 1st party games, the Gamecube quickly lost momentum and fell victim to Microsoft's first step into the gaming world with the Xbox, carrying titles such as Halo: Combat Evoloved and Halo 2 in its onslaught. In 2003, they did manage to pull off Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker which was welcomed with mixed feelings by the new style of playful cell-shaded graphics, and they also pulled out what was yet another sequal to Super Mario 64, entitled Super Mario Sunshine.
2004 was Nintendo's last true year of success with their cute little purple console. It had titles like Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure and the title widely proclaimed as the scariest and arguably greatest game of all-time, which was surprisingly released by a 3rd party company, it was Resident Evil 4!
2005 the Gamecube began to die down, as Nintendo began to focus its efforts in the Nintendo DS. 2005 began the longest drought of games that the system endured, especially for a console that had A LOT of droughts.
Finally, on December 12, 2006 the Gamecube went out with a bang, releasing The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. However, it was overshadowed by the Wii's port of the game. Every other game that was planned for released by Nintendo was quickly, yet quietly ported over to the Wii. And now, the console has seen the light at the end of the tunnel.
But now that Nintendo is no longer producing Gamecubes they now have even more machines capable of building Wiis to satisfy the high demand. Nintendo's Gamecube finished last in the 128-bit console war, and Nintendo's president, Reggie-Anim-Fils says that the Gamecubes greatest flaw was the long drought of games (NO KIDDING!), and they say they will try to prevent this from happening with the Wii. So far Nintendo has been true to their word by releasing 1st party titles every month, weekly updates to the Wii Shop Channel, and having strengthening 3rd party support. But how long will they be able to keep it up? Is Nintendo putting out too many high-end titles for download all at once? Will the 3rd party give the Wii a chance? Being so early on in the HD Console Wars its hard to say, but we'll have to wait and see.
R.I.P.
Nintendo Gamecube
November 17, 2001 - February 23, 2007
The Nintendo Gamecube launched on November 17, 2001 on the night of a meteor shower (just like the Wii launch!). It was victim to the one-year headstart established by Sony's already successful PlayStation 2 (kinda like Xbox 360). Then, it quickly became a contender in the 128-bit console wars, with launch titles of Luigi's Mansion and Super Smash Brothers Melee. Then, after a long drought of 1st party games, the Gamecube quickly lost momentum and fell victim to Microsoft's first step into the gaming world with the Xbox, carrying titles such as Halo: Combat Evoloved and Halo 2 in its onslaught. In 2003, they did manage to pull off Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker which was welcomed with mixed feelings by the new style of playful cell-shaded graphics, and they also pulled out what was yet another sequal to Super Mario 64, entitled Super Mario Sunshine.
2004 was Nintendo's last true year of success with their cute little purple console. It had titles like Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure and the title widely proclaimed as the scariest and arguably greatest game of all-time, which was surprisingly released by a 3rd party company, it was Resident Evil 4!
2005 the Gamecube began to die down, as Nintendo began to focus its efforts in the Nintendo DS. 2005 began the longest drought of games that the system endured, especially for a console that had A LOT of droughts.
Finally, on December 12, 2006 the Gamecube went out with a bang, releasing The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. However, it was overshadowed by the Wii's port of the game. Every other game that was planned for released by Nintendo was quickly, yet quietly ported over to the Wii. And now, the console has seen the light at the end of the tunnel.
But now that Nintendo is no longer producing Gamecubes they now have even more machines capable of building Wiis to satisfy the high demand. Nintendo's Gamecube finished last in the 128-bit console war, and Nintendo's president, Reggie-Anim-Fils says that the Gamecubes greatest flaw was the long drought of games (NO KIDDING!), and they say they will try to prevent this from happening with the Wii. So far Nintendo has been true to their word by releasing 1st party titles every month, weekly updates to the Wii Shop Channel, and having strengthening 3rd party support. But how long will they be able to keep it up? Is Nintendo putting out too many high-end titles for download all at once? Will the 3rd party give the Wii a chance? Being so early on in the HD Console Wars its hard to say, but we'll have to wait and see.
R.I.P.
Nintendo Gamecube
November 17, 2001 - February 23, 2007
Wii Remotes now branded by FCC
For some strange reason, Wii Remotes are now branded by an FCC ID on the left side, when previously, it was not seen before. So, I looked up the ID and found a few interesting documents that gets very technical with the breakdown of the controller. So, if there are any hackers out there who are curious about some of the fine details of the Wii Remote, you might wanna check out these pages:
- https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/cf/eas/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm?mode=Exhibits&RequestTimeout=500&calledFromFrame=N&application_id=784182&fcc_id='UMB-WCF7'
- https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/cf/eas/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm?mode=Sum&calledFromFrame=N&RequestTimeout=500&application_id=784182&fcc_id='UMB-WCF7'
- https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/cf/eas/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm?mode=Exhibits&RequestTimeout=500&calledFromFrame=N&application_id=809616&fcc_id='UMB-WCF7'
- https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/cf/eas/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm?mode=Sum&calledFromFrame=N&RequestTimeout=500&application_id=809616&fcc_id='UMB-WCF7'
- https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/cf/eas/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm?mode=Exhibits&RequestTimeout=500&calledFromFrame=N&application_id=784182&fcc_id='UMB-WCF7'
- https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/cf/eas/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm?mode=Sum&calledFromFrame=N&RequestTimeout=500&application_id=784182&fcc_id='UMB-WCF7'
- https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/cf/eas/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm?mode=Exhibits&RequestTimeout=500&calledFromFrame=N&application_id=809616&fcc_id='UMB-WCF7'
- https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/cf/eas/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm?mode=Sum&calledFromFrame=N&RequestTimeout=500&application_id=809616&fcc_id='UMB-WCF7'
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Ocarina of Time coming to the VC this Monday!
Keep in mind that I will not be doing this every week, but considering this is my 2nd favorite game of all time it is worth posting. Through, my own personal searches, (*coughhackcough*) I have found out that The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is coming to the Wii Virtual Console this Monday!
I have the screen shots to prove it (if you are viewing the text-only version, go to gamerscastpodcast.com/news to see the images):
http://ccs.shop.wii.com/ccs/download/000100014E414350/FFFD0001
http://ccs.shop.wii.com/ccs/download/000100014E414350/FFFD0002
http://ccs.shop.wii.com/ccs/download/000100014E414350/FFFD0003
And Europe just got it on their VC as well:
I have the screen shots to prove it (if you are viewing the text-only version, go to gamerscastpodcast.com/news to see the images):
http://ccs.shop.wii.com/ccs/download/000100014E414350/FFFD0001
http://ccs.shop.wii.com/ccs/download/000100014E414350/FFFD0002
http://ccs.shop.wii.com/ccs/download/000100014E414350/FFFD0003
And Europe just got it on their VC as well:
January Console/Handheld Sales
Below is a picture of January's gaming sales reports, but for those of you getting the newsletter (which is text-only for Wii Support) here are the sales, in a typed out form.
Wii: 435,000 units
Xbox 360: 294,000 units
PlayStation 3: 244,000 units
Nintendo DS: 243,000 units
PlayStation Portable: 210,000 units
PlayStation 2: 299,000 units
Nintendo Gamecube: 40,000 units
Gameboy Advance: 175,000 units
Wii: 435,000 units
Xbox 360: 294,000 units
PlayStation 3: 244,000 units
Nintendo DS: 243,000 units
PlayStation Portable: 210,000 units
PlayStation 2: 299,000 units
Nintendo Gamecube: 40,000 units
Gameboy Advance: 175,000 units
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Everybody Votes Channel Demo
Everytime Nintendo adds something to the Wii, I'll show you a demonstration of it. Now, this new channel is optional, as all future channels most likely will be. So, since they're free, the only question now is, is downloading it worth taking up your Wii's system memory? Well, here's some footage from Nintendo's newest channel: Everybody Votes Channel
(As always, if you're viewing this via a newsletter, you're gonna have to hop onto this page in your browser to see it, this is done to keep the page Wii Message Board friendly. And yes, the video is compatible with the Wii's browser, in case you don't wanna leave your TV screen.)
(As always, if you're viewing this via a newsletter, you're gonna have to hop onto this page in your browser to see it, this is done to keep the page Wii Message Board friendly. And yes, the video is compatible with the Wii's browser, in case you don't wanna leave your TV screen.)
Monday, February 19, 2007
Rare hits the Virtual Console
In episode 19, we had a discussion concerning Rare's founders leaving. In the discussion, we looked back at Rare leaving Nintendo and going over to Microsoft, and wondered at the possibility at whether Nintendo could be legally allowed to put Rare's games up on the Virtual Console, as the contract established by Microsoft stated Rare exclusively could only develop (or did it say publish?) console games for Microsoft.
This past week's Virtual Console line-up confirmed it, with the release of Donkey Kong Country (SNES). So, now there is hope for some of the most beloved games of past gen, to come to the Virtual Console. (Banjo-Kazooie, I'll be waiting!)
This past week's Virtual Console line-up confirmed it, with the release of Donkey Kong Country (SNES). So, now there is hope for some of the most beloved games of past gen, to come to the Virtual Console. (Banjo-Kazooie, I'll be waiting!)
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Everybody Votes Channel
There's a new Wii Channel out, called the "Everybody Votes Channel". However, to acquire this new channel you must upgrade your Wii's firmware and then download the "Everybody Votes Channel" in the WiiWare section of the Wii Shop Channel, for free.
The everybody votes channel allows 6 of your Miis to vote and make opinions on just about anything. These questions can be either state-wide, country-wide, or worldwide!
And you can also submit questions to Nintendo that you think would make good poll questions for the future of the channel.
I will be making a video demo of this channel in due time, as I did with the News Channel.
The everybody votes channel allows 6 of your Miis to vote and make opinions on just about anything. These questions can be either state-wide, country-wide, or worldwide!
And you can also submit questions to Nintendo that you think would make good poll questions for the future of the channel.
I will be making a video demo of this channel in due time, as I did with the News Channel.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Over 10,000 downloads and going strong!
Well, guys, it happened. This January the GamersCast feed hit a record high number of downloads! To be honest I didn't expect that to happen until E3 this year, since May of 2006 is the only other month that's even close to this January's amount. So, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you guys for all supporting the podcast, we couldn't have it this milestone without you guys, and we hope you will all continue to download and support the show. It looks like 2007 is gonna be one heck of a year for GamersCast!
In February expect game reviews of:
- Diddy Kong Racing DS
- Super Mario World (Virtual Console)
- Super Mario Brothers (Virtual Console)
- Vortex for iPod
- The Legend of Zelda (Virtual Console)
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link to The Past (Virtual Console)
- Wii Play
- Red Steel
- Wii Sports
- World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions (Wii)
- Excite Truck
- Sonic The Hedgehog (Virtual Console)
- Gunstar Heroes (Virtual Console)
- Donkey Kong Jr. (Virtual Console)
- Along with other February Virtual Console Releases!!
(I heard rumors of Donkey Kong Country, Star Fox 64, and Super Mario RPG coming out too, but I'm not sure if that's February)
In February we'll also have Episode 20 of GamersCast up and recorded (possibly episode 21 also, and maybe some mobile edition episodes).
In February, I'm also gonna be re-doing some things to the site, but I don't wanna ruin any of the other things I've got up my sleeve.
So, really the purpose of this post was to thank you guys for supporting us, so... THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!
By the way, in case you haven't noticed I fixed the video of the Wii Launch Vid. It ain't anything all too special, since I couldn't get back in once Reggie got there, but it's still worth downloading (I think....)
And thanks again guys!
In February expect game reviews of:
- Diddy Kong Racing DS
- Super Mario World (Virtual Console)
- Super Mario Brothers (Virtual Console)
- Vortex for iPod
- The Legend of Zelda (Virtual Console)
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link to The Past (Virtual Console)
- Wii Play
- Red Steel
- Wii Sports
- World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions (Wii)
- Excite Truck
- Sonic The Hedgehog (Virtual Console)
- Gunstar Heroes (Virtual Console)
- Donkey Kong Jr. (Virtual Console)
- Along with other February Virtual Console Releases!!
(I heard rumors of Donkey Kong Country, Star Fox 64, and Super Mario RPG coming out too, but I'm not sure if that's February)
In February we'll also have Episode 20 of GamersCast up and recorded (possibly episode 21 also, and maybe some mobile edition episodes).
In February, I'm also gonna be re-doing some things to the site, but I don't wanna ruin any of the other things I've got up my sleeve.
So, really the purpose of this post was to thank you guys for supporting us, so... THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!
By the way, in case you haven't noticed I fixed the video of the Wii Launch Vid. It ain't anything all too special, since I couldn't get back in once Reggie got there, but it's still worth downloading (I think....)
And thanks again guys!
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