Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period.
The DS Life is a weekly feature in which we scour the known world for narrative images of Nintendo's handheld and handheld gamers. If you have a photo and a story to match it with, send both to thedslife at dsfanboy dot com.
The electronic blips and chirps, mingling with the crickets and other evening harmonies, are what draw you in at first. Against a building wall, a projected game of Super Mario World plays, but it's not any level you've ever seen. Nearby, a group of people sit around a Powerbook, one of them shaking a Wii remote while the other watch. Above them all, eleven Game Boys and a tangle of wires hang from a tree. What could be going on?
A rumor on NeoGAF has this lovely gold DS Lite being released as part of a Phantom Hourglass bundle for the holiday season. A few other posters came in to confirm it, but, being anonymous GAFfers, their confirmations are as reliable as the original rumor. We've already got all the DS systems we need, but for new owners or obsessive collectors, this would certainly be awesome.
Posted Oct 10th 2007 6:40PM by JC Fletcher Filed under: News
Yesterday we saw brain training for nonexistent puppies, and today it's for real toddlers. Companies are really struggling to find unexplored niches now! Next week: brain training for inanimate objects!
505 Games' preschool-age brain training game I Did It Mum! is, implausibly, coming to the U.S. It comes in separate "boy" and "girl" versions, and allows a parent to record encouraging messages, presumably to ensure that the child bonds to his or her DS. It also gives kids a happy message on their birthdays.
I Did It Mum comes from Starfish, who are gaining prominence for their Wii games Kiki Kai World and Monkey King: The Legend Begins. This is about as far as one could get from those two shooters, however.
Intelligent Systems is busy. We assume they're working on the Fire Emblemremake that we just now heard about, as well as any finishing touches that may need to go on the Wii Fire Emblem game. They're also in the midst of Advance Wars DS 2 development. But apparently that's not enough for the former R&D1, as they've revealed yet another strategy game project, this time a card game called Kousoku Card Battle Card Hero (Quick Card Battle Card Hero).
This isn't their first Card Hero game; the original, on Game Boy Color, came out in 2000 and was almost released in the U.S. In addition to the GBC game, Japan also got a real card game based on the property. Card Hero is a sort of meta-game, in that you play a video game about kids playing a card game, and, of course, play that card game within the game. We've got the first magazine scans of the game after the break!
Climax Entertainment, the developers behind the Shining Force series of games, has announced they've begun work on a new DS RPG called Steal Princess. The main character of the game is called Anis (no Borat jokes, please), who is, you may have guessed, the Steal Princess. Her goal is to take back treasures from the Devil King.
The game is going to be an action RPG, with field maps and dungeons being displayed in a 3D isometric view. Weapons will deteriorate with use, and the player must not only combat monsters, but also the environment, as they must create new paths and overcome obstacles in order to progress.
The game is currently slated for a 2008 release in Japan.
Remade versions of classic games are popping up on the DS at an alarming rate-- just today, we've seen DS versions of the original Fire Emblem and what is increasingly likely to be a remake of Kirby Super Star (rather than a sequel). We've been exploring the phenomenon recently, polling you as to your dream remakes (dreamakes? ... No.)
To delve a bit deeper into the world of remakery, we decided to hold a roundtable in the style of Siliconera's "From Around the Interweb" series (in which we happily participated). We've gathered the best and brightest (and, of course, most willing to chat) from the gaming community to discuss what's driving the trend of remakes, how this effects us and the game industry, and what they'd like to see a DS-ified version of. We actually received so much excellent material that we're splitting the panel into two parts. Today's participants are Game|Life's Susan Arendt, Siliconera's Spencer Yip, and Gamasutra and Insert Credit's Brandon Sheffield.
Last month, Nintendo registered a bunch of trademarks in Japan that were primarily Wii-related (which led to some confusion when we spotted Nintendo Magic on the list). One of the more mysterious trademarks was something called "Soma Bringer."
Along with about a billion other things, the identity of Soma Bringer was revealed today in a Nintendo conference. It's a new strategy RPG (from the looks of it, at least) developed by Nintendo's newest acquisition, Xenosaga developers Monolith Soft. Just from looking at the screens, we see attacks mapped to the face buttons, and multiple camera angles. As a new Nintendo-published SRPG, we're sure we'll be hearing more about Soma Bringer soon.
From our first look at the game, we thought Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was going to be a shining example of how a game in the FPS genre should be handled on the handheld. And, after reading the impressions Joystiq gave after some play time with the title, we're glad to hear that the title is shaping up to be just that.
The game, which switches between FPS segments, on-rail helicopter gunner sequences, bomb-disarming moments and AC-130 gunship sections. And, in all of this diversity, the game doesn't falter a bit. Joystiq lets us know that a lot of thought and care went into the game, from the controls down to each segment of gameplay.
Sounds like we've got another game to add to our library.
Kirby Super Staron the SNES (Hoshi no Kirby Super Deluxe in Japan) is one of the few minigame compilations that can be called "beloved." In a move that is only shocking in regards to how long it took, Nintendo has announced a sequel, called Hoshi no Kirby Ultra Super Deluxe.
The few screenshots we have reveal the return of the "Gourmet Race" event from the previous game (race against King Dedede in both speed and amount of food eaten), the "Spring Breeze" adventure mode, and what looks like a "Great Cave Offensive" style treasure-collecting game. In addition, a wireless connection icon is visible, meaning that wireless multiplayer (though not necessarily Wi-Fi) will be enabled.
Itagaki was kind enough to take some time out of his busy schedule of making great games and shopping for leather to speak with GameTrailers about Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword. Of course, they grilled him on just why he would go with the DS instead of the PSP (how many times must this man answer this question?!), but kept the piece interesting by sprinkling gameplay footage throughout the videos.
Hit up the second part of the video interview past the post break.
Among the other megatons Nintendo dropped at its Tokyo conference late last night, the company revealed that the Wii will soon support a feature we've been speculating on for some time now -- enabling the console to act as a DS demo download station. At last, you can finally try out games like that new Nancy Drew release without ever leaving the comfort of your own home!
Much like with the download stations that are already installed in game stores and airports across the country, Nintendo Wii owners will eventually be able to download video game trailers and demos wirelessly to their DS through the newly announced "Everyone's Nintendo Channel." A concrete date hasn't yet been set for the channel's launch.
Having established its SRPG dominance on the GameCube and Nintendo Wii with its past two entries, Fire Emblem is finally returning to the portable field with its next title. Intelligent Systems -- the Nintendo's internal development studio behind the Fire Emblem and Advance Wars series -- hasn't published any specifics about the game, but we suspect that there will be plenty for us to talk about by the time Fire Emblem DS's 2008 release charges into view.
Word on the street is that it is a remake of the first game, Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryu to Hikari no Tsurugi, and will star Marth.
Jeux-France posted a number of screenshots for the newly-announced title, and they appear just as expected -- zoomed-out battlefield displayed on the touchscreen, combat/data/conversations shown on the top. Enjoy them all in the gallery we've set up for you below.
Are you feeling mentally down? Does calculating the cost of your groceries at your local supermarket taking you longer than usual? Well, we might just have something that can help you get mentally fit again. Whether you're 88 or 18 (sorry, if you're under 18 years of age or live outside the United States, you are not eligible), everyone can always use some extra mental exercises to help them get fit again.
What will you win? Well, that's simple. One grand prize winner will receive a copy of Brain Age 2 (valued at $20), Picross DS (valued at $20) and Brain Buster Puzzle Pak (valued at $20). With all those puzzle titles, you should be as mentally fit as a young Albert Einstein.
So, do your brain a favor and make a comment below. All we're asking is that you tell us the last time you were feeling mentally sluggish. Hey, we're all friends here, no need to feel embarrassed when you had some difficulty adding and subtracting with The Count.
Before you do that, though, make sure that you read the official rules before entering. The contest will be open from Wednesday October 10th, 2007 9:45am EST until Sunday October 14th, 2007 11:59PM EST.
Back when the DS was first released, the Game Boy Advance compatibility was a lifesaver. The Metroid Prime Hunters demo got old very quickly, and we were glad to have the massive GBA library to lean on, so we didn't have to resort to Sprung.
But now there are more amazing DS games than there is time to play them all. In addition, the design of the DS Lite makes it less convenient to carry around a GBA game at all times. Do you still find yourself playing Game Boy Advance games on your DS, or has your DS's other cartridge slot fallen into disuse? As for us, we'll keep GBA-ing it up until a suitable successor to Astro Boy: The Omega Factor comes along (which will be never).
If there's one thing we don't like about The Sims 2: Castaway, it's the game's lack of modern convenience. Yes, we get that they're castaways, but we can't tell you how many times we've become frustrated with our little Sim, only to take our aggression out by trapping them in a structure lacking doors and having them keep using the toaster oven until a fire broke out. Hey, don't look at us like we're monsters?
Anywho, check out these new screens with us and be sure to take part in our random, yet completely appropriate, screaming of "Wiiiiiiilson!"
This special-edition DS Lite was photographed by GoNintendo's RawMeatCowboy at the recent Phantom Hourglass launch event at the Nintendo World Store. The store displays all kinds of stuff that you can't get anywhere else, but this may not be one of those items. This may soon be available at regular stores.
Yesterday we saw brain training for nonexistent puppies, and today it's for real toddlers. Companies are really struggling to find unexplored niches now! Next week: brain training for inanimate objects!
Intelligent Systems is busy. We assume they're working on the Fire Emblem remake that we just now heard about, as well as any finishing touches that may need to go on the Wii Fire Emblem game. They're also in the midst of Advance Wars DS 2 development. But apparently that's not enough for the former R&D1, as they've revealed yet another strategy game project, this time a card game called Kousoku Card Battle Card Hero (Quick Card Battle Card Hero).
Climax Entertainment, the developers behind the Shining Force series of games, has announced they've begun work on a new DS RPG called Steal Princess. The main character of the game is called Anis (no Borat jokes, please), who is, you may have guessed, the Steal Princess. Her goal is to take back treasures from the Devil King.
Last month, Nintendo registered a bunch of trademarks in Japan that were primarily Wii-related (which led to some confusion when we spotted Nintendo Magic on the list). One of the more mysterious trademarks was something called "Soma Bringer." 
From our first look at the game, we thought Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was going to be a shining example of how a game in the FPS genre should be handled on the handheld. And, after reading the impressions Joystiq gave after some play time with the title, we're glad to hear that the title is shaping up to be just that.
Kirby Super Star on the SNES (Hoshi no Kirby Super Deluxe in Japan) is one of the few minigame compilations that can be called "beloved." In a move that is only shocking in regards to how long it took, Nintendo has announced a sequel, called Hoshi no Kirby Ultra Super Deluxe. 
Among the other megatons Nintendo dropped at its Tokyo conference late last night, the company revealed that the Wii will soon support a feature we've been speculating on for some time now -- enabling the console to act as a DS demo download station. At last, you can finally try out games like that new Nancy Drew release without ever leaving the comfort of your own home!
Having established its SRPG dominance on the GameCube and Nintendo Wii with its past two entries, Fire Emblem is finally returning to the portable field with its next title. Intelligent Systems -- the Nintendo's internal development studio behind the Fire Emblem and Advance Wars series -- hasn't published any specifics about the game, but we suspect that there will be plenty for us to talk about by the time Fire Emblem DS's 2008 release charges into view.
Back when the DS was first released, the Game Boy Advance compatibility was a lifesaver. The Metroid Prime Hunters demo got old very quickly, and we were glad to have the massive GBA library to lean on, so we didn't have to resort to Sprung. 
