The creators of PaRappa the Rapper including Masaya Matsuura and his NanaOn-Sha development studio teamed up with Majesco Entertainment to bring the first marching band game to the Nintendo Wii, titled Major Minor’s Majestic March. Rodney Alan Greenblat who is currently based in New York will also roll up his sleeves to share his expertise.

It’s great to see another quality game out for the Wii especially from this development team. We follow these guys avidly and always buy their releases. Not so sure about the theme on this one but the name is fantastic. Major Minor’s Majestic March … inspired! We will be giving this one a run for its money in the office that’s for sure.

Featured Inside Page: Wii Game Systems

Using the Wii Remote as a baton, players act as the band leader whose responsibilities involve recruiting new band members and picking up valuable items. Eight locations to explore and 15 different instruments to play should provide ample amount of gaming time. Among your tools are brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments that you have to keep in rhythm while avoiding obstacles.

Again the Wii comes into its own. Without the advanced remote technology games such as this could get tedious pretty quickly. But with the Wii remote we expect this game really comes to life. Looks like the difficulty will be in keeping time to the music and avoiding the various items in your path. This game should appeal to a wide cross-section of the population which is what the Nintendo Wii seems to be very good at.

You even get to impress the crowd in the brief intermissions with your superior baton twirling skills! Good honest family fun.

Source: qj

With the US presidential elections looming, it’s good to find a political story that isn’t bogged down in politics. I know, that’s a strange things to say. After all, electing a president is very political. But over at PersonalBee.com, they have managed to make a very astute point, while providing some lighthearted relief at the same time:

As pundits ponder the resurgence of Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire, here’s a handy high-tech guide to the three Democratic frontrunners. Because as it happens, they’re best understood in relation to the top three video game consoles:

I mean, “the top three video game consoles.” Surely that’s no way to treat serious politicians! But then again, maybe that’s exactly the way to treat them!

Barack Obama is the Nintendo Wii: The multi-racial candidate who was first dismissed by Washington insiders for not having enough power or third-party backers – but has gone on to draw immense popularity, not just from hardcore party faithful, but from the young and old, independents and Republicans alike. Instantly appealing like the Wii, Obama is popular not because of his library of policies, but because he is changing the way the game is played.

They have a point. A very good point at that. Anyone who has tried the Wii game systems knows that it instantly changed the way “the game” was played. For the better? I think so, but I may be biased. I have a 12-year-old boy who loves it, so maybe I’m not the one to judge the Wii impartially.

Hillary Clinton is the Microsoft Xbox 360: Backed by the most money, seen as a reliable and established brand, Hillary appeals most to the Democractic base, much the same way the 360 is most popular with hardcore gamers. Transitioning from her husband’s Xbox era, she offers not revolutionary change but steady, reliable content.

Hmmm… I’m not sure I agree with Hillary being the Xbox 360, though I think I can see where they are coming from here. She isn’t too exciting, is she? And yes, there’s lots of money behind her. That bit is true. But as we know, money doesn’t always win, though it often does.

John Edwards is the Playstation 3: Formerly the Democratic frontrunner of the previous generation, Edwards now offers a greatly enhanced library of positions with far more ideological power – which few except Edwards’ die-hard fanboys seem to be buying.

My 12-year-old would love a Playstation 3. He has the Playstation 2, but it isn’t good enough any more. Oh, sorry! We’re talking about politics, aren’t we… Edwards is the Playstation 3. OK, I can buy that. It makes a certain kind of sense.

Unsurprisingly, the candidates are now polling about the same as their next-gen analogs are currently selling, with the Wii capturing 44 percent of the vote, the 360 pulling in 36 percent, and the PS3 trailing far behind with 20 percent.

So… Does this mean that Barack Obama is going to win the next presidential election? Or does it mean that Wii game systems rule! Both probably. And they may well be right on both counts too. Who knows?

Last Thursday WiiWii.tv posted a story about the Wii and confirmation that handheld games will be available for the Wii. Many of the posts made by this blog are perhaps less than gushing about Nintendo’s or the Wii game systems ability to deliver exactly what the faithful actually want. There’s truth in that to be sure, but I personally like the Wii. It has a kind of unpretentious quality – a kind of honesty that’s often lacking elsewhere.

One by one those most wanted Nintendo features that make everybody’s wish list pop into reality. The latest one: a confirmation by Nintendo of America’s President Reggie Fils-Aime via an article in the New York Times that, alongside demos, the Wii will be able to download full handheld games that can then be transferred to play on DS. Tick that one off your list. Can’t be too long now until that hard disk announcement, huh?

Yes, a hard disk would be a good thing, and maybe it will happen. Who knows? Meanwhile, the Wii represents a great leap forward in gaming. Yes, I do mean that. All that zapping and blasting everything… It gets tiring. The current state of the Wii is not the final advancement of what it can be. I believe this platform is destined for greatness. Yep, I mean it!

No word there as to whether that means old Game Boy games or newer DS titles. One thing we’d surmise is that this also means the imminent release of an official data storage card for the DS, much like the much praised (though probably least by Nintendo) R4 flash cart.

An official data storage card would indeed be an excellent addition to what is already an excellent product. That’s the great thing about excellent products – adding things only makes them better!

There’s also nothing on a release date, though we’d hope sooner rather than later. We wouldn’t mind revisiting a few GB classics, particularly Zelda: Link’s Awakening, which must be a shoo-in for first release. Not to mention the classic GB Tetris, one of the most perfect puzzle games ever made.

Ah, the classics. I remember the days when… No, I won’t. Memory lane is sometimes best left closed. But I agree that a few GB classics revisited would be fun. And who can argue with the remark about Tetris. It is perfect. Just like Rubik’s Cube – the actual cube, not a game – Tetris is perfect in every way. It has simplicity and complexity all at the same time. Perfect!