This trailer shows off New Super Mario Bros on the Wii, giving you a look at the latest iteration of the venerable Super Mario Bros. franchise.

Nintendo is rolling out its E3 2009 line at noon today. Yes videogames have come up in the world of entertainment, dominating movie and music. Nintendo promises a new leap forward in game control and several new Mario adventures to go with. The Nintendo team is adding more hard core game s to it’s line-up including some developed in house. Keep up with all latest here.
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Video games are full of colorful characters from speedy blue hedgehogs to scientists who know their way around a rocket launcher. That doesn’t mean games are without their stereotypes though, and I’m not talking about the fact that every gritty shooter needs at least one black soldier ready to blast some hip-hop music at any given opportunity. No, I’m talking about the overweight individuals who packed on a few pounds and then decided that was reason enough to get in everyone’s way somehow. When it comes to those portly video game characters that aren’t plumbers sporting red overalls, most of them just tend to be plain old bastards. Here are six of the biggest fat bastards in gaming that I could think of.

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North America is being treated to two bright new DS bundles in time for the Black Friday holiday kickoff. Those of you getting up before the crack of dawn can look forward to snagging a red DS emblazoned with an M along with New Super Mario Bros or an Ice Blue bundle complete with Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day with a matching carrying case. The price is right as well with both bundles coming in at $149.99.

Words to the wise… if you need to pick up your first DS or replace an old one, consider your game collection. The new DSi model doesn’t support the older GBA game cartridges.

BringIt is setting up a service with a secure site where gamers can compete for cash online 24/7. Any game platform with Internet connectivity can get in on the action.

“BringIt is going to transform the videogame landscape by allowing individuals to compete online for bragging rights and real money through skill-based gaming,” said BringIt CEO and founder Woody Levin. “Gamers have shown great interest and support for competitive gaming, so we are pleased to offer BringIt as a player-driven service that quickly connects gamers, allowing them to play legally for cash while getting a more intense competitive rush.”

Some of the titles in the service during the beta period are Madden NFL 2009, Gears of War 2, FIFA 2009, Halo 3, Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock, Rock Band 2, Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Mario Kart. BringIt will accept PayPal and major credit cards for bets between $1 and $100,000. Read more about the terms and conditions from the press release after the break.

I should think that mixing videogames and betting will seriously up the danger factor for gamers with addictive personalities. It should also make BringIt a lot of money.
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Nintendo fans should be keeping their eyes on this page on Amazon throughout the day today. There’s an all-day sale on Super Smash Bros. Brawl for just $26, which is a damn good deal for a Nintendo game that released a few months ago. Also, as I write this, Yoshi’s Island DS is available for $20, $10 below the standard price of $30. Aside from the Smash Bros. deal, side deals will be popping up throughout the day — the next deal will replace Yoshi’s Island at 8AM PDT, with a new one every two hours after that until 8PM tonight.

From the teaser text, it looks like Mario Kart and Pokemon Diamond/Pearl will be among the games on sale today, so keep checking back so that you don’t miss out on any good deals. (It’s also worth a bookmark for the future, as they have good deals on there from time to time, including videogame-related stuff.)

I’m a big fan of Boom Blox; it’s one of my favorite Wii games, and certainly the most fun I’ve had with any third-party title on the platform. The overall reaction to the game was quite positive, as the game garnered solid reviews. But according to the NPD Group (via GameDaily), the game sold only 60k copies in May, coming in at #25 for the month — surely that’s not what Electronic Arts had in mind for their Steven Spielberg-branded game had in mind, particularly in a month where sales of the system were so high at just over 675k.

Analysts have been split about what this means. Ben Schachter said, “While overall hardware and software trends for the Nintendo Wii continue to be strong, we would like to see more third-party hits on the platform,” before adding, “To-date, Guitar Hero III, Sega of America’s Mario and Sonic: Olympic Games, and TTWO’s Carnival Games are the only third-party Wii games that have sold more than 1 million units to-date according to NPD, and there are many third-party Wii exclusives that have come-and-gone with minimal reaction from the market.”

Anita Frazier disagrees and simply believes the game was caught in a month where the attention was directed to things like Wii Fit and GTA, which is the theory I personally subscribe to. “It’s still really hard for new IP to breakthrough the noise in the market, and there has been a lot of noise so far this year. Between Super Smash Bros. Brawl, GTA IV, Wii Fit, Mario Kart and the upcoming Metal Gear Solid 4 (to name a few), there have been some really high profile game releases. The game was really well reviewed so I’m suspecting the marketing just didn’t break through the clutter to the extent that they were hoping for,” she said.

Earlier this week, however, EA CEO John Riccitiello told the audience at the William Blair Investor Conference (via MTV Multiplayer) that sales were actually on target, and that it had actually “met our expectations internally.” He also remains hopeful about the game’s future, saying, “A title like this one — can it do several hundred thousand or a million or more units? Sure, it’s just gotta keep selling.”

It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise when you consider GTA didn’t have much time to sell in April, but it was a much closer contest for the top spots in May than you might have guessed. While the 360 version of GTA IV did take the top spot with 871.3k copies sold, Mario Kart was right on its heels with 784.4k and Wii Fit not too far behind at 687.7k. The PS3 version of GTA IV came in at number four with 442.9k and then there was a significant drop off to number five, Wii Play, which sold 294.6k copies.

Wii Play’s number is actually fairly low given the number of Wii systems that were sold in the month, but it’s quite possible that many of those Wiis were sold alongside a copy of Wii Fit, which isn’t a multiplayer-happy game like so many other games in the system’s library.

The DS and Wii also took four more spots in the top ten with Smash Bros., Guitar Hero III, and the two versions of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon coming in at numbers 6, 8, 9, and 10. Iron Man on the unkillable PlayStation 2 snuck in at number 7, no doubt thanks in large part to the movie’s great success.

May 2008 Software Sales:

1. Grand Theft Auto IV (360) – 871,300
2. Mario Kart Wii w/ wheel (Wii) – 787,400
3. Wii Fit w/ balance board (Wii) – 687,700
4. Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3) – 442,900
5. Wii Play w/ remote (Wii) – 294,600
6. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii) – 171,100
7. Iron Man (PS2) – 130,600
8. Guitar Hero III (Wii) – 116,800
9. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness (DS) – 107,000
10. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time (DS) – 102,000

Metal Gear Solid 4 is sure to come in highly with the June NPDs, and it’ll be difficult to overcome both Grand Theft Auto and a continued stream of Wii Fit copies. It’s definitely got a good shot at outselling them, though, and with those hard-to-come-by MGS4 bundles selling like crazy, the PS3 will be sure to see a nice bump in the first month of summer.

We’ve shown you some of the cool mods that have been designed for Unreal Tournament 3 in the past, like the Samus and Master Chief character models or the complete LEGO makeover. The latest noteworthy mod to catch my eye is a remake of the classic first level of Super Mario Bros, which takes advantage of UT2D.

It’s still very much a work in progress, as the creator will tell you, but it still looks very cool. And, thanks to PS3 mod support, you’ll be able to annihilate fellow UT‘ers on your PS3 in Mario World 1-1. It doesn’t get much better than that. (Unless they figure out a way to merge this with Star Wars and LEGOs, then the mind-blowing would be truly complete.)

via PS3 Fanboy

Nintendo is challenging father’s to bring their kids to Nintendo World at the Rockefeller Plaza in New York City for a special Father’s Day event. The Super Smash Bros. Brawl Wii Father’s Day Tournament is on for this Sunday.

The Nintendo World will be giving away trophies and the Wii to winning teams. See the full press release after the break for all the details.
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