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Ready 2 Rumble was one of the great games on the under appreciated, and much loved Sega Dreamcast. Since, many games have tried to emulate its formula, unsuccessfully. The sequel to the game didn’t fare much better than the knockoffs of other companies.
I just received this Press Release for the next Ready 2 Rumble game, coming to the Nintendo Wii. With Punch-Out! releasing next year, it looks like we’ll have plenty of boxing to go around.
NEW YORK, December 2, 2008 – The hilarious Ready 2 Rumble franchise is flexing its muscles and planning a major, star-studded return to the ring in spring 2009 with the launch of Ready 2 Rumble Revolution, the newest game in the much-loved series. Bringing the franchise to Wii™ for the first time, the game retains all the knockout features of best-sellers Ready 2 Rumble Boxing Round 1 and Round 2, while delivering a knockout punch of style and attitude. Tailored to take advantage of the motion-controlled realism of Wii, Ready 2 Rumble Revolution makes landing a punch more fun than ever.
“Ready 2 Rumble Revolution is poised to take back the title as the undisputed champion of arcade boxing games and we hope to reach an even bigger audience than ever thanks to the huge popularity of Wii,” said Phil Harrison, President of Infogrames, the parent company of Atari. “The outrageous celebrity caricatures paired with a fun boxing experience made even more over-the-top thanks to the Wii controllers will make the newest version of this famed franchise a must-have for all fans of boxing and physical fun on Wii.”
“Ready 2 Rumble Revolution will put the swagger back into the boxing ring and promote an adrenaline-boosting, positive will to win attitude in the hearts and minds of fans of all ages,” said Gaspard de Dreuzy, President of Stereo Mode and executive producer of the game.
Sure to satisfy newcomers and boxing fans alike, Ready 2 Rumble Revolution features a roster of 18 wildly caricatured cartoony boxers based on celebrities from the worlds of sports, music and movies. Celebrities enter the ring as larger-than-life “Rumble-ized” versions of themselves. Players will step right up and see if they can knock these super-sized egos down a peg or two!
The game is hosted by “The Voice of the Champions” Michael Buffer, famous for his “Let’s Get Ready to Rumble®” trademark call. Characters are brought to life with hilarious moves, detailed facial animations, damage textures and fighting techniques including special moves, combos, extreme knockdowns and special “Rumble” combos. An all new Championship Mode lets gamers create their own unique boxer and nurture his skills through mini-games, developing him as a fighter and creating a completely personalized Ready 2 Rumble Revolution experience.
Developed by AKI who bring their formidable fight game know-how to the franchise, Ready 2 Rumble Revolution brings a virtual boxing arena to the living room and delivers a fun and intuitive experience in either single player or multiplayer mode. The Wii controllers provide would-be pugilists with an intuitive and realistic feel. Using the Nunchuk™ controller as one glove and the Wii Remote™ controller as the other, players dodge, weave and throw the big punches to KO their opponents.
Virtual heavyweights can fight from the backstreet gym all the way to the big Las Vegas showdown with vivid new visuals bringing the five spectacular ring environments to life. The arcade experience is made even better thanks to advanced Artificial Intelligence allowing more strategic fights.
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Like the crows say in Dumbo, ‘I dun seen about everything’ , is how I felt after reading this article by Forbes.com. It’s the usual ‘Why The Wii Is Successful’ piece, but one interesting statistic popped out.
Nintendo is not only selling the most consoles of the big three (Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony), they’re making money off those consoles as well. This is a rather amazing statistic because generally speaking console makers lose money on hardware. Traditionally, the lost money on hardware is made up through accessory sales and software. Nintendo doesn’t have to worry about that route as they’re making $6 a unit for the Nintendo Wii.
So, let’s do some numbers. $6 x 35 million units sold = $210 million. While these are just analyst numbers, they are more than likely accurate. Because all you really have to do is figure how much the hardware components for putting together a Nintendo Wii cost.
It’s not hard to see how Nintendo is able to accomplish this feat. While Microsoft and Sony completely bank on technological behemoth hardware specs, Nintendo has tried a different approach. Lessen the specs, power wise, and make their console more readily usable to a larger group. Needless to say its paid off, as $210 million is quite a bit of money. That’s not even tallying up software, and accessory sales which have even a better margin than their hardware.
Bet you wished you would have invested in Nintendo stock during the Gamecube era? I know I do, I was just too poor then.
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I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday weekend. My jeans might not fit today, but all the turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing I engulfed was well worth the pounds. Of course, the big story in the world of video games isn’t about Thanksgiving but the day after.
All kinds of retail stores had insane electronics sales for the day known as ‘Black Friday’. The deals being exceptionally good this year because of items being overstocked. Mostly due to our tough economic times. This of course leads to massive crowds, and people creating herds running through stores (I like to think of the Wildabeast scene from Lion King), trying to be the first to grab that special item they’ve been salivating over.
This year the idea of Black Friday craziness was taken to a whole new level. One Wal-Mart worker was killed after being trampled by a mob of shoppers looking to get into the retail store when it opened. There was a shooting that occured at a Toys-R-Us, though according to reports it wasn’t over anything consumer related. But still, does that even matter?
My Black Friday favorite this year comes in video form though. This video is taken of shoppers trying to grab at the Guitar Hero/Xbox 360 bundle. Something about actually being able to see it, takes it to a whole new level. I like the guy towards the end with the hat on, running towards the camera looking like he will forearm anyone that gets in his way.
So, did anyone go out and join in on the Black Friday craziness this year? If so, please share any and all stories. Even if you were the one doing the pushing and shoving.
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I’ll tell ya, it’s a sad sad day when Nintendo Wii’s can no longer roam free and be safe. Now-a-days you have to keep your Wii locked up, and make sure you’re the only one with the key. That is if you believe ‘ClearPC’ who says that thousands of Nintendo Wii’s are stolen everyday.
They even list an example of a Nintendo Wii being stolen from a church. Which leads me to ask, Why was there a Nintendo Wii in a church? Sounds like there was too much wagglin’ and not enough worship to me.
If you don’t believe me, read the press release below:
VICTORIA, BC, CANADA – “Thousands of WII’s are being stolen or tampered with,” says Frank G. of ClearPC.ca, lead designer and plastics fabricator for a string of new console security cases the company manufacturers.
“We’ve even had a customer from a church in the Carolinas ask for help. We took that as a sign. I knew the WII was popular, but when they’re being stolen out of churches you realize just how popular they really are.”
ClearPC® announced 3 new additions to their acrylic enclosure line in November 2008: a security cabinet or case for the Nintendo WII, Microsoft XBOX and SONY Playstation (not shown, coming December 2008).
ClearPC® is the first and only manufacturer to produce such cases. They’re made from cast clear acrylic, a tough plastic that is extremely resistant to impact and damage. All of ClearPC®’s cases are bonded with a molecular bonding agent.
The edges are inseparable without a catastrophic attack. The console security covers are made from a 3/16″ cast acrylic that is not easily broken without applying tremendous force. When this security case is screwed down to an appropriate stationary platform, the case is immovable (there are four
pass-through holes in the top of the case for a screw driver to pass to the bottom screws).
From their web site, it says that, “All edges are bonded to one another permanently. Openings allows for wire passthrough, on-off and disc changing. The front door is lockable via camlock and two keys are provided.“
This enclosure is well-suited to Internet cafes, college dorms or any place where the consoles may be stolen or tampered with. It was designed and is manufactured exclusively at ClearPC®.
For more information, please visit www.clearpc.ca
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It might be Wednesday to most people of the world, but to me it might as well be Friday. It’s the last day I have to come into the office, as my four day vacation is coming up. So, unfortunately this will be the last post until December rolls around. Unless some really earth shaking news strikes, then I’ll sacrifice some turkey time to bring it to you.
Yesterday, I wrote a good sized rant, criticizing a recent editorial on the state of Nintendo, and the ‘hardcore’ gamers. I won’t get into the issue any further, as you can read for yourself how I feel about it. While crafting that editorial I came across a nifty site, Island.net who has a nice chronology of the history of Nintendo. So, in light of my new discovery we’re going to take a look at the Top 5 years that Nintendo has seen since it made its console debut in 1985.
5. 2006 -
Major Releases In 2006:
Nintendo Wii
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
Top News In 2006:
Rodrigo Lopes sets a new time record for completing The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past video game on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System: 1 hour 36 minutes 43 seconds.
Electronic Gaming Monthly presents a list of the 200 greatest video games of their time. Number 1 is Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
France’s Ministry of Culture honors Shigeru Miyamoto with knighthood in the Order of Arts and Letters.
Nintendo announces there will be over 30 game titles available for the Wii within the launch window.
At a press conference in Los Angeles before the Electronic Entertainment Expo, Nintendo announces the release name for its next-generation console system: Wii, shows a conventional controller for it, and demonstrates The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Galaxy for it.
In New York, Nintendo announces the Wii will be on sale in the USA on November 19. Price will be US$250 including the Nunchaku controller and Wii Sports game. The Wii will be available in Japan on December 2.
There are very few events in the history of video games that truly changed, or revolutionized the gaming world. In the year 2006, one of these massive happenings began to take its form. It all started with the release of a little console called, Nintendo Wii. Up until its release, the Nintendo Wii had gone through a roller coaster of opinions from gamers. Some were so excited to usher in a new way to play video games, while others were left skeptical.
Needless to say, we all know what the outcome would be. While some were calling for a massive launch of the PS3, it was the Nintendo Wii that became the hard to find item for Christmas. Then would repeat that some moniker when 2007 rolled around.
4. 1985 -
Major Releases In 1985:
Nintendo NES System
Super Mario Bros.
Duck Hunt
Baseball
Ice Climber
Top News In 1985:
At the Winter Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, Nintendo first shows the Nintendo Entertainment System in the US
At the Summer Consumer Electronics Show Nintendo introduces the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It uses a 6502 processor, and generates images with 256×240 resolution in 16 colors. It includes two controllers, a Zapper gun, and a Robotic Operating Buddy robot. Distributors show little interest in taking any orders.
Nintendo releases the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in the United States, in New York City. Special displays are set up in department, toy, and electronics stores. The NES comes with the Robotic Operating Buddy and the Zapper light gun. Price is US$125. Seventeen game cartridges are available with the launch of the game system.
During Nintendo’s test-marketing of the Nintendo Entertainment System in New York, 90,000 units are sold.
What 1985 lacked in quantity for news and games, it easily made up for with importance and quality. 1985 gets its spot on the list much for the same reasons as 2006. While the Nintendo Wii might have started a new revolution in gaming, 1985 was the actual beginning of the revolution. For that reason alone, not to mention the release of one of the greatest games of all time (Super Mario Bros.) 1985 rightfully sits at #4 on today’s list.
3. 1998:
Major Releases in 1998:
Resident Evil 2
1080 Snowboarding
Banjo-Kazooie
Mortal Kombat 4
F-Zero X
Pokémon (GB)
WCW/NWO Revenge
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
Top News In 1998:
At the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences holds its first annual awards ceremony. Shigeru Miyamoto is indicted into the Hall of Fame for his contributions to the video game industry.
Nintendo announces the Game Boy Color handheld video game system.
The European Computer Trade Show names Goldeneye 007 for the Nintendo 64 the Console Game of the Year.
Nintendo and LucasArts sign a five-year agreement for three new Star Wars games on the Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Color.
1998 represents everything that has been great about Nintendo throughout the years. We saw the induction of Miyamoto into the Hall of Fame. Not to mention arguably the greatest Nintendo game of all time, Ocarina of Time, released in 1998. Oh, Banjo Kazooie, and Star Wars: Rogue Squadron made an appearance as well. Those three games are all some of the top Nintendo 64 games of all time.
2. 1987:
Major Releases In 1987:
The Legend of Zelda
Dragon Quest II
Gradius
Pro Wrestling
Castlevania
Spy Hunter
Metroid
Punch-Out
Metal Gear
Final Fantasy
Mega Man
Top News In 1987:
Nintendo releases The Legend of Zelda video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System in the US. This is the first NES game with a battery-powered save feature.
Nintendo begins including the Super Mario Bros. game cartridge with the Nintendo Entertainment System in the US.
Unit sales to date of Nintendo Entertainment System game systems: about 4 million. (Dec. 31)
There might not have been a whole lot of ground breaking news in 1987, but with all the games that released who needed to hear news? Seven game franchises that are still kicking it in the year 2008 saw their first releases in 1987. It’s easily the year of the ‘Franchises’, and makes 1987 the easy pick for #2 on today’s list.
1. 1996:
Major Releases In 1996:
Mega Man X3
Tetris Attack
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Nintendo 64
Super Mario 64
PilotWings 64
Wave Race 64
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble
Killer Instinct Gold
Wayne Gretkzy’s 3D Hockey
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
Top News In 1996:
Nintendo announces a delay in introducing its 64-bit video game system in the US until September 30, due to a chip shortage.
In Los Angeles, California, Nintendo gives a preview of the Nintendo 64 game system, showing the Super Mario 64 game.
Nintendo releases the Nintendo 64 video game system in North America. Price is US$199.95.
At the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, Washington, over five days, 3000 participants rate 57 video games. Top pick is Super Mario 64 for the Nintendo 64.
By Thanksgiving Day in the USA, Nintendo has sold 750,000 Nintendo 64 systems in the USA, making this the fastest-selling system to date.
Unit sales of the Nintendo 64 video game system in the US during the year: 1.7 million.
Deciding between 1987, and 1996 was probably the hardest placing of #2, and #1 that I’ve had to do for these lists so far. 1987 might have been the year that so many franchises got their start, but 1996 represents the greatest year that Nintendo gave us.
To me the transition of SNES to Nintendo 64 is the best current-gen/next-gen transition we’ve ever seen in gaming. At the end of the SNES’ life cycle we saw some of the best games come out and really sent the system out with a bang. Don’t believe me? Go back and play Super Mario RPG. Then right after that the Nintendo 64 ushered in the era of 3D gaming, and gave us what I think is the best launch lineup of games ever seen on a home console.
Due to this transition, and the greatness of two consoles seen in a single year warrants 1996 as the best year Nintendo has given its fans.
Are there any years that specifically stand out in your mind? Did I have any errors in the history that I posted? Feel free to leave any, and all comments below.
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I strolled into the office today, just wanting to get through the day so that Thanksgiving could finally get here. Turkey was/is calling my name…..That was until I read this little “gem” by Matt Casamassina of IGN. I have respected IGN’s views towards the Wii, until now.
The article is titled, “Editorial: Has Nintendo Lost the Hardcore Gamer?” Oh, boy. If you’re a frequent reader of WiiBlog, then you’ve more than likely read my views towards the media created, and fueled dichotomy of ‘hardcore vs. casual’. I expect there to be a fighting game based on this long, blog commenting, editorializing whine-fest that “core” gamers and the media have carved out these past couple of years. Just like I expressed in my past post, it’s just about all I can take anymore. I’m just about to give up on gaming media altogether and just enjoy games for what they truly are. Not what the online gaming media world makes them out to be.
Read the rest of this entry »
