It was only a matter of time before Netflix expanded it’s effort to other consoles, and it looks like they are doing just that. Both the Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii will be getting streaming content very soon, at no extra cost to current customers. For those that have been living in the dark ages, Netflix is the big company that lets you rent an unlimited number of movies and television shows for a very reasonable monthly subscription fee. About a year ago Netflix launched a streaming service on the Xbox 360 that has since exploded in popularity.

Interestingly enough these new deals surfaced right around the one-year anniversary of Netflix being available on the 360. It wouldn’t be too far of a stretch to say that Microsoft had a one-year exclusive contract with them, and now it’s over. It will be interesting to see what happens next, as the service will cost half as much on the PS3 and Wii than it does on the 360 (remember, streaming is only available to XBL Gold Members). Perhaps Microsoft will be forced to offer it to Silver Members as well? Only time will tell.

Netflix streaming on the PS3 will come as early as next month, although Wii owners will have to wait until the holidays. Unfortunately for PS3 owners, you will need to put a special Blu-ray disc in the PS3 each time you wish to use Netflix, which is a fairly big inconvenience. Sony has stated that they are working on a way to integrate the service into the XMB, but it will not be available until “sometime next year”. There is still no official word on how it will be delivered to the Wii.

According to a new issue of Nintendo Power, Arceus will be given away at Toys ‘R’ US all over the US between November 7th and 15th. This event is compatible with Pokemon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum for the Nintendo DS. This particular Arceus unlocks a special event that provides some backstory on the pokemon. When transfered to the upcoming HeartGold and SoulSilver titles, it will unlock yet another event that allows you to collect a Level 1 Dialga, Palkia, or Giratina.

This event is the last for the fourth generation of Pokemon, so fans are not going to want to miss it. All you have to do is take your DS or DSi to a participating Toys ‘R’ Us, select Mystery Gift from the title screen menu, and after Arceus downloads you are good-to-go.

We will post a reminder when the event goes live.

[Via serebii]

Today Nintendo of America has released the Oak’s Letter WiFi event for Pokemon Platinum, which is available until November 8th 2009. This event allows you to capture a Lv. 30 Shaymin in it’s Land Form, and change it into it’s Sky Form. To receive Oak’s Letter:

• Select ‘Mystery Gift’  on the boot menu.
• Select ‘Receive Gift’
• Select ‘Get Via Nintendo WFC’.
• Opt to receive the gift.
• Pick up the gift from any pokemart’s delivery man.

I’ll let serebii.net explain how to activate the event:

“Once picked up at the Pokémart, go to the Route 224 and make your way to the very end of it. You will see that the area has turned to be filled with flowers as opposed to the muddy rockface area it was beforehand. Professor Oak and Marley soon come up and say that you’re meant to write down what you’re most thankful for by the stone. Once done, Shaymin will appear and run up north to the Flower Paradise. Once you make your way up there, you will find Shaymin in its Land Forme ready to be captured. However, this Shaymin will also activate the Glacidea Flower and, if you already have it, it is transformable.”

Seems like Nintendo is trying to push out all of the WiFi events in a hurry, to make room for Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver.  The only one remaining for the US is the Jirachi event.

[Via Serebii]

According to IGN, Nintendo has quite a treat for the hardcore gaming crowd on August 24th. All three metroid games are coming to the Nintendo Wii in one nice package. Even better news, all three games will be on one disc, and all for the MSRP of $49.99. Even better than that, Metroid Prime, and Metroid Prime Echoes will be completely reworked with full widescreen support, 480p, as well as Wiimote and Nunchuk support.

All three games will can be accesed from one centralized game menu. From that menu you can create a profile that will save your progress for all three games, as well as your custom control schemes. Also available is the classic Metroid Prime Echoes multiplayer mode, which due to the Wiimote support, has reportadly become a whole lot more fun. Unfortunately there is no online multiplayer support, but given the circumstances that can be forgiven. There is also an achievment system, Craig Harris from IGN explains:

“Along with the new control and display options, Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2 Echoes has also been given the same medal system that’s already in Metroid Prime 3 Corruption. As you complete missions you’ll be given medals specific to the task completed – each medal has a specific color, and you spend these tokens in the new front-end’s option menu for unlockables. Each unlockable has a specific value: you can buy concept art, music, or special options like a screen grabbing utility so you can save screenshots to the internal storage and send them to friends. Some of the more coveted unlockables are far more expensive: we saw a few items that required three red, one blue, three yellow, two green, one orange, and two purple medals. You can also score medals by linking friends over the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and earn friend vouchers.”

Thank you Nintendo, for this nice gesture of friendship to us hardcore gamers. Please keep them coming.

A couple days ago we talked about the rumor involving Pokemon Gold and Silver getting remakes, and it turns out it was true. Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver are expected to be out by Autum of 2010, as part of their tenth anniversary. The original Gameboy Color  exclusive sold over 23 million copies, can the remakes do better? Perhaps it will be a DSi exclusive this time around? Taking advantage of the extra processor power and RAM to make the game a bit more aesthetically pleasing may not be a bad thing. Battle animations anyone?

[Via Yahoo! Japan]

• RPG-like leveling up system.
• Several gun and sword combos.
• First-person sword fighting is the primary focus, with gunplay as a secondary option.
• Not exactly an open world, but not a linear game either. You can choose multiple paths.
• There are side quests, as well as collectibles.
• Many enemies wear bulletproof armor.
• Boss fights.
• You will have the ability to travel back to older levels with your new abilities.
• MotionPlus will be used in various situations, not just combat, or opening doors.
• No multiplayer, however when asked about a downloadable multiplayer add-on, it was neither confirmed or denied, just stated as “possible”.

These ones are focused on the controls:

• Holding Z locks on your enemy.
• Holding C and swinging will do a block.
• You can switch lock-on any time.
• Screen prompts will let you know if you are being attacked from behind, you can press A to quick-turn in this situation.

Production began last summer, and the game is planned to be available by Christmas 2009.

If most predictions are correct, yes. That’s what thousands of Pokemon fans are expecting after a surprise announcement mentioning a new Pokemon game heading this way, after last weeks episode aired in Japan (with a certain gold and silver atmosphere). This seems like the most likely possibility, as Fire Red and Leaf Green were remade for Game Boy Advance, and the DS has yet to see any remakes. It would be interesting to see what new features are added into the game, and if there will be DSi support.

We will know on May 10th, when the next episode airs. Although a remake of a great game is always welcome, Nintendo may be shooting themselves in the foot if they use the Diamond and Pearl engine again, as they did with Platinum. I think both fans and casual players are looking for something new, and it would be wise for Nintendo to deliver.

Update: The rumors are true! Read here.

Now don’t get me wrong, I completely understand Nintendo’s pre-occupation with the “casual gaming” market, but this is starting to get ridiculous. I honestly cannot remember the last time I saw a Wii or DS game (that wasn’t a port of a classic) where I said, “Wow, that looks bad ass”, or “Holy shit I can’t wait to get that game!” So what is happening? Well, Nintendo is milking everything it can out of soccer moms and confused grandparents, while making a fortune. What does that mean for us, the hardcore crowd?

Welcome to Nintendo’s official “Fuck you, we make more money from these guys” business model.

First of all, let’s touch on the GameCube to Wii upgrade. One look at the hardware shows that the Wii is not the successor to the GameCube. Hell, it’s almost the same console. Sure, the processor is clocked 244 MHz faster, and there is 45 MB RAM upgrade. However, with the exception of the graphics card (which doesn’t even support High Definition output), the Wii is simply a slightly faster GameCube with some new ideas for input. It is so underpowered that you can’t even compare it with current generation consoles. The industry was forced to put it in a different league all together.

If that wasn’t bad enough, there are barely any games for the hardcore crowd. Now don’t get me wrong, I love my Wii when it comes to certain games, but have you been to Wal-Mart or Best Buy recently and had a look at the Wii section? Talk about a lack of quality control! I went the other day and there was so much pink and yellow, I couldn’t even see the game I was looking for.

Consider the timing. In 2001 the GameCube was released. Previously, the N64 was released almost 4 years before then. Thus it made sense for the Wii to come out in 2006, but as a successor, not an upgrade. Now consider the Nintendo DS, launched in 2004. Four years earlier the Game Boy Advance was launched, thus in early 2009 there should be another successor. Instead we received an upgrade, the DSi.

Here is the problem. From a technical standpoint, the DSi is a really low powered machine and pretty far behind in respect to technology.  If history is anything to go by, this year we should be playing with a new portable system as powerful as the GameCube. Sony did it over four years ago with the PSP, so it’s not as if it isn’t technologically and economically feasible.

So what’s the deal Nintendo? What happened to that exciting company we knew years ago, pushing out the latest and greatest of systems? Are you coming back, or have you been lost forever?

Well there is SOME hope…

Nintendo knows it can only milk this cow for so long, before it kicks them in the face. Based on the world’s economic state, you can’t expect any new consoles to be released anytime soon. However Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are all working on them.  In late 2010, we predict that Sony and Microsoft will be pushing out their new consoles. If the big N wants to get back in the big leagues (being hardcore gaming), it would be wise to do the same. Of course, to be truly competitive, it is going to have to release a console two generations ahead of the Wii/GameCube. We can hope.

Unfortunately, it will most likely be at least 2-3 years before we see a successor to the DS line. With the upgraded RAM and processor, as well as it’s new features, developers now have something new to work with. It is going to be a while before DSi exclusive games make their way into the market, and an even longer time before the casual crowd stops buying them.

The question is, when will the casual gaming market run dry, forcing Nintendo back to developing cutting edge technology? When will we get a successor, instead of an upgrade?