1993 was the year gaming changed forever. A pre-rendered point and click adventure game called Myst was released and went on to ship millions of copies and become the best-selling game of all time. It was not until the uber-popular ‘The Sims’ franchise came along that its record was bested.

I was an impressionable 9 year old at the time, and I remember ‘oohing’ and ‘aahing’ while my friend demonstrated Myst to me on his PC. Here was a game world full of sights and sounds that had a fidelity I had never experienced before. The textures on the stone pillars and trees actually looked like their real-world counterparts. Was I dreaming? No, this was the revolution in gaming graphics that the CD-ROM had made possible.

Continue reading El33tonline’s editorial: ‘The Glory Days of Pre-rendered Backgrounds.’

At the Nintendo press event held last night, not only was a new DS model revealed, the DSi, but Nintendo also addressed concerns over the Wii’s desperate storage problems, as well as announcing some new games that should please the hardcore.

First, Nintendo aim to ease the pain of the Wii’s current storage hassles - that of 512 meg Flash storage just not being enough for all the downloadable content that the Wii has on offer. Nintendo are to make it possible to download content directly to an SD memory card for storing downloadable games and content. In order to use the content, such as games, however, you’ll need to copy the content back onto the Wii.

Nintendo also announced some upcoming games for the Wii, including an update to the classic Nintendo boxing game, Punch-Out, as well as revealing that Sin and Punishment 2, Another Code and Dynasty Warriors 3 are currently in development for the Wii.

One last bit of news is that Wii owners will soon be able to play some of the classics from the Gamecube. Certain selections of Gamecube games will be re-released under a new brand called ‘Wii de Asobu Selection’, or ‘Play On Wii Selection’. The games will be updated to suit the controls of the Wii, with Pikmin and DK Jungle Beat amongst the first games to receive the renewal treatment, and will be available as soon as November in Japan. Luigi’s Mansion, anyone?

You can check out videos from the conference by going on over here. Look for the Nintendo Conference header and click on either the Wii, DS or DSi buttons for moving pictures, or click below to access the Wii line-up show reel:

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After a company called Anascape Ltd. filed a lawsuit for patent infringement against Nintendo, they have since been awarded $21 million as compensation, to be paid by Nintendo. Nintendo’s attempt to overturn that verdict failed and their request for a new trial was denied by the ruling judge.

The patent infringement offenders in question are Nintendo’s range of GameCube and Wavebird controllers, as well as the Wii Classic Controller, for using Anascape technology without a license, despite Nintendo denying they incorporated that specific technology (six types of motion at the same time).

This means that the selling of those specific controllers will be banned, unless Nintendo post royalties in an escrow account. Nintendo is expected to appeal the ban as soon as it is handed down today.

Source: Bloomberg.com

We are no strangers to Mario Kart, having careened around the Mushroom Kingdom in Double Dash on the GameCube and with Mario Kart DS having become almost a staple food in our diet.

Double Dash was in all honesty the game that introduced me to the wonderful world that is console gaming. While the game did not feature any online functionality, the real charm lay in the fact that four players could enjoy simultaneous racing. While one player controlled the racing aspect, the second player seated behind the driver held an equally important role in launching red shells and bombs at other teams and making sure they slipped up on banana peels. Obviously this meant the driver also had to develop seriously quick evasive skills to avoid the aforementioned shells and bombs.

Now although my driving skills were not up to scratch because I was the designated ‘back-seat driver,’ I can say that my wiggling abilities (toggling the analogue stick quickly left and right to earn that much needed boost) soon became an integral part of my Double Dash team.

Continue reading Lisa’s editorial A trip down Mario Kart memory lane.

When it launched, Twilight Princess had a lot on its shoulders. Being the latest entry in the long running, critically acclaimed Zelda series it had the burden of living up to its name, and as Nintendo’s launch title for the Wii console alongside Wii Sports it had to carry the console for its first Christmas. I can attest that Twilight Princess has broad enough shoulders; it lives up to its heritage and then some and is still one of the best reasons to own a Wii.

Head over to our review of the Wii version of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and be sure to compare it to our review of the GameCube version if you are a fan of the Zelda series.