Though it released late 2008 in Japan, Nintendo’s follow up to the hugely popular DS handheld, the DSi, was rumored to be launching on our shores some time late in 09, probably near the holidays. News from the Big N this week, however, reveals that the system will launch stateside on April 5.

The new version of the handheld - priced at $169.99 (msrp) - brings with it two low-resolution cameras (one on the outside, one inside the middle hinge), an SD card slot for music, pictures, or (wait for it…) downloadable games that will be available on the DSiWare shop (hells friggin yeah!). The system will come in blue and black colors at launch, and though I’ll probably be suckered into buying one right off the bat, I’m also holding out hope for another Zelda edition at some point down the line (have I mentioned that I love my gold DS Lite?).

Nintendo also announced that their popular (in Japan thus far) beat tapping game Rhythm Heaven will also be releasing on April 5 alongside the DSi - though the game will be playable on any regular old DS or DS Lite as well. There will no doubt be games in the future that require the DSi, but for the time being, nearly every game made for the DS/DS Lite should be playable on the new incarnation of the handheld (with one major exception being the Guitar Hero: On Tour games, due to the DSi’s lack of a GBA cartridge slot).

Check out Nintendo’s official press release here.

Brutaaaaaaal!

Brutal Legend, one of my most anticipated games of 2009, is getting the royal treatment over at the Official Xbox Magazine, which has published a 6 page (ok, they are sort of little pages, but still!) article updating us on the recent developments with the game. Tim Schafer, the main guy over at Double Fine, the man behind Psychonauts, Full Throttle, and Day of the Tentacle - in other words, one funny mo-fo, talks about what’s been going on with the game in recent months and cracks a few good jokes in the process.

Also, the guys over at Kotaku inform us that the game is going to be previewed at the GDC next month, so expect more juicy updates in the coming weeks!

In the final step to what has apparently been an ongoing rumor, gaming website conglomerate 1up.com has been bought up by UGO Entertainment, and its parent company, the Hearst Corporation. The deal includes all the sites and publications connected with 1up, including GameVideos.com, MyCheats.com, and GameTab.com.

Perhaps more disturbing, however, is the fact that Electronic Gaming Monthly, a major source of video game information since its founding back in 1989, will be ceasing publication immediately. According to MTV”s Multiplayer Blog, the January issue, which is on newstands now (featuring X-Men: Origins: Wolverine on its cover) will be the magazine’s last.

In addition to the closing of the great publication, it has been rumored that roughly 30 staffers at 1up.com and across the various entities have lost their jobs as a result of the buyout. We at GameLemon wish everyone involved the best of luck in the future, and I’d like to personally thank EGM for giving us such great info and cool features over the years.

It’s also buggy as hell right now, but hey, it’s still early.

Nintendo’s fan service division, Club Nintendo, has finally launched in the U.S., bringing with it coins and surveys and registrations galore.

Club Nintendo replaces the old My Nintendo service that we used to have here in the States. The process is simple - buy Nintendo games, register them online, complete surveys about the games, and earn coins. Sure, the survey is the same one every time, just about a different game, but at least it’s only 6 questions - mostly dealing with how you were influenced to buy the title and where you purchased it - and you only have to write something for one of them (the others are multiple choice, for the slow pokes out in the audience).

What can you do with these coins, you ask? Well, they don’t give you extra lives, unfortunately, but you do get to use them for some pretty cool giveaways, not the least of which is the rumored Game & Watch collection. Other goodies include DS cases and extra styluses (even though some of us *coughmecough* have enough pens to last for years to come already), playing cards, and a really cool set of red Mario “M” hat-shaped bookends designed to hold your DS game collection upright.

It’s nice to see this fan service finally hitting our shores, after it had been in Japan and Europe for years. Now we’ll just wait and see what other giveaways they have in store (come on, DSi!) and what new ways they think of to have us earn more coinage. Head here to start earning.

I love game conventions. You get all the juicy stuff to keep you salivating for at least the next year, building anticipation and fanboy fervor.

The annual Tokyo Game Show kicked off last night (well, because it’s already later today in Japan), and Microsoft was first out of the gate, having delivered the keynote address and then going into some details about upcoming games, including the recently announced Halo expansion.

Finally, we know more details. The game will be called Halo 3: Recon and will focus on at least one of the famed Orbital Drop Shock Troopers. You’ll be fighting your way through an onslaught of Covenant as the ODSTs - also known as Helljumpers (hence my headline up there) - and kicking some ass in a side story to the Halo 2/Halo 3 campaigns. The game releases in the fall of 2009.

Head to Bungie’s site for a look at the full trailer, and 1up.com for more info on the game, and more coverage of TGS.

As a follow-up to their press conference in Japan on Wednesday, Nintendo held another media event on Thursday in San Francisco, California, bringing some of the same information and some new reveals for the North American audience.

First and foremost, that new DSi announced yesterday will not be coming to our shores any time soon. Though it’s slated to release in Japan on November 1, it won’t be in the States until late 2009, according to Nintendo’s Reggie Fils-Aime.

One of the big exclusives for this side of the Pacific is that we’re finally going to be able to participate in Club Nintendo, a long-standing program that has been in place for the Asian and European markets for some time now. It allows fans to register games and take surveys on Nintendo websites in order to earn Star Points, which can later be redeemed for prizes or other goodies. The program should be unveiled by this coming holiday season.

As mentioned earlier in our report from the Japan conference, a new Punch Out!! title is coming, and 1up, courtesy of GameTrailers, has the first footage, and it looks friggin sweet. Several classics are back, and the good ol’ music is enough to get your heart and fists pumping. Also available are videos from Sin and Punishment 2 and Madworld for the Wii, and the new Mario and Luigi RPG for the DS.

You can check out Nintendo’s entire press release on their website, and get more information on the new WiiSpeak channel for the console, which will allow people to chat over their Wii consoles… I guess in case their free night and/or weekend minutes haven’t kicked in yet. We’ll see what that leads to.

Nintendo held a press conference in Japan yesterday, where they announced that the new DSi (no forensics or blood splatter for me, thanks) will be releasing on November 1 for what converts to around $180 US. The news was reported by 1up, who snagged a few tips from Wired’s Game|Life blog.

The biggest new feature you’ll notice right away about the DSi is a 3-megapixel camera, and new functionality that allows for touch-screen photo editing. The system will also have an SD memory card slot to take those pictures with you, either to the Wii console or to the nearest photo kiosk for some hard copies. Gone is the GBA game slot, which reduces the overall profile of the system, allowing it to be slimmer even than the DS Lite. Despite the smaller external size, though, the screens have been enlarged to 3.5″ each.
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If you happen to frequent the world’s largest retail chain, you’ve probably noticed that over the past year or so, Walmart has secured some pretty big music exclusives, starting with the latest Eagles album last year. The latest is the upcoming AC/DC album Black Ice, to be released October 20. These have been huge deals for the company, ensuring that customers must come to their stores if they want these albums.

Well, now Walmart has moved onto video games, and they’re bringing AC/DC along with them. According to The New York Times, Walmart and MTV Games are prepared to announce that “AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack” will be coming exclusively to the retail chain’s stores (Walmart, Sam’s Club, and walmart.com).

This is a huge step for all three parties involved, and of course means loads of money for each of them, but it will certainly be interesting for the video game industry to follow. Sure, different chains have offered pre-order bonuses or collector’s editions in the past, but this is the first time that one store will be carrying a game, and no one else will get the chance. Who knows what other exclusives this might lead to.

The countdown on Bungie.net has finally reached zero (after month’s of waiting), revealing a new trailer, which can be seen/downloaded here. It’s nice of the guys at Bungie to tell the fans, “We hope you haven’t dedicated too much time and stress to this 12-hour long countdown event.” It’s finally here, and it seems like it was worth the wait.

Despite plenty of speculation that the Superintendent was an AI from Earth or one of her colonies, it looks from the trailer as though he is in fact an AI from the planet toward which the Chief was falling at the end of Halo 3 (if you didn’t beat the game on Legendary, go YouTube the video). The tagline, “Prepare to drop” also appears in the trailer, and it looks like the upcoming project (which does not have a date attached yet) will be a continuation of Halo 3. It won’t be Halo 4, as the trailer also clearly said “Halo 3″, so we’ll have to wait and see if this is a downloadable expansion or a new disk with more missions.

Okay, upon further review (of the large version), scratch my previous idea - when one of the SI’s messages comes up, you can clearly see “City of New Mombassa” on the screen, meaning that we’re talking about someone or something invading Earth - forerunner machines, perhaps?

After the final attendees of Saturday’s Nintendo Power 20th Anniversary Party had gone home, the Nintendo World store in New York City played host to an event showcasing NHL 2K9, the first hockey game for the Wii. While it would have been cool enough to enjoy a relaxing afternoon of wrist-flicking video game hockey action, the good folks at 2K and Nintendo World held a free tournament for anyone in the store. 16 entered, and one left with an autographed Rick Nash Columbus Blue Jackets jersey. Sadly, that one was not me.
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