Bad franchises, bad brain games, bad future, and a bad dog in this week’s Nintendo News round up.

The Wednesday 10: Ill-Fated Franchise Reboots
These are the games that made you wonder, “Why bother?” Number one on the list is Golden Axe.

Brain Age: Not as Good for Your Brain as Claimed
Researchers found out that Brain Age is not an effective way to train your brain. Children trained on the DS game failed to show any significant improvements with memory tests.

Future of Gaming - Where are we headed?
This article talks about how games have grown from the 8-bit consoles to the present. It asks the question as to where we are heading in the future.

Hotel For Dogs Review
This is a review of an upcoming game for the Wii and DS. The reviewer from IGN didn’t like the game at all and said that it’s barely a game at all.

Wii Fit might be the best selling “game” today but does it real have any real world health benefits? That’s the question that some Japanese companies would like to find out with their collaboration project in cooperation with Nintendo.

NEC, Panasonic and Hitachi would be launching a Wii Fit Check Channel in April. The channel would let Wii Fit users to upload their data to a server. Then the users would receive personalized advice from health care personnel on how to improve their fitness level.

There’s also talk that the Wii Fit Check Channel would integrate the data from DS game Aruite Wakaru Sekatsu Rhythm DS. Nintendo also stated that the three companies would host the server but it is not yet known as to whether the service would be available outside Japan. We’ll update you when the channel goes online this April.

We all know that the gaming industry enjoyed a rousing success last year. So it is not surprising to find out video games outsold movie DVD and Blu-ray combined. Figures from Media Control GfK International show that game sales went up by 20% to 32 billion. At the same time, DVD and Blu-ray sales went down by 6% to 29 billion.

Although the report didn’t have the breakdown of the video game publishers but it is an open secret that Nintendo made up most o that sale number. Wii and DS games were selling like hotcake in 2008. The research company has also stated that the distance between video games and movies will continue to widen this year.

On a side note, it should be taken into consideration that movies are priced lower than games. DVDs sell for an average of $25 per unit while games are priced $40 to $60 each. This means that if the number of units sold is considered, then maybe we shall see that movies are way ahead of games in this sense. But then again, it suffered a decline in its total sales therefore video games should still be considered the winner.

In the survival of the fittest among video games, Wii Fit remains the game to beat for the Nintendo Wii. It tops the games charts for North America and UK while remains in second spot in Japan. The rhythm game Taiko no Tatsujin Wii is number one in Japan.

This goes to show that people are still looking to stay fit with Wii Fit. The top 3 games fior the Wii in North America are:

1. Wii Fit
2. Mario Kart Wii
3. Wii Play

For the UK market, the top three games for the Wii are:

1. Wii Fit
2. Wii Play
3. Super Smash Bros Brawl

As you can see, all these games are published by Nintendo as well.

For the Wii games in Japan, this is how they rank:

1. Taiko no Tatsujin
2. Wii Fit
3. Fragile: Sayonara Tsuki no Haikyo

If you’re one of those people who just can’t get enough of Spore, then this is good news for you. The Spore franchise has became EA and Maxis’ milking cow with four more games, including once each for the Wii and DS. Until gamers stop buying these games, Spore-this and Spore-that games will continue to be released.

Spore Hero will be the first Spore title for the Wii. Not much word is out on what the game is about except that it will bring players into an adventure world that is colorful and fun. EA said that the game will focus on creativity and evolution.

Then for the DS, they will be launching Spore Hero Arena. Players would be able to create 3D Spore creatures and battle other creatures across the galaxy.

These titles would be a good addition to the Spore franchise, especially since these are the first Spore games for Nintendo consoles.

Sim Animals is game exclusive for the Wii and DS. It is scheduled to be released soon. It’s a game that would allow the user to interact with various animals such as rabbits, bears, foxes, squirrels, hedgehogs, and more.

To simply put it, the animals would react to the player’s hand icon. The game promises a lot of challenges. Challenges are needed to be overcome to unlock areas, items and more animals to interact with.

The Wii version features a coop mode where up to four players can join in the game. This could be good for younger kids so that the older ones can help them out when the game gets a bit hard for them. The game is rated for everyone and will be out on the stores on January 30. With the Sim label attached to it, I expect it to be better than Zoo Tycoon.

Nintendo has released a couple of titles for the WiiWare and VC this week. There’s a single player shooter and 2 multiplayer games that for the whole family to enjoy.

First on the list is Musha for the Sega Genesis. This classic 1-player shooter game’s goal is to eliminate a computer named Dire 51. The game features 6 types of firing formation. You can get this game for 800 Wii Points.

Then there’s High Voltage Hot Rod Show for the WiiWare. This is a racing game that can be played by up to 4 players. The game features off-road action and other death defying stunts. You need 1,000 Wii Points to get this game.

Lastly, we have Family Glide Hockey. This is also for the WiiWare. This multiplayer mini-game collection would bring lots of fun for everyone. What’s nice about it is that you only need 500 Wii Points to buy it.

Big Bang Mini, a shoot em up game for the DS, is now available for demo over at the Nintendo Channel on the Wii. Players blast enemies away with the use of fireworks. This would be the chance to test the game before buying it for the DS.

The demo features three worlds to give a glimpse of what’s to expect from the full retail version. The full version is said to have at least 9 worlds and 90 levels to play. It promises to have challenging boss battles and 7 game modes to choose from.

To download the Big Bang Mini Demo on the Wii, you must first make sure that the Wii is configured to send data to Nintendo. Then go to the Nintendo Channel and select demo from the Big Bang Mini info page. Then the Wii will ask you to turn on your DS and then select Download Play. Now you can start playing your demo version.

The full retail version is set to be released today. For more information regarding the game, you could visit Big Bang Mini web site.

From the makers of last year’s Dementium: The Ward, Renegade Kid will be releasing a game called Moon. Just like their first game, Moon is a FPS that takes place in 2058. The premise of the game is that man is out colonizing the moon when they discover a hatch. Hmmm… smells much like it is influenced by Lost.

Renegade Kid used the same game engine thus the graphics is enjoyable. You get to see the sun, earth and stars in the background. The control is pretty much like Dementium. You move around with the D-Pad, look around with the use of the stylus and shoot by pressing the L-button. Not only that, the audio of the game is excellent. Be sure to use your headphones while playing the game.

After a short tutorial of the game play, you’re off to an action packed adventure on the moon. You start off with a Super Assault Rifle that has infinite ammo. That’s just one of 7 guns that you could use in the game.

The game is about 12 hours long. Then there’s a driving section that could break the monotony of shooting the bad guys. The game looks good and definitely a must buy for those waiting for a FPS game for the DS.

I have to be honest to you. I used to have a Neopets account. My nephews and nieces forced me to do so. But when Neopets went to the PSP and PS2 I did get copies of the game and gave it away to my Neopets influencers. They were adventure games that my nieces and nephews have already forgetten to this day.

Then Capcom was licensed to make a Neopets game for the Wii. But instead of making it an adventure game like the previous ones, they settled for a puzzle game. Thus Neopets Puzzle Adventure is born. The gameplay is a variation of Othello, or as most people know it as Reversi. Players would take turns and try to get the most space as possible.

What I don’t like about the game is its graphics. Though it’s style is taken straight out of the Neopets web site, there’s much improvement needed in the animation department. You could detect missing frames even in simple flip animations.

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