Technofranki's blog

Europe got three VC games to download on Wii this Friday.

Gradius III
Super Nintendo – 1991 by Konami – shotter – 1-2 players – 900 points

That wretched fiend is once again wreaking havoc on Gradius and the surrounding planets, and it’s your destiny to put an end to it. Unless you think life as an amoeba would be pleasant!

You play a key role in engineering your Vic Viper’s batle gear and arsenal. You’ll use masterful marksmanship and strategy to choose the right time to engage the weapon from your arsenal: spread boms, ripple lasers, photon torpedoes, mega crush and many more. Can you conquer the galactic gargoyles and obstacles in then levels? Just when you think you’e made it though each of the levels, you’ll be greeted by a hideous boss who will try to see to it that his level is your last.

Choose from three difficulty levels to see just how keen your alien zapping skills are.

The Super Nintendo version of Gradius III is regarded as one of the best games in the series.

Legend of Hero Tonma
Turbografx – 1993 by Irem Soft – action – 1-2 players – 600 points

Legend of Hero Tonma showed the gaming world that men weren’t the only ones capable of making great games. Desing and developed by an all-femal team, this cation game puts players in control of the maigc user Tonma, whose role, as was typical for game heroes of the day, is to travel to another world and save the princess.

Fight your way though 7 stages using Tonma’s jumping ability and shot power. Collect Power-ups and Barriers to grow in strenght and pummel your enemies. Bring that strenght to the end of each stage to face off and defeat the menacing bosses that stand between you and the princess.

This well-detailed game, with its comic visuals and feel, will have players wanting to come back for more frantic and exciting action.

Sin and Punishment
Nintendo 64 – 2000 by Nintendo – shooter – 1-2 players – 1200 points

Earth is under threat from Ruffians – mutants bred to boost dwindling food stocks who have turned against their masters. As a young resistance fighter, face an onslaught of bio-genetic monsters and corrupt military forces in your battle to save the planet.

For the first time outside of Japan, you can experience the non-stop action of this Nintendo 64 classic, created by the shoot’em up masters of Treasure Co. Ltd.

Battle across land, sea and sky; collect energy, time and point bonuses; rack up massive combos to earn extra continues; and face the warth of enormous bosses. Plus – invite a friend to join in, controlling the gun sight while you move the character.

This version has been specially updated for Virtual Console to include English menu and tutorial text, and English subtitles in the ending sequence.

Here’s a list of the Top 10 of HD DVD, Blu-ray and games on Amazon.com as of Wednesday, September 26.

Top 10 – HD DVD
1. Transformers (Two-Disc Special Edition) – $27.95
2. Planet Earth – The Complete BBC Series – $66.95
3. 300 (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) – $27.95
4. Next – $27.95
5. Heroes – Season 1 – $69.95
6. Batman Begins – $18.95
7. Top Gun – $19.95
8. The Bourne Supremacy – $19.95
9. Serenity – $19.95
10. Smallville – The Complete Sixth Season – $52.95

Top 10 – Blu-ray
1. Underworld (Unrated) – $19.95
2. Planet Earth – The Complete BBC Series – $66.95
3. Fantastic Four – Rise of the Silver Surfer – $27.95
4. 300 – $23.95
5. Troy (Director’s Cut) – $23.95
6. Ratatouille – $23.95
7. Pirates of the Caribbean – At World’s End – $23.95
8. Spider-Man – The High Definition Trilogy (Spider-Man / Spider-Man 2 / Spider-Man 2.1 / Spider-Man 3) – $64.95
9. Black Book – $26.95
10. The Fifth Element (Remastered) – $19.95

Top 10 – Games (all platforms)
1. Halo 3 – $59.99
2. Halo 3 Limited Edition – $69.99
3. Nintendo Wii – $299.99
4. Halo 3 Legendary Edition – $129.99
5. Carnival Games – $39.99
6. Xbox 360 Wireless Controller – $39.99
7. Xbox 360 Console Includes 20GB Hard Drive (with HDMI) – $349.99
8. Wii Nunchuk Controller – $19.99
9. PlayStation 3 (60GB) – $499.99
10. Xbox 360 Elite System Console Includes 120GB Hard Drive – $449.99

Earlier this month, Microsoft cut the price with 50% on some Xbox Live Arcade games for a limited time. They have three games with a pricecut for a limited time of one week.

Here is the pressrelease from GamerscoreBlog.com:

Starting this Xbox LIVE Arcade Wednesday and continuing for a week, three favorite titles will be available worldwide at a discount, including “Bankshot Billiards 2,” “Frogger,” and “Hardwood Spades.”

Beginning at 12:00 a.m. GMT on Wednesday, September 26 (5:00 p.m. PDT on Thursday, September 27) and continuing through 11: 59 p.m. GMT (4:59 p.m. PDT) on Tuesday, October 2, the following Xbox LIVE Arcade games will be available at a discounted price:

“Bankshot Billiards 2” (PixelStorm) – 900 Microsoft Points (normally 1200 Microsoft Points)

• “Bankshot Billiards 2” improves upon the original with nine different game styles: classic 8-Ball, 9-Ball, Cutthroat, Euro 8-Ball, 14.1 Continuous, 3-Ball, Trick Shots, Time Trial, and Golf.
• For more details on “Bankshot Billiards 2,” please visit http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/b/bankshotbilliardslivearcadexbox360/

“Frogger” (Konami) – 300 Microsoft Points (normally 400 Microsoft Points)

• With enhanced artwork building on the original title’s style, modernized sound and music, and all new play modes, you won’t want to miss out on “Frogger” on Xbox LIVE Arcade!
• For more details on “Frogger,” please visit http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/f/froggerlivearcadexbox360/

“Hardwood Spades” (Silver Creek Entertainment) – 300 Microsoft Points (normally 400 Microsoft Points)

• The game where a trick IS a treat, “Hardwood Spades” is multiplayer card game that offers customizable backgrounds, card faces, card backs and tables.
• For more details on “Hardwood Spades,” please visit http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/h/hardwoodspadeslivearcadexbox360/

Also coming this Wednesday is “Bomb-Up Pack 2,” the second add-on pack for “Bomberman Live,” available for 250 Microsoft Points. For more details please visit www.xbox.com/livearcade.

TeamXbox.com posted a facts and stats sheet from Microsoft on Xbox 360 and Xbox Live.

Leadership: Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE are leading the charge into the future of gaming and entertainment, bringing the best games, an active community and a growing catalogue of high definition entertainment to all members of the household.

• More than 11.6 million Xbox 360 consoles have sold across the 37 countries where it is currently available. Xbox LIVE is currently available in 25 countries across the globe.
• According to U.S. NPD data, gamers have bought more software for the Xbox 360 (24.3 million units), than software for PS3 and Wii combined (19.8 million units).
• Faster than expected, Xbox LIVE has eclipsed the 7 million member milestone and is on track to reach 10 million members by the end of June 2008. In fact, in the last year we’ve added a new Xbox LIVE member every 8 seconds.

Gaming: With the greatest lineup in the history of video games, Xbox 360 is hands down the best gaming console on the market.

• There are more than 250 games available today on Xbox 360, including 86 Xbox LIVE Arcade games.
• Xbox 360 is the next-gen console with the largest games attach rate at an astounding 6.3 games sold per Xbox 360 owner.
• Xbox LIVE members have spent more than 3.2 billion hours playing games on Xbox LIVE with their friends around the world. That is equal to 137 million days or more than 376,000 years of gaming.
• To date, Xbox 360 owners have unlocked more than 600 million Achievements. All of those unlocked Achievements have created a total combined Gamerscore of more than 14 billion.
• There have been 2.5 billion game sessions hosted since the launch of Xbox 360, with more than 5.6 million hosted each day so far in 2007.
• Xbox LIVE Arcade has been a huge hit on Xbox 360, with nearly 70% of all connected consoles downloading and playing Xbox LIVE Arcade titles.
• Xbox LIVE Marketplace currently offers nearly 200 free trials and demos, giving owners more free playable content than any other console.

Entertainment: Xbox 360 is the center of digital entertainment in the living room, offering the best in high definition games, movies and television along with access to all your friends, digital music and pictures.

• Xbox 360 continues to lead with the largest library of on-demand high-definition movies and television in the U.S. on-demand market. Twenty-nine movie studios and TV networks continue to provide a growing catalogue of premium high- and standard-definition entertainment content that to date totals 2,800 hours.
• Xbox LIVE Marketplace is now the leading provider of on-demand high-definition content in the U.S., providing more than twice the number of hours as leading cable operators.
• Xbox LIVE Marketplace is home to a growing catalogue of more than 9,000 pieces of individual gaming and entertainment content, downloadable at the click of a button.
• here have been 290 million downloads of gaming and entertainment content from Xbox LIVE Marketplace

Social Networking: Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE offer the largest, most active online community of friends, family and rivals worldwide.

• Xbox LIVE is the largest social network in the living room with 2.6 million IM, text and voice messages sent over the service every day.
• Since Xbox LIVE launched, 3.1 billion games sessions have been hosted on the service.
• The average Xbox LIVE Gold subscriber has 23 friends on their Xbox LIVE friends list.
• More than 1.2 billion cross-game invites have been sent since the launch of Xbox 360.

I wasn’t home when the Tokyo Game Show 2007 went, so I do it the easy way. Here are the links to:

Gamespot.com

IGN.com

… coverage og TGS 2007. It is also common knowledge that Major Nelson was supposed to go to Tokyo, but that he couldn’t find his passpord. He explaines it at his blog and in his latest podcast.