Nintendo's Surprise Press Conference

Nintendo pulled a fast one on us today, holding a Japanese press conference that caught most of the American gaming press off-guard. And believe me, this "Nintendo Conference Fall 2007" contained quite a large amount of Wii announcements. Here they are in bulleted form for your reading pleasure.

• Monster Hunter 3, originally a PS3 title, will release on Wii, not PS3.
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl delayed until January 24, 2008 in Japan. The SSB Dojo changes its US release date to an ominous TBD.
• As previously mentioned, Brawl will feature Sonic as a playable character. In addition, the game will allow online co-op in Subspace Emissary mode.
• Mario Kart is set for a tentative Spring 2008 release window. Also, the game will include motorcycles.
• Wii Fit will release on December 1, 2007 in Japan.
• The Wii Vote (I'm assuming Everybody Votes) Channel will be updated with the ability to rank games you've played and search for new ones you're interested in.
• The Wii will be able to send DS demos to your DS using Wii Ware functions.
• First "Wii Ware" downloadable original games announced. Pokemon Bokujou (Pokemon Farm) allows you to transfer Diamond/Pearl Pokemon into a farm where you can raise them. A new Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles game from Square Enix, titled The Young King and the Promised Land, allows you to build your own country. A new version of Dr. Mario that includes Miis and 4-player online is also part of the service. Mojipittan Wii, a word puzzle game from Bandai-Namco, and Star Soldier R were also announced.
• You can play as your Miis in Mario and Sonic at the Olympics.
• Super Mario Stadium Baseball briefly announced. Trailers shown for Super Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart, and the new Crystal Chronicles

Anybody who can't find something that gets them a little excited in that list should be shot. Most of this has been predicted for a while, but in typical Nintendo fashion, they blew us away with how much they have given after such a long time of nothing at all. Going from no significant mention of Wii Ware to at least 5 titles coming out on the platform is a huge jump. Also, as I've been saying for months, the Wii is bound to start utlizing social networking fuctions. Well, here you have it, in the form of the soon-to-be-revamped Wii Vote Channel. Now, let's see if Nintendo can actually keep us interested in these new features, and not pull a "Friend Codes" on us. *crosses fingers*
[via IGN]

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Evangelion Takes #1 in Japanese Box Office

Rebuild of Evangelion, Gainax's newest remake of their cash cow hugely popular Neon Genesis Evangelion anime, has reached the top of the Japanese box office in its opening weekend. The film, which only opened in 84 theatres nationwide, grossed a total of 280 million yen ($2.4 million) from 236,158 people. It is one of the rare Japanese films to be first in the box office after releasing in less than 100 theatres.

The only other anime in the top 10 is Pocket Monsters Diamond & Pearl: Dialga vs. Palkia vs. Darkrai at #9. This was a really great weekend for Eva, and it's easily apparent that the series is still immensely popular in Japan. Ani-Gamers will have a full review when the film comes stateside.
[via Anime News Network]

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