Scheduled to be released later this month in Japan, Wario Land Shake has been largely invisible ... until now. A little too dramatic there? Fair enough, but we're excited is all. While Mario and his fancy blue overalls snubs his mustachioed nose at 2D console games nowadays (even on a handheld, it's 2.5G or bust for Mario), there are still believers in the cause. Yes, dear reader, that's a plural believers; it's not just Castlevania creator Koji Igarashi who still thinks 2D platform gaming is "somewhat alive".

Now you can add Nintendo's rascally un-mascot Wario to that list as well, as evidenced in these videos from his latest console outing. Above you'll find the animated intro (don't worry, your inability to understand Japanese shouldn't interrupt your ability to follow along) and after the break, you'll find the first gameplay footage, in all it's 2D, sprite-based glory.

The inventiveness of the homebrew scene never ceases to amaze us. Take for instance the above video. What you see in it is, in fact, GoldenEye 007 for Nintendo 64 running on a Wii with the "Homebrew Channel" installed.

The poster of the video states that he was able to get the game ROM working with the emulator used by the Virtual Console version of Sin & Punishment. He gives no details on how he managed the feat, mentioning only that the game works "for the most part" with occasional slowdown and a broken borked save system.

Hopefully Nintendo will see this video and, rather than simply order it pulled offline, realize just how much people really want a proper Virtual Console release of the game.

[Via Wii Fanboy]

Just under a month after shipping Don King Presents Prizefighter for Xbox 360, UK-based Venom Games is reportedly closing up shop. Computer and Video Games cites a source at the company, who divulged that Venom staff were informed of the closure Wednesday.

We contacted Take-Two, who published Prizefighter under its 2K Sports label, and were told by a spokesperson that it is currently "assessing the role of Venom Games in Take-Two's overall global studio system," and "in a consultation with the employees of Venom in relation to possible redundancies at the studio."

Beyond some crappy scans and lots of speculation, real info on the WiiWare return of Mega Man has been scant. Well, GamesRadar just opened the flood gates with its exclusive, proper reveal of Mega Man 9, featuring a hands-on by Nintendo editor Brett Elston and an interview with series creator (and MM9 producer) Keiji Inafune.

Elston reports that Mega Man 9 is ... well, it's essentially an NES game – just as difficult as the original 8-bit installments of the famed series. "Mega Man 9 is easily on par or above the hardest games in the series," Elston says, adding: "Hell, we played for two hours and only made it to three bosses, and even then only beat two." Read on after the break for more new info.

The first time we all saw big headed Mii's strolling around the plaza, we imagine we all had the same thought: Animal Crossing on the Wii is a lock. But here we are, a year-and-a-half after the system's release, and we still haven't gotten to use a Wiimote to rock with KK Slider. However, if we're reading a hint in UK's Official Nintendo Magazine right, the wait may nearly be over.

The magazine's latest issue features a still from the Animal Crossing-verse with the quote "It's been a while! It's time to revisit an old friend. How's your village doing these days?" Is that enough for us to bet on seeing a new Crossing game at E3? Yes. But it should also be known: We're addicted to gambling.

While elsewhere in the world, the Wii has little trouble outpacing its competition – with nearly 25 million units sold worldwide, nearly double the PS3's 13 million and a solid 25% lead on the Xbox 360's 20 million in sales – in Japan, it's a two console race (sorry, Xbox). In a piece headlined "Sony PS3 catching up to Wii in Japanese sales," Reuters' Tokyo branch covers the horse race, writing that the Wii "once again outsold Sony Corp's PlayStation 3 in Japan in June, but its lead is fading." While technically accurate if referring to monthly sales – the Wii only outsold the PS3 by a margin of 1.7 to 1 last month, a dip from the 6 to 1 margin of the previous month – the bigger picture isn't so clear.

So, spurred on by sales of Metal Gear Solid 4, the PS3 did better last month, okay (you already know that, of course, from reading our Japanese hardware sales series). But with nearly 6 million Wii units sold in Japan, versus just 2 million PlayStation 3 units sold (source: Wii, PS3), it looks to us like the PlayStation 3 still has a lot of "catching up" to do and no more Metal Gear Solids.

You can't put a price on nostalgia. But you can put a date on it -- at least if you happen to live in Japan. Our friends at Nintendo Wii Fanboy send word that according to Famitsu, Mega Man 9 will bound onto the Japanese WiiWare service sometime in September.

This gives us hope that the company's irresistibly retro take on the Blue Bomber will soon be released in other regions as well. However, Capcom remains mum regarding its agenda, leaving us to wait until E3 to find out more about its plans for the pixilated hero's WiiWare-only digital launch outside of Japan. Now where did we put those rose-colored glasses?

[Via Nintendo Wii Fanboy]

It truly is a Mario world when you're a Nintendo fanboy (or fangirl). Nintendo's portly plumber likely holds the same amount of space in your heart as does your immediate family. His games are just so great. It was this love for the little Italian guy that spawned our new feature, It's-a Mario World. In it, we examine Mario and everything about him. The inaugural post deals with the rare power-ups you can find in his games.

Original Content

• Revolutionary: Synaesthetic
  Indie game + Wii = homebrew happiness
• Brawl Stage of the Week: Airborne Arena
  It's a deadly map in the sky
• Born for Wii: Castlevania
  We tell you why it needs to be on the Wii
• Sporemon: Pokemon meet Spore Creature Creator
  Some great Pokemon created with Spore
• It's-a Mario World: Rare Power-ups
  Our new feature looks at Mario's most rare power-ups
• Virtually Overlooked: Demon Sword
  We tell you why it should be on the Virtual Console
• VC Monday Madness video wrap-up 6/30/08
  We check out this week's Virtual Console release
• Wii Fanboy Review: Gyrostarr
  We check out the latest WiiWare game

Hot Topics in the Community

• Nintendo Power's sword in the preview
  Interesting tease job, Nintendo!
• Mega Man 9
  'nuff said!
• Teen commits suicide, guess what's to blame?
  UK rag The Daily Mail goes off the deep end
• Lego mania, fanboyism combined
  If only consoles were that small ...
• Wii Fanboy Poll: Castlevania coulda, woulda, shoulda
  Let your voice be heard on the new 3D Castlevania fighter

We don't know any way to put this gingerly, so we're just going to come right out with it: July isn't going to be a great month for games. Sure, there are a few (read: very few) exceptions, but for the most part, we hope you didn't burn through all of June's surprise riches already.

But far be it from us to rain on your July, see the cream of the crop and decide for yourself.

Think of it this way: Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is like Neversoft's version of former Guitar Hero-dev Harmonix's Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s. Old man Activision wants Guitar Hero twice a year, but there's only so much one dev team can do when they're hard at work on their own follow-up featuring a full band lineup.

So, the same ... just remove the whole part about the dev team getting bought and releasing that follow-up through Activision's biggest competitor – oh, and the whole part about it being 2007 – and you've got an idea of where critics are putting GH:A on the fake-instrument rhythm game pantheon. Like Aerosmith? You probably already bought it. Don't like Aerosmith? Move along.

• IGN (76/100): "Even if the formula is a bit stale by now, that doesn't make Guitar Hero: Aerosmith a bad game. In fact, if you're a huge fan of the band, of the Guitar Hero franchise, or haven't yet seen what all of the fuss is over the music rhythm phenomenon, this release will please and then some. However, if you've been following the franchise since the beginning, you'll probably wonder if this game is really necessary."
  
• GameDaily (70/100): "Aerosmith junkies will love Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, thanks to its impressive song list and extra content. Everyone else, however, should rent it. It's a pleasant diversion, providing single-player and multiplayer enjoyment for would-be strummers, but with missing songs and the same old gameplay, it doesn't have enough sweet emotion to justify its $59.99 price."
  
• GameSpot (70/100): "If you like Aerosmith, you'll like this game. If you don't like Aerosmith, you will not like this game. Even dedicated fans of the group may have trouble rationalizing paying full price for just 41 songs, but while GH: Aerosmith is a little short on content, it's plenty of fun."
  

Eager bookworms visiting the Washington-Centerville Public Library in Centerville, Ohio, will face exposure to the new-fangled "video game" entertainment medium, as the library will now be loaning PS2, PS3, Wii and Xbox 360 games. According to the Dayton Daily News, the library will carry two categories of games: Titles aimed at families, and ones aimed at players aged 10 and up (sans adult-only games). Each game will be available for one-week loan with the option of one renewal.

You can check for yourself which games are available in the library's online catalog, though the Dayton Daily News has gone and confirmed the presence of Guitar Hero, Kung-Fu Panda, Madden NFL 08 and, err, Iron Man. That one's probably meant to frighten the kids into reading books again.

[Via Shacknews]

Konami has finally lifted the coffin lid on Castlevania Judgment, the Wii-bound installment of the long-running vampire vanquishing venture. If you missed the Nintendo Power reveal, know that Judgment allows players to "slash, stab and whip their way across a variety of stages and environmental elements," and play as several characters from the franchise's illustrious history. Also, it's a 3D fighting game, "certain to thrill old and new fans of the franchise."

Of course, not every connection with real Castlevania games will be severed -- in fact, you can hook up the upcoming DS game, Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, to "unlock bonus gameplay content." Castlevania Judgment will also support head-to-head (Belmont-to-Belmont?) play via Nintendo's online service, perfect for those times when you just want to lash out at internet strangers. Whips! They did it again.

While we wait (and wait, and wait ... ) for an official Iron Chef game (maybe if we clap our hands and click our heels it'll happen?) there's a new entree on the cooking game menu from Majesco.

Cooking Mama World Kitchen is not, as its title might have you think, an online competitive cook-off. It is a follow-up to Cooking Mama: Cook Off, calling upon players to perfect their virtual cooking skills using the Wii remote to simulate a number of kitchen utensils. World Kitchen, due for holiday release, has gone all polygonal on us, and promises new mini-games, recipes, and a more thoroughly rhythm-based gameplay system to (ahem) spice things up.

Video game fans are known to complain about pre-game hype, but, if you would indulge us, we'd like to invite you, Rod Serling-like, to enter into a world where there is no hype: It's called WiiWare. And in this bizarre alternate dimension, games are released with no fanfare and very little information about their actual contents. Take, for instance, today's release:

• Magnetica Twist (Nintendo, 1-4 players, 1,000 Wii Points): It sounds quite a bit like the marble-matching gameplay of the DS Magnetica, but with a Mii of your choice manning the marble-blasting cannon. ... So wait, they're allowed to use Miis in games? News to us. You'll have to decide for yourself if this innovative new Mii-in-game technology is worth $10.

The Activision peripheral tantrum continues, with the mega-publisher still refusing to allow Rock Band guitar peripherals to operate on its Guitar Hero games, including this week's Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. Despite reports to the contrary on a couple forums, when our friendly tipster attempted to use a Rock Band guitar on the Xbox 360 version of GH: Aerosmith he was greeted with the following error: "An unsupported guitar peripheral has been detected. Connect either a Guitar Hero guitar or Xbox 360 controller and press START to continue."

Considering the Rock Band guitar never worked on any of the three new-gen consoles' releases of Guitar Hero 3 (check our guitar compatibility matrix), we're going to assume the same lack of functionality is present in not only the Xbox 360 release, but the PlayStation 3 and Wii releases of GH: Aerosmith as well. Let us know if you've tried it on either of those consoles.

[Big thanks, Dan A.]