If you have been keeping up with recent Wii news, chances are you have heard of a little service that Nintendo is unleashing this month onto the U.S. called WiiWare. For those of you who haven't heard of it, it's this little service that will give developers the ability to create both games and applications for the Wii. These products are then made available to the user via the Wii Shop Channel. The selling point is that there are almost no restrictions and the developers own the property, not Nintendo. So as long as the developer follows the ESRB rating policies, any type of game or any type of Wii application can be made. This is a whole new world for Nintendo as well as a reason for some of us to dust off and start using our Wii again.

With WiiWare, it appears that some of these games and applications will utilize the currently growing online capabilities of the system. Examples of this is the remake of an old puzzle game named Dr. Mario Online RX and a brand new title Major League Eating: The Game. Major League Eating has been confirmed to have online, err, "battles" and from the title of the Dr. Mario game, I'm sure it is safe to assume that it will also have online battles. And this is just basic online abilities. With practically no restrictions, developers can add a slew of online features.

So what can this mean for Wii owners, as well as old Nintendo fans? This means that with the correct rights, a developer could possibly recreate games with online features and Wii specific controls. So for example, with the correct rights a developer could recreate GoldenEye 64 with online gameplay as well as Wii controls. Or maybe a Star Wars Episode I: Racer remake that has online races and leaderboards. Hey, if Digital Eclipse could remake the TMNT 1989 Arcade game despite needing several sets of rights, I'm sure any old Nintendo game could be brought to the Wii with new functionality.

And really, why shouldn't some be remade this way? The virtual console is great for a lot of games, since there is really no need to remake some of the old çlassics (I don't think I need Super Mario Bros. to have online play), but there are games that fans have been begging Nintendo to look into remaking with online play and other features. With WiiWare, the "straight port restriction" that seems to be tied to the virtual console (with exceptions to certain games; I'm looking at you Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream) will not be an issue and thus the possibility of remakes is much closer to reality, despite issues over rights ownership.

We can only hope that all this can become reality. The ability to do so is now available to the developers, but the only question is "Who will?" I'm eagerly looking forward to the future of WiiWare and I hope to see that some developer somewhere will consider this.

This week has been exceptionally rough. My stress level has gotten so high that I feel it mentally and physically. I don't think it has ever been so high. It is mostly due to the extremely high workload that has been placed on me. So many assignments due nearly at the same time, and no time to do them in. Losing sleep, high stress levels, and other things were basically beginning to destroy me. So for the sake of my own health, I had to make a decision: drop a class or not. I don't like doing this, but of course sometimes it must be done.

So the next question was a rather simple one: Which çlass do I drop? Unfortunately, it had to be Japanese, and this was a rather heavy decision. I love the language, the çlass the teacher, and my çlassmates. In fact it was extremely hard to talk to my teacher about it. I was obviously upset about the decision because I didn't want to drop it, and my teacher reflected this feeling when speaking to me, since the relationship between everyone in the çlass and the instructor was more of a friendship than a pupil-teacher. However, it is the only çlass that will not advance me in my major; it is more-or-less an interest çlass rather than required. This will free a great amount of time, because that çlass gives a very heavy workload. Still, it was a painful choice to make, but a wound that can and will heal better than had I stayed.

There is the option of taking the çlass next semester, but sadly it will not be with the same teacher. Still, it'll allow me to continue learning the language which is the ultimate goal of taking a language. I just wish I didn't have to make that choice. Oh well...

Here's to a brighter tomorrow.

Note: Using çlass because of the still messed up filter for posting entries.

What a crazy semester thus far. It actually feels completely backwards in some way. Usually I'm greatly focused on my studies and work as hard as possible, which usually pays off. Hasn't that way this semester. Also, where I was expecting to do well in Japanese like I did last semester, I am doing quite poorly right now. My guess as to why: last semester I worked myself well beyond my limits, and thus am still suffering from a mental fatigue that hasn't quite recovered (and not getting any better since I'm in the fray again), as well as life beating me upside the head with other things. It also leads to insomnia. This week I haven't really gotten much sleep, so right now the fact I am awake and somewhat conscious in the middle of statistics lecture is nothing short of a miracle. At least I'm making efforts through all of this to become more healthy. Playing racquetball with a friend of mine while trying to change some eating habits should bring about better health, which means a healthier mind.

To add to the craziness of it all, I keep finding out about random GS editors leaving. This is quite upsetting since all of them I am a fan of. Does that mean that I will leave GS too, as many have done in the wake of the "exodus" (as it is now being called by Joystiq)? No. Ricardo, Aaron, and Kevin are still around so I know I can still expect honest reviews. If they should leave, however, I will consider no longer coming here for reviews, though I may still come here for news. The most annoying aspect of this is that if I want reviews from Alex, Frank, Jeff, or Ryan, I have to find links from their blogs (or read them on their blogs) instead of coming to one, central location to find them all. I'm also going to miss the podcasts, which were often very funny and overall entertaining while informational. It is good to know that they aren't just quitting or leaving the industry all together. I suppose it's really hard to leave it when a large majority of your professional life goes into it. Overall, it is just unfortunate how all these events played out. Hopefully upper-management has learned something from all of this.

Furthermore, I still want to write some reviews, just haven't gotten around to doing so. So much I need/want to do, but so little time in a day to do so. I guess you could say in this case it is a good thing to be an insomniac. I get more hours in my day that way. :) Hopefully I will find some time over the course of the next few weeks to write a few reviews and maybe I'll eye the forums some more. I may even rant about the online demeanor of one of my roommates. I'll have to see.

A plus side to all of this is that I was able to reserve a copy of Super Smash Bros. Brawl a few months ago, and it's release is soon upon us in the States. I have been going to the site daily for about a year now taking in all the new information, and I am eagerly awaiting this game. It looks amazing on so many levels, and after reading an interview with the director of the game and Iwata-san, I have a greater respect for the game and its developers. It's really good to see them focusing on fun and longevity instead of recreating the wheel. It's what I aspire to be when I get my degree, and should I enter the industry. Time to get crackin' on those mod kits I suppose.

That's all I've got going in my mind at the moment, despite an extreme amount of exhaustion (made worse by the boredom I am feeling in this lecture). At least this has helped pass the time in here. Maybe I should make my stats lecture "blog time" instead and edit when I get back to my apartment for spelling/grammar errors...

...sounds like a plan to me. Until next time. :D

Here we are now in 2008. Kind of crazy really. Time has flown by so quickly lately it's almost numbing. Yet there is no time for me to rest... at least all that much. Spring '08 here at Clemson is about to begin, and after a rough last semester, I'm ready to grab this one by the horns.

I'm really going to try to make some time to come back on here more. I do enjoy writing reviews and blog posts and the like, but how busy I am usually takes all my time.

I hope everyone had a great holiday season and here is to a new year! Good luck on your endeavors!

Wii owners today got to see the blue light illuminate their disc drives as Nintendo announced the new Wii Remote Jacket. The accessory is apparently an updated response to the past instances where unsuspecting people and appliances were hit hard by a flying Wii remote after the wrist strap snapped.

In response to the strap incidents Nintendo replaced the original wrist strap with a stronger version, allowing people to swing the Wii remote hard without worries of it flying out of their hand and to hopefully rid the possibility of airborne Wii remotes. The new strap was to replace all new Wii remote wrist straps packaged with the console and the individually sold remotes. For those people who had already bought several Wii remotes, Nintendo created a wrist strap replacement request page where, after filling out a form, Nintendo would send up to four new straps to the customer.

Nintendo is doing the same for the Jacket, which covers the entire Wii remote and provides a large cushion on the front in the case it should fly out of someone's hand. The goal is that the impact should not be nearly as damaging if the remote were to fly. However, the jacket isn't exactly easy on the eyes and could prove too bulky, which seems contrary to the Wii's fluid design.

For those interested in the new Jacket or looking into getting one, you can fill out a Wii Jacket Accessory Form where you can request up to four jackets. Shipping will begin on October 15, 2007.

EDIT: I know GS posted an article on this. However, I posted this 3 hours before the official GS article. No comments on how GS already talked about this please.

Been several months since my last entry. Then, my semester was finishing and summer break was on the horizon. Now, I've been in classes for a month in the fall semester of '07.

My summer wasn't anywhere near productive. I wanted to teach myself more PHP and MySQL, and maybe another language, but mostly it was just a lot of FFXI playing and catching up with old friends who are now all over the country. Also went to Universal Studios in Florida. Being a roller coaster fanatic it was quite enjoyable. Also ate at one of the best restaurants you can find: Mythos. For an amusement park restaurant it has some amazing food. I think it's marked as the top amusement park restaurant in the world, and it deserves that title.

Now, I'm in the middle of a computer science class (data structures and algorithms taught in C++), a math class (discrete math... insert joke here), applied economics (gen. ed. requirement filler), and にほんご (Japanese), which the teacher is very tough, but overall a great teacher. Everything with classes has been great until a few weeks ago. I swear teachers collaborate with each other and assignment the biggest things around other major assignments or tests, so it all hits you at the same time. The workload has yet to lessen, but mid-terms are coming up, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Nonetheless, it's been quite stressful, but it should all work out by the end of this week.

Hopefully I can get back into GS contributions and what not soon. Might write a Metroid Prime 3 review and maybe a Battlefield 2142 if time permits. Maybe even hit the forums again. Time will tell...

Take care everyone!

Finally! At long last this semester is coming to a close. Only have a chemistry exam left, which is Friday. It's been kinda rough; not really because of the classes (well... maybe partly because of one class), but because of a lot of life related things and somewhat big decisions. Hopefully, with the end of this semester, a lot will finally start coming together and things will begin getting back on track. It should, since I'm now in a major that I'm happy with, and should do very well in.

The end of the semester also brings something great: time to finish my really long "Now Playing" list, or the "games I've started but for some reason or another quit playing, and then started on another game only to not complete it too" list. Along with that, I can continue my self-study of PHP and MySQL. Maybe some other things too. Have to see.

Hopefully over this summer I can join in on more GS Community Game Nights, like I did with the Halo 2 one. Was pretty fun, despite the lag and my lack of skill in the game. But, I didn't die as much as Kevin, so I guess all went well. :P I may start playing that game more often now, since more people seem to actually enjoy the game, instead of just increasing their ego.

But yes. This summer should be pretty good with the mix of productivity and laziness (but mostly laziness :)), and the coming semesters should be better than these past two. Only thing left to do is get through that chemistry exam...

What do you have planned for the summer (if your a student), or in the upcoming months in general (if your not a student)?

There has been a lot of heat in the 360 forums (both on GameSpot and xbox.com) about the recent pricing of the DLC for Guitar Hero 2, and for the most part, it is not without good reason.

In a press release posted yesterday by Activision, it was revealed that the songs available in Guitar Hero 1 (originally on the PS2), would be made available in sets of 3 costing a mere 500 Microsoft points (sarcasm added), with 3 sets already available and more coming each month.

Upon initially reading this, many would find this as good news, until they read on and see that price. I was one of those who held off buying the PS2 version of the game because of the promise that the 360 version would have new songs would be added to the list as well as the greats of GH1. I was also one of those that were happy to hear that the songs were definitely being made available as promised... until I saw that price. Three songs for roughly $US 6? And the possibility that one or more of the songs in the set will be songs I don't want? And what about those who live outside the US where the prices are already high enough as it is for video games and related material?

Also, one of the biggest things that has caught people's eyes (and is the basis for the majority of the arguments against the pricing) is the total costs when all the songs are downloaded: approximately $US 90, the price of the game and guitar for the 360. The first game by itself for the PS2 is $US 39.99 new, $US 34.99 used. Considering the fact that you are not paying for anything that you see (because it's all on the 360 disc), your only getting the music (which isn't new and thus, technically, already created) and game track, and your not getting a guitar, $US 90 dollars is absurd by comparison. If someone is going to pay that much for extra songs, they better have a guitar coming in the mail or at least get some sort of additional content.

Something else to note is that GH2 comes with more songs than GH1. On the PS2 without the guitar, the game costs $US 49.99, and on the 360 it would most likely cost $US 59.99 without the guitar (using the pricing trend of new 360 games). Should players have to pay more for songs that are not only on a previous version of the game, but more than the cost of the latest version without the guitar? As most people have expressed, no they should not, and I have to agree with it.

People for the pricing (or those that don't really care about it), have argued against the outcry saying "You don't have to buy it." This is true, but the fact of the matter is that people shouldn't have to pay twice as much for old content just because they didn't own the original, or for some, the system that the first game was on. People wanted this, they were looking forward to this, and now they are feeling robbed. They don't have to buy it, but they wanted to and now they're wallets are begging them to not consider it.

With the release of this information, I find myself (as well as others) reconsidering buying Guitar Hero 2 for the 360. If these are the costs for old songs, one can only imagine how much new songs would cost. If the songs came in sets of 6 or 9 at the same cost, or if these songs were brand new with the same cost, I don't see it being as much of a problem. But when the songs have been around for over a year, and the costs to download them exceed the cost of buying Guitar Hero (assuming the person owns a PS2), players have a right to complain about it, and they should let it be known that they are unhappy.

I just wanna wish everyone who happens to come across my profile a very happy Easter! Make sure you have your fill of chocolate bunnies! :D

Finally! At long last I am out of level 20. Hopefully this will mean that my rate of leveling will go back to normal. Here's hoping!

Also, I hope this weekend to have two other blog posts up. One will probably be a summary of interesting news that I found or read here on GS, and the other will probably be my views on consoles losing exclusives.

Until then, happy gaming!