Ubisoft bringing Broken Sword to Wii, DS March 2009

Who says adventure games are dead? Well, Sierra for one. LucasArts for another. But not Ubisoft, oh no, as the company just dropped a press release confirming plans to bring Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars, the first in Charles Cecil’s landmark adventure game series, to the Wii and DS in March 2009. Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars has been ported to numerous platforms since its original PC release in 1996, including the PlayStation and GBA. Ubisoft describes this latest version, however, as ‘The Director’s Cut,’ promising a new narrative “interwoven with the first story,” as well as new puzzles designed to take advantage of each platform’s affinity for waggle and touching. Even more interesting, the game’s more than decade old graphics have also been retouched, including new facial animation by Watchmen artist Dave Gibbons. Consider us pointed, and our wallets collectively clicked.

Nintendo reveals early 2009 releases, Pokémon Platinum on March 22

Alright everyone, brace for surprise! Nintendo revealed its release calendar for the first quarter of 2009, and it includes: A game that teaches math; several remakes and rehashes; and, the big surprise, a Pokémon game! No, seriously. So look for Personal Trainer: Math on Jan. 12, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, Feb. 16 and Pokémon Platinum on March 22. Big N’s only Wii releases for the quarter will be New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis and New Play Control! Pikmin, both in March. Looks like the third parties are the ones bringing the heat this quarter. Square drops Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time in the spring, Sega’s stepping up with The House of The Dead: Overkill in February andMadworld in March. February also marks the release of Onechanbara Bikini Zombie Slayers. We didn’t think it possible, but we now have yet another reason to be thankful for swimwear-clad girls defending us from the undead. We’ve got the full list for you after the jump.

EA uses Xbox 360 graphics to sell Wii game, gets caught

The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has told EA to stop broadcasting a misleading ad for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09. In the commercial, Woods is swinging a Wii controller, but a complaint to the agency accused the ad of using footage from the Xbox 360 version of the game. Which it did, as confirmed by EA. The publisher’s excuse for switching the footage: the Wii images wouldn’t be of “broadcast quality.” EA’s ad agency stated that, in the future, it would make sure that the images and format being promoted match.

Club Nintendo briefly up, accepting NA members … now down

After years of chanting “Let us in, let us in!,” the doors to Club Nintendo have finally been opened to those living in North America. The service, which was announced this summer, takes the place of NOA’s previous My Nintendo site. Nice to join you, Japan and Europe. Already have your Nintendo gear and games registered on My Nintendo? Not to worry. Logging into the Club Nintendo site automagically converts your old account and, most importantly, makes sure Club Nintendo knows about all the stuff you’ve bought. So you can, y’know, start saving up for exclusive merchandise and other rewards, including the (now official) US version of Game & Watch Collection. There’s just one problem, after seeing the site with our very own eyes (!) it … disappeared, and was replaced with placeholder art assuring us that Club Nintendo was “Coming Soon!” Lucky for us then that one NeoGAF user thought to grab a screenshot (seen above). Don’t worry, you take the night off. We’ve got our clicking finger on the Reload button and we’ll let you know when everything’s back up. Now go have a drink, you look tired.

Sega bringing MadWorld, The Conduit to New York Comic Con

Those looking to attend next year’s New York Comic Con have more to look forward to than hygiene experiments and booth babes: Sega has confirmed that it will bring demos of MadWorld, The Conduit and The House of the Dead: Overkill to the event, which takes place February 6-8 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. Special “zombie surprises” are also promised, so come prepared. Sega hasn’t revealed if any or all of these titles will be playable or merely shown off to those who happen to stroll by its booth. Not that it matters, as you’ll likely go blind well before the show after meticulously gluing down individual scales in the name of Aquaman cosplay.

Phelps, 505 Games announce partnership, first game in 2010

In a heroic feat of strength, swimmer Michael Phelps has managed to hoist the hojillion Olympic medals off his neck and dive into the world of video games. It’s true! Developer and publisher 505 Games announced that it has inked a partnership with Phelps, who first revealed his plans to swim in digital waters earlier this month. According to 505, it plans to bring Phelps to next generation consoles (a term we grow to despise more each day) and the iPhone. But don’t be expecting to see Sports Illustrated’s “Sportsman of the Year” on the cover of any game soon, as the first title from this pairing isn’t expected to reach the other side of the retail pool until spring 2010. Of course, by then most of us will have forgotten all about Phelps’ drenched mug and will instead be preparing ourselves for the year we make contact.

Rumor: EA cancels development on Need for Speed series

The latest episode of Electric Playground brought with it a shocking (yet somewhat believable) report, they claimed to have learned from an unspecified source that Electronic Arts is canceling the development of new titles in the Need for Speed series. When they asked for a comment from EA, a spokesperson responded with a statement that neither confirmed nor denied the report. We tend to handle rumors without named sources with a bit more trepidation than others, but the cancellation of EA’s 14-year-old racing franchise isn’t completely outside the realm of possibilities. After all, the gaming industry juggernaut has sailed through fairer economic waters, and the latest installment in the supposedly canceled series, Need for Speed: Undercover,currently holds a Metacritic rating of 65, which also happens to be the exact number of people who purchased the game. We’ll let you know when we hear more.

Spike’s Video Game Awards ‘08

Yes that’s right the VGA ‘ 08 is tonight at 9:00. Game of the year: Gears 2, Fallout 3, or Fable 2. In my opinion it is tough to choose between Fallout 3 and Gears of war 2, Fable 2 in my opinion is good but not compared to these games. Anyway watch on Spike TV at 9:00.

Rock Band 2 coming to Wii and PS2 on Dec. 18

Are you ready to rock? Or, more specifically, will you be ready to rock on December 18? That’s the day (a Thursday, in fact) that Wii and PS2 owners will finally be able to call friends over for a Rock Band 2 party. That’s right – before the weekend. Crazy, huh? RB2 for Wii supports the download (and storage on SD card) of tracks via the in-game music store only; you’ll have to add Wii Points through the Wii Shop Channel, per usual. PS2 owners … sorry, but your DLC is in another castle. Here’s the package / pricing breakdown. Note that peripherals for the PS2 version are already on sale.

• Special Edition Bundle (Wii) – $189.99
• Standalone Software (Wii) – $49.99
• Standalone Drums (Wii) – $89.99
• Standalone Guitar (Wii) – $69.99
• Standalone Software (PS2) – $49.99

GHWT for Wii instruments compatible with Rock Band 2

Rock Band 2 for the Wii looks to be doing so many things right, especially when compared to the original’s more lackluster release. The best news we got from IGN’s preview is that the game is compatible with all the instrument peripherals on the system to date, Guitar Hero 3, GH World Tour and the original RB (natch).