Right-C, Right-C, A, A, Down-C, Down-C

Where does time go my good friends? Where indeed... Big N Radio has existed for over half a decade. Next Friday, the 4th of May, Big N Radio will celebrate the 6th Anniversary of the release of BNR Podcast Episode 1.

The past 6 years have flown by--I guess my sweet potato ocarina really works. Its been a blur. In fact, this morning when I woke up I was treated with a visit by Mr. Resetti, so I must have forgotten to save my progress at some point along the way. In the years since BNR first entered a lengthy and ongoing hiatus, the Wii has fallen into obscurity, 3D is the new obsession, skin-tight clothes are in style, phones are now used for gaming, and the only thing that costs five-hundred-ninety-nine US dollars is a full tank of gas.

In the past 6 years we have seen the release of incredible, industry re-defining gems, as well as a few clinkers (note to all Nintendo fans--let's just forget 2008 ever happened). We've graduated high school, are about to graduate college, and actually own multiple consoles. Our fanboy battle cries have disappeared (just as certain Nintendo franchises have), no one makes "Wii" jokes anymore (we've moved on to Wii U!), and Miyamoto ran out of the ink that prints money (hello $530 million loss).

At a point in my life where there is a great deal of uncertainty, some things remain consistent. Games are one of those things, and its still a heck of a lot of fun to look back at what we were playing a few years ago, as well as what we'll be playing down the line.

Smell ya later!

Live Metroid Prime 3 Corruption Feed

Express Yourself LIVE

Big N Radio - Ep. 11!

Be sure to listen to this episode for a complete breakdown on everything that was announced over the 14th and 15th of September at the Wii events. Hear our very insightful commets pertaining to the price and release date, as well as everything else. Episode 11 features A-Zar, ill_masta, and KZero. Head over to the Big N Radio Podcast site or iTunes and listen today!

Big N Radio - Episode 10!

Big N Radio Ep. 10 has been up for about a week now, but I haven't been able to post here for some weird reason. Be sure to download it on iTunes or go to the Big N Radio Podcast site by clicking the link on the right sidebar. Episode 10 contains all of the info leading up to the September 14th Wii event.

Episode 11 should be up later today or tomorrow at the latest. This episode will include everyhing of importance from the NYC Wii event on the 14th, as well as the info from the Japan and London Wii events.

Amazing Super Mario Theme

This guy manages to play two guitars at once and its the best fan theme I've ever heard.

Watch the American Wii Event

Link

Japan and Europe Wii Launch

Japan will get the Wii on December 2nd for 25,000 yen. They will not see a pack in of Wii Sports, but they will be able to download the Wii Opera Browser for free until June.


Click here for more Wii interface footage!

And click here for even more!

The UK and Europe will get Wii on December 8th for £179 and 249 Euros respectuvely. Wii Sports will be packed in at launch.

Nintendo American Event Information

Almost every question that we had about the Wii and it's launch state-side were revealed by NOA President, Reggie Fils-Aime last Thursday. The press conference confirmed what was already believed to be true by The New York Times earlier today. Wii will launch for $249.99 on November 19th, and only in white. It will come with Wii Sports, which boasts 5 games: baseball, golf, tennis, boxing, and bowling.

At the event on Thursday, Perrin Kaplin, NOA's Vice President of Marketing and Affairs, stated that the Wii system will not be region locked, and that all Nintendo first party games will be region free. However, at the Londin event the next day,
Nintendo UK's General Manager, David Yarnton, stated that the Wii WILL be region locked.

First Party games were confirmed to cost $49.99, and third paries may charge whatever they want. The Wii remote will cost $39.99 and the nunchuck will cost $19.99. There has been no mention of a bundle for the U.S yet. The Classic Controller will cost $19.999 as well.

Something new that we learned at the event was the announcement of Wii channels. There will be separate channels on the Wii when you start the system up. For example, games will be played on the disk channel and other channels will be included, such as an image channel, a Mii channel, the Virtual Console channel and a news/weather channel. The Opera Browser will be downloaded for a price in America, but Japan will get it for free until June. The Mii channel is the place where you can customize your avatar to look like you so that you can see yourself in all of the Wii Sports titles, Wario Ware, Wii play, and, "other Wii software compatable with the Mii channel." You choose from shape of the head, to type of eyes, hair color, etc. For the picture channel, you just load some pictures to the Wii through an SD card, and you can make them into puzzles, add effects, and play around with them. You can also play videos off of your SD card through Wii Photo. The weather channel will offer accurate weather forecasts throughout the day. Forget CBS and Fox, just turn on your Wii. The front flap on the Wii is where you load your SD card.

One of the coolest things about the conference was when Nintendo announced during the Mii demonstration that you can place your, "Mii's" on your Wii remote so that when you go to someone else's house with it, you'll have your Mii's right there. You can then transfer your Mii's to your friend's condole and it'll be there whenever you want.

Wii interface movie video of Mii and picture channels.


Another Wii Photo Video

Virtual Console games will cost $5 for NES games, $8 for SNES games, and $10 for N64 games. On launch day, you will be able to download Zelda, Mario, and Donkey Kong games. 10 new games will be available for purchase every month and by the end of the year, 30 games will be available. Different VC games that you have downloaded may be set to certain channels on Wii as shortcuts. Once you download the game, it will be available for rver. Nintendo will sell VC cards, similar to Xbox Live Points cards, as a form of payment.

Also announced at the event was that Metroid Prime 3 is now a 2007 game, but it was playable at the event with a revamped control scheme. There are plenty of new videos available to view as well, so check them out here.

Be sure to watch the latest videos of Wii Sports to check out Bowling and Boxing.

Wii've got a release date and a price!

***ALL OF THIS INFORMATION WAS CONFIRMED BY REGGIE TODAY***


The New York Times has revealed a release date and price of the Wii. November 19th for North and South America and it will retail at $250. The system will come packaged with one Wii, one Wii remote, one nunchuck, one AC-Adapter, an audio'visual cable, a sensor bar, a Wii standard stand, 2 batteries, and, just as I had predicted, Wii Sports. Wii Sports includes, baseball, golf, tennis, bowling, and boxing.


Japan will be getting the Wii on December 2nd, for 25,000 yen, which is a little bit cheaper.

More secrets were revealed as well, in regards to the interface and what software is built into the system. A image channel called, "Mii" is available, as well as the Opera Browser, and a news and weather channel. The Virtual Console dowloads will cost between $5-10, which isn't too bad. Seperately, the Wii-Remote costs $40, the nunchuck costs $20, and a Virtual Console Controller costs $20. First-party games will cost $50.

This information was posted in the New York Times, before Nintendo could announce anything in the American event, so stay tuned for tons of updates about the American event once it takes place.

Also check IGN and for more details, click these links:

-http://wii.ign.com/articles/732/732669p1.html

-Japanese Wii Site Pictures/Videos

Japanese Wii Event is Starting Now!

Well, the greatest 2 days in recent Nintendo history have finally arrived. The Wii event in Japan is starting right now. IGN isn't offering live updates right now, so live info that is accurate is difficult to come by right now. Let's hope that this event is the mother of all Wii events!! We need to see:



-rlease date
-price
-region free?
-interface
-virtual console info
-price of games
-colors of console
-Online info
-WiiConnect24 info
-launch titles
-packaging info
-final secrets!!!

Another Wii Event

Well September is definately the month for Wii. On the 14th there will be a U.S. event, and the next day there will be a European event. Now, we know for sure that also on the 14th there is going to be a Japanese event. IGN has confirmed the rumor, and has said that the Wii will be playable and that many insiders are stating that release sate and price info are very likely.

At this point, since Nintendo said release date and price by September, it is very likely that we will hear release date/price info at one of the events, if not all of them. Right now I'm thinking that all of the release dates will be announced at each event, specific to the region it is going on in.

Less than two weeks to go!

Big Wii Events

Most of you are aware of the U.S. Wii event that is scheduled for September 14th. Reggie will be speaking and many people ae hoping to hear big announcements, such as the price, release date, and other system info.

Another event has been announced in Europe the day after. On September 15th, a Wii event will be held in London. A NOE rep has stated that, “Wii will be playable. Nintendo will be announcing new software at the event and there will be new announcements regarding the Wii console itself. The reports (of a delay) are entirely rumour and speculation. I can confirm that the Wii is very much on course for a Q4 release, as Nintendo originally stated.”

Finally, this is what we have been waiting for. And it's only 2 weeks away.

Check Out the Big N Radio Forums!

As a new way for all of our listeners and readers to communicate about Nintendo, gaming, and the podcast, we decided to make a Big N Radio forum! There are several interesting discussions about the Wii, DS, and Classic systems, as well as Big N Radio Discussions!

You can find the forum right here. All you have to do is choose a username and register.

In the future when you want to visit the forums you can just click the link in the bar on the right. Hope to hear from you all soon and Happy Posting!

Big N Radio - Ep. 9

In this packed episode, A-Zar and ill_masta are blessed with the return of Coop via skype. We discuss some major announcements about the Wii, including the Leipzig Game Conference, which took place on the 23rd. We take an in-depth look at a very revealing interview with Shigeru Miyamoto in Nintendo Dream Magazine, discuss some more Wii games, and talk about recent rumors and comments made by some pretty important people. For DS, we discuss recent announcmennts, such as the arrival of 2 new colors of the lite, and the many new games on the horizon. Tons of DS games are launching just around around the corner, such as the new, and somewhat strange RPG from Atlus entitled, Contact. To finish up, we include an interview with someone that Nintendo is trying to target in it's new marketing strategy; a casual gamer named Cheeks. Join us, and listen as we discuss the latest developments and conferences from Nintendo, as well as a few secrets! Keep it here for the latest news, info, release dates, and announcements, and for all Nintendo, all the time!

Feed issues are coming to an end

Hey Everyone,

I'd like to thank you for your patience as we switch sources.

The worst seems to be over and I have finally got our podcast feed working reliably. For those of you who have had to download our episode multiple times... I apologize.

The new feed, in a nontechnical manner,
-Puts us in control
-Gives us more flexibility
-Allows us to modify descriptions.

However,
-It is slower than the other feed (can't help that)
-No longer contains reviews (please help us with that!)

Thanks for your patience! As we mentioned before, Episode 9 was recorded last night and we welcome your feedback.

We want feedback!

Hey guys, we recorded Episode 9 last night, and since Episode 10 is approaching, we are looking for some feedback. We really want to know how you, the listeners/readers feel about the podcast, as well as the site. We want to know what you like about what we have done, as well as what you dislike. All of your comments are appreciated, and if you make a suggestion that we use, you will recieve full credit for it. You can contact us pretty easily via email, AIM, or even skype! We also have a Big N Radio forum in the works!

-Want to say something to all of us? Then you can email us at: bignradio@gmail.com

-Want to say something to only one of us?

A-Zar Contact Info:
Email: AZar27@gmail.com
AIM: AZar027














That's me 20 feet up!(No joke) ^


Ill_Masta Contact Info:
Email: theillmasta@gmail.com












That's the Ill_Masta. ^


I just wanted to note that our host troubles seem to be over for now, and you should able to get Ep-8 pretty easily now, with Ep-9 on the way soon!

New DS lite colors in America!!!

Finally, after months of waiting, the U.S. will be getting a black and pink DS lite on September 13th of this year. The official names of the 2 new systems are "Onyx" and "Coral Pink." I was hoping for Noble Pink, but I guess I'll live...

Something to be Excited for?

September 14th. Mark that day down. It's the next date of a Nintendo Event. Here's a picture of an invitation to a Nintendo Event. Some parts of it are blurred out on purpose, so maybe it offers some good details that the public does not know yet. Could it be a Wii launch party?(Sarcasm)

Nintendo at LGC - "Wii Prove Our Promise"

Well I for one could not wait for LGC. I thought that the launch of the Wii was right around the corner, so Nintendo would have to give some pretty big details. Plus, Nintendo said the price and date of the system would be announced bySeptember, so what's the difference if it's about 2 weeks early? I was expecting a lot from LGC. Unfortunately, we learned almost nothing new, and for what we did learn, honestly, I really do not care.

The conference started out with a lot of DS talk. All of it was old news for us. Very old news. For example, Phoenix Wright will be launching soon in Germany. One good thing was mentioned, however, even though it doesn't really affect us. A pink, scratch that, "Noble Pink" DS lite will be launching in Europe on October 27th. There have been rumors lately about a black and pink DS lite launching here soon, so maybe we'll be seeing those around the same time.

After DS, they moved onto the Wii. They showed some old videos, as well as a new one that shows people playing Wii while jamming to hip hop music. Confusing, yes. Next, Bernd Fakesch, General Manager of Nintendo Germany who was doing the conference, introduced Super Mario Strikers: Charged. This is the sequel to Super Mario Strikers and it will be a Wii exclusive. Apparently, sports are all the rage right now, but only if Mario is in the game. For example, Mario Hoops, Mario Strikers: Charged, and now Mario Smash Football for Wii. Personally, if I want to play football, I'd either play a real game or if I wanted to play a video game of it I'd play Madden. Soccer I don't really care for either way, so neither one of these two titles for Wii appeal to me.















Mario Strikers: Charged Info

* Gameplay: Use the skill the Wii Remote and Nunchuk Controller provide to win the ball, score unstoppable goals and take control of the goal keeper to perform spectacular saves
* Characters: Mario is joined by other famous Nintendo characters who take on the role of captain. Players then select a host of popular teammates to make up the rest of the team.
* How to progress through the game: Players form an original team by combining one of 12 captains with three of eight sidekicks before competing in one of the games many modes. Anything goes in Mario Strikers Charged as players are allowed to utilize a variety of special abilities to clinch important goals.
* Super abilities/power ups/moves/features: Each captain has their own set of skills, super abilities as well as the ability to perform special shots called Mega Strikes, where the iron ball splits up to five balls and flies at the goal. The defending player must use the Wii Remote to target and aim at and shoot these balls out of the air before they concede a goal. In this game players can also charge energy to the metal ball, making it more likely to find its target when fired at goal.
* Stadiums: Each of the stadiums in Mario Strikers Charged have various characteristics and contraptions, which influence game play. Players must learn to use this to their advantage to truly dominate the pitch.
* Multiplayer: Mario Strikers Charged will not only feature an action packed multiplayer mode but will also support the Nintendo WiFi connection service, allowing players to take part in tournaments with people from all around the world.


Battalion Wars on GC was supposed to be pretty good, however, I never played it so I can't really say anything about it. The sequal was announced for Wii, and it will be abbreviated as, "BWii."













Battalion Wars Wii Info

-BWii - Battalion Wars 2
-Tricked into believing that the Solar Empire is developing a devastating super-weapon, Commander Pierce and Colonel Windsor of the Anglo Isles launch a pre-emptive strike on the Coral Atolls. The world is once again at war.
-Drive tanks, command ships, pilot planes and direct your troops into the heart of the action in the return of the popular tactical action game for Wii.
-3 Online Multiplayer ModesAssault: Instant CombatSkirmish: Tactical depthCo-op: Work with friends
-3 Theatres of WarCombine land, sea and air combat
-5 New Naval UnitsBattleship, Frigate, Submarine, Dreadnought, Transport
-6 Different Races, 5 Different EnvironmentsWith new vehicles for each side
-Wii-ControllerProvides intuitive, all-action gameplay
-Greater tactical depthCapture facility buildings to re-spawn units (HQ, Barracks, Factories, Airfield, Docks)Use Map Screen Commanding to order from afar
-Bigger and Better20+ single player missions AND 15+ mp missionsIncreased replay value

So, all in all, LGC was very dissapointing; at least Nintendo's conference was. Let's hope that the third party developers give some new details and that we're not going to be forced to wait for months for new info. One thing that keeps getting me nervus is whenever a Nintendo rep says, "When the Wii launches later this year..." Later this year makes me think of late November or December and after all the talk of an early Wii launch in October/first week of November, I wouldn't be able to handle another 3-4 month wait. I want to play Red Steel, Corruption, and TP now.

I'm not sure where Nintendo "Proved their Promise." Maybe it was when the 7-year-old girl came onstage to try Wii Sports Tennis to try to show that anyone could play Wii, and then she kept missing the ball. Or maybe it was when they asked the girl if she had a DS and she responded, "No." It's also possible that it was when the person onstage said, "Where am I? Am I winning? I don't know where I am." Sounds right to me.