Destructoid reports that via a holiday release list, Nintendo have announced the release date for the upcoming DS title The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks will be December 7 in the US. There is no official word on the EU/Australian release dates yet, but rest assured that it will probably come out there at some point, maybe.

The is good news for Zelda fans globally of course, because of the lack of region protection on the DS. If you fancy playing Spirit Tracks and you live in the EU, simply import an American copy. It’s not like you won’t be able to understand the story, unless it relies heavily on the use of the words “faucet” and “diaper”.

The DS remakes of the best Pokémon games in the series, Gold and Silver, were released in Japan today. The games are, unsurprisingly, selling well. In fact, some stores are sold out already.

The games come with a pedometer that gives you in-game rewards for walking, named the “Pokéwalker”. Obviously gamers don’t like to walk anywhere, so they’ve started cheating the system by shaking the pedometer however they can. As you can see above, people are apparently getting quite creative with it. I guess that’s the most you could ask for. To be honest with you, I was planning on doing the same thing when I get my copy.

Via Destructoid

Before you get all excited over Cooking Mama’s new M-rated murderous approach, I’ll have to tell you that the “Chop” in its title has nothing to do with killing, as it would suggest. However, if you’re willing to substitute limbs for vegetables, you can enjoy Cooking Mama 3: Shop & Chop just as much.

The third title in the Cooking Mama series has you cooking food with Mama, but also shopping for the food you’ll end up cooking. It doesn’t seem at all like the previous titles in the series to me, but that could be due to the fact that the game has a bunch of new recipes & methods of cooking, and a lot more mini-games than the previous games. Actually, if I can recall, the previous two had, uh, none.

Cooking Mama 3: Shop & Chop hits the DS this October for $30. Hit the jump for the full press release.
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Scribblenauts, the fantastic-looking DS game that went big after an appearance at this year’s E3, is coming to the UK on September 25, following a North American release of September 15. I’ve embedded the above video to give you a look into what the game is all about- you can write almost anything and have it appear on screen. It’s rapidly becoming one of the most hyped DS games this year, and is even causing bouts of “I need a DS just to play this game” syndrome.

In an interview with Kombo, PopCap Games’ PR director Garth Chouteau has noted that the highly acclaimed Plants vs. Zombies will follow its cousin Peggle onto other platforms: XBLA, PSN- even the DS and iPhone. Chouteau is quoted by Kombo on the matter:

…Peggle for XBLA is a good example of a game that we took that was popular on the PC and we spent probably twice as long as anyone else would have figuring how to make that game really good for Xbox and Xbox Live Arcade, and I think you will see that with Plants Vs. Zombies–I don’t know the exact order in which that game will make its way onto other platforms, but it’s certainly been successful enough, quickly enough, that we’re looking at other platforms and deciding where we’ll take that game next…

Since PvZ was such a success, both commercially and critically, it can only be good news that it can come to a bigger audience. I only hope that they make a DS version as good as Peggle DS.

No joke people! Nintendo has sold over a million DS handhelds in the United States in April alone. A remarkable month for the video game guru, with a combined 1.04 million DSi and DS Lite units sold. Read more…

Yep, it’s been confirmed. Pokemon Gold and Silver will be remade for the DS, which means the Pokemon crazy is officially never gonna be over.

The ten year anniversary remakes will be called Pokemon Heart Gold and Pokemon Soul Silver. Expect the two titles to hit the Nintendo DS this fall with some added new features.

Source: Kotaku via Pokebeach

LEGO Rock Band has been officially announced today, after plenty of internet rumours and speculation. The game will ship in “Holiday 2009″ for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii and DS. Harmonix and TT Games will be working together for all versions of the game, and Rock Band Unplugged developer Backbone Entertainment will join in the fun for the DS version. Hit the jump for a little more info and a few confirmed tracks (The Final Countdown is in there).
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Shacknews reports that Nintendo have published a list of the games that the DSi store will feature at the console’s launch on April 3rd and 5th in Europe and America respectively. You can buy them with DSi points, 1000 of which you will get for free if you buy a DSi within six months of launch. The list includes WarioWare: Snapped!, Brain Age Express, and Master of Illusion Express (which sounds like a badly translated Japanese sitcom about a magician living with a train driver). Hit the jump for the full list.
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What’s this? An adventure game!? Yes, it’s true. Unfortunately for all the next-gen graphic whores out there, modern adventure gaming doesn’t seem to make it far past the Nintendo DS. Lux-Pain, however, seems to have a much more adult audience in mind than your average DS gamer.

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The newest bit of info to be listed over at Famitsu says that with the Wi-fi connection you can go shopping for items online. This is an interesting idea and allows for a lot of modification on the server side.  The game may not be coming out for another five months almost but the info keeps on a flowin’. Read more…

Nintendo announced today that they broke the 100,000,000 barrier with DSes and DS Lites, selling 100 million of the little machines across the world. As a comparison, that’s the number of PS2s that have been sold throughout the PS2’s lifetime, and the PSP just hit the 50 million mark last month. Nintendo was also proud to report that there are 83 DS games that have sold over a million copies, and 7 that have sold over 10 million copies, including Hannah Montana: Music Jam, because I bought 9,999,999 copies. Don’t judge me.

The real list of 10m sellers includes New Super Mario Bros., Nintendogs, Pokemon Diamond & Pearl, Brain Age, Mario Kart DS, Brain Age 2, and Animal Crossing: Wild World according to Kotaku and GameSpot, which is to be expected, seeing as those are the DS’s biggest hits. Rumor has it that they used their profits from game sales to buy their own genetically engineered Nintendogs. They’re pretty much just dogs.

Source: Kotaku

Nintendo today released a list of new games and release dates for both the Wii and DS to hit North American shores by the end of July. Headliners include Punch-Out Wii, which will hit stores on May 18, and Excitebots: Trick Racing, an Excitebike-style racing game that uses the Wii Wheel, coming out on April 20. Hit the jump to see the full list of games and releases dates announced by Nintendo. Read more…

Square Enix’s latest in the Dragon Quest series (coming to the DS on March 28th in Japan), is all the talk.  Pre-orders are rampant at local 7-11’s and you see more and more people with slime toys every day.  A new feature that is being added uses the Nintendo WiFi technology to let you discuss the game with other people and gloat through your DS.

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Nintendo have announced a new game development studio, “Sora,” headed by Masahiro Sakurai, the man behind the Smash Bros and Kirby series. A statement on the company’s website states “‬the thoughts of game designer Masahiro Sakurai and Nintendo have become one,‭ ‬and a new project has started.‭ ‬In order to expand what can be offered to the world through games,‭ ‬we will have Nintendo’s full cooperation and make something that Nintendo could not do on its own.‭”

The project that the team will be working on has been described by Sakurai as “special” and “something different.” With Sakurai behind the wheel of the new studio, I don’t doubt that the game they produce will be outstanding; Smash Bros. and Kirby have been consistently great series. Although the platform the studio will be developing for is yet to be announced, I have a suspicion that it might be the Wii or the DS.

Any Dragon Quest fan knows exactly what I am talking about when I say the word slime.  The blob from the famous game series has been released as a plush toy many times over, now it’s getting a tech upgrade. Read more…

I wrote up information on Dragon Quest XI just this morning, only to come home from work and find out it’s been delayed.

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This Instructables page has all the instructions and information you need to make your very own solar-powered DS. Creator “dark sponge” says that since he added the solar panels he has “never had to plug it in to charge it.” The panels, as you can see, are attached directly to the DS; and they don’t appear to change the portability of the device- and hey, the panels only cost $3.75 each. Not bad considering the amount you could save on charging the DS.

Obviously, if you decide to attempt the modification, read the instructions very carefully; you could ruin your precious DS! If in doubt, I suggest getting someone who knows what they are doing, or contact dark sponge for help. A fantastic mod, but a little risky for me- I’m rather fond of my DS.

Some companies release special edition DS’s when their software hits the market.  Square-Enix decided that with Dragon Quest IX, a case will do just fine — and I agree. Read more…

Famitsu is reporting that on January 29th there will be a special edition DSi to go along with the release of the new game titled Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time. Read more…