Amazonys – Wii Games

That’s a whole lot of zombies you got there, 7,000 to be precise. Too bad it won’t be shown at E3 this year.

Nintendo will release Wii Fit Plus, recently trademarked in Japan, and a new Mario game later this year, both for the Wii, according to a report from Japan’s regularly reliable Nikkei newspaper.

According to the report, the follow up to the 18 million unit selling Wii Fit will come with online functionality, allowing Wii Fit Plus users to compete with friends and family. We’ll presume that means sharing your Wii Fit Plus work out data across the internet, as opposed to being stored locally only.

The Nikkei also makes mention of more accurate measurements in Wii Fit Plus, which could possibly come from the addition of Nintendo’s new and similarly named Wii MotionPlus controller accessory.

More vaguely, the Nikkei writes that Nintendo has plans to release a new Mario title by the end of the year. That might not come as a surprise, as Nintendo head honcho Satoru Iwata dropped word at last year’s E3 that the Mario and Zelda development teams were hard at work on new Wii games.

Whether that will be a marquee title on par with Super Mario Galaxy or something in which Mario doesn’t play a starring role, we’ll likely find out on Tuesday when Nintendo holds its E3 press conference.

Nintendo Releasing New Wii Fit This Fall [Nikkei - subscription required]

Square Enix had decided to jump on the pre-E3 game announcement bandwagon, making live their site for their recently announced game, NIER.

Looking over the screens and the college art film trailer, it looks like the game will be Square’s answer to Bayonetta, which in turn was Platinum’s answer to Devil May Cry.

The game is being developed by Cavia, which also developed Bullet Witch and Drakengard 2. According to the website, players will assume the role of the “unyielding protagonist”, NIER, who is resolute in his quest to discover a cure for his daughter, who is infected with the Black Scrawl virus.

The game will feature chain attacks, multiple weapons, magic and a “beautiful, immersive world presented in signature Square Enix style.”

NIER

As seen on Geoff Keighley’s Twitter feed.

The new PSP Go, leaked just before E3 thanks to the June issue of Sony’s own Qore, is tiny little thing. Bigger than an iPhone—but not by much—and slimmer than the original PSP.

When placed side-by-side against some of the current portable gaming competition, the PSP Go illustrates just how different it is from its peers and predecessor. The screen ratio looks similar to older PSP models, but is considerably smaller in size—3.8 inches versus the PSP-3000’s diagonal size of 4.3 inches or 11% smaller.

On par with than Sony’s other slide-out device, the Mylo 2, from which the PSP Go looks to have borrowed some of its design choices.

The PSP Go is also pretty efficient on overall hardware footprint. The LCD screen is 0.3 inches larger than the iPhone, but thanks to the slide-out controls, doesn’t have nearly the same amount of extra plastic flanking each side.

The removal of some of the PSP’s original buttons (display, sound, volume) go a long way to keeping the look more efficient than earlier models.

Versus the Nintendo DSi and DS Lite, however, we see just how much smaller the device is in its open position compared to its dual-screen competition. Screen-wise, the DSi and PSP Go are closer than ever, as the former got a quarter-inch boost over the DS Lite’s screen, with the Go shaving off a half-inch.

Weight-wise, the PSP Go sounds pretty light—approximately 3.8 ounces, if the 43% lighter than the PSP-3000 figure (and our math) is accurate. That makes it lighter than the iPhone (4.7 ounces) and Nintendo DSi (7.5 ounces).

Keep in mind that these PSP Go figures aren’t official, so things may be slightly off. But if you need to budget pocket space for the Fall, it might be handy.

Look about six people to your left. Now five down to the right. OK, one of you is addicted to video games, says a study out of Australasia that ratifies a finding in one out of Iowa State University.

The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists Congress says that eight percent of those who play video games – one in 12 – show signs of addiction. However, the study noted that “video game addiction” is not itself a disorder but “an expression of deeper issues” in those involved in the study.

An earlier study, later criticized for how it selected its participants, found about 8.5 percent of players aged 8 to 18 were “pathological gamers.” The study from Down Under covered all ages.

“Their whole lives revolve around this activity and there certainly seems to be a problem there – there is an addiction,” said Vladan Starcevic, an associate producer on the study. “And it seems to us that these people seem to … have other mental health issues, and it seems excessive video game playing is a manifestation of these underlying problems.”

Again, 8 percent doesn’t sound like a bad number, until you consider the whole numbers. If eight percent of U.S. kids were addicted to anything, there would be treatment centers – or someone trying to make money off it.

Analyze That: Only 8% of Gamers Can Be Considered Addicted [Softpedia News]

IndieCade, this year, is Oct. 1 to Oct. 4, but 25 games out of the hundreds submitted so far will be previewed at the festival’s E3 booth.

This will be the first U.S. preview of games for IndieCade, whose inaugural festival was last year. Stephanie Barish, the IndieCade president, touted the entries by noting last year’s expo showcased game makers who reached deals with the big three console makers, so, expect to see more of the same quality.

“This year there will be even more opportunities to inspire the industry and cultural institutions with games that turn our idea of play inside out, that keep fans engaged – and do it passionately, on small budgets, and in innovative ways,” she said in a statement.

No games were specifically mentioned for this event, but if they’re any indication, you can get a look at last year’s selections here.

If you got four hundred bones (Canadian) and a healthy respect for archbaddie Liquid Snake, AbbyShot Clothiers has the perfect inclement weather garment for you.

The FOXHOUND Coat replicates the look of the antagonists from Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, notably Liquid Snake. I agree that they’ve done a beautiful job with this (especially the shoulders) and it does look great open or closed. But $400 is well north of my disposable income at the moment.

AbbyShot says it designed the duster with the help of MGS fans. “This trench coat is fully lined, comes with inside and outside pockets included, features padded shoulders and sleeve cuffs as seen in the video game, and is made from a water-resistant fabric,” says the product page.

Foxhound Coat [AbbyShot]

“Early on there was a small faction within the team that wanted the new Elite Guards to be less ’sexy’ and more utilitarian in their look,” writes Raven’s Kevin Long. Yeah, that didn’t last long.

“There was also a slightly larger faction that wanted them to be sexy and wearing skin-tight leather outfits,” Long says. That faction might include a sizable percentage of the millions who’ve played the game since Return to Castle Wolfenstein introduced the Elite Guard.

Wolfenstein will bring back the ladies and give them the standard S/M arsenal – whips, chains, throwing stars – and also give their hooker-y evildoing an additional dimension.

We incorporated the idea of them using the power of the Veil as a weapon to attack BJ and his Faction allies. Along with those deadly Veil powers, the Elite Guard can also create nefarious monsters that they control. When the Elite Guards use the power of the Veil, an evil looking skeletal glow shines through their skin and grows denser as they attack.

You can check out some concept art and get advance word on these enemies’ AI through the Wolfenstein blog on IGN. And if you are fortunate to be at E3, the Wolfenstein booth babes will be modeling the Elite Guard look.

Wolfenstein – The Elite Guard [IGN via VE3D]

Eurogamer got their hands on what appears to be some high-resolution official shots of the PSP Go. Video, specs, games confirmed? If not it’s one hell of a hoax.

Someone’s PSP GOing to Get Fired [Eurogamer]

Someone’s PSP GOing to Get Fired [Eurogamer]
Someone’s PSP GOing to Get Fired [Eurogamer]
Someone’s PSP GOing to Get Fired [Eurogamer]
Someone’s PSP GOing to Get Fired [Eurogamer]