Nightly News Roundup: 2010.08.30

Pokémon World Champs crowned, DSi and DSi XL price drops and speculation, upcoming release date round-up and more.

By M. Noah Ward. Posted 08/30/2010 10:00 Comment on this     ShareThis

Pokémon Trading Card and Video Game Champions Crowned

A couple months ago, we covered the United States’ Pokémon national championships and let you know who the winners were. That event was actually a lead-up to the world championships, which took place the other week in Kona, Hawaii. The tropical island served as a backdrop for 375 invite-only Pokémon trainers from more than 25 countries, who competed for over $100,000 in scholarships, custom Nintendo DSi XLs, vacations, trophies and of course coveted titles carrying worldwide clout. Two tournaments were held for both Trading Card Game competitions and HeartGold and SoulSilver video game competitions, and the tournaments were split into age brackets, resulting in the series of lucky winners below.

Trading Card Game Finalists

2010 Pokémon Trading Card Game World Finalists—Junior Division (born in 1999 or later)
World Champion: Yuka Furusawa from Japan
Second Place: Juan Pablo Arenas from the United States

2010 Pokémon Trading Card Game World Finalists—Senior Division (born in 1995–1998)
World Champion: Jacob Lesage from Canada
Second Place: Mychael Bryan from the United States

2010 Pokémon Trading Card Game World Finalists—Masters Division (born in 1994 or earlier)
World Champion: Yuta Komatsuda from Japan
Second Place: Michael Pramawat from the United States

Video Game Finalists

2010 Pokémon Video Game World Finalists—Junior Division (born in 1998 or later)
World Champion: Shota Yamamoto from Japan
Second Place: Santa Ito from Japan

2010 Pokémon Video Game World Finalists—Senior Division (born in 1997 or earlier)
World Champion:  Ray Rizzo from the United States
Second Place: Yasuki Tochigi from Japan

Source: The Pokémon Company, Pokémon World Championships


Nintendo DSi and DSi XL Models Discounted US$20 on September 12

On Wednesday September 29, we’ll learn launch dates and pricing for Nintendo’s 3DS. Just over two weeks before that, on Sunday September 12, Nintendo will drop the price of its DSi and DSi XL models by US$20 in North America. The DSi will be discounted from $169.99 to $149.99, and the DSi XL will drop from $189.99 to $169.99. The DS Lite will remain at its current $129.99 price point.

Some interesting points to consider…

  • Japan had price drops on all three models of DS back in June.
  • The U.K. had price drops on the DSi and DS Lite– but not XL– back in June.
  • Why is the U.S. price drop taking effect months later?
  • Why is Nintendo advertising a price drop weeks before it goes into effect? Concern over leaks?
  • Some are assuming these new prices indicate a US$200 launch price for 3DS, but I wager it’ll actually be $230 – $250. Why make the price of one DS game as the difference between a gussied up six-year-old system and a bleeding-edge, gotta-have-it 3D system? Nintendo would be foolish to not take advantage of my fellow staffers’ slathering, “I’ll pay anything!” enthusiasm for 3DS.

Source: Nintendo


Golden Sun: Dark Dawn Release Date / Release Date Round-up!

Nintendo’s been delivering all sorts of release dates in the last couple weeks, and the long-awaited DS iteration in the Golden Sun series is now dated for North America as well: Monday November 29, just after Thanksgiving’s Black Friday shopping weekend. No price point was specified for the game.

Because one release date is a little boring, here’s a list of many others that may be on your (or your family’s/friend’s) radar.

Upcoming Wii Release Dates (U.S.)

Batman: The Brave and The Bold: September 7
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions: September 7
Samurai Warriors 3: September 27
Wii Party: October 3
NBA Jam: October 5
Just Dance 2: October 12
Kirby’s Epic Yarn: October 17
Goldeneye 007: November 2
FlingSmash: November 7
Call of Duty:  Black Ops: November 9
Epic Mickey: November 15 (tentative)
Sonic Colors: November 16
Donkey Kong Country Returns: November 21

Upcoming DS Release Dates

Batman: The Brave and The Bold: September 7
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions: September 7
Professor Layton and the Unwound Future: September 12
Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City: September 21
Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs: October 4
Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light: October 5
Super Scribblenauts: October 12
Art Academy: October 25
Goldeneye 007: November 2
Call of Duty:  Black Ops: November 9
Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem: November 14
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective: November 16
Golden Sun: Dark Dawn: November 29

Source: Nintendo


Nintendo Weekly Downloadables

We’re getting another batch of all-new WiiWare and DSiWare titles this week, so if you’re craving more nostalgic Virtual Console titles, forget it. Not that some of these titles don’t have promise, if you happen to like physics-based platforming, shooting aliens or getting all productive.

WiiWare

  • Tales of Elastic Boy – Mission 1 (600 Wii Points)

DSiWare

  • Cosmos X2 (500 DSi Points)
  • myNotebook: Pearl (500 DSi Points)
  • Music on: Learning Piano (200 DSi Points)

Source: Nintendo

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