If you were waiting for the MLB 10: The Show demo before the game’s release date, you’re out of luck. The last two year’s demos for The Show have come out two to three weeks prior to the release date but this year, the demo won’t come out till at least two days after the game hits retail shelves.

“I am not sure what purpose would be served by misleading you. We said there will be a demo….and there will be a demo. The simple fact is….The demo HAS been completed….the demo HAS been submitted for approval and posting. We, as devs of the game, have absolutely ZERO control as to when it gets approved or posted.”

And no, that isn’t ‘New Super Mario Galaxy 2‘ – That’s due for release in 2040.

Following yesterday’s release date announcement, here at Game Rant, we realize that you probably want to see more of Super Mario Galaxy 2. Well, look no further dear reader, because we’ve got the brand new trailer for your viewing pleasure.

Thematically, the first half of the trailer appears to be very similar to the first Super Mario Galaxy – a title which, admittedly, I wasn’t too fond of. Heck, they even re-use the same robot-boss that was in the first title. My first thoughts were; do Nintendo not care that they’re rehashing the same game? Will they really force the Nintendo faithful to buy the same game again?

At Nintendo’s recent Media Summit, the gaming giant finally announced dates for several highly anticipated games.  It’s an impressive list, both in terms of the pedigree and the sheer number of releases.  Japanese blockbuster Monster Hunter Tri in April;  Fan favorite Super Mario Galaxy 2 in May;  Treasure’s  Sin And Punishment: Star Shooter in June;  Metroid: Other M, co-developed by Nintendo and Tecmo’s Team Ninja, also in June.  My non-scientific methods conclude that this is the most dense, title-rich stretch of important releases in the history of the Wii.  But why now?  And what’s on the horizon?

Capcom’s hugely successful Wii game Monster Hunter Tri will be released to US gamers April 20th.  The game will be available bundled with the new black Classic Controller Pro for $59.99, or on its own for $49.99.

There are also some great incentives to pre-order.  Reserving the game at your friendly neighborhood GameStop nets you a Monster Hunter Tri 500 Point Card, good for purchases on Nintendo’s WiiWare, Virtual Console, or DSiWare channels.  Be on the lookout for demo discs at GameStop beginning March 8th

They say that good things come to those who wait, and as Nintendo’s Media Summit was drawing to a close today, a good thing certainly did come; namely, a release date for the Team Ninja/Nintendo collaboration Metroid: Other M.

Metroid: Other M will be dropping into stores on June 27th, just one month after the recently confirmed Super Mario Galaxy 2 release date.

Sometimes, news is surprising. Quite often, you can guess any piece of news on a given day. “There’s going to be another Halo game.” Really? “2010 will see another Guitar Hero release.” Wow!

But, sometimes, it can knock you right off your feet. Especially when Nintendo, a company famed for taking a long time to release their games, suddenly announce a release date for one Super Mario Galaxy 2. It’s even more shocking when they tell you it’s coming soon. Very soon.

Free stuff is always nice. Whether it’s a ‘Buy-one-get-one-free’ deal at your local Walmart, an unexpected item that didn’t scan when you walked through security (and didn’t get caught!) or a quick kiss from that special someone, getting something for nothing is always awesome.

So, fans looking forward to picking up Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands should be delighted to see that according to the BBFC page for the upcoming release, the title will include the Xbox Live/Playstation Network title Prince of Persia: Classic.

According to the BBFC, The Forgotten Sands will include;

As you may know, the demo for 2K Sports’ MLB 2K10 came out today for XBox 360. After playing a handful of games in the demo, I’ve already drawn some opinions about it. Mainly, 2K Sports is successfully making strides to build back up its baseball series. In my opinion, MLB 2K7 was a very good baseball game, but since then, 2K8 and 2K9 have dropped the ball, no pun intended.

Let’s start with the good. The analog stick pitching mechanic that was introduced in MLB 2K8 has been highly refined. This is by far my favorite part of MLB 2K10. As a pitcher myself, if the pitching mechanic in a game is broken, the game is usually dead on arrival for me. 2K10 has built on the mechanic that was created in 2K8, what in my mind is the best pitching mechanic in a baseball game.

Here is the bad, and hopefully this was just a demo issue. The default camera for batting is pretty impossible to hit with. The camera is setup about where the catcher’s head would be. This is a problem because you get no depth perception, making it extremely hard to determine when to swing. Hopefully, and I assume this is the case, there will be other choices for batting cameras in the full release.

I’m very impressed with what 2K Sports has done with this year’s iteration in their MLB 2K series. I’m actually very excited to get my hands on the release of the game. If you’re on Xbox 360, DS, or Wii, you’ll be very happy with this game. However, if you’re on a Sony platfrom, I still think MLB 10: The Show is the way to go. This year is the first time in a long time that it looks like its a very close race on the PS3. Recently, The Show has been dominating on the system, but this year I don’t think you can really make a bad choice.

Both MLB 2K10 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, DS and PSP) and MLB 10: The Show (PS3, PS2 and PSP) are releasing on March 2nd 2010.

They say it doesn’t rain when it pours and my goodness, the news about a DS2 certainly seems to be pouring right now. Following on from the recent rumor that developers already have dev kits for the DS2, Nintendo have filed a patent that suggests the DS2 will include a form of tactile feedback (context-specific rumble, in other words) which will be “transmitted [to the] player via a stick”. The following is an excerpt of the patent:

When you walk into my old bedroom, the first thing you will see is the side of a white dresser with black knobs and a black top. If you walk around to the front, you will quickly notice that the wood on the front is dented in several places and the paint is heavily chipped, revealing the wood underneath. How did this happen? Would it help if I mentioned my television and all my gaming systems that used to sit on top?

The front of that dresser bears the scars of years of video game frustration. It has played host to three systems’ worth of curse words, elevated blood pressure, and the occasional almost-kicking of a small animal. A veteran of aggression, it has witnessed the infuriating A.I. of Tecmo Super Bowl, the laughable difficulty of Battletoads, those stupid floating barrels in Donkey Kong Country, and the immeasurable real-life threat to friendships posed by Goldeneye and NFL Blitz. More controllers have hit the front of that dresser than all of the Wiimotes without wrist straps in the world. And that’s a fact.

Immediately following Disney executive Steve Wadsworth’s DICE 2010 keynote, Gamasutra conducted an intereview with both him and fellow Disney exec Graham Hopper, and they spent this interview time wisely: by zeroing-in on Epic Mickey, which is slated for a Q4 2010 release.

Among other things, such as the influence Kingdom Hearts’ mixed-universe canon has had on the development of Epic Mickey, Hopper addressed the game’s current exclusivity to the Wii, and why the Wiimote was the primary factor in that decision, stating, “the key mechanic is an ink and paint mechanic, it seemed completely intuitive to people.”

Hey Lewis Carroll fans. Have you been looking forward to an Alice in Wonderland game that is not quite as dark as that envisioned by American McGee but a little weirder than the classic animated Disney tale? Well, Disney Interactive Studios has released two trailers for its upcoming Tim Burton-inspired Alice games for the Nintendo Wii and DS. Check ‘em out below:

Trackmania, “the most fun-filled racing game played by millions of PC players worldwide,” will arriving on your Wii consoles soon, and we’ve got the trailer right here at Game Rant.
For those of you unacquainted with the Trackmania franchise, I highly suggest you check it out right now. After all, it’s free!

Rock Band has definitely been opening its doors to a much wider range of music.

From the highly anticipated Rust in Peace album to the more recently released Otis Redding tracks, it seems that everyone can be getting at least something out of the popular rhythm game.

And things are about to get even better c especially for those of you who enjoy the psychedelic, rocking jams of the late 60’s and 70’s; According to the LA Times, Rock Band will be getting more Jimi Hendrix by the end of 2010.

[Original Post] Sonic the Hedgehog 4 has been highly anticipated since its official announcement a few weeks ago. Sega’s official trailer for the title showed off roughly 1.793 seconds of actual gameplay footage; leaving Sonic fans with little to feed their growing hunger for the lighting fast blue bad-ass.

Today, those fans can get a more in depth look at the game’s first level, courtesy of some leaked footage via a wobbly handheld camera. Check out the Sonic 4 goodness right after the jump.

The Weekly Nintendo Update is here once more to entertain and inform our readers as to what they have to look forward to and what they should avoid for their Wii and DS this week. On the bright side we get Sonic and Knuckles hitting the Wii’s vitual console, along with a double dose of Ace Attorney!

If your gaming area is a mess, the Wii Pedestal Base might just be what you’re looking for. This acrylic stand is built to hold the Nintendo Wii, 7 game cases on the top level, and numerous accessories on the bottom one.

You can’t really beat this setup for $24.95. So if you like to keep your area clean, this could be the perfect thing for you.

Capcom has released the weapons list for the digitally distributed Mega Man 10 available in March. Traditionally, a Mega Man game features eight boss levels where a new weapon and ability are swiped from the boss upon completion of the level. Mega Man 10 follows suit, and features the same colorful system that players have come to expect from these games. Players can expect to upgrade the Blue Bomber’s Mega Buster to incorporate the following weapons systems:

Commando Bomb
After launching the Commando Bomb, press up or down on the + Control Pad to make it turn at a 90 degree angle. The blast spreads horizontally (or vertically) and follows the contours of the landscape. This can be used to break through certain walls to get hidden items!

Mega Man 10 Commando Bomb

Wheel Cutter
Press the Attack Button once to attach the Wheel Cutter to your arm, and press the Attack Button again to launch it (it follows the contours of the landscape). You can launch it 3 times and it’s effective to attack enemies at a distance. You can attach the Wheel Cutter to your arm and dart at enemies!

Triple Blade
Fires tri-directional blades and allows you to attack multiple enemies at one time. There are two patterns: surface-to-air on the ground, and air-to-surface in mid-jump.

Thunder Wool
Launches a thunder cloud that slowly rises and a lightning bolt shoots straight down from the cloud.

Solar Blaze
Splits apart and launches firebombs (left and right) after a set period of time. Effective when you are pinned between two enemies.

Chill Spike
Launch a freezing liquid which flies in a parabolic trajectory. An enemy hit by the freezing liquid will freeze and become unable to move.

Rebound Striker
Throws a rubber super ball straight and diagonally up or down. As it gets faster and stronger with each successive bound, you can build up power and hit the target to inflict maximum damage!

Water Shield
A rotating shield of water surrounds Mega Man. Pressing the Attack Button once more deactivates the water shield and hurls high-speed drops of water that spiral outward.

Mega Man 10 Water Shield

Part of the appeal of past Mega Man titles has been the open-level select system where players attempt to choose the correct level progression, acquiring power-ups designed to make subsequent boss battles easier. This strategy used to be fundamentally logical – a water weapon was strong against a fire boss, a cutting weapon was strong against a wood boss. Later games retained the level select architecture, but the logical order of each level went out the window as Capcom adopted stranger names and abilities for each boss across games (Shade Man, anyone?).

Capcom has added to the level-selecting madness by taking the Mega Man Challenges from the previous title, and developed them a bit for Mega Man 10. Now, players can access the challenges before playing the actual game, giving them a chance to master the basic controls ahead of time. I don’t see this as a super=exciting addition to the game, but I suppose it does give the player an opportunity to nab a few easy Challenge-related trophies or achievements.

Several level challenges await the Mega Gamer who braves Mega Man 10!

Mega Man 10 will be available for download for 1000 Wii points on March 1st, $9.99 via the PSN on March 11, and 800 MS Points via Xbox Live on March 31st. Who knows? Maybe if we keep up the support for Mega Man, Capcom will eventually get to revamping this series for a new generation sooner than later.

Source: Capcom Press Center

Disney held an investor call yesterday and discussed a bit about their video game division, even touching on the possibility of more Marvel titles. It seems as though they wouldn’t be pushing these future titles to the Wii, DS, or other smaller platforms as Disney’s CEO Bob Iger said during the call:

“We have some interesting opportunities with Marvel. That’s a brand we think would do extremely well on higher-end consoles.”

Iger also explained that the Disney titles have proven success on the casual family friendly gaming systems where Marvel titles have performed better on the stronger consoles. Disney won’t stop making games for the high-end consoles, as Epic Mickey (and its sweet look) is due out in Q3 as well as adaptations of Tron and Toy Story 3 later this year. No future Marvel titles were discussed as of yet.

NPD just released their monthly North America numbers for January 2010 and there were definitely a few surprises. On the software side, the Nintendo Wii continued its sales supremacy by taking five of the top ten spots. Leading the way was New Super Mario Bros.Wii, which sold over 650,000 copies, despite being released in November 2009. Mass Effect 2 also made an impressive debut by selling 572,100 copies in only six days, and Army of Two: The 40th Day made a better than expected debut, selling 246,500 copies for the Xbox 360. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 continued its strong performance as well on both the Xbox 360 and PS3. Somewhat disappointing, however, was that both MAG and Bayonetta did not rank in the top ten in sales, even though both had received a lot of buzz before their release.

On the hardware side, the Wii and the DS continued their dominance by taking the top two sales spots, selling 465,800 and 422,200 units respectively. The Xbox 360 sold 332,800 units and nudged out a win over the PS3, which sold 276,900 for the month. Overall sales for the month, however, were disappointing. Software sales declined 13% over last year and hardware sales were down 21%. With so many big titles slated for release in 2010, though, the gaming industry’s fortunes may improve as the year progresses.

Get ready to don your national kit in 2010 FIFA World Cup and build up your own international powerhouse in FIFA Ultimate Team. EA recently released some new screens and video of the successors to their FIFA lineup. 2010 FIFA World Cup will feature all 199 teams that competed in the World Cup qualifiers. Personally, I’ll be wearing the orange kit of my motherland Holland when this game comes out on April 27, 2009.

Additionally, Xbox Live and Playstation Network will be receiving FIFA 2010 add-on Ultimate Team, in which you build your team up from a group of nobodies to become a team destined for global domination. This title will arrive on February 25th and cost 400 MS Points ($4.99) on Xbox Live and $4.99 on the Playstation Network.

What country are you pulling for?

Following in the vein of The Beatles: Rock Band, the band Green Day will also be getting their own Rock Band title soon. Harmonix confirmed the news today. Not exactly surprising, but still, it’s always good to have confirmation on everything:

MTV and Harmonix announced today that the Beatles classic “All You Need Is Love” will finally be making its way to Beatles: Rock Band on the PS3 and Wii.

Xbox 360 has had the song available since the games launch in September 2009, but on March 4th the rest of us will have our chance to throw down $1.99 for the PS3 version and 200 Wii Points for the Wii version.

We here at Game Rant know exactly what you love: Nintendo. Well Nintendo loves you as well (except for you Australians). And as recompense for everyone’s devotion, Nintendo is throwing a grand old media summit for a select few members of the gaming press. Starting February 24 in San Francisco those special media members will get a sample of, “presentations, demos and hands-on gameplay.” You must be thinking what I’m thinking: first hand impressions of the Wii Vitality Sensor. Please, please, don’t have a fit.

Australia is notorious for its video game woes. Access to games of all types are limited by censorship and delayed releases. Piracy is rampant, yaharr, but that isn’t specific to Australia. Unfortunately the news only gets worse for our friends down under.

An Australian man who was the first to upload a pirated copy of the New Super Mario Bros. Wii game has been ordered to pay $1.5 million in damages. Mr Burt, a manager at Electronics Boutique, received a rare opportunity when Nintendo decided to release the new Mario game in Australia earlier than any other region. He uploaded the game to the net and distributed it willingly. Nintendo’s choice to release the game early in the market backfired, and they then took full advantage of the law for recompense.

Perhaps though, their $1.5 million might not have been enough. A Nintendo Australia spokesperson said the following:

“Nintendo Australia is always pushing for games to be released here at the same time as the rest of the world, so we were pleased to get New Super Mario Bros. Wii before anyone else… Unfortunately, due to the actions of this individual, future release dates may be affected for Australia, which is disappointing for us.”

Did you hear that Australia? Even though the pirating of software is a global problem, Nintendo has found you directly responsible and thusly decided you must be punished. So when the next pirate brought to justice is from North America, and yet they continue to receive games at their proper release date, remember this day: Nintendo hates you.

Sources: The Australian, Gamespot Australia

Super Smash Bros. Brawl is an immensly popular series with a huge cult following.

Of course there are going to be some characters that others feel should have a place on Brawl’s roster, and that is why hackers are awesome. Recently, they managed to put Final Fantasy’s Cloud Strife in as a playable character, and it looks pretty solid.

Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 will both be receiving 2 highly anticipated titles this week. These titles are clearly Bioshock 2 and Dante’s Inferno, but just because it seems like a great week for the graphically superior consoles doesn’t mean Nintendo is getting left in the dust, no sir!

This week we receive the highly anticipated Super Monkey Ball: Step & Roll!… Yeah, okay, on the retail front Wii gets schooled, but it’s actually a good week for downloads.

This week the Nintendo Wii gets Blaster Master: Overdrive, along with the classic game Princess Tomato in Salad Kingdom. The DSi, on the other hand, gets Fieldrunners, and Link ‘n’ Launch.

I’ll admit it.  I love kart racers.  I know they’re not the newest, flashiest games on the block.  I know they haven’t done a lot to evolve with the times.  But I started all the way back with Super Mario Kart on the SNES, and just never really got tired of them.

So imagine my joy when I fired up the XBOX 360 today and discovered that the demo for Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing had gone live.  This game is only a few weeks away, and I’ve been starting to eye it from a distance.  It doesn’t hurt that the developer, Sumo Digital, is responsible for the fantastic Outrun Online Arcade that appeared on XBOX Live Arcade last summer.  Factor in my latent (and, sadly, recently neglected ) Sega fanboy-ism, and here is a demo that I was almost unaccountably excited to try out.

Travellers Tales and Lucasarts have announced that they are (unsurprisingly) developing yet another LEGO title. This time they are returning to the ever popular Star Wars franchise with LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars.

Here are some excerpts from the official press release:

“The next chapter in the award-winning LEGO Star Wars videogame franchise, LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars will combine the best elements of all previous LEGO games while adding brand new gameplay to make it the most action-packed LEGO videogame to date.

We’ve all heard the stories. Pikmin was inspired by his love of gardening. Nintendogs was inspired by his new family pet. But in one of the more interesting and perhaps outlandish claims he’s made yet, Shigeru Miyamoto has claimed that the design of Super Mario Galaxy was inspired by hamsters.

Speaking at the 13th Annual Japan Media Arts Festival (where he was awarded the “Special Achievement” prize), Miyamoto revealed that his inspiration for Galaxy’s spherical planets came from a hamster he was caring for at his house. When faced with the problems of fluid movement and complex 3D controls, he noticed how the hamster’s wheel pivoted around a central point. This then became the basis of many of Galaxy’s planets – Simply make each planet have a central point of gravity, allowing players to run around aimlessly and still return to their initial starting point.