It seems that EA removed the online multiplayer component of Medal of Honor Heroes 2 for the Wii and are now offering full refunds to anyone seeking one.

 When Medal of Honor Heroes 2 for the Nintendo Wii hit retail shelves in Australia last week, it brought with it plenty of confusion about an  apparent lack of online multiplayer support. Just five days later, EA is offering an unconditional refund to all Australian consumers who purchased a copy of the game.

An official statement issued by the company confirms the rumoured scrapping of 32-player multiplayer support for the Wii console, despite offering the feature in both the North American and European markets. “Medal of Honor Heroes 2 for Wii does not support online functionality in Australia. We made an error in the documentation and marketing materials. We are very sorry to have caused confusion for our customers. We will provide a refund to anyone in Australia who wishes to return the game to EA because of the lack of online functionality,” the statement said.

An EA spokesperson declined to comment on the reasons for the removal of multiplayer, or whether the feature could potentially be patched into the game for customers wishing to keep their copies of the game.

Source: IGN

Traditional pub games like dominoes and crib might be dying out but regulars at one Hellesdon pub have been able to console themselves by teeing off for a game of golf or going toe-to-toe in the boxing ring - on a state-of-the-art games machine.

Tony Bennett, landlord of The Firs pub in Cromer Road installed a Nintendo Wii console game in his pub at the beginning of the year and since has been besieged by customers wanting to try their hand at the games on offer.

And the console, which is connected to the pub’s big screen drop-down television in the bar, has proved such a hit with regulars Mr Bennett is now urging any other pubs who have Wiis to get in touch so they can set up a competition league across the city.

Mr Bennett, 51, who runs the pub with his wife Lynda, said: “It would be nice to have the traditional games competitions come back into the pub and create that atmosphere, where everyone can get involved. I think this sort of thing will help the sprit back into pubs.

“All the customers who come in here love the Wii console it has gone down a storm, all we are missing is some people from other pubs to compete against.”

Mr Bennett said: “I can remember when they used to have skittle games in pubs which everybody joined in with, this is just the same only with a computer console and lots of people leaping about.

“I know if we can just get some other pubs involved, the league idea would work.”

Full Article: Evening News 24

Planet Moon Studios has been hard at work for the last year and a half on a unique music genre game for the Wii: Band Mashups.

Band Mashups is a rhythm game that spotlights 30 licensed songs across all genres, and then covers those songs five different ways: rock, funk/hip-hop, country western, Latin and marching band. All told there will be more than 150 different tracks: five renditions of these 30 songs. As a bonus, three additional tracks have been recorded for the game’s boss battle in full-blown orchestral form.

In the current track list, you’ll be waving your Wii remote to the rhythm of such contemporary hits such as The Gorillaz “Feel Good Inc.,”Tag Team’s “Whoomp! There It Is,” and Tenacious D’s “Master Exploder.” Then you’ve got classics like “Blitzkrieg Bop” from The Ramones, “Brick House” from The Commodores, and the song that’s in pretty much every music game since they’ve been invented, “That’s The Way (I Like It)” from KC and the Sunshine Band.

Other song include Adios Mexico from The Texas Tornados, Dum Diddy from the Black Eyed Peas, Insane in the Brain from Cypress Hill, Jungle Boogie from Kool & the Gang, Mama Said Knock You Out from LL Cool J, One Thing Leads to Another from The Fix, Spoonman from Soundgarden, and Photograph from Def Leppard. And for fans of The Cohen Brothers’ O Brother Where Art Thou, the game has a treat for you: the tracklist includes “Man of Constant Sorrow” from The Soggy Bottom Boys. Heck yeah.

Band Mashups plays much like Guitar Hero, but in reverse: notes scroll up from the bottom. Each “note” is a motion from the Wii remote: left, right, down and “stab” with the Wii remote, all done to the beat of the song. Planet Moon has done an impressive job visually representing the motion of the players’ Wii remote: at the top of the note scroll is a needle that’s moving in relation to how little or how much you’re motioning to the left or right. It’s one of the coolest and one of the most impressive implementations of displaying accelerometer motion in a third party Wii game so far…and it’s far better than games that just give you a “thumbs up!” after a left or right motion. In this game you know you’re waggling because it’s being displayed in real time.

Band Mashups is currently scheduled for a spring release. Check out some of the first screens and video clips of the game in action by hitting our media links.

Source: IGN

From International Herald Tribun:

 The Wii, the popular game console from Nintendo, may be a major headache for a rival like Sony, but for operators of game arcades the pain is proving just as intense.

In an unexpected downward revision to its earnings outlook, Namco Bandai Holdings, a toy and amusement arcade company, said it would close 50 to 60, or about one-fifth, of its arcades, depressing its shares for a second consecutive session Thursday.

“A lot of the types of games that people played at an arcade can now be done at home,” said a Namco spokesman, Yuji Machida.

The Wii, which has gained worldwide popularity, offers an innovative motion-sensing controller that can be swung like a bat or a sword.

The addition of “Wii Fit,” which features a pressure-sensing board that players can use to simulate ski jumps or surfing, has also propelled sales for the company.

Many Japanese children received a Wii last year, particularly over the holiday season, and it seems as if much of their pocket money is now being saved to buy more hardware or software for the console, Machida said.

Namco Bandai is the second arcade operator to announce a major overhaul. Sega Sammy Holdings also plans to close around 100 of its arcades.

 Steven Spielberg and EA have come together to reveal a BOOM BLOX for kids. Here is what EA has to say:

This high-energy game features over three hundred levels, a variety of activities, a cast of over thirty wacky characters, and an easy-to-use in-game editor that allows players to express their creativity. BOOM BLOX will be available in May 2008 for the Wii™ from Nintendo.

“I am a gamer myself, and I really wanted to create a video game that I could play with my kids,” said Steven Spielberg. “BOOM BLOX features an enormous amount of fun challenges and cool scenarios for your kids to solve or for you to master together.”

Fun for kids and the entire family, BOOM BLOX offers action-packed interactive activities that takes Wii play to a new level of creativity and fun with single player, co-op, and versus gameplay. Players can explore the visceral gameplay-perfectly suited for the Wii’s interactivity-that keeps them destroying their way through brain-twisting challenges. They can interact with entertaining characters such as the Blox-laying chickens or the baseball throwing monkeys, who bring personality to the Tiki, Medieval, Frontier, and Haunted themed environments. Additionally, players can remix any level of the game in Create Mode using props, blocks, or characters that have been unlocked during the game. Players can also virtually build anything they can dream up. Plus, their designs can then be shared with friends or used to challenge others to solve their newly created puzzle via WiiConnect24™.

“We developed BOOM BLOX with endless combinations of gameplay in mind,” explains Louis Castle, Executive Producer. “With over three hundred levels, built upon a full real-time physics model, your experience can be as easy or difficult as you want it to be-there really is something for everyone to enjoy.”

“My inspiration for this game came while I was playing the Wii for the first time,” added Spielberg. “From the initial concept to what the game is today, it’s always been built around the innovations the Wii brings to playing games. BOOM BLOX plays on the enjoyment of building and knocking down blocks, something that can appeal innately to kids and adults of all ages.”