It's been a head-on collision between Sony and Microsoft the past week with their own respective price cut announcements. Oddly enough, Nintendo remains sitting prettily and quietly. Have they got no plans to launch their defenses in light of the current happenings? Apparently, no, they don't.

With Sony and Microsoft making such big headliners back in E3, the aftermath has left Nintendo a bit unsung. Worry not though, that's what the Weekend Warrior is for, so you can get a quick recap of all things Nintendo that hit the scene this week. Hardware is the name of the game for the past few days, and so we have a one for a pedometer, motion-sensors, and a lie detector.

This week is heavy on the Wii. We've got publishers and first party devs all looking to pack more games for the Wii. There's Bethesda and their big plan, XSEED and their Ju-on game, some from Capcom, and even a dead rumor rises from the grave to come to the Wii. To cut a long story short, the Nintendo Wii is gonna get swarmed by new games in 2009. There's some good news for the DS and the homebrew side too, so be sure to read up on the recap, brought to you by the Nintendo Weekend Warrior.

Ever wondered what a Guitar Hero title would be like if Video Games Live had their own version too? That's where VideoGamesHero for the DS comes in - and it's actually homebrew! You get to play songs from Ocarina, Final Fantasy, Metroid, R-Type... There's over 60 songs to choose from! More details and a video demo in the full article!

Download: VideoGamesHero Update 1 (Full Version)
Download: VideoGamesHero Update 1 (Patch)

What enters your mind when you hear the word "gamer"? Chances are you're a gamer yourself, so your answer's pretty different compared to a non-gamer's. According to Dawn Paine, Nintendo UK Head of Marketing, a non-gamer's definition of a "typical" gamer is a "long haired nerd, screaming as he gripped a control pad."

To address this, Paine aims to bring in a new type of gamer, one that would stand for "self development, health, beauty and fitness" with their Touch! Generation software. More in the full article.

Penny Arcade's Child's Play, a five-year-old fundraising outfit that started out dedicated only to the Seattle Children's Hospital, has now evolved into a full-time charity drive.

Child's Play is now extending its reach throughout North America and five countries. Major online retailer Amazon is also giving Child's Play a boost-up by letting participating hospitals create wishlists of items to give to children.

Read more about Child's Play at the full article link below!

 

If you've been playing Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and have been scanning and tinkering with everything in sight, you must have noticed a cryptic little hint about the highly-speculated Super Metroid sequel for the Nintendo DS, namely Metroid Dread. Many others have picked up on that, blowing the rumor completely up into the air - and it's not exactly hard to see why. After all, with twice the screens and touch-screen capability, wouldn't it be logical of Nintendo to make one?

Unfortunately for us, Nintendo's released a statement that pretty much dashes any hope of portable Metroid happy. Yes, they've come out with it:

Nintendo is not making the 2D Metroid at this point in time.

Short, blunt, and heart-breakingly direct to the point. Although, it's to note that they said "at this point in time." So it means that they're not making it yet, which presents the possibility of them making it in the near future. Maybe tomorrow, maybe next week - maybe even this week. But definitely not today. Who knows? One thing's for sure, though, a Super Metroid sequel on the DS would be totally awesome.

Nintendo is aiming for all walks of life with innovative gaming machines that are easy to pick up and play. The number of casual gamers are multiplying at an unprecedented rate, and even your grandma who thought a joystick was a demonic object is probably now interested in training her brain or cooking with a Stylus.

Expanding the user base isn't a bad thing at all, and today is a lot better than before when gamers were rare, but what of the hardcore who would frown at digital crossword puzzles or next-gen tamagotchi?

"The hardcore gamers will always be important to Nintendo," said Nintendo Australia Marketing Manager Greg Arthurton to IGN. While Ninty is dishing out countless of light-hearted titles to attract the non-gamer, Arthurton stressed out that the big N won't turn tails on loyalists that followed Nintendo since the early days.

He expressed disappointment after hearing that some hardcore fans feel they're being left behind since all the buzz is on casuals. Arthurton reassured that "there is no way we're taking our eye off the core gamer unit." Fingers were pointed at Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Mario Kart Wii, and other upcoming titles as peace offerings for the core gamer.

Arthurton went on saying there is no fear for the hardcore market to shrink with such games coming soon. One would notice that all the games he mentioned were spin-offs from franchises of old, but he named Animal Crossing, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, and Hotel Dusk: Room 215 as relatively new brands that will cater to both core and casual gamer alike.

Anyway, if you want to know how the entire interview with Greg Arthurton went, feel free to click the Read link below.

Are you a casual gamer or a hardcore gamer? Do you like your games short, sweet, pick-up-and-play, or immersive and borderline masochistic? Whatever your answer, Nintendo's got your fix, with an assorted summer lineup for the Nintendo DS and the Nintendo Wii that's sure to satisfy any player, no matter how hard your core or casual your playstyle is.

What's most exciting about the summer lineup? Let's just take a look-see: Mario Strikers Charged, that's for the Wii, available on July 30. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption's another highly anticipated title for the Wii, as well. Not sure about High School Musical: Sing It, though - cheery upbeat high school musical simulator?

For the Nintendo DS, it's Brain Training 2 and Picross DS, both very good mind-sharpening games in their own right. Now who says that games rot your brain? They very well don't! Of course, the third chapter in the ever-so-popular Phoenix Wright series - Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations - will be out in September. A very good summer indeed.

In any case, here's the summer lineup. Mark your calendars!

Wii

• July 30 Mario Strikers Charged
  
• Aug. 20 Metroid Prime 3 Corruption
  
• September Battalion Wars 2 Nintendo
• Aug. 14 High School Musical: Sing It!
  
• Aug. 14 Madden NFL '08
  
• August Tiger Woods PGA Tour '08
  
• August Space Station Tycoon
  
• August Brunswick Pro Bowling
  
• August Dave Mirra BMX Challenge
  
• August Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection
  
• September Brothers in Arms
  
• September Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal
  
• September George of the Jungle
  
• Fall Boogie
  

The summer lineup for the Nintendo DS after the jump!

It's about time video game title Metroid Prime Pinball hits the European continent. The game has been available in North America for around two years already and it is only now that developer Fuse Games and Nintendo decided to ship the game overseas.

Basically, the title is a pinball game set in the sci-fi Metroid universe. So expect every table here to be Metroid Prime-themed; and players will be controlling Samus Aran in her morphed ball form. The game will have numerous flippers and will allow players to tilt tables and bend the rules a bit.

The game itself comes with a free Rumble Pak that will vibrate with every bump and explosion. Needless to say, Metroid Prime Pinball offers a single player mode, but more importantly, it also allows up to seven others playing simultaneously using Nintendo DS's wireless capability in Wireless Mission mode.

The Multi Mission mode, on the other hand, invites players to unlock our bonus tables based on worlds from the franchise. Metroid Prime Pinball will be available in Europe on June 22 for 40 Euros or roughly around US$ 54.