Super Mario Kart Putts or Speeds - Hours Debut

Coffee Beans:
     Super Mario Kart was originally released on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in North America on September 1, 1992.  It had previously been released in Japan on August 27, 1992 and later in Europe on January 21, 1993.
     Super Mario Kart was re-released on the Wii's Virtual Console service in North America on November 23, 2009 and can be downloaded for just 800 Wii Points.  The game received an "Everyone" rating from the ESRB, and has no "Content" listed for parents to be aware of.

     Did the Virtual Console release of Super Mario Kart putt or speed its way onto the Nintendo Channel?  Let's take a look!

A Year's Worth of Data - Monster Hunter Tri

Coffee Beans
Monster Hunter Tri released on April 20, 2010 as a Wii exclusive, with a MSRP of $49.99 for a "Standard" software only version, and a Classic Controller Pro bundle with a MSRP of $59.99.

While the Classic Controller Pro bundle of Monster Hunter Tri is no longer widely distributed, the software version is, and it has seen several price drops since it released.  The software only version of Monster Hunter Tri now has a list price of just $29.99 on Amazon.com.

How many hours have Wii owners spent hunting monsters near Moga Village in the last year, with 371 days reported?  Let's take a look!

Red Steel Giveaway Update - Check Your Email!

If you entered the Red Steel giveaway I posted a few weeks back, the time to enter has closed.  If you're wondering "Who WON!?"  Well, if you entered the giveaway, please check your email.

The Force Is Strong - LEGO Star Wars III Report

Coffee Beans:
     LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars was released on March 22, 2011 on the Wii, with a MSRP of $49.99.

     The game was developed by Traveller's Tales, and published by LucasArts.  LEGO Star Wars III received an "Everyone 10+" rating from the ESRB, with "Cartoon Violence, Crude Humor" listed as content for parents to be aware of.

     How many hours have Wii owners reported trying to keep the galaxy free of tyranny, with 35 days of battle reported?  Let's take a look!

The Dance Fitness-Party Arrives - Zumba Fitness' Data Report

Coffee Beans:
     Zumba Fitness was released on the Wii on November 18, 2010 with a MSRP of $39.99.  It received an "Everyone" rating from the ESRB with "Mild Lyrics" listed as content for parents to be aware of.
     Zumba Fitness was developed by Pipeworks Software and published by Majesco.  Zumba Fitness is also available on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

     How many hours have Wii owners spent getting into shape with the "calorie-burning dance fitness-party" found in Zumba Fitness?  Let's take a look!

A PS3 FPS Release Date Confirmed - Move Support, 60+ Maps...

Coffee Beans:
     I'm now pleased to say that PS3 owners will only have to wait a little while longer to play a new FPS that has Sony Move(and Navigation) support, 60+ maps, a map editor, online multi-player, as well as a solid single-player offering.
     What game am I talking about, and when will it release?

FPS Friday: Greg Hastings Paintball 2 - Super X Studios Interview Part II

Coffee Beans:
     If you missed Part I of the interview with Super X Studios' President, James Thrush, you can read that HERE.
     Part II of the interview is below, and it is the remaining portion of the interview with James Thrush.

Interview Q&A Part II:
CoffeeWithGames:  The players/teams in Greg Hastings Paintball 2 are all real-world paintball players, correct?  What was the process of deciding which real-world players/teams made it into the game?

James Thrush:  Absolutely, every one of them (except for one cat!).  We set up a photo booth at several large paintball events for a year or so during development, and opened it up to any teams and players who wanted to be in the game.  They just had to sign a release and stats form, and get their picture taken.  We wound up with 1,262 people in the game!  We did it partially to add authenticity, but also as a giant thank-you to the paintball community.  I mean, who doesn't want to be in a video game?!?

The Wii's Last Fatality - Mortal Kombat Armageddon

Coffee Beans:
     Mortal Kombat Armageddon was released almost 4 years ago now, on May 29, 2007 for the Wii.  The game had a MSRP of $49.99 when it first released, and was rated "Mature" by the ESRB, with "Blood and Gore, Intense Violence" listed as content for parents to be aware of.

     Mortal Kombat Armageddon was developed by Just Games Interactive(now Kung Fu Factory), and published by Midway Games(now bankrupt/out-of-business).

     How many hours have Wii owners reported, possibly attempting fatalities, playing Mortal Kombat Armageddon with 1,421 days of game-play reported, before Mortal Kombat's release this past Tuesday on the PS3 and Xbox 360?  Let's take a look!

Hours in The Conduit

Coffee Beans:
     The Conduit was released on June 23, 2009 as a Wii exclusive.  The game had a lot of coverage/hype leading up to its release, and its developer, HVS, was very active in promoting the game.
     I was excited about the game, especially with the idea of fully customizable FPS controls on the Wii.  I reserved the game, and picked it up day one.  I beat the single-player campaign four complete times, accomplished the "achievements" in the game, and I spent more than 100 hours with the game's online multi-player; but then I traded it off, and then got it back again!

     While the game wasn't perfect, it resulted with a game engine and foundation for HVS to build off of.  It was revealed in March 2010 that HVS was working on a sequel to The Conduit, Conduit 2, which just released yesterday.

     How many hours have Wii owners reported playing The Conduit, with 665 days of game-play reported before Conduit 2 released?  Let's take a look!

Hours of Horror! Resident Evil Archives: Resident Evil

Coffee Beans
Resident Evil Archives: Resident Evil was released on the Wii on June 23, 2009 with a MSRP of just $29.99.  The game was developed and published by Capcom, and received an ESRB rating of "Mature", with "Blood and Gore, Violence" listed as content for parents to be aware of.

A brief portion of the game's description reads, "Resident Evil Archives gives Wii gamers the opportunity to play classic Resident Evil games they may have missed at a great value price.  Experience the beginning of the Resident Evil saga with the remake of the game that started the survival horror genre, Resident Evil."

How many hours have Wii owners spent exploring the horrific mansion in Resident Evil Archives: Resident Evil with 665 days spent at the mansion?  Let's take a look!

FPS Friday - FEATURE Interview! Greg Hastings Paintball 2 - Part I

Coffee Beans:
     After I finished playing Greg Hastings Paintball 2's Career mode a few weeks back, I contacted the developer of the game, Super X Studios.  I was really impressed by the amount of content in the game, and you can watch my "Video Preview and Impressions" of the game HERE!

     Not only did the developer respond to my email, but Greg Hastings himself, responded!  I ended up sending over some questions to Super X Studios about the game, and to Greg Hastings as well.  Being that there were multiple questions/answers, I'm splitting the interviews up over a few weeks, that way they don't get lost after just one post.
     So, if have a question about Greg Hastings Paintball 2, and it's not answered in this portion, definitely leave a comment and I can let you know if it'll perhaps be posted in the next few weeks.

     Part I of the interview is below, and this portion is with Super X Studios' James Thrush (JT).  So, without further delay, let's get started!

Interview Q&A:

CoffeeWithGames:  First, thanks for taking the time for the interview.  Can you tell the readers a little about what you do at Super X Studios, and how you were involved in developing Greg Hastings Paintball 2?

James Thrush:  I'm James Thrush, founder and President of Super X Studios.  I've known Greg for six years now - I got the chance to help out on the original Greg Hastings Tournament Paintball games for the Xbox and PS2, and fell in love with the franchise.  When it was time to make the sequel, and the previous developers bowed out, Greg came to me and it was an easy sell to get us on board!

Greg Hastings Paintball 2 - Video Preview and Impressions

Coffee Beans
Last September, I received a package in the mail from Majesco Entertainment. Inside the package was a copy of Greg Hastings Paintball 2, for the Wii.  If you just started following my blog in the last few months, you may have missed my previous posts about Greg Hastings Paintball 2, but I have them listed below for you!
     1)  Quick Brew Preview: Greg Hastings Paintball 2 (Wii)
     2)  Greg Hastings Paintball 2: X-Ball Round
     3)  Greg Hastings Paintball 2: Online Multi-player Match
     4)  Greg Hastings Paintball 2 - 4 vs 4 Online CTF Matches
     5)  Greg Hastings Paintball 2 - Local Multi-Player Footage & Thoughts

Filtered Thoughts
I finished the "Career Mode" in Greg Hastings Paintball 2 on March 30 this year, and I was really impressed by the amount of content in the game, so I decided to make video on it.

I started editing the video together last Thursday night, and what I thought would be a 2 day project, turned into basically a 7 day project.


As I said in the video, if anybody has any questions about Greg Hastings Paintball 2 on the Wii, that I didn't answer in the video, or previous posts; please leave a comment on this post with your question, or send an email to Scott(@)CoffeewithGames.com(remove the ( ) from around the @).

Also, if you liked the video, or didn't like something in the video, please leave a comment/feedback letting me know.

Questions
Have any of you played Greg Hastings Paintball 2 on the Wii or Xbox 360?  If so, what are your thoughts on the game?  If you haven't played it, are you perhaps looking at getting the game when it releases on the PS3 soon?

If you're interested in Greg Hastings Paintball 2, you can see prices for the Wii and Xbox 360 versions on Amazon.com linked below:
  

5 Years Ago, This Day...and GIVEAWAY!

Coffee Beans:
     Before we knew it as the Wii, we knew it as the Revolution.  In March of 2006, there were rumblings of a FPS being developed for Nintendo's next console.  Screenshots were even leaked/scanned from magazines, and it was said that Ubisoft was developing it.
     Well, on April 11, 2006, 5 years this day(Tuesday), not today, Ubisoft officially made the announcement, with a press release, that they were developing Red Steel for the Revolution.

     A portion of the press release said, "Today Ubisoft...announced the development of Red Steel, an exclusive first-person action title for the Nintendo Revolution(working name of the new Nintendo platform).  Red Steel is set in modern-day Japan.  Players will master both the ancient art of the katana and the sophisticated technology of modern firearms taking advantage of the emotion and immersive gameplay possible only with the Revolution's remarkable controller."

Filtered Thoughts:
     Red Steel seems to be one of those games with a very love/hate type of relationship with gamers.  I rented the game first, because of the wide range of review scores.  I found that even with some control issues, the game was fun and I enjoyed it enough to play through it at least twice.  I would say at its current prices, used or new, the game is worth a try...or at the least, a rental.

Does that "Drinks" machine have any coffee!

     So, to put money where my mouth is, I'm giving away a copy of Red Steel for the Wii.

GoldenEye 007 - New List Price and Sale!

Coffee Beans:
     GoldenEye 007 was released on November 2, 2010 as an exclusive for the Nintendo Wii.  The game released with two versions: a standard software only version with a MSRP of $49.99, and a Golden Classic Controller Pro bundle with a MSRP of $69.99.  Well, it appears one online retailer has jumped the gun, and already lowered GoldenEye 007's "List Price" for the software version only.

     While browsing Amazon.com, I noticed they had(still have) the standard GoldenEye 007 software version on sale for $29.99!  I thought that was an incredible price, and then I noticed the "List Price:" that Amazon.com shows for the game.  Amazon.com now has "List Price: 39.99", instead of the original $49.99.  You can see it in the picture below:

Click to enlarge

Filtered Thoughts:
     I think it's very interesting seeing Amazon.com being the first retailer to lower GoldenEye 007's "List Price" down to $39.99.  It's only been 5 months since GoldenEye 007 was released, and I wonder if this is Amazon.com just making a price drop move first on GoldenEye 007, or if they are following instructions from Activision.  I think it's interesting that Call of Duty: Black Ops on the Wii still has its original "List Price" of $49.99.
     Anyway, if you haven't seen any footage of GoldenEye 007's online multi-player, below is a video of a Team Conflict match on GoldenEye 007's Memorial map:


     Dustin, from MyLittleGamer.Blogspot.com, was on my team in the video above, and his name was Elephantman.
     If you already own GoldenEye 007 and play it online any, feel free to add my friend code to your list.  My friend code is: 2043-7355-3797.

Questions:
     Does GoldenEye 007's new list price of $39.99 make you more likely to buy it if you haven't purchased it? Or, did you already click "Add to Cart" and get the game for $29.99?

If you're interested in GoldenEye 007, you can see both bundles on Amazon.com linked below:
  

Metroid: Other M Crosses A Million...

Coffee Beans:
     We last looked at Metroid: Other M's game-play hours as they were reported on November 29.  You can read that full report HERE.

     How many hours have Wii owners spent playing Metroid: Other M in the last 127 days reported?  Let's take a look!

Amazon.com Leaks Nintendo 3DS Redesign!

Coffee Beans

Last night I was browsing Amazon.com's video games section putting a list together of video games that were on sale.  I decided to check the 3DS games and systems, and saw that Amazon was offering a $25 3DS Game Credit when you purchase the system.  While I was getting the links for the 3DS systems, I clicked on the Aqua Blue 3DS system, and something really different stood out about its picture.  Take a look for yourself:

Image captured from Amazon.com

Amazon.com has a history of leaking products and services, before they're released and even known about.  On January 29th of this year,

March Brewed, April Brewing - Coffees Consumed, Games Played

Coffee Beans:
     Happy April Fools!  March has been brewed and consumed, like a good pot of coffee; though there were a few bitter moments(delayed flight and major car repair!)...like coffee left sitting around too long!  If you missed the post earlier in March, the Reader Points page is updated through February, and March's Reader Points should be up by Monday.
     With April upon us, let's take a look back at the coffees I consumed and games I played, during March!

Coffees Consumed in March: