Next week's Rock Band DLC pack from thrash metal rockers Megadeth may be called "Megadeth Pack 01," but they've been on the store before.. Previously available, full albums include "Peace Sells...But Who's Buying?" and "Rust in Peace."

Continue Reading

The Metal Gear Solid 3D demo arrives today, accompanied by relatively big news on the Virtual Console! The first NES Ambassador game for 3DS is now available for purchase by non-Ambassadors! Super Mario Bros. is on the eShop now for five bucks. And if you already have it through the Ambassador Program, you can get a free update to add multiplayer and save states!

There's also news for the Wii's Virtual Console: the Genesis version of Strider can be purchased today. We hadn't heard about a Genesis VC game in a while, so we looked into it. As far as we can tell, this is the first Genesis game on Wii in North America since Sonic & Knuckles, on February 15, 2010. It's been two years and a day since the last Genesis VC release.

In fact, this appears to be the first Wii Virtual Console release of any kind since The Ignition Factor six months ago. Enjoy it! This doesn't happen very often.

Continue Reading

Bored with experiencing Hulu Plus through the same old ... interfaces? Get rid of that Hulu Plus ennui with Hulu Plus on Wii. Nintendo announced that the service is now available through the Wii in the US as of today.

Users can download the Hulu app through the Wii Shop Channel for free, and then subscribe for $7.99 a month to watch television shows and movies. Through the first month of the app's availability, new users can redeem a two-week free trial of the service.

A 3DS version is due "later this year." We apologize for the "Hulu Plus ennui" joke and the lengths to which we had to go to make it.

Continue Reading

Ace Attorney, feature-length film, is hitting North American shores this June at the AM2 (anime, manga and music) convention in Anaheim, California. Ace Attorney, directed by Ichi the Killer's Takashi Miike, debuted as a feature film in Japan earlier this month.

AM2 will hold two exclusive screenings at the Anaheim Convention Center, one for passport holders only and one with pass holders preferred and general audience as seating permits. The AM2 convention runs from June 15-17.

While this isn't exactly a widespread theatrical release for Ace Attorney, it does open the doors for US screenings. Keep your eyes on your local independent theaters for a chance to see all the cartoony flair (and hair) of Phoenix Wright in reality.

Continue Reading

Ubisoft announced big numbers for two of its major franchises in its latest earnings report -- two franchises that, dare we say it, are crying out for a crossover. The publisher reported a "near-30% increase" in dance game sales, including more than 13 million units shipped of its dance games -- a group including multiple Just Dances, and various celebrity "The Experience" games.

Assassin's Creed Revelations, the forty-third Assassin's Creed game starring Ezio, hit "close to 7 million sell-in units," exceeding internal forecasts and, according to Ubisoft, hitting the #7 spot in worldwide sales for the year.

That should provide a clue as to why Ubisoft is continuing the franchise with Assassin's Creed 3, in which Desmond has to prepare for a date by reliving Ezio's advanced dance lessons. Okay, that last part was just us dreaming of a crossover again.

You waited too long. It was only a couple bucks, but you thought, "I have time. It'll always be there. I'll get to it eventually." But now you can't download Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the Virtual Console and your world is destroyed.

Honestly, it was a weird goal to have, but we didn't want to say anything. In each and every region, it seems the turtles have retreated from the Virtual Console. Nintendo World Report reports Konami cited an "expired license," the same issue that claimed TMNT Turtles in Time Re-Shelled.

There's no word on whether the turtles will return to the surface any time soon, so we've contacted Konami for more.

Pandora's Tower is the next European Wii RPG release for us all to be jealous of. Following this month's The Last Story, Pandora's Tower will arrive in Europe on April 13, ensuring an oddly impressive 2012 Wii lineup for the region.

Pandora's Tower is an action-RPG game in which soldier "Aeron" traverses a series of towers to gather monster meat with his magical sword and chain, and then feeds the aforementioned flesh to his cursed friend Elena. Yikes.

Speaking of "yikes," Nintendo chose to mark the announcement with a set of grotesque Pandora's Tower-themed Valentine e-cards. You can view them in the gallery or download them from Nintendo, for any relationships you need to end.

Rovio, the people sprinkling stale bread behind Angry Birds, received the Property of the Year prize at the 12th annual Toy of the Year awards (yeah, that's totally a thing). Rovio won based on the massive amount of Angry Birds physical merchandise it's released over the past two years, which includes plush toys, backpacks, clothing, phone cases and bacon. OK, not bacon, but Rovio has branded almost every other item imaginable.

"Our physical goods business has great momentum just now," Ville Heijari, Rovio's VP of franchise development, told Develop. "It's especially interesting to see many app and social game devs emulate the merchandising strategy that Rovio has been pushing with Angry Birds for the last two years."

Continue Reading

Lucasfilm has renewed its licensing deal with the Lego Group for 10 more years, meaning if you have a kid right now he can grow up with a guaranteed supply of Lego Star Wars video games and toys. If you don't have a kid any time soon, look at this as an opportunity to delay growing up for another decade.

Lego is currently developing products based on Star Wars: The Old Republic, and will be following up its most recent Lego Star Wars video game, The Clone Wars, some time during the next 10 years, we'd guess. The Lego Star Wars series has sold more than 30 million units worldwide since its launch in 2005.