This Week in the Nintendo eShop
It's a weird week when the marquee title is a little appreciated Nintendo 64 game from 1999. That's right, you can now play Donkey Kong 64 on your Wii U, if you're so inclined. You can also download the pair of new StreetPass games on 3DS. If you want something a little more original, the 3DS puzzle game Dooors seems intriguing. Of course, you can't go wrong with the latest Sega 3D classic, which is a juiced-up version of Fantasy Zone II.
Donkey Kong 64 ($9.99)
So Donkey Kong 64 is finally here, performing for you. If you know the words, you can join in, too. Put your hands together (if you want to clap) as we take you through this 1999 Rare-developed adventure. D.K. Donkey Kong. He's the leader of the bunch, you know him well. He's finally back on the Virtual Console to kick some tail. His coconut gun can fire in spurts; if he shoots ya, it's gonna hurt. He's bigger, faster, and stronger, too. He's the first member of the DK Crew.
EA Sports Reveals When Madden NFL 16 Will Launch
Madden NFL 16 is development and will launch on August 25, EA Sports announced today.
Details are currently slim about the fresh instalment in EA’s long-running football sim but it plans on revealing more news, features and details beginning in May. Today’s announcement comes shortly before the 2015 NFL draft that is set to take off on April 30.
For more on the Madden NFL franchise, check out our review of the last title in the series, Madden NFL 2015. We thought it felt like a mostly fresh start for the series and its defence revamp went a long way toward reviving the excitement of football.
Star Wars: Is Finn a Jedi?
Concept art on the show floor at Star Wars Celebration appears to reveal a startling detail about Finn, a new character in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. A lightsaber is clearly visible in a holder on his jacket.
Finn, (portrayed by John Boyega) has appeared in both Star Wars teaser trailers wearing stormtrooper armor. Earlier today, a panel at Celebration confirmed that Finn is a stormtrooper for at least some portion of the story. However, Finn is also depicted in the second trailer wearing civilian-style clothes alongside Daisy Ridley's character Rey and droid BB-8. His on-screen costume closely matches both the concept art and a costume on display at Celebration, which clearly includes the same saber holder straps.
Twilight Zone/Rod Serling Exhibit Opens
A Twilight Zone exhibit that houses original props from the classic anthology series has opened-up in the hometown of creator Rod Serling.
The exhibit, which opened Wednesday at the Bundy Museum of History and Art in Binghampton, New York, includes hundreds of Twilight Zone props/memorabilia that fans can personally handle -- including the original Cobra Phone.
All the Twilight Zone/Serling memorabilia was collected by volunteer curator Mike Pipher over the course of 40 years. Some items on display include signed photos, movie posters, scripts, film books and Serling letters.
You Have to See This New Star Wars Costumes Gallery
Star Wars Celebration kicked off this morning with a new teaser trailer that left no fan unteased, and costumes and models from the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens are on display.
Some of the name plates that accompany the costumes and models show off the alleged new names for the Star Wars forces. The Empire is now "First Order" while the Rebel Alliance is the "Resistance."
We've got boots on the ground for the entirety of this huge celebration of all things Star Wars, so make sure you keep it right here at IGN for all the Star Wars news you can shake a lightsaber at.
Star Wars: Then and Now
In addition to an on-stage appearance from Mark Hamill and a real-life look at BB-8, the second teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens dropped today during Star Wars Celebration's opening panel.
Director J.J. Abrams is a self-proclaimed fanboy of the film franchise, so you can expect plenty of nods to the older films. In fact, the new footage that was revealed today features a number of striking parallels to the earlier movies. As such, we've hand picked a number images from the teaser and put them up against the Star Wars of old.
The Fall of an Empire? Star Wars Opposing Forces Have New Names
Folks on the floor at the Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim are noticing the Empire is no longer referred to as such. Instead, it's being referred to as "First Order." And the Rebels have also had a change of name, and are now referred to as "Resistance."
Technically the Rebels are the Alliance to Restore the Republic, and the Empire also has several different names, including the First Galactic Empire, New Order, Palapatine's New Order, the Old Empire, the First Galactic Empire, and the Imperium.
RiffTrax Takes on The Room
Fathom Events, RiffTrax and IGN are teaming up for a live-presentation of The Room, with commentary from hosts (and original Mystery Science Theater 3000 guys) Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett. The now-classic B-movie, with RiffTrax commentary included, will debut tomorrow at the Tribeca Film Festival.
The first nationwide screening of RiffTrax Live: The Room is slated for May 6, with an encore presentation scheduled for May 12. You can pick up tickets over at Fathom's website. Check out a very special video shout-out from the RiffTrax guys right here (if you can handle the heat):
Battlefield: Hardline Leads Sales of Games for March
According to the NPD group, Battlefield: Hardline was the top selling game for the month of March. It beat out Bloodborne and Grand Theft Auto V to claim the title.
The top 10 selling games for March were:
- Battlefield: Hardline (Xbox One, PlayStation 4, 360, PS3, PC)
- Bloodborne (PS4)
- Grand Theft Auto V (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3)
- Mario Party 10 (Wii U) (sold 290,000 copies physical and digital, according to Nintendo)
- Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, PC)
- MLB 15: The Show (PS4, PS3)
- Minecraft (360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4)
- NBA 2K15 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, PC)
March’s Top-Selling Console Was…
PlayStation 4 was March's top-selling console, according to NPD sales results.
"We are truly honored PlayStation 4 is the top selling console and #1 in software sales again according to NPD sales data for March 2015," a statement from Sony Computer Entertainment revealed. "PS4 remains the cumulative sales leader both globally and in the United States and we want to thank gamers worldwide for their ongoing support."
On the Nintendo front, total 3DS hardware sales this year have increased approximately 80 percent when compared to the first quarter of last year. As for Wii U, Nintendo's tablet-centric console has seen over a 20 percent year-over-year increase in Q1 hardware sales.