I think it’s great that Sega is committed to putting out games for core gamers. With so many publishers pumping out tedious mini-game collections or bland casual games, it’s nice that someone is really taking the Wii seriously as a gaming platform, especially since even Nintendo often gives short shrift to core gaming.

Now that I’ve praised Sega, I’m going to go ahead and trash their new first person shooter, The Conduit.

Read the review.

This time of year I find myself previewing a lot of games, so I created a 2009 Wii Game Preview Guide with links to this year's previews.

Some people love working out at the gym. There is something about the sweat and strain that just makes them feel good. I am not one of these people; I work out not because I enjoy it, but because in between workouts I feel stronger and less prone to aches and pains. EA Sports Active is just like working out in the gym; it makes me sweat, it works my muscles and it’s not the least little bit of fun.

Read the Full Review

In an Wired article titled Top 10 Raw Deals for Gamers, item 3 refers to Nintendo sitting on quality games. Their first example: Fatal Frame IV: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse. I was horrified to discover that Nintendo has the publishing rights to this game yet has no plans to bring it to the U.S.

This is outrageous. Co-developed by Tecmo, who developed the other games in the terrific Fatal Frame survival-horror series, and Grasshopper, the innovative folks behind Killer 7 and No More Heroes, Fatal Frame IV is exactly the sort of game those of us complaining about the dearth of good Wii games want to see. Nintendo keeps claiming they care about "core" gamers, but this is a pretty clear indicator that they are more interested in mediocre casual games than in making the Wii a platform for all gamers. (Core gamers are far better served on the Wii by Sega, who has put out several strong games).

Someone has created a petition demanding the game's release outside of Japan (they refer to it as Project Zero, but it's the same game). I don't know how much good petitions do, but I still signed it.

For shame, Nintendo, for spiking one of the most promising Wii games available.