Some guys get all the breaks

I have to say, sometimes I feel a bit miffed that outlets like MTV are able to scoop the dedicated gaming press. MTV is hardly hardcore when it comes to gaming, yet now and then they score exclusive interviews with the industry's movers and shakers. Oh, well--c'est la vie, right?

So, MTV scored a bit of a coup when they were granted an interview with Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto during last week's GDC. Not only that, but the media monster formerly known for playing music video 24/7 got the man who created Mario to spill a few before-unseen beans, if you know what I mean.

For example, the astute interview got Miyamoto to share that, in their free time, the development team that worked on The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess played with the idea of integrating Miis into the Zelda universe. I'd like to see what that looked like!

Also, Miyamoto discusses the possibility of playing a Mario game with just one hand and much, much more. Thumbs up to the writer for asking "outside the box" questions--and being rewarded with some previously-unheard-of answers!

Hands on: Heroes of Mana

Nintendo fan site Cubed3 just posted a great hands-on write-up of the upcoming Heroes of Mana. Sounds like the game plays along the lines of Warcraft--an interesting twist for the series, if ever there was one.

The game certainly looks stunning to these eyes, and that alone has it on my "must buy" list. Now if only Square-Enix would announce the darn thing for the U.S.

Is Sony retooling the PSP?

Rumors have been flying for some time that Sony is going to follow in Nintendo's footsteps and offer up and retooled (smaller, lighter, sexier) version of its PSP portable system. Although Sony has thus far denied anything of the sort is on the drawing board, a recent comment from the head of the company's UK subsidiary has fans assuming the makeover will come sooner rather than later.

Ray Maguire let the comment slip during a Q&A at the launch of Sony's PSP in Education, a new project that hopes to put Sony consoles into the classroom. When asked if there are any plans to change the PSP's somewhat bulky, heavy current form, Maguire said that "in light of the company's previous redesigns of both the PSone and PS2, it was certainly possible that Sony would make a more streamlined PSP."

Celebrity Miis invade Japan

Nintendo sure does like to surprise us Wii owners. Quite a few of the Wii Channels have been revealed to gamers without much notice--the latest example being the hand-scratching Everybody Votes channel.

Hot on the heels of the big N's GDC announcement that another new channel will be coming our way soon, a new commercial airing in the Land of the Rising Sun has let it slip that a slew of celebrity-endorsed Miis soon will be available for download.

Comedian and TV personality Akashiya Sanma and former tennis player Shuuzou Matsuoka are the first two celebrities to be given the Mii treatment in Japan. Both will be sent to players connected to Japan's WiiConnect24 service soon. No word if others will follow suit, but it's a pretty good bet it will happen.

I wonder which celebrities will be cloned here in the States?

Hajime no Ippo: A Nintendo Knockout?

Here's a little something I haven't admitted until today: I've never played the boxing portion of Wii Sports. Oh, I've put in plenty of time on the game's other offerings (tennis, bowling, baseball and golf), but have yet to try boxing. I guess I've just read so many ho-hum reviews of it that I decided it wasn't worth my time. I'm also just not a big fan of the sport.

That said, I've been intrigued by Nintendo's full-fledged boxing game for the Wii, Hajime no Ippo, for some time. I'm not sure why--it's probably due to the anime-inspired visuals. Although early word on the street hasn't been much more positive than Nintendo's earlier entrance into the boxing ring, I've held out hope that Nintendo would localize it for the U.S. market so I could give it a go.

I doubt that's going to happen, so in the meantime all I (and you) can do is sit down and watch this latest video of the game in action. In my opinion it looks even better in motion than it did in stills.