Laser Sharks

The Wii version of Rock Band, with its sleek white drums and wireless guitar, will release this June. The Wii version will even feature five additional songs that were not included on the other consoles - “Roxanne” by The Police, “Don’t Look Back In Anger” by Oasis, “Roam” by The B-52s, “My Dirty Little Secret” by The All-American Rejects, and “Rockaway Beach” by The Ramones. While these songs are not included off the shelf for the Xbox 360 or PS3, they are available as downloadable content.

Sounds great, but this is where the Wii version drops the ball on one of the major benefits to the other consoles’ versions of Rock Band. Rock Band Wii will not offer downloadable content. A Harmonix representative confirmed to Shacknews that

“The Wii edition of Rock Band will not include online multiplayer or support for downloadable content.”

1Up is also confirming this

“It’s a major bummer that the Wii version of Rock Band will not have online play or downloadable content. We can live without online play, but the lack of downloadable tunes is a big blow to Wii owners, especially when Harmonix releases three new songs every week for the other versions.”

Yes, it’s true, not only will you not be able to download new songs to your Wii, your best friend 1423-2344-5355 and you will not be able to play online.

Rock Band has had a steady flow of downloadable content since it first launched for Xbox 360 and PS3. In fact, those two versions have combined for over 6,000,000 downloads. Averaging somewhere between $1.50 to $2.00 per song, Rock Band has made a killing off of these downloads.

Why will the Wii not offer downloads and online play? Laser Sharks has been unable to find an explanation for this. It appears this is simply a case of Nintendo’s Friend Code strategy.

Popularity: 36% [?]

The Wiimote is arguably the best accessory every created for a Nintendo console. The Power Glove is one of the worst, second only to R.O.B. (Virtual Boy does not count as an accessory). The Power Glove, although it is certainly the coolest Nintendo accessory, sucked because it was basically only a controller glued to a glove and did none of the things that you envisioned when you saw an ad in Nintendo Power or watched The Wizard.

Nintendo should combine the best accessory with the coolest accessory to form the Wii Power Glove. Unfortunately, Nintendo isn’t always known for doing the obvious things. However, that didn’t stop one Nintendo fan from creating this awesome Wiimote Power Glove.

Popularity: 28% [?]

Nintendo’s Super Smash Brothers franchise has been wildly successful since its launch on the Nintendo 64. The original Nintendo 64 game sold approximately 2.5 million copies. Super Smash Brothers Melee, the Gamecube successor,  broke previous expectations garnering higher scores from game critics and selling just short of 4 million copies.

The latest entry to the Super Smash Brothers franchise certainly holds up well compared to its predecessors. Super Smash Brothers: Brawl has already sold 2.7 million copies. In the first month since its release, Brawl has outsold the entire run of the Nintendo 64 Version and sold over 70% of the units of the Smash Brothers game sold on Gamecube.

Below is the NPD data comparing each version’s sales.

Overall, Nintendo has had a great March. The video game powerhouse has the top selling game for the month of March with Super Smash Brothers.  Nintendo also had the two bestselling consoles worldwide - the Wii and the DS, which each sold about 700,000 units.

Popularity: 30% [?]

Take the following steps to unlock each of the 14 secret characters in Mario Kart Wii.Baby Daisy: Get a “One Star” rank or better in all 50cc cups.
Baby Luigi: Unlock eight Expert Staff Ghost Data in Time Trials mode.
Birdo: Play 16 different courses in Time Trials mode.
Bowser Jr.: Get a “One Star” rank or better in all 100cc Retro Cups.
Daisy: Win the 150cc Special Cup.
Diddy Kong: Successfully complete all 50cc Cups.
Dry Bones: Win the 100cc Leaf Cup.
Dry Bowser: Get a “One Star” rank or better in all 150cc Wii Cups.
Funky Kong: Unlock four Expert Staff Ghost Data in Time Trials mode.
King Boo: Win the 50cc Star Cup
Mii (Outfit A): Win the 100cc Special Cup.
Mii (Outfit B): Unlock all 32 Expert Staff Ghost Data in Time Trials mode.
Rosalina: Get a “One Star” rank or better in the 100cc Mushroom Cup. Alternately, have a saved game file from Super Mario Galaxy and win a number of races.
Toadette: Play on all 32 courses in Time Trials mode.

But there’s much more to be unlocked in Mario Kart Wii. The following lists show the rest of the unlockables:

Bonus bikes
Successfully complete the indicated task to unlock the corresponding bikes:

Bubble Bike (small): Win the Mirror Leaf Cup.
Dolphin Dasher (medium): Win the Mirror Star Cup.
Magikruiser (small): Play on eight different courses in Time Trials mode.
Nitrocycle (medium): Get a “One Star” rank or better in all 100cc Wii Grand Prix Cups.
Phantom (large): Win the Mirror Special Cup.
Quacker (small): Win the 150cc Star Cup.
Rapide (medium): Win the 100cc Lightning Cup.
Torpedo (large): Unlock 12 Expert Staff Ghost Data in Time Trials mode.
Twinkle Star (large): Win the 100cc Star Cup.

Bonus karts
Successfully complete the indicated task to unlock the corresponding karts:

Aero Glider (large): Get a “One Star” rank or better in all 150cc Retro Grand Prix Cups.
B Dasher Mk 2 (medium): Unlock 24 Expert Staff Ghosts.
Blue Falcon (small): Win the Mirror Lightning Cup.
Cheep Charger (small): Get a “One Star” rank or better in all 50cc Retro Grand Prix Cups.
Dragonetti (large): Win the 150cc Lightning Cup.
Glory (medium): Unlock 24 Expert Staff Ghost Data in Time Trials mode.
Piranha Prowler (large): Win the 50cc Special Cup.
Rally Romper (small): Unlock one Expert Staff Ghost Data in Time Trials mode.
Royal Racer (medium): Win the 150cc Leaf Cup.
Turbo Blooper (medium): Win the 50cc Leaf Cup.

Bonus Cups
Successfully complete the indicated task to unlock the corresponding Cup:

Star Cup: Successfully complete the Flower Cup with a trophy.
Special Cup: Successfully complete the Star Cup with a trophy.
Leaf Cup: Successfully complete the Banana Cup with a trophy.
Lightning Cup: Successfully complete the Leaf Cup with a trophy.

Mirror mode
Win all 150cc Cups to unlock Mirror mode.

Expert ghosts
Defeat a normal course ghost with a time at least seven seconds faster to unlock the expert ghost for that course.

Alternate title screen and ending sequence
Get a “One Star” rank or better in all Cups, including those in Mirror mode to unlock an alternate title screen and ending sequence.

Special credits
Win all trophies in a class to view the credits and see a congratulations screen featuring your Mii with Mario and Peach. Win all Grand Prix Cups to get another congratulations screen featuring your Mii with all the racers.

Quick start
When the countdown starts, wait until the “2″ begins to disappear, then hold 2 to get a boost at the start of the race.

Quick recovery
When you fall into an obstacle, press 2 precisely when you land to get a temporary boost.

Profile name stars
You can add a star next to your profile name on the results screen and the Wi-Fi races by completing all Grand Prix races with a certain rank:

One star profile name: Earn a “One Star” rank in all Grand Prix races.
Two star profile name: Earn a “Two Star” rank in all Grand Prix races.
Three star profile name: Earn a “Three Star” rank in all Grand Prix races.

Popularity: 54% [?]

Diddy Kong has finally made his way into Super Smash Bros.  To celebrate, Nintendo has announced two new special moves for Diddy Kong.

Standard Special Move: Peanut Popgun

It’s Diddy’s peanut shooter.  The peanut will go faster the longer you hold down the button.

Make sure not to hold the button too long.  If you do your gun will explode.

Diddy’s peanut shooter may be the only combination weapon/food source.  If the shell cracks, a peanut will come out.  Eat this for a health boost.

Up Special Move: Rocketbarrel Blast

You can charge up Diddy’s double-barreled jet pack for a longer boost

You can hold the control stick left or right while charging up to boost up at an angle

Be careful!  If you get attacked while using Rocketbarrel Boost, you will lose your barrels and they will crash to the ground.

Popularity: 34% [?]

Sorry about being away for so long.  Business trips and laziness have combined to make for some really bad posting.  I want to send out a special apology to Rob.  I know your day was not complete without the latest updates from Lasersharks.

There is an updated confirmed track list for Guitar Hero III.  Check it out here.

Popularity: 35% [?]

Fire Emblem’s Ike is making his debut in the Super Smash Bros. franchise in Brawl.  As we reported earlier, his finishing move is called Aether.

Aether starts with Ike throwing his sword in the air.

Ike then jumps up and catches his sword in midair.

He then plunges to the ground.

Ike is resistant to attacks after throwing his sword. 
He still takes damage, but his special move will not be interupted.

Ike also has another special attack called “Eruption.”

Popularity: 34% [?]

Xbox Live user OBsIV has created a mod that allows the Wii remote and nunchuk to be used on your Xbox 360. The Xbox 360 Input Machine (XIM) lets any PC input device work on the Xbox 360. Since the Wii controllers have already been hacked to work on a PC, this XIM mod allows them to be used. Here’s the original posting on teamxbox.com.

Here’s a wonderful video showing this mod in action with Halo 2…and it looks like it works more intuitively than current Wii FPS games.

Popularity: 35% [?]

The latest item confirmed to be in Super Smash Bros. Brawl is the smoke ball. Pick it and throw it at an opponent and they will, well, nothing really happens. All it does is release a plume of colored smoke to block an opponent’s vision.  It can be used to distract an enemy or conceal your moves from other players.  You can even pick up a Smoke Ball that is emitting smoke and carry or throw it.

Popularity: 33% [?]

Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. Brawl series has featured a critically acclaimed multiplayer mode since its inception on the Nintendo 64.  The single player has always been much less acclaimed.  For the Wii version of Super Smash Bros., Nintendo has focused much more on creating a full single player story mode.  The result is Super Smash Bros. Brawl: The Subspace Emissary.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl: The Subspace Emissary is a side-scrolling action-adventure game that is true to the roots of many of the Nintendo mascots that are featured in Brawl.  The single player mode focuses on action while the story is primarily advanced through a series of short cut scenes.  The adventure mode also places a strong emphasis on character development.  The stories of the individual characters intertwine as each character is burdened by their own personal back-stories.

Popularity: 33% [?]

Castle Siege is the latest map to be unveiled for Super Smash Brothers Brawl.  The castle is based on the GBA series Fire Emblem.  While it does not represent a specific castle in the Fire Emblem universe, it does feature imagery and concepts from the series.

Fireballs are constantly launched at the castle in true Fire Emblem style

Top tier of the level

Eventually the fireballs break through and everyone falls below

There are destructible objects in the level

This mysterious shot alludes to what is below the second tier

This is the second confirmed piece of Smash Brothers content from the Fire Emblem universe.  Ike is a confirmed character who will certainly be in the game.  More Fire Emblem characters are likely to be included as Marth and Roy are veterans of previous Smash Brothers games.  The rumor is that only one of these two characters will be in the game since their move sets are so similar. 

Popularity: 12% [?]

A new character named Ike has been announced for the upcoming Wii game Super Smash Brothers Brawl.  Ike is from the popular Game Boy Advance RPG Fire Emblem.  He wields a large two-handed sword with one hand.  His special move is called “Aether”.

Popularity: 8% [?]