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62-452: Upon its release, WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames! received critical acclaim, winning GameSpot ' s Editor's Choice Award and Most Innovative Game Award of 2003, among other awards. It is also revered as one of the greatest games of all time . The game went on to receive a multiplayer-focused remake called WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Party Games! on the GameCube . The game went on to spawn

124-406: A Compete.com study. In January 1996, Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein quit their positions at IDG and founded SpotMedia Communications. SpotMedia then launched GameSpot on May 1, 1996. Originally, GameSpot focused solely on personal computer games, so a sister site, VideoGameSpot , was launched on December 1, 1996. Eventually VideoGameSpot , then renamed VideoGames.com ,

186-486: A 3D stereoscopic head-tracking prototype called the Private Eye. Gunpei Yokoi saw this as a unique technology that competitors would find difficult to emulate. Additionally, the resulting game console was intended to enhance Nintendo's reputation as an innovator and to "encourage more creativity" in games. Code-naming the project "VR32", Nintendo entered into an exclusive agreement with Reflection Technology to license

248-581: A D-pad of some shape on their controllers, until the Nintendo Switch in 2017. When the department started working on a successor to the Game & Watch series, Yokoi envisioned a simple and cheap system with interchangeable game cartridges . Development of the system, however, suffered from disagreements in direction, with assistant director Satoru Okada arguing for a more powerful system with third-party development and long-term support from Nintendo, emulating

310-426: A color LCD system would have been prohibitively expensive, retailing for more than US$ 500 . A color LCD system was also said to have caused "jumpy images in tests". With ongoing concerns about motion sickness, the risk of developing lazy eye conditions in young children, and Japan's new Product Liability Act of 1995, Nintendo eliminated the head tracking functionality and converted its headmounted goggle design into

372-460: A game they were heavily advertising on GameSpot at the time. Both GameSpot and parent company CNET initially stated that his dismissal was unrelated to the review. However, in March 2012, the non-disclosure agreement that forced Gerstmann to withhold the details of his termination was nullified. Not long after, Giant Bomb (a site Gerstmann founded after leaving GameSpot ) was being purchased by

434-457: A lot of thought into how best to market the game. He wanted to show how its unusual playing style made it distinct from other games, in the way it could be simply picked up and enjoyed. Miyamoto gave the staff the approval to use the slogan "More! Shorter! Faster!" (最多 最短 最速 Saita Saitan Saisoku ), which prominently appeared on the Japanese box art, surpassing the actual game logo in terms of size. It

496-459: A new design similar to that of TV.com , now considered a sister site to GameSpot . GameSpot ran a few different paid subscriptions from 2006 to 2013, but is no longer running those. In June 2008, GameSpot ' s parent company CNET was acquired by CBS Corporation , and GameSpot along with CNET's other online assets were managed by the CBS Interactive division. A new layout change

558-411: A number of developers on the development team Nintendo R&D1 without telling their manager at the time. The people came up with the idea of using Wario as its mascot since they could not think of anyone else who would best be suited for the game. According to Yoshio Sakamoto, Wario was chosen as the game's protagonist as he "is always doing stupid things and is really idiotic". Shigeru Miyamoto put

620-419: A randomly generated course, requiring him or her to guide a paper airplane through it as it descends, attempting to get as far down as possible; Time Attack, which places the player in pre-created tracks, requiring them to get down to a certain point as fast as possible; and Race Mode, a two-player competition that is played on one DSi, with one player using the d-pad and the other using the face buttons. There are

682-499: A semi-automated moderation system with numerous volunteer moderators . GameSpot moderators are picked by paid GameSpot staff from members of the GameSpot user community. Due to the size and massive quantity of boards and posts on GameSpot , there is a "report" feature where a normal user can report a violation post to an unpaid moderator volunteer. In addition to the message board system, GameSpot has expanded its community through

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744-467: A single game to be played on an LCD screen in addition to a clock, an alarm, or both. Regardless, it was confirmed that Yokoi was inspired by calculators to develop the line, even using calculator integrated circuits in the systems and button cells to power them. Although Nintendo competitors Mattel and Tomy had already produced portable games, they were mostly bulky systems with low-resolution LED displays and uninspiring gameplay. Yokoi exploited

806-551: A stationary, heavy, precision steel-shielded, tabletop form factor conformant to the recommendation of the Schepens Eye Research Institute. According to David Sheff 's book Game Over , the increasingly reticent Yokoi never actually intended for the increasingly downscaled console to be released in its final form. However, Nintendo pushed the Virtual Boy to market so that it could focus development resources on

868-560: A total of 5 systems, all released during that year. In 1981, Game & Watch: Manhole debuted the Gold series, which was fundamentally the same system with a golden face-plate. It saw only 3 titles which were also released during the same year. In mid-1981, Game & Watch: Parachute was released, debuting the Wide Screen series, sporting a 30% larger display. The series saw a total of 10 titles released until early 1982. The limitations of

930-460: A total of eight courses in the game. Bird & Beans , known in PAL regions as Pyoro , features both Pyoro and Pyoro 2 from the original GBA version. Both play mostly the same as the original versions, although the play area is now wider. The first requires the player to eat falling beans by shooting Pyoro's tongue in an upward diagonal direction. If a bean lands on the ground, it destroys part of

992-455: The Atlantis system was delayed by a year to late 1997. Nonetheless, the system was eventually cancelled due to concerns of it being too big, having a drastically decreased battery life (to approximately 1 hour, as LCD color displays required a back-light at the time), and being too expensive to manufacture. Although it was shelved, the project would later considerably speed up the development of

1054-521: The Game Boy 's legacy becoming the source of every major Nintendo handheld game console until its closure in 2012. Following Yokoi's departure, and no longer having a dedicated hardware development team, the department focused instead on developing games for other Nintendo-developed consoles. It was responsible for the re-releases of its Game & Watch classics in the Game & Watch Gallery series for both

1116-603: The Game Boy Color in 1997 by the Nintendo Research & Engineering department. On August 15, 1996, long-time department general manager, Gunpei Yokoi, left Nintendo to form his own company, Koto Laboratory. Despite speculation that he had left Nintendo due to the commercial failure of the Virtual Boy a year prior, Yokoi clarified that he'd long wished to become independent. Yokoi and his new company eventually worked on

1178-548: The Nintendo 64 . In 1995, the department started developing a successor to the Game Boy, under the code-name Atlantis . Despite its predecessors having a monochrome display , the R&;D1 team had already experimented with color displays from as early as 1992. The Atlantis prototype consisted of an handheld with a 32-bit ARM7 CPU, a larger color display , and four face buttons. It

1240-613: The Nintendo DSi 's DSiWare digital distribution service. Paper Airplane Chase , known in Europe and Australasia as Paper Plane , was released in Japan on December 24, 2008, in Europe and Australasia on April 3, 2009, and in North America on April 27 during the same year. The game plays the same as in its original title. There are three modes – the first is Endless, which places the player in

1302-453: The Nintendo Research & Development No. 2 (R&D2) department. After the split, Yokoi remained general manager of R&D1. In the late 1970s, Yokoi saw a bored Japanese salaryman playing with a calculator on the Shinkansen high-speed train. This was the inspiration for the creation of the Game & Watch series, a line of handheld electronic games , with each system featuring

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1364-591: The Ultra Machine , and a " Love Tester ." Sometime before 1972, Nintendo created its first electronics development team, the Research & Development department from Nintendo's manufacturing division, assigning Gunpei Yokoi as its general manager. By 1972 the department had approximately 20 developers. In 1978, the manufacturing division split its single research & development department into two, renaming it to Research & Development No. 1 (R&D1) and creating

1426-596: The WarioWare series of video games, which all have the same formula of gameplay as the debut title, with the exception of Game & Wario . "Pyoro" and "Paper Plane", two bonus minigames that appear in Mega Microgames! , were reworked into two full titles for the DSiWare service as Bird & Beans and Paper Airplane Chase , respectively. In addition, some of the microgames featured in Mega Microgames! also return in

1488-569: The WonderSwan handheld for Bandai before his tragic death in 1997 in a traffic accident. In order to fill Yokoi's vacancy, long-time Nintendo engineer Takehiro Izushi was appointed as the new general manager of the department. Additionally, the department's hardware team was spun-off into a new development department, called Nintendo Research & Engineering and led by Satoru Okada . The software development team, however, remained at R&D1. This new department would be responsible for continuing

1550-571: The Game Boy Advance. After an 8-year hiatus, R&D1 introduced a new installment in its Metroid series, Metroid Fusion , released in 2002. In 2004, R&D1's last project was launched, Metroid: Zero Mission a remake of the original game. In 2004, the department, along with Nintendo Research & Development 2 , was absorbed into the newly created Nintendo Software Planning & Development division. Then-Nintendo president Satoru Iwata created and appointed himself as general manager of

1612-590: The Game Boy and Game Boy Color, starting in 1997. It also developed sequels to its Wario Land classic in the form of Wario Land II , released in 1998, and Wario Land 3 , in 2000, both for the Game Boy Color, and Wario Land 4 for the Game Boy Advance , released a year later. The department was also responsible for creating the Wario spin-off series with WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames! , released in 2003 for

1674-534: The LCD display prompted Yokoi and his team to introduce the Multi Screen series with the release of Game & Watch: Oil Panic in mid 1982, adding another screen to potentially double the amount of gameplay each title could offer. The next title of the series was Game & Watch: Donkey Kong a port of the hugely successful Donkey Kong arcade game. Unable to use a joystick like the original game, as it would reduce

1736-517: The addition of features such as user blogs (formerly known as "journals") and user video blogs. Users can track other users, thus allowing them to see updates for their favorite blogs. If both users track each other, they are listed on each other's friends list. Nintendo Research %26 Development 1 Nintendo Research & Development No. 1 Department (commonly abbreviated as Nintendo R&D1 and formerly known as Nintendo Research & Development Department before splitting in 1978)

1798-583: The cheapness of LCDs, producing cheap and light systems, starting in 1980. He would later call this principle Lateral Thinking of Withered Technology : using seasoned technology in radical ways; a principle that echoed throughout Nintendo until the present day. In 1980, Game & Watch: Ball was the first release of the Game & Watch Silver series, called after its metallic face-plate. Sales weren't reportedly "astonishing", but they were enough to persuade Nintendo to continue developing new titles. The series saw

1860-434: The development of Mario Artist: Polygon Studio , a successor to Mario Paint being developed for the Nintendo 64DD ; a game where players could create and animate fully polygonal three-dimensional models. A feature of Polygon Studio was a mode called "Sound Bomber", where the player completes rapid consecutive "microgames". This concept would be reused and fleshed out for the first WarioWare title. In addition, many of

1922-464: The difficulty and speed of the microgames further increase the longer the player manages to survive. In addition to the main stages, players can unlock various minigames by clearing certain unlock conditions in-game. These games include high score challenges such as a jump rope minigame, competitive games which can be played with two players using the same system, and Wario-fied versions of Dr. Mario and Sheriff . WarioWare' s inception began during

WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames! - Misplaced Pages Continue

1984-475: The floor, limiting how much the player can move Pyoro. If the player eats a differently colored bean, it will restore one of the blocks, and eating a flashing bean restores many, if not all, lost blocks and destroys all on-screen beans. The further Pyoro's tongue is extended, the more points are awarded. If a seed lands on Pyoro, the game ends. In the second game, the player must shoot seeds at the falling beans. More points are awarded when two or more are taken out at

2046-494: The game 78th on a list of greatest Nintendo games. Mega Microgames! was remade for the GameCube as WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Party Games! , as a more multiplayer focused game than the original. The game features all of the same microgames as the Game Boy Advance version, but the microgames are set up in competitive environments for two to four players rather than an environment for one player. Two unlockable minigames from this title, Paper Plane and Pyoro , have been released for

2108-454: The game contributed ideas of their own in the hopes that the development team would be receptive. Microgames that were too obscene or "too Japanese" were cut to make sure all people playing could understand the game. As individual programmers coded individual microgames, each microgame has a vastly different visual style. Made in Wario , as the game is known in Japan, was originally made secretly by

2170-558: The game was re-released on the Nintendo Switch as part of the Game Boy Advance collection available through the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. GameSpot GameSpot is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition to

2232-491: The hundred best websites, alongside competitors IGN and CNET Gamecenter . On July 19, 2000, CNET announced its acquisition of ZDNET , putting GameSpot and Gamecenter under the same parent company. That December, The New York Times declared GameSpot and Gamecenter the " Time and Newsweek of gaming sites". In February 2001, GameSpot was spared from a redundancy reduction effort by CNET which shuttered Gamecenter . In October 2005, GameSpot adopted

2294-512: The information produced by GameSpot staff, the site also allows users to write their own reviews, blogs, and post on the site's forums. It has been owned by Fandom, Inc. since October 2022. In 2004, GameSpot won "Best Gaming Website" as chosen by the viewers in Spike TV 's second Video Game Award Show , and has won Webby Awards several times. The domain GameSpot.com attracted at least 60 million visitors annually by October 2008 according to

2356-551: The line's most popular games, such as Super Mario Land , and created the character of Wario . Team Shikamaru was a small club within Nintendo R&;D1 that was composed of Makoto Kano , Yoshio Sakamoto , and Toru Osawa. The group was responsible for designing characters and coming up with scripts for several games including Metroid , Kid Icarus , Famicom Detective Club , Trade & Battle: Card Hero , and several others. After Yokoi's resignation in 1997, this group

2418-456: The minigames in Polygon Studio bear heavy resemblance to some microgames found in Mega Microgames! . The development team used post-it notes in order to come up with microgame ideas; whenever someone had an idea for a microgame, they would write it down on a note and stick it to the director's table. The game became well known around the department, as other members not actively working on

2480-526: The new division to focus on co-producing and supervising second-party development, thus relieving the Entertainment Analysis & Development division (EAD) and its general manager Shigeru Miyamoto to focus on first-party projects. Although that was the division's primary focus, it went on to develop some video games titles internally. In 2018, former general manager of the R&D1 department Takehiro Izushi retired from Nintendo after 43 years in

2542-871: The ninth installment, WarioWare Gold . The game has also been re-released through the Virtual Console on Wii U , the Ambassador Program on Nintendo 3DS and on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack . WarioWare 's core gameplay principles revolve around the concept of "microgames", fast-paced minigames that must be completed within a demanding time limit. Mega Microgames! features over 210 microgames across nine stages hosted by Wario and his companions, each centered around themes such as sports, nature and classic Nintendo games, as well as remix stages that feature microgames from previous stages. In each stage, microgames appear consecutively, presenting

WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames! - Misplaced Pages Continue

2604-523: The original Game Boy, and had an improved pixel response-time, mostly eliminating the ghosting effect. It finally released as the Game Boy Pocket on July 21, 1996, in Japan, on September 3 in North America, and in Europe during the following year. Although it had no power LED initially, it was soon added to later editions due public demand. Following the commercial success of the Game Boy Pocket,

2666-515: The player must complete a "boss stage"; a longer microgame without a set time limit. When playing a stage for the first time, players are simply required to clear enough microgames and defeat the boss stage without running out of lives, which unlocks the next stage or set of stages. If a stage has already been cleared once, players will instead play for a high score, seeing how many microgames they can clear before running out of lives. Players can regain one of their lost lives by defeating boss battles, but

2728-416: The player with a simple prompt with which to clear the microgame with. Failing a microgame, either by losing the game or running out of time, one of four lives will be deducted, with the stage ending once the player runs out of lives. As the player keeps playing, the game speeds up, making microgames' time limits shorter and forcing the player to complete them faster. At the end of a set number of microgames,

2790-506: The purchase of ZDNet by CNET , GameSpot UK was merged with the main US site. On April 24, 2006, GameSpot UK was relaunched. In a similar fashion, GameSpot AU (Australia) existed on a local scale in the late 1990s with Australian-produced reviews. It ceased in 2003. When a local version of the main CNET portal, CNET.com.au was launched in 2003, GameSpot AU content was folded into CNET.com.au. The site

2852-450: The same parent company as GameSpot , and that they moved their headquarters into the same building. As part of this announcement, Gerstmann revealed that the firing was indeed related to threats of Eidos pulling advertising revenue away from GameSpot as a result of Gerstmann's poor review score, which was confirmed by GameSpot's Jon Davison. GameSpot ' s forums were originally run by ZDNet, and later by Lithium . GameSpot uses

2914-519: The same time. Bird & Beans does not have any additional modes. In December 2011, Mega Microgames! and nine other Game Boy Advance games were released to Nintendo 3DS Ambassadors, who were early adopters that purchased and registered their 3DS systems prior to the console's first major price cut in their home markets. The game was later released on the Wii U Virtual Console on April 3, 2014, in Japan and April 10 in North America and Europe. In 2023,

2976-572: The sheer number of minigames, its simplicity, and replay value made the game original and great, and gave it a 9.0. Edge ranked the game #40 on its list of "The 100 Best Games To Play Today", stating "almost every minigame is a masterclass in how to instantly captivate with clear goals and a captivating alchemy of sound, image and control". The game was ranked 138th in Electronic Gaming Monthly ' s "The Greatest 200 Video Games of Their Time" in 2006. Official Nintendo Magazine ranked

3038-620: The successful business model that Nintendo R&D2 had achieved with the Nintendo Entertainment System , while Yokoi planned for a much cheaper, less powerful device with a shorter life-span, similar to its predecessor. During an interview, Okada compared the initial project to the Microvision . Eventually, Yokoi agreed to Okada's plan and the project would be known as the Game Boy . In 1991, Nintendo partnered with Massachusetts-based Reflection Technology, Inc. who had developed

3100-479: The system's portability, Yokoi began researching for solutions. Early Game & Watch systems had a button for each action such as moving left and right or jumping. However, for the new system the team introduced the "cross" directional pad (D-pad): a flat, four-way directional control with one button on each point. The design was patented and later earned a Technology & Engineering Emmy Award in 2008. From then on, all major video game consoles since have had

3162-494: The technology for its displays. Spending four years in development and eventually building a dedicated manufacturing plant in China, Nintendo worked to turn its VR32 vision into an affordable and health-conscious console design. Yokoi retained RTI's choice of red LED because it was the cheapest, and because unlike a totally backlit LCD, its perfect blackness could achieve a more immersive sense of infinite depth. RTI and Nintendo said

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3224-426: Was a division of Nintendo , and is its oldest development team. Its creation coincided with Nintendo's entry into the video game industry, and the original R&D1 was headed by Gunpei Yokoi . The developer has created several notable Nintendo series such as Donkey Kong , Mario , and Metroid . R&D1 developed the hugely successful Game Boy line , which was released in 1989. They developed some of

3286-506: Was adopted in October 2013. CNET was sold to Red Ventures in October 2020. Two years later, Fandom acquired GameSpot , along with Metacritic , TV Guide , GameFAQs , Giant Bomb , Cord Cutters News, and Comic Vine from Red Ventures. In January 2023, 40-50 employees were affected by a round of layoffs. More layoffs at GameSpot took place in January 2024. GameSpot UK (United Kingdom)

3348-455: Was assigned to the manufacturing division to work on the assembly line machines used to manufacture its cards. In the following year, Hiroshi Yamauchi , president of Nintendo at the time, during a visit to the factory Yokoi was working at, took notice of a toy, an extending arm , that Yokoi had made for his own amusement during his spare time. As Yamauchi was looking to diversify the company's business far beyond its primary card business, Yokoi

3410-543: Was awarded the Editor's Choice Award, "Game Boy Advance Game of the Month" prize and was nominated for its "Best and Worst" of 2003 in the "Most Innovative Game" category. Reviewers wrote enthusiastically about the game. Jeff Gerstmann from GameSpot gave it a 9.1 out of 10 and praised the game for its portability, being able to play it in "short bursts" and being able to return to it again and again. Craig Harris from IGN said that

3472-475: Was fully re-launched in mid-2006, with a specialized forum, local reviews, special features, local pricings in Australian dollars , Australian release dates, and more local news. Jeff Gerstmann , editorial director of the site, was fired on November 28, 2007 as a result of pressure from Eidos Interactive, a major advertiser; Eidos objected to the 6/10 review that Gerstmann had given Kane & Lynch: Dead Men ,

3534-473: Was led by Takehiro Izushi. In 2004, Satoru Iwata restructured the Nintendo R&D1 team. Many of the staff members were later reassigned to the Nintendo SPD team, which in turn merged with Nintendo EAD in 2015 to form Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development . In 1965, Nintendo , still primarily a hanafuda card manufacturer, hired Gunpei Yokoi , a newly graduated electronics engineer. Yokoi

3596-419: Was merged into GameSpot . On January 6, 1997, SpotMedia and publisher Ziff Davis announced a $ 20 million agreement allowing the publisher to run content from Computer Gaming World and Electronic Gaming Monthly on SpotMedia's websites. By the following month, Ziff Davis's substantial financial infusion enabled GameSpot to grow to 45 employees. In February 1999, PC Magazine named GameSpot one of

3658-561: Was not used for Western packaging, which instead depicted the WarioWare cast rather than just a portion of Wario's face as seen on the Japanese counterpart. Mega Microgames! has won numerous awards and received critical acclaim. It was voted the winner of the Edge Award at the Edinburgh International Games Festival in 2004 by a panel of videogames industry members, academics, and journalists. At GameSpot , it

3720-522: Was ordered to develop the toy into a proper mass-market product for the 1966 holiday rush. The toy was launched as Ultra Hand and it was a huge success selling over 1.2 million units during its lifetime. Following that, Yokoi was assigned to work on other toys including the Ten Billion Barrel puzzle, a miniature remote-controlled vacuum cleaner called the Chiritori , a baseball throwing machine called

3782-433: Was reported that the system was supposed to release in late 1996. Meanwhile, the department was also working on a revision of the Game Boy. The system would require fewer batteries, providing approximately 10 hours of gameplay, and was also equipped with a DC connector which could be used to power the system. The screen was also changed to a true black-and-white display, rather than the green-tinted monochrome display of

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3844-511: Was started in October 1997 and operated until mid-2002, offering content that was oriented for the British market that often differed from that of the U.S. site. During this period, GameSpot UK won the 1999 PPAi (Periodical Publishers Association interactive) award for best website, and was short listed in 2001. PC Gaming World was considered a "sister print magazine" and some content appeared on both GameSpot UK and PC Gaming World . Following

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