Sad times for the former King of Pop - he’s now so skint he’s even having to auction off his collection of arcade machines - and there’s some great stuff in there. I never really had Wacko down as a gamer, but he’s got a wide range of cabs, from the nostalgia-inducing to the ultra-rare.

Visit Julien’s Auctions and you can have a look at the items which are going under the hammer on April 24th. A Virtual Boy in its stand-up store display is one of the highlights, but there’s also an N64 unit, and several Nintendo-related arcade classics, like Donkey Kong and Super Mario Bros. Plenty of other machines of interest there, too - and the starting prices are absurdly low considering some of these are genuine collector’s items.

Expect the prices to rise and rise as wealthy gamers start upping the ante, but for now, $100-$150 is the price for Gunpei Yokoi’s legendary cornea-scorcher - should you fancy giving yourself a permanent headache, that’s all the Virtual Boy will cost you. Bargain!

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Nintendo’s Japanese site has pics of a new design of Classic Controller set for release this year. Named the Classic Controller PRO, it’s essentially a cross between the original Classic Controller and a GameCube pad, with a dash of the DualShock thrown in.

Wider than the original, and with Wavebird-aping hand grips, this doesn’t have the old-school class of the original Classic, though it looks a little comfier to hold for longer gaming sessions. The Z buttons have been enlarged, and have been sensibly positioned behind the L and R triggers, which is one nod to Sony’s controller, the other being the larger gap between the two analogue sticks.

A worthwhile upgrade, then, with one glaringly obvious flaw - Nintendo could easily have made it wireless, but has opted instead to keep it tethered to the remote for additional battery-drainage. It’s definitely worth choosing over the original Classic if you don’t already own one, but wireless was the real tipping point for me. As I’ve got plenty of Cube pads, I’ll happily stick with those, if only to save me a few quid on AAs.

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Nintendo has released a boatload of assets for the forthcoming release of New Play Control! Pikmin - hit the jump for four pieces of art - and some screenshots, one of which (above) details the game’s controls.

They’re pretty much as you’d expect - the GameCube controls were nigh-on perfect, and Nintendo hasn’t fixed what wasn’t broken. It seems there may be a slight issue with Olimar not throwing Pikmin as far as the cursor - freed from the constraints of digital input by pointer control - but otherwise it’s as you were.

That plus a new, more forgiving save structure is about all we get for what’s probably the least improved of all the forthcoming Wii-makes announced so far. Still, it’s a chance for some to experience one of the Cube’s finest for the first time, and we’re sure some of the true hardcore will take the opportunity to revisit a classic.

But I still can’t get over the fact that we’re paying £29.99 for an eight-year-old game. Compared to an HD powerhouse like PS3’s forthcoming Killzone 2 - which, when it’s released, will probably become the most expensive game ever made - and it starts to look like pretty poor value, regardless of quality.

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It looks like Nintendo is really going big on DSiWare, with eight new releases announced this week - could it yet become the DSi’s version of the iPhone’s AppStore?

Alongside a map of Japan’s train system, and 200-point treats like a DSi clock and a solitaire game are two more titles in the Art Style range - for my money one of the best things Nintendo’s done this generation - called Somnium and PicoPict. Somnium features in the video above, and looks like one of those games where you plan to have a quick five-minute go and wind up charging your DSi at 2 in the morning just so you can play some more.

Meanwhile, PicoPict is arguably an even more interesting proposition, blending a traditional tile-matching mechanic with Picross. The aim is to recreate famous Nintendo sprites from yesteryear by lining up tiles against falling blocks with the stylus to create four or more pixels, which disappear from the bottom screen to float up and fill in the picture on the top screen.

Take a look at some footage of PicoPict below, and pray that Nintendo announce a western release date for DSi soon, because this kind of simple but elegant idea is ideal for gaming on the move. The official mini-sites for both games can be found here and here.

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Nintendo reigns supreme at the top of both software and hardware charts once more, this time taking pole position with a remake of a GameCube game. The success of Wii Play: Mario Tennis proves Nintendo made a wise decision to revisit some of its old titles - in Japan, at least. Over here where the games are less well-known and well-publicised and the cost is higher, I’m not expecting them to do nearly as well. Of the range, I always thought Mario Tennis might be the most successful, and that looks like being the case, as it pips Atlus’ Devil Survivor to the top, selling just over 1000 copies more.

Elsewhere, evergreens like Rhythm Tengoku Gold, Wagamama Fashion and Wii Fit hang on to top ten positions in a slow week for sales, while Nintendo’s latest non-game, DS Uranai Seikatsu - some kind of fortune-telling software - enters in tenth spot.

In the hardware charts, DSi is once again comfortably on top - factor in DS Lite sales and it’s almost twice as many as PSP, while PS3 is ominously starting to catch up on Wii’s weekly sales, with over 20,000 units sold compared to 32,000 of Nintendo’s console. It’s not eating into Wii’s lead, but if those sales start to increase, Nintendo will be nervously looking over its shoulder. Full charts follow, courtesy of Media-Create.

01. [WII] Wii Play: Mario Tennis (Nintendo) 56,509 / NEW
02. [NDS] Megami Ibunroku: Devil Survivor (Atlas) 55,466 / NEW
03. [PS3] Naruto: Narutimate Storm (Namco Bandai) 44,065 / NEW
04. [PSP] Dissidia Final Fantasy (Square Enix) 29,355 / 848,000
05. [PSP] Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (PSP the Best) (Capcom) 27,032 / 332,000
06. [NDS] Rhythm Tengoku Gold (Nintendo) 25,488 / 1,594,000
07. [PS3] Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks) 24,488 / NEW
08. [NDS] Wagamama Fashion: Girl’s Mode (Nintendo) 22,628 / 667,000
09. [WII] Wii Fit (Nintendo) 21,847 / 3,177,000
10. [NDS] DS Uranai Seikatsu (Nintendo) 19,881 / NEW

DSi 62525
PSP 42559
Wii 32333
PS3 20690
DSL 18809
360 9576
PS2 5760

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As Nintendo confirms the European release dates of its first two New Play Control GameCube Wii-makes, with Mario Power Tennis arriving on March 6th - exactly a month after Pikmin - I can’t help but wonder that it’s immediately shot itself in the foot with the pricing of the games.

GI.biz is reporting that retailers have the games down for a recommended retail price of £39.99 - exactly what they cost when released for the GameCube several years ago. Now the games aren’t just straightforward ports - Pikmin uses pointer-based cursor movement and a whole new save system, while Mario Power Tennis will benefit from splitscreen multiplayer as well as completely revamped motion controls - but compared to sequels and updates on rival consoles which offer significantly more than their last-gen counterparts, this seems, let’s be honest, like a total rip-off.

Nintendo has claimed that the titles will retail for an RRP of £29.99, while certain online retailers are offering further price cuts - Amazon currently has the game for £24.99, which would be a more realistic price. I still maintain that £19.99 would be ideal, but then perhaps these games aren’t aimed at those who owned the GameCube versions but those new consumers Nintendo might be trying to wean onto its more traditional IP. Yet if these are to be successful ‘bridge’ titles, surely the lower the price the more people are likely to pick them up?

A strange strategy, that’s for sure. I guess we’ll all see whether this was a wise decision soon after the games are released. With five more set to appear in the range, low sales for the first two may make Nintendo wary of bringing further New Play Control titles to Europe.

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Blend the glorious purity of a Rhythm Tengoku stage with a Bit Generations aesthetic and you have BIT.TRIP BEAT, a forthcoming WiiWare title unveiled today by Aksys Games.

From the video on the official site, it looks like a high-score-chasing rhythm-action collect-’em-up, which requires the player to move a line up and down to collect chunky pixel ‘beats’, to beef up the chiptune soundtrack burbling away merrily in the background.

Developer Gaijin Games describes the game thus:

“[We] wanted to make a game that used the tools of today to inspire the fun of yesterday. Our goal was to make a game that was as simple in gameplay as the games of the early 80s and equally as fun - even though gamers’ tastes have changed over the years.”

So a delightfully old-school experience with a modern twist? Colour me very intrigued indeed. BIT.TRIP BEAT has no ESRB rating yet, and with Nintendo’s reluctance to announce release dates for WiiWare games before their arrival on the service, it could be with us in two weeks or two months. But as something a little different from the WiiWare norm, I think this is one worth splurging a few hundred Wii Points on. Expect a review in the not-too-distant, with any luck.

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20th February is the date to pencil in your diaries if you’re a fan of old-school RPGs. That’s when Dragon Quest: The Hand of the Heavenly Bride will be hitting PAL shores for the first time, with the SNES original never having appeared outside Japan.

As with The Chapters of the Chosen, it’s had a lush graphical makeover, with characterful 2D sprites on a rotatable 3D background. If anything, this looks even nicer, and it promises an orchestral soundtrack as aural backing to your random battling.

You’ll be able to recruit monsters to your party to fight alongside you, and the DS game has a unique Exotica Net feature, which allows you to wirelessly trade items with fellow DQ players on your travels by leaving the game on standby (much like the mingling feature in The World Ends With You).

DQV is widely regarded as one of the best in the series, and should whet appetites nicely for the forthcoming release of Dragon Quest IX, which hits Japan very soon. Expect a similarly flowery subtitle when that one eventually reaches the west.

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Of all the games in the New Play Control range, Mario Power Tennis looks like it’ll be the one to benefit most from a motion control makeover, and given the success of Wii Sports tennis, stands a strong chance of being the biggest hit of the bunch.

The new site shows exactly how shot-making is going to work, with fairly intuitive remote movements for lobs, drop shots, smashes and such. Rather than true one-to-one control, shot direction will be based more on timing than any controller twisting or tilting, with basic up, down and side swipes used.

It seems the basic controls will, like Wii Sports tennis, rely on AI-controlled player movement, with an alternative option to guide your avatar with the nunchuk for those who can handle two controllers at once.

The reliance on the faintly irritating Power Shots arguably compromised the supreme balance of the terrific N64 version, but Mario Power Tennis remains an enjoyably arcade-style tennis game. It hits Japanese stores next week, with European and US versions to follow in March. Interesting to see how this performs - should it do well, we could see a Wii-vamped Toadstool Tour (for my money, one of the best golf videogames ever) in the not-too-distant. Fingers crossed, eh?

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Ace Japanese t-shirt maker King of Games has crafted something a little more appropriate for the cold winter months by producing a range of Punch-Out!! themed hoodies, which are available now.

They come in grey or black flavours, while the special editions contain a pair of fingerless gloves, buttoned into the sides. With the pound so weak at the moment, these are probably a little expensive to tempt too many importers - at 12500 yen (£77.50) the special editions in particular seem slightly overpriced, but then again this is quality - and exclusive - merchandise, and you won’t see dozens of other people wearing these when you do your shopping in the January sales.

Now if only Nintendo could cash-in on this retro love, by releasing a Wii update of the long-forgotten franchise at some point in 2009…

Oh.

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