In case you missed it, Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll was featured on G4′s X-Play show last week! Derrek Peel, the brand manager for the game, talked to the camera about some of the cool features of the game while Thu Nguyen, the PR manager for the game, played it in the background.

Derrek talked about using the balance board (and how to play if you don’t have one), co-op mode, and the mini-games that are included. One of the new mini-games is skydiving, shown in that image above.

Check out Derrek, Thu, and all the Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll information at the G4TV website.

Looking for that special something to bring to your Thanksgiving meal next week? Forget the wine and the green bean casserole… how about a special Thanksgiving card with cute monkeys on it! All you have to do is download the card, fold it, write a message, and give it! It’s way simpler than trying to read Grandma’s handwritten recipes.

You can download the card in PDF format or in JPG format from our Flickr.

Just in case you need some help figuring out how to fold the card, here’s how.

Step 1: Download and print out the card. I printed it in black and white for this demonstration, but if you can print in color, you should!

Step 2: Lay the printout on the table.

Step 3: Fold the paper horizontally so that the Thanksgiving scene is on one side and AiAi and the Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll logo is on the other.

Step 4: Turn the card over to the Thanksgiving scene and write your message in the blank spot on the left side.

Step 5: Fold in half vertically so AiAi is on one side and the logo is on the other.

AiAi is on the front of the card, and the logo is on the back.

Happy Thanksgiving!

There’s a whopper of an update for Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll today! First, we’ve got a load of new screens for you. They feature Jam as well as some of the different levels and mini-games in the game. I’ve sprinkled a few of them throughout this blog, but you can see all of them on our Flickr page.

We also have a new gameplay trailer for you.

To help you get ready for Thanksgiving, we’ve also got some new Super Monkey Ball wallpapers for your computer. We have the wallpaper in 4 sizes: 800×600, 1024×768, 1280×1024, and 1600×1200. Just pick the right size for your resolution and click to download from our Flickr page.

Finally, we’ve got the first dev diary for the game, written by Toshihiro Nagoshi.

Developer Diary #1

Hi Everyone,

I’m Toshihiro Nagoshi, creator of the Super Monkey Ball franchise and the loveable characters, AiAi, MeMe, BeBe and GonGon, that you all know so well! Today I’m going to give you some background information as you may or may not know about me, and also give you some insight into the creation of the games and my role throughout the history of this franchise!

I majored in Film Studies while I was in college and wanted to work in the film industry. At the time, it was really tough to enter that field, so I joined a games company instead. I had always wanted a career in entertainment so entering into the video games industry was the natural progression since it allowed me the chance to have a creative outlet, and of course I like playing video games, so it all worked out. This year, I am celebrating 20 amazing years with SEGA!

I enjoy creating games as well as playing games. The Mario series is my favorite of all time and I’m currently playing Dragon Quest and some PC puzzle games. I’m a hardcore gamer but also enjoy playing casual games.

During my time here at SEGA, I have been able to work on some amazing games from DAYTONA USA, SPIKEOUT, F-ZERO, YAKUZA,  the Virtua series, and of course the Super Monkey Ball games.  Even though, I am now supervising the overall Research & Development for Consumer Games within SEGA, I will continue to work passionately on games.  I am still actively involved in the most current Monkey Ball game, Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll.

We imagined the original idea for Super Monkey Ball when we were trying to create a game that anyone could enjoy immediately after inserting a coin in an arcade machine without having to read the instructions since many of the arcade games back then were becoming overly complicated to satisfy hardcore fans. I came up with the original game concept. At first, the idea was just to use a plain ball but we faced two problems with the design; the first being that the design of the ball was too inorganic and cold and wouldn’t be appealing and the other was that it was too hard to feel the sense of direction out of a plain ball.

We tried to cope with these issues by adding an illustration on the ball surface but the problems still remained. So instead, we placed a character inside the ball as a test and then discovered that this unique combination worked very well.  We didn’t come up with the monkey character right away but went through numerous trials and revisions before we decided on those final characters you see today. A lot of people ask me how the monkeys get into the ball, unfortunately, that‘s a secret! You will have to use your imagination!

Bringing the original Super Monkey Ball arcade game to the GameCube really revolutionized the way Monkey Ball could be played and elevated the game to new heights. The arcade version was  well received but wasn’t an instant hit but we were very confident about the game and its appeal. When the GameCube launched, it provided us with a great opportunity to re-create this game for users at home. The rest is video game history!

We were aware that the design of the original arcade game is different from how the game is known today and have made changes to balance the gameplay aspect since the original version was ported straight from the arcade version which could be difficult for casual gamers to play. Now, we’re creating Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll on the Wii, with the addition of Wii Balance Board support which offers a new layer to the gameplay element that can be easily picked up and played and fun for family and friends. We hope the fans will enjoy this new iteration of the series.

Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll will be in stores in North America on February 9th, 2010.

That’s all for your Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll mega-update! Don’t forget to visit the website — http://www.supermonkeyballstepandroll.com — as well as our Facebook page where you can become a fan of Super Monkey Ball.

Halloween is just a few days away, and we’ve got some new Super Monkey Ball themed wallpapers to help get you in the mood! AiAi and his friends are all dressed in costumes, with their pumpkins and candy ready. Pick your favorite character, or download them all!

They are all available in different sizes on our flickr account so get to downloading. Happy (almost) Halloween!

AiAi and his friends are all ready for Halloween! To help you get in the mood for the holidays, we’ve got some cute wallpapers for your computer. You can download them all from our Flickr site. There are 4 different resolutions, so you’re sure to find one that fits your screen.

If you’ve got a Super Monkey Ball related costume for next week, send us a photo!

SEGA Japan has partnered with Google Japan on Super Monkey Ball and Bayonetta to bring themes for Google Chrome and released this video, which includes the Chrome logo in the Super Monkey Ball world.

You can also read all about it on Google Japan’s blog, although obviously you’ll need to be pretty fluent in Japanese.

Roughly translated (thanks to Babelfish), here’s what it says:

This day, new feature joins in Google Chrome which from the thinking that is announced in 2008 September from high speed we would like to offer operativity and simple [uebuekusupiriensu] to the web user. That is “stylish”. The artist theme due to Google Chrome of 100 kinds or more which the artist in the world designed colors the web experience of the user stylishly.

This time, Google from Japan directing to the world, as for the theme which is dispatched 14 works. Music and interactive art are created, the virtual pop star “Hatune [miku]” which was created by the artists in “TENORI-ON” and the world and the nonstop climax action “BAYONETTA” which freely used the Gothic art due to SEGA and so on, the Japanese work art and technology fused every one splendid just ones. When this day is entered, 13 artists who spend talent and the energy which become great are introduced. (Honorific title abbreviation, sequential different) shape section one flat, public it is good thickly, Yuki Nakano and Nisida Takamori, PansonWorks and HIFANA, the Ueda baron, Crypton Future Media, TBS, Good Smile Company and Toei Co., Ltd. animation, YAMAHA, corporation Sega, SONY [konpiyutaentateinmento]. Everyone, thank you for offering the truly splendid work. There is a video which introduces the artist theme of Google Chrome from SEGA and NINTEA. There please view by all means. (As for the video of SEGA from this. As for the video of NINTEA from this)

As for the user of Google Chrome of by all means, now directly experience new artist theme. Still as for the user which does not use Google Chrome high speed operativity and simple, downloading Google Chrome which adds “stylish” by all means, please enjoy.

If anyone has better translation than this, please leave it in the comments.

What would it be like if AiAi, MeeMee, GonGon, and Baby left the world of Super Monkey Ball and joined the real world? We thought it would be fun to find out, so we’re challenging you to send these monkeys on a fantastic adventure!

We’ve got links below to some Photoshop (.psd) files of the monkeys on clear backgrounds. You can use these to insert your favorite character in photos of the real world. Did AiAi join you and  your friends at a picnic last week? Maybe MeeMee came to your family reunion. Did you see GonGon on a bus? Maybe Baby crawled all the way to the Eiffel Tower! Take our images, insert them in your favorite photos, and share the results!

To give you an example, here’s an image I made of AiAi at the pyramids in Egypt.

Of course, we want you to have fun with this, but we will not allow any photos that contain profanity, pornography, racism, sexism, or anything else inappropriate. Let’s keep it clean, people.

The Details

You can download the PSD files here:

AiAi

Baby

GonGon

MeeMee

Once you’ve put the finishing touches on your images, you can add them to our Flickr group or to the fan photos section of our Facebook page.

I’m really looking forward to see all the creative things that you come up with!

The wave of TGS assets and updates begins with two cool Super Monkey Ball items! To kick things off, we have the first ever gameplay trailer. Check it out:

If you’re still hungry for more, you can go to our brand new website for game information, some cool mini-games, and more.

We’re pleased to announce that Jam, a brand new character, will be making his debut in Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll.

Jam isn’t like any other monkey – he’s your personal athletics trainer! He’ll help you get AiAi and all his friends through the zany puzzles and fun mini games and will keep you laughing all the while with his cheeky antics. If you follow his tips and tricks, you’ll have what it takes to complete each puzzle and mini game with ease.

We’ve got some more images of Jam, including some character art.

To keep up with all the latest Super Monkey Ball news, become our fan on Facebook!

To celebrate GamesCom ’09, we’ve got some new screenshots of Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll! I’ll put a few in here, and you can see the rest on Flickr or on the Super Monkey Ball page on Facebook.

There’s more! you can see the rest on Flickr or on the Super Monkey Ball page on Facebook.