f13.net

I almost titled this post "The Wii Hole", but that's just stupid.

High-Voltage is now a Wii developer.  They are one of those small, profitable game companies you never hear about.  They made that last Leisure Suit Larry game.
http://gamasutra.com/features/20060616/vanzelfden_01.shtml


Nintendo is going to win.  No one can resist a controller that is shaped like a wang.

The people at Cubed³ seem to think it is a big deal that Metal Slug Anthology and two Mercury games (http://www.cubed3.com/news/5393) are going to be Wii games and should arrive before the end of 2006.  There isn't any mention of this at Ignition Entertainment's web site, so C³ might be lying bastards or simply rumormongering.

I for one, appreciate a wii bit of humor now and then.

That's great, because if I bring anything to this site, it's vague and pointless Wii information.

No information about the Wii is pointless. I welcome our new motion-sensing console overlords.

I wholeheartedly agree with Haem, however I am never sure if my unchecked Nintendo bias is overinflating the significance of things in my mind.

Plus there is relatively little new information out there.  Right now I am just finding stuff like "the Wii may be more powerful than we thought" due to the advanced 1T-SDRAM, and spectral launch titles (example, Metal Slug).

Mark these words, true believers: the Wii is going to have a significant impact on the future of gaming.  Maybe I should collect what I can remember as a summary here.

1: Enough has been said about the Wiimote.  It is the most revolutionary item on the list.  Likewise for the nunchaku.  I do wonder if anyone in the UK will raise a fuss about it.
2: The VC could go either way, but best-case it will be a good place for indy developers to create games for something other than mobile phones... and Live Arcade.
3: More advanced interaction between the DS and Wii will become important to those of us who don't mind buying all those Nintendo gadgets to enhance our play experience.  If you already have a DS, the Wii is even more tempting now.
4: Traditional controller will allow devs and gamers to ease into the console.
5: The "gun" attachment for the Wiimote will tempt the Halo types.  I'll be waiting for Resident Wiivil, myself.
6: VC games should all be under $10.
7: The Wii is going to be less than $250.  I can't remember if a lower bar has been set; I'll get one no matter the price as it stands.
8: Theoretically speaking, the Wii will have the best launch lineup ever in the history of console launches.
9: Twilight Princess.  Giggity giggity.

I agree.  As of now, I'm quite possibly in the running for one of the most raging Nintendo fanboys.  I literally seethe with excitement for their hardware and software.  It's as if, after the SNES, I went into stasis, and now, mysteriously awoken, I've reconnected with my inner child.

It will either be the greatest thing to happen to gaming since a mouse and keyboard and the Internet, or it will be the Virtual Boy 2 with arm aches instead of blurred vision and headaches.

In the interest of spreading rumors, here is the Cubed³ article reporting on the 1T-SRAM:
http://www.cubed3.com/news/5392

They also report that gamefront.de reports that Game Informer reports that System Shock 3 is in development, although no system is mentioned.  I refuse to believe this, for the sake of my sanity.  Also, it is supposedly being developed by EA.  No idea how this weaseled its way into a Wii-related article.

In the same article they say that someone saw a Jurassic Park logo in a sooper sekrit area of the E3 Nintendo citadel and suggest that this means you can download movies to your Wii.  More likely it means that there will be a shitty dinosaur game for the Wii, since I don't know anyone that would pay to see Jurassic Park.

They further spread such lies as details from an Ubisoft release list sent to American retailers: Blazing Angels (WWII flight sim), Prince of Persia and FarCry are supposedly Wii titles slated for launch or shortly afterward.

C³ assists EGM with their rumormongering by saying that many PS3 devs are jumping ship to the Wii, and that there is going to be a Star Wars game for the Wii where you... well, who the fuck would suggest that there won't be some sort of lightsaber-waving game for the Wii?  Seriously, the box could contain literal feces and it will sell ten million copies.

There is an interview on thewiire.com (http://thewiire.com/news/347/1/EXCLUSIVE_The_Wiire_Speaks_with_Nippon_Ichi) with Nippon Ichi Marketing Coordinator Jack Niida that is mostly useless, aside from perhaps this point:

Considering how small NIS is and the fact that they don't have any DS games, this could very well be total bullshit.  Their current title is for PS2 and the next will be either PS2 or PS3.

There is also the Corporate Management Policy Breifing (http://www.nintendo.co.jp/kessan/060607qa_e/index.html), probably dating June 6, on the Nintendo web site in which Satoru Iwata says they really need to set a price and launch date in or before September.  I heard that the holdup on pricing and timing is due to the IR bar not being finished.

The briefing indicates that the Wii development kit should run about 200k yen, and software costs "will be at the same level of GameCube."  I will spare you the quote, but Iwata-san indicates Nintendo is spending more money on "R&D" in order to make sure that there is no drop-off in the supply of software for the Wii, in contrast to the Gamecube.

Later in the briefing, Miyamoto sticks a small knife between Squeenix's ribs with this:

Take that!

Not Rumors (http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=12997)

I'm glad we're all in accord here.  What's an IR bar?

It's the bar you place above or below your TV to detect where the Wii Remote is pointing at. The Wii Remote is not like a light gun (which uses a mirror/light detection system to capture the light being reflected off the TV screen) so it needs some other method for detecting where it thinks you are pointing at on the TV screen.

So will it be a problem if I am playing from a position below my TV?

Probably not if you calibrate it properly.

I feel sorry for folks with front projection, that could be a problem.

Or those fancy 1" thick wallmount TVs, if the IR attachment is more than just a stick-on thing.

If it's just a set of 3 IR lamps though, it could be pretty thin and be affixed with double-sided tape. Plus a wire to connect it to the Wii base station, unless they want to make it battery-operated, which would be a little silly.

I expect a big honking mess all around.

If the final version is what they had at E3 then it doesn't look too bad (http://flickr.com/photos/jenncutter/147357051/).

God that's ghetto. This shit is ok when it's hidden in arcades, but for a home system?

Feh.

The only thing ghetto about it is going to be the wire hanging off and down to a power cord.  Damn that's gonna be gross.  The bar alone is straight.

Of course it's the wire. I already have enough wires behind and under my tv. I don't need one draped around the frame of the goddamn thing. I know I'm picking nits here, but just to make it clear, if ANY company wanted me to add dangly bits I'd get pissed. GREAT, WIRELESS CONTROLLER, WE'VE REPLACED THAT WIRE WITH ANOTHER ONE.

Feh.

So how's the PS3 going to do it?  I'd assume the same exact way, with an IR bar and a cord.

You can't "point" the PS3 controller at the TV and have it detect where it's pointing AFAIK. I.e. there's no IR emitter on it, it only detects it's own relative movement (tipping, turning, etc.).

Which means that the show miyamoto put on with tennis was just a show. I'm fairly sure the Wii controller doesn't shoot infrared off in every direction and through your hand.

That's the motion sensing in action. THE WII REMOTE IS ALL POWERFUL! Accept that and your life will be much better.

It's probably an IR lamp, not a laser. If they stick a little IR lamp on the front of the Wiimote, then you'll get at least 180 degrees of IR rays flying off the thing.

IR also bounces pretty well; this is why you can point your remote control at the wall and it still works if the angles are all correct.

Nintendo games leaves me cold and the Wii won't be cheap enough to buy on impulse (just in case).
We'll see how it goes...

You have no choice. THE HYPE OVERLORDS COMMAND YOU! BUY, BUY NOW FLESHLING!

If you people are so concerned about wires showing, there are ways to hide them, eh?

Fleshling.  Heh.

Add to that, that Nintendo hates me.
Whenever they want me to review the DS (both times) they send me the console and a Mario game - the only Mario game I'm remotely interested in playing is Mario Karts and the send me Super Mario 64 and now New Super Mario Bros.
I've completed exactly one game on my DS: Advance Wars DS.

Without looking it up, here's how the IR bar works: it projects a "web" of IR beams in front of itself.  It doesn't do anything other than that, so it should have somewhat flexible placement options.  The Wiimote uses the data from its internal gyros/accelerometers and IR web data to figure out where it is and what it is pointing at.  Based on that, the cord for the IR bar should be just for power, not data transmission.  This would also mean that the black spot on the tip of the Wiimote is actually an IR receiver instead of a transmitter, as I had previously thought.  Until Anand Lal Shimpi gets around to disassembling one, I'll treat this as rumor.

The PS3 controller only has gyros/accelerometers to detect tilt or acceleration, as far as I can tell.

An old review of the three tech demos Nintendo used to show off the Wiimote is here (http://www.n-sider.com/articleview.php?articleid=526) at Nsider.  It doesn't mention the IR bar, but it gives a bit of information on using the Wiimote.  I expect this sort of thing to be one of the mainstays in Nintendo's casual-game lineup.

Ass-smoke or sly marketing from Reggie?  Trickling through the layers of news sites (in this case, thewiire.com -> Game Informer) comes this bit from a Game Informer interview:

On microtransactions:

He also instigates a rumor that SD cards won't be the only supported storage medium on the Wii by saying:

I'd like to think one of the supported storage media will be GC memory cards.  Also, the small flap on the front of the Wii is where your SD card will go.

That makes me a little more leery of the Wii; sounds like it might 'phone home' with your progress, with N disguising this as a value-add by saying they're using it to stream new content to you.

Why phone home? Valuable marketing and usability data - play session length, progress speed, etc.

I am assuming data-collection is an inevitability, but I don't really have a problem with Nintendo getting the data.  I have not formed an opinion on the almost-certain advertising.  Hopefully it won't be obtrusive, more like the Nintendo email newsletter than unskippable commercials.

I don't like phone-home systems, at all. Unless it's optional and there's an opt-out, I'll probably run my Wii in networkless mode. I don't run things like Xfire for the same reason.

I'd almost guarantee that WiiConnect24 will be optional.  Considering the target consumer (non-gamers, non-techies), Nintendo can't realistically expect a large percentage of their hopeful install base to have an always-on internet connection, nevermind wireless access to it.  There are a lot of filthy dialup users around the globe, and many that don't even have that; these people are who Nintendo wants as customers.

I also think, if you do have your Wii connected to the net, they would be foolish to send or receive unsolicited data, but you might have to do a Steam-type agreement in order to download VC games.

I love wild speculation.  Especially if it's mine.

Don't ever get a Tivo then.

I'm not bothered by this kind of phone-home stuff, so long as I get to see something out of the exchange. With Tivo, it's accurate TV listings and the ability to watch shit when I want without having to set up eveyr single episode. So what if they sell my viewing habits to marketers? If it tells marketers to stop making shitty commercials/products, or that I buzz through 99% of commercials, all the better. And if it tells Nintendo that I like games like Red Steel and don't play puzzle games, maybe that means more games I want.

However, if it's Windows Media Player sending Microsoft my list of pr0n videos, I get very irate.

In regards to TiVo, I get a real pleasure out of using that red "thumbs-down" button on bullshit shows.  There are three stacked red marks on Malcom in the Middle.

No problems there; I don't own a TV, much less a TiVo.

If I do get a TV, it's going to be entirely for the Wii, although the current plan is to upgrade to a nicer (read: not 7 years old) monitor and find some way to pipe the Wii's video signal to that.

Might as well just spend on a nice digital TV from Wal*Mart, doesn't have to be anything fancy if you aren't getting a sweat-bead console.  And it has the connectors already.

Gateway or Dell 21" Monitor. Top should be big enough to rest the IR-bar on and not have to worry about it falling off every two minutes. Could be wrong through. The Gateway has component-in also, which is nice. or else you're gonna have to get an AV Switch or some sort if you get more than 1 console.

For the cord-paranoid, you can see a shot of the Wii transformer in a pictorial on Cubed³ here (http://www.cubed3.com/news/5454) (photos apparently stolen from GameFront).  Also of note are the shots of the GC memory card slots and an open SD flap.

GameDaily interviews Sega of America's VP of Marketing (http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=13120&page=1) and gets a lot of PS3 information (such as how much Sega loves it), but as for Wii, they estimate the Wii-exclusive Sonic game (Sonic Wild Fire, I think) will arrive in March 2007 while Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz will be a launch title.

Kiziko interviews DOA- and Ninja Gaiden-creator Tomonobu Itagaki hyoh (http://games.kikizo.com/features/itagaki_interview_jul06_p1.asp).  As for important details, he mentions that he likes to work on DOAX while drunk... well, he really likes drinking, that much is certain.  He is excited about Wii since he enjoys "those kinds" of games, but he isn't working on a game for it; fellow producer Kikuchi, however, is working on a golf game for Wii.

Nothing to do with Wii directly, but I found this article (http://games.kikizo.com/news/200607/006.asp) interesting.  I would expect MS to deny any rumor that it would eventually put a HD-DVD inside the 360 since that would only hurt sales in the short-term as the space-conscious and frugal gamers decide to wait out the shitacular external unit in favor of something that doesn't reek.

CNN Money reports (http://money.cnn.com/2006/07/05/commentary/column_gaming/index.htm?section=money_latest) that analyst P.J. McNealy of American Technology Research thinks Wii will launch in October.  For some reason, I already thought it would be on shelves on or before October 31.  Maybe because Nintendo usually releases things before November.

Yeah, this is a shitty excuse for Wii news.  I'm doing the pee-pee dance in anticipation of the September announcement just like everyone else.

I guess that's pic 5 and 6, looks more like a built in toaster.

Yes.  #4 is the SD slot while #5+6 show the GC memory card slots, just anterior of the GC controller ports.  Tiny, tiny pieces of bread can also be put in there.

This is rather stale, but some videos from Nintendo's E³ presentations (http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20060512/117025/) are on Tech-On!

I love Tech-On! (http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20060704/118809/)

Old stuff from April, but I found an interview on IGN (http://wii.ign.com/articles/703/703727p1.html) that is mostly about Madden on Wii but does confirm some details of the Wii.  The most interesting bit is probably that the Wii's ATi graphics unit will support 480p at 4x3 and 16x9, which I think we knew but I like having all this shit in one place.  If you are actually interested in Madden on Wii, I'm sure you could find a lot of wank material in that article.

Also, Nintendo lets some Brits use Wii (http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_5150000/newsid_5154700/5154788.stm), and they may or may not be impressed.  Who can tell, they are so smug and quiet about everything.  Always smirking and mumbing "Yes...... Quite."  Even better, a so-called gaming expert says that Wii is best for kids age eight to ten.  Not only is that a ridiculous comment (Red Steel?), what sort of age range comprises three years at most?  I'm glad the BBC is here to hold the shining lamp of journalism and light our way in these uncertain game-riddled times.

8 to ten is a mindset. 8 to 10 is elementary school. That said, Red Steel is a bad example. They're reworking the controls because they were shit.

I'm getting one if not two Wiis for myself, but really, you're making it out to be much more than it is.

If I don't have any real information, I have to fall back on sensationalism.

Actually, the consensus from England is that Wii is bodacious. 

EA has named names.  Stolen from N-Sider (http://www.n-sider.com/newsview.php?type=story&storyid=2292):


Wii is reminding me of that Star Trek episode where everyone was being infected by water molecules.

Anecdotal evidence (http://www.n-sider.com/articleview.php?articleid=510) of the inevitability of Wii's success, relying on Guitar Hero as a model.  Substituing "PS2" and "Guitar Hero" with "Wii" and "lightsaber" means world domination.  Believe, bitches.

Another nice hook is the fact that there are over five million DS units sold, and if Nintendo is able to convince these people that it will be huge fun to connect their handhelds to a Wii, that would be at least a few extra sales.

Cubed³ interviews Matt Bozon (http://www.cubed3.com/news/5490), Creative Director and Producer of Sigma Star Saga:

Emphasis mine.  The Virtual Console could be a good place for games which might not otherwise be released.

From the same interview, when asked what Nintendo franchise he would like to work on:

There is also a lot of fun stuff at Go Nintendo (http://www.gonintendo.com/), but it is all DS.  Linking because I love Nintendo.

Bozon is the Raph Koster of console gaming. You have played Sigma Star Saga, right? All very high concept with tremendous potential, only to fall flat on it's face because no one is giving a GBA game a $10,000,000 budget.

It's on the docket, or rather was.  Wondering if it can be found now.  So... little... time.

Not worth playing.

You've always been there for me.  Here's some actual Wii news.

The Wiimote uses two AA batteries (http://www.n-sider.com/newsview.php?type=story&storyid=2297).  Usage is estimated at 60 hours for normal use and 30 hours with pointer functionality.  The IGN think-tank tries to start a rumor that the Wiimote will have the capabilities of a megapixel camera... no.  I mean, really.  Read the IGN article if you want, but I linked the N-Sider summary on purpose.

From that same N-Sider article, some more-official description of the IR bar that we have discussed in this thread:

Finally, the Wiimote will have a tiny bit of NVRAM in it.

I figure what will be in the 6kB will be "I'm controller 1 and I belong to Harvey".

This (http://sekaiju.atlus.co.jp/story/movie01.html) has nothing to do with Wii.

A hands-on review of Madden for Wii (http://www.cubed3.com/preview/205), written by a UK resident.

Edit: Actually I an not 100% sure it is hands-on.  Sure reads that way.  Good info nonetheless.

Any word yet on the launch line-up of games?

Nothing official from Nintendo (http://wii.nintendo.com/software.html), but IGN is well up to the task of handling this (http://wii.ign.com/articles/709/709258p1.html).  To save some time, here's the list from IGN:

• Zelda: Twilight Princess
• Metroid Prime 3
• Wii Sports
• Red Steel
• Tony Hawk: The Legend of Curly's Gold
• Madden '07
• Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors
• Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz
• Metal Slug Anthology
• Trauma Center: Second Opinion
• Elebits
• Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
• Blitz: The League
• Rayman Raving Rabbids
• Spongebob
• Cars

There are at least 6 titles on that list that I'm really interested in, which should be a record for a console launch.

This is pretty much how I feel about it, although I think there will be more mixed reviews if it fails instead of across the board awfulness a la virtual boy.

Thinking about the new Zelda makes me tingle in my happy place.

Edit:  Thanks Yegolev for the list.

Let's not forget the undetermined VC titles.

IGN provided me with a picture of the IR bar.
(http://www.yegolev.com/images/ir-bar.jpg)

Apparently Sports Illustrated Kids has stated a release date of Nov 9 for Wii.  I don's sub to SIK so I can't confirm this, and it may not be grounded in reality anyway.

I don't think Wii will see the sort of failure that Virtual Boy did.  There are degrees of failure, though.  I saw a cop on a Segway today.  If you could play Madden on a Segway, I think we'd see a lot more of them, but they share a common flaw with Wii: it's hard to use them without looking like a fruitcake.

Information-bearing shot of Sonic Wild Fire, stolen from The Wiire:

(http://thewiiremedia.revolutionreport.net/games/29/210.jpg)

It's official.  Friend codes are back for the Wii.

I see nothing wrong with that IR bar. That thing should sit on top of most TV's just fine.

Seriously though, friend codes are back.  Thought this would be breaking news in this thread.

Got a link, Chief?  Not that I doubt you, it's just that you are being stingy with the infoz.

http://gonintendo.com/?p=3797


This is breaking news.  SLEUTH.

Not quite a complete confirmation, since the links on that story to the Wii site are now borken. I'm not bothered by friend's codes.

Yeah, I wasn't quick enough to get something off of the site before N "fixed" it.  I did find this, though:

(http://wii.advancedmn.com/images/media/sadness_007.jpg)

Sadness is the number one game on my radar. Narrative pieces plz. Heavy Rain, Alan Wake, Sadness. That's a PS3, 360 and Wii right there. Damn you Indigo Prophecy!

I hope the IR bar doesn't have to be level with your playing location. My TV is way above my head in my room, so....

a lot of games are probably going to stick to the old layout anyway a la smash bros (has it been said that you can use gamecube controllers on Wii?)

http://wii.ign.com/articles/707/707504p1.html

Indigo Prophecy would have been mass market candy goodness on the Wii controller.

You live in an institution, don't you?  Wall-mounted TV stand?  Maybe you can just glue the bar to your wall.  Or rest it on your knees while you lay in bed playing Madden with one hand and eating potato chips with the other.


There are some pictures linked up higher in this thread, but Wii is fully backward compatible with Cube.  It has four Cube-style sockets for GC controllers on top, and they will accept the Wavebird dongle as well.  I expect (nothing official of course) Wii will include the traditional-style controller (photos findable on Cubed³ and others), but I can't say how well it will work with GC titles if at all.  Could be that you need a GC controller (plus memory card) to play a GC game.  The traditional controller is undoubtely for use with VC games, so it seems likely to be included in the box.  If N wants to reach the Non-Gamer, they need to put more than one stinking controller in the base bundle; nothing makes Aunt Myrtle more angry than having to go back to Wal*Mart so she can play Ghosts N' Goblins.

Nope, on top of a dresser. I might be able to stick the thing between drawers, who knows.

And no, I won't be playing Madden. Fuck Madden.

i hope its actually backwards compatable, has anybody else noticed that xbox 360 plays about 50% of xbox games?

Nintendo has already stated the Wii will also play GC games.

I have a feeling the Wii can play GC because it was trivial to add all things considered. People have already said the development environments are very close to eachother. That said, what are people actually going to play? RE4 is already out in a better version on the PS2 and Smash Bros Wii will replace Smash Bros Cube. The new Zelda will completely eclipse Windwaker and well, Mario Sunshine was just balls. Sadness should - SHOULD - be every bit as good as Eternal Darkness. Really, they set the bar so fucking low with the GC that I could recommend people buy it at $59.99 to play one game. The Gamecube was a ticketmaster convenience charge for PS2 games. :P

I know like five people who have;nt had a Nintendo system since the SNES days, who have bought DS's and plan on buying Wii's.  Is that just anecdotal because I'm a nerd, or does it mean Nintendo is back, and w eshould all buy stock before the fall? 

the new zelda comes out for both systems and I would play the mario sports games until they realease Wii online versions (tennis/strikers/baseball and smash are the best games to play with friends)

I agree with this.  Wii is probably an updated GC with very similar architecture, rather than Sony's approach to put a tiny PS inside the PS2.  They have stated several times that development will be very similar between the two.

As for who will be playing GC games in the Wii, there are a few that I have not finished (OK, mostly Fire Emblem) and if I don't get that shit out of the way before I get a Wii, then I'll be doing that.  No more space or receiver ports, you see.

There has been reports that the Wii's being played at E3 were actually mostly Gamecube's with the Wiimote functionality added. So I'm sure development for the system isn't really a whole lot different than for the GC, so emulation probably isn't even needed. The real trick is making sure that new games really use that controller in an inventive way.

Heroes for the Wii. (http://www.thewiire.com/news/371/1/Heroes_First_Footage_and_Details)

I have no idea what this is about, but the cel-shaded trailer was pimp.

I digged the style....but oh my lord, change those damn VOs.

Ditto

from this thread: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=79075&page=1&pp=15 ... the other posts in the thread make it sound like you NEED to have a friend code to play with anyone online... i hope that isn't true :/

Tired.  Read yourself.  Taken from The Wiire, taken from Nintendo Dream, Miyamoto gives sparse ideas on the Wiimote speaker and handedness.

http://www.thewiire.com/news/372/1/Miyamoto_Talks_Controllers_Current_Projects

It is.  That's kind of the whole point of the friend code system.  Well, if not the point, then the effect.  They already "confirmed" this i.e., someone found some secret webpages with this information on it, and I posted it, but then they took it down.  But a million websites read it and reported on it before that happened.  So it's verifiable.

Those descriptions make friends codes sound so much more user friendly than they are. Trying to use them in Animal Crossing was such a pain. Get on the internet. Find someone in LJ's friends code exchange group. Transcribe exactly the name, city, and friend code. Then leave a message for them to do the same. Wait until they have added it.

Not user friendly. Not fun. This is one of the first things that makes me wonder about getting a Wii. Nintendo needs to get over the notion that their average customer is 8 years old.

Friends codes are absolute shit. It's not like this is something hard to coordinate. With the DS I can see there being issues with individual names lapping onto eachother. But there's no reason, on day 1, that I can't log into Connect24 and make my name Schild. And that permanently becomes my multiplayer/friend name in every game I play on the Wii, as per my Connect24 account.

But no, they want to use this code shit. What the fuck ever. Whenever barriers like this are put up with ANY GAME, all that ends up happening is I play very little multiplayer.

Edit: Good luck making an 4 - 8 man game of Smash Bros with only your friends. How long were friends codes? 12 digits? Ha!

That's pretty much what I was worried about... the whole reason I wanted wii was so that I could play some quick games of smash with random people because my friends play a lot less than me. As it stands, I'll probably have to use the smash boards to enter in a few hundred codes of nerds who will dominate me for a long time just so i can have enough codes to make it seem random. But will l have to enter in a couple hundred 12 digit codes for every fucking game I want to play?

clues to possible release date: http://kotaku.com/gaming/nintendo/thank-ea-for-wii-street-date-rumor-mongering-188527.php
if US/Japan versions are released earlier that means we'll have Wii sometime in October? sweet!

I chose to not report that since the connection between a game release date and reality, this far out, is rather thin.  If you want rumors, I know of a few, but I'm trying to keep most of the bullshit out.  Like the rumor of Mario Spraypaint for Wii.  It's less of a rumor than a total fabrication, if you ask me.

We can all wait another six weeks, can't we?

Here you go, WindiaN.  Something to chew on until a real announcement, stolen from IGN:


EDIT: I suppose if I were to guess, this means that Wii will be on shelves October 30.  That's just one day off from my previous guess of October 31.  Halloween would be totally sweet since that is my wedding anniversary, but the day before is close enough.

The Nintendo-Europe web site (http://ms.nintendo-europe.com/wii/?site=software.html&l=enGB) now has Super Smash Bros. Brawl listed.  I'm not really sure if this is big enough to be called news.

Something else to decode, for those of you who are into breaking marketing cryptography:


OK, so will Wii be region-free or not?  Without a straight answer, I'll say negative.  She seems to be talking about the WiFi feature, not the games.

http://wii.ign.com/articles/720/720991p1.html

supposedly GC Zelda comes out November 1, which IMO does not bode well for an October release (about the only thing i've seen which leads me to believe that Wii is coming in November). If the Wii zelda is a launch title, you have assume that it will come out on or after the GC zelda, otherwise it would completely destroy sales for the GC version. Then again I really have no idea :/  I'm considering not buying the system until Smash comes out because I want to see how stupid those friend codes are...

I would think both versions of Twilight Princess would hit at the same time, but I'm no Carnac the Magnificent.  Well, I might be Carnac if Oct 30 turns out to be the day.  Or Oct 31.  I'm betting on both because I can.  Landing on my anniversary would bode well in a cosmic way; aside from getting married on Halloween, my wife's birthday is July 4 and my son has the same birthday as me.  I seem to be winning.

GC Zelda will come out a month after Wii Zelda.

I hath spoken.

Going for the October 2 release, then?  That's a popular one and seems to fit with the supposed code.

Sadness will arrive no sooner than Q407.  http://www.cubed3.com/news/5623

Rumor or leak?

Wii hardware specs (http://www.maxconsole.net/?mode=news&newsid=8802) leaked by a dev.  Generally interesting stuff is at the top and supergeek stuff is lower down.

I might have posted some of this to the front page except that there really isn't any way for me to verify this.

You know I love this info... specs seem pretty solid but the memory situation has me a little worried. There has to be more storage than 512mb of flash memory right? What/is there a hard drive of some sort?

There is a report on Cubed³ (http://www.cubed3.com/news/5629) that Nintendo is going to reveal five more Wii titles at the imaginatively-named Games Convention in Leipzig (Aug 23-27).  I wanted to check out the originating site, vooks.net, but apparently they have attracted the wrath of all four Iranian hackers.  Anyway, other highlights should include showings of the new-and-improved Red Steel and Raving Rabbids, plus some other junk like Settlers and Splinter Cell.

Today is shaping up to be a strange one.

Re: Wii memory, there has never been any indication that Wii would contain a hard drive.  Presumably, saves can be stored on a SD card to free up internal memory.  GC games will likely be restricted to saving on a GC memory card, much like PS1 games in a PS2... but I'm just assuming here.  There will be USB ports, but will there be support for USB flash drive storage?

The only thing that interests me about the Wii is the thought of using the remote in action RPGs. Or as a lightsaber in some Star Wars game, maybe that Force Unleashed thing Lucasarts has been dropping hints about.

Other than that I see it as yet another Nintendo gimmick, and I'm sure to get the best out of most games I'd also have to have a DS, so for now, I'm just going to hold off and watch what happens after launch.

This is true of the GameCube as well, and the GBA.  Nintendo SOP.  Being a Nintendo Ho means Hardware Pokemon.  I have the E-Reader specifically for Animal Crossing, which of course requires a GBA and a link cable as well.  That, my friend, is gimmicky.  As I like to exclaim when shopping with my wife: "That's how they get you!"

Everyone who likes gaming should have a DS.  They're only 130 bucks, and games are 35.  It's pretty reasonable especially with how slick the Lite is.

DS headset will be available this month.  Catch'em all, bitches.

The GameCube doesn't have a hard drive at all, and weak, weak memory specs. But you can still play Resident Evil 4 on it, and the gaming nirvana that game is gives me faith (yep, I said it, faith) that the Wii's hardware specs won't hold it back at all.

You saying you have faith in an unreleased console heralds the dawning of a new age.

Exactly.

Indeed, which is why I count it as a lesson learned and am probably holding off on the Wii.

Though, who am I kidding? If they put a lightsaber game in their lineup and the remote makes lightsaber sounds as I fight Darth Maul on my TV I'm there. I'm probably running any chance I ever have to get laid ever again, but I'm there. And I'm sure my video will end up on the internet as the new Star Wars boy.

I can never decide if this sort of thing is frontpage-worthy.  I fear my own green name.  Anyway, Wii OS is Linux.  Text lifted from Kiyoshi Saruwatari's Wii Blog (http://saruwatari-wii.blogspot.com/):

This is almost a galactic inevitability.  LucasArts has specifically announced an interest in Wii during ComicCon under questioning by IGN, even mentioning the similarity between the Wiimote and a lightsaber.  IGN was recently blocked in my corporate http proxy, so I can't post a link just now.  If you want to try to find it yourself, the top-level is wii.ign.com, but you might just want to take my word and avoid IGN.

Any guesses on how long it'll take for someone to figure out a way to play pirated roms off of a flash drive?

My guess is three months, depending on how easy it will be to get the hardwired SD card out.

From IGN, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon on Wii (http://wii.ign.com/articles/722/722491p1.html), Q107.

Too bad the series peaked at MK3.

Something of a cap on pricing for Wii games, from a Gamasutra article (http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=10311) covering a recent EA conference call:


Another highlight from the call is that EA suspects Sony will have a hard time delivering PS3 hardware in the announced quantities.

Or depending on when (they have to eventually) they release/support additional memory drives.

Regarding the pricing, the pricing thing doesn't surprise me, but the PS3 thing just confirms my suspicions that I should go out and buy a few and sell them on ebay to pay for everything Wii related!

This is the only console I'm currently planning on getting.  XBox 360 still hasn't impressed me with it's lineup, and there's no way in hell I'm selling my mother into prostitution to pay for a PS3.  The biggest thing pushing me towards jumping on the Wii bandwagon is the Gamecube, though.  Absolutely love it to death for what it is: a having-company-over fun machine.  Double Dash, Smash Brothers, and Monkey Ball keep us endlessly entertained while getting drunk off our asses.  I've never been so entertained by a console before, and that's convinced me that betting on Mario is probably a pretty safe bet.

The only thing that keeps me looking at the PS2 (although never actually making the plunge) is Guitar Hero.  But I can't justify buying a PS2 just for that.

It is by far the best system to have in college, you just need to convince people to get over the "GC is for kids" stereotype (by kids i mean 12 and less, i realize i'm a kid here!). You should get all the mario games (party/strikers/baseball/tennis) they are great multiplayer games.

Dreamcast > Gamecube for College.

Just saying.

In 2001 maybe

No, I meant 2006. But yea, it was true in 2001 also.

Friends, booze and Dr. Mario.  If that's your bag, then Wii is for you.  I hear crazy shit is going to be in Mario Party.


Linko Roboto (http://www.wiiplus.net/fullNews.php?newsId=15)

Seems like Midway is pulling out their trump card, Rampage: Total Destruction for Wii should be available before 2006 goes tits-up.  Laissez les bon temps roulette!

IGN Link (http://wii.ign.com/articles/722/722879p1.html)

When the 134th reiteration of Rampage is your "trump card" you're well and truly fucked.

Wii coverage in Stars and Stripes Gamer (http://dl.qj.net/Stars-and-Stripes-Gamer-Software-Gaming/pg/12/fid/9233/catid/438), which is in PDF format, thanks to QJ.net.  If you don't know, Stars and Stripes is a US DoD-published magazine, and Stars and Stripes Gamer is, naturally, the gaming version.

QJ.net is also kind enough to host the document from Anascape Ltd. (http://dl.qj.net/lawsuit-document-from-anascape-ltd.-media-tools-xbox-360-applications/pg/12/fid/9216/catid/337) that details their lawsuit against both Microsoft and Nintendo for twelve different patent infringements.  You can read this if you like; I have neither the inclination nor the legal skill.

If anyone had entertained the idea, an exclusive interview with Monolith Soft (http://www.cubed3.com/news/5654) on Cubed³ denies the possibility of Baten Kaitos Origins/II making an appearance on Wii.

IGN posts an interview with Laurent Detoc (http://wii.ign.com/articles/723/723081p1.html), president of Ubisoft NA, in which seven Wii games are listed as arriving within the launch region: Red Steel, Rayman, FarCry, Blazing Angels, Open Season, Monster 4x4, and a new racer called GT Pro Series.

I am mildly shocked that the "gaming press" is mildly shocked that there will be no Space World in 2006.  I think they must be mildly bored.

Wii advertisements are now showing in Australia.  The countdown begins to the Aussie government's ban on Wii due to simulated violence and fun.

Why are my tax dollars being used to fund a gaming magazine?  :roll:

It's for America!

I would have killed to have some gaming news during the Gulf War.  When your news options are limited to Armed Forces radio, whatever news clippings that are mailed to you, and maybe the Navy Times, you are desperate for any thing new to read and discuss.  You can only hear about GI Joe's retarded family so many times before you have to kill him.

Because it's far cheaper to control an entire single magazine's content and viewpoint than it is to sell a few others after a review/ edit process.

You might want to complain about the other benefits given to those that put themselves in harm's way for our government.  Did you know they get awesome medical and dental benefits?  Also the FDA isn't required to approve anything used on military personnel?  Those bastards have it easy.

Don't forget the awesome living accomidations.  Fuckers get housing for free too.

(http://www.hqusareur.army.mil/htmlinks/Press_Releases/2003/May2003/Camp-P-300.jpg)


Edit:  Oddly, there were several plugs in S&S for the Wii, including a rehash from Saturo Iwata that Wii wiill be a failure if it doesn't outsell the GC.  Nothing to speak of regarding PS3 or 360.  They're looking to continue work on America's Army too - and with broadband being pushed for all three consoles, I wonder if they've looked at a console port?  Probably not, but would be wierd.

Why are they being used to fund development and support on an FPS video game just to keep recruitment numbers up?

Don't ask stupid questions. I'd be fine with my tax dollars going to pr0n and hookers for the troops, since that's just the kind of release needed when someone's trying to blow your face off.

Get with the times, son! (http://xbox.gamespy.com/xbox/americas-army/)

From a CVG (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/) interview that should appear today, American McGee loves Wii:

Financial corporation Nikko Citigroup (http://www.nikkocitigroup.com/english/) has forecast that the Wii might retail for as low as ¥19,500, which translates to about $170 or £90.  I don't have a copy of the actual report, which is probably in Japanese anyway, but here's a Cubed³ link (http://www.cubed3.com/news/5711) and a CVG link (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=144573).  Naturally, this is merely a projection and there isn't anything stopping Nintendo from charging us $250 and making a fat profit on each Wii, assuming they can manufacture them this cheaply.

I've never taken a single economics class in my life (it works the same was as electricity: magic) but you have to wonder if Nintendo has the potential for serious market inroads given what will be a HUGE price differential between all the next gen consoles.  Then again, your average gamer may just say "pshaw! Its the difference of price of 7-10 purchased games, Nintendo is crap."  Still, I foresee this console either drastically shrinking or drastically expanding Nintendo's console market share, with nothing in between.

I'm still betting on $199. The last three Nintendo consoles (GC, N64, SNES) have all been released in NA at that price.

Edit: fixed typo

I am partial to the $199 prediction myself.  I think the report is likely accurate, but people don't sell things for $170.  Psychologically speaking, 199 isn't much bigger than 170.  200 is way bigger than 170.

$199 is pretty much locked in. And the extras should be good. Consideirng they're repackaging the gamecube with a new controller, I expect them to sweeten the deal muchly. I AM however super pissed that they are only bringing out black & white at launch in the US. Meh. Hopefully they'll announce a VGA cable though.

So uhhh... why would you not be able to play with the GC controller on the Wii version? Does that imply that the Wii version is something more than a port?

 Link  (http://www.nintendorevolution.ca/08172006/01/nintendo_wii_zelda_wont_be_compatible_with_gc_controller)

Yes it does.

Care to speculate in what way the games will be different? I sort of assumed that I was going to buy the GC version becuase it would probably be cheaper and I don't care about the graphics all that much. In fact, maybe that is exactly what they were trying to avoid. If the Wii controller is really sweet then everybody would have to buy the Wii version instead of just getting the cheaper alternative.

Well the Wii version supports widescreen but that wasn't really your question. At the most trivial level it sounds like the Wii TP UI is designed for the Wii Remote which implies it would be hard to navigate using a GC controller. I wouldn't imagine they would significantly change the gameplay on the Wii just to accommodate the Wii controllers but I could imagine certain moves being easier to perform or having special "flourishes" unique to the Wii version. If you want to be cynical about it it could just be Nintendo "forcing" people to play with the Wii controllers just because that's what makes the Wii unique, sort of analogous to the way many DS games try to use the touchscreen for things even if it would be easier just to use the buttons.

It has been laid out over time that Twilight Princess for Wii will require the Wiimote, although there hasn't been a detailed description of exactly why (that I am aware of).  Three items that were mentioned were swordfighting, archery and fishing.

Why would a GC controller not work on the Wii version?  Well, you can call me cynical but Nintendo purposely did that.  N has been selling hardware since 1889, if you consider playing cards hardware.  They are a hardware company.  If you went looking for accessories for your Cube, you'd see that they like selling gadgets, and a well-known Nintendo paradigm is connectivity, or what I call "hookin' shit together".  So, since they were going to make two versions anyway, it was only natural (as Japanese villains like to say) to restrict controller use.  Selling more software copies is an inevitability in that case.


Agreed, although my wife will probably be fine with me not having the chartreuse one.


What are you doing?  For screenshots?  Converters can be found.

Wii will be playable for press and industry only, next Wed at Leipzig Game Convention.

Wii will probably be playable at the Fusion Tour venues.  The tour starts Sep 27 in Columbus, Ohio.  I was thinking about going by when it hit Atlanta on Oct 13, but it's at the Tabernacle and I'm just not ready to die from heat stroke.

Can anybody get into the Fusion Tour? I'd love to check it out when they get to Atlanta, I go to school down there.

www.nintendofusiontour.com

Anybody with money for a ticket and the physical constitution to endure the Tabernacle.  Then again, it is the middle of October so it might not be deadly-hot.

Frontline Studios to publish Sadness. Link: AMN (http://wii.advancedmn.com/article.php?artid=7391)

Opera will be loaded into the Wii Flash ROM rather than run from disc; plus other details. Link: Nintendo Life (http://www.nintendolife.com/articles/2006/08/17/exclusive_interview_opera_talk_wii)

Miyamoto now says that you will swing your Wiimote to have Link swing his sword.  Also the controls are still being worked on and are coming along nicely.  Nintendo Life doesn't really give a source, but Cubed³ reports the information came from Nintendo Dream magazine (http://www.cubed3.com/news/5743).  Link: Nintendo Life (http://www.nintendolife.com/articles/2006/08/21/swing_your_sword_in_twilight_princess)

List of games being shown at Leipzig here in one of the many languages I don't understand (http://www.ds-gamer.nl/article/4351p1.html).  I think it is Netherlandish.  Possibly Dutchese.

Call of Duty 3 for Wii is delayed until 2007.  Many places quoting Edge magazine, or more accurately quoting Wii-UK.net quoting Edge.

Gameindustry.biz reports (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=19149) that EA thinks Wii will retail for $170.  Sounds more like EA execs are just quoting that Nikko Citigroup number, but I'm not in posession of a MBA.

This may or may not be related to Wii, but gameindustry.biz also reports Sony will release pink PS2 and PSP units (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=19140) in Europe.  Reading that article certainly sounds like someone trying to pass off Sony's machines as something "casual" gamers -- a.k.a little girls -- would like.  Even if you have a pink PSP, you're still playing Infected, and who needs a pink one when you can get a skin that makes it look like the cube from Hellraiser?  Maybe the pink ones will contain tilt sensors, too.  Certainly that would be the final nail in Nintendo's coffin.

Since I bothered to mention Sony in the Wii Ramble Thread, I might as well quote a Gamespot interview with Kaz Hirai (http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6156046.html) in which he confirms there will be nasty shortages of PS3 hardware.


And even better:

Whoops!

lol, Sony.

700,000 PS3 units in each territory? 700k for the whole US?

Yeah, prepare to see some dumb motherfuckers getting shot over this. And the EBay speculators make a killing of a different sort.

And if I may complete your thought: we all (should) know Nintendo is already manufacturing Wii units.

Y'know, I'd been planning on buying a Wii all the time and took a wait and see approach to the 360.  When I did pick up the 360 it was mainly an impulse buy after reading up on Chromehounds, and now I've found that I've unwittingly joined up with the Wii60 faction.  I just don't see Sony doing all that well this time around.  MS has finally started to gather some steam behind their game lineup, and they undoubtedly have the best online integration of any of the consoles.  Nintendo's got the perfect price point, a novel and interesting control scheme, and a great lineup at launch.  They'll be hitting the ground running.  All that is conspiring to do Sony some damage, I think.  When this generation of consoles comes to an end I think we'll find Sony at least in second place, maybe third if one excludes Japan.

More screenshots of Sonic and the Secret Rings (previously Sonic Wild Fire) can be found on the Intertron.

(http://wii.qj.net/uploads/articles_module/62779/ssr1.jpg)

Wii vs. PS3 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8Z0j_CajU0)  NSFW for some!

Do her panties say Olympic?

I'll check when I get home.

Yep.

You are truly a man of your word.  :-)

LOL? (http://www.gameshout.com/news/nintendo_wii_price_announced/article8083.htm) $322 is simply too much for this system. And is a completely nonsensical price.

Ouch!  If that's true, I'll most likely not be pre-ordering it.  After hearing that Zelda can't be played with a GC style controller if the Wii-mote happens to suck for it and about the potential awkwardness (http://www.cubed3.com/news/5731/) of games like Wii Sports, the system is sounding more risky to me.  I was prepared to shell out $200 for Power Glove 2.0, but at $322, I'll be waiting for the reviews before taking the plunge.

However, this is confusing because we're basing the math from the Euro price. Perhaps North America will have a price of $250 or lower, we don't know. We just know that today Nintendo hinted the "250 Euro" price which does convert to $320 US dollars.

It's a non-sensical price because it's just a conversion of the sensical 250 euro pricetag being hinted at.

I'd be very surprised if the Wii is over $300 US.

That link is blocked in my proxy, but I don't see supporting rumor posts on the other sites I usually check.  Seems like it might stem from the Nintendo-of-Germany statement that the Wii will cost less than 250 euros, which is about 320 dollars, I think.  Not that I can read the link.

We should know for sure in about twenty days:
(http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/sept14invite.jpg)
No, that's not my invitation.  As if.

Black and pink DS Lite in US on September 13.

The $322 price is based on Euro to dollar conversion, which really means nothing. Also, the German guy didn't say it IS 250 Euros, he said he expects it to be, which isn't even an official announcement of the Euro price.

It wouldn't surprise me even a tiny bit if Europeans paid around 250 Euros and Americans paying USD250 or even less.  We get regularly screwed here in Euro land, and it is often even worse in EU countries not using the Euro currency.  Below, I will list the consoles for which I have paid less than the equivalent of 350 dollars:


Oh right, that has never happened.  You think a PS3 is gonna be expensive in the US?  I'd have to pay about a grand for one.

Isn't most of that coming from VAT, though?  In which case you'd really have only yourselves to blame.

Perhaps your socialist governments can sponsor game consoles for everyone to play during your six weeks of vacation.

Kidding.  Really.

Some blame can be laid on VAT, but far from all.   Using my PS3 example (no, I don't really know the price it will sell for where I live), I would expect to pay around 800 dollars before VAT, maybe a tad less.  I wasn't complaining so much as reinforcing the point that the Euro price estimate shouldn't mean much for the American price.   Every console I've had over here has been far more expensive than the some product in the US.


Heh. It's not possible for me to be offended by that...I'm an American living abroad and I routinely make similar jokes.

Red Steel control video (http://www.gamevideos.com/video/id/5280) on gamevideos.com.

There's apparently a lot of new stuff there from Leipzig, perhaps worth picking through, such as some Crysis videos.

That looks right good to me.

That's encouraging.  Does anyone else think the nunchuk/controller cable seems awful short?  The guy in that video stretched it to full length several times.  That will be the first thing I break.

Looks pretty short to me.  That cable had better lock in pretty tightly.  In fact, I am rather wary of the whole thing.  The fact that I have not heard any bad review of the contraption is where most of my hope comes from.

There is a video somewhere for Raving Rabbids in which a young girl (?) that looks like Edward Scisscorhands swings the Wiimote around by the cord, knocking the holy fuck out of about eight hundred rabbids on screen.  So, I am hoping this means that they built the thing sturdy, otherwise someone's going to lose an eye.

Stoled from wii.ign.com:
So maybe Tecmo Bowl on VC?

Hmm... let's see... new images of Wii from GDC?  Right hyoh (http://www.wiicentre.com/gdc-2006-revolution-images/), freshly-stolen from Wii Centre.

More information about Elebits (http://wii.advancedmn.com/article.php?artid=7505) on AdvancedMN.

Shots of LGC (http://www.jeux-france.com/news17169_games-convention-2006-en-photos.html) at Jeux-France.

Download one (http://dl.qj.net/Battalion-Wars-2-IGN-Gameplay-Video-1-Wii-Videos-Trailers/pg/12/fid/9673/catid/260) or two (http://dl.qj.net/Battalion-Wars-2-IGN-Gameplay-Video-2-Wii-Videos-Trailers/pg/12/fid/9674/catid/260) videos of BWii gameplay.  That's Battalion Wars II.

I wish I could read this (http://www.wiigamer.nl/article/4486p1.html).  Best I can tell, with my nonexistent understanding of what I assume is Dutch, something related to Biohazard (Resident Evil for you gaijin) will maybe happen on September 1.  I pasted the Dutch into a German-to-English translator and it came out pretty much the same way it went in.  Well, September 1 is like fucking tomorrow.  I can wait.  It's probably a horrible pack of lies anyway, or shoddy speculation at best.

Possible trouble with manufacturing Wiimotes and new PSP (http://www.pcgames.com.cn/tvgames/topic/psp/information/otherinf/0608/815722_1.html) units.  I linked the original Chinese article because 1) it's the original article 2) if anything is less trustworthy than Chinese game journalists, it's translations of Chinese game journalists, and 3) I will summarize.  Basically the factory has issues with button sensitivity and some weird noise in the Wiimote.  Oddly, or perhaps not, no one seems to give a shit about the PSP problems and I don't see a translation of what the deal is there.  It is pretty interesting to find that the same factory is building Wiimotes and PSPs, but then I tend to think of China as a black box which consumes raw materials and produces finished goods anyway.

I should not have to say that this could very well be complete bullshit.