Wii stuff

[Triforcer]

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.

[Trippy]

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

[Yegolev]

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.

[schild]

$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.

[WindiaN]

TSA: Hi. What is up with the release status of Twilight Princess - is it coming out on GCN everywhere, or just here? Also, will we be able to use the GCN controller for the Wii version?

GEORGE HARRISON: Zelda TP will be releasing on both GCN and Wii on the same day as the launch of Wii. The GCN controller will be able to play the GCN version on the Wii console, but will not be able to play the Wii version.

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

[Trippy]

TSA: Hi. What is up with the release status of Twilight Princess - is it coming out on GCN everywhere, or just here? Also, will we be able to use the GCN controller for the Wii version?

GEORGE HARRISON: Zelda TP will be releasing on both GCN and Wii on the same day as the launch of Wii. The GCN controller will be able to play the GCN version on the Wii console, but will not be able to play the Wii version.

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

Yes it does.

[WindiaN]

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.

[Trippy]

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.

[Yegolev]

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.

I AM however super pissed that they are only bringing out black & white at launch in the US.

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

Hopefully they'll announce a VGA cable though.

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

[Yegolev]

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.

[WindiaN]

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.

[Yegolev]

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.

[Yegolev]

Frontline Studios to publish Sadness. Link: AMN

Opera will be loaded into the Wii Flash ROM rather than run from disc; plus other details. Link: Nintendo Life

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.  Link: Nintendo Life

List of games being shown at Leipzig here in one of the many languages I don't understand.  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.

[Yegolev]

Gameindustry.biz reports 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 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 in which he confirms there will be nasty shortages of PS3 hardware.

you're talking about less than 700,000 units per territory, per major territory, between launch and the end of the year.

And even better:

We haven't started manufacturing yet.

Whoops!

[Strazos]

lol, Sony.

[HaemishM]

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.

[Yegolev]

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

[Big Gulp]

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.

[Yegolev]

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

[Xanthippe]

Wii vs. PS3  NSFW for some!

[Kenrick]

Do her panties say Olympic?

[Yegolev]

I'll check when I get home.

Yep.

[Kenrick]

I'll check when I get home.

Yep.

You are truly a man of your word. 

[schild]

Nintendo President and Representative Director, Satoru Iwata expects the Nintendo Wii price to be $322 in the US, which is about 250 euros, or 25,000 yen.

LOL? $322 is simply too much for this system. And is a completely nonsensical price.

[OcellotJenkins]

Nintendo President and Representative Director, Satoru Iwata expects the Nintendo Wii price to be $322 in the US, which is about 250 euros, or 25,000 yen.

LOL? $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 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.

[murdoc]

Nintendo President and Representative Director, Satoru Iwata expects the Nintendo Wii price to be $322 in the US, which is about 250 euros, or 25,000 yen.

LOL? $322 is simply too much for this system. And is a completely nonsensical price.

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.

[Yegolev]

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:

No, that's not my invitation.  As if.

Black and pink DS Lite in US on September 13.

[HaemishM]

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.

[Cyrrex]

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.

[Big Gulp]

We get regularly screwed here in Euro land, and it is often even worse in EU countries not using the Euro currency. 

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

[Yegolev]

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

Kidding.  Really.

[Cyrrex]

We get regularly screwed here in Euro land, and it is often even worse in EU countries not using the Euro currency. 

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

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.

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

Kidding.  Really.

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

[Yegolev]

Red Steel control video on gamevideos.com.

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

[HaemishM]

That looks right good to me.

[OcellotJenkins]

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.