Wii stuff

[HaemishM]

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.

[Yegolev]

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

[schild]

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!

[Strazos]

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....

[WindiaN]

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

[HaemishM]

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!

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

[Yegolev]

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....

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.

(has it been said that you can use gamecube controllers on Wii?)

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.

[Strazos]

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....

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.

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.

[WindiaN]

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

[Strazos]

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

[schild]

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

[dusematic]

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? 

[WindiaN]

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)

[Yegolev]

I have a feeling the Wii can play GC because it was trivial to add all things considered.

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.

[HaemishM]

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.

[MrHat]

Heroes for the Wii.

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

[Strazos]

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

[dusematic]

Ditto

[WindiaN]

Wifi Friend Codes work as followed:

You receive a friend code per online game. With this code, you add people onto a personal buddy list. Using this buddy list, you can easily start up your own personal server and invite any one of buddies via the stored friend code.

Games differ in how the friend code is used. I will provide three games and examples for each:

Metroid Prime Hunters: The friend code in this instance is used to add buddies to a list, similar to a friend's list on Xbox Live. While hosting a game, you may invite other buddies from your list. An additional way of increasing your friend list is to add a person after you finish a random match online. There is also a seperate list, a rivals list. This list can be filled by adding a player as a rival after a random encounter online, or by using a search function incorporated in the game that allows you to download local hunter cards( player profiles in other words).

Mario Kart DS: Though I don't have much experience with the online play, what I do know is that the friends list allows you to use a specific search function to look for players that are on your list. This also applies to the rival list. How to gain a rival is unknown to me. You can not host your own "server", but you can keep track of your friends win ratio, star ranking, and the like. Without the server hosting, this basically means you will always be matched randomly with a player online. The actual chances of you getting in a match with a specific friend is slim unless your list is smaller.

Animal Crossing DS: Again not as much experience with this game online, but I think it works the same as locally. You add a friend code, and using that friend code, you are allowed to invite your friends to your personal town! You can go do everything you love doing alone, but this time with a friend!

If anyone is still fuzzy on a particular detail, ask me, and if I do not know, I know people that DO know (they don't visit smashboards though, that's why I posted! .... anyone wanna rep+ me? :P)

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 :/

[Yegolev]

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

[dusematic]

Wifi Friend Codes work as followed:

You receive a friend code per online game. With this code, you add people onto a personal buddy list. Using this buddy list, you can easily start up your own personal server and invite any one of buddies via the stored friend code.

Games differ in how the friend code is used. I will provide three games and examples for each:

Metroid Prime Hunters: The friend code in this instance is used to add buddies to a list, similar to a friend's list on Xbox Live. While hosting a game, you may invite other buddies from your list. An additional way of increasing your friend list is to add a person after you finish a random match online. There is also a seperate list, a rivals list. This list can be filled by adding a player as a rival after a random encounter online, or by using a search function incorporated in the game that allows you to download local hunter cards( player profiles in other words).

Mario Kart DS: Though I don't have much experience with the online play, what I do know is that the friends list allows you to use a specific search function to look for players that are on your list. This also applies to the rival list. How to gain a rival is unknown to me. You can not host your own "server", but you can keep track of your friends win ratio, star ranking, and the like. Without the server hosting, this basically means you will always be matched randomly with a player online. The actual chances of you getting in a match with a specific friend is slim unless your list is smaller.

Animal Crossing DS: Again not as much experience with this game online, but I think it works the same as locally. You add a friend code, and using that friend code, you are allowed to invite your friends to your personal town! You can go do everything you love doing alone, but this time with a friend!

If anyone is still fuzzy on a particular detail, ask me, and if I do not know, I know people that DO know (they don't visit smashboards though, that's why I posted! .... anyone wanna rep+ me? :P)

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 :/

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.

[Numtini]

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.

[schild]

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!

[WindiaN]

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?

[WindiaN]

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!

[Yegolev]

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?

[Yegolev]

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

The fourth quarter of 2006 will herald a new era for Nintendo with the launch of its remarkable new Wii home video game system. But that's not what this news item is about! How could that be, you ask? Perhaps the secret to the launch information for Wii is somehow encoded in the text of this news item. You might want to pore over it for a few hours before staying up all night to debate phraseology and comma placement with your friends online. Or maybe it's all just a scam to get you to read the other games we have launching this fall. One of the two.

As the weather cools down, the Nintendo portable game offerings heat up. FINAL FANTASY V ADVANCE makes its way to Game Boy Advance SP on Nov. 6. As series go, FINAL FANTASY is to video games what James Bond is to movies. FINAL FANTASY loyalists will enjoy an opportunity to debate which installment was best.

Nintendo DS owners are the big winners. Every week or so, another huge DS title hits, from the Touch Generations title Clubhouse Games to fan favorites like Elite Beat Agents and Yoshi's Island 2. Clearly a gamer's idea of paradise, here is Nintendo's upcoming DS lineup:

Oct. 9: Clubhouse Games
Oct. 16: Nintendogs (Dalmatian)
Oct. 23: Magical Starsign
Oct. 30: Pokémon Ranger
Oct. 30: Children of Mana
Nov. 6: Elite Beat Agents
Nov. 13: Yoshi's Island 2
Dec. 4: Custom Robo Arena
Dec. 4: Kirby Squeak Squad

And, for Nintendo GameCube owners, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess will be available for you this fall. An enhanced version also will be a launch title for Wii. That will all happen on... Oh look, we're out of space.

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.

[Yegolev]

The Nintendo-Europe web site now has Super Smash Bros. Brawl listed.  I'm not really sure if this is big enough to be called news.

[Yegolev]

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

This week's question: The DS has been an overwhelming success. Are you looking into using the same fundamentals -- like, for instance, its region-free standard -- for Wii?

Perrin Kaplan, vice president of marketing and corporate communications, Nintendo of America: Clearly, the success of Nintendo DS has offered a lot of lessons about what works in the marketplace -- and we certainly intend to keep our fans satisfied. For the Wii system, we are finalizing all the relevant details and will be making announcements in the coming months. We know that isn't what you all want to hear (or read) but at least we are being honest! We will share a lot of ways people can play globally, regionally, without boundaries. You're right that the region-free approach has proved to be a successful and attractive feature for Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection on Nintendo DS -- we have even blown the doors off our own anticipated numbers! Cost, ease-of-use and player privacy are the three things that were a focus for us with Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Those priorities also will apply to the Wii system.

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

[WindiaN]

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

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...

[Yegolev]

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.

[schild]

GC Zelda will come out a month after Wii Zelda.

I hath spoken.

[Yegolev]

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

[Yegolev]

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

[Yegolev]

Rumor or leak?

Wii hardware specs 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.