Wii Announces New “Party Package” Game and Internet Channel Delay
March 23, 2007
Boogie is a new Wii exclusive plans to karaoke, dance, and rhythm-based games to provide what developer EA calls “the ultimate videogame party package.”
The game will be headed by EA Montreal, and the development team hopes to fully utilize the special qualities of the Wii controller to provide a unique gaming experience.
Boogie plans to incorporate singing and dancing modes, as well as a mode in which players can create their own music videos. Not much else is known about the title so far, but EA promises that users will be able to choose from a roster of wild, customizable characters with a zany alien motif.
“We’re creating something new and different for gamers of all ages to enjoy; the complete party package where gamers can dance as well as sing,” said Alain Tascan, VP and General Manager of EA Montreal. “Nintendo’s Wii is an amazing console that really gives us a platform to be creative and to re-think traditional game development.”
EA hopes to release Boogie worldwide before the end of the 2007 calendar year.
According to a press release today from Opera Software, the release date for the final version of the Wii’s internet browser, or the Internet Channel, has been delayed from late March (which is now) to an undetermined date in April.
A beta version of the browser is currently available free of charge, but the final version will be downloadable for the price of 500 Wii Points. A DS version of the browser will become available in the American market on June 4th of this year.
A Wii Microphone???
March 13, 2007
An anonymously written blog claims that “several insider sources” have confirmed that 1) Nintendo will release a microphone attachment for the Wii, 2) several microphone-enabled games are being developed, and 3) a new Wii Channel will utilize the microphone peripheral.
The anonymous site indicates that Disney’s karaoke sim, High School Musical, is one game that will use the microphone. Disney has commented that “an announcement will be made within the next few weeks” regarding these rumors. Nintendo UK insiders, however, have deemed the news “pure rumor and speculation.”
It has also been rumored that the next Harry Potter game on Wii will come with a microphone attachment.
Although the microphone itself hasn’t been officially confirmed, Disney’s has sent out official information regarding High School Musical: “With two all-new karaoke games on Wii and Sony PlayStation2, fans of all ages will extend their High School Musical experience as they never have before. They’ll sing their way through the original hit movie - solo or as a duet - plus perform all of the songs from High School Musical 2 and other bonus tracks from popular Disney Channel artists.” So if you’ll be singing, surely you’ll need a microphone, right?
For what it’s worth, this is not the first time that rumors have swirled around the notion of a Wii microphone; Nintendo itself once said that the microphone was one of many considerations for the Wii Remote, with the internal speaker being the company’s final decision.
Stay tuned for when Video Game Buttons officially confirms the Wii microphone!
Nintendo Reveals (Some) Details at GDC
March 9, 2007
As part of Nintendo’s keynote, Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto stated that the company is currently developing a new Wii channel that would allow users to enter their Miis in contests. Later, he announced that Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii is planned for release sometime within the 2007 calendar year.
Miyamoto also discussed Nintendo’s emphasis on creating games for a broader audience. He noted that even his wife, a gamer by no means, fancies herself to be a “true” gamer, thanks to the Wii, having made Mii avatars for the entire extended family and even all of their neighbors. Miyamoto also stressed the importance of balance and teamwork by using the Wii controller design as an example. He illustrated that Nintendo went through a number of prototypes before finally resting on the idea of a remote control, but he states that the final design only came through a group collaboration on the part of many of Nintendo’s design teams.
Following some words about the importance of risk-taking and tenacity, Miyamoto then made the announcements about the new Wii channel devoted to Mii contests and Super Mario Galaxy’s 2007 release. In the case of Galaxy, he made mention of the fact that numerous gamers have approached him, asking whatever happened to Super Mario 128. His usual response is that what originally started off as Super Mario 128 became the framework for what eventually became Pikmin.
It’s reported that the lack of any juicy announcements on the part of Nintendo is the direct result of a gag order placed upon the company so as not to significantly alter the price of its stock. News reports from Bloomberg indicate Nintendo’s desire to decrease the price of its stock and increase the number of shares available to the general public, so, instead of initiating a stock-split (as is the custom with most public companies), it requested that the Japanese government sell off all of its shares in the company. All Nintendo executives were recently placed on a temporary gag order (as a result of the impending securities trade) that would prevent them from revealing any information regarding “forward-looking” titles. Failure to uphold this gag order could potentially cause the stock to fluctuate, thereby greatly influencing the efficacy of the sale.
The real good stuff from Nintendo actually came before Miyamoto’s address. The biggest news was that Pokemon Battle Revolution will be the first Wii game that will take advantage of the console’s online capabilities. The Pokemon Battle Revolution release also marks the first game to feature Wii and DS connectivity, through which users not only have the option of importing saved characters from the upcoming Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl, but they can also use the DS as a makeshift controller. Pokemon Battle Revolution will be released in North American on June 25.
Other upcoming Nintendo titles for the Wii include Super Paper Mario on April 9th, Mario Party 8 on May 29, and Big Brain Academy on June 11. Upcoming Nintendo DS titles include Pokemon Diamond/Pearl on April 22, Planet Puzzle League on June 4, and the “Opera” web browser also to be released on June 4.
SNK: No Online Features for Third-Party Developers in ‘07
March 6, 2007
Ben Herman, head of SNK USA, has confirmed that third party developers will be restricted from including online capabilities in their games throughout the 2007 calendar year and that American Wii owners will be able to download and play NeoGeo games sometime in 2007.
Herman also added that Nintendo has all the games in the NES and SNES library safely hidden, ready to be accessed and released at any time: “I know that Nintendo has all the code for NES and SNES titles, all of the manuals and so on. They have a pretty good filing cabinet and all they have to do is seek permission from the IP holder to put the game out over Virtual Console, then share the income.”
Herman said that licensing issues may be the only obstacle in preventing Nintendo from releasing all of them at once, but the fear of oversaturating the market is also heavy on Nintendo’s mind, as are recent concerns brought up by third party developers (SNK, for one), who claim that that they still do not have the freedom to include online functions in their games. Herman believes that online features in third party Wii games won’t become a reality until after 2007: “[T]he best chance they have at building an online presence appears to be what they’re doing with Virtual Console.”
EA has issued similar gripes, specifically those concerning the current inability to implement Mii avatars into third-party games. EA producer Eric Chartrand states that developers have not yet received the development tools necessary to include the usage of Miis in their games. “If the company wants Miis to become a lasting sticky application, it’d be wise to acclimatize third-party developers sooner rather than later,” a report states.
Wii Voting
February 15, 2007
Nintendo has announced the launch of a new online channel called Everybody Votes, which can be accessed for free in the Wii’s online shop. The Wii Everybody Votes Channel allows subscribed users to vote through a series of quick multiple choice questions; topics range from casual interest to the completely ridiculous (e.g. Do you like cats or dogs better?). Questions will be updated on a weeky basis, and Wii owners will also be granted the ability to suggest future poll topics. Each weekly update will contain three local questions, whereas a different global question will appear every two weeks, simultaneously presented to users across the world. Upon casting their votes/answers, users can also submit a prediction as to what the popular consensus will be for each question asked. Once the polls close, results will be revealed to the public shortly after the polls close, allowing users to compare their answers to their friends’ and to answers from people across the world.
In addition to this new channel, Nintendo has also provided the first updates for its Virtual Console games. The patches are intended to fix emulation issues for two games in particular: Military Madness for the TurboGrafx-16, which previously experienced scrolling and slowdown problems, and the N64’s Mario Kart 64, which contained a bug in the selection screen.
Scarface, Zorro Coming to Wii
February 5, 2007
Tony Montana, one of the most vulgar, violent stars of film and now gaming, is making his way to the mostly family-orientated Wii this year. Scarface: The World is Yours will come with the obvious controller enhancements, using the Wii Remote like a gun to manually target enemies.
You will also get to fist fight enemies (or any passer-by on the street) with motion control, or use the Remote to mangle people with a chainsaw while the sound of the engine revs from the speaker in the Remote. Scarface will release on Wii later this year, so check back for mre specifics
Speaking of gangster fun on Wii by the end of 2007, The Godfather has been confirmed for Wii and Driver: Parallel Lines is reported to be on the way too.
Wii owners could have more Wii Remote-operated swordplay to look forward to with blade-ninja Zorro making his debut Wii appearance in The Destiny of Zorro. Pronto Games say the game will focus on being “instantly engaging” and fun: “The visuals are high quality, as are the audio and storyline.” That sounds both engaging and fun to me.
In The Destiny of Zorro, Zorro will do battle against a dual-sword-weilding skeleton known as Calavero, pictured below. No further gameplay details have been announced, but it’s probably a good bet that you’ll be swinging the Wii Remote in some sword-like fashion. The Destiny of Zorro is due to release this Christmas.
Konami Announces New Projects
February 2, 2007
Konami, at its recent Gamer’s Day, revealed two major new releases for the upcoming year: an original Wii and a remake of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood for PSP. Both games were announced without release dates but are expected in 2007.
Konami’s new Wii game, from Elebits producer Shingo Mukaitoge, was revealed to be Dewy’s Adventure, marking the second original IP from Konami for Nintendo’s Wii console.
Players are to use the Wii controller for nearly all of the in-game puzzle-solving and platforming interactions, such as tilting it to roll the titular Dewy character, a living water droplet, around his environment, using the d-pad to heat or cool Dewy to steam or ice, or fanning the controller to create gusts of wind.
The game will also include an edit mode in the same manner as Elebits, and will also make use of the Wii’s internet connectivity in a yet-unannounced way.
Konami also announced the long-anticipated official debut of its classic Castlevania franchise for the PSP with Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles. Unlike recent DS adventure originals, the first Castlevania PSP outing will be a remake of the PC Engine Super CD cult hit Akumajou Dracula X: Chi no Rondo, also known as Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. The PSP remake of Rondo is being done with fully 3D assets, but maintains the 2D perspective.
Also included in The Dracula X Chronicles will be a portable version of PlayStation classic Symphony of the Night, featuring a reworked localization and slightly reworked graphics, making it the second forthcoming release of the game, alongside the Xbox Live Arcade Version, which is also due soon.
Analysts: Sony Profit to Fall 50%
January 29, 2007
A median estimate from five analysts surveyed by news agency Bloomberg has predicted that Sony’s third quarter results could see profits fall by a half, due to slower than expected sales of its flagship PlayStation 3 video game Blu-ray Disc console.
New estimates suggest that the company will see group income fall to ¥84.1 billion ($689 mil.) for the three months ended December 31st. Sales for the games division alone are estimated at ¥390 billion ($3.20 bil.), with operating results predicted at a loss of ¥50.9 billion ($417 mil.).
The “unexpected” success of the Wii, rather than direct competition from the Xbox 360, is cited as the major reason for the shortfall. However, the group as a whole may still exceed its full year profit targets thanks to a weak yen, good sales of the Bravia range of high-end televisions, and growth in the company’s movie division.
Analysts predict that Sony’s game division will lose as much as ¥191.9 billion ($1.57 bil.) for the full fiscal year, compared to a profit of ¥8.7 billion ($71 mil.) the year before. The company’s official fiscal results for the third quarter are expected to be released later this week.
PS3 sales in Japan dropped further in the week to Jan. 21 as the games market there suffered from lackluster demand compared to recent week. PS3 suffered its worst week of sales since launch for the second week in a row. A total of 21,105 of the consoles were sold during the week, said Media Create Co. Ltd.
Sales of the Nintendo’s Wii console and Microsoft Xbox 360 were 8,395 and 7,041for that week, Media Create said; both down from the previous week.
Nintendo’s Wii News Channel
January 25, 2007
The Wii News Channel, scheduled to debut Saturday, will primarily feature top news stories and photographs from The Associated Press. Consoles with a broadband Internet connection and the Opera Web browser will be able to access the free news channel, which will offer AP news in multiple languages. Japanese-language news will come from a separate agency.
There were no immediate plans to sell advertising space, said Perrin Kaplan, vice president for marketing at Nintendo’s U.S. headquarters. News will be displayed through an interactive map, which users can navigate with the Wii’s wireless controller, Kaplan said. “The beauty of it is it zooms in and out of areas of the world. So if you really want to focus on regional news or national news versus international, you just blow up the map of the U.S.”
The AP has a two-year contract to provide news and photos to Nintendo, and would like to provide multimedia in the future, said Jane Seagrave, vice president of new media markets for the New York-based news cooperative. “It’s a very innovative new application of what we’re doing generally, which is to try to get our content to new audiences on new platforms,” Seagrave said.
A recent report from market research firm NPD Group said the Wii has sold 1.1 million units since it was released in the U.S. on Nov. 19, with 604,200 of those units sold in December.
Nintendo isn’t the only company hoping to offer more from its video game console with online connections; Xbox scored an early hit with its Xbox Live online gameplay system, and has since begun offering more perks to Internet-connected users.
AP will supply news for the Wii in English, French, Spanish, Dutch, German, and Swiss-German, Seagrave said. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Japanese news company Goo will supply Nintendo’s Japanese-language news, Kaplan said.
“The Nintendo Wii demographic is definitely a wider demographic than your traditional hardcore gamer,” said Billy Pidgeon, a video game industry analyst at IDC in New York. “It kind of makes sense for other types of content to be made available on the Wii.”
Nintendo Teams Up with Six Flags
January 23, 2007
Nintendo of America officials have announced a marketing partnership with national theme park chain Six Flags, which named the Wii as the Official Gaming Console of Six Flags amusement parks.
So how exactly does that work? Nintendo will introduce complimentary Wii video game stations throughout select Six Flags amusement parks, and the companies will collaborate on marketing initiatives, including a national sweepstakes promotion for Six Flags on Nintendo’s official website.
“This agreement with Nintendo enables us to partner with a company, and a product, that has major relevance in the lives of today’s families,” commented Mark Shapiro, Six Flags president and CEO. “When this audience is not in our parks, more often than not they are at home playing video games - and now they can do both in one place as we continue to build Six Flags into a supermarket of entertainment.”
Nintendo’s Perrin Kaplan added, “We look forward to continuing to build the Wii’s leadership position in video gaming by making the system available to millions of guests who visit Six Flags every year. The Wii system is dedicated to reaching a broad audience, and we look forward to sharing the ultimate gaming system with Six Flags guests beginning in 2007.”
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