Games Wii Want to See
Games. We want them. We want to see them. We want to play them. Some of us even want to hug them. Yet there are a number of games we've been wanting for years that, for one reason or another, just haven't materialized. The following is a list of some games and franchises we'd like on store shelves. The list mingles rich speculation with key facts to highlight games we may or may never see. On Wii.
Racing with Speed
Some may recall at the 2000 Space World in Tokyo, Japan, Nintendo showcased a short video demonstration of a racing game for its then newly-unveiled GameCube console. The demo opened with a high-polygon Dodge Viper racing along at 60 frames per second. The screen began to fill with one car after another, eventually reaching a total of 12 appearing on-screen at once. It was rumored then that Martin Hollis and Nintendo Technology Development, a hardware division in Nintendo's Redmond, WA, headquarters, were responsible for the technical demonstration. When Hollis left to form his own studio Zoonami six months later, the rumor of the game followed him. Zoonami responded to these murmurings saying, "We've also seen claims that we're making a Gran Turismo clone, and that the car demo shown at Space World for the GameCube launch was done by us. False, all of them."
Now, just last week, we had Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America VP of Sales and Marketing, reveal during a marketing campaign at the Nintendo World Store that the Wii console would see an exciting racing game. He said, "We're going to show a racing game at E3 where you use the core controller in a very different way." Could this be the same game?
Icarus and The Wings of Time
Kid Icarus Retro Studios
A nod to LifeMeter for the artwork. Released in 1987, Kid Icarus weaved a modern mythos based loosely on ancient Greek Mythology. Medusa the Goddess of Darkness had overthrown Angel Land's peaceful ruler Parthena, the Goddess of Light, and imprisoned her. Parthena's only hope lie in the young angel Pit who was trapped in the underworld when Medusa's armies attacked. Armed with the magical bow Parthena sent him with the last of her power, Pit was faced with the daunting challenge of escaping the underworld and rescuing her from Medusa's clutches and restoring peace to Angel Land.
Using the original Metroid's game engine, Kid Icarus featured similar game play elements that ranged from shooting enemies to collecting the many items he would eventually need to defeat Medusa. With its solid game play it is now considered a classic by many, however it wasn't always held in such high esteem. Instead, it was initially over-shadowed by many of Nintendo's other now famous franchises, including its game engine's benefactor, Metroid. And aside from a few hardcore fans, Icarus has been long forgotten by Nintendo and gamers alike.
Although Pit has had many cameo appearances in games that range from Tetris to Super Smash Bros. Melee, there was only one sequel; the rare Kid Icarus: Myths and Monsters for the Game Boy. Without an appearance in almost 20 years, the sole reason for wanting a sequel to this long forgotten title is nostalgia: pure and simple nostalgia. Nevertheless, would it not be coming "full circle" if Nintendo used the Metroid Prime engine to deliver us a new Icarus?
Gardening with Pikmin
The Pikmin series got its start on the Nintendo 64. Several experiments and unrealized game concepts formed the structure of this quirky game. These include Cabbage, an unreleased title for the Nintendo 64DD and 100 Marios, a GameCube demonstration at the 2000 Space World show. The groundwork for Pikmin began in early 2000 by staggered members of the 1080 Snowboarding team who had just aborted the N64 sequel. Programmer Colin Reed came up with the AI system after various experiments. Yoshi creator Shigefumi Hino invented the character designs while Shigeru Miyamoto came up with the idea of a garden setting, inspired by his then new-found hobby.
The armies of Pikmin have grown and so too have its fans. This fact only heightens the reason why an online component would fit the series. Although sales of Pikmin 2 weren't something to write home about, it's well-known that members of Nintendo have an affinity for the series.
Pennant Chasing Baseball and Fishing
Like the sport it tries to simulate, Pennant Chase Baseball has experienced some curve balls over the past several years. When Take Two made a deal with the Major League Baseball Players Association in 2005, it meant that it could use the property exclusively to release games. Other third-party developers were forced to cancel their baseball projects, use generic baseball references or partner with one of the three console manufacturers. Known for its World Series Baseball series, developer Exile Interactive had no choice but to turn to Nintendo to publish its baseball game. Unfortunately, things didn't go as smoothly as planned. The game missed its intended release date and with dwindling Gamecube sales, the title was put on indefinite hold. We've heard word that Exile Interactive closed its doors after this. Calls to its office in fact reveal the phone number is no longer in service.
Still, just two days ago, Exile Interactive updated its website with a small line of text that reads, "Gone fishing." Does this mean the company is fishing for jobs or developing a fishing title? I suppose we'll soon find out.
Funkydilla on the Dance Floor
If you remember back in April 2004, EDGE UK magazine featured a news story about an upcoming game that would supposedly use only one button. That game was Funkydilla, and the developers were Zoonami, headed by Martin Hollis, the man who had played a major hand in developing the Nintendo 64-classic Goldeneye 007. People were excited over this game. After all, not only was Hollis at the helm, but there was the curiosity factor over a game designed to use only one button.
Since that lone announcement in 2004, nothing has been said on the game or even the developer, who has also done nothing else since. Perhaps they have just had really bad luck developing the game. Perhaps they can't make the game with the limitation of a single button. If it's the latter, the Wii is the cure. By allowing hand gestures, Zoonami will be able to save face. "Notice how we said button? You guys should've paid more attention."
Nintendo Talent Studio
Nintendo announced Stage Debut for GameCube during the 2003 Electronic Entertainment Expo. The game evolved from a group of former Nintendo 64DD titles released under the Mario Artist series. Talent Maker, Polygon Maker, and Paint Studio combined to form the GameCube version of Stage Debut. Director Yoichi Yamada had hoped to introduce the game using several peripherals including the e-Reader and Game Boy Advance link cable. However, as the story has been told many times, there were far too many barriers preventing its release.
Until now. Nintendo is known for its creativity. Naturally, its fans share that quality. Give us the tools Nintendo, and we'll make you proud. Just don't forget the mini-games. Many of us fondly remember the fly-swatting game that was part of the Mario Paint experience. After drawing and composing got a little shallow there was nothing like mousing over to the little coffee-cup for some bug smashing action. With the SNES mouse we were offered a new way to do something that wouldn't have been as fun with a regular controller. The Wiimote practically screams flyswatter. (If you remember, there was even a short clip of this possibility in the first teaser video revealing the control.)
Wii Gotta Catch 'Em All
Satoshi Tajiri is credited for creating the Pokemon series. In the late 90s it was dubbed a fad. Today we look back and call it a phenomenon. There had been nothing like it in the video game industry and there has been nothing like it since. Pokemon practically kidnapped the children of the world with its cute characters and addicting collectables. "Gotta' catch 'em all," they said. Although the phenomenon has since calmed, the Pokemon games remain some of the best-selling software on the market.
We can't think of any series more up to task for Wii than Pokemon. The console editions of the game are dubbed Pokemon Stadium and have achieved moderate success, due in part to the finesse of developer Genius Sonority. With the popularity of Nintendo's Wi-Fi Connection service, one can only expect the game's next outing to feature the same addictive gameplay, only now shared with players from around the world.
Sources: http://www.n-sider.com/articleview.php?articleid=509
Alleged Nintendo Wii Specs And UK Pricing
I was initially willing to overlook this new piece of Wii speculation, which supposedly revealed the full list of specifications for Nintendo's next-gen gizmo. But since the story debuted on MaxConsole a couple of days ago, they updated their article with even more "facts" revealed by their trusty "anonymous Wii developer" (gotta love those guys). Now the list contains even more technical details about Wii's Broadway CPU, its Hollywood GPU and the External Main Memory, in addition to their previous general overview over the console's hardware, optical disc drive and control systems. Well, allegedly anyway.
Here's a brief extract from it:
- Nintendo Wii's 'Broadway' CPU operates at 729MHZ with a maximum bandwith of 1.9gbyte/sec.
- Nintendo Wii's 'HollyWood' GPU is clocked at 243MHZ, the internal memory of it includes 3mb of embedded graphics memory and 24megabytes of high speed main memory.
- 64megabytes of GDDR3 (MEM2) as the external main memory. Just like the internal memory, it can be accessed from the CPU and GPU with a maximum bandwidth of 4gbytes/sec and can also store programs in the MEM2.
- The GPU of the Wii is identical to the GC's but it is on average 1.5X faster.
- Opitcal Disc Drive (ODD) supports single and dual layer Wii disks, discs eject with software or button and the maximum read speed is the equivalent of DVDx6.
- Two main disc types supported the single sided 12cm single sided 4.7gb and the double sided 8.51 GB. Nintendo GC discs also supported. Some of the capacity of the discs are used by the system and games can not use full disc space.
- Internal non-removable 512MB flash memory used to storage game save data and downloadable content thus eliminating the Need for a memory card.
- The Wii controller features; Direct Pointing Device, Three axis accelerometer, Wii power button (remotely turn console on/off), buttons, wireless connectivity, indicator LED's, rumble, battery powered (two AA alkaline batteries) and ability to connect extension unit.
- The Wii controller supports three types of operations; by itself, with a nunchuk extension or with a classic controller. Classic controllers will ship to developers during August 2006.
There's plenty more where that came from, so if you're buying into that "anonymous Wii developer" thing, be sure to check out the full list.
As for the Wii's release date and pricing details, the latest rumour comes from a UK retailer who slapped a £149.99 price tag for the Nintendo Wii, and a release date set for October 15, "subject to change without notice".
And finally, Kotaku has an overcrowded Wii image of Virtual Console games. They say "it's a promotional illustration for the Nintendo Wii Virtual Console, presumably featuring characters from all the games that will be released in emulated form". Worth a look.
Source: http://www.playfuls.com/news_6440_Alleged_Nintendo_Wii_Specs_And_UK_Pricing.html
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