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Editorial: Sony needs more than Sorcery to resurrect the PlayStation Move
The first time we saw Sony's PlayStation Move, it didn't even have a name: we only knew it as the PS3 motion controller. The newfangled prototype was Sony's response to the success Nintendo found in the Wii, a motion-sensitive "me-too" that hoped to one up the competition with better tracking, more "core" games and a curious glowing ball perched on its top. Its first outing showed a handful of tech demos, flaunting gameplay concepts that we'd eventually see in Sports Champions and Medieval Moves: Deadmund's Quest. Since then, the Move has seen its fair share of exclusive and compatible titles, but none quite engaging enough to make the peripheral a must-have accessory. With the next generation just around the corner and Sony's portable cards already on the table, E3 2012 is looking a little light on the hardware front. If Sony's going to give the Move one final push, now is the time.
The Red Steel 2 director's field guide to Wii Remote swingers
If there's one thing Ubisoft Creative Director Jason VanderBerge learned in playtesting Red Steel 2, it's that different people respond to the simple direction "swing the Wii Remote like a sword" in very different ways. At his talk at GDC Europe today, VanderBerge showed off just how different those swings can be, using a cane to demonstrate the movements of the seven major types of Wii Remote swingers he's identified. Besides being highly entertaining, the demonstration showed just how hard it is to train motion control players to perform even simple actions the way a developer expects. We weren't quick enough to get a video of the hilarious, high-energy performance, but we did manage to snap some pictures that show off the intensity of VanderBerge's flailing. Hit the break and see how many of these specimens you've encountered in the wild.
Molyneux: Motion gaming is making devs 'sweat'
You hear that, developers? You should be shakin' in yer boots -- motion-based gaming is going to force you to throw away everything you've ever learned about game design and start anew. At least that's what Lionhead's Peter Molyneux (not so exaggeratedly) had to say when quizzed on the subject of the "arms race" between the big three for waggle supremacy. "All of this stuff is making all the designers sweat -- I've met lots of designers at GDC, and we're all very bleary-eyed at the moment because every rule we've got, we're having to throw away," Molyneux told Eurogamer. And understandably so. Between WIi's established console dominance (not to mention last year's MotionPlus add-on), this week's unveiling of PlayStation Move, and Microsoft's Project Natal this holiday, there's a lot to work with. It's this problem, though, that Molyneux believes will forge new types of game experiences in the years to come. "I don't think the first wave of these motion-control titles will be what you expect .... just as with every hardware chain, it's the second wave where they usually come up with stuff that's interesting ... so the second wave could be really cool." And as far as Natal in Fable 3 goes, the eccentric developer kept mum on the specifics, only offering, "You can expect us to use Natal to make you laugh and to surprise you and to give you this feeling of power -- there are some very obvious things we could do, like controlling the GUI in Natal, and it doesn't really excite me." Tom Cruise will be so disappointed.
Apple patents movement-based gestures for shaking, rattling, and rolling with your portable devices
We wouldn't recommend speculating too much here, but a patent Apple filed back in October 2007 has surfaced, describing a "movement-based interfaces for personal media device." If that's not enough of an explanation, in a nutshell it's for interacting with a device by tilting and shaking. Chances are this is just for accelerometer-based commands like switching to landscape, steering virtual go-carts, and undo -- but hey, if the gang at Cupertino devise a way to control an iPhone entirely by waggle, we'll be more than happy to witness a demonstration.[Via Unwired View]
Phew!: Waggle doesn't produce murderers
There is a popular viewpoint pushed by those who campaign against the likes of Manhunt 2, and it runs a little like this: motion-controlled on-screen violence is more likely to corrupt players than that which is played through pressing buttons. Senators have used this argument in the past, as have journalists, but they're both wrong. Gloriously, wonderfully wrong. Who says so? Science says so, that's who.A new study from the labs of Villanova University has revealed that swinging a Wiimote and pressing a button generated the same amount of "hostility and aggressive thoughts in" 118 college students (68 female, 50 male). The participants played either Manhunt 2 or Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2008, with each individual having their levels of "psychoticism" tested before and after play. Nobody completely flipped out, and whether flailing with a controller or pressing a button, levels of hostility remained even -- and thus another anti-gaming myth crumbled.%Gallery-3148%[Via Game|Life]
Playshake: the game you play by shaking
Continuing the theme of no-nonsense Wii game titles like Let's Tap (the tapping game), Tecmo's tentatively-titled Playshake features precisely those two activities, and that is all. Playshake is a WiiWare minigame collection designed purely around the idea of shaking the remote.The one minigame we've seen so far gives you three seconds to shake the remote vigorously. The more you shake, the higher your score is. In this minigame, Tecmo has even eschewed frivolity like characters and backgrounds in favor of a utilitarian, yet stylish, display of your score and remaining time.We give a lot of Wii titles trouble for promising revolutionary experiences and then ending up as waggle-fests, but what if something makes no effort to hide its waggle-fest status? We wouldn't mind shaking our way into the leaderboards.
Castlevania Judgment: It's like Soulcalibur Legends (but better?)
Castlevania Judgment. When we first heard of this title, we immediately conjured up memories of Soulcalibur Legends (read the preview that got us blacklisted by Namco Bandai here). Somehow, Konami is daring to tread the same path by re-imagining the Castlevania franchise as a waggle-filled fighting game with subpar (even for Wii) graphics and shallow gameplay. We'd feel sorry for poor ol' Castlevania for being treated this way -- but we've been through this before.At the very least, Judgment is much more competent and fun than Soulcalibur Legends. Graphically speaking, Judgment is rather unattractive, featuring awkward character models that certainly don't belong in the Castlevania universe. Textures are low-res, environments are uninspired and character models are poorly constructed with flat textures and low poly counts. Sadly, it doesn't match the visual fidelity of the 3D Castlevania titles on the PS2.Thankfully, the gameplay in Judgment isn't as shallow as you may expect. Yes, you can swing your Wiimote every which way, but you won't be able to win with blind waggling. Perhaps it's because Judgment is being touted as a fighting game and not an adventure game, but the fighting engine does feature a bit more depth than the one found in Soulcalibur Legends. A huge change, for example, is that you'll actually have to block attacks (!). Players will also be able to equip various Castlevania-themed secondary weapons to unleash upon opponents. For example, I equipped the trusty cross with Simon. A press of the A-button throws it like a boomerang. It's perfect to use after knocking an opponent to the ground. As they get up, it smacks them in the back. Yeah, it's a dirty trick.%Gallery-27218%
Rumor: $199 Xbox 360 Arcade with motion controller
Building on reports of an impending Xbox 360 price cut, which allegedly will drop the Arcade SKU below Wii to $199, comes the reemergence of Microsoft's elusive motion controller, now rumored to be included with the Xbox 360 Arcade this holiday. A source "close to Microsoft's marketing department" detailed the bundle to X3F, claiming the new Arcade system will feature a 512MB memory card (in place of a hard drive), the New Xbox Experience pre-loaded and a motion controller, along with a few compatible minigames developed by Rare. The motion controller supposedly will be sold separately as well, in a package that includes even more minigames. The controller is said to be compatible with all versions of Xbox 360. So how 'bout it, Nintendo -- you gonna trump this by tacking on HD?
Top 5: Activities that Need Waggle
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Top_5_Activities_that_Need_Waggle'; Hardcore gamers sure do hate tacked-on waggle. Indeed, no one likes to flail their arms around like they're trying to signal aircraft when a simple button press will do. And the guys on the other sides seem to be under the impression that the Wii is nothing but a PS2 that replaces thumb pressing with wrist flicking. So when a new title or an iteration of an existing franchise gets announced for the Wii, the non-believers tend to thumb their snooty noses and prattle amongst themselves with ingenious statements like "Dead Rising on the Wii? More like Waggle Rising. YEAH! HIGH FIVE, BRAH!" All right, maybe they're not quite as neanderthalic, but the sentiment remains: the use of waggle is often met with skepticism from the core. To ignore the importance of waggle would be to forget what makes the Wii so awesome. Sure, some games have no real need for motion-based controls, but let us not forget the joy and immersion experienced by the non-gamer who first picked up a Wiimote and found themselves instantly engaged in a lively tennis match. To downplay motion controls would be to forget what made the Wii so successful in the first place. Without it, the Wii would be just a beefed-up GameCube. (THERE, I said it!) Just for a moment, let us forget about why Super Mario RPG has yet to be released on the North American Virtual Console and go back to the flood of imagination we felt when the Wiimote was first unveiled. Here are the activities we wish were made into games on the Wii. NEXT >> #ninbutton { border-style: solid; border-color: #000; border-width: 2px; background-color: #BBB; color: #000; text-decoration: none; width: 100px; text-align: center; padding: 2px 2px 2px 2px; margin: 2px 2px 2px 2px; } .buttontext { color: #000; text-decoration: none; font: bold 14pt Helvetica; } #ninbutton:hover { text-decoration: none; color: #BBB; background-color: #000; } The Top 5 is a weekly feature that provides us with a forum to share our opinions on various aspects of the video game culture, and provides you with a forum to tell us how wrong we are. To further voice your opinions, submit a vote in the Wii Fanboy Poll, and take part in the daily discussions of Wii Warm Up.
Joystiq hands-on: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Wii)
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Star_Wars_The_Force_Unleashed_Wii_Impressions_Unleashed'; For good and bad -- or should I say light and dark -- Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for Wii is clearly a Wii game. Side-by-side with the PS3 and 360 versions, the Wii graphics disappoint, and the complexity and frequency of enemies feels scaled back. But the Wii motion controls are regularly interesting, mapping many of the game's controls into gestures. The simplest ones feel great, like punching the Nunchuk forward to do the Force-push.After recently playing late-development versions of all four game editions--360/PS3, Wii, DS, and PS2/PSP--I think the Wii game holds up as well as any of them. I had fun throwing enemies, shooting them with lightning, and hitting them with the lightsaber. And while the Wii holds its own, I'm mildly concerned that the final game could be repetitious, just cutting down waves of attackers. Hopefully the many different attacks, and Wii-specific two-player duel mode, will keep the game interesting.%Gallery-20587%
We Love Golf American release to include online play
Capcom's upcoming North American version of We Love Golf will add four-player online matches to the recently released Japanese game. Wii players will be able to connect with or without Friend Codes, and they'll have the option of Mii avatars in games.Due sometime this year, the Wii golf game is being developed by Camelot Software, long-time cartoon-golf developers. Collectables and other touches add value to the OCD set; the poll results are in, and we'll get Ken and Morgan costumes in this version. But screw those extras, Capcom had us at "Friend Code optional."%Gallery-18257%
Wii Warm Up: Semantics
Every once and a while, we get a complaint about using the word "waggle" to describe motion controls. Here's the thing, though: we like that word. Sure, it can have a negative connotation (and we've used it in that way before, too), but we don't think it has to. In fact, when we hear it in a non-negative setting, it often manages to invoke a feeling of affection from us toward our Wiis -- not to mention, it's much more fun than using the term "motion controls" over and over.What about you, though? Do you think that "waggle" is a bad word despite the context it's used in?
Children-focused dev Nik Nak creating Ology games for Wii
Since announcing plans to re-imagine Templar Publishing's popular Ology series of children's books as video games last October, Codemasters has kept mum on the project, stating only that the first title in the series, Dragonology, will ship for the Wii and Nintendo DS during the second half of this year. Now Kuju's recently formed studio Nik Nak has confirmed that it is handling not only the development of Dragonology, but the follow up Wizardology as well. Nik Nak's efforts only extend to the Wii versions of the games, which are expected to take a more action-oriented approach to the material, so we're left to guess on whose lap the DS versions will fall.Details remain scarce on the titles, though Nik Nak notes that the games will "tap into children's insatiable appetite for all things magical and mythical," and that the Wii remote will make them accessible to both new and seasoned gamers alike. Accessible, sure, but will the waggle-enhanced gameplay make learning about dragons or casting magical spells more fun?
Wii Warm Up: The questing continues some more
As if responding to the concerns we raised yesterday, D3Publisher announced what changes and additions gamers can expect with the Wii port of Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords. Shouldn't we have heard about these details at an earlier date, preferably before the game was shipped out?Anyway, this new Wii version of the puzzle/RPG hybrid has rebalanced elements, a replay option for capturing monsters, and a two-player multiplayer mode. As we predicted, there are no online features, unlike the Xbox Live Arcade and PC releases. Developer Vicious Cycle Software did, however, make sure to integrate "waggle control options with the Wii Remote."Were any of you actually hoping for motion-based controls? Or were you wishing, like we were, that the developer would focus its efforts on implementing the primary feature fans of the handheld versions were asking for? We'll probably pick up Puzzle Quest anyway; we just wish we could play against some of you online.
What we're thankful for: Wii edition
Aside from stuffing our faces with 7,000 calories worth of food on Thanksgiving, we Americans are supposed to reflect on what we're most thankful for. While things like LOLcatz and coffee definitely make the list (oh right, and our families and friends, we guess), we wanted to show a little appreciation for the Wii as well. The Nintendo Wii Fanboy staff was thus asked what about the Wii we are most thankful for. The following is what happens when you have a staff with the collective maturity level of 37% (calculated by science).
Wii Warm Up: Where do you want the waggle?
It seems like so many conversations about possible Wii games follow this pattern:"Man, I would kick puppies* to see something like Game X on the Wii. It would be awesome. Not a port, but maybe a spin-off or a sequel. Okay, even a port.""Yeah, that's an awesome game. Just no waggle, please."It seems like most Wii owners want everything -- but without the motion controls that pretty much make the system what it is. And it's cool, really -- we get it. Not everything needs motion, or full motion; a few gestures here and there are fitting, but we still have buttons, and we suspect they're there for a reason. But some games need to have motion controls ... or what's the point? So which ones?*Dude, kicking puppies is totally mean. Don't do that.
Lair dev berates motion controls ... in other games
What's good for the goose is good for the gander, they say, but what's good for the dragon isn't necessarily good for the jet fighter. At least that's what Factor 5 president Julian Eggebrecht seems to be saying. In an interview with GamesRadar, the Lair developer said the motion controls in Incognito's Warhawk are, and we're quoting here, "eurgh!!"Eggebrecht explained that while desperately twisting the controller like a goon is a perfectly fine way to control a dragon, it just doesn't work for Warhawk's high powered jets. "I see motion-sensing as a complimentary, additional new step in terms of controls and where it fits you should use it and where it doesn't fit, don't force it," he said. "Please don't force it." Interesting he should put it that way ... while Warhawk's motion-sensitive flight controls can be turned off in the options menu, controller twisting is the only option for Lair's dragon flight. Forced indeed.Eggebrecht isn't just hurling insults, though -- he seems to really believe in this plane/dragon control dichotomy. In a separate GamesRadar story on the vague possibility of a new Rouge Squadron game, Eggebrecht said he didn't think the motion controls would work for the series' futuristic flying machines. "If I was to do a game with an X-wing, I don't know if I'd necessarily use motion control," he said. "It might be [analog] stick, because that is how you'd be controlling the craft - it might be more appropriate." But for dragons? Fuggedaboutit!
Logitech planning third-party Wiimote?
Peripherals company Logitech has hit on a capital idea: combine motion-sensing and rumble in a single controller. At least, that's what Chris Spearing, UK and Ireland manager for Logitech, seemed to think. His company still has yet to formally announce the identity of their first Wii product, but the discussion seems to be turning towards a Wiimote substitute. Speaking about the issue of rumble versus motion controls, Spearing said "Having the motion-sensing in the Sixaxis, that really works for some games. And for the Wii – you've seen people rush out and buy the Wii for that realism, if you're swinging a tennis racket, you know how to do it." He then went on to mention that "Hopefully we'll be at the forefront of pushing that further, combining some of the two."We'd assume that Spearing was talking about a PS3 controller design if not for the title of the GamesIndustry.biz story: "Logitech to create Wiimote rival?" If he is indeed talking about the Wii, he should check it out sometime-- he may be impressed with the controller.Once they get their technological issues straightened out (i.e. figure out what technology is in the controller), we'd love to see Logitech's take on the Wii controller. Their hardware is top-notch, and often outclasses standard controllers.
Today's most first-person-waggle video: Metroid Prime 3
Metroid. Prime. 3. So close to release. After delays and forgotten promises of online play, will this be the first great Wii first-person shooter? This new GameTrailers clip gives no idea to how this thirst quenching title will control. We're trying to to get sucked into the hype. (There's that other game to strum us into a frenzy for now.) But here's hoping that Metroid will be a much-needed oasis. (The thing in the desert, not the band.)See the new video for this August 27 game after the break.
Boogie producer defends his game against reviews
Boogie producer Jean-Charles Gaudechon is not entirely pleased with the critical reception to his game. One review in particular upset him, and with good reason-- 1UP basically assassinated his game.Gaudechon mostly defended the controls in his statement to MTV's Gamefile. "Difficultly should come from the game. It should be easy to dance. It should be tough to dance on a certain level of difficulty." He said that his team reexamined motion control schemes after SSX Blur's controls were panned as too complicated, and that Boogie's controls were focus-tested on a diverse age group.Of course, none of that addresses the major issue found in the 1UP review, that "this game is fun for exactly 20 minutes, and only in a group of two or more." Of course, that's a little harder to respond to than specific complaints about the oversimplified, rhythm-insensitive controls.
