maracas
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Samba maracas are unofficial, which probably means no bundle
Samba de Amigo ships out next week and we're still scrambling over the maracas situation. We once thought that a retailer's mocked-up bundle box was proof that a maracas peripheral would be bundled with the game, but that image was taken down and, in fact, Sega denied that a peripheral would be produced. And then that statement was seemingly excised from the original source. And then actual pictures appeared of some Wii maracas, along with standalone retail listings. It's been a bit confusing.It would appear that you'll be paying an extra $14.99 for the first set of maracas and not the second, because looking at the box, it is quite clear that these Wii maracas are not official Sega products. Gamestop lists them as being produced by Cokem International. That, and the fact that no retailer mentions a bundle (and the fact that Sega said they weren't making any) makes it very likely that you'll get a disc with Samba and nothing else.The good news is that it's basically just a bulb with a Wiimote-shaped slot (and hopefully some rattly stuff inside), and so it doesn't really matter who makes the thing.
Samba de Amigo Wii maracas priced, dated on Amazon
As you could probably deduce from earlier posts concerning ill-conceived pseudo-peripherals for Nintendo's latest home console -- we're not really fans of most Wiimote attachments. We don't need a cheap, plastic tennis racket snapped to the front of our controller to "get our McEnroe on" when playing Wii Tennis. We don't need our Wiimote to look like an ugly sword to carve up baddies in Twilight Princess. However, we suppose the only thing that could counteract our disdain for these shoddy add-ons is our unbridled love of Latin American percussion instruments.We caught a glimpse of the "prototype" Samba de Amigo maracas a couple months ago, but a recent Amazon listing for the attachments shows that the ol' bean shakers have undergone a makeover, taking on a sassy red finish. The date Amazon has listed for the maracas is September 23 for the price of $14.99 -- though considering the title will come bundled with the attachments, you'd only need to pick these up if you wish to share the true Samba experience with a multiplayer pal. Or if you somehow broke yours, we guess. Or if you're Goro.
Latest Samba de Amigo trailer shows Sonic rocking out
A new trailer for Sega's upcoming music title Samba de Amigo has hit the net, showing off such songs as "Mambo #5" and "Hot Hot Hot," as well as "Soul Bossa Nova." For those of you who've caught the whole track list, you're pretty much settled on whether this is a strong track list or one that's lacking. So, what is it? Are you looking forward to this? Are you going to get those maracas, too?%Gallery-20601%
Amazon dates, prices maraca attachments for Samba de Amigo
It would seem the final maraca attachments for Samba de Amigo on the Wii have been leaked over at Amazon (you can catch an eyeful above, obviously). For those of you who've been following the title, you already caught a glimpse of the earlier version. We guess those were just prototypes. Personally, we dig the red.Amazon has a date on these for September 23rd, along with a price of $14.99, should you need that extra pair for some multiplayer action. Obviously, the game will release in a bundled form for those of you that absolutely need these hunks of plastic with your game.%Gallery-20601%[Thanks, Redd Starrs!]
Leaked box art shows maraca attachments for Samba de Amigo
Here at Joystiq, we've been pretty consistent in our hatred of useless plastic attachments for the Wii Remote. We might have to break our streak, though, as we're uncharacteristically excited about the maraca attachments that were recently shown as part of the leaked box art for the Wii version of Samba de Amigo. There's just something about the weight and sound of those vibrating plastic beads that helped make the maraca shaking on the Dreamcast a transcendent experience, and one we're glad we'll now be able to relive on the Wii. We're not changing our minds on the Wii Wheel, though. We have to keep our hater-rating up somehow ...
O RLY? Sega confirms maracas for Samba de Amigo
Samba de Amigo without maracas isn't quite pointless -- a sombrero-wearing monkey shaking percussion to Chumbawamba could never be pointless -- but we imagine it's less fun than it should be. That's why we were entirely unsurprised to see the adjacent boxart, complete with maracas, appear on the site of a British retailer recently. In a fairly appalling/hilarious attempt to cover up the leak, the packaging was later removed from view, but now Sega has confirmed to Gamekyo what we all kind of knew anyway: that the game will be sold with two "maracas" when the title arrives in the States this September. Something tells us that they might just look like those on the right.%Gallery-20601%
Boogie down with Samba de Amigo
The above off-screen video may not be of the highest quality, but you do get a taste of the multiplayer action to come. See, blog Blue Hero Gaming recently got their hands on Samba de Amigo (where's the Wii Fanboy love, Sega?) and decided to write their experience with the title. When combined with the video, it's quite the nice little package. So, who's pumped for Samba de Amigo?%Gallery-20601%[Via Go Nintendo]
Rumor: 'Not final' box totally gives away Samba maracas
"Not Final Packaging." Yeah. Sure. Whatever, Sega.We've always believed that the Wii version of Samba de Amigo would be lacking without a maraca peripheral of some description, and it appears we're not alone: Sega itself has already hinted (warning: prepare your retinas before hitting that link) that it was looking into the situation, and now this box has appeared on the site of UK retailer HMV.Because we're pros, we're going to label this as "rumor" until Sega removes that unnecessary disclaimer. But let's be honest: if you seriously believe some art dude wasted his time randomly designing a bigger-than-usual box with fictional maracas on the front, you probably believe that the Komodo dragon lays its eggs in November. In other words, you'd be a gullible idiot.%Gallery-20601%[Thanks, Bryan!]
Headache de Amigo: busy screenshots, possible maracas
We aren't sure if we've got our Dreamcast Goggles on or if we're remembering accurately, but while Samba de Amigo was always colorful and festive, we don't remember it being so headache-inducingly busy. Do not look directly into the new screenshots in our gallery-- we suggest a pinhole projector. Don't get us wrong: it's still Samba, and it's still yay, but we honestly didn't think that the Wii could produce so much brightly-colored clutter on one screen.Speaking of brightly-colored clutter, a Sega rep told Kotaku that they are looking into maraca attachments for the Wiimote, to enable accurate rattling. They've gone so far as to contact potential manufacturers. We hope it works out; what's Samba without loud controllers? A cover for the Nunchuk seems like it would be pretty awkward, however.%Gallery-20601%
Samba de Amigo missing some much-needed shake
Samba de Amigo on the Dreamcast was the most relentlessly cheerful game ever, and the Wii version won't be toning down the exuberance -- just looking at this latest batch of art and screens from Sega's shake-'em-up almost brought light to the recesses of our dark, cynical hearts. But there's something gnawing at us, something that prevents us from getting all giddy over Wii Samba: the controls.Apparently, we're not alone in this respect. A number of the recent "hands-on" articles that have appeared in the wake of the Nintendo Media Summit mention how Gearbox hasn't yet nailed this aspect of the game.We've already discussed Joystiq's experiences (choice quote: "[...] the Remote and Nunchuk just don't feel the same as the original maracas."), and Go Nintendo felt similarly ("Unfortunately, there are still some control quirks. There are times when the Wiimote/Nunchuck will lose your positioning. This didn't happen too often, but it happened enough to make note of it.") Meanwhile, GameSpot's Ricardo Torres was perhaps the most forgiving, claiming that "the control is on its way toward being solid." Call us demanding little so-and-sos all you like, but we want solid! Not "on its way toward being solid."The general feeling seems to be that the title is shaping up well, but that the maracas are sorely missed. If you're reading this, Sega, you know what to do.Read: Joystiq's hands-on impressionsRead: Go Nintendo's hands-on impressionsRead: GameSpot's hands-on impressions%Gallery-20601%[Screenshots via press release]
Revolutionary: Precursor Legacy
Every (other) Tuesday, Mike Sylvester brings you REVOLUTIONARY, a look at the wide world of Wii possibilities. var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Revolutionary_Precursor_Legacy'; Fans of Midway's Ready 2 Rumble Boxing series are no doubt anticipating the spiritual successor in EA's Facebreaker. When you're madly swinging Wiimote and Nunchuk in abuse of cartoony pugilists, you probably won't give any thought to how you could have been doing this nearly a decade ago. While our Nintendo allegiance may make it easy to dismiss claims that the Wii concept was outright "stolen," in Iwata's own admission, it was built from technologies already in existence. And some of those technologies had even used for gaming prior to the Wii. Read on as we examine how the Wii carries on a legacy of hardware past and dreams cast.
Gearbox kind of talks about Samba maraca controls
Kotaku's Brian Ashcraft interviewed Gearbox Software's Randy Pitchford about their upcoming games for 2008, which include a bunch of shooters or whatever and also Samba de Amigo! Apparently Pitchford and the rest of the Gearbox folks approached Sega, hat in collective hand, begging to be allowed to create a version of the festive rhythm game for the Wii. "We totally told SEGA they had to let us do it. People want a Samba Wii game," Pitchford said, answering the question of why the developers of Brothers in Arms got assigned to a very Japanese rhythm game for the Wii.Pitchford briefly, and obliquely, broached the topic of potential dual-Wiimote maraca controls, which everyone talks about in relation to a Wii Samba. In a blanket statement about both the Wiimote/Nunchuk maraca scheme and the possibility of a dual-Wiimote scheme, Pitchford said "It's possible. You just need a lot of smart people who can do a lot of math." Like computer programmers, maybe?At least we know that the idea has been brought up at Gearbox. We'd like to see as many control schemes implemented as can be.
