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New Play Control! Pikmin 2 lands in North America this June
Though most of us are excited for the reveal of a new Pikmin, some may still be holding out the tiniest sliver of hope for New Play Control! Pikmin 2. A scan from the latest issue of Nintendo Power (via GoNintendo) says it's coming in June.The Wii port has been available in Europe and Japan for years now. Nothing specific is mentioned in regards to features of the New Play Control! version, but it'll pretty much be the exact same thing as the 2009 re-release for Japan and Europe.
Iwata: Wii's 2009 lineup allowed the 'mood' to 'cool'
At a press conference about Nintendo's earnings, president Satoru Iwata blamed a weak first-party Wii lineup in part for the decline in Wii sales, and for the corresponding decline in profits. "Wii is stalled," he said. "We didn't release good software continually, and let the good mood cool." Siliconera gathered up Nintendo's Wii lineup to illustrate Iwata's point. The first half of 2009, the period described by Nintendo's earnings report, was largely anchored by New Play Control GameCube ports. The second half of the year saw major sellers like Wii Fit Plus accompanied by somewhat niche titles like Endless Ocean 2 and Sin and Punishment 2 -- not that we're complaining about those games! But with New Super Mario Bros.and continued sales of Wii Fit Plus and Wii Sports Resort, it should look better than the first half. It's likely that not even Nintendo wanted to get in the way of Monster Hunter 3, which did turn out to be a big success -- and one that helped Nintendo achieve the level of hardware sales it did, thanks to a bundle. However, with that out in August, it didn't factor into the first-half results.
The 'control' in New Play Control Chibi Robo
The next title to get the New Play Control treatment from Nintendo is Chibi Robo, and in being overhauled for Wii, players can expect new point-and-click-based controls, Siliconera reports. Gone are the analog controls of the original GameCube title, as not only will you guide your robotic munchkin around now by pointing your Wiimote where you want him to go, but you will also be tasked with finishing some of Chibi's chores through motion-based gestures. And the shooting scenes from the original? They've been replaced with light gun-like segments, further taking advantage of the Wiimote's ability to point at things.The game is set for release in Japan on June 11, and no North American release has been mentioned.
Japan: New Play Control Metroid 2 and Chibi-Robo in June
According to Siliconera, Japan will receive the New Play Control versions of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and Chibi-Robo! on June 11. No details have been revealed about how the games will be reconfigured for Wii controls, though it's probably a safe bet that Metroid Prime 2 will play similarly to Metroid Prime 3. As for the adorable-housekeeping-robot sim, Chibi-Robo!, it's anyone's guess.For now, the release date for countries outside Japan remains a mystery, so those who haven't played the Gamecube originals can start holding their breath ... now.
Joyswag: Pikmin (New Play Control Edition) [update]
Update: Sorry, folks, the entry period has come to a close. Keep an eye on your email inbox to see if you're a winner!Are you ready for another Joyswag? Too bad, we're doing it anyway! Up for grabs this week is the New Play Control Wii version of Pikmin. Check out the rules below and get your entry on! Leave a comment telling us how many Pikmin you think have perished in aid of Captain Olimar (your guess is as good as ours) You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec) Limit 1 entry per person per calendar day This entry period ends at 2:59 pm ET on Wednesday, April 22 At that time, we'll randomly select one winner to receive the "New Play Control!" version of Pikmin ($30) For a list of complete rules, click here Best of luck to you all and thanks for reading!
New Play Control Metroid Prime games get Corruption's token system
If you played through any significant portion of Metroid Prime 3, then you likely encountered a colorful token or two during your progression through the game. These tokens were awarded for a variety of reasons and were a lot of fun to compare with your friends, so it's nice to see them being utilized in the New Play Control versions of Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime: Echoes. Anything adding replay value to these great games is just fine by us!
Metroid Prime's new play controls demonstrated in Japanese ads
Nintendo's new Japanese commercials for the New Play Control version of Metroid Prime pretty well answer the question of how the new controls work. The commercials show example motions over in-game activities, revealing that the control scheme for the Wii remake of Retro Studios' first-person adventure game are similar to the controls found in Metroid Prime 3. The clip goes by too quickly and doesn't feature enough detail for us to determine if any changes have been made to the Corruption control scheme, but we doubt it.This is basically what we expected, and we're delighted to see it: aside from a minor issue with the + and - buttons, the Wiimote/Nunchuk controls for Metroid Prime 3 were just right. We're quite excited about getting to use them in the magnificent first Prime.
Wii Fanboy Poll: New Play Control!: too pricey, or just right?
Next month, Nintendo will debut its New Play Control! (or NEW PLAY CONTROL!) line of games in the west, beginning with Europe. Naturally, we really like the idea of great GameCube games with added 16:9 widescreen support and waggle-based controls, and it could be a licence to print money for Nintendo, if Mario Power Tennis' chart-topping debut in Japan is anything to go by.Will us westerners gobble up these repackaged games as keenly as Japanese gamers? It's likely to depend heavily on pricing -- the games look set to cost $30 in the U.S., and £30 in the UK. Is that too much, just the right amount, or too little (you maniac)?Have your say in our poll past the break!%Gallery-38147%
UK New Play Control prices probably won't be quite so overinflated
Nintendo has responded to UK retailers' pre-release pricing for the New Play Control editions of Pikmin and Mario Power Tennis, saying that those probably won't be the real prices -- and if they are, it's not Nintendo's doing. "It is up to retailers at what price they sell any item for," a Nintendo representative told Eurogamer. At least retailers will have a lower starting point for their prices: "However, our trade price for these games will be below our usual trade price for Wii games and our present estimate of the likely retail price is in the region of GBP 29.99." This doesn't necessarily mean that retailers really will sell the games at the somewhat reduced price point (which still comes out to $41), but it means that if they don't, they're total jerks. Amazon, at least, currently has Pikmin for £24.99!
New Play Control! High Price Tag!
Nintendo is looking to cash in with their line of GameCube-enhanced-for-Wii games, Play on Wii. Of course, in the UK and North America it's called New Play Control!, as we've already reported. So how much will these games fetch?Well, Pikmin is set for a February 6th release, with Mario Power Tennis releasing on March 6th, and each title has a suggested price of £39.99, according to retailers. Nintendo has stepped in to say that their recommended price is £29.99, but it would seem that retailers aren't following that guideline. Should these games go for full price, even if they've got reworked controls taking advantage of the Wii's unique capabilities?
Rumor: Metroid Prime remake in Japan February 12?
According to Gamekyo, the Wii de Asobu/New Play Control remake of Retro Studios' Metroid Prime has been scheduled for release in Japan on February 12. We're not sure where they got that date, but it seems reasonable enough, given the biweekly releases so far in the series of Gamecube updates.While it will be interesting to see how the Japanese Wii audience reacts to Prime, this is most relevant to gamers outside of Japan due to the fact that the Pikmin and Mario Tennis remakes are expected to be out in North America and Europe in February and March, very soon after the releases of those two games in Japan. This means that we could possibly see Metroid Prime sometime in the first half of this year -- although Donkey Kong Jungle Beat came out in Japan before either of those others, and we haven't seen that one yet.
Nintendo serves up Mario Tennis trailers
Over at the official site for the Wii de Asobu (Play on Wii, or NEW PLAY CONTROL!) series, there's a pair of Japanese commercials for the Mario Power Tennis remake, as well as a far lengthier gameplay trailer.The adverts we can take or leave, consisting as they do of the usual telegenic Japanese families bouncing around their pristine living rooms. The gameplay clip is worth watching, as it displays the various shots that can be achieved through a well-timed flick of the wrist (top-spin, side-spin, slices, drop shots, etc.). We hope mixing up our shots actually has an effect on the game, because we always found Wii Sports tennis to be not-quite-as-advertised in this respect (though we're willing to accept we just may be rubbish at Wii Sports tennis).Oh yes, and these are non-embeddable, so you'll have to go to the site to watch them. And they call this 2009!Source: TV commercial 1Source: TV commercial 2Source: Gameplay trailer[Via NeoGAF]
New Play Video: Pikmin
We're way into the New Play Control version of Pikmin. Even eight years after its original release, Pikmin remains one of the fresher and more unusual Nintendo franchise games, and the Wii version only improves on it!In this video, Wii Folder's Josh Thomas (standing in front of the screen like a weatherman) introduces the game in a manner appropriate for people who have no idea what Pikmin is. While that means a lot of explanation of stuff you know, it also means a ton of game footage (worth seeing even with a dude in front of it), and all the new Wii content is highlighted. While you're watching previews of Wii remakes on Wii Folder, check out the Klonoa footage!
New Play Control! New-ish boxart!
The packages for the Japanese Play on Wii series feature the original boxarts for the GameCube games framed in a new white border, with a blue bar at the bottom explaining that the games have new Wii Remote-based controls. According to teensy preview images found on GameStop.com, the North American New Play Control! versions of Pikmin and Mario Power Tennis, officially announced just yesterday, will employ the same strategy. As in, exactly the same. The only difference (aside from the language stuff and the fact that the North American boxart images are used) is that the Play on Wii boxes feature a curved top border in the blue area. If we're lucky, the covers will be reversible like the Japanese ones. We probably won't be that lucky!We have yet to see the box designs for the European NEW PLAY CONTROL! series. We'll keep you updated, because we love pointing out that the European title for the series seems to officially be NEW PLAY CONTROL! in all caps.Source: PikminSource: Mario Power Tennis
Nintendo unleashes full Q1 schedule
Nintendo's carrier pigeon just landed on our windowsill with a complete list of Wii releases for Q1 2009. We do actually know most of these dates already (so yeah, maybe the mushroom cloud is a bit excessive), but there's still the occasional scrap of new news buried within.Those Tenchu and Little King's Story dates are fresh to us, and there's also confirmation of the first Play on Wii "New Play Control" games, Pikmin and Mario Power Tennis. For the record, "New Play Control" is a bit of a rubbish name for the series. In our humble opinion, obviously.Make the jump for the full line-up, and remember you can click on a game's name to bring up screens (where available)!%Gallery-22964%
