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This Week on the Nintendo Channel: Media Summit 2010 redux
This week's Nintendo Channel update features a lot of trailers for all of the big news items out of Nintendo Media Summit last week. If you haven't had a chance to check out the new trailers and our hands-on impressions, hit up this post here. Otherwise, boot up your Wii and enjoy all of the new videos for Super Mario Galaxy 2, Sin and Punishment: Star Successor and Disney Guilty Party! %Gallery-86430%
Dunaway hints at new Zelda in 2010, unsure about Xenoblade and The Last Story
As if Satoru Iwata's pronouncement of a 2010 release date for -- let's call it -- "New Legend of Zelda" wasn't exciting enough, Nintendo of America's Cammie Dunaway referenced a similar timeline for the upcoming Wii game at the Nintendo Media Summit this week. Speaking to GameLife, Dunaway said, "If you compare the first half of 2010 with the first half of 2009, it's night and day. And from some of the things that Mr. Iwata has talked about, and things that we will talk about at E3, like Zelda, you know that we're going to have a good back half of the year, as well." So then, Zelda in the back half of 2010? Yes, please. In regards to North American releases of RPGs Xenoblade and The Last Story, Dunaway somewhat baffling said, "It's too early to say whether we're going to bring those here" -- even though Nintendo of America already announced Xenoblade back at E3 2009 when it was called Monado: Beginning of the World. It's possible Dunaway simply misspoke, or she just forgot about Monado -- like everyone else in the world. %Gallery-65431%
New Club Nintendo goodies: Ultrahand, Game and Watch Collection 2
The best part of buying Nintendo games is playing the actual Nintendo games you just bought collecting coins for Club Nintendo! At yesterday's Nintendo Media Summit, the publisher announced two new items: the DS Game and Watch Collection 2 and Grill-Off with Ultrahand for Wii. Game and Watch Collection 2 is a cartridge with classic and updated versions of Parachute and Octopus, released to Japan's Club Nintendo in 2008. Ultrahand is a WiiWare game about using a classic Nintendo toy to grill meat (really), released for just 50 points in Japan late last year. No information about release dates or cost have been released here yet.
Dunaway: Wii successor isn't coming 'anytime soon'
GameSpot cornered Nintendo's Cammie Dunaway in a dimly lit back room at yesterday's Nintendo Media Summit and pried loose some information about the Wii's eventual successor. It would seem Nintendo is aiming for PlayStation 2 levels of success with the Wii, which means it'll be around for quite some time before being ousted by a follow-up system. "I don't think it'll be anytime soon," she said. "Even though our install base is, at this point, five million households larger than the PS2 install base was at the same point in its life cycle, it still has a lot of room to grow. If you think PS2, there's been about 50 million sold -- Wii close to 28 million sold -- so it says to me there's still a big audience out there that we can access with Wii." In a less oblique fashion, she added: "We'll have it ready when we think the time is right." The rest of the video is mainly fluff, with Dunaway talking up the large global install bases for the Wii and DS, and Wii Sports Resort's six million-strong success. The full video is embedded after the break.
DSiWare First Look: X-Scape and Metal Torrent
Two DSiWare shooters were on show at Nintendo's Q1 Media Summit -- X-Scape (left) and Metal Torrent (right). Both hail from different dimensions (of gameplay and graphics). I played them both, and you'll find my impressions beyond the break.
WiiWare First Look: Art Style series Light Trax, Rotozoa
Nintendo's house brand of "minimalistic mechanics" downloadables, the Art Style series, is growing its ranks with two new titles: Art Style: light trax and Art Style: Rotozoa, both for WiiWare. The games were present (and looking close to finished) at the Big N's media gathering in San Francisco, and I took both for a spin -- quite literally in one case. Catch my thoughts after the break.
Nintendo: WarioWare D.I.Y. getting two DLC microgames weekly, famous devs contributing
Meeting with Nintendo reps yesterday to check out the interoperability between WarioWare D.I.Y. for DS and WarioWare D.I.Y. Showcase for WiiWare, we were informed that the publisher itself will be making two original games available for download each week after the titles launch at the end of March. Not only that, but there are plans to distribute D.I.Y. microgames created by "famous" game developers in the future -- which, of course, you'll be able to study the inner-workings of in detail using the DS version of the latest WarioWare. Think you should be both "famous" and a "game developer?" The trio of tidbits we jotted down is rounded out by word of contests Nintendo is planning to hold, in which specific microgame themes will be presented to the D.I.Y. community, it'll take submissions (for, say, a game based on your favorite food) and the best of the best will then be chosen and distributed by the Big N. Got that notebook full of (tiny) game ideas handy? %Gallery-86452%
Hands-on: Disney Guilty Party
On my list of games I expected to see from Stubbs the Zombie dev Wideload Games, "multiplayer mystery game" ... well, wasn't on my list. But I have to say that I was excited by what I saw (and played) of Disney Guilty Party during the Nintendo Media Summit. It was funny, clever and, simply, different. Though it will support four-player cooperative (and even competitive) mystery-solving (think: Clue meets Zack & Wiki), the session I participated in was a two-player affair. From levels that include a train, mansion, aquarium, and other settings, I ended up playing the gumshoe character on a cruise ship that was missing its wheel and anchor. Along with my partner in crime ... solving, I came pretty close to solving the whodunnit (you need to find evidence as to the perp's hair length, sex, shape, and height, before accusing anyone) as I used my allotted moves and turns to investigate the dollhouse-like cut-away of the ship. Special cards came into play (the over-arching story's villain might, for example, lock off a room -- there's a card that counters that) as did some ... err, unique "interrogation" mini-games, including "staring" into a suspects eyes, paying a bribe and tickling the truth out of an NPC using the Wiimote. The writing's sharp and funny, the classic adventure game underpinnings are noticeable, and I'm eager to play more. %Gallery-86428%
Hands-on: FlingSmash
click to enlarge After playing a few levels of Span Smasher FlingSmash, I had finally answered an important question -- "What the heck is it?" -- but was left with another unanswered. It's true: This is a game of tossing a ball (well, a ball-like character) against blocks in side-scrolling stages, using the power of Wii MotionPlus to ... more accurately toss the ball-thing. (It actually comes in pretty handy for hitting small targets, such as gems and coins.) Playing it felt like tossing a ball against a brick wall, only sideways, which I assure you is as strange as it sounds. It was good enough fun; a very simple arcade game that is a nice change from the typical paddle-based block-breaker. I couldn't help but wonder, though, why it's destined to be a retail release and not a WiiWare title. %Gallery-86431%
Hands-on: Sin and Punishment: Star Successor
Treasure can do no wrong in my book. (It's self-published and titled Treasure Only Makes Awesome Games.) Its successor to the great N64 import Sin and Punishment finally has a release date and apt subtitle for the States, Star Successor, and I can safely say that my playthrough of the game's first level today was nothing compared to this guy's. Buy hey, I'm not complaining. I got to play Sin and Punishment: Star Successor -- and it's sharp-looking, smooth-moving and brimming with bullets (both incoming and outgoing). My experience was much like the one JC had at E3 last year, only I suspect he wasn't playing with an extremely bright LED camera light channeling the intensity of the sun into his eyes. I still managed to build up a respectable multiplier and not botch the timing of sending missiles back to their sender using my melee attack. That's worth something, right? %Gallery-86427%
Impressions: Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (Wii)
For no apparent reason, the Wii version of Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands wasn't playable at Nintendo Media Summit in San Francisco. I take that back -- it was playable, just not by anyone whose paycheck doesn't have an Ubisoft logo on it. Still, I watched and learned as a live demo was given. And hey, it looks solid so far. (Well, except for ... well, I'll get to that in a moment.) The game looks like a mash-up of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and the most recent (and more simply titled 2008 reboot) Prince of Persia, featuring the environments of the former and the saturated color palette of the latter. It also runs really well; it's locked at 60 frames per second. What doesn't look so hot: The stiffly animated Prince himself. Given the fluidity of the action, I expected his movements to be, well, more fluid. Said to have been in development for two years now, The Forgotten Sands seems to make good use of the Wiimote for performing fantastic feats with the Sands of Time. Much like in Super Mario Galaxy, players will be able to aim the Prince's magic independently of his movement -- using the cursor to place "sand rings" anywhere on walls for handholds, "sand columns" to reach new heights and a "sand sphere" that lets the Prince hover in-between leaps, planning his next move. The result looks to provide a lot more freedom in the ways that levels can be navigated. I just hope the Prince ends up looking cooler while sand-magic-ing his way through the world in the final release. %Gallery-85713%
Hands-on: Super Mario Galaxy 2
The original Super Mario Galaxy was selected as one of Joystiq's top games of 2007. Which, of course, meant we liked it -- a lot, in fact. So we took it as welcome news when the sequel was revealed at E3 last year; even if it didn't look all that different from the first game. Truth be told, after playing Super Mario Galaxy 2 at the Nintendo Media Summit, I can say that it isn't that different. But sometimes that's a good thing -- especially when you're talking about the video game equivalent of comfort food. I specifically played two worlds during my demo, with the intent to focus on two of the new game mechanics in SMG2: the first being the drill bit power-up, which quickly wowed me with the nifty new level designs it has inspired; and the second being Mario's lizard pal Yoshi, who really is a space-faring plumber's best friend. %Gallery-86430%
Hands-on: Metroid: Other M
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Hands_on_Metroid_Other_M'; There's a lot I want to tell you about the 45-minute demo of Metroid: Other M that I played at the Nintendo Media Summit, but let me answer your most pressing question first: The game is really impressive; it's really fun; it's totally Metroid. The demo was only the beginning sequences of the game, but if everything Nintendo and Team Ninja have managed to deliver in this short span holds up for the entirety of the game, it's going to be really good. (Also, let it be said now, Other M is in no way a re-skinned Ninja Gaiden.) My demo began with the game's opening cinematic, which is fully pre-rendered CG and recounts the ending of Super Metroid, to which Other M serves as a direct sequel. It sees Samus in a showdown with Mother Brain (realized by Team Ninja as a mammoth bipedal monstrosity with one huge eye) before the bounty hunter awakes in a medical bay wearing her Zero Suit. The cinematic narrated entirely by Samus (as promised, Other M is the first time we hear her voice -- and it's, well, just all right) and leads directly into a tutorial disguised as a "diagnostic" of her armor and recollection of how to kick ass. %Gallery-86429%
Wii No Ma trademarked in U.S.
Since the day Nintendo's video on demand service Wii No Ma first escaped Satoru Iwata's lips, there's been speculation about it coming to North America. Broke My Controller has the latest (though still circumstantial) evidence in the form of several Wii No Ma trademarks made in the U.S. earlier this month. We had hoped Nintendo would confirm the service's North American arrival during today's media summit, but alas, it was not to be. Seems will just to have to keep getting our fast food coupons from the newspaper like everybody else. [Thanks, J. Lopez]
100 Classic Books on DS this June
Why did it take Nintendo a year and a half to localize a bunch of books that were already in English? No idea, but at least we'll finally be able to buy the 100 Classic Book Collection in North America this year. It's out as 100 Classic Books on June 14, at a cost of $19.99. Nintendo has yet to release a list of the included novels in this version, but we expect it to be identical to the European release. In other words, the greatest hits of the public domain.
DSiWare screens and trailers from Nintendo Media Summit
There wasn't as much DSiWare stuff on display at Nintendo Media Summit as there was WiiWare, but Nintendo did announce three new games. Photo Dojo is Japan's Photo Fighter X, the bizarre two-player fighting game made out of your photographs. Metal Torrent, as you may have heard, is a localized version of Aa! Mujou Setsuna, a vertical shooter from Arika. X-Scape (above), fascinatingly, is a super-stylish first-person tank game from Q-Games, a sequel to the vintage Game Boy game X. You can see screens and video of all of them after the break. %Gallery-86442%
Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver, Pokewalker caught on video
If you're hoping to learn more about the device which you'll soon be hiding within your deepest, darkest pocket, filling you with terror that, while withdrawing your keys, you'll accidentally expose the accessory, bringing your reticent Pokémaniacal tendencies to light, forcing you to ... wait, what were we talking about again? Oh, yes, the Pokéwalker accessory which comes with HeartGold and SoulSilver was recently demoed in a video released at the Nintendo Media Summit, and posted above. Looks like it has some neat functionality beyond just step-counting. Oh, the games themselves also received their own trailer, which is posted after the jump. We've seen most of the footage shown there before -- though the music is new, and totally triumphant.
WiiWare screens and trailers from Nintendo Media Summit
Nintendo had a few awesome new WiiWare announcements at its Nintendo Media Summit, most notably, Cave Story! Most notably in the field of games we didn't know about, new Art Style games! The series hasn't been on Wii since the DSi came out, but now we've got Light Trax (a Wii version of the original bit Generations game Dotstream) and Rotozoa (a game about multi-tentacled organisms absorbing creatures of the same color) to look forward to this spring. Check out the trailer for Light Trax above, and see a trailer for Rotozoa, as well as screens of Max and the Magic Marker, WiiWare's WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase, Rage of the Gladiator, And Yet It Moves, Super Meat Boy, and Cave Story after the break. Oh, man, Cave Story!
Disney Guilty Party spurs television-crowding bedlam
We're not convinced that anyone outside of Disney Guilty Party's target audience will stand up and dance when the music for the above trailer really ramps up, but that doesn't mean we're trying to dissuade you from viewing it. Quite the contrary, as Guilty Party's revelry in the family-friendly nature of its cartoon sleuthery shouldn't necessarily be a reason to ignore it (yes, the music is a tad obnoxious). We'll have a hands-on with the game going up later today, but from what we can see in the trailer above and the screenshots below, it seems to be a lighthearted puzzle game suitable for a room full of friends. The jury's still out on whether or not that room full of friends plays good games or not. %Gallery-86428%
What exactly is 'FlingSmash'?
Smash the image to fling yourself into the gallery. Nintendo released news about a bunch of big Wii hits today: Super Mario Galaxy 2, Metroid: Other M, Monster Hunter Tri, FlingSmash, Cave Story ... wait, what? Okay, so FlingSmash doesn't have the name recognition of those other games, but if you've been watching Nintendo carefully over the last couple of trade shows, you've seen it. FlingSmash is a new name for Span Smasher, a MotionPlus-exclusive game about throwing a character named Zip through side-scrolling stages, hitting obstacles and enemies pinball-style. It was shown at E3 alongside games like Line Attack Heroes, which was conspicuously absent from today's proceedings. FlingSmash features play for up to two simultaneously (provided, of course, you have two MotionPlusses) and is currently scheduled for a release sometime in summer 2010. %Gallery-86431%
