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Excitebots has slow sales start in April
Someone call Benjamin Jahveri, Excitebots is in rough shape. During the 10 days the racer was available in April, it managed to move just 13,000 copies, according to the NPD. To give some perspective, more mature Wii titles MadWorld and House of the Dead: Overkill were able to move 66,000 and 45,000 units respectively in their first 20 days.This is purely just our observation, but did the hype machine seem a little weak for Excitebots? We can't recall seeing much in the way of marketing for the game, but honestly ... we don't get out much.
Revolutionary: Pure Excitement
In the summer of 2006, inside the Los Angeles Convention Center, there was a historically long line to get into the Nintendo's E3 booth and lay eyes and hands on the yet-unreleased Wii and its wares. After finally getting into the booth, attendees were faced with the choice of which long line they'd want to wait in next to play a game. When I got inside the booth and surveyed the selection, my first pick was Excite Truck. Once I'd finally gotten my hands on the controller and made a few laps around the track, I knew this would be a day one purchase for me. Even after scoping out the upcoming stuff for Xbox 360 and PS3, I was convinced that Excite Truck embodied the true essence of the "next generation." New gameplay dynamics met vast dynamically changing terrain that stretched beyond what we had grown accustomed to. So when Disney Interactive showed their new ATV racer, Pure, with vertiginous jumps, wild tricks, and expansive vistas, I thought I was looking at the spiritual successor to one of my favorite Wii launch titles, but a Wii version was not in the cards. At least we have a PC version to hack together a GlovePIE script for and give it the Excite Truck treatment.
Mystery title from Monster Games kicks speculation into high gear
Looks like Monster Games -- the folks behind the Wii launch title Excite Truck -- are hard at work on a super secret new project for the console, and have been for a long time. How secret is it? So secret, apparently, that they have to turn down their monitors when unauthorized folks walk into the office. Sounds like anything but an Excite Truck follow-up, eh? There aren't many reasons to keep that a secret. So what could it be? Monster Games only seems to put out racing titles, so we're gonna bet there will be vehicles and high speeds, but that could cover a lot of ground. Some have guessed that it might be an all-new F-Zero, but frankly, we're holding out for something that's really new and not a revival. Not that we wouldn't enjoy a little F-Zero, but we like new things, too.[Via The Tanooki]
Mario Kart rumors surface, quickly get denied
This has nothing to do with the leaked release list from earlier in this very same day, but some more specific features about the game other than when it will officially exist in the sense that you may buy it, play it and perhaps snuggle with its instruction manual. According to an upcoming issue of NMag (by way of GoNintendo), snaking will make its way back into the game, along with a total of 32 tracks (16 new, 16 old) and Baby Peach and Boo will be drivers. Also, the controls are supposed to be very much like those that are in Excite Truck.Apparently, this is all speculation, though, as a Nintendo rep told Eurogamer that these tidbits of info are nothing more than rumors. "Nintendo has not announced any further information on Mario Kart," the rep said. "We've spoken to the magazine and it's just pure rumour and speculation on their part." So while Nintendo shoots down all of this info, you can still be sure in betting on the track list being a mixture of older tracks, with some new ones sprinkled in for good measure. We'll just all have to make our own guess as to how many there will be.Read - GoNintendo leaks info from upcoming issue of NMagRead - Nintendo tells Eurogamer it's all rumors
Rumorang: Excite Truck 2 rumors keep on trucking
These Excite Truck 2 rumors just keep on coming, but this time around they come from the Official Nintendo Magazine in Spain. This, of course, causes us to believe that ... oh wait, these images are recycled. How hilarious that the magazine would recycle what are known to be fake images as those for a sequel to the game. But one thing is different: the rendered truck has changed.Personally, we'd like the game to receive a sequel and it would make sense for Nintendo to do so. Maybe add some Wi-Fi functionality to it?[Via Go Nintendo]
Somewhat more Sedate Truck found at Gamestop
This profoundly limited-edition copy of Excite Truck was spotted on the shelf at GameStop. Evidently, an employee drew this charmingly quaint alternate boxart instead of using the default GameStop display box for loose games. You can see from the little motion lines that the truck is clearly excited, which is a much subtler approach than the usual bright colors and EXTREME explosions.We totally prefer the lunch-break line art shown here to the real boxart, but we're still a little shocked that they're selling this copy as a new game with no discount.[Via Siliconera]
Wii toys served hot off the grill
Fast food chain Wendy's plans to pack its Kids' Meals with Wii-related toys soon. The new knickknacks don't look like they're anything to fawn over, but that miniaturized and muddied Excite Truck might make a nice addition to your collection of Micro Machines and Hot Wheels racers. Truthfully, we've never been partial to the restaurant's square-shaped burger patties or its bland french fries. Wendy's chicken nuggets, however, are like the real-world equivalent to Narnia's turkish delight. Families have been betrayed and wars have been set into motion over these bits of meat. The fact that we can get a pocket-sized Wii remote with these nuggets pretty much settles our schedule for where we're eating lunch at when this promotion goes into effect.[Via Infendo]
Fake: Excite Truck 2 multiplayer mode with Mii display revealed
Update 4/25 10:50am: Despite appearing on GamesPress this morning (now conveniently missing) and still being mirrored publicly at GamesIndustry.biz, it looks like this strange, terse announcement (and it's accompanying screenshots) for Excite Truck 2 is ... a fake. We've asked Nintendo for a comment on the "announcement." The original post is saved after the break. 11:25am: CVG says, "Nintendo has confirmed [the announcement] to be fake."
Fake: Excite Truck 2 delivers 6 player wi-fi multiplayer
Update: It looks like the Internet, including Joystiq and Wii Fanboy, got punk'd when an Excite Truck 2 press release was supposedly released by Nintendo of Canada. The release appeared on official press resources, such as Games Press, and is still available on GamesIndustry.biz. Thanks to an intrepid reader, there is confirmation that this is, indeed, a fake--quite possibly the most successful in recent memory. We apologize for this err in judgment, and hope that Nintendo will actually make an online-enabled Excite Truck in the future.
Upcoming release schedule for Europe
NoE put out a list of their upcoming games for the European market, and while it may not be quite as filled-to-bursting as the DS list there's certainly plenty to be excited about. Upcoming with a quickness is the exquisite Wario Ware and -- ooh! we're jealous -- colorful Kororinpa. Loads of titles undated as well. Check after the jump for the full list.
Metareview: Excite Truck
While we had plenty of time with Excite Truck, we haven't had time to get up our review (we'll get it up soon, we swear). While we wait, why not take a look at what some of the other reviewers out there are saying about the ramp-jumping, Wiimote-turning racer. Overall, reviews have been positive, however there have been a handful of those that feel the game is too simplistic or unfinished. GameSpot - 68%: "Excite Truck's control and speed give it a good amount of potential, but there just isn't enough of a game here to keep you excited for very long. Ultimately, it feels more like a tech demo than a full-fledged game." IGN - 80%: "Excite Truck is clearly a first generation console game that will, without a doubt be outdone in the Wii system's later years. But as a game that bursts right out of the gate as a launch title for the system, Excite Truck is a fulfilling, fun, energetic arcade-style racer that features a good balance of technology and technique. There are a few spots in places that could have been filled, like its weak two player option and trick system, but overall this game definitely pulls off the intense racing rush that quality arcade racers offer." Gamespy - 60%: "Like I said at the beginning of the review, I highly doubt Excite Truck will standout in anyone's memory past the end of the year. The lack of decent multiplayer and total lack of online play hurt the longevity, but if you absolutely need a racer to play at launch, you can't really do any better than this one."
First look: Excite Truck
Ever since we received our Wii, everyone has been dying to play that Zelda game. It's left us little time to take trucks, of the most exciting variety, out for a spin. After running through the first set of races and unlocking the silver series, we have overall good impressions of the game. Visually, it looks good. No pop-up present that we can determine and the sense of speed is really spot-on. We currently have 3 vehicles at our disposal. A dune buggy-like vehicle is our personal favorite, mainly for its incredibly light weight (which helps us bust some amazing drifts and big air). Upon completing courses, we're rewarded for our efforts with a grade. The learning curve is rather small for this also, as upon completing our first race, we received a grade of F and, only 2 short races following, we were receiving A's and S's with relative ease.Keep an eye out here for more impressions on the game as we progress and check after the break for some more pictures.
Nongamer on Wii: it's better than buttons [update 1]
It begins -- as the Wii kiosks go up around in GameStops everywhere, we're starting to see more hands-on impressions of the system. Reader Nick tipped us off on this one, and it's not much, but there's something interesting in these few quick lines about the Wii. He and his wife, Katie (who he says is "pretty much a nongamer") stopped by their local store to check out the Excite Truck demo in action. In their blog, Katie reports that Nick had a little trouble with it, but she found it easy. Why? Because it was really like steering and not just about pushing buttons. That was something we noticed at the Fusion Tour as well -- that those of us who spend vast oceans of time with a controller in hand may not have it so easy with the Wii, at least in the beginning. [Thanks, Nick!][Update: Removed photograph at reader request.]
Custom soundtracks in Excitetruck?
Thanks to some new screenshots of the upcoming launch title Excitetruck, it now indeed looks as though we called it. That's right: if the picture here is any indication, the arcade racer will be able to read .mp3 files from your very own SD card and insert them into the game, a la the Xbox and Xbox 360. It's a nice little feature, and the ability to rock out to our latest find on Pandora while catchin' some air is quite enticing indeed.Does this feature matter to you guys? More importantly, how many games are actually going to support it? Only the flying spaghetti monster time will tell.
Fusion Tour impressions from the mid-South [update1]
Last week, we forayed into an as yet undiscovered country for a chance with the Wii. What country? Well, it's more of a town, really ... a smallish town ... known as Jonesboro, Arkansas.Arkansas State University in Jonesboro is a strange stop for the Fusion Tour. Sure, it's a college town, but there are far more obvious locales nearby. Little Rock is a mere two hour drive away. It's a big, grown-up city, home of a President and all. And Memphis, that sultry city of the blues, is less than an hour away for those with particularly heavy accelerator feet. But Nintendo chose Jonesboro. Sigh. In service to you, dear reader (maybe not all of it), it was Jonesboro-ho.
Nintendo Wii Fanboy at the Nintendo Fusion Tour: Orlando
Yes, these Fusion Tour events have been going for several weeks now, I know. And you've probably read plenty of impressions, too. But not from Nintendo Wii Fanboy, you didn't, so grab a mug of hot cocoa and your favorite fuzzy slippers. It's time to read. I, like most of you, had never played with the Wii before tonight. I was unable to attend E3, and despite my posting nigh every single day on the strange little machine, I had no idea if it could actually fulfill my every expectation. Would I have to convince myself that the controls would work, as opposed to just knowing that they would? It was almost nervewracking ... waiting to see if all that I work on and write about would be somehow validated.
Excite Truck trailer lifts spirits
In this latest trailer for first-party launch title Excite Truck, trucks elevate to heights no mortal should ever reach. Following our hands-on with it during E3, we felt the game was fun, just not so much as to warrant launch day purchase. Things change, however, as the more we see on this game, the more we honestly want it. While taking the established franchise and switching out the dirt bikes for 4X4s might cause some to cringe, we here at the Fanboy are looking forward to busting big jumps. Obviously, we'll be guzzling Mountain Dew whilst we do it, what with us being so extreme and all.As always, video is embedded into the post after the break.
Wii want 4-player, Nintendo can't deliver
According to the official Wii site, Excite Truck has been capped at two players. In fact, out of nine first party titles featured on the site, only two (Wii Sports & Mario Strikers Charged) are confirmed to support 4 players -- WarioWare will have "some" multiplayer (2-5 players) support. In addition, out of the nine, only Mario Strikers and Battalion Wars II will offer online multiplayer.This is a step back, even if many (solitary) gamers claim not to be affected. If Wii is being marketed as a family/group activity, then -- at least with this initial clump of first party games -- Nintendo has not delivered on that vision. Four-player should be the standard? Isn't it already?And what's up with the lack of Wi-Fi Connection support? Two first party titles -- and no third party love 'til next year? That just takes the 'we' outta Wii.[Via 1UP]
