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Miyamoto talks about Wii Music's future, hints at sequel
Last October, when the wounds of Wii Music's critical and commercial failure were still relatively fresh, Shigeru Miyamoto mentioned that "there may still be some possibility" of continuing the franchise. In a recent interview with Techland, Miyamoto went a bit further, explaining, "There's a lot of potential still in Wii Music, I think. Because we're going to change it up, a new interface is coming, and all of that." Them's sequeling words, partner. Miyamoto also addressed the possibility of Mario making an appearance in a Wii Music follow-up, stating "If we get more people to understand what's going on in the game concept, then he might appear in the game. I don't know." He added that a Mario cameo is somewhat unlikely, as "he can't play guitar" or saxophone using his stubby, gloved fingers. That's a good point, Mr. Miyamoto -- we guess he can't play too many instruments. But he can rap with the best of them.
Miyamoto: 'there may still be some possibility' for Wii Music franchise
At a New York City roundtable event, Nintendo's resident wunderkind Shigeru Miyamoto showed Joystiq and several other press outlets his latest creation: New Super Mario Bros. Wii (more on that later). During the Q&A that followed, when asked if he was particularly surprised by the reception of any of his games, Miyamoto responded that while he wasn't "truly surprised" by the reaction it got, he thinks "there may still be some possibility with ... Wii Music," the Big N's poorly received music title. "The development team members, the directors of Wii Music were I think, maybe a little bit shocked by the reaction and had hoped it would get a better response than it did," Miyamoto explained through a translator. "So I think if we were to do anything, it would be a matter of getting back together with them and trying to understand what their expectations were and where the gap was between their expectations and what the resulting product was." That doesn't mean Miyamoto doesn't have any insight into the game's failure to connect with gamers. He explained that the "gap between the positives and the negatives seems to be pretty big," referring to the games reception. "The thing that's interesting about Wii Music is there are people who are very versed in music and play the game and their evaluation of it is very high but at the same time there are a lot of people who play it and don't have a very good opinion of it." As if to prevent any "Wii Music 2 confirmed!" headlines from finding their way online, Miyamoto clarified, "We have talked about it but it isn't anything that's concrete at this point." As unusual as it is to see a Nintendo product miss the mark, it's similarly unusual to hear the company acknowledge as much.
Famitsu crowns Hideo Kojima, Monster Hunter with timely 2008 awards
They say that the Japanese are known for their impeccable respect of timeliness. So why is it that leading Japanese mag Famitsu is revealing its 2008 Game of the Year winners now? Here are some highlights: Person of the Year -- Hideo KojimaThis is a man that not only has time to pen the complex and convoluted script behind Metal Gear Solid 4, but will star in weird videos meant solely for fanboys. That's a man you can respect. Rookie Title Prize -- The Last RemnantPerhaps "rookie" is a good word to use for Square Enix's RPG that almost played at a respectable framerate on a system that almost sold well in Japan. Innovation Prize -- Wii MusicThis game innovated by being the first Nintendo-developed Wii game that didn't sell billions of copies. Game of the Year & Best Seller Prize -- Monster Hunter Portable 2nd GWe love it when "best selling" means simply "the best." In America, the best game of 2008 is Wii Play. For the complete list of Famitsu's 2008 winners, visit 1UP.
Analyst: Poor Wii Music, Animal Crossing sales stamina to blame for downturn
Wii sales have been the lowest they've ever been in Japan. Is the Japanese public losing interest? Screen Digest analyst Ed Barton told GameBizBlog that the Wii sales downturn is mostly due to the lack of staying power exhibited by Animal Crossing: City Folk and Wii Music. Barton says that the continued success of Wii Fit and Mario Kart Wii only back up his claim. "These are older games that obviously have shown tremendous stamina, but Nintendo always needs to bring out new ways to drive console sales forward, and we just didn't see that with Wii Music and City Folk." Even though both titles sold decently enough (Animal Crossing was one of the region's top 10 selling games in 2008 and Wii Music debuted with 92,000 units sold in its first week), they lacked the necessary sales stamina of Wii Fit and Mario Kart Wii. He says that there isn't much hope on the horizon either, despite the imminent release of Monster Hunter 3 on Wii. He warns that trying to transfer the user base from handheld to home console is risky and that the gamble may not pay off for Nintendo. Barton is of the mind that "it won't have the same level of success that it had on the PSP."
This Week on the Nintendo Channel: Jazz
This week, the Nintendo Channel has plenty of videos and, much to our surprise, some new DS demos as well. Avalon Code is back, and it brought its friend Trackmania DS along for the ride. Then there's the lovely Nintendo fluff for Wii Music that you can see in the video above. Want the full list? Click past the break and you can have it for the low, low price of free.%Gallery-27713%
Wii Music introduced into D.C. school's curriculum
A Washington D.C. elementary school has turned to Wii Music to help win support for its music program. FOX News 5 D.C. reports H.D. Cooke Elementary school isn't using the software to replace the music curriculum but to further pique the students interest in music. The Wii Music injection is, in part, a response to a mandate by D.C. School Chancellor Michelle Rhee for every school to have a music teacher on staff. H.D. Cooke is the first school to use such a program; however, the program is planned to spread to 50 schools across the United States. The supplemental usage of Wii Music is a good example of engaging kids with popular tech from their generation; however, it will give them the false hope that playing a trombone is as simple as waving your hands around like a crazy person. [Via Kotaku]
Nintendo also wins at advertising
Nintendo has made a business of manufacturing money printing machines, but how has it done in marketing those machines to people? Well, as you can guess from the title of this post, the company hasn't done too badly. Phoenix Marketing International's Travel and Leisure Division conducted its Video Game Advertising Performance Index (AdPi) Audit and found Nintendo was the only gaming company in Q4 of 2008 to earn above average AdPi scores. The score, which determines effectiveness and impact in all three media categories (print, television and digital), shows that Nintendo has done a pretty good job of pushing its wares on the populace. The highest-rated ads were: TV: Nintendo's Wii Music; and Activision's Call of Duty: World at War Print: Nintendo's Wii Fit; Disney Interactive's Disney Think Fast; and MTV Games' Rock Band 2 Digital: Nintendo's Wii Music; Activision's Call of Duty: World at War; and Ubisoft's The Price is Right In order to gauge the effectiveness of an ad, consumers were asked if they would buy the game, if the ad was worth watching again, and if the ad was inspiring or worth talking about. Well, we know of at least one ad that definitely fits the bill.
Nintendo: Wii Music needs to 'clear the hurdle'
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has no problem admitting Wii Music didn't live up to the company's expectations, but he doesn't want you to consider it a failure, either. During a recent Q&A session, he spoke about the company's hopes regarding Wii Music, as well as the difficulty Nintendo has had with consumer reception."There are people who highly appreciate it and those who do not appreciate it at all," Iwata said, adding that perceptions can be changed. It's all about word of mouth to him, as he said, "A cycle is born where people who have hands-on experience can immediately understand its appeal, easily explain the positive experience they had to those around them, who then spread that information to the others." That works, unless you're a blog who pretty unanimously hated it and told everyone how you felt. With Wii Music, the company was never able to achieve this "positive cycle," and Iwata says Nintendo now needs to "reevaluate" why it hasn't been able to "clear that hurdle." Nintendo, here's a protip from us: Emphasize that it has a dog suit and beatboxing. You might sell a few extra copies if you push that.
Wii Music: Play me, it's part of the curriculum
Nintendo has suggested that Wii Music could somehow be used to teach kids to play real music. So, after not getting off to such a great start at retail -- and struggling there ever since -- the "game" is being handed over to music teachers with the hope that they'll encourage their students to somehow learn with it.In a press release issued this morning, Nintendo says that Wiis and copies of Wii Music are being deployed to schools nationwide. Some teachers are already jumping on the bandwagon, such as Helen A. Krofchick, a music instructor in Lugoff, SC, who is quoted in the release. "I love how many music standards can be covered in such a short time," she said. "Students also have to use language skills, spatial awareness and hand-eye coordination." Note the use of the word "music." It keeps the quote from pertaining to Wii Sports ... or video games in general.Kids Fun Fact: If you pick up a real trumpet and act like you're playing it, music will come out.
Wii Music shows students how to play the dog
If there's one thing that's stuck with us concerning Wii Music, it's the ability to play the dog. Well, okay, there's also Stan Lee on the beat box. Now, thanks to a collaboration between Nintendo and MENC (The National Association for Music Education), such fun can be had in the classroom.Nintendo and MENC are working together with teachers in 51 cities across the United States to implement Wii Music into their lesson plans. "By partnering with educators and bringing Wii Music into their classrooms, we hope to give students a memorable, hands-on experience that helps them discover their own creative voice," said Cammie Dunaway. Executive director of MENC, John J. Mahlmann, agrees, stating "At any grade level, it's essential to provide students with the tools and encouragement they need to be creative."It's pretty cool, me must admit. Video games never were welcome in the classroom when we were younger, so we're glad that educators are seeing their potential. What's next? Physics professors mapping out the force of Mario stomping on a goomba's head?%Gallery-27713% Looking for more on Wii Music? You can catch an E3 trailer here, read about our time with the game here, and learn how to play the Famicom, banjo, steel drum, handbell, trumpet, timpani, acoustic bass, shamisen, harmonica, cello, harpsichord, cheerleader, saxophone, sitar, cowbell, electric bass, drums, dog, accordion, taiko, clarinet, conga, electric guitar, harp, flute, marching drum, violin, piano, guitar, and marimba.
Miyamoto unsure about next Zelda announcement
There's an entertaining interview with Shigeru Miyamoto over at the Official Nintendo Magazine site, in which Shiggy mostly comes across as a bumbling, endearing eccentric: apparently, he "strummed on an invisible guitar" for the entire interview, and voiced his suspicions that his cat is hiding games from the Miyamoto family. Ha.Anyway, the article is mainly designed to promote Wii Music, but there is the odd very vague comment about the next Zelda. The opportunists at ONM couldn't resist mentioning the 'Z' word, but Miyamoto wasn't budging too much. "I'm really not sure when we'll be able to make a public announcement on that," he said, adding, "I can't even say if the next E3 will be the right opportunity to do so. But rest assured, our teams are working on new projects right now."So the next Zelda ... might not be at E3 next year! If that's the case, we could reasonably expect to see something at Nintendo's fall conference(s). We'd at least like to have a peek next year -- having downloaded Ocarina of Time from the Virtual Console over the weekend (spoiler: it's still unfathomably brilliant), this blogger is aching for a new entry in the series.%Gallery-29660%
Nintendo says: Wii Music beats playing in snow
In case you weren't clear about Nintendo's intentions for Wii Music, this should clarify things for you: a Japanese winter-themed commercial for Wii Music, almost two months after the game launched there. Pushing a game well past its initial release is becoming one of Nintendo's favorite tactics (just ask the UK). Is it working in this case? Sort of. Despite enduring a rocky start in Japan, Wii Music is still in the Media Create top 30 (27th this week), so it's not totally off the radar.Two other things of note: having just celebrated its second birthday, Wii Sports is still 30th in the Japanese charts this week! And is that what Japanese snow is really like? Totally beats the brown/gray slush variant we get here in the UK.%Gallery-27713%
Miyamoto still hopeful Wii Music will catch on
Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto recently conducted a rather large Q&A with Edge, talking about all kinds of fascinating things. Actually, to tell you the truth, the man could talk about used Q-tips and we'd still find it fascinating. To call it a crush would be a severe understatement. It's no secret that Wii Music hasn't been selling too well, but Miyamoto still has hope that the game will be a success. "I think a very large audience can enjoy Wii Music," Miyamoto said, adding that when Nintendo demoed the game, "many took to it." That can't really be said for the critics, however, who've not enjoyed the game overall."I really appreciate that the gaming media has a different view of anything as new as Wii Music today," Miyamoto stated. He said these scores help show "how different and unique Wii Music is" and that he has this "big ambition" for the game and "that it can eventually be something very influential so that it might be able to influence what music means in the world."It's a pretty lengthy interview, so click here to read the whole thing. It's always nice to get a glimpse into Miyamoto's mind.%Gallery-27713%
Wii has biggest week ever in Australia, thanks to ... Wii Music!
Nintendo of Australia's executives have probably gotten congratulatory phone calls from Japan by now. For Wii Music's launch week (two weeks ago), the controversial musical toy was the top-selling console game in the region, according to a Nintendo press release. The 28,000 copies of Wii Music no doubt helped the Wii have its best week ever in Australia, with 35,000 units sold.According to the press release, the Wii has passed the 750,000 mark in 102 weeks, the shortest time to that milestone in the history of the Australian games industry. Of course, the DS experienced its own milestones, becoming the console to reach 1.5 million in the shortest time. %Gallery-27713%
Wii Music makes slow start, Nintendo hoping it has legs
As part of its "Touch! Generations" range, Nintendo will hope Wii Music can rack up some dizzying sales figures. Sadly, the maligned music title hasn't made the best of starts in North America, falling a long way short of the launch window sales for other first-party titles, such as Wii Fit. Cammie Dunaway has revealed that the game did "somewhere [like] 65 or 66,000" in its first two weeks on sale, whereas the more expensive Wii Fit shifted 687,000 copies in its opening eleven days.Nintendo isn't about to panic, however. Rather, Dunaway thinks it could have the same long-term appeal already displayed by Wii Fit, Wii Play, and Mario Kart Wii, all of which regularly show up in the monthly NPD charts. "We're predicting that it's going to be an evergreen title, she told MTV Multiplayer. "And if you look at titles like Brain Age, it's about the same as what Brain Age did during it's first few weeks and went on to sell 2.5 million copies. Wii Fit certainly had a larger launch than that. But I think that people are starting to understand Wii Music."%Gallery-27713%
Your shopping accompanied by Wii Music
Attention Wii Music haters: since you didn't purchase the game, your Wii Music hating hobby may currently be limited to your time online. Luckily for you, Nintendo has announced that, for the next two weekends, they are going to hold public Wii Music performances in eight U.S. cities, so if you're near one of the planned locations, you can go and not enjoy one! This promotion may also be of interest to people who are genuinely curious about Wii Music, even if they aren't motivated by a desire to declare it the death of gaming.Each location will feature a "family trio of music-makers" and a Wii Music station hooked up to a "rockin' sound system" to entertain shoppers who happen to pass by. The list of venues for each weekend is after the break!%Gallery-27713%
Miyamoto: Guitar Hero, Beatmania are 'cover band' titles
Shigeru Miyamoto recently hosted a Wii Music roundtable with a select number of websites and magazines (clearly, our invitation was lost in the mail), in which the great man appeared to insult other music games! Shock! Horror! Headlines!Of course, we understand Miyamoto probably wasn't trying to be mean when he compared playing franchises such as Beatmania and Guitar Hero to being part of a cover band. If anything, we suspect Shiggy was merely explaining how Wii Music is more freeform -- which it is, of course. "My goal wouldn't be to try and lull people to join the best cover band," explained Wii Music's dad, "but rather, to let them move beyond that rather basic level of music training."He also found time to defend Wii Music's track list, which has come under attack from some critics, including IGN's Matt Cassamassina, who we like to think shifted awkwardly in his seat when Miyamoto brought the subject up. Apparently, a lot of modern songs don't have a suitable chord progression for Wii Music, while the harmonies and melodies of many contemporary tracks came across as too samey. So there you go: Nintendo didn't just choose a ton of public domain songs to save cash.%Gallery-27713%
Wii Music not so much of a joke in Japan
People like to poke fun, but if the Japanese are any indication, Wii Music is going to be serious business. The title debuted at the top spot in Japan this week, selling 92,000 copies. And 50,000 of those copies flew off the shelves on the game's first day at retail! But, doing well in Japan doesn't necessarily mean it'll do well in other territories. What do you think?%Gallery-27713%[Via Joystiq] Looking for more on Wii Music? You can catch an E3 trailer here, read about our time with the game here, and learn how to play the Famicom, banjo, steel drum, handbell, trumpet, timpani, acoustic bass, shamisen, harmonica, cello, harpsichord, cheerleader, saxophone, sitar, cowbell, electric bass, drums, dog, accordion, taiko, clarinet, conga, electric guitar, harp, flute, marching drum, violin, piano, guitar, and marimba.
Amazon using Wii Music as a gateway game
Right now, if you buy Wii Music from Amazon, they'll give you a $20 voucher that you can use on video games. To get the obligatory Wii Music joke out of the way, you can buy Wii Music and another game worth $20 and come out with a total of one game for the price of one. The deal is valid until Halloween, and the cards will be mailed out within ten days after that end date (yes, they're apparently mailing cards out rather than the sensible option of emailed coupon codes). That means it should arrive just in time for Animal Crossing!%Gallery-27713%
Wii Music debuts at No. 1 in Japan
Another day, another bajillion dollars. Sure, we all may give Wii Music some flak, but we never thought for a second that the game wouldn't sell like gangbusters. In its first week of release, Nintendo's rhythm experiment moved 92,000 units, according to Famitsu (via Chart Get!). That's about half of Wii Sports' first week of sales in Japan (approx. 182,000, via VG Chartz) -- and that launched unbundled alongside the console. Rounding out the top 5 software for the week of October 13 to 19 are Pokémon Platinum (DS; 72,000), Yuusha no Kuse ni Namaikida Or 2 (PSP; 59,000), Rhythm Tengoku Gold (DS; 51,000) and Culdcept DS (50,000). According to the data, the top 30 was comprised of 14 titles for DS, 8 for Wii, 4 each for PSP and PS2 and zilch for PS3 and Xbox 360. The Media Create figures will be out this weekend. We won't get the North American sales data from NPD until next month.[Via CVG]
