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ESRB rates Tecmo's Wiimote-shaking WiiWare game, more C64 VC games
Tecmo's Atsui 12 Game Furi Furi Party was initially revealed at TGS as a barebones WiiWare game that did nothing but score players based on the speed of their waggling. When it was released in Japan late last month, it appeared to be much more full-featured, with multiple modes and, you know, graphics.We'll have our chance to experience the Furi Furi Party in the future! The ESRB has posted a rating for a Tecmo Wii game called 3-2-1 Rattle Battle. Rattle Battle! It's pretty catchy.In other ESRB news, two more Commodore 64 games have been rated for release on the Wii: Impossible Mission and Boulder Dash.[Via Siliconera]
VC Friday: 'Stay a while ... Stay FOREVER'
"Nintendo, with this week's four Virtual Console releases you are really spoiling us!"We feel extra special this week, because kindly old Uncle Nintendo has lavished the PAL Virtual Console (or at least the European Virtual Console) with four new titles, including another two Commodore 64 additions (both of which are cracking), and the first Master System games to reach Australia. Unusually, all four are worth a look, but Impossible Mission has a special room all of its own in this blogger's heart. As usual, there's footage of all titles past the break. California Games -- Commodore 64 -- 500 Wii Points* Impossible Mission -- Commodore 64 -- 500 Wii Points* Wonder Boy -- Master System -- 500 Wii Points Fantasy Zone -- Master System -- 500 Wii Points * Europe only, for now -- sorry, Aussies!
Indies and consoles: an imperfect system
According to Gamasutra's Simon Carless, the independent scene is facing an uphill battle when developing for consoles, specifically in the realm of digital distribution. Carless argues that the difficulty in bringing a title across all platforms, both for technological and business reasons.Other than some retro titles (e.g. Joust), a very small number of downloadable title are appearing on both Xbox Live and PlayStation Network. Capcom's Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix is one of the few exceptions, and Capcom's Christian Svensson said it required "considerable coordination" to get the titles on both consoles, which indicates to us that less established independent houses would have insurmountable difficulty.Carless notes that Sony's collection, retro games aside, are predominantly first party (though we should note that flOw went to Sony because they actively sought out the independent title). Nintendo has always talked about bringing original games to the Wii, and there have been murmurings of a Game Channel, but so far all the only tangible indication of a non-Virtual Console title is Impossible Mission.Carless' analogy to the film industry (three separate formats for theatre chains), though admittedly ham-fisted, does not account for industry history. It may be unfair to the independent developer, but there hasn't been a time when gaming was controlled by a single format. Sure, development teams are now much larger and require a bigger budget, but that hasn't stopped smaller teams from succeeding with Geometry Wars, Ragdoll Kung-Fu, and Alien Hominid (pictured). The state of indie games isn't ideal, but it seems to be getting better. We say keep on fighting, Simon.
New Wii download service (not VC) coming, hints Impossible Mission dev
System 3 CEO Mark Cale, whose company is updating the Commodore 64 title Impossible Mission, has told PAL Gaming Network that a new service for downloading content on Nintendo Wii is forthcoming and that Nintendo should be making an announcement within the next two months."I wouldn't say Virtual Console, because they're not actually calling it the Virtual Console," he said, while suggesting that Nintendo's service will be similar to how Microsoft has set up Xbox Live. A separate Wii "Game Channel" for original content has been mentioned before by Hudson Entertainment director of marketing John Lee. Is Nintendo considering revamping its download service or simply augmenting what's there? We certainly wouldn't be opposed to a better way of organizing or VC titles. Nothing is official and such a download system, if true, might be nixed before public unveiling. Cale went on to say that Microsoft are "years ahead" of Sony and Nintendo regarding their ability to provide downloadable content and later added that he expects the Nintendo to "roll out their strategy" within the next two months. [Via Nintendo Wii Fanboy]
Original DLC to have own service on Wii?
When it comes to original titles, don't look to the Virtual Console -- System 3's CEO Mark Cale recently let slip that Nintendo will be utilizing a different service for new downloadable games. When discussing the forthcoming release of Impossible Mission with PALGN, Cale said, "I wouldn't say Virtual Console, because they're not actually calling it the Virtual Console ...." In a way, this makes sense, but it opens the doors of speculation as to just what this other download service will be like. We would have assumed it would simply be another feature of the Shopping channel, but Cale indicated the service might resemble Xbox Live Arcade. If Cale is to be believed, we don't have long to wait when it comes to finding out just how things will be handled -- he expects Nintendo will start making announcements within the next two months.
Impossible Mission to stay in Wii Shop Channel... forever!
Impossible Mission is set to be the first downloadable Wii title that doesn't run on the Virtual Console. Eurogamer reports (via Nintendo Power magazine) that the remake of the Commodore 64 platformer will be made available in the online Wii Shop channel, making it the first new(ish) visitor to Nintendo's virtual aisles. Given the inescapable nature of the in-store music, we wouldn't be surprised to see the game stay awhile or indeed, stay foreeeeeverrr.For those unfamiliar with the title and the nefarious Professor Atombender, Impossible Mission will provide a retro mode in addition to the revamped adventure, much like the recent Jetpac Refuelled did on Xbox Live Arcade. Fight robots, keep atoms straight and sell an Xbox 360 in Japan this Summer when the game hits the Wii, PS2, PSP and DS.
Rumor: Impossible Mission remake going to Wii Shop?
Oh, good, another one of those vague, confusing rumors we love so well! Infendo is reporting that the latest issue of Nintendo Power reveals a downloadable Wii Shop version of the Commodore 64 classic Impossible Mission. Infendo seemed to think that the Wii Shop version would be the same as the DS remake. However, the resulting NeoGAF thread made the situation seem a lot less clear.Apparently, publisher System 3 also plans to release a retail disc of Impossible Mission. It would be kind of weird to release the same game on disc and the Wii Shop, right? But it would also be weird to release the exact same game for Wii and DS. After all, the DS is not the PSP. So, with no real information to go on, let's do some speculatin'! Here are all the possibilities we can think of: The same game is coming out for both the Wii and DS. Unlikely. The DS game will be downloadable on the Wii, and will release concurrently with a separate Wii version. The DS and Wii remakes will be separate and accompanied by a Virtual Console release of the C64 original. This seems more plausible. LIES!
A solution for the Ferrari Challenged
The above image is from Ferrari 355 Challenge for the Dreamcast. The reason it's on a PSP blog is because System 3 is making a new Ferrari Challenge title. System 3 as you may remember is also bringing Impossible Mission (among other games) to the PSP, so they have experience with the handheld. The previous Ferrari Challenge was a realistic and difficult game, though little detail was given for the direction of this version. We do know that Ferrari Challenge will feature 4-player wireless multiplayer (a feature that will be missing on the Wii version) and game-sharing. While I'm sure gamers love the idea of driving Ferraris, I hope there are other car types available in the racer as well. [ Via Games Radar ]
More info on PSP's Impossible Mission
When we first wrote about Impossible Mission we were told it would be out in January and wouldn't be in 3D. Well, it's past January and the game isn't out yet and now we know it'll include some 3D objects. What other new info is there on Impossible Mission?
