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Online Wii gaming will roll out Q2 2007, sez Reggie
We all knew it was coming, and now Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime has given us a timetable in which to expect the first online, multiplayer Wii action: Q2 2007. Assuming that Reggie wasn't referring to the second quarter of fiscal year 2007 -- which ended, like, a few days ago -- when he made the commitment on SpikeTV's Game Head show, it sounds like the first, unnamed online titles will begin trickling out in the March/April time frame. As you're probably aware, Japan's already had a taste of networked Wii gaming in the form of launch title Pokémon Battle Revolution, but Reggie kept the details about future multiplayer games close to his chest -- those titles will be revealed early next year, he said. Reggie also let slip the fact that new Wii channels are in the works, though once again, he omitted any real concrete information concerning either their content or scheduled rollout. So there you have it: if all goes according to plan, we should be able to hold a Gears of Peace-style event for the Wii in early spring; still, we can't promise that pwning us in Mario Kart will be quite as rewarding as draining our Crimson Omen with a hail of machine gun fire.
PepsiCo to sponsor Guild Wars in China
The cola wars took an interesting turn today, and Chinese online gaming host The9 showed they have flexible loyalties when it comes to carbonated beverages. The Shanghai-based developer successfully partnered with Coca-Cola (and pop group S.H.E.) in 2005 to promote the launch of World of Warcraft, and now PepsiCo wants a piece of China's MMO action.As part of a new marketing agreement, Pepsi and The9 will co-sponsor a national Guild Wars tournament and pimp over 10,000 Internet Cafes using decor based on NCsoft's popular fantasy setting. Cafe chaperones will now have to work twice as hard to keep sticky soft drinks away from the PCs. Beta testing for Guild Wars China begins in two days.
Wii gets wired ethernet kit
CVG reports that one of the accessories you'll be able to purchase for your Wii later this year will be a wired ethernet kit, presumably a device that automagically enables you to connect your console to the interwebs via an antiquated cable. Like the high-end model PS3, the Wii features Wi-Fi capabilities without the need for an additional adapter, though it seems decidedly odd for an online system to ship without a standard ethernet port. Nintendo has long made a big deal about embracing all-inclusive standards (which exclude HDTVs) and getting everyone in on the game -- making users pay extra in order to utilize a standard wired connection (which most wireless routers also support) seems contrary to that. It's a strange sort of reversal of the option found in the Xbox 360, where the wireless adapter is purchased seperately and the ethernet port is already included. A further option can be found in Nintendo's USB Wi-Fi dongle, as it's been confirmed to work with the Wii as well.
A Slew of Essays on WoW
Now this is something that could potentially provide endless debate fodder. While stumbling around the web, I came across this page; a collection of term papers written by undergraduates at San Antonio's Trinity University for the class "Games for the Web: Ethnography of Massively Multiplayer On-line Games".The subjects addressed include "Sexism in WoW", "Real World Transactions of Digital Items from MMOGs", "The Prisoner's Dilemma and Factional Conflict in World of Warcraft", and my personal favorite, the oh-so-socially relevant "Wizards vs. Engineers: The Rumble in the Proverbial Jungle". There are several others covering a wide-range of topics; I haven't had the time to read them all yet, but since I eat this stuff up, I might not get much work done today.Of course, the real question this begs is: why couldn't assignments have been this cool when I was in school? Do you have any idea how severely the nuns would have beat me if I had asked to write my term paper on a video game?*sigh*
Third-party X360 Bluetooth headset beats MS to the punch
Datel's 3rd-party Xbox 360 Bluetooth headset has popped up on Amazon UK with a shipping date of the 30th of June and with a price tag of £59.99/$109. Originally the headset was said to ship on the 17th of March, but there's still no mention of it on the company's website, so it's possible that Amazon jumped the gun by placing it on their site. If it does ship when they say, it'll have the market for wireless Xbox 360 headsets to itself for quite a while; Microsoft hasn't said anything more about when their official headset will be released.The device itself is a bundle of what appears to be a relatively generic Bluetooth headset--it looks strikingly similar to Motorola's HS820 headset--coupled with a dongle that attaches to the controller's standard headset port, packaged together in a standard Xbox-green and white box. [Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
Gaming and work motivation: not mutually exclusive
It's like you can feel its adorably shaped nose pressing into your back. You're trying to assemble a droll (is there any other?) business presentation, and all you can think about is how woefully uninformed your employers must be if they expect you to be motivated by a moist creature of the sea balancing a ball on its face. "Persistance," it says. "SEAL the deal." You really hate puns.But you like gaming. Perhaps that's the key to motivating you at work or, at the very least, reminding you that there's a much better world out there ... in your computer. Have a glance at these gaming-inspired motivational posters (you know the ones) and watch your productivity soar to hitherto unseen heights. Or, more realistically, have a laugh. It's the only thing keeping you sane.[Thanks David!]
More chaperones in China's Internet cafes
Young Chinese gamers won't have to worry about Fel Orcs, Forest Trolls, and Warp Stalkers when playing the Burning Crusade, so much as they will the newly appointed security guards patrolling the aisles at their local Internet cafe. It's campaign time again in China, and from July 1 through the end of September, the Ministry of Culture will be stepping up efforts to keep minors out of the nation's cyber cafes. In Beijing alone, 107 additional security guards, as well as newly trained middle school teachers will be supervising 71 such hangouts. Talk about a cruel summer.
Dude, Where's My Country?
When we purchased WoW, we all made a (mostly) unconscious choice. Based on geographic location alone, we committed ourselves to life on a certain set of servers, walled off from other regions -- American, European or Korean, we're now stuck with the original decision we made months or years ago.There are various good reasons to think about switching, or going dual-region. It's possible to run two copies of WoW, or even just the one, as long as you're prepared to cough up the initial payment and monthly fee twice over. You might have friends abroad you wish to play with, or you may be away from your home country temporarily. You might be a night owl or early bird, more comfortable in a timezone several hours distant from your own. Perhaps there is a particular guild you wish to join, or news items you wish to keep up with; perhaps you would prefer to speak a certain language.There are also bad reasons -- if you're disillusioned with some less-than-savoury experiences on your home server, switching region isn't going to help any more than just switching server, as bad PuGs and antisocial players exist on all servers. Also, playing away from home for the purposes of selling gold or characters in a more lucrative market isn't going to win you many friends.
"I EAT POO" tops Metroid Prime online leaderboards
Just when we were starting to think that there was hope for the video game community, someone called "I EAT POO" goes and tops 5 out of the 8 leaderboards in Metroid Prime: Hunters. We're too disillusioned to accurately describe how it feels to be beaten by someone whose name takes its inspiration from feces, so we'll just throw the words "anger", "pain" and "disappointment" in your general direction and hope that you can empathise.In other more mature news, Nathan dropped us a line to tell us that WitendoFi.com (a Nintendo Wifi community) is now tracking aforementioned Metroid Prime stats for its users. So come on WitendoFi users, kick Mr. Pooman's pongy butt off the leaderboards![Via fark. Thanks, murph and Nathan Grebowiec]Update: fixed poo related error. Thanks denigod!
Nintendo marketing gets all edgy and subliminal
It would seem that there's a lot more to one of Nintendo's latest UK adverts than meets the eye. Once you get over the snazzy visuals and dramatic trailer choir (on loan from Steven Spielberg), you may spot the secret subliminal marketing going on in the background. Is that the word "Revolution" sneakily scrolling by in the background, or is it yet another case of our overactive and Skittle-enhanced imaginations getting the best of us? Most people (including the guys at Go Nintendo) seem to think it's the former, with the Revolution's appearance signalling its forthcoming reliance on the same online network that powers the DS. This hardly comes as a surprise, but it's arguably one the first real Revolution commercials, especially considering that the clip never specifically mentions the DS--only global, wireless, multiplayer gaming. If Nintendo decides to keep the service free, it could pose a significant challenge to Microsoft's Xbox Live offering and Sony's unified PS3 network whatever it is they're doing. [Thanks Eric!]
