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Suda considering MotionPlus, online play for No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle
"Give us MotionPlus!" That seemed to be the most popular response when we asked you what changes you'd make to No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle. Luckily for us, Goichi Suda seems to agree (does he read Wii Fanboy reader comments? If so, hai, Suda!). Speaking to IGN (hit the break for the full video interview), the maverick developer discussed how he'd like to utilise Wii MotionPlus in the No More Heroes follow-up, despite not having touched the add-on yet. 1:1 beam katana action? Um, yes please. He's also "very interested" in online play, though sounded slightly less committed to the idea when he discussed it with CVG, describing it as "still up in [the] air." We'd probably take MotionPlus over some online mode, though if Suda feels like adding both to Travis' next outing, we suppose we can accept that as well. %Gallery-34131%
Born for Wii: Cosmic Smash
When you read "Cosmic Smash", does your mind instantly wander to brutal, over-the-top space battles full of massive explosions, flaming spaceships and blazing arcs of deadly plasma? Okay, so maybe that's just me -- but when I first heard of the name Cosmic Smash, the real thing wasn't exactly what I had pictured. Fortunately for my overly-active imagination, the actual game is almost as awesome as its name implies.Cosmic Smash was originally released in Japanese arcades in 2001, and Sega soon followed up with a Japan-only Dreamcast release later that year. But what is Cosmic Smash? A futuristic, electronica-infused amalgamation of racquetball and Breakout. With a visual style that will instantly feel at home to anyone who's played Rez, Cosmic Smash keeps things simple with pristine environments and a pseudo-wireframe character. Cosmic Smash is like Wii Sports Tennis on steroids and LSD, and anything that meets that description is Born for Wii. #ninbutton { border-style: solid; border-color: #000; border-width: 2px; background-color: #BBB; color: #000; text-decoration: none; width: 100px; text-align: center; padding: 2px 2px 2px 2px; margin: 2px 2px 2px 2px; } .buttontext { color: #000; text-decoration: none; font: bold 14pt Helvetica; } #ninbutton:hover { text-decoration: none; color: #BBB; background-color: #000; } NEXT >> %Gallery-34337% Every week, Born for Wii digs into gaming's sordid past to unearth a new treasure fit for revival on the Nintendo Wii. Be sure to check out last week's entry in the series, Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil, and for more great titles that deserve your attention, take a look at Virtually Overlooked.
de Blob dev not down with MotionPlus
Nick Hager, producer on de Blob, isn't too jazzed at the idea of MotionPlus. It's not that he doesn't like the tech, he just has a problem seeing the majority of people that enjoy Wii on a regular basis want to play with the new peripheral."While it's definitely intellectually stimulating from a development perspective to play with those ideas - and I think it does appeal to a set of gamers out there - I think the majority of people that play on the Wii want something very simple that they can just immediately get their heads around," Hagger said. Does he mean the casual crowd that bought Wii Fit and played it once? Is he talking about the people that nabbed the system only for Wii Sports?Is 1:1 movement really that much of a leap for the casual crowd that are looking for a simple experience? We'd think not, because it's basically the same deal: moving the Wiimote to afftect things in-game. That's what got most into the console in the first place, so if the tech works a bit better, how is it deterring the extremely casual crowd away from the system?%Gallery-17709%[Via Joystiq]
De Blob dev cautious about WiiMotion Plus
We've called Wii MotionPlus "the thing that makes the WiiMote work the way it always should have" but there's at least one developer who doesn't care for that alternate history time line. Nick Hagger, the producer of Wii's de Blob, said he's worried the addition will overcomplicate things for the Wii's base, as developers move towards more gestural control schemes."While it's definitely intellectually stimulating from a development perspective to play with those ideas - and I think it does appeal to a set of gamers out there - I think the majority of people that play on the Wii want something very simple that they can just immediately get their heads around," Hagger said.We'd like to think that there's room for both gamers who want more gestural controls and those who want to keep flicking their wrists to pretend they're tipping cows, or whatever's going on over in Wiiville these days. What about you?
Born for Wii: Punch-Out!!
Sometimes you just have a bad day. It happens to the best of us; even video game bloggers are not infallible. And after a rage-inducing, hair-pulling bad day, you can go home, curl up in a ball and listen to The Wallflowers in surrender, or vent some of that anger. By punching people.But hold up there, tiger. You can't punch real people. That's, like, illegal. Enter the Wii: the best simulation for punching people outside of the real thing. Unfortunately, Wii Sports Boxing does not offer the realistic experience of mashing in someone's face Stallone style. Worse, no other boxing game since the Wii's release has really delivered a solid boxing experience. That could change in the near future with Facebreaker K.O. Party, forcing me to eat my words like a knuckle sandwich from Rocky Marciano. But if its Xbox/PS3 counterpart is any indication, there's not much chance of that. The same goes for Don King Prizefighter. This shaky reliability just won't do. We need Punch-Out!! #ninbutton { border-style: solid; border-color: #000; border-width: 2px; background-color: #BBB; color: #000; text-decoration: none; width: 100px; text-align: center; padding: 2px 2px 2px 2px; margin: 2px 2px 2px 2px; } .buttontext { color: #000; text-decoration: none; font: bold 14pt Helvetica; } #ninbutton:hover { text-decoration: none; color: #BBB; background-color: #000; } NEXT >> %Gallery-31971% Every week, Born for Wii digs into gaming's sordid past to unearth a new treasure fit for revival on the Nintendo Wii. Be sure to check out last week's entry in the series, Jet Set Radio, and for more great titles that deserve your attention, take a look at Virtually Overlooked.
The Conduit gets MotionPlussed
Wii Sports Resort might not be the only title to showcase the Wii MotionPlus when the dinky add-on launches next spring. GameSpot went hands-on with The Conduit at PAX 2008, and revealed that the shooter will feature MotionPlus support. The Conduit is currently set for a March launch, so has this new information also inadvertently dated Wii Sports Resort and the MotionPlus?Whether it has or not, MotionPlus for The Conduit is Pretty Big News -- so much so, that we're afraid it may overshadow some of the other eye-catching details in GameSpot's report. These include: In the final game, High Voltage hopes to have a completely customizable head-up display, in which any HUD element can be dragged and dropped to different parts of the screen. There will be nine missions in total, with the singleplayer campaign lasting "about ten hours." Cut scenes won't be used; rather, the story will be developed through news or radio broadcasts, much like the Half Life series. Some projectiles can be guided using the cursor, which sounds a lot like the Nikita launcher in Metal Gear Solid, automatically making it ZOMGAWESOME. %Gallery-25003%[Via Go Nintendo]
GC 2008: EA looking to start up tennis franchise on Wii
For those of you who're fans of tennis, rejoice. EA is poised to present their own tennis title. And, as if that wasn't enough, it will take advantage of Nintendo's new MotionPlus peripheral, joining Ubisoft in proclaiming it's totally awesome. EA also mentions that this will be the first tennis game to include the All England Lawn Tennis Club, which is where Wimbledon is played.So, how many of you are looking forward to seeing this one? A tennis game that takes advantage of MotionPlus? We're excited![Via Joystiq]
Ubisoft totally hearts MotionPlus
Nintendo kept the Wii MotionPlus a secret from everybody for as long as possible, a move that resulted in grumbling from certain third-party developers.That hasn't diminshed enthusiasm for the tiny add-on, however. During an interview with Gamasutra, Ubisoft Montreal CEO Yannis Mallat couldn't praise the MotionPlus enough (even though he admitted having some doubts at first), enthusing about how the peripheral would make gaming feel "seamless," and arguing that it could only lead to a more immersive experience. "It's one thing to have your brain interpolating what you're doing," gushed Mallat, "[but ] it's another thing to not need that interpolation work."Elsewhere in the interview, Mallat expressed his view that Shaun White Snowboarding was a "must-try" and described developing Dogz as "psychologically very exciting." Hmm.%Gallery-29887%
LucasArts kept in the Dark Side on Wii MotionPlus
We already heard that third-party devs were nonplussed by Nintendo's surprise MotionPlus reveal at E3, but we really wanted to hear about one developer in particular: LucasArts. Game Informer follows up its earlier online posting with a writeup in this month's issue (the Arkham Asylum one) specifically referencing the Star Wars dev: "LucasArts in particular wasn't happy at being kept in the dark."Something tells us that's an understatement. The developer's Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels game was not only built specifically for the Wii and shown off in Nintendo's E3 presentation, it was built in response to the intense clamoring from fans hungry for a 1:1 lightsaber game. With the game set to hit retailers this November, and the Wii MotionPlus arriving the following Spring, if you're holding out for 1:1 Jedi-ing, your only hope now is a sequel. [Via NWF]
LucasArts mad about MotionPlus?
Despite it being arguably the best thing to come from Nintendo's E3 line-up, everyone isn't happy about MotionPlus. At the top of the list of disgruntled folk is none other than LucasArts. Why? Well, according to a blurb from the latest issue of Game Informer, which was transcribed by a GAFfer (the one with the Arkham Asylum reveal), third parties weren't privy to the info before Nintendo's press conference (if they read us, they would have learned about it a day beforehand). That's old hat to us all, though.The problem is that LucasArts specifically took the time to craft The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels specifically for the Wii. See, everyone wants a 1:1 lightsaber game and it would've been a fantastic way to market the game. We guess that ship has sailed ...%Gallery-27972%[Via CVG]
MotionPlus maker: Relationship with Nintendo 'not exclusive'
The boffins at InvenSense who developed the MotionPlus accessory have insisted that their relationship with Nintendo is "not an exclusive one," and haven't ruled out the possibility of the MotionPlus technology seeing other companies on the side. The cads!There's certainly not a lack of interest, with company head Joe Virginia telling Eurogamer "I can't get into details about other folks that are interested in this technology, but as you might imagine of course there is more interest out there." Whether Sony or Microsoft will pounce at this opportunity remains to be seen. The whole internet decided that Microsoft would reveal a motion-sensing controller at E3, only for the Redmond firm to unveil a big, fat nothing.On a more positive note, Virginia talked up the possibilities of MotionPlus, discussing adding spin to tennis shots, curve to a bowling ball, ultra-precise golf swings, and sword motions with forward thrusts. You already knew all that was possible, but reading it this morning made us excited for MotionPlus all over again.
Wii Warm Up: What's 'very affordable' for you?
Iwata's interview yesterday definitely sparked some debate within our little community here, but it would seem a lot of you didn't exactly chime in with your own thoughts on 'very affordable.' So, what price point would you like to see Wii MotionPlus set at? Is $20 a sweet spot? Would you mind paying as much as $30? Weigh in!
MotionPlus to be 'very affordable,' Wii add-ons curtailed for now
The Wii has long been heralded as the cheapest console out there, but that claim soon weakens if you want to own every add-on that is available for the platform. Nintendo seems to recognize that Wii ownership is getting increasingly pricey, and now company bossman Satoru Iwata has said: no more add-ons!Okay, so he didn't quite make that promise. But Iwata has told the Wall Street Journal that "most of the ideas for accessories that we had initially come up with are out now." If you can hear sighing, that'll be our wallets, though don't get comfy right away: Iwata has warned that Nintendo might think up more, presumably once the company's bank balance has dipped below the danger level of one trillion-gazillion* dollars.Iwata also confirmed that Nintendo would try and make the Wii MotionPlus "very affordable," an attainable goal considering that the add-on is apparently cheap to make. There will also be games that can only be played with a MotionPlus plugged in -- beginning, we'd assume, with Wii Sports Resort.* Possibly not a real number.%Gallery-27709%[Via Edge; thanks, supa_s!]
Top 5: Activities that Need Waggle
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Top_5_Activities_that_Need_Waggle'; Hardcore gamers sure do hate tacked-on waggle. Indeed, no one likes to flail their arms around like they're trying to signal aircraft when a simple button press will do. And the guys on the other sides seem to be under the impression that the Wii is nothing but a PS2 that replaces thumb pressing with wrist flicking. So when a new title or an iteration of an existing franchise gets announced for the Wii, the non-believers tend to thumb their snooty noses and prattle amongst themselves with ingenious statements like "Dead Rising on the Wii? More like Waggle Rising. YEAH! HIGH FIVE, BRAH!" All right, maybe they're not quite as neanderthalic, but the sentiment remains: the use of waggle is often met with skepticism from the core. To ignore the importance of waggle would be to forget what makes the Wii so awesome. Sure, some games have no real need for motion-based controls, but let us not forget the joy and immersion experienced by the non-gamer who first picked up a Wiimote and found themselves instantly engaged in a lively tennis match. To downplay motion controls would be to forget what made the Wii so successful in the first place. Without it, the Wii would be just a beefed-up GameCube. (THERE, I said it!) Just for a moment, let us forget about why Super Mario RPG has yet to be released on the North American Virtual Console and go back to the flood of imagination we felt when the Wiimote was first unveiled. Here are the activities we wish were made into games on the Wii. NEXT >> #ninbutton { border-style: solid; border-color: #000; border-width: 2px; background-color: #BBB; color: #000; text-decoration: none; width: 100px; text-align: center; padding: 2px 2px 2px 2px; margin: 2px 2px 2px 2px; } .buttontext { color: #000; text-decoration: none; font: bold 14pt Helvetica; } #ninbutton:hover { text-decoration: none; color: #BBB; background-color: #000; } The Top 5 is a weekly feature that provides us with a forum to share our opinions on various aspects of the video game culture, and provides you with a forum to tell us how wrong we are. To further voice your opinions, submit a vote in the Wii Fanboy Poll, and take part in the daily discussions of Wii Warm Up.
MadWorld interview reveals more on multiplayer, MotionPlus, Man Darts
Siliconera has snagged a short interview with Sega Associate Producer Christopher Kaminski about Platinum Games' forthcoming MadWorld. Topics covered include whether or not the gorefest will support the Wii MotionPlus (it won't, sadly), more of the backstory, and whether the title will accomodate multiple players (Kaminski gave a "no comment" to this one, which keeps our hopes for a MadWorld multiplayer mode alive).There was also some discussion about "Man Darts," another of MadWorld's ridiculously over-the-top finishing moves -- one that involves whacking dudes with a baseball bat, brutally slamming them into a giant dartboard. Judging by the above screenshot, points can be scored, making this sort of a game within a game. Siliconera's Spencer Yip wondered if this could be played as a party game. "I'm going to go with no comment with that one," replied Kaminski.Probably the wisest response, but it looks a lot more fun than Game Party.%Gallery-22964%
Wii MotionPlus co-dev demonstrates the tech
Ever since Wii MotionPlus was revealed, we've all been hopeful about what it can do for games. Sure, it's been revealed to be utilized in Red Steel 2 and is already used pretty effectively in Wii Sports Resort, but what about other things? Well, above, you can see the tech's co-developer, AiLive, demonstrate it through a "laser sword" game. Looks pretty sweet, if we may say so.[Via Joystiq]
Ubisoft director: Red Steel 2 to support Wii MotionPlus
Ubisoft Executive Director Alain Corre has revealed in an interview with Gamesindustry that Red Steel 2, at one time Ubisoft's worst-kept secret, will support the new Wii MotionPlus attachment (which is exactly what we speculated in our Wii Sports Resort hands-on). "It's true that on Red Steel it's the typical product that will appreciate the new device," said Corre, who also indicated that he found out about the peripheral during Nintendo's press conference, like every other developer. The first Red Steel launched with the Wii console and met with tepid reviews, and while Corre admits the game was "a bit rushed," he also said the game is still selling well – "at a lower pricer, of course." While the thoughts of precise swordfighting has intrigued, we don't want to get our hopes up.
Wii third-parties nonplussed by surprise MotionPlus reveal
We'll level with you: the game industry confuses us. For example: you'd think with games like Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and Clone Wars, not to mention the recently announced Sonic and the Black Knight, coming to the Wii that Nintendo would have been eager to get the MotionPlus into dev's hands as quickly as possible. Not so, as Game Informer learned when they asked several third-party developers about the peripheral. Turns out the site uncovered a "general feeling ... of annoyance and betrayal" after Nintendo shared the existence of the device with third parties at the exact same time they shared it with us. Game Informer estimates it would take some six to nine months to incorporate MotionPlus functionality into games and that it's probably too late for games "deep in development." With Wii Sports Resort not due until Spring 2009, that might be just enough time to build some support into upcoming titles. So, let's recap: at Nintendo's E3 showing, the company managed to not only piss off every "core" gamer in existence but a good number of its third-party developers as well. Impressive?[Via NWF]
MotionPlus totally ambushes third-party developers
We mucky commoners have known about the Wii MotionPlus add-on for just over a week now, but don't go thinking it's any different for third-party developers. At E3, Game Informer approached several third-parties about the peripheral, and were repeatedly told that the accessory was news to them -- as they understood it, Nintendo simply hadn't told anybody about the MotionPlus, prior to it being revealed last Monday.In other words, we can safely not expect a flood of third-party releases supporting the peripheral. On top of that, the developers doubt they'll be able to implement Wii MotionPlus into upcoming projects, such was the secrecy that surrounded the project. Not clever, Nintendo.
Start bulking up your Wiimote early
Are you desperate for some extra length? Do you yearn for that extra inch that could give you the edge over others? Do you want increased size right now?Well, good news: you don't have to wait for Wii MotionPlus's Spring 2009 launch for a chance to elongate your Wii Remote. The makers (it's not specified who) of this new wireless Nunchuk are happy for you to get adding to Nintendo's wand right now. Available from today at China-based outlet Divineo, this 'chuk comes with a tiny wireless receiver that plugs into the bottom of your Wiimote -- very much like the Nyko Kama model which we reviewed earlier this year.At $24.95, this is ten bucks cheaper than Nyko's effort, or you could buy five for $21 apiece and, um, give us the spare? We're just floating ideas here![Via DCEmu]
