Wii-Music
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Preorders open for Japanese Wii Music
Whatever you may think about Wii Music -- and we've heard what pretty much everyone on the Internet thinks about Wii Music, thank you -- there's no denying that it's an important, high-profile release. It's Nintendo's next big Shigeru Miyamoto game, and it's one of the cornerstones of Nintendo's whole Wii strategy. So the opportunity to buy a copy is noteworthy.Importer NCSX has opened preorders for the Japanese release of Wii Music. For people capable of playing Japanese games, the chance to make irritating puppy noises to the tune of "Yankee Doodle" could present itself just a couple of days after the October 16 release date. %Gallery-27713%
Miyamoto's hobbies are now trade secrets
According to the Times, mysterious "sources" inside Nintendo report that the company has banned its most famous producer from speaking about his hobbies. This makes sense given that Shigeru Miyamoto often claims to draw direct inspiration for his games from the activities he does on his time off. He decides to start gardening, and Pikmin is born. He gets into exercise, and Wii Fit appears. He takes up pretending to play the saxophone, and the idea for Wii Music is born. The idea is, then, if somebody asks Miyamoto what he does in his spare time, and Miyamoto answers, the secret of Nintendo's next huge hit will be revealed. And thus his life must be shrouded in secrecy until such time as his next game is announced and he can start the PR talk about how it was inspired by his life.[Via Gamasutra]
Miyamoto, Inafune keynotes at CEDEC conference
Next month's CESA Development Conference (CEDEC) in Tokyo will feature keynote presentations from Shigeru Miyamoto and Capcom producer (and Mega Man creator) Keiji Inafune. Miyamoto's talk, "From where should we create?" (or something like that), will look at the development process of Wii Music, the philosophy of game production and "universal design," and the small problems that come up every day.Inafune's talk has yet to be outlined, but he is producing the boldly retro-minded Mega Man 9. A keynote about the challenges of strictly limiting yourself technologically could be interesting. It'll probably end up being about the Lost Planet movie, though.[Via Develop]
Nintendo: Wii Music won't compete with the music game market
We would think so, considering that Wii Music is less of a game, and more of a toy, which makes it better than a game. Sorry for being so cynical, but come on, you have to be feeling the same way we do. But, onto the news at hand. Nintendo thinks Wii Music won't be competing with other music titles such as Rock Band and Guitar Hero.Denise Kaigler, VP of Corporate Affairs at Nintendo of America, says "We're not competing [with those other games]. We're expanding. We're creating new experiences through Wii Music, new enriching opportunities for consumers to create something that's unique to their own musical tastes." Interesting, considering that all of these games generally fall into the same genre. But, the audience that would be receptive to Guitar Hero and Rock Band possibly could be different to that of the Wii Music crowd. It's kind of like a descending scale, from real musicians, to fake musicians (those would be the Rock Band and Guitar Hero crowds), and right down to people who like to play with toys. Toys like Wii Music.%Gallery-27713%[Via Joystiq] Looking for more on Wii Music? Check out the trailer for the game that came out of E3 by clicking right here. Be sure to also read up on our time with the game right here. And, for the facts on release date and Balance Board support, click here.
Nintendo: Wii Music not competing against Rock Band, Guitar Hero
Nintendo's VP of Corporate Affairs, Denise Kaigler, says the company isn't competing against Guitar Hero and Rock Band with its toddler-friendly overly-casual Wii Music. She explains to GameDaily that the company is trying to make "enriching opportunities for consumers" and have them create something unique. Yes, tempo creation through waggle is certainly unique.Kaigler tells the site that Wii Music will have the "power to inspire kids to develop an interest in music." Well, as GayGamer discovered, it sure didn't inspire the media attending E3 this year. We're frightened sure that Wii Music will find an audience somewhere, even if it is just the rugrats roaming the great plains of the playpen.
Rigopulos on why air drumming doesn't work
In a lengthy interview with GameDaily BIZ, Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos offered his thoughts on air drumming – the preferred form of percussive input in Nintendo's Wii Music, skillfully demonstrated above by a professional – and explained why Harmonix felt the need for an actual drum peripheral on the Wii. After considering using the Wiimote in an air drumming capacity, Rigopulos says, "We backed away from it because we found that the tactile element of actually hitting a surface when you're drumming is a fairly critical part to the visceral feel of actually playing drums." So, with air drumming, you're missing "a critical element ... in the experience."Not much of a surprise coming from the head of a company currently shipping a giant, plastic drum kit, sure, but we were surprised to learn air drumming was ever even under consideration at Chez Harmonix.
Wii Music dated in Japan
Instrumental extravaganza and current internet hate figure Wii Music will be launching in Japan this October 16th, dog suit and all. If anything, we were left slightly bemused and confused by the game when we tried it at E3, but remain open-minded towards the concept. Besides, we've no doubt whatsoever that it'll sell gangbusters in Japan and probably everywhere else. Now, hands up: anyone actually importing this? %Gallery-27713%
Rumor: Wii Music coming Oct 16 to Japan
Nintendo is holding some sort of event today in Japan, far from our watchful eye. Though it may be able to hide from the Joystiq Biomass, it can't hide from the internet, as the folks at NeoGAF have once again proven. User Jonnyram got some tidbits from the Japanese Rambling Man blog, which (according to his translation) says you can expect to see Wii Music in the Land of the Rising Sun on Oct. 16.If the post can be believed, you can also look for Captain Rainbow in August, colored Wiimote straps in September and Valkyrie Profile DS on Oct. 2. We're a couple of language barriers removed from the source, so we wouldn't write it in stone, but the info does seem to represent our best guess at a Wii Music window for the moment.[Via NeoGAF]
Top 5: Nintendo's Biggest "Mehs"
As the fallout of E3 rests upon the public, Nintendo finds themselves pelted by fierce criticism. Forum posts and blog comments have been predicting the assassination of the Wii core gamer. Not surprisingly, the most ominous declarations have been coming from within Nintendo's ranks. A civil war has been declared, and the fanboys are ready to revolt against the casuals. Though this core gamer is not ready to take sides, I will admit that Nintendo's press conference was quite underwhelming. It wasn't a complete and utter failure; the bigwigs at Nintendo made no bones about their intentions. Additionally, one can argue that the financial foundation of the casual gamer endows Nintendo with more capital to support first party efforts. And by having the most successful console, third parties are likely to focus resources on Nintendo's magnificent machine. Certainly, all parties had impressive titles associated with E3, such as Dead Rising, The Conduit, NHL 2K9, Wario Land: Shake It!, Mega Man 9, and plenty to be excited about on the DS. Though Nintendo didn't close with a Jobs-esque "one more thing" slobberknocker, they accomplished what they set out to do. Yet dissatisfaction remains: the definitive description of Nintendo's E3 presence is a resounding meh. Here is a look at some of the most famous "mehs" in Nintendo history. Not utter failures, mind you. Rather, items that were simply met with indifference. 5. The Super Scope - The Nintendo Entertainment System was offered in several different "bundles," with the most successful bundle containing the successful NES Zapper. The light gun was a relatively new concept and simple to use. Plus, my cousin's friend said you can totally shoot the dog if you get to the 50th level in Duck Hunt and enter the Konami code on the second controller. Like many successes of the NES, Nintendo tried to transfer the idea of gun play to the SNES. Thus, the Super Scope was created. While the Zapper was similar in appearance to a revolver, the Super Scope was shaped more like a bazooka. This proved to be uncomfortable and not nearly as cool as the original. Plus, the device relied on infrared instead of light flashes, which was found to be less precise. The nail in the coffin was that the Super Scope went through AA batteries like I go through cheesesteaks: in ridiculous numbers.
Wii Warm Up: Still Fit?
Now that E3 2008 has wrapped, it only seems fitting that we revisit last year's big deal (or one of them): Wii Fit. If you picked it up, are you still using it? It's still a pretty big deal here, particularly because it's so hot outside in the wide open real world. Has Wii Fit given you more or less confidence in things like Wii Music, or do you think they're unrelated? Remember this? If you answered that day's question, we'd love to hear how your response has differed, a year later -- or even if it differs at all.
Joystiq E3 hands-on: Wii Music
How does an adult -- a gamer -- explain Nintendo's strongly touted Wii Music without conveying an overwhelming feeling of dread? It's like the Fisher-Price version of music games and in some dark nightmare it could become a major hit. The skill required to play Wii Music is comparable to putting a three-year-old in front of a toy piano and just letting them bang away, but no matter what key the child hits it continues to play the correct note to create a song. Wii Music is not a game, it's a toy; another glorified tech demo to keep Wii Sports and Wii Play company.If music snobs dismiss the skill required to play games like Rock Band or Guitar Hero, which do require talent to play and succeed, then those folks are going to have a full-blown aneurysm if Wii Music becomes a best seller. Our experience with the game was interesting, but we can't imagine spending more time with it beyond testing out the features or using it to entertain a child toddler when company comes over and the adults want to talk.%Gallery-27739%
E308: Dog-suited hands-on with Wii Music
Even after playing three or four songs in Wii Music, I still don't entirely get it. Not Miyamoto's whole idea of making a vaguely game-like multi-instrument musical toy -- that's pretty neat. I mean how to play Wii Music. Each instrument (there were 26 in the demo) has a different gestural play method in which you move the Wiimote and Nunchuk around to imitate the motions involved in playing the instrument. They range from normal (piano, guitar, violin) to unusual (taiko, shamisen, toy piano) to novel ("voice," beat box) to dog suit (dog suit). That's right, dog suit. When playing the dog suit, you lift the remote and nunchuk to trigger a bark. Push A or B to alter the tone of the bark. In a dog suit!
Wii Music disc to include licensed songs, Nintendo 'not really thinking' about DLC
Speaking at the Nintendo's 2008 E3 developer roundtable, Shigeru Miyamoto has confirmed that the Wii Music "game" disc will contain 50 songs, featuring a variety of of public domain songs, as well as licensed music. As for DLC? Nintendo is "not really thinking" about digital song distribution, instead focusing on using WiiConnect24 to share music videos. %Gallery-27739%
E308: Live highlights from Nintendo's private conference
Did yesterday's Nintendo keynote leave you wanting more? Well, pipe down already -- you're getting more. The company is holding a private conference, and our very own JC Fletcher is invited to the party. Since you can't be there, we'll be posting JC's highlights right here, live. We hope your F5 buttons and refresh fingers are ready, because the word on the street is that something big is going to be revealed. Of course, that could just be disgruntled fans' hopes evolving into a rumor, but we'd like to believe that's not the case. We'd hate to be disappointed by the big N two days in a row, after all.If we hear something big (or not so big), don't worry, you'll be the first to know (well, uh, after us).Update: So far it looks like the same stuff from the keynote. Katsuya Eguchi takes the floor.
E308: Nintendo keynote photo tour
Click to start the tour So, we've had tons of content up for you all yesterday, because that's how we roll and we'll be damned if The Man is going to stop us! For those of you hungry for more, know that we're going to continue the flood of content, but we've also got a huge photo dump from the Nintendo E3 keynote for you. Within, you'll find all of our pics from the luxurious seats found in row 12. Missed some of the bits about how well the DS is selling? We got it in images. Want to see Shaun White's hideous Mii? We got you covered. Check it all out in our gallery below.%Gallery-27788%
Nintendo Wii E3 2008 screenshot roundup
Well, at least grammy's pleased with Nintendo's first party lineup... (Plus: If you've got a longer attention span than Nintendo, we've got shots of two overlooked titles after the break!) %Gallery-27738% %Gallery-27739% %Gallery-27741%
E308: Wii Music trailer
Nintendo just released new footage from Wii Music, which got a lot more interesting (and it was already neat!) now that we know it will also use the Balance Board. That's good news for everyone who didn't have room for yet another drumkit ... but not as good as this video. Check it out for yourself!%Gallery-27713%
E308: Highlights from Nintendo's keynote
This year's Nintendo conference at E3 felt much too short, but was packed with some really great announcements ... like Wii Speak! But in case you missed the show, or simply prefer an abridged version, here are the highlights. Read our live reactions here, or check out Joystiq's live blog if you're feeling adventurous. Shaun White Snowboarding demonstration (with Shaun White!), and a lot of stuff we already knew about the Ubisoft title, such as release window and the fact that it uses the Balance Board. Unsurprisingly, no mention of the abhorrent graphics. Animal Crossing: City Folk! With multiplayer, auctions, Mii masks, and voice chat. Wii Speak: megatonik peripheral that adds voice chat to the Wii. Wii Sports Resort takes you to the beach ... with Wii MotionPlus. Wii Music to release this year, with Balance Board support and a metric ton of instruments. No Zelda, no Kid Icarus, no Pikmin ... how sad. But we did get voice chat, and it's hard to complain about that addition.
E308: Wii Music this year, with Balance Board support [Update 1: Screens]
Wii Music has finally been (roughly) dated, and it looks even better than we expected! The game, which will include more than 50 instruments and Balance Board support, is set for release this year. During the E308 conference, it was announced that the game would be available without the Wii MotionPlus add-on, but will still translate motions similar to those used to play real instruments. Therefore, how you move the Wiimote and Nunchuk, along with the timing in which you press the buttons, will affect how you sound. You can also use the Balance Board for certain instruments, like the drums (where it's used as a pedal). That's probably good news for those of you who were worried about more Rock Band-like peripherals clogging up your homes.Wii Music was made with people who can't play instruments in mind, so that they can "experience the joy of making music," too. Since Miyamoto wanted this game to be accessible to the music illiterate, it doesn't require any note reading and won't rate your performances.Also interesting is that songs can be recorded and made into music videos (starring your Miis). Furthermore, the game supports up to four players (per Miyamoto), but we were slightly confused when it looked like five were performing the Super Mario Bros. theme on stage.Being the competitive music junkies that we are, we're a little bummed that the software doesn't even give you the option of performance evaluation. Even so, this looks like a pretty rad piece of kit.[Update 1: Screens added! See the gallery below.]%Gallery-27713%
Nintendo announces Wii Music with 50 instruments
At Nintendo's E3 press conference this morning, the company showed off the long-rumored Wii Music. The game uses the Remote and Nunchuk, along with a foot tapping on the Wii Balance Board, to simulate a drum set. The game also lets players blow into the Wii Remote speaker to simulate the play of a saxophone. There will be over 50 insturments in the game, including the piano, violin, guitar and marimba."Wii Music is a slightly different play experience than you've seen with other music games," explained Nintendodesigner Shigeru Miyamoto. "Now most music games require you to press buttons with precise timing to symbols on screen, but we've designed Wii Music to allow everyone, inclusing those who can't read music to enjoy the experience of playing music." Instead of following a strict set of notes, Wii music will let players improvise and create their own music using the Wii. The game will record videos of your on-screen play sessions. More to come.
