WiiSports
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Forbes: the Wii is indeed a revolution
Uh oh ... snatch up that Ninty stock before all the high rollers do. The Wii's being talked up by Forbes magazine!By giving players the ability to physically interact with a virtual world, Nintendo has significantly changed the experience of videogaming. It's suddenly more immersive, more compelling and potentially more appealing to consumers who have never considered buying a videogame console before.It's not like we haven't heard this before -- it's the way every non-gaming publication seems to be describing the Wii. But it seems somehow different coming from Forbes. Somehow ... magical. And this language, this description, this is exactly what Nintendo is aiming for with their marketing initiatives. Here's what we didn't expect: they reviewed the console at Forbes. That's right, Nintendo sent them a Wii unit and told 'em to get their game on. What happened next is an interesting look at how the rest of the world views the Wii in action.
Wii gameplay video (Wii Sports and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess)
Maybe you've been itching for some video of Wii gameplay? Watch as Veronica and I make total fools of ourselves playing Wii Sports (Bowling, Tennis, Baseball, Boxing, Golf); we generally tried to stay out of the way of the camera, but weren't always successful. Also, we've got the first ten or so minutes of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess on tape. It's a pretty slow moving start, so only Zelda fans need apply. Check it out!P.S. -Yes, by the time we hit Zelda we figured out why the TV wasn't formatting the Wii signal properly, and got it going to 16:9.Download videoMP4 (H.264) - VGA, QVGAAVI (DivX) - VGA, QVGA
Nintendo tells us to take a break (by jumping out of a window?)
Upon seeing the above image for the first time after 3 games in Wii Sports, a few thoughts flashed into our mind. First we thought Oh, that's nice! They care about our well being! which was soon replaced with Wait, why is the window open? Are we supposed to go out of the window? and, upon realizing we're several stories off the ground, we knew what Nintendo was trying to say. They wanted us to take a break, but more importantly, they wanted us to take our final break. They're trying to tell us to end it all. Whether they just despise our personality, or we are just so bad at the game that the only recourse is that we end our own life, is a mystery.[Note: No, we're not being serious.]
Wii Sports: Training and Fitness
We've been spending tons of time with Wii Sports and we never took the chance to check out the Fitness and Training modes. In correcting the situation, we found that each are fairly straight forward and just how you would imagine them; Fitness is a kind of Brain Age semi-clone, yet instead of a brain age you are given a fitness age, and with Training you are taken through several scenarios in each of the sports. Fitness mode is a good deal more in-depth, so initially you'd want to head into Training mode before checking that out so that you can train up before committing yourself to a fitness age the system is looking to label you with.Continue reading for our first ever Wii Sports Fitness mode trial!
Wii Sports: Training and Fitness modes documented
We've been spending tons of time with Wii Sports and we never took the chance to check out the Fitness and Training modes. In correcting the situation, we found that each are fairly straight forward and just how you would imagine them; Fitness is a kind of Brain Age semi-clone, yet instead of a brain age you are given a fitness age, and with Training you are taken through several scenarios in each of the sports. Fitness mode is a good deal more in-depth, so initially you'd want to head into Training mode before checking that out so that you can train up before committing yourself to a fitness age the system is looking to label you with.Continue reading for our first ever Wii Sports Fitness mode trial!
Improving one's self in Wii Sports: Bowling
Joystiq's own Kyle Orland sat down with the Wii and looked to test out the learning curve. In choosing Wii Sports: Bowling, he looked to see if Nintendo's motion-control scheme was as intuitive and easy to use as the company had marketed. So how does one accomplish this? By playing a lot of Wii. Going through natural motions and even trying to "trick" the game, Kyle's results were as follows: Game 1: Having trouble letting go of the "B" button in mid-swing. The result is a late throw that ends up dribbling down the lane for a few pins. Score: 110 Game 2: Better with the timing, but the ball has a natural curve at the end that makes most shots miss the mark just barely. Score: 116 Game 3: Consciously focusing on keeping the ball straight. Throwing it at less than full power seems to help. Score: 146 Game 4: Confident in the straight game, I focus on adding some spin to the end of the shot. Most shots end up too turning too much or too little. Score: 145 Game 5: Working off a surprise strike from game 5, I decide to try a standard first shot for all ten frames -- full power, straight on from the right edge with maximum leftward spin. I get two strikes but miss a few easy spares. Score: 147 Game 6: I try shooting with an approach from the extreme left side, angled towards the center with a slight spin. No strikes, but I pick up the spare on all but one frame. Score: 166 Game 7: No set strategy -- I pick shots based on flights of fancy. Pick up eight spares and two splits. Score: 159 Game 8: Arm is getting a little tired from 140+ straight throws without a break, so I try to fool the system by sitting down and just flicking my wrist. The results are disastrous. Score: 111 So what did Kyle find? He found that over these 8 games, in slightly adjusting his movements, he actually got better at the game. Also, trying to trick the game by flicking the Wiimote fast did little to improve his score. So what does this mean? Well, if you're good at bowling in real life, you'll probably be good in Wii Sports: Bowling.
MIGS06: Reggie keepin' it real on the show floor
We were told that Reggie Fils-Aime would be hanging out on the show floor of the Montreal International Game Summit following his keynote, but I didn't actually believe the man would do it. After not fielding questions, and making himself virtually unavailable for interview, I just assumed that Reggie considered himself to be on a different level than anyone else here. I mean, even Mizuguchi could be seen yesterday having a boxed lunch near the Ubisoft booth. Reggie clearly sought to solidify his larger-than-life persona by remaining untouchable.So when Reggie walked up to Nintendo's booth on the show floor, I was surprised and a bit impressed. Mr. Fils-Aime is human after all. As if to prove it, he began coaching an attendee on the finer points of Wii Sports Baseball."You can use the D-pad to throw a curve-ball," he said. The summit-goer was obviously taken aback a bit. He was losing pitifully to his friend, and the last thing he probably wanted was the Nintendo of America president telling him what to do. I don't even think he said thanks. Reggie, on the other hand, smiled as though he had truly made a difference. The kid still sucked at baseball, though. Sorry for not getting a better picture. I was waiting in line to play Twilight Princess, and didn't want to lose my spot.
More Wii Sports impressions
Wii-x2 recently got their hands on Wii Sports and wrote up their impressions of each of the title's included sports. While you may have seen videos of folks playing Wii Sports and thought to yourself Wow, that looks easy as all get-up! then you have another thing coming. What's most interesting about their account of the experience is how they managed to already find a way to cheat at Wii Sports: Tennis. In holding the Wiimote and twisting it, they found that every ball could easily be returned. Also, they point out that, at least with Wii Sports, gamers are going to need plenty of space when playing. Perhaps even more space than a living room can offer if playing with friends.
Fusion Tour impressions from the mid-South [update1]
Last week, we forayed into an as yet undiscovered country for a chance with the Wii. What country? Well, it's more of a town, really ... a smallish town ... known as Jonesboro, Arkansas.Arkansas State University in Jonesboro is a strange stop for the Fusion Tour. Sure, it's a college town, but there are far more obvious locales nearby. Little Rock is a mere two hour drive away. It's a big, grown-up city, home of a President and all. And Memphis, that sultry city of the blues, is less than an hour away for those with particularly heavy accelerator feet. But Nintendo chose Jonesboro. Sigh. In service to you, dear reader (maybe not all of it), it was Jonesboro-ho.
Wii Sports has depth
In the surprisingly oft-updated series "Iwata Asks", Iwata sits down with some heavy hitters from the Wii Sports development team. We all know the reason that the game exists: to introduce to gamers, new and old, how easy and intuitive Nintendo's magic voodoo wand of a controller can be. Many, however, have expressed fears on how such a simple title could long hold a player's attention.Iwata asks the developers these very same questions. The developers go through every one of the five games, describing in detail some of the more complex facets of gameplay. Though the lengthy article is most certainly worth a read, some key points are summarized below: In Wii Tennis, the developers note how impossibly difficult it is to "hit the same exact shot twice". The game measures your skill level numerically, and pits you against over sixty progressively more difficult opponents. The game also has a new "rocket serve" feature, whereby if a serve is hit at the very apex of the ball's toss, the first shot will get an intense burst of speed. Though the controller cannot technically read one's full body motions, Wii Boxing was designed to move the player's body in-game when a player actually dodges, via the subtle hand movements during said dodge. In other words, the game will work best when the players actually dance around, dodging punches and counterattacking. Wii Golf has taken nine of the best classic holes from the original NES Golf (on which Iwata himself programmed!), and remade them in full 3-D glory. Only eight people worldwide would have recognized this, but it's a nice little bonus. Wii Bowling contains absolutely no arbitrary random variables, as many bowling games seem to. However, despite this, no one at Nintendo's internal testing team was able to score a perfect 300 game. To help you hone your ball rolling skills, the game offers three training-type minigames to pass the time. Also, in a nice touch of realism, you can actually roll the ball away from the lane or even into adjacent lanes around you. To those who feared that Wii Sports would be a two-day affair, worry not. Between your girlfriend and your grandmother, we're sure that your racket-swingin' days will last far into the future.
Nintendo Wii Fanboy at the Nintendo Fusion Tour: Orlando
Yes, these Fusion Tour events have been going for several weeks now, I know. And you've probably read plenty of impressions, too. But not from Nintendo Wii Fanboy, you didn't, so grab a mug of hot cocoa and your favorite fuzzy slippers. It's time to read. I, like most of you, had never played with the Wii before tonight. I was unable to attend E3, and despite my posting nigh every single day on the strange little machine, I had no idea if it could actually fulfill my every expectation. Would I have to convince myself that the controls would work, as opposed to just knowing that they would? It was almost nervewracking ... waiting to see if all that I work on and write about would be somehow validated.
New Wii Sports: Bowling video
Rounding out their video coverage from their local stop on the Nintendo Fusion Tour is the embedded video of Wii Sports: Bowling in action from the Go Nintendo folks. The minute video shows just how accurate the motion-sensing capabilities of the Wiimote are as the speed of the delivery is controlled. Continue into the post and check it out.[Via Go Nintendo]
Wii packaging revealed: Wii Sports bundled
Had enough Wii yet? Yeah, we thought not. So now that you know how much it's gonna cost you ($250, $280 Canadian for our friends up north) and when you have to gather your loot up by (November 19th, December 2nd in Japan), you're probably wondering what the game store clerk will be dropping into your sweating, anticipatory paws. USA Today got the scoop on the consoles retail packaging (as seen above), and in good news for gamers and sports fanatics alike, big bold letters on the box indicate the Wii Sports WILL be shipping as part of and parcel of the system. Wanna know more? The news just keeps on comin' -- we're liveblogging the New York-based Nintendo press event at this very moment. Ok, enough, already; head over to the liveblog post and warm up your F5 key -- we got our best blogging sharpshooter in the audience.
Seattle P-I: Wii on November 19, $250; did they slip? [update 2]
Just before the Japanese press event started in earnest, an article surfaced at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that declared the Wii would launch November 19 at $250. Chat rooms and forums exploded as gamers debated the legitimacy of the story, which listed the New York Times as its source. Since no one could find the information anywhere else -- not on Reuters, the AP, or the NYT itself, we called both the New York Times and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer to attempt to verify the story. Though we could not reach anyone at the NYT, we did speak with the city desk at the Seattle P-I, and they verified that the story was indeed pulled from the NYT's wire and that it was not altered by the Seattle publication. Less than an hour later, the link disappeared from the main business page -- though the article was still available via direct link and still listed as the "most read" on the RSS feed. Minutes later, even the direct link disappeared, and was replaced with the following information:The page you have requested was not found. The link is either incorrect or the page no longer exists. If you believe there is a problem, please send a message to newmedia@seattlepi.com.Did the Seattle P-I slip up and release the information early? Since the article disappeared, we will be reproducing it almost in its entirety after the jump. Please note that we are not claiming credit for this article -- we are just working to bring you the most accurate news possible.[Update 2: Apparently the article reappeared. Once the cat's out of the bag .... However, as of 2:15 Eastern, the headline has not reappeared on the business page at the Seattle paper. We are working to compare the copy to see if changes have been made. Also fixed coding error.]
Wii: last minute rumors [update 1]
It's almost time, fanboys and girls, for the big announcement that is almost certain to bring us the launch details on the Wii. What does that mean for Wii Fanboy?Rumor roundup time! Yee-haw!After the jump, we not only bring you a rumor compendium, but we also offer the official (!) Wii Fanboy predictions on launch and release date.
Wii Sports disappears from preorder lists
With the Japanese Wii event only hours away, even old rumors are new again. There have been rumors about Wii Sports being bundled with the system for as long as we've known about the sports games set, and now those rumors are looking a lot more like facts. A reader tipped us off that Wii Sports disappeared as a preorder option from his local GameStop and we got to work. Though the title is still listed on the web sites (at an exorbitant price, natch) at GameStop and EBGames, our favorite EBGames employee confirmed that the title had disappeared from preorder lists ... and was quick to point out the upcoming Nintendo announcement. It was all very, how shall we say ... conspiratorial?To add fuel to the fire -- at GameStop, several of the other older Wii titles (like Red Steel) have box art images linked. Wii Sports does not. And everyone who is "friends with an insider" seems to be weighing in on the subject. One IGN forum poster claims Wii Sports will be bundled not only because it will sell the system, but to make up for the lack of the classic controller in the launch bundle. Now, we're not at all surprised by this. After all, Wii Sports seems to be one of the best ways to demonstrate the capabilities of the Wiimote for everyone, gamer or not. And Nintendo has relied heavily on Wii Sports in their marketing campaigns -- the Wii site is littered with images of happy groups of families and friends having fun with bighead sports. So it only makes sense. But stick around ... we hope to have all the info very soon![Thanks to TVGenius for originally tipping us off!]
Wii and the psychology of cartoony graphics
To devoted fans, Nintendo's frequent use of cartoony graphics is comfortable and familiar. To others, they represent the company's biggest hurdle when it comes to dominating the American market (again). Over at Next-Gen, however, there's an interesting look at the psychology of cartoon graphics even beyond the issue of the uncanny valley. The Next-Gen piece focuses on "big heads" in Japanese games and points out that for many, those are familiar images associated with happy childhood memories -- and that association is a lock when it comes to selling games, whereas the discerning Japanese consumer might turn their collective noses (and wallets) up at a game that falls short of photorealism. With the imminent release of Wii -- and Wii Sports -- the question of pure fantasy graphics versus near-photorealism becomes more important. Nintendo is marketing Wii Sports toward a huge all-ages audience, but how will big heads play at grandma's house in Peoria? Some might point at the response to Gamecube offerings like Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, but that may not be entirely accurate. To most gamers, the business of Zelda is a deadly serious one, after all; we care about Link and we want to see him grow up and get some Princess action. Childlike (or Hermey-like?) Link didn't do it for a lot of dedicated Zelda fans. But what if we'd had a Wiimote to keep us company on the high seas? The Wii controller seems designed to remind us that hey, these video game things are supposed to be fun! Sure, you can simulate real movements in a golf game, but that doesn't translate to real skill on the green. So forget about that and just have a good time.The Next-Gen article is largely speculative, and doesn't have much bearing on those of us slavering for the Wii release, but it does raise some questions about the cultural gap between gamers of the East and West. Wii Sports may not have true big-head avatars, but they are definitely cartoony. Can these blocky characters break down the walls that separate gamers and everyone else? That may be the first challenge for Nintendo's Wii philosophy.[Via Joystiq]
Miyamoto: Wii Sports will be flagship title, Wiimote not finalized
Speaking with Famitsu, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto emphasized that the goal for Wii is to encourage a daily regimen of gaming. Nintendo aims to design "[hardware] that you'll want to turn on every day," Miyamoto told Famitsu. With that goal in mind, Miyamoto described Wii Sports as the console's flagship title. Of course, Miyamoto assures us that Nintendo will continue producing its staple franchises (e.g. Zelda), but the focus will turn toward developing software that promotes daily use.Miyamoto also noted that the Wiimote has not been finalized. Nintendo is "still debating on the area of how many buttons to use."
Wii Sports expanding?
An innocuous line of text found on Nintendo's official E3 website has us wondering: might we see Wii Polo in the future? The bottom of the Wii Sports page has a final bullet point, "Additional games may be added to the Wii Sports group." Interesting.What other sports do you think would be a great fit for the Wii controller? No. Darts is not a sport.
E3 game critics: Wii won
Short of having Satoru Iwata hurl bricks into the crowd at the Nintendo press conference, it seems that there was very little the Japanese giant could have done to disappoint the myriad E3 attendees, especially the overly critical ones. The Game Critics Awards, an independent group of journalists from 37 different media outlets, have deemed Nintendo's Wii Best of Show, praising its unique controller and "different" approach to gaming. Nintendo also grabbed the Best Hardware and Best Sports Game gongs, the latter one being awarded for the very energetic Wii Sports collection. Other big winners were Will Wright's Spore, Microsoft's Gears of War, Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed. The shockingly innovative PS3 controller was mysteriously overlooked.With the Wii receiving this sort of vindication, both as a concept and as a console, we hope that critics and gamers alike don't forget that, like any other system, the games are what will make or break it. The Wii was a success at E3 due to games like Super Mario Galaxy. Games like Final Furlong, on the other hand, remind us that the hardware alone, weird controller and all, can't guarantee an enjoyable experience.[Thanks AssemblyLineHuman!]
