The Nintendo Wii Thread!!

[chrono]

Uhoh! According to Nintendo UK the Wii will be regional.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=19686

[David Hingtgen]

And 30 secs ago I read that it wasn't going to be... Every place I check gets a roundabout "probably" answer. Sigh.

[jenius]

I thought the deal was that Nintendo's first party games will all be non-regional and everything else will be left at the developer's discretion. The real trick for this system is going to be Nintendo's ability to woo developers to Wii... seems like everyone's been leaving them ever since the end of the SNES.

There are Sega-CD emulators out there for computers but I've had a lot of problems with them. I pulled out Dark Wizard and Third World War and both of them ended up glitching eventually. I think even Shining CD gave me problems. If I bought a Sega-CD emulator for the Wii (not that one has even been considered yet) I would sure hope they'd make it more reliable. A Saturn emulator would be fantastic... but that system was so complex that developers hated it and that probably bodes very poorly for emulation.

[JB0]

There are Sega-CD emulators out there for computers but I've had a lot of problems with them. I pulled out Dark Wizard and Third World War and both of them ended up glitching eventually. I think even Shining CD gave me problems. If I bought a Sega-CD emulator for the Wii (not that one has even been considered yet) I would sure hope they'd make it more reliable. A Saturn emulator would be fantastic... but that system was so complex that developers hated it and that probably bodes very poorly for emulation.

What emu and version are you using?

I haven't had any serious glitches in some time.

If you're not using original disks, it's also possible you have bad games.

The standard idiocy of ISO/MP3 sets injects a LOT of variability into things, especially when people botch the cue sheets later. Some games really don't like variation.

I don't know the original disk issues with the emus. I know most PS1 emulators work better with disk images than games, though(has to do with crappy drive system emulation as I understand it).

[chrono]

jenius,

Yeah the UK person in the statement said they didn't want to put the extra problems on their buyers, LOL!. Which makes sense because your whole theme is user friendly gaming. Frankly I think that they pulled a Sony and didn't realize that even though they removed the region coding that each region is still slightly different(shorting their varous regions profits by undercutting them before the regional translations come out) and that it would be easier to access their backstock of already regional games.

*walks away wondering if they'll have SRBW online in the future*

[jenius]

If you're not using original disks, it's also possible you have bad games.

The standard idiocy of ISO/MP3 sets injects a LOT of variability into things, especially when people botch the cue sheets later. Some games really don't like variation.

Honestly, it's been a few years since I even tried this so I can't even tell you what emu I was using any more. I ended up resolving the issue by just hooking up my old system and playing them the way they were intended and everything worked fine. I remember Dark Wizard would do all the opening cinemas on the emu and let you play the first battle but then would freeze rather than going on to the second battle. I think Shining Force screwed me worse, I believe it was either the last battle or the mid point of the game or something like that where it'd just refuse to load the next chapter. Man, that ticked me off somethin' fierce. All the games are originals though.

Edited September 16, 2006 by jenius

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

I'm getting a wii for the zelda and metroid games.

Zelda looks pretty good if a little GC in terms of graphics. (but that is understandable seeing as it is port from that platform)

From what I hear in metroid the sensitivity has been upped (there is an expert mode) for those who want faster turn rate. This is good news for people like me who need fast turning and precision targetting as this is how I am used to fps controls. Although the targetting in red steel seems smoother, sometimes you just want to be able to spin around quickly to see WTF it is that is shooting you and avoid something quickly by seeing it before it can fire away. (ie you actually want to spin your whole body around very quickly not just aim the targeting reticle at something you can just see in your immediate field of vision left/right/above/below you.)

The good thing about the price is it ensures that if you want more than one console, (at some point when prices go down I will end up owning all three) you are much more likely to buy it if they have it within the range of the average person. In terms of power it is the least impressive of the three console but hopefully it makes up for that in other ways similar to the DS vs psp in the type of games. (it is all up to the developer and how they tweak the controls for all playing styles as many people think the idea of 3d controller movement is silly)

But seeing the videos of people using the controller for the fishing part in zelda I think makes playing a game much more fun and intuitive for a mass audience to get into because it eliminates some of the button mapping memorisation and learning curve that gets in the way of playing a game when you first try it out. And this way you can focus on the skill needed to be good at the task, more than on the early steps of memorising the button mappings and configurations of the controls before actually starting proper. (aiming is such an intuitive thing with a remote. I can see it being better than an analogue stick for most things.)

Edited September 17, 2006 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[Lightning]

This thing'll be great for FPS games, I wonder how the next Super Smash Bros game will be...

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

Well I am hoping the controls are precise enough for all sorts of games.

For FPS for example if they locked the 'look' to the wiimote, (assuming this was the mouselook half of the controls in a fps) you can imagine the headache you get due to all the jitter from not keeping your hand steady. (I;m thinking in future they could just release a stand of some sort?) But it seems just using the wiimote as a pointer works out ok and the looking control goes back to the "push left or right to see left or right" method. (not as good as mouselook in pc fps but I think it would be better than analogue stick for some things like trying to get head shots for example)

Order of goodness:

1. Mouse+keyboard

2. touchscreen looking (metroid prime hunters where you have a virtual mousepad)

3. wiimote (redsteel)

4. analogue sticks (you can't make precision shot by focusing on specific areas of a targets body while you and/or them are running around. Trust me it is a pain in the ass even with good controls like that seen in console versions of halo and decent analogue controllers)

I think a third party should create a tripod of some sort hehe and what you can do is like put this thing a certain height from the ground, and you anchor that to a spot and then the wiimote would be like a virtual gun that you use to move the camera in the direction you want to look. Some company should try this and make some kind of arcadey fps using it. I'd play it if the control method worked.

Edited September 17, 2006 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[Radd]

This thing'll be great for FPS games, I wonder how the next Super Smash Bros game will be...

Word from Nintendo is that the game will not make use of the Wii controller, instead having more traditional Smash Bros. gameplay. I believe the man in charge of the project said, in an interview, that he had tried to think of some way to make use of it, but everything seemed gimicky and tacked on, so he decided to go with more traditional play. He even said people may want to hold onto their Gamecube pads for this.

I'm not too dissapointed. I hope it will serve as an example that people ought not to use the Wii's controller simply because it's there, when trying to make a game that simply cannot use it well, just as there are plenty of great DS games that do not make use of the touch screen.

[David Hingtgen]

I fully plan for my first Wii experience to be playing Super Mario World with my SNES-style gamepad hooked up through the Wii's GC controller port.

[Radd]

I'll be entirely too impatient to break out Wii sports and try the new controller hands-on. Hearing all the gaming journalists rave is one thing, but none of us can really speak with any authority on the matter of how well it works until we've had a chance at it ourselves.

[Gunbuster]

The wii Sports works great at e3, however zelda did not sit too well after I beat the demo twice. The wiimote felt like it was forced onto the game. Even the demo lady told me i was the quickest one to beat the demo, but I knew if I had the regular contoller, I would have 'pwned" the boss and finished it in half the time.

Beside the fishing game in zelda, the general gameplay felt "forced" with the wiimote. That's how I felt about the 2 new DS games star fox and mario 3 on 3, the touch gameplay felt so forced, all the mechanics I could have done fine with the regular d-pad and buttons.

My whole deal is don't force the control scheme into the game because it's there, if it works great with the regular controller, then don't mess with it. I applaud the producer on smash brothers for not forcing the wiimote on it.

That's why nintendo is delaying the GC version of zelda to make sure that the zelda fan who can't wait for it buys it and then realize that the game was really meant for the regualr controller and goes out and buy the GC version (that's why nintendo didn't make the wii version compatible with the GC controller)

[Radd]

I can believe that, and I agree on Starfox. It was really dissapointing, since we have been seeing more games on the DS that either make good use of the touch screen, or rightfully ignore it rather than taking a forced approach.

And I do expect Zelda is being used to sell the Wii, though it may play better on the Cube. It was designed for the Cube, and the Wii controller was added later when the decision to release it for both consoles was made.

However, I did hear through Edge I believe it was (a rarity of a videogame magazine, in that it is actually reputable, smart, and well written), that Nintendo had taken Zelda back to the drawing board yet again, and is now boasting much improved gameplay on the Wii. We'll see if that's true or not once the Wii launches in November. I'm hopeful, but also glad there are plenty of other games I want for the syste, games designed with that console in mind.

Edited September 18, 2006 by Radd

[Fort Max]

The europeans are used to it.

Heck, they used to treat things as if the US Dollar and UK Pound were a 1:1 exchange rate. You wanna talk about being shafted, that was basically an immediate doubling of price.

Some people still do and being used to it doesn't make it any less unpleasent.

And with that Nintendo just scuppered my hopes for a zeldafull christmas. The price tag is too much for my parents to afford especially since my little brother back at home also wants one and a copy of Zelda.

The machine being region locked on top of that is just a kick in the teeth.

I was hoping for easier access to future SRW titles...

*Not happy*

Edit: Gah, it gets worse, the Australians apparently get the machine for twenty quid less and a day earlier...

Edited September 18, 2006 by Fort Max

[bandit29]

Some pics of the Bleach fighting game for the Wii

http://www.the-magicbox.com/0609/game060917e.shtml

[Radd]

The models look terrible, but I saw a trailer for the game on YouTube, and it looked pretty swank in motion. The characters seemed to be very fluid, and the attacks were flashy on a level I don't think I've even seen in a Capcom fighter.

[rnurmin]

Does anyone know if any stores are taking preorders on this?

[JB0]

Honestly, it's been a few years since I even tried this so I can't even tell you what emu I was using any more.

Ah. Was probably just the emus of the time, if it was a few years ago.

SegaCD emulation only started in '01 and it's not simple or well-documented hardware, so it was still iffy for a long time.

I ended up resolving the issue by just hooking up my old system and playing them the way they were intended and everything worked fine.

Good plan.

I think Shining Force screwed me worse, I believe it was either the last battle or the mid point of the game or something like that where it'd just refuse to load the next chapter. Man, that ticked me off somethin' fierce. All the games are originals though.

Shining Force ticked me off on the SegaCD, actually. Thing ate every last bit of save RAM I had for one file. WTF kind of insane logic is that?

Does anyone know if any stores are taking preorders on this?

I'd bet money that they are. It's very rare that a store DOESN'T want people to throw money at them.

Personally, I say screw preorders. Get it off the shelf.

If there aren't enough to get one off the shelf, the preorders are gonna be a disaster anyways, so just kick back and wait a few months.

[yellowlightman]

Does anyone know if any stores are taking preorders on this?

Why not wait a few months and see if it actually manages to deliver on all the hype?

*cough*N64*cough*Gamecube*cough*

[JB0]

Why not wait a few months and see if it actually manages to deliver on all the hype?

*cough*N64*cough*Gamecube*cough*

What's wrong with the GameCube? It's got a strong library, if not exactly the largest.

Also worth noting that the GC had a strong first year. It wasn't untill year 2-3 that it started faltering.

Edited September 22, 2006 by JB0

[Ishimaru]

Does anyone know if any stores are taking preorders on this?

Game Crazy, GameStop, and EB in my area have been taking preorders for the game since as far back since E3 this year.

Their are going to be defects when it is released though, but my previous experiences with Nintendo has been quite good; got me a Onyx DS lite when it was released.

I heard rumors of a StarWars game taking advantage of the Wii Controller, anyone heard of it?

[yellowlightman]

What's wrong with the GameCube? It's got a strong library, if not exactly the largest.

Also worth noting that the GC had a strong first year. It wasn't untill year 2-3 that it started faltering.

As someone who isn't a huge fan of Nintendo's first party games, I found the GC to be pretty disapointing. At launch a lot of the hype made it look like Nintendo might learn from some of the mistakes of the N64, but inevitably the GC turned out to be a first-party centric system with and unbalanced library.

My GC disapeared in the summer of 2004 while I was out of the country, and despite being upset at the monetary loss I wasn't upset about the loss of the system. I can't think of any game released since then I actually wanted to play I couldn't get for the Xbox.

My point was don't believe the hype, and unless you're prepared for a library largely supported by Nintendo (one game a month, weeeee), wait and see if other companies can actually deliver for the Wii.

Edited September 22, 2006 by yellowlightman

[rnurmin]

Thanks for the info, guys.

I checked with some stores already and so far they have no date of when they are taking preorders.

[JB0]

As someone who isn't a huge fan of Nintendo's first party games, I found the GC to be pretty disapointing. At launch a lot of the hype made it look like Nintendo might learn from some of the mistakes of the N64, but inevitably the GC turned out to be a first-party centric system with and unbalanced library.

My GC disapeared in the summer of 2004 while I was out of the country, and despite being upset at the monetary loss I wasn't upset about the loss of the system. I can't think of any game released since then I actually wanted to play I couldn't get for the Xbox.

My point was don't believe the hype, and unless you're prepared for a library largely supported by Nintendo (one game a month, weeeee), wait and see if other companies can actually deliver for the Wii.

Fair enough.

My 'Cube library's not very big(about a dozen games right now). Nintendo-branded titles in it are Custom Robo, the Primes, FZero, and Starfox Assault. I consider all 5 to be pretty darn good.

Prime 1 especially. I consider it to be a contender for best in genre. It's got competition in Super Metroid and Link to the Past, but few other action-adventures can even touch it.

I'd be pretty upset if I lost access to those and PN03(which I admit I'm in the vast minority on).

Rest is 4 multi-platform, and 3 don't cares.

That was why it was my first of the 3 survivors of the generation. It didn't have the most games by a longshot, but it DID have the ones I most wanted.

The PS2 and XBox had strong arguments too, of course.

And the PS2 had more I wanted, honestly. I just didn't want them as much.

The XBox has been the big surprise of the generation. It's come out a lot more fun than I expected.

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

For me Cube did ok if you are a casual gamer. I've always said this before: nintendo consoles are not enough if you are hardcore gamer playing lot of games from many different genres from many different companies and sinking hours of your life into gaming as an obsession or hobby.

Buy a nintendo and you might miss out on a rpg franchise you like. Buy an xbox and you might get stuck with primarily western made games (due to unpopularity of foriegn consoles and games in japan) and pc ports with no soul. Get a ps2 and you miss out on the occasional nintendo masterpiece and for a good part of the life of the system, have to put up with a platform that takes ages for a developer to get used to because they struggle to understand the architecture without enough support. (first gen ps2 games looked even worse than dreamcast 1st gen games lol)

This is why I've always been multiplatform. It's expensive, but you end up with the best and never any worry of running out of stuff to play or limited in the library. Halo is great on xbox, but i can't ignore the monkey ball, the metroid prime, the zeldas etc on the cube or the devil may cry on ps2. God of War and GT is fun on ps2, but there are things like Ninja Gaiden and MSR for the box. I feel sorry for those who do have to make the tough choice on which console to suport but who don't want to miss out on anything. (the same reason I dread any kind of format war - the dreamcast had such great quality titles, but really wasn't hyped enough the way the ps2 was and thanks to the exodus of developer support its a real shame it died)

I think the choice to add 3d controller is a good one not because I like to play my existing games using this controller because it forces me to, but that it means developers can now make games from the ground up designed for this controller from the beginning. How succesful they can pull it off depends on the tweaking and testing of the in-game control so it is responsive and accurate. (as I mentioned with metroid prime 3, I'm glad they made a more sensitive control mode for it for those who use it.)

What usually happens is the more high profile titles end up getting ported from one system to another. (ie metal gear, gta for example) and as a multiplatform console gamer, what I don't want to see is lazy ass ports again like last gen. The use of the wii controller I hope will force developers to take the specfic platform they develop on more seriously instead of milking the same game across so many platforms and wasting resources because there are different teams all making the same games on each one. Nobody who is a multiplatform gamer will buy the worst version of the game, they will instead choose the best version and ignore the crappier ports that appear on the other system. Although people want to see the top titles on thier fave system and get excited about having the chance to play them on thier chosen platform, for me it can get a little boring because the developer should spend more time making something new. (not milking stuff that is already done - I know it is idealistic but that is just what I like to see - progress, and games that take advantage of the platform they are released on and break some kind of new ground)

Edited September 23, 2006 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[Radd]

Anyone else checked out the 'Heroes' trailer for the Wii? Made by the Killer 7 crew. Graphically stunning, then the characters open their mouth.......then it becomes pure, albiet unintentional genius.

The voice acting is so terrible, it's fantastic. It's like an ultra stylistic sci-fi hong kong cinema dub.

I can't wait for this game! XD

[Max Jenius]

Am I the only one that thinks that the nunchaku controller setup is perfect for a Macross game?

*pictures gunpod in the right, battroid dancing through the air with the left*

[bandit29]

Well at least someone has enough units for launch

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6158589.html

UPDATE] Nintendo of America has responded to various reports claiming that Bertram's figures were fact. Apparently, the final tally for Wiis designated for the North American launch may be even greater than a million, according to a cryptic statement from the company.

Says Nintendo: "A number of outlets have reported a misstatement about the number of Wii consoles that will be available in the Americas during the launch rollout. In fact, the truth is even better. After the Americas lead the worldwide launch on Nov. 19, Nintendo expects to sell 4 million Wii consoles globally by the end of 2006, with the largest allotment available in the Americas. Although we expect a huge demand for the consoles, we are working to ensure a plentiful supply and a consistent flow."

[Gaijin]

Well at least someone has enough units for launch

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6158589.html

Even a million units would be short supply for the holidays.

[Maxtype]

Nintendo has been surprisingly quiet on what old games will be available, and how. Will they sell all the old Mario games one by one? Or as a big multi-pack? Or will they restrict them to keep sales of the GBA versions up?

Personally, I would LOVE to just go into a store and buy a Wii disc with a bunch of old NES/SNES games on it. Better than downloading IMHO. Instant gratification, and no messy "linking console serials with right to play downloaded games" like the 360. If you own the disc, you own the game.

And I need Bonk's Adventure too, one of the few "mascot" games I never really played. I have like 20 minutes on it on a Turbo Duo.

I agree with David about a retail compilation disc-easier and more fun-I like owning games with manuals & cases.

Definetly getting a Wii,don't know quite when-I'm on Art & Model Show Staff for Nan Desu Kan '06 in Denver in October and will still be recovering from dealers room in November .

[jenius]

I remember Nintendo made an announcement once upon a time that they wouldn't be pursuing ROM distributors of their Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games nearly as much as their competitors seemed to be. Their logic was that their portable games were cool because they were portable and that would keep people buying them regardless of the ROM community. I bring this up because I don't think Nintendo will be restricting anything in fear of competing with their portable products... they don't really think anything on a console can compete with their portable products.

As much as I like compilations, I find that 90% of the time they include a bunch of games I could care less about. If it's $50 for 50 games then I'd rather I choose the 50 then some dude in a suit... even if it requires my downloading those 50. I think they should just do the "Pay $9.95 a month to play any game in our catalog" trick.

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

As much as I like compilations, I find that 90% of the time they include a bunch of games I could care less about. If it's $50 for 50 games then I'd rather I choose the 50 then some dude in a suit... even if it requires my downloading those 50. I think they should just do the "Pay $9.95 a month to play any game in our catalog" trick.

I agree with the first bit, (downloading and picking the titles you want)but hate the second bit. (monthly fees suck) I prefer to actually own the game I just paid money for, not rent a bunch of games I may or may not play within a certain time limit. Maybe they can have a seperate "you can rent any game in the catalogue" deal which would be like renting from a videostore for a while so that you can try out games you ordinarily wouldn't want to risk buying. (that is you can try it, play 1/8th of the way through, realise the game sucks and not want to waste your time on it, or just play a short title with crappy replay value that you don't want to own once you have seen everything.)

As an example: I have been playing GBA Steet fighter alpha 3 upper, everyday since it was first released up till today and have more than got my money's worth out of the game at full price. But under the rental scheme, I would have paid way more than was reasonable. Some people only want the best of the best and ignore the 90% of shovelware out there regardless of the excitement that can come from "playing any game from a choice of hundreds" and impressing me with the range of titles vs the quality.

When the battery finally fails in the cartridge and I can no longer keep all my unlocked goodies, (certain modes and characters need to be unlocked) I want to be able to say I still own the game and play it without being pressured or forced to get my money's worth under a time limit that comes with monthly fees. One of the benefits of emulation scene is the fact that the diehard hobbyist and fan of the title has preserved history when the machines that those games once ran on failed, became too expensive to fix, or just plain became rare and hard to find. (whether due to not being widely popular, or having limited release etc) True there was validity in the criticism that it can be abused and having the ability to play these classics on your computer is just so people can get something for free and not pay anything (just like with piracy) but it was born out of a genuine need to preserve the originals in some form or another for those who already owned and bought the game, but whose hardware that it ran on, would maybe fail in the future and the expectation that they could no longer enjoy the classic game once that time came and it was hard to get, or rare to find. (and when you did find it, it was way out of the price range that is reasonable. For an example: some carts on the neogeo for those who prided themselves on owning the rare games and boosted the prices, despite the games not really being worth it)

Edited September 28, 2006 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[mikeszekely]

I'm not picking one up at launch, since I don't feel like dealing with the holiday mess of it now that I left Gamestop. Besides, there's already too many games coming out already for the PS2, 360, and DS that I have to pick up. I'm thinking I'll pick one up in March, though, when the gaming well starts to dry up again. Wii Sports looks like the perfect pack-in, too.

As far as the virtual console goes, I'm not sure how much I'd take advantage of it. I'm not really into the whole microtransaction thing... so far on the 360, I've only bought Geometry Wars and Bejeweled. And most of the classic games I like have already been re-released in some form on some modern platform, and the ones that haven't, I've emulated. Not to mention that the Wii isn't supposed to have a lot of built-in storage, so I don't know how that's going to work. Maybe you pay to download it once, then if you delete it, you can redownload it?

I do kinda want to get that Zapper attachment for the Wiimote and play Duck Hunt, though.

[Apollo Leader]

As far as the virtual console goes, I'm not sure how much I'd take advantage of it. I'm not really into the whole microtransaction thing... so far on the 360, I've only bought Geometry Wars and Bejeweled. And most of the classic games I like have already been re-released in some form on some modern platform, and the ones that haven't, I've emulated. Not to mention that the Wii isn't supposed to have a lot of built-in storage, so I don't know how that's going to work. Maybe you pay to download it once, then if you delete it, you can redownload it?

I think the Wii uses SD flash cards and you probably save the games on to there. Nintendo probably uses the same technology so that when a person downloads a game, picture theme, or some other service, it will remember the console ID number and those games saves can only be played on that console (that's if your system isn't online and of course you would need to be using your own "gamer tag").