“I think that Mr. Iwata is right when he says that the Wii is more of a holiday purchase, as the core audience has long been satisfied, and the more casual audience comprises the much larger portion of the addressable market. With effective marketing, a slew of great games, and some likely support at retail, I expect the Wii to once again become the best selling console in November and December.” – Michael Pachter

Oh come on, is this really that hard to predict? It’d only be the fourth year in a row that the Wii kills everything in sales for a holiday. I expected more from you, Pachter…

Via IncGamers

Nintendo Crowns High-Scoring Champion in Sin & Punishment: Star Successor Challenge

Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii | 1 Comment

A winner has been declared in Nintendo of America’s nationwide Sin & Punishment™: Star Successor high-scoring challenge. As verified by Twin Galaxies International, the official worldwide authority for all video game high scores and world records, Andrew F. of Milwaukee clinched the title by earning a score of 68,126,154 points in the game’s third level, playing in difficult mode, using the Wii Remote™ and Nunchuk™ controllers.
In recognition of Andrew’s outstanding performance, Nintendo has awarded him a prize package that includes a customized plaque and a selection of Nintendo products. Additionally, Andrew’s score will be submitted for consideration in the Guinness World Records 2011 Gamer’s Edition.
Sin & Punishment: Star Successor is a thrilling arcade-style shooter available exclusively for the Wii™ system. The game’s online leaderboard lets players with broadband Internet access see how they stack up against the competition by viewing top scores from around the globe. Players also have the option of controlling their characters using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, the Classic Controller™, the Classic Controller Pro™, the Nintendo GameCube™ controller or the Wii Zapper™ accessory.
For more information about Sin & Punishment: Star Successor, please visit http://www.sinandpunishment.com.

Source: Nintendo PR

Rock Band 3 launch trailer

Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Videos, Wii | 0 comments

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Media Create software sales (10/18 – 10/24)

Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, News, Wii | 1 Comment

01. / 00. [WII] Super Mario Collection: Special Pack (Nintendo) – 307.755 / NEW
02. / 01. [NDS] Pokemon Black / White (Pokemon Co.) – 81.915 / 4.243.312 (-51%)
03. / 00. [PS3] Naruto Shippuden: Narutimate Storm 2 (Bandai Namco) – 63.675 / NEW
04. / 00. [PS3] Vanquish (Sega) – 48.318 / NEW
05. / 02. [WII] Kirby’s Epic Yarn (Nintendo) – 35.633 / 127.913 (-61%)
06. / 00. [PS3] Medal of Honor (Electronic Arts) – 25.365 / NEW
07. / 03. [PSP] Lord of Arcana (Square Enix) – 24.939 / 94.872 (-64%)
08. / 00. [PS3] Beat Sketch! (SCE) – 22.165 / NEW
09. / 00. [PS3] FIFA 11: World Class Soccer (Electronic Arts) – 18.995 / NEW
10. / 06. [WII] Wii Party (Nintendo) – 15.895 / 1.138.627 (-32%)
11. / 04. [NDS] Kingdom Hearts Re:coded (Square Enix) – 14.995 / 141.748 (-52%)
12. / 00. [PS3] Time Crisis: Razing Storm (Bandai Namco) – 12.653 / NEW
13. / 00. [WII] No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle (Marvelous Entertainment) – 11.373 / NEW
14. / 00. [X360] Vanquish (Sega) – 11.204 / NEW
15. / 05. [PS3] Red Dead Redemption (Take-Two Interactive) – 10.454 / 107.347 (-60%)
16. / 00. [PS3] Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition (Move Special Pack) (Capcom) – 9.399 / NEW
17. / 00. [X360] Medal of Honor (Electronic Arts) – 6.958 / NEW
18. / 15. [PSP] Monster Hunter Freedom Unite [PSP the Best Reprint] (Capcom) – 6.371 / 456.266 (-2%)
19. / 00. [PS3] Sports Champions (SCE) – 6.349 / NEW
20. / 07. [PS3] Gekijouban Macross F: Itsuwarino Utahime – Hybrid Pack (Bandai Namco) – 6.123 / 176.892 (-66%)

Source

Media Create hardware sales (10/18 – 10/24)

Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, News, Wii | 0 comments

PSP – 32,591
PS3 – 20,128
DSi LL – 15,819
DSi – 14,703
Wii – 11,971
DS Lite – 3,887
Xbox 360 – 2,162
PS2 – 1,222
PSP go – 924

For comparison’s sake, here are the hardware numbers from last week.

PSP – 37,127
PS3 – 22,201
DSi LL – 21,084
DSi – 20,084
Wii – 12,810
DS Lite – 5,268
Xbox 360 – 2,342
PS2 – 1,715
PSP go – 1,590

The Last Story Iwata Asks details (part 3)

Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii | 4 Comments

– Iwata first asked Sakaguchi about what it felt like working on a Wii game
– Sakaguchi said that when he was making games for HD consoles, he put a greater focus on workflow and pipeline (pipeline is placing graphics and motion data in a game)
– This was because a game with higher-quality visuals can be made if a solid work pipeline is in place
– “With the Wii, we took the approach of making a prototype first and investigating from there. So, compared to the hardware I’ve worked with until now, the creation process was completely different.”
– Iwata suggested that one could say that the Wii allowed them to use a creation process where they build up the game through experimentation
-“There is that side to it. To be honest, I personally feel that the HD visuals that are now the trend are still too much for a game world. You end up putting all your effort into preserving the quality of the visuals.”
-“I absolutely did not want the visual quality to drop just because it’s on the non-HD Wii. In the end, I truly believe we reached a point where it does not lose out to other hardware. The feel of the rocks, the feel of the water and so forth — we really went deep with the creation. Also, another important area is motion.”
– Sakaguchi emphasized putting much effort in the area of motion
– Balance is important when considering motion and visual fidelity according to Sakaguchi
– “I’m a designer, so to be honest I initially felt like I wanted a bit more resolution. However, as I worked on the project, I came to the unexpected conclusion that it was okay.”
“In the end, we were able to raise the quality more than we’d expected.”
– Sakaguchi compared the beauty of the graphics in The Last Story to a photograph
– Sakaugchi says that Wii provides visuals that allow for a perfect balance for a photograph-like taste
– Wii easy to program as well, so Sakaguchi noted that they were able to work details into the game
– Example of the above: Player switches from dark to light in the game, game’s lighting adjusts like a real person’s eyes would
– Sakaguchi: “Even if you compare the visuals to other hardware, there’s no disadvantage what-so-ever”
– Fujisaka felt a turning point when developing the title was when the game’s main city was finished (around early 2009 at the beginning of development), gameplay systems started to take shape then as well, so he thought the team was on the right path
– Sakaguchi doesn’t have a specific turning point, but he pointed out when Nintendo gave the game’s scenario a NG (no good), was the first “reset point” for the title
– Sakaguchi: “By simplifying the world view in the form of fantasy,” said Sakaguchi, “I believe the characters became deeper. It’s easier to show real human feelings in fantasy, after all.”
– Fujisaka joked that he was annoyed when Nintendo gave the game a NG since he had created a large number of images, but he thinks the decision was a good one in the end
– Fujisaka: “The world view we originally thought up was extremely dark. I’m glad that it ended up in its current form.”
– Sakaguchi: “For music and paintings, movies and books, there are some works that give you energy when you touch them. I’d like for Last Story to be that type of work. Nothing would make me happier than if you connected with the game and felt something from it.”

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