Nintendo Voice Chat podcast summary

Note: This summary is complete for the most part, but there may be some missing bits here and there. Also, I started the summary before the Wii price drop was announced, so keep that in mind when reading the summary!

Wii price drop

– Still hasn’t happened
– All signs pointing to it though
– A bunch of leaked ads from retailers
– Nintendo will be making an announcement soon
– Matt will be surprised if by this time tomorrow it isn’t official
– Nintendo has been saying they wouldn’t do a price drop
– Wii has seen dramatic decrease in sales
– Sony dropped the price of the PS3
– Nintendo probably feels it is time for the drop
– Need something exciting going into the holiday season, not just a game
– Not doing different system colors in US
– Even at $199 Nintendo will still be making a lot of money

Rumors about a new SKU

– MotionPlus and Wii Sports Resort
– Would be $250 still
– Craig hopes they do a throwback to the NES days and put both games on one disc
– It’s a drag to exchange Wii Sports/Resort discs

New Wii in 2011?

– Square Enix CEO convinced Wii 2 coming out in 2011
– Would fall more in line with PS3/360 tech
– Would also be going HD
– Nintendo missing out on a lot of SKUs because of the HD issue
– Nintendo technically a generation behind on horsepower currently
– In 2011 they’d again be a generation behind with the PS3/360 tech
– Craig thinks they’ll do a step up (like DS, DS Lite, then DSi)

Tsumuji

– Like a Zelda game
– Making the game to attract the Japanese market
– Peer can see the game translating fine for NA/Europe
– Visuals rooted in Japanese culture
– Looks like Phantom Hourglass
– One of the puzzles involved pushing a crate
– Peer likes the look of it – looks polished
– Creators say Zelda is a masterpiece, are inspired by it

TMNT: Smash-Up

– Gave it a 7.0
– Fighting game
– Game Arts worked on Brawl
– Nothing really original about it
– 4 turtles are very similar – control similarly, subtle differences in jump
– Shredder very similar to Ganandorf
– Wall jumping/attacks
– Tag team – can switch between two characters
– Matt doesn’t think it does anything better than Smash
– Overall strategy is to widdle down the the power of an opponent
– Doesn’t celebrate the turtles like Smash Bros. celebrates Smash Bros.
– Slim character roster
– Solid game but doesn’t do anything unique
– Probably the best fighter for the turtles but again, doesn’t do anything new
– Cut-scenes aren’t so good

Spyborgs

– Beat-em-up
– Good controls, fun for the most part, well produced
– Polished
– Craig says the name is terrible
– No load times
– Achievements, unlockables
– Jump in and out with two players
– Problem is that it’s a straightforward beat-em-up
– Feels kind of dated
– Matt was looking for some kind of hook to distinguish the game
– You’ll probably still like it if you’re a beat-em-up fan
– Gave it a score in the mid 7s
– Really nice visuals although Matt isn’t a huge fan of the art
– One of the hardest games Matt has played in the last 10 months
– Waggle isn’t a huge problem

Wii Fit Plus

– Matt has a copy
– It’s the Wii Fit replacement
– Game looks for previous data from the original and imports it
– 6 new exercise problems
– 15 new minigames
– Can start a workout program
– Tells you how many calories you burned
– Can weigh dogs and babies
– On the back of the box, it says “weigh your baby or family pet”
– Golf mode where you can swing a golf club

DSi region restriction

– Also is restricted for cartridges, not just DSiWare
– Not the developers choice
– It’s because of the different rating systems
– There’s a bullet point on the back of the box about it

And Yet it Moves

– Using Wiimote to tilt the world
– Scribbled man running through stylistic universe
– Levels can twist when you twist the Wiimote
– Resets with every twist
– Matt enjoyed it, he also played the Mac version

Max and the Magic Marker

– Demonstrates what can be done with the Wii
– Platformer
– Draw stuff in the universe
– Stuff you draw becomes physics based
– A lot of freedom
– Fun and intuitive

Reader questions

– Won’t be getting a Beetle Adventure Racing sequel anytime soon
– Probably more to New Super Mario Bros. Wii than we know so far, Peer would pick it up, Craig looking forward to it
– Send your DS back to Nintendo if your mic isn’t working
– Matt will continue to review some of the bigger games such as A Boy and His Blob