“I think in the spirit of your question, I think we launched too many new IPs all at once in Q3. I would have spread them out and found better windows for them. I would have had longer marketing for them. The marketing cycles were fairly short. We didn’t have enough assets to really build the fanbase, build the community, and get that long lead demand built.” – EA’s Frank Gibeau
From a marketing standpoint I can certainly understand, but for us gamers, more IPs means more great games to play! What are your thoughts on this?
Wii Sports Resort
– It’ll sell a lot
– They’ve all had a chance to play it
– Only 1 or 2 duds
– Craig doesn’t like cycling
– Just sit there and drum the controllers for cycling
– Some games clearly not MotionPlus
– Airplane game probably not using the attachment (if it does, probably for the hell of it)
– The airplane game still feels good…Makes Craig want Pilotwings
– Have noticed a lot of drift – As you’re playing it gets out of calibration
– Can push down on d-pad with sword fighting for calibration – Not ideal
– Weird that this is sort of the revision 2 of the Wiimote and we still have to deal with these issues
– Don’t have as much control in frisbee golf compared to the dog-throwing mode
– Matt really enjoying archery – gives you a really long range (depth) to the course – Get a taste, then you wish it isn’t as shallow
– Wind should play a bigger factor in archery
– Wii Sports Bowling is the same game
“I think the answer to that is most likely not [Pay 2 Play]. Because the Wii servers let players play online for free, The Grinder will take advantage of that. Once you purchase the game you’re free to play online with your friends as much as you like, for as long as you like.” – Matt Corso, The Grinder art director
While I’ll be the first to admit that the Wii Wi-Fi functionality is limited in some ways, not having to pay to play with other gamers online is a huge plus. I just wish Nintendo would be slightly less strict in terms of their rules regarding the service.
Videos
The Conduit Launch Video
E3 Interview – C.O.P. The Recruit
E3 Interview – Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
E3 Interview – Tatsunoko vs Capcom
E3 Interview – Rabbids Go Home
E3 Interview – Bit.Trip Core
Grand Slam Tennis – Venue Tour
Madden NFL 10 – New Art Style
Water Warfare Info Video
Reel Fishing Challenge Info Video
Silver Star Reversi Info Video
Sudoku Master Info Video
Trauma Team Teaser Video
Sands of Destruction – Gameplay Video 1
Mini Ninjas Info Video
EA Sports Active – The Fun Way
World of Zoo Info Video
Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga Teaser Video
The Munchables Info Video
Digest Video
Demos (Expire 7/5)
Mega Man Star Force 3
My Healthy Cooking Coach
MySims Racing
Classic World Games
Personal Trainer: Cooking Mac & Cheese Demo
Thanks to _Contra_ for the news tip!
Wii HD rumors aren’t anything new, especially considering the heavy speculation which popped up last year. But in spite of the fact that Nintendo supposedly ended the gossip only a few weeks ago, the rumors have reappeared and are back in full throttle. Wedbush-Morgan’s Michael Pachter, in his “Money for Nothing, How Ancillary Revenues Can Extend the Console Cycle” report, shared his beliefs that a new iteration of the Wii could be on the way – Wii Plus HD – and might even be in stores by the end of 2010.
“We expect Nintendo to sustain their competitive advantage by introducing a high definition version of the Wii, perhaps as early as the end of 2010, in order to convert its large installed base into true ‘next-generation’ households.”
But that’s not all. Controversially, Pachter went on to say that Wii Plus HD would enable developers to create games with graphics more equal to that of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. As Pachter explains, Nintendo would receive support from publishers but the release of Wii Plus HD depends on numerous factors.
“In our view, if Nintendo can offer such a device by year-end 2010, it will be in a position to seriously damage Sony’s chances of a comeback this cycle. We would expect publishers to support such a move, given that the cost of porting an Xbox 360 game to the new Wii Plus HD format would likely be lower than the cost of building a ground up Wii game. Of course, the timing of such a launch will depend upon several factors, including the cost of production, the price points of its competitors’ consoles, and the willingness of publishers to support a launch.”
“We believe that each of these factors will shift in Nintendo’s favor eventually, and are targeting fall 2010 for a Wii Plus announcement.”
We exist as a fundraising group dedicated to raising money for various organizations through the medium of video game marathons streamed live over the Internet. We provide entertainment for our viewers, including a live commentary feed so that they can interact with the members of our group and a method to actively donate. We strive to provide a suitable and courteous environment in which to show that video games are not always as bad as the media might otherwise suggest and to provide people with a place they can come together to watch something they might enjoy while being able to donate to worthy causes and help out the community while enjoying themselves.
This July 10th, beginning at 5:00pm CST time we are going to be hosting a 72 hour gaming marathon streamed live from our website, http://returnersgaming.blogspot.com to raise money for Child’s Play. Our donation period begins on the 6th and ends on the 20th of July. All donations go directly to Child’s Play without us seeing even one cent of the money raised. Either a credit card or a PayPal account is necessary to donate but assuming people cannot donate they can continue to help us out by spreading the word about the marathon.
This marathon is going to deal with RPGs from the Nintendo 64 era and back. As such no recent games are going to be played during the marathon. Our current roster of games consists of Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross, Super Mario RPG, Final Fantasy IV, and Final Fantasy IX. Other games may well be added to this list as the time of the marathon grows closer.
We will have 5 TV’s playing Nintendo World Championships and 5 playing Nintedo Campus Challenge. Gamers
will compete to get the highest scores on these two rare Nintendo cartridges. The high scores will get $200 gift cards to JJGames.com plus other attendees will receive free t-shirts and the reproduction cartridges we will be using for the event (worth $55 for NWC and $85 NCC).When: Saturday July 18th
Where: Denver, CO | JJGames Store | 7975 E Harvard Ave, Ste G | 80231
Games: Nintendo World Championships & Nintendo Campus Challenge
Prizes: $200 JJGames gift cards, free t-shirts, and NWC and NCC reproduction cartridges
Website: http://www.jjgames.com/page/retro-game-championship-2009
Competition page here (July 18)
Thanks to Steven and JJ for the news tips!
“Well, there has been some M-rated high-quality games released recently on Wii that we’ve taken note of, and that’s why I think Dead Space: Extraction is a gamble. It’s a calculated risk. Can a high-quality experience like that that appeals to a more mature audience work on the Wii platform? We spent a lot of research, time, and understanding that the customer dynamics of who’s actually playing on the Wii, do they own multiple platforms, are there really gamers on the Wii, or is it mainly families and youth? But we think we’ve found a market on the Wii that would be interested in the Dead Space: Extraction experiment. We’re going to take a gamble and build that market. You know, until you try, you don’t really know if the hypothesis is correct or not…I do think that it is a difficult ecosystem when only Nintendo products can succeed. Eventually, those types of platforms lose legs, because you need innovation coming from publishers and developers outside of Nintendo to really keep them fresh. I mean, look at 360 as an example, they’ve really nailed it.” – EA Games label president Frank Gibeau
The sales situation for more mature games on Wii never really seems to be too positive. However, I’m pulling for Extraction and perhaps it has a better chance than a title like MadWorld. After all, MadWorld seemed to be more of a difficult title to sell with its visual style and newness in the market.
