“There isn’t anything that we can announce today, but we have been thinking along a variety of different lines regarding this matter for some time now. So my hope is that sometime in the not too distant future we will be able to discuss some concrete solutions.”
“In all honesty, it’s just in relation to cost. I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who want to play Animal Crossing over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Maybe just as it is. There may be some people who want to use a USB keyboard to chat and we’re fine with that. And there may be others who want to use something like WiiSpeak. So just from a cost perspective and being able to provide the game to everybody, we thought that was the best way to go. Basically, our idea with WiiSpeak is rather than to just provide a voice-chat function, we want to really connect living rooms to each other. In that sense, the microphone in WiiSpeak is really designed to be able to clearly capture many different voices being spoken in a room at the same time and convey that over the Internet. It’s a very capable microphone and it’s designed with that intent. And so that’s why WiiSpeak has taken on the form that it has.”
This year’s E3 has been all about ups and downs…Initially, many Nintendo fans anticipated that Kid Icarus would be unveiled at Nintendo’s press conference, only to be let down yesterday when IGN’s Matt Casamassina said the game would not be appearing. There still is some hope for the game, however. IGN managed to bump into the legendary Shigeru Miyamoto and approached the Mario creator about Kid Icarus. Obviously, Miyamoto would never give out explicit details on an unannounced project, but his words were encouraging: “Yeah, I’m not the producer of any Kid Icarus titles. There are some people who have some different ideas, but since I’m not the producer I can’t comment on anything.” Miyamoto was pressed further, yet still gave out the near-same reply, “I’m not the producer of any Kid Icarus game, so I really can’t say anything. Sorry.”
“What I can say is that typically games like that take anywhere from two to three years to finish those up. We do have the teams together and the teams are all working. The other thing that I can say is that in the past we haven’t really had much opportunity to release two Mario titles or two Zelda titles on a single hardware system. Our plan is to try to do that with Wii. With that in mind, the teams are working hard at this point.” – Shigeru Miyamoto
So, how long will we have to wait? If previous comments have any validity, a new Zelda title should be well under way at this point. Hopefully Nintendo will debut a new Zelda or Mario title at next year’s E3.
Format: Wii™
Launch Date: Holiday 2008
ESRB: RP (Rating Pending)
Game Type: Community Simulation
Accessories: WiiSpeak microphone (sold separately)
Players: 1-4 alternating, 2-4 simultaneous via Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection
Developer: Nintendo
KEY INFORMATION
If life were an endless vacation, what would you do? Go fishing, collect shells or watch fireworks with friends? Build a snowman, exchange presents with family or decorate your house for the holidays? Take a trip to the city, go on a shopping spree or visit friends from all over the globe? In Animal Crossing: City Folk, life moves at a relaxed pace, but the world brims with endless possibilities.
• There’s always something new to do. In the living, breathing world of Animal Crossing: City Folk, days and seasons pass in real time, so there’s always something to discover. Catch fireflies in the summer, go trick-or-treating on Halloween or hunt for eggs on Bunny Day. If you’re in the mood for something a little faster paced, take a bus to a new urban city area that’s unique to Animal Crossing: City Folk. There you can catch a show at the theater or check out the sales at Gracie’s boutique. But if you don’t show your face back home for too long, your neighbors will miss you.
Nintendo’s E3 press conference had some highlights. Overall, however, Nintendo presented a very limited number of “hardcore” games. There was no new Zelda title, barely any mention of Mario, and even the upcoming Wario Land was absent. Reggie Fils-Aime on the other hand, strongly believes that Nintendo has enough games at this year’s E3 to support the core gamer. In a brief interview on G4 following Nintendo’s media briefing, Fils-Aime explained, “How could you feel left out? The Animal Crossing that we’ve been hearing about that people wanted. Fully connected to the Internet, go to other people’s towns. Plus as I said, Grand Theft Auto on the DS. How do you feel left out with those types of announcements?”
Fils-Aime also commented about Kid Icarus for Wii, but essentially dodged the subject: “You know, we never said he was coming. We’ve all seen the rumors and all of what we see as the desires that consumers want. Make no mistake, Mr. Iwata said quite clearly: Mario teams, Zelda teams are working, they’re bringing product out for Wii this generation. We’re going to continue to bring all our best franchises to both of our key platforms and continue driving that experience both core as well as brand new consumers.”
Wii Music
Wii Sports Resort
Animal Crossing: City Folk
Pokemon Ranger (2): Shadows of Almia
Rhythm Heaven
Mystery Case Files
Surprisingly, titles such as Wario Land and Fatal Frame 4 do not seem to be present.
Format: Wii™
Launch Date: Holiday 2008
ESRB: RP (Rating Pending)
Game Type: Music
Accessories: Wii Remote™, Nunchuk™, Wii Balance Board™
Players: 1-4
Developer: NintendoKEY INFORMATION
Create a musical masterpiece with up to four players. Anyone can play the huge selection of instruments in Wii Music with simple motions—like strumming and drumming.
• It’s easy to play improv jams. Musicians in your band jam by simply playing their instruments to the beat of a song or by improvising to their heart’s content. Play faster. Play slower. Skip a beat, or throw in 10 more. No matter what you do, Wii Music automatically transforms your improv stylings into great music. There are no mistakes—just playing for the pure joy of playing.
• Wii controls immerse you in the music. You can play most of the 60-plus instruments in Wii Music using simple motions with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk controllers. Strum to play guitar, banjo and sitar. Drum to play jazz drums, congas and marching drums. Hammer away to play piano, vibraphone and marimba. Unlike most music games, Wii Music doesn’t make you use complex buttons. You only need to imitate playing the instrument.
Format: Wii™
Launch Date: Spring 2009
ESRB: RP (Rating Pending)
Game Type: Sports
Accessories: Wii MotionPlus (included)
Players: 1-4
Developer: NintendoKEY INFORMATION
Wii Sports Resort is a new collection of fun sports games that anyone can pick up and play.
• This sequel to the popular Wii Sports™ makes use of the Wii MotionPlus accessory, which gives players the most responsive and realistic experience possible. The Wii MotionPlus accessory, which is included with Wii Sports Resort, plugs into the base of the Wii Remote™ controller and, combined with the accelerometer and sensor bar, provides an experience that gives players an even greater sense of immersion.
• Just as with Wii Sports, people will love competing against friends and family. As the competition heats up, Wii Sports Resort is as much fun to watch as it is to play. First-time players will find it easy to pick up a Wii Remote and jump into the action.
• Wii Sports Resort takes place on a tropical island. A wide range of activities will keep players coming back for one more round. Some sample activities include Sword Play, Power Cruising (racing a water scooter) and Disc Dog, which involves accurately tossing a disc to a cute, Mii-like dog.
