The PSP and DS have become long-established portable gaming devices. It has only been considerably recent that the iPod Touch became a competing system. However, Steve Jobs is trying to make a case that it’s the best portable device for gaming. “Now you can make a pretty good argument that it is the best portable device for playing games on – and a whole new class of games.”
Update: There seems to be some uncertainty about whether this news applies to the 360 or Wii version. The actual question posed to Svensson was, “So if the wii ends up fitting about 100 zombies on screen, wouldn’t it mean that it would be on par with the 360 in terms of number?” Christian Svensson may have indeed been referring to the original game, though again, it’s still not crystal clear. Either way, the Wii version is still supposed to have a large number of zombies and as has been stated by the developers before, they are aiming for 100 in the final version. We’ll have to see how things play out.
The zombie count in Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop has been an element of both mystery and uncertainty. No one really knows for sure how many enemies will be present in the Wii version of Dead Rising. Capcom’s Christian Svensson is taking on the case, however, and is willing to enlighten fans about the zombie count. “Take the car underground, day 2-3, run em down.. you’ll see several hundred rendered in scene,” he said. “I can’t quote you exact numbers because I don’t know what they are. But it’s a hell of a lot.”
I’m sure we’re not going to see a ton of enemies every instant throughout the entire game, but in other areas, there’s going to be a very respectable amount.
Nintendo has released the DS and Wii in most countries around the world, but India is one particular exception. Two out of the three next-gen consoles are available in India, but not the Wii or even DS. Nintendo will be changing this on September 30th when they launch both systems. The Wii will be priced at INR 19,990 INR 7,990 for the DS.
I noticed that someone else was kind enough to post a summary of IGN’s Nintendo Voice Chat podcast. There’s a few interesting bits including news about Moon and Lock’s Quest.
Mystery Case Files MillionHeir:
-Good fit for DS.
-Appears to be going after Professor Layton audience, but in reality it’s a different beast.
-Easier than Professor Layton.
-Fairly casual game.
-You find items hidden in busy scenery.
-If you play the game a second time you’ll get different items to find, adding to the replay value.
-Score given: 7.7
-Positive impressions Little King Story. Health represents age. Lower health = older, grumpier, not as willing to follow commands. Lack of IR control though.
-NHL 2k9: Looks like “ass”, plays okay. Looks like first gen PS1 according to Bozon.
-”Some” company’s have Motion Plus development kits. They can’t say who though, as it might ruin relationships (in other words, they’re avoiding another Factor 5-Kid Icarus incident).
-Star Wars: The Force Unleashed: 360/PS3 versions are more like tech demos while Wii version is more like a game. Only downside mentioned is PS2/PSP graphics.
-Most hyped upcoming games of 2008 (on all consoles):
Bozon: Dead Space
Daemon: Prince of Persia
Craig: Animal Crossing: City Folk (hoping for it to be different from the DS/GC versions)
Matt: N/A
-On the topic of a one console future: Competition bring innovation. If there was ever only one console on the market, another console would just come out.
Interview with people from Lock’s Quest/Drawn to Life development team (5th Cell):
-There’s a possibility for Drawn to Life on consoles.
-No current Wii projects.
-There’s a new DS game from the creators of Drawn to Life and Lock’s Quest! The person being interviewed hyped it up quite a bit. He says it will be revealed next year.
Interview with people from Renegade Kid:
-Mastiff asked Matt for a quote about Moon. Matt gave them one saying that it’s similar to Metroid.
-Potential storyline twists in Moon.
-Moon runs at a solid 60fps.
-Wii Remote-esque aiming on DS? Could work pretty well but it’s not in the game currently.\
Just a quick note since I didn’t want to devote a whole post to this: I’m not going to be doing the IGN Nintendo Voice Chat summary at all this week. Hopefully I’ll be able to pick up on things again next week.
Devin Doss, of Seattle, throws a strike against Mario during the Seattle Mariners Sept. 5, 2008, home game. Fans had the opportunity to meet Mario and play his latest baseball game for Wii, Mario Super Sluggers. The game launched nationwide on Aug. 25. (Courtesy of Nintendo)
Nintendo’s Mario celebrates the launch of Mario Super Sluggers with Jetrin Wichienwidhtaya, of Seattle, by participating in the pre-game ceremony at the Seattle Mariners game at Safeco Field in Seattle on Sept. 5, 2008. Mario Super Sluggers is the first Mario baseball title for Wii and launched on Aug. 25, 2008. (Courtesy of Nintendo)
Local characters Mario and Mariner Moose celebrate the launch of Mario Super Sluggers with Jetrin Wichienwidhtaya, of Seattle, by participating in the pre-game ceremony at the Seattle Mariners game at Safeco Field in Seattle on Sept. 5, 2008. Mario Super Sluggers is the first Mario baseball title for Wii and launched on Aug. 25, 2008. (Courtesy of Nintendo)
Derek Freeman, of Falkland, British Columbia, reacts after winning a Wii and copy of Mario Super Sluggers at the Seattle Mariners game at Safeco Field in Seattle on Sept. 5, 2008. Mario Super Sluggers is the first Mario baseball title for Wii and launched on Aug. 25, 2008. (Courtesy of Nintendo)
Even though Super Smash Bros. Brawl has been a huge hit in both the eyes of critics and the marketplace, hardcore fans of the Smash Bros. series had been hoping that a few more unique characters would make the cut. Sure, there were plenty of acceptable characters in Brawl, but what about Geno from Super Mario RPG or even Mega Man? Although it’d be fair to assume that it is up to Capcom to decide whether or not to include the blue bomber in a Smash Bros. title, the ball is actually in Nintendo’s court. Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune was asked if we’ll see the well-known video game character in future iterations of the Smash Bros. series. He noted, “That is probably a question better suited for Nintendo than for Capcom. If they were to ask, I see no reason to say no. We’ll see what happens. ”
I can’t say this with 100% certainly, but I suppose that this means Nintendo never approached Capcom about including Mega Man in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It seems that Capcom – well, Inafune at least – would be up for adding Mega Man as a playable character in one of the Smash Bros. games.
Contrary to Nintendo’s previous statement on an Animal Crossing/WiiSpeak bundle, the company is now planning to package the two items together for $70. Rumors say that Animal Crossing: City Folk and WiiSpeak will be sold separately as well, so for those of you who don’t want to dish out the extra cash for WiiSpeak need not worry!
