Unlike E3, the Games Convention held in Leipzig seems to be growing stronger rather than diminishing in both attendance and overall presence in the industry. The Games Convention is beginning to become the new E3 in ways, even without Nintendo’s presence at the event. The increasing success of the show has already led to an announcement that the event will return next year. Leipzig 2009 is scheduled to run from August 19th to August 23rd. I wonder if we’ll see another huge unveiling like House of the Dead: Overkill.
It seems these days, everyone wants to put their hands on a Nintendo Wii. For months upon months, the system sells out and believe it or not, still manages to do so in many areas. A few months back, we learned that Queen Elizabeth II had a blast with the system. Perhaps it is for that reason that prompted Miley Cyrus to add the Wii to her birthday list.
“Cyrus also revealed the gifts she’s hoping for, which include a puppy, Nintendo Wii and a new car,” noted actressarchives.
Sigma Harmonics (DS) – 15k
Haruka-naru Toki no Naka de: Yume Uki-Hashi (DS) – 15k
Tokyo Majin Gakuen Kenpucho (DS) – 8k
J-League Winning Eleven 2008 Club Championship (PS2) – 40k
Street Fighter IV – 9
Too Human – 6
Stalker: Clear Sky – 7
Facebreaker – 3
Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise – 7
Wario Land: The Shake Dimension – 6
PixelJunk Eden – 7
GW: Retro Evolved 2 – 9
Dragon Quest IV – 8
Space Siege – 4
Strong Bad’s Cool Game – 4
Siren Ep 4-12 – 8
Ratchet and Clank Quest for Booty – 8
Metal Slug 7 – 6
Rhythm Tengoku Gold – 7
Civ Rev (DS) – 7
“The whole idea for the game was for the casual market. But as we went on, we realized that there weren’t any first-person shooters on the market with good graphics on the Wii. I think a lot of developers that make FPSs on the Wii say, ‘let’s do this so [the player] can use the Wii shooter’ And it doesn’t work. You lose half your control. So when we did it, we said ‘let’s use [the controls] for what [they] were intended for.’ The nunchuck has the throw grenade [command] on it. For a while it was crazy, the sensitivity on the Wii is almost a nightmare. At first if you scratched your nose or turned around if someone came in the room, you would throw grenades. We got the sensitivity on that, so it’s brilliant. It’s almost second nature now. You don’t throw the grenade unless you want to…We use the Wii motion to some degree. A lot of games use it, and it’s kind of annoying. What we tried to do is really incorporate the easy [motions]. We don’t have any of the pull back or push forward ones. But we did a little bit of the twist, but it’s subtle…A lot of our weapons have a horizontal path. If you move the Wiimote to the left and right you are actually changing your reticule and the way the bullets travel. You can slice through the air and different directions. Little stuff like that really takes first-person shooters to the next level on the Wii.” – Micah Skaritka, designer for The Conduit
I really love how High Voltage Software is aware of the right level of balance of motion a game should have. Too much waggle, just as Skaritka mentioned, can definitely be way more bothersome than innovative.
* Paying special attention towards making the game one of the most graphically stunning titles on the Wii, Quantum of Solace: The Game is filled with armed combat, massive explosions and vertigo-inducing chases. Gamers are further drawn into epic movie moments with theatrical camera angles, split screen effects, picture-in-picture sequences, and visually stunning real world locations such as Montenegro, Venice, Bolivia and Austria.
* Players fully immerse themselves into the Bond universe utilizing controls designed specifically for the Wii. Players may choose to use the unique Wii Remote and Nunchuk control scheme to seamlessly target and engage their enemies or they can leverage the Wii Zapper to truly step into the shoes of James Bond.
* Bringing James Bond to the Wii for the first time, gamers now have the ability to battle their friends in online multiplayer battle. Players can also engage with up to four players in split screen local multiplayer games, a mode that is exclusive to the Wii platform.
Capcom’s Christian Svensson has given gaming fans a slight update on Monster Hunter 3 and Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop for Wii. Svensson isn’t willing to talk about localization for Monster Hunter 3, but has given further details as to why the game moved from the PS3 to Nintendo’s console. “I can’t discuss the localization issues at this time. As for the decision to bring it to the Wii, I think there were many. I think it’s fair to say that CJ wanted to bring one of its premier franchises (possibly THE premier franchise when you look at the Japanese market) to the broader audience that the Wii represents. At least, that’s one of many variables that pushed it in that direction.”
Also, you might be curious as to why Capcom decided to port Dead Rising instead of Lost Planet. Well, once again, here’s Svensson’s answer: “Probably a number of reasons, not the least of which was Nakai-san’s interest in doing DR.”
Svensson additionally went on to discuss Chop Till You Drop, even explaining that there are surprises in store. “The goal, so far as I’m aware, is still 100 zombies on screen at once. I’ve yet to see that goal realized myself though. In any event, I think it’s fair to say that gunplay does play a larger role in CTYD than it did in the 360, owing to the RE4 aiming mechanics. That doesn’t mean there aren’t loads of DR mechanics too, it’s just the the balance does seem to have shifted somewhat. In any event, I think it’s fair to say that folks haven’t seen all of the surprises we have in store for the game, so I’ll have to ask for everyone’s continued patience until we’re a bit closer to release.”
