Nintendo’s Autumn Conference Wrap Up
October 12th, 2007
With the University year coming to a close I have been run off my feet with work left right and centre. I just don’t have the time to think up ideas for my usual gaming essays. So lately the news has been a great resource for geting ideas pumping.
Unfortunately last week wasn’t overally interesting. Thankfully the announcements over the past few days have been a god send, literally flooding my out with creative ideas. With a slew of great releases, Syphon Filter and Final Fantasy Tactics both going fairly well on the PSP and this rumoured bomb shell announcement by Capcom, there are so many possibilities to write about.
But for today I am going to wrapping up Nintendo’s Autumn Conference as there is such a large volume of content to waddle through. The announcements made at here really should have happened at E3, I guess they just weren’t ready. So lets get on with it
Wii Ware takes Centre Stage
It was clear that the Wii Ware announcements dominated this event. Nintendo showed off a number of strong 1st and 3rd party content for the new service. Overall its a pretty impressive list:
- Pokemon Farm
- Minna de Puzzloop
- Dr. Mario & Bacteria Extermination
- Moji Pittan Wii
- Maruboushikaku
- Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Young King and the Promised Land
- Star Soldier R
- Okiraku Ping Pong Wii
What was even more impressive was that Iwata stated that they have had around 100 game ideas put forth for the service that is launching in March 2008(Japan).
I just want to elaborate on some of these titles.
- Pokemon Farm = Pokemon Box(GCN) with some neat Mii integration
- Minna de Puzzloop is a Wii version of Magnetica
- Dr. Mario & Bacteria Extermination features Mii integration and Wifi play
- Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Young King and the Promised Land is an RTS-esque title, where you build your own country, this is a WiiWare exclusive sold for 1,500 Wii points
- Okiraku Ping Pong Wii is made by Arcsoft, the guys behind Guilty Gear
Extra Media
Pokemon Farm – Video| Screens
Final Fantasy CC – Video | Screens
Dr Mario – Screens
Minna de Puzz Loop – Screens
Maruboushikaku – Screens
More Wii Channels, downloadable DS demos and more!
It seems as though Nintendo is starting to get the message when it comes to online play. With Wifi included in games like Smash Bros and Dr Mario, the online connection is slowly (but surely) improving.
Although Nintendo didn’t announce any real online infrastructure for upcoming Wii titles they did announce some useful Wii channel
information. Firstly they are revamping the Everybody Votes Channel to now include ratings for various game titles. Users can go through, rate games and find out what games best suit their taste. The Mii Contest Channel was also announced, this is the Mii beauty contest channel that Miyamoto briefly suggested at E3. But the real news comes from the new Everybody’s Nintendo Channel. This channel allows users to download DS game demos via their Wii. Finally they are getting the message!
New Games Announced
Monster Hunter 3 for Wii
This announcement seems to have been quite overlooked by Wii fans which is a real surprise. The Monster Hunter series is huge in Japan, even more so this game was removed from the PS3 and brought over to the Wii. This definetly highlights Capcom’s once questioned dedication to the Wii. So far only a short clip and a screenshot have been released.
Fire Emblem DS
This really isn’t much of a surprise. The new Fire Emblem is sporting a new look. Firstly the ap is now brought to life with a lovely textured 3D look. Sprite shading effects have been used to add a little depth to the characters. It also appears as though the face portraits are a bit more high res. So its a similar graphical upgrade the Advance Wars Dual Strike but only better.
Kousoku Card Battle Card HeroThis title sparked my attention, its a card battler made by Intelligent Visions and Nintendo. Looks like we now kno what Intelligent Visions are up to:
- Kousoku Card Battle Card Hero
- Fire Emblem DS
- Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
Super Mario Stadium Baseball for Wii
Once again, another updated installment in the sporting franchise.
Kirby Ultra Super Deluxe
Yup, new Kirby platformer for the DS.
New Information for Upcoming titles
Sonic in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
I have been doing my best to not think about this game. Its just the fanboy following, it really offends me. In anycase, with the recent inclusion of Solid Snake(which got me very hot), I have had no choice but to stand up and pay attention.
Along with Snake we’ll be seeing Sonic, thats right after years of rumours its finally true. Its a pity that poor Sonic’s credibility had to plunge so low before this was announced. With Smash Bros, Sonic Rush 2 and Mario and Sonic at the Olympics this may be another come back.
An online co-operative mode was metioned and two new trailers released. One being for Sonic and the other a general trailer show casing some of the adventure mode of the game(which looks pretty sweet). Although one of the biggest announcements was the Japanese delay, pushing the game back to early 2008. This announcement was followed with the announcement of an American delay till February 10th 2008 at Nintendo’s Media Summit.
General Trailer | Sonic Trailer | Delay | Hands on(Media Summit)
Mario Kart with Motorcycles
Thats right the new Mario Kart game will support the option for motor cycles. Initially this sounded pretty retarded but after watching the clip it looks to be pretty neat. The game will also come bundled with a steering wheel mold.
Wii Fit and Wii Music
Miyamoto participated in another Wii Fit demonstration, he seems pretty apt about this title. With this he annonced that the game will cost 8,800 yen and be released on the 12/1. Some gameplay video was also shown of Wii Music.
Advance Wars named, screened and dated
Unfortunately not much was said about the new Advance Wars(again) but not much really needed to be said..I guess. The game has a more ‘realistic’ graphical style as it and has been named Advance Wars: Days of Ruin set for an American release on January 21, 2008. Check out the screens.
More Screens for Mario Part DS
Conclusion
Man, so many announcements in such a short time. Overall I think that Nintendo have covered excellent ground, everything from changes to the Wii channel(that actually sound impressive) to new games for all consoles and services. This really is what Nintendo needed at this years E3. But its good to know that these announcements eventually did come.
Gory ManHunt 2 Wii Skin
October 8th, 2007
While I was cruising through my RSS feeds I found this fantastic ManHunt 2 skin for the Wii. I love it because its a stark contrast to the other Wii skins that are out there on the market. Check it out:
Are you a Betting Gamer?
October 7th, 2007
If you’ve noticed my latest MSN messenger screen name(don’t worry, its changed already) then you might be strangely curious as to what it may mean. Here’s the screen name:
dp- SFA3 Betting Record = Dan +4 Beers || Chris 0 Beers ^^UNBEATABLE!!^^
What this is refering to is the betting system that I have with my twin brother in Street Fighter Alpha 3. SFA3 is such a well balanced title with no bias, it requires skill and hard work to master hence making it an awesome choice for competition.
Competition by itself would be useless without something at stake. So to heighten the drama we place bets on our winnings. Most of our play time is spent practicing, we use this time to talk about how our day was and to just warm up. When we are ready, we will choose a match to play for and then thrash it out.
Short matches just aren’t worth playing, so we set the max round limit to 5 which is the highest we can go. First one to get to 3 rounds won wins the bet.
The way we tally the winnings is by the winner’s difference. So for example, I was on 4 wins(thats 4 straight wins ;)) and then just the other day that increased to 5. Now today we had two bets and unfortunately my winning streak was over, I lost both matches. So then the score went down to:
Dan +3 – Chris 0
This way its easy to balance out who is the leader. When we began this bet, I lost 3 bets in a row. Then over a month or so the tides turned and I got up to my 5+ winning steak. Overall we probably place about 2 bets a week.
My brother and I love placing bets because it brings out the best of our talent. And to be honest its the only game that I have been playing lately. I’ve been too busy with work and haven’t been bothered picking up anything else. I think that I’ll wait until my latest online purchases come through before I start anything else.
There is only one consequence for our betting, our poor thumbs. Week in an week out we are left with less skin on our thumbs than the week before. Its not healthy. So we have both mutually agreed to do our best to pick up a pair of arcade sticks to relieve the pain.
So what about you and your friends/family? Do you place bets in games and if so what for? For my brother and I beer is our betting currency. What games do you play competitively with?
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