Rss Feed
Tweeter button
Facebook button
Technorati button
Reddit button
Myspace button
Linkedin button
Delicious button
Digg button
Stumbleupon button
Newsvine button
Youtube button

Nintendo Archive

Details on NBA Jam for the Wii

By
Chip Loan
Published: 01/18/2010Tags: , , , ,

Earlier this week  word spread that EA Sports was working on a Wii version of the über successful basketball game NBA Jam from back in the day. If you were like me than your imagination went postal trying to conjure up what the new game will look like. Well you can give your brain a break and take a gander at the image posted above. It’s a capture given to Nintendo Power by EA Sports.

From the scan you can see that the game will still have the zany, over-the-top feel of the original. The player models will feature 3D bodies with 2D heads, which are pretty much photographed faces pasted onto the bodies.

Here’s more info from a reader on NeoGAF who read the actual article in Nintendo Power:

Read the rest of this entry »

Bookmark and Share

Netflix is coming to the Wii

By
Chip Loan
Published: 01/13/2010Tags: , , ,

The most popular console on the planet has jumped on the Netflix gravy train…albeit months behind the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3.

It was announced today in the New York Times that Netflix and Nintendo have reached an agreement setting the stage for a spring release of the service on the Wii, allowing Netflix subscribers to stream certain movies and TV shows on the console. Of course the Wii does not support HD streaming as of yet, but this announcement leads some industry insiders to believe that a HD version of the console will be announced sometime next year.

The service will require users to insert an “instant streaming disc” into the Wii much like the users of the Playstation 3 have to do already. The disc is free and will be provided by Netflix.

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime added that the addition of the Netflix service to the console was “a continuation of an effort to bring more and more entertainment to consumers who interact with the Wii.”

Bookmark and Share

TellTale Games: “iPhone is much more powerful than a Wii”

By
Chip Loan
Published: 07/31/2009Tags: , , , , ,
The Captain Obvious award of the day goes to a TellTale programmer who made that exact statement in the TellTale Games forums. Fans of the game “Tales of Monkey Island” had been complaining about framerate issues exeperienced in the WiiWare version of that game.
“The voices and textures are the way they are because we’re limited to 40 megs for WiiWare titles. The PC versions of our games are usually 150+ megs, and most modern games range anywhere from 1-10 gigabytes or more. Talk to Nintendo about this one.
Frame rate issues will probably get sorted out eventually, but keep in mind that the Wii is just not a powerful console. An iPhone is much more powerful than a Wii, even.”
You would think that he might take such a bold statement back after having some time to think about what he said. But alas no. In a follow up comment he stands by his previous comment and then proceeds to throw the DS under the bus as well.
“I stand by them. The Wii and DS are extremely underpowered and their popularity doesn’t remove the hardware limitations.”
Unfortunately Nintendo couldn’t be reached for comment, they were too busy counting all of their money.

tales-of-monkey-island-screenshot

The Captain Obvious award of the day goes to TellTale programmer Yare, who made that exact statement in the TellTale Games forums. Fans of the game “Tales of Monkey Island” had been complaining about framerate issues experienced in the WiiWare version of that game.

“The voices and textures are the way they are because we’re limited to 40 megs for WiiWare titles. The PC versions of our games are usually 150+ megs, and most modern games range anywhere from 1-10 gigabytes or more. Talk to Nintendo about this one.

Frame rate issues will probably get sorted out eventually, but keep in mind that the Wii is just not a powerful console. An iPhone is much more powerful than a Wii, even.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Bookmark and Share

The Conduit flopped – now what Nintendo?

By
Chip Loan
Published: 07/18/2009Tags: , ,

the_conduit

I feel for you Nintendo, I really do. For the past year you’ve really been trying to reel in those hardcore gamers but it just hasn’t happened. Not with MadWorld, House of the Dead: Overkill and now The Conduit. See a pattern here?

The Conduit, which was touted as the first hardcore FPS for the Wii flopped. Since its release on June 23 it has only managed to sell about 72,000 copies. Not the figures High Voltage  or Nintendo were looking for. It came in at number 25 on the sales chart and didn’t even break into the top five Wii titles.

Listen, I actually like the Wii. I think variety is the spice of life. People bought it because it would be fun for casual gaming. Period. You could turn it on, play Wii Sports for a little bit and be satisfied. So I’m not knocking the system. It is what it is. But are we the only ones that see that? Is Nintendo trying to break into a market that is out of it’s reach?

The Wii has come to a fork in the road. So where does Nintendo and it’s third party developers go from here? Do they continue trying to find the pulse of an elusive fan base? Or do they settle for the casual segment they made so popular and try to perfect it?

Bookmark and Share

E3 2009 poll results

By
Chip Loan
Published: 06/05/2009Tags: , , , ,

Earlier this week I ran a poll asking you the readers who you thought would have the best showing at this year’s E3 Expo. The results are in and I must say I’m a little surprised. It was a land side. Here are the results:

Nintendo came in last with 0 votes. No votes whatsoever. Although Nintendo didn’t have any “blockbuster” announcements this year, they did show off more of Wii Sports Resort and Wii Fit Plus which look like they will be a huge sellers. And they did profile Wii MotionPlus pretty dominantly throughout their press conference. Showing how they have improved motion controlling and hopefully creating a better overall Wii experience. But is it too late? Is the honeymoon over?

Second was Sony with 22% of the votes. Demos of Uncharted 2, God of War III and the highly anticipated MAG weren’t enough to boost Sony into first. Or anywhere near it for that matter. Maybe some of you were disappointed that Sony didn’t announce any price cuts for the Playstation 3 (I know I was).

And finally we have the big dog. Microsoft. Which grabbed 78% of your votes making it your number one choise by far. With big announcements like the integration of Twitter and Facebook onto Xbox Live, preveiws of Forza Motorsport 3, the announcement for Left 4 Dead 2, and of course the showcasing of one of E3’s biggest stories Project Natal it’s easy to see why so many of you sided with Microsoft.

Overall the real winners are us, the gamers. We have some real treats to look forward to in the coming months. Games and breakthroughs that will make this year one of the best years for gamers. Sounds good to me.

What were some of your favorite announcements/moments coming for E3 this year?

Bookmark and Share

Wii and DSi get makeovers in Japan

By
Chip Loan
Published: 06/04/2009Tags: , ,

Nintendo will be giving your eyes a break from that blah white Wii taking up space on your entertainment center. If you live in Japan that is.

On August 1 our Japanese gaming counterparts will be able to purchase the all new black Nintendo Wii. Along with the new shade of Wii, Nintendo will be releasing black accessories to match such as the Wiimote, Classic Controller Pro and Classic Controller. For you color coordinated types.

wii

Apparently Nintendo was in a festiv mood because they also decided to splash some new paint on the DSi as well. Available July 11 the new red DSi will let others know that you are cool, and you like red stuff.

dsi_red

There hasn’t been any mention of a North American or European release yet. I’m guessing you can count on one a few months down the road. A holiday treat perhaps?

Bookmark and Share

Nintendo’s Wii Sports Resort live demo

By
Chip Loan
Published: 06/02/2009Tags: , , , ,

The other major showcase during Nintendo’s E3 press conference besides the Wii Fit Plus was it’s demo of Wii Sports Resort. The game was originally announced at last years E3 Expo.

The game showcases the new Wii Motion Plus accessory that will be hitting store shelves later this year. Wii Motion Plus will make the movements you make with your Wiimote a lot more accurate and precise. Taking into account how the player is holding and waving the Wiimote. Vastly improving the players interactivity and motion controlling. Making it a more intuitive controller to use.

Where was this when the Wii was first released!?

You can view the demo below.

.

Bookmark and Share

Nintendo’s Wii Fit Plus

By
Chip Loan
Published: 06/02/2009Tags: , , ,

Today Nintendo spent the majority of it’s press conference time at E3 to talk about it’s new Wii Fit Plus. Improving on what made the original Wii Fit a success, the Wii Fit Plus promises to “enhance and reinvigorate” your workout.

Players will now be able to customize their workouts to their liking or pick from 20, 30 and 40 minute routines. In addition to the activities available with the original Wii Fit, players will also be able to choose from new activities such as Skateboarding and Rhythm Kung Fu. Eat your heart out Billy Blanks.

Click the jump to see Nintendo’s full list of features for the Wii Fit Plus.

Read the rest of this entry »

Bookmark and Share

Let the E3 over-hyping begin…

By
Chip Loan
Published: 04/28/2009Tags: , , ,

Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo all spit out press releases today to make you think they are going to change the world at E3 2009 in June.

Here’s what they had to say:

Microsoft:

“Microsoft is gearing up for a big presence at E3 which will completely transform how people think about home entertainment,” said Don Mattrick, senior vice president for the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. “We’re excited about the momentum that is building in the industry in anticipation of our June 1st media briefing, which will kick off E3 in blockbuster style.”

Sony:

“Sony Computer Entertainment America is looking forward to another great showing at this year’s E3 Expo,” commented Jack Tretton, president and CEO, SCEA. “The audience of North American-based and foreign media and key industry partners makes E3 Expo an ideal place for us to unveil the latest PlayStation news and products at our press event on June 2.”

Nintendo:

“Nintendo has been a long time attendee of E3 and it has our full support,” said Reggie Fils-Aime, president and COO, Nintendo of America. “E3 brings a wide variety of key audiences into contact with products from many companies, including Nintendo. It’s the place where creativity is on display, and as a ‘sneak peak’ for our entire industry it helps generate excitement for gamers around the world.”

Way to play it conservative Microsoft. Unless you unveil some kind of warp drive technology or a time machine, I’m going to be thoroughly disappointed. 

This years expo will have over 150 companies showing you what they have lined up for the coming year. I was a little dissapointed with last year’s E3 so let’s hope they have something up their collective sleeves for this year. The expo will run from June 2-4 at the L.A. Convention Center. 

Check out the official E3 site for more details.

Bookmark and Share

Wii Ghostbusters trailer

By
Chip Loan
Published: 04/19/2009Tags: , ,

 VE3d posted the debut trailer for the Wii version of Ghostbusters. As usual don’t expect any mind blowing graphics, it’s the Wii version after all. You’ll notice they went in a different direction with the character models then they did for the PS3 and the 360. They look a lot more “Incredibles” then they do “Ghostbustery”. Yeah I just made that up.

The game could have a potentially high fun factor if they make good use of the Wii’s motion controls. We’ll all find out on June 16 when it releases.

Via VE3D.

Bookmark and Share

Does anybody still play their Wii!?

By
Chip Loan
Published: 04/18/2009Tags: ,

 The guys over at The Game Reviews have a good article asking why the Wii still seems to be selling like low grade meth. I haven’t been able to wrap my mind around it either. Maybe it was all those news stories about how the Wii could get your fat ass into shape. Or how it’s been a great addition to nursing homes across the country. But reality sets in and the fat people are still fat and the old people would rather drool on themselves and stare at the wall then pick up their Wiimotes anymore…

Check out the full story here.

Bookmark and Share
Page 1 of 11