Gamernode: Latest Wii News

Mario Kart Wii uses GCN, Classic controllers, too

For those of you who have been worrying that the tilt controls of the upcoming Mario Kart Wii (a la ExciteTruck) might not be your cup of tea, fear not! According to a 1UP preview, the game will feature three other control schemes for the fundamentalist in you.

Besides the Wii wheel players can choose to use a Wiimote/Nunchuk combo, the Wii classic controller, or a Gamecube controller. Just as with Super Smash Bros Brawl, Nintendo hasn't forgotten their hardcore fanbase - those grown accustomed to the controls of past games and would rather not make the switch.

There were some prior clues that this was going to happen, but now the proof is in the pudding. I'm pleased to read this, because I simply don't know which control setup I would like the most. It's always nice to have options. Do...

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Pandemic loves the Wii. No plans yet

Recently acquired Pandemic (by EA) is hard at work on their new Mercenaries 2 and Saboteur games, both being featured on present gen sytems. Even though Pandemkc president, Josh Resnick, has no plans at the moment for releasing games on the Nintendo Wii, he tells Next-Gen that he "loves" the platform.

"Pandemic has had a long-standing tradition of being multiplatform, and we're going to continue to do that," Resnick told Next-Gen in a recent interview. "Other than that, we don't have any other big announcements. But we love the platform."

He mentions details on development for the Nintendo Wii--that it won't just be poor ports from 360 or PS3 titles. "If and when we start working on [Wii] we're not going to make the mistake of just trying to port things over to it. We're going to do someth...

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February 18th Virtual Console releases

Well look what we have here. This week's Virtual Console update features two excellent classic gaming experiences in Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom for the NES and Phantasy Star II for the Sega Genesis. Today, my Wii gets a pat on the controller ports for a job well done.

Ninja Gaiden III is the final entry in the original Ninja Gaiden Trilogy, and although it doesn't quite match up to the second game in the series, it is still a fine (and difficult) action game. Phantasy Star II, on the other hand, was the first 16-bit addition to the classic franchise, and is considered by many to be among the best games of all time. If you appreciate these sorts of games, either one of today's releases is worth checking out.

From the press release:

Ninja Gaiden™ III: The Ancient S...

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Can PS3 and Wii sales overtake X360 sales in 2008?...

I usually don't heed what analysts or research firms predict regarding the gaming industry because real results can change at the drop of a hat. But they always tend to grow into good conversation pieces so with that said, research firm iSuppli released some facts with Reuters on how PS3 and Wii sales will overtake Xbox 360 sales by the end of 2008.

According to iSuppli, worldwide sales of the PS3 are expected to hit 10 million this year, while worldwide sales of the Wii and Xbox 360 will hit 12.2 million and 7.5 million respectively.

While the PS3 will appear as the underdog and overtake the Xbox 360, analysts are suspecting that the Wii will be the runaway success this year - at this stage, the Wii will hit 30.2 million units. In the month of January, the Wii was the best-selling console ...

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Nintendo to US: Please tell other countries to sto...

Today, Nintendo of America has asked the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to encourage governments around the world to take a more aggressive stance against the piracy of Nintendo's games and systems. They filed it under a "Special 301" process, which is when the U.S. Trade Representative solicits input from the public to find areas of concern.

Recently Nintendo has been working with governments to crack down on piracy (their stings in several countries are evident of that). According to Nintendo of America's senior director of anti-piracy, Jodi Daughtery, Big N estimates that "...in 2007, Nintendo, together with its publishers and developers, suffered nearly $975 million USD worldwide in lost sales as a result of piracy."

No word yet on what the Trade Representative will say in res...

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Smash Bros Brawl sells 1 million in 11 days

Hotcakes, what?

Super Smash Bros Brawl has become the fastest selling Wii game to date, reaching the "1 million sold" mark in just 11 days on Japanese store shelves. More precisely, Reuters reports that the game has shifted 1.08 million copies, citing numbers given by Japanese magazine publisher Enterbrain.

It took Nintendo's Wii Fit seven weeks to reach that milestone, said Enterbrain. Wii Sports required 11 weeks to do the same.

One has to wonder just how quickly the game will sell in North America, where Smash Bros. is arguably a much hotter property than in Japan.

Whatever the outcome, let this serve as a reminder to Nintendo: give fans what they want, and they will give you lots of money.

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February 11th Virtual Console releases

Sometimes Virtual Console releases have a common theme between them, and sometimes they don't.  Today, it's obvious that they go together like peas and carrots.  One centers around farming, and the other is a fantasy shooter featuring a badass knight in magical armor who blasts elemental magic at his enemies.  So, today's theme is clearly the elements.

Harvest Moon for the Super Nintendo was the starting point for Natsume's classic franchise, which hasn't taken much of a break since it got started in 1996. Lords of Thunder takes the shooter genre and gives it a whole new look. There is nary a reference to outer space in this game, but there is a flying knight who's on a quest to...you know...destroy evil, and stuff. Both are great games, and definitely worth a look.

Read on for the officia...

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Use your Gamecube controller in Mario Kart Wii

Earlier, I reported on Famitsu magazine's latest bundle of new details about Nintendo's second big Wii title of this year, Mario Kart Wii.

If you missed it, or are to lazy to go back to that story, then here's the scoop: Mario Kart Wii will feature 32 tracks, 12-player online multiplayer, and boost-granting mid-air tricks.

What wasn't mentioned in the other story is that players will apparently be able to use Gamecube controllers to steer their mascot-stuffed go-karts. This revealing scan from the pages of Famitsu shows a big, green A button and small, red B button in the game's on-screen menu. Being that the Wii-mote and nunchuk are made of white and clear plastics, I think it is safe to assume that these indicators refer to the colorful Gamecube controller, which is a nice option. Var...

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Spielberg game named, due in May - first trailer i...

The first game to come out from the epic duo of Electronic Arts and Steven Spielberg is slated to hit shelves in May, and the two announced yesterday that it will now unfortunately be known as Boom Blox. Boom Blox is an exclusive puzzle game for the Wii that will have "more than 300 levels, a cast of more than thirty wacky characters, and an easy-to-use in-game editor."

Here's more info on the game from EA's press release:

"Fun for kids and the entire family, BOOM BLOX offers action-packed interactive activities that takes Wii play to a new level of creativity and fun with single player, co-op, and versus gameplay. Players can experience the visceral gameplay - perfectly suited for the Wii's interactive motion-sensitive controls - through brain-twisting challenges. They can interact with ent...

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No online worlds for the Wii

Rumors once floated on the internet of a MMO game based on Animal Crossing. It has the qualities of a MMO, but how exciting could it really be? Nintendo president Satoru Iwata was questioned recently about if any type of online gaming for the Wii will be released in the future and here is what he said.

"The virtual-world services out there now still aren't at a place where we'd like to join in, and certainly not to the point that we'd want to jump into competition with everybody else. We'd rather focus on doing things that nobody else would do."

He continues to say, "so even if we were to make a virtual-world-like product, we'd be sure to make it something that nobody would call it a product similar to another company's offering." What is with Iwata and this infatuation with these"gimicky t...

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Mario Kart Wii to have 32 tracks, mid-air tricks

That Famitsu magazine sure is a treasure trove of information today! In addition to our earlier report regarding the cast of Street Fighter IV, the Japanese publication also has quite a few new details regarding Nintendo's Mario Kart Wii.

According to Famitsu, the game will include 32 tracks, 16 of which will be brand new. The rest will be remakes of courses that have appeared in previous Mario Kart games throughout the years.  Players will be able to race on them in the game's 12-player online multiplayer mode, as well as in 4-player split-screen match-ups. Nintendo is even including the option to play as your very own custom Mii avatar.

Probably the most interesting news is that Mario Kart Wii will also feature...mid-air stunts!? These will apparently join the good old-fashioned power ...

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SuperVillain working on two Wii games?

According to the folks over at Kotaku, SuperVillain Studios may very well be hard at work on two unnamed Wii titles, at least one of which they hope to have on store shelves by the end of the year.

The subject matter of the two titles is currently unknown, but judging by the developer's past efforts, I feel it's safe to assume that one of them will be some sort of downhill bandicoot racing sim, set in a medieval-themed fantasy world (they did work on Crash of the Titans, Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam, and Dungeon Siege: Throne of Agony, after all).

The company has reportedly been increasing their numbers lately, building the manpower necessary to complete these two projects in a timely manner.

Whatever these mystery games turn out to be, GN will be sure to keep you posted.

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February 4th Virtual Console releases

After last week's solo show, Nintendo's Virtual Console is back to deliver two new classic games to the gaming community. This time around, we have an anti-terrorist commando squad in an on-rails cursor-based FPS and a traditional things-fall-from-the-sky-into-a-box-while- players-try-to-manipulate-them-properly-in-order-to- succeed sort of puzzle game that adds a few new strategic elements to the formula. Neither game is exceptionally breathtaking, but if you've got Wii points to burn, feel free to do some downloading.

Read on for the official descriptions from Nintendo:

OPERATION WOLF™ (NES®, 1 player, Rated E10+ for Use of Tobacco and Violence, 500 points): A group of desperate terrorists is keeping hostages in their jungle fortress. As a member of the elite tactical squad Operat...

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Smash Bros Brawl final smash montage

If you're having trouble waiting for Super Smash Bros Brawl to hit the streets, then the following video won't exactly make your task any easier. This four-and-a-half minute clip is a collection of final smash maneuvers, as performed by over a dozen of the game's combatants. All of these attacks are pretty impressive, but a few of them seem exceptionally deadly (i.e. the Samus Aran gigantic beam of death). Enjoy.

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Rock Band confirmed for Wii

Crammed within the EA's back-to-back news bulletins about game delays and financial results was the brief word that Rock Band will be heading to Wii. While a release date wasn't given, John Riccitiello, CEO of EA, hinted at a "coming launch" of the Wii version of Rock Band, so it could be sooner than we think.

Apparently this was hinted back in April 2007 when Alex Rigopulos, CEO of Harmonix, hinted that Rock may be heading to Wii.

At the time, he said, "We will, at some time, bring Rock Band to every platform. I think the Wiimote is something that holds enormous promise."

Interestingly enough, a Rock Band-like game is already heading to Wii called, appropriately enough, Wii Music. Unfortunately, it's heading to Japan sometime this year so a worldwide release may be further off than Rock Ban...

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How much would you pay for Smash Bros Brawl?

Would you pay $240? Well that's the price that some folks are willing to pay according to this ebay auction. The recent mass sellouts of SSBB in Japan are leading to the same acts of extortion seen during console launches. I don't blame the guys for trying to make an extra buck.

This seems like a big misunderstanding to me or something. I can't help but think that maybe the inside of the case is filed with cocaine or something and this is all part of a giant smuggling ring. The drug smugglers probably sniveled at the genius of their plan thinking, "No one would ever pay this much for a videogame, no one will ever figure out our plot!" But they obviously didn't know any Nintendo fanboys.

Seriously folks, is one month of waiting really so bad that it's worth it to pay an extra $200 (shipping ...

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Super Smash Bros. Brawl shortages are real

For all the innovation that Nintendo can kick out, how is it that the company still can't handle a simple problem such as having enough units of a product to sell come launch day?

If the lack of Wiis wasn't bad enough, there are now reports coming in that the launch of Super Smash Brothers Brawl is hitting the import scene hard. Sites like PlayAsia are only promising between fifteen to twenty-five percent of the original pre-orders being filled--with a rumored wait being well into February.

Other sites are saying the lack of games is not as bad as it may seem, and the delay of units may only stretch until the weekend.

Let's hope. Now I like Nintendo, but this is getting ridiculous. The shortage of Wiis is understandable because from what I hear, making hardware is not the quickest thing t...

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Third-party developers shouldn't fear the Wii

Even though the Wii has been selling like hotcakes, some fears arose that only Nintendo is enjoying the success of the console, while third-party Wii game developers are getting the short end of the stick; recently, these comments were echoed by Codemasters' CEO Rod Cousens.

But never fear, Nintendo responded to these claims that Nintendo's first-party games are nabbing all the spotlight; over on Developmag, the big N use the reasoning that since they have both hardware and software development teams under its roof, collaboration between the two teams was inevitable.

"When we develop new hardware at Nintendo, we do so as collaboration between the hardware development teams and the software development teams. Our software sales percentage is currently high because our internal teams know the ...

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Nintendo dismisses Mario Kart rumors

Nintendo Wii fans are in need of a good Mario Kart game for their beloved system, but unfortunately they'll have to wait until Q2 2008 rolls along. An Australian based Nintendo Wii website recently released new information on the game, which Nintendo was quick to debunk.

NMag, an Aussie-Nintendo Gamepro magazine claimed that Mario Kart Wii would feature 32 courses - half of which will be brand new, half old favorites. 

The magazine also believes that both Baby Peach and Boo will appear as drivers, the ability to "snake" will make a comeback, an online Battle Mode feature and controls similar to those in Excite Truck. According to a Nintendo spokesman, "Nintendo has not announced any further information on Mario Kart. We've spoken to the magazine and it's just pure rumour and speculation on ...

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Make your own Wii Zapper. Impress your friends

Okay, maybe you're one of the many who feel the crunch of the constant burden of having to shell out money to buy accessories for your game consoles. Well one entrepreneurial design/art student has found a way to beat "The Man" by designing his very own DIY Wii Zapper.

It may take you an afternoon or so to put this project together but think of the possibilities of showing this little device off and gaining the respect and adulation of your friends and family. In reality, maybe that won't happen but you will have a pretty nice conversation piece next time your buddies come over to play Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles or Manhunt 2.

Chung Dha, the designer of the homemade Wii Zapper, used readily available materials to construct the Zapper. If you really want to try this out, the templates...

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