“So much emphasis has been put on the new control system that it often seems the controller is the platform,” says Cole. “It would probably not be a good thing for Nintendo if the Wii is defined mainly by its controller. The risk is that consumers have fun with the Wii controller for a few months, but the fad passes and they move back to their tried-and-true gameplay methods on a competing system.”
True, up to a point. Particularly since Sony unveiled the PS3 controller with its own motion-sensing tech inside, and UK firm In2Games revealed its GameTrak Fusion system, which promises Wii-mote like fun for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.
But the silver lining is that a.) more developers will be thinking of how to use motion-sensing innovatively in their games, which can only be a good thing, b.) the costs of developing these games for Wii will come down, or at least be spread across more platforms, and c.) it will hopefully spur Nintendo into upping the whizziness of its Wii-mote-enabled games.
You should all go out and buy Edge magazine this week. Not because they’ve stopped filling it with pretentious guff about new paradigms in interactive entertainment (while printing screenshots of the same old military/fantasy eye-candy). Because they haven’t.
But because it’s got a really good supplement all about Wii, which goes beyond the ‘what / when / how much’ basics and has a bunch of extra information and analysis of what Nintendo’s trying to do with Wii, and some of the cooler launch titles. Oh, and a big historical feature on The Legend Of Zelda, so you know what references to beard-stroke knowingly at when playing its Wii incarnation.
Donncha want one? Donncha, donncha donncha? This ‘Evolution’ t-shirt from Split Reason tracks the, ahem, evolution of the Nintendo controller from the NES right through to our beloved white pistol, the wiimote. One bone of contention, though - where is the freakin’ Virtual Boy controller? Just $17.95 of evolution fun, nekkid boys!
Nintendo quickly squashes rumours by confirming that its beefed-up Wii capable of playing DVDs won’t be released outside Japan. Spoilsports.
Lots of new info on Wii Pokemon, including the fact that you can use your DS as a wireless controller to play it. Coo.
Friend codes are dead! Long live… Wii numbers! One number per console, letting you add friends to your Wii’s address book and then vandalise their Animal Crossing village socially interact with them.
Nintendo UK boss confirms that Wii won’t be region-free. Spoilsport. *frantically cancels orders for obscure Japanese horse-racing sims*
Sega is maybe creating a new game for Wii. Nobody knows what, though. The campaign for first-person ChuChu Rocket 3D starts here…
Yes, I know that’s hardly an inspiring description, but that’s what it is. A ‘Blue Glow Card’, which is presumably a piece of card that glows, yes, blue with the word Wii on it. Is it an official product? What do you think… Anyway, if you want one to spice up your mantelpiece while waiting for Wii to go on sale, it’ll set you back £6.
Bah, and there I was saving the pennies for a cherry-red or Burberry-patterned Wii console. Nintendo has confirmed that the company won’t be releasing non-white Wiis in the near future, although it will give the Wii-mote controllers a lick of paint, to help friends tell whose controller is whose allegedly (or just to spark arguments over who has to play with the girly pastel-shaded one).
The Wii-mote is made for sword-fighting: I’ll sell my parrot to buy the first piratical game that comes out for Nintendo’s console. But in the meantime, here’s video footage of Red Steel, a first-person shooter which involves guns and swords.
There’s a bit too much cowardly hiding-behind-pillars going on in the first part of the video, but an inset shows you how the player is waving the Wii-mote to make it all happen – including the comical left-hand-waggle to reload.
But it gets really good around 3 mins 45 seconds in, when the action shifts to a sword fight. I love the way your vision mists up when you get hit. Anyway, click below to watch.
IGN has a big Nintendo Wii FAQ with absolutely everything you’d want to know. Well, except how to rescue the seventh dragon on the fifth level of Mario without dropping the princess. But I’m sure they’re working on it.
…but Wired love it! And obviously, Wired is the respectable always-right older statesman of the pair, so I’m with them. Except when they bang on about cybernetics. Then it’s a load of old bollocks.
Boo! Nintendo says six million Wiis by the end of March 2007 might not be enough to meet demand. Cue thousands of fanboys buying tents, staking out Oxford Street pavement.
It’s good to see people getting creative with the Wii’s styling, before they’ve even got their hands on one. Check the YouTube video below: it’s got a selection of customised Wiis (with a suitable soundtrack). I could quite fancy getting my hands on the 007 or Animal Crossing themed ones, although I’m not so sure about the Burger King and KFC models…
Obviously, this is someone clever with a copy of Photoshop, but who knows, we could see some of these designs (at least, the ones that don’t involve changing the controller shape into a piece of fried chicken) make it to the shops as accessories.
Regular posts where I suspend all semblance of critical aloofness in favour of jumping up and down shouting ‘LOOK AT THAT! LOOK AT THAT!’ before dribbling all over the keyboard. In other words, cool screenshots of new Wii games.
First up is Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2. Cor. More shots are after the jump.
Fed up with hearing about the Wii-mote? You’re not alone. Analyst David Cole, from DFC Intelligence says that the fuss around Nintendo’s innovative controller could be dangerous for Wii.
You should all go out and buy 
Donncha want one? Donncha, donncha donncha? This ‘Evolution’ t-shirt from Split Reason tracks the, ahem, evolution of the Nintendo controller from the NES right through to our beloved white pistol, the wiimote. One bone of contention, though - where is the freakin’ 
Yes, I know that’s hardly an inspiring description, but that’s what it is. A 
It’s good to see people getting creative with the Wii’s styling, before they’ve even got their hands on one. Check the YouTube video below: it’s got a selection of customised Wiis (with a suitable soundtrack). I could quite fancy getting my hands on the 007 or Animal Crossing themed ones, although I’m not so sure about the Burger King and KFC models…
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