Nintendo's Wii may get early launch

:dance:

Link

http://money.cnn.com/2006/07/05/commentary/column_gaming/index.htm


Full article

Industry observers expect company's new video game machine to launch before the PlayStation 3 - perhaps by a month or more.
Game Over is a weekly column by Chris Morris
July 5 2006: 11:32 AM EDT


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Nintendo has stated numerous times that its next generation video game machine will be less expensive than the competition. Now it appears that it might be on store shelves considerably earlier than many were expecting as well.
While Nintendo has not made any formal announcements about the launch date for the Wii, most of the industry has expected the machine to hit retail at approximately the same time as Sony's PlayStation 3 (which is set for November 17). Now, industry observers - and insiders - say they expect the system to be available in October, with late September a dark horse candidate.
Want more video game news and commentary? Click Mario Morris.Indeed, the company appears to be already manufacturing final retail units of the Wii, according to a June 21st analyst's note from P.J. McNealy of American Technology Research. That would give it a significant head start over Sony (Charts), which has yet to begin final manufacturing of the PlayStation 3. Microsoft's first Xbox 360 did not roll off the assembly line last year until 69 days before the on sale date of Nov. 22. (That late start in production is the root cause behind last holiday's shortages.)
"October is a reasonable timeframe," wrote McNealy.
Nintendo has downplayed any suggested dates. Other industry insiders, who asked not to be named, though, said they, too, are expecting a September or October launch for the Wii.
Early manufacturing will certainly help Nintendo do a better job of meeting consumer demand. New console launches traditionally sell out fast. Because of manufacturing problems, Microsoft (Charts) was not able to come anywhere close to meeting worldwide demand. Widespread shortages of the PlayStation 3 are also expected. Nintendo, like Sony, has given guidance that it expects to ship 6 million units by March 2007.
A pre-November launch wouldn't be an unusual move for the company. In fact, it was only with the GameCube that the company opted for a November release for a home system. The NES, which established the company as a force in the gaming space, was released in the U.S. on Oct. 18, 1985. The Nintendo 64 dropped on Sept. 29, 1996.
Pricing for the Wii remains a question mark, but the most likely price points are $199 or $249. That would put it considerably below the PS3, which will sell two versions for $499 and $599. Microsoft is not expected to cut the prices of the two versions of the Xbox 360, which currently cost $299 and $399.
That price would also be closer to the sweet spot for mainstream consumers, which the company has said is its primary target this generation. The Wii breaks many of the video game industry's traditional rules for a "next generation" console. Graphics on games that have been shown to media are not dramatically better than those found on GameCube games - and the system will not support high definition video, unlike its competitors who are using the move to HDTVs as a major part of their system. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has also vowed to keep game prices lower than the $60 price tag for many Xbox 360 games (a price that's expected to be mirrored for many PS3 titles).
The most unusual aspect of the Wii, however, is its controller, which resembles a television remote-control. Instead of worrying about which button or which thumbstick corresponds to which action, Wii players will simply move their hands and wrists. That movement is then translated into onscreen movements. The remote also features two prominent buttons where the player's thumb and forefinger will rest.
Nintendo also has yet to announce the full list of games that will launch alongside the Wii, though it has confirmed "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess" and "Metroid Prime 3: Corruption" - the latest installments in two of the company's premier franchises - will be available on day one. A new Mario game - "Super Mario Galaxy" - is deep in development, but will most likely come out after the Wii has launched.

 

Yeh I read it yesterday. HOpe it happens. Gives Nintendo a great lead actually. I think this generation is actually the only one where the earlier you put out your console the more successful you'll be. But we'll just have to wait and see about that....

 

Only problem is launch titles. The one big title everyone is looking to pick up is Twilight Princess, and Nintendo needs time to make it where the port works without problems from the Wii Remote. Not to mention MP3 and various other games.

 

To be honest I'd be surprised if Wii didn't launch with quite a lot of games, given its similarities to existing hardware. The real question is when the new Mario game will surface.

 

if nintendo wants to avoid the gamecube slowdown that ultimately made people lose interest and started the chain reaction, it needs to shell out a major title every month or so, or even twice a month.

 

Thats true. The Wii may be a blessing and a curse to Nintendo: Blessing because the lower graphics standards for the system allows developers to make a quality game in a fraction of the time it would a PS3/360 game, while the Wii remote means it may scare off some developers due to the higher time it takes to test the Wii remote for sensitivity (if they want to use it). As long as they have online support, low prices, and active developers, they should be fine.

 

As usual, it's all about the games. If Nintendo can convince enough third party developers to make games for the system, they'll be ok, without them they'll probably flounder like they did with Gamecube. There's no way they can kick out A list titles every month on their own. The easier development process should help.

 

with nintendo it is different than the other two companies. people who get a PlayStation or an XBOX expect quality third party games mostly. When it comes to SEGA and Nintendo consoles however, it's the classical and "magical" titles that the first/second party have to offer that lure in potential customers who may well own an XBOX or PS. As such the burden of nintendo to keep up with first/second party quality games and known franchises is greater than ever in my opinion.

I would say that the Gamecube kirby title (nowhere to be seen or heard of) should probably be beefed up and moved on the Wii, as well as MarioKart Wii and F-zero both need regular course/item/vehicle/mode/mission updates to keep things as "alive" as possible. The net offers an amazing range of live software compared to the "fully contained" games of previous generations,and XBOX LIVE has made that point well.

As usual nintendo needs to better their marketing as well, and especially in europe.

 

Nah, several developers have already say working with the remote is as simple as it could.

What could make what Barc0de said is the fact thats almost impossible to port a X360/PS3 to Wii, thus killing the multiconsole concept. Some of the last Xbox and PS2 games could be ported to Wii with no technical issues (and taking advantage of the remote).

Ninty better starts making games anf FAST...

 

Eh, I should have been a bit more specific. I was talking more on the lines of newer developers with lower staff counts and budgets wanting to use the motion sensor abilities then the older, more established ones who have more manpower and experience throughout the years who have a little bit more time to work out some of the kinks. Then again, a system's reputation isn't earned until the middle, so I am not sure what will come of the Wii.

 

I think that this is the first console launch that I can remember having a launch game that I actually want (Zelda). Having said that, I can almost guarantee that the game will be delayed an extra two months now...

 

they wouldn't dare delay Zelda further..

 

They'll just churn out a load of identi-kit franchise updates like Mario Party, Warioware, some kind of Mario-bastardised sport game (Baseball?) and meet the launch deadline no doubt.

I'd like to see a Pilotwings game using the new controller. Probably the only time it would sell in decent quantities would be around launch.

 

make mario galaxy the mario-saga a la super mario world , in 3d and watch systems fly off shelfs. of course with Zelda posing as an appetizer it's a safe bet to say that about 3-4 million system/games will be sold worldwide just for that. My only concern comes in the form that Zelda's visuals, impressive as they may be, may still give some bad mojo about the already underpowered graphical powerhouse of the Wii. Metroid Prime 3 not including bump-mapping gives me the same kind of breeze too.

About metroid however, the differences between the first Prime and the second one on gamecube were minimal at best. Most people who played both around me didn't even notice the supposed improvement of graphics. The e3 stuff of metroid prime 3 seems too gamecube-ish for my taste as of yet, and knowing there's surely more power than the cube packed, makes me wonder why this title shouldn't look at least as good as something like half-life 2 , doom 3 or even Black.

 

Im also worried Nintendo is going to delay Zelda further. I hope they don't.

 

They took their time this time around, I am pretty sure Zelda will be almost finished by now. It's their flagship title to launch Wii with (and to close the GameCube era), you can bet on it they will move people in from other teams if necessairy, to finish the game on time. The only problems now could be polish or bugs.

 

never bring new members to your programming team to finish your project.it will only slow you down , as seen in "the mythical Man-Month", a book that every project leader in software engineering i bet has read (and may tend to ignore nevertheless) It's a nice piece of work anyway, so I suggest to everone to get a copy if project leading is their thing.

anyway, regarding Zelda, its only coming out on the cube in the US, nowhere else. So get your copies while they re hot

 

what? are you sure? h:
did they say that recently.. b\c I havn't heard that before. sounds really strange imho.

 

No wai!!! I hope this is false.

 

As much as I hate GAME (UK retailer) they went to a sort of launch for the Wii

http://www.game.co.uk/lowdown.aspx?lid=6306

Full Article

Can`t wait!!!!

Nintendo Wii - London Test Day








A few years ago I took part in one of those focus group thingimawhoozits. It was that kind of function where a big medley of mixed corporate cahooneys and skint students all muddled together to dream up new megabucks-making ideas - in this case, for an especially well-known telecoms outfit. Amongst the myriad ideas dreamed up that day, was one, I thought, particularly impressive prospect: Playing, say, the drums in one country, and having the sound transported in real-time across a great expanse to an overseas band practice, using the all-sparkly powers of the ever-expanding magical world wide intraweb. Imagine the possibilities, eh?
Strangely, that was the first thing that came into my head watching the promo video for Nintendo's new console, the wondrous, wacky and weirdly monikered Wii. The association, however, was somewhat turned on its head; far from transporting sound across the world, it was the act of making the music itself which I'd previously not considered, that now seemed so fresh and unique that I positively ached to get my hands on the machine - for here, in front of me, in the trendiest of central London locations, on a plasma screen TV the size of Tunbridge Wells, were moving images of a well-dressed twenty something not unlike myself (you wish! - Ed), making quite the rhythmic racket playing air drums… holding no more than a pair of Nintendo Wii remotes.
That was it for me. Sold; hook, like and sinker. In that single moment I went from sceptic to believer, and found myself wanting the machine more than fruit-named puffy dress-wearing princesses long for short dumpy moustachioed plumbers in dungarees. I'm such a sucker for hype.
But you, the general games-buying public shouldn't be. You shouldn't be influenced by incidentals like concept footage of funky aspirational games-playing mannequins. You shouldn't, in all seriousness, let the sheer cool-factor of air drums influence your opinion either - and please, PLEASE, don't be swayed by silly salesy little slogans (according the Nintendo PR rep, Wii 'is not next-gen, but new-gen', folks!).
No. There's only one single thing you need to know about the Wii: That it's sheer, unadulterated, peerless and incalculable FUN - for kids of all ages… and we mean that right up to those grown-up kids with mortgages and half-pints of their own.

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The Games[/FONT]
Our hands-on with Nintendo's new machine lasted a good hour and a half - easily long enough to sample the delights of the on-display Wii Sports, Wii Warioware and two accompanying tech demos. Sadly, the big guns were conspicuous by their absence, so there was no Super Mario Galaxy, Twilight Princess and such; while the show staff were keen to stress that the Wii remotes in use were still work-in-progress prototypes.



[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Wii Sports Tennis[/FONT]
By far and away the crowning glory of the show's software, Tennis gave the best example of the Wii's much-vaunted pick-up-and-play social gaming abilities. The setup was slightly unusual, however; a two-player game with each player controlling not one, but two on-screen doubles partners - all of which moved of their own accord - something we were told may be moved to the remote or nunchuck for the final release version.
That small detail aside, the act of playing Wii sports tennis itself was both delightful and empowering. The remote acts as a real-life tennis racket would; simply flick your wrist upwards then forwards to serve, and from there it's a mere matter of rallying in real-time. Spin can be applied, and the accuracy of shots was pretty much spot-on. Slices and lobs were especially hard to do, however, and using one remote to control the rackets of both doubles partners was frequently off-putting, but again this should be corrected for the final build. Overall, the sheer energy and enthusiasm generated by Wii Sports Tennis was enough to leave everyone eagerly awaiting the machine's release.



[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Wii Sports Baseball [/FONT]
Distinctly less complicated than either Tennis or Golf, the baseball simulation saw the player holding the only wireless remote at the event as if it were a bat, and slogging away - first at three practice pitches, and then ten live ones, with the game measuring how far successful hits travelled. Never managing to get more than three home runs, I'd be inclined to blame the controller and call it over-sensitive… though in truth, the accuracy of the hand piece was never less than dead right. I hang my head in shame.
Quite a heady workout, and potentially as addictive as any other physically-demanding videogame (Eyetoy or Dancing Stage, watch out!) Baseball was an admittedly shallow, but still rather promising demo.


[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Wii Sports Golf [/FONT]
The most technical of the three Wii Sports titles on offer, Golf also offered the most sensitive and demanding control setup. As you've probably guessed by now, it involved holding the Wii remote as you would a golf club - with power helpfully indicated on-screen using a power bar at the bottom of the display. Test swings could be taken to gauge the effect of moving the remote at different speeds, with actual shots being taken by holding A and taking a punt.
Given the different modes of shot, we were quite impressed with Wii Golf. Pitching and putting both followed the same basic system, though felt quite individual with the amount of power applied, while the added issue of undulating terrain proffered another problem to play through. Of all the Wii sports titles, we'd bet on this being the least easily accessible - but also the most lifelike and deep, too. One for real golf lovers, then.


[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Warioware: Smooth Moves[/FONT]
Fast growing into one of Nintendo's most well-loved series, Warioware is the type of game the Wii itself could have been made for. In our demonstration, the minigames were no less addictive than expected - and the intuitive uses for the remote were even better than we could have hoped for.
Driving a car by holding either end of the remote like a handlebar; holding the remote by your side and wiggling hips to spin a hula hoop; sitting the hand piece flat to balance an on-screen broom in a hand; holding the remote like a pen to trace an outline around a shape; moving the remote up and down to pump a balloon; running on the spot to send an on-screen sprinter to the finish line - all of these and many, many more were present, and helped make Warioware: Smooth Moves the most laugh-out-loud funny game to watch at the event, as well as the most manic in the series to date.


[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The Rest[/FONT]
The two other titles on show were more tech demos than actual titles set for release. That's not to say that they provided little insight to the machine's capabilities, though. Indeed, the first, a sort of Duck Hunt inspired shooting gallery, gave a good example of the kind of calibration problems that could be an issue with the machine - for while one of the remotes on the demo pod was perfectly calibrated, the other had the on-screen indicator a good few inches to the left of where the remote was being pointed. Nontheless, it was good fun to play, and showed how much great first-person shooting action we can all look forward to from the machine's point-and-shoot control system.
Lastly on the software side of things, Orchestra was the simplest offering of the lot. With two choices on offer - the Zelda theme being one of them - the player merely waved the magical Wii remote at different speeds like a conductor's wand, to slow down and speed up the composition at their discretion. Yet another fantastic example of the diverse multimedia properties of Nintendo's new machine - and having played it, now I REALLY can't wait for that drum game!


[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The Remote[/FONT]
Small, lightweight, easy to use… but as of our playtest, not quite finished - the wires on most hand pieces at the event were testament to that. Nevertheless, the Wii remote represents the very bleeding edge of Nintendo's continued commitment to videogame innovation.
It's a smart piece of kit; solid, durable and less easily marked than the new DS Lite. The D-pad is small but perfectly positioned, while the A button and B trigger both gave off that satisfying click that you get with the buttons on only the best peripherals; little rigidity; no sponginess. The ones we tried even had a little wrist strap attached, just in case of droppages. Lovely.
And of course, the motion sensitivity itself is key. We found it, if anything, a tad over-sensitive with certain software (the Shooting Gallery in particular), while in general the software on offer seemed to only hint at its potential sophistication; a more refined Tennis sim, for instance, could be a truly lifelike in-depth playing experience, once developers really get their heads around the technology. Wii Virtua Tennis? Yes please!
All in all, we could feel nothing but positive from our ninety minutes with Nintendo's new console. There really is nothing like it on the market, and as if to testify to this, watching two gasping be-suited forty-something executives duke it out on Tennis really was a sight to behold. Maybe there IS something in Nintendo's 'New Gen' slant, after all.
Mark Scott