Messages

[Bill Aurion]

1

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Nibris FTP Server - Sadness Related

« on: December 04, 2006, 08:52:46 AM »

Quote
Originally posted by: Bill Aurion
No need to...I opened it in VLC and it turned out to just be the short, sound-less Raid Over the River DS demo clip released a while back...

Dang...  Thanks for the followup.  Too bad it wasn't something more, but the date on the file didn't lead me to think it  would be anything great.

2

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Nibris FTP Server - Sadness Related

« on: December 04, 2006, 08:15:02 AM »

Here is the AVI file:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/kf7qsd

And here is the JPEG:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/p9698f

[Bill Aurion]

3

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Nibris FTP Server - Sadness Related

« on: December 04, 2006, 08:13:27 AM »

Quote
Originally posted by: Bill Aurion
I can't get to the FTP server, so could you upload the file to rapidshare, sendspace, or some other storage site?

I am putting them both on sendspace right now.  Rapidshare isn't accepting any new files right now.  I'll post the links when it is done.

4

Nintendo Gaming / Nibris FTP Server - Sadness Related

« on: December 04, 2006, 08:05:09 AM »

So...  There was some talk of Nibris on the IGN boards today.  There is an employee inside the company that posts semi-regularly on the boards.  Today's thread marks the return from an absence of a couple of months.  In that thread, there is a pic of a workstation with an official dev kit, and the word that they have a publisher.

This is not the important part of what is going on...  Just on a hunch, I put in http://ftp.nibris.com, as I do with various sites, to see if they put something up there that they didn't intend for us to see.  Two things are up there.  An image from November (concept art, capture, not sure), and an intriguing video just called "demo.avi".  The video just finished downloading.  It is from August.  My WMP won't play this AVI file.  Anyone else have any luck with it?

5

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Update on 1st party component cables ordered from Nintendo

« on: November 29, 2006, 12:31:23 PM »

Mine still says "Preparing Order" and I ordered on the 18th.  It has said "Preparing Order" for the last two days now.  I've had something similar happen with another retailer, and it still said the the order was processing when I received it - so it is now just wait and see.

[31 Flavas]

6

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Wii Predictions for the Next Year

« on: November 29, 2006, 04:02:47 AM »

Quote
Originally posted by: 31 Flavas

I understand this would be a bit destructive, but couldn't you just cut out the portion of the glove covering the battery cover? If you still want that rubber grip you could use double sided tape to attach the cut out portion to the battery cover. I'd be cheaper then new controllers and would allow easy battery swaping.

I had thought of that, too.  Only problem I can see is that it won't have the snug fit on the bottom anymore, possibly meaning it would not sit flat on the face and interfere with some of the lower buttons.  I've actually thought about ways to rig my own recharging unit that I could just hook up directly to the controller when I wanted to, but haven't come up with anything elegant enough yet.  ;-)

[31 Flavas]

7

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Wii Predictions for the Next Year

« on: November 29, 2006, 03:23:38 AM »

Quote
Originally posted by: 31 Flavas
If you want rechargeability, just get some AA rechargeables. They'll last longer and you can pop in freshly rechaged ones when the current pair run low or out of power.

Already went the rechargeable route.  I will have to admit, though, that it is a royal pain to switch batteries with the controller glove on.  ;-)

Quote
Originally posted by: 31 Flavas
The rest of your posts sounds good. It'd be awesome to see KH or FF on Nintendo. Understandably, i'm not holding my breath though. I certainly do want to see another CC though. I'd be disappointed if CC got cancelled.

I would be more surprised to see FF over KH.  I really do think that CC is going to do well when it comes out.  The fact that Square Enix is taking their time with it (as well as DQ) can only be good.  

8

Nintendo Gaming / Wii Predictions for the Next Year

« on: November 29, 2006, 12:43:41 AM »

The press coverage has been better than Nintendo could have possibly hoped for, so far.  The Wii is now in the spotlight and all eyes are on how it does.  The potential market is now there, but I see that Nintendo is going to need to follow through to keep momentum rolling.

For fun, I thought I would share my predictions for the coming year and see what anyone else might have to add...

1.  Phenomenal Increase in Graphic Quality

Over the next year, not only will developers be more familiar with the system, you will see games that have been in development for longer periods of time.  Look for stunning visuals from Capcom's newest Resident Evil product, and Square Enix's Crystal Chronicles project.

Recently, there has been a lot of the "slightly more powerful than the original XBox" talk going around about the Wii.  But, at the last E3, ATI had said that we had yet to see what the GPU could do.  Let's be honest.  Games that are currently released now are not considerably better in graphics quality than they were at E3, probably due to how late the dev kits were made available.  Developers were using GC kits and switched over later.  Common knowledge.

Here is the original article:
http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=12859

The biggest thing to take notice of is in the second to last paragraph:

"Industry sources have said that the Wii GPU would be moderately more powerful than the GameCube's GPU, but how much more we don't know. Conservative estimates from developers have placed the Wii console as a whole at 2 - 2.5 times more powerful than the GameCube."

I tend to believe that is more accurate and that we will start to see it during the next year.  Look for Nintendo to provide an upgraded series of dev kits that will make tapping this potential easier for developers.


2.  Third Party Lovefest

While some developers are taking a wait and see approach with the PS3, a lot of developers are putting a lot of faith in the Wii.  Not only are companies dedicating resources to the Wii, some of them are creating full blown Wii studios, like Buena Vista Games (a Disney company).  With growing popularity, it is practically a lock that we might to start to see franchises that previously have not graced a Nintendo console, or have been absent for a long time.

Things that I would predict might make it to the Wii, or at least be announced in the next year:

a.  Kingdom Hearts.  Square Enix's public support of the Wii and Disney setting up shop just screams for a collaboration between these two companies again.  KH is already one of the most immersing games out there, it could come to a new level on the Wii.

b.  Final Fantasy.  Not CC.  A real, honest to goodness FF.

c.  Castlevania.  What's his face, at Konami, might not think using the Wii controller for a whip is a good idea, but I can see minds being changed.  Expect a new type of Castlevania that still has great fighting action, but also incorporates more of a puzzle aspect.  I see Castlevania reborn in the same style of gameplay that Zelda games now employ.

d.  Sports Games.  Just in general.  Expect to see franchises follow the lead of Madden 07 on the Wii.  The potential is enormous and sports games are social activities.  A fleshed out boxing game is a given, seeing the popularity of Wii Sports Boxing.  Honestly, the only sport I have a hard time seeing translate well to the mechanics of the Wii is hockey.  Not that it can't be done, just visualizing the controls - it doesn't seem to work.  Maybe that is just me, though.  I dare some developer to just go out there and prove me wrong.  :-)

3.  Quality 3rd Party Controllers

Yes.  I said it.  Honestly, this makes sense, too.  The Wii controller is more of a digital appliance than an actual controller now.  Electronics are easy to duplicate.  Every time I had a third party controller, it was ultimately the moving parts that would break down.  The first company that comes out with a rechargeable controller is going to make a ton of cash.  Have a cradle that you set the controller in that runs out of the Wii's USB port, and I'll buy four of them.

That's about all I have for now.  It will be interesting to see what else people think might be happening in the next year.

9

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Everyone's talking about the Wii...

« on: November 27, 2006, 07:17:17 AM »

It is viral.  I commute to work via bus every day.  One person I know saw me in line for the Wii, and when I get back from vacation this morning to take the bus, I had no less than ten people ask me about it.  The Wii is creating chatter - honestly, more chatter than I have ever seen for a console.  Mainly, because it is not limited to children and young adults.  Whether Nintendo gets their older audience to play is still up in the air, but they are definitely aware of the Wii.

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Nintendo Gaming / RE:Wii Third Party Domination

« on: November 27, 2006, 07:11:09 AM »

What I find most interesting is if you take the Square Enix stance on the Wii, and mix it with the new Disney studio (a Wii-only division of BVG, if I remember correctly) - you get something very interesting.  Both of these companies have collaborated before.  Kingdom Hearts jumps to mind right away.  Even some of the BVG games after their initial relationship showed the influence that Square Enix left with BVG.  I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest to see something along that front.

And wasn't there just an article recently that Namco has a total of 40 games in development right now - with 30 of those being Wii titles?

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Nintendo Gaming / RE:Virtual Console

« on: November 22, 2006, 05:14:59 AM »

Anyone know who holds the old Sunsoft licenses?  I would love to see Master Blaster on the VC.  Also, I particularly was fond of Fester's Quest and Gremlins.

Some other notable games that I would get in a heartbeat:

Wizards and Warriors
Ghosts and Goblins
Rygar

I was just able to connect to the Wii Store today.  Changed the channel on my router, since I there seemed to be enough noise for the Wii to continually be unable to find the network.  Seems good so far!  Not sure what I am getting today.  Maybe just all of them.  ;-)

12

Nintendo Gaming / RE:That Internal Speaker...

« on: November 19, 2006, 04:52:36 PM »

My only problem with it is that the default volume is too high for Zelda.  I haven't looked into changing it yet, though.  No time for such little tasks.  ;-)

13

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Wii Launch Meetups - Post your store..

« on: November 17, 2006, 12:21:57 AM »

I'll be at the Target in Stroudsburg, PA.  Going to head over sometime late Saturday with my camping chair, a good book, and a six pack.  ;-)

14

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Wii Pre-order Woah (Update: Actually getting 0 for the store)

« on: November 14, 2006, 06:18:07 AM »

My local FYE that I had preordered from received one single Wii.  I am canceling mine and going to do the Wal Mart route.  How long ahead should I get in line?  If they really are putting a large number of systems at Wal Mart, like they are supposedly doing for Target, should six hours be about right?

[thejeek]

15

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Miyamoto Co-signs my hypothesis

« on: October 05, 2006, 04:49:07 AM »

Quote
Originally posted by: thejeek
OK he's not a hardware guy, but with his position in the company he must surely have had input into the design process and be familiar with the machine in some detail. For example, how can he make design decisions about games he's working on without detailed information about what the machine is capable of?

The answer is a lot simpler than you would think.  Like everyone else, he is confined to the capabilities of the current dev kits - or possible beta versions of improved ones.  Console developers do not write to the specs of the console, they write within the confines of the tools that they have.  It is the same with traditional software development.  You are given a toolkit that defines the functionality that the system is expected to handle.

I am a Shiggy fan, don't get me wrong.  But still, you are right.  He is not a hardware guy.  Regardless of what input he had in the design process, if one of the chip manufacturers says that there is a large amount of feasibly untapped power, my money is going on the person who designed the physical chip, not the one who said, "Hmmm...  Sounds good to me.".

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Nintendo Gaming / RE:Miyamoto Co-signs my hypothesis

« on: October 05, 2006, 03:51:32 AM »

Quote
'basically a gamecube' seems to me to mean more than just similar, it means, well, basically, it's a game cube.

Shiggy is not infallible.  I would put more money on the fact that Shiggy is not a hardware guy, while people at ATI are saying that no one has even seen the tip of the iceberg - regarding the capabilities of the GPU.

Since everyone seems to have a pet theory, let me share mine.  The first final dev kits that are in the hands of developers will act as a bridge.  It easily brings people with GC experience on board and developing games.  Some of the games look like GC games because that is what they are used to developing.  The developers will start pushing the limits of these dev kits, all the while Nintendo is preparing a more advanced kit that shifts from the Gamecube paridigm over to the Wii.  The framework will be familiar and have a smaller learning curve than picking up a dev kit for another platform.  Why?  Just like the Wii is the evolution of the Gamecube, the dev kits will advance as well.

Yes, we all know it isn't a PS3 or an XBox360.  Judging by what I have read, I will say that when it meets its full potential, the Wii will be a lot closer to the new generation than the last generation.  Nintendo's strategy is simply to bring as many developers on board, then to increase the quality of the games through their technical channels.

17

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Wii Pre-Orders & Bundles

« on: September 23, 2006, 01:25:21 PM »

I just preordered my Wii at FYE in Wilkes-Barre, PA, as well as Twilight Princess.  Grand total of $58 and some change for the two.  Just happened to stop in an ask, and they said they started taking them at that location on Friday.

18

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Seaman coming for Wii?

« on: September 11, 2006, 12:06:27 PM »

I, for one, hope nothing comes of this...  I can already hear the jokes about people having Seaman on their Wii.  Ugh.

19

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Nintendo registers 70 domain names!

« on: July 05, 2006, 04:55:11 AM »

They missed one!

www.FeelMyWii.com is still available.  ;-)

--Proto

[Frozen Atlantic]

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Nintendo Gaming / RE:Trauma Center at launch

« on: May 18, 2006, 10:36:03 AM »

Quote
Originally posted by: Frozen Atlantic
THQ needs to grab the license for House MD, pay the cast for some voiceovers, make a blatant ripoff of this game, buy some commercials, and be millionaires.

Seriously, though...  House actually *could* be made into a video game.  House has a mystery aspect to most of the shows that often has the cast searching people houses for possible causes for illness.  That avenue, I believe, would actually be even more fun to investigate than a straight surgery approach.  Plus, you often have multiple sympton illnesses - or even multiple illnesses.

It isn't likely to happen, but I would not be surprised if it did.

--Proto

[mantidor]

21

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Wii's hardware

« on: May 15, 2006, 05:48:03 AM »

Quote
Originally posted by: mantidorFirst I wanted to point out the Elebits dev talked about a physics unit of some sort and that that helped them with the development of the title, he probably let that slip when he shouldnt, but its a very interesting thing indeed.

That is a very interesting point.  I didn't even notice that.  But now that you mention it, maybe that partially explains why the explosions in Project Hammer look better than any that I have seen on a console (as far as being real-time).  Very interesting indeed.

Quote
I also have curiosity regarding the optical media, is it confirmed that its DVD? any info regarding the load times? I remember that one of the advantages of GC's small storage media was faster load times, I dont know if the tecnology is ready to give us better load times with full size DVDs now.

I only remember seeing that it was a 12cm media.  On the hardware page on the Wii site, they do show what appears to be a full size DVD, although they just refer to it as "Optical Media"

Wii Hardware Page

I am not entirely convinced that the good Gamecube load times were just because of the media, though.  Going into the production of the Gamecube, I thought that they had mentioned that they had provided some optimizations and canned routines in the API to assist in that department.  But, I am not 100% on that.

--Proto  

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Nintendo Gaming / RE:WiiSports - What's included?

« on: May 15, 2006, 04:12:13 AM »

I have a feeling that Wii Sports might actually be a pack in.  I hope that I am right.  It is a good little set of party games that appear to be something that might have originated as tech demos.  Because of how big Mario games are, I know that we will never likely see one as a pack in again.

Maybe it would be nice to return to their roots and throw us a bone in the box?  Probably just being overly optimistic in this case, though...

--Proto

23

Nintendo Gaming / RE:What is Quarter 4?

« on: May 15, 2006, 04:05:32 AM »

Nintendo most likely meant calendar year.  I highly doubt that they would use their own fiscal year as an indicator since it is not something that the average consumer would know (or care) about.

Expect to see them launch either on the same day as Sony or before.  That would be my best guess.

--Proto

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Nintendo Gaming / RE: Wii Online: Get your friend codes ready

« on: May 12, 2006, 03:56:36 AM »

Remember, though.  Online content can be dynamic.  What the system launches with for an "interface", or lack thereof, is not by all means permanent.  The beauty of the medium is that content could be pushed at any time.  One night you go to bed and still have the basic Wii/DS connectivity and the next morning it could be something different.

Nintendo is still just getting their feet wet with all of this.  I'd expect to see them continually improve the performance and functionality after the hardware is released.

--Proto

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Nintendo Gaming / RE:LucasArts expresses interest in bringing a lightsaber game to Wii.

« on: May 11, 2006, 12:01:26 PM »

Just the thought of how cool it is to have that speaker on the controller is when you consider something like a lightsaber game...   "Wow" is the first word to come to mind.

--Proto