Topic: PREVIEWS: Wii Music

[Nick DiMola]

Jam to the preset song list with up to three other friends and over 60 instruments this holiday season.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/previewArt.cfm?artid=16381

 Adding to their Wii brand today, Nintendo announced the latest title, Wii Music. Wii Music is a simple rhythm game that is unlike any other title on the market currently. Instead of following a preset note pattern, players are able to improvise and not worry about failing or messing up the beat.    

Players need only mimic the instrument they are trying to play in order to make music. As players jam out to a tune, they are able to record their session and mail it out to registered Wii Music friends. Players will also be able to play back their own recording utilizing dramatic camera angles provided in the playback mode.    

Outside of playing the 60 plus featured instruments, players will also be able to conduct an orchestra using the Wii Remote as a baton, similar to Miyamoto's presentation at E3 2006.    

With the Ring a Bell mode, players can use the Wii Remote and Nunchuk and play along with a group of other bell players hitting the notes when the song requires it.    

The Ear for Music mode will let players test their musical knowledge by taking a tone quiz. During the quiz players can do things like reorganize Miis belting a certain tone from highest to lowest.    

Finally, players with a Wii Balance Board will be able to put it to further use in the Drum Mode. The Balance Board will act as the foot pedal in the drum set with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk acting as the sticks. Players will be able to practice on their virtual drumset and improve their drumming skills.    

Wii Music will be prepared for release this holiday season.  Check out the official trailer for the game below.    

   

[DAaaMan64]

LOL at the Mario THEME DRUM CIRCLE

Otherwise, I"m not sure about this game at all.

[ReverendNoahWhateley]

I get the feeling that watching people play the game would be more effective than a simple video showing Miis playing Yankee Doodle Dandy.  At least, I hope so.  It'll be interesting to see what other songs you can play along to.  With a wealth of public domain Classical music out there, it's a shame all we got in this preview was Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Yankee Doodle Dandy, and the expected Mario theme.

[UltimatePartyBear]

I will only want this game if it has a free play mode where I can actually create music.  You can't give me full control over the music and then make me play from a set list.  That just doesn't make sense.

[D_Average]

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star??!  Really Nintendo, really??!

I understand this game has been in development for a long time, but after seeing the success of Rock Band, Nintendo should have taken this "game" out to a field and quietly shot it.

[Ian Sane]

IGN's impressions seem to confirm that the game is as lame as Nintendo made it look in the press conference.  You know the whole "no one out of diapers will find this amusing" vibe it gives off.  I wanted to read impressions but those weren't positive.  We'll see what NWR thinks.

Even ignoring the gameplay the public domain music looks cheap compared to the licenced music of Rock Band and Guitar Hero.  And who the hell wants to play that kind of music anyway?  Compared to playing Iron Maiden with an electric guitar shaped controller?  And the quality of the music sounds like midi.  No.  That's unacceptable in any music themed game these days.

The whole thing sadly comes across as a game that does everything wrong.

[D_Average]

Even after watching this new demo, I'm still not even close to sold on this product:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=RgRriCJARvU

[Pale]

Ok D_Average... you got me, and I laughed pretty hard.

[Nick DiMola]

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star??!  Really Nintendo, really??!

I understand this game has been in development for a long time, but after seeing the success of Rock Band, Nintendo should have taken this "game" out to a field and quietly shot it.

I'm not even remotely interested in this game, but it WILL sell a few million copies without question.

[D_Average]

Ok D_Average... you got me, and I laughed pretty hard.

Yes!

[Caliban]

Hahahaha I'm also easy bait.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Any word on orchestra conduction?

[D_Average]

Any word on Ravi as a playable character?

[Ian Sane]

I'm not even remotely interested in this game, but it WILL sell a few million copies without question.

I'd like to think that MAYBE this time Nintendo finally hits a wall.  It just sounds so juvenille I can't imagine anyone of even the most basic intelligence liking it.  I honestly find Nintendo's whole non-gamer attitude patronizing.  They REALLY don't give non-gamers much credit.  Everything is too confusing or too threatening or too hard or too complex or requires too much though or effort.  Nintendo assumes non-gamers are DUMB.  And maybe they appear that way since they buy a lot of crap but even then people buy junk more due to ignorance or inexperience than outright stupidity.  The mainstream does really like games like Tetris, The Sims or Rock Band and those games don't assume the player is dumb.  They're no different than a standard "core game".  The only difference is that they have wide appeal.

With Nintendo's insistence that they have to hold non-gamers' hands and tailor their product to be as unintimidating as possible I figure eventually they will take it too far and insult their new market.  Wii Music looks like it could do it with its "win button" design and if it doesn't they'll probably push things further with a later game and eventually do it.  Nintendo does realize that non-gamers are adults, don't they?  Kids are part of the old market.

But then when I was in McDonald's last week my friend asked for an Asian salad and the cashier did not understand what he was ordering until he pointed at the menu.  Then when she handed him the food she said "here's your Ajan salad".  Apparently this girl has never heard of an entire continent.  So maybe that's Nintendo's market.

But seriously could this baby toy actually sell?

[GoldenPhoenix]

Thanks for being so condescending an arrogant Ian, you really earn some respect points there.

[Caliban]

Any word on orchestra conduction?

I think Bill Trinen mentioned at the press conference that the orchestra will also be available in the game.
Anyone else remember?

[D_Average]

I think it'll sell, but I don't think it will sell as well as say Mario Party, Carnival Games, and Wii Sports Resort.  The thing is, it just looks and seems to play too much like a baby game.  I lot of aunts and uncles in my family have picked up the Wii and I just can't see them buying this as they did Raving Rabbits and Guitar Hero. 

That said, the game will sell well for those w/ young children, but it won't have that same mass appeal Carnival Games has received.  Sadly though, it will crush Boom Blox (pun intended).

[Nick DiMola]

Any word on orchestra conduction?

Outside of playing the 60 plus featured instruments, players will also be able to conduct an orchestra using the Wii Remote as a baton, similar to Miyamoto's presentation at E3 2006.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Any word on orchestra conduction?

Outside of playing the 60 plus featured instruments, players will also be able to conduct an orchestra using the Wii Remote as a baton, similar to Miyamoto's presentation at E3 2006.

This is important.  It's a game about music tweaking and not arcade rhythm/button timing, where Guitar Hero is just DDR with a instrument peripheral and karaoke appeal.

[mantidor]

I see it's appeal although honestly I still don't understand this "game"... at all. However that appeal goes away at a $400 entry price.

[Plugabugz]

Can anyone explain how Wii Music is any different to Boogie?

[Mario]

Boogie you waggle aimlessly to pretend to dance rather than make music.

But seriously could this baby toy actually sell?

Big Beach Sports is selling well, and that's one of the worst games EVER made. It's hardly even playable, let alone Nintendo published and marketable. This is almost guaranteed a million sales if the disc is blank.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

LOL

[mantidor]

Boogie you waggle aimlessly to pretend to dance rather than make music.

But seriously could this baby toy actually sell?

Big Beach Sports is selling well, and that's one of the worst games EVER made. It's hardly even playable, let alone Nintendo published and marketable. This is almost guaranteed a million sales if the disc is blank.

Thats one of the funny things about this new games that Nintendo is making, they absolutely depend on great marketing since they are supposed to reach a new audience, but that fact isn't evident at first sight. We see them and know there's enough dumb people who would make them million sellers, but we are the kind of audience who actually download and stream commercials and trailers, we reach for the publicity in complete opposite of the normal consumer, who has to be reached. Its kind of sad at the end of the day because many "veteran" games have audiences waiting for them but for gaming companies, specially nintendo, spending on great advertisement for their traditional games seems nothing more than a waste.

[ReverendNoahWhateley]

Is it too soon to give up hope on conducting Night on Bald Mountain or Mozart's Requiem?  This IS just the first preview, right?