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Your Questions Answered

by Steven Rodriguez - July 29, 2008, 11:39 am EDT

It's the post-E3 mailbag! If these questions are any indication, Nintendo fans are not pleased about the show ... and neither is a certain director of a Nintendo website.

Nintendo just released "Rock Band" for the Wii. If people go out and buy Rock Band now. Don't you think that the sales for "Rock Band 2" will go down, because people who don't have hordes of cash stuffed away aren't going to go buy a sequel to a game that was just release a few months after the original came out. Also with the release of "Guitar Hero 4", wouldn't it make since to just hold off a while on the next "Rock Band". They should wait until next year.

- That guy on NWR


U.S.

For Wii owners, Rock Band vs. Rock Band 2 isn't a big issue since they can simply buy the game disc only next time around if they really wanted the new track list and access to downloadable songs, which the Wii version will have in some capacity. The real question is whether or not Rock Band Wii owners are going to jump ship to Guitar Hero: World Tour, which may outclass Rock Band 2 in many ways. At least, that's the impression I gathered based on what I saw at E3.


Reggie said that they threw out a good show and they did for some of the new gamers but as a core gamer I was really disappointed with what Nintendo had to show as far as games go. I was however excited by their new accessories, like the Wii MotionPlus and definitely the Wii Speak. I think that both of those are great ideas but they didn't really bring to much with them to assist these new accessories. They should have made the clone wars work with the motionplus. Don't get me wrong Wii Sports Resort looks entertaining but I can't wait to see some of the more story lined games. I think that these new things will help bring that real time feel and enhance the gameplay much more. But other then the new additions I wasn't too excited about any of the game besides GTA:DS and The new Animal crossing features.

- That Guy on NWR


U.S.

The one or two good bits of news Nintendo announced at E3 were completely overshadowed by the perception of them totally screwing over their most loyal fans. Even the good stuff had some catches: WiiSpeak will not be included with a game of any kind, which hurts the chances of it being integrated into third party titles; and Wii MotionPlus won't come out until Wii Sports Resort hits next spring. Furthermore, third party developers didn't know about it until Nintendo announced it at the show! That means games like Clone Wars and Samba de Amigo, games which would have been perfect for the technology inside the MotionPlus, won't be able to take advantage of it.

The way Nintendo traditionally announces these accessories is very bad for third party relations. Generally, Nintendo does what it wants and shows stuff when it wants, leaving everyone else to catch up. What they should be doing is getting in touch with their third party partners and letting them know about it a few weeks before they announce it. If nothing else, at least give them the basic specs so they know what to expect when something is actually announced. That way, third parties can get an earlier start on planning and development with games using that accessory and get games to market sooner that take advantage of that accessory. Such a situation can only be good for Nintendo, yet in their ignorance, arrogance, selfishness, short-sightedness, or whatever the hell it is, they don't do what's best for the most vocal portion of their audience.


I know there are certain games that the Wii MotionPlus can and cannot work with. But what about the few games that already try to detect every movement made by the player. An example is Wii Sports Baseball. Could the Wii MotionPlus be used with Baseball to enhance the accuracy of your swing.

- That Guy on NWR


U.S.

No. The Wii MotionPlus is not backward-compatible with previous games. Only games that are programmed with the accessory in mind will work, which means older games aren't going to get magically better because of the accessory.


If there is a game that doesn't need the Wii MotionPlus, do you think that casual gamers will skip out on buying it. Some may think it is a waste of money if there is no direct need for it. Also if Nintendo were to make an extremely epic and highly anticipated game that everyone wants (which as of E3 is highly unlikely). If that game doesn't use the Wii MotionPlus then a lot of Casual gamers would probably think that they don't need the MotionPlus because all they want is the game instead of an enhancement on the gameplay. Nintendo should have made a better game to back up what the Wii MotionPlus does.

- That Guy on NWR


U.S.

The possibility of a split the market between the haves and the have-nots regarding the MotionPlus is a tricky call right now. It's almost a foregone conclusion that Wii Sports Resort will sell, sell, sell, and since the MotionPlus will be included with the game, penetration and adoption of the device should be high. Developers are already all over the Wii Balance Board and I don't think the MotionPlus will be any different.

However, third party games that use the Wii Balance Board have done so in strictly an optional format. If you don't have it, you don't need it to still play the entire game. The MotionPlus actually opens up new control possibilities that would not be possible (or extremely difficult to elegantly implement) without it plugged into the Wii Remote.

Nintendo needs to be very careful about this and really make sure they help out third parties when it comes time to make a game that actually requires the MotionPlus. This scenario could play out similarly to when N64 games basically required the Expansion Pak to be playable despite not being packaged with one (Perfect Dark). Or, it could be that a Wii MotionPlus game that is played with a regular Wii Remote is about 80% accessible and not as fully functional. I would hate to see new games that could really be something special by going all-out with Wii MotionPlus controls gimped somewhat just to accommodate the non-MotionPlus users. Hopefully, it won't come to that.


Any mention at all of the future of the Metroid franchise?

- Klapaucius


Japan

At E3? Nope. However, just like Nintendo confirmed that the Mario and Zelda teams are hard at work making games, I can exclusively confirm that developer of the Metroid Prime series, Retro Studios, is also hard at work making games! Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean Retro is making a new Metroid game ... which, by correlation, means the Mario and Zelda teams aren't necessarily making new Mario and Zelda games. But at least they're working on something!


How do you think 3rd parties did at E3? Was there any games that made you take notice?

- Maxi

If we're speaking in the realm of third party Nintendo games, then yes, some third parties did have a fair showing. Ubisoft showed off the new Raving Rabbids game, which certainly looked funny, and also had the surprisingly good Prince of Persia DS. Electronic Arts had its usual lineup of sports games, except this time with the "All-Play" moniker. Spore Creatures on the DS looked pretty solid too, or at least it did based on what I saw of it. Sega had something in their lineup for everyone, from Sonic to Samba to MadWorld. Tecmo, Majesco, and Natsume had their fair share of enjoyable niche titles, too.

Outside of Sega, however, it was pretty slim pickings for the types of games that the loyal Nintendo fan wants to see on the Wii. The only true big-name third party game coming to the Wii was Guitar Hero: World Tour (technically, it wasn't even at E3 since Activision wasn't officially participating at the show), but even that is multiplatform.


Hypothetically speaking, lets say Nintendo announces they will ONLY make games like Wii Music and Wii Sports point forward. Would the site change to MicroSonyWorldReport?

- D_average

If Nintendo doesn't give us anything worth covering, we might just consider it...


I personally would never abandon Nintendo but do you think that some of the more hardcore gamers will take a break from Nintendo since they are not really putting out for those gamers?

I honestly think that Microsoft is catering more to what some people want from Nintendo.

- That Guy on NWR


U.S.

Lots of good questions from you, eh? Well, as I just said, I'm getting a lot of non-Nintendo games in the coming months, and have actually been playing games on my Xbox 360 and PC almost exclusively for a few months already. The only Wii game I've touched (for entertainment purposes) in the past few months was Boom Blox. My personal break from Nintendo is still ongoing.

You're absolutely right about Microsoft delivering to Nintendo fans that we all wish Nintendo would deliver to us. In fact, our own Jonathan Metts saw it the same way; once he returned home from E3, he promptly purchased an Xbox 360. The money he spent on that could have bought a lot of Nintendo hardware and software, but Nintendo seems content to let that money go to other companies while it keeps sailing the blue ocean.


I watched E3 on T.V. and I was heavily disapointed by the Nintendo conference. I obviously didn't see any of the behind the scenes stuff so my question is did being at the confrence make anything better.

How was this E3 as far as games, and does it compare at all to any of the other E3's you've been to.

- That Guy on NWR


U.S.

Being at the conference made it worse, and really the only reason why this year's show was better than last year's was because I didn't have to literally sprint around downtown Santa Monica and rush to meet appointments. Having everything in the convention center again was fantastic, and kudos to the ESA for at least getting it right this year. But in terms of Nintendo games, there was nothing behind-the-scenes to see other than what you saw at the press conference. Really. Nintendo was never going to spring a surprise on us, so if you're still waiting for that miraculous late announcement, start returning your hopes back to their near-dismal levels.


Can someone at Nintendo World Report please simply explain the fuss with the control sticks and why they can get into suing match about something nintendo was using far back as the N64?

- Kelad


Australia

I haven't seen the specifics of the lawsuit so I can't comment on it with great accuracy, but judging by what it entails, Nintendo was sued either because it has cornered the market when it comes to control designs of a specific kind or because Nintendo has a monopoly on GameCube/Wii controllers. The former seems to make the most "sense" in this regard, but if that's true than I can see why Nintendo wants to get a new case. If Nintendo got to the market first with its own designs, then everyone else lost out. That's the way business should be, and if Anascape, the company that sued Nintendo, is claiming that Nintendo "clogged the channel," that's too bad for them. I say that without knowing the particulars, however, so Anascape may have yet had a legitimate claim.


Nintendo's E3 presentation. Why does it hurt so?

- Shin Gallon

Nintendo just did not throw a bone to their most loyal fans. Even if they say they did, what they said and how they said it was just manipulation on their part to make them think they did. I am very disappointed with what Nintendo did at the show, and not just because of that. We know we didn't get a big game, other than Miyamoto confirming what we knew was happening anyway. That's not the main reason why I'm so perplexed. I'm flustered because what Nintendo did show was not something you'd want to hang your hat on.

Last year, Wii Fit was understandably the big-ticket item, even if it wasn't something targeted toward the hardcore gamer (I use this term to define anyone who has played games long enough to know how to make the blinking gray screen when booting NES games to stop appearing). Besides, we had the Hardcore Trinity of Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl to play/look forward to that year, so it wasn't as if we weren't being catered to. We got what we wanted that year. We were happy and didn't think much of Nintendo's attempt to win over its new blue ocean crowd.

This year, Nintendo thinks the Next Big Thing will be Wii Music. Like with many of its other products, Nintendo insisted that we play it before casting judgment on it. Well, when we played it, we found it to be a very bad game. I personally feel that it was a concept Nintendo forced into a "full" game just because Miyamoto wanted it to be one. I can say from the bottom of my heart that it certainly is not one. I hope that the people Nintendo is targeting with this game (3-year old kids, we mockingly assume) quickly realize that the likes of Guitar Hero or Rock Band are much more fun and just as accessible.

WiiSpeak and Wii MotionPlus were great announcements. However, the only game I know I can use the microphone this year is Animal Crossing: City Folk, and I personally couldn't care less for another moderate upgrade from the original GameCube game. Wii MotionPlus isn't even coming out this year. Instead of getting excited about a brand-new way to play the brand-new way to play, I'll have to take Nintendo at its word that a game like Wario Land: Shake It is the big title everyone has been salivating for.

Well, as a "hardcore" kind of gamer, I can say that it is not. It is not. Though chances are good that I would enjoy playing through Wario Land on the Wii, Nintendo isn't giving me much of a reason to buy it. To want it. Why should I buy anything that Nintendo is offering this year over what the other consoles are going to deliver? I'm getting Mirror's Edge. I'm getting Resident Evil 5. I'm getting Final Fantasy XIII, especially now that it's on the 360. Pretty soon, I'm getting a PlayStation 3 for other games I know are coming this year, including LittleBigPlanet and Wipeout HD.

I know those are third party games and that Nintendo has got some pretty good ones coming to the Wii. MadWorld was definitely my favorite Wii game of the show, and The Conduit looks promising in that it's a type of game I would like to play. The new Tales of Symphonia can't be ignored, either. However, the bad vibe I'm getting off of this year's E3 lineup for the Wii is that the big titles being given the biggest presentations by third parties and getting all the coverage from publications are being released on the PS3 and Xbox 360. I even noticed this trend happening inside some major third-party meeting rooms, with the Wii version of multiplatform games getting less attention than their high-def counterparts.

Here's what I mean: Shaun White Snowboarding and Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party will certainly be Wii hits for Ubisoft, but most people just wanted to know more about from the new Prince of Persia, which is currently not coming to the Wii. (The 360/PS3 version of Shawn White Snowboarding seemed to be getting more attention than the Wii version, on top of that.) Another long-anticipated game, Spore, got major attention from everyone at the show floor ... but EA didn't want to talk about the Wii version at all. The only third party that really threw its weight behind Nintendo consoles and dedicated most of its press conference to them was Konami, and what it showed off wasn't particularly good. In fact, we here at NWR thought it was a very poor showing by one of Japan's finest game companies.

One of the few bright lights of good news for me, personally, as a life-long enthusiast of Nintendo games, was during Activision's press conference on Tuesday night. Guitar Hero: World Tour looks like it has the potential to utterly destroy Rock Band and reclaim the genre that it turned mainstream. It's coming to all platforms, obviously, but when they mentioned that the Wii version would have DLC just like the 360 and PS3 versions, something strange happened.

First of all, I was glad there was a third party that actually gave a damn about Wii online and found some way to work around the ridiculous restrictions the Wii has in terms of online capability and storage space. (Well, at least the first one.) But the thing that usurped me was the reaction of the crowd. They couldn't believe that Activision's biggest game was getting equal treatment across all three platforms. Even how the line was delivered by the speaker at the press conference—"...for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 ... and WII!"—made it sound like Activision couldn't believe it, either.

As of last the recent release of the newest NPD sales figures, the Wii is now the best-selling console in North America, which clearly makes it the #1 console in all regions, and by extension, the world. The thing is, based on what I've seen at E3, third party game companies aren't treating the Wii like it's the king of the mountain. They are still treating the high-def consoles like they're the ones that will bring them wealth and prestige, seemingly ignoring Wii. Why aren't third parties throwing all of their weight behind it like they are their other big titles, which are not coming to the Wii?

There are a lot of Wii owners in the world, and as much as Nintendo likes to tout the new crop of gamers they are bringing into the market, there are quite a few dedicated Nintendo fans. The perception that I'm getting from Nintendo, and I'm sure a lot of people also feel this way, is that we're not that important to them. Granted, they promised the world and delivered it last year (except for Smash Bros. being online), but this year it looks like we're not getting anything. We're not the type of gamer that can wait a year for Nintendo to catch up to us. We need something big, or at least significant, every year to remain satisfied. This is what Nintendo has trained us to expect from them. Of course we'd be upset when they don't give us what we want!

Is that selfish on our part? Are we greedy? Perhaps. But as I've said, it's not the lack of hardcore games on Nintendo's part that is mainly responsible for my frustrations. It's simply Nintendo's attitude and the perception of their console. As crazy as this sounds, to me it's starting to feel like the GameCube all over again, with the Wii having the "kiddy" games that veteran gamers who own Xboxes and PlayStations don't care to take seriously. Is it starting to feel that way for you?

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