Topic: Ubisoft strikes again

[Luigi Dude]

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/ubisoft-launches-play-zone-label

Ubisoft has announced that it will launch a new Wii exclusive party-games range under the "Play Zone" label.

"With our new Play Zone party titles, the Wii gamers who like to spend time with friends and family will have fun with the Wii through innovative and involving mini-games," said Ubisoft's EMEA Marketing Director John Parkes.

"The Play Zone label will provide them with the best games to mingle and compete together in a fun and friendly atmosphere."

The first game released under the Play Zone label will be Sports Party - a collection of 9 sports mini-games that can be played head-to-head or cooperatively on three levels of difficulty. The game will be released on July 11.

And here's a preview of the first game.
http://www.gaming-age.com/cgi-bin/previews/preview.pl?sys=wii&game=sports_party






Nice to see Ubisoft is still making the most out of their N64 development kits.

[Sarail]

Utter and complete garbage.

Thanks Ubisoft! 

[ShyGuy]

Wii Remote based gameplay: Thanks to intuitive motions, instantaneously enjoy any sport!

There you have it folks. INSTANTANEOUSLY

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

UBISOFT "GETS IT"

NINTENDON'T

[Crimm]

Wii Remote based gameplay: Thanks to intuitive motions, instantaneously enjoy any sport!

There you have it folks. INSTANTANEOUSLY

Woah woah... first you have to make games that are EVENTUALLY enjoyable.  Don't bite off more than you can chew there, ubi.

[Kairon]

Wii Remote based gameplay: Thanks to intuitive motions, instantaneously enjoy any sport!

There you have it folks. INSTANTANEOUSLY

Woah woah... first you have to make games that are EVENTUALLY enjoyable.  Don't bite off more than you can chew there, ubi.

QFT.

[Ian Sane]

the Wii gamers who like to spend time with friends and family

Way to categorize gamers as anti-social basement dwellers there Ubisoft.  I like spending time with friends and family and always have and I'm not interested in any of this sh!t.

With this and Nintendo's infamous "only geeks and otaku need more storage space" comment it's like the old market is being stereotyped as nerds and weirdos.  "We've got mainstream acceptance now.  We don't need you freaks and losers anymore!"

Seriously "spend time with friends and family"?  Only non-gamers and casuals do that?  Come on!

[Morari]

Woo, croquet! I want a croquet game done right. That would almost be as awesome on the Wii as Miniature Golf.

[King of Twitch]

Utter and complete garbage.

You give garbage a bad name; even trash can be recycled.

[Mario]

Maybe it has good controls

[Kairon]

Seriously "spend time with friends and family"?  Only non-gamers and casuals do that?  Come on!

Only non-gamers and casuals spend time with friends and family... if we were all non-gamers and casuals..... hmmm....

[Chozo Ghost]

Woo, croquet! I want a croquet game done right. That would almost be as awesome on the Wii as Miniature Golf.

Even Croquet is too hardcore for the average Wii gamer. What Ubisoft really needs to come out with is a Crochet game, where you use your Wii remote and nunchuk to turn balls of yarn into socks and hats for your Mii characters so they don't catch a cold.

The game should come bundled with a special Crochet hook shell for the Wii-mote to snap into.

[KDR_11k]

Utter and complete garbage.

You give garbage a bad name; even trash can be recycled.

Oh I'm sure they'll recycle this. For at least three sequels.

[blackfootsteps]

DEAD or ALIVE XXXtreme KIDZ volleyball confirmed for Wii.

[Nick DiMola]

Ubisoft is truly spoiling us. I wish I could just high five every member on their board of directors.

[Kairon]

Woo, croquet! I want a croquet game done right. That would almost be as awesome on the Wii as Miniature Golf.

Even Croquet is too hardcore for the average Wii gamer. What Ubisoft really needs to come out with is a Crochet game, where you use your Wii remote and nunchuk to turn balls of yarn into socks and hats for your Mii characters so they don't catch a cold.

The game should come bundled with a special Crochet hook shell for the Wii-mote to snap into.

But that would require actually being innovative.

[Deguello]

With this and Nintendo's infamous "only geeks and otaku need more storage space" comment

What I find humorous is that this "quote" has never been confirmed and the source is Edge magazine paraphrasing That Fischer guy's words.  What I find even more humorous is that nobody has actually challenged the CONTENT of said statement.  As in, nobody said we all AREN'T a bunch of geeks, which isn't so bad a word when used in other contexts (like "geek chic," or that computer repair company Geek Squad.  ZOMG THEY'RE LINKING COMPUTERS WITH GEEKS)  They just appear overly sensitive that a truth slipped out.

And of course he apologized for them, mainly because the reaction got out of hand and Nintendo's position as market leader is so unstable that all the press and hardcore gamers across the net are looking for a stick to beat them with... some sort of "arrogance" charge to lay on them.

I also think it's interesting that you chose the word "famous" (or infamous, same deal,) instead of a more direct word like "scurrilous" or "horrible."  Fame is simply linked to reputation, not actual deeds or acts.

Oh yeah UBIsoft, yeah, they have a bead on this generation alright.  It's just too bad they can't get disrupted out of existence yet.

[UltimatePartyBear]

No, infamous specifically means famous for being bad.  And saying something like "only geeks want that" is dismissive and derogatory even if it's true.  It's the attitude that's the problem.

Regardless, I don't put much stock in the quote, real or not, because it came from NOE, and nobody's ever given me reason to believe NOE has anybody competent working there.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

ah. ha. ha.

people taking NOE seriously

[Deguello]

No, infamous specifically means famous for being bad.

They are both simply reputation values not linked to any actual deed.  Like Paris Hilton.  And it's only dismissive and derogatory if you link being a geek to being bad in some way.  The paraphrase never laid any value judgment on "geeks" or "otaku," so any bad images of obsessive, pimply-faced, greasy fans came from those very fans.  Imagine if somebody said "Only people who sleep with loose women want that," and the big stink about it reads "So they think we're a bunch of sickos who sleep with our mothers!?"  Such data was added after the fact.

[Kairon]

What I find even more humorous is that nobody has actually challenged the CONTENT of said statement.  As in, nobody said we all AREN'T a bunch of geeks, which isn't so bad a word when used in other contexts (like "geek chic," or that computer repair company Geek Squad.  ZOMG THEY'RE LINKING COMPUTERS WITH GEEKS)  They just appear overly sensitive that a truth slipped out.

There WAS a point where I considered claiming that hardcore gamers did somehow align with stereotype, but I wasn't quite sure how to support it in case it was seen as inflammatory.

The paraphrase never laid any value judgment on "geeks" or "otaku," so any bad images of obsessive, pimply-faced, greasy fans came from those very fans. 

That's very interesting actually. The people who respond negatively to the statement are actually identifying themselves as victims, AND perpetrators, of negative stereotypes. It's horribly ironic.

[Nick DiMola]

I agree with Deg, though I do think that it is dismissive. Just because that crowd wants it doesn't mean that Nintendo shouldn't address the issue. One day when Nintendo falls from grace again, the "geeks and otaku" will be the ones buttering their bread. Probably shouldn't alienate your biggest fans, because when times are tough they are the ones who will pull you through.

[Kairon]

Geeks and Otaku don't butter Nintendo's bread. Nintendo gamers, from the age 2 to 92 do.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Pokemanz

[KDR_11k]

I agree with Deg, though I do think that it is dismissive. Just because that crowd wants it doesn't mean that Nintendo shouldn't address the issue. One day when Nintendo falls from grace again, the "geeks and otaku" will be the ones buttering their bread. Probably shouldn't alienate your biggest fans, because when times are tough they are the ones who will pull you through.

Besides, it hasn't been shown if the group he dismisses so easily is not a major part of the Wii userbase.

But seriously, the Wii's storage is something like 1.5k blocks by default, right? There's plenty of stuff to fill that with, just get those downloadable channels at 100-200 a piece, add the Wii Fit channel which is again that much and you've already filled a good part, WiiWare seems to come mostly in the almost 300 block variety and isn't as inaccessible as most of the VC games so it could easily sell some copies to casuals too. Ooops, your memory is full and you didn't even go hardcore yet!