Topic: Could the Wii see favor from Blizzard?

[Edfishy]

Ever since I heard about the Wii's virtual console, Wiimote, and Nintendo's intention to bring gaming the general public, the first thought that came to my mind was, "What if Blizzard brought some of their games to the Wii?".  StarCraft, Diablo, WarCraft, and WoW are all deffinitly eligible (and darn right perfect) for Nintendo's new console.

StarCraft would be a "Virtual Console", although I'd prefer it to be called a "Virtual Classic" game, but of course it would be less influenced by the N64 version and rather be a straight port from the PC version with some minor enhancements to improve the gameplay experience while using the Wiimote. WarCraft (1 and 2) most likely could follow suit as a "Virtual Classic" games.

The Diablo series would probably benefit most from being sold on DVD (due to large file sizes) with a fully decorated case and everything.

WarCraft Thwii could have a lot of Wiimote potential, depending on whether or not Blizzard simply ported it or took some time to develop some nifty addons to set the game apart from the PC version of the game.

If Nintendo's on-line service functions at all well, World of WarCraft would be an absolute hit on the Wii, especially if there was any abillity for users to play on PC servers.  Regardless, with the simplicity of the Wiimote, the effeciency of a small, sleek, console, and the popularity of both the Wii and WoW, we're talking about a lot of money in it for both Nintendo and Blizzard.

Anywho, I thought this deserved some thought and attention.

[D_MaN87]

I think it would be a great idea.  I am not too sure, but I could have sworn I read somewhere about blizzard (or someone from the company) having nothing but good things to say about wii.

[Requiem]

Yes...

Using the Wiimote in conjuction with the Nunchuck would bring about many advantages to the RTS genre. And I base this not on theory, but because the Wiimote and Nunchuck are simply more advanced than a keyboard and mouse setup (AnalogStick > WASD ; Wiimote > mouse).  

[segagamer12]

didnt Blizzard also make Balders Gate? Those were cool games I would like to see on Wii.  

[Crimm]

BioWare makes Baldur's Gate

[segagamer12]

ok I forgot who it was.  

[zxkork]

I cant see that opening....but if it does I will have to quit university and fall into gaming heaven until I die...or something among those lines

[Edfishy]

Well, and then there's also Flagship Studios that's composed of the same team that actually made StarCraft, WarCraft and Diablo, and their game "Hellgate:London".  This game just lends itself to Wii-centric controls, and would be a good addition to the more mature lineup of Wii games.

[Flames_of_chaos]

Well Hellgate is a FPS published by Namco-Bandai and distributed by EA so I guess it would be Namco's call if they want to port it to a console. BUT before I want a RTS to come out on Wii I would like it to come out after Nintendo finishes the online game server infastructure.

[ryancoke]

That would be really cool if they could port some older PC games. Maybe even Civilization 1

[Smash_Brother]

I could see Starcraft and their other RTSes and RPGs on the Wii, but not WoW.

As a veteran player, let me say that playing the game effectively required anywhere from 20-40 buttons, especially in PvP where the most prepared player was often the one who lived.

Besides, Blizzard has already hit their market on the PC and hit it HARD. I highly doubt they'd be willing to port WoW to either the 360 or the Wii just because it would be a lot of extra work and I think that everyone who wanted to play WoW has already done so on the PC.

[couchmonkey]

A newly revised version of WoW could work fine on consoles.  Don't forget that not everyone has played it on PC - in some cases for the exact reason that we don't like games which require 20-40 buttons.

[Edfishy]

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As a veteran player, let me say that playing the game effectively required anywhere from 20-40 buttons, especially in PvP where the most prepared player was often the one who lived.

I'm actually surprised at how many non-gamers play World of Warcraft, and actually enjoy playing it despite their total disregard for the keyboard's shortcut keys.

Nintendo's target audience for the Wii are the non-gamers, the very same people who prefer to socialize in WoW rather than power-leveling their characters.  They honestly wouldn't be able to tell that they suck and would play fine with the handicap of clicking on icons, etc.

A Keyboard attachement (With a decently long cord) is deffinitly a must though for the hardcore among us.

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Besides, Blizzard has already hit their market on the PC and hit it HARD. I highly doubt they'd be willing to port WoW to either the 360 or the Wii just because it would be a lot of extra work

Luckily Blizzard codes their games very well, OpenGl and everything.  The game is ripe for porting, with netcode being the brunt of the work necessary for the game to be successfully ported.  And if future updates in World of Warcraft take advantage of Microsoft's DirectX replacement, XNA, then the Xbox360 and PC would be able to share the same servers.

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I think that everyone who wanted to play WoW has already done so on the PC.

You'd think everyone who wanted to play Mario would have done so with their SNES, but by-gumm-it, they choose to buy the Mario all over again on one single easy-to-play system.

If the Wii becomes wildly popular among the general populace, Blizzard would be wise to take advantage of a cheap, affordable, and already heavily used console rather than the PC, which is just a mess for the non-gamers to deal with.

[zakkiel]

If Blizzard does a console game, it will be from the ground up, I think. The casual WoW gamers are in it for the social scene, and it's damned hard to chat quickly with a pointer. Also, while the remote+nunchuck is a huge step up from a regular controller for an RTS, a keyboard is still far better for the hotkeys and grouping. Though you could perhaps get around that with a good voice-command system.