Topic: The OFFICIAL Big N rumor thread *bring your own salt*

[Stratos]

It would make more sense if they just used the NDS (or 3DS) as a controller. BTW, wasn't that something Nintendo said they were going to do anyway at some point? I can almost swear I remember before the Wii came out Nintendo hinting at or outright saying that the NDS would be able to link up to it. So far we haven't seen that, but if we did that could fill in as the touchscreen controller and be more justifiable to purchase than a $100 controller, because the NDS isn't just a controller but also a complete handheld system with a huge library.

Well, remember some have talked about hooking the 3DS up to a TV to play games like it were a console. You could even theoretically have Wiimotes sync to it if it is Bluetooth compatible.

[TJ Spyke]

The DS actually HAS been used as a controller for Wii, but I think in like like only 2 or 3 games. I know you could use it as a controller for battles in Pokemon Battle Revolution, I think even the GC-GBA cable had more support than the Wii-DS link.

[ThePerm]

yeah its quite odd

its really surprising Nintendo didn't do as much with connectivity this generation as last. I liked GBA/GCN connectivity. Four Swords was a blast

[Mop it up]

BTW, wasn't that something Nintendo said they were going to do anyway at some point? I can almost swear I remember before the Wii came out Nintendo hinting at or outright saying that the NDS would be able to link up to it.

The DS can link up to the Wii, and this is already being used in a way: DS game demos can be downloaded from the Nintendo Channel. I do vaguely remember Nintendo saying that the Wii has the capability to connect with the DS, but I don't think they ever gave any specifics on what that connection could be used for, or that they had any plans to use it for games. I don't feel like searching threads from 2006 to find out.

EDIT: Meh, I took over 20 minutes to post this. Looks like there was a game that used it!

[Stratos]

I don't know why we haven't seen a new 4 Swords that uses it. I'm also surprised we never got a true sequel to the original FFCC that used both. Instead we got odd spin offs.

[Spak-Spang]

I am quite surprised as well.  I figured that was an obvious WiiWare Title.  With online, and DS support for local play it would have been great.

[Mop it up]

With all of their talk about connectivity during the GameCube era, you'd think they would have followed up on it with Wii and DS, especially given the popularity of both, and that no linking accessory is required. I guess it really was their answer to online play.

[noname2200]

With all of their talk about connectivity during the GameCube era, you'd think they would have followed up on it with Wii and DS, especially given the popularity of both, and that no linking accessory is required. I guess it really was their answer to online play.

I think it was more that Nintendo was desperately trying to prop up the less successful system with the very successful system.  That's less necessary here, so Nintendo is less interested as a result.  I find it revealing that the only Nintendo title that used linking was far in development before it became clear that the Wii was going to be a success.

[Stratos]

Pokemon Battle Revolution, correct?

I am quite surprised as well.  I figured that was an obvious WiiWare Title.  With online, and DS support for local play it would have been great.

I vaguely remember Miyamoto commenting that he would like to make a new 4 Swords and was working on one. So either that fell by the wayside or it was merely an experimental project that didn't turn out.

[Chozo Ghost]

With all of their talk about connectivity during the GameCube era, you'd think they would have followed up on it with Wii and DS, especially given the popularity of both, and that no linking accessory is required. I guess it really was their answer to online play.

True... I guess the reason is because the GC really needed something to distinguish itself from the competition, and Nintendo (at that time) was the only one who made a handheld system, and because the GBA was far more popular than the GC Nintendo was probably thinking that by tying the two systems together as much as possible would help boost the GC's popularity just because of its association with the GBA.

It would be interesting to find out exactly what sort of impact the GBA connectivity did have on GC's sales. Obviously, since the GC was in third place it didn't have as much effect as Nintendo may have hoped, but even so its possible that the GC would have been even worse off than it was without that connectivity. If you think about it, people who owned a GBA might pick up some games and read on the box about how it can link up to the GC with extra content and stuff, and that may have motivated them to buy a GC just for that reason.

Of course with the Wii and DS, both systems are number one in their field so Nintendo doesn't really need to boost the sales of one by tying it to the other. But the installed base of both systems are so very high that it would make a lot of sense to do connectivity, because odds are pretty good that someone who owns one will also own the other too and won't need to make an extra hardware purchase for it to happen.

[Ian Sane]

I think the GBA-GC connectivity had two big problems.

1. The association with multiplayer games.  So I have to play with four friends that not only all own GBAs but also own the link cable that does not come with the GBA so I have to ask them to buy one just for this one game?  The requirements to play four player Crystal Chronicles or Four Swords was nuts.  If you want to talk about hardcore gaming, there you go.  Only the most hardcore would be able to organize a full four player game.  And this is supposed to be this big Cube selling point?  It also didn't help that Cyrstal Chronicles was a lame ass game.

2. Nintendo decided to market this as a replacement for online gaming.  This was a feature that was really designed just as an interesting novelty.  It was too limited to replace online.  So instead of being seen as a neat feature it was seen as a lame piece of ****.  It had to meet higher requirements and it failed at that so it had a negative association.  And the irony of it all was that the huge hassle of getting a four player connectivity going made you long for online MORE.  These were games that made you think "boy this would be awesome online."  That's probably the exact opposite impression Nintendo wanted to make.  Plus not going online was seen as this frustrating backwards stupid decision and connectivity became a symbol of that.

So I can see why Nintendo has not made a big deal about the DS connecting with the Wii.  Connectivity has a negative image.  Why remind people that Nintendo had their head in the sand about online gaming for a whole generation?  The whole thing is seen as a lame feature so NOT having it as a bullet point is probably better.

But at the same time bringing it back now would make sense since a lot of time has passed.  They also attracted a lot of new customers with the DS and Wii so they would reboot the feature with an audience that doesn't have a negative association with the concept.

[Stratos]

Crystal Chronicles was an awesome game. Very fun to play.

[TJ Spyke]

I didn't play CC, but I heard the multiplayer was fun but the single player was awful.

I think connectivity could help boost the sales of games, I know some people who bought Pokemon Battle Revolution just because you could buy rare items/berries in it and get a Surfing Pikachu that could be transferred to Diamond/Pearl.

[noname2200]

Pokemon Battle Revolution, correct?

That's the one.  Admittedly, I'm probably overlooking a game or two.

[NWR_insanolord]

I'm still waiting for a Pac Man Vs. WiiWare game that connects to the DS.

[Kytim89]

I have actually heared that you can link up your GBA to the wii's Gamecube port and play such games as Crystal Chronicles and various others as if it was a Gamecube and not a wii. I do not know if that is true or not, but it seems pretty cool.
 
I wish Nintendo would allow some kind of adapter for the wii that allows you play all the GBA games on that console. Basically, something like the GBA player for the Gamecube, but it would be smaller and would plug into the USB port on the back of the wii. I imagine Nintendo would have to release some kind of Gameboy channel via firmware update, but it would not be too hard on their part. They could also relase an adapter that allows the GBA gamcube player to plug into the wii's USB port, but this does not seem pratical for Nintendo to do.
 
I actually have Tacics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together for the GBA and no way to play it. I sold my GBA ages ago, I do not have a DS Lite ant more, and I sold my Gamecube and and the GBA player as a down payment for my DSi. I am up **** creek without a paddle and I refuse to rebuy any of this hard ware to just play a handful of games.
 
 

[BlackNMild2k1]

I have actually heared that you can link up your GBA to the wii's Gamecube port and play such games as Crystal Chronicles and various others as if it was a Gamecube and not a wii. I do not know if that is true or not, but it seems pretty cool.

You mean that you can use the Wii like a Gamecube when it's in Gamecube mode?
....That sounds, interesting, please tell me more
 

[Kytim89]

I have actually heared that you can link up your GBA to the wii's Gamecube port and play such games as Crystal Chronicles and various others as if it was a Gamecube and not a wii. I do not know if that is true or not, but it seems pretty cool.

You mean that you can use the Wii like a Gamecube when it's in Gamecube mode?
....That sounds, interesting, please tell me more

You can even hook up Gamecube memory cards and controllers as well. It is as if there is a Gamecube inside the wii! I am going to disasemble my wii and find out! The I will have two consoles to play games on. Think of the possibilities? LOL.

[Stratos]

When I first got my Wii the first thing I did was play Beyond Good and Evil on it. Just to be contrary.

[vudu]

You can even hook up Gamecube memory cards and controllers as well. It is as if there is a Gamecube inside the wii! I am going to disasemble my wii and find out! The I will have two consoles to play games on. Think of the possibilities? LOL.

If you do this and take pics I'll give you 10 points.

[Chozo Ghost]

I think the GBA-GC connectivity had two big problems.

1. The association with multiplayer games.  So I have to play with four friends that not only all own GBAs but also own the link cable that does not come with the GBA so I have to ask them to buy one just for this one game?  The requirements to play four player Crystal Chronicles or Four Swords was nuts.  If you want to talk about hardcore gaming, there you go.  Only the most hardcore would be able to organize a full four player game.  And this is supposed to be this big Cube selling point?  It also didn't help that Cyrstal Chronicles was a lame ass game.

2. Nintendo decided to market this as a replacement for online gaming.  This was a feature that was really designed just as an interesting novelty.  It was too limited to replace online.  So instead of being seen as a neat feature it was seen as a lame piece of ****.  It had to meet higher requirements and it failed at that so it had a negative association.  And the irony of it all was that the huge hassle of getting a four player connectivity going made you long for online MORE.  These were games that made you think "boy this would be awesome online."  That's probably the exact opposite impression Nintendo wanted to make.  Plus not going online was seen as this frustrating backwards stupid decision and connectivity became a symbol of that.

So I can see why Nintendo has not made a big deal about the DS connecting with the Wii.  Connectivity has a negative image.  Why remind people that Nintendo had their head in the sand about online gaming for a whole generation?  The whole thing is seen as a lame feature so NOT having it as a bullet point is probably better.

But at the same time bringing it back now would make sense since a lot of time has passed.  They also attracted a lot of new customers with the DS and Wii so they would reboot the feature with an audience that doesn't have a negative association with the concept.

I agree it was a logistical nightmare to be able to have all the systems, link cables, players, and copies of the game in the same room at the same time for that sort of stuff to happen. It sucked, and it might have been a cool feature but because of the logistics involved it wasn't something that was used very often.

However, this generation solves the logistics of all that in several ways. Number one, for many games on the DS you can do multiplayer with just a single cart. That means not everyone has to have their own copy, which is great. The other thing is it is now done wirelessly which means you don't need to mess with purchasing and hauling around tethering link cables anymore. So for those two reasons that connectivity stuff is a lot easier these days. Unfortunately, being easier hasn't caused it to happen more often...

[Peachylala]

Namco Museum DS.

Pac-Man Vs.

IT WILL TAKE YOUR LIFE.

[Ian Sane]

Pac-Man Vs. was the original Wii Music.  They spent like 80% of their E3 conference that year talking about it and then were utterly shocked that everyone **** on them for it.  Pac-Man Vs. was never even sold as a standalone game.  I don't know what their business plan for that was.  These days it would have worked well as an online WiiWare game.

[NWR_insanolord]

It didn't deserve being the centerpiece of an E3, but it's a damn fine game; I'd go as far as to say it's one of the best multiplayer games on the GameCube.

[Kytim89]

You can even hook up Gamecube memory cards and controllers as well. It is as if there is a Gamecube inside the wii! I am going to disasemble my wii and find out! The I will have two consoles to play games on. Think of the possibilities? LOL.

If you do this and take pics I'll give you 10 points.

 

 
I finally dissasembled my wii and while I was doing it this Gamecube was literally trying to fight its way out. Vudu, give me my ten points, please!