OK - for anyone who's interested, Nintendo have concluded two of three press conferences to announce the launch details for Wii, their new console. The European release date and info is due tomorrow morning but there are pretty solid rumours pointing to a particular date.
Anyway, here's how it breaks down:
RELEASE DATE
November 19th in the United States
December 2nd in Japan
December in Europe (rumoured)
LAUNCH PRICE
$249 in the US
25,000 yen in Japan
Between £150-200 / Euro equivalent in Europe (rumoured)
BASIC PACKAGE
Console (white only at the moment)
One remote
One nunchuk attachment
Wii Sports (confirmed for the US only so far)
Sensor bar
Console stand
Composite/component cable & power cable
LAUNCH TITLES
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Wii Sports (features Baseball, Golf, Bowling, Tennis & Boxing)
Excite Truck
My First Wii (a very rough translation of the Japanese name! A collection of quick, simple minigames)
WarioWare: Smooth Moves
Red Steel
Trauma Centre: Second Opinion
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz
Elebits
Rayman Raving Rabbids
...plus a number of other third-party titles & plenty of games to come later - Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, Super Mario Galaxy, Fire Emblem, Final Fantasy, Metroid Prime 3...
Also available at launch will be 30 Virtual Console games - including Super Mario 64, Super Mario World, Donkey Kong etc. - with 10 a month every month after that.
FEATURES
Wii Channels - always-on connection to the internet with dedicated weather & news channels and a mailbox/bulletin board to contact other users. Also features a Photo Channel that lets you download photos from your digital camera, edit and send them to other users
Mii Channel - create a virtual you for use in games like Wii Sports. You can then save this to your remote, take it to a friend's house, connect to his console and play with your avatar.
Virtual Console - perfect emulation of NES, SNES, N64, Megadrive, PC Engine and MSX games. 30 available at launch with 10 a month made available thereafter. They can be purchased with a credit card & downloaded straight to the system where they'll be available through the Virtual Console channel. If you don't have a credit card, you can buy points cards and use them instead. Games will cost the equivalent of approx. $5 for NES games, $8 for SNES games and $10 for N64 games.
Full backwards compatibility - all of your GameCube games will be playable on the system from day one.
Wi-Fi link-up with the Nintendo DS - no real details yet, though the new Pokemon title for the DS will connect with Pokemon Battle Revolution for Wii.
I think that's most of the basic info so far. Looks really promising, though the price is a touch higher than expected. The built-in Wii Channels look pretty nifty, and the idea of personalising your remote & console is fun. The games are looking solid - I've already got a dozen pegged out as must-haves - and while the console might not be able to compare to the 360 or PS3 in raw power, it looks like being a really polished, fun system.
Press release over ;-)
Banana Blitz is obviously gold from the off - featuring mnkeys as it does - but the rest of the launch line-up of games doesn't look too tempting.
Zelda is coming out for the Gamecube simultaneously, and that's about the only other killer app I can see on the list - the others being mainly fun button-bashers, but not essential.
At the same time, the PS3 - a console that looks like a slightly warmed-up 360 with better graphics capabilities - has the stonking-looking Resistance. An alien invasion of London during WW2 - what's not to like?
I'm still not buying one of the overpriced Blu-Ray Trojan Horse motherfuckers, but I'm just saying the launch titles look nice.
I'm hoping for the lower price as I need to justify it to get it...
Amstor:-
presumably youve heard the march 2007 release date rumour? If this is true Ill weep. Guess the truth is but hours away.
f*cking argos
-hex
Argos rumour cleared up thanks to someone familiar...
M@
Link: Go Nintendo
'the rest of the launch line-up of games doesn't look too tempting'
True, but I remember seeing the DS launch line up and thinking that it looked a bit shit, now I own a DS and i think its great.
I have faith nintendo still have aces up their sleeve.
Aye, right enough.
Looking over the launch lists I'm going to be getting Zelda, Wii Sports, Excite Truck, Red Steel, Super Monkey Ball, Trauma Centre, WarioWare and perhaps Elebits. That's a pretty damn good lineup from my POV, though I can understand why it might not appeal to some gamers.
As for killer apps... well, Zelda is pretty much the best killer app Nintendo could offer at launch short of Mario. The Wii version is pretty much the definitive edition - new functionality, extra content, improved graphics etc. - and it will launch several weeks before the 'Cube version (which appears to have only been kept to fulfill Nintendo's earlier promise to keep it on the 'Cube).
Wii Sports is another title that could well prove to be a killer app - though for a different audience. Like Brain Training or Nintendogs, it's not a title aimed at the hardcore (Resistance raise your hand...) but it does seem to be a great implementation of the remote & nunchuk controls that should have appeal to the more casual market and to the lapsed or non-gamers that Nintendo want to reach out to.
I love my DS to bits but I cant help feel that its potential hasnt been reached. And having no killer RPG - a genre it seems made for - isnt helping. Hopefully Zelda/FF3 can do something consistantly good with it.
On a more positive note: I bought Starfox command on import recently. It looks amazing. I only hope the dogfighting segments start to throw up some variety...
-hex
Killer RPGs on the DS are coming at last - Tales of the Tempest and Final Fantasy III hit before the end of the year, and there are a bundle of other action RPGs and dungeon-crawlers (Children of Mana, Tingle RPG, Rocket Slime etc.) on their way. Square are also developing a brand-new dualscreen RPG for it - Wonderful World, IIRC - along with a Chocobo spin-off, Heroes of Mana & a FFXII sidestory.
RPGs typically take a while to arrive but the DS is getting a fair few now & in the near future.
Aussie price & date in...
December 7th, and AU$399 gets you:
Console
Remote + nunchuk
Stand, cables, sensor bar
Wii Sports
December 8th 2006.
EUR 249 / GBP 179
Bundle is white console, one Wii remote, one Nunchuck, Wii Sports.
Between 49 and 59 Euros for software / 34 - 39 pounds.
Cool!
M@
Sold! Price & package is great, and the software pricing sounds fantastic compared to the cost of PS3/360 games.
My only concern is whether I'll be able to hold off importing a US system for a couple of weeks - especially as it's region-free...
£220 = Wii + Zelda
Sold! I know what I'll be doing this xmas.
Even better - £220 = Wii + Wii Sports + Zelda :-)
Just did a quick back-of-envelope calculation & I reckon I should be able to pick up the console, a second controller pack, Zelda, Red Steel, Excite Truck, Super Monkey Ball & Trauma Centre for the price of a PS3 - and still have a bit left over for a couple of Virtual Console downloads!
Wii now available to order at Play.com.
Hmm, tempting to try and be one of the first, but coming from Jersey may take an extra day and I'm not sure I could manage(!)
M@
I want one!!!
Check this trailer out for the Sports... genius!
Link: wii sports
Any news on whether Nintendo has entered the current century and is offering WPA for the internet connection? (rather than the next to useless WEP security they offer on the DS)
Dunno about that - specs are hard to come by for the system. All I've got on comms is what appears on the official site:
Communication: Wii can communicate with the Internet even when the power is turned off. This WiiConnect24 service delivers a new surprise or game update, even if users do not play with Wii. Users can connect wirelessly using IEEE 802.11b/g, or with a USB 2.0 LAN adaptor. Wii also can communicate wirelessly with Nintendo DS.
I'm not 100%, but if they're using b/g doesn't that mean no WPA?
Hmmm. 802.11g is WPA while (as I understand it anyway) 801.11b isn't - which means that it will definitely support WEP. I suppose the one ray of sunshine is if the Wii offers WEP or WPA which would be consistent with b/g. Here's hoping. I'm not running my network on WEP even for Wii.
Incidently I remember when the DS internet connectivity came out with Mario Kart. There were tonnes of emails on the Nintendo forum asking when they were going to impliment WPA. The official Nintendo answer - turn off your PC when you're not using your DS. Why you need your PC on when you are using your DS, or why they think that people spend hundreds of pounds on a bit of kit they can't securely use when they're not using their PC only Nintendo knows.
Anyway I'll stop ranting and wipe the spittle away from my mouth.
Genuine question - is it a big deal? I have a DS, use wireless for my laptop and DS (only works with b not g), and my main PC is on virtually all the time. I do online banking and make multiple transactions both for my personal stuff and work stuff.
I intend to get a Wii too which will hopefully work straight away and I thought WEP was just fine. But should I be worrying about, ahem, 1337 Hax0rs?
M@
I didn't used to think so, but when thinking whether to downgrade my network to WEP (for the DS as it happens) I had a look and it turns out that WEP is pretty worthless as a security device - the only thing it being good for is stopping people accidently connecting to your network. Look in google for the words WPA WEP hack or similar to get an idea on how easy it is.
WPA is hackable, but it depends on your keyphrase. If its unlikely to be found in a dictionary search then you're pretty much OK.
In terms of security it depends. The prime problem is that people might nick your bandwidth. If you also share files or drives on your local network then its a very big problem indeed (or if they are accessible on your network).
It also depends - if you live in the middle of nowhere then there's unlikely to be anyone around who will give it a go. If (like me) you live in a fairly built up area then you may feel you want a bit more protection.
If you can't wait for Wario Ware...
M@
Link: Four Second Fury
That's my Christmas presen sorted, then!
Well I've just slapped down a deposit and pre-ordered mine. I'm number #31 which, um, entitles me to attend a special midnight opening of the store.
Part of me is quite ashamed. I just hope the local press isn't there(!)
M@
"Part of me is quite ashamed. I just hope the local press isn't there(!)"
So sir, how long have you been waiting for a wee?
Uh, a few hours...
Well I hope you dont have an ACCIDENT! Haha! Anne?
Thanks Phil. That was Phil with the 5 minute compooter report. Those wacky geeks! Now here's John with the weather...
Wii pre-orders now available online at Game and PC World.
M@
Excellent - cheers for the heads-up!
BTW - keep an eye out for Wii Play. I believe it's being bundled with a remote for £34.99, and if the demos from E3 - the Duck Hunt spiritual sequel & the obstacle course, for example - are anything to go by the game will be a blast.
Are Nintendo intentionally getting as many golden shower puns in as possible, do you reckon? There's no way they don't realise how dodgy these names sound.
Heh :-) IIRC, the Japanese name of "Wii Play" translates roughly to something like "My First Wii", so it could have been iffier...
I must admit, I am growing attached to the name - it's bloody daft, of course, but I think that is perhaps its greatest strength.