This Week In WiiDs – Issue Two – Motion Commotion

This Week In WiiDs – Issue Two – Motion Commotion

Hello and welcome to This Week In WiiDs, I’m Jack “The Jumpman” Smith and whether your at home, at work or trying to avoid the wrath of the League Of Gaming, this is the best place for news, views and discussion direct on the forum.

Welcome to Issue Two of This Week In WiiDs, published on August 1st 2008, your weekly round up of all things Nintendo while the podcast is on Hiatus. I aim to bring you everything you love about the show, plus a little extra straight to the forums every week for your viewing pleasure.

Question Of The Week

This weeks Question of the Week is from Daisy_Blonde:

If you could remake any PC game on the Wii, what would it be and how would use the Wiimote with it?

Thanks for the question Daisy_Blonde!

Hmm… good question (by which I mean no idea what to say). I think i’ll go for something old and something new. First, the old. Without a doubt it would have to be the Monkey Island series. They are without a doubt some of the best adventure games out there and a revamp with pointing controls would fit perfectly. It would be great to see the originals done to the standard of Monkey Island 3 and the Wii’s point and click interface was made for this sort of game. As for the new, I would love to see a version of Spore on the Wii. It’s possibly the onloy game i’m going to buy for my Mac so any other versions will be nice The Wiimote would be perfectly suited to twisting, turning, expanding and sticking pieces onto your creatures, while the mix of analogue and IR controls would suit the games movements perfectly. You could even have some one to one clubbing action

Thats my thoughts, but what about yours? Please reply to this weeks issue with what PC games you would want to see remade on the Wii.

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If you have a question of the week for This Week In WiiDs, please send me a PM and i’ll be sure to use it. Any unused questions will be forwarded to be used on the podcast. If you want to get in touch with the team, you can email them at Wiidspodcast@googlemail.com and if you register this link on your Wii we will send you a message to your Wii as soon as we are back on air as well as when further episodes are released. You can also check out the WiiDs blog at http://www.wiids-podcast.com for more news, views and discussion as well as the latest updates. You can also find us snooping around the forums at http://www.wiidsforum.com, so feel free to leave us a message or PM and we will make sure you are the first to know when we are back on air.

News

This weeks headlines are:

• Wiimote Takes Name, NCSX Gets Ass Kicked
• The League Of Gaming Vs R4
• Inmates See 18+ Games Locked Away
• Homebrew Hacks Open Up DVD Library

Wiimote Takes Name While Weemote Kicks Ass

Online retailer NCSX have been told they will face legal action if they continue to use the phrase “Wiimote” on their websites. The request has came from a small company known as Fobis Technologies who own the trademark for the Weemote, a special TV remote for children with parental control. Apparently the Wii Remotes nickname has been damaging their sales and they have had enough of it. The problem is though, that they cannot approach Nintendo about the issue as Nintendo only use Wii Remote in their documentation. NCSX have complied with Fobis’s demands and had the following to say:

Last week, we received a letter from a law firm representing a company which holds the “Weemote™” trademark. The letter stated that we were to stop using the term, “Wiimote” in our product descriptions and NCS Game Notes™ because our actions could possibly cause confusion in the marketplace. NCS respects trademarks and ©opyrights since we also own trademarks and copyrighted material so we’re obliging even though we think it’s a bit of a stretch… but whatever.From this day forth, the word “Wiimote” has been banished from N©S’ shopping sites and replaced with the word “Wii Remote™.” We (wasted) spent about an hour on Friday making sure the term “Wiimote” was waxed from the NCS shopping experience. We’ll endeavor to search and replace instances of the word “Wiimote” on our other websites by the end of the month. We wouldn’t want the “Weemote™” trademark holder to be supposedly damaged by our conjunction of the words “Wii” and “Remote.” We’re thinking of coining a new word – “Wii-rote” or maybe just “Wote.” As in, “Wave your Wote in the air. Wave it like ya just don’t care.

So what can we learn from this story? Fandom is more powerful than Nintendo, The little guys usually looses and NCSX are a bit of an arse

Source / Source

The League Of Gaming Vs R4

The R4 and other flash carts have always been a thorn in the Nintendo DS’s side, due to the majority of owners using them to illegally download games for free and until now it has generally been left alone by the games companies… But not anymore! Nintendo and 54 other software companies (including, Arc System Works, SNK, Capcom, Koei, Jaleco, Square Enix, Sega, Taito, Takara Tomy, Temco, Hudson, Bandai Namco Games, The Pokemon Company, Yukes and Level Five) have joined forces to try and take down the flash cart kings. The League of Gaming (as I like to call them) are filing a lawsuit with the Tokyo District Court to prevent the marketing, sales and importing of such devices under the Unfair Competition Prevention Law.

While the injunction is for Japan only, it wouldn’t surprise me to see the League Of Gaming try and tackle other large markets (such as USA and China). The article I got this news story from is a little vague as to wether this affects just the R4 or all flash carts. Wile the R4 is definitely the most well known flash cart, it is quickly being overtaken by dozens of clones and competitors who deliver a more superior service, so if they are solely targeting the R4 then it isn’t going to exactly solve the problem. Tackling piracy is always going to be a tricky battle for several reasons. Firstly, the legality of Flash Carts needs to be looked at, as while they are able to cause piracy, they are also there for homebrew and storage, which is what they are marketed as. Also, it’s difficult to attack the companies uploading ROM’s as they are normally located in countries where holding backups is legal and therefore cannot be easily prosecuted. Therefore wether Nintendo will be able to place enough pressure on the legal system or not to overturn these issues remains unknown. However, by anyone standards, this is one of the biggest attacks against piracy we’ve seen in a long time and with such a large driving force behind the case, it will be very interesting to see the results.

Source

Inmates See 18+ Games Locked Away

This week has seen faces of horror across the prison cells of England and Wales as new measures ban the playing and possession of 18+ games for inmates. Also revealed was that no more of the taxpayers money would be spent on games or games consoles in the future. Instead, only those prisoners who have reached the highest level of the Incentives and Earned Privilages program and inmates who are at risk of suicide will be given access to games, providing they pay for their own console and any under 18 titles they may wish to play. Last year over £10,000 was spent on gaming for inmates. Geff Dobson, deputy director of the Prison Reform Trust acknowledged that gaming provides a useful resource for prisons, but shouldn’t be a substitute for more beneficial activities.

“I don’t think anyone would have a great problem with incorporating these into a good behaviour programme, but we should not forget the usefulness of these games to prison officers and governors keeping order in overcrowded prisons,”“But the bottom line is access to computer games is no substitute for purposeful activity like work or education classes, both of which are being cut back because the government is failing to tackle the underlying reasons for the rise in the prison population.”

Prisoners being treated like prisoners? Thats a new one. I see this as a smart move, as the funding that would have been spent on gaming can now be used to try and tackle some of the real problems with our prisons system. It also gives inmates more of an incentive to behave during their time locked up and can give them a sense of accomplishment during their sentence. With all the controversy about violent games over the past few years, it’s a surprise these games haven’t been removed from our prisons sooner. After all, if they are supposedly turning our children into violent thugs, then it certainly wouldn’t be helping those who have already proved they have the means and capacity to act out such crimes.

Source

Homebrew Hacks Open Up DVD Library

This is a follow up story of Pirates Play Unmodded Wii’s from issue 1 of This Week In WiiDs. In this news story I spoke of hacker Bushings attempt to work with Nintendo to block a bug that allows pirated games to be played on an unmodified Wii. Unfortunately, Nintendo have refused to correspond on this issue. This bug has now been modified into a safe program which allows clean DVD’s to be played through your Wii. What’s more is that this program cannot be turned into a “softmod” to allow pirated games to be played. The program is due for release within the next week.

I find this story very interesting for several reasons. First of all, now the existence of this bug has been made public, several groups are trying to find it, meaning that eventually we’re going to see piracy grow pretty quickly, and it’s strange to see Nintendo not interested in preventing this. Of course they may already know of the issue and be working on it…

Also the idea of a clean DVD player with no modifications is excellent. Currently DVD solutions rely on modifying consoles or burning special disks, but a simple download and play solution opens up a lot of possibilities. It also means that Nintendo could create their own program for download in the Wii Shop and allow DVD access with no hassle, which would certainly be convenient.

Source

New Announcements

This is the new announcements section, where each week we tell you what new titles have surfaced and are on their way to you soon.

This week we’ve had a good mix of DS and WiiWare Announcements. First up is Time Hollow for DS. This adventure game by Konami sees you trying to solve puzzles in the present, by altering events in the past. It looks gorgeous with it’s anime style and if it uses the time mechanic well, this will be a must for fans of Phoenix Wright and Hotel Dusk Source

Popcap are also turning their attention to the DS with the announcement that the fantastic Peggle is being adapted to DS. Q Entertainment (Meteos And Lumnies) are behind this new adaption and will be bringing everything from the PC game, plus exclusive levels and a slew of new features to the mix. This is definitely one to keep an eye on/preorder right now. Popcap will also be bringing Amazing Adventures and Mystery Pi to the DS which see you searching for hidden objects. Source

This october we will also be seeing Suda51’s bomb diffusion masterpiece, Flower, Sun and Rain. I’ll post the first trailer once it’s released, but you can be sure this is one to watch/buy Source

The last DS game this week is a remake of The Humans. This is a Lemmings like game, only you are given direct control of up to eight prehistoric humans at once as you try and navigate your tribe to the exit. Source

Now, onto the WiiWare. First up is Fun! Fun! Minigolf by Shin’en. It promised 27 holes of Fun, Fun and Minigolf Source

Next up is Big Kahuna Party, which will see you swapping titles in much puzzle based fun with a relaxing underwater theme. This version is going to focus more on multiplayer than its PC counterpart Source

This week Marvelous have announced that they are making a brand new title for WiiWare. However, no details are currently known. Source

And finally, XGen Studios (Defend Your Castle) have also announced that they are working on a new WiiWare project using a brand new IP, but once again no details have been revealed. Source

New This Week

Here’s what you can expect to see on your local retailers shelves this week in Europe:

Wii:

• Popcorn Arcade: Battle Rage the Robot Wars ( 01/08/2008 )
• Space Chimps ( 01/08/2008 )

Ds:

• Puzzler Collection ( 01/08/2008)
• Space Chimps ( 01/08/2008)

Here’s what you can expect to see on your local retailers shelves this week in North America:

Wii:

• Little League World Series ( 05/08/2008 )

Ds:

• GRID ( 05/08/2008 )
• Little League World Series ( 05/08/2008 )
• Professor Brainium ( 05/08/2008 )
• Puzzler Collection ( 05/08/2008 )
• Quick Yoga Training ( 05/08/2008 )
• Rock Blast ( 05/08/2008 )
• The Cheetah Girls: Passport To Stardom ( 05/08/2008 )

Wiikly Feature

The Wii Remote. It’s revolutionised the way we play our games by adding motion control to the mix. But how does our pointing and waggling translate into the gaming worlds?

The Wii Remote uses two main pieces of technology to generate three forms of motion sensing. An infrared camera is used for tracking a stationary focus point for position tracking, while an accelerometer is used for measuring physical and gravitational acceleration.

Pointing Power

The first thing you do after turning your Wii on is point at the screen and direct your cursor to the channel of your choice, but how does the Wii Remote work out where you are and what your doing? All the work is done by infrared detecting camera in the top of the Wii Remote. Obviously in order for an infrared camera to work, you need infrared lights, which is what the sensor bar is for. The sensor bar comprises of ten infrared LED’s in total, arranged in two sets of five (pointing slightly outwards at the end of each group), distance x apart. These sets of LED’s are then focused into two points, with a distance of y between them (this distance decreases the closer you are to the sensor bar), which are then mapped on the Wii Remotes 0.8 Megapixel camera. A central point between these two dots can then be used to map a cursor onto your screen. By mapping the infrared points as they move across the imaging sensors grid, the Wii can fluidly move it’s cursor as you move your Wii Remote. The motion camera can also be used to determine your distance from the TV, by triangulating distances x and y.

Waving and Waggling

In order to translate your physical movement into the game, the Wii Remote uses a tri-axis accelerometer. As the name suggest this can be used to measure acceleration in six directions: up, down, left, right, forwards and backwards. Acceleration is measured using a silicon beam anchored at one end, suspended in an electrical field. As the beam moves with your physical acceleration, this affects the electrical field that it is suspended in and the readings can then be translated into direction and acceleration. One issue with accelerometers is that they cannot measure how far you have moved, only how fast. That is why a short flick and a long stroke in Wii Sports Tennis result in the same action. As it cannot track movement, this is why most movement will result in a preprogrammed response rather than actually mapping your movement.

Orientation and Rotation

As well as physical acceleration, the Wii Remotes accelerometer can also be used to measure the natural acceleration of gravity. Instead of measuring the acceleration of gravity, this feature comes into use when the orientation of the Wii Remote is necessary. As you rotate the Wii Remote vertically or forwards and backwards, the accelerometers respond to the gravitational pull and move out of their neutral position towards the gravitational pull. This can then be used to determine the orientation of the Wii controller. An example of this technology in use would be using the Wii Wheel in Mario Kart. By tilting the Wii Remote from side to side, the accelerometer reads the shift in gravity to the left or right of the device and then uses this information to determine how far to turn your car.

What Can’t Wii Remote Do?

One of the Wii Remotes main limitations is that the accelerometer is being used for both acceleration and rotation. This means that the Wii cannot perform both of these actions at once, limiting the potential of the Wii Remote. This means that, for example, is you wanted to do a sword slash, you are limited to the six directions of the accelerometer, thus making the experience feel limited and stifling.

The other problem with the Wii Remote is that it is impossible for it to track horizontal rotation. As all rotation is handled by gravitational acceleration, if you change the direction of the Wii Remote while keeping the gravitational point in the same place, no readings will be picked up by the Wii Remote. Having a whole axis of rotation inaccessible means that some precise movements are currently unavailable to us.

The Solution – Wii MotionPlus

Fortunately, Nintendo have found a solution to the Wii Remotes flaws in the form of Wii MotionPlus. This small expansion pack contains an X,Y axis gyroscope and a Z axis gyroscope. When these gyroscopes are combined with a tri-axis accelerometer they form an Inertial Measurement Unit, which can accurately track human motion. The gyroscopes are used to accurately measure all forms of rotation, including horizontal rotation. Not only is this more accurate than the accelerometer but also leaves it free to track physical acceleration. Therefore, it is now possible to accuraately measure angle, direction and speed, which can be combined to give a fluid, responsive motion which reflects your exact movements, giving us 1:1 control in our games.

Further Reading

How The Wii Remote Works: New York Times / Patent / ScienceLine / Wiki / X-Arcade

Accelerometers: Product / Wiki

Gyroscopes: How Stuff Works / Wiki

Inertial Measurement Units: Video Demonstration

WiiDs Online

Welcome to the Online section of the magazine, where we take a look at what’s new for download on the Wii, say hello to some new faces and take a look at the best forum topics this week.

Download Station

This week is WiiWare week for Europe and we’ve received a nice selection this week. First up us Defend Your Castle (500 points). Te basic idea of the game is to fling, throw and and generally destroy a stick figure army attacking your castle. There are a variety of upgrades and an ever increasing difficulty, combined with its quick simple fun makes this a worthwhile purchase for the small 500 point price tag. Also out this week is Wild West Guns (1000 points). This western arcade shooter offers plenty of blasting action as you shoot down targets and hostile enemies while avoiding the innocent. If you loved the shooting range in Wii Play or Links Crossbow Training this is definitely worth a download.

Over in North America there is two Virtual Console and one WiiWare game to download. First up is Chase H.Q. for Turbo Grafx 16 (600 points). This racing game sees you playing as police in pursuit of a vehicle. The game plays across a traditional three lane system and while the idea is interesting, the game is plagued by sluggish gameplay and annoying time limits. Next up is Art of Fighting 2 for the Neo Geo (900 Points). It looks and plays very similar to a Capcom fighting series based around fighting on the streets, but offers an interesting mental energy system. Using power ups uses mental energy, and taunting your opponents can deplete their mental energy. Thus there’s some added strategy as exhausting your opponents energy will leave them powerless. So if your interested in a fighting game not based on street fighting, be sure to give this one a look. Finally we have Pong toss for WiiWare (800 Points). This title is the reincarnation of Beer Pong, only without any beer. The aim of the game is to flick balls into cups in order to score points and outmaneuver your opponents. While the game is rather simple, a few friends and a few beers might make this an interesting party piece.

New Members

No new members this week, get out there and pester people to join!

Topic Of The Week

This section is for the best news and discussions started by you the listeners. Be sure to check the following topic and post.

This weeks Topic Of The Week is by What is a “Videogame”? by ChronoDiem. The thread looks at what actually makes a game and whether some developers are forgetting about the joys of simplicity. There’s some very interesting points in this thread so it’s definitely worth a read and if you have any thoughts, be sure to let us know! Check out the thread here.

And Finally…

Love the Wii? (Yup) Love Canoes? (Maybe…), then this is the ultimate appliance for you! This twin screw electric canoe can be controlled entirely with the motions of a Wii Nunchuck. Soon we can all enjoy cruising down rivers at a relaxing 4.5 knots while we idly daydream of our dream titles, proving you don’t drift off too far and crash into a rock or an island. You can view future of Canoeing here.

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Thats it for another Week In WiiDs. Please let us know your thoughts and opinions on the following topics as well as any feedback.

Until next time, We’ve Sown The Seeds, Now You Grow The WiiDs!

This Week In WiiDs – Issue One – All Eyes On Wii

This Week In WiiDs – Issue One – All Eyes On Wii

Hello and welcome to This Week In WiiDs, I’m Jack “The Jumpman” Smith and whether your at home, at work or trying to fill the gap while your favourite Nintendo Podcast takes a break, this is the best place for news, views and discussion direct on the forum.

Welcome to Issue One of This Week In WiiDs, published on July 25th 2008, your weekly roundup of all things Nintendo while the podcast is on Hiatus. I aim to bring you everything you love about the show, plus a little extra straight to the forums every week for your viewing pleasure.

Question Of The Week

This weeks Question of the Week is from Dark_Link:

“What would you like to see on Nintendos next hand held?I would like a special stylus that when you twist is it would twist what was on the screen.
Thanks!
Oliver Ronaldson”

Thanks for the question Dark_Link Personally I’m going to be quite boring and say Rumble. All the games that utilise rumble on the GBA and DS have all used it brilliantly and it’s added that little extra spark. Plus, being a handheld means that you will get a much more engaging feedback response. The only issue would be in interfering with the touch screen in terms of tapping accuracy, but if it used well rather than a vibrationfest it would be a great addition.

Thats my thoughts, but what about yours? Please reply to this weeks issue with what you would like to see in your next-gen handheld.

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If you have a question of the week for This Week In WiiDs, please send me a PM and i’ll be sure to use it. Any unused questions will be forwarded to be used on the podcast. If you want to get in touch with the team, you can email them at Wiidspodcast@googlemail.com and if you register this link on your Wii we will send you a message to your Wii as soon as we are back on air as well as when further episodes are released. You can also check out the WiiDs blog at http://www.wiids-podcast.com for more news, views and discussion as well as the latest updates. You can also find us snooping around the forums at http://www.wiidsforum.com, so feel free to leave us a message or PM and we will make sure you are the first to know when we are back on air.

News

This weeks headlines:

• Microsoft Wants Wii60 Motion Solution
• Pirates Play On Unmodded Wii’s
• Judge’s Ban Causes Controller Chaos
• Wii Takes Top Title

Microsoft Wants Wii60 Motion Solution

We’ve all heard the rumours about Microsofts attempt at motion controls, but interviews this week have revealed that Microsoft might be trying to take a different apporach to their motion solution. John Schappert (Vice President of Xbox Live) was recently quoted as saying that they were very interested in the idea of using the Wiimote in conjunction with the Xbox 360. While it is slim to none that this agreement would ever see the light of day, Reggie wouldn’t deny any possibility.

While this may not be big news on it’s own, this certainly isn’t the first time we’ve seen Microsoft try and get close to Nintendo, with Rare having announced that they had managed to create DS-Xbox360 connectivity and pre-Xbox there was even talk of an attempt from Microsoft to buy out Nintendo. We’ve also seen Microsoft try and recreate Nintendo’s ideas and philosophy with many titles announced that will try and attract the expanded audience and their new Avatar system that bears more than a slight resemblance to Nintendo’s Mii’s. Such a deal would definately benefit Microsoft, as a partnership with Nintendo would pretty much spell the end for Sony as well as open up their markets to more casual gamers. However, in this generation, such a deal would seriously damage the Wii, so as I stated, it would be very unwise for Nintendo to think about such a proposal for this generation of gaming. Still, with Microsoft becoming ever more interested in Nintendo’s ways, perhaps a partnership may not be impossible in the far future.

Source

Pirates Play On Unmodded Wii’s

The battle between Piracy and Nintendo has always been a long one, but when Bushing, one of the Wii’s leading hackers, responsible for assisting in the Twilight Hack and Homebrew Channel, sent an open letter to Nintendo, it looked like Piracy may have won the war. The letter described read:

“Dear Nintendo

As part of our efforts to understanding how the Wii works, we believe we have found a security issue that could allow pirated Wii games to be played on an unmodified Wii console.”

If such a bug was released into the public domain it would definitely hurt Nintendo as it could be easily and cheaply (if not freely) implemented, However, they might be able to survive, despite the lack of sales and possibly support from third parties as they have done with the DS, which continues to sell impossibly well despite having one of the most thriving piracy scenes of this generation. Luckily, Bushing is not looking at releasing this into the public domain, instead trying to work with Nintendo to prevent the flaw from being exploited. However, the worry still remains as others may find this exploit now its existence has been confirmed, and as Bushing himself has admitted, we still have no idea how most of the Wii works. Therefore this may only be the tip of the iceburg in our magic white box’s secret buggy insides.

Source

Judges Ban Causes Controller Chaos

This week, a Judges ruling has banned the sale of Gamecube, Wavebird and Classic controllers in America as well as $21 million in damages. Nintendo was brought to court by the small Texas based company, Anascape, who claimed that Nintendo violated their patent on a control device utilising six degrees of freedom. They had initially lost their case in May, receiving a fine of $21 million, but their failure to overturn, or at least reduce, the damages has proven unsuccessful. Nintendo is currently trying to appeal to the U.S Court Of Appeals in the Federal Circuit and the ban will be put on hold, however, Nintendo will have to either post a bond, or place royalties in an escrow to avoid the halt.

Sony and Microsoft were also challenged, however Sony decided to licence the patent in 2004 while Microsoft decided to settle out of court.

While the ban has been put on hold during this appeal, if they loose their case once more, it will hurt Nintendo’s profits. Fortunately as they no longer manufacture Gamecube and Wavebird controllers, they will only be loosing money on Classic Controllers, however, without these three controllers, a large portion of Nintendo’s Virtual Console titles will be rendered unplayable. Therefore allowing the ban to continue will not be an option.

If Nintendo is successful they should be able to overturn the ban and reduce the damages to be paid, so will it be third time lucky for the gaming giants?

Source / Patent

Wii Takes Top Title

We knew it was coming, in fact it was inevitable and it’s a surprise it hasn’t happened sooner, but the Nintendo Wii has finally taken over the top spot of most consoles sold in the US from Microsofts Xbox 360. Despite a year head start, Microsoft has been unable to produce enough demand to keep their top place and the Wiis phenomenal sales show no sign of slowing down with 133,000 sales per week. So far the Wii has sold 3.5 million un its this year, with the PS3 following second with 1.6 million units, closely followed by the Xbox 360 with 1.34 million units sold.

The DS also continues to dominate the handheld scene, with 150,000 units sold per week. On top of this Nintendo also took six of the ten best selling games of June, with Guitar Hero: On Tour, Wii Fit, Lego Indiana Jones for Wii and DS and Wii Play, which remains in the top ten for it’s seventeenth month in a row, yet to fall from the charts with a total of six million units sold.

Source

New Announcements

This is the new announcements section, where each week we tell you what new titles have surfaced and are on their way to you soon.

While E3 may be over, the announcement of new games are still rolling in fast, with new games announced for the Wii and WiiWare.

First up is Sonic And The Black Knight, which sees Sonic enter the world of Authurian legends, as you dash and slash your way through a series of missions. The game will be using a similar level system to Sonic And The Secret Rings with multiple objectives given in each world, but replaces the tilty movement with nunchuck controls (presumably to leave the Wiimote open to waggle). You can read more here.

From Capcom we have had the announcement of Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop, which is a port of the Xbox360 title of the same name. The game will be based on the Resident Evil 4 engine and see you pitted against a shopping mall full of zombies as you try and survive. Source

However, this isn’t the only Wii title that we will be seeing from Capcom as in a recent interview they hinted that we have only seen half of the titles currently in development for Wii. So while there are no details, expect something soon! Source

Natsume have also announced plans to make a sequel to their puzzle title Puzzle De Harvest Moon. The original was a very interesting concept, but ultimately a bit shallow in its offerings so a well made sequel could tick all the right boxes. They also announced interest in making a WiiWare title but where this is the title mentioned above, or a new title remains unclear. Source

Speaking of Wiiware, Konami have just announced a WiiWare version of their classic title Gradius. From what i’ve seen so far it looks like the game will deliver the side scrolling shooting fun of the original, only with vastly improved graphics and sound. Source

We’ve also had an announcement of a new rhythm dancing game for WiiWare known as Helix. It looks like the game will involve striking poses using two Wii Remotes to the beat. The title looks to have a good selection of tracks and should be available this Autumn. Source

We’ve also had two new ERSB rating for Virtual Console titles. These titles are Sonic the Hedgehog on the Master System, which is for… you guessed it, the Master System and Splatterhouse 2 for the Mega Drive.

New This Week

Here’s what you can expect to see on your local retailers shelves this week in Europe:

Wii:

• No Wii games this week I’m afraid

Ds:

• Mr Slime ( 25/07/2008 )
• Race Driver: GRID ( 25/07/2008 )

Here’s what you can expect to see on your local retailers shelves this week in North America:

Wii:

• SNK Arcade Classics V1 ( 23/07/2008 )
• MLB Power Pros 2008 ( 28/07/2008 )
• King Of Clubs ( 29/07/2008 )
• Summer Athletics ( 29/07/208 )

Ds:

• Suzuki Superbikes ( 29/07/2008 )

WiiDs Online

Welcome to the Online section of the magazine, where we take a look at what’s new for download on the Wii, say hello to some new faces and take a look at the best forum topics this week.

Download Station

This week in Europe we’ve been given three new Virtual console titles. First up is Neo Turf Masters for Neo Geo (900 Points). Neo Turf Masters is a rather nice looking golf title with four 18-hole courses to explore and expect the usual power bar timing you’ve come to expect from golf games. If your a fan on the genre this is definitely worth a look. Next up is International Karate Plus for the Commadore 64 (500 points). This is pretty similar to International Karate released at the Commadores VC launch, only slightly prettier and the ability to have three fighters at once (but only two players). It’s highly rated by fans, but may its repetitive nature and unforgiving combat may drive some people away. Lastly we have City Connection for the NES (500 points) which is a strange car based platformer where your aim is to pain all the roads white without getting caught by the police. It’s obscurity leads for an interesting, but ultimately boring experience making this game 499 or so points too much for its enjoyment.

This week the US has been given two Mega Drive games and one new WiiWare title. First up is Super Fantasy Zone (900 Points), which is a colourful side scrolling shooter, so expect the usual mass onslaughts of enemies and rapid fire fun. Also this week sees the release of Gley Lancer (900 Points) which is another side scrolling shooter, only with a more futuristic theme. One WiiWare title also made it’s way to the Wii Shop in the form of Pirates: The Key Of Dreams (1000 Points) which sees you battling various pirate ships over ten levels. While the gameplay mechanics are fun, it’s on the short side so if your looking for a single player game, your money might be better spent elsewhere.

Japan has received a new Wii channel this week called the “Print Mii Out” (made up name) channel. This allows you to send off photos stored on your SD cards to be made into prints, photo books or business cards. There seems to be a good range of customisation and the prices seem fair, you can even have your Mii put on your business card There’s no news on a Western release yet, but we will let you know as soon as more information is released.

If that wasn’t enough, Japan has also received a code redemption section in their Shop Channel. This will be used to redeem free software using codes that come packaged in retail games. No word on what will be offered through this service as of yet, but it reminds me of the Band Bros DX, Speaker Channel, which allows Wii compatibility with the said DS game. This came with a redemption code, so perhaps we will be seeing more WiiDs connectivity in the near future.

There’s also been a new Wii update released this week. This basically installs some of the code required for the new Album channel to work correctly, so it’s nothing to get excited about.

New Members

New to the forums this week are:

• Tush
• Zimboo
• Lukepuke93
• McLovin

Welcome to the community and we look forward to talking with you

Topic Of The Week

This section is for the best news and discussions started by you the listeners. Be sure to check the following topic and post.

This weeks Topic Of The Week is by Darkoopa who asks “What do you want to see on your own custom DS?” We’ve had some very interesting ideas so far, from simple colour designs to character art. Theres also some very snazzy pictures of some of the rarest DS designs, so it’s definitely worth a look. Check Out the thread here.

And Finally…

After Butternut posted up a song based on the tune to Rainbow Road I did a bit of surfing and found this masterpiece based on the theme tune to Super Mario World. Is there no end to peoples lyrical imagination?

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Thats it for another Week In WiiDs. Please let us know your thoughts and opinions on the following topics as well as any feedback.

Until next time, We’ve Sown The Seeds, Now You Grow The WiiDs!

Nintendo E3 Wrap Up

Nintendo E3 press conference has came and gone for another year, and has delivered us with both a selection of interesting advances for the Wii, big branching titles for the holiday season and more for the traditional gamer to come.

Perhaps the biggest piece of news at this yeas conference was the unveiling of the next advancement in motion technology, known as Wii MotionPlus. This little device contains high-performance gyroscopes, which when combined with the Wiimotes current accelerometer and IR sensor, can deliver 1:1 controls in games. That means that however you move, you character will also move, exactly mapping your movements. This is pretty exciting stuff as no one thought we would be seeing such accurate control this generation, and opens up a wealth of new possibilities to developers. Demos of the technology shown (taken from the new Wii sports Resort, which will bundled with the Wii MotionPlus) included a Frisbee game, there your characters arm movements reflect your movements, a jet ski game, with the wiimote and nunchuck used as throttle and a sword fighting demo where slashes were mapped accurately and percisely. We’ve heard little about other companies projects using this technology other than strong rumours that Punch-Out Wii will be using this technology, however, it will be very interesting to see what becomes of it.

We also saw the unveiling of Animal Crossing: City Folk for the Wii, which brings the joys of living in a forest with animals onto the Wii. So far, we’ve seen that the game supports complete four player Wi-Fi connectivity, allowing each player free roam of the town. As well as the standard text chat (which can be handed by pointy typing or USB keyboard) Nintendo also announced Wii Speak. This device sits on top of your sensor bar and allows voice chat between you and any other players. Nintendo have taken an interesting approach with this, offering community based input rather than solo input as seen on headsets. This allows for greater input from more than one player at once, emphasising on Nintendo’s community approach, but may be too inclusive if it picks up unwanted house members and other noises. From the on floor videos shown though, the mic has some spiffy noise reduction built in, so hopefully background noise wont be too much of a problem. As well as online connectivity, the game also offers a city to explore. Little is known about this yet, apart from that some businesses have moved out there and an online global trading post, so it will be interesting to see what else they implement here. While what we’ve seen so far looks interesting (especially voice chat) I will be keeping an eye out for more features to be announced in the coming months in order to make this title a worth successor to the DS version, as few new town/city features have been shown so far.

Nintendo’s other big holiday title that was unveiled was Wii Music, an improv jam game exploring a different side of music to most rhythm games. While most games in the genre currently focus on giving you a instrument shaped piece of plastic for you to hit/press to the scrolling notes, Wii Music offers a much more open experience, allowing you to pick up one of over 60 instruments and play how you want to play. While this is simplifying the genre, it’s great to see a music game that lets you boot up and muck about. There seems to be a nice selection of Nintendo songs to jam with, as well as some challenge modes such as conducting, and music quizzes. The ability to send your sessions to firends, who can then add their own tracks on top is also very interesting, but i’m just worried if the game will have enugh to fully support it (even though i’ll probably buy it to muck about for days).

Meanwhile, on the show floor, several other Wii games were shown off. First up was Super Mario Sluggers, a baseball game in the Mario Sports series. While it looks to offer a much more in depth baseball experience than Wii Sports, as well as a dash of zany, it’s not one that has grabbed my interest and will only really appeal to sports fans. However, Wario Ware: Shake Dimension on the other hand as me giggling with excitement. The game sees a full Wario platformer on the Wii, complimented by beautiful hand-drawn graphics. As a big fan of the original Gameboy titles this is already pre-ordered

The DS didn’t get much attention in the conference, but did get some announcements on the show floor. The biggest announcement has to be the upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, a brand new GTA game exclusive for DS, which will also feature online connectivity. Also shown off was Kirby Super Star Ultra, a remake of a SNES Kirby pack, which includes over six different Kirby games. I loved the original so with the additional content this is going to be a great buy. Pokemon Ranger: Shadows Of Almia is the second title in the Ranger series, offering a unique take on the Pokemon battles. It offers more of the same, only bigger, better, more options and more Pokemon (which isn’t a bad thing since I enjoyed the original). Make 10: A journey of numbers is an interesting approach at a math game, feauring several games based around the number 10, as you quickly try and formulate equations equalling 10 using a selection of provided numbers, decide wether groups add up to a multiple of 10 or not, scratch out numbers until you are left with ten and many others. The combination of maths and quick play challenges makes this a title to keep an eye on. Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir is a new mystery game which sees you searching for clues and interrogatin suspect to ultimately discover the death of Phil T Rich (gotta love name puns). There have been some great mystery games on the Ds so far, but also a fair share of stinkers, so it will be interesting to see if this title can pull it off and deliver some fun sleuthing action. Finally, Nintendo announced Rhythm Tengoku Gold is on its way over here. I am a MASSIVE fan of this series so this new was excellent to hear. The game looks like its to deliver more rhythm based wario-ware-esque mini-games which is great to hear. My JP copy should be arriving in a few weeks so expect proper hype then.

While players wanting more traditional games felt disappointed, interviews with Miyamoto show theres a lot to look forward to on its way. firstly, the hard drive solution we’ve all been waiting for is near finalisation and should be unveiled within the next month or two. He also revealed that a Zelda Wii, Zelda DS, Mario Wii, Mario DS, Pikmin and Metroid title were in development. He also rather backwardsly confirmed that there is indeed a Kid Icarus title in the works somewhere at Nintendo.

So once again we are seeing Nintendo’s focus at E3 shift towards it’s technological advancements and casual titles while more traditional games are being saved for other events. This years E3 was not one of today, but one of tomorrow, showcasing the future of the Wii and it’s new capabilities while teasing us about its bigger announcements yet to come. E3 is no longer the central platform of Nintendo’s announcement, but a single pillar in a year-spread announcment plan, with new, exciting and innovative news being released to us periodically rather than all at once. Overall I have enjoyed this years showcase and will be keeping an eye on several titles in the months to come.

Nintendo USB

From Nintendo:

Description of Duties

• Creating and executing a test plan for Wii’s USB devices

• Executing test plans with great attention to detail and documenting bugs

• Writing test procedure documents, gathering, and learning required software/hardware

• Reproducing bug reports and helping find work-arounds or resolutions

Summary of Requirements

• Extremely thorough with keen attention to detail and accuracy

• Able to execute scripted tasks lists with regular repetition

• Ability to reliably report and track defects via spreadsheets or other bug tracking software with great detail

It’s interesting to see Nintendo working on some sort of secret USB device, which we will hopefully ind about soon. Until then it’s time for my wild speculation So heres some of my thoughts on what NintendoUSB should be:

Nintendo Fridge

We’ve all head Nintendo’s fridge analogy, that we can store our games and redownload them again, but the gaming community is calling out for a storage solution and only a few months ago Iwata hinted at an answer may be coming. A USB storage device would offer more space and fast transfers, finally letting us download in peace without having to delete 5 games first. A nice piece of software alowing us to expand the amount of channel slots on our Wii pre-installed onto the fridge would be pretty useful too. I’m really hoping we see this at E3.

Wii Key(board)

Nintendo has already added USB keyboard support for use with the Internet channel and WiiMail and it’s possible Nintendo might have some more channels lined up that use the keyboard. As USB is already activated, theres no firmware that needs sorting out and using USB will leave all four controller slots free for gaming. A few hotkey buttons such as back. forward, and favourites could be used for the Internet channel, while others such as Home, +, – and a D-Pad could be added for navigation, making the browsing experience much more friendly.

Wii Content Sticks

This ones a far stretch but Nintendo could use USB devices to give out at stores with Wii content, such as videos, demos (very very far stretch), channels (assuming we get offline channels), firmware updates and DS demos. This is an effective way of promoting the Wii and its games, is easier on their download limits (especially for large files like demos) and provides offline Wii owners with content usually unavailable.

Wii Hardware Update

While software updates can be easily managed by Firmware updates and maybe in the future Wii Content Sticks, hardware is a different matter. A simple USB extension could offer new hardware capabilities, such as DVD playback or something im to tired to think of at the moment.

Theres plenty more possibilities and only time will tell, but any advancement on Nintendo’s part is interesting so watch this space (and probably E3) for information as it comes.

The Dawn Of A New Hillys

It’s officially official, Beyond Good & Evil 2 is under development, has a publisher and has had its first trailer released.

Watch The Trailer Here!

All I can say is Wow!

This game looks so styleised and beautiful, and such a shock from the previous game. The arid empty plains are a haunting contrast from Hillys’ former luch and beautiful landscape. Also, it’s very interesting to see Pey’j still around after the end of the original, but the scar across his eye? This short trailer shows us hardly anything, yet creates so many questions.

I’m still slightly lost for words so just watch the trailer for yourself and be amazed. We are very very lucky gamers and I truly cannot wait to find out more about this game!

Rhythm Tengoku Gold Is On It’s Way!

The new Nintendo DS game Rhythm Tengoku Gold is due out in Japan on July 31st 2008. The game offers various new rhythm games utilising the touch screen focusing on timing. Much like its Gameboy Advance Counterpart, you’ll find yourself riding in the rhythm with it’s simple, yet engaging, play.

As for more detailed information, you’ll just have to wait a little bit more!

It’s no secret I am a massive fan of the original Rhythm Tengoku, which combined brilliant upbeat music with crazy minigames, which made the equivalent of Wario Ware: The Opera. Each of its 48 minigames offer a wacky unique twist on the rhythm genre, from tapdancing monkeys to virus busting to plucking hairs out of onions to saving the world from masked horrors. The game also included eight remix levels, offering very warioware esque gameplay quickly switching between games. A sequel is nothing but good news and to see it coming out so soon is nothing but good news. While we won’t be seeing it coming out over here, I can highly recommend importing it and will be sure to offer my opinions as soon as my copy arrives. Until then, check the video below for an idea of the games madcap fun.

Microsoft & Sony – “Wii Want In On The Action”

First of all I want to apologise for the terrible pun in the title. I would love to say it won’t happen again, but if I do then it almost definately will.

Let me introduce you to Darwin, one of the gaming industries worst kept secrets. Rumours have been flying around about an XboxWii60 product and now we finally have a few details on the Wiimote wannabe. Darwins being delevoped not only for Xbox 360, but also for Playstation 3 and PC. As you can see from the screenshot above, its very…. familiar to another controller I know.

Safety Strap? Check! Big A button? Check! Trigger On The Back? Check! Four Lights To Show Player? Check! Motion Sensors? Check! Half A Controller In Each Hand? Check! Yes it really could pass as a third party wiimote redesign.

To be fair, there are a few differences between the Wiimote and the Darwin. The Darwin has an extra trigger button on its back for added control, but lacks the 1 and 2 button. To be fair these aren’t used in most Wii games, but were useful for lesser used features such as menu and camera features. Also, the Darwin lacks a speaker. I know the speaker is a marmite functionality for gamers, but most people like it and it does have its uses, such as issueing player specific commands and adding depth to the sound. To be fair, the above points aren’t massive differences, as not all Wii games utilise the Wiimotes unique features and I can see some merit in adding another trigger button. Afterall, both trigger buttons on the Nunchuck are normally used.

There are some rather large differences between the Wiimote and Darwin as well. One of these main differences is that Darwin lacks IR. This means that all pointing capabilities are handed by the gyroscope. This means no need for a sensor bar, but i’m worried this may mean less control. The lack of IR means your not restricted to pointing within a box, which can be useful as theres been several times when I have had to point further up than I thought. However, it also means that you haven’t got a central point to aim at, thus reducing accuracy. Also, if you’ve ever tried using the gyroscope to control the pointer (which I have), you’ll find it can be very sticky to control. Still, if they can pull it off, Kudos to them.

Also, Darwin has a strange Duel Baton system. As you can see in the image above, the main form of Dawin is basically two Wiimotes gaffa taped together. If you try and hold two Wiimotes in this position, you’ll see how uncomfortable this is. It’s also incredibly restrictive and thus is rather useless. The Wiimote benefited from its small size and agileness, so why take this away? Dawin can also cut in half and used Nunchuck style, which looks alot more comfortable, and pretty much just like the Wiimote & Nunchuck combo, only larger. Finally it can also be used split in half for 2 player, which is a rather smart idea actually, apart from the fact that one poor sod is going to have to play their game with a D-Pad and not an analogue stick.

As you can probably tell, i’m not particularly wowed by this blatant copy of the Wiimote and can’t really see it making a dent in Nintendo’s sales. Firstly the thing costs a lot ($80) and thus is going to turn away gamers. Also, it’s an optional add on midway through the consoles life. You don’t NEED these controls, they are just stuck on for good measure, unlike the Wii thats been built with motion ground up. Also, Xbox360 and PS3 owners that really want motion control probably already own a Wii. On the plus side, if more developers are working with motion control from the ground up, it may mean we get better ports on the Wii, but this all depends on how much the developers utilise it.

There is a market out there for this, but I don’t think its going to be a massive, revolutionising market, and with only a few games a year utilising the technology, its going to be too much of an investment for most. Still, only time will tell…

Beyond Good & Evil 2 In The Works

“I am working on Beyond Good & Evil 2. We have been in preproduction on the title for a year, and we’re currently doing market research. But for the moment, it’s in the early stages, and Ubisoft still hasn’t agreed to it. We want to be in continuity with the first game, with a big variety of levels, lots of emotion in the gameplay, and characters we care about. This time we are dealing with planet Hillys’ future, and the relationship with animals…” – Michel Ancel

This has to be the best piece of gaming news this year by far! Words… Truly cannot even begin to describe how happy I am about this news (I tried but it just came out as a jumble of capital letters along the lines of OMGTHISISFANTASTICALLYAMAZINGJUSTPERFECTBESTNEWSEVERSERIOUSLYCANTGETBETTER…)

Beyond Good & Evil is easily one of my 5 favorite games ever made, with its gripping emotional story line, with twists and turns around every corner, filled with darkness and light, changing the way you think of the world and the characters every hour. Game play took a brilliant mix of action and stealth, as you sneak into enemy complex’s in order to uncover the conspiracy. This is combined with Jade’s photography, which sees you cataloging every animal in the world, and collecting evidence of the above said conspiracies. If the gripping main story wasn’t enough, the game featured hundreds of hidden coves, facilities and strongholds.

Criminally, this game might not be coming out for the Wii, but if there was one reason to buy a 360, this is it. Without a doubt this will be one of next years biggest gaming highlights. Unfortunately the original didn’t sell well, but this is a new start for the series and I have high hopes for what could be game of the year.

D.B.U.T.T. Don’t Break Up The Team – Carlson And Peters – Page 823

A Legend Is Recognised

The voting for TIMES most innovative person of 2008 has closed and i’m very pleased with the number 1 result:

It’s fantastic to see the legend that is Shigeru Miyamoto take the number 1 spot this year, climbing from 9th last year. Miyamoto deserves his nickname as “father of modern video gaming” as nobody else has brought about so many great games and characters as him. Each of these games have been an instant classic, holding a place deer to many gamers, such as Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong and more recently Pikmin and Wii Fit.

Miyamoto-San also had the privilage of peing the first person to be honored in Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences’ Hall of Fame as well as one of the first stars on the San Francisco Walk Of Game. He was inducted into Ordre des Arts et des Lettres as a Knight of France.

Truly this humble, banjo playing man is one of the reasons we are all here playing games today and I have a lot of personal respect for him. May he continue to revolutionize our lives and once again congratulations to him for making the well deserved top spot.

Mario Kart Excedes Expectations

We all knew this game was going to sell well, but this weeks report by the ELSPA adds a few interesting facts

First of all, heres the top five games chart for 06/04/2008 to 12/04/2008:

1. Mario Kart Wii
2. Gran Turismo 5: Prologue
3. Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games
4. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
5. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas

Reaching number one may not be that big of an achievement but heres two more interesting tibits:

• Mario Kart Wii is the 8th fastest selling video game in UK history
• Mario Kart Wii sold more in its first week than Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games, Super Mario Galaxy, Mario Strikers, Mario Party 8 and Super Paper Mario combined.

Thats one big amount of sales!

Another interesting fact released is that the Mario series accounts for 21.2% of Wii software sales, proving that the plumber still has his charm to many.

Looks like we have a massive hit on our hands here and if you haven’t got a copy already, good luck finding one