Nintendophiles 11.15.07
Posted by Theo Fraser on 11.15.2007
The rumor mill starts churning once again, Tales of Innocence asks you to choose between graphical styles, Wii music support switches from MP3 to AAC (because Nintendo is clearly crazy), and the final, climactic trailer for Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles! Check it all out in this week’s Nintendophiles!
Normally, I like to have a little introduction, pre-news report spiel here, but there is some kind of horrible alarm going on outside my building and I can hardly hear myself think! My ears are nearly bleeding, it's that bad. So to save me from going bonkers, I'm going to jump straight into this week's news!
The Rumor Mill
Credit: Surfer_Girl
Here in Nintendophiles, I always like to present you with the cold, hard facts on the goings-on in the gaming industry. If I have to resort to rumor, I try to make sure it's at least from a credible source. But sometimes, some pretty major rumors crop up, and whilst they may not have the credibility of rumors from sites such as IGN or Gamespot, they're more than worthy of your attention, especially if said rumors do turn out to be true. Such is the case here, as a slew of new rumors hit the web thanks to "industry insider" Surfer_Girl. As I'm sure you know by now, please don't take this as any kind of confirmation, as nothing has been sourced as of yet. Here we go...
IO-Interactive's next Hitman game, tentatively slated for release next summer, is coming to the Wii
Even though the forthcoming Prince of Persia 4 will probably not be coming to the Wii, the system will receive an "alternate title" in the Prince of Persia franchise
After great success with Athens 2004, Eurocom is developing sequel, 2008 Beijing Olympics, for Sega
That non-Metroid game Retro Studios is working on is a new IP that is not an FPS
Zoonami has a few titles that will be available through WiiWare next year
Q Entertainment is working on WiiWare title or two for release for next year
A ChuChu Rocket comeback for DS and/or Wii
EA's next-gen snowboarding title that may or may not have SSX in the title is coming next Autumn, at the same time frame as Shaun White Snowboarding
Red Steel 2 will not arrive before May, but will come with multiplayer and co-op
LEGO Indiana Jones is coming out after or at the same time as the Indiana Jones movie
Yet another Super Monkey Ball game is in the works
Fight Night 2008 is coming to the Wii
Super Punch-Out! is coming to Virtual Console next year
Monster Games is developing another game for Nintendo, that is not an Excite Truck sequel
Wii Motor Sports Airplane is a WiiWare title
Mario Superstar Baseball Wii is sliding to home base in the summer
Nintendo's new handheld will see release in late 2009
Something from J.J. Abrams, that is not Lost, is getting the game treatment
Ubisoft Montpelier is working on Beyond Good & Evil 2, Frédérick Raynal's new game, and an MMO. One of those will see release next year and the other two in 2009
Red Steel 2 features online play
EA is not working on a console nor is there any plans for such a thing to happen, EA is purely a software company
Rumoured new Zelda title for Wii? It's happening. Multiple titles. But the new big, epic Zelda for Wii is probably about two years away
Nintendo is working on 30+ WiiWare titles, including some based off franchises such as Zelda (two games) and Mario
I heard something back in March or April about a Shenmue title for Wii, but I have not heard anything since about it and doubt that there is any truth to that. Despite announcements to the contrary, I've heard from quite a few people that Shenmue III has never actually entered production. To my knowledge, Shenmue Online is the only Shenmue title currently in development
WiiWare titles based on Donkey Kong and Metroid are in the works
Three Wario games are in development
Also of note is her apparent insider comments on the launch of Rayman Raving Rabbids 2, in which "Nintendo really did not want Rayman Raving Rabbits 2 to come at the same time as Super Mario Galaxy, since their game had a stratosphere of buzz and the limbless guy's popular party might disrupt sales of SMG. Nintendo tried anything they could do to refuse to give their approval; for example, in one instance, they said that one of the clouds in the game was shaped like Pikachu."
That last point is just funny, and very telling of Nintendo's concerns and their ideas of their market. So far, Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 hasn't scored all that good, but Nintendo were obviously concerned about it taking sales away from Super Mario Galaxy due to it being a party game; a genre very popular with many casual Wii users.
As for all the other rumors, the main one I wanted to bring to your attention is the unofficial announcement of Beyond Good & Evil 2. BG&E is easily one of my favourite games, and fans of the first title have been crying out for a sequel ever since its launch, due to the cliff-hanger ending, and of course because of how good it actually was. So if Ubisoft truly are working on BG&E2, I am about to become one VERY satisfied customer.
Graphical options in Tales of Innocence
Credit: Cubed3
Certainly an unorthodox option here, but more than welcome nonetheless! Namco Bandai's upcoming Tales of Innocence DS will feature two graphical options in the menu, as pictured above.
Players will be able to choose between outlined characters (with a more anime/cel-shaded look, akin to Tales of Symphonia on the Gamecube) or the regular, ‘normal' figures, which blend into the scenery like recent Final Fantasy DS games. Obviously, it's not going to drastically affect gameplay, nor will it instantly make the game appeal to those who simply don't like RPGs, but it's a nice little touch for the kind of people that get hung up on that kind of thing.
More information on the game can be found at the official Tales of Innocence website (Japanese), but if you're waiting for English updates, you'll find them all right here at the 411 Games Zone. But good job, Namco, you've done me proud.
Wii support changes from MP3 to AAC
Credit: Cubed3
The Wii's Photo Channel will be shortly updated, but not everything is a cause for celebration. The main issue of controversy is the fact that support for the worldwide-popular MP3 music format will be dropped in favour of the AAC format, which is not nearly as handy. According to AAC enthusiasts, the sound quality in an AAC is superior to MP3, so at least there is a proper answer for all of this (and we know who to blame, damn AAC-whores!)
On the plus side, some other changes will be put into effect this Christmas (when the update is scheduled to take place), and for starters, you'll now be able to use your personal pictures as icons for the Photo Channel on the main menu screen.
Nintendo have noted that once you install the update, there's no going back, and you won't be able to access MP3s again. It's still not clear whether this will affect ALL games (ie will it work retro-actively with something like Excite Truck, which featured SD card music playback.), but it seems likely at this point.
It's not an overwhelmingly disappointing thing, but it does kinda suck! It's obvious to anyone that MP3s are one of the hottest commodities on the market, so it does seem rather odd that Nintendo would drop support at the drop of a hat. Eager music-buffs can obviously download special programs to convert MP3s into AACs, but it's an awful pain and might contribute to people just not bothering uploading music onto their SD cards due to it being a complete waste of time and space.
It's most definitely a strange move, especially to drop MP3 playback all by itself, we can't be too quick to judge; perhaps Nintendo are preparing a statement as we speak. Let's hope to hear a ‘proper, valid reason' for these activities in the near future, and find out Nintendo's plans for the future.
Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles- Russia Trailer
The game is in US stores as we speak, which means that this is the final trailer for the game, and what a way to go out! The footage in this trailer is taken from the brand new, never before seen Russia levels, which feature Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, as well as the sinister Albert Wesker. Check out the video below for a fantastic look at what to expect later on in the game.
Come on, if that doesn't make you want to buy the game, I don't know what will! Wesker's story sounds really intriguing, and I can't personally wait to see how the whole Umbrella issue pans out, and how all the files were covered. It might not be the most in-depth Wii game on the market, but those of us who want closure to the Resident Evil saga can rest assured that they'll finally be getting one.
And the debut of Derek Robbins and his column The 10th Hour!
Well, seems like it was ANOTHER slow news week, but hopefully it begins to pick up a little bit in the coming weeks. So apologies as always, I'm hoping to get a little more free time in the next month or two, which should mean the re-emergence of your favourite Nintendophiles sections such as One Nintendo Game You Must Play Today, Viable Candidates for the Virtual Console and Great Nintendo Gaming Moments. That's certainly something to look forward to in the coming editions of Nintendophiles!
