Nintendophiles 03.06.08
Posted by Theo Fraser on 03.06.2008
Another brand new Wii Channel launches in Japan, Capcom begin work on a Resident Evil Zero Wii port (but will US gamers ever see it?) and mere days away from the game’s launch, take a last look at Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates in a stunning final trailer. It's all inside the latest edition of Nintendophiles!
Oh I hate slow news weeks! But the fact of the matter is, there hasn't been a whole lot happening in the world of Nintendo this week. Popular Japanese RPG series Disgaea is coming to the Nintendo DS, but that's literally all the info on that front, so there's no point dedicating a whole section to it. Similarly, the first Master System title for the Virtual Console has been confirmed as Wonder Boy; again, no need for its own paragraph.
There have been a few significant occurrences, which I've naturally outlined below, but aside from that, it looks like it'll be a shorter than usual column this week. Fingers crossed for big news in 7 days then! Plus, I've got something rather special in the pipeline for all of you. I'm not going to give anything away just yet, but suffice to say you'll definitely want to keep your eyes on the Features section of 411 Games the weekend of March 15th-16th. Yep, that's sufficiently cryptic. Move along now, people...
Wii TV Guide Channel launches in Japan
Credit: Cubed3, IGN
I recall this being talked about a couple of months ago, with Nintendo bandying the idea around, so evidently they got straight to work, as the "Television Friend Channel" has just launched in Japan. Aptly named, in my opinion, as this new channel is likely to be a close ally of yours when considering what TV to watch.
The first basic feature is a comprehensive listing of the week's TV schedule, which is always handy, especially as you'll be able to enter keywords or genres to make browsing extremely accessible and user-friendly. A ‘stamp' feature is included, which is basically a bookmarking system, allowing you to tag various programs with a Mii-themed stamp of approval. The cool thing here is that if you've linked your Wii to a mobile phone or email address, the console will actually send out an alert 30 minutes prior to the program's start. Sure, it's not going to rival TiVo, but that's a nifty little feature right there, and once again helps Nintendo's plight to make the Wii "not just a games console" and instead something that gets switched on each and every day, just as you would a TV.
The Channel also keeps track of the programs your friends and family have tagged, and you'll be able to send your bookmarks to and from each other. Better not bookmark "Busty Babes 5" then. Still on the subject of stamping programs, the Channel will actually track each and every stamp made by Wii users and use the information to form a star-based rating system, with ratings from 0 to 5 stars. Who needs Nielson ratings, eh?!! When this service eventually comes to the US, I wonder if we'll see a 1.1 star rating next to TNA Impact? OK, that was a cheap shot, but I couldn't resist.
The final awesome touch is that this Channel includes the ability to use your very own Wii remote as a TV remote! Nintendo are using some clever technology here, sending out a signal from the sensor bar, which will bounce around the room until it hits the TV's sensor. As such, it's recommended that you position the sensor bar close to the TV's receptor. Using the Wii remote lets you flick the channel and adjust the volume, and you'll have the benefit of going straight the Wii's main menu with a click of the "Home" button, so you can get straight back into No More Heroes as soon as the latest episode of Lost ends.
So that's the latest of updates from Nintendo, in Japan at least. Hopefully we won't have to wait too long to get this in the West. But uh, I gotta say...this is ANOTHER channel that's gonna take up precious storage space on my Wii. Any word on that external hard drive, Nintendo? No? Worth a try...
Resident Evil Zero Wii port could arrive Stateside after all
Credit: CVG
Word leaked out about a Resident Evil Zero Wii port early last week, but I held off on reporting it here until an official statement was made. We got that statement late last week, and the game is indeed coming...but unfortunately, it doesn't appear to be making its way across the Pacific. At least, that was the stance Capcom originally took...
Evidently the internet was quite outspoken about RE0 Wii not seeing a Stateside release, and Capcom have had to rethink their plans. Chris Kramer, head of Capcom's US public relations, said,
"We are watching the progress on the game, and if it ends up blowing up huge like RE4 Wii did, we'll evaluate the possibility of bringing it over here and flipping the lingo sos that y'all can read it."
Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles has just broken the 1 million sales barrier worldwide, so clearly there is still a large contingent of gamers loving all things Resident Evil. With that in mind, I see no reason why Resident Evil Zero won't sell well, especially if the controls are reworked to mimic the more action-oriented RE4 style. I really enjoyed the plot of RE0; the game was just heavily overlooked because by the time it came out, people were simply sick of the tired and dated gameplay (not to mention the COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY door opening animations!). Depending upon how much Capcom decide to update, this Wii port has the potential to do exceptionally well.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates trailer
Now sure, I may be a total Final Fantasy mark, which means I go crazy over any and all FF media, but this is a tremendous little trailer for the upcoming DS title, and it's quite clear that this is going to take the crown for "Most Impressive Graphics" on the system. Quite simply, it is visually stunning, and the extra time and money that Square Enix have put into this looks to have paid off. As you'll see for yourself, there's a much bigger emphasis on action in this iteration of Final Fantasy, with a couple of context-sensitive Zelda-esque moments and ...A JUMP BUTTON! Turn-based RPGs aren't everyone's cup of tea, so it'll be interesting to see if this action-oriented real time gameplay brings in a new audience to the Final Fantasy universe. Check out the trailer below, and then count down the days to the game's US launch on Tuesday.
The 411 Games Crew
The Select and Start News Report covers the big story of last week; EA's recent attempt to buyout Take-Two. Vincent Chiucchi has you covered on that one.
Mark Salmela has a bumper edition of The SIXAXIS News Report for you this week, with MGS4, LittleBigPlanet, Haze, and GTAIV all getting the spotlight shone on them.
The Negative Edge News Report is brought to you by Tommy Coloma, who covers everything from a special edition Command & Conquer 3 release, the Wii Freeloader hitting the market in Europe, the big releases of the week, and a look at the Claymore anime series.
Morakoth Tang and Dustin James do battle in this week's Fact or Fiction, as always presented by Tommy Coloma.
Vincent Chiucchi's Hall of Shame inducts a new member this week, with Drake of the 99 Dragons.
Are they TRYING to get people to stop playing Wii games?
Posted By: Rod Oracheski (Registered) on March 06, 2008 at 02:50 AM
Actually, they are trying to get EVERYONE. Something Sony and Microsoft fail to do on a consistant basis.
Posted By: David R. (Guest) on March 06, 2008 at 04:40 AM
Sony and Microsoft are smart about it though. They have multimedia functions, but they don't directly compete with their primary focus - gaming.
You can stream movies or music to your PS3/360 but you can do that any time you want, there's no need to stop gaming right now in order to do that.
The TV Guide channel tells you when you need to stop playing games to watch a TV show instead. It's a bizarre concept, especially coming from a game publisher.
After all the publishers, whether it's Nintendo, Sony, or Microsoft, all want the same thing: gamers beating their games and buying new ones.
The Wiimote as a TV remote? Now THAT makes sense.
Posted By: Rod Oracheski (Registered) on March 06, 2008 at 06:43 AM
Xbox = fails sometimes, overall good though
Sony = overall failure
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I understand that the Big N is trying to make everyone purchase their console. However the idea of additional channels, which most will only effect Japan, is a limited idea as the Wii can only support so many "channel blocks" on the main menu. If you combine those "channels" with the Virtual Console games, then people will quickly run out of room.
Nintendo needs to rethink its storage idea before anything else. Well and online communications.
Posted By: MLL (Guest) on March 06, 2008 at 10:42 AM
Sorry, but the Wii line up just doesn't seem that appealing for the core gamer.
Posted By: JDW (Guest) on March 06, 2008 at 11:14 AM
"Sorry, but the Wii line up just doesn't seem that appealing for the core gamer."
And just when did you get the right to speak for that audience? Because I don't remember voting for a mouthpiece.
The Wii is getting several games I'm looking forward to.
Posted By: Sean McCabe (Guest) on March 06, 2008 at 12:58 PM
I dont want to see R.E. Zero on the wii I couldnt stand switching between characters in that game
Posted By: thedouce (Guest) on March 06, 2008 at 05:14 PM
Nintendo is trying to sell Wii's. They have ads in the games that tell you to take a break from playing. So if the new TV thing stops and tells you to watch TV, I can't see that being a distraction. Makes sense to me. Nintendo continues to think outside the box and reap the benefits by being the best game company around.
Posted By: Wii Rocks (Guest) on March 06, 2008 at 05:40 PM
Stop your bickering fools!
Posted By: Swanson (Guest) on March 07, 2008 at 11:19 AM
