February 29, 2012 archive

Written by Podunker:Number 905

With only a few weeks left until E3 2010, information is already starting to pour out about what’s going to be on the showroom floor. Before the floodgates open completely, let’s take a look at what Nintendo is likely to bring come June.

Wii MotionPlus’s Shaky Future

When the Wii MotionPlus was announced, people were happy to hear that the Wii would be getting the one-to-one motion control people were expecting at launch. Unfortunately, developers weren’t given a heads-up about the device, leaving it with little third-party support. Even worse, this drought has continued, with a few sports titles and Red Steel 2 being the only games not published by Nintendo to use MotionPlus. Still, the adoption rate is there. Wii Sports Resort sold about as well as every other “Wii Something” game put out by Nintendo, Wii remotes have been bundled with the device, and some console bundles come with it. A recent patent filing even points to a redesigned remote that could have the technology built-in. With any luck, we’ll see both Nintendo and third parties showcasing titles supporting MotionPlus this year. Otherwise, things don’t look too good for the little guy.

Virtual Boy Part Deux: Meet the Nintendo 3DS

Announced ahead of E3 due to leak concerns, we know that, despite the recent launch of the Nintendo DSi XL, Nintendo has a true successor for the DS line planned and that it’s in 3D. We also know that the 3D does not require glasses and can be turned off for those who experience headaches or cannot see 3D. On top of that, we know that it won’t actually be called the Nintendo 3DS. While backwards compatibility with DS games is likely, it’s hard to say if that will carry over to DSi Ware as well. It might seem like Nintendo is spreading its portable line thin, especially with their acknowledging of Apple as a competitor, but, if done right, the 3DS could prove staggering competition for both Apple and Sony. It’s going to be an interesting product to see, and could very well be the talk of the show.

Do or Die Time for the Vitality Sensor

This was Nintendo’s big surprise at last year’s E3 and it left a lot of people shaking their heads. We still haven’t heard of anything being developed that would use the peripheral, so unless Nintendo is planning a new Wii Fit title, it’s hard to imagine what game the sensor would launch with. It might be premature to call this vaporware, but if we don’t hear anything about it at this E3, it might not be coming at all.

Wii Would Like to Party

Shown off to stockholders earlier this month, the newest “Wii Something” title is Wii Party, a party game in the same vein as the Mario Party franchise, only starring your Miis. Not much is known about the title yet, but early screenshots show a strong focus on board and family games, like Mahjong and BINGO, rather than frantic mini-games like in Mario Party or the Rayman: Raving Rabbids series. That doesn’t mean that controller-destroying waggle isn’t in store for the title, though. Due out sometime this fiscal year, this is one that will definitely make it to the conference.

The Legend Lives On

For a whole year, we’ve known there’s a new Legend of Zelda title in development. All we know is that it may require MotionPlus and we’ve had one image to look at. With any luck, all of this will change when Nintendo takes the stage at L.A. There’s been a lot of speculation off of that one image, largely around the absence of Link’s sword, but there’s not much solid to go off of for this title. What has been said by Shigeru Miyamoto, Zelda creator, and Eiji Aonuma, game producer, is that they are looking to create a new way to play the game, restructure the stale framework, and make the game easier for newer players. With the past few Zelda offerings falling flat with a decent number of gamers, maybe the changes in store for this new title will be just what the franchise needs.

View Images here

Metroid: Other M Makes One Last Show

If you saw Nintendo’s E3 conference last year, you probably ended up shocked and confused when Team Ninja, the studio behind Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden, had their intro pop-up on screen to show off a Metroid title. While it’s a break from the other entries in the series, there are a lot of people excited about this title, and for good reason. With a couple of months left until release, there’s a chance that we might see a more finished, playable build of the game shown off this year before the game hits shelves in the fall.

Kirby Comes Home

Long confined to the handheld market and various rereleases, it looks like Kirby is finally going to get a Wii game, the franchise’s first console game in seven years. Outside of being mentioned at a stockholder’s meeting, there’s nothing else known about the game. Hopefully it will be a proper platformer, along the lines of the Dreamland series, and not a departure from the norm like Canvas Curse or Air Ride. Still, the pink puffball is finally getting the Wii treatment.

RPGs Rediscover the Wii

While the RPG market on other systems might be focused on Western-developed titles, some Japanese-developed games are finding a nice spot home on the Wii. Monolith Studio, the group behind Xenosaga and Baten Kaitos, is bringing Xenoblade, previously shown off as Monado: Beginning of the World, to the Wii sometime in 2010 in Japan. Hironobu Sakaguchi, Final Fantasy creator, is leading Mistwalker in the creation of The Last Story, a more mature looking RPG reminiscent of earlier Final Fantasy titles. Since both of these games are being published by Nintendo, it’s likely that we’ll see something of them, though it’s hard to say if it will be at E3 or later on at the Tokyo Game Show.

A Bright Future for Golden Sun

Despite a strong fan following, it looked like the Golden Sun series was retired, until last year’s presentation showed that, even after eight years, Golden Sun is something to be excited about. One of the stand-out series on the GameBoy Advance, Golden Sun is finally hitting the Nintendo DS with updated graphics and a story linked to original titles. While we only caught a glimpse of it last year, we’re likely to something far more substantial this time around.

Nintendo isn’t an easy company to predict, especially in the recent years. Things like Pok?mon Black and White and 3DS launch titles could just as likely end up at the Tokyo Game Show as they could at E3. Whatever gets revealed, Nintendo has a nice core lineup going for it this year which looks more than capable to please any gamer. A lot of people may have given up on Nintendo, but with new Zelda, Metroid, and Kirby games coming out, plus whatever else might be announced, even the most jaded gamer can find some excitement.