Our faces lit up this morning after seeing this image on Famitsu's site. Surely, this was it: Nintendo's long-awaited solution to the storage woes of every Wii-owning geek and otaku on the planet. Alas, no. After scrambling for a machine translation of the accompanying kanji, our hopes were emphatically mangled. This is no HDD unit, but a portable air conditioner the "Nintendo WiFi Network Adapter." Once again, life had thrown us a cruel curveball. Happy Monday morning, us.
Anyway, if you struggle to get your Wii or DS online (and we know from experience that it can be fiddly), then this dinky wireless LAN router is for you. It can be used with the Wii, the DS, your PC, and other devices, and will be available on Nintendo's Japanese homepage from September 18th, priced at ¥5,800 (US$53). There's no news yet on a launch outside Japan, though as the Nintendo WiFi USB Connector was discontinued late last year, a western release would be a safe bet.
Hit the break for three more images, one of which depicts the adapter's three modes: "Router," "Bridge" (for connecting to your Wii or DS via another router), and "Auto" (which automatically switches your network). As for our ongoing storage issues, we're still waiting, Shiggy/Reggie/Satoru ...
Okay, first of all, there are new screens for the upcoming WiiWare title. Hit them up in our gallery below, then come back here, because we're got some things we need to discuss.
Back? Good. Okay, to clarify: Bomberman Blast, the WiiWare title for download and not the retail disc, will feature Mii support and 8-person online multiplayer (up to four players can go online on the same Wii) and is officially on its way to North America. We know we told you something else before regarding the Mii stuff, but the press release that literally just landed into our inbox tells another story. So expect this to be one content-rich download.
And on top of those details, Hudson also let us know that they'll be offering online tournaments. In fact, one will even coincide with the release of the game (which is due out in Japan this fall)!
For those of you who've been tracking Quantum of Solace over at The Stiq, you know that most of the worthwhile things to discuss about the game have come from the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions. Well, it would appear that Activision isn't leaving Wii owners out to dry, as some cool features are being utilized in the Wii version of the title.
For one, there will be multiple control schemes. Gamers can use the tried-and-true Wiimote and Nunchuk setup, or they can bust out their Zapper and play with that. On top of that, Activision has also confirmed the game will feature online multiplayer, as well as 4-player split-screen local multiplayer, which is exclusive to the Wii installment.
Activision is also hard at work to make sure the game is no graphical slouch. Seeing as how the engine behind the game is the same used in Call of Duty 4, we're sure Quantum of Solace will have some lovely visuals.
We've known about WiiSpeak since E3, but it could have turned out to be quite different -- in name, at least. Siliconera's Spencer Yip has discovered a pile of trademarks registered by Nintendo in Japan from July 2nd - 4th, which he surmises are alternate names for the WiiSpeak device (considering E3 began on July 14th, Nintendo obviously left it late to settle on what to call its microphone add-on!).
These trademarks include "Wii to Wii," "Wii2Wii," "WiiFriend," "WiiTalk," and the final name, "WiiSpeak." We quite like "WiiTalk," but we're pleased Nintendo didn't opt for "Wii2Wii," which smacks of TXT MSG speak, which we despise.
What do you think of Nintendo's shortlist? Do you have any other suggestions outside of their ideas, or do you feel they chose the right name?
For those of you interested in upcoming Samba de Amigo for Wii (that would be all of you, we hope), word has dropped regarding what songs will be included in the title. And if the inclusion of Ulala is news to you, you've failed to pay attention.
The first pack of downloadable songs will be available on September 23rd and include:
We now have some idea as to what gamers should expect from the title's many modes of play, though. There will be 18 different modes of play, with 10 of them supposedly being never-before-seen variations of single and multiplayer Tetris. Online modes will be titled World Battle and Friend Battle, where up to six players can take part in play simultaneously.
Aside from all of that, other modes were mentioned, including Stage Racer, Wii Balance Board Tetris Marathon, Field Climber, and Duel Space modes. We don't have any specific info on those, though, so we'll just have to wait until the game releases to spend some quality time with those modes.
Hudson has just launched the official Japanese site for upcoming WiiWare title, Alien Crush Returns. Within the site, you'll find a lot of content, including a nice video, along with several screens. Also, if you have some knowledge on translating Japanese, you can find some nice control explanations right here. Overall, it's a pretty neat site that you should check out. Be sure to hit up our gallery below, as well.
While many of you are wondering how Call of Duty 5 ... uh, won't suck on the Wii, check out Joystiq's interview with Treyarch's Mark Lamia. He talks about the Wii version, how it will include online play and also has its own team dedicated to the Wii version of the game. It's a pretty interesting interview that covers some of the concerns Wii gamers have for the title, so head on over and check it out.
The first Mario Kart Wiitournaments were no big deal, offering pretty much the same kind of Mario Kart action you'd enjoy normally, but with more people involved. The latest tournament, which is available until the 9th, surprised us with a new level based on Super Mario Galaxy! It's ... a really boring track (in that it's just a disc), but Galaxy Colosseum is, at the very least, proof that there is still new content to be found in Mario Kart, probably on the game disc.
What's even more interesting is the task: defeating four of Galaxy's Topman enemies in a Boss Attack challenge -- a new gametype! If Nintendo keeps this up, Mario Kart Wii will have a long, healthy life online. If not, we'll just go back to being disappointed.
It's a good thing developers actually man up to their commitments. Speaking to IGN, Nintendo's senior director of project development, Tom Prata, made the announcement that around 100 games are currently in development for WiiWare. With a fewsolidtitles already in the homes of Wii gamers around the world, the law of averages ensures we've got to expect a real gem or two in the forthcoming pile.
Prata also answers several general questions regarding WiiWare, and affirmed the quality and potential of downloadable content in comparison to standard games on Optical Disc. Developers have every resource available to them for ensuring a WiiWare game includes Wi-Fi, WiiConnect24 and multiplayer functionality. That's fantastic, because we don't want any of this "done the first few levels, let's ship it and and grab a burger" nonsense.
It's not exactly a simulation if you're facing off against giant fire-breathing dinosaurs, now is it? That's just one of the deadly, deadly disasters you'll encounter while constructing your digital empire in Sim City Creator for the Wii. Okay, it may not be a simulation of plausible events in a real city, but will it be a simulation of fun? Pffft. Everything is fun with dinosaurs.
Taking a look at the above scan from the latest Famitsu, we can see a couple of normal-looking areas, as well as a crazy neon crystal metropolis. In fact, a whole range of building designs will be available in a bunch of styles, including Futuristic, Crystal, Jungle, Las Vegas, Mediterranean, Traditional Japanese and even Cake -- apparently buildings inspired by your favorite baked goods. Sounds delish.
Adopting a MySims visual style, Sim City Creator's modes include Free Play, Mission, Collection (unlockable stuff -- hopefully cookies and pies to build a library), Memorial Album (happy snaps from Free Play) and City Making Contest. This mode lets you upload your created cities via Nintendo Wi-Fi and have various other would-be architects rank and review your work. Nice one!
Sim City Creator is set for a September release in Japan. Keep those dinosaurs and UFOs at bay until then, and hit the Source link to check out the full scans.
That's right folks -- if you're lucky enough to be a Wii owner in Europe or Australia, you'll be able to download the WiiWare game that many of us in the U.S. have been coveting -- Dr. Mario. Are you still unsure whether or not you want to lay down 1000 Wii Points, though? Fear not, because there's a demo out there that'll let you test the waters.
Interestingly, not just anyone can play it. A registered Wii friend who bought Dr. Mario & Germ Buster has to send you the free demo (we've tested this and it works). Once you receive and download the trial game, you can register the friend codes of people who've bought the full version and play against them over Nintendo's WFC.
Unfortunately, deprived gamers on the other side of the Atlantic won't be able to download the demo. Even though Wii owners in the U.S. can recieve it from a friend, trying to download it will generate a message saying, "The software you selected is not available in this country." Sad times, indeed.
As you can see in the helpful video above, sharing your own stuff in Blast Works is likely going to be a ... well, uh ... a blast. It looks fun, doesn't it? Of course, the main issue is will anyone actually take the time to share? We hope so!
The stuff that folks can share ranges from something as small as a ship to something as big as an entire stage. It really looks like it'll offer Wii owners some solid online content. And, as you all know, the Wii is in need of some online functionality.
Are home consoles ready to support a successful MMO? EA Mythic creative director Paul Barnett thinks so, but reckons that the hegemony enjoyed by World of Warcraft could be an obstacle. As Barnett puts it in his interview with CVG: "It's very hard [...] when almost everyone has only ever played one of these games and it dominates their thinking."
We'd probably agree with that analysis, though we're not so sure about this bit: "I think probably the best chance of someone doing [the first successful console MMO] is Nintendo."
Backing Nintendo to break new ground is usually a safe bet, but let us not forget how Satoru Iwata wasn't thrilled by the idea of a Nintendo MMO back in February; we can't imagine his position on the matter will have deviated much since then. As much as we all crave an Animal Crossing MMO, we're just not sure if soccer moms and Leroy Jenkins are ready to be united.
"No online racing for you!' That's the message Nintendo is sending to Mario Kart Wii owners hoping to race their Hitler Miis on its Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service.
Any attempt to bring a Mii sharing the German dictator's name online for Mario Kart Wii will be met with the following error: "You cannot access Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection using this Mii name. Please change your Mii name and try again." Presumably, you should still be able to race with a Mii bearing Hitler's likeness while using a different name. You know, if drifting through Moo Moo Meadows as the architect of the Holocaust is your idea of fun.
According to initial tests, Joseph Stalin, Benito Mussolini, and several other dictator jerks are not currently banned. Really, though, when was the last time you ran into someone using a Mii of Robert Mugabe.
