Support NeoGAF

[Stitch]

Nintendo plans to provide information on games similar to what Nintendo in Japan is doing with the Everybody’s Nintendo Channel where creators can share information on their game directly to Wii consumers.

btw

when do we get this channel finally? september suprise 2010?

 

[Union Carbine]

):

I was about to point out this same quote. This is very sad news, IMO. Why is it only XBLA seems to get it in regards to supplying game demos?

 

[Scrubking]

btw

when do we get this channel finally? september suprise 2010?

The fact that it's already been like 2 months since it was launched in Japan and he didn't even have a date for it here is ridiculous. Nintendo needs to get their shit together.

 

[Twig]

I was about to point out this same quote. This is very sad news, IMO. Why is it only XBLA seems to get it in regards to supplying game demos?

To be fair, I think Microsoft FORCES devs to have demos. (If I'm wrong, tell me I'm wrong!)

It's nice that Nintendo isn't forcing devs to do something they don't have the time or money to do. But at the same time, demos really work better than almost anything else in convincing me to buy the game. \:

 

[gofreak]

Shame there'll be no demos whatsoever :|

David Braben hints at a different, interesting kind of user interface for browsing games on wii-ware here:

As one of the first announced WiiWare titles, we ask Braben how he believes the service will stand up to its console competitors. Apart from the fact that the Wii has fast gathered an impressive installed based, Braben said that while Xbox Live Arcade was easily navigable at first, "It's got very hard since. I don't even know if there's stuff that I want out there."

The WiiWare service he said, could provide "potential solutions that don't apply to other services. It's for Nintendo to announce, but certainly from what I've seen it looks very interesting."

There's more on Lost Winds there too:

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=17514

 

[Boerseun]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz8qeR9EQLw

What's not awesome about having your own Pokémon all traipsing around your own Pokémon ranch???

 

[Neo Samus]

Sucks that we won't have Wii Ware titles till may, but at least the games are shaping up nicely.

 

[A Link to the Past]

I just want a Four Swords game.

 

[Flakster99]

I'm really digging the screens.

There are never enough platformers, of any variety, good stuff.

This cannot be said enough, can I get an amen?

 

[Nuclear Muffin]

Shame there'll be no demos whatsoever :|

David Braben hints at a different, interesting kind of user interface for browsing games on wii-ware here:

They didn't say that there can't be demos, just that they aren't forcing developers to make demos like Microsoft are with XBLA.

Expect a PSN style approach to demos where some games get demos and others don't.

 

[Ramenman]

Damn, I really like how Lostwinds looks. Want to see more.

 

[Neo Child]

Surely a firmware is in the making where you can boot games directly off your SD card or external Hard Drive.

I also think it's time that Wii owners got an online account that all their downloads were tied to, rather than the console itself.

 

[neptunes]

No demos?

are they serious?

 

[Ramenman]

"There are three categories of control systems -- just the Wiimote, games that use both with a slightly arbitrary assignment of keys, which takes a while to get used to, and a third which uses the Wiimote as a pointer in combination with the nunchuk. But then there's a fourth way, using each independently of each other which it turns out feels very natural -- we're probably the first to do that."

Yeah.

 

[Crushed]

I also think it's time that Wii owners got an online account that all their downloads were tied to, rather than the console itself.

You can do that by linking it to your Nintendo.com account.

 

[Phife Dawg]

What's not awesome about having your own Pokémon all traipsing around your own Pokémon ranch???

Well if the sole appeal is watching your Pokemon it should have better than N64 level gfx (dunno if there is another use to this).

 

[blu]

No demos?

are they serious?

absolutely. developers are facing unspeakable tortures at the slightest hint they were thinking of releasing a demo. fact.

 

[Mashing]

It seems to me they are leaving it up the developer if they want to put up a demo or not. Nintendo, however, will not be supplying demos. Surely because there's no storage option. They HAVE to be working on a storage solution. No way they are nieive enough to think the flash memory is enough.

 

[Scrubking]

No demos?

are they serious?

I don't understand what people's obsession with demos is. I can't remember the last time I played a demo, maybe 15 year ago, and yet I still am able to find and buy the games I like just fine. It's not like there aren't thousands of forums, websites and reviews that cover games or anything.

 

[Twig]

I don't understand what people's obsession with demos is. I can't remember the last time I played a demo, maybe 15 year ago, and yet I still am able to find and buy the games I like just fine. It's not like there aren't thousands of forums, websites and reviews that cover games or anything.

Thousands of forums, websites, and reviews don't let you try the game for yourself?
Thousands of forums, websites, and reviews are other people's opinions?
Thousands of forums, websites, and reviews aren't enough to convince me to buy a game if I don't already know I want it?

Demos, on the other hand, allow you try it for yourself.
Demos, on the other hand, give you the opportunity to generate your own opinions.
Demos, on the other hand, are easy to download and try, so you're more willing to try out games you would otherwise ignore.

Think before you speak. There are at least a dozen games I bought for 360 (retail or XBLA) because I enjoyed the demo. Pac-Man C.E.? Never would've touched it if not for the demo (or a friend who already owned it.) I could make a huge list, but I hope you get the point by now.

 

[later]

Why can't they do a time constrained demo? Nothing would have to change in the actual game code.. Just the wii shutting off the game after 15 minutes or something.

 

[Nuclear Muffin]

What's not awesome about having your own Pokémon all traipsing around your own Pokémon ranch???

Simple. it's being developed by Ambrella (Pokemon Channel, Pokemon Dash) which instantly means it's total shit. Shame really, because it's a nice concept.

 

[Ranger X]

Ohhh, Lost Winds looks interesting!!

 

[Metaphoreus]

I don't understand what people's obsession with demos is. I can't remember the last time I played a demo, maybe 15 year ago, and yet I still am able to find and buy the games I like just fine. It's not like there aren't thousands of forums, websites and reviews that cover games or anything.

Yeah, but have you ever played through a review?

 

[Jiggy]

Well, there goes my reasoning that the slowdown of VC releases could possibly have been because Wii Ware was coming in March and they wanted to cross-promote.
On the bright side, at least now WW won't be competing with Brawl from its inception. Star Soldier R deserves success.

 

[Boerseun]

Well if the sole appeal is watching your Pokemon it should have better than N64 level gfx (dunno if there is another use to this).

You get to watch them, feed them, pet them, invite your on-line friends over, brag about your collection, etc.

I'm not bothered much by the graphics. So long as the game presents a decent amount of human-to-Pokémon interaction I'll be happy.

Simple. it's being developed by Ambrella (Pokemon Channel, Pokemon Dash) which instantly means it's total shit. Shame really, because it's a nice concept.

I have to admit, my optimism for this has more to do with the potential than anything we've seen in practical terms.

Also, I should add that I'm quite fond of Pokémon Channel. That game definitely has its charms. I havn't played Pokémon Dash yet though.

 

[Jiggy]

I thought Pokemon Ranch had the functionality of Box on GC? (In addition to whatever else it does.) That was the only reason I was going to buy it, seeing as my boxes are loaded to the brim on two of my four DS games while I don't use the other two so much since they're in Japanese.

 

[Mithos Yggdrasill]

The interesting question now is what Nintendo has in store after Wii fit, Mario Kart, Wii Ware and Smash.

Ok. It's a lot of stuff, so let's say it will sustain (Wii doesn't need it anyway, but, whatever) the console until September/October.

And then ? What about Thanksgiving/Christmas ?

 

[Stitch]

Animal Crossing, Wii Music, Pikmin

 

[Haunted]

Well if the sole appeal is watching your Pokemon it should have better than N64 level gfx (dunno if there is another use to this).

.

They should've reused the Pokemon Battle Revolution models for that. These looked pretty good in the screens/movies I've seen.

edit: oh ok, there's interaction with the pokemon? ah well.

Spoiler

I don't like Pokemon anyway

 

[AceBandage]

The interesting question now is what Nintendo has in store after Wii fit, Mario Kart, Wii Ware and Smash.

Ok. It's a lot of stuff, so let's say it will sustain (Wii doesn't need is anyway, but, whatever) the console until September/October.

And then ? What about Thanksgiving/Christmas.

Animal Crossing, Kirby, Disaster, Fatal Frame IV, Pikmin, Wii Music, Wii MotorSports

 

[Mithos Yggdrasill]

Animal Crossing, Kirby, Disaster, Fatal Frame IV, Pikmin, Wii Music, Wii MotorSports

We haven't seen anything about Animal Crossing until now. Kirby maybe is dead. Fatal Frame is not a high profile game, Pikmin is amybe even not in development (never confirmed, never announced). Wii Motorsports wat ?

I agree only about Wii Music.

 

[AceBandage]

We haven't seen anything about Animal Crossing until now. Kirby maybe is dead. Fatal Frame is not a high profile game, Pikmin is amybe even not in development (never confirmed, never announced). Wii Motorsports wat ?

I agree only about Wii Music.

Kirby was just listed a few weeks ago as a 2008 title by Nintendo. Fatal Frame is still a Nintendo game, and while not high profile, will still be something to fill a gap. Pikmin is most certainly coming. WiiMotorsports is a collection of games like the WiiAirplane game.

 

[evilromero]

We haven't seen anything about Animal Crossing until now. Kirby maybe is dead. Fatal Frame is not a high profile game, Pikmin is amybe even not in development (never confirmed, never announced). Wii Motorsports wat ?

I agree only about Wii Music.

We saw something on Animal Crossing? And yeah, we haven't heard a peep on Motorsport for two years. It looked so promising.

 

[jgwhiteus]

We haven't seen anything about Animal Crossing until now. Kirby maybe is dead. Fatal Frame is not a high profile game, Pikmin is amybe even not in development (never confirmed, never announced). Wii Motorsports wat ?

I agree only about Wii Music.

The most recent financial report had Animal Crossing and Kirby as 2008 releases for Japan, who knows about the US. So they still appear to be on for this year.

Nintendo seems to have been pretty clear, though, that their new strategy is to not release any info about games (even that they exist) until shortly before release - like a few months beforehand. So I wouldn't expect fall/winter info until the summer probably. I think the only reason we know of titles like AC, Wii Music, etc., coming out this year is because they were mentioned at launch.

 

[SixStringPsycho]

So is nintendo going to release an HDD with the launch of wiiware? Where are we supposed to store those titles?

 

[Haunted]

Don't forget Miyamoto promised to announce his new core IP in 2008 as well. His Pikmin of the Wii generation, so to speak.

 

[Scrubking]

Think before you speak.

Shut the fuck up. You don't need a demo to learn about a game and know whether you will like it. The importance of demos is hugely overstated, and the fact that the vast majority of games throughout the history of gaming have been bought and enjoyed without a stupid demo prove this.

If you're a demo whore then fine, but don't act like they are vital to learning about a game.

 

[Cosmonaut X]

Shut the fuck up. You don't need a demo to learn about a game and know whether you will like it. The importance of demos is hugely overstated, and the fact that the vast majority of games throughout the history of gaming have been bought and enjoyed without a stupid demo prove this.

...and that's even without mentioning how much damage a bad/early demo can do to a game's chances.

 

[eznark]

The Telltale Games episodic content has me pretty stoked for WiiWare.

 

[schuelma]

The Telltale game is NOT Sam and Max:


http://wii.ign.com/articles/853/853419p1.html

IGN spoke with developer Telltale about the possibility of bringing the series to the Wii some time ago, and this morning we received confirmation that it does have something in the works -- but it's not Sam & Max.

 

[Sciz]

Telltale's official response:

Nintendo just name-dropped us in a press release. I feel like we've hit the big time.

And before you ask -- no, it's not Sam & Max.

More details about Nintendo's announcement here and here.

They just picked up Mike Stemmle, and they've had a couple unannounced series in the works for a while now. It seems like Telltale is about to really take off.

 

[zaxor0]

I just want a Four Swords game.

online 4 swords wii ware.... that would be amazing

 

[eznark]

I'm kind of glad it's not Sam and Max. I assume they would just port over the old episodes to get people caught up, and anyone with a working computer can get those. I'm excited to see what kind of fresh stuff they're gonna come up with.

 

[Twig]

Shut the fuck up. You don't need a demo to learn about a game and know whether you will like it. The importance of demos is hugely overstated, and the fact that the vast majority of games throughout the history of gaming have been bought and enjoyed without a stupid demo prove this.

Whoa, dude, chill. :lol

Getting a little too worked up over this, aren't you?

I do need a demo to see if I want a game that I'm on the fence about. It's not about playing every game before I buy it. It's about the marketing, and giving your consumers a chance to see that the game is actually good. There are plenty of games I wouldn't have ever been interested in, no matter the amount of previews, if I couldn't play it first, and see if it's something I might like. What about new concepts? Remakes of old games? Will they be the same as old games, or will they actually be better?

Not to mention how much money I've saved thanks to demos. I tried Space Giraffe demo. I thought I might like it! I don't get it! The game confuses the shit out of me! So, guess what, I didn't waste my money on it. It's not because the demo's bad. It just turns out that, despite the interest I previously had, it's not my type of game.

"Shut the fuck up." Lawl. You take things a little too seriously, bro.

...and that's even without mentioning how much damage a bad/early demo can do to a game's chances.

To be fair, that's the fault of the developers for putting out a bad/early demo. Or the fault of Microsoft for forcing demos. Either way, that's not a good reason for lack of demos. That's a good reason for not putting out bad demos.

I mean, hell, you might as well say that developers should stop making games period, because some of them might be bad.

I'm kind of glad it's not Sam and Max. I assume they would just port over the old episodes to get people caught up, and anyone with a working computer can get those. I'm excited to see what kind of fresh stuff they're gonna come up with.

I am ecstatic it's not Sam and Max. I love Sam and Max, but I also love Bone, and they seem to have put that on the backburner.

...My reasoning here make no sense. What I'm trying to say is, even though I loved Bone, I still love Sam and Max, and will hopefully love any new franchise they start working it, whether original or licensed. (Except CSI. Don't really have an interested in CSI.)

 

[PantherLotus]

wow this thread took a turn for the serious.

1. i can see why demos rule (THPS original demo completely sold that game)
2. i can see why demos may be a bad idea (bad demos = deflated sales)
3. i can't see why ANYBODY would get so fuckin worked up over this. get a friggin grip.

 

[Tristam]

So how would allowing demo downloads restrict developer freedom? :lol

 

[Twig]

So how would allowing demo downloads restrict developer freedom? :lol

To be honest, I'm not sure they ever said they're not allowing demos. Just that they aren't forcing it.

 

[Beer Monkey]

Sam & Max eps may not fit in the size limit.

New Telltale franchise = awesome.

 

[Sciz]

...My reasoning here make no sense. What I'm trying to say is, even though I loved Bone, I still love Sam and Max, and will hopefully love any new franchise they start working it, whether original or licensed. (Except CSI. Don't really have an interested in CSI.)

Going by what they've said on their forums, their current plans are to stick with licensed IPs (that have specifically been stated to not be Monkey Island).