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Wild Wii Weekend Rumors in Review

Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Accessories, Corporate News, Nintendo, Release Dates, Rumors, Wii,

Wii Logo It seems the internets just can’t get enough Wii information - and with the launch a little over a month away, tasty pics and rumomrs are springing up all over the place. Just so you don’t have to go anywhere else, we’ve compiled all of this week’s major Wii stories into one meaty, juicy post.

See more after the jump, including pics of the first Wii accessories, launch date rumors, and other tidbits.

Click to continue reading Wild Wii Weekend Rumors in Review

Nintendo Wii Hits “Hot Dozen” Toy List

Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Culture, Nintendo, Wii,

Wii Toy Wishes magazine unveiled its list of the “Hot Dozen” toys for the 2006 holiday season, and this year’s list featured Nintendo’s Wii console. The Toy Wishes annual event helps launch the holiday season for toy makers and retailers, and being selected for the list can help smaller toys get a foothold in the market. Now, the Wii probably won’t need any help selling all of the consoles that Nintendo ships this holiday, but it is a testament to the broad appeal of the console that members of the toy industry feel confident in adding the console to the list.

Rumors from Guitar Hero Survey Suggest Drummer Hero, Vocal Hero

Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Music, Party Games, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Rumors, Wii, Xbox 360,

Kids Love Guitar Hero!

A reader over at Kotaku recently received an extra-long survey about new features or products that could be released in the Guitar Hero vein. Most interestingly, the survey seemed to suggest that RedOctane might be working on titles like “Drummer Hero”, “Keyboard Hero”, or “Vocals Hero”, as we had guessed earlier. This is obviously a very preliminary test of the public’s feelings on future Guitar Hero titles and spin-offs, but it’s nonetheless exciting to see that we may one day be able to replicate a complete band out of the Hero titles.

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Further Updates From GameStop Conference

Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: PlayStation 3, Rumors, Wii,

GameStop Store Victor Godinez, author of the Dallas Morning News article from the GameStop conference in Texas, has updated his blog with additional information. There are quick impressions of the various company presences at the show. Sony’s Resistance: Fall of Man was “pretty standard first-person shooter fare… well executed, fun to play, and graphically impressive.”

For the Wii, Godinez indicates that graphics have generally improved since E3. Sword fighting mapping isn’t 100% precise in Red Steel, but seems to be much closer than E3.

On pre-orders, the company line as of Sunday is still that there will either be very limited pre-order campaigns or none at all. GameStop appears to be really gunshy with the pre-order situation. It may be possible that GameStop will get enough console allocation assurance from Sony and Nintendo, but it isn’t looking particularly likely. However, there is at least one person on the 1up forum boards that claims to be a GameStop manager whose store will be offering pre-orders on Tuesday, October 10.

Is This the Wii Remote Box?

Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Accessories, Hardware, Rumors, Wii,

Joystiq and Kotaku are running with the story that the above image could be the final packaging for add-on Wiimotes. Given Nintendo’s recent proclivity to try to emulate all things Apple, the box makes a lot of sense (just look at how much it resembles the packaging for the new iPod nano. Still, we’re going to keep being our skeptical little selves and guess that this isn’t really the final box. For starters, Nintendo seems to be basing everything around a white motif, so having extra Wiimotes come in black boxes doesn’t really fit with their packaging design for the Wii itself. Also, as some forum posters noted over at Joystiq, this looks a lot like the boxes for the promo Wiimotes that were given out at the Wii press event in Japan.

GameStop Still Undecided On Wii/PS3 Pre-Orders

Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: PlayStation 3, Rumors, Wii,

Rumors had EBGames/GameStop opening pre-orders for the Playstation 3 and Nintendo’s Wii starting this week, but that is starting to look unlikely according to reports from GameStop’s sales conference in Dallas.

A reporter from the Dallas Morning News was invited to tour GameStop’s conference. According to GameStop representatives, the final decision on console pre-orders has not been made. President of GameStop, Steve Morgan, believes that the company learned a lesson from its experiences with the Xbox 360 last year. If the company does offer pre-orders, the lesson learned is “caution and optimism at the same time.”

Little hard information seemed to be available at the conference regarding Sony and Nintendo’s console launches. Microsoft was showing off its Zune portable, which will be available in GameStop stores this November. GameStop’s sales conference continues into Monday, so a pre-order announcement could theoretically still be made then, but right now it looks like gamers will have to wait.

Commodore 64 Games Could Appear In Virtual Console

Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Nintendo, Wii,

California Games Gamasutra reports that the latest issue of Nintendo Power indicates that gamers could possibly see Commodore 64 games appearing in Nintendo’s Virtual Console. Specifically, titles from extinct game developer Epyx were mentioned. Epyx had a decent line-up of games for the Commodore 64, including games like Summer Games, California Games, and Impossible Mission. And since the games would be based around their Commodore 64 versions, gamers should actually be able to complete Impossible Mission. Hopefully the emulation isn’t so precise that the FastLoad cartridge will be required.

Details Surface on Wii / Wavebird Functionality

Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Corporate News, Hardware, Rumors, Wii,

Wavebird controller

A while back, rumors started circulating that the Wii may be able to connect to the Gamecube’s wireless wavebird controllers without their receivers. Turns out that’s not the case, and we have some answers about how the GC-controller-connected-to-Wii setup will work in general. Games site Nintendojo asked a Nintendo rep and got the following responses:

WaveBirds and GameCube controllers can be used with all GameCube games and select Wii Disc games.
WaveBirds are used as Nintendo GameCube controllers, so they need to use the receivers.
The WaveBird receiver does indeed fit into the top of Wii.
WaveBird and GameCube controller compatibility with Virtual Console games has not been announced. Nintendo will release more details about Virtual Console games and controls closer to launch.

So, unfortunately, you’ll need to keep your Wavebird dongle and plug it into the top of the Wii. Item one on that list isn’t all that surprising, either, given that it was earlier suggested that Super Smash Bros. Brawl would use the Gamecube controllers. What is interesting is the last item - why would Nintendo be unwilling to comment on whether or not the Wii could use the Gamecube controllers for virtual console games? Does this mean that all virtual console games will have to be played with the Wii’s Classic Controller attachment for the Wiimote?

Frankly, the whole setup is getting a little confusing. Gamecube games will use the gamecube controllers but probably won’t be controllable with the wiimote or its classic controller attachment. Most Wii games will use the wiimote (possibly with other attachments like the nunchuk and classic controller). But now SOME Wii games will use the Gamecube controller as well?? And virtual console games might require the classic controller attachment, not giving you the option to use your GC controller? Help us out here Nintendo… it’s getting to be too much to remember.

Rumor: Gamestop Wii & PS3 Pre-orders Coming Next Week

Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Corporate News, Hardware, PlayStation 3, Rumors, Wii,

Gamestop Store Front According to the website “bits bytes pixels sprites” (what, you couldn’t find a shorter domain name??) some folks have talked with Gamestop employees and found out that there will be a nation-wide managers/owners meeting this Friday, during which execs will learn about the allocations of PS3s and Wiis that each Gamestop will be receiving.

Given that this info is coming from a single Gamestop in Texas, it may not be the best lead we have. Still, it gives us a good reason to keep refreshing WiishList and PS3Me all next week. With under 2 months left, we’re getting really close to the launch window for both these consoles, and we’re beginning to wonder how much longer Sony, Nintendo, and our local retailers will keep us in the dark!

Read More | bitsbytespixelssprites.com < ugh>

Wii Records What You Play, How Long

Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Internet, Mods/Hacks, Wii,

Wii Logo In a recently released “Iwata Asks!” interview, Nintendo delves into the decisions that went into making the Wii Message Board and discusses some interesting features. The one that might raise the most eyebrows, though, is Iwata’s discussion of the “Play History”, a feature which automatically collects information on what games you’ve been playing and for how long and, currently, it can’t be erased.

The idea behind this functionality came from Iwata wanting parents to get more involved with their children’s play-time and being able to keep track of how much time they spend on the system.

I thought constantly about what we could do to stop games being regarded with hostility in the family. So I came up with a suggestion, perhaps a rather outlandish one! (laughs) What I thought was that if a parent said that their child was only allowed to play games for one hour a day, how about making it so the console actually turns itself off after an hour? I realise the head of a games company shouldn’t think things like that! (laughs)

Fortunately, the Wii won’t be turning off automatically on you, but your Mom, Dad, or spouse will be able to find out if you’ve been logging serious hours on Princess Peach’s Erotic Journey (hey, Nintendo said they weren’t going to shy away from M-rated titles this generation!)

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