Nintendo’s Wii site has some new videos up of people playing Wii Sports (which comes with the system). These are the best videos I’ve seen so far that show just why I’m excited about this system. Looks like pre-orders start on Friday, too…
I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that these folks aren’t just off the street, but they are still good videos.
The last of six videos is up at the Wii web site. This one is about the Internet Channel, which lets you surf the web.
It uses the Opera browser and from what I’ve heard, it’ll be free in the US (no confirmation from Nintendo yet and they originally said you’d have to buy the browser first). Oh, and you’ll need to be connected to the internet (no brainer).
This could be big or could be “eh” when we see it for real. Depending on the system’s boot time and the fact that I don’t know anyone who doesn’t primarily use their computer to get to a web site, this could easily become a staple in a connected person’s digital life. I’m most interested to see how text input is handled. If you can shop on line like the video says, there must be an easy way to input text. Maybe a Bluetooth keyboard is in the works? The remote is nice, but I can’t see how text entry can be quick with that unless they have some kind of predictive text key-cloud (where you choose one letter and the next likely letters appear closer to where you just clicked than the rest; constantly morphing cloud of keys, but very handy).
This is also something the other consoles don’t have and may be a major selling point. Surf the web without having to buy a full computer (even though you can get a full computer for about the same start up cost).
Still, it’s about the games. The web is nice and I imagine I’ll make use of it (blogging on my TV…). But what I really want to do is play Zelda. And Metroid. And Mario. And Brain Age. And whatever else strikes my fancy.
According to 1up, Square Enix may not be exclusively a PS3 developer any more. This isn’t big news since they’ve been making games for Nintendo and their DS for a while now. But it may be big news if their flagship games start appearing on consoles not made by Sony.
Really, the only reason I had to buy a PS3 was Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts. But neither of those are worth the price tag of a PS3. So I fall into the camp of hoping for more of my favorites on the systems that cost less and deliver what they should: a good gaming experience.
Rumor has it that in order to reserve a Nintendo Wii at an EB Games or Gamestop, the $50 deposit must be made by trading in games. In other words, no cash, credit, or even store credit is to be accepted. But if you bring in old games that you probably spent more than the $250 Wii price tag to buy originally, you can pay for part of that $250 price tag and reserve a system to pick up on November 19.
Or just go somewhere else and keep your old games (assuming you have any).
Let’s count the days until the person who thought this up gets fired, assuming it prooves true. Likely they leaked a test balloon to see how folks would react, then go from there.
The Seattle PI has an article from the NY Times stating that the Wii will be released in North America on November 19 (Sunday is a traditional release date for Nintendo) and cost $250. It will be bundled with Wii Sports. How many controllers and such it will come with remains to be seen.
Other news is the ability to surf the web on your TV, check news and weather, and $5-$10 per game on the Virtual Console.
Article. See also here and here.
I’m not surprised at the price. They said earlier it would be $250 or less. Why would anyone expect them to go less? Particularly when their rivals are already priced much higher.
I’m also not surprised that Wii Sports is bundled with the system. That doesn’t have the ring of a game folks would go out and buy. Plus, it’s good to have a solid game to get used to the controls with and demonstrate to folks. Who doesn’t know how tennis, golf, baseball, or bowling are played? Pretty basic. This is also the first home system to be released with a game by the manufacturer in a while, I think.
What should definitely happen is bundle the nunchuk attachment with the system. So many games seem to be making use of it that to not would be ludicrous. Then again, it could be a guaranteed $20 purchase for every gamer (in which case, bump the price and bundle it, please). Here’s hoping they don’t go the route of bundling it with every game that would use it. I don’t want to have several attachments floating around after a while.
Other news to look out for is how many controllers will it come with. Typically systems have only one, but with the “play together” feel of the Wii, two makes more sense (maybe just one nunchuk, though).
UPDATE: This will come with one wii-mote and a nunchuk attachment. You can buy a wii-mote for about $40 and a nunchuk for another $20. A bit high, but not bad since it looks like many of the multiplayer games will only need two controllers or have everyone share a single controller at this stage. But how much is the classic controller?
Other excitement is about non-game content. The Wii Channels look slick and easy to get addicted to, particularly if there isn’t any boot time to get to the screen. I could see that becoming my first point of access for breaking news and weather quite easily (though I’ll still rely on my RSS Reader for the bulk of my news).
I’m glad to see it comes with batteries for the controller, but I’ll be picking up some rechargeables and a decent size SD card for extra storage pretty quickly.
Makes me wish I was in college again just so I could do this…
With the advent of the Mac vs. PC commercials, a couple of spoofs have come out. Most are okay, but one has done a great job. Not stopping only to poke fun at the commercial itself, but to take a jab at one of the upcoming battles for the gamer’s pocketbook. I don’t know how the PS3 girl kept a straight face saying some of those things.
Quick warning: it isn’t a good view of women in general really at all, but does mirror the nerd vs. cool young guy of the TV commercials to an extreme not many would take it. You’ve been warned.
Engadget has a post about a USA Today article citing that the Nintendo Wii will be released in November for $250. No big surprise there, but this as close to an actual announcement as we’ve gotten so far.
The nice news (yes, nicer than a possible price) is that Connect24, Nintendo’s answer to Xbox Live, will be free. For everyone. Akin to the Xbox Live Silver account, but this will let you play games online as well (can we say Smash Bros.?).
Oh yeah! This would be cool. We’ll see if it’s real. I’m doubting it, no matter how accurate the source may have been in the past.
It begs the question, though. Why convert to text when you can just relay the voice to other players? Better yet, what kind of single-player games might be coming that would require text entry?
It’s just a rumor, though. We’ll know for sure by year’s end, no doubt.
Sony is on defense yet again with regards to their new video game system coming out in November. I completely agree with this guy.
When will they wake up and realize that it doesn’t matter how good the product is. If the majority of talk about it in the run up to launch is negative, it won’t end well. They need to turn this around if they want to reach the expectations they’ve set for themselves (unless that expectation is to run the PlayStation brand into the ground).
Shared Order Pictures In Order The Exculpatory Journal A Household Kate Eclectic Nerdery Halfway to the Edge of the Universe Trowel anyone?
