Iwata GDC Keynote Summary (Product & Firmware Revelations)

Wii Firmware 4.0:

• 32GB SDHC card capacity supported for VC, WiiWare, and saves.

• Run games straight from the card (saves can be moved to the card, but accessed only on the Wii's system memory).

Virtual Console:

• VIRTUAL CONSOLE ARCADE launched. Play arcade classics on the Wii.
  

• Space Harrier
• Mappy
• The Return of Ishtar
• Emeraldia
• Solvalou
• The Tower of Druaga
• Gapius
• Star Force

• Final Fantasy I through VI on Japanese Virtual Console.

• Final Fantasy I and IV on US Virtual Console.

WiiWare:

• Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord (My Life as a King sequel).

• Final Fantasy IV: The After Years confirmed.

DS/DSi:

• The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (DS). Control and create enemies while riding the train tracks of your design. Dungeons, puzzles and bosses are there as well.
  

• WarioWare Snapped (DSi). Take pictures and video of yourself for playback in microgames.

Wii:

• Rock & Roll Climber (Wii). Use the Wii Remote, Nunchuck and Balance Board to climb rock walls. Make it to the top and your character wails on a guitar (fo' serious).
  

Re: 'Big Bang Mini' Review

ATTN: DS OWNERS

CC: Wii & DS OWNERS

If you own a DS and Wii, download the Big Bang Mini demo from the Nintendo Channel.

If you only have a DS then find someone with a Wii and download the Big Bang Mini demo.

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Anyway, this is a reply to Mr. Barnholt's review of the game.

He said ...

The touch screen is a nice way to launch your fireworks (just flick upwards in any direction), but you can't use the D-pad or any other buttons to move your icon, which is an outright shame.

Now, perhaps the ability to move OR shoot is derived from the desired results of the shooting mechanics (especially the blowback of missed shots) as well as the dual-screens of the DS.

If you could do both at the same time then, presumably, the player could haphazardly flick up toward the top screen with near-reckless abandon (yes, even with your own shots raining down on you - because you could avoid all that with the d-pad controls). Truth be told, I played like that in the demo to some success (sort of like button mashing in a fighting game). However, it makes your game harder than it has to be when careful shots count more.

Furthermore, if one were to play that way then I imagine checking out the top screen would happen less frequently. Why bother looking up when you are too busy dodging your own crazed shots? That would be a shame as the player would be missing out on a lot of awesome and crazy enemies.

From my time with the demo, the experience tends to be one of strategic firing as opposed to holding down a button as seen in other SHMUPs. You must pay attention to both screens, and one has to check out what type of defenses the enemy has (from the demo, for example, there are clouds and other objects that absorb your shots).

To be fair, there was an instance in which I could shoot AND move. One of the bosses in the demo shoots so many bullets at you that it is difficult to get a shot off. Then again, that is made up a bit by one being able to spam shots without blowback (I know it sounds contradictory, but removing the fallout is the difference that makes spamming worth it in this case).

He said ...

Imagine how bad this gets when you fill up the star meter and have basically completed the stage. So you take a breather, only to watch helplessly as you're unable to dart away from a spark in time.

Odd. In the demo, once the star meter filled the level is over. I have even had bullets cross over my icon shortly after the meter was filled and I did not die. Perhaps there was a change from the demo to retail copy? I even saw a GameTrailers video from, presumably, the retail version that showed the same thing ...

Anyway, I highly recommend folks to try it out. While Mr. Barnholt's explanations make sense (and he has played far more of the game than I have), I think folks will be positively surprised at what they find.

EGM Turns its Last Page

Within the announcement of the 1UP Network being sold to UGO Entertainment comes news that the long-running Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine has printed its last issue, according to Gamasutra (but not by 1UP ... yet).

While it was deemed inevitable by many to occur, a highly-respected and long-running magazine shutting down is indeed a mounful time. The ease and speed at which information is relayed on the internet continues to cripple the print world, and no publication can no longer be considered free of worry.

Personally, I am going to miss the emphasis on thought-provoking articles that magazines like EGM and Games for Windows provided. The preview/hype/review cycle is well-established on the internet, and those two magazines evolved in a positive way by focusing more on the culture, history and business of gaming. That type of content can certainly flourish on the 'net, but one also had to wade through the loudness of that aforementioned cycle in order to get to the good stuff.

As for 1UP, major questions surrounding the placement and retaining of the 1UP editorial staff and the network's various media functions (podcasts, weekly shows, etc.) are likely to arise in the coming days, and it will certainly be interesting to see who stays and goes.

One quote from an internal email sent out to Ziff Davis employees leads me to believe that not everyone is going to stay at 1UP's respective sites:

"Many of our employees will travel with this business and become part of the UGO team."

So, does that mean that members of the current 1UP crew are going to be assimilated into the UGO family? Or perhaps it is a mix of business and editorial? I, for one, hope UGO sees the value in the cohesion of the 1UP staff and lets things ride out.

With all that said, all I can hope for is that job cuts are minimal and that the proud, hard-working crew of EGM and 1UP are taken care of.

[ Edit: "Most of Gamevideos and the entire crew of The 1UP Show" are not making the leap to UGO, according to Matt Chandronait. Noooo. :( ]

[ Edit 2: Oh God. 40 folks are getting pink slips. Terrible news. ]

Best of luck to you all.

And here is to you, EGM.

*raises glass*

Quick Opinion: Resident Evil 4

I think I have figured out why RE4 feels more like an action game than a slower-paced 'survival horror' title - the backtracking, fetch quests, controls and camera were all HEAVILY streamlined.

In RE4, more often than not, an item you need to solve a puzzle or open a door is either in the room you are in or placed in an easily accessible adjacent one. Thus, there is less down time between action sequences, and as a result those shooter-heavy events reside in the memories of players much longer.

As for the horror element of the series, past games were 'scarier' because there was one important element used to frighten players beyond the zombies, jump scares and monsters - the game itself. The controls and camera placement were fighting against you, and playing within those constraints while being hounded by various monstrosities worked in the face of knowingly 'bad' design choices.

RE4 has certainly kept me stressed and tense, though. With greater finesse and a more robust array of weaponry comes a greater amount of enemies, and their impacts on your health greatly outclasses those weak zombies from the old days.

The Nintendo Channel's Top 30 Most Viewed Videos

Everything between the lines is written by Nintendo. This information was taken from the Nintendo Channel. The list shows the top 30 most viewed videos on the Nintendo Channel from the channel's launch until Dec. 14th.

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This ranking is based on the number of video views on the Nintendo Channel for the following time period:

May 7, 2008 - December 14, 2008

Note: The Nintendo Channel launched on May 7, 2008.

#30 - America Ferrera Plays 'New Super Mario Bros.'
#29 - Liv Tyler Plays 'Brain Age 2.'
#28 - 'Star Wars: The Force Unleashed' Video 2
#27 - 'Endless Ocean' Info Video
#26 - 'Super Smash Bros. Brawl' Info Video 2
#25 - 'Guitar Hero On Tour' Commercial
#24 - 'Wario Land Shake It!' Info Video
#22 - Soccer Gold Medalists Play 'Wii Fit'! 2
#21 - 'My Pokemon Ranch' Info Video
#21 - Developer's Voice - 'Guitar Hero On Tour'
#20 - 'Mega Man 9' Info Video
#19 - Nintendo Channel Info Video
#18 - 'Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King' Info Video
#17 - Interview with Shigeru Miyamoto
#16 - 'Super Mario RPG' Info Video
#15 - 'Boom Blox' Info Video
#14 - 'Super Mario Galaxy' Info Video
#13 - 'Lost Winds' Info Video
#12 - 'Mario Kart Wii' - Who is playing Wii today 1
#11 - 'Mario Super Sluggers' Info Video
#10 - 'Dr. Mario Online RX' Info Video
#9 - 'Defend Your Castle' Info Video
#8 - 'The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass' Info Video
#7 - 'Rock Band' Trailer
#6 - Soccer Gold Medalists Play 'Wii Fit'! 1
#5 - What's WiiWare?
#4 - 'Star Wars: The Force Unleashed'
#3 - 'Super Smash Bros. Brawl' Info Video
#2 - 'Wii Fit' Info Video
#1 - 'Mario Kart Wii' Info Video

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What can we extrapolate from this list? Well, the obviousness of Nintendo's content playing top fiddle is nothing new, especially since the video content largely stays on the video list FAR longer than third-party content.

Furthermore, every single video on the list had top billing on the main list at one point or another. Does this mean users are not checking out videos for comparatively less hyped titles, or are they merely outnumbered by a lack of publicity?

On a related note, I would kill to have Nintendo actually advertise and push weekly WiiWare content. It is really frustrating for titles of varying quality being dumped on the service with no fanfare or build up. I do not want to fall into the hype, but I just want to know that the content EXISTS a while before it comes out.

In conclusion, the Nintendo Channel is rad. :P

Mind = Blown.

I am weeping tears of joy.

My infatuation with Zone of the Enders

While perusing my library of video games, I often stop and stare at my copy of Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner. Who does not love giant robots with enormous strength moving at blistering speeds?

Come on.

Anyway, my infatuation started years ago, back when Toonami, the Cartoon Network afternoon precursor to Adult Swim, aired Gundam Wing. I was entranced by the animation of the show, always pining for a Mobile Suit of my own (heck, even Talgeese would have fit the bill). I caught myself often wondering why there was never a proper game based on the show. No, the SNES 2D fighter does not count.

Enter Zone of the Enders. Originally known as "the game that came with the Metal Gear Solid 2 demo," I instantly fell in love with the mechanics, controls and gameplay. "Holy crap," I would think. "This is it. This is the game I have waited years for ..."

Now, by no means was the game perfect. The story was a bit on the ... whiny side, and the art style, while interesting, was dominated far too much by that dark blue/metallic look. Still, it was fun and I loved it.

Then I sold it to a friend for $20.

I did it because I had played the crap out of the game, squeezing every morsel of action goodness as I could.

Fortunately, the sequel came out not too long after. Oh, and how I love the sequel.

The game also had its shortcomings, but the memorable levels, sharp graphics, enormous battles, and variety of ways to destroy your opponents had my mouth watering for weeks.

That one level where 100s of opponents streamed onto your screen, taunting you, all while your friendly amigos are taking a notorious beating made the game for me. Sure, the framerate would take a crap due to the PS2s shortcomings, but nothing was as satisfying as taking out 10+ enemies at once with the Homing Missiles.

What about that Bahram Battleship sky level? AWESOME. My jaw dropped the first time I was told, "so, yeah, take out those GIANT WARSHIPS OF DESTRUCTION." I did so, slicing and dicing everything in my path.

Jehuty is unstoppable, yo.

Now all I need is Zone of the Enders 3 to be announced so that my brain can explode all over my monitor. Whichever console obtains this game will likely decide which I splurge cash on.

Yeah, my infatuation is that strong.