Tag Archives: Nintendo Wii U

Nintendo Announces Wii U To Ship By Holiday 2012

Posted on by
Reply

Of course, we all knew this was coming at some point, but Reuters has the official word (if not an official release date). Nintendo President Satoru Iwata noted that the Wii U would be launched in the United States, Europe, Australia and Japan for the 2012 holiday season.  No price point was announced and yes, you’ll need to wait a bit for the launch lineup. However, this means that E3 this year will be PACKED with Nintendo fanboys (some disguised as otherwise reputable games journalists) piling atop each other to tilt and whirl themselves into a feeding frenzy, followed by press events in a few spots including here in NYC.

Now, if I can actually get an invite to one of those events like I used to before Nintendo forgot I existed, I could do a better job of covering the upcoming console that doesn’t require me to hang around the Nintendo World Store here and ask all sorts of questions to assorted employees (he said, only half-joking)…

Dragon Quest X Announced As A Wii & Wii U Online RPG

Posted on by
Reply

Holy Final Fantasy XII, Batman! Or something like that. Twitter practically fell over dead after the DQX news was dropped by andriasang a few hours ago. Rather than join the bird-buzzers out there, I’ll cut to the chase. I don’t think I’d like it (I’m not a big MMO fan) unless it has an offline mode and a decent story to play through. That said, it’ll probably do really well in Japan, as pretty much ANYTHING with a DQ logo will sell there. As for the US, well, that depends on stuff like subscription fees, gameplay and how data is shared between Wii and Wii U consoles if one upgrades down the road after buying the Wii version. Let’s see now: Akira Toriyama character designs? Check. 3D environments reminiscent of the lovely DQ VIII? Check. Interestingly enough, Square Enix seems to be developing the game in-house. While Final Fantasy XIV was pretty controversial in terms of a number of flaws in its online play, there’s little doubt that the development team is focusing on making the game a far better experience. I’d also imagine that the game is going to be programmed for multiple languages in order to get it to English-speaking gamers in as many territories as possible soon after the Japanese version ships sometime in 2012.

Everything else such as story, number of players online and other features will be announced soon (no doubt TGS will reveal more and probably some awesome DQX-related swag).



Thanks to NiNTENDOMiNATiON for posting these videos!

Nintendo @E3 2011: Day 2 and 3 Wrap-Ups

Posted on by
Reply

Bang and POW! Here are Nintendo’s own E3 videos featuring a ton of cool games and info. I’ll also be posting all of the 3DS and Wii trailers starting next week in case you missed them. Wii U videos as as well are coming. As for the stock drop as a result of the Wii U announcement… Hell, am I the ONLY one who got that darn presentation? Analysts are dopes ESPECIALLY if they’re not game developers or gamers. All I’ll say is this sort of inane speculation that drives stock prices down is ridiculous.

E3 2011: Nintendo Has Its Day In the Sun (Indoors)

Posted on by
Reply

Here’s Nintendo’s always sunny take on its E3 press conference. I’m still surprised as hell SO many so-called professionals were “confused” by the Wii U unveiling. Reggie? Call me – I got it. Boy did I get it… Now I hope to hell all the developers that get cooking making games for the new console get it as well…

Overstrike: Insomniac’s Breakout Cross-Platform (Soon To Be) Hit

Posted on by
Reply

Well now… I’ve very wisely learned to throw out ALL my expectations of what I “want” to see a developer do long ago, but I’ll admit to expecting Insomniac to do something “special” for it’s first ever multi-platform release. Based on their amazing work with their own proprietary tech since the PlayStation days, the love for offbeat weaponry and all sorts of cartoon-inspired humor, Overstrike seems like the perfect blend. Of course, the hugely dedicated fan base their games have insures this one will be BIG stuff, so even if it’s an AAA-quality mash-up of Brute Force 2 meets X-Squad with a dash of Gene Troopers*, gamers will still eat it up. Also, I’ll bet real money this gets a Wii U release just because I KNOW Ted Price and co. have been itching to do SOMETHING for a Nintendo platform… just you wait and see…

*Yeah, I play WAY too many not so good games, folks. Anyway, I can’t wait to see some gameplay!

Wii U: Nintendo Changes The Game (AGAIN)

Posted on by
Reply


Well, who DIDN’T think they weren’t going to blow minds at today’s conference? Showing off the new controller while not babbling about the console’s tech specs (or showing the console itself) was an excellent move that baffled some editor-types and online posters. YES, the unseen actual system does HD 1080p graphics and based on the slick teaser videos and live announcements, we’ll be seeing the same SKUS on the PS3 and 360 for some key upcoming titles with Wii U functionality.

I like the HUD moved to the tablet idea (more real estate on your TV screen for game action) in some titles, the sketchpad (yes!) and other cool things. Sure, the console’s price point (and additional tablet controllers) will be the wallet kicker for most folks, but we won’t get that information until sometime next year, I’m thinking. I’m sure it’s not going to be cheap, but Nintendo has a way with showing tech that has many consumers more than eager to pay up. Cue Miyamoto saying “ITEM GET!”, a live orchestra playing some Zelda music and people reaching for their wallets.

EA jumping on board so strongly is a big plus for sports fans (and maybe Dead Space 2 is headed to the console along with Mass Effect at some point) and seeing Ken Levine’s eyes twinkle means I bet there’s a Big Daddy or three coming to Nintendo’s new system at some point. As well as a LOT of other stuff to appease the hardcore, Nintendo die-hards and others. Skeptics beware… this is going to get REALLY interesting as developers start peeling back the covers on their Wii U projects over the coming months…

More later – I’ve got some more games to see…