This is amazing… skip to 5:00 for all the fun!
from Reuters:
TOKYO, April 9 (Reuters) - Japan’s Nintendo Co, which competes with Microsoft Corp and Sony Corp in the global video game market, said on Thursday it would launch its “Wii Sports Resort” software in June in Japan.
Wii Sports Resort follows its popular “Wii Sports” game, which helped drive sales of its Wii game console as users can play baseball, tennis and other sports using its motion-sensing controller.
Wii Sports Resort, which lets users throw a frisbee to a virtual dog or duel one another with swords, will hit overseas markets in July, Nintendo said.
Nintendo’s Wii game console far outsells Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation 3, and its DS, which competes with Sony’s PlayStation Portable, dominates the handheld video game market.
Nintendo shares were down 2.8 percent at 27,940 yen, little moved by the news. The benchmark Nikkei average gained 2.9 percent.
From IGN.com:
February 26, 2009 - Normally we’d scoff at the idea of Nintendo releasing yet another new controller (hell, we’ve already got the Wii-mote, nunchuk, zapper shell, wheel shell, balance board, classic controller, and GameCube controller, not to mention third party offerings like the Hori sticks and alternate pads) but in this case, we’re on board.
As seen above, Nintendo’s Japanese website has been updated with a new Classic Controller PRO model, and while it’s got no release date or price just yet, we’re already more than intrigued at this larger, more form-fitting design.
If you want to game on Virtual Console, your best bet right now is the Classic Controller or a GameCube pad. Still, while the Wii’s throwback offering has the look of the Super NES pad from the golden era of gaming, it doesn’t exactly feel form-fitting in its design. The back is oddly slanted, the finish on the controller feels a bit slick, and the sticks are too close together to really feel comfy.
From the info we’ve already got on the PRO, we know it’s a larger controller, not only in thickness, height, and width, but it also makes use of one of the more well-received concepts out there, which is the extension grips, which gives it a GameCube, Xbox Controller S/360 look. As you can see, the Z buttons (Z/L and Z/R) are larger now, and placed like the R1/R2, L1/L2 setup found with Sony controllers. The PRO even borrows from the Nyko Classic Controller and Click Grip, shown below.
We’ll have more on Nintendo’s controller as news breaks. As for price and strategy from here on out, Nintendo hasn’t commented but we’d estimate a worldwide release by the end of 2009 (a slow move from Japan to Europe, US, and beyond, with no real fanfare for the switch), and a price tag of $24.99, five bucks over the current Classic Controller, at least until the old model is worked out of retailers. The Pro makes use of a Wii-mote for power, and we’re hoping Nintendo makes use of a back-mounted cradle system for the Wii-mote, though of course nothing has been mentioned yet on that.
Nintendo just announced Wii Music, a new music game that lets you use the Wiimote, Nunchuk and Balance Board to create music. Unlike Rock Band or Guitar Hero, this one isn’t based on precise timing. Rather, it lets you basically hit buttons and swing the remote around to create original tunes. The Wii interprets your motions and button presses to make music for you. Essentially, this is like Beamz but instead of lasers, you use the Wiimote and Balance Board. Awesome?
If you can’t decide if this is awesome or not continue reading here.
By way of IGN.com:
Nintendo may be focusing on the casual game market with its Wii system, but it was Red Octane and Harmonix that first nailed that demographic hard when the pair launched Guitar Hero on the PlayStation 2 a couple of years ago. Even if you’ve never played a videogame before, it was a design that was easily accessible to anyone: pick up a guitar and strum notes as they race down the screen. And though Red Octane and Harmonix have parted ways, the Guitar Hero brand lives on with Red Octane and Activision, who will publish Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock across all the current platforms. Activision’s Vicarious Visions studio has been put to the task of bringing the design to a Nintendo platform for the very first time, and we got a chance to rock out with the Wii version back at the team’s studio.
If you missed out on the craze on the PlayStation 2 or when the sequel hit the Xbox 360, it’s clear you need to be brought up to speed on the wonder that is Guitar Hero. In Guitar Hero, you simply rock out to classic and contemporary guitar-heavy songs by following along with an on-screen bar. On this bar, you’ll need to have your fingers pressing on individual or multiple buttons on the guitar neck and strumming to the specific beat. Play successfully and you’ll rack up serious points. Screw up and you’ll ruin your ears with the sound of sour notes.
Guitar Hero’s main component to its design is, of course, the guitar peripheral. The key gameplay revolves around pressing the corresponding buttons on the guitar neck and strumming to the beat of the song, and this just wouldn’t feel the same using a traditional controller. You really won’t feel like a guitar hero without that meaty axe in your hands to wail away on the notes that come zipping in on-screen. Guitar Hero III for the Wii will be the “unique” one of the bunch as it’s the only version that requires players to plug in a Wii remote before they can start rocking out.
The back of the Wii guitar has a compartment that’s made specifically for the Wii remote. It only takes a few seconds for preparation before rocking: plug the connector into the bottom of the controller, rest the controller face down, put the wrist strap in the handy nook, and snap the compartment door back on. Easy.
Read the rest of the article at IGN
PLAY
