Wiifit

While details regarding Nintendo’s new “Pay & Play” service remain vague at best, almost all gamers agree that the Wii’s current online service is not worth a nickel. The announcement at GDC ‘08 has generated a lot of speculation and negative reaction among Wii owners. Nintendo also made some major missteps in handling the “Pay & Play” service announcement. Telling people they are going to have to pay for something they thought was going to be free should be handled in a memo meant to attract little attention. It is an insult to gamers’ collective intelligence that they should be “excited” at the possibility of more money leaving their wallets. Also, “Pay & Play” has to be the worst name ever for a service. Why remind people in the title that they have to pay money? Would you eat at a restaurant that was called “Pay & Eat?” Doesn’t sound that enticing does it? Gamers are already paying $50 bucks a pop to “play.” The real name of the service should be “Pay Even More & Play.” Mistakes aside, it is possible that the service could still be a success. Here are 5 things the Wii’s online service needs to succeed.

Voice Chat

Gamers love to play online games for several reasons, but the top of that list is because players can interact. Strategizing, joking, and talking smack make online gaming fun. Imagine playing COD4 online and not being able to strategize with your teammates. It would be a disaster. While the prospect of not having 12 year olds call you a bitch is enticing, it isn’t true online gaming until there are mics. Nintendo seriously needs to add some sort of verbal interaction in their online service. Without chat, online gaming just turns into playing slightly smarter less predictable AI opponents. You want to charge money to play games Reggie? Give us our WiiMics.

Lose the “Friend Codes”

Wii owners certainly sleep better at night knowing that they are protected by their friend codes. Who doesn’t like typing in an 273 digit code just to exchange Wii Mail? With the dawn of “Pay to Play” drawing closer, imagine the logistics of getting 16 people to all exchange Friend Codes just to play “Brawl” with each other. The prospect is a nightmare. Still want to keep us safe Mario & Co.? Let gamers choose which level of security they prefer. Parents can still keep the Friend Codes for the little ones who want to “Pay & Play” Pokimon online, but let the rest of us open up our security settings to play and talk to anyone who wants a game. Until Chris Hansen from “To Catch a Predator” nabs a pervert on the Wii, lighten up Nintendo.

Old School Multiplayer & Original Online Content

One of the aspects of Xbox Live that makes it such a smash success is “Live Arcade.” Nintendo needs to roll out some new arcade content that is multiplayer enabled. Gamers love the old school gaming action, but original 1st party arcade content from Nintendo is something worth paying for. Remember when multiplayer meant calling your friend to come over for a game of Contra? Now, imagine playing the original Contra in an online co-op mode. Bringing multiplayer back into those old games will reinvigorate the titles, as well as, bring a tear of nostalgia to every OG’s (original gamer) eye.

Mii Plaza

The “Check Mii Out” channel proved how truly creative people can be, but there really isn’t that much to do besides, well, check them out. Creating a virtual hub for online gamers almost seems like a no-brainer because everyone already has avatars. We don’t need Mii houses or micro-transaction furniture, but it would be cool to have a virtual place to congregate, talk, and game together. Throw in a little arcade where Miis could meet and play virtual Chess or (gasp!) Uno, and call it a day. It has already been proven that people love making their Miis. Now it’s time to let them do something with their creations besides beat them at Wii Baseball.

Hard Drive

It’s unclear what hard drives have done to hurt Nintendo’s feelings, but there is clearly bad blood there. Nintendo has repeatedly denied that they are going to offer a hard drive add-on for the Wii. What is the thought process behind that decision? “Let’s make the least technologically advanced console even more archaic!” Brilliant idea fellas. Keep up the good work. Why are hard drives integral into an online service that gamers have to pay for? Gamers love demos and expect them (thanks XBL) as part of a paid online service. Without an additional hard drive, it would be near impossible download more than one demo at a time without losing all previously saved content. Sure, the on-board memory is good for a million 8-bit NES titles, but don’t we all have ROMs of those anyway?

While no gamer is quite excited about Nintendo’s “Pay & Play” service, it may bring improvements to their pathetic online system. Without a doubt, Nintendo is going to have to add many more features to interest anyone in possibly “paying and playing”. For gamers who already pay for XBL, it may be nearly impossible to drag cash out of their virtual wallets. Until Nintendo releases further details, gamers are left to speculate about what they are going to have to pay for and how much it will cost. One this is for sure, if “Pay & Play” consists of getting a virtual lap dance from Princess Peach, count us in.

via : theexplodingbarrel.com

A major breakthrough has hit the Wii scene in the form of a program called Trucha Signer.

This program allows you to modify the contents of a Wii iso and then re-sign it with an electronic signature the Wii will accept. Basically, in theory you could put anything you wanted into a Wii iso (or take out, eg: Wii updates) and by using this tool to re-sign it the Wii will not reject the altered disk.

The author has also stated he is working on adding Virtual Console and Wii Channel support to the program. It would be within the realm of possibility that a way to run any VC game or Wii channel on your Wii would pop-up at some stage.

The author states this tool was made possible through a system bug that compromised all of the Wii’s system security. This bug is apparently easy for Nintendo to spot and the author alludes that Nintendo might fix this bug in a future firmware update as they have done with a previous bug not disclosed to the public. Fixing the bug would stop the signature Trucha Signer uses from working.

GBATemp member “Mr.O” modded Manhunt 2:

I just modiefied Manhunt 2 to work uncensored!
Just open RHTE54/root/global/levelSetup.ini

and replace
# —————————————————————————-
# [GK] execution colour ramp options: flash fadein (sec), flash duration (sec), flash fadeout time (sec)
EXECUTION_COLRAMP_TEXTURE FE_execramps
EXECUTION_COLRAMP_FLASH_TIMES 0.05, 0.05, 0.1
EXECUTION_COLRAMP_FADE_TIME 5.0

with

# —————————————————————————-
# [GK] execution colour ramp options: flash fadein (sec), flash duration (sec), flash fadeout time (sec)
EXECUTION_COLRAMP_TEXTURE
EXECUTION_COLRAMP_FLASH_TIMES 200, 0.6, 0.3
EXECUTION_COLRAMP_FADE_TIME 5.0

Gore Mode added to Manhunt, Blood in PAL release of No More Heroes, unlock characters that were never meant to be seen, the possibilities are endless:

via : wiinintendo.net

Nintendo fans still hoping that the arrival of Mario Kart Wii will herald the beginning of voice chat support on the company’s home console will have to put those hopes on hold for a while. The publisher’s European subsidiary confirmed in an official Mario Kart Wii posting that players will only be able to communicate with each other via text chat, and not during matches.”You can create rooms for friends to join and even text chat while you’re waiting for other racers,” Nintendo of Europe revealed.

Update

In our original article, we speculated that players might be able to use a USB keyboard or at the very least the Wii remote to enter customized text messages. Not so, according to a rep for Nintendo of America, who contacted us today to clarify. Apparently, gamers will only be able to select from a pre-determined number of phrases that can be sent along as rudimentary texts before matches. Nintendo is clearly playing it safe

via : wii.ign.com

With nearly 1.3 million units in homes, Nintendo’s exercise-themed videogame, Wii Fit, has become one of the fastest-selling Wii titles in Japan. Now, Nintendo of America is gearing up to duplicate the success of its parent company. The U.S. subsidiary revealed this morning that Wii Fit will debut in America on May 19 for “under $100.” We chatted with company president Reggie Fils-Aime about NOA’s plans for the project. In the paragraphs below, Reggie discusses how many units of Wii Fit will be available at launch, the massive marketing campaign supporting the project, and how many Wii Balance Board-compatible games are already in development.

Reggie Fils-Aime: In terms of the release, let’s start there. We’re going to be announcing that Wii Fit will be launching on May 19. Price for the Wii Fit Board and the software is under $100 — we’re still working to finalize the price given currency exchanges, etcetera, but under $100 bucks.

IGN: In Japan, it was around $83. Do you think you’ll be able to release at a comparable price?

Reggie Fils-Aime: We do. And again, it really all comes down to the exchange rate and all of the costs inherent with the Balance Board. It’s a heavy piece of equipment but certainly from a consumer standpoint, it’s going to represent a fantastic value.

IGN: Wii Fit has sold upward of 1.2 million units in Japan already. Still, though, it’s a pretty pricey peripheral. Do you think you’re going to have any trouble selling the title in America?

Reggie Fils-Aime: Absolutely not. The reception by consumers in Japan for Wii Fit has been phenomenal. We think here in the United States the reaction will be just as strong if not stronger given the American focus and psyche on being fit, and the game itself is going to be localized for our audience. We expect to have comparable success here in the U.S. if not a stronger result than what Japan has seen so far.

NOA president Reggie Fils-Aime

IGN: Nintendo Japan gambled on just how well received Wii Fit would be in the homeland by shipping one million units for launch. Obviously, it paid off. Are you planning to ship a similar quantity of units for the U.S. launch?Reggie Fils-Aime: We are. Our sights are set very high for the this product so our goal is to make sure we have over a million units available at launch to support it.

IGN: How important is Wii Fit to Nintendo this year?

Reggie Fils-Aime: Wii Fit is extremely important, just as Smash Bros. and Mario Kart for Wii are important. Wii Fit specifically in our mind is the follow-on title for the expanded audience — a way for them to take their gaming experience one step further after they’ve played with Wii Sports and after they’ve played a little Guitar Hero. This is something that will continue to expand their gaming experiences and from that standpoint it’s critically important to have a successful launch here.

IGN: We don’t think you will have any trouble hitting the casual sector, but what about the hardcore? Are you going after them with Wii Fit, too?

Reggie Fils-Aime: We absolutely will. We’ve seen the core consumer have just as much fun playing Wii Sports as the casual gamer. We expect the core to be thrilled with Wii Fit because it has such a wide range of experiences. It’s more than just the aerobic or stretching exercises — there are quite a number of other mini-games, if you will, embedded in the software that we think will speak to the core consumer.

Wii Fit in motion.

IGN: Wii Fit is a very untraditional title. What kind of untraditional avenues will you be exploring to get the word about the game out there?Reggie Fils-Aime: You know, for the launch of Wii we executed a number of non-traditional programs and that thrust will continue with Wii Fit. You can expect to see it on morning national programs. You can expect to see it on female-oriented programs. There will be a broad Internet program leveraging Cammie’s [Dunaway, NOA’s executive vice president of sales and marketing] knowledge of that space. And there will also be traditional prime time TV advertising. It will likely be our largest launch of the year from a total dollar spend standpoint.

IGN: The big question is, can you get Wii Fit on Oprah Winfrey?

Reggie Fils-Aime: [Laughs] Oprah is a pretty tough customer, but we’ve had a lot of success and we’re having very good negotiations and conversations with a range of different outlets, so hopefully we’ll see Oprah working on her fitness with Wii Fit.

IGN: What’re the chances of a Wii Fit console bundle and how soon might such a package come to fruition?

Reggie Fils-Aime: In terms of Wii hardware bundled with Wii Fit? As you know, Matt, we continue to sell out of Wii consoles as soon as we put them into the market and until we’ve gotten to a point of stable demand and supply, I don’t see any different package configurations hitting the market. While a Wii Fit plus Wii console would be a fantastic idea, until we’ve got much more product into the marketplace, it just doesn’t make sense to even contemplate it right now.

According to Reggie, NOA will have more than one million copies of Wii Fit ready for the U.S. launch.

IGN: Do you foresee a time when you finally will have a steady stream of supply to meet demand? With Smash Bros. Brawl right on the horizon and then Wii Fit and Mario Kart right after that, it just seems like consumers are going to continue to find Wii sold out.Reggie Fils-Aime: Our goal is to get to the point where supply is in line in demand and you’re absolutely right, Matt, that Smash plus Wii Fit plus Kart plus WiiWare and all of the other initiatives that we have going on just in the first half of the year, we will be quite strained to get as much product into the marketplace to meet that demand.

IGN: Do you see Wii Fit as a game or an exercise program?

Reggie Fils-Aime: We see it as both. It combines fun and fitness in a way that’s never been done before.

IGN: Have you done any kind of studies to determine how effective Wii Fit is as a weight loss or dietary solution?

Reggie Fils-Aime: We have seen consumers make up their own exercise routines just as with Wii Sports. Our expectation is that with the four different types of activities provided in Wii Fit that it can absolutely be a critical part of person’s healthy regime.

One of the many mini-games in Wii Fit.

IGN: Is Wii Fit actually going to create a Channel on your system where you can monitor all of your progress?Reggie Fils-Aime: Wii Fit does create a Channel on your Wii console. What that allows you to do is to track your progress and monitor your BMI activity, so you’ll be able to see simple graphs to show you how you’re doing.

IGN: Wii Fit is destined to — like Wii Sports — enjoy a long shelf life. However, are you planning any initiatives to ensure that the experience stays fresh? Perhaps downloadable updates over WiiConnect24?

Reggie Fils-Aime: This title absolutely will have a long life and we will be supporting it with marketing initiatives for quite some time. In terms of WiiConnect24 type of activity, it’s too premature to be speaking to that, but the game itself is not Wi-Fi enabled.

Wii systems are likely to remain sold out for the next several months.

IGN: Under $100 for another peripheral is still a chunk of cash to shell out. Do you have anything in line that will make further use of the Wii Balance Board?Reggie Fils-Aime: I think what you’re speaking to is, from a consumer perspective, help me feel good about this purchase. There are over 10 games in development that take advantage of the Balance Board. Certainly in terms of ongoing enjoyment, we believe that Wii Fit plus the Balance Board will provide that to the consumer.

IGN: Thanks Reggie. Any final comments to fans getting excited for Wii Fit’s release in America?

Reggie Fils-Aime: All I can say is that between Smash Bros, WiiWare and Wii Fit, we think we’ve got a fantastic lineup of content for every type of consumer — even your most die-hard fans out there, Matt; we think they’re going to be thrilled over the next number of months.

via : wii.ign.com

Nintendo has placed release dates on the upcoming WiiWare game service and Wii Fit.

WiiWare is expected to debut on Monday, May 12th. WiiWare will open game development for the Wii, giving smaller developers (as well as larger ones) a creative outlet for their games on the console.

About WiiWare, from Nintendo:
“Through WiiWare, Nintendo hopes to offer developers a virtual laboratory that serves as a breeding ground for new games, which encourages great ideas that creators always wanted to develop. The combination of low development barriers and unique game experiences found only on Wii should enable developers to try new ideas with lower risk in a quicker, more creative and affordable way.”

One title from Square Enix coming on WiiWare is Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King. Telltale (known for its Sam & Max games) will also be releasing episodic gaming via WiiWare. XGen is another game developer putting out its games via WiiWare. Watch for the first batch of games on May 12th.

Wii Fit, with the included Balance Board is expected on the week following the launch of WiiWare, on May 19th.

Details on Wii Fit and the Wii Balance Board, from Nintendo:
“Wii Fit: Wii Fit demonstrates Nintendo’s commitment to gamers of all kinds. It combines fun and fitness for every member of the family to keep active and play together. Wii Fit launches May 19 in the United States and comes with the weight-and-motion-sensing Wii Balance Board that Nintendo representatives demonstrated could hold great promise for future game development as well. Third-party publishers are already working on new games and applications that will make use of the Wii Balance Board. Additionally, Wii Fit includes access to the Wii Fit Channel, an interactive channel that lets users check in each day to track their fitness progress through weight and BMI. In Japan, Wii Fit has sold more than 1.4 million units since its Dec. 1 launch.”

Today at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Nintendo is giving a presentation on WiiWare, Wii Fit and Super Smash Bros. Brawl

SOURCE : gamingbits.com