Snowboarding games have been pretty easy to find over the last decade or so, but skiing titles? They're a rarer bird. Indeed, when Horace Goes Skiing is still this writer's fondest recollection of the genre, you sense that there's a gap waiting to be filled.
Enter Namco Bandai, which has just announced Family Ski for the Wii. Due for release in Japan during Winter 2007/2008 and able to support up to four players, this cartoony take on the sport is being worked on by the folks behind Ridge Racer.
And yes, we know what you're thinking -- this would be perfect on the Wii Balance Board, right? Sadly, Namco Bandai would beg to differ; instead, the Wiimote and nunchuk become your ski poles as you hurtle down the white powdery stuff. Some Mii integration would certainly sweeten the pot, though.
Hit the break for a Famitsu scan.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-19-2007 @ 2:20PM
tiamat1990 said...
How on earth is this going to control?
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10-19-2007 @ 2:33PM
bhengh said...
A First-Person Skiing (FPS) game using the Wii Balance Board would be very cool. The Wii Balance Board has so many possibilities.
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10-19-2007 @ 2:37PM
Frank said...
Ideally Wii Balance Board and Wii Remote and Nunchuk controls all integrated would be awesome.
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10-19-2007 @ 2:37PM
StckFigure said...
How can we forget the pre-Windows 95 standby SkiFree?
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10-19-2007 @ 2:58PM
troy said...
I haven't forgotten it: I've never heard of it. Hopefully Namco will change their minds: I agree that using the wiimote and nunchuck like ski poles while balancing on the balance board would be the -ultimate- skiing game on the Wii, or any platform. It almost might help someone practice before actually skiing.
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10-19-2007 @ 3:00PM
troy said...
Oh, and a welcome to you to Chris! Nice to read an article by a fresh face around here. You fit in well: didn't even realize you weren't one of the witty veterans when I read your article. Congrats on the new posting and best of luck!
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10-19-2007 @ 3:08PM
Hypz said...
"ski or die" is my fondest recollection of the ski game genre
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10-19-2007 @ 3:16PM
css said...
I think the balance board really isn't needed for something like this... Unless you want to force yourself to not be lazy abount doing the movements :-P Because you can use the wii remote and nunchuck just like you do in boxing on Wii Sports to control your character. You can actually lean one way or the other just as if you were skiing, it should be basically the same as the wii balance board would be, but much cheaper because you wouldn't have to have a balance board..
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10-19-2007 @ 6:22PM
Anthony said...
Just so you know, Skiing has already been brought to the Wii in the form of SSX Blur. Not that it did a very good job of it.. EA were really lazy with that game.
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10-19-2007 @ 7:57PM
genocidalrobot said...
Hypz, I agree! Ski or Die is delicous. Amazingly, the snowboarding portion of that game was the worst of it! Even the snowball fights were more fun...
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10-20-2007 @ 8:07PM
Ranma Mao said...
SSX Blur. You can ski in it, and unlike SkiFree, you can ski as a yeti, instead of being eaten by one. Other people might not like Blur, but I like it a lot. Sure, the controls are a little difficult, but I remember the first time I played Tony Hawk. I absolutely didn't get it (of course, I didn't read the manual, and never did, eventually, I just started getting it). Now, I have both games mastered.
Anyway, I am interested in Family Ski, and it is regrettable that they didn't use the Wii Board, but at the same time, no one is really going to own four of them. Focusing on controls for just the remote and nunchauku is probably the best course. Also, this means there will be a skiing game everyone can play. After all, I don't play SSX Blur or Tony Hawk against people who've never touched either title, the games are too complicated for causual pick-up'n'play.
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