Posted May 6th 2008 10:30AM by JC Fletcher Filed under: News
The boxart for the Wii version of Samba de Amigo has now been revealed in tiny form on Gamestop's site. It is, as far as we know, the first game to feature the new red Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Pay-to-Play logo, which was first shown at GDC this year.
Either this means that you'll have to pay a subscription fee to play Samba online, or (infinitely more likely) that downloadable songs will be available over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Which, if true, makes the Wii version of Rock Band (with its new lineup of expansion discs!) just that much more insulting.
Rock Band for Wii isn't even screwing you over out yet, and already the downloadable content problem has been solved! All you have to do is buy an additional disc with a whopping twenty tracks for $29.99! No, you don't get to choose which ones you want and spend only a little money. You want extras? Pony up, suckers!
It's one thing -- and an acceptable thing -- to milk customers for a few bucks at a time for additional songs they really want. It's another thing altogether to offer up a full expansion for thirty dollars less than a month after the game is released. That's right: Rock Band isn't scheduled for the Wii until June 22, and this Track Pack is due July 15. And it's labeled Volume 1, naturally ... expect another round not long after that. We're anticipating September.
The only logical explanation for this travesty is that Harmonix is upset that they missed the Wii boat and are now scrambling to scrape as much quick cash as possible. The question is: will Wii owners take the rather unattractive bait? Fume your way past the break to see the full track listing for Rock Band's Track Pack Volume 1.
The WiiWare version of Namco Bandai's popular, impossible-to-localize puzzle game Kotoba no Puzzle Mojipittan (Word Puzzle Mojipittan) got its first add-on pack today. For 200 Wii Points, an additional 30 puzzles, along with new background music for those puzzles, can be downloaded from the Wii Shop, which actually doesn't seem like such a bad deal.
The stages in the pack range from easy enough for children to "Ultra Hard," and have themes like "Countries of the World" and "Sweets." We aren't sure how themes in Mojipittan work -- spelling words in just the appropriate themes seems like it would be pretty hard!
While you already know our stance on Lonpos's downloadable content, you probably didn't realize how much wallet maiming would actually be going on.
In Japan, nine puzzle packs were released this week. While that might seem like good news at first for the puzzle lovers in us all, it's not. Each puzzle pack costs 500 Wii Points (or $5, if you will), meaning that all nine packs come to a total of $45. Let's not forget the $10 to download the starter pack of Lonpos to begin with.
A puzzle pack includes twenty-five puzzles, which means that all nine packs would admittedly be a lot of content, but this still doesn't sit right with us. At the very least, the initial gimped version should be cheaper to download off of WiiWare.
With this much DLC at these prices, we'd have preferred that Genki released a disc-based game instead. Think about it: if you don't think you'd like Lonpos, you won't want to download it in the first place. If Lonpos interests you, though, you're going to want as many puzzle packs as possible, and feel completely deflated by the money Genki is asking for.
It seems that Genki has gotten the concept of nickel-and-diming down to a T.
So it appears you're all pretty upset about the Wii version of Rock Band. And hey, we can't blame you -- we feel the same way! The reduced feature-set of the Wii game hurts, and like many of you, the lack of online play and DLC may well force us to purchase another version.
But according to developer Harmonix, none of this is really its fault -- nope, it's the Wii that's to blame, specifically the lack of a Wii hard drive. Quoth Harmonix design director Rob Kay: "[...] We need a hard drive. That's what we want. The whole problem is there's nowhere to store it. If the platform could do it, we'd jump on it."
Which is a valid point, actually. With single songs on other versions weighing in at around 30 - 45MB, the Wii's 512MB of internal storage would fill up quickly. We remain justifiably cross, however, at the missing online play.
RetroZone, creators of exceptionally wacky retro peripherals like the RetroUSB adapters (which allow you to use NES and SNES controllers on the Gamecube and Wii) and the PowerPak cartridge (a flash cartridge for the NES) have managed to one-up themselves in the "exceptional wackiness" category with their latest offering: Glider, based on the freeware Mac game.
What's so wacky about Glider, other than its monochrome look? The cartridge is designed so that new levels can be added via a USB CopyNES adapter. In other words, downloadable content. At $42 for Glider and $70 for the (quite useful-looking) CopyNES, that's some expensive fake retrogaming!
Don't get us wrong -- we're not against downloadable content by any means. Yet, the way in which microtransactions were presented during the WiiWare launch for games like Lonpos and My Life as a King seems really ... cheap. And by cheap, we mean the DLC is a total cheap shot, because it's actually expensive. Take Square Enix's title, for example, which released $13 worth of downloadable content on its first week. Yes, we're familiar with the "If you don't want it, then don't buy it" argument (and we won't), but all of that just sours us on the game in general.
What do you think, though? Are we being to hard on Lonpos and My Life as a King? Or, is there a wrong and right way to present DLC? Then again, it could also be possible that you don't support any microtransactions. Share your thoughts in the comments below.
You have to download an updated My Life as a King from the Wii Shop (and delete the old one) before you can have the privilege of adding any of the new content to your game. Luckily, the interface for feeding your money to the game is nice, and doesn't force you back out into the Wii Shop again. The menu shows how many points and blocks you have available, and the cost in both Wii Points and space of each item on the list.
The only thing missing is a pop-up window that provides periodic "WHAT ARE YOU DOING" and "YOU COULD BE BUYING BONK'S ADVENTURE WITH THOSE POINTS" messages.
The three tribal buildings (which allow players to recruit other races, including Lilitie warriors, Selkie thieves, and Yuke mages) come in at 300 Wii Points apiece (though all three can be purchased as a pack for 800 Points), and there are new costumes for Chancellor Chime and Leo (100 Points each), an Extravagant House (100 Points also), and a Sacred Shrine (200 Points).
The cost of all this extra fluff? 1300 Wii Points, thanks very much -- and that's presuming you purchased all three tribal buildings at once. That's right: Square Enix has very nearly doubled the price of its game with the first wave of DLC (and more is on the way). We're still waiting to hear news about U.S. pricing, but this doesn't bode well for your wallet if (like us) you're a weak-willed, impoverished Final Fantasy fan.
While most of us were sleeping -- like a bunch of chumps -- Nintendo launched its WiiWare service in Japan early this morning. As expected, the WiiWare servers are taking a beating from thousands of gamers hoping to try out the new downloadable releases, but Siliconera's Spencer Yip and Wired's Chris Kohler were still able to grab a few games and write up their impressions, all of which you can peruse below.
A few surprises revealed themselves with the service's launch:
My Life as a King is rife with microtransactions, offering additional costumes, dungeons, and races (Yukes, Selkies, and Lilties) for 100-300 Wii Points.
Star Soldier R features three light modes -- a two-minute mode in which you play through a quick stage for a high score, a similar 5-minute mode with two levels and boss encounters, and a "Fast Shot" mode for testing your button-tapping skills.
Saku Saku Animal Panic, the only WiiWare launch title from a US developer and a game we haven't paid any attention to at all, is apparently "pretty fun!" Judging by Chris Kohler's impressions, it sounds a lot like Jezzball, minus the balls ... And the Jezz.
Read - The WiiWare Shopping experience Read - WiiWare Impressions: Lonpos Read - WiiWare Impressions: Angel's Solitaire Read - WiiWare Impressions: Saku Saku Animal Panic Read - WiiWare Impressions: Star Soldier R Read - Extra content in My Life as a King explained Read - Lonpos has pay-to-play content too
Nintendo project leader Takashi Aoyama recently announced that Wii games would soon feature downloadable content. If you're unfamiliar with this service (which is currently prevalent in the other current-gen systems, the PS3 and Xbox 360), this means that you'll be able to download additional content for your games via Wi-Fi.
There's no word on what games will offer DLC (though we can make guesses on a few that will and won't), nor have we heard about potential memory limitations with the inclusion of this service. Add-ons will be available for both Wii Ware titles and disc-based games, though.
As per usual, Wii owners will be able to purchase such content with Wii Points or a credit card.
While you already know tons of information about the upcoming Smash Bros. game, you should probably know what not to expect. Many of your hopes and dreams have given birth to compelling rumors, but it's time to put those rumors to rest (and never wake them again).
Masahiro Sakurai managed to clear up some things in a recent interview with IGN -- things we may have already known, but didn't necessarily want to believe -- so check after the break to see what's not in store for you this March (or June).
Eternity's Child, Luc Bernard's stylish platformer, began life as an XBLA title, moved to the Nintendo systems as of last September, and is now apparently going to be released for Wii Ware later this year. Normally, this would be cause for standing ovations and general joy, but in this particular case? We're scratching our heads a little. Initially, the title was apparently shifted away from the Xbox download service due to the restrictions on the size of downloads. Wii Ware, however, boasts an even lower cap for downloads, so we can't help but wonder what happened to the game. It still looks good -- as you can see from our gallery -- so did the finished game end up being much smaller? Is it simplified? We can't help our curiosity.
Right now, Eternity's Child is slated for Q2, at the unbeatable price of $5.
Further proof that the Wii is truly a next-gen system: Wii Ware will bring the nightmare of for-pay downloadable content to Wii games. Mojipittan, which we were just being all positive about, will be the first downloadable game to include (or, well, exclude until you pay for it) extra downloadables, including stages and items. Why include the stages you've made when you can sell them later?
From there, it's only a matter of time before the slippery slope delivers us straight into unfinished games with content held back for more money, "premium" Mii parts and Wii Menu colors. Welcome to the future! Hope you brought money.
Kai Huang just wanted to make you guys sweat in his recent interview with Pro-G when he said Guitar Hero III wouldn't have online multiplayer "initially for the Wii, but we are working with Nintendo to see how we can get those features in." Looks like it's actually downloadable content that's on the negotiating table, with nothing confirmed for now. Pro-G has corrected their original interview to reflect the clarification from RedOctane's Jordan Dodge.
With the lack of a hard drive for the Wii, this is really no surprise -- but that's something we've long hoped will change in the Wii's future. Even if it doesn't, perhaps we'll see some downloadable content via Wii Ware.
The boxart for the Wii version of Samba de Amigo has now been revealed in tiny form on Gamestop's site. It is, as far as we know, the first game to feature the new red Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Pay-to-Play logo, which was first shown at GDC this year.
