Nintendo Wii Fanboy

2007 was the year of the Wii. So, which console's cuisine will reign supreme in 2008? According to super-analyst Michael Pachter, that would be the PS3.

In the latest issue of EGM, Pachter predicts that the Wii will fall to the PS3 this year. The thing that will bring about this fall is not software (well, that too), but price. That's right, Pachter predicts that the price will soon be right for the PS3. The Wedbush Morgan analyst stated, "I think the Wii momentum will last until the Playstation 3 is under $300, so another year."

Perhaps Pachter is making too many assumptions: Will the PS3 drop to under $300? And if so, does that necessarily mean that Nintendo won't cut the price of the Wii to compete? If Nintendo doesn't price drop, will people even care (check eBay, for example)?

Of course, it's his job to make assumptions, so we suppose we can't fault him for that.

[Via NeoGAF]

Sierra's deviant advertising campaign for Geometry Wars: Galaxies, LOLcats and a "Particle Man" music video, was undeniably effective at grabbing the attention of online gamers, so it only makes sense that the publisher would carry over the same offbeat approach to the land of print.

EGM's latest issue features one of the most ridiculous full-page ads we've seen since the mid-90s, promoting the multi-directional shooter as "Asteroids on steroids" and emphasizing that abstract with a beefy, curled-lip ape of a man gripping a Wii remote and nunchuck. Jump past the break for the complete, glorious Geometry Wars: Galaxies ad.

Jenny Lauck and Stefania Pomponi Butler, both of them "Alpha Moms (influential matriarchs)" and Wii Ambassadors, sat down with Electronic Gaming Monthly's podcast crew to chat about Nintendo's efforts to attract mothers to its consoles. Though they didn't take to the Nintendo DS, both women were eager to talk about how much they enjoyed titles like Cooking Mama, Wii Play, and, yes, Boogie.

When asked about the often touted complaint that casual releases like Wii Fit and Wii Sports are pulling resources and funding away from games meant for the hardcore audience, Ms. Lauck reasoned, "I don't think developers are going to start ignoring them. I think there's definite room ... for both markets."

She continued the argument on her blog with an analogy that puts these irrational fears into perspective: "I think studios should stop making lame sitcoms and focus solely on new episodes of Lost, for example. But you know what? There's a market for sitcoms, and even though I'm a hard-core supporter of Lost, there are other genres out there that other people watch."

Read - She Just Wouldn't Shut Up
Read - EGM LIVE 09/03/2007 Podcast

If our lives didn't revolve around Nintendo, we'd think Peter Moore worked for the company. Instead, we know he's the competition, however his public attitude as of late towards Nintendo presents anything but, as he once again compliments the company and speaks about how much of a fan he is.

In the latest edition of gaming magazine EGM, during an interview Moore says he was hoping his "friend" Reggie would "send me one [a Wii]," but quickly reminds us his house is dominated by another console. Moore also goes on to say that there is no bigger franchise in gaming, to him at least, than Mario.

[Via Go Nintendo]

It pays to really scrutinize those nifty game systems people randomly ship you -- even if you're a gaming journalist and people are often randomly shipping you systems. According to Ross Miller of big daddy Joystiq, the guys of 1UP/EGM really need to heed the above advice. GameVideos.com director Mark MacDonald pranked the staffers with a fake Wii setup that was good enough to fool a few. And you can see all the loldrama unfold for yourself after the jump. Beware, however, there's a little language at times. Naughty language.

According to a post over on a blog at Jeux-France, the latest issue of EGM has some interesting rumors to share. The two of greatest concern to Wii Fanboys is the proposal of a Rez sequel releasing for the Wii, along with Nintendo's Wii Sports title including 30 total games.

A sequel for Rez on the Wii is just about the greatest thing we've ever read. The problem with a rumor like this is that it sounds so good that it just can't be true. We want it, we want it bad, but likely could not survive the fall should it turn out to be fake. We'll remain as suspicious of this rumor as possible, for the time being.

The idea of Wii Sports including over 30 different games is feasible and likely true. This could mean that Wii Sports would have a total of 24 games that we have yet to see (assuming that Wii Orchestra is included in the game and not a title in and of itself). Nintendo could get away with offering half as many games in Wii Sports and ask for full retail price, so the idea of 30 games being a part of the experience is wonderful.

[Via Codename Revolution]

Hey, everyone loves rumors. You can usually grab them by the handful at sites like, say, SPOnG, but when you cry wolf as many times as they do, well, it diminishes credibility. EGM, however, have a fairly good track record with their Rumor Mill section, and the newest issue has some delectable bits.

• First off, Square-Enix is purportedly using the two upcoming incarnations of Dragon's Quest (DQ Joker for the DS and DQ Swords for the Wii) as a gauge to see if the next incarnation of the main series, Dragon's Quest IX, will be released exclusively on the Wii. Though it has a slightly diminished standing in North America, the DQ series is loved by millions upon millions worldwide, an RPG phenomenon second only to the Final Fantasy franchise. If this is true, it's one hell of a victory for Nintendo.
• We're not done with Square-Enix yet. Second rumor: SE is developing an MMORPG for the Wii based on the Mana universe. While we're not sure if the Wii even has the technical capabilites to run a true MMO (they tend to be very limited without a dedicated hard drive), we still salivate at the possibility.
• Finally, Nintendo is looking at releasing an Earthbound compilation for the DS. This would include Mother 1, a game never released outside of Japan, the ever-beloved Earthbound itself (a.k.a. Mother 2), and the recent Mother 3, a game well-received in the Land of the Rising Sun. Add touch-screen capabilities, and bam. Million seller. They make it look so easy...

And, there you have it. While we must once again stress these are rumors, I'd eat my nonexistent hat if at least one of these three failed to come true. Your feelings, trusty readers?

[Update 1: Square-Enix was not the publisher of Earthbound; corrected Rumor 3.]

The latest issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly has some interesting bits of information for us Wii fanatics. First, it seems as though several developers have actually turned from PS3 development over to the Wii, in reaction to Nintendo's strong E3 showing. Many appear to be frightened of the high cost of development and consumer price point of Sony's behemoth, and the Wii's familiar Gamecube-like architecture is surely a sight for sore programming eyes.

Secondly, LucasArts seem to have finally heard Nintendo fans' cries for a lightsaber game; word on the street is that they're already on their way with a new exclusive Star Wars game for the Wii, based heavily on lightsaber mechanics. Thank the Force.

Speak Dutch? If not, then the link isn't going to mean much to you aside from the sporadic words of Revolution and Pilotwings. Apparently they are saying the latest issue of EGM confirms that a sequel to the series is to appear on the Revolution, yet photographic proof of such is scarce. Now if any of our readers found some snapshots and would like to share, that would be most appreciated.

Some of the parts that create the sum of the Pilotwings experience would be an interesting fit for the Revolution control scheme as skydiving and pilotting a bi-plane through rings would be a difficult challenge to adapt to the remote. We're confident that if this rumor is true, Nintendo will not only do it, but do it so well it'll literally impress your pants right off of your body, fold them neatly, and tuck them away into a drawer.

[Via Go Nintendo]

[Update: Dutch looked very German to me, but thanks to the wonderful readers, I've been corrected.]