Nintendo Wii Fanboy

With recent details dropping about the DS game, GTA: Chinatown Wars, the relationship between Take-Two and Rockstar with Nintendo was on the mind of the press. Take-Two CEO, Ben Feder, addressed the idea of Rockstar and its publisher bringing something to the Wii, namely its big franchise, Grand Theft Auto.

"Without commenting on whether GTA is coming to the Wii or not, Nintendo and Take-Two work very well together; Nintendo and Rockstar work well together, and we are continuing to grow that relationship," said Feder. He also commented that the relationship is not "one-way." He wants everyone to know that GTA: Chinatown Wars "is not even the first step, but an important step, in continuing to develop that relationship."

So, the substance to back this rumor is kind of light. Feder addressed the idea, but not really. When you think about it, though, Take-Two and Rockstar, as well as Nintendo, are in this for the money. And what could be a better cash generator than bringing one of gaming's most popular franchises to a console that has a humongous base?

See also: GTA usurps Ocarina of Time

With Chinatown Wars on the way to the DS real soon, it's abundantly clear that Nintendo has no qualms about releasing a Grand Theft Auto game on their hardware. The next question is obvious: will we see GTA on the Wii? Speaking to MTV, Reggie had an answer for that -- maybe. Lay it out straight for us, home boy.

The fact is, it's not really in Nintendo's "power" to simply rock up and demand Take Two and Rockstar get working on waggling with hookers. Reggie simply said a Wii installment "is all based on what Rockstar and Take Two want to do." If they want to go ahead with it, Reggie won;t have a problem, saying "if they build a bottoms-up game that takes advantage of what we do well, I'd love to see it on the platform."

We would love to see it on the platform too. Please?

We actually weren't that disgusted in The Godfather, to be honest. Sure, the game takes some liberties and it isn't anywhere near the quality of the movies it's based on, but there's a certain bit of evil fun that can be found in beating up a shop owner because they refuse to pay protection money. Now, EA is talking about a sequel.

EA boss John Riccitiello talked up the sequel at a William Blair & Company's investor meeting Tuesday, stating that EA's Redwood Shores studio has been working on it. "It's a game that I think we'll be talking a lot about this fall," said Riccitiello. "You can play this game both at the street level, much like a GTA-style game, but you can also play it top-down, almost like you're in an RTS, controlling the strategy of the boroughs so you can see what's going on..." EA's Hunter Smith (he worked on their previous two James Bond games) will serve as the game's producer.

Forbes writer Brian Caulfield recently had a remarkable epiphany: because Grand Theft Auto IV won't be appearing on the Wii, any success it enjoys may not be positive news for the Wii.

Okay, we apologize for the sarcastic tone, but seriously, could Caulfield's observation be any more ... obvious? "[Grand Theft Auto IV] is a bust for Nintendo because not a single copy of the game will be played on the Wii," writes Caulfield with razor-sharp insight, before he loses focus entirely and starts galloping off on tangents, discussing the PlayStation 3's in-built Blu-ray player and the Xbox 360's online service.

His eventual point? That Grand Theft Auto IV would be difficult to port to the Wii (note: the fact that the Wii's biggest sellers won't be ported any time soon is ignored), and that this could benefit Nintendo's competition. Brian, color us gobsmacked.

[Via Joystiq]

Over the years, the games industry has developed the irritating habit of cramming all of its best software into the last three months of the calendar year. The inevitable result of this is the dreaded post-Christmas lull, whereby the first quarter of the following year is severely lacking in noteworthy titles.

Despite this trend, Q1 2008 content on the Wii looks good. Like, really good. And as if No More Heroes, SEGA Superstar Tennis, The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return, Harvest Moon Heroes, SEGA Bass Fishing, and some Nintendo fighting game you may have heard something about weren't enough to placate the Wiimote-wielding masses, now GameStop has Rockstar's Bully: Scholarship Edition listed for a U.S. release on March 3rd.

Which is awesome news, if it turns out to be true. Now all we need to do is convince Take-Two that the Wii is worthy of receiving some GTA lovin'.

[Via Go Nintendo]

As we've seen throughout the first year of its existence, the Wii isn't exactly lacking system-selling software. There is one big-selling franchise that looks highly unlikely to appear on Nintendo's all-conquering platform, however: Take-Two and Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto.

Admittedly, we always suspected a Wii version of the epic crime series was highly unlikely, but now Take-Two chief Strauss Zelnick has seen fit to bang the final nail into the coffin, and altogether rule out bringing GTA to the Wii. Speaking in a conference call earlier today, Zelnick concluded that "there are other titles better suited to the Wii than Grand Theft Auto." You know, like Carnival Games.

We're curious about Zelnick's statement, simply because we think GTA could work on the Wii. If the PlayStation 2 had the technical muscle to support numerous GTA games, then the Wii would surely cope just fine. It's not a question of audience taste, either -- let's not forget how Resident Evil 4 shifted a cool million copies earlier this year. Honestly, Strauss, if you didn't have such a rad name, we'd be pretty miffed.

No, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is not really going to feature murder and robbery. That's just a bit of fun sensationalism from your responsible journalist friends at Wii Fanboy.

We're really invoking the GTA name because EA UK's new game is going to feature the sandbox-style gameplay made famous by Rockstar's series. Mission triggers will be hidden all over, and you are free to explore and take on side missions. This means that you'll potentially have more choice to explore Hogwarts and the surrounding areas than Harry Potter ever did, as he seems to get railroaded from situation to situation without any choice at all. Uh, not that we ever read ... or saw ... any Harry Potter stuff. Oh, never mind-- we're all about children's books. That's right.

Also, one of the most obvious Wiimote uses ever has been implemented: Wiimote as wand. Wiimote gestures will allow you to cast spells and manipulate levitated objects. No word on any microphone stuff, though.

Take-Two Interactive has been in the news a lot lately. We've seen everything from trailers for GTA IV and the company's very public floundering, but it's the latest that's of particular note to Nintendo fans: Take-Two has stated, quite firmly, that they are committed to producing games for Nintendo.

Great! Welcome aboard the good ship Nintendo, where we welcome third party developers. But what will you bring us? Chairman Strauss Zelnick keeps stressing Grand Theft Auto -- even to calling it the company's "James Bond," but will we see a GTA on the Wii? We want specifics! Manhunt 2 isn't enough. If we can't get an original new gen game of our own, what about a port of Rockstar's Table Tennis? That's one port we might not complain about. Anything else you'd like to see Take-Two turn out?