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Posts with tag kuju

Kuju impressed with Battalion Wars' progress in Japan

If you keep up with Japanese hardware and software sales, you may have noticed an unexpected game in the top ten these past two weeks. Said game is none other than Battalion Wars 2, the tactical action title that's one of our favorites here at Wii Fanboy.

Normally, software that's considered "western" doesn't fare too well in the East, but Kuju London's creative director Tancred Dyke-Wells thinks differently about BWii (called Famicom Wars VS in Japan). "I have the impression that a certain western exoticism plays a part in attracting attention to the title," Dyke-Wells told GamesIndustry.biz. Yet, if you've ever played or seen BWii, you'll know that it has more charm and softer aesthetic than most of the games from the West that Japan is used to seeing. It's this combination that Dyke-Wells thinks Japanese gamers found most appealing.

Since we love it so much, we're definitely happy to see Battalion Wars 2 do well in Japan. In total it has only sold 40,000 copies as of the end of May, but that's probably indicative of stock more than anything. Hopefully the game sees more weeks of success, as it's certainly deserving.

Battalion Wars 2 drops to even lower price

The price for Battalion Wars 2 keeps on dropping on Amazon -- first it fell to $32.99, and now you can pick it up for $25.83. Not that we're complaining. Any chance to pick up a good game cheaply is okay by us. We're especially glad that this price qualifies BWii for Amazon's free shipping (by eighty-three cents).

This isn't Amazon's "Deal of the Day," so we don't know how long this pricing will last; make sure you take that into consideration when you debate whether or not to jump on this sale.

Gallery: BWii



[Via GoNintendo]

War! Huh! Yeah! What is it good for? $32.99!



This isn't as enormous a deal as last Friday's Brawl preorder but at least you can make this purchase without worrying about Wal-Mart sending you a confirmation email for an order cancellation you never requested.

For today only, Amazon has Battalion Wars 2 on sale for $32.99 (free Super Saver Shipping). If you've been putting off buying the online-enabled shooter/strategy title, why not pick it up now while it's cheap? These bargains for first-party-published games don't last long, though, so grab it now before Amazon kicks it back up to $49.99.

[Via CAG]

More Geometry Wars on the Wii is a possibility

Roger Carpenter, the Senior Producer at Vivendi Games, recently talked about the future of Geometry Wars (and whether it involved the Wii) in an interview with Cubed3. Carpenter said the decision to make a new Geometry Wars for the Wii would depend on "how much the public liked [Geometry Wars: Galaxies]," which we assume is a euphemism for "how well the game sells."

Wii Ware is also a possibility for a new Geometry Wars, but Carpenter wants to wait and see how successful the service becomes before considering that option.

For those of you who like Geometry Wars, would you want to see another version for the Wii? Or do you prefer the game on the DS and XBLA?

[Via GoNintendo]

Are Wii developers lazy?

Although the Wii had many good games this year, it's clear that some developers noticed the Wii's hype and have put out some unsatisfactory products in an attempt to ride the popularity wave. We're often critical of such games, "tsk, tsking" at them to our hearts' content, but it makes us feel better when developers notice this trend since they're the ones with the power. It's up to the developers to really push themselves and the machine they're working with, and as time goes on, the process becomes easier and more efficient.

Tancred Dyke-Wells, the creative director of Kuju (the company behind the Wii's Battalion Wars 2), recently criticized many Wii developers for "under-exploiting" the little white console. We tend to take his word seriously, since we think that BWII "has just about everything that fans of first-party Nintendo games are looking for," as you can see in our review of the game.

Dyke-Wells' main beef with developers is with the way in which graphics are handled on the system. While the Nintendo Wii can't compete in the graphics department with Sony's Playstation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360, he believes that the Wii is a "pretty good piece of kit" that overpowers the GameCube "by a factor of two."

In the end, Dyke-Wells thinks it comes down to how much respect these developers have for their companies, their products, and their consumers, and we can't help but agree. The possibility of making a quick and easy buck is tempting, but we expect developers to make good games simply because they can.

[Via Aussie-Nintendo]

Geometry Wars: Galaxies slips ... everywhere



Slowly but surely, the threat of European wallets being completely stripped clean before the start of December is diminishing. In fact, we might even have cash remaining (though hey, let's not get ahead of ourselves).

Only a few days ago, we received the unhappy news that Zack & Wiki will miss the holidays in Europe, and Kuju's purdy Geometry Wars: Galaxies has now joined it. The shape-based shmup (try saying that quickly), once the cause of many a bleary-eyed, late-night session on the Xbox Live Arcade for this writer, will instead arrive on January 18th.

Meanwhile, the US will also be waiting a little longer for the game, but the delay is far less severe -- just one week, according to GameStop, which means the title will now launch on November 20th. The DS version, it's worth noting, is still due on the 27th.

Geometry Wars: Galaxies ad is out of this world

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.

Continue reading Geometry Wars: Galaxies ad is out of this world

Battalion Wars 2 hits the open water, land, air


It's only a few more days until this game hits the streets and we can't wait to get our grubby little blogging hands on it. So, it's with pleasure that we present the video above, which is a short, but very sweet, which looks at some naval combat. The fun doesn't stop there, though, as we have tucked some other videos behind the break that focus on land and air combat, as well.

Gallery: BWii

Continue reading Battalion Wars 2 hits the open water, land, air

BWii blowout


Finally, Wii owners are about to have lots of opportunities to take their game online, and one of those chances comes with Battalion Wars 2, better known as BWii. Lots of media and hands-on impressions on the strategic sequel to the GameCube title surfaced after last week's event, and we've helpfully collected some of here it for you. In our gallery, we've got updated screens and artwork, as well as a gameplay video after the jump.

But what we're sure you really want to know is: how's the game? Well, we can tell you what we know, but unfortunately, that's not as much as we'd like. It looks like everyone was limited to an extremely brief slice of gameplay when they got to go hands-on with the title, but so far, all outlets seem to be reporting good results. The controls are easy to pick up and seem precise, with the nunchuk controlling movement and the D-pad serving as unit selection. As expected, players aim with their current unit via the remote. To win, all you have to do is destroy more units than your opponent by the end of the round, and you can offer up a rematch to anyone who gives good game. Sounds solid so far, but this close to release, we wish Nintendo had revealed a little more.

Gallery: BWii

Continue reading BWii blowout

Post-E3 BWii update


In the midst of all the excitement and videos of E3, we seem to have missed a very important update -- Battalion Wars 2, aka BWii! By "update," we of course mean "a couple of new images," but hey, it's better than a poke in the eye with the proverbial sharp stick. Or, y'know, with a tank.

It's been a while since we've seen images from BWii, and while these new shots are long on artwork, there are a couple of screens in there. Now we just need some new video footage so we can see what's up. We'd also love to see some more detail on how this one is coming along, since it's slated for a fall release and we haven't seen much yet ... like the online multiplayer modes. Guess we'll just have to trust for now that things are all good on the battlefield.

Gallery: BWii


[Via press release]

E307: Geometry Wars Galaxies gets new screens and very busy boxart



Geometry Wars Galaxies, besides being a baffling display of brightly-colored sparks, is also a pretty neat shooting game. It's somewhat easier to tell what's going on in screenshots than to be dropped right in the middle of gameplay like in the video. If, like us, you couldn't really figure it out, we recommend the screens. That boxart is just a swirly mess of sparks, though. It's like someone superimposed five Rez boxarts together.

Galaxies has some exciting features in store, like co-op play and online leaderboards. We checked with Sierra to inquire about online co-op, and learned that, unfortunately, the online aspect was limited to leaderboards. But the bottom line is that this third-party Wii game uses the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection for something, and that is very promising news.

Owners of both the DS and Wii versions can connect the two and unlock mysterious bonus content. Connecting the games also allows access to the Elite Leaderboard for people who are really good at playing the same game on two systems!

Geometry Wars video hurts


We think we've underestimated Xbox 360 gamers. Not that we didn't hold them in high regard, but we just assumed that they were all humans. We don't know how anyone can play Geometry Wars and see what's going on through all the sparks and particle effects. It must require a feat of concentration just to track your own ship on the screen. We could barely play Bangai-O on the Dreamcast, and this is like Bangai-O with everything made of sparks.

Wii gamers are going to get extra complexity in Geometry Wars: Galaxies, since we'll have to track not only our ship but also the Wiimote-controlled aiming reticle. It's like training your brain! Also, oooooh pretty.

[Via Joystiq]

Continue reading Geometry Wars video hurts

Crush developer open to Wii sequel


Crush, the PSP's 2D/3D puzzle platformer, may have waggling in its future, according to an interview with Paul Mottram, senior producer at Crush developer Zoë Mode. We're talking faint "may" and distant future, since this was all idle speculation on his part.

When asked the weirdly pointed question of why they made a PSP game instead of putting it on a Nintendo platform, Mottram responded, "There is no reason why it couldn't be transferred to multiple different platforms especially the Wii, DS and PS2 and this is something we are thinking about."

He went on to describe the level editor they wanted to include, but couldn't. That definitely sounds like something well-suited to the DS or Wii, right?

[Via Joystiq]

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