Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Paul Barnett, EA Mythic's creative director, recently told CVG in an interview, "I think probably the best chance of someone doing [the first successful console MMO] is Nintendo."

We're not here to argue whether he's right or completely bonkers, though. Imagine for a second that there would be no limitations on a Wii MMO, whether you fear friend codes, communication issues, Nintendo's paranoia, or what have you -- would you want an MMO on the Wii? If so, would you want it to be something Nintendo related (as in the likes of Pokémon or Animal Crossing), or would any type of game do?

A fresh press release from Hullbreach Online, that Wii Internet Channel MMO we reported on a few weeks back, states that some people have decided to give it a try. With 1,175 members, the game has grown a bit. There are now 576 different sectors that players can hyperjump to, as well as numerous quests and combat scenarios to complete. From the press release, it sounds like this thing is growing pretty fast.

While we haven't played it ourselves (darn this blogging), we love to hear about this kind of stuff. Ambition projects are few and far between, it seems, so we look forward to December. Why? Well, that's when the final release hits, which will have NPC interaction, asteroid mining and player-to-player bartering.

Has anyone given this a try? Are you finding it to your liking? Or, is it a waste of time?

[Via press release]

We normally don't use the terms "MMORPG" and "Wii" in one sentence, but well, there's a first (or second) time for everything.

HullBreach Online is a new browser-based MMORPG designed with the Wii's Internet Channel in mind. If you've ever wanted to create a starship pilot, explore the universe, and do other space-related things with your Wiimote, then here's your chance.

Interested? You can make an account and download the beta here. It seems pretty basic right now as far as MMORPGs go, but still cool. We don't doubt that this could suck up countless hours of our lives, as any proper game in the genre should.

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.]

While speaking at the recently held Asian Online Game Conference in Tokyo, Kenji Matsuhara, an executive overseeing Koei's online gaming endeavors, expressed some disappointment in the Revolution's hardware design. He noted that the decision to implement Flash memory, as opposed to a large hard drive, would create difficulties when creating Massively Multiplayer Online RPGs for the system. While this statement hardly rules out the possiblitly of the genre making a revolutionary appearance, one has to wonder whether or not it ever had a place on the console to begin with.

One of Nintendo's primary aims with the Revolution is to eliminate unnecessary complexity, wiping the slate clean and inviting casual gamers back into the fold. Games that are easy to understand, pick up and play are what you're likely to find on the Revolution, not adventures that require considerable time and dedication before bearing numerical fruit. This isn't to say that traditional MMORPGs aren't fun or welcome, only that they don't quite match up with Nintendo's aspirations and intended audience. Of course, there's no reason to think that we won't eventually see a game in the genre adapted to fit the both the Revolution's technical capabilities and its gameplay philosophies. A more robust Animal Crossing, anyone?

(Note to Koei: Make a Guitaroo-Man sequel for the Revolution. Do it now.)

[Via Revolution Report]