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Posts with tag pikmin

Play on Wii Donkey Kong has new stages, drastic changes


According to a Famitsu article translated by IGN, at least one game from Nintendo's forthcoming Play on Wii series will feature deeper modifications than slapped-on Wii controls. We've often questioned how well Donkey Kong Jungle Beat would work with the Wiimote and Nunchuk (given that the original game was played with plastic bongos), and Nintendo also seems unsure.

Because of this, the remade Jungle Beat is being moulded into a more traditional platformer, with repositioned enemies, new mid-level checkpoints, and only a handful of motion-controlled moves (The nunchuk's analog stick moves Donkey Kong, and the A button makes him jump). Significantly, there will also be completely new stages, though Famitsu didn't reveal further details (such as how many). The remake of Pikmin, incidentally, will feature no new content, the modified control scheme aside.

Can Jungle Beat work as a traditional platformer? We'll hold judgment on that, while noting that the DK Bongos played a major role in making the original game fun.

Point/Counterpoint: Yea or Nay -- Play on Wii?

At their October media summit, Nintendo announced plans to release Wii ports of some GameCube games as the Wii de Asobu (Play on Wii) series. Today, we found solid evidence of a North American release. While GameCube games are, of course, currently playable on Wii, these new ports will enable motion and pointer-based control schemes, allowing new players to use the "simpler" Wii controls, and existing fans to play favorites in a new way. At least, that's the idea, we think.

But is it a good idea to port these games and try to sell them again? Is it good for the fans? For the games? For the Wii? For the win? We say yes! And also no. That's kind of how debating works!

Nintendo directs Pikmin remake to North America


Nintendo has published a list of Wii releases for 2009, and while it's some way from being a complete list, the news for North America ranges from great to ominous. We want to start this post on a happy note, so we'll begin by saying: the Play on Wii remake of Pikmin -- just the first game -- is totally coming to the U.S. The schedule also confirms the Mario Power Tennis remake for the States, so it looks like those two will lead the brand off here.

But there's worrying news as well. For one, Disaster: Day of Crisis still isn't down for a North American release. Okay, so this isn't actually that surprising, as Reggie (who isn't the title's biggest fan, remember) has said all along that any U.S. release hinges on the performance of the game in Europe. As Disaster only came out in Europe last Friday, we still don't know how it fared, though will find out soon enough. Also missing are numerous Play on Wii remakes, including Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, Chibi-Robo, and the two Metroid Primes.

We'll say this again, just in case: this is definitely a bare-bones list, with not every Wii release of next year featuring. We're not about to give up on getting Disaster just yet.

[Via Siliconera]

'Play on Wii' Pikmin ports possibly US-bound


The ESRB's listings for Pikmin and Pikmin 2 have been updated: they haven't been re-rated AO due to recently-uncovered adult content or anything like that, but they're now listed for both GameCube and Wii! This makes it very likely that Nintendo of America is at least planning to release the ported 'Play on Wii' versions of those two games.

None of the other Play on Wii games, including Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, Chibi-Robo, Mario Power Tennis, and Metroid Prime 1 and 2, are currently listed on the ESRB as Wii games. Chances are that the Pikmins are the ones most Nintendo fans were most interested in anyway.

[Via OMGNintendo]

Cammie Dunaway clears up Pikmin confusion


When Play on Wii was announced, we all wondered if this was the Pikmin that Shigeru Miyamoto talked about back at E3. According to Cammie Dunaway, it is not and Nintendo is in fact working on a brand new Pikmin game.

When asked about the confusion, Cammie said this Play on Wii game is "not the Pikmin that Mr. Miyamoto referred to" and that "Mr. Miyamoto referred to a new Pikmin, as opposed to the classics that are being rereleased on Wii." So, aside from selling us old games again, Nintendo also wants to sell us new games. Sounds good to us!

Play on Wii: New videos of old games


Nintendo has released the first (silent) videos of the Wii de Asobu (Play on Wii) series, and, well, it's a nice feeling to know ahead of time that a Wii game is going to look just like a GameCube game, and for that to be okay. We have video of the first two games in the series: one of which is a shining example of the potential of pointer control to rejuvenate a GameCube game, and one is a mistake.

In the Pikmin video above, you can see the pointer-controlled cursor in action, looking pretty much like it was always supposed to be there. After the break, Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat, the equivalent of rereleasing Guitar Hero as Hero.

Continue reading Play on Wii: New videos of old games

Nintendo dates Pikmin port, names other Play on Wii titles


IGN has confirmed that the "Play on Wii" Pikmin port is more than just a repackaging -- it and the other Play on Wii GameCube games will have updated Wiimote controls. Pikmin is actually the second of these to be released, and it'll hit Japan on December 25 of this year for 3,800 yen ($36). It'll be preceded on December 11 by the game we officially nominate Least Likely to Benefit from New Controls: Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. If these games are released here, we would expect them to be slightly cheaper than the Japanese price (like all games).

Titles announced for 2009 include Mario Tennis, Metroid Prime 1 and 2, Pikmin 2, and -- best of all -- Chibi-Robo! It'll be interesting to see if Skip makes it a point-and-click like it was originally.

[Via Joystiq]

Pikmin leads off Wii collection of Gamecube masterpieces

Nintendo announced that Pikmin and other GameCube classics will be remade for the Wii as "Wii de Asobu" (Play on Wii) Selections. There's no word on which other games will be included, or if these are in fact remakes with Wii Remote integration or just simple rereleases to take advantage of the increased Wii audience.

You guys had better hope this isn't the Pikmin that Miyamoto was referring to. Wouldn't it be hilarious if when he said "We're making Pikmin" he meant "we're making a new box for Pikmin"? Maybe "hilarious" isn't the right word.

Wii Warm Up: Wii Cubed


It's been a while since we previously enquired, but as this blogger restarted Pikmin 2 last night (and naturally can't wait for the follow-up), we felt compelled to ask again: what was the last GameCube title you played on your Wii? Did you miss being able to waggle?

Miyamoto and Reggie talk storage solutions, peripherals


In a recent Club Nintendo interview, Reggie Fils-Aime and Shigeru Miyamoto both touched on some important things on the mind of all Wii owners. The first thing that many are still asking about is the lack of a hard drive. Well, Miyamoto commented that the company is still working on it and exploring all of the possible technologies, to which Reggie added that the company hasn't specified a traditional hard drive or another kind of storage, but will create a solution that is "better than what we have now."

Miyamoto was also asked about MotionPlus and incorporating it into future Zelda games. Miyamoto said that Nintendo was working on a new Zelda game (and also Pikmin), but would not comment as to each title supporting Waggle 2.0. He also commented that we shouldn't expect any new peripherals any time soon, seeing as how there are so many available for the Wii now. We're glad for that, because our limited closet space has meant that storing them all has been a big hassle.

So, the biggest thing to come out of this piece for Club Nintendo is more of the hard drive talk, although we guess we can't call it that, since Nintendo may want something different than a traditional hard drive. What other kind of technologies could they mean? What could be a comparable storage solution to a hard drive and yet not be a hard drive?

Nintendo pleads patience for 'core' games


By now, we're all familiar with the chain of events that unfolded after E3. Nintendo showed off a bunch of games in its E3 2008 press conference that apparently didn't meet the expectations of the "hardcore" set. Said group immediately accused Nintendo of abandoning them. Nintendo stepped in to say that, no, titles for more serious gamers were currently being made, so keep your hair on.

Now, Nintendo has felt compelled to say it again, and warn us that we will have to wait for our treats. "We have developers working on popular core gaming franchises but we need longer to complete [them], approximately two to three years," the company stated in the latest issue of Edge, before adding that none will be ready to launch in early 2009.

So it's going to be at least late next year before we see any new Zelda, Mario, and presumably Pikmin also. Express your rage in the comments field below.

Nintendo finally admits E3 was a disappointment


During an interview with VGChartz, Nintendo's resident wrist-hurting, Shaun White-introducing marketing lady, Cammie Dunaway, commented that Nintendo's E3 showing was a bit of a disappointment. You don't say?

"I would say the message is we were disappointed with our performance at E3," commented Dunaway. "There were titles like Wario which we think will be really fun titles that we should have show cased." Yes, we'd have to agree. It was certainly the best game we played at the show. But what about this Pikmin 3 business?

"We were excited that Mr. Miyamoto made the commitment that Pikmin is coming," she said. "It would have been nice if we could have said that on stage. But, we think it was a good recognition for us that we care for our core fans, and not just the new people who are now discovering Nintendo."

E3 2008 was a pretty big deal. We had lots of hands-on impressions, as well as new screens and video to talk about. Check out our live impressions from Nintendo's keynote here, as well as some of the big news right here.

Nintendo registers mysterious trademark for 'Piktura'


Siliconera spotted an unidentified Japanese trademark application from Nintendo, registered in June. The trademark is for the title "Piktura." Of course, it could be absolutely anything, from some kind of EyeToy-style webcam to a WiiWare drawing app to some internal technology that consumers will never know about and which won't show up in Nintendo hardware for ten years.

But, as Siliconera pointed out, it starts with "Pik," and that makes it not entirely impossible that this trademark is Pikmin-related. Maybe it suggests generating Pikmin environments out of photos! The possibility of a connection to the Pikmin game that Miyamoto confirmed is infinitely more exciting than some random thing nobody knows about.

[Minor update: changed a weird joke to something less weird.]

Miyamoto's hobbies are now trade secrets

According to the Times, mysterious "sources" inside Nintendo report that the company has banned its most famous producer from speaking about his hobbies. This makes sense given that Shigeru Miyamoto often claims to draw direct inspiration for his games from the activities he does on his time off. He decides to start gardening, and Pikmin is born. He gets into exercise, and Wii Fit appears. He takes up pretending to play the saxophone, and the idea for Wii Music is born.

The idea is, then, if somebody asks Miyamoto what he does in his spare time, and Miyamoto answers, the secret of Nintendo's next huge hit will be revealed. And thus his life must be shrouded in secrecy until such time as his next game is announced and he can start the PR talk about how it was inspired by his life.

[Via Gamasutra]

Rumor: Pikmin 3 to bloom next March?


Okay, we'd advise you take this news with a pinch huge damn barrel of salt, but UK-based retailer Play.com now has Pikmin 3 listed for release on March 27th, 2009. Our first thoughts upon spying this detail were as follows:
  1. March 27th, 2009 is a rather random date to simply pluck out of thin air, don'cha think?
  2. It's also a Friday, the day when games usually launch in Euroland.
  3. Play is a UK-based site, so this may well be a European date (if it's even true).
  4. The specificity of the date only makes it more convincing to us.
  5. March 27th, 2009 really is quite a long way off. Boo hoo.
Heck, it's the weekend, so let the wanton speculation ensue!

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