We didn't really need help to figure out that Play on Wii Mario Tennis GC (or Mario Power Tennis, as Camelot's mascot tennis game is known over here) would use Wiimote motion controls, since that is, like one hundred percent of the point of the Play on Wii series (and Wii tennis games, for that matter). But we welcome solid information anyway, which Japanese online retailer Neowing has provided.
According to the product description, Mario Tennis GC enables players to wave the Wii Remote to execute forehand and backhand shots and direct the ball toward the left or right side of the court. Motion will also determine the addition of topspin and slice spin. Buttons are still used to deploy each character's unique special moves.
If the (possible) second coming of Wii Sports tennis doesn't excite you, hang on to your GameCube version: Play on Wii Mario Tennis GC does not support GameCube controllers.
Sorry it took so long to announce the winners of our latest giveaway, but it's better to be late than never, right? No? Well, while we get our twenty lashes from our bosses, we'll leave you to congratulate the winners. So let's get to it!
For those of you who're fans of tennis, rejoice. EA is poised to present their own tennis title. And, as if that wasn't enough, it will take advantage of Nintendo's new MotionPlus peripheral, joining Ubisoft in proclaiming it's totally awesome. EA also mentions that this will be the first tennis game to include the All England Lawn Tennis Club, which is where Wimbledon is played.
So, how many of you are looking forward to seeing this one? A tennis game that takes advantage of MotionPlus? We're excited!
Hey, you there. Yeah, you reading this. Do you like free stuff? We're giving away two copies of Top Spin 3, so head on over to the original contest post and read up on how you can enter. Good luck!
It's that time again kiddies. It's time to give you some free swag. Our latest giveaway is highlighting 2K's Top Spin 3 for Wii. We've got two copies (each valued at $50) of the game to give away to a pair of lucky readers, so prepare to get your comment on.
How do you enter? Easy, all you have to do is leave a comment telling us who your favorite Tennis player is. Don't have one? Okay, then they can be fake. Is it Mario? That's fine! You can comment once per day and the giveaway will close on Sunday, August 17th at 11:59PM ET. Oh, and you also must be 18 years of age or older and a current and legal resident of the United States and Canada (excluding Quebec). Finally, before you enter, make sure you read the official rules.
Best of luck to all of you entering and thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for stopping by Wii Fanboy every day.
The team behind the Wii version of Top Spin 3 was not exactly working in an enviable position. It seems a little funny to call a pack-in game a juggernaut, but that's exactly what Wii Sports is, and any game that sets out to deliver a realistic sports experience to Wii owners is up against that suprisingly excellent set of mini-games. Every tennis game, realistic or not, on the system is going to be compared -- probably unfavorably -- with a game that was free, and that's got to chafe.
Unfortunately, it looks like someone was all too aware of that inevitable comparison, and worried besides, as Top Spin 3 tries too hard to be too many things to too many people. Not only did PAM Development and 2K Sports strive to create a top notch tennis simulation, they also tried to make it easy to pick up and play ... and the two don't exactly go hand in hand when it comes to a deep sports game.
The "hitting balls with stuff" genre has really taken off on the Wii. We've enjoyed light entertainment and small-scaled intensity, but now tennis overlord Top Spin 3 is coming out to play. Will it be awesome? The pedigree of Top Spin lends us to think so, but check out these new screens in the gallery and judge for yourself.
There's no official listing of the available control options, but a hefty wager can be placed on some kind of swinging motion being included. All bets must be placed before June 20 when the game hits the stores.
Despite our enthusiasm (and the enthusiasm of Sega fanboys everywhere) over Sega Superstars Tennis, a release that drips with fan service, the game failed to inspire consumers to rush out and buy the game like they did with Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games? Not enough Mario, perhaps? Or olympics?
Whatever the case, slow sales for the tennis title has given GameStop early cause to slash its prices for Sega Superstars Tennis across all platforms, and you can now buy the Wii game for as little as $19.99. It's a great bargain, considering the game was released only a month ago! You can order Sega Superstars Tennis through GameStop's online shop, but why not save a few bucks and pick it up at one of the retailer's local stores?
As if the Wii needed any more advertising, a new joint venture between Nintendo and Highland Spring, a bottle water provider in the UK. Also, the promotion will feature tennis superstar Andy Murray, as well as the possibility for UK citizens to win a variety of prizes.
It will start in just over a month, in May of this year. One free Wii will be given away each week, with 32 finalists heading to Roehampton to meet Andy Murray. One lucky finalist will even get to test their abilities against him in a match of Wii Sports: Tennis.
You can enter via text message or by hitting up the official contest site right here.
Sega's decision to release Sega Superstars Tennis in March was a bold one: Many companies moved their releases out of the way of Nintendo's major offering -- and those games aren't competitive multiplayer games starring a cast of iconic video game company mascots from different games, battling on a variety of stages inspired by the games from whence the characters came.
No, we don't think Sega Superstars Tennis is a direct response to or an attempt to compete with Super Smash Bros. Brawl -- if it were, we wouldn't see Sonic in Nintendo's game. Sega Superstars Tennis is a smaller release, meant, we would guess, to bridge the gap between "casual gamers" and Sega superfans. Or, to be more cynical, to be a Virtua Tennis sequel without the likeness rights. Did Sega and Sumo Digital serve up an ace or a fault? Or is the game best analogized by some other tennis term? The reviews seem to range from the ecstatic to the nonplussed. Hit the post break for reviewers' opinions!
As huge fans of Nintendo, we often find ourselves being their harshest critics. One of the problems we've always had with the company was its lack of devotion to a competitive online arena, where gamers could do comparable things online with their Wii that the Xbox 360 and PS3 can do.
Why do we bring all of this up? Well, the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game will have the online play and it's missing from Nintendo platforms because of "time and development resource constraints." We just wonder what kind of constraints would allow them to include it into the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions and not in the Wii version? Hey, we're willing to wait a little longer so long as what we're getting is a complete product and not the table scraps left from the other versions of Sega Superstars Tennis. Sure, we get the best control method (presumably), but is it worth it?
Regardless, we're still excited for the game. We just wish we could enjoy the game with you.
Sega just served up more footage of Sega Superstars Tennis, and all the ingredients are in place for one of the most quintessentially Sega experiences in years: cartoon monkeys called Amigo, blue skies, Ulala, and Sonic's horrible voice. Playing tennis to a rousing rendition of Samba de Janeiro, even in videogame form, feels a bit weird, but we strongly suspect we won't care!
Past the break: footage of Ulala playing on home territory. The resolution of the video isn't the best, but we're sure she plays a shot through her legs, a la Martina Navratilova!
We haven't seen much Samba de Amigo related media for Sega's upcoming tennis game, aside from a handful of screenshots. Fortunately, the Samba stage looks to be pretty great, if we do say so ourselves. The above trailer may be super short, but the stage seems to have all the elements of "awesome," like a cheetah band, good music, and bra-wearing cacti. It's nice to see some fun characters make a return from the original Dreamcast game -- we're sure our favorite maraca-playing monkey would be lonely without them.
After the break, you can also check out the intro trailer for the Sonic's Green Hill Zone court.
Europe might not be able to Brawl with Sonic in March, but they can make the speedy blue hedgehog pick up a tennis racquet in Sega Superstars Tennis. Originally dated for March 28th, Eurogamer reports that the game won't take as long to hit European shores as we originally thought.
While the game's release was only bumped up eight days to March 20th, Europeans can rest assured that they're getting it only two days after us folks in America (compared to the usual gap, that's not so bad). Some of the staff at Nintendo Wii Fanboy are super hyped about this game for the Jet Set Radio references alone, so we hope those of you in Europe who feel the same way enjoy these good tidings. Unfortunately, once again you'll be forced to choose between motion controls and online play.
A lot of things happen at the Oscars, many predictable, and some unexpected, but there's one thing we don't usually expect to see: video games. It's a measure of just how out-of-control the Wii movement is that the console turned up at this year's awards as a joke unto itself that featured host Jon Stewart losing his dignity in a game of Wii Sports tennis to young songstress Jamia Simone Nash of nominated film August Rush.
It's not the first time the Comedy Central "anchors" have exploited the Wii for humorous effect, but the Daily Show's host seemed to need a little more practice with the sports simulation. Either that, or he just wasn't used to the enormous screen the game graced during the awards show. See for yourself in the video after the break.
We didn't really need help to figure out that Play on Wii Mario Tennis GC (or Mario Power Tennis, as Camelot's mascot tennis game is known over here) would use Wiimote motion controls, since that is, like one hundred percent of the point of the Play on Wii series (and Wii tennis games, for that matter). But we welcome solid information anyway, which Japanese online retailer Neowing has provided.
