Apparently overheard by 1UP's Shane Bettenhausen at the recently concluded TGS08, third-party developers on WiiWare haven't been raking in the cash. Supposedly, they've only sold "hundreds" of copies of their digital wares, meaning it's largely been a bust for them. We're not sure how valid this is, hence the rumor label.
When you think about it, how could stellar titles like LostWinds, World of Goo and Mega Man 9 sell only a few hundred copies? Perhaps the shovelware that is Protöthea and SPOGS Racing only sold a few hundred, if that, but we're thinking that the good games have done pretty well. Hey Nintendo, how about some sales data?
Of course, this could all be moot. It's not like there's much of a source on this one (we've checked the latest 1UP show and the latest podcasts, but we haven't been able to find it there), so feel free to apply salt where needed.
We're always looking for new games to enjoy. We've got plenty of other WiiWare reviews, if you're into that kind of thing.. If you're so crazy that you want to go to the store and buy something when you could be playing World of Goo orMega Man 9, we can help with that, too.
Because seriously, how mellow is that tune? Lovely. Yours truly almost drifted off at his keyboard watching this. It's also nice to be reminded that we don't reside in a post-apocalyptic wasteland! This is the Tokyo Game Show trailer for Namco Bandai's Fragile, featuring plenty more of hero Seto and his female colleague Ren (who could both do with a comb through their hair), the floating spirit of a young girl, and a lot of cut-scenery. All in all, it's as enchanting and as beautiful as ever, if a little light on gameplay.
CESA announced their list of the best games of TGS 2008, known as the "Future" category of their Japan Game Awards. Of the twelve games given the award (in no specific order), three are on Wii.
Of course Capcom's Monster Hunter 3 got a nod; nothing short of not calling it Monster Hunter 3 will keep this from being a ridiculous hit in Japan, and that held true at TGS as well, with the game commanding ridiculous lines. But the two other Wii winners may be more of a surprise: Chunsoft's Sega-published visual novel 428: The World Doesn't Change Even So, and Prope's experimental Let's Tap. Sega must be very happy right about now!
For the sake of Nintendo fandom, we'll include the DS winners here as well: the Phoenix Wright spinoff Gyakuten Kenji and Dragon Quest IX, which wasn't even playable.
Posted Oct 14th 2008 4:25PM by JC Fletcher Filed under: News
Capcom's online control diagrams for Monster Hunter 3 are informative, especially with the video clips. But they lack one important component for most of us: coherent text. Nintendo World Report snapped pictures of English-language move charts at TGS.
The five separate control guides completely shatter the notion that the game's controls would be simplified in the transition to Wii. The MH3 controls don't look overcomplicated, just complicated. Every button is used, some in multiple ways. Different weapons have subtly different control schemes. Interestingly, there are different controls for "sub-aqua," so it must be more than just walking around on the bottom of the sea.
We're fascinated by Karaoke Joysound Wii, Hudson's karaoke program that allows players to turn their Wiis into karaoke machines and download selections from a massive library of songs for a 300 yen fee (for one day of unlimited downloading). But we believed that it was going to stay in Japan, for various reasons including the greater popularity of private karaoke in Japan, the reliance on a massive licensing deal that Hudson USA doesn't have, and the fact that Hudson said so.
But 4cr's Keito reported in her hands-on preview of the game that "The game is going to be released in Japan on December 18th, and then in both the USA and Europe in 2009." Could Hudson be working on a deal with an American music publisher? If so, we may have $3 karaoke parties soon.
Luckily for those of us who wanted to read previews of Monster Hunter 3, Capcom held a private demo session for foreign press, allowing people to actually see the thing and not just stare dumbfounded at the insane line. Wired's Jean Snow got a chance to play the guaranteed multi-million seller, and brought back not-entirely-great news.
He calls the graphics "fine for a Wii title," which is a far cry from the eye-popping beauty we've seen in screens and video. That's not bad. Even better than not bad: apparently, your character can now hold his or her breath for "5-6 minutes," opening up an entirely new area of the world for exploration.
Unfortunately, the wait for Monster Hunter 3 wasn't limited to the TGS line: the game as presented was plagued by "constant loading screens when entering new areas."
Oh, if only we could always start the morning with hot Death on Death action ... well, we'd at least be more inclined to like Castlevania Judgment. Alas, it's only shiny and new this once, and hereafter, all Death v. Death deathmatches will be, as they say, played out.
But for a moment, for one bright, shining, purply-explosions moment, Castlevania Judgment was beautiful. Now we're back to bursting muscles, wacky shorts, and flawed gameplay. But buck up, little campers: there's a bit of news on the Order of Ecclesia/Judgment DS-Wii connectivity front. We knew the DS title's heroine, Shanoa, was unlockable in Castlevania Judgment, and as we speculated, so is Aeon -- both through the DS/Wii game connection. In the DS game, Wii connectivity adds a hard mode and raises your level cap in one mode to a whopping 255. Do we need to be so badass? Oh yes. Yes, we do.
A release date wasn't the only thing concerning Dead Rising: Chop 'Til You Drop to come out of Japan this week. A new trailer for the game, as you can see above, managed to escape the craziness that is TGS08.Within, you'll see a lot of the stuff you've seen before, just, you know, in motion. There's zombies, Frank jumping out of a helicopter and plenty of carnage to satisfy your every need.
Gallery: Dead Rising: Chop 'Til You Drop
Want to know more about Frank and his quest to survive the undead? Well, first off you should check out our comparison piece that looks at the Xbox 360 version versus the Wii port. Then, be sure to check out some of the game's waggle, as well as some more footage of the game in action. Braaaaaaaaains ...
Hey, Sonic Unleashed on the Wii looks great! Sure, this level appears to pretty much play itself, requiring only occasional input from the player, but it's fast, the graphics are incredible, and the music is classic Sonic silliness. It looks much better than that other Sonic game in which he turns into a werehog with stretchy arms for some reason.
... what? That's this game? Oh, crumbs. This is how we'd want a 3D Sonic to be --not terribly 3D, and starring Sonic. Even the simplistic "hold right" gameplay is enough to sustain us for the single level we'll enjoy before the werehog, or Sonic's friends, or mandatory Rouge the Bat level, or cutscene, or whatever else shows up to ruin it.
But, wait, before you break out that pen and paper and start writing that angry letter, know this: you're also going to get a fully-featured, bloodtastic game, just like those of us in North America! This time around, you're going to have the option of choosing which version of No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle you want, though we can't imagine why you'd want one without the buckets of blood and over-the-top violence.
"We won't be able to make the same game for all territories," Suda 51 said. "For Europe, we're going to release two versions. One extreme version, and one with less violence." Why? Well, because so many Europeans bugged him about the version that released to their territory and how it was the same as the Japanese version of the game. "With No More Heroes 2 we want to please the fans too. I want the European users to be able to experience the extreme version."
So celebrate, Europe. For once, you're being taken seriously!
We didn't really have much doubt that the core gameplay in Klonoa: Door to Phantomile would be preserved in the Wii remake, especially after seeing how closely the environments matched. But it's nice to see this gameplay video from TGS that proves that it's the same Klonoa as ever. Two more videos from this play session are after the break.
In case you missed out on the PlayStation classic, Klonoa's gameplay focuses on the mechanic of grabbing enemies and either throwing them at other enemies, or jumping and throwing them straight down, allowing Klonoa to do a double jump.
Strangely, we think this remake bears a distinct resemblance to NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams, another 2.5D platformer (or whatever you want to call NiGHTS) that takes place in the world of dreams.
We've known about Arc Rise Fantasia for quite awhile now. Up until today, we've had to look at screens with envy, as the title was not confirmed for a North American release. Sure, we hoped it would happen, but there weren't any guarantees. That is, until now.
According to the press release that just hit our inbox, fresh from TGS, the game is scheduled to release sometime in 2009. Sadly, we don't have any kind of idea as to when in 2009 we'll be able to get our hands on this game, but, hey, at least we now know it's coming.
Taiko no Tatsujin (Taiko Drum Master) is currently delighting Tokyo Game Show attendees on the showfloor, allowing us a first glimpse of the drum controller that comes with the game. It looks sturdy and very ... hittable! We look forward to seeing how it comes packaged, though are slightly saddened that this version won't have its own Taiko-themed stand.
Also worth noting: judging by these photos, the drum is wireless, and connects directly to the Wiimote, à la the Classic Controller. Beat a path past the break for more pictures.
The big announcement at Capcom's Tatsunoko vs. Capcom stage event involved two new characters, one from each of the companies from which the cast of the game is drawn. On the Tatsunoko side, Jun the Swan from Gatchaman. On the Capcom side, Mega Man's sister, Roll! Strangely, this isn't Roll Caskett from Mega Man Legends, from whence this game's Mega Man originates; rather, this is the classic Roll. With her broom.
1up's James Mielke took in a playable demo of the Wii version of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes at TGS, and basically raved about it, saying that it "may just be the neo-2D fighter to beat in the upcoming months." He praises the admirable performance of the Classic Controller for the game, as well.
Gallery: Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes
You know, we've been watching Tenchu 4 for a bit now and we're holding out hope that it won't totally suck. Call us optimists or whatever, but we really thing the game can be a solid Wii title. For one, it's Tenchu and our fond memories of the early games keeps us hoping that the franchise will return to its roots again. Secondly, there isn't much in the way of compelling stealth-based games on the console, so a solid entry in the genre would benefit the library of games, in our eyes. Plus, it has kittens.
Above, you'll see the first video of three that takes you through the entire demo build available at TGS 2008. Head past the break for the other two.
We're always looking for new games to enjoy. We've got plenty of other WiiWare reviews, if you're into that kind of thing.. If you're so crazy that you want to go to the store and buy something when you could be playing World of Goo or Mega Man 9, we can help with that, too.
