Now that Link's Crossbow Training is coming out in the region that matters (Japan), Nintendo has begun promoting it with one of their "Iwata Asks" interview series. This time, Shigeru Miyamoto is back in the hot seat -- and at the beginning of the interview, he expresses surprise that producers Takashi Tezuka and Eiji Aonuma aren't there as well.
Right away, the surprises begin. Describing his motivation for Link's Crossbow Training, which he sees as an introduction to the FPS genre, Miyamoto reveals himself to be an FPS fan: "I've always been into first person shooter (FPS) style games, 3D games in which you can walk around freely and see things from your own point of view. " He describes the perspective as "more comfortable, more natural," and then upturns the interview's tea table, saying that he originally wanted The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time to be in first-person.
Since this is an interview between Iwata and Miyamoto, you know that can't be the only awesome quote. There's a bit in there about explaining Link's gun use with a Terminator-esque story. You should really just go read the whole thing.
One reason that the NES Zapper, even in orange, is superior to the Wii Zapper: it makes an attractive lamp. Craftster user fluffypants happened upon one of the clangy gun controllers and, somehow, saw the potential for a lamp. A real Duck Hunt cartridge would have been too small to function as a sturdy base, so she made an imitation NES cartridge from cardboard and affixed it to the Zapper lamp.
As if turning controllers into furniture didn't impress us enough, fluffypants turned a store-bought shade into a faithful 3D Duck Hunt scene with layers of cut foam. In fact, the shade is so awesomely Duck Hunt that the actual lamp seems a bit like overkill.
It's Shigeru Miyamoto speaking, so really we could have pulled any quote from Jeremy Parish's 1UP interview and stuck it in the title, or just said "MIYAMOTO SPEAKS: YOU READ IT NOW," but this is the most directly newsy bit out of the interview, which was ostensibly about Wii Fit. He denied that Nintendo is abandoning its core franchises (and audience) in part by saying "we do have the existing teams at Nintendo working on the kinds of products we've always made over the years. The Zelda team is forming again to work on new games! But to me, it's about finding these new interactive experiences and bringing them to people."
Miyamoto spent much of the interview talking about Nintendo's love of the "hardcore gamer." Interestingly, he sees the upcoming Japanese launch of Link's Crossbow Training as the opposite of the normal Wii strategy -- the first step toward getting Japanese gamers used to first-person shooters.
Even without any discount, the Link's Crossbow Training and Zapper bundle is already cheap at $20, but if you're looking for a way to pick up the pack-in game without being taxed for the extra plastic, Game Deal Daily has just what you need! The Woot-styled online shop is offering used, standalone copies of Link's Crossbow Training for only $4.95 (plus shipping and handling.)
Really, for a minigame collection with only an hour or two worth of content, that price sounds on target. Buy it now before the sale ends! You can finally find out what we were talking about when we said the game reminds us of your mother!
When Nyko sent us over the Perfect Shot, we thought that it would be great to try it out with House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return. Sadly, though, we received it before that game released, so the titles we had on-tap to play included Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles and .. actually, we just had RE to play.
With Target: Terror announced for the Wii, we realize now there's really no limit to what terrible shooting games publishers are willing to port, no matter how dated its visuals. As much as we miss the Friday nights from our high school years spent hanging out at bowling alleys and movie theaters ogling girls who had no interest in us whatsoever, we don't miss the crappy games that usually populated those nostalgic spots.
Still, we suspect that we'll see a lot more of these late 90s light gun games on our fair console. What shooter are you dreading hoping to play with your Zapper? Area 51? Virtua Cop? Mad dog Mcree?!
Loads of Wii owners seem to have something in common: the desire to makesomething for their console. Often, it's a zapper, but the DIY obsession certainly isn't limited to gun-type projects. We've seen a lot of variety and creativity when it comes to fiddling with the Wii. What is it about the system that has inspired so much creativity in its short lifespan? Is it the inherent fun and whimsicality of the idea of motion-based controls? Is it the expanded audience? The mere presence of a wrist strap and the fun of pointing and shooting? Weigh in -- and let us know if you've made a few things for your Wii.
Update: Apparently, this was some sort of contest regarding homemade Zappers in Chile. You can see all of the entrants here.
Scotch tape? Newspaper? A combination of both?
Hey, we're all for the Zapper mods around here, but we don't like them so much when we have to figure out what they're exactly made of. On top of that, this thing is just ... well, it's ugly. Other DIY solutions at least had some semblance of being something you could actually look at. This just looks like a garbled mess of paper, scotch tape and cardboard. We'll give the folks responsible an "A" for effort, though. Anything to save twenty bucks, amirite?
If you have a DIY Zapper you created or stumbled upon while surfing the vast ocean of tubes that is the internet, drop us a line. We like to hear about these kinds of things.
Even with its folding clutch and laser sight (requires 2 x AAA batteries, not included), the WiiMAX isn't impressing anyone. Actually, those two selling points only add on to our suspicions that this light gun was assembled out of whatever plastic bits were available in the factory. That front grip? Leftover umbrella handles. The attachable scope? Grabbed from a surplus of toilet paper holders.
Is there even a purpose for that folding handle? How are you supposed to pull the Wii remote's trigger if you're holding onto the grip? And whose idea was it to price this crapcessory at $21.17? Bring a roll of TP past the break for more photos of the WiiMAX.
We all know there are plenty of choices out there when it comes to gun shells. The latest entry in the game comes from Nerf, but there's also Nintendo's own Wii Zapper. Also, we can't discount Nyko's Perfect Shot. Or, how about the Blaster or Gun, some Zapper knock-offs. There's also the DIY possibilities to be considered. We were wondering which you decided to go with?
If you're like us, you remember Billy Dee Williams for one role he has ever played in his life: spokesperson for Colt 45 malt liquor. Forget those wars of stars or whatever, when he popped a top on a fresh 780oz can of the good stuff and told us how smooth the taste was, we knew he wasn't kidding. When the advertisement said "it works every time," we felt life had balance and we had learned our first truth in the universe
And now, the nickname of this Wiimote hack brings back many memories for us. When we laid eyes on the thing, it was as if a million voices cried out to us to post this. So, we did just that. Head past the break for some more screens from the creation of this thing and tell us what you think.
This week on Zero Punctuation, gaming misanthrope Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw tackles Wii rail shooter Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles. While the acidic one lays into the shamelessly cheesy dialogue and concludes that Capcom's title is "a rather unnecessary game that gaming history will swiftly forget," he also admits the game has "a charming retro feel."
The entire review is embedded after the break, but remember, kids: this is Zero Punctuation, and so NSFW.
Third-party accessory manufacturers aren't the only ones coming up with ridiculousthings to attach your Wii remote onto! A recent patent application posted at the European Patent Office's site reveals some of the crazy peripherals Nintendo dreamed up to explain the controller's potential, like the goggles shown above. ThinkGeek's Wii Helm seems like a respectable, thought-out product, compared to this silly idea. Wouldn't that unbalanced weight give you a sore neck after a minute of wearing this headpiece?
And there are much zanier diagrams in the application document -- Wii remotes in racing helmets, bike pedals, skateboard wheels, and teddy bears! How would this stuff even work? There are also drafts for a docking station and the old shotgun-design Zapper (the GameCube and wireless receiver demonstrating the Zapper shows the artwork's age). You can check them all out in our gallery below!
In Sega's upcoming compilation title for the Wii, it's no secret that you're going to have to mow down lots of enemies. So, it's nice to see that there will be opportunity to make the affair a more manageable one, should you find yourself on the receiving end of a zombie bite one too many times. There will be an unlockable mode allowing the player to make all of the enemies have big heads. Your usual Big Head mode, there isn't much more to report on it.
Siliconera is reporting on a new unique game mode for the Wii title, however. Dubbed Extreme mode, this new feature of the game incorporates motion control into the mix, but only in House of the Dead III, sadly. See, when the zombies start getting really close and piling on top of each other, you can shake the Wiimote and knock the enemies back, allowing you to pour into them with more bullets.
What do you guys think of the new features?
Gallery: House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return
Read - Big Head mode and some tiny screens Read - Extreme mode
To be a regulator, you gotta be handy with the steel, if you know what I mean, earn your keep. Regulators! Mount up!
Hoping to win back the street cred it lost after selling a zapper shaped like a damn shark, Pega has improved upon the 2-in-1 Machine Gun and Pistolshell design, adding a metallic paint job and black grips for an extra touch of realism. The peripheral still looks like a cheap toy, but it should be adequate for whenever you need to lay some busters down.
DealExtreme, a haven for nearly every crummy Wii accessory you can think of, carries the Pega piece for $16.54. Hook a left on 21 and Lewis, and take a look at a couple more product shots. We also have some wacky packaging that you don't want to miss!
Now that Link's Crossbow Training is coming out in the region that matters (Japan), Nintendo has begun promoting it with one of their "Iwata Asks" interview series. This time, Shigeru Miyamoto is back in the hot seat -- and at the beginning of the interview, he expresses surprise that producers Takashi Tezuka and Eiji Aonuma aren't there as well. 
