The Wii Weekend Warrior: the biggest news from E3 and more
It was a big week this week, Wii gamers! Ninty’s got a lot of great new stuff for us – we have the latest news on the long-lost Wii Music, the new microphone peripheral Wii Speak, and the sequel to Wii Sports! We also have awesome new trailers for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, and Ghostbusters. Let’s get started with this week’s Wii Weekend Warrior!
So E3 has come and gone. I was expecting at least a teensy weensy hint on a Twilight Princess sequel, or even confirmation of the rumored Kid Icarus game, but nevertheless, Nintendo’s got a lot of new stuff for us. They’ve announced new games (and old ones even resurfaced), new accessories, and even new peripherals! Let’s get started!
The biggest news out of E3
Although Twilight Princess 2 wasn’t confirmed, we at least have an assurance that there is a Zelda project in the works. We just don’t know anything else about it. One can dream. Mario games are also being developed, although Ninty’s hushed up on those titles as well.
Besides that though, they were generous with details on their other future releases. Probably the biggest news to come out of E3 is the announcement of the new microphone peripheral called Wii Speak, which will be used in Animal Crossing: City Folk.
Wii Music, which many have thought has been long lost, also popped up during Ninty’s press conference, along with a demonstration of the game from Shigeru Miyamoto himself. You can actually play more than 60 instruments in the game – although you can only play them through the Wiimote.
In Wii Music you’ll be able to command your own orchestra and record all your band sessions. I don’t expect this game to be a Rock Band or Guitar Hero wannabee – it feels more like a music generator than a simulator. It looks fun, either way.
Also big during E3 is the announcement of Wii Sports Resort, the sequel to Wii Sports. This time around, the game will be featuring beach-themed games. The full list of sports hasn’t been revealed, but what we do know is that the game will have Disc Dog (frisbee-tossing fetch game), fencing, and jetskiing.
The game will be packaged with the new Wii MotionPlus accessory, which boasts of giving the Wii an “unmatched level of precision,” keeping track of every slight movement of the wrist and arm. Can’t wait to see that in action for myself.
Link: E3 2008: Animal Crossing to have microphone peripheral, Wii Speak
Zelda: E3 2008: Wii Music playing in time for holidays: new screenshots, details
Link: E3 2008: Wii Sports Resort announced, coming this Spring
Link: E3 2008: Zelda and Mario games for Wii confirmed, Zelda project for DS
Link: Wii MotionPlus accessory: for more accurate motion tracking
Mark your calendars!
They’re baa-aack! Miyamoto has revealed that a new Pikmin game is in development. Although he didn’t mention the platform it was going to be on, the leading assumption is that it’s going to be for the Wii.
Also confirmed for the Wii (although not through E3 this time, but through Famitsu) is a port of the Xbox 360 game, Dead Rising. The port/remake will sport new features, as well as controller support for the Wiimote and Nunchuck.
Although we don’t know when these games will be out, we have the release dates and windows for most of the other games that will be coming out this year, including Animal Crossing: City Folk, Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels, and more. Check it out after the link!
Link: E3 2008: Wii games release schedule for the rest of 2008
Link: E3 2008: “We’re making Pikmin,” says Miyamoto
Link: Dead Rising for Wii confirmed, revealed, scanned
Trailers Unleashed
We got some new trailers out for you this week! Although we didn’t get any hardcore games out of Nintendo, we have a winner with LucasArts’ Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. I’m also looking forward to the upcoming Ghostbusters video game, which also has a new trailer you can watch below.
Last is Castlevania Judgment – something I’m having some apprehensions about since Konami decided to make it a fighting game, but I’m willing to hold judgment until I see more. (No pun intended, I assure you. Made me smirk anyway.)
Let’s end this week’s Wii Weekend Warrior on a high note, and answer: is the Wii really a fad? Well if it is, it’s taking a really long time to die down. More than a year after its release, Nintendo is still churning out 700,000 Wii consoles a month in the US alone. In fact, the NPD Group reports that they sold above and beyond 650,000 for the month of June. So is the Wii a fad? The numbers are saying a different story.
Link: E3 2008: Nintendo churning out 700k Wiis a month, 200k DSs a week
Link: NPD Group releases June 2008 results
And that’s it for this week’s Wii news folks! So is that new Zelda game in the works really a Twilight Princess sequel? We can only wish. We’ll be sure to let you know once we find out ourselves! Keep checking back for more news on the Nintendo Wii, right here on QJ, and I’ll see you all next week!
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