Joystiq has a quirky, one-off post up tonight about something they overheard at E3 in the Ubisoft booth.
“This is, basically, the first game that you play with your ass.” — Ubisoft’s Adrian Lacey, discussing Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party.
I’m sure some of you are saying it’s something we could all do easily with our feet (come on, peeps, live a little), but brilliant nevertheless.
The curious-sounding Kombo has the scoop:
During Ubidays 2008, Ubisoft revealed that its upcoming snowboarder, Shaun White Snowboarding, will be coming to Nintendo Wii. More exciting, the publisher revealed that the game will support Nintendo’s Wii Balance Board. Although members of the press were not allowed to play the game at the event, an Ubisoft representative was on hand to demo the setup. The game is played with both the Balance Board and Wii-mote, using the latter to control tricks.
Foot controllers, here we come?
Bob was a big guy. Manly. Six foot four and full of muscles, or so the song goes. He doesn’t really “get” what Nintendo is trying to do with the whole “Blue Ocean” strategy. He owns a Wii, though, and has enjoyed it so far. When he saw the shrinking stack of WiiFit boxes at a local retailer Wednesday, he plunked down some money to buy one.
Bob and I got to talking at a pub last night before a screening of the atrociously, almost offensively awful Indiana Jones: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and eventually the conversation drifted away from local microbrews and onto WiiFit.
“You know what? It kinda just works,” he told me. He said the line like he was shocked his mouth uttered the words so openly. He and his wife, both mid to late 20’s, had spent the previous evening going through the initial set up of Wii Fit, and ended up “playing” the title well past whatever hour they had arbitrarily deemed acceptable for a video game.
I’ve also spent the last 48 hours “playing” and dissecting WiiFit. Amazon dropped it off on Wednesday, and being the geek that I am I had it torn open and battery-packed before I got through the door. I did some yoga. I balanced myself *almost* perfectly. I noticed a little sweat starting to form on my brow.
And you know what? I was also surprised. WiiFit and the Balance Board works, it turns out, just fine indeed. (more…)
From Siliconera this morning comes word that Hudson’s upcoming online Tetris title could have a very interesting new feature.
Will Tetris for WiiWare have any new features other than Mii support or online play? Maybe drag and drop play like Dr. Mario & Virus Busters?
It features a number of new rules and items. Currently, we’re tossing around the idea of using the Balance Board. The game also supports 6-Player Wi-Fi battle.
Oh, and there’s the 6-player WiFi battles to consider too. Is it time for a Tetris resurgence?
Well, in case David’s New Game Get for this week was somehow missed by your prying eyes, Nintendo wants you to know that this week is Wii Fit week (and maybe Star Soldier R, I’m not sure yet).
I’ll be stepping up to do a little review of this game changer a little bit later, so watch out for that (sorry, I don’t do before and after’s because perfection can’t be captured in a 40-day fitness diary).
For now, you can enjoy this press release; but not Wii Fit if you didn’t pre-order, because no store has any in stock. Wii Fit hits stores on the day of my birth, May 21.
Video games just can’t win. First, it was violence. Then, sex. And today? It seems as though one expert believes Wii Fit will kill it some young kids something fierce.
Tam Fry of the National Obesity Forum is calling for children to be banned from Wii Fit.
I’m absolutely aghast that children are being told they are fat… BMI is far from perfect but with children it simply should not be used… A child’s BMI can change every month and it is perfectly possible for a child to be stocky, yet still very fit… I would be very concerned if children were using this game and I believe it should carry a warning for parents.
In my limited American experience, kids on average are fat these days. Many of them are obese, in fact. BMI is still a wonky measurement for certain body types, I’ll give her that, but if Wii Fit can influence these kids’ parents somehow, and better their lifestyles even just a little bit that way, I’m all for it.
And, Tam? Can i call you Tam? I think they’ll survive a little ribbing from a Mii avatar on a video game system, I does. Just a hunch.
Throwing in Balance Board support with a waggle fest should make for some hilarious stuff.
Question: When will Rayman be taken out of the title?
“I have an idea for an Infendo post you should do…” — Sean Malstrom
And so began this simple post on an extraordinary idea. Perhaps a bit crazy too, but then again all disruptive technologies are labeled as such before they’re accepted en masse.
The idea? That the Balance Board packaged with Wii Fit isn’t an accessory at all. It’s a console, just the like Wii or even the PlayStation 3.
You were wondering when Nintendo would update the Wii? Unveil a Wii 2? Good news: The Wii Balance Board is it.
Nintendo guru Shigeru Miyamoto realizes there are parallels to be drawn between Wii Fit and real, live actual exercise, so he wants to make sure you understand that there’s no substitute for going outside and “moving around.”
“Spending too long, staying in and playing any video game is not good,” said Miyamoto. “I always tell my children to get out on a sunny day and I, myself, went jogging in Central Park yesterday. But I do my stretching on Wii Fit. They work together.”
This is just a sample of what amounts to a pretty good interview with Miyamoto. Take a look when you get the chance. Another sample: “Web-enabled Wii Fit Balance boards will be hooked up to the internet to enable users to compete live against anyone, anywhere. If Miyamoto has his way, we’ll all be doing press-ups at dawn and comparing ourselves with millions of others.”
Today I went ahead and took advantage of a $5 credit on my Amazon account — as well as the lack of sales tax on Internet transactions and Free Super Saver shipping — and pre-ordered Wii Fit.
All the signs and portents say this thing is going to be huge, and I didn’t want to miss out while my neighbors, parents and sisters got their fitness on without me. Some game-related reporting I did elsewhere on the Net today says that the fitness peripheral is already sold out in the UK at no less than five major retailers, and I highly doubt that fad-crazed Americas will be any different. Japan already fell in love, selling 1.4 million in roughly four months. Early previews from the blogs read something like this: “I was meh, then I tried it hands-on. It was actually kind of interesting.” Sounds like something else from the recent past, no? (more…)
PRESS RELEASE – Step onto your Wii Balance Board™ or grab your Wii Remote™ and Nunchuk™ and hit the fresh powder as NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc., today announced We Ski™, an exciting skiing game for WiiTM. Now up to four skiers can experience the sweetest mountain runs in the comfort of their homes as We Ski’s highly responsive and intuitive controls take them down the slopes like never before. We Ski will slalom into stores in Spring 2008.
“We are thrilled to be the first publisher to offer a realistic and enjoyable skiing experience that can also support the new Wii Balance Board,” said Todd Thorson, Director of Marketing and Public Relations for NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. “NAMCO BANDAI is working to entertain both casual gamers and hardcore enthusiasts with a recreation of a beloved sport and pastime.
From the hilariously entitled It’s Shocking, We’re Pissed, Wii Fit Sorta Works by Brian Ashcraft of Kotaku:
The Balance Board games on Wii Fit actually are pretty great. If you can still stomach mini-games (ungh), then these games are entertaining and, in a way, more fulfilling than Wii Sports… When I saw Wii Fit at E3 last year, I hated it. Really, really hated it. And when I bought it for this feature, I still hated it. Then I started using it, and the hate started dissipating. Nintendo’s doing its own thing now, for better or worse. And taking Wii Fit for what it is, the game works. My wife and my kid really enjoy it, and it’s a horrible cliche, but playing it with them has been good fun.
Glad to hear it. You guys know I’ve been itching to play the ski jumping mini-game since E3 last year, as well as reanimate my interest in fitness. [FIXED HEADLINE]
Namco is showing off a new balance board game this week behind closed doors to various gaming media, says an industry contact of mine, who will be previewing the title this Friday. I have no idea what type of game it is, but at least we know the name of one publisher making games for the new peripheral.
Last week at the Game Developers Conference, Nintendo president Reggie Fils-Aime said, “There are over 10 games in development that take advantage of the Balance Board.” Let the speculation continue.
Breaking news straight from Nikkei (An official Japanese business news source) confirmed through Nintendo that Wii Fit has hit the one million sales mark as of January 6th, 2008. Having only launched a little over a month ago, (Dec. 1st) this stands as quite an accomplishment. Who knew the Japanese were so into gaming fitness. This number is even more impressive when compared to Wii Sports (sold separate from Wii in Japan) which took a whole year to sell two million copies). These figures really show the evolving Japanese gaming market which has shifted farther away from “hard core” titles in favor of puzzlers, and fitness games.
This also gives hope to the upcoming Wii Fit launch for North America and Europe which should be a hit. Speaking of the NA launch, 1up.com has sneaked a bit of news into their Wii Fit article that only spells out an exciting summer.
“…Wii Fit is expected to be one of the year’s biggest sellers both in Japan and abroad. North Americans can expect to see the game on May 20th…”
Nintendo still has Wii Fit listed as TBA, but we’ll keep a close eye on this rumor. Meanwhile, lets sit back and behold another revolution in the way we game.
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata told the world yesterday that Wii Fit would descend upon Japanese fitness aficionados on Dec. 1 for about $75 (8,800 Yen).
First of all, having a release date and price in hand is a great thing. Next stop, U.S. and Europe,pricing and dates, please. But there’s the rub, at least for me–what are we Yanks willing to pay for the Wii Balance Board and Wii Fit? Don’t approach that question as a “Am I going to buy it or am I not,” but instead be a little more open about it. Ask, “should someone buy something like this for $75?” (more…)
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