9/7/07 IGN Wii-k In Review Podcast Summary

Thanks to Go Nintendo, here's a summary of IGN's latest Wii-k In Review Podcast:

Smash Bros. talk, recap of week’s news. Discussion/debate of online play

Smash Bros. Vs. Halo 3 sales talk

Smash Bros. marketing talk

Smash Bros. WiiConnect24 speculation

Worms: A Space Oddity discussion. WiiConnect24, downloadable items, motion/IR

Mario Kart Wii talk, nothing new

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption discussion. Debate on quality of the first “level”. Control talk

Trauma Center: New Blood talk. Co-op mode

Manhunt 2 story delayed until next week due to Rockstar not being able to get everything together

Super Mario Galaxy update. Different gravity levels on each planet/galaxy. Star power-ups. Haunted house level, water levels, some levels on massive scale

Battalion Wars II talk. Naval support (submarines, ships). Multiplayer modes (co-op, assault, skirmish) Co-op - 2 players agaisnt CPU, Assault and Skirmish - 2 online players agaisnt each other.

More Zack and Wiki coverage possibly on the way

Some of Nintendo Power’s best of E3 show

Contra IV
Mario Kart Wii
NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams
Super Mario Galaxy
Phantom Hourglass

Third party DS titles at TGS. Tecmo event, Capcom event. Zack and Wiki , REUC most likely to have showing.

Spaceworld discussion, may be coming back.

Reggie news promised for September

Editorial involving headset coming soon, next week most likely

Editorial on hard drive possibly coming

Sept. speculation surprise is unknown

There are a few games that are going to be announced. “Mature (not rated)” title that was looking for a publisher has gotten a publisher. Dark title, spooky

Brawl boxart floating around - Nintendo may have distributed as a placeholder for now. Not on Nintendo press site

More Metroid Prime 3: Corruption advertising discussion. Advertising goal is to get things out to the casual gamer

Street Fighter VC sales are unknown. Sales are “pretty good”. Everyone waiting for Super Street Fighter

Future of Resident Evil after Umbrella Chronicles. Hopefully franchise will continue on Wii as well. Matt unsure, Bozon thinks there will be another RE4 style game.

RE5 cannot be isn’t coming to Wii. It could be done with a lot of time and effort, but most likely won’t happen.

Third party Wii support talk. Devs jumping on board. Spooky game mentioned once more.

Rayman Raving Rabbids success due to game being good, or that it as a launch title. Sequel is funnier than first. Most of the games will be improved from the first title. Shooting mode will be discussed in a couple weeks. Says should be good, but perhaps not as well as the first.

Embargos are a “necessary evil”. Rockstar/Manhunt 2 embargo discussed. Euro Vs. US press discussed.

More Western devs on the VC definitely going to happen. Factor 5 games may be coming soon.

Factor 5 discussion. Julian Eggebrecht is into Wii. Julian says that they would love to work on the Wii. If the opportunity came up they would do it in a heartbeat. Not against working with Nintendo on a title. Matt would love to see them do Pilotwings. Another Rogue Squadron is something Factor 5 would love to do. Pehaps a compilation, perhaps a new game. Start a petition if you want it this to happen.

Medal of Honor: Heroes 2. Matt not a fan of split screen. No split screen in MoH:H2.

Konami talk. Some kind of Castlevania change goin on, platform unknown.

Devs may always feel that the PS3, 360 are better platforms to express their ideas. On the other hand, there will be other developers that will like working on the Wii better.

DS is the system that changed Nintendo.

Third parties excelling at Wii - Capcom. Exclusive review coming. Factor 5 would be a great dev for Wii.

Matt, Bozon would market Zack and Wiki by drawing parallels to game mascots like Mario and Sonic. Wii demo disc for a demo would be great, in-store demo kiosk would help to. Marketing will be tough due to title, character design, and gameplay.

Source

IGN's Wii-k In Review Podcast Highlights

-Metroid Prime 3 talk
-talk of third parties flocking to the Wii
-Zack and Wiki talk
-Manhunt 2 info next week possibly
-SMG graphics compared to power of Xbox
-LucasArts talk
-Arcade mode in Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 is better than RE:UC
- (Complete rumor)The next Zelda game may star Zelda for the first time in the actual Zelda series
- My Sims is linear
- MoH: Heroes is close to mouse and keyboard controls
- Phantom Hourglass talk
- RE:UC in-depth talk
- Good exclusive stuff next week and stuff lined up until 2008

A Zelda game that stars Zelda? Sounds interesting. Exclusive stuff next week? Could it be related to Nintendo's conference on Wednesday? Possibly. I don't know about you, but I'm excited.

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IGN's Hands-On with Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock for Wii

Guitar Hero games are lots of fun. I've played it on PS2 and on the Xbox 360, but what I really want is to buy it and rock on my Wii. Well, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is coming out for Wii and it looks awesome. It has all the features of the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions, and more. What more you ask? Here's a taste of some of the new features:

- Wireless Guitar
- Guitar can be taken apart for easy storage
- Guitar has customizable faceplates
- It costs $10 less than the other versions (Wii version costs $89.99)
- Has rumble thanks to the Wii Remote that you put in the guitar
- The speaker on the Wii Remote is used to make a noise when you miss a note
- Fast loading times
- Supports Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection

This game looks amazing and I am definitely buying it once I get the chance.

Source (IGN's Full Hands-On Review Here)

IGN Wii-k In Review Podcast Highlights

- Metroid Prime 3 teasing
- Metroid Prime music and discussion.
- 12:01AM Sunday Night/Monday morning IGN’s MP3:C review will be up
- MP3:C control talks “rocks”
- Advance mode controls recommended heavily
- Game should still be classified as First Person Adventure, but MP3:C has more shooting elements
- MySims Wii and DS talk
- Not much in the way of character customization. You choose a face as a whole, not parts to make a face
- Objects found in MySims can have their textures taken and applied to other elements that you are creating
- Bozon was hyped for the game before playing it, and is now a bit diappointed
- Bad loading time
- Tiger Woods discussion
- Better, but a lot of the same. Graphics don’t seem to impress
- Manhunt 2 Discussion
- Comes out October 31st with M rating. No one knows how much was removed/censored from the final version IGN played
- NPD discussion
- Zack and Wiki & RE:UC discussion. A more positive view of RE:UC now
- Hands-on update next week of RE:UC and Medal of Honor: Heroes 2.
- PS2, PSP ports may continue on for some time
- Table Tennis Discussion
- no 1:1 play
- Mario and Sonic at the Olympic games talk
- Game is simple, not much in the way of presentation
- Naruto: Clash of Ninja Discussion
- Matt believes this game is better than the Cube games. Bigger cast, more levels, tight controls. Not widescreen. GC control, Classic controller, and Sideways Wiimote
- Next week - Endless Ocean, Gundam 0079, Dewy’s Adventure, and Guilty Gear.
- Discussion on whether Free Radical will support Wii or not
- Wondering what’s up with the lack of BWii and Disaster presence
- MP3:C has a fair share of puzzles…hard puzzles
- Team thinks BWii should have headset support. Thinks that there probably a headset in the works.
- Unnamed god game talked about again this week. Details on this game and several other unmentioned games might be coming soon.
- Matt not too keen on Cruisin’ screens.
- Metroid/Halo graphics comparison
- F-Zero in 2008? No way. Wave Race? Maybe.
- Discussion of third parties living up to and surpassing MP3:C control scheme
- Brunswick Bowling = not good
- Developer for god game will hopefully be announced soon.
- (minute 47 - make sure to listen for yourself to get the full gist of the discussion) Metroid Dread - Nothing they “can talk about yet.” Something cool will be shown on Monday Night. Bozon says it’s “kind of a wink to the fans.” Says this is definitely not a confirmation that the game is coming.
- Factor 5 middleware Gamecube tools being ported over to Wii
- Crytech has something in development for Wii.
- IGN is getting a lot of calls from Publishers to play games. A lot of Wii activity.
- Matt thinks that one of their competitor websites will score Metroid in the 8-8.5 range. There will probably be some 10s.

Source

IGN Wii-k In Review Podcast Highlights

Here is a summary of IGN's Wii-k in Review Podcast:

- MP3:C is at the IGN offices. They are under embargo so they cannot talk about it in detail. Very impressed, game is atmospheric and scary at parts.
- Bozon likes precision of Wiimote for MP3:C
- Lots of MP3:C next week
- WiiWare titles discussed (same info we posted earlier)
- Medal of Honor Heroes 2 discussion
- Peer discusses how 60 FPS looks instantly more impressive, seems to allude to MP3:C
- Boogie talk
- Madden 08 Wii talk. 08 better than 07. 360>PS2>Wii>PS3.
- Escape from Bug Island talk
- Pokemon Trainer in Super Smash Bros. Brawl talk.
- Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 talk. Better than 07 but not living up to potential
- Dewy’s Adventure in IGN offices but hasn’t been played yet
- Mercury Meltdown Revolution comes out September 18th for $20
- MySims talk, team seems impressed. Definitely Animal Crossing/Harvest Moon approach
- Endless Ocean talk - team seems split. Matt likes, Bozon wants more to do
- Perrin Kaplan Nintendo Minute editorial - Nintendo read Matt’s lack of hype article. MP3:C advertising coming, but form is unknown.
- Luminous Arc - 7.8
- Madden 08 on DS has better online than the Wii version..
- Rune Factor - 8.4
- Games Convention talk, Table Tennis there, no Manhunt 2, Nintendo to show off who knows what
- Haven’t played Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games
- Call of Duty 4 DS was nice.
- N-Space’s Wii project talk, no specifics
- THQ Rainbow Studio’s game - ATV game. IGN has the exclusive in a few weeks.
- Metroid Prime 3 shows the flaws in Metroid Prime 2
- Mario Kart Wii talk
- Don’t know about any unannounced Nintendo-developed hardcore titles, but do know about Nintendo-published titles developed by other parties. Some games that were initially very hardcore are now less so - hardcore title list may be thinning out.
- Battalion Wars expected to be at Leipzig
- Matt has seen some pretty games recently
- Contemplate reasons for Galaxy’s superior visuals to other Wii titles - longer time with tech, the fact that the game’s set in small areas
- Matt thinks Animal Crossing will be coming out in 2008 and will be very similar to the DS/GCN versions.
- IGN don’t expect much in the way of MMO’s on Wii - not Nintendo’s vision.
- Next week embargo lifts - embargoed on certain levels. Will soon release videos that truly show the game’s visuals - much better than the compressed footage Nintendo is showing you. Will talk lots more about it in next week’s podcast.

Overall, it sounds good, except for one thing. I don't like the fact that they're turning hardcore games less hardcore. I want more of the hardcore stuff, so hopefully they'll change their attitude about that. I guess there still are plenty of hardcore games coming out this year and next, but even so, it is getting a tad bit annoying with all the casual games.

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Perrin Kaplan says more surprises coming, possibly about Metroid

In a portion of IGN's Nintendo Minute Volume 37, Perrin Kaplan said this:

To answer one of your other comments, we still have a lot of our more traditional marketing efforts planned. People will see it all shortly, from ads to many of the usual tactics we use to support our key products. Plus: a few more surprises like the Metroid Prime 3 Preview. And no, I'm still not going to spoil the fun and tell you about it ahead of time!

The way she worded the surprises part made it seem like it was a surprise about anything on Wii, but the article is about Metroid Prime 3, so it could be referring to that. A demo maybe? Who knows. All I know is that Nintendo will continue to be mysterious and that's something that I don't think will ever change.

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IGN's Wii-k In Review Podcast Highlights

- A lot of Metroid Prime 3 talk. Matt not happy with hype level, MP3 promo channel. IGN should be getting the game next week
- Mario Strikers score may be dropped if online issues continue.
- Madden: More of the same.
- EA Nation online > Nintendo online
- EA embargoed all ratings under 9.
- Tiger Woods plays better, not perfect.
- 27:20: Matt pretty much says Factor 5 working on Wii game.
- 52:00: PC-style-God game being made by an established PC 3rd party is coming to Wii with a possible IGN update next Friday (not set in stone.)
- Quick talk about 3.0 system update.
- Neo-Geo VC support coming in 2007.
- A bunch more Western 3rd party games are coming to VC (Factor 5’s old games)
- Matt’s source confirmed Space Station Tycoon is cancelled
- Matt says to look out for more Western Dev shooters
- Words 2 for the DS is great. Looks and plays well, has online wifi.
- Ninja Gaiden DS update coming monday. The game is really fun apparently. great controls.
- CoD4 for the DS is impressive. D-pad controls movement, stylus to look. Graphically better then Brother in Arms, steady framerate. AI teams, no wifi, but 4 person multiplayer.
- More Zak and Wiki talk.
-Speak about 2008. Mostly all speculation. Animal Crossing, Mario Kart, Pikmin, etc. 1080 Snowboarding will probably be done with the Wii Fit board.
- Boogie was originally an acting game.
-Game they were saying was going to be unveiled on Wii at E3 is coming in 2008, has been “miniaturized”.
- They’ll reveal a mature game soon if the developer doesn’t get a publisher. They claim that no one wants to publish it because they’re afraid no one will buy it on the Wii

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4 Exclusive Brawl Screens from IGN

Yesterday IGN posted 4 exclusive screenshots from Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Here they are:





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Rock Band comes to Wii

IGN's latest Wii-k in Review Podcast had some interesting information. Matt Casamassina of IGN says that Rock Band is coming to Wii, but in 2008.

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7/7/07 IGN Wii-k in Review Podcast Highlights

Here's a summary of the podcast:

- Transformers talk
- Geometry Wars Galaxies, Classic controller support probable, GCN controller not so much.
- Hori fighting stick
- Matt will be playing a private demo of Metroid Prime 3 at E3.
- DK Bongo Blast “pretty assy”
- FIFA 08
- de Blob talk
- Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games shown behind closed doors at E3.
- Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 coverage on Monday.
- Soul Calibur Legends coverage soon
- Red Steel 2 not at E3
- Forever Blue talk
- Battalion Wars 2 date speculation
- A Nintendo franchise will be brought back from the dead and shown at E3
- DIRECT QUOTE “There is a Tales of Symphonia sequel coming to Wii.” - no one knows if they were kidding or not when this quote was made
- Rockstar not at E3.

Download the Podcast here

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IGN Wii-k In Review Highlights (6/15)

From Go Nintendo:

- Pre E3 events happened this week. Good things on the way for E3

- Project H.A.M.M.E.R. rumor still a rumor. Casamassina says that another company working on a more traditional title to make it more mainstream

- Harry Potter overall very good. Few minor control and cutscene quirks

- Wii-k in review crew pushing for people to buy Zack and Wiki. High praise for the game. It may be the most difficult title on the Wii so far. They are asking Capcom to make downloadable levels

- The Bigs is fun but has issues. A little bit of lag, and sometimes the Wiimote is over-sensitive

- Matt talks about Halo DS and says “nay sayers are about to be owned next week or so”.

- More info soon on titles we know of and brand new titles. New titles looking great, Matt hopes to unveil something next week

- If you like Godfather you will like Scarface

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