Nintendo Fails to Throw Hardcore Gamers a Bone: Press Conference Wrapup

By Matthew Kellar | July 15, 2008

Nintendo’s press conference is over and many a gamer probably feel a little underwhelmed at this point. Many predictable announcements were made and some surprises were delivered, but the hardcore among us might find their plates a little empty in the coming months.

The first game displayed was Shaun White Snowboarding developed by Ubisoft. The game was created with the balance board in mind and looks to take full use of it. Expect to be able “steer” your board accurately as well as tuck to gain speed and shift your weight upward to jump. Tricks seem to be performed by utilizing a Wiimote.

The next major game to be displayed was Animal Crossing: City Folk. Many of us were expecting the reveal of a Wii version of this beloved franchise and we weren’t let down. The game looks to increase the ability to communicate and share with others. In addition, players will be able to auction off items to other players or purchase items in said auctions. This will likely make it easier to find rare items. Friend codes were not mentioned, but it would be naive to think that they won’t play a role. We can only hope they won’t bog down the experience so that the welcome additions can be fully enjoyed.

One surprise with regard to Animal Crossing is the option of utilizing a “Wii Speak” microphone that is labeled as a “community microphone” which allows anyone in the room to communicate with those playing in another living room somewhere around the world. It was demonstrated as being used in a fishing contest and seems a much better alternative to strapping a headset to those milling about in your domicile.

Another casual gaming experience that was on display was Wii Sports: Resort. Wii Sports: Resort will include the new 1:1 motion sensor, Wii Motion Plus. This Wiimote attachment will also be purchasable seaparately at an unannounced price. The sports that were shown were frisbee throwing (California Games anyone?), Waterskiing, and a sword dueling game that reportedly follows the players movements exactly. The mapping on-screen for the frisbee movement was certainly impressive as a proof of concept, but it remains to be seen if such a sport will draw in as many players as more wide-appeal sports such as Tennis and Bowling. The Waterskiing game allows the player to twist the remote in order to utilize the throttle to gain speed. Other sports are set to be included and we can only assume more popular beach games such as volleyball will be included.

The only hardcore games shown were from third parties and include Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Shaun White Snowboarding, and Call of Duty: World at War.  It was not revealed as to whether The Clone Wars will utilize the Wii Motion Plus attachment. It appeared to be a one-on-one fighting game, but this was not overtly stated. Call of Duty: World at War seems to be a less impressive version of its high definition brethern and doesn’t seems worth getting too excited over. However, Shaun White Snowboarding does show promise with the balance board functionality. A new Rayman game was also shown (queue yawn).

Further details were also revealed for Wii Music. The game does not require you to follow any on-screen notes or even know if you are hitting the right keys. The gameplay seems to consist of pressing buttons or waggling to “a timing of [your] preference.” It seems that no effort will be required and that the game will be nothing more than a flail-fest and button masher. On the plus side, popular songs from Nintendo games will be included. In addition to playing as a part of an orchestra with friends, there is also a separate orchestra conducting mode.

Spore: Creatures and Pokemon: Rangers Shadows of Almin were the main focal points for the DS. However one of the biggest announcements from the show was the surprise reveal of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for the Nintendo DS arriving this Winter. However, if the Grand Theft Auto games on the GBA are anything to go by, this may not be as impressive a game as we might hope. However, we should probably keep pessimism in check until further details are revealed.

Overall, Nintendo failed to show any first-party hardcore games. No Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Kid Icarus, Pikmin, or Starfox games were revealed. The only thing the “geeks and otaku” were reassured on is that the Mario and Zelda teams are hard at work. I found the press conference incredibly underwhelming, but I do very much look forward to the new iterations of Wii Sports and Animal Crossing as well as the opportunity to utilize the balance board as a snowboard.

via: IGN