More 3rd-Party Wii Support

[Serapth]

Midway announced (http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=10317) that it has 6 titles in the work for the Wii and Ubisoft has announced it has 7 on the go. This is on top of the earlier announcement (http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=10311) that EA is working on 7 titles, 2 of which are launch titles.


Neither executive gave any suggestion as to what their company’s additional titles were, with Ubisoft currently only having announced two of its seven titles, in the form of Rayman Raving Rabbids (the Wii version of which recently became the lead format for the title) and the exclusive Red Steel.

The only Midway Wii title announced so far is a version of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, due next spring – several months after the release of the other SKUs of the popular franchise iteration this Christmas.

Sounds like the Wii is getting pretty good 3rd party support. Mortal Kombat could absolutely kick ass on the Wii. I can just picture playing as Scorpion... GET OVER HERE!

[EternalGamer]

Isn't the Wii the only platform Rayman is coming out for now? I thought that was announced a few weeks ago?

[soco]

i think the rayman exclusivity was a rumor. i think there was a rumor that it was the primary platform of development, and would get the game first, with the other platforms getting it secondarily. maybe it wasn't a rumor.

[Serapth]

A bit more news on the Midway games from *shudder* MTV (http://videogames1.mtv.com/pages/news/story.php?id=6155055).


Midway has already announced its support for the Wii with adaptations for the feature films The Ant Bully and Happy Feet, but Mortal Kombat: Armageddon is the first confirmed Midway title to target an older audience. A Wii version of Rampage: Total Destruction from the publisher has also been rumored, but its existence has not yet been confirmed.


God I would love to see a Wii rampage title! As the the Mortal Kombat announcement im actually a bit torn. It will be out on the XBox 360 about 6 months earlier, and this is one of those games where eye candy could make a huge difference. However, if they truly take advantage of the controller it could also be a blast on the Wii. Could I end up buying both? That will feel wierd as hell, buying two versions of the same game.

Nice to see mature content coming to the Wii though. That was one of my big beefs with the GC. 3rd parties seemed to avoid bringing alot of mature games over to it.

[thenefariousone]

Better question: how do you play a game like mortal kombat with the controller?

The controller can do a lot of things, but it's not really designed for this. In fighting games - you need controll over hands, feet, and movement.

The Wii really only allows you to controll 1-2 of those things at a time.

one controller + Nunchuk = one hand fighter.
holding a button and moving the controller to do "kicking movements" isn't particularly appealing.

Two controllers = two hands.
Minus no movement and with no controll over your feet.

Doesn't sound particularly appealing, or any better than the existing controlls. I'd much rather have a new game designed around the controller, than trying to force a new control scheme on an existing platform.

[Serapth]

Better question: how do you play a game like mortal kombat with the controller?

The controller can do a lot of things, but it's not really designed for this. In fighting games - you need controll over hands, feet, and movement.

The Wii really only allows you to controll 1-2 of those things at a time.

one controller + Nunchuk = one hand fighter.
holding a button and moving the controller to do "kicking movements" isn't particularly appealing.

Two controllers = two hands.
Minus no movement and with no controll over your feet.

Doesn't sound particularly appealing, or any better than the existing controlls. I'd much rather have a new game designed around the controller, than trying to force a new control scheme on an existing platform.

Frankly I dont see the issue. One possible control scheme would be:

Nunchuck controls movement
Wii controls the attacks, using buttons on either the nunchuck or wand to toggle between kicks, punches and blocks. I believe there are two buttons on the wand, so you could easily do Non buttons = defence mode button A = punches B=kicks A+B = special moves.

[Ravenlock]

Nice to see mature content coming to the Wii though. That was one of my big beefs with the GC. 3rd parties seemed to avoid bringing alot of mature games over to it.

I don't know that I agree... Killer 7 was definitely mature, Gun certainly wasn't for kids, Blood Omen 2 was on the Cube, Eternal Darkness was very adults-only, as was Second Sight, Chaos Theory showed up on the Cube... I think there was a Hitman 2 version for the Cube, Resident Evil 4 was pretty much the most mature game for any system of the recent generation, and it was Cube exclusive for quite awhile, and of course there were the other Resident Evil games too.

I mean, I understand it wasn't chock full of drenched-in-gore games, but there was a pretty decent selection of decidedly non-kiddie games for the Cube.

[EternalGamer]

After reading the Nintendo Power piece on Rayman, I don't even see how it would work on other platforms. There is a TON of stuff that is designed specifically around the motions of the Wii controller.

[Serapth]

I don't know that I agree... Killer 7 was definitely mature, Gun certainly wasn't for kids, Blood Omen 2 was on the Cube, Eternal Darkness was very adults-only, as was Second Sight, Chaos Theory showed up on the Cube... I think there was a Hitman 2 version for the Cube, Resident Evil 4 was pretty much the most mature game for any system of the recent generation, and it was Cube exclusive for quite awhile, and of course there were the other Resident Evil games too.

I mean, I understand it wasn't chock full of drenched-in-gore games, but there was a pretty decent selection of decidedly non-kiddie games for the Cube.


Some games got ported, dont get me wrong. But there were probrably 100 titles that got released for PS2 + Xbox, but not at all on GC. Many publishers just viewed the console as being outside of its demographic. On top of that, many of the games you mentioned ( even the excellent Killer 7 which almost got me to buy a cube ) sold poorly, thus proving the publishers right.

[Abednigo]

Better question: how do you play a game like mortal kombat with the controller?

The controller can do a lot of things, but it's not really designed for this. In fighting games - you need controll over hands, feet, and movement.

The Wii really only allows you to controll 1-2 of those things at a time.

one controller + Nunchuk = one hand fighter.
holding a button and moving the controller to do "kicking movements" isn't particularly appealing.

Two controllers = two hands.
Minus no movement and with no controll over your feet.

Doesn't sound particularly appealing, or any better than the existing controlls. I'd much rather have a new game designed around the controller, than trying to force a new control scheme on an existing platform.

All this from someone who hasn't tried it yet? This is all speculation. No one really has any idea how it's going to work with the controller. And to my knowledge, all the fighting games I've played had one button for punches and one for kicks. Not 2 for each. It's highly unlikely that you will be swinging the controller to punch. Just like the Wii version of Zelda won't have you swinging the controller for the sword.

[EGO]

Nintendo's position on games has never been to target the "mature" audience. Resident Evil was a HUGE surprise when it was announced and did help sales of the GC, but not enough.

I'm certainly not looking to a little box called "Wii" to give me "mature" content (and in mature I mean what you guys call mature, which is blood/guts/foul language).

I don't think anyone should be looking to Nintendo for gore games. There'll be a few, just like on the GC, but that's not Nintendo, never has and never will be.

[Serapth]

Nintendo's position on games has never been to target the "mature" audience. Resident Evil was a HUGE surprise when it was announced and did help sales of the GC, but not enough.

I'm certainly not looking to a little box called "Wii" to give me "mature" content (and in mature I mean what you guys call mature, which is blood/guts/foul language).

I don't think anyone should be looking to Nintendo for gore games. There'll be a few, just like on the GC, but that's not Nintendo, never has and never will be.


There is more to "mature" then blood, guts and foul language. Although those games count too. You dont see many games like Armored Core or Mech Assault, Halo, Dynasty Warriors, etc... on the cube.

All I mean by mature is designed for say.. 14+ aged people.

[Phanto]

Its good to see that this time we are seeing more third party for Nintendo console, anyway they still need more support, I would like to see a GTA game for the Wii not with the motion sensing controller stuff but rather just a GTA game making its debut to Nintendo system :)

[Eran Hawke]

I love how Playstation fangirls are always saying that PS3 will win due to its excellent 3rd party support, yet it looks like Wii has woo'd developers over with their 'simple is better' approach.

PS3 is turning into a giant PSP.

[gspot]

Better question: how do you play a game like mortal kombat with the controller?
The controller can do a lot of things, but it's not really designed for this. In fighting games - you need controll over hands, feet, and movement.
The Wii really only allows you to controll 1-2 of those things at a time.
one controller + Nunchuk = one hand fighter.
holding a button and moving the controller to do "kicking movements" isn't particularly appealing.
Two controllers = two hands.
Minus no movement and with no controll over your feet.
Doesn't sound particularly appealing, or any better than the existing controlls. I'd much rather have a new game designed around the controller, than trying to force a new control scheme on an existing platform.

They could just allow the option of turning the controller sideways so it works just like any other boomerang (a little different, but same concept). That way people won't be pressured into using the new intuitive controls, they could just use it as a controller.

I don't know that I agree... Killer 7 was definitely mature, Gun certainly wasn't for kids, Blood Omen 2 was on the Cube, Eternal Darkness was very adults-only, as was Second Sight, Chaos Theory showed up on the Cube... I think there was a Hitman 2 version for the Cube, Resident Evil 4 was pretty much the most mature game for any system of the recent generation, and it was Cube exclusive for quite awhile, and of course there were the other Resident Evil games too.
I mean, I understand it wasn't chock full of drenched-in-gore games, but there was a pretty decent selection of decidedly non-kiddie games for the Cube.

I love the GC, it's my favorite system of prev gen, but no one can say that it did not have problems with third party support and not be a liar. They had better software control, so if a game came out for the GC you had a better bet that it would be good than if it was on the PS2, but they had a serious lack of games for the GC.

[Stormwatcher]

How would we control Mortal Kombat? With the "regular" controller, of course.

Not all DS games use the touchscreen a lot (NSMB, Castlevania, etc), just like not all Wii games will employ the whole wiimote deal.

Obviously, most of the no-wiimote games will be ports and stuff like that. Wii exclusives will most likely strive to use the wiimote as much as possible.

[thenefariousone]

How would we control Mortal Kombat? With the "regular" controller, of course.

Not all DS games use the touchscreen a lot (NSMB, Castlevania, etc), just like not all Wii games will employ the whole wiimote deal.

Obviously, most of the no-wiimote games will be ports and stuff like that. Wii exclusives will most likely strive to use the wiimote as much as possible.

The whole point of the wii is not to have "just another port."

That's pretty much what this is. If the game was at least exclusive to the system ala Castlevania, then it would be fine. But it's not.

There's very little reason to get Mortal Kombat on the wii if it doesn't utilize the controller's functions in some unique way.

[Goronmon]

I love how Playstation fangirls...Right here is about where I stopped caring about anything you say...

[Goronmon]

There is more to "mature" then blood, guts and foul language. Although those games count too. You dont see many games like Armored Core or Mech Assault, Halo, Dynasty Warriors, etc... on the cube.There are plenty of mature games on the Cube. The problem is that the people who want mature games don't buy one, and the people who buy a Cube generally don't buy one for the mature games. So, you end up with most mature games being ignored unless they are really outstanding (ie. RE4). Couple this with the general lack of anything being released for the GC and you end up with the perception of a lack of "mature" games.

[Serapth]

There are plenty of mature games on the Cube. The problem is that the people who want mature games don't buy one, and the people who buy a Cube generally don't buy one for the mature games. So, you end up with most mature games being ignored unless they are really outstanding (ie. RE4). Couple this with the general lack of anything being released for the GC and you end up with the perception of a lack of "mature" games.


Define plenty. COmpared to the PS2 and xbox, it isnt plenty.

[Goronmon]

Define plenty. COmpared to the PS2 and xbox, it isnt plenty.Like I mentioned, there are much fewer games being released for the Cube in general, so trying to compare them on just totals doesn't work. I'd try to come with some percentage, but I don't really care enough to bother, haha.

[shnastybiznastic]

WTF, Serapth?! Does it need to be the Jerry Bruckheimer Film of the game world to register with you?

[Serapth]

WTF, Serapth?! Does it need to be the Jerry Bruckheimer Film of the game world to register with you?


No, in fact I hate most film conversions... although many of my personal favorites from the last gen just werent on the Cube.

Gran Tourismo 3
Forza
PGR 2
KOTOR 1/2
XMen Legends
Steel Battalion
GTA:SA ( not actually a fav, but I played it tons )
Halo

Entire genres and art styles just didnt exist on the cube. Hey, im not saying there werent tons of good games, just if you like certain kinds of games, compared to both the Xbox and PS2, there just wasnt the selection.

Im not bashing on the Wii, im saying its a good thing 3rd parties seem to be supporting it with more mature titles. I dont know why Nintendo fans are getting defensive on this?

[shnastybiznastic]

Im not bashing on the Wii, im saying its a good thing 3rd parties seem to be supporting it with more mature titles. I dont know why Nintendo fans are getting defensive on this?
I don't think it's Nintendo fans, I think it's people who are oppsed to the idea that maturity = non-cartoony art style and blood. I guess I could see it if you are talking about the rating system. I guess I could see it if you were talking about the ESRB rating M, but selecting based solely on the game's rating brings in a host of other issues.

[Serapth]

I don't think it's Nintendo fans, I think it's people who are oppsed to the idea that maturity = non-cartoony art style and blood. I guess I could see it if you are talking about the rating system. I guess I could see it if you were talking about the ESRB rating M, but selecting based solely on the game's rating brings in a host of other issues.


See, im not talking on rating, im talking games that tend to appeal (more) to older players. Like the racing sims and western RPGs and even FPSs(which arent really a huge deal to me) I just mentioned. In those regards the Cube was mostly a wasteland..

[shnastybiznastic]

One day, I'm going to make a game with real mature themes. Where you have to marry the girl you knocked up and get a 9-5 and give up the time that was spent with your buddies to raise your son or daughter.

[Serapth]

One day, I'm going to make a game with real mature themes. Where you have to marry the girl you knocked up and get a 9-5 and give up the time that was spent with your buddies to raise your son or daughter.

... well, that sounds like more fun then the SIMs atleast.