One of the biggest questions that always surrounded Metroid Prime: Trilogy was how they fit two GameCube games and a full Wii game onto one disc. Keep in mind that extra data was also needed to program in the new controls for the two GameCube games so the question of space management becomes even more extreme.
It seems that part of the answer may be that corners were cut in other ways. As you can see from the video above, the Wii version of Metroid Prime, when compared to the GameCube version, is missing some graphical effects. Most notably, some water rippling effects are gone, as is the condensation that gathers around the mouth of the Ice Beam when it charges up.
Some also noticed in videos for the Japanese versions of Metroid Prime 1 and 2 for the Wii, which were released as separate games, also had these graphical pull-backs. While this may cause a storm of “Wii is not as powerful as GameCube” jokes, a more rational (but completely speculative) explanation may be that they were programmed for their inclusion into Trilogy first. Then, for whatever reason, Nintendo decided to release the first two Primes on their own, as part of the Japanese line of the New Play Control series. Instead of starting over from square one, they just took the code from the Trilogy version and broke it back into the separate games.
If this is true or not, however, does not change the fact that these minor changes are there and while it may disappoint some, it does not seem enough to take away from the overall experience.
If you own a Psyclone Essentials and React Wii 4-Dock Battery Recharge Station, then the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission has a warning for you.
A recall has been issued on the product because its battery pack has been reported to overheat and as a result the units are “posing a burn or fire hazard to the consumer”. After receiving six reported incidents of overheating, with two resulting in minor hand burns, the Commission recommends owners contact Griffon International, the company responsible for the product, for information on returns.
The controversial, at least to “hardcore gamers", Demo Play is going to make its first appearance in the upcoming New Super Mario Bros. Wii. For those who do not remember Demo Play, it is a system that will give players who become stuck in particularly hard segments of games the option to “fast forward” past those parts. They lose the ability to save after that point but it is there for those who get frustrated and just want to see what lies beyond.
At first, it was believed this function would be exclusive to Wii games. However, a recent article in the Japanese gaming magazine Nikkei revealed that some DS games may come with Demo Play in them as well. No specific titles have been mentioned yet, and are still a while off, but it will be interesting to finally see this function in action.
Hopefully, it will not cause the sky to fall, like some believe it will.
The Wii Motion Plus, and its accompanying remote jacket, may seem simplicity itself to install on a Wiimote. However, Nintendo is taking no chances and has included a tutorial video that explains how to do so.
Found on copies of EA’s Grand Slam Tennis, the video is… extremely simplified in explaining its step-by-step instructions for installation. A lot of people may scoff at it but, at the same time, some people have had trouble just holding onto their Wiimotes. I can not say I blame Nintendo for wanting to be absolutely crystal clear about how to set this up right… even if it is pretty condencending.
There have been numerous stories about how the Wii has been used to help rehab and geriatric patients recover physical mobility. Now it has been revealed that the Wii may be helping the doctors as well.
LiveScience recently reported that eight undisclosed surgical trainees took an hour to play with Nintendo Wii games before taking a laparoscopic surgery test. The test involved a virtual tool that kept track of the doctors’ movements and graded them for accuracy and smoothness of those movements. When the grades came back in, they discovered this:
The Wii-playing residents scored 48 percent higher than others without the warm-up with the Wii, working faster and more accurately.
In the same article, it also mentions that doctors at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical Center are using modified Wiis to help deal with their computerized copies of X-Ray and MRI images:
Instead of spending hours at a time navigating through pictures using basic keyboard and mouse clicks, which can lead to repetitive motion injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome, one cycles through scans with the Wii by just rotating the wrist.
This is quite amazing to hear. People may scoff at the Wii’s versatility beyond being just a game console but they may think twice if it means having a doctor with a healthy wrist that can perform needed surgery better.
Natal and to a lesser extent Sony's wand controller wowed gamers who tuned in for E3 press announcements. It didn't seem to impress Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto much, of course, so now the question becomes: what does Nintendo President Satoru Iwata think of the competition's attempts to get in on the motion control act?
“We are happy that [motion control] is now becoming an industry standard. However, we still have no idea about when [Microsoft and Sony's] products will be available, or how much they will cost, or what sort of software they will be used with.
While Natal did have the polished (if unsettling) Milo and Kate demo, all of Iwata's other points kind of hard to argue with. Did Microsoft and Sony jump the gun?
I remember covering E3 2006, before I wrote for GamePro. One of the first discussions I had about the then-new Nintendo Wii system that wowed the show that year with was my then-editor at WorthPlaying.com. He was evincing the sort of skepticism about Wii that would later become commonplace. "All that's special about the system is the controller," he said. "Nothing's gonna stop Microsoft or Sony from releasing their own new controllers if they want to."
E3 2009 saw my then-editor's prediction come to pass. Both Sony and Microsoft debuted "Wii Remote killers" in Xbox's Project Natal and PlayStation's less-developed wand controller. Of course, Nintendo spent the same year trying to sell us all on Wii MotionPlus again, which begs the question: what does Nintendo think of what the competition is up to? Specifically, what does the Wii's godfather, Shigeru Miyamoto, think of it?
The BBC decided to ask Mr. Miyamoto the question toward the end of last week. His answer is interesting in terms of just how much laughter it involves. The motion control bit starts around 3:50, but the preceding stuff is worth watching for a Brief History of Miyamoto, too.
What you are looking at here is a potential design for a Wii “Proton Pack” attachment to be made by third-party-accessory developer Intec. Leaked by an anonymous freelance artist, it is not certain yet that this will ever see the light of day or is even real. It seems quite likely though that someone would at least try to cash in on the inevitable desire to be more Ghostbusters-like while playing.. well… Ghostbusters.
Given that Intec is the same company that made a lightsaber Wiimote shell for Force Unleashed, the chances of this being real are quite good. Of course, this raises a big question: How much would someone pay for a hunk of plastic that might be appropriate for one game?
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We've had another change-around in the way Wii MotionPlus is set to ship to consumers, with EA taking the rare move of bumping release for the games up one week. Now EA is set to ship the two games on June 8th, the same week the freestanding Wii MotionPlus units hits stores. Guess EA didn't like the idea of Sega having the only MotionPlus title out the first week the new peripheral is available.
In addition, EA's latest announcement reveals that they've altered their pack-in strategy. It looks like Tiger Woods 10 will be shipping with a MotionPlus pack-in, but Grand Slam Tennis won't outside of Europe. This should allay fears expressed in earlier posts about ending up with more MotionPlus units than Remotes to use 'em with. Tiger's prices at $59.99 with the MotionPlus pack-in, quite a bargain, and both games are going for the standard $49.99 when packaged alone.
It'll be interesting to see what kind of effect the pack-in has on Tiger Woods Wii sales. It's the EA Sports title that typically does best on Wii, although previous editions haven't managed anything that could be reasonably called blockbuster sales. Maybe this'll be EA's lucky year on Wii?
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 screens on GamePro.com
I'm not sure how I feel about this, though I'm leaning toward "dislike." Shots of the packaging for the standalone version of Wii MotionPlus indicate that the add-on is going to ship as part of a rubber jacket coverage that houses the entire Wii Remote. Right now most sources are indicating that you won't be able to get the MotionPlus add-on out of the jacket unless you cut it open.
I'm not a fan of Nintendo's Remote jackets, and an add-on that pretty much forces one on the consumer leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Also, from just a practicality standpoint... given the design on the jacket and how you get the Remote into it, isn't connecting the MotionPlus to the Remotes base going to be a huge pain in the butt? I mean, it certainly looks that way. Maybe when the MotionPlus actually ships I'll find it the BEST THING EVER!! but I have my doubts.
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