THE NINTENDO WII: WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR

It was an extremely busy day for Nintendo Wii news today, so let's get right to it - here's a breakdown of what we know about the Wii launch so far;

• Launch date: November 19th, 2006
• Launch Price: $249.99
• Includes Wii Sports as a pack-in game
• Japanese launch date: December 2nd, 2006
• There will be 2 million units available worldwide, the majority of which will be shipped to the North American market
• Nintendo estimates they should have 4 million units in stores by the end of the year
• First party titles will cost $49.99 each
• Third party title pricing will be up to each individual developer
  • Activision has supposedly announced their price point as $59.99 for ALL the next-generation systems
• Wii to use a"points" system for online purchases (Like the Xbox 360 marketplace point system)- 100 Wii points = $1.00
• Virtual Console pricing:
  • NES Games - 500 points ($5)
  • SNES Games - 800 points ($8)
  • N64 Games - 1,000 points ($10)
• There will be at least 3 Virtual Console games available at launch, 30 by year end, and approximately 10 released per month starting in January 2007.
• Metroid Prime 3 has been pushed back to 2007
• The Gamecube version of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess has been pushed back to December 11th (thus answering my question the other day about whether it was a bad idea to release the Gamecube version alongside the Wii version - I tell you, I should work for these guys!)
• The Wii will not support DVD movie playback out of the box or via an add-on.
• The Wii will support Secure Digital (SD) cards.
• According to Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo will be selling the Wii at a profit. That's right, no money lost on the initial hardware.
• The Mii service on the Wii will allow users to create avatars that look like themselves or whatever they so choose.
• The Wii will use "channels" to separate content on the console (see the first video below for a demonstration)
• The Wii itself will be region free by default - though it's been hinted that there will be an option for publishers to enable a region lockout should they so choose.
• There will be approximately 30 Wii games released by the end of 2006, about half of those will be available at launch.
• Wii "Always On 24" function will allow the console to download updates when not in use.
• There will be an internet browser "channel", but it will require a yet to be priced or dated version of the Opera browser to be used.
• Additional remote control (without nunchuck attachment): $39.99
• Additional Nunchuck attachment: $19.99
• Backwards compatible with over 530 Gamecube games.
• Connects to a standard internet connection - there is apparently no Nintendo "service"
• Most games will have support for widescreen monitors.
• While there are no details regarding the ability to integrate the Wii and the Nintendo DS at this time, it is still going to be a major feature, and Nintendo will release the details at a future date.

Now that's a lot to take in all at once, so why not relax a bit and check out the two video files below. The first is an explanation of how the Wii's channel system works, and the second is a montage of upcoming Wii games. Enjoy.

As usual, there's no video support in the archives, so click here for the channels video and here for the games video.

KAMEO POWER PACK NOW AVAILABLE IN MARKETPLACE

Microsoft has announced that the latest add-on pack for Kameo: Elements of Power is now available in the Xbox Live Marketplace. The pack will run you 400 points ($5) and include the following as per the Power Pack product page;

"Think you’ve mastered Kameo™:Elements of Power™? Think again! With expanded co-op action and super challenging gameplay, the upcoming Kameo Power Pack is sure to put your abilities to the test. This downloadable content contains three great new co-op modes of play: Expert Mode, Rune Battle Mode, and Time Attack Mode.

• Expert Mode: Expert Mode features six re-mastered tougher-than-ever levels, for both solo and cooperative play. Be prepared to face battles that will make even the most hardcore Kameo veterans balk. Suited up in their exclusive new Armor Skins, all ten of your Elemental Warriors will be on hand to help you in the enhanced combat...and you’re gonna need ‘em!
• Time Attack Mode: In Time Attack Mode, team up with a friend over split-screen, System Link, or Xbox Live®, and work together to try and beat the clock—and the Trolls—against seemingly impossible odds.
• Rune Battle Mode: Rune Battle Mode turns traditional Kameo co-op on its head, with new VS gameplay that pits you against your opponent—as well as Trolls—in a fight to grab the most runes. Use one of the unique new weapons to thwart your adversary in this no-holds-barred arcade scramble!

The Kameo Power Pack also introduces 15 new achievements and worldwide leaderboards. Check the Kameo community site frequently for the latest news and to see how you can get the Kameo Power Pack for yourself." -Kameo Power Pack product page

Like I said when the Power Pack was first announced, it's nice to see that Rare hasn't abandoned this title. I played Kameo shortly after getting my 360, and found it to be a surprisingly enjoyable game. The addition of this pack looks to add some depth to the title, so those of you who have Kameo and were hoping to get some more play time out of it may want to consider picking up this expansion pack.

XBOX 360 NBA 2K7 DEMO NOW AVAILABLE

A demo of 2K Games upcoming basketball game, NBA 2K7 is now available for download in the Xbox Live Marketplace. The demo weighs in at 1.01gb and were I a fan of basketball, I'd probably have something else to say here - but I'm not, so I won't.

BULLY RECEIVES "T" RATING FROM ESRB

You may remember that after seeing the first trailer for Rockstar's upcoming title Bully, I mentioned that it wasn't quite what I was expecting and that it struck me more as on of those 80's style "school" style movies rather than Grand Theft Auto: Schoolyard edition. I also predicted that there was no way the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) was going to rate it lower than "M" anyway.

Well, it looks like I was wrong. Kotaku is reporting that according to the game's information sheet over at the ESRB website and the "Admissions" page of Rockstar's official Bully site, the game has received a "T" rating from the group, meaning that special interest groups all over the country will now completely lose their minds over a product they've never played. Seriously, at this point even if Bully was a game about a kid who runs around helping old ladies cross the street, these people would be demanding a "M" rating - they've just reached that state of mind. We should be seeing some serious comedy from the usual gaggle of idiots in the coming days as the news filters down to them. Kudos to the ESRB for not caving in to outside pressure on this one.

Bully is currently scheduled for release exclusively for the Playstation 2 on October 17th. Check out the Kotaku article here for more information - and be sure to get a bucket of popcorn ready for the show.

ACTIVISION FIRST TO NAME A PRICE POINT FOR PLAYSTATION 3 GAMES

PS3 Land is reporting that Activision is the first company to officially name their price point for Playstation 3 games. If you remember a previous interview with Sony's Kaz Hirai, Hirai stated that Playstation 3 games would most likely be priced between $60 and $100 each - which alarmed many potential Playstation 3 purchasers. Well, at least there's a little less to worry about now - according to the PS3 Land article, Robert Kotick, CEO of Activision, announced that the price point for their next generation titles will be $60 across the board;

""We have not seen a lot of consumer resistance at the higher price points and we expect that all of our next-generation products will be launched at $60 price points" - Robert Kotick, CEO, Activision

While the article was geared towards the Playstation 3, I've got to wonder if Activision also considers the Wii a "next-generation" console as well, and just told us the price point of their Wii titles as well. Keep in mind that at today's press conference, Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime said first party titles would be $49.99 each, but left the suggested price of third party software wide open. We could be seeing a repeat of the Xbox 360 launch where Microsoft tried to push the $49.99 price point and was completely ignored by the third party developers on pricing.

For more details, check out the PS3 Land article here and keep your fingers crossed that $59.99 is the highest price we'll hear for the standard version of a game this generation.

XBOX 360 PREMIUM KIT TO INCLUDE BUNDLED SOFTWARE?

I was surfing Kotaku earlier today and came across this Xbox 360 rumor - ClubSkill is reporting that starting on September 30th, Microsoft will be changing the contents of the $399 premium Xbox 360 kit to include Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter and the Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged retail disc which includes Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved, Bejeweled 2 Deluxe, Wik: Fable of Souls, Hardwood Backgammon, Outpost Kaloki X and Texas Hold'Em along with the usual contents. If this turns out to be true, that's a pretty nice bonus to include with the purchase, and it makes me wonder if the Core system will see some type of addition as well.

Check out the Kotaku article here and the original ClubSkill report here. Anything that gets more copies of Geometry Wars into people's hands has to be a good thing - no 360 owner should be without it in my opinion. (Which along with $1.50 will get you a cup of coffee)

MAME V.108U4 RELEASED

The fourth interim update to MAME v.108 is now available. This time around, some changes have been made to the core of the emulator, and the dev team's comments lead me to believe that there may be a few issues with the release. As there are really no huge changes as far as features go, I'd probably suggest waiting until the next full version release before upgrading.

The updated files can be found at the official MAME page at Mamedev.org. You can Click here to see what's new in this update.

NINTENDO WII TO LAUNCH ON NOVEMBER 19TH AT $250

Gamasutra is reporting that the Seattle Post-Intelligencer has reprinted a New York Times article that states Nintendo will be launching the Wii in the United States on November 19th at a price of $250. The console will include Wii Sports as a pack-in, games will be priced at $50 each, with Virtual Console titles selling for "around $5-$10". No mention of what other accessories will be included with the console were published. According to the article, here's what Reggie Fils-Aime had to say about the launch;

"Our goal is to bring gaming back to the masses, you see that in our pricing, you see that in the number of units we plan to make available this year and you see that in how we are positioning the Wii to appeal to every member of the household, including but not limited to the hard-core gamer." -Reggie Fils-Aime, president and chief operating officer, Nintendo of America

On the subject of the Virtual Console titles, Nintendo has stated that there will be roughly 30 games available at launch, including several Zelda, Mario and Donkey Kong titles.

Well, I think I'm going to take a wait and see approach on the Wii now, as at $250 I'm not going to jump headfirst into something that I just see entirely too many problems with. If you're wondering, my main concerns are around the space needed to play it, how well it will work in a real-world environment and the sensitivity of the tilt control - because I don't know about you, but I don't hold my hand perfectly level for hours at a time while playing video games.

Had Nintendo simply priced the unit at $199 with no pack-in game and given me the option of deciding what game I'd like to buy with the system, I probably would have jumped at it - but Wii Sports hasn't been high on my want list, so I may just wait and see if a "core" system comes along in a few months.

My guess is we'll be getting all the specifics regarding what will be found in the box at this mornings press conference - who knows, maybe they'll pack so many goodies in with the system that $250 will sound like a bargain to me. Until then, check out the Gamasutra article here and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer article here. I'm not writing the system off mind you, just saying that for a buy-in price of $250, I need to be convinced that I'm going to be able to enjoy the experience. Guess I'll be playing Twilight Princess on my Gamecube this holiday season.

You know, i've now got to wonder how wise it is to be making a Gamecube version of Twilight Princess. I mean, it was one of the titles I was really excited about on the Wii, and it's was pretty easy for me to just say "Oh well, I'll play it on the 'Cube" right now. I wonder how many other people will make that exact same choice this holiday season.

XBOX LIVE ARCADE WEDNESDAYS - SCRAMBLE

After a one week delay, Konami's 1981 classic side-scrolling shooter Scramble gets it's Xbox Live Arcade makeover. Two things about Scramble always stick out from my childhood... first off, I loved the game. It was fast paced, it was fun and it just seemed a bit ahead of the other games around it. Secondly, I stunk at it. It was one of those games that I'd only play one game of, because it just always ended too soon and there were other games that I could spend my money on. It wasn't until years later that I was able to play for more than a few minutes without my game ending. Hell, to this day I still have a hard time getting through that maze and hitting the enemy base.

Title: Scramble
Developer: Konami Digital Entertainment
Publisher: Konami Digital Entertainment
Genre: Arcade / Shooter
Release Date: 9/13/06
Console: Xbox 360
Players: 1 - 2
Xbox Live: Yes
HDTV Support: Yes
Full Game: 400 Points ($5)
Demo?: Yes

Description as per Xbox.com

"Scramble your fighter and take on the enemy base in this newly enhanced version of the arcade classic. The base is heavily guarded and you must guide your ship through five levels of enemy defenses before you can destroy your objective. 

Featuring brand-new graphics and sounds for Xbox 360™, take your skills online and challenge the new "Versus" and "Co-op" modes. List your high score on the Xbox Live® leaderboards and prove you're the best in the world!

• Enhanced artwork: Hand-painted models, particles systems for explosions, and smoke and cosmic new parallax scrolling backgrounds make for a visual feast.
• Upgraded sound: Listen to digitally enhanced sound effects and tunes.
• Multiple levels: Play through six levels of ever-increasing challenge and excitement.
• Multiplayer modes: Try the new Xbox Live split-screen multiplayer modes, including Versus Mode and Co-op Mode.
• Achievements: Score a series of achievements which range from straightforward to challenging.
• Leaderboards: Online scoreboards capture a range of statistics including highest score (single-player and co-op) and win/loss ratio in Versus Mode. Leaderboards are displayed for all time as well as weekly." - Xbox.com Scramble product page

Just gave the game a try, and it plays pretty well, though it seems the bombs arc a little more than they did in the original game (at least in enhanced mode) and there is no way to change the default control settings - which is a bit annoying, as I'd prefer to choose which buttons to use. Other than that, the game is a lot of fun and controls quite nicely with the 360 d-pad. The maze was surprisingly easy to navigate - which, along with the bomb issue mentioned above, makes me think the timing (again, in enhanced mode - didn't try original yet) is a bit off.

This release finishes off the list of currently scheduled Xbox Live Arcade games. Oh, and just for the record, as of 4:30am, I'm still #1 on the leaderboard. =)

TELLTALE GAMES RELEASES FIRST SAM & MAX FOOTAGE

The folks over at Telltale Games have finally released some in-game footage of Sam & Max: Season One, and while the gameplay seems to be fine, there is a serious problem. It's Max. His voice is HORRIBLE. I had to turn the first video off after a few seconds because of how grating his voice is.

If you follow this site, you know I had some issues with the way Max sounded in the teasers for the game, but believe it or not, it's actually gotten worse. It's almost to the point that I can't even watch the footage all the way through before wanting to just turn the thing off. This is bad folks - this is just bad.

I have to take one other beef with the voice acting, and that's that it sounds a bit... flat. As an example, watch the bit when they pull someone over in the driving mini-game. The voice acting - and even just the sound of the voices - seems off. Almost out of place. I'll also hope that the "jokes" used in these trailers isn't going to be indicative of the entire game, because they just weren't funny. (Again, watch the driving mini-game video to see what I mean)

Looking past the voice issue, which is nearly impossible to do, the game seems to run on a classic point and click interface for both standard movement and control in the mini games, and at first glance seems to be an upgrade from them system they used in the Bone series - which is a good sign.

I'd talk about the trailers a bit more, but I really am so bothered by Max's voice that I'm not going to bother. Here are two of the gameplay videos - one showing standard gameplay, and the other showing the driving mini game as mentioned above. If after seeing both of these, you still want to see more of the game, head over to Telltale Games blog post on the subject here - and may God have mercy on your soul.

Telltale stated that while playable, they still have some fine polishing to do on the games graphics and sound effects, but I guess it's too late for them to re-record all of Max's dialog, huh?

Still no video love here in the archives, so either use the link for the Telltale Games blog posting for your required linkage or click here.