Dante

Today, we had the golden opportunity to sit down with some of the most important people in the development of the Metroid Prime series: Bryan Walker, Senior Producer; Mark Pacini, Lead Designer; Kensuke Tanabe, Producer for NCL, and Risa Tabata, Assistant Producer for NCL. The topic was of course Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, and we learned a great deal about the game. Perhaps most exciting is confirmation that Corruption is a Wii launch title, and the developers promise that it is just as big and deep as the previous games. And no need to worry about the game being labeled a “First-Person Shooter” in some of Nintendo’s press materials, because this is still very much an adventure game, just now with improved shooting mechanics thanks to the Wii controller. On the subject of multiplayer, Retro isn’t ruling out some kind of support for WiiConnect24, the console’s online service, but they are not interested in going back to the multiplayer mode from Echoes. They definitely want to stress the single-player gameplay as the game’s focus, so there may be no multiplayer at all. The story completes the Phazon trilogy, with the nefarious substance now spreading across the galaxy. Corruption takes place over multiple planets, which Samus can travel among using her ship. This planet-hopping aspect is part of the game’s non-linearity, so you can go back and forth at will. You don’t actually control the ship in flight, but you can use the Command Visor to call upon it while exploring a planet. The ship can deliver an air strike during tough combat sequences, and it can move large objects blocking the way. The goal, according to the developers, was to give players a way to utilize the ship in ways that make sense in the context of Metroid gameplay. Samus seeks to stop the spread of Phazon and eliminate its presence from the infected planets, even while she herself has been infected with Phazon and becomes increasingly affected by it as the game progresses. Her Phazon infection ties in with the gameplay, as she can now use its energy to enter “Hyper Mode” in either biped or Morph Ball form. While this power is in effect, her attacks are much more potent, but her health is in danger, and she could die if the ability is overused. The ice-wielding character mentioned in Jonathan’s impressions is not Noxus from Metroid Prime: Hunters, but the character designer on Corruption also worked on Hunters and the first two Prime games, so that explains the similarity. There are several other bounty hunters featured throughout the game, and not all of them are as helpful as the one seen in the E3 demo. In the E3 demo, Samus has some new uses for the Grappling Beam; Retro says that other familiar upgrades will also have surprising new uses. For instance, the X-Ray Visor is returning, but is now more useful when used in combination with a beam that shoots through walls. Screw Attack is returning and will be used much more, since you get it earlier in the game. There will be situations in which you can Screw Attack across a chasm, go straight into a Wall Jump to climb to a higher area, and then fly right back into the Screw Attack in this new area. Also, the Screw Attack will have more uses in combat this time around. There’s a reason that the E3 demo suggests no method for switching beam weapons on the fly, which was a key feature of the control scheme on GameCube. In Corruption, there is no need to switch beam weapons. They stack upon each other as in Super Metroid, so your beam becomes more and more powerful as you go. This design should also speed up long-distance travel around the environments, because you won’t need to switch weapons back and forth to open doors. The Grappling Beam also has stacked upgrade effects. The developers have listened to feedback on Echoes and are addressing some of those comments in Corruption. The difficulty will be slightly reduced (many Metroid fans were unable to finish the last game), and backtracking will be made less tedious, while still preserving the non-linear exploration aspects of the Metroid series. Scanning is definitely still part of the game, but the process will be faster, so players who don’t like to scan everything can more easily find critical scans and get them over with. Those who do like to read about every little object will find just as much backstory as in the previous games. As for control, the development team is closely watching how players react to the E3 demo, as many elements of the control scheme are still being tweaked. For instance, the motion sequence to use the Grappling Beam is not finalized, and they are still considering how to use the accelerometers. Firing Samus’s beam weapon is currently mapped to the A button (with the reasoning that rapidly pressing the B trigger button could create finger fatigue), but that could change. There will definitely be pointer sensitivity options in the final game, just as there are in the E3 demo. The remote’s built-in speaker is not being used at this time, but they have many ideas on how it might be implemented. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is shaping up to be a huge new game in this venerable series, with completely new control methods and tons of new ideas that push the Metroid gameplay ever further. With this monster and Zelda both available at launch, Nintendo’s Wii will have more blockbusters on day one than most new consoles have within the first year. PlanetGameCube

Anyone played Metroid Zero Mission/Echoes?

Duck Hunt Wii Video

E306: Super Smash Bros. Brawl Q&A After dropping the Smash Bros. bomb last night, Shigeru Miyamoto and Smash Bros. producer Masahiro Sakurai sat down for a series of pre-written and impromptu questions from the gaming journalists in the theatre. Here's what they had to say about the Wii, HD, Super Smash Bros Bash and, of course, farting. Has the Wii inspired you to go back create games with existing franchises that the fans have been asking for? Miyamoto: I think you'll see that with the inclusion of Pit from Kid Icarus, that we're looking at some older franchises, but I've got so many other ideas now that I want to work on those. What are some of your ideas for games for the Wii that you havent shared? Miyamoto: There are not really any new ideas I'm prepared to talk about today. One thing I've always wanted to do was have one player play Mario and have others help him out. We want to have a multiplayer mode with other players helping him out, getting in his way, it could make for some interesting gameplay. How will Super Smash Bros. Brawl utilize the Wii controller? Sakurai: Rather than just trying to implement too much of the functions of the Wii controller, we want to keep the control simple. I'll just say now that you might not want to throw away your Gamecube controllers just yet. Mr. Miyamoto and Nintendo have encourage developers to use the controller in new and different ways. I look at my role as offering something different. I'm trying to deliver something that has a more standard control scheme. Will Wario have a fart move? Sakurai: Yes he will. Will the roster be expanded to control more characters than what we've seen? Sakurai: Of course, there are plenty of other characters we want to include, but nothing I can speak about today. I want to ask what you want to see. (Audience shouts, "Sonic! Mega Man! Mr. Iwata! Reggie! Fawful!" Translator then tells Mr. Sakurai who Fawful is.) Will the game take advantage of WiFi connection? Will it be online? Sakurai: My plan is to include WiFi and online functionality. Actually one of the reasons it was created was that the staff said that when the console went online, the first game should be SSB. I'm going to try very hard to do that. But, I think it may be a lot of work to come up with a system with 4 players simultaneously and figuring out who's first, but we may look at other ways of bringing 4 people together. I was happy to see that the Wii version of Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess displayed in 16:9 widescreen 480p. Will Wii titles have HD resolutions? Miyamoto: Our standard is going to be 480p, if you put that on a nice TV, it will look very nice. As for widescreen, with Zelda, we'll display in WS. I think its up to developers. What is your fav Wii game so far and why? Miyamoto: Right now, I'm having a lot of fun with Tennis. When everyone picks the controller up, they understand the game right away and are all at the same level. Sakurai: I've only just played Mario and Zelda today for the first time, but I did like the plane demo. How different is playing Zelda TP on the Wii versus the Gamecube? Miyamoto: In terms of the experience, the interface is different. I've gotten used to the Wii controller with Zelda and incapable of going back to the Gamecube. The 16:9 widescreen is obviously a big difference. With a game like Zelda, seeing more of the landscape is important. Obviously on the Gamecube version, the sides will be cropped in 4:3. Will SSBB be a launch title? Sakurai: It will not be. I have been told I can say it will launch in 2007. Does Samus have any special fart moves? Just kidding. (Much fart-based laughter) What were some of the biggest challenges to overcome when developing the Wii hardware? Miyamoto: It was really in terms of the controller. How many buttons to have, where to put them. That was the hardest thing. Could you describe the story for the new Metroid title? Miyamoto: I'm not producer on Metroid Prime this time around. Mr. Tanabe who has handled production since the first MP would know more about that. What type of moves will Snake have? Special moves? Sakurai: We thought a lot about what to do with Snake. He always walks around with a gun, I didn't want to bring guns and weaponry that people can get in the real world. But, I thought we could use things like rocket launchers and other explosives, that we can use in a comedic fashion. He may wind up only using explosives. He'll also use a cardboard box. Given that the Wii is such a physical system, how do you plan to make that appeal to casual users? Miyamoto: I think that when creating games, one thing I think about is how do people look to people who aren't playing the game. People who are watching them play will also want to pick up a controller and play. There's a stereotype that youre in a darkened room, that the television is lighting their face, and thats kind of a negative image. I want to change that. Why is Wii not an HD system? Miyamoto: If you look at the technology thats out there and the companies that Nintendo partners with we could have done that very easily. It's not just about graphics, its the gameplay, it's about art direction, it's about the interface. We felt that this time, going in the HD direction, the balance was too much on the graphics. Five years down the road, I think its a given that Nintendo will create an HD system. We thought it would be better to allow you to interact with any TV, not just for people with access to this expensive technology. Will the single player of SSBB be the same as it was on the GC? Sakurai: No we're going to try to make a single player mode that they could enjoy more than the GC version. Miyamoto: This is something Mr. Sakurai and I have disagreed with eachother on for a long time. Mr Sakurai always wanted to have a strong single player game, but I said focus on the multiplayer. He has much more time to develop now, though. DId Nintendo approach Konami about Snake in SSBB or vice versa? Sakurai: What brought about the Snake character, when I was developing SSBM for GC Hideo Kojima contacted me and practically begged me to put him in there, but at that time we were deep in dev and it was too late. I just kind of gave up on the idea, but now that we had time, I remembered he asked me that and we decided to put him in. This is not so much a corporate level discussion, but a personal discussion, between Mr. Kojima and I. We're looking at other possibilities for 3rd party characters. At a corporate level, there may be discussion going on right now. Snake is the only 3rd party character that has been confirmed. But that might open up other opportunities to have other characters available. Its more about having a character thats fun to be in there. What 3rd party character would you like to see in the next version of SSB? Sakurai: If there was such a character I would just put them in this version. Its difficult finding the right balance between these characters. I'm sure that everyone has their own opinions about what they'd like to see, so thats while I'll be gathering as much feedback from everyone. Theres a SSB web site that I've been operating in Japanese, but it will be updated in japanese and english as Smash Bros. Dojo, with the movie you've just seen, as well as the main theme. Kotaku Cool Wallpapers from a GA users.

:love: :love: Poor Kirby :p

True Specs infomation? http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=2227

Fishing anyone.

More Screenshots

Metriod Prime 3: Corruption Screens

Sonic Wii Screenshots

Tomorrow! Tomorrow!

Metroid Prime 3 demo video.

super mario galaxy demo screenshots

Super Mario Galaxy Hands-on New Super Mario Galaxy Video

Nintendo Wii gun Nintendo Wiimote and shell

More FFXII Screenshots Silmeria 4 spinoff games?

Ubi Director Commends Wii, Shuns PS3 The creative director of Ubisoft Montreal had harsh words for Sony during an E3 workshop focusing on next-generation game design. Clint Hocking, the creative director behind titles such as Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory explained how he was disappointed by Sony's attempts to copy technologies from the other consoles. After referring to Sony's mimicking of Xbox Live, and then duplicating components of Nintendo's motion sensitive controller, Hocking paused in frustration. "How much more 'me too' can [sony] be?," he asked. Earlier in the discussion Hocking attacked the industry's strategy to up the ante in visuals significantly with each console. It's a "fundamental problem of approach" to continue to push for stronger graphics, he said. He argued such an approach puts game developers in situations where they have to be factory workers. Assemble art texture here, model texture shades here. Repeat. Further, Hocking claimed the adoption rate of high-definition televisions is so low, that the approach wastes resources on art that many customers won't even appreciate. At the conclusion of the workshop, Hocking applauded Wii's new controller interface. If it can meet the technical accuracy promised by Nintendo, it can open up the creative minds of game designers, he said. While graphics may add emotion, Wii's new controller interface is more likely to bring emotion directly to the player. Source

Today

Zelda:TP E3 Video

From IGN Boards about the Zelda:TP video. Zelda:TP E3 Video

The Shell controller plugs into the bottom of the wii controller.

Wii Games Artwork can be found here.

Spoiler: Link Artwork Zelda TP E3 Trailer

Super Mario Galaxy Video