Rumor Control - IGN's Nintendo Voice Chat

[Dante]

Nintendo Voice Chat 2nd June 08

 

Intro

- Craig's out of town, incest talk

- Bozon: "Desert of the real" from Dark Tower

 

Captivate

- Can't talk about Captivate just yet, tomorrow.

- 5 AM tomorrow morning

- 3rd-person Sci-Fi action game from new Studio

- Continuing WiiWare coverage

 

Protothea / Toki Tori

- Ninty's gift to Ubi: putting out Protothea before Gyrostarr

- Good for $5, not $10

- Craig on Toki Tori: 8.0

- Bozon's a huge TT fan, says it should be "$8" but "absolutely a must-buy"

- Nunchuk is better than Wiimote solo

- Straight-up puzzler

- Storage jokes, "not getting rid of Super Metroid", Matt dumped his Wii's storage

 

Star Wars: Clone Wars

- Made just for Wii and DS, no PS2 or PSP versions (jokes)

- Based on movie, nice visual style

- Reader, "1:1 control?!?!?!" Bozon, "Lol no."

- Should be pretty decent

 

Tecmo Bowl

- Made for Wii and DS

- Matt thinks DS looks really fun

- Bozon, "Keep Wii version 2D."

- Matt, "2.5D?" Bozon, "Eh..."

- DS has tons of customization

- Edit uniform colors, make your high school colors etc.

- All stylus control but with d-pad/buttons optional

- Online Wi-Fi

- Nothing keeping you from maxing out your team's stats and going online, apparently

- Bozon, "Game of forever confirmed by Bozon."

 

Wario Land Shake / Fatal Frame

- Bozon, "Balance board?" Matt, "No [you fat idiot]."

- Shake coins out of enemies, more shake-based moves

- Comes out in July in Japan

- Fatal Frame's also coming out in July in Japan, Matt says its a "big game you should be excited about", aim flashlight with Wii remote, etc.

- Bozon, "Virtual Boy Wario Land kicks ass." N64 version, not so much.

- Balance board WarioWare probably coming at E3

 

Shawn White / Ubisoft

- Coming to 360, PS3, and Wii

- Stylized, cartooney approach, not a port

- Has its own gameplay

- "Looks pretty cool", turn Balance Board sideways like a real board

- Remote used for tricks

- Shawn White taking a beating by messageboarders

- Matt, "Definitely early" in development, "could be cool, glad they're trying."

- Skate It, Rayman, Shawn White, and Extreme Sports are Balance Board compatible, Tony Hawk and SSX probably coming too

- Bashing Ubi for "Nintendo-lyke Qualyty"

- Matt's dilema: Party Babiez or MadWorld? Uhh...

- Who's the audience? Babies?? Ubi, "Only babies play Wii!"

- Brand new engine for Rabbids 3, supposed to look better

 

Summon Night: Twin Age

- For DS, Swordcraft story from GBA series

- Controls like Phantom Hourglass."

- Two-player realt-time strategy game, classic dungeon crawling

- Boz, "Very good, possibly great territory."

 

Coming Up This Week

- Obviously Captivate stuff

- Deeper look at De Blob

- First trailer of Sonic Chronicles

 

Does Boz still gonna use WiiFit after 30 days?

Yeah not same way, still an effort though. Already broken 15 lbs lost in two weeks, drastic lifestyle change. "Gave birth to 8 lbs alien baby."

 

Anything new on Deadly Creatures?

New preview shortly, tarantula missions. Chatted with THQ, near-future, etc.

 

Quantum of Solace to Wii?

Activision doesn't confirm anything, hopefully there won't be a PS2 or PSP port.

 

Most anticipated 3rd-party titles? Any juicy ones we don't know about, specifically from Captivate?

- Matt, "Super-excited for MadWorld."

- Boz, "Huge WiiWare following, couple things a lot of people don't know about coming." Fatal Frame even though Nintendo's publishing, "really bad ass". "Stick with the system, there's definitely more coming." Is looking at De Blob, Madden

- Damon, "Game from Capcom that will appeal to those who like puzzling and questing." @question: "Infinite Line"

 

What kind of character would you create for Nintendo?

- Matt wants Oni-Link/Fierce Deity Link to be utilized much more.

- Bozon would do a game where you'd a chibi tank controled by two remotes with a rubber-band, like "Bionic Commando Ground".

- Damon, "Nintendo needs a sex symbol." Bozon, "Chobot's already taken because of GTA4."

 

NHL2K8 for Wii?

Not confirmed, hope its coming.

 

Damon, does Protothea stack up against VC or WiiWare games?

Star Solider R definitely best on WiiWare, Soldier Blade and Shikigami on VC.

 

More about Locke's Quest? Why just videos of solo character play?

As it gets harder, you spend more time preparing unlike Bozon. It's like Rampart on the ground. Never fully on the offensive, but you spawn more characters that help you. Bozon hopes it sells well, from developers of Drawn to Life but more for the hardcores.

 

What's the best lunchfood for a foodfight?

Bozon, "Carrots sharpened to a point." Matt, "You've been thinking about this..."

 

Percentage of the chance of a storage solution at E3?

Logically it has to happen, but 3rd parties say probably not. No SD card due to "piracy".

 

Why do PS updates take forever??

Matt [joking], "With Wii everyone knows it sucks. PS3 is advertised in such a way to be the most powerful games machine, but it can't do jack at all." Updates are a general pain in the ass. (IGN hub fanboy warz.) In-game XMB coming hopefully, will make things much better.

 

Best (fake?) reader mail ever: "Hey Boz, my brother loves Contra but hates your podcast and always makes fun of me for listening to them, so I told him you worked on the game and he said, 'Yeah, he probably made all the stupid parts of it.'"

Matt, "He's right, actually."

"What was your role in the game?"

Konami wanted two screens. Gap or no gap? Gap. Originally four-player. Bozon's keeping some secrets in case Konami wants a sequel in the far future. Challenge mode, tweaking, weapon swapping.

 

I'm a first-party Nintendoholic, what's coming up?

Matt, "Animal Crossing is coming for sure. Gonna hit you pretty hard, beyond that you're screwed." Kid Icarus, Pikmin 3, Wario Land, Fatal Frame. "By the end of the year a good 5-10 titles." Bozon wants a new Excite Truck, Matt says Retro is hard at work on a top-secret new project that's probably something original. Oh and Mario Baseball?

 

Can Ubisoft ever redeem itself? It's insulting to consumers.

"Rayman will be fun. Nothing's gonna blow anybody away." Red Steel 2 is still in development, and they believe the Prince of Persia spinoff rumor is true. Petz has paid off though. Wait and see.

 

What are the industry salaries? -Guy from UK

Matt, "Average pay is... somewhere between $40k to $100k depending on position and how long you've been with the company." Producers, PR get paid more. Game development is tough, government takes 40% from indie devs. Business = Developing x2

 

Wii supplies?

"NPD shows Wii is still top-selling console despite selling out. Nintendo is not manufacturing the shortage.

 

Actually this may be the best: "Every night I go to sleep listening to your sweet, sweet podcast. Will you tell me goonight? Please? Would you?"

"Good night Mr. Loki."

 

What's up with old DS game commercials with celebrities?

There have been unofficial announcements for new games, but they're trying to draw in more and more new people. Could still sell Wii on WiiSports.

 

Craig, why should I give a damn about Toki Tori?

[Matt doing Craig voice] It's fun and you'll really like it

 

Expectations from new DS? This Christmas? Online Pictochat, bigger carts, rumble, blah blah...??

At least next year, probably doing away with the second screen, going more touch-screen based. Might include channel OS. Possibly touch-feedback or IR and SD card slot. Definitely rumble and tilt. Damon doesn't hope it uses CDs, Matt and Boz don't think it will.

 

Was Tom Prada an a-hole in person? Because it sounded like it in the WiiWare interview.

It was an email interview (blech), sent questions a month ago. Matt tried for more questions, couldn't get answers back in time. Matt tried to corner them with hard drive issue, but he couldn't say anything. Not an a-hole, just saying what Nintendo's official responses are.

 

Nintendo's new technologies for Wii and DS? Will they abandon or refine the remote? Will they "join with alighty Apple to defeat the Evil Micro$oft and $ony?"

Obvious upgrades in online, will probably be as poweful as Xbox 360 is now.

 

Neo Geo Arcade's release date?

September-ish.

 

Do you have Okami sales?

Can't report on them, absolutely not over 100k.

 

Thoughts on Lost in Blue 3?

Not so hot, skip it.

 

What DS RPG are you most excited about?

Matt, "Soma Bringer."'

Boz, "Soma Bringer and Final Fantasy 4."

 

Anything on Elebits 2?

Someone's working on it. Official announcement? Who knows.

 

Do you guys have access to numbers for No More Heroes, Zack & Wiki, and Okami?

Not happy about any of them. Internet helped Z&W tremendously.

 

Any news on The Conduit?

Hands-on preview in near-future, next few months.

 

Fatal Frame 4 at E3?

Yes. Not sure how big it will be, may be eclipsed by WiiFit and such.

 

[boring WiiFit question.]

 

Which Nintendo console has the best games?

Matt, "SNES and GameCube."

Boz, "SNES and GBA."

 

What's Retro up to?

Multiple projects, may see one this year. One will be epic and amazing.

 

[Damon's Boom Blox code talk. Blah.]

 

[bozon's food habits.]

 

Brother in Arms?

September, completely mediocre.

 

Is Red Steel 2 coming this year?

They think no, might be announced at E3.

 

Nintendogs 2?

For Wii or DS, it may be cool.

 

When are LucasArts adventure games coming to Wii?

Matt thinks its happening eventually, they've already talked about it (internally at LucasArts, not with him).

 

[Dog Island review stuff. "Fun but not great."]

 

Manips people make of Matt and Bozon?

Both are "media whoremen". The more you can do to shock and embarrass them, go nuts.

 

What do you think of the Resident Evil 5 trailer?

Resident Evil 5 at Captivate was really, really impressive. Can't say if there was actual gameplay there or not. All are really psyched, even if it plays like RE4. Nobody cares since RE4 was so good.

[D_prOdigy]

It's clear now that the Capcom game is SpyBorgs.

[Hellfire]

Yep, it's in the same vein of what they talked about. I also read something about other Capcom games for the Wii, one of them being an established franchise.

[darksnowman]

I've got it on now. Desert of the Real is not a Dark Tower reference, duh. They even say at the start that its in fact from the Matrix, I think. They should definitely do a Dark Tower podcast.

[The Bard]

I've been listening to IGN nintendo podcasts for as long as I can remember and for the last 20 or so they've barely talked about anything new or exciting. In fact, they seem a bit meh about the whole thing. Anyone listen to the 1up podcasts?

[Shino]

I've been listening to IGN nintendo podcasts for as long as I can remember and for the last 20 or so they've barely talked about anything new or exciting. In fact, they seem a bit meh about the whole thing. Anyone listen to the 1up podcasts?

 

1upyours is a classic, they rarely talk about Nintendo and usually dismiss Nintendo related stuff, but the mood they have there and the complicity between them makes it awesome to listen to.

[The Bard]

1upyours is a classic, they rarely talk about Nintendo and usually dismiss Nintendo related stuff, but the mood they have there and the complicity between them makes it awesome to listen to.

 

Yeah, exactly, it's just good fun stuff to listen to, informative and pretty casual. IGN seem to be a bit "ugh, we gotta do a podcast..." In fact, I listen to the GFW and EGM podcasts too, even though they rarely talk about games I will play

[Helmsly]

yeah the 1up podcasts are great, 1up yours and GFW are my favourites.

 

I also like giantbombs podcasts, there also have a nice casual feel to them.

[pedrocasilva]

This week's:

 

-> http://wiimovies.ign.com/wii/audio/article/880/880405/Nintendo%20Voice%20Chat%20Ep.%2013.mp3

 

- They talk about the iPhone 3G and Super Monkey Ball

- Bozon thinks the iPhone will become a good gaming platform

- Craig wants an air hockey game for iPhone like the demo that was shown at E3 a while back

- NCAA and Top Spin coverage coming tomorrow

- Madden 09 is looking good and has good Wiimote capabilities, feels like PES08

- Matt says it's running at 30FPS, but "really solid," looks noticeably better than 08

- Rock Band guitar is wireless and drums are wired, take up both USBs

- The Guitar Hero guitar won't work on Rock Band Wii

- Hulk for Wii is horrible, has "epic fog" like in Superman 64, controls suck

- Tiger Woods > We Love Golf

- Craig downloaded My Pokemon Ranch, he can't "find a game in there"

- The game will give you missions where you catch ___ Pokemon and bring them back

- Spyborgs is built heavily around co-op play

- Damon says it's like a combination of Ratchet & Clank and Lego Star Wars, isn't very excited about it

- Star Wars: Force Unleashed doesn't look hideous, though they think some of it is bullshots

- Tenchu for Wii "came out of nowhere," hasn't been good since the first game, though it looks decent

- Wild Earth is basically Afrika if you "put on glasses with vasoline on them and if you were really drunk and your whole world looked sluggish," like Pokemon Snap

- They're talking about Death, Jr. and how it's better than the earlier games, but still boring

- Call of Duty 5 on Wii, using a downscaled version of the CoD4 engine, Treyarch is "proud," doing the Wii version internally

- Activision isn't going to call it Call of Duty 5 so as not to raise expectations

- Alone in the Dark has gone gold, Atari has done its best to make sure people don't know it's on the Wii, they say it's pretty good though

- LOL (DS) is a pretty fun game, got a 7.5, needs four players to appreciate it

- Craig says collectors should pick it up for collection purposes

- Craig likes Kung-Fu Panda, it's the evolution of Spider-Man 3 on DS (the only good version of Spider-Man 3), has a morph ball rip-off. Mid-to-high 7

- Summon Night: Twin Age, Viva Pinata, Trauma Center 2 are fun

 

Reader Mail

 

Q: Any news on new SSX game?

A: Nope but will come in a matter of time

 

Q: De Blob as good as in videos?

A: Yeah, it's something to keep an eye on

 

Q: Being too hard on Mario Sluggers?

A: No, it looks like total ass

 

Q: How do you unlock Bozon in Fatal Frame IV?

A: *insert witty comment*

 

Q: Tell us about Madden for Wii

A: Their lips are sealed

 

Q: With GH4 DLC, memory solution should be a given

A: They don't think it's a given, devs have to come up with a way to let users download things without users swapping out content

 

Q: Will Nintendo open up a dev studio in Silicon Valley

A: Probably not, their dev studios are mostly kept in Seattle, no plans to start any more second parties

 

Q: Any chance Nintendo will hire/contact Itagaki

A: "Completely a question we can't answer"

 

Q: Will Tenchu 4 be good?

A: They hope so, that's as far as they can hope

 

Q: Best TV I can get for Wii/PS3 gaming at my dorm

A: A plasma, not an LCD, 1080p plasma for PS3

 

Q: Will we see balance board used in more traditional genres?

A: Possibly from some more wacky developers

 

Q: Is Tiger looking significantly improved?

A: Yes

 

Q: What are the odds of a Tilt n' Tumble sequel?

A: Shoe-in for a WiiWare game

 

Q: Call of Duty: World of War on Wii?

A: They haven't seen it yet, will be on embargo for a while

 

Q: Control scheme for Top Spin 3?

A: Hold the remote sideways in your hand, use B button for backhand, feels more real-time

 

Q: Guy is making Blast Works levels with IGN editors as bosses, what do you want for levels

A: Craig should be the final boss, make the ship look like Damon and he kills the editors, Bozon wishes he were an NES mini-boss that shot out mini-heads of himself

 

Q: Will DS2 be outdone by iPhone?

A: Nintendo will make a tech-loaded DS after they dig themselves out of their piles of money (lol answer). DS2 will succeed despite weaker technology (serious answer) iPhone games seem gimmicky so far, moreso than the forced stylus DS games

 

Q: Your guesses on when we'll see sexual health software on Wii?

A: "We'll skip that one"

 

Q: Why was Kowasaki not in Wave Race: Blue Storm given how he's willing to put his name on horrible shovelware

A: This game came out four years ago.

 

Q: World Ends With You

A: Fantastic, thank you for your fine review Bozon

 

Q: "Wait for E3", will there be good games?

A: Animal Crossing, Kid Icarus will be at E3, they're sure there'll be more (hoping for Pikmin 3), Matt talks about Kid Icarus too much

 

Q: Should Capcom release RE0 stateside?

A: lol no

 

Q: Is Ubisoft doing anything anything Wii related at E3?

A: No, besides Red Steel 2 which is like three years away

 

Q: Is de Blob/Deadly Creatures THQ's answer to losing the Pixar license after Wall E?

A: No

 

Q: What WiiWare games got the chopping block this week for Pokemon Ranch?

A: Probably all the "good ones," they think Gyrostar which has been on the burner for three weeks

 

Q: Harvest Moon for Wii/DS?

A: Rune Factory looks good, Rune Factory 2 for DS

 

Q: Excitement for ToS2?

A: It's going to be good, but they think it would have been better as a launch game

 

Q: Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, buying Konami's spin about them trying to change things?

A: No, it's a little different but it'll be the exact same, they didn't think there was any spin

 

Q: Getting MGS4?

A: Probably, they were looking for it today since some stores had it early, they're talking about American Gladiators for like 2 minutes

 

Q: Which of these features do you think Nintendo's next-console will have: 720, 1080p, voice chat from main menu, universal friend list

A: They think they'll do 720p, universal friend list, they're making fun of storage problems

 

Q: Documentary on one of you guys playing Fatal Frame alone in the dark?

A: Probably, Matt was "spooked" when he was playing RE4 and MP3, wants to do it, someone was offended by a comment about the word "sissy" in the My Life as a King review

 

Q: Does Craig know secrets about DS titles?

A: Yes, but he can't say

 

Q: iPhone 3G? (again)

A: All for it

 

Q: B/c with GameCube, what happens with availability of controllers

A: If this becomes an issue, Nintendo will probably make new WaveBirds in three years because they're slow on the uptake, big publishers realize people don't seem to care about b/c, next round of consoles might not even have it

 

Q: Did Nintendo go the right direction with Wii given third party stances *blasting UbiSoft*

A: Yeah, though they miss the fact that Wii doesn't get prettier looking titles, they wish it had 720p and more RAM. Nintendo needs to find a way to let third parties in on the money, doing better than GameCube. Matt says RE5 will sell 2-3 million on PS3/360, whereas RE4 only did "okay"

 

Q: Will Grasshopper bring anything special to FF4?

A: It's really only Suda51, they think they'll help him make it damn awesome

 

Q: Contra 4 downloadable demo on Everybody Nintendo Channel?

A: They don't think it'll happen, it's only sold "like 12 copies"

 

Q: How tall is Craig Harris?

A: 6'2"

 

Q: Sonic Unleashed gameplay footage?

A: You'll see more on the next-gen versions, Matt is trying to get Wii video, Nintendo Power will have stuff on it, and then IGN will be able to put up videos

 

Q: Metal Gear Solid 2/3 on Wii?

A: Sure? They think it'll be cool if they try to pull another Twin Snakes

 

Q: Would you put your brain in a robot body?

A: Unanimous: yes

 

Matt says they'll have a lot of coverage on Moon (DS) soon, PR people say it plays like "a DS version of System Shock 2"

 

That's it.

[tapedeck]

Every time this goes up they seem to get more and more "secretive".

 

I guess there is NO 'juicy' news to report so they cram it full of "what if's" and "initial impressions are..." Perhaps they should just do this once a month as a weekly feature seems to lack real quality. (Just my thoughts obviously.)

[Gaijin von Snikbah]

Weeks before E3 are slow. This year more than ever.

[The Bard]

Every time this goes up they seem to get more and more "secretive".

 

I guess there is NO 'juicy' news to report so they cram it full of "what if's" and "initial impressions are..." Perhaps they should just do this once a month as a weekly feature seems to lack real quality. (Just my thoughts obviously.)

 

But...but what would I do without Matt's soothing voice to calm my psychotic tendencies once a week? What WOULD I DO???

[tapedeck]

 

But...but what would I do without Matt's soothing voice to calm my psychotic tendencies once a week? What WOULD I DO???

 

Touche...He has a smooth voice I'll give you that. Not like Bozon's. Bozo(n) is like the fat kid at school who used to try to act cool around the cooler kids. Yet we know that, for all of his "cool" failings just like all of the unpopular kids he actually has far superior knowledge than the wisecrackers. He doesn't need to get in on the jokes and stretch them out to painful levels. For shame Bozo(n) we love you. Even though you have more rolls than McDonalds.

 

And Craig Harris is a stoner. Obviously. Man, his voice could easily kill a pensioner. Enthusiasm is dead and the air turns blue when Snr Harris starts to talk.

 

Gerat guys though I'm sure :p

[The Bard]

Yeah, I like them all, they seem like cool bunch of guys. I kinda feel sorry for Bozon though, everyone just keeps making fat jokes, and making him do the Wii fit blog seems a tad humiliating.

[tapedeck]

But he does get to do this...So I hate him :p

 

 

On second thoughts...This would make me hate myself...

[Gaijin von Snikbah]

Wii Fit is the game to buy to your girlfriend allright.

[The Bard]

Her gyrating hips are...hypnotising.

[Hellfire]

"Tiger Woods > We Love Golf"

Not possible.

"it's a little different but it'll be the exact same"

Now this makes a lot of sense.

[Retro_Link]

Her gyrating hips are...hypnotising.

Video called "Why you should buy Wii Fit for your girlfriend":

 

[Tellyn]

"Tiger Woods > We Love Golf"

Not possible.

"it's a little different but it'll be the exact same"

Now this makes a lot of sense.

 

: peace:

 

Have they had chance to play the massively improved Western We Love Golf with online multiplayer or is that based on the Japanese version? And I used to have Tiger Woods 07 on the Wii, it was pretty crappy.

[The Bard]

Oh dead god, yes!

[Coolness Bears]

Wow!

 

Over 1 million views on Youtube.

 

I bet I wouldnt get that for gyrating ny hips in just a shirt and pants. :p:indeed:

[Deathjam]

Video called "Why you should buy Wii Fit for your girlfriend":

 

 

She was playing the wii? didnt even notice

[Goron_3]

If i had the money i'd buy wii fit for all the fit girls...ever.

[Emasher]

If i had the money i'd buy wii fit for all the fit girls...ever.

 

Where are you going to find that many copies of Wii fit?