Excitebots: Trick Racing

[Emasher]

The Wii, as a console doesn't support MP3's anymore (Photo channel). The feature was removed because the Wii supports Apple's AAC format instead. I think this has something to do with the removal and also why Excitetruck (the disc) still supports MP3's. How many people have AAC formatted files on a memory stick or SD Card. My guess is it was removed to avoid confusion, yet this is contradicted by the Photo Channel. Nintendo are wierd.

 

But didn't they remove it from the console because of royalties?

[Nicktendo]

But didn't they remove it from the console because of royalties?

 

I don't know to be honest. Pretty stupid though either way.

[Emasher]

I'm sure I heard that was the reason somewhere, I'll see if I can find the article.

Edited May 21, 2009 by Emasher

[Fierce_LiNk]

The "so-called hardcore" Wii owners: We want a racer, that's fun and not generiiiiic. Need for Speed is too geneeeric. We want something unique!

 

What the shit, Excitebots?! That's toooo different!

 

You can't please them.

 

Bluestar: Even though you're a Newcastle fan, your post was other-worldly. If we ever meet, we'll make sweet gentle love.

[Retro_Link]

The "so-called hardcore" Wii owners: We want a racer, that's fun and not generiiiiic. Need for Speed is too geneeeric. We want something unique!

^ Have the 'Wii-hardcore' ever said that?

And that's a very sweeping statement, because surely we all pretty much fall into that category and loads of us would like to play it!

 

Also just to satisfy my curiosity, do you talk like that in real life Fliiiiiiiink?

[tapedeck]

T'was Bluestar. For a Geordie it made sweet, sweet sense.

 

I do love the exciting, somewhat bizarre 'it couldn't happen in the real-world' JOY! that videogames give us. Afterall, I'm an 80's kid. I saw it all over the place - then the late 90's got heavy and made everything so serious. Meh. (I blame rap music embracing drug/gun/knife crime.) :p

BUT! You gotta remember that videogames should afford serious/realistic undertones too. I love the fact I can race a truck across 'serious' landscapes without chucking pies. Last time I tried that in real life I got a jail sentence and some guy 'Excite-*ucked' me against a cell wall. Videogames CAN embrace real-life shenanigans.

 

What I DO fear though is that if this title sold in the gazillions we would never see a 'traditional' racer from Nintendo again. (As a business Nintendo will go where the money is tbf).

I love me some Waverace/1080/Excitetruck/bike as much as the next Ninty fan although they may have predominatly arrived out of the 'serious' 90's undertones. (Excitebike/waverace was arguably completely re-imagined and remade and the monikers didn't even have to reappear from the 80's/Gameboy - t'was good marketing at the time to do so.) Those titles sold a ton and I wasn't surprised that those games were epic-fun and coupled with a good bit of business sense (on the N64!) they went on to make solid franchises.

What I'd hate to see though is Nintendo pretty much copy the *Wii* suffix tag to all of their existing 'sports' range (using the 'excite' moniker).

 

Without 3rd parties cracking out the traditional driving titles on Wii (hopes Codemasters titles rule) I feel that there is a market there which a simple Excitetruck sequel would have made a killing in. Unfortunately this looks (as has been stated) like a 'Kinder Egg' tie-in and I fear it just won't sell as well thus affecting any future 'Excite' titles. If Nintendo want to include bizarre racing features put it in Mario Kart as a new mode. They should be more consistent with their franchises perhaps -The AGE OLD Nintendo argument tbf.

 

Anyhoo, maybe I've missed the boat already as we're pretty much seeing a 'new' waverace title in Wii Sports Resort.

Edited May 22, 2009 by tapedeck

[Retro_Link]

Anyhoo, maybe I've missed the boat already as we're pretty much seeing a 'new' waverace title in Wii Sports Resort.

My worry is that we'll never see many proper Nintendo sports game again [waverace/1080/Mario Golf/Mario Tennis] because they're all being bloody shoe-horned into Nintendo's casual titles and thus Nintendo feel we're already getting our Wii fix of snowboarding, jet-skiing, golf, tennis etc...

[tapedeck]

My worry is that we'll never see many proper Nintendo sports game again [waverace/1080/Mario Golf/Mario Tennis] because they're all being bloody shoe-horned into Nintendo's casual titles and thus Nintendo feel we're already getting our Wii fix of snowboarding, jet-skiing, golf, tennis etc...

 

Yeah, this is a worry too. I'm a massive sports fan (and racer fan) and I hold Nintendo's sports/racers in the highest esteem. Nothing has bettered Waverace/1080/Excitetruck/Mario Kart/Excitebike64 in those 'genres' imo. Mario Tennis on the N64 is also still up there for me as one of the best tennis titles of all time. With the GBA title being astonishing too. I don't mind the cartoon interpretations of sports too. You could argue that Waverace64 is cartoony afterall. It's the insane moments in sports games that I'm not keen on - look at how Mario Power Tennis used powerups too much and diluted the pure tennis experience. So too with Mario Kart which used to be more about driving as well as Excitebike/truck which used to be about boost management. Now they seem to be OTT just for the sake of it.

 

What I don't mind...

 

I really don't mind Nintendo putting multiple titles into a sports 'pack'. As long as there is longevity and a decent amount of depth. That was my main bug-bear with Wii Sports.

Actually, the 'Wii Sports' framework offers just the right balance of graphics/gameplay that compliments Wii very well. I therefore have no problem with the title but as a 'core' *groan* gamer, I want something that has a LOT of challenge. Longevity IS there solely through the play mechanics - which is a HUGE testament to the design of Wii Sports and Nintendo in general.

 

I still play Wii Sports and other 'wii___' Nintendo titles today, purely because of the mechanics. But, the longevity of the gameplay itself like the lack of tournaments/online play in the Wii Suffix titles is a HUGE miss for me. There is NO brick wall in Wii Sports (apart from that tennis game lol) - so when that dangling carrot has gone, your left with ultra-addictive mechanics and nothing else to do. (This is the Nintendo way when I think about it. It's what keeps their franchises alive perhaps...*I'm having a revelation at the moment!*)

 

The crazy thing is that Nintendo could combat this by embracing one simple thing...Online tournaments. Look at how many Wii gamers still play Mario Kart online. (And surely the tournaments have kept things fresh.) I think that shows the hunger for longevity/difficulty and online competitiveness in recent Nintendo titles.

 

I guess if Wii Sports Resort has more depth maybe I'll not miss those old franchises. I'm not fussed about graphics. It's all about having a pure sports/racing experience. *Puts Family Ski back in the Wii*

Edited May 22, 2009 by tapedeck

[Retro_Link]

Yeah definately.

 

For example I love Wii Sports Golf, LOVE it!... But there are just 9 holes!

 

Nintendo have such a nack for creating such easily accessible, fun titles, and like you say get the balance right between graphics and gameplay.

 

But what Nintendo really need to be doing, and what I think the old Nintendo would have done by now, is develope these hugely game into full titles, either as Mario Tennis or Wii Golf... but no, what we are now getting is a second short helping of Nintendo Golf in Wii Sports Resort.

 

All the elements are there for fantastic games, but with these more casual focused sports bundle titles we're just getting a taste of the game before it's all over.

 

Either that or they seriously need to pull their finger out and actually deliver on downloadable content... oh but wait it's Nintendo, I forgot they don't actually use their own peripherals and services!

[Fierce_LiNk]

^ Have the 'Wii-hardcore' ever said that?

And that's a very sweeping statement, because surely we all pretty much fall into that category and loads of us would like to play it!

 

Also just to satisfy my curiosity, do you talk like that in real life Fliiiiiiiink?

 

Well, I did say the so-called hardcore. I think there's a huge difference between someone who buys the big Nintendo releases, and someone who buys the little gems (as well as some of the bigger games).

 

To be honest, it's that first lot that annoy me. The "every game needs to be 9/10 or above in order for me to buy it" lot.

 

The attitudes shown towards this game are worrying, in some respects. The one thing that shouts out to me is that this will be fun. I'm not particularly driven by whether or not the game features bikes, trucks or bots. The idea does matter, but how it's implemented is the key factor, and this is implemented very, very well by the looks of things. Are we going to ridicule Mario because he's a fat plumber who falls for the same girl, yet ultimately has to repeat the process over and over? No, because that's implemented well. The journey is fun.

 

Haha, and yes, I do that sometimes, but not for every word. I'm just a bit...daft really.

[darkjak]

The "so-called hardcore" Wii owners: We want a racer, that's fun and not generiiiiic. Need for Speed is too geneeeric. We want something unique!

 

What the shit, Excitebots?! That's toooo different!

 

You can't please them.

 

Not this friggin' conversation again. Haven't we agreed not to throw shit on either side?

 

Excitebots is a game noone actually asked for. It's a game created to take care of the drought and to not make their fans abandon Nintendo until E3 or some other occasion. Not saying it's a bad game, it does look to be so fun it's ridiculous (or does it look so ridiculous that it's fun? I get confused...), but it does have questionable mass appeal, and Nintendo could have invested the time into making something their fans actually do want.

[Emasher]

Not this friggin' conversation again. Haven't we agreed not to throw shit on either side?

 

Excitebots is a game noone actually asked for. It's a game created to take care of the drought and to not make their fans abandon Nintendo until E3 or some other occasion. Not saying it's a bad game, it does look to be so fun it's ridiculous (or does it look so ridiculous that it's fun? I get confused...), but it does have questionable mass appeal, and Nintendo could have invested the time into making something their fans actually do want.

 

We asked for a sequel to excite truck with online. We got this. We sort of asked for it.

[Cube]

Excitebots is a game noone actually asked for.

 

I definitely recall asking for a sequel to Excite Truck that was more crazy, bigger, better and online.

[D_prOdigy]

Not this friggin' conversation again. Haven't we agreed not to throw shit on either side?

 

Excitebots is a game noone actually asked for. It's a game created to take care of the drought and to not make their fans abandon Nintendo until E3 or some other occasion. Not saying it's a bad game, it does look to be so fun it's ridiculous (or does it look so ridiculous that it's fun? I get confused...), but it does have questionable mass appeal, and Nintendo could have invested the time into making something their fans actually do want.

 

Damnit. I'm such a rubbish fan.... I did actually want this

[Fierce_LiNk]

Not this friggin' conversation again. Haven't we agreed not to throw shit on either side?

 

Sorry, but if you look at the ones causing a fuss in the first place, it's the elite. If a game doesn't appeal to you, just don't buy it, that's pretty obvious. But, when the game was first shown, the boxart and bits of info, so many, many gamers instantly dismissed this as a mini-game fest, or a horribly butchered attempt at a new game into the series. People didn't give this a chance to start with, and if we base games on the way that they look then how are games like Little King's Story, de Blob or even something like The Wind Waker expected to sell well if they feature a different or unusual character or graphical style?

 

Excitebots is a game noone actually asked for. It's a game created to take care of the drought and to not make their fans abandon Nintendo until E3 or some other occasion. Not saying it's a bad game, it does look to be so fun it's ridiculous (or does it look so ridiculous that it's fun? I get confused...), but it does have questionable mass appeal, and Nintendo could have invested the time into making something their fans actually do want.

 

Again, like others have stated before me, this IS a game that we want to play. It's taking the core elements from ExciteTruck, the game before it, and expanded on them. We wanted online, we got that. We wanted more things to do, we have that.

 

The majority of fuss is over the character-direction, but is it honestly even that bad as it's made out to be? Look at the game in motion, and honestly it looks like ExciteTruck on steroids. It'll play that way, too. What does it matter if you play using bikes, trucks, bots or animals?

 

The worrying thing is that so many people are resenting this change, and it seems like a fair few just wanted ExciteTruck kept the same with online. Well, fair play, if that's what you want...but it honestly would literally be the same game you've already played with an online mode. With this new direction, there are so many more things that can be done, hence the more defined focus on tricks.

[EchoDesiato]

The only thing I hate about Excitebots is the lack of MP3 support. Seriously, fuck that.

Edited May 23, 2009 by EchoDesiato

[panmusic]

So,is it certain that this game will not see a PAL release?

If that is true,how can we change the situation?

[Mike]

So,is it certain that this game will not see a PAL release?

If that is true,how can we change the situation?

 

It's not certain; NOE have just said they have 'no plans' to release it at the moment. It doesn't mean it won't be on the Q3 or Q4 release list, though.

[panmusic]

It's not certain; NOE have just said they have 'no plans' to release it at the moment. It doesn't mean it won't be on the Q3 or Q4 release list, though.

 

That better be true,otherwise the NoE hate will be enormous!

[Zechs Merquise]

Not this friggin' conversation again. Haven't we agreed not to throw shit on either side?

 

Excitebots is a game noone actually asked for. It's a game created to take care of the drought and to not make their fans abandon Nintendo until E3 or some other occasion. Not saying it's a bad game, it does look to be so fun it's ridiculous (or does it look so ridiculous that it's fun? I get confused...), but it does have questionable mass appeal, and Nintendo could have invested the time into making something their fans actually do want.

 

Exactly, and it's selling like shite because of it. As I said before about this game, it could be called 'Kinder Egg Surprise Toy EXTREME Racing BugZ', I knew this wouldn't sell because of the silly design choice.

 

This should be a wake up call to Nintendo. Now I'd say a follow up to Wave Race or F-Zero with solid graphics, online support and a tiny bit of marketing and promotion would have out done this and made fans a lot happier.

[BlueStar]

Lots of hate in this thread from people who haven't even played the game and are rather childishly basing their opinions not on actual gameplay but on the fact they wanted to play in big brum-brum trucks.

[Nicktendo]

Doesn't look like this is going to make it to the EU after all. In the General Wii Discussion thread, the Summer release list courtesy of Nintendo is up and there is no mention of this game anywhere.

 

I don't know whether I'm going to bother picking this up on import now, I've heard a lot of mixed reviews and I doubt I'll get it cheap enough to warrent a full purchase. Shame on Nintendo. I'm sure even i the sold 4,000 copies it would pay for the localisation.

[Zechs Merquise]

Lots of hate in this thread from people who haven't even played the game and are rather childishly basing their opinions not on actual gameplay but on the fact they wanted to play in big brum-brum trucks.

 

Well, no actually. I think the hate comes from the fact that games like Waverace, 1080 and F-Zero haven't been given the Wii treatment, instead we have a great franchise like Excitebike reduced to the level of a cheap Saturday morning cartoon. If Nintendo were going to give us a new racing game, I for one would have gone for F-Zero.

[Fierce_LiNk]

Well, no actually. I think the hate comes from the fact that games like Waverace, 1080 and F-Zero haven't been given the Wii treatment, instead we have a great franchise like Excitebike reduced to the level of a cheap Saturday morning cartoon. If Nintendo were going to give us a new racing game, I for one would have gone for F-Zero.

 

But you don't dictate what gets developed or released, Nintendo do. There's plenty of time for those games to come out. It's not like the Wii is going to end tomorrow. A great mistake with the Gamecube is that it just didn't have legs. The first few years were fantastic, but the new games just seemed a bit further apart in terms of each release. Nintendo could have done with release 1080 a bit further on down the line, worked on it a bit more, or something. It's an idea.

 

ExciteBots looks fun, just as ExciteTruck looked fun before it's release. You're not going to like it, so why do you insist on coming in here and just saying how much you dislike this game, do not want it or how badly you want it to sell. There are more people in here who would like to see this released.

[Zechs Merquise]

ExciteBots looks fun, just as ExciteTruck looked fun before it's release. You're not going to like it, so why do you insist on coming in here and just saying how much you dislike this game, do not want it or how badly you want it to sell. There are more people in here who would like to see this released.

 

Er... because it's a discussion about the game... because as I've been playing games for over 20 years and have owned every Nintendo console I want to discuss the direction Nintendo are taking with their new franchises.