Wii-DS link-play confirmed for Spore, plus new Wii info in latest NGamer
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Sep 7th 2006 at 5:25PM }
GoNintendo.com spreads word that NGamer, a new UK publication, has confirmed Spore for Wii -- of course, Will Wright essentially did the same back in May. According to an article in the new issue, Spore for Wii is scheduled for release in Spring 2007 and will feature some level of data sharing functionality with the DS version, "so you can deform your species on the fly."NGamer also reports that the Wii sensor bar is now "50% smaller ... a little bigger than a couple of pencils glued together" and tosses in a few tidbits about the Wiimote, including its 30–60 hour battery life (with AAs) and ability to store a small amount of data, roughly 6KB, internally. One sour detail reveals that Virtual Console's DRM will prevent gamers from playing their downloaded titles on a friend's Wii.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Dux @ Sep 7th 2006 5:32PM
This is going to be sweet.....
Drew @ Sep 7th 2006 5:35PM
Did we really expect to be able to transfer Virtual Console games to a friend's Wii?
Jay @ Sep 7th 2006 5:36PM
Well, this is big. and yet you didn't make us wait until 6am (UK time) to find out. which only makes this secret news oh-so much bigger.
I wish you guys luck with that.
As for Spore on the Wii? top. though I can't say i'm looking forward to this game yet it will certainly make a lot of other people very happy.
Chris Lawrance @ Sep 7th 2006 5:40PM
Now I'm a self proclaimed Nintendo fanboy dont get me wrong but I am a little more then bummed out about the decision to restrict virtual console games to a particular wii console. One of my most fond memories is taking my games over to my friends houses and playing them on the games that I owned and visa versa. I believe that nintendo is going to rely on this sort of nostalgia in order to drive their virtual console service (they should, this is a smart business move). I guess what it really comes down to is how nintendo decides to run the business end of the virtual console. If its subscription matter, I guess I can understand. Then its just a matter an individual who has a subscription downloading the game. At the same time though, the wii is going to be small enough, that its really just more of an inconvience since its easy enough to put in a bag with plenty of room left.
broseph @ Sep 7th 2006 5:40PM
30 - 60 hours? That's quite the range.
GregZ @ Sep 7th 2006 5:41PM
Well, this will turn out to be quite a day for Wii if we get even more info around 12:01. Seems to me like they could go ahead and integrate the system bar into the system if it continues to get this small.. though I suppose that could cause problems for some.
The 6k of internal controller memory is also interesting.. that might be sufficient for saving controller settings on your Wiimote and taking it to a friend's house. Wishful thinking perhaps..
Truthfully, I'm far more interested in hearing what NGamer has to reveal about Mario Galaxy though...
Paul Gale @ Sep 7th 2006 5:41PM
I knew some of these things already, but what's new to me that's great to learn is that Spore will make its way to both Wii and Nintendo DS early next year. Sure, we've heard pieces here and there, but to get a confirmation out of NGamer (man I hope they're right) is reassuring and with system link up play...well, it just keeps getting better.
Paul Gale
1up.com
nootau @ Sep 7th 2006 5:42PM
I wonder, has anyone tried to take your XBL account over to a friends house and use try to download your XBLA games there? I never thought of it, but i remember being able to take my XBL account over a friends house to play online under my own account instead of "Guest".
Anyhow, I would be shocked if it actually worked lol
Subnet6 @ Sep 7th 2006 5:45PM
"One sour detail reveals that Virtual Console's DRM will prevent gamers from playing their downloaded titles on a friend's Wii."
While I find this unfortunate, its also not at all surprising. My guess is that if this DRM is in place, its probably because they will allow you to download the VC games to SD card or external harddrive (introducing the possibility of PC archival of VC games). In which case, this makes perfect sense. How else would they make an effort to keep people from copying games and giving them away. It would be cool if they could create some sort of system where the game is tied to your "gamertag" (for lack of a better term) such that your VC downloads would be playable on any machine which simultaneously had a local copy of the VC game (via SD card) AND had the gamertag of the original downloader logged into Wiiconnect24 on that machine. This would basically mean you could travel with your VC games but your VC games couldn't travel WITHOUT you. In order to let your friends play your VC games you would have to both make a copy of the VC game AND allow them to log on as YOU. Assuming nintendo won't allow the same "gamertag" to log on to WiiConnect twice, this would seem like a pretty good solution.
Kevin @ Sep 7th 2006 5:42PM
Wow haha the Wii is looking cooler and cooler.
I'm in the process of selling my gamecube and all of the crappy games on eBay right now. You should all do the same! I'm keeping my memory card, two wavebirds, and my best games though :-).
-Kevin
Rod @ Sep 7th 2006 5:48PM
Why does everyone always focus on teh negative??? Spore on Wii people with DS support!
Vikram Dhaliwal @ Sep 7th 2006 5:45PM
Um - take your Wii to your friends home - it doesn't appear to be much to lug around. I bet it's the size of three NES games stacked on end.
Subnet6 @ Sep 7th 2006 5:46PM
"Well, this is big. and yet you didn't make us wait until 6am (UK time) to find out."
So is THIS the big news that was supposed to hit at midnight?
Evan @ Sep 7th 2006 5:48PM
"30 - 60 hours? That's quite the range."
It has a lot of functions that could be off or on, depending on what game you're playing:
- Speaker
- Image sensor (for sensing bar)
- Accelerometers
T-Bag @ Sep 7th 2006 5:49PM
If this is the only console Will Right brings Spore to I hope he gets hit by a truck.
Oh, and EA should die too, but that's a given.
cringer8 @ Sep 7th 2006 5:53PM
Woo Hoo @ Spore on Wii!! I was going to buy the PC version, but screw that noise!
Two pencils glued togther? End-to-end or side-by-side? I thought it was the length of a pen. What's this "pencil" business?
Rod @ Sep 13th 2006 4:54AM
See??? *Rod points above*
Chris Taran @ Sep 7th 2006 5:58PM
As someone said above, the actual Wii console itself is really very small, so simply unhooking the cables and taking it to a friends house and hooking it up to his/her cables should be a very easy and unburdonesome thing.
L @ Sep 7th 2006 5:59PM
God I HATE buying batteries. 30 hrs doesn't sound like enough. That's probably not even enough for one run through of a Zelda game. Hopefully they'll also release a rechargeable battery pack.
PTT @ Sep 7th 2006 6:01PM
How is not being able to share VCS games a sour note? If a friend really wanted to play a multiplayer VCS compatible game with me, would it not be out of the question that they would have said game already bought on THEIR Wii, or would have come over to MY house instead, where I have the game on my Wii?
Paul Gale @ Sep 7th 2006 6:03PM
Oh, and other sweet thing is being able to play my DS games on my TV through Wii. That's the best news yet.
Paul Gale
1up.com
Vikram Dhaliwal @ Sep 7th 2006 6:01PM
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=10779
Following the revelations concerning the worldwide launch delays for PlayStation 3 yesterday, an official statement from Nintendo of America has indicated that its plans to ship six million units of the Wii console worldwide before the end of the fiscal year March 31st, 2007 are unchanged.
However, the company has still not yet confirmed pricing or specific launch dates for its next-gen console. Nonetheless, additional details have emerged of the Wii launch, with a number of peripherals appearing on the website of North American retailer GameStop.
Although the price and release date of the Wii console and controller is not likely to be revealed until worldwide press events on September 14th and 15th, the GameStop website lists a number of peripherals for release on November 1st. Included on the site, as spotted by consumer website GameSpot, is a Wii “Controller Glove” for $9.99, a “HD Premium Component Cable” for $59.99 and a “S-Video Premium AV Cable” for $39.99.
As well as various storage cases and bags, two different SD memory sticks are listed, with the 512MB version priced at $39.99 and the 1GB version at $59.99. The items are all listed as third party products from manufacturers such as MadCatz, BD & A and SanDisk, with no indication of the pricing or nature of any of Nintendo’s own first party products.
POSTED: 05.37AM PST, 09/07/06 - David Jenkins - LINK
Ninegauger @ Sep 7th 2006 6:00PM
Not unprecedented. I brought my Hard Drive for my 360 to another 360 and it wouldn't let me play Geometry Wars, which I had bought. Apparently though if you logged in to Xbox Live I could validate it or something but I wasn't able to test that out.
nalgae @ Sep 7th 2006 6:46PM
You guys do realize that the console versions of Spore will be nerfed, unglorious versions, right?
Take a look at all the previous Sims2 and Sims games. Not only do you get subpar versions on the consoles, you also lose all access to custom content that you yourself can create.
Not trying to rain on your parade here, but if you have a PC, and I'd guess you do from your posts, I'd advise going with the PC version, regardless of what gimmicks they program into the console versions (weee, I can customize creatures on my DS!).
Jay @ Sep 7th 2006 6:02PM
"So is THIS the big news that was supposed to hit at midnight?"
Nope. I meant confirmation of Spore on Wii and DS. Comments about the size of the Wii hardware. These are quite big things. Which, if logic follows, the big announcement will be bigger than this.
Logic, boy.
vidGuy @ Sep 7th 2006 6:06PM
Hahaha, everyone is missing the most interesting part.
If this source is right, the 6KB inside of the remote will be used to customize its sensitivity and link it to a user profile, like many (include myself) expected when the 6KB was originally revealed. This is a neat feature because it will allow different users to auto sign-in based on which remote turns the console on.
Spore will be perfect for the Wii remote; Wright himself said it would be easier to control because of its likeness to a mouse.
DRM on the Virtual Console games is to be expected. They're giving it to us on standard SD cards and USB media, there has to be something to allow them to profit off the system.
Donny @ Sep 7th 2006 9:54PM
in regards to the DRM stuff, i agree its a bit dissapointing, but then again, who thought that it wouldn't be like this? They can't have us copying and sharing copies of the games we buy with our friends... that would cause a slump in the industry, just like it has for music.
cringer8 @ Sep 7th 2006 6:12PM
@ vidGuy
Everyone already knew about custom controller settings being saved on the remotes. Nothing new there to be excited about.
vidGuy @ Sep 7th 2006 6:15PM
@L,
Could you please explain why AA batteries aren't sufficient? I'm not being a jerk here, I've heard that sentiment a lot and I just don't understand it.
I went to Walmart and bought enough rechargable AAs for 4 Wii remotes and an extra set (10 batteries total), plus a charging base, for $25. I'm set for at least the next three years, most likely through the life of the Wii. I doubt you'd be able to get 4 LiOn batteries and the charging cables/bases for anywhere close to $25.
Plus, it's always easy to find a pair of AAs laying around.
Zack @ Sep 7th 2006 6:19PM
I doubt that not being able to take your VC games to a friends house on a sd card is going to be much of a problem when the Wii itself is the small size it is. You could just take the whole thing with you.
And I understand why they'd use drm if the Wii uses typical SD cards. Easy online trading.
vidGuy @ Sep 7th 2006 6:18PM
@cringer8,
But was it ever semi-confirmed? All I saw was that the remote was confirmed to have 6KB available; then there was days of speculation about what it would be used for. Many expected it to be used for calibration and user settings, but a lot said it was too small.
Mr. Khan @ Sep 7th 2006 6:20PM
The BIG question about the DRM and external storage options to me is, with my 1 GB flashdrive (made by Sony rofl), can i take my copy of EarthBound for VC, load it into some sort of Hex Editor or Script Editor, break down the DRM, and then start mass reproducing it...
Or, even more tantalizing, taking ROMs off my PC and doing the same thing but in reverse...
cringer8 @ Sep 7th 2006 6:22PM
@ vidGuy
Yep. In an interview. It was confirmed that each person would set up their own remote's settings based on where they like to sit and that depending on who turned on the Wii, it would also display their Wii setting's also (wallpaper, favorite games, friend's list, etc.).
cringer8 @ Sep 7th 2006 6:24PM
^edit
remove one of those "also"'s from the last sentence...your choice :)
vidGuy @ Sep 7th 2006 6:28PM
K, cool, thanks. I'd heard it rumored but never confirmed. It's good to know, it's a cool feature.
Now there needs to be a good selection of remote colors, or maybe remote covers so that I can distinguish mine from the other ones.
Bravado @ Sep 7th 2006 7:03PM
To number 4, just bring the Wii to your friends house. Can't say it's much bigger/heavier than a SNES/NES cartridge anyways.
Bitch and moan. Wow.
Playstation Nation @ Sep 7th 2006 6:36PM
You Nofriendo fanboys suck. I wonder what else nintendo's gonna rip off of sony. The day a wave that silly wand around to play my games is the day I fist myself in the face. I cant wait 'til playstation 3 comes out in november. My hometown in the UK gonna flip for it, and not for the nintendo.
Muttley @ Sep 7th 2006 6:47PM
#34
If you don't like it don't buy it. No need to act like a baby boy.
I'm glad your home town is going to flip for the PS3. Take the chance and teach them to roll, play dead, etc.
Jake @ Sep 7th 2006 6:50PM
This is cool news, and we have even bigger stuff coming at midnight, right?
I don't usually feed child trolls, but I am actually curious. What are you refering to that Nintendo ripped from Playstation, Playstation Nation?
Oh, and hate to burst your bubble PN, but there will not be any Playstations in UK for launch for your buds to flip for. Sony apparently is actually fisting you guys in the face on that one. You'll have to fly to the US to pick one up. ;)
Karn @ Sep 7th 2006 6:56PM
Nintendo rip off Sony? Thanks PS Nation, I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. What in your oh-so-humble opinion has Nintendo ripped off of Sony?
nothing dude @ Sep 7th 2006 6:55PM
hey Playstation Nation Creaustation, I hope you start lining up over there once november hits.
Psaakyrn @ Sep 7th 2006 6:58PM
to #22 Vikram Dhaliwal
Wait.... HD premium cables? Isn't that used only for HD graphics? I think you've found the answer here..
LazrBlastrz @ Sep 7th 2006 7:03PM
Do we know which games will be available for download on launch?
Will the virtual console titles be Nintendo exclusives (Super Mario, Zelda, Metroid) or will there also be 3rd party games (Final Fantasy, Mega Man, etc)?
MyraLuva @ Sep 7th 2006 7:08PM
#9, #11, #20 -- XBLA works exactly this way, if you recover your gamertag on another console (or just bring it along on a memory card) you can redownload arcade games and they will work in "full, not the trial" mode as long as you're signed in.
this functionality comes as part of all the security and signing stuff that goes on, it's also used when you delete content and then redownload it.
i'm surprised that nintendo does NOT support this -- it makes you wonder about their implementation, some questions then are 1) will pirating be commonplace? 2) if you delete your game or replace your wii console, do you have to buy the content again?
Playstation Nation @ Sep 7th 2006 7:08PM
Playstation 3 is not coming to the UK? well I always thought that the new nintendo looked kinda cool
Bravado @ Sep 7th 2006 7:13PM
Poor Playstation Nation, it seems like Sony forgot about your nation when it was planning the release of it's Playstation, just to keep the rhyme going.
Must not be too important to make any PS3's for it. They were too busy keeping Nintendo from ripping them off all the time.
vidGuy @ Sep 7th 2006 7:17PM
@LazrBlastrz,
The Virtual Console is supposed to launch with about 30 games available. Most 1st and 2nd party games will be on there eventually, and any 3rd party games Nintendo secures the rights to will also be there.
Unfortunately, this means games like Goldeneye and Banjo Kazooie may never make it to the VC due to Rare's being owned by MS now. Everything 3rd party is subject to who owns the rights today.
Falkenad @ Sep 7th 2006 7:23PM
Sweet, a connected Spore enviro. Still, all of this makes one think the wii's controller will come in at an exorbitant price..
Drew @ Sep 7th 2006 7:30PM
gonintendo has an update on this. It looks like Spore ISN'T confirmed for Wii/DS or any other system besides the PC. This comes from EA who would be publishing the game for consoles when released.
Henk Boom @ Sep 7th 2006 7:40PM
30: The VC games will likely be encrypted and/or digitally signed in such a way that breaking the DRM would be extremely difficult. It wouldn't be like twiddling a couple of bits in the header.