Wii want 4-player, Nintendo can't deliver

by James Ransom-Wiley { Sep 19th 2006 at 2:55PM }

According to the official Wii site, Excite Truck has been capped at two players. In fact, out of nine first party titles featured on the site, only two (Wii Sports & Mario Strikers Charged) are confirmed to support 4 players -- WarioWare will have "some" multiplayer (2-5 players) support. In addition, out of the nine, only Mario Strikers and Battalion Wars II will offer online multiplayer.

This is a step back, even if many (solitary) gamers claim not to be affected. If Wii is being marketed as a family/group activity, then -- at least with this initial clump of first party games -- Nintendo has not delivered on that vision. Four-player should be the standard? Isn't it already?

And what's up with the lack of Wi-Fi Connection support? Two first party titles -- and no third party love 'til next year? That just takes the 'we' outta Wii.

[Via 1UP]

Tags: Excite Truck, ExciteTruck

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

niindre @ Sep 19th 2006 3:02PM

i guess we know why it's Wii, and not Wiiii.

greatn @ Sep 19th 2006 3:02PM

Cry me a river.

ddoogggiiiirrr @ Sep 19th 2006 3:06PM

waaaaaaaah.

and you don't expect us to believe you actually have 3 friends, do you?

Artimus @ Sep 19th 2006 3:06PM

I agree about ExciteTruck (makes NO sense, and is totally unacceptable) but what other games are supposed to be multiplayer, exactly? Zelda? Metroid (didn't we learn this lesson last time)? It also seems convenient to leave out several details. Battalion Wars is TBA, for example. And WarioWare has been some 1 and some multiplayer since its GameCube debut. We know this. Seems to me this article ammounts to one complaint: ExciteTruck isn't 4-player. Annoying? Yes. Stupuid? Yes. A newsworthy post? No.

Why am I not surprises this is a James Biased-Riley post? I thought you learned your lesson about this kind of nonsense at E3? Joystiq's embarrassment continues...

FSK405K @ Sep 19th 2006 3:06PM

So I'm going to spend mad money on Wii the first week (console, 4-5 games, extra controllers, extention cord for sensor bar for video projector) and the best multiplayer experience is going to be Wii Sports? Lame.

aZn_1080p @ Sep 19th 2006 3:06PM

I thought it was for multiplayer in big groups? I guess the old gamecube processor couldn't handle that many calculations at the same time as rendering the games... Too bad..

I wonder if Nintendo fanbois are still happy that Nintendo is making such a big profit of the system, rather than spending a bit of $$$ to get decent hardware in there. I'm sure they can take comfort in the fact that Iwata is doing well.

Matt @ Sep 19th 2006 3:08PM

Hahaha, niindre. Yeah this is pretty disappointing.

Kirk @ Sep 19th 2006 3:13PM

Yeah, this sucks. Why isn't Nintendo releasing ALL the 4 player games that are to ever come out for Wii at launch?
/sarcasm

Seriously people, you ever stopped to think that we're getting an assload of games at launch? Something tells me that in the life span of the console, we'll see PLENTY of 4 player games.

I still can't see why there are so many complaints about this system.

gameclu @ Sep 19th 2006 3:14PM

No biggy. If we judged every console based on launch titles, we'd pretty much hate every system every made. For instance, look at the 360. The line up of games have pretty much sucked since launch day. I should know, since I have one. However, things are getting a lot better as we approach it's one year anniversary. It takes time to get the ball rolling on a number of issues for every console, Wii included. To all the doom and gloomers out there, have patience young padawans.

Embassy @ Sep 19th 2006 3:16PM

thats a good point tho...for all this riff raff about family gaming nintendo sure hasnt shown much * as of now*...but i guess we'll see...when stuff like smash bros, mariokart and mario party comes out...but for a launch this is pretty weak in terms of multiplayer functions, especially for such a family focused marketing campaign nintendos been bombarding gamers with at trade shows and online.

RiemannLebesgue @ Sep 19th 2006 3:17PM

Oh, spare me. I agree with greatn. Cry me a river. Artimus is dead on too.

IslandLife @ Sep 19th 2006 3:17PM

Tsk, tsk. Now that's just WiiK

Sorry, had to do it.

HCF @ Sep 19th 2006 3:18PM

"When in danger, or in doubt, run in circles! Scream and shout!"

When you have a controller like the 'Wiimote', terrible as that name be, the act of playing a game is more akin to a kind of performance.

Consider: "Party games" may be of more utility than merely bringing 4 gamers together to sit on a couch. Smaller number of players then, convince larger numbers of folks to watch and comment. This is still participation.

There exists at least one 'party (board) game' for example in which the players divide into teams. The teams take turns, one member acting out a charade or drawing a doodle, the rest trying ot guess what they're trying to say.

Do the players of such games decry that only one team may play at a time?

There is only so much room in front of my TV for Wiimote swingers. I wish there were more room - if I could put 4 people on the floor in front of the TV, I could fit more peeps on the couch to savor the chips and dip and watch the savage pantomime.

Wedge @ Sep 19th 2006 3:20PM

Not really surprised. This isn't like Mario Kart where even the races are crazy brawls just as much as driving contests. From the looks of it, four player split screens would be too cramped on many TVs for this anyways, it seems like you need a wide field of vision to see where you're going. I just kinda wish it was another Excite Bike sequel instead of trucks. Getting to rev the remote like a bike in addition to steering would be awesome.

And all the other comments about Warioware and the online are just plain retarded, no need to explain why.

The Joshler @ Sep 19th 2006 3:22PM

What's funny is if the same thing happened to the Xbox or PS3 everyone would go nuts on them. This is lame.

.ed @ Sep 19th 2006 3:27PM

can someone please explain to 1up and joystiq that nmany "AAA" racing games are single player with minimal, if any online or offline multiplayer. If it ever is present it is usually tacked on, and to me a waste. I don't see how excite truck is providing any less than anything else on the market. and 4 player is not the 'standard' on any system... it seems to me that ps2 had more single player games than any home system in memory...

and i wish aZn_1080p knew facts... he posts so much but is always wrong, or passes his opinion off as fact... don't sony fanboys get embarrassed ...ever?

Vincent @ Sep 19th 2006 3:28PM

That's just at launch. How many non-gamers do you think will be going crazy to get this on launch day? Seriously, you're all stupid. Nintendo wants non-gamers to see it in action. They KNOW they will have to see it in action before they'll buy it. So it's got Wii Sports right now. That will get the ball rolling for the non-gaming community. As well as the Wii Channels, and Hajimete no Wii.

Q1 2007 will yield us some great multiplayer titles (notice this is still considered within the launch window!) You'll have Strikers, Smash Bros. (most likely), Made In WarioWare, and who knows what isn't announced yet? Just sit back down, drink your coffee, read your blogs, and wait patiently like the rest of us.

I'm a diehard Nintendo Fanboy, as anyone who has read my comments over the past... long time. I'm the one that was dressed as Mario at the DSLite launch d= I have faith in Wii, and in Nintendo's decisions. I may have done it differently, but I'm not about to argue with the guys that have been bringing me amazingly fun AAA titles my whole life, you know? Show some respect to the masters, you dont see Sony or Microsoft making first party titles that come anywhere close to the fun to be had with Nintendo's.

Let the flames burn brightly if you want to start something. I stand by it.

And yeah, that two player crap on Excite Truck is BS!! -_-

~Vincent

phillosmaster @ Sep 19th 2006 3:30PM

Not every game on the Wii should be made to support 4 players. A game should support as many players as it's concept will gracefully allow.

Some games work fine with 4 players. Certainly Smash Brother was great fun, but why force all games to follow that mold on the system. You'll only confuse the focus of the game and produce a subpar product. For example, Guilty Gears is a great game, but when they tried to add those 4 person brawls in it just confused the system IMO. If a game lends itself to 4 person play than they will support 4 person play. Believe me they want to make money. Honestly I'm not that excited about Excite Truck anyway. There are much better titles coming for the Wii.

and aZn_1080p, could you please refrain from posting unless you have something contructive to say. We all know you hate Nintendo. You've made that perfectly clear. There is no reason to make 5 posts a day reaffirming your stance. It's getting boring. At least try and make your "put downs" humorous or cleaver.

Delive @ Sep 19th 2006 3:31PM

I wonder, so many people complain about the post on Joystiq and their "Bloggers". Why the #### are you still trolling the post then? If your so fed up, Why do you keep coming back? Seriously, If the doctor kept poking the needle in the wrong spot, one would think of getting a new doctor, unless you like needles.

Zo� K. @ Sep 19th 2006 3:31PM

Only TWO online titles this year? Jesus!

I mean, the DS had, like, NONE at launch. They're ROBBING us!!

/sarcasm

I don't see what the big deal is. It's a fucking console launch.

Guy @ Sep 19th 2006 3:32PM

@13
Your response is completely lame. Pretending that only supporting 2 players instead of 4 is a FEATURE is ridiculous. Had the game supported 4 players you could still only play with two and had more people watching. You would lose nothing. What is lost is the fact that I, and probably others, would like to play these games in 4 player mode.

dsub @ Sep 19th 2006 3:32PM

this is what happens when hardware manufacturers don't set forth certain standards for games ahead of time. For instance, it is a REQUIREMENT that any game released on 360 have some sort of XBOX Live functionality, even if it's just a leaderboard or DLC.

Now we start hearing news about third party Wii and PS3 titles that won't be online at all...

That, to me, is the big difference between MS and Sony/Nintendo if you ask me. MS is dedicated to making sure XBOX Live! is taken advantage of, which Sony and Nintendo seem to have this sort of "hey, we've got an online system, if you feel like using it in your game, if not, that's cool with us" This is what makes XBOX Live! worth $50 a year. I know that when I'm buying a game, it will involve XBOX Live!.

Ndric @ Sep 19th 2006 3:34PM

Jesus-tapdancing-Christ, the console isn't even out yet and you're predicting that there will be no 4-player games for it?

Trying to spark another 100+ comment flame war? Can't blame you I guess. There's barely anything to blog about.

WizarDru @ Sep 19th 2006 3:34PM

Drat...if only there were some multiplayer games coming out for the Wii...like, Rayman Raving Rabbids, Marvel:Ultimate Alliance, Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam, Madden 07. Not counting all of the two-player games, either.

Casual gamers aren't going to run out and buy six games at launch. They'll get two or three, at most, and that's likely to be one they know or a single game. With things like Big Brain Academy and similar games coming, there will be plenty of time for 4-player games...assuming that the market is really that big for it.

Embassy @ Sep 19th 2006 3:35PM

"can someone please explain to 1up and joystiq that nmany "AAA" racing games are single player with minimal, if any online or offline multiplayer."

sir..u are insane...

look at ANY popular racer ( NFS, PGR , FORZA,BurnOut, Test drive) they all have extensive online components.some of which surpass the depth of the single player game.

Eric @ Sep 19th 2006 3:36PM

Come on guys lets really get down to it, no one can have an opinion that differs from yours, and if they do all you do is whine piss and yell. Someone finds this news disappointing, and no matter how much you yell about how much Nintendo, Microsoft or Sony are the best of the best and love every gamer in the world it wont change their disappointment. Please face it all systems have negatives and positives and no one cares about your opinion, the only opinion that matters to them is their own. But of course this is only my opinion.

turo @ Sep 19th 2006 3:37PM

WOW people on here can be such assholes. if u dont like the posts THEN STOP COMING HERE U IDIOTS. u think u can do better? make ur own blogging site and quit bitching. i appreciate multiple views, even if they dont agree with mine. also, insulting people on their own site is beyond rude, wtf is wrong with u. joystiq this joystiq that, stfu go somewhere that makes u happy and dont come back, geeze.

Shaun @ Sep 19th 2006 3:38PM

Lack of online is dissapointing for any next gen console.

Sony fanboys should remember that the PS3 not only doesn't have any (non-sony as far as i know) online games coming out for xmas (namely because they don't have it finalised yet), but the damn thing won't even make europe for 6 more months. For the record that's 12 months later than promised.

PS3 will be left well alone until the price comes down. 360 will have a great xmas, but only because it's had a year already. the 360 launch line up was terrible.

the Wii will either do really well, or just ok. Right now PS3 fanboys have nothing to be happy about.

Darth Pixel @ Sep 19th 2006 3:38PM

Nintendo fanboys are going to need to do some damage control here...the Wii story is getting less and less interesting day after day...

At the risk of pissing Sony fanboys off, I would say Nintendo pulled off a Sony here.

First they code name it Revolution...and it turns out to be a beefed-up GameCube with a TV-remote-turned-controller.
Second, they promise all sorts of casual gaming features and family orientation...and fail to deliver on the basis of those.
Third, they brag on how they will make a profit right from day 1, as to emphasize they can price their hardware any way they want and still sell it.

Very much like Sony, indeed...although KK is not afraid to put his balls on the line.

striderhayasa @ Sep 19th 2006 3:39PM

hey, the lack of Wifi support hurts, but I can't be the only person sick of 4 player split, screen. Wii is so small it's stupid. How about support for 4-8 player LAN? Get with the times Nintendo. You f$%ked that up with the gamecube. You make a console that is small as all get out, you even include a handle with it for easy transport but you DON'T support LAN? WTF? Even xbox supported LAN and that beast was a bitch to carry around and fragile to boot.

Someone at Nintendo needs to be brought into the present or fired.

greatn @ Sep 19th 2006 3:42PM

4-player games:

Super Monkey Ball
Elebits
Marvel Ultimate Alliance
Wii Sports
Madden
Rayman
Avatar(lol)

Those are just the launch 4-player games off the top of my head. There are some I think might be like Tony Hawk but I wasn't sure, and I think it is only 2 player. And there are tons in the pipeline, I'm sure, including SSB, Wario Ware, almost certainly a Mario Party and Mario Kart.

For online games, yeah, giving out incomplete software libraries is a WONDERFUL idea. Good thinking James.

RevJonathan @ Sep 19th 2006 3:43PM

Meh, we're paying for Sony's ineptitude.

If Sony could have gotten it together for thier launch, Nintendo would be forced to compete. Now? They can afford lackluster launch titles and a late launch.

Never thought I'd see the day where Nintendo could afford to back up on thier launch while Sony was making all the mistakes. Usually its the other way around.

Dave @ Sep 19th 2006 3:44PM

@ #20:

Because it's a console from a major game company that's been in the market since 1985, was tinkering with games via phone lines and satellite back in the days of the NES and SNES, and managed to drop the ball with three of their last five offerings in the market, costing them dearly (N 64, Virtual Boy, and GameCube- despite how much fun they were/are) in terms of revenue and marketshare.

Now they're marketing a system as a family machine, minus DVD-playback (no biggie) and restricting the number of players for their initial offerings (...why?) AND have expensive controllers, to boot (sold separately, naturally)? This is the same crap that Sony or Microsoft would get called out for on, and rightfully so- it runs counter to the message they're sending with the system. Or maybe big N's marketing department is just hitting a period of "suck" as evidenced by the stream of bad news coming out of them recently.

Embassy @ Sep 19th 2006 3:46PM

why does it seem like microsoft is the ONLY company to get online multiplater right..??..is it really THAT hard to implement..??..i mean microsofts had an entire generation of online b4 these other 2 can even set up a half competent one...i know MS is a software giant...but c'mon sony and nintendo get with the dam times already.

Mastercharged @ Sep 19th 2006 3:47PM

WII is for WII-TARDS lol

Don Jose @ Sep 19th 2006 3:47PM

This is a step back? The thing most people seem to be missing about the Wii is that it's not next-gen, it's just a step sideways (which is not meant to be a derogatory statement). A quick note to the Big N fanboys: (to paraphrase Tony Montana) I take your flames! The only thing unique about the Wii is it's controller. It's not a leap forward in any sense of the term. It's just a new way to look at what we gamers have been doing for the last 4 to 7 years. They could have released the Wii-mote as a Gamecube attachment, and the fanboy faithful would have bought it, and Nintendo could have continued to release new games for it, but it wouldn't have given many others reason to do so, and the big N's third-party support would have likely continued to swirl around the bowl, headed for certain console death. Yet, by releasing an entirely new console, Nintendo once again has the allure potential that may draw in an entirely new audience. I support them fully, even though I still have no personal interest in the Wii (or the DS for that matter), because I love to see things from a different angle. I've said it before: The deciding factor in my purchase of a 360 was my initial response to the Wii-mote, but that doesn't mean I'll write Nintendo off completely. I was a devout Nintendo fanboy for the last 19 years, and I can't wait to see what they throw at us next, even if I don't want to play with it!

J B Cougar @ Sep 19th 2006 3:50PM

Let's make up more controversy, especially since we know next to nothing about Wii Channels! Great job!

Chris @ Sep 19th 2006 3:53PM

Looks like 1Ups personal war against the Wii is ramping up with the release day fastly approaching.

Can't wait to see them eat their words once again like they did with the DS. Dolts.

Owns @ Sep 19th 2006 3:54PM

Get off this guys back, fanboys, he makes a very good point. Nintendo went out of there way to name the system "Wii" to give the impression that people will game in a group. But, like the big N has done so much in the past, they dissapoint. Don't get me wrong, I'm still picking one up at launch, but the fanboys with the blinders on need to see the light, not everything Nintendo does is particularly smart...in fact, MOST of the choices they make leave me saying "WTF?!, WHY would they do that?!"...but then again, I'm not a biased gamer.

Todd @ Sep 19th 2006 4:00PM

I personally don't like playing multiplayer games beyond 2 people. Having the screen limited to four boxes on the screen really limits the gameplay, especially if you're TV isn't a big screen. Thankfully this game will have a split screen allowing for greater functionality in play.

I remember the days in which Starfox was played with 4 people, that was utterly insane!

newtypecj @ Sep 19th 2006 4:00PM

Oh noes! A driving game in this day and age that supports two players on the same console? That's insane! How dare they! BTW PGR3...which is also a driving game, also supports just two players on the same console. A *lot* of racing games are only two players on one console. So seriously, who cares?

potato @ Sep 19th 2006 4:01PM

#4 >> Artimus, yur crazy
The main selling point of the wii is multiplayer fun
and I don't think James is biased, your just angry and have to blame it on someone or something for whatever reason.
And yes, this is a noteworthy post
next to: "NO SKATING ONLINE" for PS3's Tony Hawk
at least this balances it out

gameclu @ Sep 19th 2006 4:04PM

wii, as in we, as in two or more, as in two qualifies for we, thus putting the we in wii. QED

MetaHuman @ Sep 19th 2006 4:04PM

Joystiq really needs to apply some common sense when trying to group all multiplayer games under requiring the same pre-requisites. IT DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY. Different multiplayer games can only work under different optimized formats.

You know that some of the games that you mention such as ExciteTruck really don't allow for 4-player shared screen play, right? Just look how much of the screen that ET uses to show giant gaps and jumps and try saying it would work for 4-player split screen.

Split-screen didn't work for Battalion Wars either, which is why they canned the mode for GC. Which is why I'm loving the WiFi mode. ^_^

I'm betting Wii CAN handle LAN. It's just for the launch line-up they don't really want to worry about it. All you need is the proper code in the game and a crossover cable, which shouldn't be difficult because it has a broadband connection, does it not?

Darth Pixel should also really shut up about 'damage control'. Saying KK solves his problems upfront is liking crapping on a screen that has one or several dead pixels.

Oh, how bout this? EVERY MULTIPLAYER GAME SHOULD HAS KING OF TEH HILL AND DETHMATCH AND CAPTURE TEH FLAG AND ODDBALL lol am i rite. Watch on G4 or any 'reputed' media talk to the creators and ask the creators of games like Prey, Halo, Timesplitters, Metroid Hunters the same questions regarding features and content. It sounds like the media wants to control what goes into the game and if they aren't satisfied, they blam it.

The only way these 'questions and important issues' could get any more immature is by flaming GC's lack of Online and then making tons of articles labled "Are Wii there yet?" and then list whatever feature that popped up on XBL and ask why Nintey doesn't have it and then accuse them of greed if they don't deliver on something that the PERSON ASKING got into their head was somehow expected of the asked.

And I do believe they headlined their Pre-E3 2006 Conference and 1st-party line-up with A FOUR-PLAYER GAME. COME ON, Nintendo isn't stupid. WOW.

vidGuy @ Sep 19th 2006 4:08PM

Meh. Kind of weak for four player, yeah. But Mario Kart, Super Smash, etc will bring that later.

Does anybody know if the updates to Prey on the 360 allowed local multiplayer games? It seems like that game (and the other two I bought for the 360 - Condemnded and Dead Rising) were pretty much single player games.

potato @ Sep 19th 2006 4:10PM

#45 need a drink?

jabbertrack @ Sep 19th 2006 4:10PM

well with the limted range of the sensor wouldn't it be hard to cram 4 people into one space to play one game anyway?

or does each controller come with a sensor?

CheekyLee @ Sep 19th 2006 4:12PM

So, out of 9 launch titles, 2 of them are going to support 4 players? And, 2 titles will support wi-fi connection to offer online play? Meaning, nearly half of the first-party launch titles are utilising the features that Nintnedo said they would? Interesting how this is seen as dissapointing. Particularly when you consider that 3 of the remaining titles are essentially single-player experiences, which could only ever have multiplayer tacked on afterwards.

Blogworthy? Probably. Newsworthy? Probably not. Joystiqworthy? Sadly, as of late, definitely. Why do you have so much hatred for the Wii?