Rumor: Atari building Jenga game for Wii

by John Bardinelli { Jun 21st 2007 at 10:00AM }

A forum member at NeoGAF reports that Atari may be showing a previously unannounced game at this year's E3: Jenga for the Wii. We can all guess the central mechanics (pull the block out, cringe, repeat), but Jenga as a full-fledged video game? If the rumor is true, we'd love to see how Atari fleshes out the concept. Perhaps a Warcraft-esque RTS mode played with Jenga bricks?

[Via Nintendo Wii Fanboy]

Tags: atari, boardgame, jenga, nintendo, puzzle, wii

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Ian Von Porter @ Jun 21st 2007 10:05AM

Definitely worth $50 when it comes out!

Blizz4l9 @ Jun 21st 2007 10:07AM

Definitely not worth $50, maybe with some other mini games but then again i think everyone is sick of mini games and is waiting games like Metroid 3 and Mario Galaxy at least i know i am.

HotShotX @ Jun 21st 2007 10:20AM

No reason why it can't just go straight to the Wii Shop Channel when it's done.

~HotShotX

Stevo @ Jun 21st 2007 10:11AM

I agree with Blizz-- I wouldn't pay 20 bucks for that...why would you want to pay 50 bucks for a game when you can buy the REAL THING for only 5 bucks??

BigJKO @ Jun 21st 2007 10:14AM

Are you kidding me? This is awesome, and in no way needs to be fleshed out. With just some score/leaderboard features, maybe online multiplayer, this is a sure winner.

Fernando Rocker @ Jun 21st 2007 10:15AM

Maybe worth $5 to $8 dlls. if the game is released as a download in the servive that Nintendo is going to offer to download original titles.

ELUNO @ Jun 21st 2007 10:19AM

Well, not having to pick up the pieces after they fall of must be worth something!

Kye @ Jun 21st 2007 10:28AM

Maybe super-Jenga? Or Jenga advanced?

You know, 4,5,6 or 7 bricks across on each level?
Or bricks that weigh different amounts?

I agree with Fernando & HotshotX though, straight to download, no need for discs.

Jake @ Jun 21st 2007 10:31AM

I'm sorry, but this sounds really lame. I love Jenga and play the drinking version fairly often. But a Jenga video game is just so stupid. It wouldn't work. Everything that makes Jenga actually fun would be lost in some convoluted gimmicky control scheme. What, just because the controller is shaped like a brick they think this is a good idea.

I think we really need to differentiate between the Wii and the other consoles. Let's just call the Wii the casual/new gen and the PS360 the next gen. I don't really think the same types of people that are stoked about Lair and Mass Effect are stoked about Jenga at this point. I mean, there are only two, maybe three games TOTAL coming on the Wii that I am stoked for, those being Mario, Metroid, and Smash. Everything else is just mini-games, kiddy crap, or crappy graphics versions of traditional games with tacked on motion.

But apparently there are more people in this world that want that stuff and can afford the console. Yay, I'm in a sub-minority of a minority.

Anam @ Jun 21st 2007 10:31AM

I agree with ELUNO. Not having to pick up the pieces instantly makes this twice as enjoyable as the real thing. Let's see: [fun of Jenga] X 2 = Almost worth paying for... but not quite.

Fernando Rocker @ Jun 21st 2007 10:36AM

@Jake

Xbox have UNO and many other minigames... hope Jenga will come also as a download game, not in disc.

deaftly @ Jun 21st 2007 10:37AM

another a+ wii title

Dave @ Jun 21st 2007 10:37AM

I thought this was a great idea until, a few seconds later, I realized that the real thing is already really cheap and has better graphics than the Wii. Unless there's more to it, I'd say anyone who pays $50 for this game is insane.

Pyronite @ Jun 21st 2007 10:37AM

Unless the Jenga developers would work at getting some REALLY accurate Wii controls -- more accurate than we've seen in many games before -- the game will either be way too hard or way too easy (depending on how they compensate for the controls).

Like someone above said, though, I wouldn't pay $20 for it unless they somehow made a super-amazing Jenga: Retro Evolved or something like that. The entire point of Jenga is that you don't want the blocks to fall, motivated by the idea that... well, blocks are actually going to fall, and maybe make a mess.

Rizzo @ Jun 21st 2007 11:18AM

Since when are posters at NeoGAF used for insight into unannounced games? You have to question the credibility of this...

JodyAnthony @ Jun 21st 2007 10:40AM

Jake, ps3 and 360 are no longer 'next gen'. they are 'current gen'.

BIG Reub @ Jun 21st 2007 10:46AM

HEY!

Can we please not have another "364 Reasons I Hate the Wii" conversation. This game is obviously not targeted to most of the people that read this site. I'd buy it at 29 bucks. That's how much I paid for most of the board games around my house. But I have friends over and dinner parties and such. That's who this is for. Sheesh...move along folks, nothing to see here.

thispaceforsale @ Jun 21st 2007 10:48AM

maybe bundle it with 10 other boxgames, like don't break the ice, skittles or crossfire

Jake @ Jun 21st 2007 11:06AM

Jody,

Oh yeah, I guess you are right. So PS2 is now last gen and Wii is casual gen and PS360 is geek/hardcore gen.

Fernando,
Yes, 360 has Uno, Backgammon, crappy pool, and other stuff. And those games work on any platform because you are basically just selecting the move you would make in the actual game. With Wii, this type of stuff is the standard. There are a couple of ports and crappy hardcore games lying around as supplemental to the main experience, which is super light casual stuff. There are some big ones on the horizon, like Mario and Metroid (the main two reasons I own a Wii), but that is it.

Jenga will be a full disc game. It will probably have some control scheme where you have to keep the controller steady while extracting the brick. Or maybe they will not surprise me and release it as a whole set of mini-games. Either way, it will be a budget release with an extremely small development budget.

Bottom line, this is just, well, dumb. Slow news day.

greatslack @ Jun 21st 2007 11:09AM

I see it maybe as a demo for some new physics system, in which case it should be free or very cheap to build hype.

Ambyssiom @ Jun 21st 2007 11:46AM

It should be a VC title

Hey Apples @ Jun 21st 2007 11:24AM

This looks like a good fit... a lightweight/casual game for a lightweight/casual game console.

SuperChuck @ Jun 21st 2007 11:33AM

I'd definitely get it for $10-$20.

I don't understand why every game published has to be a super-duper-multi-million-dollar venture that costs me 60 bucks.

And if they "fill it out" to be a $60 game, well, all I want to do is play Jenga, which isn't worth that much. I'd leave it on the shelf.

NintendoFanbot @ Jun 21st 2007 11:49AM

People say 'No', but then UNO is one of XBL's Top downloads, isn't it? :P

ferrarimanf355 @ Jun 21st 2007 1:17PM

NeoGAF as source = automatic fail. I'll keep bitching about this until you guys get it already. I'd take this with a grain of salt- scratch that, more like a salt shaker. Apparently, that bit from the TOS about spreading false information is a paper tiger...

Shockgamer @ Jun 21st 2007 1:27PM

...And everybody will continue to ignore your bitching, being they're more interested in the news than your grudge.

Matthew @ Jun 21st 2007 3:09PM

I think it is a good idea. Would be a good start to an original game download service. Kinda like Uno on 360.

ferrarimanf355 @ Jun 21st 2007 1:54PM

I do not have a grudge. NeoGAF is a terrible gaming forum. That's a fact. The mods are more interested in grudges than actually enforcing the rules and will ban you at any moment, there's a herd mentality, newbs are treated like shit, false information will spread rapidly... there are legitimate reasons not to treat GAF as anything more than a leper colony. My comment stands.

Rare Hare @ Jun 21st 2007 2:05PM

"The mods are more interested in grudges than actually enforcing the rules and will ban you at any moment, there's a herd mentality,"

I'm not familiar with NeoGAF but i've definitely experienced this same thing with other message boards. It's a legitimate problem.

Back on topic:

This is a rumor guys. Quit taking it so seriously. Please read before commenting.