Rockstar Table Tennis backhands over to Wii

by Jared Rea { Jul 18th 2007 at 8:35AM }

The nightmare of living in a Wii Play world of ping pong is almost to an end as Rockstar has announced that their Xbox 360 darling, Table Tennis, will be making its way over to Nintendo's world of waggle.

As light on information as it gets, Rockstar's release is but a simple announcement and assurance that this will take -- say it along with us now -- full advantage of the Wii remote and its unique features. Okay, Rockstar founder Sam Houser really said, "a new audience can now experience a game that is beautifully designed and impossible to put down," but we know what he meant.

With a release planned for this Fall, we can only hope that we have enough time to make our way over to Japan and learn those secret paddle positions we've heard so much about.

Tags: optimusrhyme, tabletennis, wiiplay

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

JetPackWilly @ Jul 18th 2007 8:42AM

I think this will go down well with the 40 year old house wives (50% of the Wii demographic). But I wonder if they'll lube the controller 1st : p

Jake @ Jul 18th 2007 8:45AM

This might almost be too physically demanding. If you have to switch forehand to backhand and swing the wiimote every time, shit's gonna get sweaty.

Stevo @ Jul 18th 2007 9:22AM

Yeah...I'll be impressed if the wii remote is that precise too.

Jake @ Jul 18th 2007 10:07AM

No, I'd expect the gestures to translate to what buttons did for the 360 version. They aren't going to be "1:1" or anything. Hopefully they keep an option where you can just play the game as it was originally intended.

Alex K @ Jul 18th 2007 10:50AM

??? wii sports had backhanding. table tennis has backhanding. what makes you think you can't backhand with the wii remote? what makes you think that real table tennis is too demanding? are you 1000 pounds or something? wouldn't want to do something physically in a videogame!!

jsn @ Jul 18th 2007 8:46AM

sweet, another port with tacked on controls. The Wii rocks!

JodyAnthony @ Jul 18th 2007 9:01AM

sweet, another jackass commenter, joystiq rocks!

Borat @ Jul 18th 2007 11:45AM

Shit I can't even see what's written!

Alex S. @ Jul 18th 2007 8:47AM

No announcement today will top this one.

samfish @ Jul 18th 2007 9:14AM

An Okami annoucment would top it.

Alex S. @ Jul 18th 2007 8:48AM

You do realize this means they're porting the GTA4 engine to Wii, then, right? Because that's what RTT runs on.

baby sea tuna @ Jul 18th 2007 8:48AM

You've got that backwards.

Crono @ Jul 18th 2007 8:49AM

Nice job reading between the lines!

baby sea tuna @ Jul 18th 2007 8:48AM

This is truly a mixed blessing. While I'd be excited to play this with the Wii controls, I'm sure the significant graphical downgrade required (the 360 version has some of the most natural looking character models/animation of any game I've played so far) will make me weep.

Crono @ Jul 18th 2007 8:50AM

We'll see. From the looks of MP3 and Mario Galaxy, I'd say theres a fair chance that this game could be very nice looking on Wii as well.

JodyAnthony @ Jul 18th 2007 9:00AM

youtube is blocked at work but I really hope that link was to the optimus rhyme ping pong song. its awesome.

Christopher Grant @ Jul 18th 2007 9:08AM

You know it

Rubang B @ Jul 18th 2007 3:18PM

What the hell? Ok now I'm clicking the link.

vidGuy @ Jul 18th 2007 9:08AM

YES! I've been holding out buying the 360 version, which I love, even though it's only $20 because when I go back to play it it just feels flat with the joysticks. If Rockstar properly uses the remote and this will be a great title to own.

Andrew Hsieh @ Jul 18th 2007 9:09AM

Now I can finally see if actual ping-pong skill translates to the Wii. :)

Phranctoast @ Jul 18th 2007 9:13AM

This seems like a good game for the wii. it would be great with online mp.

Konny @ Jul 18th 2007 9:22AM

Are they gonna do it the WiiTennis way and have Bots controlling the movement? Also, real table tennis is way too fast for the WiiMote.. unless you suck at it... Im guess gesture input; you control stroke power and spin... and the Wii takes care of the rest.

vidGuy @ Jul 18th 2007 9:38AM

There's enough cord between the nunchuk and the remote that the Wii wouldn't have to sacrifice player movement to have this game. Try The Bigs to see what I mean, you bat with the remote but still use the nunchuk for hit placement and running the bases.

I'd like to see two control schemes, one where you use the remote+nunchuk to have full control and another where the cpu moves the player while you just handle hits. That way you could play more traditionally or go all out with your swings!

Martin @ Jul 18th 2007 9:39AM

Last I checked, I swing a table tennis paddle with my wrist, the same as I would with the Wii remote. So how is one too fast for the other?

Konny @ Jul 18th 2007 9:58AM

I meant fast enough to mimic 1:1 movement.. which would be KILLER.. i just dont think they can do that. Maybe i am wrong.

megaStryke @ Jul 18th 2007 10:01AM

Because it's Konny. He likes to talk up a shit-storm.

vidGuy @ Jul 18th 2007 10:05AM

Yeah, I mean he and others complain when the Wii doesn't live up to real-life actions (Wii Sports) and when it has an opportunity to provide real 1:1 for a challenge? "Oh that's too much work!"

Rockstar could give us both and make the game as easy or hard as they want. They could also allow the speed of the game to be controlled, so you could slow down the action when you are first learning. They might not do this, but it'd be the right thing to do.

Admiral_Mike @ Jul 18th 2007 10:48AM

I heard that boogie uses 1:1, I don't see how table tennis would be any harder.

WiNG @ Jul 18th 2007 10:03AM

I don't see how table tennis could be "too fast" for use with a wiimote, though honestly i think this game could end up burning more calories than DDR if done right.

I suck at table tennis though so it doesn't really matter

Jake @ Jul 18th 2007 10:11AM

Rockstar Table Tennis follows the speed of real professional table tennis. Even though the version you play with a drunk friend and two keg cups isn't very strenuous, the pro version is pretty fast. You would always be either hitting or winding back up for a hit. Tubby 14 year olds would not be able to play this game very long and would get frustrated and raid the freezer for ice cream.

megaStryke @ Jul 18th 2007 10:12AM

On another note, I think everyone knew when Rockstar first announced Table Tennis for the 360 that they made a mistake and meant to say for the Wii. It's table tennis. Fuckin' ping-pong. What's the point of high-res character models in a simulation of pool-patio activity?

Well, that's what I said anyway.

Almack64 @ Jul 18th 2007 10:33AM

I'm happy, I've been waiting for this annoucement since the wii's release.

BNinjaC @ Jul 18th 2007 10:44AM

R* table tennis video!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aXgezITUis

(sorry I couldn't resist)

AC @ Jul 18th 2007 11:29AM

uh....have any of you played wii tennis? i don't see how rockstar can't improve on those controls for table tennis. some of the early comments on this trend make no sense. its as if they've never played wii tennis before and can't fathom how this will work.

Mohan @ Jul 18th 2007 11:57AM

About time, I mean this was a no brainier. Will be on a lookout for this game on the Wii.

AzaMcWazza @ Jul 18th 2007 12:17PM

Can we stop it with the term "waggle"? if you're going to use it to mean tacked on controls in a shit game, fine, but for those titles you don't know about, or know do it well, give it some respect.

Air Guitar @ Jul 18th 2007 12:29PM

i use an overhand tricky style in ping-pong. i do hope rockstar can show off all the different paddle styles and allow people to properly simulate them. with a solid gesture system (like in manhunt :O ), they could probably get something that at least simulates 1:1. this game will be awesome.