Since 'June 2008 or beyond' didn't exactly resonate with European Wii owners, Nintendo has quickly, albeit indirectly revised its update on the European release of
Super Smash Bros. Brawl. In a statement responding to
yesterday's concerns about
Brawl missing from a tentative Q1/Q2 release list, Nintendo has said: "All Nintendo software titles launching in Q2 2008 have not been finalized or confirmed to date. Nintendo will communicate on all software titles launching in Q2 2008 for Wii and Nintendo DS at a later date" -- oh, except for
Mario Kart Wii, that one's definitely coming Q2.
Nintendo can dangle
Mario Kart in our faces all its wants, but that won't change the fact that its stance on
Brawl in Europe remains as vague as ever. Europe's used to waiting, so c'mon Nintendo, either end it with a swift kick to the dome or just lay the bad news on us.
{ Dec 7th 2007 at 1:51PM } 
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
McWeen @ Dec 7th 2007 1:56PM
LOL nice picture
gonk @ Dec 7th 2007 1:57PM
o snap
S-LAH-ziman (B-B-BRUSHED WITH FAAAAME) @ Dec 7th 2007 1:59PM
Did you guys read the newest Smash Bros Dojo update? Basically the guy says that if someone drops out it is swapped with a CPU, and you won't even know!
What I find ironic about this is that he is basically saying that the With Anyone option is like playing against the CPU, except harder... I don't think that's what online gaming is about...
3cubed minus 3squared plus1 @ Dec 7th 2007 2:04PM
The thing I found interesting is the last part of the update where he talks about unlocked characters.
After reading that I think that all beginning characters have been shown and to see the rest of the cast you have to wait until the game comes out.
Thats just what I think.
S-LAH-ziman (B-B-BRUSHED WITH FAAAAME) @ Dec 7th 2007 2:09PM
Here are some improvements Nintendo could make on the online gaming of SSBB:
Rival system: You can add people you've played with online to a rival list, so you can play with them again some time. However, communication is limited to preset messages.
Communication: preset messages (taunts) in With Anyone mode.
Personal rankings: Kinda like in Phantom Hourglass, you should get some points every time you win a match (and lose some if you lose a match), and play against progressively harder enemies as you gain ranks. This would have two effects: protect the noobs from uberhardcore wavedashing crouchcancelling nerds, and give people some incentive to play online.
Voice chat: limited to With Friends
This would all make the game nicer to play online, and still keep the children safe from pedophiles or verbal abuse or whatever.
Fernando Rocker @ Dec 7th 2007 2:16PM
Slahziman...
Can I send your post about the online gaming to Nintendo?
S-LAH-ziman (B-B-BRUSHED WITH FAAAAME) @ Dec 7th 2007 2:17PM
lol, of course
Obie @ Dec 7th 2007 2:57PM
If find gaming with strangers pointless anyways, I rather have a person I know on the other side. In that I am lucky that most of my friends have Wii's and 360's...if only the 360 had 4 person private chat then I would be good to go once Smash gets here.
Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Dec 7th 2007 3:45PM
Slazi, I think you're misinterpreting what he's saying. The CPU only takes over if your opponent drops midmatch, so you won't even know, and the guy on the other end won't have the satisfaction of knowing you know, that he dropped out just before losing.
Mr Khan @ Dec 7th 2007 4:23PM
I support his solution to the disconnecters/game droppers, my only concern is what the CPU level will be set to. 4/5 would be nice, as they aren't total pushovers at that level, but aren't a strain either
The important thing is that it will insure a smooth, continuous fight for those of us with the integrity to not quit. No penalties for the quitters, but those who stay get a full match whatever happens
Bla bla bla Mr. Freeman @ Dec 7th 2007 4:24PM
Slahzi, you forgot to mention gamer profiles, that is, an online card that not only shows your name and motto, but your winning streaks and loses as well, along with your most used character and your runner-up, and posibly the character you least use.
Plus, you can either show it to friends and random people online, limit your profile to friends only, or simply make it private. Kind of like XBLA.
But to be honest, the only thing that matters for me is that at least get to play with people around the world, and the online does not lag. It's frustrating when a lag comes in the middle of a game.
Slaziman (B-B-BRUSHED WITH FAAAAME) @ Dec 7th 2007 4:41PM
Crono, I know what he said, it just put me to think, if you don't even know the CPU is kicking in when some guy drops out, it made me realize that the With Anyone option is like fighting the CPU... but smarter. It was just a realization triggered by this update, and I actually like the dropout solution.
BlaBlaBla
Yeah but I was trying to keep the paranoic attitude of Nintendo... if you had a gamer profile and motto you could put all sorts of nasty things in it... oh noes teh childrenz!! :(
Jimiisama @ Dec 7th 2007 7:34PM
Most online Nintendo games either don't have or have serious problems with any kind of "public" online play. That's why we have forums and other communities where people can share friendcodes. Just go on Smashboards, and I'm sure anyone there would be happy to exchange friend codes.
Bla bla bla Mr. Freeman @ Dec 7th 2007 8:22PM
Jimii, I'm a member there. It is a nice Smash-oriented community if you ask me, and by far, the largest one on the Internet.
emmzee @ Dec 7th 2007 2:08PM
What are the reasons that a game would be released later in Europe than in North America? I mean, the game itself doesn't need to be changed for the UK, right? Why couldn't they be released simultaneously?
This is a serious q'n, not a shot at Nintendo, I'm actually a big Nintendo fan ...
Farseer (GDI) @ Dec 7th 2007 2:51PM
It sort of does need to be changed...
NTSC vs PAL
http://www.terrascope.org/NTSCvsPAL.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAL#Technical_details
Being produced in Japan, the native video is NTSC. They must then take the time to make it PAL compatible. That's the main roadblock behind region-free consoles, etc.
The holy grail is a device that converts either medium to either output without any quality loss. It may exist, but for the time being, consoles adhere to regional video standards.
ALH @ Dec 7th 2007 3:00PM
'It sort of does need to be changed...
NTSC vs PAL'
except most PAL TVs already existing and all new ones nowadays can do NTSC anyways, and its only really an issue on really old sets.
Farseer (GDI) @ Dec 7th 2007 3:12PM
So do they release DVDs and games in NTSC, and do they have players and consoles that are only NTSC like in the states?
Can your PAL console play NTSC games?
I'm not being a dick, I'm seriously curious. I know that a PAL game is almost useless in the US, so I was wondering if the opposite is true in Europe.
Undead Priest @ Dec 7th 2007 3:34PM
Translation, mostly. For Europe, it has to be released in multitudes of languages.
With the Wii cases and manuals, Nintendo already skirts that issue with those in English, Spanish and French printed on and in.
Jimiisama @ Dec 7th 2007 7:39PM
What can suck sometimes is the fact that the game can actually change in the PAL version. I know Melee for PAL is difference; HAL seems to have taken the liberty of "rebalancing" the game for the European players. The game isn't drastically different (besides removing chain grabbing and some slight alterations with priority and weight), but it can cause problems with world-competition when different continents play different versions of the game.
StrangeBum @ Dec 7th 2007 2:08PM
Poor Europe =( I feel for you guys. I live in the States, but it always saddens me to hear these things, especially since you guys across the pond have to be one of the top markets with the US and Japan.
But as JR-Wiley points out, Mario Kart at least. Which I haven't been hearing much about anyways though.
Jesse @ Dec 7th 2007 2:09PM
Anyone else think they are basically just winging he game at this point and don't actually have a realistic date for any of us? I think we're gonna get stiffed. And hard
James ferretti @ Dec 7th 2007 9:13PM
Well if it comes out in the US first I'll certainly be modding my Wii, this is one of the main reasons I bought the thing, serves nintendo right for neglecting one of it's biggest markets.
Jon @ Dec 7th 2007 2:24PM
Why is anyone surprised by this? We pay more for games that are sometimes delayed for a year compared to North American releases. We pay more for the hardware itself despite the exchange rate. We get less stock than others.
gLitterbug @ Dec 7th 2007 2:30PM
Fuck Mario Kart, I want to smash stuff.
James @ Dec 7th 2007 2:39PM
I'd like this game, but Galaxy has rekindled my love of games and I'll be on this (and TF2) for a long time to come. Then I have Metroid Prime 3 to finish.
Meh. I can wait for this game. So long as the delay makes it even more perfect and isn't just for Hal and co to go to the Bahamas, spend all their money on drugs then try selling the (semi) finished game to Shigsy at gun point.
*reference points available*
ShortFuse @ Dec 7th 2007 2:55PM
I'm not complaining too much about friend codes. We @ smashboards will share our codes, or put it in our signatures. a friends list maxing out at 64 is enough really.
but the whole euro delay is because of translation, i bet. and they're not even using the US English for the UK English. There will be differences albeit small.
Take a look at this: http://www.smashbros.com/en_us/music/music12.html
"Smash Bros. Dojo is being unveiled worldwide in 6+1 languages. (This is the main page where you select your language. The "+1" simply stands for the subtle differences between American and British English.)"
UK English, Spanish, Italian, German and French will launch in the same disc. That's just how Euro-PAL releases usually are. One disc for all/most of Europe.
Silent Xenocide @ Dec 7th 2007 3:25PM
Sooo will you be able to game with friends in this game? If so do you see their actual name and stuff or is it just "Player 1" etc. ?
Jimiisama @ Dec 7th 2007 7:42PM
They implemented the whole friendlist system to keep the Pedobear down!
Jimiisama @ Dec 7th 2007 7:42PM
Hinder my child-molestation, will you?
Mr Khan @ Dec 7th 2007 4:26PM
I like how this update revealed 3 things
The "Team Battle" online mode, which could kick ass, and the fact that most secret characters will be unlocked in the course of the story mode
Sorry for you PAL guys, but at least this statement doesn't imply that it won't arrive until summer, like the last one did
Bla bla bla Mr. Freeman @ Dec 7th 2007 8:28PM
I'm still guessing if Australia will have have the same fate Europe had with Brawl, as I want to see Yahtzee review the game when it launches there. Hopefully it'll release soon after it is released here in America, because I know it'll be one of his best reviews, that is for sure.