Punch-Out! will support Wii Balance Board
by Andrew Yoon 
{ Mar 25th 2009 at 1:00AM } 
The Italian Nintendo site leaked details on the various control schemes found in the upcoming Wii-make of Nintendo's classic boxing game. The first two modes are as-expected: play with the Wii Remote and Nunchuck to recreate the physical motion of boxing, or play with the Remote on its side to play it NES-style. The third mode documented takes advantage of the Wii Fit Balance Board, allowing players to dodge attacks by shifting their weight. Coupled with the Wii Remote and Nunchuck, this mode should provide quite a workout.
[Via IGN]
Gallery: Punch-Out!! (Wii)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Dopple Boppler @ Mar 25th 2009 1:06AM
As excited as I was when this game was announced, I was still pretty skeptical on it working, at least as a full priced retail game. But man, that new trailer from a day or two ago gave me one of the most powerful fangasms of my life.
Markez @ Mar 25th 2009 1:11AM
Count me rather skeptical as well, I'm going to need to see (play) the proof in the pudding first. And to be honest that vid looked like a nice nostalgiagasm, but I was kinda underwhelmed. And just seeing that this is using the balance board, eh, I dunno, man. In the meantime....
*facebalanceboard
tmacairjordan87 @ Mar 25th 2009 1:26AM
I hate to crash anyone's party here, and I could be wrong, but everything I've seen so far from the game appears to be exactly the same as the original but with wii controls. I know that's what would stop me from being so excited about it.
Bagels: Commander in Chief of the lolcat sarcasm alert force. Flying Monkeys beware. @ Mar 25th 2009 1:29AM
As statement of feeling I have, comma, followed by proof, comma, ending statement.
And Andrew, I Lol'd milk out mah nose for that opening sentence. (Not literally, of course.)
BPMOmega [gamertag] @ Mar 25th 2009 1:58AM
Tmac, you're never excited about ANYTHING Nintendo related... so why even bother posting?
WRE @ Mar 25th 2009 2:13AM
I hate to crash anyone's party here, and I could be wrong, but everything I've seen so far from the game appears to be exactly the same as the original but with PS3 graphics. I know that's what would stop me from being so excited about it.
Hey, it does work!
JRM @ Mar 25th 2009 4:53AM
@tmac:
(..."but everything I've seen so far from the game appears to be exactly the same as the original but with wii controls". )
Isn't that the case with every game ever made, though? you press a button, and something happens on the screen. This gen's "fight night"--or the last 3--seem much more derivative than the Wii's Punchout, for the exact reason you mention: the controls.
Punchout is much more user-interactive, though not as "pretty"--as muhammad ali would say.
Spartan @ Mar 25th 2009 6:06AM
the weirdest thing is, that i can swear tmac is on my wii friends list.
Curtis @ Mar 25th 2009 1:08AM
awes
Curtis @ Mar 25th 2009 1:10AM
now I just need a balance board
gamepete64 @ Mar 25th 2009 1:17AM
You don't have one?!?! You better get one now before they take over the world.....soon!!
Lol.
Shmil @ Mar 25th 2009 1:20AM
Ok, if you're going to offer NES style controls then why even have motion controls in the first place?
BPMOmega [gamertag] @ Mar 25th 2009 1:50AM
Because choice is good?
sonicspike41 @ Mar 25th 2009 2:05AM
I wish more Wii games had such a choice. I prefer controllers to mouse/keyboards and the Wii Remote's pointing and such, so anytime they offer a choice I see it as a plus.
mazza_man @ Mar 25th 2009 6:41AM
Because the reason you have a Wii is for motion controls? If you're not even gonna use em, why bother having a Wii? The only game I don't use the Wiimote for is Brawl...
samfish (is ready for MadWorld!) @ Mar 25th 2009 9:01AM
Like BPM said, choice is good.
It's also not difficult to imagine a scenario where you start to feel worn down after punching and moving around so intensely after an extended period of time, but still want to play. Being able to switch to NES controls when you need a break is a smart thing.
Rallor @ Mar 25th 2009 10:35AM
mazza_man it happens that I didn't get my wii for motion controls but for brawl O_O
Van Faulk @ Mar 25th 2009 1:24AM
That is actually really cool. It's nice to see that thye have a commitment to making their various addons worth buying even for Hardcore games.
Now give me 1080 snowboarding.
Manuel @ Mar 25th 2009 1:35AM
I wonder if the password "007 373 5963" still works?
BPMOmega [gamertag] @ Mar 25th 2009 1:51AM
Will there be a bike-stealing mini-game that supports the Balance Board, too?
VaultICEE @ Mar 25th 2009 2:33AM
As fun, arcadey and nostalgic as this game looks, it just makes me wonder how long this can remain... fun.
Ah well. Can't wait to try it! I might just break the streak of neglecting my Wii and give-in once Punch-Out comes out.
zzyzx @ Mar 25th 2009 3:26AM
So the addition of multiplayer doesn't do anything for anyone? It's just me?
TwEE @ Mar 25th 2009 3:55AM
Depends, how dose multiplayer work in a game like this?
zzyzx @ Mar 25th 2009 7:27AM
I believe it's 2-player vs. mode. But I have no link - I can't remember which gaming site had the info.
zzyzx @ Mar 25th 2009 7:31AM
That would be local multiplayer, Little Mac fighting himself. I've never heard about controlling other fighters or online multiplayer.
SuMtOnE @ Mar 25th 2009 3:28AM
interestin..
TwEE @ Mar 25th 2009 4:38AM
The gaming world needs more stuff like this, this is classic arcade fun (fast bursts of gameplay).
I love games that know they're games, N+, Smash Bros, Mario Kart, Geometry wars, Castle crashers, Street Fighter blaa blaa blaa. Although most "hardcore" gamers consider them fun little distractions until the "real" games come out, I find the game play in these types of games superior to the type of games the "hardcore" go crazy over, the Oblivions and Bioshocks of gaming.. So I'm pretty pumped for this.
baby sea tuna @ Mar 25th 2009 8:31AM
"I find the game play in these types of games superior to the type of games the "hardcore" go crazy over, the Oblivions and Bioshocks of gaming"
Sigh...
samfish (is ready for MadWorld!) @ Mar 25th 2009 9:09AM
That's due to so many games trying to be this big cinematic, Hollywood events. Gameplay is always, always, always secondary at best in those games, to be tossed aside if it gets in the way of the B-grade storyline. That's partly why, I think, first person shooters haven't had any meaningful gameplay evolution, except Halo to an extent, in the past decade. So many of them are used nowadays as vehicles to tell blockbuster stories and just go with what has been proven to work when it comes to gameplay and mechanics.
Enduro @ Mar 25th 2009 1:08PM
Here, here.
t_m @ Mar 26th 2009 9:06AM
Too true.
Although i think the enjoyment that comes from them is pretty different from the enjoyment from more cinematic games. Something like Bioshock I get involved in the atmosphere... its more like reading a novel or watching a movie.
Something like those games you mentioned is more like playing a board game or a puzzle game.. its the mechanics and challenge thats fun.
I tend to switch between the two.. if i play too much of the latter group, i start craving immersion and story, if i play too much of the former then i start craving new gameplay types and fun.
I DO wish more games could be played in SHORT BURSTS though. I don't have the free time to devote to 2hr RTS levels or endless platforming/FPS levels these days. Thats one reason why games like Darwinia and World of Goo appeal.
JRM @ Mar 25th 2009 5:01AM
I think using the Wii balance board on this game is sheer genius! I hope it's done well enough that you can actually do "fancy footwork" like muhammad ali.
If this works well (which I'm really hoping it does, for the sake of video gaming in general) I would love to see a well-done kickboxing game, where you can use the balance board and your feet, to block as well as to kick the crap out of your opponent.
Spartan @ Mar 25th 2009 6:08AM
i hope it's done well as well, but doubt it. it'd probably be just lean left, lean right.
I reeally wish they would let us use two wiimotes though, one for each hand. that would be sweet with a capital 'F'.
Mr Khan @ Mar 25th 2009 8:30AM
I really don't want to cave and put $90 down, and then buy this. Not worth it, but it'll be painful missing out on the opportunity...
:(
baby sea tuna @ Mar 25th 2009 8:34AM
Wait, *you* of all people don't have a balance board? Come on, dude, even I've got a balance board.
I mean, how else am I going to keep my door from closing itself?
Cody @ Mar 25th 2009 9:39AM
"I mean, how else am I going to keep my door from closing itself?"
Do us all a favor and use your head instead.
aristokrat @ Mar 25th 2009 1:52PM
Cody, for someone who continually tries to defend his posts with "It was just a joke guys, stop the flushing the toilet, my hair's getting messed up...", you are quite slow to pick up on other people's humor. Oh wait, I guess that does make sense...
Wesley Fenlon @ Mar 25th 2009 9:57AM
It's coming true!
http://nintendo.joystiq.com/2008/09/16/born-for-wii-punch-out/
dantebk @ Mar 25th 2009 11:11AM
I hope that one day we get a Wii boxing game where you can dual-wield Wii Remotes with Wii Motion Plus on each to make it a bit more responsive. I'm still going to get Punch-Out!! but having to use the nunchuk for one of my hands is a little disappointing. When playing Wii Sports Boxing, I always felt like the nunchuk hand was less responsive, plus the cord binding them together sometimes got in the way.
j.lee @ Mar 25th 2009 6:33PM
yeah I'll probably pick this up...but I want to hear/test some play controls first. I assumed that they would release this with wii MotionPlus functionality, but apparently that's been gimped.