Joystiq

Sin & Punishment 2 coming to Wii

Andrew Yoon — 2008-10-02T02:00:00+00:00

Although its only release in America came as a Virtual Console title on the Wii, Sin & Punishment ~~(N64 version pictured above)~~ has a pretty hardcore following here in the States. Nintendo has announced a follow-up to the Treasure-developed rail shooter. No details are available yet, but those who have played the original Tsumi to Batsu will know that the game is a perfect fit for Nintendo's current home console. Check out videos right here.

[Update: Added screenshot of the new game.]

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Turncoat! Warren Spector developing for casual audience

Ross Miller — 2008-10-01T17:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Business

"How dare he abandon us?" you may scream into your monitor (and later into your favorite pillow). Warren Spector, developer of core gamer classics such as Thief and Deus Ex, is working for the mainstream audience. In a Forbes article about casual gaming's increasing influence, Spector said, "I don't believe I'm compromising on my gameplay ideals at all. [But] any artist who doesn't want his or her work in front of the largest audience possible is nuts."

Spector's "shift" shouldn't come as a surprise. For starters, we know his company, the Disney-owned Junction Point Studios, is currently working on a Pixar collaboration. He also intimated his desire for more mainstream development at the Games Education Summit in June.

"I'm sure a lot of the hardcore folks are going to be up in arms and I'm really looking forward to getting into that discussion with them," he said, later adding that he feels the hardcore genre is "completely safe" but "less relevant to major publishers" -- Cliff Bleszinki can breathe a sigh of relief. What we're wondering, now more than ever, is what's going on with the untitled fantasy project we haven't heard about since June 2007.

[Via MCV]

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Pachter: Nintendo has not abandoned the core audience

Jason Dobson — 2008-07-29T09:15:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, E3, Business

Not everyone stumbled away from Nintendo's E3 presser feeling lightheaded and sick to their stomach. Some, like Wedbush Morgan soothsayer Michael Pachter, felt that the presentation was on point, offering an "even more positive view" of the company, while adding belief that Nintendo has not yet turned its back on the 'critically important' hardcore crowd.

"We think that Nintendo focused upon building upon its formidable lead with the mass market," notes Pachter, "and do not consider the lack of major hard core game announcements to be an abandonment of its core." Granted, this is a man who has the ear of investors and not necessarily gamers, and given that the analyst anticipates Nintendo to report revenue of more than $3.9 billion for 2009's fiscal first quarter, with an estimated $17.7 billion expected for the year, try to at least look surprised when his world views don't align perfectly with your own.

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Joystiq interview: Nintendo spins 'core' gamer appeal, more

Jason Dobson — 2008-07-23T08:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, Interviews, E3, Business

E3's oddly intoxicating cocktail of libation and lack of sleep can often give those in attendance a unique perspective on the industry. However, as we wandered into Nintendo's coolly lit corner of the LA convention center, we were quickly reminded that this is an outfit with a perspective all of its own.

If the company's ambivalence during its own pre-E3 presser wasn't enough to convince us of Nintendo's indifference toward core gamers, our sit down during the show with Nintendo spokesman Charlie Scibetta proved that while the organization may preach that "hardcore" gamers play a critical role in Nintendo's strategy, its actions paint a different picture altogether.

Nintendo's press conference was interesting for several reasons, but one of these was that a number of titles, like Wario Land and Kirby Super Star Ultra, were not even mentioned. Was there any reason why these were left out?

We're showing them here on the show floor. We're pushing those games hard. The short answer to your question as to why they weren't in the press conference is that you only have so much time. If we included every single title and did demos of every single the reaction from the people at the press conference would be 'you went a little long.' We have to pick which games we want to push to the forefront and feature in the press conference, and the rest of them we feature on the show floor.

"We have to pick which games we want to push to the forefront and feature in the press conference, and the rest of them we feature on the show floor."

One of Nintendo's key announcements that was made was the Wii MotionPlus. But what kind of device is it, exactly?

There's the accelerometer and sensor bar that are still there. There's something called the Rate Gyroscope that's put in with the Wii MotionPlus, and what that does is it can recreate every flip of the wrist, every movement for a one-to-one experience. It's one of these things that you hear about, and wonder 'how does that work?,' and then you pick up the controller and play it and get it right away.

It tracks movement, position and speed. So when you're throwing a disc it's actually going to be able to take into consideration how you're turning your wrist to get a different angle and trajectory, and how hard you move it too will be how far it goes. It's very realistic.

The Wii's lack of sizable internal storage has been a controversial topic since the console's debut, and is likely to continue to be so given companies like Sega attempting to bring downloadable content to the Wii in the near future. What's Nintendo's strategy to help deal with this?

We hear gamers loud and clear on that. What's great about the songs and the games that you can download is that the system remembers that you did that. So if you need to clear off space off your SD card, you can. It's not like once you delete them you've lost them forever and you have to pay for them again. It's just a matter of managing the space you do have and keeping the stuff on there that you play the most while clearing up when you want to bring new stuff on.

But does Nintendo have any specific plans to address the need for extra storage on the Wii?

We don't have anything to announce now on that, no.

We hear Nintendo talking about the importance of core gamers in the company's strategy, but to be fair we're not seeing much announced that reflects that stance. What's Nintendo doing to appeal to the core gamer market?

The core, when they first heard about the motion sensing capabilities of the Wii remote and Wii Sports, were skeptical. But when they tried it, they liked it. Like most people do. Whether you consider yourself in the core or expanded audience, it's just universal that people like great games. There are games here, like Wario Land Shake It! and Mario Super Sluggers that some people consider to be core games, but if the game's good it doesn't matter. If you're new to gaming or a veteran gamer, it's something you're going to like.

What's interesting about a game like Animal Crossing, which is something that I consider to be a core game, is that it has the Wii Speak microphone attached to it. It works with it, rather. It's actually sold separately. But when you think about the capabilities that kind of voice chat and communication is going to do for that game and for other games, that's exciting. It's exciting for the core to see too to see what developers will do with that peripheral.

"It's just a matter of managing the space you do have and keeping the stuff on there that you play the most while clearing up when you want to bring new stuff on."

A lot of core gamers last year weren't fired up about WiiFit, and now they have either come to like it or they don't. But almost everyone like Shaun White Snowboarding. Developers have taken the Balance Board that originally came out with WiiFit, and now have gotten their hands around it and spent some time with it, and are realizing their creative vision by using that peripheral. These accessories we're taking about being associated with the games, Wii Speak and Wii MotionPlus, the game's we're showing aren't the only games that are going to use them.

As developers and publishers learn about that technology and begin to incorporate it into their own development, we're going to see a whole lot of great third-party ideas come out of that that'll appeal to both expanded and core audiences.

Speaking of games for the core audience, do you have any update on either Project H.A.M.M.E.R. or Disaster: Day of Crisis?

I don't have any status update, no.

And you mentioned the Balance Board and WiiFit. Given their scarcity, to say nothing of the console itself, does Nintendo have any strategy for getting more of these on store shelves?

(chuckles) We're making them as fast as we can. The response to them has been really outstanding. I can't tell you how many barbecues I've thrown this summer where we bust out WiiFit and soon the party has shifted from the backyard to the living room. The response has been great, and now we're just trying to get as many out there as quick as we can.

So then what's Nintendo's strategy as it pertains to the Wii's longevity?

As long as publishers and our own first-party teams are able to get good use out of the technology that's there to make gameplay experiences people will like, it's going to be a legitimate console. Technology evolves, and when we get to the point when we think it's time to do a new edition, then we'll make an announcement about that. But for right now, with the number of games that are coming out and the kind of creativity that we are seeing on the platform, that shows us that the well is nowhere near dry in terms of what this console can do.

How about the DS? Are we close to the next generation of that handheld?

The DS is also very successful, and in the June NPD data we think that the DS might overtake the Wii as the number one console for the month. It's selling great; we've sold 70 million units of that worldwide. As Reggie said in the press conference, we'll be close to 100 million by the end of the year. You're seeing the creative opportunity for developers. You see Spore, Guitar Hero, and now Grand Theft Auto was just announced for the DS. You see a lot of publishers excited about developing for that platform. And so, to think about cutting that short and moving onto the next console right away, we just don't see a lot of logic in doing that.

Looking to the digital space, what's Nintendo's strategy concerning WiiWare? Why would a third-party developer choose to release their title over WiiWare versus alternative channels such as XBLA or PSN?

WiiWare is a great opportunity for any size developer, large or small, to get their product out in a way that has been difficult in the past because of the cost of production and trying to get retail space. It's a real opportunity for any size developer to realize their creative vision. As more and more publishers understand what it can do for them, we're gong to see more great titles.

But without any sort of promotion by Nintendo for these games, what incentive do third-parties have to put their games on your service?

There's lots of ways to get the word out if you've got a great game. Even in talking to people like yourself. Joystiq is a good place for WiiWare developers to talk about their game and let the public know about it in advance.

"I think with Virtual Console and WiiWare, they'll find their rhythm in terms of when the right space is to release titles, and the public will help shape that."

It just doesn't seem that Nintendo gives any advance notice of these titles, and it isn't until Monday morning that anyone knows what's available. Is that your strategy?

We kind of have to pick our battles in terms of where we're going to load up on marketing and publicity efforts, so we get behind certain games that we think have huge sales potential and the retailer will push that. If we have a game on the WiiWare system that we think is equal to that kind of effort and worthy of it, then we would do it.

Finally, we want to talk a bit about Virtual Console. Specifically, the release frequency for these titles seems to have begun to dry up a bit. Any reason for this?

There's ebbs and flows in anything; that's just the model of the whole video game industry. Sometimes you see a lot of spiking around Christmas, and I think that now what you're starting to see is more consistent spacing of titles because you can sell a title now whereas before it was difficult to see a blockbuster anywhere but Christmas. Now you can see it spaced all the way through the year. I think with Virtual Console and WiiWare, they'll find their rhythm in terms of when the right space is to release titles, and the public will help shape that.

And is Nintendo courting any other older console libraries for the service?

The skies' the limit, that's what is great about Virtual Console. We don't have anything new to announce, but you're seeing a lot of new content put on that from old libraries. And it doesn't just have to be classic arcade titles, it can be new experiences released there as well.

Who decides when a virtual console title is released, is it Nintendo or is it the original publisher?

The publisher decides, but it's in conjunction [with Nintendo]. WiiWare is a little bit more loose in terms of having very little input from Nintendo at all. Developers really have the final say...as long as it passes the ESRB rating. It can't be rated too high, and it also has to work.

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Nintendo promises 'core' gamers will be happy with E3 showing

Alexander Sliwinski — 2008-06-17T12:55:00+00:00

Filed under: Nintendo Wii, E3

Marc Franklin, director of public relations at Nintendo, tells GamePro that "core gamers" will be interested in what the company has in store for E3. Although Franklin mentions Mario Super Sluggers (we can sense Europe going into fever pitch!), he gives very little detail on what else the company has planned.

There's been plenty of speculation about what Nintendo may reveal, but Franklin's comments come as Nintendo's more casual oriented Wii Fit storms the sales charts and a certain executive takes a jab at the Nintendo faithful. Franklin concludes that third-party publishers are rolling out more titles as they realize the "Wii is the current platform of choice in this generation." True, but these rollouts don't always equal payoffs. We're looking at you, Boom Blox.

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Sega: Hardcore gamers shouldn't be 'excommunicated' from Wii

Ross Miller — 2008-03-06T16:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Business

After lauding its casual market domination with Mario & Sonic at the Olympics, Sega of America President Simon Jeffrey decided to switch gears, discussing with GameDaily the merits of hardcore gaming on the Wii. In short, Jeffrey feels that Western publishers are making a mistake by ignoring the hardcore gamers who own a Wii.

Unfortunately, other than providing a tantalizing and hypothetical (i.e. not happening) assertion that Condemned would have been great to play with the Wii remote, Jeffrey made no clear commitments to release titles appealing to the hardcore crowd, instead saying, "There's no reason why [hardcore gamers] should be excluded or excommunicated from the Nintendo world," Jeffrey said. Our only hope is that "hardcore" to Sega doesn't mean "let's make a darker Sonic and give him a gun."

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Suda 51 clarifies Wii remarks on third-party sales

Ross Miller — 2008-01-22T15:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Nintendo Wii, Action

No More Heroes creator Suda 51 wants to clarify a few comments. In a post on Grasshopper Manufacturer's website (click on "What's New"), the developer points out what he considers is a "misquote" in an interview with CVG. In response to a question concerning the sales of No More Heroes in Japan, Suda 51 said, "Whilst the sales weren't as high as I hoped, other titles for Wii aren't selling so well either. Only Nintendo titles are doing well," adding that this is the case outside of Japan, too.

The clarification posted asserts that "unlike a lot of Nintendo Wii titles currently available, [NMH] is the kind of product which will attract a different kind of consumer to the hardware, i.e. gamers who are looking for a different genre to the products which have been successful on this platform thus far." That "different kind of consumer" we're guessing is a more hardcore gamer, given comments earlier in the CVG interview where he said, "I wasn't expecting that Wii would be a console targeted only at non-gamers. I expected more games for hardcore gamers." Obviously, he doesn't want to comment on the sales of other third-party titles, but do you think he might have a point?

For those looking for a reportedly more hardcore Wii experience, No More Heroes comes out today in North America.

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Unexpected hardcore gamer in the family

Alexander Sliwinski — 2007-09-01T11:45:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture

It's a long weekend in the States, it's time to take it down a notch. Earlier this week we got an email from reader Herlich Aguiluz, who told us the story of how his wife woke him up Wednesday morning concerned that their seven-year-old son was awake while "it was still dark." When Aguiluz spoke to his son in the morning it turned out the kid woke up at 1AM and was playing Metroid Prime 3: Corruption all night until his mother came down to fix breakfast. Aguiluz says, "I realized that while my wife was mad at what happened, I was proud and envious at the same time. Proud because I see my gamer-self in him, and envious because it used to be me who stayed up for a new game."

This blogger can remember waking up more than one time at 3AM as a kid to find his mother playing Final Fantasy II (Final Fantasy IV) in the living room -- later on the same thing happened with Final Fantasy III. It's very strange to wake up to the sound of Final Fantasy battle music, walk into the living room and be asked, "What are you doing up?" When that question was obviously a two-way street.

So, let's open it up. Anybody else have those unexpected gamer moments with a family member?

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Ultra gamers make up 22% of the market

Justin Murray — 2006-12-22T01:25:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Business

An important aspect game publishers need to consider is their market. How many people are out there that buy games and of them, what are their buying habits? Jupiter Research, a market research company, has some answers.

Ultra gamers, as Jupiter calls them, make up 22% of the game buying population. The ultra gamers are gamers that spend more than 5 hours per week playing games and more than $50 in the last six months buying them. This means the other 78% is the casual market.

The ultra gamer tag (that would be most of the folks reading this) is certainly odd. We find $50 in six months to be a strangely low number, given the number of games many of us play in the course of a year; even the more economical GameFly subscription would run $132 in that period. Maybe the hardcore segment is a small portion of the ultra gamer segment.

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Gamer apparel: the king of games

Kevin Kelly — 2006-11-15T21:40:00+00:00

Ready for some overpriced clothing that'll let the world know you're a gamer? Of course you are! The self-proclaimed "King of Games" in Japan has some threads for you. These suckers are roughly $50 a pop, and feature some really bizarre artwork. Check out the series dedicated to Nintendo's Game & Watch handhelds.

It looks like their "Sweat Parka" hoodie has a pocket made just for your DS, but since we can't read Japanese, and their English site is "beta only" right now, we don't know. The Zelda designs on it are pretty nifty though. Our favorite shirt is the "80s Videogamer" model. Simple with a message.

Although right now if forced to choose between a new Wii game and the shirt, we gotta go with the game.

[Thanks, Jeff]

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Categorizing gamers, from hardcore to casual

Kyle Orland — 2006-08-30T14:25:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture

It's always been extremely convenient to categorize the wide spectrum of gamers into the two distinct, warring camps of "hardcore" and "casual" (especially for journalists, who love condensing difficult ideas into single words) . But that dichotomy isn't too useful for accurately describing most gamers, who fall somewhere in between the guys from Penny Arcade and your grandpa who played Tetris that one time.

Enter Parks Associates, a market research firm that recently issued a report on online gamers that divides them into six distinct groups based on their time and motivational commitments. Parks' categories include:

"Power gamers" who spend the most money on games.
"Social gamers" who use games mainly to socialize (duh!)
"Leisure gamers" who spend lots of time playing mainly challenging, casual titles.
"Dormant gamers" who like playing games but just don't have the time.
"Incidental gamers" who play games because there's nothing better to do.
"Occasional gamers," who will occasionally play a puzzle, word, or board game.

This division isn't perfect (where's the space for people who buy one game and play it exclusively for months?) but it's definitely an interesting new way to think about and discuss the incredibly wide array of people who play. What kind of gamer are you?

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Splitsville for Microsoft and Sigil after "varying visions"

Vladimir Cole — 2006-05-06T00:50:00+00:00

Filed under: PC, Online, RPGs, MMO, Business

Sigil Games Online, developers of upcoming MMORPG Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, announced today that they'd be co-publishing the game with Sony Online Entertainment after "it became clear that [Microsoft Games Studios] and Sigil had varying visions and direction for the title's development," according to Brad McQuaid, CEO of Sigil Games Online, as quoted in a company press release on the break-up.

It's rare that a game in beta switches publishers. We have no inside information, but a little digging makes it clear that something's not quite right fresh in Denmark. At least one high-profile game designer recently quit, and Sigil's CEO has been defending the game from legions of ~~WoW Fanboys~~ doubters that have been questioning whether it'll ever be commercially viable.

The surest sign that the game may be in choppy waters is the fact that McQuaid's now doing business with SOE after his high-profile departure from the same company in the fall of 2001. According to MMOG-community gossip circulating at the time, this departure was also the result of diverging creative visions between McQuaid and Sony on the evolution of Everquest, the successful MMORPG that McQuaid co-founded and designed.

Smart observers suggest that the culprit behind all of the churn und drama is the tremendous success of World of Warcraft. To wit: how will Vanguard fare against WoW and the other bajillion MMOGs slated for release? For reaction to this announcement from MMORPG insiders, check the FoH forums, where the unruly mob is being characteristically brutal. Even the President of Sony Online Entertainment is trolled into doing some damage control.

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Carnival of Gamers celebrates first anniversary

Jennie Lees — 2006-05-05T18:57:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture

It's that time of month again -- the Carnival of Gamers has made its fourteenth stop, coincidentally marking its first anniversary (there were two last June). This regular collection of game writing from around the blogosphere is a delightful way to get some alternate opinions aired and always seems to be worth the reading time.

This month's edition covers casual vs hardcore gaming; the Wii; violence and politics; modern MMO issues; and a few other juicy topics from co-op gaming to the ESRB. There's plenty of thought-provoking material in true Carnival style.

See also:
Carnival of Gamers gets n3rfed
Carnival of Gamers rolls on to Virgin Worlds
Carnival of Gamers gathers under Slashdot's tent

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