Delimiter » wii

Nintendo Wii U to hit Australia before Christmas

Renai LeMay — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 06:26:28 +0000

news Japanese video game giant Nintendo has reportedly confirmed plans to launch its next-generation Wii U console in Australia before the end of 2012, listing a local launch in line with simultaneous releases in Japan, the US and Europe.

The Wii U is the company’s follow-up to its highly successful Wii console, of which Nintendo has sold several million in Australia since its launch at the end of 2006 in Australia. The console, Nintendo’s sixth console for the home, will feature 1080p high-definition graphics, addressing a common complaint about the Wii, which only supports standard definition graphics.

In addition, the Wii U will continue Nintendo’s tradition of innovating in the control systems which users use to control games, adding a new controller with an embedded touchscreen, which will allow players to continue gaming sessions by displaying a game on the controller’s touchscreen — even though their television may be off or being used for another purpose. The Wii U was first revealed in June 2011, and will be backwards compatible with Wii games.

Overnight, as Nintendo released its quarterly financial results, the company’s president Satoru Iwata reportedly said (according to Reuters and other publications) that the company would launch the Wii U in Japan, the US, Europe and Australia at the end of 2012. No pricing information has been released by Nintendo.

The news will make Nintendo the first of the three major video game console manufacturers to release a new console for some years. Neither Microsoft nor Sony have yet released much information on their next-generation consoles to replace their respective Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 platforms, although both have released additions to the consoles to tackle specific area such as motion controlled gaming — a feature first introduced in the Nintendo Wii.

It also comes as rival mobile platforms, such as Apple’s iOS, Google’s Android and Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 systems are starting to attract significant amounts of investment from gaming firms keen to cash in on the wave of new smartphone purchases. Some handheld smartphone games — such as the Infinity Blade series — are starting to feature graphics comparable to those on offer through dedicated consoles.

opinion/analysis
How will Nintendo’s Wii U do in Australia? Personally, I very much suspect it will depend entirely on whether Nintendo launches the new console with a decent software line-up. If the company quickly makes available new titles in the long-running Zelda, Mario, Metroid and Donkey Kong franchises, as well as bringing third-party franchises on board like Professor Layton and launching new titles in new franchises such as Wii Sports and Wii Fit, the console will see strong take-up pretty quickly.

Everyone likes new Zelda and Mario games, and with a few extra titles thrown into the mix, plus the long-awaited HD graphics the Wii U will offer, quite a few Australians will want to upgrade.

However, right now, many Australians’ main impression of Nintendo is that it is the company which brought them the awesome Nintendo Wii a few years back, then failed to release much in the way of new games for the console — as well as only slowly porting old games to the system via its online library. If Nintendo continues this trend with the Wii U, then many people will become quite disappointed with the company in general, and will turn back to more reliably entertaining ecosystems the Xbox and PlayStation empires offer.

Photos of the Wii U:

Image credit: Nintendo

Nintendo has sold 31,000 3DS units since March

Marina Freri — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 03:42:06 +0000

Nintendo today claimed to have registered record Australian sales for its 3DS portable device, within weeks from the console’s launch locally.

The Nintendo 3DS was offered to the Australian market on March 31 at the price of $349.95. The device was announced by Nintendo to be the first of its kind, as it pioneered three-dimensional video games, without requiring the use of special glasses. Nintendo says the device’s hardware is meant to give video games “true depth”: it features a bottom touch screen, equipped with a telescoping stylus, and a top screen which displays 3D visuals.

According to a media release issued today by the gaming company, the Australian market has welcomed the new device, with total sales of 31,000 units in the first four days of its availability. “[Nintendo 3DS] launched in Australia on 31 March and has already sold through more than 31,000 units,” a statement issued by the company said. “This … gives Nintendo 3DS the record for best handheld launch in Australia.”

However, the success of the Nintendo 3DS is still in the shadow of home console Wii, which, according to Nintendo, holds the record for “biggest week one” sell through for any console in Australia, achieving the sale of 32,000 units in its first week, and reaching 2.1 million in the years following its launch in 2006.

Image credit: Nintendo

Nintendo Wii gets Aboriginal art mashup

Renai LeMay — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 04:18:09 +0000

Nintendo has commissioned four of Australia’s top indigenous artists to apply their creative talents directly to the company’s Wii consoles, with the aim of eventually benefiting indigenous education through a local charity.

According to a statement issued by the company this morning, the artists who were invited to participate in the effort were Gloria Petyarre, Barbara Weir, Emily Pwerle and her sister Gayla Pwerle.

All are well-known in the Aboriginal art community. Petyarre, for instance, won the Wynne Prize in 1999 for her piece Leaves, and has travelled internationally to represent the nation and her art in countries such as the UK and India. Weir, for her part, has also travelled internationally to exhibit her art and has a list of exhibitions a mile long, dating back through the early 1990′s.

The Pwerle sisters are two sisters of well-known artist Minnie Pwerle from the Northern Territory. They’ve been painting for less time than Petyarre and Weir — but have achieved a great deal of recognition and have a close relationship with Weir — their niece. All of the artists have sold artworks for tens of thousands of dollars each.

Nintendo said the Wii concoles would be auctioned via eBay in custom-built acrylic display cases, and would have their actual video game functionality disabled to ensure the preservation of the associated artworks — although the winning bidders will also receive a separate, playable Wii console.

The funds raised will be put towards the Shalom Gamarada scholarship program — which aims to encourage indigenous students to complete their university education through providing financial support.

“Having these important artists create these piece for Wii will not only raise much needed funds for indigenous education, it will also open new doors by raising awareness to people who would not normally be familiar with the work we do at Shalom Gamarada,” said Jenny Hillman — the organisation’s curator. “Some of the artists involved can boast selling individual pieces upwards of $20,000, and what they have created for Wii are exceptional, one-off originals that I am sure will draw national attention for the eBay auction,” Hillman added.

The consoles can be viewed between now and 6 March, when the auction closes, at several locations — from now until 23 February, at Kaleidoscope Gallery in Paddington — and then at Nintendo facilities in Sydney’s CBD Myer store and EB Games in Swanston St, Melbourne.

Image credits: Nintendo

Nintendo 3DS to hit Australia March 31

Marina Freri — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 00:25:52 +0000

Nintendo last night announced that it would start selling its flagship handheld 3DS console in Australia on March 31 for $349.95, bringing 3D viewing technology to the gaming market for the first time.

The device features a bottom touch screen, equipped with a telescoping stylus, and a top screen which displays 3D visuals. Users will be able to select the level of 3D they enjoy most, through a system called “3D depth slider” that will adjust the 3D effect to increase it, decrease it or even turn it off.

A built-in motion sensor and gyro sensor will allow the handheld to respond to gamer’s movements and transfer real-life motion into the game. Furthermore, users will have extra power of control through a circle pad which enables 360 degrees of movement, bringing back memories from 1996.

“It brings the same degree of responsiveness that gamers enjoyed when Nintendo introduced an analog control stick to navigate Mario (…) on the Nintendo 64 system,” Nintendo said in a media release.

The whole 3D experience will also be enhanced by six “augmented reality” – AR – cards. When read by two outer cameras, they generate superimpose images and animations onto the scene. But there’s also a third camera that points at the user’s face, taking 3D pictures, and enabling the automatic creation of Nintendo Mii characters.

“So users shouldn’t be surprised if they see a dragon popping out of their kitchen tables,” Nintendo stated. “Developers can also use this technology to add creative new experiences to their games”.

Connectivity will also play an interesting role in the 3DS environment. An application called StreetPass will allow exchanging game information with other Nintendo 3DS systems as owners pass one another during the day. New content and updates will be made available by a second feature, called SpotPass, which enables users to connect to compatible public hotspots and thorugh a wireless broadband connection.

From a games perspective, Nintendo says each handheld would come with a set of preloaded games, but to have more choice – including “vintage” gems from its previous Game Boy system – users will have to wait until late May when the Nintendo E-shop becomes available.

Parents will be able to limit Internet access or the games their children play, by using a PIN code. When into sleep mode, the 3DS will act as a pedometer rewarding gamers with “Play Coins” for the steps they take: this credit can be traded in for more content and thus for more entertainment.

Image credit: Nintendo

The end of the Wii era

Renai LeMay — Mon, 17 May 2010 03:46:48 +0000

Nintendo’s Wii is dead. OK, hyperbole check. It’s still kicking mass-market butt, actually. But that’s not going to last much longer. So allow me to rephrase: Nintendo’s Wii will be dead by the end of this year.

Read the full story by John Birmingham on The Geek

Super Mario Galaxy 2 to hit Australia July 1

Jenna Pitcher — Mon, 17 May 2010 03:42:20 +0000

Today Nintendo announced July 1 as the Australian release date for its upcoming Super Mario Galaxy 2 (SMG2) title.

SMG 2 is the highly anticipated sequel to Super Mario Galaxy (SMG), which was released in 27 November 2007 and is still in the Nintendo Wii top ten highest selling games. SMG2 is toted as an improvement on the first game, with new power-ups such as a drill to tunnel through surfaces and a new Boulder “bowling ball” suit to punch and smash through obstacles and enemies alike.

Yoshi will make an appearance as a playable character on some levels of the game, with power-ups such as eating items like a ‘Dash Pepper’ that will get him running up vertical walls, and the ‘Blimp Fruit’ which willl transform him into an air flotation device.

In a recent interview with Game Informer, Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto explained the new functionality of the pointer combined with the ridable Yoshi.

“More exactly, aiming the pointer at specific enemies makes Yoshi swallow that enemy. We used to have the gem-capture functionality, and that helped decide where Mario was going to move ahead. With Super Mario Galaxy 2, you can actually identify and point at things that Yoshi can grab with his tongue and then grab that point in order to reach additional points,” he said.

Advanced players will be able to collect Comet Metals that unlock harder levels and new challenges. The game is said to be more challenging than the original, which will explain why the purchase will include a “Super Guide” — a DVD of hints and tips for beginner and expert Mario Galaxy players alike.

As of April 2010 there was a 1.79 million Nintendo Wii install base in Australia — a hefty increase to the 500,00 units sold as at July 2008.

Image credit: Delimiter screenshot of Nintento promotional trailer

Video: Meet Nintendo’s new black Wii

Renai LeMay — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:55:17 +0000

Nintendo has created a new video ad to promote its black Wii, which went on sale in Australia yesterday. Mumbrella has reported that the ad was created by agency Leo Burnett Sydney.

Is Nintendo being too harsh?

Renai LeMay — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:10:50 +0000

opinion One can’t help noticing that the creator of such cute and cuddly creatures such as Mario, pink and fluffy Kirby and the Lemmings-like Pikmin has been acting a little like Bowser recently.

In Australia grouchy Nintendo has been serving out lawsuits, kicking down doors and dragging the evil forces of video game piracy into the Federal Court for a right dressing down.

All the court action reminds me of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, but without the cute offsider who smiles at you adoringly while pulling the odd rabbit out of her hat. Wait, was that in Phoenix Wright or Apollo Justice? Maybe both.

Anyway, if Nintendo was running for office in an upcoming election, it’d be on a law and order ticket.

The problem is, doesn’t it seem like it’s a little harsh for the Japanese giant to be throwing its weight around so much? Sure, video game piracy takes money from Nintendo and its game developers, but most people in Australia pay for their games.

And although Nintendo is completely within the law to attack piracy through suing those who upload rogue copies of New Super Mario Bros or sell DS mod chips, it’s not as if doing so is going to make the problem go away.

Instead of someone in Australia conducting such nefarious activities, it’ll just be a shady guy in a dirty brown suit in a less regulated country overseas, and many people will pick up a less than legit copy of Mario in Thailand on their way home.

In my view Nintendo would serve its cause much better by following the lead of games publisher Valve, which has this excellent Steam service with a stack of games accessible by download only and locked into its platform.

When you consider Valve’s regular sales and the fact that Steam automatically delivers updates and avoid the need to keep those game discs collecting dust on your shelf, many gamers I speak to agree it’s just easier to buy their PC games legally and economically on Steam than go through the hassle of browsing BitTorrent sites.

Nintendo has a similar service … but there are hardly any games on it, it’s annoying to use and you can’t store many games on your Wii or DS because of the miniscule storage space and no option for an expandable hard disk.

At the end of the day, all I’m saying, Nintendo, is that the law and order thing is fine … but maybe your princess is in another castle?

Image credit: Nintendo

Mario piracy nets Queenslander $1.5m fine

Renai LeMay — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:07:42 +0000

Nintendo has successfully sued a Queensland resident for uploading to the internet a copy of its Wii game New Super Mario Bros a week before its Australian release in November last year.

The Queenslander — named by multiple media outlets as James Burt — has been ordered by the Federal Court to pay Nintendo $1.5 million, according to a statement by the Japanese games manufacturer of the Mario and Zelda titles.

“This legal proceeding was commenced to protect the creative rights and innovation of game developers, and to combat the growing international problem of Internet piracy,” said Nintendo in a statement. The $1.5 million fine consists of damages to compensate Nintendo for what it said was its loss of sales revenue caused by Burt’s actions.

Nintendo said it used “sophisticated technological forensics” to identify Burt. The company obtained a Federal Court search order on 23 November to inspect Burt’s residence. “This led to the seizure of property from those premises in order to gain further evidence against the individual,” Nintendo said.

In a wider sense, Nintendo said it would pursue anyone who breached its intellectual property rights “using all means available to it under the law”.

The company said game piracy was a “significant threat” to its business, as well as that of game developers producing games for its consoles. “Fewer sales of Nintendo’s hardware and software systems means fewer resources that Nintendo, its licensees, developers and publishers have to create and market new video game products which is ultimately to the detriment of video game enthusiasts,” the company said.

“When there is a decrease in game development, there is also a decrease in the number of jobs in the industry. The existence of piracy jeopardises the strength of the video game industry overall.”

Image credit: Nintendo