Zelda and Mario teams hard at work News
Wii News by Kristan Reed
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has confirmed that the Zelda and Mario teams are "both hard at work" to "bring new titles to Wii".
Speaking at Nintendo's E3 2008 press briefing, Iwata-san stopped short of revealing what those title were, or when they may arrive, leaving observers with few clues of the company's plans for its most historically popular 'core' brands.
Instead, the Nintendo boss focused on reflecting how dramatically the fortunes of the company had changed since 2003.
Iwata-san said that at E3 2003 "almost everyone attending held a pessimistic view of Nintendo's future."
"That view was not enjoyable," he admitted, "but I knew people were just using what seems to be a common sense view of the videogame market.
"I must admit that even Nintendo employees could not have imagined five years later that the market could respond so quickly that we could be selling millions of...bathroom scales," he added, referring to the current worldwide success of Wii Fit. "Common sense doesn't make as much sense any more!"
Indeed, Nintendo's 'common sense' approach of old would have been to wheel out a stellar new sequel. That, however, was well and truly abandoned this year, with almost zero concession made to its so-called 'core' audience throughout the 70-minute briefing.
With many seasoned observers expecting at least one major 'core' gaming announcement, fans of Zelda, Mario, Metroid, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, or even Starfox were left wondering when, or even if, the Japanese veteran will be unveiling its latest additions to its pillar franchises in the near future.
For more on Nintendo's E3 press briefing, check out our Livetext report.
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Comments: 1-18 of 18 in total
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Well, as it is, I have all the games that are worth owning on the Wii (from a "hardcore" gamer's perspective) and even though those games are superb, I see very little of interest in the future. An announcement of a future Mario or Zelda game would do well for me.
However, I'm worried that an actual announcement will soon be followed by news that a future Mario or Zelda will be far more accessible than ever before, to the point where the games will only appeal to people buying the Wii for Wii Sports/Wii Fit etc.. ! On the other hand, announcing a top Nintendo game won't reduce the wait either way. I doubt another Zelda or Mario will hit the Wii considering how long they take to develop (though I'm not complaining, more development time clearly equals better games if Mario Galaxy is anything to go by), and will likely end up on Nintendo's next console instead. |
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AlcohollicA
15/07/08 @ 19:46
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I would be surprised if their was a second Mario title for wii although it would be more than welcome.
Of course there will be a zelda wii. Twighlight Princess doesnt count. |
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Thing is, I've heard a console Zelda will be more like the DS Phantom Hour-glass, rather than the traditional affair we usually expect.
Don't get me wrong, I think Wind Waker is a 10/10 game, and I'm sure Phantom Hour-glass is also great, but only on the DS. Just because Twilight Princess didn't sell so well in Japan doesn't mean it wasn't superb Nintendo! We, or at least, I, want more of the same. If anything, the console Zeldas need to be getting harder, rather than more accessible. |
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daz_john_smith
15/07/08 @ 20:09
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I think we could see another Mario game on Wii, since I don't see the Wii following the usual-ish 5 year lifespan.
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I'm not into Pokemon personally, but I agree that a console game similar to the Gameboy/DS versions would be a wise move for Nintendo.
My friend is somewhat into Pokemon and even he says that it's ridiculous how, even after the N64 and Gamecube, Nintendo have yet to make a proper console Pokemon game. It seems like a no-brainer to me. Get the development team behind the Gameboy games to do a console Pokemon. It's that simple. |
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What they realy need is some new more mature(but it does not need to be res 4 or manhunt like in content.)
IP. and they need it soon. The third partys do not appear to be investing in purpose built "core" audiance games for the wii at all. And a new call of duty or medal of honour every year does not count. And considering how No more heroes turned out and not to convinced by mad world. |
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Sigh, at least animal crossing got announced. Just take a look at the character roster of brawl and you can think of a few new "old" games.
A game with Kid Icarus A game with Ice climbers A game with Pokemon (a REAL pokemon game for the wii) A game with Ness Seriously, some of those games are so old that if they made a new one it wouldn't count as a sequel. It would be like Metroid Prime was. |
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I was praying for Metroid Prime 4 though I guess its more likely that I win the lottery, ah well not like I don't enjoy the casual games on the Wii too but I still think games like Zelda Mario and Metroid are uniquely Nintendo and it would be a shame to think that we won't be seeing any more games like that from Nintendo this generation.
(Yes I know Metroid is Retro Studios in association with Nintendo) |
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Nintendo = business. A business that makes money is a successful one. A business that makes shitloads of money is a winner. And let's not get into ratios of shit games because the Playstation brand don't come out smelling of roses in that arena either.
Nintendo did their bit for the Wii, they need to push the technical stuff as well now - again, they're a business and they used their time to promote new concepts. Fine. Other developers will now move in having seen what can be done and replicate it, or push the boundries a little more. Nintendo alone cannot carry it on it's big names, they've thrown it all out much sooner than they ever would have done in the past. Nintendo have forcibly left a big smoldering crater that people can't ignore. They've done their bit. The Wii is there, it's seen as a console for all people, and now Nintendo want to get on to expanding that. Sell outs? Hardly. Nintendo have thrown out some stunning titles already. The failure of the Gamecube and N64 was the lack of third party support. Whatever awesomeness or wierd new gadgetry Nintendo have, you need stuff in the middle to look forward to as well or it does seem bleak. SEGA have done just that with MadWorld. And more will join them this week and in the future is my bet. MadWorld tells me that companies are willing to take risks on the Wii, they are willing to cater for more adult audiences. The install base is huge. The Wii is seen as cheaper to develop for. The Wii will get interesting games, and not all of them now will be from the stables of Nintendo. And nor should they all be. In short, Nintendo haven't sold out any more than Sony and Microsoft have by already trying to copy the Wiimote. But the strength of the Wii is in expanding the control mechanisms, and Nintendo can't do everything at once. Now is the time for the third parties to move in and flex some muscles... And if MadWorld is any demonstration, I think the Wii's future isn't going to be too bad at all. |
Comments: 1-18 of 18 in total
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