When will WiiWare incorporate WiiSpeak?

I was thinking about picking up the WiiSpeak peripheral, but I'm hesitant because the only game that currently supports it is a game I will likely not play much (I may get it for my neice, who's an AC addict on DS, and I'll likely check it out for a bit). Aside from that, I know there's the WiiSpeak Channel, but I got over the thrill of VOIP long, long ago, so while that's cute, its not really Must-Try! to me.

But I do like voice chat, and it has been sorely missed on the Wii. Take a recent WiiWare title, Cue Sports, for example: lots of fun, great that it offers online multiplayer, but no way of chatting during the often long pauses between shots, or no way of even saying something as simple as "nice shot", etc. Just another in a long line of games that, while not neccesarily impaired by their lack of voice chat, would certainly benefit a great deal from incorporating it.

This got me thinking: other than Animal Crossing & The Conduit, what games are going to support WiiSpeak? I'm sure there are some, perhaps even many, but I know of only these two for sure. More specifically, as I'm sure that most wi-fi games going forward will have this functionality, I'm wondering if/how soon this feature will make its way into WiiWare titles. It took a little while, but the Balance Board finally seems to be getting more WiiWare support (Incredible Maze, Tetris Party, Snowboard Riot). I'm hoping that voice chat is being worked into existing yet-to be released games as I write this, but, I'm just wondering out loud here, how long? If anyone knows of anything leave a comment & link below, I'd love to hear about it, and haven't seen anything yet.

Something else I know little about, but am hopeful is possible, is backwards compatability of Wii/WiiWare titles with the Wii Speak device. While I do think this is possible, and may perhaps happen with a few select titles, I imagine it's a rather large undertaking. There could possibly have to be lines and lines of new code written for each game, and offered as a patch/download, and that's something not every developer or publisher would be willing to do. I wish it were as simple as just upgrading the firmware Oh, if only...

Just some rambling post musing over whether or not to buy the Wii Speak unit. I'm on the fence here, although I think I'm leaning towards waiting for more support. I would love to read some comments on this topic! Of course, if I do pick it up for some reason, I'll post impressions here soon after.

-Kimo

WiiWare kicks off 2009 with...one game?

Having finished the year off strong - in my opinion - with both Cue Sports & MaBoShi's Arcade, I thought that Nintendo was going to roar outta the gates to start the new year off on WiiWare, VC too, but instead it begins with a whimper. I was really expecting Evasive Space on Monday, the neat sci-fi infrared shooter-thingy from High Voltage Software, which is listed as Jan/09, or even Snowboard Riot, also listed as Jan/09, as Hudson just revealed the trailer and a bunch of info & screens from the game last week, along with launching the website for it, all stuff that usually foreshadows a games' release.

But out of nowhere comes the lone WiiWare release of 2009 so far - Sandy Beach from Konami. My response to this was much the same as yours I imagine, and it went something like this: Huh? Having just downloaded in the past couple weeks Fun! Fun! Minigolf, MaBoShi's Arcade, & Cue Sports, plus Super SFII for VC (finally picked up a 2nd Classic Controller on Boxing Day for only $14, so we had to give it a proper testing...), i think I'll be passing on this one, even though it has the benefits of both 1) being made by Konami, and 2) costing only 500 Wii Points.

It looks, well, interesting, but I've got more than enough on my gaming plate right now, not to mention the fridge is stuffed, and I've got food spoiling on the counter - a.k.a.: the Wii's memory is full, and I have games that I haven't even finished, or even played much, just sitting on my SD card, or waiting to be re-downloaded, so I could make room to check something new out.

Yeah, Nintendo, this "better than a hard drive" storage solution that you have in the wings for the new year can't come soon enough, this is getting really annoying to tell ya the truth - although I must admit that with the last firmware update the speed at which I can both download and transfer games between SD/Wii has improved dramatically - and it is honestly, sometimes, the deciding factor in why I don't get some games that come out; I go to buy, only to realise I'm outta room, and I just don't feel like doing any rearranging. I tell you this, even with the large amount of games I've purchased and downloaded for WiiWare (19) & VC (30+) already, I would have even more if I could just download without having to think about it. Hmmm, after reading that last sentence, maybe its a good thing after all...

Well, I may try this cute little game someday, somehow, but not for quite the long, long while I'm sure, as there's already WiiWare games I want to try that have come out ahead of this, and many yet to come out that are very eagerly anticipated (Cave Story, Animales de la Muerte, Gradius ReBirth, Swords & Soldiers, I'm looking at all of you!), or have my interest piqued (Bubble Bobble Wii (I'm a total sucker for anything Bubble Bobble), Battle Poker, LIT, even Snowboard Riot to tell ya the truth - could be a blast with the Balance Board). That's not even mentioning the unknown possibilities the VC has to offer (Kirby 3 was a totally out-of-nowhere surprise too, but not of the jaw-dropping variety), which can always be counted on to drain a few points here and there from me.

Well, here's hoping Nintendo sees fit to up the ante next week from one game per d/l service, unless they drop both a BIG WiiWare &/or VC game (like Smash Bros.). I for one am hoping for Evasive Space again, that looks like a lot of fun. That or the aforementioned Snowboard Riot, as I really want another game for the Balance Board other than Wii Fit & one mode in Tetris Party. Plus, it kind of looks like more fun than Shaun White does - a full retail game! I've got my fingers crossed...

-Kimo

I am once again excited about WiiWare. The floodgates of quality have been opened!

I've been totally loving WiiWare lately. I gotta admit, that after an OK start, things looked pretty bad for the service, with junk like Major League Eating, Protothea (not BAD, but no WiiWare game, that's for sure), SPOGS Racing, Pirates, and Beer Pong somehow getting released on the service. It was starting to look like a bit of a haven for shovelware, and that sucked since things started off so well with great, complete games like LostWinds and Dr. Mario, addictive digital-crack for retro gamers like me with Star Soldier R, and little casual gems like Defend Your Castle and Pop, that showed such promise for Nintendo's answer to XBLA. But lately there's been so many great, quality titles popping up on the service, just about the only games I've been playing are WiiWare games, and that is certainly not a bad thing at all.

After seemingly clearing out all the crap from the line-up over the summer, things really started to turn around in August with much better games like Wild West Guns, Homestar Runner ep.1, (neither of which I've tried yet) and a HUGE favorite around my household, Midnight Pool (Helix seemed like it may be cool, but it gets less and less fun each time you play it, and I totally regret downloading it...). But as nice as those games were, they were nothing compared to the line up of September and, so far, October, which has really revved up the WiiWare line-up into something I'd without hesitation call must-play. Sure, I downloaded the non-game/interactive-screensaver My Aquarium, but just because I thought it would entertain my 3 year old daughter (which it didn't), but I also downloaded three incrediblly AWESOME games in September as well: Mega Man 9, Art Style: Orbient, and Bomberman Blast.

All three of those were still being played daily (along with a game or ten of Midnight Pool here and there) when, last Monday, two more awesome-bombs dropped on the service in the form of Art Style: Cubello and the phenominally wonderful World of Goo, which I wish I was playing whenever I'm not playing it. Seriously, I think World of Goo is WiiWare's so-called "killer-app", you simply need to play this game if you love video games. As if five amazing games that I love to play living on my system weren't enough (had to unfourtunately erase Midnight Pool to make room for World of Goo, damn that limited storage!), this Monday sees Tetris Party get released, and there's still stuff like Space Invaders: Get Even, Alien Crush Returns, Animales de la Muerte, Swords & Soldiers, Gradius ReBirth, and at least one more Art Style game (Rotohex?) on the seemingly near horizon, all of which I have already commited myself to downloading. That's not even mentioning stuff a little further down the line that already has me drooling, like Cave Story (which can't be realeased soon enough...), or great stuff that hasn't even been announced yet (like these amazing Art Style games that just showed up outta nowhere).

I don't know when I'll put another disc in my Wii, it may not be for a while, as WiiWare totally has my gaming itch covered lately. I'll leave you with this thought: the total cost of these five games, all of which I am fully satisfied with and play frequently, is about the same or less than the cost of one new disc game. A fact which is highlighted in my house with the fact that I had just bought and was really enjoying Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - I was flying through the game actually - a couple of days before Mega Man 9 (then Orbient, then Bomberman, then World of Goo, then...), and have hardly even played it at all since. Maybe I will once I finish World of Goo. Maybe.

-Kimo

UNPAUSE!

Yep, I'm pressing the big start button on this blog and taking it outta the "paused' state it has been in for far too long. I've been kept pretty busy the last couple months, and any free time that could've been going to writing about games has been going to actually, you know, playing them.

And, I have had a lot to play the last few months, with so many great games keeping me busy, and of course that also means I've got a lot to talk about too! Pretty much the only things I've been playing for the last few months is WiiWare, DS, and XBLA, so that's what I'll be writing about. I've also been thinking about shifting the main focus of this blog towards writing mainly about digital games - WiiWare and XBLA - , DS, and just Wii in general, as those are really the four main avenues of my gaming habits.

Plus, its not like there's any shortage of gaming websites and blogs out there, so who needs one more person spouting off about big games like Gear of War 2, Fable II or other blockbuster games, when that voice could be put to better use in singing the praises of something like Braid, Bionic Commando, World of Goo, or the Art Style series. I think I'll still blog about everything gaming, of course, but I think WiiWare, XBLA and DS is where the lion's share of coverage around here is going to be headed. Oh, and Virtual Console too. I've also been finding these downloadable games to not only be more fun overall than many disc-based games of late, but also to be of tremendous value. They're so cheap!! These are good times to be a gamer, I tells ya. Much more to come soon, see ya then.

-Kimo

e3 '08: Well, it can't get much worse

Hello world, its been a while since I posted here. Two months, to be exact. Summer is always a busy time around my place - I have a huge yard to keep up with - plus I was waiting to write about all the cool stuff I didn't know about yet until after e3. Wow, what a huge disappointment that show was. The only really 'big' announcements from the big three were; Final Fantasy XIII and Mii's, er, 'Avatars', are coming to 360, WiiMotionPlus and WiiSpeak peripherals/functionality for Wii, and God of War 3 and "Massive Action Game" for PS3. Oh yeah, and GTA on DS. I mean, other than a bunch of stuff we already knew about, for the most part, that was it for "wow" at this year's e3, when comparing to year's past. Well, personally there was huge wow factor for me when Microsoft unveiled Galaga Legions for XBLA, designed by the geniuses behind Pac-Man: CE. I looooooove me some Galaga, and if they can do for it what they did for Pac-Man, this game is gonna rule. I'm a little skeptical going off the early video they showed, but who knows, I've got my fingers crossed...

I've been looking forward to the 'big show' every year since the big show was CES and e3 didn't even exist yet, and this was by far the least exciting 'big show' ever. I don't know why the focus has shifted so much by the whole industry, but this is no longer a show for the gamers or gaming press. This is a show for mainstream media nowadays, and it kinda sucks. Well, it sucks if you let yourself get excited for it based on past experiences, that is. But this is the new reality for our favorite hobby that has now gone more mainstream than ever before. Another part of the new reality is that there isn't one 'big show' for the year, but a number of big shows throughout the year (PAX, GDC, e3, TGS, etc..), where information can be revealed closer to release dates. That's just the way it is now, but its too bad that the big companies have decided to trim down their e3 showings this much. I miss the spectacle and excitement of too much information to process in such a short amount of time like there has been at past shows, F5-ing screens like crazy. Oh well.

I do hope that all this negative press about this years show leads to some kind of improvement for next year's show (which has already been confirmed to be taking place). It really, from a gamer's perspective, can't get any worse than this years. I mean, this is my post - for my VideoGaming blog - on e3 - the big VideoGaming show - and its already finished due to lack of excitement to talk about stuff. That`s kind of sad...

-Kimo

Viva la Star Soldier R

I have been absolutely loving/cursing this game to bits since it released a couple weeks back. This game totally pwns me right now, I don't do much else when I have free time other than try to beat my high score in the 2-min mode. Currently I'm 5th in Canada, 17th in North America, and 474th in the World with my score of 1,010,700, using the name KiMO. Even with that score, which I know is pretty good (World Record at the moment is from Japan - like about 90% of the other scores - and is 1,122,100), I can see all kinds of room for improvement, and that's one of the things I love about this game. Even if you've played hundreds and hundreds of runs, as I have by now, you always see spots where you could've gotten 'just a few more points' that could've helped out a lot.

This is a total 'just one more try' game if I've ever played one, even if it's mostly the kind of game that would really only appeal to either high score whores or shooter junkies (guilty as charged on both counts, btw). The ease at which you can restart a level if you make an error (just press + & - together for a quick restart from the beginning), while a total godsend really, also serves to extend my gaming sessions way longer than I had anticipated, as the goal of "just one or two 2-minute runs" often turns into 20 or more aborted half-runs before even completing one to satisfaction. So in other words, 15 minutes or more just to finish one 2-minute run. Like I said at the beginninng, loving & cursing it. Plus, add in the fact that this game really works awesome w/the classic controller (the only way to play it IMHO, as analog just feels too loose + imprecise. Digital FTW!), and that means that I've been having some real wicked cases of "Nintendo Thumb" the last couple weeks.

Yes, this game is an endless source of fodder for perfectionists, a real hardcore gamers' game, and I don't think it's really getting the respect it deserves from the gaming media. Perhaps I'll write a review eventually that approaches the game from the proper perspective (which I think is what most of these reviews are missing), but first I have to get over my 2-minute run addiction and play some of the 5-minute mode (which I've honestly only tried twice so far, compared to the bajillion 2-minute runs I've made/started....).

The last time I was hooked this much on one game, to the exclusion of playing almost any other games, was either with Picross DS or Puzzle Quest. On a home console I'd say since not since Pac-Man: Championship Edition (which I still absolutely need to have released for DS w/wifi leaderboards already!!! Get on it Namco-Bandai!), which had me hopelessly addicted for weeks and weeks on end, trying to eek out a few more points here and there. Star Soldier R reminds me so, so much of Pac-Man: CE, actually, kinda like WiiWare's version of either that or Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved on XBLA; that is, a short session, old-school game design, centered around getting the highest score in the land, that still feels fresh, and can have you totally and helplessly addicted.

I had been playing copious amounts of Mario Kart on my Wii prior to Star Soldier R being released, but I haven't even had one race, online or off, since I downloaded it. We just got Conan (360) last week, and my brother has been playing it like a madman ever since, and I want to try it, but like I said, any time for gaming lately is an opportunity to beat that score. Hey, it's only 2-minutes....

-Kimo (KiMO on the leaderboards, look for me @ #1 soon...heh...)

Allez Cuisine!!

It's been awhile since I posted anything on here, but this is my kind of news, and I just needed to have somewhere to yell YESSSSSSSS! Iron Chef is coming to Wii!! Well, Iron Chef America that is, but still, count me in. Ever since the Wii came out, me and my wife have thought about how awesome (potentially...) an Iron Chef Wii game would be, but I didn't really ever think there'd be a chance one would be made. I even thought that if one were made, it would be Japan-only, and based on the original (which would be, honestly, way, waaaay cooler), so this is a really good surprise, and perhaps a testament to the series' popularity in North America. I know we are not alone in absolutely loving this show, apparently. Hmmm, I hope it has WiFi Connection support....

I also hope that this isn't just a Cooking Mama clone, and is instead a quality, fully-developed Wii product that does this series justice. I'll hold off on any further speculation until more info is released, but at this point I think I'm looking forward to this even more than Mario Kart Wii, GTA4, MGS4, whatever! Well, I may be getting a little carried away here, but I'm a pretty huge Iron Chef fan, what can I say. I've actually been anticipating this for a while, though I realistically thought it would never actually happen. Kinda like my own personal Duke Nukem Forever, but this will actually come out. Zing!

I intend to post something here everytime I hear news about this game, my modest contribution towards helping this game find its audience, sell a ton, and hopefully start a franchise (with the wishfull possiblity of 'classic' Iron Chef on Wii...), as I'm sure coverage of this game won't be all that huge (it will likely be derided by some as yet another 'casual' game), so I'll do my best to help the game out (like anyone reads this blog...but I digress..). I sure hope it comes together and doesn't reek of Wii cash-in, I really, really do. Until next time, enjoy this teaser trailer announcing the game (complete with Marc Dacascos!).

CDN Retailer Selling Rock Band...for $500.00 a pop!!!

That, apparently, is $18,000 worth of Rock Band Special Edition for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, or it will be if it is all sold at Canadian retailer Play Me, in West Edmonton Mall. You may have heard that the Canadian shipments of Rock Band have been deleayed until the 20th at the earliest (some stores say that the date is the 28th), but you can buy 'em here in Edmonton, if you don't mind spending more than you paid for the console you'll be playing it on in the first place. See, this Play Me store has always used this lame excuse that they order all their stuff from the States, and that has always been reflected in their high prices (I can remember seeing Quest 64 (!) there for $100.00, to give you an example), but this really takes the cake. Knowing they're likely one of the only retailers in all of Canada to have these highly coveted packages for sale (indeed, if you ask them, they say they're the only place in Canada you can find it this year), they've jacked the price up more than double any price I've seen it reach yet on eBay for the very same package. Asking someone to pay $500 bucks for this is a straight-out crime, no matter how great the game may be. Especially considering you'll be able to buy it at any Wal-Mart or Zellers in less than a week for much less. I guess some might say you can't blame 'em for trying, but not me, I despise them for trying. Seriously, to try and outright gouge your customer base like that (especially while under the guise of being a true enthusiasts' store) is just wrong. If anyone out there gave these crooks Five Hundred Bucks for this this, I do feel sorry for you, but its really your own fault, as you're a big ol' stupid idiot with too much money. Sorry.

For shame, Play Me, for shame.....

- Kimo

Here's some more pictures: