by Playfuls Staff |
14th July 2006
Electronic Arts announced its line-up for the upcoming revolutionary Wii console, due to appear sometime this fall, most probably before PlayStation 3. EA said it prepares for it at least 6 titles, with “Harry Potter” being by far the most famous.[more]
Nintendo Wii will come accompanied also by titles like Madden NFL, Need for Speed, The Godfather, Tiger Woods PGA Tour, SSX and the well known magic-master Harry Potter.
According to EA, "Each title will remain true to the hallmarks of its franchise but is being designed to maximize the power of the Wii hardware and take full advantage of the uniqueness and innovation of its one-of-a-kind controller".
The other important title, Madden NFL, is currently being showcased as part of EA's Hot Summer Nights event, which is taking place right now in the US.
"Once we started to experiment with Madden on Wii, there was an explosion of innovation. Everyone in the studio is energized by the creative opportunity afforded by both the hardware and controller. By reaching into our catalogue, we are able to bring a fresh and distinctive experience to some of EA's most popular franchises. Creatively, the game play possibilities are staggering and endless," said John Schappert, Senior Vice President and General Manager, EA.
"Nintendo is excited to see the broad array of signature franchises that EA's talented development teams are designing for Wii," says Reggie Fils-Aime, president and COO, Nintendo of America Inc. "The combination of sensational games with Wii's unique play control will thrill players and breathe new life into video games."
Other titles available for Wii at its future launch are: - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo), Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Nintendo), Red Steel (Ubisoft), Rayman Raving Rabbids (Ubisoft), Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz (SEGA), Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors (Square Enix).
Rumor has it that Nintendo is already manufacturing the gadget Wii are all waiting for.
The “evidence” for supporting this rumor came first from a Nintendo official, who confessed under the influence of sake (an alcoholic drink) that the Wii would launch on October 30 in Japan, and hit stores in the US and Europe ten days later.
This would mean that the official announcement from Nintendo concerning a world-wide simultaneous launch for their gaming console was a lie. At this time, Nintendo’s biggest concern is the tweaking of its revolutionary controller (by the way, Nintendo Wii was previously code-named Revolution).
But now another analyst, from CNN, claimed last week that there are good reasons to consider September or early October as favorable launch dates for Wii. Besides being less expensive than the competitors’ products (Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft X BOX 360, which are dubbed as “next-gen” consoles) Wii is also “faster”, since PS3 launch-date is established for 17 November 2006.
According to a June 21st analyst's note from P.J. McNealy of American Technology Research, cited by Chris Morris from CNN, the Japanese gaming giant is already manufacturing final retail units of the Wii. As a comparison Sony has not yet begun the manufacturing process for its PS3, due to Blu-Ray compatibility and pricing issues. Also, last year Microsoft began producing the retail units of its successful X BOX 360 only 69 days before the official launch, on November 17 (which has caused shortages in supplies for many stores right before Christmas season). "October is a reasonable timeframe," wrote McNealy.
Of course, Nintendo denied all these rumors, but other industry insiders, who asked not to be named, said they, too, are expecting a September or October launch for the Wii.
