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E3 2008: Nintendo E3 Developer Roundtable Liveblog
July 16, 2008 | 5:16 PM PST
At 6:00 PM PST today, Nintendo is holding an exclusive Nintendo E3 2008 Developer Roundtable, and we're liveblogging the whole thing. Keep an eye below for updates.
-Conference over-
7:35 PM: Pikmin 3 is official!
7:31 PM: Folks that worked on Wave Race for Nintendo 64 are the guys behind the waterskiing portion of Wii Sports Resort.
The team will create a game that "surpasses Wave Race," according to director Yeguchi.
7:29 PM: Miyamoto gets asked if Wii Music is more a toy than a game. His reply: "that's why it's more interesting than a video game." Nice one, Shig.
7:26 PM: It'll include some songs on public domain and some licensed tunes.
7:24 PM: Wii Music unrelated to Rhythm Tengoku, a rhythm game from Japan.
7:21 PM: Now we're gonna see them play using the drum kit instrument option. Let's see some fat beats, Miyamoto.
7:19 PM: Miyamoto is talking about when they had some of the Nintendo development team's children come in to play Wii Music, and how they "could not pull themselves away from the game."
7:18 PM: Okay, they're playing together. Miyamoto, Eguchi and a few other Nintendo employees.
7:14 PM: He's playing the song with a number of different instruments: guitar, toy piano, trumpet and a dog wolfing?
7:12 PM: Oh, and send us some questions in the comments.
7:11 PM: We had a bit of a battery issue just now. Sorry for the lack of updates. Miyamoto is playing Wii Music -- Yankee Doodle to be specific.
7:02 PM: Asked if anyone hasn't seen Wii Music yet... nobody raised their hand.
7:01 PM: Okay, Q&A is over. Next game is Wii Music and Shigeru Miyamoto is coming out on stage.
6:59 PM: The answer: He says that this is something that Nintendo is always thinking about. When Nintendo thinks of new ideas, one of the first questions it asks itself is is "that easy to play?"
6:58 PM: Someone asked if the added precision/detection of the Motion Plus technology might make it more difficult for players, since the remote will be so precise.
6:56 PM: Someone asked if future Wii-motes might have the Motion Plus tech built-in. Answer: Nintendo is always looking at how to evolve the technology. Nintendo is unsure at this point, but it's something Nintendo will be looking at and perhaps there will be more info on something like this in the future.
6:54 PM: "That's a tough question to answer." Nintendo is very satisfied with the original Wii-mote and the original Wii Sports, but thought of this idea and wanted to do it.
The answer to the second question sounds like a no. Always experimenting with that flying game, not sure if it'll make it into Wii Sports: Resort.
6:52 PM: Someone asked if by releasing Wii Motion Plus Nintendo is admitting that the original tech in the Wii-mote was not quite enough. Also, will the original flying game we saw at E3 2006 be in Wii Sports: Resort?
6:50 PM: They used the resort setting because when coming up with the Wii Motion Plus, they sat down and thought of sports that would make good use of the tech. The sports that they thought of were all sports that you could do on an island/at the beach.
As for how many sports, they can't tell us how many exactly, but they hope to put in at least 10 sports.
6:49 PM: We're asking: What inspired you to bring Wii Sports to the beach setting, and how many sports in the final version of the game?
6:48 PM: Okay, we're asking a question next. We've got a mic in hand!
6:45 PM: Question about the tech behind Wii Motion Plus. Talking about how Wii Motion plus works. It measures the angles of rotation. It adds the data that it collects from your movements to the data the Wii remote has already collected.
Also, some games allow you to pass the remote around, like in the first Wii Sports.
6:44 PM: Someone asked if any developers had access to Wii Motion Plus before E3. The answer: Eguchi is not involved in that process and is not sure.
6:43 PM: Okay, 15-minute Q&A starting now.
6:15 PM: In addition to attacking with your sword, you can also guar by using the B button.
6:41 PM: Covering how Wii Motion Plus enables extra precision in controlling the sword by rotating your wrist and the remote.
6:40 PM: You can change your direction midair, as Wii Motion Plus allows extra control. Now we're going to see swordplay/fencing.
6:38 PM: Showing Jet Skii mini-game now. That game's played with both the Wii-mote and nunchuck.
6:34 PM: With Wii Motion Plus, you can have more precise controls when throwing the disc. Covering a lot of the same stuff we saw during our appointment and at the conference.
6:33 PM: We're going to see the Frisbee mini-game.
6:32 PM: Talking about the game's setting, which is a tropical island. Nintendo wanted to use sports that reflect the beach locale.
6:28 PM: Okay, the Q&A is over. Wii Sports: Resort presentation is starting now. There will be a Q&A for it after the presentation, so send some questions in, and we'll try to ask them.
6:27 PM: Question about using the Weather Channel in the game, but Nintendo has no plans to do this.
6:26 PM: You can't play Virtual Console games through Animal Crossing.
6:25 PM: Nintendo can create new content or events and can add it to the game via DLC.
6:22 PM: When transferring data, your items do not carry over. It's just your character that can be transferred.
6:20 PM: Question about connectivity between DS and Wii versions of Animal Crossing. Answer: You can move your character from the DS version into the Wii version.
6:18 PM: If you have questions about Animal Crossing, post them in the comments and we'll ask.
6:17 PM: Doing a Q&A now for Animal Crossing. There will also be presentations and Q&As for Wii Music and the new Wii Sports.
6:15 PM: Can save photos and send them via Wi-Fi Connection. You can also save them to your SD card.
6:14 PM: You can create shirts for yourself, just like in the other games. But now, you can also customize the back of the shirt.
6:12 PM: Talking about WiiSpeak. "It allows people playing in different locations to have a discussion as if they were in the same room."
6:11 PM: Friends can visit your town even when you're not there.
6:10 PM: There's a theater, where you can watch a comedy show.
6:09 PM: There's a saloon where you can get new hairstyles. There's also a new building; an auction house.
6:08 PM: Talking about new furniture, clothing and whatnot that you collect. There's a lot of new items in the game. Via WiiConnect24 you will automatically receive new items in the game.
6:05 PM: Talking about some of the new things Nintendo has added to Animal Crossing. For example, there are events in this game that were not in the last AC, such as Halloween and Jingles, who visits during the "Holiday" event. There are new events, too. There's a carnival event, which introduces a new character to the AC family.
6:04 PM: His first words: "As you can see, I am not Shigeru Miyamoto." Audience is laughing. Now, we're going to see some Animal Crossing: City Folk.
6:03 PM: Katsuya Eguchi is on stage.
6:02 PM: Eric Walter, Nintendo's PR Manager, just walked up front. He's talking giving us the rundown. Just photos and liveblogging. No video.
5:45 PM: We just sat down. Sitting next to Kevin from GoNintendo. He just pointed out that there are Wiis here. Ooooh. What are we going to see?
-Conference over-
7:35 PM: Pikmin 3 is official!
7:31 PM: Folks that worked on Wave Race for Nintendo 64 are the guys behind the waterskiing portion of Wii Sports Resort.
The team will create a game that "surpasses Wave Race," according to director Yeguchi.
7:29 PM: Miyamoto gets asked if Wii Music is more a toy than a game. His reply: "that's why it's more interesting than a video game." Nice one, Shig.
7:26 PM: It'll include some songs on public domain and some licensed tunes.
7:24 PM: Wii Music unrelated to Rhythm Tengoku, a rhythm game from Japan.
7:21 PM: Now we're gonna see them play using the drum kit instrument option. Let's see some fat beats, Miyamoto.
7:19 PM: Miyamoto is talking about when they had some of the Nintendo development team's children come in to play Wii Music, and how they "could not pull themselves away from the game."
7:18 PM: Okay, they're playing together. Miyamoto, Eguchi and a few other Nintendo employees.
7:14 PM: He's playing the song with a number of different instruments: guitar, toy piano, trumpet and a dog wolfing?
7:12 PM: Oh, and send us some questions in the comments.
7:11 PM: We had a bit of a battery issue just now. Sorry for the lack of updates. Miyamoto is playing Wii Music -- Yankee Doodle to be specific.
7:02 PM: Asked if anyone hasn't seen Wii Music yet... nobody raised their hand.
7:01 PM: Okay, Q&A is over. Next game is Wii Music and Shigeru Miyamoto is coming out on stage.
6:59 PM: The answer: He says that this is something that Nintendo is always thinking about. When Nintendo thinks of new ideas, one of the first questions it asks itself is is "that easy to play?"
6:58 PM: Someone asked if the added precision/detection of the Motion Plus technology might make it more difficult for players, since the remote will be so precise.
6:56 PM: Someone asked if future Wii-motes might have the Motion Plus tech built-in. Answer: Nintendo is always looking at how to evolve the technology. Nintendo is unsure at this point, but it's something Nintendo will be looking at and perhaps there will be more info on something like this in the future.
6:54 PM: "That's a tough question to answer." Nintendo is very satisfied with the original Wii-mote and the original Wii Sports, but thought of this idea and wanted to do it.
The answer to the second question sounds like a no. Always experimenting with that flying game, not sure if it'll make it into Wii Sports: Resort.
6:52 PM: Someone asked if by releasing Wii Motion Plus Nintendo is admitting that the original tech in the Wii-mote was not quite enough. Also, will the original flying game we saw at E3 2006 be in Wii Sports: Resort?
6:50 PM: They used the resort setting because when coming up with the Wii Motion Plus, they sat down and thought of sports that would make good use of the tech. The sports that they thought of were all sports that you could do on an island/at the beach.
As for how many sports, they can't tell us how many exactly, but they hope to put in at least 10 sports.
6:49 PM: We're asking: What inspired you to bring Wii Sports to the beach setting, and how many sports in the final version of the game?
6:48 PM: Okay, we're asking a question next. We've got a mic in hand!
6:45 PM: Question about the tech behind Wii Motion Plus. Talking about how Wii Motion plus works. It measures the angles of rotation. It adds the data that it collects from your movements to the data the Wii remote has already collected.
Also, some games allow you to pass the remote around, like in the first Wii Sports.
6:44 PM: Someone asked if any developers had access to Wii Motion Plus before E3. The answer: Eguchi is not involved in that process and is not sure.
6:43 PM: Okay, 15-minute Q&A starting now.
6:15 PM: In addition to attacking with your sword, you can also guar by using the B button.
6:41 PM: Covering how Wii Motion Plus enables extra precision in controlling the sword by rotating your wrist and the remote.
6:40 PM: You can change your direction midair, as Wii Motion Plus allows extra control. Now we're going to see swordplay/fencing.
6:38 PM: Showing Jet Skii mini-game now. That game's played with both the Wii-mote and nunchuck.
6:34 PM: With Wii Motion Plus, you can have more precise controls when throwing the disc. Covering a lot of the same stuff we saw during our appointment and at the conference.
6:33 PM: We're going to see the Frisbee mini-game.
6:32 PM: Talking about the game's setting, which is a tropical island. Nintendo wanted to use sports that reflect the beach locale.
6:28 PM: Okay, the Q&A is over. Wii Sports: Resort presentation is starting now. There will be a Q&A for it after the presentation, so send some questions in, and we'll try to ask them.
6:27 PM: Question about using the Weather Channel in the game, but Nintendo has no plans to do this.
6:26 PM: You can't play Virtual Console games through Animal Crossing.
6:25 PM: Nintendo can create new content or events and can add it to the game via DLC.
6:22 PM: When transferring data, your items do not carry over. It's just your character that can be transferred.
6:20 PM: Question about connectivity between DS and Wii versions of Animal Crossing. Answer: You can move your character from the DS version into the Wii version.
6:18 PM: If you have questions about Animal Crossing, post them in the comments and we'll ask.
6:17 PM: Doing a Q&A now for Animal Crossing. There will also be presentations and Q&As for Wii Music and the new Wii Sports.
6:15 PM: Can save photos and send them via Wi-Fi Connection. You can also save them to your SD card.
6:14 PM: You can create shirts for yourself, just like in the other games. But now, you can also customize the back of the shirt.
6:12 PM: Talking about WiiSpeak. "It allows people playing in different locations to have a discussion as if they were in the same room."
6:11 PM: Friends can visit your town even when you're not there.
6:10 PM: There's a theater, where you can watch a comedy show.
6:09 PM: There's a saloon where you can get new hairstyles. There's also a new building; an auction house.
6:08 PM: Talking about new furniture, clothing and whatnot that you collect. There's a lot of new items in the game. Via WiiConnect24 you will automatically receive new items in the game.
6:05 PM: Talking about some of the new things Nintendo has added to Animal Crossing. For example, there are events in this game that were not in the last AC, such as Halloween and Jingles, who visits during the "Holiday" event. There are new events, too. There's a carnival event, which introduces a new character to the AC family.
6:04 PM: His first words: "As you can see, I am not Shigeru Miyamoto." Audience is laughing. Now, we're going to see some Animal Crossing: City Folk.
6:03 PM: Katsuya Eguchi is on stage.
6:02 PM: Eric Walter, Nintendo's PR Manager, just walked up front. He's talking giving us the rundown. Just photos and liveblogging. No video.
5:45 PM: We just sat down. Sitting next to Kevin from GoNintendo. He just pointed out that there are Wiis here. Ooooh. What are we going to see?
February 8, 2010
