Second of three events.
The US event kicked off this afternoon, with the news of the date and price already let out by a US newspaper. But none the less, Nintendo did spring a few suprises. Rather than list through the details, we have a transcript from the event, with the Q and A session afterwards included. Well here it is in all it's glory... (I have added price translations)
9:05 EST: Nintendo opens the doors to its event and people pile in.
9:10 EST: A stage shows a lovely oversized Wii font. A wide assortment of Wii kiosks -- still turned off -- sit to the right of the stage.
9:12 EST: Craig, Matt and Mark are tired. They pass the time by talking about the awesome GUI for Wii. Readers couldn't give a damn.
9:15 EST: NOA's VP of marketing and corporate affairs Perrin Kaplan takes the stage. Says Nintendo is going to get started and apologizes for being late. Promises to wrap things up quickly and then invites attendees to play Wii after the presentation.
9:15 EST: Mr. Iwata is in flight to Europe to join NOE for presentation later, Perrin says. Perrin says the presentation will last less than an hour and will be followed by a question and answer session.
9:16 EST: NOA president Reggie Fils-Aime takes stage. "Yes, we will reveal all of the relevant information for Wii. Date, price, how many, titles -- all of that information," Reggie says. "But more importantly, today marks our next planned step in driving this industry forward."
"Our strategy is based on one core belief: that the next step in gaming is bringing gaming back to the masses. It literally is that simple. Appealing to those current games as well as broadening this industry to new gamers," Fils-Aime adds.
9:18 EST: Talks about Nintendo DS. "So far in 2006, everyone is pleased with industry revenue growth that is just about 8 percent through August. But the main contributor to that success is Nintendo DS. If you back out DS growth from the equation, the total equation is 2 percent growth."
Speaks about Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection for DS.
9:25 EST; Today, he says, Nintendo will explain its plans for altering the controller interface and the game.
Wii goes on sale November 19. "The worldwide debut of the Wii system happens right here in the Americas -- the same place where we debuted Nintendo DS. On November 19, it will be available at more than 25,000 points of distribution across the Americas. And with a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $249.99(£132.53) One price. One configuration. One color." Which is, for the record, white.
Plans to ship 4 million Wii consoles between launch and December 31. Americas will receive the largest share of stock.
Inside the box, you'll get the hardware, all the cables, the sensor bar. One Wii remote and one nunchuck controller.
Reggie says there are 40 demo units here today with more than two dozen Wii games. Some are updated versions of games and some are brand new -- that we've never seen before.
9:30 EST: Invites NOA player to show off Wii Sports Bowling. "Been designed from the ground up to be playable by absolutely everyone," player says.
To play the game, the controller is swung backward and then pushed forward -- almost like you'd hit a golf ball. It's as simple as that. You can give the ball spin by tilting the controller as you release.
9:33 EST: Reggie takes stage again. Says Wii Tennis Wii Golf, Wii Baseball, Wii Bowling and Wii Boxing are all included in the Wii Sports disc. Calls it a five-game compilation. "This is designed to get everyone involved playing." Game will be packed with Wii. Everyone'll get it when they buy the system.
"We'll also offer consumers the widest range of launch titles ever in the history of videogames. The list is big and -- as you'll see -- it's new and nostalgic. Unique. Delivering a brand new type of entertainment."
Talks about The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
Says they'll have Excite Truck ready for Wii launch.
"With Wii sports, these titles represent a fantastic trio..."
"First time we have a Zelda title available on launch day. It gives us a huge boost and huge momentum right out of the box. It's a masterpiece game. We will continue to make those big masterpiece titles for the core gamer, as well as new games to drive market expansion."
"If you were to play Zelda all day to day for six hours, you'd only be scratching the surface..."
At the event hosted by Nintendo of Japan, there were 104 Wii games demonstrated.
9:35 EST: Shows list of third party games. Ubisoft, Midway, Konami, EA, Activision, and Vivendi, the latter of which has Ice Age 2 coming.
"A bridge to gaming for mainstream audiences," says EA's Larry Probst of Wii.
"In all, approximately 30 Wii games will be available at retail during the launch window. And about half of those will be available at launch," Reggie says. Games will be priced at $49.99 (£26.50).
Talks about Wii channels. "Not just Virtual Console, but a total effort to redefine who will use videogames in the future."
9:45 EST: 30 Virtual Console games by the end of the year. Beginning in January, Nintendo will deliver 10 more VC games per month.
9:48 EST: Bill Trinen takes stage to talk about Wii channels. Says that these channels will make non-gamers want to pick up the Wii. Trinen goes into the Mii channel, which enables users to create virtual versions of themselves. He says he wants to create Samuel L. Jackson. Modifies hair and face on a 3D model. Changes eyes. Changes nose. Changes lips. Gives him a mustache. Changes the color of his clothes. Enter his name. This is all done easily with the Wii-mote by pointing and clicking.
Bill goes into the photo channel. "For the first time ever, photo viewing is not a time-consuming thing." Take SD Card out of your digital camera, insert into the front flap on Wii and "boom -- you're looking at digital photos." The interface is smooth, fast and easy.
Shows iPhoto-like slideshow feature complete with Ken Burns-style zooms and pans.
Shows off a movie-playack mode. You can apparently transfer home-brew movies to your Wii, view them and modify them in real-time.
10:00 EST: Reggie takes the stage. "When connected to the Internet, users have access to news and weather channels." News is constantly updated via WiiConnect24. Also a Wii message board where users can send messages and photos to other Wii owners; or to PC owners or cell phone. You can also leave messages on a calendar-based note system.
Chats about WiiConnect24. More aspects will be shared later, he says.
Back to channels. You can download the Opera Web browser using Wii points. So you'll need to buy it. Then you can surf the Net.
"We want consumers to come to rely on their Wii channels every day. Because then it's a short hop from using the Wii remote to playing their first game."
Reggie recaps. First, a revolutionary new way to play game. Second, the ability to time travel to the best of legacy content. The biggest combined software launch in history. Fourth, the unique channel system acting as a pied piper for new gamers. And finally, a price poiint that says mass market ready from day one.
Question and Answer Session Begins
Q: How much are the remotes?
A: Wii remote is $39.99 (£21.20) and the nunchuck attachment is $19.99 (£10.59).
Q: What's up with Zelda for GameCube?
A: Zelda GameCube launches on December 11.
Q: What's the cost of accessing the Internet?
A: No cost through our system. You need an Internet connection at your home. Wii is Wi-Fi enabled.
Q: First-party games will be $49.99 (£26.50). Will third parties price at $59.99 (£31.80)?
A: We encourage third parties to price appropriately.
Question about 16:9 games that can't be answered.
Q: Talk about integration between DS and Wii.
A: In the future we'll talk about that.
Q: Metroid Prime 3?
A: 2007 game.
Q: When we can we expect to play games online for Wii and what kind of interface?
A: What's been announced in Japan is that the first online multiplayer game is going to be Pokemon Battle that will be launching during their launch window in Japan. When can you expect that here in the US? Shortly thereafter.
Q: How will the Wii Points be translated to Canada?
: 2,000 Wi points will be $24 (£26.92 translated from Canadian Dollars) Canadian.
And so it is. The Wii will be first in the US, similar to the DS' launch. But that doesn't bode well for the Euro launch, as the story above explains...
