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 The final of three Wii events finished today, and that one was the one we've been waiting for - the European Wii event! As I said earlier, this could be THE day of your life with Nintendo revealing ALL the details about the Wii for Europe. With yesterday's worrying news of Argos reporting a March 07 launch, you would be forgiven for worrying about todays news. But you will be happy to know that it will be here this year! So here it is, the last details of the Wii revealed and ALl the Europe information here!
- The Wii will launch on December the 8th for £179 (€249)
- Games will cost between £34 and £39 (€49 - €50). 20 games available at launch.
- In the box you get the console (obviously), a Wiimote, a Nunchuck, a copy of Wii Sports (which accounts for the extra pricing on the console compared to other countries), an AC adaptor, A/V cable, console stand, sensor bar and stand and two AA batteries.
- Extra Wiimotes will cost £29 (€39), nunchucks will cost £14 (€19) and the classic controller will also cost £14.
Virtual Console:
As with Japan and the US, there will be a point card scheme for the Virtual Console games. 15 Virtual Console games will be available from launch day, with 5-10 more being added each month.
NES games will cost 500 points (£3.50)
SNES games will cost 800 points (£5.60)
and N64 games will cost 1000 points (£7)
Again, no news on third party games, but point cards are available as 2000 cards from retailers at £14.
Release games
As previously said, there will be 20 games available from Day 1, and although no list has been revealed YET, there are a few confirmed games. Wii Sports is bundled with the Wii, so that's in; The Legend of Zelda: Twighlight Princess makes it even though the GC version is delayed; Wii Play is also there from Nintendo; Red Steel and Rayman Raving Rabbids are confirmed as well as numerous other titles.
Metroid 3 misses out, as does WarioWare and Mario Galaxy, all of which are now joining SSBB as 2007 titles.
I think that about wraps it all up! If you click READ MORE, you can see the entire manuscript of the event courtesy of IGN, and also NoEs view of the event.
Also, look out for the Wii features that will be going up almost daily, and there will be a competition you DO NOT WANT TO MISS! Stay tuned Nintendo fans!
12:26 - Hello everyone! Well, we're here - things are a bit late kicking off, but we've all had a nice bacon sandwich so everything's good here. Currently, we're sat in the auditorium enshrouded in a rather pleasing purple glow. There's still a swathe of slightly irate European journalists outside still waiting to get in so we're not sure when the event itself will start. We'll be back with more, just as soon as something interesting happens.
12:28 - Oh, as an aside, my seat smells a bit funny. In more Wii-related news, there's currently a big screen playing a whole bunch of black and white Wii footage in front of us on the stage. So far, we've spotted Sonic with his magic rings. In fact, it's pretty much all just Sonic at the moment. Oh and some Wii Tennis now. Hooray!
12: 34 - A nice man on the tannoy just announced that the conference is set to start in a few minutes. The tension is almost too much to bear.
12:41 - Right, well. Still nothing. Although we've had more assurances we'll be starting soon. Just so you can all breathe easy, in the event of some devastating technical hitch, we've got contingency plans!
12:44 - By the way, if you like house music, you'd love it here. Apparently the DJ only has one CD though. We don't like house music :(
12:49 - Hey rumour fans! We've just heard that Tim Henmnan is going to here. Presumably in yet another Wii Tennis demonstration from Nintendo. Either that or... oh, I don't know... some really funny joke about playing with his balls.
12:53 - It's started! We're kicking off with that Wii trailer featuring those excuberant little ii's. Okay, so we've got a fact video thing going on now with some peeps prancing with the remote and some lovely quotes about the Wii. Also the Scissor Sisters are on the soundtrack. We HEART the Scissor Sisters.
12:55 - An old lady just announced that it's "A lot easier, if you haven't got any balls". She might have said, "because it doesn't have any buttons". But, hey. Scissor Sisters, right?
12:56 - Bloody hell. This video's going on a bit. Oh... it's done! Gabby Logan has just appeared on the stage - whoever she is. "Many of you here are BIG gaming fans!" - but she's not apparently. Anyway, "She's not alone" and apparently loads of non-gamers are here. Whodathunk?
12:57 - Laurent Fischer, European marketing director is talking about how much of a challenge it is to reach out to non-gamers. Logan is badgering him quite aggressively about why she should care about the Wii. And they're talking about sports - are we about to see Wii Tennis?
12:58 - Logan has gone and Fischer is talking about traditional audiences. Apparently Nintendo is steadily drawing closer to a 50/50 gender split in Europe - redefining gaming audiences, you see?
12:59 - The catalyst for this change is the Nintendo DS, he says. It's a massive leap in gaming because it's easy to use - 'cos it doesn't have too many buttons, yeah? This is all very fascinating but where's the Wii price and release date?!!!
13:01 - Aha! Satoru Shibata, president of Nintendo Europe has just jumped stage. Not literally. He's talking about the DS and audience expansion still. Just in case we hadn't already got the message. WII WII WII WII. Please.
13:02 - We're still on the subject of the DS, just in case you thought something might have changed in the last minute. Brain Training, Nintendogs, Animal Crossing - all expanding and redefining audiences. Do you even need me to keep typing about this? I might put my feet up for a bit. Or make up something about the Wii price and date. Actually no, I'd be lynched.
13:05 - We're now onto the subject of sales. How Nintendo is going against the norm with game launches, with titles like Brain Training showing incredible logetivity on shelves, rather than peaking at launch. Something blah blah blah, Brain Training. I wish I hadn't drunk so much juice before this thing started.
13:08 - Apparently Nitnendo DS now accounts for 70% of all handheld sales in Europe - it's the "undisputed heavyweight of handhelds", we're told. Over 6 million people have a DS in Europe too. New titles on the way: Sudoku, Club Classics, English Training, Starfox and something else. Not that we didn't already know that.
13:10 - Aha! We're onto the Wii now! Oh, well I thought we were. Shibata just left the stage. Hooray! Logan is back and we're about to see Wii Boxing in Wii Sports for the first time. Literally, my knickers just went damp. Apparently, Shibata is going to take on a virtual Iwata! One round in the ring!
Oooh this is quite good. You punch and jab with the Wiimote and guard by holding the nunchuck and remote close to you. AAAAAND Satoru Iwata has just come on stage to tell Shibata off - it was all big comedy ruse!
13:11 - Iwata is talking about how, since the introduction of games in 1983, the industry has been thinking about how they can improve our experiences. Generally, the consensus has been to improve technology, but NO! Not Nintendo! Yes, it's his 'disruptive technologies' speech again.
Iwata says there've been four significant recent moments when Nintendo introduced new products to the market: DS - with its unique interface. Milestone two - the Touch Generations product line, "An entirely different form of gameplay with alternate appeal". Traditionally, games were based on a form of escape - Touch Generations don't replace real-life, they go along with it. I'm just writing what he says, incidentally. Something to do before that OMFG WII ANNOUNCEMMENENENTTT!!1
Oh, thing three: Nintendo Wi-fi Connection then four: people playing Wii at E3.
13:16 - Today, says Iwata, it's time to introduce the fifth milestone in Nintendo's strategy - the Wii Channel. Wii offers a much tougher sell for Nintendo because, unlike handhelds, console don't travel see! So generally, they're only seen by the people who live under that roof. Iwata says, to expand console audiences, Nintendo started by increasing the number of gamers playing in one household.
When the Wii is first turned on, they'll see the Wii channel page - something appealing to the family. First up is the Disc Channel, used to access either Wii or GameCube titles. Now he's going through things like the photo software designed to offer "simple organisation and manipulation of photos".
13:20 - Onto the Mii Channel - and idea that came about after the E3 Wii Tennis demo where everyone wanted to know if they'd be able to put their own faces into the game, as with Iwata's character.
Now onto the message board system, calender, weather channels and of course, the Internet Channel. Provided by Opera. Virtual Console now. Offering an "instant library" of games - 15 VC games available during launch period. Roughly 5-10 titles will be added per month. When purchased, always accessible and will become a new channel on the main screen.
WiiConnect 24 - constantly updated information while we sleep.
13:24 - Iwata's stating again that Wii is for everyone, not just gamers. Wii will have its own range of Touch Generation software too. Although he's just buggered off the stage, so who knows what they'll be.
13:25 - Ah! Logan's back and she's showing us Tennis. She's bandying around the names 'Tim Henman' and 'Greg Rezetski' - a name I've never needed to spell before. Logan's just spent a good five minutes hunting around for a bunch of avatars bearing likenesses to them. And now the curtains have just whizzed open and there's a fake tennis court on stage! Guess who's there! Yup, REAL LIVE TENNIS STARS!
13:29 - My fingers are starting to hurt now. ANYWAY, there's a game of - ohmygodyou'dneverhaveguessed - Wii Tennis going on now against Tim and Greg and Fischer and Shibata. It's all a RIGHT LARK. Incidentally, hilARIous incident earlier - one of Tim Henman's balls flew off the stage and nearly gave the person behind me concussion right after I posted the last update. Back to the game though: Tim and Greg are losing 30-15. 30-30 now. Tell you what, I'll just post again when we have a clear winner.
13:35 - Somewhat embarrassingly, I got distracted by something shining on the ceiling so I have no idea who won the game of Wii Tennis. Sorry. AH! European launch specifics. Launch games first! Wii Sports, Wii Play - which enables novices to get the hang of the controller. It'll be bundled with a second controller. Just like the Japanese 'My First Wii' package in fact. Zelda too, obviously and Wario Ware will arrive 'just after launch'.
13:38 - Tony Hawk, Rayman, Red Steel, Monkey Ball coming from third parties amongst other things.
13:39 - WII LAUNCH DETAILS: European launch date December 8 2006, priced at £179 (249 Euros). Package will include console, Wiimote, nunchuck, cables and all that jazz. Oh and Wii Sports. Er, games will cost £35 - £39 in the UK and 49-59 Euros elsewhere. Europe, for example. Sorry about the slight delay there. I was updating in two places at once.
13:44 - Right, with that bit of frenzied excitement out the way, we've moved onto that Wii games trailer that was doing the rounds on the Japanese website yesterday. Incidentally, it looks a bit more impressive when it's blown up slightly bigger than the size of a postage stamp.
12:47 - And with one last crescendo of music, Iwata has reappeared on stage. The words "Wii move you" are dangling provocatively over his head. He's inviting us to go try the damn thing out for ourselves. And - gasp - a huge gaping chasm has opened in the wall behind him and everyone's being sucked through, like huge electronically-obsessed sheep. Or something. You know, if I'd thought about it, I would have said 'Iwata is inviting us to play with his Wii'. AHAHAHAHAHahhahahahaha. God, I kill me sometimes.
NINTENDO OF EUROPE'S DAY OUT!
.More than 600 press and special guests gathered in London on Friday to hear when Nintendo would launch Wii in Europe.
At the ExCel conference centre, a star-studded and sport-themed event reflected Wii’s concept of play for all. The whole stage was taken up with a tennis court, where UK TV presenter Gabby Logan kicked off the show.
“I have to admit,” she said “my experience of video games goes as far as an ill-fated dalliance with my nephew’s Game Boy which was pretty embarrassing for both of us!
“But today, I’m not alone. Lots of you, like me, are new to all this but we’re promised that today, Nintendo will have something for all of us.”
Gabby then handed over to Nintendo of Europe’s Marketing Director Laurent Fischer, who talked about how play is an important part of all our lives.
“Video gaming was once the domain of young men,” said Laurent. “But while many remain avid fans, women and more mature players are increasingly making up the numbers. So how are we generating this change? The catalyst for change is this…” he said, holding up a Nintendo DS Lite.
To explain more about how Nintendo DS has changed the gaming industry, Nintendo of Europe’s President Satoru Shibata took to the stage.
He explained how DS and software such as Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training and Nintendogs had expanded the reach of gaming to older people, women and non-players alike.
“In Japan the Brain Training series has sold over 5 million copies since its launch in May 2005,” said Mr Shibata. “This was considered to be a very Japanese phenomenon but Brain Training launched in Europe on June 7th and in just nine weeks sold half a million copies. In Japan this took 17 weeks - which suggests a positive future for Brain Training in Europe.”
“In fact, in July and August, DS software has dominated the software chart across Europe,” he added. “And Nintendo DS is only the beginning. In the very near future we will be launching another console that will go even further in making games accessible and fun for everyone.”
That console, of course, is Wii. And to introduce it, Mr Shibata brandished his Wii Remote to show off the Wii Sports boxing game; taking the on-screen character of Nintendo’s President Mr Iwata.
Then – to everyone’s surprise – the real Mr Iwata entered the stage! Mr Iwata had flown in straight from the Japanese Wii press conference to make a special visit to Europe.
“Ah, so this is what goes on when you think I am away!” he laughed.
Mr Iwata then spoke about Wii and explained a little of how Nintendo came up with the concept. He also revealed that Wii will do much more than play games. The Wii menu system consists of a collection of Channels. In the Photo Channel you can upload photos from an SD card and edit them before sending them to other Wii owners. There are also Forecast and News Channels for live weather and headlines from around the world, a Wii Shopping Channel to download Virtual Console games, and the Mii Channel where you make your own personal avatars to use in games like Wii Sports.
But Mr Iwata’s visit was only surprise number one. “Anyone for tennis?” asked Gabby Logan. And who should take up the challenge but British professional tennis stars Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski!
Tim and Greg faced off at Wii Tennis in a doubles match against Laurent Fischer and Mr Shibata, represented on screen by their own comical Mii characters. It was a tense match, with both sides winning two games each until - incredibly - the England aces were beaten by Nintendo's finest!
After the match, it was time to bring back Laurent Fischer to begin the build-up to the news everyone had been waiting for.
“From launch, we will see around 15 to 20 games from third party publishers,” he said “including Red Steel, Rayman Raving Rabbids and Far Cry from Ubisoft, Madden and Need For Speed from EA Games, Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance and Call of Duty 3 from Activision. And we have many more games currently in development that will launch soon in Europe.
“’So when can I get my hands on Wii?’ is the question on everybody’s lips… Well here we are: Wii will launch on 8th December.
“Wii will launch in Europe just 19 days after the USA and six days after Japan. Wii will also retail at an affordable price as promised.
“Wii will launch in Europe at an estimated retail price of 249 Euros; £179 in the UK.”
Mr Fischer then explained what the Wii pack will include:
- one white Wii console,
- one Wii remote,
- one Nunchuk controller,
- the five games of Wii Sports
- and the necessary cables and controls for enjoying Wii - power cords, composite cable and the sensor bar for Wii’s unique control system.
Additionally, Wii software will retail across Europe for around 50 Euros; £34-£39 in the UK.
With the speeches out of the way, it was time to play! With a huge room packed with around 40 different Wii games, the assembled crowds then got their first taste of Wii.
And for you readers, now you know it won’t be long before you’re playing Wii yourself!
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