Thursday, August 17, 2006

Wii info before TGS, says Spanish print mag



We will know when Wii will launch and how much for by September 15th, claims Spanish print magazine Nintendo Acción (Spain´s official Nintendo mag, belonging to the German media empire ´Axel Springer´). According to Spanish site RevoGamers (Google translation), Nintendo Acción promise to publish all the aforementioned information in their next issue, which goes on sale on the 15th. According to my rough translation, they are bragging:
We already know it! When Wii will launch in Spain.

Finally, we will respond to the millions of questions: when Wii will go on sale, what it will cost and which games will be sold alongside the machine. You cannot lose.
Here´s a scan from the magazine´s preview, courtesy of Spanish forum member Ercosen:


GoNintendo has the story:
Their next issue is due to hit on September 15th, which leaves us with quite an interesting discussion. Will Nintendo be announcing price point and launch date info at next week’s LGC, or will Nintendo hold an event in September before the 15th?


If true, the info would have to come sooner than September 15th. Magazines like this one, though, have a circulation of a few tenthousand copies, at least. In order to get them printed, their deadline for content would be a good week before street date minimum. Though the magazine claims to know everything already, I think they only know when the info will be announced, not the announcement itself. That´s a fair assumption, given how secretive Nintendo is about this.

So let´s assume that they will find out at the same time we do. Considering the expected deadline, this news should read: We will know before September 7th.

This leaves the following options:

* Nintendo will announce launch date and price at the Games Convention, after all

* Nintendo will announce launch date and price at the Penny Arcade Expo

* Nintendo will announce launch date and price at a separate event

In my opinion, the last option is the most likely. I definitely don´t believe in the Games Convention being Nintendo´s weapon of choice. Not after announcing that Wii will not be playable on the showfloor. There is no point in building up hype when you cannot sustain it. And no disrespect to the Penny Arcade Expo, but it is too small an event to be interesting.

Apparently, the magazine has not the best of reputations. However, it is an official Nintendo magazine and it is part of one of Europe´s biggest newspaper empires. Also, a number of magazines have such a reputation and undeservedly so (just think of the UK´s official Nintendo magazine or SPOnG, for example). That´s why I tend to disregard this aspect.

Sources: RevoGamers, GoNintendo
Thanks to: Joystiq, Ercosen

41 comments:

IS said...

I'm really hoping for a Spaceworld, but if Nintendo was having one, why haven't they announced yet? If their gonna have it still, that leaves them with a little over two weeks to announce it _and_ actually have the convention. Frankly, I think its a little too late for Nintendo to have their own convention. Now, I agree with you that Nintendo will (or at least should) have an event where people can play the Wii. Since Nintendo is giving a keynote at Leipzig on the 23rd, that leaves one week between Leipzig and September 7th. I find it hard to believe that Nintendo could announce their own convention and hold it within 2 weeks.

Falafelkid said...

Hi Ikram.

If their gonna have it still, that leaves them with a little over two weeks to announce it _and_ actually have the convention. (...) I find it hard to believe that Nintendo could announce their own convention and hold it within 2 weeks.

You are quite right. The timeframe seems too tight. Unless, of course, they were holding their event alongside another event that would guarantee media attendance. because that´s the main worry: announcing an event early enough for big media to make arrangements to attend.

Anonymous said...

no matter how you put it, there seems always to be something that dosen´t seem to fit. announcing the launchdates on games convention? i don´t think so, because, as falafelkid already pointed out, wii won´t be playable for the public. announce it on an own event? well there is really not much time left for an own event. well, something came to my mind, but its very unlikely. they could announce the release date at games convention and have an excuse why wii won´t be playable at games convention. maybe somethink like "too long waiting lines" etc... okay its very unlikely but its still a possibility...

IS said...

Coldblooder is right, nothing seems to fit...

Falafelkid said...

You are right, nothing seems to fit. Except if Nintendo were holding a surprise event alongside some other big event that media were already attending. But that couldn´t be a gaming event, because it´s not GC (see below) and it´s obviously not PAX or Toronto or Austin Games Conference.

Why isn´t it GC? As I wrote on the NSider forums, I have big doubts about an announcement there. A few points to consider:

1) Wii is not playable on the GC showfloor. If they were really planning to make the announcement there, the only way they could sustain the hype and buzz that would create among the visitors would be by allowing people to try it out. Altogether, 120.000 people are expected, most of them normal visitors. They would feel even more frustrated knowing the Wii´s launch date was announced at the show, but they couldn´t play it. Once word is out, the final hype wave will be rolling and then Nintendo has to get the consoles to the people.

2) Germany is not an important console market. Europe is only the third biggest console market, after Japan and the US. And within Europe, Germany is also the third biggest market, after France and the UK. Why make such a big announcement in a country and territory that just isn´t very big on consoles (yet)?

3) Nintendo is a Japanese company. Similar to my second point, but Nintendo usually wants to favour the Japanese market as far as launches and big events are concerned. Seeing how Japan is also the most important market, it would make sense to announce it there.

So you´re right, nothing seems to fit...

Anonymous said...

do you think it could be possible that nintendo dosen´t announce the launchdates at a specific event at all? maybe they just put out a press release (pressemitteilung, don´t know if thats the right expression for that) and support it with a lot of commercial ads and other stuff (launch clock anyone?)

well, just another one of my (sometimes) crazy ideas

Anonymous said...

The magazine already knows the Spanish date and price. They don't have to wait for an official announcement to be able to include it in their magazine. So it's still before september 15th, not 7th.

Falafelkid said...

Hi Coldblooder.

do you think it could be possible that nintendo dosen´t announce the launchdates at a specific event at all? maybe they just put out a press release.

It´s possible. But why not secure extensive media coverage by holding a big event? That would make sense, from my perspective.

Hi Stabby.

The magazine already knows the Spanish date and price. They don't have to wait for an official announcement to be able to include it in their magazine. So it's still before september 15th, not 7th.

Yes, I wrote that in the post. But I also wrote that I very much doubt they know the date. At best, they will know when the launch date will be revealed. Because if my contacts here in Germany don´t know (big publishers and other people very close to the action), that Spanish mag won´t know it either, I guess. But I do believe they know when things will be announced. So, I stick with 7th.

Anonymous said...

I think you are wrong about there not being any chance that launch dates and prices won't be announced at Leipzig.

Nintendo is using the event to help give the media another chance to play the Wii. It is completely directly geared as a media friendly showing of the Wii.

This will hurt some of the hype surrounding the event, but will still provide great press from the event.

So how does Nintendo grow the hype from that event? Announce the launch dates and the price. Those announcements would surely deflate any announcements Sony could make at the event...and the PS3 won't be playable there either.

It all seems win/win for Nintendo to announce the date at Leipzig. Specially since they are having speeh at the conference. Remember that Nintendo announced the Wii control at TGS when they had no real showroom presence there as well.

Anonymous said...

@spak-spang:

good points. so, there are defenatly some posibilities about what nintendo could do. there just isn´t a hint wich possibility they will choose to announce the launch...

i think that they could announce the launch at games convention, but i also think that the chances are rather low. just a few more days... just a few days... (and it takes like forever for them to pass)

Anonymous said...

Nintendo stated a long time ago that we would know what the launch date will be come September. I therefore find it rather hard to see what all the fuss is about. The machine is likely to launch at least in the UK at some point within November.

Sickr

Anonymous said...

Falafelkid,

How much advance notice would you need to mobilize to a special Nintendo event? (e.g. get authorization from your news agency, etc). Would a week be enough?

-FlyingSquirrl

Anonymous said...

falafelkid, do you happen to know if the Cube version of Zelda:TP will be coming to Europe? I've heard it will be US-only. I would much rather get a PS2 but if this is the case I'll be forced to buy a Wii.

Falafelkid said...

Hi FlyingSquirrl

How much advance notice would you need to mobilize to a special Nintendo event? (e.g. get authorization from your news agency, etc). Would a week be enough?

Well, we do work at short notice, to some extent. A week could be enough, but it would also be a big risk on Nintendo´s part, in case all our resources were unavailable. To give us a chance of making sure we can cover it, I´d say two weeks notice.

Of course, Nintendo´s main focus should be agencies like APTN or Reuters and the big news networks like CNN or CBS. For them, I´m sure two weeks would be necessary.

Hi Stabby.

Do you happen to know if the Cube version of Zelda:TP will be coming to Europe? I've heard it will be US-only.

Sorry, I have no idea. But where did you read that? That wouldn´t make any sense, would it? Why just the US, when the Cube sold at least as well or better over here...?

Hi D-Bone.

It is just a hunch ( and opinion ) but it seems to me like a Keynote titled "Wii prove our promise" sounds like an excellent candidate for a Wii launch and price announcement.

Is it confirmed Iwata to be the speaker? If so, I think it is highly likely we'll get the goods...or something really good for that matter.


First of all, it´s not a keynote. It´s just the regular press conference every big company is holding that day. So it´s nothing too special. And I would be surprised if either Miyamoto or Iwata showed up. I haven´t asked NoE, actually. But none of them ever were in Leipzig before. The first time I met Miyamoto was at ECTS, I remember. But I wouldn´t bet on them being here next week. In fact, I don´t think NoA will be there, either. But I could be wrong. I´ll ask.

I expect the press conference to be held by Laurent Fischer, who I got to know at E3 on our way to a Nintendo party. He´s a really good guy and a passionate communicator. I am sure he´ll be talking.

Anonymous said...

Falafel/ I think you indirectly hit it on the nose. Germany is an untapped market which is a demographic Nintendo is currently striving for. I think a healthy showing to the press to get the German mags, sites, papers, etc talking about the convention and Wii's launch and price would be a perfect match for the strategy of gaining ground from non-gameplayers, especially an entire country of them.

To top it off, Nintendo has said they're sorry for how they treated Europe (and other territories) in the past, so one of the key elements of the show could be to let Europe know that Nintendo's ready to make up for it by treating Europe as a serious market.

Honestly, unless Nintendo just drops the bomb willy-nilly on their website like they did for the name change, there's just no other show to get the info out to mass press and kickstart the hype machine again.

lazyfatbum

Anonymous said...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:11&item=280019140672

Anonymous said...

You know what Fal? I really hate you. Seriously. I wish you wouldn't keep raining on my dreams by saying "I don't think the Games Convention would be Nintendo's weapon of choice", because quite frankly, most of your hunches have been pretty friggin accurate. Your blog is depressing. I just want a release date before the Wii is actually released. Is that so much to ask for?

Curse you and your insider information.

:'(

Anonymous said...

I really do think we will get the details at the GC. Does anyone know if any sites are doing a webcast of the conference?

Anonymous said...

The Wii-Version of `Call of Duty 3´
is delayed.

It´ll be finished at 2007. You can
read this in the new EDGE-magazine
in the article about CoD3.

I´ve recieved the german issue today.

Anonymous said...

@raphael
Does the magazin mention the reason for the delay? Have they got difficulties getting the controls right?

*somegermanguy*

Anonymous said...

Hi guys,

Sadly,Red Steel makes it very clear that Wii merly is a beefed up GameCube.
Look at the new IGN screens!
Not even Resi4 standard!
C'mon!
I'm not sure..maybe I'm exaggerating!Maybe I'm just dazzled by 360 and PC games but it still leaves me with a little bitter taste every time I scoop new shoots of Red Steel that are supposed to showcase visual improvements.
I am not sure the high quality Mario Galaxy videos show some promise and look better than most GameCube games but the other games..I don't know they just seem to leave something to be desired.
I don't know maybe I'm just spoiled and matter of fact is graphics are not as important!
But still...um has anybody played Resi 4 on GameCube on a bright modern television with a good cable?
I for one have and to tell the thruth I don't see any Wii game that (all in all) surpasses or even reaches the visual quality of the best looking (GameCube) game of this generation!
I'm just curious how you people feel about the visuals in Wii games so far how do you perceive them?

Again, I would like to emphasize that gameplay is king,particulary where Wii is concerned.
But still it disrupts the gamer in me that wants the best of both sides!
I really enjoy these heavy shaders and effects and high polygon counts that make PC and 360 games so immersive!
When Bioshock,Outsider,Gears of War,MetalGearSolid are just the tip of the ice berg and a sign iof things to come,it makes it very hard for me to pass on PS3,360 and stick with Nintendo only once again for I don't know maybe 3-5 years I'm afraid to say!

Anyway there is still hope that Capcom will go back to the drawing board with the Resi4 engine and maybe it will pay off in the end and yield fruits.

But rightnow I must confess that I'm slightly more attracted to buying a 360 eventhough I'm very keen on expiriencing Wii for the first time....

Anonymous said...

don't you realize it? there are still things you don't know about Wii. it's become so obvious to me...

look how sony threw in their motion-sensor capabilites before e3, all dumb. trying to be all slick. nintendo was baiting that all along. why do you think that so many of nintendo's main PR people have officially talked about "keeping their hand close to the chest"?

they've officially talked about how their competition does business and how nintendo wanted to be more careful with their information management this time around. they unveiled the controller, as it was at TGS, to bait sony into going the wrong direction... and it worked.

they promised us a revolution.

"wii keep our promise."

-"superfan" tactics.

Anonymous said...

Cold facts:

Lair will rock motion sensivity on PS3.
The Leipzig Games Convention is not flashy enough.People need to do a better job.
Anticipation for Zelda is mysteriously calm and shrinking..maybe due to shift.
Wii Spec question remains unawnsered.
Red Steel looks too static and clean and doesn't shocase the power of Wii.
Capcom remains tight lipped on Wii support.
The GPU and CPU seemingly do not do their names Broadway and Hollywood justice.
Blablablablabla......

Falafelkid said...

Hi Anonymous.

Lair will rock motion sensivity on PS3.

Sorry, your information is wrong. I spoke to Julian Eggebrecht at E3 and he told me they would incorporate this feature only marginally.

Anonymous said...

Sorry Falafelkid,
but your information is wrong and not mine.It would make perfect sense for Lair to take advantage of this technology!
Furthermore "marginally" is relative.You do not know what kind of impact motion sensivity can have or in which way they are going to incorperate it in the gameplay!

Anonymous said...

if the tilt sensors of the ps3 controller are "the bomb" then you must be completely IN LOVE with the wii controller...

Anonymous said...

"lair"... hahaha. another "assassin's creed". they'll be far too overhyped and just won't deliver. they'll be the exact same gaming experiences we've all been having for 10 years.

"omg! i can see this guy's BULGE through his PANTS! i LOVE these GRAPHICS!"

have fun.

-"superfan" tactics.

Anonymous said...

Hi Falafelkid

look at this... it shows exactly how the things are now... jajajajaja!!

isn't the wii just a cute?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aJEcD4wKlc

RGB said...

Tactics heh. Well its certainly not the tits detail they want to see, well unless its male tits. They want nothing more but to be able to stare at the bulge in 'Solid' Snake's pants.

On a different and more serious/mature note; I am sure all 3 companies take every games convention seriously. They represent billion dollar companies and their image is important everywhere. So you can say whatever trash you want about Leipzig.

RGB said...

Yeh its what I was hinting at Tactics.

Anonymous said...

Zelda Wii just got interesting again:


Nintendo überarbeitet Zelda-Steuerung

21.08.06 - Nintendo hat die Steuerung von Zelda: The Twilight Princess überarbeitet. Wie WIIIGN schreibt, erklärte Shigeru Miyamoto gegenüber der Nintendo Dream, dass der Spieler Links Schwert für Hiebe via Controller schwingen kann.

Auf der E3 musste für das Schlagen noch die B Taste gedrückt werden. Der Grund war, dass Nintendo befürchtete, dass der Spieler durch das dauernde Schwingen des Controllers ermüden könnte. In aktuellen Tests stellte sich laut Miyamoto heraus, dass das neue Kontrollschema so aber interessanter ist.

Auch die Steuerung von Pfeil und Bogen wurde geändert. Auf der E3 zielt man mit der Wiimote, dann schoß man mittels D-Pad einen Pfeil: Diese Funktion wandert jetzt auf die frei gewordene B-Taste. Miyamoto erklärt, dass das Schießen mit dem D-Pad zu schwierig war und es mit der B-Taste schneller und leichter funktioniert. Release: 4. Quartal 2006 (Europa)




-IALS

Anonymous said...

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

And recently it's been established that 'Wii is not a machine that tries to deliver next-gen graphics'. Of course, since there are still games that demand high quality graphics, there will be separate paths of development depending on the software."


-IALS

Anonymous said...

@ *somegermanguy*

The reasons are, that they´ll improve
the graphics and the controle of the
Wii-version of CoD3.

They don´t want to release a bad
version on a new Nintendo-console.

Anonymous said...

Armores Core 4 looks too good to be true.
Watch the trailer on Gamefront.


-IALS

Anonymous said...

Armored Core 4 Gamefront.de

Alfonso said...

In revogaerms they lied, I buy Nintendo Aciiopn every month and it doesn't come out til the 23rd of the month

Alfonso said...

If you enter www.hobbyconsolas.com , you can see it's release date is 25th. Hobbyconsolas is the biggest magazine from hobbypress, axel springer's representant in spain.
They release the same day, but sometimes they're a bit earlier in kiosks

Anonymous said...

Nice pictures of the Wiiolution! :-)

http://jeux-france.com/blog1143
32_Blakguy

RGB said...

Umm armoured core 4 only shows a few in game 'looking' parts and they arent 'that' impressive anyway. Open your eyes.

Anonymous said...

@ Fala.


"2) Germany is not an important console market. Europe is only the third biggest console market, after Japan and the US. And within Europe, Germany is also the third biggest market, after France and the UK. Why make such a big announcement in a country and territory that just isn´t very big on consoles (yet)?"

...But who is leading in the mobilephone market?

/Little

Anonymous said...

@ Anonymous

"The GPU and CPU seemingly do not do their names Broadway and Hollywood justice."

Broadway = Broad - Way
Hollywood = the hope the entertainment industry is wating for.