Monday, October 30, 2006

Last Wii secret to be "big", says Reggie



There is one secret to the Wii to be revealed around launch and it is going to be "big", according to Nintendo of America´s president Reginald Fils-Aime.

GamePro confirmed that Reggie said that at a recent GameStop event, where store managers learned more about the new Nintendo console.

I can confirm that there was a GameStop retreat and Reggie did in fact say there will be another big Wii revelation around launch time.

Only recently, Perrin Kaplan promised "a couple of other surprises, (...) more details on a couple of different things" that would particularly please the hardcore gamers.


"Bigger than the controller"

It feels good to be back in the Wii speculation saddle. Let me remind you that this author was given some indication late last year that there is another secret that is bigger than the controller unveiling. Naturally, I cannot name the source. I can say, however, that this source is as reliable as it gets.

But let us examine the context in which this quote should be interpreted, going back to the earliest rumours about the console that was codenamed Revolution.

The honeymoon

Since this blog´s inception, there was a steady flux of hints as to what the last secret might be. Long-time readers will remember that this blog started with the assumption that the angled Wii stand was a hint at some technology that required the console´s front to face up to the player.

We talked about Augmented Reality, found out that it could be sold at a mass-market price and even came across some proof that a Japanese gaming company had invested in cutting edge 3D technology.

Sobering up

More recently, though, there were no longer any indications that we really should be expecting something big. Publishers like EA have hinted at more humble secrets like touch sensitivity. And particularly my interviews with Nintendo executives were sobering.

Shigeru Miyamoto told me in March of this year:

Whenever we are talking about secrets, the secrets created in order to let people feel like I can touch it, I want to play with it. That’s all regardless of their past gaming experiences. The secrets are always there for them to feel that this is a machine; I really want to play with it.

Satoru Iwata told me at E3 that the speaker in the controller and Wiiconnect24 were the last secrets:

That - and Wiiconnect24, which we recently announced. We have not yet announced details about this. Well, maybe you are underestimating the power or potential of Wiiconnect24 now. After all, Wii is a console that can be connected to the internet 24 hours a day with minimal consumption of power. In the near future we can reveal what it can do an then you can understand many secrets behind the Wii machine.

That and Kaplan´s recent comments about some ´details´ all seemed to downplay a last secret. This made me believe that my own source may have been exaggerating.

Back to believing

Now I feel that the information I was given may indeed have been correct all along (or more correct, at any rate). After all, the source is very, very reliable. And Reggie may be a marketing buff. But he knows, more than anyone else, that you cannot build up hype and not deliver on it.

We may argue about whether that last secret is, indeed, bigger than the controller. It may very well not be. Note that Reggie did not use this comparison, so we should not really expect this. But if Reggie says ´big´, it will be big.

A ´big´... what?

So what could it be? Having lost faith in the "bigger than the controller" comment, I have gone on record believing it to be something to do with the online experience. And GamePro agrees:

"I'd think it would most likely be specs related (since Nintendo is still hush-hush about what the Wii actually incorporates). My second theory is that the revelation will be about Wii's online capabilities," editor RiceBurner writes.

But what could possibly be big about online? And how can Wiiconnect24 please hardcore gamers? We know that the Wii is likely to mirror the friend codes system the DS uses. Though popular with non-gamers, this does not please the hardcore crowd one single bit. The service could be free of charge, of course, but that is hardly what we have in mind when we think ´big´. While there are still details to be divulged about Wiiconnect24, I do not think that Reggie is hinting at mere online capabilities.

Small can be ´big´

I have gone over the wealth of comments we have mulled over since June 2005 and what struck me the most is a comment by Square Enix president Yoichi Wada

We would like to strongly support Nintendo’s next-generation networking plans. The Revolution may embody a new platform beyond a portable or console, which makes possible a new structure in the network gaming system, changing the ways communities are built and supported. This is the kind of direction we’ve envisioned, and we will challenge ourselves to provide immersive interactive content in response to what Nintendo offers.

I believe that we have taken the Wii´s size for granted, not realising just how small the console really is. It is only as big as 3 DVD cases stacked. It is tiny. Its size almost breaks down the distinction between a portable and a home console - and Wada´s comments put some significance in the Wii being so strikingly small.

Interestingly enough, Wada mentions the portability aspect alongside the online functions. This may be hinting at the console doubling as some kind of portable messenger or even some kind of make-shift cellphone. But I strongly believe that Nintendo is firmly focussed on the Wii becoming a gaming machine. While I cannot offer you any concrete answers, of course, I will go on record that I believe Reggie to be hinting at something that relates to the console´s size, which makes Wii a semi-portable gaming device.

EDIT I have come across an aspect of the Wii system menu that may, in fact, support my hypothesis that the console may be semi-portable. IGN Weekly Episode 30 starts with a run-through of the menu. Eight minutes into the clip, Matt opens the ´Internet´ and ´Connection Settings´ tabs. The menu offers you a choice between three different connections, as pictured below.


Now, why would you want to store various connections in a console unless it was meant for the road? In fact, the menu looks eerily reminiscent of the DS´ connection menu. This may indeed hint at my theory as to what the big secret may turn out to be.

EDIT Though perhaps unrelated to Reggie´s comments, Engadget reports about an upgraded Wii to be released next year:

According to UK mag EDGE, the big N's preparing to release a premium Wii console in Japan next year featuring, you guessed it, DVD playback. Of course, it's not totally out of the question (at least the discs are the right size), and it wouldn't be the first time Nintendo's released a console only to surprise us with a new and improved version a little down the line.

EDIT The above has been confirmed. Nintendo told Games Industry:

There are currently plans to release a version of Wii in Japan featuring DVD playback. There are currently no plans to bring this model to Europe or the US.


Source: GamePro
Thanks to: Kamen24

54 comments:

Mark Leeming said...

Hmmm...
mix this report with the previous and we get?....
METAL GEAR SOLID 4 ON THE WII!

Ha, nah wont happen but it was funny reading them both together and making the link.

I'm so glad that there is another secret. Seemingly knowing everything about the Wii wasn't as satisfying as I had thought and now this throws us back into the rumour pit!

Anonymous said...

lmao more secrets

Anonymous said...

Of course there's more "secrets", i doubt very much they are very big.

The fact we know very little about the online aspect that in itself is a secret. Nintendo want to keep a few things back, and i'd be willing to bet we will still find out new things next year.

I fear dissapointment from this reviving the secret rumours. It won't be anything to make the graphics better, and 90% of Nintendo fanboys are going to think it will. I just hope Reggie shoots this down really quickly if the secrets are only little.

Anonymous said...

It's a little late in the game for secrets. It was cute and fun at first - but now it's just insulting.

RGB said...

I am very skeptical. I will go on record and say it is WiiConnect24 related 99%. If there is anything more to it I wouldnt put myself on record for anything else, I am too skeptical that there is anything else regardless if there are any hints pointing towards anything else.

Nice writeup, I found the headers Honeymoon and Sobering Up very amusing heh.

RGB said...

And I just noticed how bad my grammar was above. I'm getting lazy but then again I am half asleep.

Anonymous said...

Mario Paint ??

Content creater ??



-IALS

Cyriel said...

WTF !?
This can't be !!
can it ? :s

Anonymous said...

Wii --> PC --> Cellphone --> DS

Anonymous said...

Falafel,
I've read your blog since the beginning and saw it as a sane voice in the sea of unbelievable phony bloggers. I also saw the speculation game peak pre-E3 and was one of the many who tried to inject reality to the whole virtual reality speculation.
Launch is now less than a month away and there are thousands that hold preorders for the Wii. We have certainly come a long way. That said, is there any reason to still offer vague hints about what your source has said concerning the "megaton" secret? NDAs have long since crumbled and turned to dust so I don't understand this last ditch c*!k-tease. I say just tell us what you heard and let the few remaining readers dissect this info. At this date, there's no point in being secret about the "last" secret. Once the console's released this site will just be a fond memory for many of us. Go out with a bang man!

Anonymous said...

For me, one of the simplest explanations that reconciles "secret" with Nintendo's recent advances and Wii's technology is the idea that the Wii might have a built-in screen. This simple idea also allows the Wii to be truly portable.

* There's a potentially constant light source in the Wii (powering the Blue Light) which might be able to drive an LCD screen embedded in the side of the Wii.

* Wireless means all you have to do is move it to somewhere with a power plug.

* Given Nintendo's research into bright tiny screens (GB Micro, DS) with large viewing angles, maybe this idea isn't too crazy.

Could it be? I think hardcore gamers would dig it,because they could play it even if the TV were busy.

--FlyingSquirrl

Anonymous said...

Maybe, as Wii won't consume much in standby mode, it's base or something else can store a battery for you to carrying wherever you want.

Then, as it has wifi, it might be able to interactuate with nearby wiis or other wifi objects for whatever reason has nintendo in mind.

But this is just a thought

Anonymous said...

God I'm feeling so nostalgic right now. I'm actually pretty sure that it's either some built-in software (something to be very excited about) or an add-on (at which point it might actually be some sort of visor).

You got me all hyped up again. Thanks for that, I feel just like I did before the controller unveiling.

Anonymous said...

I think the secret is something to do with DS / Wii connectivity...such as the ability to connect online with either system to play a game. If they released a port of the DS Mario Kart with online capabilities, they'd already have a huge base of people to connect online with and play.

Anonymous said...

hey Fal, dont you think, they will wait till the PS3's release to reveal that secret, if there is one that is??? and can you post on what your experience has been playing zelda, if you believe the wii's sword mechanic is better than the usual, and were you invited to nintendos 48 hour zelda event?

Anonymous said...

Here are some things that have been reported:

Nintendo will release a DVD playback version of Wii next year (Japan only)

There are more Wii channels to come (not a surprise)

Nintendo has signed a deal with CNN to deliver the news service

I am not sure about the DVD playback model of (remember Panasonic Q?) but my guess would be that it could have more ports such as an Ethernet port and hdmi port. Just a guess.

Link

Anonymous said...

At least it´s this!

http://gonintendo.com/?p=7509

But that´s going to be announced
earlier, because the magazines have
final hardware units in the next days.

So, I agree with Falafelkid.
It´s WiiConnect24 related!


@ Falafelkid

Can´t you email your source and ask,
if the secret has still to come?

Anonymous said...

The secret no doubt refers to online capabiliteis somehow. Likely wiconnect24 possibly it has to do with games available on the virtual concole. I dunno if any of you heard teh latest ign wii podcast but towards the end Bozon says some thigns that they have to bleep out. But it seemed like he was talking about twilight princess as thats what the conversation leans toward. They also talk about a virtual concole game that bozon put on his top ten release games. He called it mystery game. They said it was a sega game i believe. Maybe dreamcast games are going to be abvailable on the vc?

Anonymous said...

@ CelicaCrazed

The 48 channels could have to do
with the VC-Games! I think they
appear on this surface.

Anonymous said...

The WII is portable. If it's that small (it is) then being portable is a given. It has WIFI built in, so when we take a WII round to our friends house who has a WII, it automatically becomes a parallel computing unit, the more you add the more powerful it becomes, a bit like QNX os.

Anonymous said...

One thing i think people overlook with wiiconnect24 is the nintendo DS.

The nintendo DS is a neat wifi enabled device, but it doesnt have the power to process seriously complex tasks. However the internet provides a means for distributed computing. This basically means that you could control your Wii from your nintendo DS, and your Wii is very powerful.

You could access ANYTHING, pictures, message boards, e-mail, voice comms, or more. All streamed to your DS as content processed by your Wii. All you would need is a single special cart in your DS.

Ofcourse this makes far too much sense, and probably isnt what nintendo are doing. Im just saying, expand on the theories, stop going backwards.

Anonymous said...

A nice surprise would be to find a copy of Mario Galaxy hidden behind (or instead of) Wii Sports after being deprived of a Mario title on the Cube (Sunshine doesn't count coz it sucked, hurts me to say but it did).

Scyen said...

Maybe...massive third party VC support? Like, full Konami and Squeenix support. Maybe, all of the Castlevania, Metal Gear, and Final Fantasy games...


Would DEFINITELY appease the hardcore...

Anonymous said...

have you ever considring that the pictures and the actually games that have been showcased might have been build and rendered by an GameCube, but was "inserted" in a Wii-machine as an playable version of Wii?

Hardcore? Ah! Aren't they that complaining about graphics allthe time?

Wasn't Twilight Princess a longdevelopment made for GC in the first place but was decided to go multi in a short notice?

and isn't the "last" Zelda game of its kind, and that the new one would be more spectacular - maybe also on Wii?


...its still my hope that it might ending be a little better in the visual department. But the WiiConnect24 looks more realistic ofcoz.

/

Anonymous said...

where is seriousgamer007 when we need him... ;)

Anonymous said...

maybe its an MMO.

Anonymous said...

jp,

You wouldn't even need a special DS cartridge -- the Wii could contain software that the DS downloads via DS Download Play.

--FlyingSquirrl

Anonymous said...

FlyingSquirrl

That is true if you were using it near a special DS download station, but if you wanted to connect to a wifi hotspot you would need cart. You would also do well to have a memory expansion like the opera browser does, but with streaming specific files im not sure it would be needed, just an advantage.

Anonymous said...

2 Wireless connections lets see wouldn't one be for the Wii to the internet and the other from the DS to the Wii or another system to the Wii? Like the way the USB wifi adapter handles connections?
Also the wired one would be if you don't have a wireless router, and than you could play the DS online using the Wii as a hub.
I doubt the 3 connections have anything to do with the last secret, and if that is it, it is not big.

Anonymous said...

The PS2 network settings also gives you the option to store more than one profile. I have seen this lots of times when configuring my brother's PS2.

Anonymous said...

Most likely the specs for cpu and gpu which still haven't been released.

It will probably be a variable speed cpu running at low speed for Wiiconnect24, medium speed for Gamecube and virtual console and maximum speed for Wii games.

If any of the technology from the recently announced Power6 processors makes its way into the Wii the maximum clock speed could be far higher than anyone is expecting.

A lot of things also point to the Wii being portable but I have trouble seeing how this would be the last secret unless there is also a portable way to view games which is unlikely as developers would have to be informed and this would certainly have leaked out by now.

RGB said...

Two wireless profiles is not much of an indication of it being portable. A PS2 is portable if you want it to be and it it were wifi it would probably have 2 wifi profiles too as not everyone uses their system in the same location. Setting up new profiles is a bit of a pain. But yes if what you heard maybe related to portability than yeh it would back that up.

On a different note I hope the DS can be used as QWERTY keyboard for the Wii.

Anonymous said...

...business wised, Wii will be a disaster for Nintendo if they let ppl see/believe it as next Gameboy/DS aka portable. I will eat up the market for a next "main console".

Gameboy/DS or "handhelds" = holy ground = backbone for their business.

and any attemt to disturbing it will come as a big consequenses! Either to the better or the worst.

don't let us forgett the new market either - Cellphones

Anonymous said...

I think this is all wishful thinking. If there is a BIG surprise why are they talking to just Gamestop about it? My bet is it's something about online being ready before we thought or Wii kiosks showing up in Gamestops before we thought.

I HIGHLY doubt it's anything hardware related let alone portability...

This will be about as big of a letdown as Joystiq's hype buildup they had a while back.

Anonymous said...

I know what it is, The virtual console games with two players will be able to play with people who also have the same virtual console game any where in the world, plus gamecube games like mario kart will do the same. sounds good no?

-Treasure Lover

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I have to admit that I miss all the speculation.

I think its safe to say we can rule out a hardware secret, although I think rumble in the nun-chuck unit has potential. Portability I don't find likely, but I think Nintendo could market it in such a way that makes it conveniently portable. For example, the system could come packaged with a mini-backpack or the Wii-DS connectivity could be such that you can access certain Wii game elements from the DS (although VC games is a real long shot). But then, I guess we have to assume the Wii cannot connect to a battery.

More likely, there is another secret to do with the system's online capabilities. We haven't heard much officially in the way of LAN gaming, which I think could be big. I also think that there are other smart applications of connect24, something similar to the ringing of the wiimote to call friends. Something in that vane could have huge implications.

It seems clear to me now that Nintendo sacrificed a lot in the way of pure processing power in favor of a low power consuming machine that could stay awake perpetually and quickly juggle tasks. There must have been a very persuasive reason for them to do this. Connect24 is the answer, the specific magic its concealing is the question I think.

Anonymous said...

Enhanced graphics for Virtual Console games...

Anonymous said...

Hi everyone!

Last secret?

As a programmer, it has this "other" memory that we can access for resources and what I can say is... nice touch!

I really cannot comment anymore on that(he he). Gamers wouldn't care about it.


We have 2 virtual console games for you which should be finished soon.(Feb?)

I hope you support the Virtual Console games.

Thank You.

Anonymous said...

BTW,

Watch the TGS 2005 video.

It actually reveals much more than you can imagine...

Anonymous said...

You get one special setup dvd containing all games ever realesed by Nintendo?

Falafelkid said...


Watch the TGS 2005 video.

It actually reveals much more than you can imagine...


If anyone is taking the above comments seriously, you might want to check the video mentioned here.

Anonymous said...

"We know that the Wii is likely to mirror the friend codes system the DS uses."

It won't. There will be only one "friend code": For the system itself.

Falafelkid said...

"We know that the Wii is likely to mirror the friend codes system the DS uses."

It won't. There will be only one "friend code": For the system itself.


You are correct, but that is what I meant. The Wii will use a friend code system. It is a single friend code, instead of one generated by the combination of hardware and software, but it is a friend code system nonetheless. I should have been clearer on that, though.

Anonymous said...

Hi,
I don't know if the following means anything, it just seems to fit the "portable secret" line of thought:

If you search the games section of the german Amazon page for "Wii", it lists 10 articles . Most of them are the usual peripherals announced for the Wii, but last figures a Wii bag.

Why releasing a bag for a home console? And why so early on in the consoles life, almost coinciding with launch (according to Amazon, the release date is 31.12.06)? At least it seems there could be a not yet revealed detail about Wii which would strongly encourage people to take their console out of their homes - but maybe it's just the yet announced wireless LAN for multiplayer capability of some games (e.g. Battalion Wars 2).

We will see... if there's anything not yet revealed, it won't take long to be announced... :-)

Anonymous said...

Falafelkid, it doesn't "mirror" the DS friends code system, though. It's quite different (thankfully).

Anonymous said...

Hello, this is a fellow Nintendo Wii fan speaking. I anticipate it as much as the rest of you do. I shall bore you no longer.

This "big secret" that Fils-Amie denied knowledge of seems to still exist in some form. Having not one, not two, but three internet connections(nearly IDENTICAL to the DS's) leads me to believe that the Wii is, indeed, portable to the extenet that you merely need to bring the cables and Wii to a friend's house, plug, and play.

But, because of a recent article listed on this site, I am led to believe there is more to it than jsut portability. The article I read stated that in a British Women's Magazine, it is said not once but TWICE to turn off the tv and play the Wii. This implies that he Wii does not need a TV to play games. How can this be done? Read a little more....

I'm sure that all of you have heard(and if you haven't, here it is) of the DS connectivity with the Wii. The DS, the most popular portable gaming system here in the states, connects with Nintendo's newest and possibly greatest console to date. Portability and rumored portability. Touch screen and wireless controllers.

This is all speculation, hypotheticals, and theorizing on my part, but...
-if the rumor that the wii is portable is true,
-if the article that i read(it was from november 10th, so it shouldn't be too hard to find) is true, and there is some way to play the wii without a tv screen...

...i am guessing that the wii communicates so much with the DS that the user is able to use the Wii functionality on the DS itself, thus creating a wireless connection between the console and a "tv(the ds touch screen)".

This may seem farfetched to some of you. Heck, it even seems a bit out there for me. I'm just going off of rumors and an article in a magazine for this. But can you imagine that? No need for component cables for the wii? No need for a TV PERIOD? The DS/Wii connectivity may be more powerful than we could have ever imagined.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone know if the wii will play gamecube games online? Since the gamcube never had a friend code or anything. Even if Kirby air ride was a fairly bad game in my eyes i'de like to see it online.

Anonymous said...

Well the only thing i can say is that we wont know exactly everything until we get the Wii in our hands and we find out exactly what it will and wont do......maybe the big suprise is that they put DVD in it and they didn't tell anyone if this is correct ...Well done Nintendo.

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