Wednesday, July 18, 2007

´Table Tennis´ coming to Wii



´Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis´ is coming to the Wii. The release date is given as this Fall, according to a recent press release by Take 2 Games.

Developed by Rockstar Leeds in collaboration with Rockstar San Diego, Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis is the perfect Wii gaming experience. Feel the unmatched speed and intensity of the real-life sport with an authentic physics engine and intuitive gameplay that mimics the exhilarating experience found in international competition. (...)

"Ever since we released Table Tennis, fans have been asking us to create a Wii version," said Sam Houser, Founder and Executive Producer of Rockstar Games. "By bringing Table Tennis to the Wii and utilizing the motion-sensitive Wii Remote™, a new audience can now experience a game that is beautifully designed and impossible to put down."



I exclusively revealed this information two-and-a-half months ago (the story being picked up by other media like GoNintendo and Nintendo Wii Fanboy, as well).

Sorry for being smug about this, but when this humble site beats all the big boys to such exclusive information, I think it´s time to be smug. Not that I didn´t beat them before. Okay, I am sorry. I´ll stop.

Also, it is important to point out that the game runs on the ´RAGE engine´, which also powers ´Grand Theft Auto IV´. Will that game also be heading to Wii, I wonder?

Source: Take 2 Games
Thanks to: Joystiq

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

you report on this which is good, but you neglect to report on bigger news like peter moore leaving microsoft

Anonymous said...

Falafel,
some anonymous guy keeps ridng you.
it's really funny.
Here he is again!
everytime he's here with rude comments.
I think he's in love with you.

Falafelkid said...

Hi Anonymous.

you report on this which is good, but you neglect to report on bigger news like peter moore leaving microsoft

You are quite right. That story is a very important one. But such a story takes longer to write, which is why I squeezed this one in first. Expect my story on Moore leaving within the next few hours.

Anonymous said...

i didn't know that table tennis runs on the same engine as GTA4. i think if they can get GTA4 onto a DVD9 with HD graphics for the 360, i'm certain they could do a wii version without HD graphics if they wanted to. i would buy it for wii-- especially if it plays like Godfather:Blackhand.

also: anonymous: shut the fuck up.

also: falafelkid: who are Imagination Technologies, and what do they do, exactly? only you could solve this mystery! :)
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=172446

-"superfan" tactics.

Rob said...

Falafelkid,

Any chance of getting us some more info on what's happening with Rockstar's other game, Manhunt 2? We've all heard that they're considering their options right now, but I'm interested if you have any inside scoop on what the atmosphere is like at Rockstar and if there's been any headway in getting the game out in the public. If you could get anything besides the company line, I think that everyone would appreciate it.

Falafelkid said...

Hey Tactics.

Good to have you here again, always a pleasure.

who are Imagination Technologies, and what do they do, exactly? only you could solve this mystery! :)

Well, this is a very interesting, but also quite extensive topic you have raised. Imagination Technologies is a British based company, offering System-On-Chip (SOC) solutions. SOC describes integrated chips, the CPU often also housing the GPU and even memory (as far as I understand it, anyway). SOC solutions are often used in mobile devices, so this rumour - if true - might deal with a handheld device rather than a home console, if you ask me.

Hi Rob

Any chance of getting us some more info on what's happening with Rockstar's other game, Manhunt 2? (...) I'm interested if you have any inside scoop on what the atmosphere is like at Rockstar and if there's been any headway in getting the game out in the public.

Okay, you asked for it ;) I have been following a story that I still find too vague to post properly. But here is the beef:

I have contact to someone who claims to work for NOA in Redmond. That person has told me in confidence that a memo was circulated about two weeks ago about Nintendo publishing ´Manhunt 2´ despite the AO rating.

I have been seeking to verify this with my sources at Take 2 and Rockstar. Also, I have asked for the memo to be forwarded to me. I am still busy on those two fronts, so please bear with me until I get more detail and can actually write a proper post.

Let me just close by saying that I do regard the source as reasonably reliable, while I simply cannot believe that Nintendo would ever consider such a move.

Anonymous said...

Don't get our hopes up.

Anonymous said...

interesting about manhunt2, falafelkid. let's hope it gets published with an AO. after all, wii is for *EVERYONE*, right?

also: i lurk here every single day, i just don't post as often as i used to, just so you know :) these here comments sections ain't quite what they used to be.

so, thanks for the updates, and get back out there and start infiltratin'!

-"superfan" tactics.

Rob said...

F,

Do you have any info from the Rocktar office on how they've reacted internally? I've heard that the people behind the scenes suffered from tunnel vision and were shocked that the game got an AO. From what I understand, they're in the process of appealing the game. Do you know what their approach may be, or are planning on cutting the game? Rockstar's public defense of the game would suggest that they're trying hard for an appeal and will not cut the game unless absolutely necessary.

What's the score on Table Tenis? I take it that all you know about the game is that they've tacked on remote functionality and some possible wifi stuff. Any idea how they're approaching the graphical engine on the wii?

As for that news bit with Nintendo, do you know if they're considering releasing it as an "unrated" game? I too am skeptical that Nintendo would go for an AO title.

Enjoy the site. Thanks for the scraps of info.

Anonymous said...

IV SAID IT B4 ILL SAY IT AGAIN WII IS EFFICANT AND TURBO CHARGED SO TO SPEAK FOR 480P CAPPED RENDERING WII CAN NEAR MATCH 360 - TRUE HD RESOLUTION

THAT IS A FACT WII 480P FILL RATE AND EFFECTS SUPPORT CAN MIMIC ANYTHING 360 CAN DO
ADD TO THAT UPSCALE HD CAN BE SUPPORTED BY WII IF NINTENDO BOTHER WITH IT

THERE IS NO GRAPHICS WAR ANYMORE EVEN HIGH END PC DEVS ADMIT THE GRAPHICS FIELD IS LEVELING OUT ITS ABOUT THE EVOLUTION AND INVENTION OF NEW WOWS IN GAMING

WII DOES NEXT GEN VISUALS - TRUE HD

JUST LIKE NINTENDO CLEARLY STATED

Anonymous said...

We're getting Bully too on the Wii. Yea! I don't have a PS2 so now I'll finally get to play it on the Wii. Maybe Reggie's meeting with Rock* way back when had a major impact or maybe its the great Wii sales. I'm just happy with all the support from Rock*.

Metaldave said...

Sometimes blogs can be the best sites on the net.

Nothing beats inside information.

Falafelkid, don't listen to the guys at NeoGAF that have said in the past that you're "just a blogger" and have no creditability. Anyone that knows what you're about trusts your opinion and knows that you speak the truth.


Table Tennis on Wii: Rockstar can do it and make it look pretty close to the Xbox360 version, they just have to remember that the Wii doesn't do Direct X graphics. The Wii does "Tev" for custom shaders that can mimic the same shaders PS3 and 360 use. The Wii also has Fill-rate many times greater than Gamecube which can translate into a lot of on screen effects-not to mention much more detailed textures and a lot more of them. If Rockstar actually tries, they can make it look awesome. Lets hope they don't pull a Ubisoft on us.

Manhunt 2 being published with AO rating by Nintendo:

"Let me just close by saying that I do regard the source as reasonably reliable, while I simply cannot believe that Nintendo would ever consider such a move."

Falafelkid, can I ask how you know your "reasonably reliable" friend? Has he ever shown you any proof that he works for NOA or is it just him saying that? It is hard to believe that Nintendo would just change their mind so fast about such a controversial game. However if the game were to sell at the "AO" rating and Nintendo approved it, who would sell the game anyway? Not any store I know of besides online retailers. For the sake of the continuity of the game, I hope your "reasonably reliable" friend is right.

Anonymous said...

bully for wii fluffi!!!!

:)

kann es sein dasst neuerdings VIPs für RTL
interviewst??...ich meine hätte deine stimme gehört!

RGB said...

My brother was looking at buying a real table tennis table last week and I was talking to him I wouldnt mind buying one myself but I really dont have anyone to play against these days so Wii table tennis would be a half decent replacement for the real thing.

Anonymous said...

This site is great... A juicy Manhunt 2 rumor was just what I needed.

If Nintendo were to go through with such a thing, it would likely be taken as a stinging indictment of the ESRB. Then again, the industry apparently needs one of the console manufacturers to step up and announce that they will license AO software to prevent such an entity from indirectly censoring the content of videogames and, thusly, protect the intergrity of the artform...

Ah, well. I know it's all extremely unlikely, but it's good to dream for one night.

Anonymous said...

how about a new Smugglers run for Wii?
;)

Falafel, since you're a gamesjournalist, can you answer this question:
I always wonder why gamessites are so passive. You seem to be doing your own research, but most gaming news seems to be c/p all the way. Yes, a simple question whether Wii will get an own installment of Proevolution soccer has been raised by numerous sites. But that's it. No, it hasn;t been announced, so we all assume it is not to be?
Is it so hard to contact Konami about it?
What are your thoughts?

Anonymous said...

3d revolution ;)

http://www.nintendowiifanboy.com/2007/07/20/fresh-boogie-screens-reveal-replay-mode-has-3d-filter/

like that falafelkid? we knew it all along ;) hahaha... *sigh*... *cry*

-"superfan" tactics.

Falafelkid said...

Hi Anonymous - and sorry for the late reply.

I always wonder why gamessites are so passive. You seem to be doing your own research, but most gaming news seems to be c/p all the way. Yes, a simple question whether Wii will get an own installment of Proevolution soccer has been raised by numerous sites. But that's it. No, it hasn;t been announced, so we all assume it is not to be?
Is it so hard to contact Konami about it? What are your thoughts?


No, it´s not very hard to call those companies, you are totally right. All you need is their phone number, which is easy to get hold of (it´s often on the company´s site) and you need to give them some proper credentials when you call them.

But consider the following. Smaller news sites and blogs may be excused, since their requests may be turned down by studios and publishers. And bigger news sites may have other reasons for not doing their research. Let me give you an example:

When it comes to my exclusive story about the Wii´s friend code system, it´s really no wonder IGN or Gamespot didn´t place that call. Both companies belong to Rupert Murdoch´s media empire, as does Gamespy - and Gamespy supplies the Wii´s online infrastructure. So, big business can get in the way of big news.

I, on the other hand, am lucky enough to work for an important enough medium, while not being caught up in company affiliations and other interests.

Hi Tactics.

Wicked find, there. I just don´t quite understand the full scope of it. Why should this only be used for a replay? That´s hardly any fun. Why not use it for actual gameplay?

Anonymous said...

thnx for answering my question

Anonymous said...

ragtube.com

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