Wii to function without TV, after all?

Nintendo has published an advertorial (an advert that is meant to look like a regular article) in British women´s magazine Prima, which is either full of misleading formulations - or hints at a long-suspected Wii secret.

UK: Resistance has the scans.



The article is aimed at mothers and talks about how Wii can encourage them to spend quality time with their kids:

It´s tempting to sit them in front of the TV while you get cosy on the couch, lost in a good book - but now, thanks to Nintendo, you don´t have to. (...)

Turn off the TV and get active in your own home with the revolutionary Wii.

Though quite short, the article tells us to forget, even switch off our television sets twice. Most likely just a figure of speech to exaggerate the difference between passively watching television and actively playing Wii. But what if it were actually true? What if you actually could switch off the tube in order to play Wii?

Now, I am well aware that it is very unlikely that a British women´s magazine would blow the lid off such a huge secret. But do consider that this is not an editorial article but written by Nintendo (or Cake, their British PR agency). Also, consider that we have come across plenty of possible hints at the Wii not necessarily needing a TV to display images.

Let us remind ourselves of what Shigeru Miyamoto told Business Week pretty much a year ago:

It's convenient to make games that are played on TVs. But I always wanted to have a custom-sized screen that wasn't the typical four-cornered cathode-ray-tube TV. I've always thought that games would eventually break free of the confines of a TV screen to fill an entire room. But I would rather not say anything more about that.

Also, the ending of the TGS 2005 clip, where the player turns off the television set with the Wiimote, has been the source for similar speculation:



Those could very well just be coincidences. In fact, that is the most likely explanation. But when I read the quotes from above advertorial, I could not help but remember Miyamoto´s quote. The fact that the article is entitled ´Game On!´ is a further reminder of past speculation.

Source: UK: Resistance
Thanks to: Joystiq, Deadlock17

PS3 version of ´NBA Live 07´ canned

Electronic Arts has canned the PS3 version of ´NBA Live 07´, as IGN reports.

It´s perhaps not too surprising, since IGN lists another three NBA titles as confirmed for the console:

* ´NBA '07´ by SCEA (launch)
* ´NBA 2K7 by 2K Sports (launch)
* ´NBA Street Homecourt by Electronic Arts (Q2 2007)

Still, that very game was an integral part of Sony´s pre-E3 show, showcasing the console´s power, as the article remarks:

Though PS3-specific features or fixes for the PlayStation 3 edition of NBA Live 07 were never announced, the game was used to demonstrate what EA Sports could do with the system's hardware during Sony's onstage presentation prior to E3. Specifically, the demo focused on NBA Live's "Procedural Awareness Technology" and how that would translate into realistic on-court reactions.

Here is the segment in full:



Also, there has been even more bad news for Sony´s PS3 recently, with THQ being cautious about PS3 sales and favouring Wii and EA doubting Sony´s production schedule.

EDIT Even more bad news for Sony. Games Industry has learned that both ´Sonic the Hedgehog´ and ´The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion´ will miss the console´s launch and will be available in December and Q1 2007, respectively.

Further, Phil Harrison refused to confirm that the console will be ready to launch in Europe in March, speaking to Three Speech:

Given that all of our previous statements about launching in Europe simultaneously with the US and Japan turned out not to be the case, I would not like to make any definitive statements on that.

Sources: IGN, IGN, Games Industry, Games Industry
Thanks to: Coldblooder, msales78

Reggie ´not aware of any secrets´ while GamePro confirms earlier comments

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has contradicted his recent comments regarding the Wii console having a last big secret.

In a video interview with News.com editor Rich DeMuro, Fils-Aime says he is not aware of any secrets:

DeMuro: What do you make of all the rumours surrounding the Wii and is there one that you wanna put to rest?

Fils-Aime: In terms of what´s gonna be in the box, that´s set. It´s gonna be the Wii console, everything you need to be playing right from the get-go. A Wii remote a nun-chuk and Wii sports. That´s the launch. All of the other news, if you will, are the packaged software, the Virtual Console content. All of that is still being finalized as we speak. But in terms of what you get in the box, that´s set.

DeMuro: No secret annnouncement that is gonna be made eleventh hour?

Fils-Aime: No, no wonderful secret announcement. At least not one that I´m aware of. So then it would really be a secret.

I have contacted GamePro editor Tae Kim who is credited as confirming that Reggie had talked about a last big secret. Here is what Tae replied:

That answer was provided by a former editor who recently moved on. I took over as the Pro for Nintendo Wii and the site automatically attributed all the answers to me. This is a quirk with our site. For instance, I was the Microsoft Pro until recently but if you look now, all the answers are attributed to the current Xbox person. I unfortunately did not author that comment and so cannot provide you with an answer. I apologize for the confusion. (...) I contacted the person and he says that he had a contact at Gamestop who told him this. Outside of that, I don't know what else I can tell you.

Let us briefly examine the News.com interview. At first, Reggie seemed intent on evading the issue, mentioning how only the box contents had been finalized. This would have left the back door open for any secrets regarding the Virtual Console or WiiConnect24, for example. Only when pressed about a last-minute announcement did he actually rule one out.

This is in keeping with GamePro´s response. They are confident that their source is accurate. I therefore strongly believe that Reggie decided to deceive us, rather than reiterate his earlier comments at the conference (which he must have meant to be confidential). After all, a secret is only a secret for as long as it is not talked about in public.

Source: News.com
Thanks to: Anonymous, Machters