Kotaku: games festa

Make Reservations to Play Wii Fit, So Classy

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 21:00:58 MST

What was the biggest draw at the Games Festa over the weekend? Wii Fit. There wasn't a line, but rather, reservations. If you wanted to try out Nintendo's exer-game, you had to make a reservation at a specific time. (You were given a piece of paper with that time on it.) My impressions of Wii Fit: It's less a game and more a piece of exercise equipment. As far as exercise equipment go, it's fun. As far as games go, well. In Japan, though, it's going to make Nintendo exactly one gajillion dollars. Anyone picking this up?

More People Waiting For DMC4 on PS3 Than on Xbox 360

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 04:00:56 MST

Just like at TGS, gamers lined up in droves for Devil May Cry 4. That is, for the PS3 version. The way ballparked between 60 and 80 minutes throughout the day. What about for Xbox 360 version?

That line ballparked between 6 and 8 people throughout the day. Do people here even know it's multiplat?

How's We Love Golf Putting Coming Along?

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 03:00:32 MST

At TGS, we checked out We Love Golf. While the game looked nice, putting was a mess. At the Games Festa, we checked out the latest playable build. Since no one was waiting in line, the Capcom person at the demo kiosk told me I could play as long as I wanted. That, for me, was about twenty minutes or so — long enough to get a decent feel for the basic mechanics. The Capcom rep. was quick to point out that I should approach the game was playing actual golf, but rather, just a video game. So all natural instincts about using the Wii-mote to swing and smash golf balls went out the window.

Instead, the swing mechanic, as we've previously mentioned, is based on timing. You are trying to line up various gauges at the correct time. The part that does feel golf-like is that the angle you hold the Wii-mote corresponds to the on-screen golf club. Thus, you can hold it with an open or closed face. After a fair bit of trial-and-error, I was able to get the timing down. Putting was a totally different matter.

At TGS, whenever we putted, we kept coming up short. The controls felt buggy, and Capcom was quick to point out that the developers were still working out the kinks. Fair enough. The Capcom rep at the Games Festa mentioned that they have tightened up putting and made it easier. Still, it was necessary to take an non-intuitive control scheme to get it to work. From the conversation I had with the Capcom rep at the Games Festa:

ME: "Isn't it really difficult to do putting with the Wii-mote?"
CAPCOM GUY: "Yes, it's been challenging."
ME: "And isn't that because the Wii-mote isn't striking anything? I don't mean striking for like feedback, but when you put a ball, you hit something."
CG: "Right. And when you swing the Wii-mote, you aren't hitting anything."
ME: "Isn't that what makes it hard? It's difficult to register that moment when you hit the golf ball?"
CG: "Yes."
ME: "I've heard that it's difficult to mimic drumming with a Wii-mote for that reason. That it's very difficult to register when a drum is hit because the Wii-mote isn't actually hitting anything."

How have they overcome this? The Capcom Guy offered this advice while putting in We Love Golf: Hold up your arm slowly and wait until your club reaches the Target Marker on the gauge. Leave your arm there, but release the A button. The putter will automatically hit the ball. My success rate using this method was actually pretty high! And all the previous frustration we encountered with We Love Golf putting at TGS was gone. Thing is, the Wii-mote seems to have made things unnecessarily complicated...

Konami Curious if Japan Wants the PS3

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 02:00:46 MST

Over the weekend, I attended the Games Japan Festa in Osaka. The nice part about the Games Festa? Companies don't have enormous booths, and the entire hall is wall-to-wall demo kiosks. So, if you actually want to play games, this is a good show to hit. For those who missed the Osaka show, the Festa rolls through Chiba at the end of the month.

The Konami booth had a MGS4 trailer and had folks fill out a questionnaire to receive a Metal Gear book The Konami questionnaire featured very basic questions: What's your gender? How old are you? Where do you live? What consoles do you own? Blah, blah, blah. One question did jump right out at me. Here's Q2. in English:

This is a question for those who do not own the PLAYSTATION 3. Do you have plans to purchase it? Why is that?
1). I will purchase it (Reason:
2). I won't purchase it (Reason:
3). Undecided (Reason:

Hrm. Konami's polling consumers on consumer PS3 demand to gauge, well, something.

Osaka Game Festival Tomorrow

Brian Ashcraft — Sat, 12 Nov 2005 13:25:24 MST

Bright and early tomorrow morning, I'm going to roll over to Honmachi (Central Osaka) to swing by the Games Japan Festa. It's the last game show of the year, and there'll be tons of demos on display. Check back in tomorrow for a full report tomorrow once my thumbs have recovered.

Full Software List [Games Japan]