No More Nintendo Surprises This Year

Are those of you who felt let down by Nintendo's E3 showing hanging onto hopes that maybe, just maybe they'll pull something out just for you at the last minute? As if it were your birthday, and all day everyone seemed to have forgotten, and just as you're heading home for the night, surprise!

If that sounds like you, here comes Cammie Dunaway to crash your party.

"You have seen the extent of Nintendo's 2008 holiday lineup," she told Wired recently, in the same interview wherein she also said she's really as jaw-crackingly smiley in real life as she appears to be during press conferences.

When you think about it, though, the holiday's not that far off. And before you know it, it'll be a brand new year, and time for brand new announcements. Such as?

Reggie Says Wii Storage Problem Goes Waaaay Beyond Geeks And Otaku

Sure, last month Nintendo Europe's Laurent Fischer said the Wii's storage problem was only affecting "geeks and otaku". But that was last month. This month? It's a big problem, one affecting not only the scum-sucking hardcore of Nintendo's murky cash tank, but one affecting everyone. Reggie explains:

From an Americas-centric perspective, here is the reality we see. We have a consumer base who loves virtual console. We have a userbase who really is enjoying WiiWare content. So for us really our challenge really is how do we satisfy all these consumers who are loving all of the product we make available on a download basis? As we continue to have things, as you point out, like ‘Mario Kart’ that has its own channel when you’re playing from an Internet perspective, we’re just making this challenge tougher and tougher. So in our view this is becoming much more of a mainstream problem, which is why we have a sense of urgency to solve it.

It's comforting to picture Nintendo HQ, deck chairs and money-counting machines upturned, as klaxons sound, tech teams scrambling to "solve" this problem before the Today Show starts complaining about it.

Nintendo: Wii Storage Limitations Becoming A ‘Mainstream Problem’ [MTV]

Iwata Foresees Wii Supply Constraints For Christmas, Again

Yes, we know that the annual Christmastime Wii shortage is always unintentional on Nintendo's part. They're just constantly shocked, for three straight years, at how popular their console is.

Analyst Michael Pachter told Kotaku a few months ago to expect supply constraints for Wii this season, and speaking to Forbes, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata seems pretty certain himself that's how it'll go down, again:

"We are really intending to increase the shipments to the U.S., especially compared to last year," says Satoru Iwata, Nintendo's global president and CEO. "However, I can't give you a 100% commitment [that you'll be able to find a Wii this holiday season]. What I can commit myself to is that Nintendo is going to do its best to supply as many Wii hardware units as possible in order to meet demand there."

A Wii Bit Short On Supplies [worst pun ever, Forbes!]

EA CEO Says Wii MotionPlus Is Gonna Be Good

The Wii-mote is getting an add-on peripheral which should help make the remote better. Good, says EA CEO John Riccitiello. Because the regular Wii-mote hasn't exactly been as exact as Electronic Arts hoped. Here's what Riccitiello has to say:

The Wii MotionPlus is going to be good. If I had to pick one thing we suffered from, it was imprecise control on the Wii. That meant certain genres were never going to perform as well on the Wii. There are a couple of franchises in our booth. Go look at Dead Space and imagine playing that game with a wand and a Nunchuk. If they improve the precision, then you could have a good experience.

Let's just hope Nintendo is able to get every Wii owner on board so we can actually see developers make the most out of it.

E3 perspective: An interview with John Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts [Venture Beat via CVG]

Wii Gets Digi Camera Print Channel

Today in Japan, Nintendo and FujiFilm launched a new Digital Camera Print Wii Channel. Wii owners are able to order Fuji digi picture prints, photo albums and Mii business cards. Just put an SD card with picture data in the Wii and select what you'd like to order. Prints are ¥30 ($0.28) a pop while a 21 page album will set you back ¥1,575 ($14.68). One set of thirty Mii-style business cards runs ¥500. You can even have your friend code printed out on it. After paying by credit card, your order will be delivered to your doorstep.

Digital Camera Print Channel [Nintendo via Go Nintendo]

Sure, 500,000 consoles (lifetime sales) doesn't sound like much. It's about what the US devours in a month. But it's a big number for a market with only 21,000,000 potential customers, and it's a number Nintendo Australia are only too happy to hit us with today, as they announced (courtesy of official GfK sales figures) that the Wii has not only hit the half a million sales mark, but is now officially the fastest console to have done so in Australian history. To celebrate, they've released some new Wii lifestyle photography, which we'll now share with you subject you to.

Nintendo's Reggie Would Love To See "Bottoms-Up" Wii GTA

Grand Theft Auto doesn't exactly leap into mind when you hear someone say "Nintendo 2.0". But new Nintendo is getting a GTA title, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, for the DS. Does that mean the Wii will get its own GTA? Says Nintendo of America honcho Reggie Fils-Aime:

All I can tell you is that since the day I walked in the door, I’ve had a very good relationship with the folks at Take Two, continue to have a good relationship. And so in our view we want just the best content coming on our platforms... You know, a GTA on the Wii is all based on what Rockstsar and Take Two want to do. And again, from our standpoint, if they build a bottoms-up game that takes advantage of what we do well, I’d love to see it on the platform.

And hey, why the heck not?

Nintendo President Talks ‘Grand Theft Auto’ Deal [MTV Multiplayer] [Pic]

Third-Party Devs Kept In Dark Over Wii MotionPlus

That's what Game Informer are saying, having spoken to a number of developers at E3. They say none of the devs polled had any inkling the product was to be announced, and that the general feelings amongst them were those of "annoyance and betrayal". If that's true across the board (and it seems to be, as it echoes similar sentiments we heard at E3), it's good news for Nintendo's secret-keeping team! But bad news for third-party devs and consumers, because it means anyone who's not Nintendo is only now able to plan for games that make the most of the add-on.

Wii MotionPlus Took Developers By Surprise [Game Informer]

Iwata So Very Very Sorry For Nintendo's E3 Presser

Of all the lowlights of last week's E3 "festivities", none were lower than Nintendo's press conference. A fact I'm sure, by now, they're acutely aware of. And in response to the, uh, less than warm reception to their offerings, Nintendo President Satoru iwata is sorry.

If there is any perception that Nintendo is ignoring the core gamers, it's a misunderstanding and we really want to get rid of that misunderstanding by any means. We are sorry about [the E3] media briefings, specifically for those who were expecting to see Nintendo show something about 'Super Mario' or 'Legend of Zelda.'

"Sorry" is a strong, and surprisingly powerful word to pull out. Probably won't do anything to sooth the strained neck veins of the outraged faithful, but it's a nice gesture regardless.

A Wii Bit Short On Supplies [Forbes]

Nintendo's Patent Case: The Unanswered Questions

Earlier today, we learned that Nintendo had lost its bid for a new trial in the patent infringement suit brought against it by small Texas-based firm Anascape Ltd. Nintendo is ordered to pay $21 million to Anascape, who also named Microsoft and Sony in the same lawsuit — those two, however, opted earlier to settle out of court.

A ban on sales of all GameCube controllers - including GameCubes that come bundled with the infringing controllers — issued by U.S. District Judge Ron Clark is currently on hold while Nintendo appeals the verdict on the Federal level.

If the appeal fails, what are Nintendo's options, and what's the gaming giant saying about the case?

Nintendo Facing Controller Ban Over Patent Lawsuit

Getting your hands on a Wavebird, Classic Controller, or Nintendo GameCube could shortly become very difficult as Nintendo faces a ban on all three devices, following a failed attempt to overturn the verdict in a $21-million dollar patent infringement suit brought on by Texas-based Anascape Ltd. U.S. District Judge Ron Clark plans on issuing the ban on these Nintendo products tomorrow, giving the company a chance to avoid the ban by posting bond or placing royalties in an Escrow account. According to Anascape lawyer Doug Cawley, the ban will be placed on hold while Nintendo appears on the Federal level.

"Nintendo was already planning to appeal this case to the Federal Circuit court,'' Nintendo spokesman Charlie Scibetta said in an e-mailed statement. ``The recent ruling by the trial court does not impact that decision.''

Note that the ban does not affect the Wii remote or nunchuck controllers - just the standard controllers that include analog sticks.

Nintendo Faces Ban on Some Wii, GameCube Controllers [Bloomberg - Thanks Shannon]

The Only Reason I'd Want Anything to Do With Spiders

I had a chance to sit through a demo of upcoming Wii action adventure game Deadly Creatures Rainbow Studios in the lead up to E3. The game has you taking turns controlling a spider and a scorpion as they make their way through a hostile desert environment and try to suffer the indignities, and boots of a pair of humans.

The Wii exclusive does a lot of neat things with the genre. First is the fact that while you do take turns controlling both the scorpion and spider in Deadly Creatures, they aren't buddies. In fact, they're deadly enemies of one another. You will never actually do combat while controlling either creature, but you get to witness a few stand-offs as the game unwinds.

Nintendo President Doesn't Think Friend Codes Are Perfect (Who Agrees?)

Even Nintendo president Satoru Iwata doesn't think friend codes are prefect. Heck, hear him say it:

First of all, I don't think the current system we have with friend codes is perfect. However, if it's an online world where you can get access to anybody without any restrictions, I as a father do not feel like allowing my daughter be engaged in that kind of world. So for Nintendo, especially in terms of the people who have never experienced online video games before, we think that it's still very important to create a world where we can assure that there will be no harassment for these online beginners, and we really want to assure the security and safety for them to do that. So we will be studying this on an ongoing basis in order to improve Nintendo's own circumstances where people can freely and safely enjoy the communications through the net.

Quick show of hands. Who likes friend codes? Okay, who tolerates them? And, who hates them? Nintendo is doing its best to make sure that its online service is friendly to all players, and the company should be commended for that. (Think of the children!)

Interview: Satoru Iwata Talks [GameDaily via CVG]

They've got Pokémon planes so why not Pokémon trains? As summer vacation kicks off here in Japan, Japan Rail East is rolling out four Pocket Monster bullet trains for the Tohoku and Joetsu lines and one each for the Yamagata, Akita and Nagano lines. Says one 7-year-old boy traveling with his parents to Iwate Prefecture:

I was surprised to see Pikachu, but I really like the character so I'm happy...It's a cool bullet train.

And Pikachu was surprised to see you. Summer 2008, this is the photo op. Hit the jump for a clip of the train in action.

Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff Hurry Up Impressions

Portable football devoid of the NFL license may sound like the sports game that has the least likely chance of success, but Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff may just get by with its barebones, retro-styled gameplay and a heaping help of nostalgia. The game sticks close to the formula established in a handful of Tecmo Bowl games release in the late '80s and early '90s, offering basic side scrolling gameplay for casual fans of the sport.

Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff offers d-pad and stylus control options, naturally, with the latter making for easy (possibly to easy) play-making. You can move your QB around and pass to your receiver with straightforward stylus drags and taps, leaving little to the imagination control-wise.

The DS version also adds Super Skills, buffs that give your quarterback, running back and receivers special abilities, adding to the arcade-style bent of Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff.

Tecmo's exhuming of the franchise may not appeal to the Madden set, with its faux teams, old school graphics and limited playbooks, but for lapsed football fans it might be worth checking out. We had fun, maybe you will too.

Cammie Says "I'm Not Fake!"

Nintendo's E3 conference didn't really go to plan. Lots of disappointment afterwards. Disappointment that manifested itself into hate. Hate that was then focused on Nintendo of America's Cammie Dunaway, and her Mother's Day cards, and her cute puppies, and her world-devouring grin. People felt she was grating, annoying, that she was, worst of all, fake. Well, she'd like you to know she's not fake. She is, indeed, for real:

I'm really a genuinely smiley, nice person. Because people think I'm fake, smiling up there. I'm just not! It's just me! I am who I am.

Which is likely true! Though in the Nintendo acolytes defence, it was probably the content they were most displeased with, not necessarily the delivery.

Nintendo's Cammie Dunaway: I'm Not Faking It [Wired]

Shane Kim Wants Nintendo's Big Blue Ocean Too

Microsoft's E3. Was it fun for everyone or fun for just casual gamers? I think it was more about the casual gamer, Shane Kim? Not so much. Kim also isn't a big believer in Nintendo's big, blue ocean, it seems. Why stick to your own slice of the Pacific, when you can have it all.

Logitech's Official Wireless Keyboard For The Wii Is, Yes, White

Here's Logitech's new, officially licensed QWERTY keyboard for the Wii. It's wireless, it's a keyboard, and yes, it's the requisite white. It also has a few Wii-specific additions, like dedicated buttons for zoom, quit, ok, etc. It'll communicate via a dongle, should be out next month, will be a must-buy for Animal Crossing (which will support keyboards) and will cost $50.

[Logitech Wii Keyboard]