Nintendo Push Back Relase Of DVD-Playing Wii

While it's never been given an official, bells-and-whistles announcement by the company, they've made it clear enough in the past that Nintendo will some day release a Wii that's capable of playing DVDs. It was meant to be in 2007, but that obviously didn't happen. Our advice is not to expect one in 2008, either, as Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has said "With supply constraints [of the Wii] continuing worldwide, the priority is on the current model". The 0.3% of the population with a Wii but without a DVD player must surely be distraught.

Nintendo Holds off on Wii DVD [IGN]

The latest "Iwata Asks" segment, this time touching on Link's Crossbow Training and the Wii Zapper, is a doozy. It's Miyamoto and Iwata kicking back, enjoying tea and biscuits, and telling us all about some of the crazy, crazy shit they may or may not have actually planned for not only Link's Crossbow Training, but the Zelda series itself. Like, what kinda crazy shit? How about an idea to originally make Ocarina of Time a first-person Zelda adventure. Or that Miyamoto thought they could justify Link's use of a gun (ie the Wii Zapper) by having the game feature a "Terminator style story about a time warp from the future". Or that the idea for the Zapper came from a Twilight Princess dev showing Miyamoto he'd stuck a Wii Remote and Nunchuk together using rubber bands, only to be told to get lost because he had more important work to be doing. Like I said, they may be true, they may be total lies, who cares, it's good reading.

Iwata Asks: Link's Crossbow Training [Nintendo]

Iwata: Wiimote Clone Not a Threat

Miis, Serious Business

To Nintendo, licensing Mii is identical to licensing Mario. If you read Iwata Asks interview series in website, you can understand how Mii was created in detail, so I hope you can read them if you have time. Mii is actually the result of more than 10 years of efforts.

Iwata Answers: More Wii Storage, Software, Public DS Play

Gamers frustrated with the lack of storage on the Wii may have a glimmer of hope, if we're reading Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata right. He endured the usual end of quarter question barrage from the financial community recently, revealing many a hint about the company's plans for the Wii and Nintendo DS. When asked by a storage capacity frustrated party about the Wii's meager internal memory, Iwata admitted that fans may have a right to complain.

"Because this small number of people are none other than the most avid players," Iwata said "we know we have to review the best possible solution to eliminate their inconvenience." USB hard drive support? That'd be nice! For more details from Iwata's Q&A, hit the jump.

Tisk, tisk, Nintendo. You've done and pissed off the treehuggers again. Last year, Greenpeace released its sixth "Guide to Greener Electronics," which grades electronics makers on how environmentally sound their manufacturing and recycling processes are. It was the first time game consoles were included. Out of the three console companies, Sony came out on top with a 7.3/10 score. Microsoft posted a laughable 2.7/10. Ha. Ha. Ha. Nintendo was the absolute lowest with a 0/10. A first for the Greenpeace guide. Congrats, Nintendo.

Several months have passed, and the seventh version has been released. Sony still clocks in at 7.3/10, but has more products that are toxic PVC free and has improved its recycling and takeback of electronics. Microsoft has jumped up to 4.7/10 and has an improved timeline for toxic chemicals elimination. The company's takeback policy is still lacking, though. And Nintendo? The company now scores 0.3/10. Says Greenpeace, "Tiny improvement but still way behind." Hey Greenpeace, Nintendo doesn't have time for all this environmental crap! Too busy making buckets of money.
March 2008 Version [Greenpeace Thanks Bert!]

Miyamoto-san gets pretty scary when he's angry, doesn't he?

Miyamoto-san is really merciless when it comes to planning! (laughs)

Miyamoto: The make-up of the Wii Fit team was really varied. The design and sound staff, for example, were brought in directly from Twilight Princess. I was a little afraid at first that a group of people who'd worked on something like that wouldn't take a completely atypical project like this as seriously, but in the end I had nothing to worry about because they all worked very hard on Wii Fit.

The Wii Fit Peripherals That Didn't Make The Cut

Virtual Console Downloads At 10 Million, Iwata Explains Wii Shortage

In a new Q&A with Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, he reveals that the company has sold over 10 million games via its Virtual Console service for the Wii, calling those figures "proof that there are great possibilities with the download model." Iwata also tells GameSpot that the service's success shows that WiiWare may be "one answer" to problems developers have always experienced, but that downloadable content won't replace traditional retail any time soon.

He even waxes a bit about WiiWare pricing, putting a (surely tentative) price tag on WiiWare games of 500 yen (about $4.70 US). The price of a NES game? I could get behind that. Iwata has plenty more to say.

Gamers Will Be Bored If All Games Like Wii Fit, Wii Sports

An astounding amount of effort was actually put into the fundamental development process of these titles [Wii Sports and Wii Fit]. We're investing our efforts in other areas besides graphics and data capacity. However, as I mentioned earlier, if all our games mirror games like Wii Sports or Wii Fit, our gamers would soon grow bored.

Super Secret Super Smash Bros. Brawl Developer Revealed

Sure, apologies are appreciated when it comes to Super Smash Bros. Brawl shipping even later in North America than promised (twice!). However, the juicy, meaty portion of Nintendo prez Satoru Iwata's interview with the game's producer Masahiro Sakurai is the ultimate reveal of the team responsible for the Wii brawler. It's not HAL Laboratory, obviously, and Sora Ltd. weren't officially involved. Game Arts, of all folks, is the developer responsible. Didn't see that one coming.

You may (or may not) remember Game Arts from its development on the Lunar and Grandia series, both quite aged, both essentially the opposite of a lightning fast, multiplayer fighting game. Why the secrecy? It couldn't have anything to do with the overreaction found on the internet. Could it? Nah. The full interview, if you missed it before, is worth the read.

Iwata Asks: Super Smash Bros. Brawl [Wii.com]

Hello, Everyone. My name is Satoru Iwata, President of Nintendo Co., Ltd. Beginning today, I would like to deliver an interview that explains the vision and the development process behind the creation of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. But before we begin, I would like to offer an apology.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata runs the entire spectrum of emotions in an interview he gave with Japanese site Yukan Fuji. He discusses his surprise at the Wii and DS's success, while mentioning his sadness about critics claiming that Nintendo forces product shortages as part of its strategy. That's not all! Iwata also talks about people growing tired of games as entertainment, mentions his personal positive outlook and cracks what must be the unfunniest joke of 2008. All that, after the jump:

Nintendo DS To Get Informative Functions, Like TV Guide

The Wall Street Journal has outlined Satoru Iwata's new strategy for bringing the Nintendo brand even more into the mainstream. And given the success of the DS in this department, Nintendo will be starting with the small but mighty handheld to roll out new functions in Japan next year. According to WSJ, part of the master plan includes:

...a television-programming feature for the Japanese market...[allowing users] to check television listings, run searches by keyword and genre, and highlight each family member's favorite programs.