Katsuya Eguchi, manager and producer of Nintendo EAD's Software Development Group No. 2, revealed several details about his team's upcoming titles including Wii Sports and Star Fox DS. Eguchi's team, known for the Animal Crossing series, is hard at work on one of the Wii's most anticipated titles.
Wii Sports was inspired by Eguchi's desire to use the Wii remote in a way that would be familiar to men and women of all ages -- tennis, baseball and golf have proven to be a great starting point. Upon release, Eguchi expects Wii Sports will feature a variety of traditional sports as well as motor sports such as jet skiing or biking. Multiplayer will also play a large role in these titles.
Eguchi also addressed the next Animal Crossing. He expects it to make use of the newly announced WiiConnect 24 feature, which keeps the console connected to the Internet so downloads can occur even while the owner sleeps. This feature may also be used with Wii Sports to allow players to trade their homemade caricatures with others over the Internet. At the E3 press conference, Nintendo displayed Wii Sports with characters that resembled Nintendo designer Shigeru Miyamoto and president Satoru Iwata. Regarding game play in the next Animal Crossing, Eguchi believes players will be able to use the Wii remote to perform everyday actions such as digging holes, fishing and chopping down trees.
Eguchi also discussed Star Fox DS for the Nintendo DS. He compared the game to Mario Kart and said that four users will be able to go online and compete via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.