Wii equals possibility; it's the whole beauty of the package. Immediately following last year's controller-unveiling at the Tokyo Game Show, people began considering the colorful array of ideas that will be possible with Nintendo's new interface. Even things most gamers would never associate with a compelling video game -- cooking, working on a car, conducting an orchestra; they all come to life in the context of Wii's free-hand controller.
There is the potential for synergy between this new remote and the touch screen and microphone features of the Nintendo DS handheld. The Nintendo DS and Wii were built for wireless interactions, avoiding the connectivity travesty between the GameCube and Game Boy Advance. And the absence of expensive cords will finally allow players to embrace the idea. Join N-Sider for a speculative journey in Wii-DS connectivity.
So you pick up the next iteration of Duck Hunt -- could be online via Virtual Console, could be from a store shelf with revamped graphics and gameplay -- point is, you've got it, and there's an option on the title-screen for "DS Connectivity". Using your shiny new Wiimote, you click the option and are suddenly prompted to prepare your Nintendo DS for download-play. That's right -- your Wii is about to host a wireless LAN session (a la "single cart" mode) with a nearby DS. After switching on said portable and choosing "Download Play," you and a friend are tossed into a familiar mini-game.
Alright. Here's where things get interesting. As you may recall, the original NES version of Duck Hunt allowed players to control ducks' flight-paths via a controller in the player-two slot. Well, the concept here is similar -- using the Nintendo DS stylus, your friend controls the direction and pattern of the ducks by drawing a quick line on the touch-screen (not unlike Yoshi Touch-n-Go). On the top screen, your friend sees a display of his stats -- speed, accuracy, time remaining. Throw a couple more DS units and Wii remotes into the mix, and Duck Hunt could be quite the multi-player experience.
Not enough, you say? Well for those who never fancied the actual duck-hunting aspect of Duck Hunt (or just plain hated the dog), there's always the famed "Clay Shooting" mode! Same principals apply, but instead of guiding ducks with the stylus, your opponent (or teammate, in this case) actually tosses the disc-like targets (think frisbees in Nintendogs) as you blast away with the Wiimote.
Connectivity = Bottom screen used to throw clay pigeons and direct ducks. Top screen keeps score, distance records, speed, etc.
Wii = Player uses remote to shoot clay pigeons and ducks.
Get out the hot dogs, draft beer, and cotton candy. The latest edition of Nintendo Pennant Chase Baseball is the perfect place to field some friendly competition. After inviting your best friend over and plopping yourselves down on the couch, you casually reach for your head and tilt your hat gangsta-style. "You ready for this?" you question your friend with a sly smirk.
He's in the outfield first so you toss him your Nintendo DS. You, on the other hand, are up to bat so you grab the Wiimote off the coffee table, stand up and raise it above your shoulder. Your buddy, with shiny DS in hand, takes his stylus and swipes it across the bottom screen to achieve a fast curve ball. *Strike 1* Your friend giggles while you give him a glare and take a stronger grip on your Wiimote. You hear the tell-tale sliding sound of his stylus as you see the ball coming toward you. You take a swing and see a white dot soar through the air. Your friend's view on the DS changes and he uses the stylus to make his character frantically run to catch the ball. It's not enough; in the top screen he watches in despair as the ball lands in the stands. He sighs while you perform a victory dance that would embarrass even your mother.
DS = Selects and throws pitches via bottom touch-screen. The batter can be seen in the top screen.
Wii = Player uses the remote to bat incoming baseballs.
You and your sister have been anticipating the release of Pikmin 3 ever since it was first announced. After having followed previews of the game for nearly six months, you absolutely cannot wait to get your hands on it. A knock on the door signals the UPS man is here. Sure enough, you open the door to see a nice square package. Grabbing it, you run downstairs and rip the paper off yelling for your sister to, "Come quick!"
You hand her the Nintendo DS while you grab the Wiimote. In Pikmin 3, you will use the Wiimote just like a PC mouse. You can select your troops by pressing and dragging a circle around them -- ordering them to attack your opponent or gather resources. Your sister giggles as one of your blue Pikmin stumbles over a log. "I'm going to help him out," she says. She taps on the cute blue critter on the lower screen of her DS bringing the view into the first-person. She now sees a small crevice in the wall in front of her and tells you to keep everyone together while she checks it out. As she enters the darkness, a chill comes over her body. Suddenly, something large moves from the corner of her screen. It lunges towards her, causing her to let out a shriek. "Poor little guy," she whimpers. You reassure her, "He took it for the team." Her screen again returns to an overhead view where she can select a new character to control, explore, and knowing her, be stepped upon.
DS = Bottom screen shows overhead view of Pikmin while top screen displays first-person view of individual Pikmin.
Wii = Player uses the remote to organize, direct and allocate an army of Pikmin.
Does anyone else remember the announcement of Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble 2 for the GameCube at Spaceworld 2001? No? Probably because nothing actually came of the game. Which is a shame, because it was one of the more unique connectivity ideas of its time.
In the demo, Kirby would play as his normal puff-ball self on the TV screen, but he could find himself falling into a gutter or something similar and appearing on the Game Boy Advance screen. At this point, the GBA player would have to assist Kirby on his journey back onto the television. Now with the realization of Nintendo DS and Wii connectivity, fans will finally have the opportunity to maneuver a Marble Madness-like world of pink. It will be a true collaborative effort between Wii and DS players to reach the goal.
DS = The screens will light up when play transfers from the television to the DS.
Wii = Players use the Wiimote to control Kirby's ball-like antics.
Your view opens on a steamy blacktop at an airfield just off the Western coast. With Wiimote in hand, you hop into your fighter jet while your navigator offers support with his Nintendo DS. The thunderous noise of your thruster leaves a ringing noise in your ears as you take off. In less than a minute, your wingman, who's attentively scanning his screens, reports that he sees enemy fighters approaching from the North.
He suggests you fly Northeast between the mountain cliffs and attempt to sneak up from behind. You maneuver your jet and come out on the other side. "C'mon man, I need an update," you yell. He responds saying, "Dang, they can't be fooled, they're right behind us!" You do a barrel-roll and manage to get one in your sights. "Shoot," you hear. As the smoke clears, you see you've downed one with ease. "Fly down in that canyon there," your wingman points. "Lets try to get the jump on him." You descend but as you look up you see your enemy is now slightly ahead of you. Easing back up, you align him directly in your crosshairs. "Fire!" exclaims your wingman. An explosion blinds the sky and you emit a sigh of relief. "Nice job," your voice filled with appreciation. "Now get me a plate of nachos."
DS = Top screen features map and bottom screen shows radar.
Wii = Player flies and uses turrets, firing at enemies with the A button.
There is the potential for synergy between this new remote and the touch screen and microphone features of the Nintendo DS handheld. The Nintendo DS and Wii were built for wireless interactions, avoiding the connectivity travesty between the GameCube and Game Boy Advance. And the absence of expensive cords will finally allow players to embrace the idea. Join N-Sider for a speculative journey in Wii-DS connectivity.
DUCK HUNT
So you pick up the next iteration of Duck Hunt -- could be online via Virtual Console, could be from a store shelf with revamped graphics and gameplay -- point is, you've got it, and there's an option on the title-screen for "DS Connectivity". Using your shiny new Wiimote, you click the option and are suddenly prompted to prepare your Nintendo DS for download-play. That's right -- your Wii is about to host a wireless LAN session (a la "single cart" mode) with a nearby DS. After switching on said portable and choosing "Download Play," you and a friend are tossed into a familiar mini-game.
Alright. Here's where things get interesting. As you may recall, the original NES version of Duck Hunt allowed players to control ducks' flight-paths via a controller in the player-two slot. Well, the concept here is similar -- using the Nintendo DS stylus, your friend controls the direction and pattern of the ducks by drawing a quick line on the touch-screen (not unlike Yoshi Touch-n-Go). On the top screen, your friend sees a display of his stats -- speed, accuracy, time remaining. Throw a couple more DS units and Wii remotes into the mix, and Duck Hunt could be quite the multi-player experience.
Not enough, you say? Well for those who never fancied the actual duck-hunting aspect of Duck Hunt (or just plain hated the dog), there's always the famed "Clay Shooting" mode! Same principals apply, but instead of guiding ducks with the stylus, your opponent (or teammate, in this case) actually tosses the disc-like targets (think frisbees in Nintendogs) as you blast away with the Wiimote.
Connectivity = Bottom screen used to throw clay pigeons and direct ducks. Top screen keeps score, distance records, speed, etc.
Wii = Player uses remote to shoot clay pigeons and ducks.
STRIKE-OUT
Get out the hot dogs, draft beer, and cotton candy. The latest edition of Nintendo Pennant Chase Baseball is the perfect place to field some friendly competition. After inviting your best friend over and plopping yourselves down on the couch, you casually reach for your head and tilt your hat gangsta-style. "You ready for this?" you question your friend with a sly smirk.
He's in the outfield first so you toss him your Nintendo DS. You, on the other hand, are up to bat so you grab the Wiimote off the coffee table, stand up and raise it above your shoulder. Your buddy, with shiny DS in hand, takes his stylus and swipes it across the bottom screen to achieve a fast curve ball. *Strike 1* Your friend giggles while you give him a glare and take a stronger grip on your Wiimote. You hear the tell-tale sliding sound of his stylus as you see the ball coming toward you. You take a swing and see a white dot soar through the air. Your friend's view on the DS changes and he uses the stylus to make his character frantically run to catch the ball. It's not enough; in the top screen he watches in despair as the ball lands in the stands. He sighs while you perform a victory dance that would embarrass even your mother.
DS = Selects and throws pitches via bottom touch-screen. The batter can be seen in the top screen.
Wii = Player uses the remote to bat incoming baseballs.
STRATEGIZE
You and your sister have been anticipating the release of Pikmin 3 ever since it was first announced. After having followed previews of the game for nearly six months, you absolutely cannot wait to get your hands on it. A knock on the door signals the UPS man is here. Sure enough, you open the door to see a nice square package. Grabbing it, you run downstairs and rip the paper off yelling for your sister to, "Come quick!"
You hand her the Nintendo DS while you grab the Wiimote. In Pikmin 3, you will use the Wiimote just like a PC mouse. You can select your troops by pressing and dragging a circle around them -- ordering them to attack your opponent or gather resources. Your sister giggles as one of your blue Pikmin stumbles over a log. "I'm going to help him out," she says. She taps on the cute blue critter on the lower screen of her DS bringing the view into the first-person. She now sees a small crevice in the wall in front of her and tells you to keep everyone together while she checks it out. As she enters the darkness, a chill comes over her body. Suddenly, something large moves from the corner of her screen. It lunges towards her, causing her to let out a shriek. "Poor little guy," she whimpers. You reassure her, "He took it for the team." Her screen again returns to an overhead view where she can select a new character to control, explore, and knowing her, be stepped upon.
DS = Bottom screen shows overhead view of Pikmin while top screen displays first-person view of individual Pikmin.
Wii = Player uses the remote to organize, direct and allocate an army of Pikmin.
KIRBY
Does anyone else remember the announcement of Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble 2 for the GameCube at Spaceworld 2001? No? Probably because nothing actually came of the game. Which is a shame, because it was one of the more unique connectivity ideas of its time.
In the demo, Kirby would play as his normal puff-ball self on the TV screen, but he could find himself falling into a gutter or something similar and appearing on the Game Boy Advance screen. At this point, the GBA player would have to assist Kirby on his journey back onto the television. Now with the realization of Nintendo DS and Wii connectivity, fans will finally have the opportunity to maneuver a Marble Madness-like world of pink. It will be a true collaborative effort between Wii and DS players to reach the goal.
DS = The screens will light up when play transfers from the television to the DS.
Wii = Players use the Wiimote to control Kirby's ball-like antics.
DOGFIGHT
Your view opens on a steamy blacktop at an airfield just off the Western coast. With Wiimote in hand, you hop into your fighter jet while your navigator offers support with his Nintendo DS. The thunderous noise of your thruster leaves a ringing noise in your ears as you take off. In less than a minute, your wingman, who's attentively scanning his screens, reports that he sees enemy fighters approaching from the North.
He suggests you fly Northeast between the mountain cliffs and attempt to sneak up from behind. You maneuver your jet and come out on the other side. "C'mon man, I need an update," you yell. He responds saying, "Dang, they can't be fooled, they're right behind us!" You do a barrel-roll and manage to get one in your sights. "Shoot," you hear. As the smoke clears, you see you've downed one with ease. "Fly down in that canyon there," your wingman points. "Lets try to get the jump on him." You descend but as you look up you see your enemy is now slightly ahead of you. Easing back up, you align him directly in your crosshairs. "Fire!" exclaims your wingman. An explosion blinds the sky and you emit a sigh of relief. "Nice job," your voice filled with appreciation. "Now get me a plate of nachos."
DS = Top screen features map and bottom screen shows radar.
Wii = Player flies and uses turrets, firing at enemies with the A button.