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Nintendo Reveals Two New Titles and Upcoming Release Schedule

by Nick DiMola - February 26, 2009, 7:14 am EST
Total comments: 93 Source: Press Release

Nintendo's import-friendly Starfy series will make its North American debut, and a new addition to the Excite series will be coming to Wii very soon.

This morning, Nintendo revealed their upcoming release schedule for both their Wii and DS systems. Included in the schedule were the announcements of two new titles, one for either of their systems.

The Legendary Starfy, a localization of the fifth title in the Starfy series, puts players in control of Starfy, the legendary hero of Pufftop. This undersea adventure has Starfy assisting a mysterious, bunny-eared visitor find his lost memory. Players will use Starfy to swoop into enemies, glide over bottomless chasms, and transform into powerful creatures to help his new friend. The Legendary Starfy will be available for the DS on June 8 in North America.

Nintendo also announced Excitebots: Trick Racing for the Wii. Players will return to the Excite universe on April 20 with their Wii Wheels in hand to perform "crazy tricks" in "unique and changing environments". Family friendly mini-games will also be available.

Finally, Nintendo also announced a number of release dates for third-party titles, and restated their upcoming first-party offerings. New Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat will release on May 4th with Punch-Out!! following closely behind, releasing on May 18th. Personal Trainer: Walking will round out their Spring release schedule, launching one week after Punch-Out!! on May 25th.

For the full release schedule, see the Press Release below, which details each companies upcoming titles and their release dates.

NINTENDO'S VIDEO GAME LINEUP DEMONSTRATES GAMING DIVERSITY

New Games Announced for Nintendo Systems

REDMOND, Wash., Feb. 26, 2009 – While everyone is still buzzing about the upcoming April 5 launch of the Nintendo DSi™ system, video game fans will have plenty of great games and experiences to keep them busy. Nintendo has an extensive, diverse library of about 120 games on the way for both the Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ systems. Upcoming Nintendo-published video games for Wii include:

Excitebots™: Trick Racing has elements that make it one of the more unique racing games on the market. It launches April 20 and lets everyone in the family use the Wii Wheel™ accessory in unique and changing environments, play fun minigames and perform crazy tricks in a game that builds on the Excitebike™ and Excite Truck™ franchises.

Donkey Kong® Jungle Beat™, originally made for the Nintendo GameCube™ system, launches May 4 with newly added motion controls. It's the latest in Nintendo's New Play Control! series of games.

Punch-Out!!™ launches May 18 and brings back all of the fun of the beloved, classic NES® game that thrilled players in the early 1990s. Boxers battle as iconic hero Little Mac as they fight their way through a cast of new and familiar boxing opponents on their quest to win the coveted WVBA (World Video Boxing Association) Championship Belt.

Nintendo's downloadable WiiWare service continues to be a showcase for new games, new concepts and new ideas. A selection of upcoming titles includes:

• BIT.TRIP BEAT, developed by Gaijin Games and published by Aksys Games: BIT.TRIP BEAT is what you get when you mix classic video gaming with modern gaming sensibilities. What may seem like a simple "paddle" game turns into a psychedelic trip down memory lane which has you hitting "beats" in rhythm to Chiptune style music. While the game can be difficult, if you crank up the tunes and get in the zone, you'll have a great time. Performing perfectly isn't required to experience all the game's content, but the extra challenge will keep score-hunters coming back in search of each level's elusive "PERFECT" score.

• Eduardo the Samurai Toaster, developed and published by Semnat Studios LLC: Fight your way through 13 diverse locations on your own or with up to three friends in this frenetic and stylish side-scrolling action game. Play as Eduardo and his fellow toaster buddies as you fire an assortment of pastries at all kinds of dastardly food products. Hop onto laser-mounted scooters and fly across the screen in rocket packs, and learn to cooperate with your teammates or simply annoy each other in an awesomely fun way by throwing each other around the screen. The choice is up to you.

• Night Game, developed and published by Nicalis: Exclusively for WiiWare, Night Game (working title) is part action game and part puzzler. It invites players into a beautifully atmospheric world, where they must use real physics to maneuver a mysterious, glowing sphere through vastly different locales. Night Game pushes the boundaries of design with its unique art style, and professionally produced music score. This title is a 2009 Independent Games Festival Seumas McNally Award nominee and from the same developers responsible for Cave Story on Wii.

• Swords & Soldiers, developed and published by Ronimo Games: Swords & Soldiers is a side-scrolling real-time strategy game, in which three distinct factions battle for the powers of the gods. The goal is to destroy the enemies' castle on the other end of the level, while protecting your own. This can be done by training powerful units or casting devastating spells. The game will feature a single-player campaign and a competitive split-screen multiplayer mode as well as several other game modes.

Great titles are also on the way for the portable Nintendo DS system. Some Nintendo-published video games for Nintendo DS include:

Rhythm Heaven™ is an infectious video game that has been a huge hit in Japan. Players tap and slide the stylus on the touch screen in time to the beat. This fun, stylized game launches April 5.

A new entry in the Personal Trainer series is Personal Trainer™: Walking, which launches May 25. Personal Trainer: Walking tracks users' progress and makes going for a walk a little more fun. It comes with two pedometers that users can wirelessly connect to their Nintendo DS system when they return home.

In The Legendary Starfy™ game, which launches June 8, players dive into a spectacular undersea adventure with Starfy, the legendary hero of Pufftop. Players swoop into enemies like a shooting star, glide over bottomless chasms and transform into powerful creatures to help a mysterious, bunny-eared visitor find his lost memory.

In recent weeks, multiple third-party publishers have announced plans to boost their support of Nintendo systems. Between now and June, Nintendo fans will enjoy games like: The Conduit™, a first-person shooter from Sega that pits players against a terrifying group of alien invaders intent on taking over a futuristic Washington, D.C.; EA SPORTS Active™, a Wii exclusive from Electronic Arts that offers players fun, easy-to-learn exercises and activities that users can do with family and friends; and Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 10, the newest iteration of the popular golf game from Electronic Arts that lets players hit the links to prove their driving and putting prowess.

Below is a partial list of upcoming games for Wii and Nintendo DS. Note that game titles and launch dates are subject to change.

Wii

2K Sports

Major League Baseball® 2K9 - March 3

Don King Boxing - March 31

Activision

X-Men Origins: Wolverine - May

Ice Age 3 - June 30

Transformers™: Revenge of the Fallen - June

Aksys Games

Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus - May 12

Atari

Ready 2 Rumble Revolution - March 17

Backyard Baseball 10 - March 31

Capcom Entertainment Inc.

MotoGP™ - Spring

Codemasters Inc

Overlord Dark Legend - Summer

Conspiracy Games

Real Heroes: Firefighter - April

Deep Silver, Inc.

Professor Heinz Wolff's Gravity - April

Fritz Chess - May

Disney Interactive Studios

Hannah Montana The Movie - April

Electronic Arts

TRIVIAL PURSUIT™ - March

MySims™ Party - March

EA SPORTS Active™ - May 19

Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 10 - June

BOOM BLOX™ Bash Party - Spring

MySims™ Racing - Summer

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince™ - Summer

G.I. JOE™ The Rise of Cobra - Summer

EA SPORTS Tennis (working title) - Summer

Hudson Entertainment

Help Wanted - Summer

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.

DanceDanceRevolution® Disney Grooves - April 2

Yu-Gi-Oh! ™ 5D's Wheelie Breakers - May 19

LucasArts

Indiana Jones® and the Staff of Kings™ - Late Spring

NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc

Klonoa® - Q2

Nintendo

New Play Control! Pikmin™ - March 9

New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis™ - March 9

Excitebots: Trick Racing - April 20

New Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat - May 4

Punch-Out!! - May 18

SEGA of America

Virtua Tennis™ 2009 - May

The Conduit™ - June

Let's Tap™ - June

Southpeak Interactive

Roogoo Twisted Towers™ - April 7

Pirates vs Ninjas Dodgeball™ - April 21

Zoo Games, Inc.

M&M's Beach Party - March 10

Puzzle Kingdoms - March 31

Garfield Gets Real - April 7

Pennzoil's Build-N-Race: "Speed Demons" - April 14

Jelly Belly Ballistic Beans - April 21

Smiley World Island Challenge - April 28

Garfield's Pet Force - June 9

Nintendo DS

2K Sports

MLB® 2K9 Fantasy All-Stars - March 3

Don King Boxing - March 31

Activision

X-Men Origins: Wolverine - May

Ice Age 3 - June 30

Transformers™: Revenge of the Fallen - June

Activision/RedOctane

Guitar Hero® On Tour: Modern Hits - June

Aksys Games

Jake Hunter Detective Chronicles: Memories of the Past - May 26

Rockin' Pretty - June 23

Aspyr Media, Inc.

Treasure World™ - June

Atari

Backyard Baseball '10 - March 31

My Horse and Me Riding For Gold - March 31

Atlus U.S.A., Inc.

TrackMania® DS - March 17

Tokyo Beat Down™ - March 31

The Dark Spire™ - April 14

Dokapon Journey™ - April 14

Steal Princess™ - April 21

101 in 1 Explosive Megamix - April 21

Super Robot Taisen® OG Saga:Endless Frontier™ - April 28

Knights in the Nightmare™ - June 2

Shin Megami Tensei®: Devil Survivor™ - June 23

Capcom

Mega Man Starforce 3 Black Ace - June

Mega Man Starforce 3 Red Joker - June

Codemasters Inc

Overlord Minions - Summer

Deep Silver, Inc.

Pet Vet: Down Under - March

Professor Heinz Wolff's Gravity - April

Elite Forces: Unit 77 - April

DJ Star - May

Fritz Chess - May

The Humans - May

Horoscope DS - May

Disney Interactive Studios

Hannah Montana The Movie - April

DreamCatcher

Dreamer: Shop Owner - April 21

Dreamer: Babysitter - April 21

Dreamer: Teacher - April 21

Prank'd - May 19

Electronic Arts

Zubo™ - March 10

Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure™ - March 17

MySims™ Party - March

SCRABBLE™ - March

LITTLEST PET SHOP Spring™ - March

MySims™ Racing - Summer

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince™ - Summer

Hudson Entertainment

Miami Law - Summer

KOEI

Monster Racers™ - June

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.

Magician's Quest: Mysterious Times™ - May 5

Yu-Gi-Oh!™ 5D's Stardust Accelerators World Championship 2009 - May 19

LucasArts

Indiana Jones® and the Staff of Kings™ - Late Spring

Majesco Entertainment

Puffins: Island Adventure - April 14

Powerbike - April 28

Drama Queens - May

Marker Man Adventures - May

Hot 'n' Cold - May

Dawn of Heroes - June

MumboJumbo

Crazy Chicken Star Karts - March 31

Crazy Chicken Atlantis Quest - April 28

Crazy Chicken The Pharaoh's Treasure - June 2

7 Wonders II - June 30

Nintendo

Rhythm Heaven - April 5

Personal Trainer: Walking - May 25

The Legendary Starfy - June 8

PopCap Games, Inc.

Peggle™ Dual Shot - March 3

Rockstar Games

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars - March 17

Southpeak Interactive

Roogoo Attack™ - April 7

THQ

Desktop Tower Defense - April 29

Ubisoft

Imagine® Makeup Artist - May 5

Imagine® Music Fest - May 5

Imagine® Boutique Owner - May 26

My Healthy Cooking Coach - June 2

Petz® Fashion: Dogz and Catz - June 9

Jake Power Soccer Club - June 16

Valcon Games

History Channel: Great Empires: Rome - March 17

Zoo Games, Inc.

Yamaha Supercross - March 10

Hands On!: Tangrams - March 24

Puzzle Kingdoms - March 31

Garfield Gets Real - April 7

Jelly Belly Ballistic Beans - April 21

Smiley World Island Challenge - April 28

Garfield's Pet Force - June 9

For more information about Nintendo games and hardware, visit www.Nintendo.com.

Talkback

PaleMike Gamin, Contributing EditorFebruary 26, 2009

Wasn't Crystal Chronicles supposed to come out in March? It's strangely absent from this list.

Nick DiMolaNick DiMola, Staff AlumnusFebruary 26, 2009

STARFY WOOOOOO! MOAR EXCITE WOOOOOOO!

I wish I could get excited about this press release. The Excite Truck sequel is welcome news, even though I didn't like the original, and it's nice to see such a close Punch-Out!! release date. I also like how Nintendo is continuing to support smaller development teams.

But I can't help but be underwhelmed. I bought Stafi 4 in Japan when I visited in 2006, and I was completely underwhelmed. Never got near finishing the game after spending over $40 on it, I thought it was so bland. I wanted Stafi 1 on the GBA waaaaay back when, but this fifth entry holds no interest.

The silver lining for me is that everything in this PR is for the next few months—implying there's a bunch of other stuff internally developed that Nintendo is simply being tight-lipped about. I understand this is Nintendo's prerogative, and they seem to be selling things just fine with little more than the games already in the store to talk about. But from a journalist's and enthusiast's perspective, I really don't like Nintendo's new media approach. We've come to expect some sort of hype from a 1st party publisher, and it just isn't there any more. I feel like I'm driving 75 mph in pitch black with only my normal headlights on. It's hard to anticipate things when I can only see one second ahead.

I hope big things are in store for E3, but I get the feeling they aren't interested in showing off a crapload of newly announced games at an event any more.

EDIT: However, at this point I could totally see Iwata stroll out at the E3 press conference and say, "Oh yeah, by the way, next month we're releasing a kick-ass new Zelda with Wii Motion Plus support. "

Yay Excitetruck sequel, Yay Punch-Out!! release date
And I guess Starfy's cool. I remain kind of apathetic towards the little star guy.

Flames_of_chaosLukasz Balicki, Staff AlumnusFebruary 26, 2009

Needs more EXCITTE and more boxart!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v438/CONFUZZLED_MUNKIE/custom_1235656389014_punch.jpg

Woah! Stealth EXCITE!!!

decoymanFebruary 26, 2009

No mention of Wii Sports Resort or FF:CC... guess that means they're at least a few more months off yet. Dang.

For me and my newly-non-gamer self, Resort's one of my most anticipated titles of the year. Punch-Out holds little interest for me. :( /sacrilege

It's ok, decoyman. Von Kaiser will go easy on you.

It is weird that Wii Sports Resort isn't mentioned at all. Or, like Pale pointed out, Echoes of Time.

I guess it might be a point to note that Square Enix is not on the list at all. Maybe they're going to do their own? Isn't Valkyrie Profile DS supposed to hit in March, too?

AVFebruary 26, 2009

Wow i didn't expect to see Punch-Out so soon. However thats a great time. Spring Semester ends like a week or two before so I will have time play . WOOT.

i am more wondering what control method Punch-Out will use. I assumed it would use wiimotion plus

CalibanFebruary 26, 2009

Isn't Punch-Out supposed to support Motion Plus?

Ian SaneFebruary 26, 2009

They confirmed NEW characters for Punch-Out so I'm glad to see it's not just a remake.  Still it's a different dev team from the original so I'm going to wait-and-see regarding it.

Wait-and-see is my attitude to all of this actually.  Getting Starfi localized is pretty cool but I don't really know much about the series.  Excitebots' concept doesn't sound very interesting to mel.  It's probably the fact that "family", "Wii wheel" and "mini-games" are mentioned in the same sentence.  ;) Though I still want to see it.  Again it's "wait-and-see".

I agree with TYP about Nintendo's attitude regarding the media.  To me it's just part of the non-gamer focus.  Fans want some pre-release hype and info but they're not a priority so Nintendo is making no effort to please them.  Non-gamers don't care about previews and such so Nintendo is not going to waste time with that sort of thing.  Still it makes it very hard to remain a fan.  After last winter's huge BUST of a lineup they need to assure me that as a core gamer and a longtime Nintendo supporter that I'm still important to them.  Keeping me in the dark when I'm already incredibly skeptical of them is not going to assure me.  I'm basically waiting for them to give me a reason to not drop them for good.  But with them being so tight-lipped are they going to?  I'm not going to just wait all year and see what they release.  I need something like E3 to give me an idea of where things are going with the Wii.

D_AverageFebruary 26, 2009

Excitebots: Trick Racing has elements that make it one of the more unique racing games on the market. It launches April 20 and lets everyone in the family use the Wii Wheel accessory in unique and changing environments, play fun minigames and perform crazy tricks in a game that builds on the Excitebike and Excite Truck franchises. 

I told Nintendo I long time ago they should combine Excite Bike and Excite Truck into one game, and it seems they took me up on it!  Your welcome.  8)

GoldenPhoenixFebruary 26, 2009

Quote:

  Keeping me in the dark when I'm already incredibly skeptical of them is not going to assure me.  I'm basically waiting for them to give me a reason to not drop them for good.

You keep on giving up my hopes Ian! Seriously, when has Nintendo ever been very forthcoming about games? That is right, never.

Ian SaneFebruary 26, 2009

Quote:

Seriously, when has Nintendo ever been very forthcoming about games? That is right, never.

What are you talking about?  You usually knew about a Nintendo game a good six months before it came out.  It wasn't uncommon for a Nintendo title to appear at multiple E3s.  We knew about Twilight Princess for YEARS.  Excitebots is out in less than two months and we've never heard about it until now.  That's very different than what Nintendo used to do.  With the old Nintendo we likely would have seen it at E3 or at least at that October thing where Punch-Out! was revealed.

GoldenPhoenixFebruary 26, 2009

Quote from: Ian

Quote:

Seriously, when has Nintendo ever been very forthcoming about games? That is right, never.

What are you talking about?  You usually knew about a Nintendo game a good six months before it came out.  It wasn't uncommon for a Nintendo title to appear at multiple E3s.  We knew about Twilight Princess for YEARS.  Excitebots is out in less than two months and we've never heard about it until now.  That's very different than what Nintendo used to do.  With the old Nintendo we likely would have seen it at E3 or at least at that October thing where Punch-Out! was revealed.

We knew about AC, Wii Music, Wii Fit, Super Paper Mario, Punch-Out, Mario Kart, SSB: B, etc etc long before they were released. Excite Bots is NOT a major franchise of theirs and will not be pushed as so. TP, hate to break it to you Ian, is a bigger game then Excite Bots. So once again you are picking and choosing where you hang your complaining. Let's also not forget we've known for quite awhile that Monster Games was working on a title for well over a year now, so knowing their track record, is this some huge hype shock now?

King of TwitchFebruary 26, 2009

Two surprise games is a devastating betrayal.

NinGurl69 *hugglesFebruary 26, 2009

Yeah I was hoping for zero surprises, make it 2003 all over again.

MAN ICARUS IS NOT A SURPRISE

Ian SaneFebruary 26, 2009

Quote:

We knew about AC, Wii Music, Wii Fit, Super Paper Mario, Punch-Out, Mario Kart, SSB: B, etc etc long before they were released. Excite Bots is NOT a major franchise of theirs and will not be pushed as so. TP, hate to break it to you Ian, is a bigger game then Excite Bots. So once again you are picking and choosing where you hang your complaining. Let's also not forget we've known for quite awhile that Monster Games was working on a title for well over a year now, so knowing their track record, is this some huge hype shock now?

What position are you arguing?  You're the one who said that Nintendo has never been very forthcoming about games and yet here you seem to be supporting my position that they normally are forthcoming with games and that this is an exception.  Nintendo has been tight lipped since E3.  They showed very little and only showed what was due for the rest of the year and nothing else.  Now they're talking about three first party games - two of which we've never even seen and one that there is virtually no info about.  No previews.  No demos for the gaming media.  The fact that the game exists is pretty much all we know.  That's pretty different and very unfriendly to the media and the fans.  Nintendo was also a little more secretive but not THIS secretive.

I just noticed that in the Punch-Out boxart Mac's arm is completely backwards!  That's not the real boxart, is it?

I AM EXCITE!  Even though we still know nothing about it...  Focus on multiplayer sounds good, that was a big problem in Excite Truck.  Hopefully it has MK-style online with Wii Speak, too...

Starfy is an odd but welcome surprise.  I wonder if Nintendo missed the chance for this series to really make an impact in the West, but I'm still glad that they decided to give it a shot.  TYP's impressions of the previous game don't sound great, but maybe this new one is improved.

GoldenPhoenixFebruary 26, 2009

Quote from: Ian

Quote:

We knew about AC, Wii Music, Wii Fit, Super Paper Mario, Punch-Out, Mario Kart, SSB: B, etc etc long before they were released. Excite Bots is NOT a major franchise of theirs and will not be pushed as so. TP, hate to break it to you Ian, is a bigger game then Excite Bots. So once again you are picking and choosing where you hang your complaining. Let's also not forget we've known for quite awhile that Monster Games was working on a title for well over a year now, so knowing their track record, is this some huge hype shock now?

What position are you arguing?  You're the one who said that Nintendo has never been very forthcoming about games and yet here you seem to be supporting my position that they normally are forthcoming with games and that this is an exception.  Nintendo has been tight lipped since E3.  They showed very little and only showed what was due for the rest of the year and nothing else.  Now they're talking about three first party games - two of which we've never even seen and one that there is virtually no info about.  No previews.  No demos for the gaming media.  The fact that the game exists is pretty much all we know.  That's pretty different and very unfriendly to the media and the fans.  Nintendo was also a little more secretive but not THIS secretive.

I just noticed that in the Punch-Out boxart Mac's arm is completely backwards!  That's not the real boxart, is it?

Starfy has been out for quite awhile, so there is ONE GAME we've never seen. My point was that this is nothing new, Nintendo shows their bigger games earlier then those that are 2nd tier. Wario Land was the same way. Not to mention your whole point is ridiculous, does a game being announced a couple months before release make it bad? Not everyone is as emo as you are when it comes to game releases. The only thing that changes is that the time you have to wait is shortened. Which is funny because back in the N64 days people got TICKED OFF when Nintendo would announce a game years before it was even finished. But now that they are holding true to release dates and annoncing them with some accuracy that is also terrible.

Nick DiMolaNick DiMola, Staff AlumnusFebruary 26, 2009

Quote from: Jonnyboy117

Starfy is an odd but welcome surprise.  I wonder if Nintendo missed the chance for this series to really make an impact in the West, but I'm still glad that they decided to give it a shot.  TYP's impressions of the previous game don't sound great, but maybe this new one is improved.

Starfy 4 is a very different beast from the rest of the Starfy games, and doesn't really stack up as well. I presume the Japanese market was cognizant of this as well because I was able to secure that game not longer after release for about $15.

The Legendary Starfy (a localization of the 5th Starfy) seems different from 4 as well, so I'm hoping it is on par with the GBA Starfy titles. I can't express enough happiness though, about the series finally coming to America though. It's astounding that it didn't come to America in the first place since it would've been light translation work, and the Kirby-esque gameplay would've definitely connected with US fans.

Now if we could somehow get Kururin here...

Quote from: Jonnyboy117

I AM EXCITE!  Even though we still know nothing about it...  Focus on multiplayer sounds good, that was a big problem in Excite Truck.  Hopefully it has MK-style online with Wii Speak, too...

That would be so awesome. Excite Truck was surprisingly good and I've got a good feeling about the sequel.
I assume the same developer is behind it? Most likely this is the mystery game that was mentioned last fall.

Actually, GP, this Stafy 5 doesn't come out until July in Japan, so it is new. And there's nothing terrible about letting Wii owners know what to expect.  Yes, waiting for a game for two years isn't good, but not everyone can cling to their Wiis on faith, either.

GoldenPhoenixFebruary 26, 2009

Quote from: TheYoungerPlumber

Actually, GP, this Stafy 5 doesn't come out until July in Japan, so it is new. And there's nothing terrible about letting Wii owners know what to expect.  Yes, waiting for a game for two years isn't good, but not everyone can cling to their Wiis on faith, either.

Let's see we know Little Kings Story, Demon Blade, Madworld, Wii Sports Resort, Sin and Punishment 2, Endless Ocean 2, Astronaut Exploration Game, Dead Space: Extraction, Punch-Out, Pikmin, Monster Hunter 3, Dragon Quest X, Conduit, etc etc etc are coming out in the future many within the next several months. Far from needing faith. You are a fool if you don't believe Nintendo is coming out with big games still in the future, plain and simple. It isn't faith, but common sense. Even right now there is more then enough to get excited about so the whining, is just that, whining especially from the king of it. Please stop with th exaggerations, it is getting tiring. There is plenty to anticipate and it just shows how impossible it is please the angst driven core Wii owner.

Believe it or not there are more games to look forward to on Wii then Nintendo games, and even at that Nintendo is doing a great job. I'm HAPPY with them announcing games now that they know will actually make that time frame and come out within 4-6 months of announcement. Have you guys thought that maybe they are shortening the announcements so they can more accurately predict when the game will come out? It is 10xs better then, for example a GoW3 teaser trailer for a game that was still like 2 years out. I always thought it was normal to want something as quick as possible and not to be strung along? It makes the game no better, nor no worse. The game industry is changing, deal with it. Or maybe you should get a 360 so you can be happy knowing that Mass Effect 2 will be out next year.

CalibanFebruary 26, 2009

Uh Pikmin wiimake doesn't count kthnxbye! I do agree that there are enough games coming out to keep most of us busy. Heck if you own other systems then it is sure thing that there are enough games out there. What I'm trying to say is that while the Zelda, Mario games don't come out I can enjoy other games.

Yes, S&P 2 and DQX slipped my mind. However, I thought I made it pretty clear in my post that I do believe Nintendo's internal teams (which is what I'm really complaining about regarding a lack of info here, GP) are working on something or things that are big. I'm expressing annoyance at Nintendo's recent PR attitude because, first and foremost, I care about Nintendo-developed games.

Nintendo's PR attitude has drastically changed over the last several years--that is not an exaggeration. Yes, I am smart enough to understand the concept of trying to avoid inaccurate release dates. That isn't a new idea, and it does not fully explain Nintendo's new stance of minimal opportunities for previews, screens, etc. Calling me a "fool" or "the king of" "whining" is not appreciated and I consider it a personal attack.

Yeah GP, tone it down a bit.  TYP wasn't making any crazy statements.

Nick DiMolaNick DiMola, Staff AlumnusFebruary 26, 2009

Quote from: TheYoungerPlumber

Actually, GP, this Stafy 5 doesn't come out until July in Japan, so it is new.

Nope, this one came out last July, so it's just a localization.

Oh poo. Am I playing knifey/spooney old-year/new-year again? Sometimes when I see "2008" my brain still registers "this year." Sorry, everyone.

Mop it upFebruary 26, 2009

I still haven't picked up Excite Truck yet so now I'm wondering if I should just skip it and wait for the sequel. As Ian Sane pointed out though there are some pretty scary words in the description...

I'm glad to see that Donkey Kong Jungle Beat is being released in North America. It looks kind of interesting, I might check it out, especially if it is $30.

Sometimes I want companies to just stop releasing games for a couple of years so that I can get caught up on everything I've missed so far. And then I think to myself "Dear mop, I've become quite the megalomaniac if I expect them to do something like that for little old me. Not that I'm not awesome enough for that, but still... it'd be unfair to everyone else."

TJ SpykeFebruary 26, 2009

The best part of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat is playing with the DK Bongo controllers. Wasn't it someone here at NWR who said they played the Japanese version and thought it didn't play as good (I listen to a lot of different game podcasts and sometimes I forgot who said what)? I still own the GameCube version with the bongos, so I will skip it (even though I know there will be new stuff). I will get the Pikmin and Mario Power Tennis re-makes though.

I don't think anyone at NWR has played the Japanese Wii DKJB. I think at one point I said I couldn't imagine it being as fun without the bongos, but I haven't played it yet. It's possible it feels and is balanced totally differently but is good. Kohler played and wrote about it in his blog, I think.

Regarding Excitebots, I read the word "family" as "multiplayer", an area of focus sorely lacking in Excite Truck.  The mini-games scare me a bit, but I have really high hopes for this game.

GoldenPhoenixFebruary 27, 2009

Quote:

Calling me a "fool" or "the king of" "whining" is not appreciated and I consider it a personal attack.

For the record the king of whining statement was directed at Ian, not you. and I stand 100% by it because that is all he is doing lately. It gets extremely tiresome, especially when some people stick up for him. Regardless, where exactly would that statement make sense in regards to you? I blame myself partially because I should have quoted his message as well. Also you completely misread my fool statement, unless you truly think Nintendo isn't working on a new "big" game. It was called a generality that if you don't believe Nintendo isn't working on big games you are being foolish, it is common sense they are. My other comments centered around your statement that you need more then faith and I illustrated how that is an exaggeration because there are plenty of known games coming out that require little faith. Nintendo is not the only developer for Wii. Heck it is kind of funny they get a lot of grief for their game lineups but they internally developed more games last year then either Sony or MS.

Quote:

You are a fool if you don't believe Nintendo is coming out with big games still in the future, plain and simple.

My quote. Does that include you? It doesn't sound like it based on your statements. It was a freaken generality, it wasn't directed at anyone unless they truly believed that!

In regards to this PR, thing, explain to me how it hurts you or even Nintendo? It doesn't seem to be hurting them so far. Releasing teasers months and months in advance does not always equate great sales. What matters is day 1 (and beyond with Wii's amazing ability to have games that sell for months after release) and the month or so that leads up to it, beyond that matters little in the grand scheme of things.

Please try not to take everything so personally, GP. I will try to do the same. You are correct, I misread your statement of generality. But you should be more careful to use transitions when you move from a response to an individual to generalities. When statements are juxtaposed without a transition, a relationship is implied.

You have to remember that you're talking to people like me who tracked games like Twilight Princess and Super Mario Sunshine for years before release. It's what video game journalists, and most enthusiasts, are used to. Not getting that is naturally unsatisfying for me, regardless of whether being tight-lipped is the smart thing for Nintendo to do from a business perspective. You can criticize and try to break apart this sort of mentality, but sometimes emotions/deeply ingrained expectations just don't appeal to logic.

I'm not sure this is an example of Nintendo being tight-lipped about upcoming releases, but I can think of at least one game where not showing has hurt them: Wario Land Shake It at E3. I understand every publisher had tragically limited space constraints last year, but there's no reason why Wario shouldn't have had a single station on the showroom floor. Almost no one saw or played it because it was restricted to private, scheduled sessions. As a result, negative/incorrect assumptions surrounded the this fantastic title and surely tainted some reviews.

NovaQFebruary 27, 2009

With Nintendo's uber tight lippedness about some games, it's almost like a self-fulfilling prophecy. It appears that they didn't think Wario Land Shake was going to be very popular, so they didn't bring it to much of anyone's attention. It's all speculation now, but maybe it would've done better if Nintendo had talked about and showed it a little more to the press (and public) before its release. Is it possible that the costs of promoting it more would've counteracted the possible gains in sales? The same speculation could work for Metroid Prime 3, too (and be just as useless, I guess...).

Nick DiMolaNick DiMola, Staff AlumnusFebruary 27, 2009

Ignorance is bliss.

With Nintendo keeping their mouth shut, I am ignorant to what they are really working on. With this, I can concentrate on what's here rather than what's years away. Waiting for was excruciating, and I'm glad Nintendo doesn't make me wait like that any more.

When announcements like this come up, it makes them all the more sweeter for me. It's kind of like how Apple does Macworld events. They announce a product and then tell you, "Hey, you can get this in our stores or on our website tomorrow."

While the time period here is a bit longer, everything Nintendo reveals is in close range of release. More Excite? Give it a month and a half. Starfy in America? Give it just three months.

EDIT: Also wanted to share a little Starfy video with you to show why I want this game so badly.

Yes, it's two sides of the same coin. I think it's really a matter of personality and preference. Nick's position is a great one to have. Heck, that's where I was before I discovered the Internets, when I didn't know about a game until I saw its commercial or at a friend's house, or simply received it as a present.

But the simple truth is that after 8 years at PGC/NWR, I'm not used to that any more. My expectations are totally different. Can I go back to a wait-and-see attitude? Maybe. But I'm not sure I truly can unless I detach myself from video game journalism (writing OR reading). To me, anticipating upcoming releases is the part of the nature of that beast. (Obviously, reviewing what is out now is also important :) )

GoldenPhoenixFebruary 27, 2009

Wario Land appears to be having good legs. I'll give a counter, BWii. We knew about that for quite awhile, and it (sadly) bombed.

NinGurl69 *hugglesFebruary 27, 2009

What the fuck, Nintendo.

vuduFebruary 27, 2009

Quote from: Mr.

Also wanted to share a little Starfy video with you to show why I want this game so badly.

Looks really good!  It's so much like a Kirby game TOSE would probably get sued if the property weren't co-owned by Nintendo.

UltimatePartyBearFebruary 27, 2009

He's an expressive little bugger.  Now I see why he's got such a barely there character design.  He's pretty much all mouth and eyes, like an emoticon.  It's just fun watching him freak out.

NWR_pap64Pedro Hernandez, Contributing WriterFebruary 27, 2009

This is what I said on another forum regarding a similar topic (the flow of information):

The way I see it companies can be either very informative or very secretive about their products. Both have their pros and cons and it depends on what kind of product we are talking about.

If you are very informative people will have knowledge of your product, be interested, create hype and pass the word around. But you run the risk of letting people know too much, enough to form an opinion of the product before its even released, possibly affecting sales and creating standards so high it might never reach them.

If you are secretive, only leaking info when its needed, it will keep people in suspense and create realistic expectations since there is no hype to follow. But you run the character of losing impatient customers because no info was given.

The way I see it, Nintendo is doing both. Nintendo is secretive about games already being in development, and will talk about them when they are done and ready to be shown off. I think it has worked out for them in some ways.

GoldenPhoenixFebruary 27, 2009

Nintendo has always been a strange company, so I tend not to read too much in their actions! They'll virtually bury information on a game like Wario Land, yet let us know about Battalion Wars 2 months and months in advance.

NinGurl69 *hugglesFebruary 27, 2009

Yeah, they told us about BWii, but somehow they half-assed its preview impact by showcasing the in-progress title only in Europe?  Or was it another victim alongside MP3 during Nintendo's marketing resources transition of 2007?  Nintendo used to be fairly informative with game-specific websites for delivering preview info, before and after the game release.  Now it's like "if the game is not Super Smash Bros. Brawl, it doesn't get a website at all."  Nintendo.com and Wii.com pages aren't very helpful, either.

Nintendo itself was caught off guard, and didn't expect the Wii to be so successful, while long ago they really did plan some titles to be sent to die without considerable PR building cuz the extra money just wasn't there at the time.

GoldenPhoenixFebruary 27, 2009

Nintendo, along with other 3rd parties, are still not sure how to deal with this new market. It isn't like the GC or N64 market where the system owners were made up mostly of core gamers. Now they need to be careful in regards to marketing vs revenue from a game. If you can, let's say, release a game like Metroid Prime 3 and still sell 1.5 million with minimal marketing, that is a GOOD thing. Because the more marketing dollars you put into a product means you need to rely on X number of extra sales to justify the profitability of a game. It would interesting to find out how profitable each Metroid Prime game was! I don't know how much Wario Land Shake it cost, but my guess is that it s close to being a profitable game. Though on the flip side I don't think BWii was.

Like i said though Nintendo has always been a strange and super secretive company (like Square), so while things may be a bit different in how they now present their games, it doesn't shock me as being a 180.

Ian SaneFebruary 27, 2009

Quote:

For the record the king of whining statement was directed at Ian, not you.

Well that's not a personal attack on TYP but wouldn't it be a personal attack on me?

I notice a change in Nintendo's attitude with releasing information.  TYP also notices it and pointed it out before I did.  Two people notice it.  Now you may not think there's a change or it may not concern you.  But it does concern me.  I want to be more informed of what Nintendo is working on.  I'm allowed to want that.  I'm allowed to have that opinion without being jumped on.  You don't care or you think this is a better way for Nintendo to do things?  Fine.  You're allowed to that opinion, too.

NWR_pap64Pedro Hernandez, Contributing WriterFebruary 27, 2009

Quote from: GoldenPhoenix

Nintendo has always been a strange company, so I tend not to read too much in their actions! They'll virtually bury information on a game like Wario Land, yet let us know about Battalion Wars 2 months and months in advance.

I think Brawl was, and will be, the only exception to the rule.

The only reason we got so much info on Brawl a year before release is because Sakurai wanted to shower us with info. Since the agreement was that he wanted freedom to do whatever he wanted I take it Nintendo allowed him to make a blog about the game and its features.

TJ SpykeFebruary 27, 2009

Is anyone surprised about Nintendo's attitude? Didn't they actually come out and say that they were gonna start announcing games only a few months before releasing them? I don't like the idea, although part of it is I don't have a job and thus my resources are limited (I would like more time to set aside money for a game I want at launch, otherwise I will wait for a price drop).

Nintendo can be as secretive as they want, but I just don't know what it buys them.  I guess they just don't care about generating hype for their games, or they think that their games don't need hype because they're no longer selling to an audience that is reached by that hype.

GoldenPhoenixFebruary 28, 2009

Quote:

Well that's not a personal attack on TYP but wouldn't it be a personal attack on me?

You are right, and I do not regret it. I'm willing to take any repercussions as well, because I believe in what I wrote. I'm not going to bother responding to the rest of your message, it is quite clear that is more then "you expressing your opinion" if any attention has been paid to what some valuable (former) members had to say.

Quote:

Nintendo can be as secretive as they want, but I just don't know what it buys them.  I guess they just don't care about generating hype for their games, or they think that their games don't need hype because they're no longer selling to an audience that is reached by that hype.

What does it buy them to hype them? That is my point, where have we seen hype months and months in advance that was beneficial? If you are thinking that you can't prove that, well that is my point! We have no real basis either way beyond the fact that I know I can get hyped for a game 6 months from release just as I can get hyped for a game a year in advance. We knew about Metroid Prime 3 for quite some time and yet people are still disappointed by its sales. The main link I see is marketing, which is what sells a game in addition to brand recognition. Heck look at something such as Halo 3, it was known for a LONG time but the key push was the month leading up to the launch.

Now with that said I can understand if you are someone, like TYP, that you'd be frustrated because you like to cover upcoming games. That is completely fair, but I'm not sure knowledge of a games existence or even a trickling of information equates much, anymore, to sales. That stuff worked fine back before the internet and blogging became rampant, but now information is spread so quickly there is actually a chance a game can get OVERHYPED to the point where its release is more "meh" then "Woohoo!".

Now let me clarify one point, I would LOVE to hear some news about a new Mario or Zelda game even a year in advance. Though on the flip side I don't care to be strung along for a long time, and could just as excited if I found out that, let's say, a sequel to Mario Galaxy was announced at E3 to come out Winter. Either way I will be buying the game. Here is a question though, is there a game that Nintendo has announced within 6 months of release, that you didn't end up being excited for if it was in fact a quality title? Did you ever NOT buy a game because of a shortened release knowledge that turned out to be good, because of lack of foresight?

KDR_11kFebruary 28, 2009

Quote from: Lindy

Nintendo can be as secretive as they want, but I just don't know what it buys them.  I guess they just don't care about generating hype for their games, or they think that their games don't need hype because they're no longer selling to an audience that is reached by that hype.

Maybe they don't want expectations about future games impact the sales of current games? Or maybe they want to make sure their competition doesn't get enough advance warning before the big guns hit? As Sun Tzu said, "When strong appear weak, when weak appear strong".

Maybe they're just trying to keep games hidden so if sales slow down they can make more announcements and generate more attention?

NinGurl69 *hugglesMarch 01, 2009

Maybe.

personally, as someone who's quite used to Nintendo delays... I've gotten into the habit of keeping myself as under-hyped as possible. Nintendo's choice to do little surprises like this, it just doesn't really bother me that much anymore since I've jumped off that hype train.

NinGurl69 *hugglesMarch 02, 2009

I actually, you know, buy games that are out.  And try to play them.  Especially non-Nintendo games, cuz they're good.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorMarch 02, 2009

Remember how many people got ticked off because of Twilight Princess' delay-a-thon?

If only Nintendo had waited longer to release information on it...

DasmosMarch 02, 2009

If Ian is the King of whining then GP is the queen. Just sayin'.

D_AverageMarch 03, 2009

Observe

We're screwed people.  We're totally screwed.  Its all over, shut the forums down, pack it up, move on, nothing to look forward to here.

Hotlinking images is against the forum rules - Nick

Nick DiMolaNick DiMola, Staff AlumnusMarch 03, 2009

I will not let this horrendous box art or terrible idea hinder my excitement. I bet it'll still be totally awesome.

Flames_of_chaosLukasz Balicki, Staff AlumnusMarch 03, 2009

EXCITE!!! In a way this can be neat with the inclusion of aerial vehicles and the frog looking vehicle has no wheels so it could be like diddy kong racing meets excite truck?

UltimatePartyBearMarch 03, 2009

You know what I see?  STUNT RACE FX 2!!!

Edit:

Quote from: Flames_of_chaos

EXCITE!!! In a way this can be neat with the inclusion of aerial vehicles and the frog looking vehicle has no wheels so it could be like diddy kong racing meets excite truck?

The frog looking vehicle has a giant tire in the middle of the picture.  Wait, maybe you're talking about the one in the lower left.  I think that's a beetle.

D_AverageMarch 03, 2009

Quote from: UltimatePartyBear

You know what I see?  STUNT RACE FX 2!!!

Haha, I wish.  Stunt Race was the BOMB!  I wake up every monday hoping to spot it on the VC.

Flames_of_chaosLukasz Balicki, Staff AlumnusMarch 03, 2009

Quote from: D_Average

Quote from: UltimatePartyBear

You know what I see?  STUNT RACE FX 2!!!

Haha, I wish.  Stunt Race was the BOMB!  I wake up every monday hoping to spot it on the VC.

It's a Super FX chip game and Nintendo is supposedly having issues porting them to VC.

NinGurl69 *hugglesMarch 03, 2009

See Banjo, this is how vehicles are done.

D_AverageMarch 03, 2009

It looks like a child from Stunt Race FX and Diddy Kong Racing.

NinGurl69 *hugglesMarch 03, 2009

So did ExciteTruck sell like ass because it wasn't kiddy enough?

StogiMarch 03, 2009

This is honestly a little worrying. I hope it plays as insane as excite truck.

D_AverageMarch 03, 2009

Quote from: NinGurl69

So did ExciteTruck sell like ass because it wasn't kiddy enough?

Most likely.  I picked it up for 16 bux new at Circuit City a LONG time ago.

GoldenPhoenixMarch 03, 2009

Haven't we learned by now that crappy box art does not indicate the quality of the game?

GoldenPhoenixMarch 03, 2009

Quote from: NinGurl69

So did ExciteTruck sell like ass because it wasn't kiddy enough?

It sold around 400K.

UltimatePartyBearMarch 03, 2009

How is that bad box art?  What did you (anyone) expect from a title like Excitebots?  Something that wasn't racing robots?  Did you think "bot" was short for "both bikes and trucks?"

KDR_11kMarch 03, 2009

I was trying to imagine some form of bot that's suitable for racing. These animal shapes and the presence of the football worry me though, one of the things I liked about Excite Truck was that there were no real weapons so it was more about the physics of your vehicle than random barrages of items.

D_AverageMarch 03, 2009

I was hoping for something more along than lines of "killer robots from outer space", rather than, "robots here to save the day and teach your kids how to poop".

Nick DiMolaNick DiMola, Staff AlumnusMarch 03, 2009

Checking out the article in Nintendo Power, apparently the only reason it is now Excitebots instead of trucks is because they wanted to give the game a unique feel that matched up with its original concept.

Gameplay, control, and game focus is all unchanged according to the article. HUZZAH!

decoymanMarch 03, 2009

Maybe the "bot" with the soccer ball just actually dribbles the ball in front of it. Like, it's a robotic racing soccer player.

UltimatePartyBearMarch 03, 2009

Quote from: KDR_11k

I was trying to imagine some form of bot that's suitable for racing. These animal shapes and the presence of the football worry me though, one of the things I liked about Excite Truck was that there were no real weapons so it was more about the physics of your vehicle than random barrages of items.

The shapes are just to give the vehicles some character, which is why it strongly reminds me of Stunt Race FX.

The ball may be an item, or a ball-shaped robot (okay, probably not with this theme).  It's an odd enough choice for an attack item to make me suspect some sort of ball-kicking mode instead, either for tricks or just straight up soccer, at least as straight up as soccer with racing robots can be.

EasyCureMarch 03, 2009

Quote from: UltimatePartyBear

Quote from: KDR_11k

I was trying to imagine some form of bot that's suitable for racing. These animal shapes and the presence of the football worry me though, one of the things I liked about Excite Truck was that there were no real weapons so it was more about the physics of your vehicle than random barrages of items.

The shapes are just to give the vehicles some character, which is why it strongly reminds me of Stunt Race FX.

The ball may be an item, or a ball-shaped robot (okay, probably not with this theme).  It's an odd enough choice for an attack item to make me suspect some sort of ball-kicking mode instead, either for tricks or just straight up soccer, at least as straight up as soccer with racing robots can be.

I thought the game is confirmed to have mini games, so perhaps theres a soccer mode... like the one Excitebike 64 had which was a fucking blast to play!

i seriously hate this generation becuase mini-games have such a bad stigma behind them. Am i the only one who thought the mini-games in that one were kick ass? I loved playing a friend in soccer, and loved the challenge of the mounting climbing one, it was so much fun!

UltimatePartyBearMarch 03, 2009

I don't remember the soccer mode in Excitebike 64.  I just played the desert race over and over again.

CalibanMarch 03, 2009

That bat bot sure looks ready to kick ass.

Oh, and classic NES controls for Punch-Out are confirmed.

GoldenPhoenixMarch 03, 2009

The game looks a lot like Wipeout when it comes to vehicle designs.

CalibanMarch 03, 2009

Huh? Wipeout vehicles do not have wheels, and they do not look like animalz, nor do they have any relation to bots.
I would like to know what made you think that the vehicle designs between Wipeout and Excitebots have any correlation.

Mop it upMarch 03, 2009

Quote from: EasyCure

I thought the game is confirmed to have mini games, so perhaps theres a soccer mode... like the one Excitebike 64 had which was a fucking blast to play! i seriously hate this generation becuase mini-games have such a bad stigma behind them. Am i the only one who thought the mini-games in that one were kick ass? I loved playing a friend in soccer, and loved the challenge of the mounting climbing one, it was so much fun!

I'd just like to give a "hecks yeah!" to this. ExciteBike 64 is awesome, it's not only the best bike racer but also one of the best racing games ever conceived. My sister and I loved to play the Hill Climb level backwards, it was fun to see who could make it down first... and who could cause the most excellent crash at the end!

If this ExciteBots game is going to take pages from ExciteBike 64 (which I hope it does) then I also hope to see a track editor this time around.

Who hates minigames? Sometimes the minigames grab me more than the main game; I've probably spent more time playing the minigames of Mario Super Sluggers than I have the actual baseball games.

GoldenPhoenixMarch 03, 2009

http://www.pspworld.com/sony-psp/images/wipeout-pulse-05.jpg


http://www.wiids.nl/files/Excitebots_Exclusive_11.jpg


Yeah I know these have wheels but I mean the futuristic design.Not to mention even the flame coming out of the back is the same color.

D_AverageMarch 03, 2009

Quote from: GoldenPhoenix

http://www.pspworld.com/sony-psp/images/wipeout-pulse-05.jpg


http://www.wiids.nl/files/Excitebots_Exclusive_11.jpg


Yeah I know these have wheels but I mean the futuristic design.Not to mention even the flame coming out of the back is the same color.

You know you just opened a can of worms in putting those pix side by side right??  8)

GoldenPhoenixMarch 03, 2009

Quote from: D_Average

Quote from: GoldenPhoenix

http://www.pspworld.com/sony-psp/images/wipeout-pulse-05.jpg


http://www.wiids.nl/files/Excitebots_Exclusive_11.jpg


Yeah I know these have wheels but I mean the futuristic design.Not to mention even the flame coming out of the back is the same color.

You know you just opened a can of worms in putting those pix side by side right??   8)

Don't care, it was just a quick observation I made regarding some of the vehicle designs.

CalibanMarch 03, 2009

Ah yes. I see what you mean. I don't feel the connection, but I understand what you were saying.

GoldenPhoenixMarch 03, 2009

I'd play Excite Truck over any Wipeout game. I actually am kind of excited to see what they do with the futuristic robot designs. Not to mention it has been in development since Excite Truck!

NovaQMarch 03, 2009

Quote from: Caliban

That bat bot sure looks ready to kick ass.

The racing turtle-bot has a ...tambourine?

CalibanMarch 03, 2009

I'm also excited to see what they can muster out of this re-envisioning of Excite Truck too.

D_AverageMarch 03, 2009

Quote from: GoldenPhoenix

I'd play Excite Truck over any Wipeout game. I actually am kind of excited to see what they do with the futuristic robot designs. Not to mention it has been in development since Excite Truck!

Now that Wipeout HD has Sixaxis support, I actually play them both at the same time.

EasyCureMarch 03, 2009

Quote from: UltimatePartyBear

I don't remember the soccer mode in Excitebike 64.  I just played the desert race over and over again.

well you suck, but not as hard as the interweb does for not helping me find a SINGLE screen or video of this mode. It was fun. Its you and another player in a giant soccer feild, with a giant soccer ball in the middle. The game starts and you race to take control of the ball, and since you're on a bike, its pretty hectic controlling the ball. H it it to fast and the ball goes flying, so you race your friend to it but oh no! He cuts in front of you and causes you to bail, giving him plenty of time to hit the ball close to your net!
You race back to catch him doing a wheelie to roll the ball gently into your goal for a score, and you laugh and laugh at how awesome it is you're playing soccer on a motorcycle lol

Quote from: Mop_it_up

Quote from: EasyCure

I thought the game is confirmed to have mini games, so perhaps theres a soccer mode... like the one Excitebike 64 had which was a fucking blast to play! i seriously hate this generation becuase mini-games have such a bad stigma behind them. Am i the only one who thought the mini-games in that one were kick ass? I loved playing a friend in soccer, and loved the challenge of the mounting climbing one, it was so much fun!

I'd just like to give a "hecks yeah!" to this. ExciteBike 64 is awesome, it's not only the best bike racer but also one of the best racing games ever conceived. My sister and I loved to play the Hill Climb level backwards, it was fun to see who could make it down first... and who could cause the most excellent crash at the end!

If this ExciteBots game is going to take pages from ExciteBike 64 (which I hope it does) then I also hope to see a track editor this time around.

Who hates minigames? Sometimes the minigames grab me more than the main game; I've probably spent more time playing the minigames of Mario Super Sluggers than I have the actual baseball games.

HECK YEAH right back atcha buddy, this game rocked! My only regret is never having been able to unlock the "excite" mode, where they recreat the type of levels found in the original game in glorious N64 3d!! Man.. i should really dust off again..

NinGurl69 *hugglesMarch 03, 2009

ign64 should have vids.

King of TwitchMarch 03, 2009

That scenery does look like 1080 64

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