Yesterday i went to buy a controller for the Wii to play game cube games, specifically Resident Evil: Code Veronica as i am told it will help me reshape my view on the series of games (the first 2 where good, the rest weren't worth the discs they are burnt to). I trawled the shops and thought i needed to make a decision between
- A second hand Game Cube controller (for authenticity)
- A Wii classic controller (to fit the all white, clean lines of the consoles aesthetic)
- A 3rd party Game Cube controller (because i'm cheap)
I chose 2 and went back to play the game - Classic Controllers don't work.
I also looked for some new games, I ended up buying Dead Raising:Chop Till You Drop but i almost made picked up a copy of Pikmin but I was posed with the problem, should i buy the wii re-release or the Game Cube original? With the Game Cube version being a pre-owned copy it was more than £20 cheaper. What are the "New Play Controls" going to offer and why are they so important, is the original flawed because it doesn't have them?
The specifics of the of the story are not important though, what is important to me is the feeling i woke up with this morning. What does all of this mean for the Wii?
These are a few questions that it raises for me that you might have an opinion on
- Does this mean that there was something fundamentally missing from the games released for the Game Cube that means that they need to be re-visited with a new interface. The Wiimote will enhance the game and therefore it was worth re-releasing?
- It is an easy way to make money for Nintendo?
- Has Nintendo missed the fact that the Game Cube failed to make much of an impact so we don't own the controllers to play the games but they are digging out games that we missed because the Game Cube was essentially a flop? (Maybe this is why they haven't released a wii'o'fied version of the Game Cube controller)
There is something that isn't sitting quite right with me about Nintendo's latest batch of (re)releases and the Wii's relationship with it's outcast cousin (The Game Cube). What does this mean for the Wii and how are we supposed to view the old versions and the re-releases of these titles?
I'm confused...
Hey Alan
ReplyDeleteYou should buy a gamecube controller for the wii for gamecube games, any should be fine but the propper nintendo ones work the best, I have had some problems with the thrid party ones in the past on the wii.
With the Pikmin thing, the new play contol games offer nothing bew for the title as it is the same game with Wii controls. i prefer the gamecube title as I like the controls better than the wii ones. But I think they have been re-released so that people who didn't buy the gamecube can experience these good games without having to look for a second hand gamecube copy or an additional gamecube controller and memery card.
In my opinion, it is just another way for Nintendo to make more money for thenselves, but if more people are going to play these sorts of obscure games than that could only be a good thing.
I do think that people thought that the gamecube was a flop, but Nintendo are trying their best to recapture the fallen nintendo fanboys and try to keep their new target audience happy with the wii controls
hope you enjoy code vernonica and Dead Rising is a right laugh to play if the save system has improved on the wii one.
The new play controls make Pikmin play superior in my opinion to the Gamecube version. I have both versions of Pikmin and prefer the Wii version. The pointer control allows for a more organic play experience. The whole new play control thing is definitely a way for Nintendo to capitalize on the Gamecube's shortcomings on one hand. Then again Pikmin 3 is coming sooner or later so it makes sense to release the first two titles in the series before it. New play control isn't just lazy ports most games are getting full 480p widescreen support in addition to wii controls. If your a Nintendo gamer who supported them during the dark Nintendo 64/ Gamecube era its easy to look at the new play control games and forget that no-one played these games when they arrived 8 years ago + nintendo has been re-releasing its games on virtual console since day one on wii.
ReplyDeleteOh Dead Rising on Wii is like buying a computer without a screen. I'm not saying its useless but compared to the xbox 360 original its too many steps backward for me. The whole pull of dead rising on 360 was dozens on dozens of zombies on screen at once, the Wii would have a heart attack at the prospect! it was truly a "next get" title on its release. Dressing up the Resident Evil 4 wii engine and calling it Dead rising is just cheap! Take a look at this comparison between the two versions.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.gametrailers.com/player/46164.html
Yeah, I say without the swarms of zombies over the mall, it is not anything like the original Dead Rising title.
ReplyDeleteBut I have played it and because it is using the resi 4 wii engine, it brings another form of play to the title which is benefitial to players who might have thought the original version was too hard to play.
They have just simplified the game down to is simplist forms and added some new controls which could be considered in the same way as the new play control games and even House Of The Dead: Overkill.
The terrifying beauty of Dead Rising on the Xbox was/is the zombie swarm aspect...if this is missing in Chop til you Drop, it has lost its appeal if you ask me. Haven't played the wii version yet so I'll reserve judgment until Alan lets me have a go.
ReplyDeleteAs to the wii/game cube scenario...I think its another example of CoolHunting. Big corporations cotton on to what we like to do that is usually cheap and/or free. In this case, revisiting old/retro games. Then they dress it up as something new and make us pay loads of money for the privilege.
I think Nintendo are fobbing off core gamers with old merchandise to address the lack of quality titles on the Wii.
Having said that, it does give gamers the opportunity to play some classic games on a new console. While N64 and Game Cube in particular didn't win the console war in terms of sales against Playstation and Xbox, some gamers (like me) stuck to Nintendo like glue and the opportunity to stick on Majora's Mask or similar is a good thing.
Seems the old school Nintendo fare comes up trumps in terms of replayability anyway.
I guess what confuses me is why have Nintendo made the Wii with Game Cube controller ports and able to play Game Cube games but not re-released the controller or released a slick white version of it to match the Wii.
ReplyDeleteand
Why make a console retrocompatable and then re-release the games from the previous console.
I'm not thinking of this as a consumer but in terms of "Platform Studies". What does this mean in terms of the Wii as a cultural object and the games as texts...
Should we view the "Wii de Asobu" (Play on Wii) titles as a kind of Directors Cut or Digitally Remastered version of the original Game Cube titles
ReplyDeleteAre the re-releases Wii games or Game Cube games?
What's the difference between Bladerunner VHS edition, Bladerunner DVD release, and Bladerunner: the definitive HD release?
ReplyDeleteIs there something palpable being added to a Wii re-release? Something that would be unable to be experienced with the original title on its original console. Seems to me that there isn't, but my experience with Wii re-releases is limited.
Does this issue have anything to bear on backwards compatibility - for instance, on the PS2? Does it seem more pertinent with the Wii because the interface is radically different and because the game is marketed as a re-release?
Questions I don't have answers for right now...
To me they are just remakes of gamecube classics with the same graphics as the originals, but new control scheme. Bolied down Nintendo chose these titles as the might feel they were underapriciated titles on the gamecube systsem, but now they have popular games system once again which they haven't had in a long time and also money, they can go back through the back catalogue of the gamecube and give something back to the hardcore ninetndo fans with their re-release and allow new players to experience these titles for the first time
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