Nintendo’s press conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo Business Summit in Los Angeles provided gamers everywhere with some very interesting news regarding both upcoming game titles and console peripherals.
First things first: the biggest piece of news brought up by the company is considered by most to be the announcement of MotionPlus, the Wiimote pluggable peripheral that is said to enable players to experience true one-to-one movement. The new technology will be enclosed in the Wii Sports: Resort pack, when it is launched the following spring. The activities of the game are beach-themed and include playing Frisbee with a dog and riding a Jet Ski.
Nintendo’s second main event targeted Wii Music. Wii owners will get the chance to test their skills on a very wide range of musical instruments, including guitar, sax, piano, violin, marimba or Taiko drums. Wii Fit’s Balance Board will come in handy for drum playing for instance; it was said that through the gaming process, Wii users will actually learn how to play real drums.
Nintendo then talked about its soon to be released Animal Crossing: City Folk title. The game will bring players the new Wii Speak, a peripheral that, once it is placed on the TV, enables rooms of people to chat to one another while redecorating or fishing. Unlike the other versions of the game, City Folk lets players wonder off and get out of the quiet village; players will be given the chance to visit a city where they will find a clothing store, an academy, an auction house and a beauty salon. The game will also feature online play. Animal Crossing is set to be launched this year, during the holiday season.
Besides the aforementioned heavy subjects, Nintendo also mentioned several new upcoming games, such as Shaun White's Snowboarding (which will also use the balance board), Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades and the DS-exclusive Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown, announced to be released this holiday season.
According to The NPD Group's June sales figures, Nindendo’s Wii console came in first again with 675,100 units. With last month’s sales, the Wii console has reached the 10 million unit sales mark in the US alone; Nintendo has managed to do so in only 19 months. Billy Pidgeon, game analyst for research firm IDC, said Nintendo’s evolution was not expected by anyone and by doing so well, the company has really disrupted the market.
Obviously enough, a very big help was represented by Wii Fit’s release on May 19. Since its launch, sale numbers have been going through the roof and supplies are constantly sold out. Wii Fit responds to the player’s weight and movement; it features special sensors that follow the player’s front-to-back and side-to-side movements in order to correlate the dynamics of the player's avatar. The 48 activities that can be tried out on Wii, while instructed by one of the two virtual trainers, include balance games, strength training, yoga, aerobics, and muscle-toning exercises. The demand for this innovative console has exceeded any expectations Nintendo officials may have had.
During the 19 months the Wii has been available, about 60 million game titles have been sold and things do not show any sign of slowing down.
