A Change is in the Air

My last three posts spoke of the way that third parties are treating the Wii, and how they can actually be successful on the Wii. However, in the last few weeks, something has started to form.

This “something” is a noticeable change. It began, as I see it, with the announcement of a new engine, aiming to give the Wii graphics comparable to standard-definition Xbox 360 or PS3 graphics. The company that made the announcement was High Voltage Software, and the engine was Quantum3. To go with this new engine, High Voltage Software also announced a new game, called The Conduit, which has caught the interest of many avid gamers.

With this announcement, many avid gamers released a massive breath that they had collectively been holding since not long after the Wii was launched. Finally, a third party developer looked to be treating the Wii as a serious system that deserved quality content. Of course, I exaggerate slightly – there were already a number of developers who had made quality titles, including Capcom, Konami, and Sega. Capcom stands out amongst this list, with quality ports (Resident Evil 4), new quality IPs (Zack & Wiki), and new AAA titles (Monster Hunter 3). However, The Conduit and Quantum3 stood out – this was a company making a statement: The Wii is a quality platform, worth making quality games for.

The Conduit, however, was just the beginning.

Slowly, other developers started to announce games. What began as a refreshing new whiff of air started to become much more than that. The developers of Call of Duty 5 (now named Call of Duty: World at War) revealed that the Wii version of their game would be using a Wii version of the Call of Duty 4 engine – an engine that produced one of the most popular HD titles since the current generation began. Along with this, it was also revealed that another game by the same people, the James Bond title, Quantum of Solace, would also be using this engine.

The was also a blast of putrid rotten-egg filled air from one particular direction – Ubisoft announced that their lineup consisted of a very poor Wii port of what looked to be a quality Xbox 360/PS3 title, a third title in the same franchise, all on the Wii, with each installment coming less than a year apart, and two pure shovelware titles. This acrid, smoky air got many avid gamers into a true fury, and unfortunately, another developer announced their newest Wii exclusive title not long after this.

The developer was the aforementioned Capcom, and the title was Spyborgs. Initially, there were some lacklustre screenshots for the title, at which point the avid gamers started lumping Capcom’s air in with Ubisoft’s. Then the video came, revealing the inadequacy of the screenshots in demonstrating the quality of the title. However, many avid gamers still felt burned by Ubisoft’s acidic air, and as a result Capcom still received a backlash. Capcom hastened to assure gamers, however, that Spyborgs was a AAA title, getting full funding, etc. In short, Capcom were treating the Wii correctly.

But the fresh air didn’t end there – we saw more titles announced. We learned that Guitar Hero: World Tour, the next big installment in the series, would provide the Wii with downloadable content, online functionality, and more. Electronic Arts revealed that the Wii would not only be getting more exclusive MySims titles, but also an entirely new Simcity designed for the Wii. We discovered that not only would we be getting exclusive multiplayer content in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, but that we would also be getting another Star Wars title – The Clone Wars.

Little King’s Story finally started to show up, and has once more caught the interest it had when we first learned about who was making “Project ‘O’”. Tales of Symphonia started to be shown off. Another major addition to the lineup came from Sega, who were publishing an incredibly violent game called Madworld, which ironically made a lot of gamers happy. We learned of EA’s Wii version of Skate, known as Skate It.

But all of this comes to nothing without the statements by that great third party developer/publisher, Capcom. They stated that the reason for Wii games being lacklustre so far has been because developers were caught unaware by the Wii’s success. As such, they started development of titles for the Wii later than they should have, and thus only the lesser, weaker titles have been appearing so far. But as we pass the 18 month mark, higher tier titles are starting to turn up.

Capcom continued by hinting that there’s a huge, top-secret, Wii title on the way from Capcom. When taken as a pair with the other comment, it is strongly being suggested that E3 will be big for Nintendo, this year, as it was two years ago when Miyamoto conducted a Mii orchestra, Ubisoft showed Red Steel, and a huge lineup of titles was announced.

So here’s just some of what we can expect (none is confirmed, obviously, but what fun is writing an article without any speculation?):

• Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers – revealed over two years ago, the game hasn’t been seen for about a year, yet Square Enix are almost certainly still working on it. It’s basically certain to show up, and to be an amazing unveiling.
• Monster Hunter 3 – revealed to be coming exclusively to the Wii after having previously been announced for the PS3, this title is certain to show up at E3, and if old screenshots are to be trusted, it’s going to be one great title.
• Capcom’s ‘top-secret’ title – some think this is Mega Man, others think it’s Resident Evil, or Street Fighter 4. I won’t try to guess which series it is, but the hint suggests it’s a major entry into a well-known franchise, and the fact it’s being kept top-secret suggests that it’s going to be a great game.
• Red Steel 2 – in spite of my disgust at Ubisoft, I still hold out hope for this one title. With the first game having been one of the first ever third-party million sellers on the Wii, Ubisoft would be insane not to make a sequel, and with more than two years of development time behind it, it could be a great title. Or, Ubisoft could make it as bad as their other Wii titles… I guess we wait until E3 to find out the true status of this title.
• Spore – the amazing Will Wright is making this game, and EA and Mr Wright can’t seem to decide whether to confirm or not that the Wii is coming… but it’s certainly established that it is coming. And it is almost certainly going to show itself at E3.
• New Square Enix games – Square Enix has a certain modus operandi in the industry – they always throw their strongest support, by far, to the system with the biggest market share. Square have made a point to announce their Xbox 360 titles already, and they have an event scheduled for after E3 to announce and display various PS3, PSP, and DS titles. This just leaves their Wii lineup, which is almost a lock for E3. What can we expect? Who knows – we’ll have to wait and see. Most likely, we’ll be seeing Kingdom Hearts 3, a new Dragon Quest title, perhaps even a Wii-specific Final Fantasy XIII title.
• Another Activision CoD4-powered Wii title – Activision has gone to the effort of porting the CoD4 engine to the Wii, it’s highly likely that the engine will get used for at least one more title (in addition to Call of Duty 5 and Quantum of Solace, both of which will show at E3, most likely). For the fun of it, I’ll make a prediction – I think it will be a new Infinity Ward IP, most likely a shooter title aimed at a different type of experience than that found in the Call of Duty series. I also expect that it will be a title released on all three current-gen consoles.
• SSX 4 – Making use of the Balance Board, I expect this title to appear on the Wii with a significant graphical boost over that seen in SSX Blur. I also expect this to be multiplatform, but with the Wii being the primary platform.
• Elebits 2 – We know it’s coming, we just don’t know when. This title is expected to take what was great about Elebits, and make it a whole lot better. And this game has something in common with my next prediction:
• Portal Wii – Featuring the innovative gameplay of the original PC title, I expect this version to be an updated version, with extra content, Wiimote controls, and perhaps even a sneak preview of what is to be expected from Portal 2. It may also share its position with Team Fortress 2 or Half Life 2, but that’s all speculation. And of course, in porting this game over to the Wii, the most likely approach will be to port the Source engine over, which is why the next prediction is:
• Left 4 Dead – not an entirely unjustified suspicion, as Valve hinted as much in a recent inteview, and it makes sense – if they’re going to port the Source engine across, this would be one title that would be a good choice to bring with it. And given the success of Resident Evil 4, perhaps there’s more reason to expect it.
• Beyond Good & Evil 2 – Ubisoft have said it’s PS3/360, but my gut instinct tells me that Michel Ancel wouldn’t accept that from Ubisoft – I think it’s being made for all three current-gen consoles, and Ubisoft were hinting at that when they said they wanted it to be more “accessible”. Expect it at E3 – Ubisoft may be making crappy titles, but Michel Ancel is the Miyamoto of Ubisoft, and can be expected to make a great Wii version.
• A THQ title – we know about De Blob and Deadly Creatures, but THQ have been particularly quiet recently. I think there’s a big Wii title on the way, perhaps even two. One might be a new Summoner title. The other might be related to Saint’s Row. I think both are coming, but whether both will show at E3 is another matter entirely.
• Koei Wii title – Koei have been particularly quiet, recently. Perhaps they’ve got something ready for the Wii.
• Shenmue III – Sega’s already got Sonic Unleashed and MadWorld, but perhaps there’s more from them – they certainly seem to be putting extra effort into the Wii, recently. Shenmue is another of Sega’s older franchises screaming for rebirth, and perhaps E3 08 might be the place for it to happen, on the Wii.
• Phantasy Star Wii – if Nintendo are announcing a hard drive or other storage space for the Wii at E3, as many are expecting (especially given DLC in Guitar Hero IV), this would be a title Sega would be certain to choose to debut with the new peripheral.
• Ninja Gaiden Wii – Tecmo have Fatal Frame IV coming, as well as Tecmo Bowl, but could we expect this as well? Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword for the DS seems to be getting a following, and the Wii is a system that would suit the series well, I think, as long as it isn’t implemented poorly.
• A surprise SNK title – SNK have made basically nothing but anthologies over the last couple of years. Perhaps they were just filler titles while they worked on their bigger titles. They’ve certainly got some interesting IPs to work from, and they really haven’t been moved into the modern gaming world, yet. Could we be in for some 3D Metal Slug, for instance?
• A new Sierra game – King’s Quest, maybe? It would be well-suited to the Wii, in my opinion.

Anyway, those are just a few examples of what I expect to see at E3. I think we’re in for a big lineup, based on what we already know.

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