Nintendo takes games to the Web
via TheNewsTribune
Nintendo announced this week in Seattle several new ways for video game players to connect with one another online.
Though the company leads the worldwide video game industry with the top-selling Wii console and the portable Dual Screen system, it is behind competitors Microsoft and Sony when it comes to online multiplayer gaming.
The fun starts June 11 with the launch of Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree, a game that puts players through a series of fun puzzle exercises designed to increase brainpower. By activating the console’s WiiConnect 24 feature (which requires a broadband Internet connection and a wireless router), players can exchange performance information online and try to best one another’s scores.
It’s not nearly the same level of online activity offered in, say, a 16-player deathmatch in Halo 2 for the Microsoft Xbox. But with the next few games in the lineup, Nintendo will bring more to the table.
Pokémon Battle Revolution, due June 25, is the first title that allows players to link the Wii and the DS. Four players can do battle with Pokémon they’ve trained in the recently released DS games Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl. Four players can battle in the same living room, or, with a broadband connection, they can play online.
Finally, with the July 30 launch of the Wii fantasy soccer game Mario Strikers Charged, players can go online for one-on-one matches and climb regional rankings boards.
The hope is that the online modes in these games are just precursors to what we might see in Nintendo’s AAA properties due later this year. The next Metroid sci-fi game, for instance, would be a perfect opportunity for online first-person shooter matches. And the fighting game Super Smash Bros. Brawl would be a natural online. Nintendo has also promised Wii owners a new Mario adventure game this year.
