Wii Version of Twilight Princess to Require Wiimote

1up is reporting that the Wii version of Nintendo's Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess will require the use of the Wiimote. The GameCube controller for the Wii will not be usable for the Wii version of the game, despite the fact that the game will also be coming out on the Cube. This has provoked discussion that the Wii version of the game may include extra content or gameplay elements, which will make it unplayable with the GameCube controller. From the article: "Many had hoped Nintendo would allow for dual Wii and GameCube support ala a number of upcoming Wii releases, but Nintendo appears confident enough in its design that hardened fans will have to pick up the GameCube release if they're that hardcore. You still have time to decide which one sways you, as both versions will be launched simultaneously during Wii's launch date this fall."

Comments

Wii version bad for the game, bad for the wii

[ZakuSage]

According to n-sider,

* Bad for the game: Twilight Princess is a GameCube game, plain and simple. It was developed around a solid traditional foundation, with traditional and cleanly defined control options. The Wii controller is simply unable to completely emulate the functionality that the game was designed around. Even if it could emulate all of the functionality, it's not really adding anything to the game. All it's doing is tacking on more convoluted ways of doing things you could already do with the GameCube controller.

* Bad for the Wii: Again, Twilight Princess is a GameCube game. Gamers might be more forgiving of the fact that the Wii version has GameCube graphics if not for the fact that it has GameCube gameplay as well. The Wii seems to be rife with these kinds of games at the moment -- games that only use the motion-sensing capability of the controller to emulate actions that you could do with a regular controller. When you change the controller without changing the game, you do a piss-poor job of proving the point of your hardware. The Wii is supposed to offer new possibilities, not repackage the past with a shiny new bow.

The same article also says the game plays rather poorly with the wiimote, and that the controls seem to be a bad imitation of fine gamecube controls. The worst part is the lack of camera control on the wii version. Looks like I'll be picking up the GameCube version for sure.

Re:Wii version bad for the game, bad for the wii

[MBCook]

See I don't believe this. That article seems to be about the version shown at E3. The fact is by the time the game comes out E3 will have been about 6 months before. In the mean time I have heard that the controls on Excite Truck and it's visuals have improved. I've heard the same about Red Steel and Metroid Prime Three.

I really think that they would have fixed that kind of stuff since then. Nintendo doesn't tend to do that half-assed tack-on-features stuff for something so important as core game play on one of their AAA titles.

Re:Wii version bad for the game, bad for the wii

[aywwts4]

Good point, Back in the day, when these kind of events were populated by industry representatives instead of bloggers who talk about games, Magazines would seldom if ever mention tech demos in a negative light, instead trying to focus on the positive and what the game could possibly become. Any responsible journalist should know these games have six months of development ahead of them, but bashing a game still under testing gets more 'diggs' to your 'blogg' Especially since most of the insults boil down to the controller setup, which is quite possibly the easiest thing to continue to tweak and refine right up until the day it ships.

Re:Wii version bad for the game, bad for the wii

[Babbster]

Besides, isn't one of the "tests" for the Wiimote going to be how well previous game styles translate to the new controller? If Nintendo didn't have confidence in their own controller for one of their flagship titles, that would bode ill for every other game on the system.

Frankly, this sounds to me like an old dog who doesn't want to learn a new trick. The game could blow with the Wiimote or it could rock...only the final release will tell.

Re:Wii version bad for the game, bad for the wii

[Anonymous Coward]

* Bad for the game: Twilight Princess is a GameCube game, plain and simple. It was developed around a solid traditional foundation, with traditional and cleanly defined control options. The Wii controller is simply unable to completely emulate the functionality that the game was designed around. Even if it could emulate all of the functionality, it's not really adding anything to the game. All it's doing is tacking on more convoluted ways of doing things you could already do with the GameCube controller.

* Bad for the Wii: Again, Twilight Princess is a GameCube game. Gamers might be more forgiving of the fact that the Wii version has GameCube graphics if not for the fact that it has GameCube gameplay as well. The Wii seems to be rife with these kinds of games at the moment -- games that only use the motion-sensing capability of the controller to emulate actions that you could do with a regular controller. When you change the controller without changing the game, you do a piss-poor job of proving the point of your hardware. The Wii is supposed to offer new possibilities, not repackage the past with a shiny new bow.


I actually think that this is one of the worst arguments I have seen.

The Gamecube version was basically completed sometime around April of last year; at some point between then and when it was announced for the Wii it became a Wii game. It would be reasonable to assume that the game was intially delayed, they started adding Wii controls (in case you played the Gamecube version on the Wii) and the control scheme started to mature to the point that it was worth creating the game primarily for the Wii.

If you assume that it became primarily a Wii game in December/January then it had 3-4 months of focused development before E3 (most E3 demos are based off of a couple month old build that has been heavily tested to avoid bugs and crashes). What we know is that 4 months into a 10 month development the controls were not perfect (shocking, I know).

Ultimately, Nintendo will have solid controls ready for launch because I have never owned a Nintendo game with sloppy controls.

Re:Wii version bad for the game, bad for the wii

[Anonymous Coward]

Why not be smart and rent both first? When have reviewers ever been right, particularly before a game is out?

Re:Wii version bad for the game, bad for the wii

[aywwts4]

Well no they aren't cutting the umbilical cord so to speak.

Super Smash Bros will use the classic controller, as I'm sure other games will. The man behind the series realized motion sensitive gaming doesnt make this particular game more fun, only adds a needless gimic.

It takes a great group to take risks, (Motion sensitivity, Touch Screens on the DS etc) but it takes a wise company to know when those features aren't necessary. The DS suffered from it initial, everything needing to be touched in some way, even if it only detracts from the game play; but by now they seem to have it down very well, and only use the touch screen when it directly enhances game play.

Re:Wii version bad for the game, bad for the wii

[antifoidulus]

No, they didn't. They used a gamecube case, thats all. The insides were the Wii.

in other news

[minus_273]

Xbox 360 version of kameo ro require 360 controller. PS3 version of heavenly sword to require ps3 controller..

best headline ever.

Re:in other news

[grammar fascist]

best headline ever.

I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that the first tag that shows up on this non-story is "duh."

Re:in other news

[spezz]

...the first tag that shows up on this non-story is "duh."

Is it just me or does everybody forget to close that tag?

Re:in other news

[aichpvee]

Actually, this is a really annoying thing with systems that are backwards compatible with previous controllers. I'm thinking particularly of Silent Hill 2 on PS2 that won't even start without a Dual Shock 2 plugged in, even though the only use it makes of the pressure sensitive buttons is to do a "hard" attack, which could have been done just as easily with a tap vs hold approach. For a game like Mad Maestro! (which is still the ONLY game that I've played where pressure buttons really are required for the gameplay) it makes sense, for games like Silent hill it's just feels like a gimmick and is lame. Konami got it right with MGS2 where there were features that used the pressure buttons (throwing magazine clips further if you pressed harder) but weren't really required to finish the game and fully enjoy it.

It's like someone else said about DS games abusing the touch screen even when it detracted from the game. And for what it's worth, when I played Silent Hill 2 my roommate's only Dual Shock 2 had broken analog sticks and the original Dual Shock's handles are a slightly more comfortable shape. When dealing with PS* controllers I'll take any added comfort I can get because they're cramp-inducing even at the best of times.

breaking news

[startled]

"Game released on console to require that console's controller"

USB Human Interface Device

[tepples]

And the 360 and PS3 don't support at all their previous controllers.

The original Xbox controller is a USB human interface device (HID). Widely available adapters (such as EMS USB2) make the PS2 Dual Shock controller appear as a USB HID. If a game doesn't support generic USB HIDs, then it's either the game developer's fault (for not checking for USB HIDs in the game's input code) or the console maker's fault (for not providing any driver for USB HIDs to developers, in an attempt to increase attach rate by promoting sales of new controllers).

Re:So Much For My Wii Purchase

[DesireCampbell]

Indeed. I had my doubts about how "revolutionary" this controler would be. I always thought I'd never really like it - and everyone else, while thinking the idea novel, would quickly show disdain for the device and be critically panned and fall behind Sony and Microsoft in sales.

Of course, that's what I said about the 'Gameboy DS' - and I was completely wrong about that.

Other differences

[Bongo Bill]

Wasn't there more differences between the two versions of Twilight Princess than just the control scheme? I remember hearing that only the Wii version would support a widescreen aspect ratio. I was considering getting the Wii version just for that, but if it requires you to use a control scheme other than the one for which the game was designed, then I'll have to wait and see....

Shigeru Miyamoto

[7Prime]

I've heard that Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of Mario Bros, once praised Naoto Ohshima and the Sonic Team for being able to do what he never could: produce a successful platformer that used only one button. It is, litterally, the Apple of the videogame world. It cuts the platformer genre down to its simplest form: run, and jump. It does away with the traditional "run" button of Mario, and instead uses an exponential accelleration system to compansate, so when walking short distances (like jumping from platform to platform), you're moving slowly, but hold the controlpad over, and you will run faster and faster. If you think about it, during normal play, Sonic isn't really any faster than Mario... it's the exponential accelleration that gives Sonic the kick that made it famous.

This is the main reason why I think the first Sonic game is the strongest in the series (as well as Sonic CD and the original GameGear Sonic). Sonic 2 had great level design, but the addition of the spin dash completely destroyed the purity of the original Sonic's control setup. If you got going really fast in the original, it was a rush, because you had to get to that speed by your own doing... with Sonic 2 and on, going from zero to fast was just too easy to make it that thrilling anymore.

Of course it does.

[Qbertino]

What is this all about?
Hello? It's Zelda. Zelda, Nintendo, ... ring a bell?
They could eben push out variant cover cased versions of the game that only run on Wii's with the matching case color and still make a better revenue even though it costs more than a single version to produce. If I'm a Wii fan and I'm buying a new Zelda Iteration for my new Nintendo Iteration it better be built for that exact Nintendo, using all the neat new features to the max. Especially the Wiimote.
So the GameCube is getting it's own version? Nice move and good for the GameCubers I'd say.

So what's all the fuss about? You want a 'universal binary'? Stupid idea. Wii'ers will think they're getting a dumbed down version and GameCubers will think they're getting ... a dumbed down version.

Bottom line:
Yes, they're selling seperate versions of the new Zelde, one for each plattform - and you (yes, you) will love them for it. As usual, Nintendo has everything under control. Everythings cool, calm down.