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?

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.

breaking news

[startled]

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