Sam And Max May Be Wiibound

1up reports that fan outcry to Nintendo may result in Sam and Max on the Wii. From the article: "Telltale contacted 1UP last Friday, letting us know gamers can stop pestering the company, as Telltale received a call from Nintendo earlier that afternoon. 'They took notice! We got a phone call from Nintendo this afternoon. We'll take it from here - please don't email them anymore!,' said Telltale's Web Coordinator Emily Morganti to 1UP, who also wrote the original blog asking gamers to begin virtually rioting."

Comments

For those like myself who did not know

[pembo13]

They seem to be talking about these guys: http://www.telltalegames.com/samandmax . Can't say I've heard of them before. But cool. The link is already slashdotted.

Re:For those like myself who did not know

[sirnuke]

Steve Purcell (the creator of both the Sam & Max comic books and the LucasArts game) is helping Telltale make the new Steve & Max games (I believe they are planning on making 7 episodes). Gamespot has some movies posted (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/sammaxep1/). I can't say whether the game will be great or live up to Hit the Road, but it looks interested and rumours put the price at $10.

Let me be the first to predict...

[njfuzzy]

Max making an obscene joke about the WiiMote.

If this turns out real in the end, big thing

[grumbel]

If this turns real in the end and we really do get Sam'n Max on Wii this could be a big thing, not so much because Sam'n Max is the best game ever (well, maybe it is ;), but since it would be so far the first real demonstration I know of, of a small developers game making it onto the Wii. Which in turn could mean that we will get more small developers on the Wii, which in turn means me get more games, maybe lots more, depending of course on how open Nintendo is with their.

Lack of third part party support is the reason why I personally consider the Gamecube a failure, if they can turn that one around and get plenty of third parties, even when it are just small developers, the Wii definitvly would get quite a bit more interesting.

Re:If this turns out real in the end, big thing

[twistedsymphony]

Nintendo needs sequels for the same reason we need Finalfantasy XIII, BeatMania 13th, Dragon Ball Z 11, Dance Dance Revolution 10, Tony Hawk 8, Ace Combat 8, Ridge Racer 7, Mortal Kombat 7, Prince of Persia 6, Tomb Raider 6, Burnout 5, Tekken 5, Virtua Fighter 5, Gran Turismo 5, Resident Evil 5, Silent Hill 5, Dead or Alive 5, SSX5 Ratchet & Clank 4, Grand Theft Auto IV, Devil may Cry 4, Hitman 4, Elder Scrolls IV, Soul Calibur 4, Splinter Cell 4... etc. etc. etc. Oh and lets not forget the numerous sports titles all working into their 2nd decade worth of annual releases.

People like sequels... when they finish a game and like it they patiently wait for the next iteration. Sometimes developers will cheap out and just deliver the same game with a tired story and slightly improved looks but other times they'll really go out of their way to deliver something new. You can look at games like Tony Hawk or Tekken. Each iteration only featured slightly better graphics then the last, maybe a roster update and some novel update the game mechanics, but largely they're always the same game. Now lets take a look at Mario. Mario 3 was like a whole different game from Mario 1, Super Mario was like a whole different game from Mario 3, Mario 64 was a whole different game from Super Mario, Mario Sunshine was like a whole different game from Mario 64.. etc. etc. You point out Donkey Kong But The original Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Country share little more then the game name and a hairy protagonist, the same can be said for many of Nintendos "sequels" they're more just cut from the same franchise but different games. I could hardly call the expansive catalog of Star Wars games "sequels" just because they share the same franchise.

Nintendo has fresh and original titles as well, but they also provide fresh and innovative games from their reservoir of popular franchises... The fact that you pegged the Gamecube as a Sequel machine leads me to believe you never owned one and probably aren't very familiar with the games it has. Not to mention "sequels" by Nintendo's standards offer far more fresh gameplay then most other sequels.

I suggest you take a look at: Tales of Symphonia, Geist, Animal Crossing, Pikmin, Super Monkey Ball, Chibi-Robo, Killer 7, Viewtiful Joe, Second Sight, Cel Damage, Alien Hominid, Virtua Quest, and Beyond Good & Evil. All good games fresh non-sequels that I've enjoyed on the gamecube, most of them exclusive.
Not to mention their are also lots of fresh games that just use the name sake of popular franchises like WarioWare, or DonkeyKong Jungle Beat, and of course the same non-Nintendo sequels that appear on most of the other popular platforms as well as the Gamecube (Madden, Tony Hawk, Resident Evil, Prince of Persia etc.)

You're right, Nintendo _does_ have a lot of sequels, but that's really only because they've been in the game longer then anyone, so they have the biggest pool to draw from. I'm sure given enough time Both Sony and MS will catch up (in some ways they already have). But just because Nintendo has a lot of "sequels" doesn't mean it's the same game, nor does it mean that Nintendo isn't innovating with those titles. The number of sequels they've made also doesn't mean that they don't have any fresh new games either, because they certainly do have those as well.

Wii-TF

[EotB]

Anyone else finding that the Wii prefix on everything is getting hideously annoying?

Re:Cool news but...

[myster0n]

Not anyone. You have to jump through some hoops before Nintendo accepts your money.
More information can be found at http://warioworld.com/
(no, it's not a gamesite; it's the Nintendo Software Development Support Group Home Page)

A quick copy&paste from their "Become a Licensee" page :
If, after a review of the appropriate summary, you remain interested in becoming a Nintendo licensee, please forward the following non-proprietary information to Nintendo:

1) A detailed description of your company, including a summary of your software development experience, financial resources and stability and your industry leadership. This information should be in the form of a prospectus, business plan or summary statement;

2) A detailed introduction to your key personnel and developers setting forth any technical, managerial or sales experience that may be relevant;

3) A marketing plan for your proposed products, including targeted distribution channels, advertising commitments, consumer service resources, merchandising, etc.;

4) Any market study information on consumer demand for your proposed product which you may be relying on;

5) A written description of your proposed software product;

6) A complete summary and at least three samples of software programs you have previously developed and upon which you rely for establishing your technical know-how.

Nintendo will then undertake to make a determination if your qualifications would support your selection as an authorized licensee. Because Nintendo licensees are provided with highly proprietary information and because our licensees must be able to successfully market and support high quality product to a broad base of Nintendo product users throughout the United States, Canada and South America, Nintendo exercises a high level of care in its appointment of its licensees. If we elect to proceed, we will prepare a formal license agreement which will be forwarded to you for your review. After the mutual execution of an Agreement, Nintendo will provide you with software development specifications, and support.

PLEASE, for the love of Xenu!

[RyanFenton]

Please, for the love of Xenu, PLEASE let them get better voice actors for the main characters this time!

If you've heard any of the previews on YouTube, the current voices of Sam and Max sound like disinterested bloggers mouthing the jokes compared to the 90's game or [shudder] the TV Cartoon voices.

Preview video

Even the announcer sounds distinctly 8th rate.

Really, the core of the product for an adventure like this IS the voices! Not that you need to believe the characters... but you need SOME skilled actors with some range in their voice to actually sound like they are meaning to tell jokes, perhaps with SOME sense of timing. There's other examples of the voice acting for the new Sam & Max too, on their web site. It's even worse, for my taste.

I love the old Sam and Max game and comics, I love the humor that is present in them so far - but man, do those mumbly voices annoy me. If they were at least immitating 30's radio, or 50's cartoons, I could understand, but it's like a substitute math teacher showed up in place of Lewis Black on stage and just mumbled his act without emotion - the concepts would be as funny, and perhaps the guy speaking would put a new spin out - but the emotionless presentation would destroy the work. You don't have to get someone amazing - just a pair of voice actors capable of pushing the sarcasm inherent in the caracters, and capable of some timing that can work of eachother.

Ryan Fenton

Re:PLEASE, for the love of Xenu!

[yroJJory]

I can address this in a limited manner, as I have been involved with project as the recording engineer.

Know that the E3 Trailer to which you are referring to came well before the voice actors had actually been cast. I can tell you a great deal of care has been put into the process of casting and recording the voice for the new SnM games.

And the trailer on the TTG website is not an example of the voiceover from the game itself.

Obligatory comment about Sam & Max on Wii

[glomph]

That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!

Are you mad?

[Aelcyx]

I can't bend that!

MOD PARENT UP

[zarthrag]

It's true. What XBOX360 or PS3 games have you roaring to give up your cash? I might buy 6 *launch* titles, which says a ton about that console. Hell, even E*Frikkin*A is changing the control-scheme for madden enough to wanna *rent* it for a few days and see if Tecmobowl is still king!

I'm not a fanboy, as I have *issues* with the gamecube, and it's requirement to own multiple nintendo ds units just to play a nice 4-player adventure, a severe lack of KOEI games, or 3rd party support in general. But the wii is the correction, and worth being excited about.

Re:I must now say W00t!

[Wescotte]

Secondly, I just don't see why anyone would want an adventure game on a console. PC games are always cheaper, the system requirements on that kind of game are generally low enough to not cause a problem even to the upgrade-shy, and you get a high resolution picture AND a quality pointing device (consoles only offer 1 at most of these).

For anyone who doesn't have windows it's always nice to have a game you'd be really interested in playing work on your console so you don't have to futz with wine in the hopes that you can even get the damn thing to work. The nice thing about the Wii is that pretty much any adventure game that used a mouse is going to be virtually identical (interface wise) to it's PC counterpart because of the Wii remote.

I am planning on buying the new Sam & Max episodes but if they are going to be ported to the Wii I'd purchase them instead.

Re:I must now say W00t!

[Cadallin]

Sigh, I get this every time I post and it gets VERY tired. One, MAYBE two releases a year does not a live genre make (not in an industry with hundreds of releases per year). Yes, in the past 8 years or so there has been a stuttering trickle of Adventure titles, and most of those are crap that try to hard to reach out to the wrong audience and ultimately fail miserably. Pre-1996 there were a good dozen top tier adventure titles coming out per year, with many more lesser ones. Sure, many of them sucked, but enough of them were good to excellent that there was usually something to play. That is not true anymore.

Secondly I would most like to get a Mac Mini, to replace my current G5 Tower (I want a small, lightweight system, not the immense 20kg behemoth I have now) I wish the Mini had decent graphics, but it doesn't, and I'm not even sure Intel GMA950 can run the new 3D Sam & Max. Also what makes you think that Sam & Max needs more than 640x480 (which the Wii CAN output)? It's got a pointing device as well, I don't see why you'd think it wouldn't work on the Wii. Given that most classic adventure games could be played solely on a two button mouse (I know, I've played them that way) Why couldn't a multi-button pointer controller suffice?

Re:Cool news but...

[SirSlud]

Keep in mind that the Sony devkits are 15,000 to 20,000. The test kits are significantly cheaper, but you can't debug live on those .. in that case, you probably have to be a big company, or if you are small, all 30 of you share one kit.

Its definately an artificial barrier to entry, more so than the Wii which simply requires some evidence of proficiency and a desire to create commercial success on the Wii platform.

Re: Don't foget Conker's.

[trdrstv]

Conker's Bad Fur day was done by Rare (a 2nd party developer at the time) for the N64. I'm sure they came to grips with 'mature themed' talking animals a while ago.