Wii Rally

Can’t be at E3? Well neither can I, So I’ve got the next best thing Internet video.

OK here Wii go.

First up for the Nintendo media briefing is a 2 minute video of some news stories and user videos which have used the Wii as a focal point. Nintendo begins by tooting their own horn….obviously.

After the short video a gigantic man in a beige suit [Reggie Fils-Aime, NoA President] walks to the middle of the stage and says “Hi I’m Reggie and I am Happy!”

The first segment of Reggie’s speech is about all the stuff that only venture capitalists and investors care about. You know stuff like expanding demographics, sales figures, and market share info….BORING!

Now some interesting stuff. Reggie states that by the holiday shopping season there should be over 160 Wii titles available in North America and over 430 DS titles for the same territory.

After a second video similar to the first Reggie introduces to the world the first offspring of the Wii Remote and nunchuck. The Wii Zapper a housing for your Wii Remote and nunchuck making it look like a small SMG. Reggie goes on to talk about 3 new games that are being designed around the new housing, Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, Sega’s Ghost Squad a popular arcade light gun game, and the newest addition to the Medal of Honour series will also be centered around the Wii Zapper which will retail for about 19.99 USD. Reggie also mentions plans for a 1st party title that will come packed with a zapper later this year.

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I know I’m not one for posting about screen shots but when it comes to My Sims I find it hard to resist. I just love the cuteness of this game and the possibilities for crazy customization. I never played Animal Crossing myself but I did spend a couple of hours watching my girlfriend play. I didn’t care much for the non-human esthetics but the gameplay looked pretty solid. I would have done a couple things differently myself. Pulling weeds constantly is not my cup of tea unless I’m playing Harvest Moon. There wasn’t much in the way of living space customization or clothing. You could pick out different outfits and organize your house any way you liked but you were still stuck with the house you were given and you couldn’t change the look of the outfits you had received.

Now with My Sims the player almost has complete control (within reason) to personalize everything in the game including the town itself. Also with Nintendo’s WiiConnect24 service there are some real possibilities for sharing content with other players.
I really do think that My Sims will usher in a new way of playing with other Wii gamers who may not be in the room with you. I’m looking forward to some really solid online features here.

Prediction: I predict that gamers will see their My Sims chanters and Nintendo’s Mii characters become closer as time goes on and I do have a feeling that Nintendo will eventually completely integrate the two. You will hopefully be able to have the same amount of customization that will be in My Sims with all those little Miis that call your Wii home.

Anyway, on to the screen shots.

The world seems to be falling in love with Miis the little and sometimes crude avatars that can be made with your Wii. I know that anyone who ventures over to my place must make one before they can do anything else. Lately you might have noticed that several companies and artists have begun to fabricate Mii sculptures often you send them a picture and some “duckets” and boom FedEx is at your door Mii in hand. One such company is Fabjectory, I got an email from Fabjectory’s owner yesterday a fellow named Michael Buckbee telling me about Fabjectory and what they do. They make digital avatars into real life sculptures including but not limited to Miis.

What makes Fabjectory different from all the other Mii sculptors out there isn’t what they do it’s how they do it. The sculptures are built using a rapid prototyping machine which sprays on a plaster powder 1/400th of an inch at a time; think of it as a 3D printer. Rapid prototyping is most commonly used in CAD (computer assisted design) to give designers and engineers a better idea of what an object looks like once it occupies real 3D space.

How does this benefit us? By using the rapid prototyping process Fabjectory is able to make sculptures that are sturdy, accurate and unique looking. There is one downside however, the price. A 3 inch tall sculpture will run you about 50$ US and a 5 inch monument to you will set you back about 100$ US plus shipping costs. Fabjectory does offer a “no questions asked, money back guarantee” if you are not satisfied with your Mii once you receive it.

If I’ve peaked your interest head on over the Fabjectory’s website and take a look around. Maybe Miis don’t float your boat but you have a really bad ass Second Life avatar well they do those too so quit complaining.

I found this interesting yet hypnotic video of a Mii parade today. Mii’s are little avatar’s that are stored on your Wii console and are used to play games like Wii Sports or Wii Play, due in February. The music is relaxing and the parade of 117 Miis will put a smile on your face:) Try and spot the Storm Trooper Mii.