Check Out the Big N Radio Forums!

As a new way for all of our listeners and readers to communicate about Nintendo, gaming, and the podcast, we decided to make a Big N Radio forum! There are several interesting discussions about the Wii, DS, and Classic systems, as well as Big N Radio Discussions!

You can find the forum right here. All you have to do is choose a username and register.

In the future when you want to visit the forums you can just click the link in the bar on the right. Hope to hear from you all soon and Happy Posting!

Big N Radio - Ep. 9

In this packed episode, A-Zar and ill_masta are blessed with the return of Coop via skype. We discuss some major announcements about the Wii, including the Leipzig Game Conference, which took place on the 23rd. We take an in-depth look at a very revealing interview with Shigeru Miyamoto in Nintendo Dream Magazine, discuss some more Wii games, and talk about recent rumors and comments made by some pretty important people. For DS, we discuss recent announcmennts, such as the arrival of 2 new colors of the lite, and the many new games on the horizon. Tons of DS games are launching just around around the corner, such as the new, and somewhat strange RPG from Atlus entitled, Contact. To finish up, we include an interview with someone that Nintendo is trying to target in it's new marketing strategy; a casual gamer named Cheeks. Join us, and listen as we discuss the latest developments and conferences from Nintendo, as well as a few secrets! Keep it here for the latest news, info, release dates, and announcements, and for all Nintendo, all the time!

Feed issues are coming to an end

Hey Everyone,

I'd like to thank you for your patience as we switch sources.

The worst seems to be over and I have finally got our podcast feed working reliably. For those of you who have had to download our episode multiple times... I apologize.

The new feed, in a nontechnical manner,
-Puts us in control
-Gives us more flexibility
-Allows us to modify descriptions.

However,
-It is slower than the other feed (can't help that)
-No longer contains reviews (please help us with that!)

Thanks for your patience! As we mentioned before, Episode 9 was recorded last night and we welcome your feedback.

We want feedback!

Hey guys, we recorded Episode 9 last night, and since Episode 10 is approaching, we are looking for some feedback. We really want to know how you, the listeners/readers feel about the podcast, as well as the site. We want to know what you like about what we have done, as well as what you dislike. All of your comments are appreciated, and if you make a suggestion that we use, you will recieve full credit for it. You can contact us pretty easily via email, AIM, or even skype! We also have a Big N Radio forum in the works!

-Want to say something to all of us? Then you can email us at: bignradio@gmail.com

-Want to say something to only one of us?

A-Zar Contact Info:
Email: AZar27@gmail.com
AIM: AZar027














That's me 20 feet up!(No joke) ^


Ill_Masta Contact Info:
Email: theillmasta@gmail.com












That's the Ill_Masta. ^


I just wanted to note that our host troubles seem to be over for now, and you should able to get Ep-8 pretty easily now, with Ep-9 on the way soon!

New DS lite colors in America!!!

Finally, after months of waiting, the U.S. will be getting a black and pink DS lite on September 13th of this year. The official names of the 2 new systems are "Onyx" and "Coral Pink." I was hoping for Noble Pink, but I guess I'll live...

Something to be Excited for?

September 14th. Mark that day down. It's the next date of a Nintendo Event. Here's a picture of an invitation to a Nintendo Event. Some parts of it are blurred out on purpose, so maybe it offers some good details that the public does not know yet. Could it be a Wii launch party?(Sarcasm)

Nintendo at LGC - "Wii Prove Our Promise"

Well I for one could not wait for LGC. I thought that the launch of the Wii was right around the corner, so Nintendo would have to give some pretty big details. Plus, Nintendo said the price and date of the system would be announced bySeptember, so what's the difference if it's about 2 weeks early? I was expecting a lot from LGC. Unfortunately, we learned almost nothing new, and for what we did learn, honestly, I really do not care.

The conference started out with a lot of DS talk. All of it was old news for us. Very old news. For example, Phoenix Wright will be launching soon in Germany. One good thing was mentioned, however, even though it doesn't really affect us. A pink, scratch that, "Noble Pink" DS lite will be launching in Europe on October 27th. There have been rumors lately about a black and pink DS lite launching here soon, so maybe we'll be seeing those around the same time.

After DS, they moved onto the Wii. They showed some old videos, as well as a new one that shows people playing Wii while jamming to hip hop music. Confusing, yes. Next, Bernd Fakesch, General Manager of Nintendo Germany who was doing the conference, introduced Super Mario Strikers: Charged. This is the sequel to Super Mario Strikers and it will be a Wii exclusive. Apparently, sports are all the rage right now, but only if Mario is in the game. For example, Mario Hoops, Mario Strikers: Charged, and now Mario Smash Football for Wii. Personally, if I want to play football, I'd either play a real game or if I wanted to play a video game of it I'd play Madden. Soccer I don't really care for either way, so neither one of these two titles for Wii appeal to me.















Mario Strikers: Charged Info

* Gameplay: Use the skill the Wii Remote and Nunchuk Controller provide to win the ball, score unstoppable goals and take control of the goal keeper to perform spectacular saves
* Characters: Mario is joined by other famous Nintendo characters who take on the role of captain. Players then select a host of popular teammates to make up the rest of the team.
* How to progress through the game: Players form an original team by combining one of 12 captains with three of eight sidekicks before competing in one of the games many modes. Anything goes in Mario Strikers Charged as players are allowed to utilize a variety of special abilities to clinch important goals.
* Super abilities/power ups/moves/features: Each captain has their own set of skills, super abilities as well as the ability to perform special shots called Mega Strikes, where the iron ball splits up to five balls and flies at the goal. The defending player must use the Wii Remote to target and aim at and shoot these balls out of the air before they concede a goal. In this game players can also charge energy to the metal ball, making it more likely to find its target when fired at goal.
* Stadiums: Each of the stadiums in Mario Strikers Charged have various characteristics and contraptions, which influence game play. Players must learn to use this to their advantage to truly dominate the pitch.
* Multiplayer: Mario Strikers Charged will not only feature an action packed multiplayer mode but will also support the Nintendo WiFi connection service, allowing players to take part in tournaments with people from all around the world.


Battalion Wars on GC was supposed to be pretty good, however, I never played it so I can't really say anything about it. The sequal was announced for Wii, and it will be abbreviated as, "BWii."













Battalion Wars Wii Info

-BWii - Battalion Wars 2
-Tricked into believing that the Solar Empire is developing a devastating super-weapon, Commander Pierce and Colonel Windsor of the Anglo Isles launch a pre-emptive strike on the Coral Atolls. The world is once again at war.
-Drive tanks, command ships, pilot planes and direct your troops into the heart of the action in the return of the popular tactical action game for Wii.
-3 Online Multiplayer ModesAssault: Instant CombatSkirmish: Tactical depthCo-op: Work with friends
-3 Theatres of WarCombine land, sea and air combat
-5 New Naval UnitsBattleship, Frigate, Submarine, Dreadnought, Transport
-6 Different Races, 5 Different EnvironmentsWith new vehicles for each side
-Wii-ControllerProvides intuitive, all-action gameplay
-Greater tactical depthCapture facility buildings to re-spawn units (HQ, Barracks, Factories, Airfield, Docks)Use Map Screen Commanding to order from afar
-Bigger and Better20+ single player missions AND 15+ mp missionsIncreased replay value

So, all in all, LGC was very dissapointing; at least Nintendo's conference was. Let's hope that the third party developers give some new details and that we're not going to be forced to wait for months for new info. One thing that keeps getting me nervus is whenever a Nintendo rep says, "When the Wii launches later this year..." Later this year makes me think of late November or December and after all the talk of an early Wii launch in October/first week of November, I wouldn't be able to handle another 3-4 month wait. I want to play Red Steel, Corruption, and TP now.

I'm not sure where Nintendo "Proved their Promise." Maybe it was when the 7-year-old girl came onstage to try Wii Sports Tennis to try to show that anyone could play Wii, and then she kept missing the ball. Or maybe it was when they asked the girl if she had a DS and she responded, "No." It's also possible that it was when the person onstage said, "Where am I? Am I winning? I don't know where I am." Sounds right to me.

Wii for $170?

Last week, Nikko Citigroup of Tokyo said that the Wii would retail in Japan for what is $170 stateside. With all the guessing at what the price will be, I didn't think much of this story when I saw it, therefore, it was not posted. Now, however, David Gardner, executive VP and COO of EA's worldwide studios, said, "I've heard in Japan that the price is about $170, but I don't know if the price has been set in Europe yet." When a pretty big guy at EA comments on the price of the Wii I pay attention. Gardner also said, "Nintendo has come up with a very clever strategy. They've made a choice which is great for the consumer. Now we're going to have a choice whereby consumers can buy a Wii plus one other console." Sounds like he's trying to say, "Xbox Wii-60 might be cheaper than a PS3!!" So I helped him out.

If the price in Japan equals about $170 that would be amazing. I can't see the price actually being $170 here though because that's a pretty random number when it comes to price. Maybe it will sell for $179.99, but it will most likely be around $199.99. Just remember that out DS lite is cheaper than theirs, so if the Wii is a little more expensive here, that's alright with me.

Parts from Miyamoto Interview with Nintendo Dream Magazine

Nindori: 10 years of Famicom and Super Famicom. 10 years of N64 and GC. And now another ten years is starting with Wii?

Miyamoto: Yes, we’re starting from here.

N: Looking at the titles you’ve announced so far, it already seems like you’ll be releasing games at a faster pace than the N64 and GC.

M: That’s because the machine is based on GC. Dev tools are of course being upgraded, but GC code will basically run as is. Because of that, I’m also thinking I can remake some of my GC games for Wii, making use of the Wiimote.

N: So you think games will experience a rebirth thanks to the Wiimote…

M: Yes. Of course you can wander into a second hand shop and buy a lot of these games still, so I don’t think we can release these Wiimakes at full price. Since a lot of the development cost has already been accounted for, we’ll be able to release these at a much more affordable price. And if others also take advantage of this and release Wiimakes, there’s a high possibility of a lot of software from third parties also.

N: So, there’s a possibility of Nintendo doing this?

M: Yes, I strongly believe there is. For this reason, the next Zelda will be released for both Wii and GC simultaneously. It’s quite an interesting experiment.

N: Ah, I see.

M: Also, when we were working on it, some of the staff were saying “Since the Wii has more power than the GC, let’s polish the graphics up a bit too”, but Zelda’s fans aren’t expecting polish, they’re expecting a fun and exciting game, so I said it is better if we make it fun both on Wii and GC. And recently it’s been established that “Wii is not a machine that tries to deliver next-gen graphics”. Of course, since there are still games that demand high quality graphics, there will be separate paths of development depending on the software.

Twilight Princess controls changed for Wii!

In the same interview with Nintendo Dream Magazine, Shigeru Miyamoto revealed that the controls for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess on Wii have been dramatically changed. At E3, we saw that the sword was controlled by pressing the B button, and the bow and arrow was fired with the D-pad. Many people were surprised and slightly dissapointed that the sword was not controlled as it is in other games, by swinging the Wii controller. Nintendo gave the reason that the player would become too tired from swinging the Wii controller as a sword, a point that everyone keeps making, and one that I fail to understand.

Now, it seems that the sword will in fact be controlled by swinging the Wii controller. The B button, now that it is free, was changed to control firing the bow and arrow. As far as we know, the parrying moves, downward thrusts, and backwards dodges are all still controlled by moving the Nunchuk forward, downward, and backward respectively, as it was at E3.

In regards to playing the game by swinging the Wii-mote as a sword, Miyamoto says, "Upon actually playing it, it's more interesting this way."

GameCube remakes on Wii!

While speaking to Nintendo Dream Magazine, Shigeru Miyamoto revealed some new details about games on the Wii. It seems that some GC games will be remade on Wii, and they will take full advantage of the Wii controller.

"The machine is based on GC," said Miyamoto. "We'll be upgrading the development tools, but GameCube code can be used for the most part as is. In that sense, I believe that it would be good to remake GameCube games for Wii, and that some titles would become better with the change to the Wii remote controller."

GC to Wii remakes will be sold at a very low price, much lower than retail price of GC games now. Miyamoto even hopes that third party developers will make new games for the Cube while using the Wii controller. "Even now," continued Miyamoto, " GameCube titles are sold at used shops, so we don't feel we could sell them for full price. However, development costs have been taken care of, so we could probably sell them at a more accessible price. If we make it so that such GC to Wii remakes can be produced quickly, it's possible that many titles will also be released from third parties."

The first game that was remade on Wii from GC was Zelda: Twilight Princess. The only thing changed about Zelda in the transition from GC to Wii were the controls. Developers of the game felt that the Wii version of Zelda should have more polished graphics than the original GC version, however Miyamoto, who knows that the Wii is certainly capable of kicking up the graphics, disagreed.

"At one point," he explained, "even members of our staff said 'the Wii is more powerful than the GC, so we'd like to polish the graphics.' However, Zelda players don't look forward to this polish, they look forward to an enjoyable game."

Miyamoto did state that not all titles will have the same graphics in their Wii versions, and that games that demand strong visuals will have to be made accordingly.

No new remake titles were announced at this time, but I think it is a given that we will see both Metroid Primes sometime soon. Metroid Prime Trilogy Box Set for Wii anyone?

Problems Galore

We are having so many hosting problems right now that I think I may have to change the name of the podcast to Super Sony Radio. Coop, who is by FAR the most technical member of the crew, has been working for literally hours today trying to find a host that is both functional, and suits our needs. We were forced to switch from the Apple hosting due to KZero's lack of intelligence/laziness/unwillingness of being in the podcast/etc. and now everything is difficult. We've switched between several hosts right now, and at the moment we are still looking for one that we can use. We think that we have a host that will work, but there were several others that we thought would work as well, so who knows...

I'll post as soon as we know for sure that we have a host and that everything is alright. Sorry for all of the inconveniance, but Coop is doing everything he can, plus a little more to try and straighten this out.

Episode 8 is finally up! And the new podcast source...

Hi everyone, Coop here with some good news- Episode 8 is finally up!

Due to some issues with our old podcast hosting, we had to switch sources of the feed.

What does this mean for you? You'll need to resubscribe in your podcast client:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/BigNRadioPodcast

If you use iTunes, open the link here:
Big N Radio iTunes link

Why did we move? With KZero out of the picture ("doesn't want to do it anymore"), we needed to be in greater control of our podcasting. So, we made a new source. We realize that it is an inconvenience to our listeners, but the new source should allow us to update more easily and conveniently.

Enjoy!

LGC is almost here...

LGC isn't too far away now, but as we get closer to the 23rd, the more I can't wait! We already know that Nintendo has a conference entitled, "Wii keep our promise" as well as another conference together with EA.We have also just learned that the Wii will be playable at the event, but only for members of the press, as they need to get a chance to go hands on with the new generation console. The members of the IGN Nintendo teams are also saying that there will be many new secrets revealed at LGC. Game journalists and members of the press recieved an invitation to the event recently, and it seems to include some kind of agenda, or a list of things to expect from the conference. They read:

8/23/06 Games Convention / Messe Leipzig
10:15, Nintendo Booth, Hall 5, F01
Be there when a new chapter is turned in the history of gaming. Dive into the world of Wii and make yourself a picture of the animated future of gaming.
Games that will touch generations.
Wii and where?
At the press show of the Games Convention, to which we hereby invite you cordially.

Link

IGN Wii Podcast reveals new secrets

IGN posted a podast yesterday done by both Matt Cassamassina and Mark Bozon. The podcast discusses many things about Ubisoft and THQ, and the launch games for Wii from thse companies. They also reveal some new secrets about some of the games for Wii, as well as a couple of dissapointing details. The podcast is only about a half hour long and it is worth a listen.

Notable Details from the Podcast:

- Metroid Prime 3 may be delayed!
- Games that were thought to be coming out on other systems will in fact be made for the Wii (Matt sounded very sure of this statement and also sounded as if he wasn't trying to give away too much information. He must know more about this, but is unable to say anything at this time) - Lucas Arts will be making a Star Wars light saber game for Wii
- LGC will be very interesting

Direct Link to the Podcast

Phoenix Wright 2 for DS dated in Japan

The second Phoenix Wright game for the DS will be coming out in Japan on October 26th of this year. Hopefully this means that the game will be coming out very soon over here. The first game was great and has been completely sold out in stores for the last couple of months. Re-releases of the game sold out almost immediately too, so people who were not able to pick up the first one will be able to check out the sequel. Let's hope that Capcom learned from all the sell-outs that the U.S. fans love the series and that there had better be enough copies of the game this time around!

Wii Release Date Rumors and More

IGN posted an article that dicusses some more rumors about the Wii launch date based on info from "insiders." The price, launch colors, and other specs are mentioned and most of them seem very likely. The article is worth reading and you can find it by clicking right here.