Reggie: Wii online gaming coming Q2 2007

December 4th, 2006, 17:12 Posted By: wraggster

Via PAlGN

Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aime has confirmed that Wii gamers will be able to play games online from the second quarter of 2007. Reggie's pledge came in an interview with SpikeTV's Game Head show (which saw the Ninty president indulging in some bowling - of both the real-life and Wii variety), where he also let slip that more Wii channels were in the works.

So far, Japan is the only region with a Wii game [Pokémon Battle Revolution - Ed] that can be played online. However, that's set to change in the coming months, with Fils-Aime promising, "The multiplayer is coming. During the Japanese launch, there is Pokémon Battle Revolution, and that's really the first one. There will be titles that we'll be announcing in first quarter 2007, that'll be multiplayer-enabled. So during second quarter 2007, people will be able to have a multiplayer experience on Wii."

In further good news for Wii fans, Fils-Aime revealed that Nintendo was hard at work developing more Wii channels, though revealed nothing about what they would involve.

He was also kept busy when it came to defending the Wii controller from accusations that it may be a tad gimmicky. "I've had the opportunity to play Zelda, Excite Truck, Wii Sports, a little bit of Red Steel, a little bit of Madden," said Reggie. "It doesn't get old. It really doesn't get old. Wii will only become a gimmick if it's marginalised in terms of the way the remote is used, and we have absolutely no indication that that's going to happen."

Aside from that, Fils-Aime also discussed the "Wii60" phrase coined by Microsoft's Peter Moore ("Can I endorse the 360? Honestly, no"), the prospect of Mario appearing in a GTA-style game ("You'll never see that") what game he thinks would be best online ("The ultimate one would be Mario Kart, on a multiplayer basis"), and generally came across as a fairly good egg.

Mind you, his real-life bowling skills suck.

There are 3 comments - Join In and Discuss Here