Multiplayer Games that Need to Come to Wii

[brockly]

Multiplayer Games that Need to Come to Wii



32-player MOH should be the tip of the iceberg.






As Shigeru Miyamoto’s Balance Board for Wii Fit stole the show at its E3 Press Conference, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata and NOA President Reggie Fils-Aime did their best to douse growing criticism that (a) the Wii isn’t taking advantage of online; and (b) Nintendo is abandoning the core gaming market. Their answers to both issues – that online already exists transparently in many games and that Mariokart Wii isn’t the game “your dad played” – were contrived at best and totally missed the point. What they should’ve seized upon – and what most of the gaming press were surprised by – was the announcement of a 32-player multiplayer mode for a Wii version of Medal of Honor.



Wait a minute: did they say 32-player? Yes they did, and that’s more than what the average Xbox 360 shooter offers over Live. This is exactly what the core gaming market wants from the Wii. And if the Wii is capable of handling a 32-player multiplayer match online, what else could it possibly do?



The prospect of the Wii competing more directly with the online gaming experiences offered on Xbox 360, PC, and PlayStation 3 is tantalising to say the least. If Nintendo doesn’t do anything to plug this gap in its software portfolio, you can bet third party game developers will be more than happy to do it anyway: the Wii will have the user-base to justify it. These are a few of the ideas we’ve bounced around:



Nintendo First-Person Shooter: Imagine a first-person shooter where you can play as Super Mario, Kirby, Link, Samus Aran, or Pikachu – it’d be the Smash Bros of first-person shooters! The game could incorporate action elements where you can use the unique abilities of each character. Pikachu, for instance, could electrocute his enemies and frag multiple opponents in the water. The Wii Zapper would be perfect for a game like this. Nintendo has no shortage of stars, so it’d be easy to find enough characters to play in a 32-player deathmatch.
Animal Crossing MMORPG: Nintendo’s kooky world of interior decoration, fishing, flower-picking and treasure-hunting lends itself naturally to an MMO environment. Being able to visit friends in the local neighbourhood would raise the game’s addictiveness to a whole new level, even if it doesn’t involve a whole lot of killing.
Pokemon MMORPG: Okay, so fishing and picking flowers doesn’t interest you all that much. How about a Diablo-style pokemon-catching dungeon-romp with a group of friends, then? It could be played in first-person view like Oblivion or Hellgate: London, and you can call on your Pokemon buddies Pikachu and Charmander to perform lightning and fire attacks as though you’re casting magic!
Command & Conquer 3: It’s already been commented in the past that Command & Conquer 3 would be possible on the Wii. Now that we know the Wii can handle itself online, and that online matches would be possible, why not just go right ahead and make it?
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars: If 32-player multiplayer can be done with Medal of Honor, then it can be done with Quake Wars: Enemy Territory. If not with Quake, then any other team-based shooters where you can assume a role.
Starfox: Why not use the Wii Wheel as a de facto flight stick in a Starfox game? Players could then take part in co-operative missions through space in their Arwings or go dogfighting against each other in 32-player deathmatches.
Call of Duty 4: Call of Duty has been done on Wii before. Why not do it again with the latest Modern Warfare edition, but this time factor a decent online multiplayer mode into the equation?