There are a lot of games put out every year, but there could be more. What games would you like to see made? What niche needs to be filled? Over the next few weeks I'll put up posts about what games I’d like to see on the current platforms. Today, we'll begin with two games I'd like to see on the Wii... and what I think the odds are that they would actually ever be made

First off, I’d like to see Wii Horseshoes.

I repeat: Wii Horseshoes. With motion controls, and all the mini games in regular titles and party game compilations, how has this not come out yet? It’s a perfect title to take advantage of the Wii’s controller, and you could easily include variations like washers. Let me match up with random people around the world and play horseshoes online (no friend codes please), or with 4 people in my living room.

It's a simple, classic, game and now that WiiWare is an option for publishers, it doesn't have to be packed in with 6, 8 or 15 other events. Focus on good controls, add a few backgrounds (grass, sand, etc.), and maybe one crazy variation (Horseshoe Golf instead of Frisbee Golf anyone?). Put it out for 1000 points and I would download it right now.

Probability that it will get made: High (I'm optimistic)... will it help if I say please?

Next up, Wii Drink (or Wii Sobriety)

Look, all these collections of Wii games are referred to as "party" games. And what do most adults 21 and older do when at a party? They drink.

If someone put out a game, maybe a board game, where people played various party games (such as Wii Horseshoes), and it occasionally made them take Field Sobriety Tests, it would be pretty entertaining. Think of it as an adult version of Mario Party.

Make your Mii touch his nose, walk a straight line, that kind of stuff. Tie it in with the Balance Board and make people balance on one leg, see how much their center of balance shifts as they sway trying to stand still. This would sell. It would be a hit. I'm convinced of it. My friends would camp out in my living room just to play it.

Probability that it will get made: Zero. There's no way Nintendo would release, or license a game that can be viewed as promoting drinking, no matter how great it would be. Now let's have a moment of silence for the game that will never be... thank you.

Well, those are my two fantasy games. I used to want Skee-ball, but Carnival Games and Game Party solved that. What games do you wish would come out for the Wii?

--Osver

Read reviews and shop for great bargains at the Gaming Corner. >>>

Are your game room’s walls plain and boring?  Do you
have dreams of starring in the next King of Kong and dethroning Billy Mitchell,
who has not only recaptured the Twin Galaxies World Record on Donkey Kong since
the film was released, but will also be the first Video Game player on a TOPPS
card (via Retroblast)?  Why not keep yourself inspired with some Donkey
Kong girders and barrels as wall art? 

 

What’s that you say?  You hate giant women-stealing monkeys,
and only long for world-saving plumbers on your walls?  Well, lucky for
you, Bilk also offers Super Mario Bros. wall art (in both original and new
styles, depending on if you’re part of the NES or DS generation).  Did I
mention both sets include Goombas?  Who doesn’t love Goombas?

 

--Osver

Read reviews and shop for great bargains at the Gaming Corner. >>>

Are your game room’s walls plain and boring?  Do you
have dreams of starring in the next King of Kong and dethroning Billy Mitchell,
who has not only recaptured the Twin Galaxies World Record on Donkey Kong since
the film was released, but will also be the first Video Game player on a TOPPS
card (via Retroblast)?  Why not keep yourself inspired with some Donkey
Kong girders and barrels as wall art? 

 

What’s that you say?  You hate giant women-stealing monkeys,
and only long for world-saving plumbers on your walls?  Well, lucky for
you, Bilk also offers Super Mario Bros. wall art (in both original and new
styles, depending on if you’re part of the NES or DS generation).  Did I
mention both sets include Goombas?  Who doesn’t love Goombas?

 

--Osver

Read reviews and shop for great bargains at the Gaming Corner. >>>

If playing games isn't enough for you, and you want to literally consume the characters, then this is the candy for you: Gummy Nintendo Characters.

There are four shapes available: Donkey Kong, Mario, Diddy Kong, and of course, as pictured, Yoshi.  Since they're individually wrapped, you can make a game out of getting to eat them, by loading them into your very own desktop crane machine. 

Lunch time game on!

--Osver

Read reviews and shop for great bargains at the Gaming Corner. >>>

As a big fan of classic arcade games, I always like to see how people are incorporating the old icons with new technology. The latest marriage (pointed out by Kotaku) is a Roomba, covered in LED Lights, to resemble Pac-Man. I love my Roomba, but from now on it's going to look plain and boring compared to this one. I officially have Roomba envy.

--Osver

Read reviews and shop for great bargains at the Gaming Corner. >>>

If playing games isn't enough for you, and you want to literally consume the characters, then this is the candy for you: Gummy Nintendo Characters.

There are four shapes available: Donkey Kong, Mario, Diddy Kong, and of course, as pictured, Yoshi.  Since they're individually wrapped, you can make a game out of getting to eat them, by loading them into your very own desktop crane machine. 

Lunch time game on!

--Osver

Read reviews and shop for great bargains at the Gaming Corner. >>>

As a big fan of classic arcade games, I always like to see how people are incorporating the old icons with new technology. The latest marriage (pointed out by Kotaku) is a Roomba, covered in LED Lights, to resemble Pac-Man. I love my Roomba, but from now on it's going to look plain and boring compared to this one. I officially have Roomba envy.

--Osver

Read reviews and shop for great bargains at the Gaming Corner. >>>

Do you import games? In the past I never had for a few reason:

• I can't read Japanese
• There weren't any games I was really itching to play that weren't available or planned for the US
• I didn't want to modify my consoles to accept import games

However, in the past year I've gotten around those issues and begun, selectively, to get a few games from Japan.

So what finally broke down my resistance to importing games? The first step was knowing that the PSP and DS are region free, and will play games from Asia without needing to modify the system (and void the warranty). Next I realized that games without much text, so you don't need to be able to read Japanese to play them (puzzle games and fighting games for example), are good import choices. Finally, I found games that I really wanted to play that I can't get in the US.

On the PS2, I was a big fan of Taiko Drum Master. Namco released one version in the US and that was it. In Japan though, it's a huge hit, in the arcade (see the image to the right), and on many platforms. When I saw there was a DS version, I knew I had to have it and Taiko No Tatsujin became my first import title. Recently, I was in Japan and picked up the second Taiko DS title. I know neither of those will ever be released in the US, so importing is my only way to get them.

While in Japan, I also picked up Arkanoid DS, which is going to be released in the US, but I still bought the Japanese version. Why? The Japanese version has a spinner controller (available separately, or in a bundle with the game), but in the US they won't be releasing the special controller.

As a classic gaming fan, and someone who's put a lot of quarters in the arcade versions of Arkanoid, I stubbornly believe that any paddle and ball game which doesn't use a spinner is flawed. It just doesn't have the same precise controls if you're trying to play with a joystick, stylus, or buttons for the left and right movement of the Vaus.  That controller made the Japanese version worth getting.

I really wanted to buy the Professor Layton sequel as well, but that has too much text, so I had to pass it up. I didn't get any PSP games either, as the games that looked interesting were RPGs, which I can't play without being able to read the conversations and inventory screens.

If you are importing games, which ones are you getting, or looking forward to? If you're not importing games, is there any one particular barrier that's stopping you?

-Osver

Read reviews and shop for great bargains at the Gaming Corner. >>>

Do you import games? In the past I never had for a few reason:

• I can't read Japanese
• There weren't any games I was really itching to play that weren't available or planned for the US
• I didn't want to modify my consoles to accept import games

However, in the past year I've gotten around those issues and begun, selectively, to get a few games from Japan.

So what finally broke down my resistance to importing games? The first step was knowing that the PSP and DS are region free, and will play games from Asia without needing to modify the system (and void the warranty). Next I realized that games without much text, so you don't need to be able to read Japanese to play them (puzzle games and fighting games for example), are good import choices. Finally, I found games that I really wanted to play that I can't get in the US.

On the PS2, I was a big fan of Taiko Drum Master. Namco released one version in the US and that was it. In Japan though, it's a huge hit, in the arcade (see the image to the right), and on many platforms. When I saw there was a DS version, I knew I had to have it and Taiko No Tatsujin became my first import title. Recently, I was in Japan and picked up the second Taiko DS title. I know neither of those will ever be released in the US, so importing is my only way to get them.

While in Japan, I also picked up Arkanoid DS, which is going to be released in the US, but I still bought the Japanese version. Why? The Japanese version has a spinner controller (available separately, or in a bundle with the game), but in the US they won't be releasing the special controller.

As a classic gaming fan, and someone who's put a lot of quarters in the arcade versions of Arkanoid, I stubbornly believe that any paddle and ball game which doesn't use a spinner is flawed. It just doesn't have the same precise controls if you're trying to play with a joystick, stylus, or buttons for the left and right movement of the Vaus.  That controller made the Japanese version worth getting.

I really wanted to buy the Professor Layton sequel as well, but that has too much text, so I had to pass it up. I didn't get any PSP games either, as the games that looked interesting were RPGs, which I can't play without being able to read the conversations and inventory screens.

If you are importing games, which ones are you getting, or looking forward to? If you're not importing games, is there any one particular barrier that's stopping you?

-Osver

Read reviews and shop for great bargains at the Gaming Corner. >>>