'Wiimakes' Planned For Nintendo's Upcoming System

In the most recent issue of Nintendo Dream Magazine, Nintendo designer Shigeru Miyamoto discussed his idea to remake recent GameCube (GC) releases for the upcoming Nintendo Wii system.

Yes, GameCube games.

If anyone else announced plans to wiimake (remake) titles that haven't been around long enough to collect even a drop of dust, people would laugh and scoff. But Miyamoto isn't just "anyone." In the video game world, he's considered the Steven Spielberg or Orson Welles of his industry. Simply put: when he talks, people listen.

"The machine [Wii] is based on [the previous-generation console] GameCube," Miyamoto explained to the magazine. "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."

However, with GameCube units still being sold and its games sure to be available (at least used) for many more years to come, Miyamoto realizes that he can't get away with charging full price for the Wii versions.

"Even now, [GameCube titles] are sold at used shops, so we don't feel we could sell them for full price," Miyamoto stated. "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 upcoming Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess will be the first GC game to get a Wii release. It appears that the team in charge of the Wii version has placed gameplay ahead of graphics. According to Miyamoto, "Zelda players don't look forward to this [graphical] polish, they look forward to an enjoyable game."

Therefore, the Wii incarnation of Twilight Princess is expected to include exclusive additional content, but the visual quality might not be much improved (if at all) from the Cube version. Of course, the legendary Nintendo designer realizes that enhanced graphics will have to play an important role in future "wiimakes." (Source: thewire.com)

On Nintendo's official message board, gamers are already buzzing about the news and listing various games they'd like to see remade for the Wii. With the Big N's announcement, though, comes some criticism:

"What we need is fresh new content!!!" screams NORMCO, one of the users on Nintendo's forum.

"I hope for 0 remakes," .SHY, another poster, concurs. "The [Wii] is for remembering classic games and playing new ones, not rehashing games that just came out recently."

BELISARIUS agrees, adding, "Focus not on the past but on the future. Remakes are pointless nowadays, as people don't want to buy the same games over again." (Source: Nintendo.com)

Luckily for Nintendo, such objections are vastly outnumbered by a larger group of players clamoring for "wiimakes."