Nintendo rep comments on Zapper situation
by David Hinkle 
{ May 3rd 2007 at 1:55PM }
We've been following the saga of the third party Nintendo Zappers for quite some time now, without so much as a peep coming from Nintendo HQ on the whole matter. Why, ever since teasing us at E3, there hasn't been a single word on Nintendo's own Zapper, leaving us to speculate on when it would release and what game(s) could take advantage of it. Sadly, Nintendo has finally said something on the matter, but it still doesn't help us in knowing when it will release and what game(s) will take advantage of it. In commenting to CVG, a Nintendo rep stated that "A peripheral is only as useful as the software it's supporting," leading us to believe that Nintendo hasn't said anything about their own Zapper because they haven't completed any games that will take advantage of it. This, of course, implies that they are working on something specifically for the Zapper. As for when we could see the gun from E3 on store shelves, Nintendo isn't giving up that information, stating "What was showed was a prototype, we're not announcing any further details at this time."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
hvnlysoldr @ May 3rd 2007 2:01PM
Perhaps for Xenosagas?
Liqwid @ May 3rd 2007 2:24PM
Nintendo does this a lot. They did it for the Rumble Pak for the N64, Star Fox being the feature game. I would think that Metroid Prime 3 or something around that would be a prime example of a use for this.
Jonathan Tran @ May 3rd 2007 2:24PM
This reminds me of the amazing disappearing Dreamcast gun, which Sega cut off to the US due to issues with Columbine or something. Too bad, since that basically killed all gun games for the US market, and that gun was awesome (with an analog stick and VMU ammo counter!).
Ethan Duffy @ May 3rd 2007 3:08PM
They can't support anything else, just like they're holding back online play until Strikers and not getting Mii support to developers? Sounds like somebody is scared of losing their software revenue.
Mark D @ May 3rd 2007 3:39PM
If it doesn't come packed in with Metroid I'll eat a hat.
c @ May 3rd 2007 4:03PM
LOL there will never be a gun peripheral released by the big N. Especially after VT.
James @ May 3rd 2007 4:18PM
Metroid isn't a shooter game, it's an FPS (now). This would already be useful for Wii Play, Rayman, and Super Paper Mario (in the Arcade), and will definitely be a winner with Umbrella Chronicles ^H^H^H^H^H House of the Mansion.
I really hope people don't get all titchy about gun violence (again!) and try to shitcan good games because they think there's a connection where there is absolutely not. Especially with the VT thing -- dude played a little CS in high school, then didn't touch *any* games for YEARS. I went to VT, and let me tell you -- if he didn't play any games, that in and of itself was remarkable, and it would make much more sense to say that NOT playing violent games leads to murder sprees.
hvnlysoldr @ May 3rd 2007 4:38PM
Nintendo branded Metroid Prime as a First Person Adventure. Where did you hear about House of the Mansion? I had accidentally used that when RE:UC on-rails details started.
Doitordont911 @ May 3rd 2007 7:08PM
well, no one probably cares about this, but I might as well say it. Maybe they have not planned a date for their zapper to come out yet because they it looks like they need a wireless nunchuck... maybe it is just me, but I don't see any cord going from the nunchuck to the wii remote.
Jackson Pritt @ May 3rd 2007 7:43PM
"Maybe they have not planned a date for their zapper to come out yet because they it looks like they need a wireless nunchuck... maybe it is just me, but I don't see any cord going from the nunchuck to the wii remote."
Not neccessarily.
If you look at the Zapper shell it has the Nunchuck's joystick on it, and I'm guessing that the trigger is mapped to the Nunchuck's buttons.
That might actually make this a two-handed setup, with one hand on the front of the "gun" shape controlling the Wiimote trigger and buttons, and the other hand on the back trigger and joystick. I suppose it could still be one-handed, but you'd want to use your other hand to steady it anyway, so it would be possible to still use the normal remote buttons while using the shell.
I'm guessing that the REAL reason Nintendo is delaying this is that it's going to cost at least $20 like the Nunchuck, and possibly even more. They're probably also experimenting with different button layouts on it to see what setup works best. But no matter what the delay is for it's just as moronic as the delay in their online gaming and the removal of online multiplayer in MP3.
Dannyboy @ May 4th 2007 4:55AM
How will the thing work??????????????? Will it be like the original zapper that directly relates to where you point the gun sights on screen, or will it just be like regular wii games where the pointer doesnt exactly relate to where it's pointing... whats the point of having a gun if the sights dont actually line up with the on screen reticule.
Will they even bring out a gun?? It's not exactly the family image that I think they want to portray... I think they might just let 3rd parties do their thing and Nintendo don't get bad press for releasing a gun!