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Topic: One Year Later (x2): Pirates: Key of Dreams and Pong Toss! [Plus graph!]

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0-Watt

Late again, folks, but that's because I'm trying to get a video project set up. Anyone got any capture card recommendations? Software stuff? Games you want me to eventually record and show off? Anyways, here is the double feature, including analysis for the month of July 2008.


One Year Later 011: (7/21/08) Pirates: The Key of Dreams

20) Pirates: The Key of Dreams (Oxygen Games, 1000 pts)
Yar har fiddley-dee! You are a pirate! [ahem] When Nintendo Channel opened alongside WiiWare, players nationwide were able to download DS demos and proceed to get an understanding toward what titles to look out for (both in a good and bad way), but with WiiWare, a small group of developers have found it to be a good venue to cross-promote upcoming DS titles with a prequel of sorts on the WiiWare download service. Such was the case with Oxygen Games, a European-based developer. Supposed to be a European WiiWare launch title, Pirates: The Key of Dreams is a prequel to a DS title: Pirates: Duals on the High Seas. In it, players assume the role of an undercover navy captain pretending to use a Pirate vessel and obtain the Key of Dreams from Blackbeard and save the seas, or something like that. Players control the “pirate” ship and can fire cannonballs and whatnot from its hull to do damage and ultimately sink enemy ships over 10 levels. Note that these enemy ships also include clueless navy ships which didn’t get the memo. Over this time, players may occasionally obtain shipwrecked crew and upgrade the ship’s abilities. The game also has a large number of multiplayer maps, including very unorthodox places such as a volcano and the Arctic Ocean. On the surface, a very sound concept with an offline multiplayer mode to round it out.
Reception: The concept is good, yes, but the game was not. A number of reviewers cited the game’s extreme repetitiveness as a major flaw. NintendoLife in particular saw the game as terribly short and full of lackluster sound overall (providing it a 5, a “mixed bag”). IGN agreed with the noted flaws, further explaining that the multiplayer was worthless without all four players, giving a worse score of 4.7. In terms of software sales, the game was on the Top 20 much like the games before it, rising to a peak within a couple weeks short of all the bigger June and May releases before dwindling out of the listing.
Outlook: Oxygen Games as since gone back to retail releases, mostly of Darts titles and the supposedly poor Cid the Dummy. In terms of WiiWare, no game has been announced, and based on the lack of reception of Pirates: Duals on the High Seas I see that series dead in the water. But here’s an interesting note: Chronos Twin (developed by EnjoyUp) was published by Oxygen Games, but Chronos Twins DX will be a self-published affair from what I have read.
Interesting note: Just a week shy of the one year anniversary of this release, another game was released on WiiWare, seemingly promoting a DS retail release: Ant Nation.

Comparing to WiiWare Year 2: I think this is no contest. The releases for this week in WiiWare’s second year were FF:CC:MLaaDL from Square-Enix, Battle Poker from Left Field Productions, and 5 Spots Party from Cosmonaut Games. While the latter two are not that great (Battle Poker especially), there is no way one bad pirate game can outdo a new Final Fantasy strategy title. Thoughts to the contrary, agreement?


One Year Later 012: (07/28/08) Pong Toss: Frat Party Games

21) Pong Toss: Frat Party Games (JV Games, 800pts)
Shown off but a couple weeks following WiiWare’s US launch, this title has received a large amount of controversy from a variety of sources. Originally titled Beer Pong! Frat Party Games, the game is essentially a virtual game of Beer Pong. For the uninformed, Beer Pong has players throw ping pong balls across a table in hopes that it will land in one of an assortment of cups, usually containing beer which is then consumed by the loser. In this game, players use particular motions to send the ball in an arc, fast, or bounce throw, each leading to different proximities of cups. The one who gets all the opponent’s cups first, wins. The WiiWare title not only contains this normal Pong mode, but it also has a Speed Pong mode in which players use power ups and such to race getting all the ping pong balls in the cups first. The game was given a T for Teen rating, but the ESRB got hit with complaints that the game, which featured Beer, should not be sold to teenagers, as it is illegal for them to even drink liquor at that age. ESRB defended its rating, claiming that the game had no drinking in it and, thus, had no issues with it being sold to people in their teens. JV Games reacted by quickly removing all beer references, from the game title to some sound effects. The development team felt that the game was simply a way to experience Beer Pong without risk of spreading disease (imagine a ping pong ball rolling on the floor and then landing in a cup of beer you would be drinking, and you see their position) and without the heightened risk of spilling. Regardless, the game is still called Beer Pong in Europe, due to the much more lenient alcohol consumption laws (and less complaining parents, perhaps?).
Reception: Barring the aforementioned outcry, the game was negatively viewed by the vast majority of reviewers. IGN claimed that the game’s investment was best used to play the ACTUAL game of Beer Pong (2.0). NintendoLife’s review was no better, claiming that the game had little purpose to exist (a 2/10 as well). The game is essentially seen as a boring title, unless players have a friend and the bitter drink of inebriation to join the fun. Saleswise, being in America, the game was a very highly regarded title. If it were not for a game that arrived two weeks later, it would have gone to rank 1 on the Top 20. It stayed on the longest of all WiiWare titles released in July 2008, most likely thanks to the college demographic.
Outlook: JV Games has already just recently provided us with their second WiiWare release: Incoming! If you thought this title was the worst WiiWare concept, well, you probably have not been involved with WiiWare very long. No Beer-related games have arisen from this sales success, but it gives me some idea about who owns a Wii and buys WiiWare titles on occasion.

Comparing to WiiWare Year 2: Between Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 1 from TellTale Games and Legendo’s The Three Musketeers: One For All, there is no doubt that the second year prevails. As for HB Arcade Cards, well, we’ll get back to you on that.


WiiWare One Year Later Chart: July 2008:
July 2008’s releases have been established. Magnetica Twist was seen as pretty good, but then the onslaught hit: SPOGS Racing, Major League Eating, Pirates: Key of Dreams, and Pong Toss: Frat Party Games. Here is the listing of how the rankings did for these titles over the course of the year. Actually, this is the first month in which all titles have vacated from the Top 20. Pong Toss lasted until mid-FEBRUARY! Not only that, but Magnetica Twist demonstrated the first time in which a title disappeared from the Top 20 and came back, if just for a week. Anyway, here it is:
http://i28.tinypic.com/2v15kpk.jpg

Two and a half months down, and I have to say, this year is looking better than last. Not to say last year didn’t have great titles, but there are a little less BAD games and a lot more games in general (21 last year, 30 this year by now and still growing 3 at a time!). I think the output of WiiWare is a telltale sign that developers of the smaller variety are jumping in as quickly as they can, and good for them, I say. Just make sure the games don’t suck, hehe.

That’s me for the evening, folks!

KnucklesSonic8

Wow! How interesting that Pirates came out last year to promote an upcoming DS game and the case is somewhat similar for Ant Nation (except of course, Ant Nation is a multi-platform release and the WiiWare/DS versions are different).

And yes, there are a lot less "bad games". Just seeing your summary reminded me of some of the titles that came out during the month of July and how things really were.

Nice look at the chart. I love how SPOGS Racing lasted longer on the charts than say MLE and Pirates. It's very interesting to see how much of a long life Pong Toss had on the charts and JV Games has acknowledged this and they view the sales as a success, overall despite the fact that they were on a tight budget with the game.

So on the note of capture card recording, are you recording gameplay videos of WiiWare games or did you mean for something else? If the former is a yes, mind posting your YouTube account and I can give you some requests or something?

I appreciate that you continue doing this. Don't think people don't appreciate your work cause I certainly do!

KnucklesSonic8

Objection

I think its very interesting to go back and look at last year. Thanks for doing this.

[21:14] pixelman: I blame fheblackdragon
[21:15] pixelman: That's not an f by the way, it's a fancy t.
[21:15] Objection: Tales of Graces "fancy t"
[21:15] Objection: Tinal Tantasy
[21:15] theblackdragon: lol OB
[21:15] pixelman: OB knows what he's asking about.

0-Watt

@KnucklesSonic8 I currently examining my options of where I'd post my videos (mainly due to "is it yours" issues...and length. some of my completed videos can be 30min-1hr in length!). I currently have an account as rtn5gameon at the usual gmail location. I am currently planning on recording a lot of my games (Super Mario 64 is first; doing a complete 120 star run-through), but WiiWare will be focused on as well. I wish I had money or some other way to get all the WiiWare titles I can record... [lament].

But anyways, thanks for the comments!

KnucklesSonic8

Well keep me posted. I'd love to see some gameplay footage.

KnucklesSonic8

KDR_11k

Beer Pong was a total flop here in Europe...

Raincoat whore!

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