Wii Version of Twilight Princess to Require Wiimote 134
1up is reporting that the Wii version of Nintendo's Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess will require the use of the Wiimote. The GameCube controller for the Wii will not be usable for the Wii version of the game, despite the fact that the game will also be coming out on the Cube. This has provoked discussion that the Wii version of the game may include extra content or gameplay elements, which will make it unplayable with the GameCube controller. From the article: "Many had hoped Nintendo would allow for dual Wii and GameCube support ala a number of upcoming Wii releases, but Nintendo appears confident enough in its design that hardened fans will have to pick up the GameCube release if they're that hardcore. You still have time to decide which one sways you, as both versions will be launched simultaneously during Wii's launch date this fall."
Wii version bad for the game, bad for the wii (Score:4, Informative)
* Bad for the game: Twilight Princess is a GameCube game, plain and simple. It was developed around a solid traditional foundation, with traditional and cleanly defined control options. The Wii controller is simply unable to completely emulate the functionality that the game was designed around. Even if it could emulate all of the functionality, it's not really adding anything to the game. All it's doing is tacking on more convoluted ways of doing things you could already do with the GameCube controller.
* Bad for the Wii: Again, Twilight Princess is a GameCube game. Gamers might be more forgiving of the fact that the Wii version has GameCube graphics if not for the fact that it has GameCube gameplay as well. The Wii seems to be rife with these kinds of games at the moment -- games that only use the motion-sensing capability of the controller to emulate actions that you could do with a regular controller. When you change the controller without changing the game, you do a piss-poor job of proving the point of your hardware. The Wii is supposed to offer new possibilities, not repackage the past with a shiny new bow.
The same article also says the game plays rather poorly with the wiimote, and that the controls seem to be a bad imitation of fine gamecube controls. The worst part is the lack of camera control on the wii version. Looks like I'll be picking up the GameCube version for sure.
USB Human Interface Device (Score:4, Informative)
The original Xbox controller is a USB human interface device (HID). Widely available adapters (such as EMS USB2) make the PS2 Dual Shock controller appear as a USB HID. If a game doesn't support generic USB HIDs, then it's either the game developer's fault (for not checking for USB HIDs in the game's input code) or the console maker's fault (for not providing any driver for USB HIDs to developers, in an attempt to increase attach rate by promoting sales of new controllers).
Re:Wii version bad for the game, bad for the wii (Score:4, Informative)