Forum > Gaming Discussion > Wuhu Island: The Island Concept: Nintendo wants to make an island a character
Wuhu Island: The Island Concept: Nintendo wants to make an island a character
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Tue, 07 Jul 2009 19:36:03
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Thoughts?
Shimamura:
Um, no… Well, he actually spoke about an island. It was known as the “Island Concept”.
Iwata:
The “Island Concept”? What does that mean exactly?
Shimamura:
I think that Miyamoto-san might be the best person to ask about that one...
Iwata:
Miyamoto-san, could you explain the “Island Concept"?
Miyamoto:
Certainly. I had been thinking about the “Island Concept” in one form or another for more than ten years.
Iwata:
You’d been thinking about it for that long?
Miyamoto:
Well, one part of Nintendo’s business has been creating a whole host of characters which we have then licensed out.
Iwata:
Characters like Mario and Donkey Kong.
Miyamoto:
That’s right. But I’ve always thought, seeing as we are a games company, that in addition to characters resembling people, why couldn’t we also turn the actual stages of games into characters?
Iwata:
So now that we’ve turned people’s caricatures into characters by way of the Mii, you thought about actually turning the island that forms the setting for the game into a character?
Miyamoto:
And also licensing it out as a franchise.
Iwata:
Licensing an island! (laughs)
Miyamoto:
We’ve discussed ideas like this for a long time, with suggestions such as: “Let’s create Dream Island!” We also experimented on Wii Fit by making a large island.
Iwata:
Ah, yes: “Wii Fit Island”. Is the island in Wii Sports Resort the same island as Wii Fit?
Miyamoto:
It’s called movie_link.gifWuhu Island, but the concept is more or less the same. We really polished up the island, turned it into a resort and actually made the location into a kind of character. This will then lead to a range of island series…
Iwata:
So you’ll be releasing a range of series?
Miyamoto:
You could have adventure games, role-playing games, city-building simulation games... It will be fun to see all the ideas that we can come up with, won’t it?
Miyamoto:
You could have adventure games, role-playing games, city-building simulation games... It will be fun to see all the ideas that we can come up with, won’t it?
Iwata:
So the idea is basically to use the same island as the location and then afterwards develop games covering all sorts of genres. Shimamura-san, how did you react when you first heard about the “Island Concept"? Did you have any reservations about it?
Shimamura:
Well, I was really taken aback. In fact, I was at a loss for words! (laughs)
Edited: Tue, 07 Jul 2009 19:37:44

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Tue, 07 Jul 2009 19:40:55
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Miyamoto:
We thought it would be a fun idea to have a location that everyone knows and then have all sorts of stuff going on there. It would mean that players would already know the town like the back of their hands by the time they came to buy the next adventure game. Everyone could play in a location they were familiar with which would truly turn it into a miniature garden.
An adventure game where you already knew the landscape like the back of your hand? Baaaaaaad idea surely? So now there are going to be more Wuhu island games?
They want to licence it out? To 3rd parties? What?

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Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:08:12
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Kind of reminds me of Peach castle. Always the same. Or like in movies when a certain street is used in different movies! Could work if they do not overdo it!

I am calling it right now, Wuhu Island will be used in Pilotwings and new Waverace!

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Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:11:24
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Iga_Bobovic said:

I am calling it right now, Wuhu Island will be used in Pilotwings and new Waverace!

Word! Grinning

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Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:14:42
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Wont it become boring?

The rest of the interview gives more insight, they built the island with greenspace and the engine so it could be rejigged and expanded.

It sounds awfully like the hub world in Mario Sunshine. I'm thinking it will only be used in casual titles though. Is it a cheap way to re-use assets?

The licencing is the most intriguing (and worrying part)

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Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:18:25
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gamingeek said:

Wont it become boring?

The rest of the interview gives more insight, they built the island with greenspace and the engine so it could be rejigged and expanded.

It sounds awfully like the hub world in Mario Sunshine. I'm thinking it will only be used in casual titles though. Is it a cheap way to re-use assets?

The licencing is the most intriguing (and worrying part)

 Nintendo won't license it to just anybody. Very few third parties are allowed to use Mii's in their games, so I figure the same will happen with this island concept. 

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Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:26:07
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So what? Rabbids Resort?

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Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:29:12
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gamingeek said:

So what? Rabbids Resort?

 Come on! Ya know you'd buy it! Grinning

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Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:50:47
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I feel like this is one of Miyamoto's worst ideas but the man is almost never wrong, watch Wuhu Island become the next Pokemon or something. I can't wait to fight as an island in the next Smash Bros game.
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Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:06:37
Zack's Island from DOA wins.

This doesn't surprise me at all. I mean we've had talking trees forever (LOZ).

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Wed, 08 Jul 2009 02:54:49
This is an incredibly creative way to reuse assets LOL

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Wed, 08 Jul 2009 05:10:24

Ya, bro, what sort of islander?

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Wed, 08 Jul 2009 10:26:39
The only people I can see buying into this Island licencing are Hudson and Majesco.

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Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:02:40

Ravenprose said:

Iga_Bobovic said:

I am calling it right now, Wuhu Island will be used in Pilotwings and new Waverace!

Word! Grinning

i'd buy both of those!  maybe the skydiving and the jetski minigames in resort are a test for those games respectively

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Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:55:00

It's an interesting idea. Having a recognizeable setting that gamers can return to time after time.  If you're at all familiar with Wii Fit then you've probably jogged around the island a few times.  They've got a cool setting, and it could easily be expanded.  And personally I could see some cool potential in it.  

What if the next Endless Ocean used Wuhu Island as the base and you take off from there?  Maybe a Pokemon Snap kind of game where you explore the island looking for Pokemon.  Hell, just the idea of seeing how different developers add to it.  It'd be like being familiar with an area of town, leaving and then seeing the changes that took place while you were gone.  I'd back this idea.

If it does take off I'll make a prediction now.  Wuhu Island will be Nintendo's setting for something like PSN's Home for their next console.  

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Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:12:08

robio said:

It's an interesting idea. Having a recognizeable setting that gamers can return to time after time.  If you're at all familiar with Wii Fit then you've probably jogged around the island a few times.  They've got a cool setting, and it could easily be expanded.  And personally I could see some cool potential in it.  

What if the next Endless Ocean used Wuhu Island as the base and you take off from there?  Maybe a Pokemon Snap kind of game where you explore the island looking for Pokemon.  Hell, just the idea of seeing how different developers add to it.  It'd be like being familiar with an area of town, leaving and then seeing the changes that took place while you were gone.  I'd back this idea.

If it does take off I'll make a prediction now.  Wuhu Island will be Nintendo's setting for something like PSN's Home for their next console.  

 That would be cool for Endless Ocean and Arika would have no problems getting the licence from Nintendo. 

I think I wouldn't mind it in some cases. But if they are re-using assets I want it to financially make sense. If they can re-use the island and put out a budget priced Pilotwings where all they've had to do is make the vehicle assets and mechanics then so be it. 

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Thu, 09 Jul 2009 21:33:47

gamingeek said:

 That would be cool for Endless Ocean and Arika would have no problems getting the licence from Nintendo. 

I think I wouldn't mind it in some cases. But if they are re-using assets I want it to financially make sense. If they can re-use the island and put out a budget priced Pilotwings where all they've had to do is make the vehicle assets and mechanics then so be it. 

 That sounds good in theory, but we all know Nintendo won't sell it at a budget price; they'll charge full price even if 95% of the game is just reused assets. And most Nintendo fans will pay it too.

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Fri, 10 Jul 2009 04:53:36

Ravenprose said:

gamingeek said:

 That would be cool for Endless Ocean and Arika would have no problems getting the licence from Nintendo. 

I think I wouldn't mind it in some cases. But if they are re-using assets I want it to financially make sense. If they can re-use the island and put out a budget priced Pilotwings where all they've had to do is make the vehicle assets and mechanics then so be it. 

 That sounds good in theory, but we all know Nintendo won't sell it at a budget price; they'll charge full price even if 95% of the game is just reused assets. And most Nintendo fans will pay it too.

 I will if it's pilot wings.

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Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:12:16
This is actually a little interesting, since I thought of using the island as the setting of a very basic adventure game when I played Wii Fit. Looking at it now, I can see it working as a god-sim game as well. You could have all of your Miis live their lives on the island, and tend to their needs and such.

Maybe the next Animal Crossing could use it too.
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Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:27:05

Dr_Spaceman said:
This is actually a little interesting, since I thought of using the island as the setting of a very basic adventure game when I played Wii Fit. Looking at it now, I can see it working as a god-sim game as well. You could have all of your Miis live their lives on the island, and tend to their needs and such.

Maybe the next Animal Crossing could use it too.

 Assman it's you!

Heya. 

Someone suggested that the island could be used if Nintendo ever decided to do a HOME style feature for Wii too. It's plausible. A god sim, hmmmmmm, maybe the makers of Dawn of Discovery could licence it? Suddenly I'm starting to see more potential in this island concept. 

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