It’s been a while, but we’re finally bringing you the fourth mailbag! This Sunday, we tackle questions concerning official Pokémon events, the origins of The Tanooki, Wii/DS connectivity, Beautiful Katamari, Mii customization, did way say Pokémon?, voice acting, and more!

Hopefully you find it informative. Check it all out after the break.

–Christian

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Here’s a good question for you:
The last three Pokemon in Diamond and Pearl are obtained via Nintendo Event only. What exactly is a Nintendo Event? Where do these usually take place? And, finally, are there any of these events scheduled in the U.S. in the near future?
–Tykin

Christian: Nintendo Events are exactly what they sound like. They are special events or ceremonies where Nintendo will set up stations allowing you to obtain some rare Pokémon. Those in the New York City area have it lucky, as it is my understanding that they constantly had these stations set up allowing visitors to the Nintendo World Store to download a random Pokémon, which included even the rarest of event Pokémon. These were not open most of the time, of course, but Nintendo simply had to allow access to them on certain days in order for trainers to nab some Pokémon.Other events in the U.S. have included the Journey Across America (Pokémon 10th Anniversary) event that toured the country and allowed trainers to gather and compete and the Toys ‘R’ Us-sponsored Mew giveaway, both which allowed players to download rare Pokémon such as Mew, Celebi, and Deoxys. In addition, the event Pokémon Jirachi was easily available to those who received the bonus disc for pre-ordering Pokémon Colosseum for the Nintendo GameCube.

There are no scheduled Nintendo Events in the United States at the moment, but once Nintendo announces something at Pokémon.com, you can bet you’ll read about it here. I’ll probably be making a mention of it in every other post at that point. These events could be at partnered retailers such as Toys ‘R’ Us or GameStop, special locations like Six Flags theme parks, or at huge Nintendo/Pokémon tours to the major U.S. cities.

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I was wondering how you guys thought up the tanooki, where your inspiration comes from, and how you all know each other. Also, i was wondering if you guys ever had plans to add members to your team. I know its a touchy subject, because you don’t want every kid asking to be able to post on your site. but still, its something to think about. :)
–Rocksteady

Matt: I love this question. I am fairly certain that the idea for the site came up during our wait in line during the Wii launch (Christian and myself). It was one of those, “it would be pretty cool if we started a Nintendo news site,” and the idea just went from there. We both loved scouring the web for Nintendo news, but we felt that there still wasn’t a site out there that perfectly fit our tastes, so why not start our own? Over the next month we shot around some ideas and tried to determine the best possible layout of the site, with varying degrees of success. We were considering starting a general video game news site, but felt that we should try to exploit our Nintendo love as best we could.With the site nearing completion, we had yet to decide upon a name for it. Choosing a name was definitely the hardest part of the entire creation process, as we had a list of about 20 names to choose from, but looking back on it, The Tanooki just works. So on January 12, 2007 at noon, the site finally launched!

As for our personal stories, Christian and myself have known each other for about 7 years now (wow!) and he is one of the few people that I still keep in contact with from high school (feel special). Becky was our first addition to the staff after we agreed that she would add a breath of fresh air to the site with her wacky posts, so she practically breathes awesomeness. As for everybody else, we are seriously looking to add a few staff members in the near future, so keep on the look out for details!

Christian: Matt pretty much summed everything up about how we came to be, so I’ll just provide some little-known trivia.

• While we didn’t come up with the idea to start building a site until November of last year, you could say we got start in promoting Nintendo-related content last summer. I had taken dozens, maybe hundreds of photos of two or more meticulously scaled Wii models next to everyday household items, and Matt and I had to spread the word through sites like GameFAQs, JoyStiq, GoNintendo, 4colorrebellion, and more. It would have been more practical if we could show off the models from a site of our own, so we started a WiiModels blog somewhere on the internet.
• After Christmas, it was pretty much full-steam ahead with building The Tanooki. Matt was testing out some layout designs, I was working on promotional Tanooki art, and we spent too much time coming up with the name. “The Tanooki” came up as early as December 31st, which I initially shot down. A few days later during the early morning hours of January 2nd, Matt and I decided “The Tanooki” was going to be our final name.
• My birthday was on Monday, January 8th. Leading up to that date, I was actually pushing for the site to launch that Monday and we were working as fast as we could. Unfortunately, we just were not ready, and the site launched on Friday the 12th.

As for adding members to our team, I highly suggest keeping an eye on our The Tanooki, Nintendo Wii, and Nintendo DS Facebook groups. If we’re looking for people in particular, I have a tendency to post there about it right away. Also, I suggest you become a member of our forums, so we can become familiar with you, our readers can become familiar with you, and you with us and them.

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Why isn’t my DS talking to my Wii yet? The only thing we’ve heard of is using it as a controller in a Pokémon game. Where’re the DS downloads? Where’s my Four Swords Adventures II?
–Russell

Christian: Both Pokémon Battle Revolution and Ubisoft’s upcoming My Word Coach are announced to support Wii/DS connectivity. I definitely feel your impatience, though, as I want to be able to use the two systems interactively as well. In fact, if they can get game downloads to the DS working, Nintendo’s only a firmware upgrade (and maybe a hard drive) away from making handheld GB/GBC games available on the Virtual Console, which you could then transfer to your DS and keep while it’s on. Not sure how that system would handle saves though…But I’m getting ahead of myself. The best thing I and Nintendo’s PR can tell you right now is to be patient. Keep in mind that we have E3 in July, PAX in August, TGS in September, and E for All in October.

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Hey -
“Attached is a pic I took at walmart a week or two ago. It’s in downtown Atlanta (one of the only wal-marts inside the circle) and shows what seems to be an ad-hoc display by their electronic department for the wii and the ds. Since this picture was taken, they did actually get a Wii in and place it next to the DS lite, and put a nunchuck and a classic controller on those two empty pedestals. There is still a large wii game and ds game/system section back with the other video games, but they put this on the main aisle, much like the ipod display case a lane over. Anyways, I thought it was neat, them putting the wii and the ds out like this, and was curious if other walmarts had done the same.-nk

Christian: Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Nick! I posted about it this past Friday, and our friend Rob was able to send us a response:

Hey, the local super walmart in Huber Heights Ohio has a display stand like the one pictured too!

I went to wal mart last night to see if i could snag a picture of the ds/wii display case I wrote about earlier in Hubert Heights Ohio. However, it was late and they were restocking the store and had placed a cardboard stand for some movie in front of it. I can tell you that the layout of the case is EXACTLY the same as the one you have a photo of, right down to the placement of the games underneath!

This is also the case at my local Wal-Mart, and it does seem to be widespread around the country in many Wal-Mart locations. I’m not sure about stores in Canada or anywhere across those shining seas, but with Wal-Mart being arguably the largest retailer for Nintendo products, I’m sure Nintendo’s working with them to try and effectively market the dynamic duo of the Wii and DS.

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I wondered what you would like to see implemented in an online pokemon game. Also, what, if anything, would you do to make the main series better. And finally, comment on whether either of these things will ever happen. Thanks!
–Rocksteady

Christian: I generally dislike MMOs, but if a properly made Pokémon MMO came directly from Nintendo, I’d be all over it. Some members of our forums have pointed out that the leveling system would need to be completely reworked, so unfortunately you probably couldn’t transfer your current Pokémon even if Nintendo did make such a game.I’d want it to be on a handheld, though, and not a home console. Imagine if based on your internet connection point, you were restrained to your continent like actual Pokémon trainers are in the game’s and anime’s story. If you were to take a trip to Japan, you could catch Pokémon exclusive to that region, or have to trade with someone online from that region. If you were in a different metropolitan area from the one you normally live in, you could fight the gym leader of Chicago, IL. Then these touring Pokémon events? Actual Pokémon League tournaments. It’s about as real life as Pokémon could get until we get to the point where we start genetically “invent” Pokémon and Pokéballs.

But enough nonsense. Unfortunately, a real Pokémon MMO for the time being seems unlikely. I think Nintendo’s gradual evolution of the series is the way to go, in order to please those wanting change and to not alienate those not wanting change too fast. Eventually, I expect the handheld series to go into a full 3D RPG whenever Nintendo’s pacing gets them there, and possibly incorporate voice commands into actual battle strategies – calling out commands, and even encouraging your Pokémon if you’ve developed a bond with it. I do expect these things to happen, it’s just a matter of how soon Nintendo wants to get there.

Allow me to dream a little more before I close out this question. I’m not a huge fan of Yu-Gi-Oh, but imagine if you could plug your handheld with all of your collected Pokémon on it into a dueling platform in 2021. Your team of six would then show up in front of you via 3D projection and the life-sized Pokémon battle would take place in front of you. You’d see Moltres fly up 50 feet above you, you’d see Kyogre’s waves splash all around you… it’d be amazing.

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I have a few questions. 1.) Will Pokemon have any voice acting in it at all? 2.) Why is the Wii still not on store shelves or sold online? 3.) Is the Wii still going to remain dry in terms of RPGs? 4.) Although the DS is selling well, the same two or three games continue to be the only ones on the charts, why is this?
–Starry

Christian: Hey Starry, I have a few answers.1.) Voice acting will probably happen eventually, but your character won’t ever have voice acting. Why? Because it’s supposed to be you. If anything, once voice recognition and AI technology advances enough, maybe you’ll eventually control all aspects of your game through voice commands. As for the other characters, Nintendo hasn’t traditionally sprung for full fledged voice acting in their games. Intelligent Systems seems to like it (Fire Emblem), but Nintendo seems content with sighs, shouts, and the occasional catch phrase from Mario and Co. As for Pokémon, I think the RPGs have several areas where they can improve the immersive aspects before implementing voice acting to really draw you in. Sometime, though.

2.) Nintendo is reportedly starting to be able to help retailers like GameStop and EB Games stock up every few days now, if even only a few units a day. The supply flow is becoming much more constant, but at this point they’re still being snatched up within a few hours. This is why your bigger retailers keep holding them for Sundays.

They’re doing a better job of getting the system out there, but the demand is just too high. If you’re still looking for a system, keep checking our news blog for any reports of stores stocking up for another launch. I don’t think you’ll consistently see Wii units on store shelves until after Christmas, unfortunately.

3.) Absolutely not. While the DS still reigns in Japan where RPGs control the industry, the Wii is quickly making a name for itself. In fact, the system is selling at a faster rate right now than the DS did this far into its life. As long as the Wii continues this success, especially in Japan, Nintendo should be able to keep the RPG developers on their systems or flocking to their systems if they haven’t already. Square Enix may be putting FFXIII on the PS3, as that deal was set in stone long before the launch of the PS3 and Wii. However, I’m sure they’re starting to notice that the PlayStation 3 isn’t selling well in North America and that the Xbox alternative isn’t selling well in Japan. With the Wii selling well everywhere, I’m sure whoever suggested putting DQIX on the DS is keeping watch on the Wii right now.

Of course, SE is just the biggest example. Other RPG developers will be evaluating the market the same way, and you’ll start to see the RPGs appear on the system with the largest userbase.

4.) Nintendo’s had the platform longer than third parties. You’ll notice it took even Nintendo about a year to “figure out” the DS and release a true killer app and shot the platform through the roof. They know the best ways to make use of the DS’s abilities in their games. Third parties are starting to figure it out, and you’re starting to see some of their titles make the charts for their initial weeks following release (e.g., Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings). Until the rest of the developers and publishers start cranking out amazing titles on a regular basis, however, you’ll see mostly Nintendo titles on the charts. Nintendo as company, however, only releases one huge DS title every month or two. That’s why you’re only seeing a handful atop the charts at the moment.

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I remember a while back hearing that a wii version of Beautiful Katamari was announced, but lately I have been reading that it’s a no go. any light on that subject?
–Rob

Matt: This is one of those mailbag responses that I actually hate writing. I absolutely love the Katamari series (hell, my AIM screen name is “i eat katamari”), but the past week has been pretty dreadful for those hoping to roll up some junk on the Wii. According the Gamespot, Beautiful Katamari is now heading to the Xbox Live Arcade in October. Combine this with the rumor of the game being exclusive to the 360, and you have yourself quite the disappointed Wii owner. Oh well, at least it is becoming slightly easier to determine if I should get a 360 or PS3 to compliment my Wii. Until we get some Katamari love on the Wii, enjoy these two garbage cans that resemble the Prince that I found at my local Dollar Tree.

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We got a submission this week in response to the ideas I posted back in the day for a Nintendo theme park, and Steven gave his opinions on the matter. Some good ideas here, so give it a read and see if you agree!

I agree with the mario flying hat coaster idea, the diddy kong coaster should be DK instead, there should be a diddy and trixy kids coaster similar to woody wood pecker coaster in universal, the star fox ride should be a 3D simulator (not like spiderman though, like a normal simulator but add 3D glasses, luigie’s mansion for a haunted mansion, F-zero should be a highspeed INDOORS coaster similar to space mountain but with light so you can see, your right with metroid idea and it being like men in black, a bowser ride like the tea pots in disney, a zelda water ride like journey to atlantis in seaworld with robots dressed as link, ganon, and zelda, Hyrule Castle, and kirby where it would be like cat in the hat at islands of adventure, that would be the best theme park known to man.
–Steven

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I think that Nintendo Wii should come out with more stuff for customizing your Mii’s. Additional hair and facial features, as well as different clothes, colours and such would make for a cool download. Nothing too extensive, just a little more. I know for a fact that I’m not alone in my struggle to make a Mii of one of my friends and just not being able to do so with what’s available in the Mii channel. Anyone agree?
–Tyler

Matt: Why wouldn’t I agree?! This idea has been hanging over my head ever since my Al Gore Mii never seemed to feel just right. I, for one, would love to see more facial hair and hats. In fact, I insist that we see an update dedicated entirely to hats. Otherwise, the world might never know the awesomeness of owning your very own Abraham Lincoln Mii, complete with stove pipe top hat. On a completely unrelated note, I appreciate receiving questions from people outside of the United States. Seeing the word “colour” will never, ever get old. Ever.

Abe Lincoln credit: MiiPlaza.net

Christian: I keep saying, the more Nintendo can make the Mii system addictive, the better. It’s the whole reason The Sims sold so well. I’m sure further character customization would be great for the Miis, and maybe even forcing you to play Wii Sports enough to earn a paycheck to buy those clothes or other possessions. Nintendo would have everyone playing their Wii games every single day.

 

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Phew! That was quite a mailbag! Keep submitting your questions to us for future editions, though we at The Tanooki are throwing around ideas to make the mailbag a little more exciting. Check back soon for more on that. Otherwise, see you around!

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