wario ware smooth moves interview

Earlier this afternoon, Angela Proto and the rest of the Nintendo Now E3 Staff had the opportunity to speak with Goro Abe, the director of WarioWare games for the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and GameCube. As announced at Nintendo’s press event, WarioWare: Smooth Moves is currently in development for Wii -- also being headed up by Mr. Abe. A playable demo of this game was present at Nintendo’s booth and after the staff had some hands-on time with the game, various questions were begging for answers. The entire transcript of what was said can be found below:

Also note that full DVD quality video of this Interview should be ready for download soon and will be made partially available on our exclusive E3xperience DVD.

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Nintendo Now: Alright, I've played a brief demo of WarioWare: Smooth Moves on Wii and it was everything I expected from a WarioWare game. Each game in the series has added something new -- the touch screen, microphone and tilting. How has the Wii controller changed WarioWare this time around?

Mr. Abe: As you know, the controller is very unique in this game. In the previous series it was mostly on the handheld, so only one player could enjoy it by themselves. In this series WarioWare evolved into a very cool party game. Because we are asking the players to do very dynamic and funny movements -- and the people around them, looking at them, (and the player themselves) will be very entertained.

Nintendo Now: Does Smooth Moves rely entirely on the Wii's new abilities, or will there be more traditional button pressing games included like there were in Touched -- where there were just button pressing games for example?

Mr. Abe: We presently don't have any plans to include just one button operated game controls, but we do include a combination of games that use one button and the pointing controller together. We also have plans such as connecting the Wii remote with the nunchaku and operating the micro games.

Nintendo Now: What are some of the single player modes in Smooth Moves? I know that in Mega Party Games on GameCube there were more modes -- both single player and multiplayer. But in regards to single player, are there any crazy new modes?

Mr. Abe: We don't have any plans to have any multiplayer mode where multiple controllers are necessary. Our basic concept is to have only one player playing with one controller and to have others see the people playing… to have players show the onlookers their coolest move and to have all the people in the room be entertained.

Nintendo Now: Will there be any online functionality with multiplayer?

Mr. Abe: We’re not thinking of any modes for online play.

Nintendo Now: Will there be any Wi-Fi connectability with Connect 24 where you can download additional games or receive additional content?

Mr. Abe: We do not have any plans to have additional downloads, but our main focus for this game is to create something that is instantly enjoyable at that place, anytime for anybody. So we don’t have any kinds of those additional modes.

Nintendo Now: Each game starts in the demo with directions on how to hold the remote rather than directions for the specific games as in other versions. What caused this change?

Mr. Abe: Well, originally we were planning on having only one method of holding the Wii controller which was the pointing remote style, but with only one method, the variety of the movement would be very limited. So we thought with having many ways to hold the remote, we recognized the number of possibilities for the mini-games would expand. But if we don't show the users what they have to do, it would be very difficult to define that, so we decided to include a screen which shows how to hold the controller.

Nintendo Now: Both Touched and Twisted featured an assortment of collectables, especially in Twisted. Are you planning the same thing for Smooth Moves, and if so can you give us any information on them?

Mr. Abe: We will have those kinds of bonuses, but not as many as what we had in Twisted.

Nintendo Now: Nintendo, with the Wii, has made it known that it is trying to attract non-gamers, including adult non-gamers, and some of the zany cartoony looks and feels of the game might be seen as a barrier or a turn off to this audience. Do you think this is true or do you think that people will see it and not be embarrassed to try it?

Mr. Abe: Well, I think more than the actual graphics on screen, the movement of the player are more wacky and interesting. So I think if the kids in the family are playing the game and the parents are seeing them, I think they will be attracted and interested and may want to try,. So I think this game could convey to those adult demographics.

Nintendo Now: Do you have any plans to have any connectivity between DS and Wii for any future WarioWare games?

Mr. Abe: Presently, we don't have any plans to do so.

Nintendo Now: When you first saw the Wiimote were you filled with ideas for games that you previously had thought of but you didn't think you could implement with other systems?

Mr. Abe: More than reflecting on past ideas which we were able to apply to WarioWare I was full of confidence that with this new remote we could create a very flattering WarioWare game.

Nintendo Now: What's a favorite thing that you have personally done so far with this game?

Mr. Abe: I think the style of the game is very special. We're asking the users to do very different movements than with other games, so this is a very strong and favorite point in the game.

Nintendo Now: Well I think this about wraps it up unless there's anything else you'd like to tell us. Maybe anything we haven't learned from the demo?

Mr. Abe: I think that WarioWare: Smooth Moves is a game that makes it easy to understand what the Wii controller can do, so for people who are wondering what the Wii controller is all about and how we can operate it, I think this is the best game to try out.

Nintendo Now: One last question. I think Nintendo may have already briefly mentioned -- when can we expect Smooth Moves in the US?

Mr. Abe: I think, as Nintendo announced, that it will be launched within 90 days after the hardware launch, so that is the timeframe we are aiming for.

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