Motion gaming is something that has had highs and lows popularity wise. While most of us know about the likes of the Nintendo Wii and the Kinect sensor that was big in the Xbox 360 years there have been a number of other examples of motion gaming that are a tad less well known and indeed successful. In part one of this two-part feature we’ll cover two pieces of motion gaming hardware and software that are pretty interesting and that may have been overlooked and forgotten about in the passage of time. They are WarioWare: Twisted! and Tony Hawk: Ride.
Hardware and Software: “WarioWare: Twisted!” (2004/2005)
Sometimes Nintendo makes gaming experiences that are unlike anything that came along before. One example would be their WarioWare titles which are essentially, at their core, microgame compilations involving all sorts of bite-sized games which don’t last that long. There is great diversity in terms of the gameplay styles and in the content, with the many microgames having an endearing randomness and, often, a bit of humour. But, although the third entry in the series known as WarioWare: Twisted! was well-received, perceived to be one of the GBA’s best titles and has a fun motion controls aspect, it never made it over to the European market. Gameplay footage seems to show more of what we know the series typically does: quick, small games which cover a broad range of challenges, situations and themes. Sounds good. So, why then would this game never get a European release?
Well, the issue seems to lie somewhere within the product approval side of things. You get the impression had the game had been traditional in the way the controls work, WarioWare: Twisted! could have made it over here as expected without complications. Reliant on the player tilting and twisting their Game Boy Advance in order to play the microgames, the game cartridge has a built in gyro sensor as well as a rumble feature and was in the process of evaluation by a company based in Germany (known as the LGA) but while numerous release dates for European shores were put out there by Nintendo, they were never met with an actual release of the videogame in Europe although Japan and the USA did get the chance to buy the game. Rumours the cartridge had mercury in it were debunked as false, so what could have caused this hold up and the eventual cancellation that ensued?
Perhaps the reason lay with a changing gaming market. Demand for Nintendo’s Game Boy Advance faded away as the innovative new DS steals the show and less and less people showed interest in the aging platform. WarioWare: Twisted! was delisted from Nintendo of Europe’s website at the time of the GBA being discontinued in 2008, so perhaps the storming success of the DS was responsible for shrinking the chances of this intriguing and inventive game ever coming to this part of the world down to zero. Still, WarioWare fans will be pleased to know 2018’s WarioWare: Gold on the Nintendo 3DS has at least some challenges from WarioWare: Twisted! in an overall total of 300 microgames, which includes stuff from other games in the series as well alongside all new content too.