Taking the piste: Wii to bring skiing to the living room

If you’re bummed about the coming end of the skiing season, then video games are the answer - in particular a skiing game that uses the Wii’s new Balance Board add-on to send you sliding down the mountainside, virtually speaking. Developer Namco Bandai said We Ski lets up to four gamers ski across virtual mountains while …

[Chris Morrison]

Woohoo!

I can't wait for this game. I may even have to buy an american wii so I can play it before it comes here. It looks awesome.

Just as a wee corection, the ski season is still ongoing. In Scotland our main skiing months are March and April.

It's well worth anyone in the UK coming up for a wee ski, it's a fantastic season and Glencoe and most of the others are in awesome condition!

[Anonymous Coward]

Video

Not actually sure how I can comment on the content of the video in such a way that I wouldn't get in trouble with the authorities...

[Aremmes]

DNRTFA

I'm sorry, I think that I missed the content of the article, there was an undulating bum getting in the way.

Paris, because she's experienced at waving for the camera.

[Haku]

Whoa, that takes me back

I went to a Siggraph expo in London waaay back in 1994 and there was a Silicon Graphics Onyx Reality Engine setup with a virtual skiing game, had to hold two handles like sticks and wear a belt with another sensor, the belt was so you could physically jump up in the air and the character on screen would follow suit.

[Greg]

Wow, that's so realistic...

</sarcasm>

Yep, as an avid skier, I can tell you that bouncing your arse up and down, frantically digging at the ground with your poles and wiggling your hips side to side is exactly how you ski.

I would love to take some of the veterans of this game up a mountain. It would be frickin' hilarious.

[Jamie]

@Anon

I did not watch the video until you made the comment and then decided to watch. OMG!!! I now know what you mean. I feel all DIRTY.

Now I am imagining Paris doing the same moves.

[Anonymous Coward]

Now all I need

Is a really fit bird to play it in my living room whilst I drink Beer.

[Anonymous Coward]

waahh

I can't wait to go back to Japan. I wanna see Tigger again (so called becouse she had cute cat ears with a tiger pattern on all the time and had a very reconisable voice making her easy to track around the bar even with your back to her.) Maid bars for the win.

[Dave]

@Greg

Yes, because ultra-realistic gameplay is what Nintendo has been aiming for the last few years, isn't it? I remember all those times playing Wii Tennis and thinking I would be playing at Wimbledon in no time! Please. It's meant to be a bit of fun, nothing more!

[Eponymous Cowherd]

Now you don't get that much entertainment.........

watching someone play on a PS3.

[Andrew Barr]

We need the eeePC girl playing this

I think the El Reg need to combine the eeePC girl and the Wii Ski game and post it on YouTube for all to see.

Mines the dirty old one with the binoculars

[Iain]

@Greg

No, it's got nothing to do with 'real' skiing. Neither has pushing a joypad around, but 1080 White Storm on the Gamecube was still a great game in its own right.

Rather cheaper than a trip back to Banff, too. Although I suspect my cash would be better spent getting some practice in on the local dry slope, if it ends up as bad as Snowboard Kids.

[Steve]

Video

I feel that I'm missing something, but with Firefox on Debian (Etch AMD64) all I get in the video window is a message saying "This SWF file is known to trigger bugs in the swfdec decoder. Playb"

:(

[g e]

Anyone else ...

Wanna see Carmen Electra or Bianca Beauchamp playing this game.

On a video loop.

?

Paris cos she's prob. a bigger tart than me

[Highlander]

shameless fanboi flamebait

But....didn't....PS3...already...do..a..ski game?

Nintendo are *so* innovative.

Paris - because innovation may or may not start with "Bend ze kneez".

[Edlem]

@Greg

It's a game, you plank. It's just some fun. You might as well criticise Mario Kart for being an unrealistic driving simulator.

[Fred Goldstein]

Familiar game to Linux users

It reminds me of Tux Racer (a/k/a Planet Penguin Racer). Much more realistic input, of course.

[Tom Haczewski]

@Highlander

Yes, the PS3 did. I believe you're referring to "Go! Sports Ski" which got a rating of 2.1 on IGN, has only 2 playable courses, and the controls suck. 'nuff said.

[Highlander]

@Tom

I didn't say it was any good, and as I remember it IGN's problems with the game centered around only having two courses and their dislike of motion control with Sixaxis...

The point? Innovation. Smell it. Taste it. It tastes like Chicken.

I do believe that fanboi flambe will be among my favorites now. Do I smell something burning?

[Rick Brasche]

looks like fun

tho i might be a bit overweight for their controller pad. I love seeing the wii-hate crowd complaining of realism. Might as well as hate on Guitar Hero cuz it isn't "real" either. Or as other posters point to, *any* driving game.

And as for any references to any PS3 offering...how does tilting a gamepad make it significantly different than any other ski offering on the gamecube, or ps2?

Me, I'm still waiting for the new Mario Kart and Force Unleashed.

[Joel]

ski season

Actually, the ski season will start in a couple of months, otherwise I would convince my girlfriend we need a wii to skii.

-InNewZealand

[Iain]

Re:shameless fanboi flamebait

Ha! PS3 Ridge Racer 7 is just a ripoff of Ridge Racer 6 on the 360, too!

This is just Horace Goes Skiing with fancy graphics, a silly control scheme and no Frogger bit.