John Lucas' Blog

Red Steel, one of the launch games for the Nintendo Wii, has long been announced to have a sequel in the works. But the new entry of first person sword-slasher/shooter set in the atmosphere of a Yakuza underworld plans on taking better advantage of the Wiimote's motion-sensing capabilities this time around.

Did some say Wii MotionPlus?

In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, publisher Ubisoft's executive director Alain Corre confirms the news:

"Red Steel 2 has been in development for many months now, and this new device will help us be even more precise in what we do with the product."

That precision is a reference to the mixed opinion on the launch game's implementation of Wiimote technology. But with the MotionPlus Corre believes the sequel will achieve the true 1:1 motion precision that the original aimed toward:

"The Red Steel brand is strong - I think we released it on year one, and that people understood that it was a first try on new technology, technology that wasn't completely finished. And our game tried to grab the best out of it, and was a bit rushed to be sure to offer something in year one to Wii consumers.

So Red Steel is a brand, and as with every brand we have, we now have to reach the top quality possible. What was missing was the preciseness of the sabre - and with this new device I think it will change the experience."

Ubisoft got on board the Wii express early on when other companies were more hesitant and have benefitted very much from the association. Corre explains this as quality time spent in developing games for the platform in comparison to other gamemakers:

"When you make a great game, you need more than one year of development.

A lot of games are made in less than a year, but they're not great products and they're not selling at all. So it takes some time to develop good games. This year we're coming with Shaun White, which we've developed over 18 months, and the same for Rayman 3.

I think these two games can be in the top ten of the Wii charts at Christmas again, and there will also be new Wii games announced soon - more games dedicated to capturing this new audience."

Thanks to GamesIndustry.biz.