The OverThinker's insane Wii2 theory

(posted to both blogs, because it's relevant)

Okay. By now, everyone is reasonably-certain that "Wii2" gets revealed at E3. And slightly-less-than-everyone is reasonably-certain that it's mystery-controller A.) isn't a Wii-Remote successor but rather can interface with one or something like one (knowing Nintendo this means peripheral backwards-compatibility, which they'd be INSANE not to do after selling everyone's mom a fortune in Wii Sports toolkits) and B.) incorporates a camera and mini-LCD touch screen into it's design - with most rumors suggesting the screen is roughly the size of an iPhone's, which would be HUGE for something that most are assuming is going to be "built-in" to a conventional dual-stick/buttons controller.

I've got a different theory...

I'll say upfront that I'm almost-certainly 100% off-base about this; largely because I have no talent or skillset for engineering. But on the off chance I'm right (or that it's not Nintendo's idea but not a bad one either...) here we go:

What if the touch-screen is an "everycontroller?"

Here's the idea: The screen will "fit" because it isn't there in-addition to action-buttons, but INSTEAD of action buttons. Basically, instead of dedicated action-buttons that every game has to be engineered for, the controller is just one or two analog sticks with NO dedicated action-buttons - instead, the touch-screen generates a set of "buttons" the arrangement and "form" of which are SPECIFIC to each individual game. Arcade-style buttons for a fighter, NES/SNES setup for a platformer, a PC-style stylus-oriented inventory menu for a sim (or an MMO?), something else for whole other genres I'm not thinking of or haven't been invented yet?

So, yeah. Crazy, probably not even close. But I don't think anyone could deny that this sounds EXACTLY like something Nintendo would do, right? Attention-getting, table-upturning, callous disregard for how 3rd party developers will feel about having to be controller-builders as well as game-designers and - this is the important part - it would LOOK ultra-revolutionary and cutting edge but can actually be built entirely out of decades-old technology their tech-teams are already well-versed in from the DS line. (Hmm... slightly-less insane theory: The controler will look like the bottom half of a 3DS, and a 3DS could be used in-place of one.)

So... uh-huh, that's kind of it: A controller that can turn into "any" controller - at least, that's how they'd sell it.

Episode 50 ScrewAttack exclusive trailer

The exclusive screwattack-only trailer for Episode 50, which will be especially noteworthy to those of you who aren't already burned-out on "Dead Island" spoofs....

Episode 50 EXCLUSIVE YouTube trailer

Below, the exclusive YouTube-exclusive trailer for "War of The Thinkers." A longer ScrewAttack-exclusive trailer will (probably) debut later this evening.

Episode 50 Premiere Date Set!

FYI folks, the premiere date for Episode 50 has been set for Monday, April 25th at 10pm CST (11pm ET) exclusively at ScrewAttack.com. The AntiThinker saga ends with bullets, blood and gratuitous video game in-jokes; and I hope people enjoy seeing it as much as we enjoyed putting it all together.

There will probably be at least one or two more trailers in-between now and then, and I'm thinking of putting a wrapup/production special together afterwards... but let's see how this goes for now.

In addition, while at one point I was considering using the "50th Anniversary" landmark as an opportunity for a brief sabbatical... I've decided against that. Barring any unforseen issues, the series will pick right back up on schedule not long after this has aired.

First trailer for "War of The Thinkers!"

Crisis on Infinite Zones?

Below, the trailer for - amazingly - ANOTHER next-gen "Sonic the Hedgehog" game. No title, no indication of gameplay, but it's got quite a hook: "2000s Sonic" is joined midway through his run by... "Original 90s Sonic." O... kay?



Two things are immediately apparent: That Sonic Team continues to know more about "pitching" Sonic games than MAKING them, and that you have to be really into Sonic to immediately discern the actual difference between the two Sonics.

It's probably a coincidence, but part of me REALLY wants to think that the side-by-side run, along with the whole (implied) premise, is an intentional shout-out to "Flash Of Two Worlds."

Also, Sonic Team? Free note: If you actually are going to pull some kind of "Sonic Multiverse" stuff, you might as well have the SatAm cast show up. The fans will lose their shit.

Good vs Evil

"War of The Thinkers" is coming along, eh... steadily. Until I have more concrete things to show off, here's a sample - the first still from the production, and (for those keeping track) the first time OverThinker and AntiThinker have appeared onscreen "together" (excluding the video monitors from Episode 47.)