James Bond Debut - GoldenEye 007 Game-Play Hours

Coffee Beans:
     GoldenEye 007 was released on November 2, 2010, in North America; with a software MSRP of $49.99, and a Golden Classic Controller Pro bundle MSRP of $69.99.  GoldenEye 007 for the Wii was developed by Eurocom, and published by Activision.

     The debut game-play hours below are for the United States of America Wii owners, not world-wide.  From November 2 through November 22, how many hours of espionage have Wii owners participated in James Bond's GoldenEye 007?  Let's take a look!

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
     GoldenEye 007 has 6,579 Wii owners reporting their play-time data, for its debut on the Nintendo Channel 21 days after its release.

Average Hours & Total Game-Play Hours Reported:
     GoldenEye 007 has 74,446 Total Hours of game-play reported for its debut, with an average of 11 Hours 19 Minutes "Per person" reporting data.

     The debut average play-time, per session, for GoldenEye 007 is just over 2 Hours 32 Minutes.


Sale Ranks & Advertised Prices:
     GoldenEye 007's, software only, Amazon.com sale rank is #90, and is selling for $47.45.
     GoldenEye 007's Golden Classic Controller Pro bundle Amazon.com sale rank is #250, and is selling for $67.99.
(Sale ranks and prices were captured November 22, 2010 around 4:35PM.)

Review Score Averages:
     GoldenEye 007's review score average is 83.58%, based on 40 reviews on GameRankings.com.

     Amazon.com shows two sets of customer review scores for GoldenEye 007.
     The first set is based on just the game only, the second set of customer reviews is for the GoldenEye 007 bundle with the Golden Classic Controller Pro.  Here are the Amazon.com customer review score averages for GoldenEye 007 so far:

Click to enlarge

(Review score averages were captured November 22, 2010 around 4:35PM.)

Randomness:
     I'm not sure if it was Nintendo or Activision, but somebody took longer than usual getting GoldenEye 007 listed on the Nintendo Channel.  I had been checking for the last few weeks, and the game wasn't even listed, until last night.  Though the game appeared last night, it didn't have any play-time data showing, until it was updated today.
     Also, now that GoldenEye 007 is listed on the Nintendo Channel, the "copyright" text below it is incorrect.  Again, that could be Nintendo putting up the wrong information, or Activision just sending the wrong information over.  Here's the "copyright" text that is showing beneath GoldenEye 007 right now:

     Apparently, Activision(or Nintendo) wants GoldenEye 007 to be associated with Cabela, and the Cabela hunting games?

Thoughts:
     GoldenEye 007 is off to a good start with the game-play data shown, and I think the game will continue to see steady increases each week throughout the Christmas/holiday season.
    I have been playing GoldenEye 007 on a regular basis since I purchased it.  I completed the single-player campaign back on Friday, November 5(early Saturday technically).  I plan on going back and completing the single-player campaign on all the difficulty settings, but I am enjoying the online multi-player in the meantime.
     If you haven't seen any footage from GoldenEye 007's online multi-player, here is a video of a Team Conflict match, played on the Facility level:


     If anybody has any questions about GoldenEye 007, feel free to ask in the comments, and I'll do my best to answer it.  If you own GoldenEye 007 and are playing it online, my friend code is 2043-7355-3797, and my in-game name is Coffee.


Questions:
     If you own GoldenEye 007 for the Wii, what are your thoughts on it?  What do you enjoy about it, and is there anything you don't enjoy about it?


If anybody is interested in either GoldenEye 007 sku, you can see prices for both on Amazon.com linked below:
 

GoldenEye 007 Wii Multiplayer Freezing Issues

Coffee Beans:
     *Update: From the comments on the story, and my experience, it seems to be that Wii owners using LAN adapters to play GoldenEye 007 online are the ones that have experienced this issue.  The video that I included below was the only night that I have had this happen, and I have played the online multi-player more than 15 hours now.
     I purchased GoldenEye 007 last Tuesday when it was released.  I started playing online multiplayer matches last Friday night, after completing the single-player campaign first.
     I was playing GoldenEye 007 online last night again, and was recording footage for future YouTube videos.  Last night was the first night I had experienced the game freezing up in the middle of a match.  I didn't think much of it, and after having to do a hard reset of the Wii, I started playing a few matches again.
     While GoldenEye 007 has been running pretty well online for me, last night was my first night to experience the freezing issue, and you can see in the video below, it happened more than once:


Questions:
     Have any of you that have been playing GoldenEye 007 online, experienced the freezing issue?  If so, how often does it happen to you?


If anybody is interested in the GoldenEye 007, you can see prices for both bundles on Amazon.com linked below:
 

Can GoldenEye 007 (Wii) Legally be Ported to the Xbox 360 and PS3?

Coffee Beans:
     GoldenEye 007 on the Wii was a huge surprise to many when Nintendo showed the debut trailer for it at E3 this year(though because of the idiocy at IGN, it was spoiled to many the day before, when they uploaded the trailer and left it public for a few hours).
     When the announcement was made, many people probably wondered like me, "Will this GoldenEye be just like the original?"
     Two questions that also seemed to surface quickly after GoldenEye 007 Wii's announcement was, "Why the Wii?", and whether or not it would stay a Wii exclusive.

     I have seen a few comments that GoldenEye on the Wii can't be ported to the other consoles, because of Nintendo holding the license to the original; and also because Nintendo helped Activision with this version of GoldenEye, by providing advice and working some with Eurocom during development.

     So, from the information that we know about GoldenEye on the Wii, and past GoldenEye video games, does evidence suggest it will remain a Wii exclusive, or will it be a timed "exclusive" like many other games in history?  Can GoldenEye 007 on the Wii legally be ported to the Xbox 360 and PS3?  Let's take a look...

Roasting - GoldenEye's Console Gaming History:
     GoldenEye 007 was originally released on August 25, 1997.  The game was developed by Rareware, and published by Nintendo, for the N64.  The game was based off of the James Bond movie of the same name, and had players playing through levels as James Bond, who was imaged after Pierce Brosnan from the movie.  The game received critical praise when it was released, and sat at the top of the Nintendo sales chart for months.

     With the release of the new consoles this generation, and services like Microsoft's XBLA and Nintendo's Virtual Console, many wondered if GoldenEye 007 would get re-released.  Rare developed GoldenEye, but was purchased by Microsoft; Nintendo published GoldenEye 007.  So, according to many reports, both Microsoft and Nintendo would have to agree on re-releasing the game, but that hasn't happened.

     Fast-forward to November 22, 2004, and gamers were given a new GoldenEye game.  The game was GoldenEye: Rogue Agent, and it was developed and published by Electronic Arts.  GoldenEye: Rogue Agent did not have players in the role of James Bond, but instead players were playing as a...you guessed it, a "Rogue Agent" who had a "golden eye" of sorts.
     While GoldenEye: Rogue Agent was released on all the consoles at that time, GameCube, PS2 and Xbox; it was not received as well critically, as the original GoldenEye 007 on the N64.
     Here are the review score averages for GoldenEye: Rogue Agent on each console:

     Fast-forward again, to Tuesday, November 2, 2010.  GoldenEye 007 for the Wii was released, and since the initial announcement at E3, we learned that GoldenEye 007 on the Wii isn't a direct port of the N64 version, but it is a remake/re-imagining of the original Nintendo 64's GoldenEye 007 and the GoldenEye movie.

     GoldenEye 007 for the Wii was developed by Eurocom, and published by Activision; and Activision holds the James Bond license for making any James Bond video games.

     While GoldenEye 007 Wii has only been out a week now, the game seems to have been received pretty well by the "professionals".  While the game isn't reviewing as well as the original did, it is reviewing better than GoldenEye: Rogue Agent did a few years back.

     While players play as James Bond, they aren't playing the Pierce Brosnan James Bond character, instead James Bond in GoldenEye 007 for the Wii is imaged/acted by Daniel Craig, the current actor filling the role of James Bond in the movies and games.

Brewing - What We Know:

     So, we have three video games set in the James Bond universe, that all have the name GoldenEye in their titles.  Two are console "exclusives", while one was a multi-console release.

     As soon as the new GoldenEye was announced at E3, it seemed every preview/hands-on with the game quickly adapted to calling the game just "GoldenEye".  With the initial trailer showing off footage from the dam level, and gamers repeatedly hearing/reading "GoldenEye", many thought it was going to be a direct port of the original.

     The levels in GoldenEye 007 Wii are not designed exactly the same as the N64's GoldenEye, and there are different levels in the single-player campaign, as well as the multiplayer.

     One of the regular readers here on CoffeewithGames said two of his friends purchased the new Wii GoldenEye, but are planning to return it.  Why were they planning to return(or trade-in) GoldenEye already?

     According to NicodemusatNite, when speaking about his friends that purchased and are planning to return GoldenEye, he said, "Yeah, they didn't like the controls, and the multiplayer levels...(the) multiplayer levels aren't the same, and that was the biggest reason they got the game."

     While it appears Nintendo gave advice to Eurocom, only a few Nintendo employees are given a "thank you" in GoldenEye 007's credits.

     I think this "Thanks" is a big key whether GoldenEye 007 can be ported to the PS3 and Xbox 360, as it's a "Thanks" and not an actual credit to Nintendo for anything specific on the development/publishing side.

The Cup of Coffee aka The Verdict:

     Here's the list of things that are different from GoldenEye 007 on the Wii, compared to the original GoldenEye 007 on the Nintendo 64:

• GoldenEye Wii has Daniel Craig as James Bond, not Pierce Brosnan
• GoldenEye Wii was developed by Eurocom, not Rareware
• GoldenEye Wii was published by Activision, not Nintendo
• GoldenEye Wii's levels are different, redesigned some from the original, while others are completely new

     As for Nintendo being mentioned in the credits, I researched a few of the names from the Nintendo "thank you" list in the credits, and most seem to be in management or licensing departments/positions at Nintendo.

     Based off of this information, I would say that GoldenEye 007 can be ported to the PS3 and Xbox 360.  I don't think it's a matter anymore of "IF", but perhaps now the question should be, "When will GoldenEye 007 be ported to the PS3 and Xbox 360?"

Questions:

     If you have purchased GoldenEye 007 on the Wii, what do you think of it?  If you are playing online, my friend code for the game is, 2043-7355-3797.
     Do any of you think, like myself, GoldenEye 007 on the Wii will be a timed exclusive only, based on the information I provided above?


If you are interested in GoldenEye 007 for the Wii, or GoldenEye 007: Reloaded for the PS3 and Xbox 360, you can see prices listed on Amazon.com linked below:
      

Quick Brewed Thoughts - James Bond 007: GoldenEye

Coffee Beans:
     So, this past Tuesday, November 2, GoldenEye was released for the Wii.  I purchased it Tuesday on my way home, and played it late Tuesday night, right before going to bed.  I just finished playing some more, and I am only on the fourth mission in the single-player campaign, but here are my thoughts so far:
     Graphics - Glad to see another game go with the realistic style of the original Red Steel.  They seem crisp, and effective for what the style/setting of the James Bond universe.  The levels seem pretty interactive as well, with items that can be destroyed placed throughout the levels.
     Sound - I'm not really sure what it is, but the sound seems strange.  Either the in game music is too low, or the voices aren't high enough, not really sure on this one.  I have adjusted them, hoping the adjustments will help.
     Level Designs - Definitely updated levels from the original, not the same.  The second level, Facility, has a really different feel compared to the original.  Perhaps the more I play the game, and get to know the levels, the more "familiar" they will become like the original.
     Controls - There are a lot of control options in the game, not sure if that's a good thing, or a bad thing for new comers trying out the Wii Remote and Nunchuk controls for the first time.  I don't think the default control settings are decent enough though, and I have changed my controls to "Experienced 3" for now.
     Mission Stats - I love data.  I love statistics.  I loved how the original GoldenEye on the N64 provided the number of times I fired my weapons, as well as specific places I shot the enemies.  This GoldenEye doesn't seem to have that, unless the data is provided at the end of the game...which is a bummer.  The one thing it does have is how much time I have spent on each level, so I guess that's a plus?

     I haven't even attempted the multiplayer in the game, local or online, so I don't have thoughts to share with those experiences yet; but as soon as I do, I'll write up my thoughts and hopefully share some videos with them as well.  In the meantime, here's the menu trailer from the game...this is the video that starts playing if you leave GoldenEye sitting on the menu for a few minutes:


Questions:
     Did any of you pick up GoldenEye on the Wii this week?  If so, what are your thoughts on it?  Bitter, or sweet?


If any of you are interested in GoldenEye for the Wii, you can see prices listed on Amazon.com linked below for both bundles:
 

James Bond 007: Goldeneye's Release Date?

Looks like Tuesday, November 2 of this year could be the release day for the Wii's exclusive James Bond 007: Goldeneye!

Both Amazon.com and GameStop.com have that as the "release date", and they also have the game listed for release on the Nintendo DS for the same day!

It is interesting though, that GameStop's price for the DS version is $29.99, while Amazon.com's is $39.99.

I'll be sharing my thoughts about E3 in the next day, but this game is just one of many that I am really excited about this year!

Here's a trailer I edited of just the game-play portions from the E3 trailer:

You can reserve the game now at both GameStop and Amazon.com, Amazon provided below: