In case you haven't heard yet Punch Out! is coming to the Wii. Now, for some this has been long awaited, and a lot of people are very excited about this, but I don't think this is going to end up being the game everyone really wants.

Let's face it, it would be really easy for Nintendo to screw this one up. There are a couple of ways that I could see this happening.

Unresponsive Controls
Hey you, do you remember Wii Sports Boxing? Yeah, it sucked. The game depended on skill about as much as rock, paper, scissors does. Even when it registered a jab, it would take about a second to show up on the screen. Now I know that a second doesn't sound like a lot, but when you input a command in a videogame, especially a with motion controller, delay is about the most frustrating thing that can happen. When it happened to me in Boxing, I'd just start to punch harder and harder, until I eventually gave up. I never played Wii Sports Boxing again after my first few tries. I can't imagine that Nintendo couldn't do something to that game back then that they can do now with Punch Out!

Casual Game of E3? Sounds Like It...
I would be surprised if Nintendo didn't use the opportunity that they have with this game to spend ten dollars making it and selling a million copies. Granted, they could pull off a casual game that satisfies gamers and families alike, but they really don't have to make a good game to make a big profit off of this. It's also got the balance board support, if you weren't already convinced. Add a fitness tracker, a shallow online mode that everyone thinks is cool but no one uses, and Mii support and you've got this years best-selling game.



No Mike Tyson :(
Okay, it hasn't been confirmed that Mike Tyson won't be gnawing off body parts in this installment, but if he is, then this game is not coming from Nintendo. Now, they could make some interesting, silly characters, or bring back the ones from the old games, and that would please fans. I vote for Hilary Swank as an unlockable character.

Okay, so that last one didn't really count, but I think the chances are that this time around, Punch Out! could could stink more than the inside of a pair of used boxing gloves. However, if Nintendo can fine tune their controls, give us solid online, pretty good graphics, and great characters, then this one could just get that champion belt.