Nintendo's Fire Emblem series has made its mark as one of the finest single player Japanese strategy series around, but Nintendo and developer Intelligent Systems may be looking to expand into new territory with the next title. Speaking with Dengeki DS & Wii Style (a young publication formerly known as just Dengeki DS Style), Nintendo producer Hitoshi Yamagami, IS producer Toru Narihiro, and IS "graphics chief" Masahiro Higuchi hinted that we can expect online components in the the next FE game.

Yamagami disclosed to the magazine that his team was originally considering Wi-Fi compatibility for the recent Wii entry in the series, Goddess of Dawn. Higuchi chimed in, noting that players would probably enjoy having maps and units distributed to them via online downloads. While some development was undertaken towards this end, Narihiro admitted that difficulties with balance and technology kept the feature out of Goddess of Dawn.

But the wait for online compatibility may not be too long. Yamagami closed off by stating, "This would be the first FE for the Wii, so we decided to focus on single player and held back on Wi-Fi. However, for the next title, if we have the chance, we'd like to use it."

While Higuchi mentioned downloads in his comments, Yamigami's mention of a focus on single player play suggests that Wi-Fi based battles are under consideration.

The three developers provided a few additional insights into the development of Goddess of Dawn. On the decision to bring the series to the Wii instead of the phenomenally successful DS, Yamagami stated, "The FE series began on the Famicom, so we'd generally like to release it on consoles. Also, it's a game with many detailed parameters, so we want to put it on a television. However, we do feel that the SRPG genre is suited for the DS."

Yamagami also fielded a question about the decision to not use the Wiimote's special control features. "At the start of development, we didn't know what controller would be included with the Wii. We began production by considering the classic controller default. Once we learned what would be included with the Wii system, we made it so that everything could be controlled with the Wiimote. However, we felt that controls like pointing and shaking of the remote were not applicable to FE, so we held off on it."

Based on the comments from these three, we're already starting to imagine what the next Fire Emblem game will look like. Of course, Goddess of Dawn was released to Japan a little over a month ago, so official details on the next entry in the series will probably have to wait.

Sakura via wii.ign.com »