Topic: Episode 243: Talk Talk Talkpy

[Yoshidious]

The RFN crew blasts through games, answers your letters, and even looks at a bit of recent news.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/rfn/26311

The regular crew is back on board this week to bring you another exciting Nintendo podcast! Jon describes his considerable progress in Chrono Trigger, and we discuss the impending Virtual Console release of the seminal JRPG. James has been overloaded with work, but he does sneak in quick impressions of Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars for 3DS. Jonny sweeps through no less than five games for the past week, but his focus is on Valkyria Chronicles (from the guys who brought you Skies of Arcadia) and a unique, incredibly impressive indie game called Sequence. Greg talks about the new Mortal Kombat and draws surprising comparisons to Rare's long-abandoned Killer Instinct series. He also reports on the latest Nintendo Seminar 2010 game from Japan, the honestly named Pull Pull Pullpy.

After a quick break, it's time for Listener Mail. The flood of excellent questions continues, so we get to spend time on topics like Nintendo's response to the PSN outage, the eShop delay to E3, long-term availability of the Wii Shop Channel, the apparently fleeting concept of replay value, a "black label" sub-brand for Nintendo, and the questionable necessity of a second Wii Nunchuk. We'd love to hear from you too, so please contact the show!

Finally, the results are in, and Perfect Dark is your selection for the next RetroActive! The official forum thread is already going, so be sure to leave a few memories or fresh impressions (of either the N64 original or XBLA remake). We'll choose some of the best comments to be read on the podcast in just a couple of weeks.

[kraken613]

I haven't listened to an episode in 9 weeks!

I need to get back on it!

[Sarail]

Ooooh.... Jonny is a Fulgore guy, eh? Nice. I always had a difficult time controlling him. Me, I'm a Jago and Kim Wu fan. I KILL with Jago. I'd love to play against you sometime, Jonny.

[Jonnyboy117]

Jago was my #2. Also really liked Glacius. In the first Killer Instinct, I usually played as Cinder and thought it was too bad they cut him from the sequel. I thought Spinal was cool but hated how he actually played (the MK-style inputs never felt responsive).

[Sarail]

Hah, awesome. I was a big Riptor player on the first KI. Something about that lil' dino dude intrigued me... dunno.

And yeah, I'm with you on how Spinal felt when controlling him. He was a definitely a stop-and-go type character. Totally bizarre style from the majority of characters in the KI series. I remember firing up KI Gold for the first time and being very bummed that there was no Cinder to be found... or Chief Thunder, too!

[The_Darkest_Red]

I'm really looking forward to seeing what James has to say about Shadow Wars as it's easily my favorite 3DS game thus far. The game does have an Intelligent Systems feel to it but I think it begins to differentiate itself from typical IS games thanks to some interesting mechanics and varied mission objectives. I'm somewhat surprised about all of the talk of technical problems, I've played the game for about 25 hours and have yet to experience any freezing issues.

Shadow Wars is really quite a deep game and is definitely the hidden gem of the 3DS' launch lineup.

[The_Darkest_Red]

I'm currently watching an Ebay auction for Valkyria Chronicles thanks to you, Johnny. 

[NWR_DrewMG]

While I completely agree that Pit Fighter is absolutely miserable by today's standards, I take issue with Jonny's statement that "No one ever liked Pit Fighter".


I actually really enjoyed Pit Fighter when I was a kid.  I played the arcade version quite a bit at the local Pizza joint, and rented it several times on Genesis later on.  I was really looking forward to a sequel. 

[KisakiProject]

What if Nintendo is streaming the E3 press conference in 3D with the new system update?

[NWR_DrewMG]

Major props to Jon for bringing back the term "NintenBRO".

[KDR_11k]

Pull Pull Pullpy sounds similar to Go Go Cosmo Cops.

[happyastoria]

I had Pit Fighter as a kid and I fuckin' hated it.

[Chocobo_Rider]

Another great episode, gang.  For reasons unknown to me this one was especially enjoyable!

Responses ...

1. Last Window was greeeeeat! Import it! I can't believe it didn't come to the states but then again, didn't the company go belly up?  But yea, HotelDusk and LastWindow are two of my favorite games of this gen.  As I've said a few times, I'm a big fan of plot.  So what I suppose is the "visual novel" genre appeals to me greatly.  And I love a good mystery! Fun fact: I am facebook friends with the model who was used for the Rachel character. Less-fun Fact: The model for the Kyle Hyde character never accepted my friend request. *pathetic trombone sound*

 
2. I love hearing that Jonny dreams about E3.  One of the great things about you guys compared to... oh ... nearly all other gaming media, is that you guys are passionate.  So many gaming journalists think that being blasé and jaded somehow increases their street cred.  Maybe it does? But that's sad.

3. Boohoo WiiWare never became a shining bastion to indy gaming. Thank your lucky stars the Wii was "underpowered" enough to allow for off-beat, quirky, games that neeeever would have made it to market on more cost-prohibitive platforms.  And yea, I enjoy the fact that because it was retail releases, these games were interesting, yet fully-formed.  Not just something that reflects its $8 price tag.

I'm truly glad you got your steal of a deal with that $3 game, but it and Cave Story are the exceptions not the rule.

4a. Killer Instinct was definitely cool in its time.  I remember riding the fighting game wave back then and hanging ten on KI a few times.  I was a Jago guy but... only because I thought he looked cool.  I also remember really enjoying how the announcer said "Glaceous" (sp?)

4b. Revising history with hindsight is terrible, Jonny!  People should be smarter than that.  I hate when now-a-days I hear people talk about Mario/Zelda/Metroid games (old and new) as "casual" experiences just because they aren't dude-bro-y.  Games like those were/are the CORE in hardcore!

5. I liked Mortal Kombat 1. I loved Mortal Kombat 2.  Mortal Kombat 3 was so bat-sh*t stupid that the series lost me forever.

Also, I know it makes me sound like an old fuddy-duddy, but the original MK games did gory in a funny/cool way.  The newest MK just looks to me like porn for sadists. .... which I'm sure is what old fuddy-duddys said about the original MK games, right?

6. MDK looks like a lot of fun! I wish the creators didn't castrate such a cool atmosphere with "comedy," but apparantly a lot of people love that about the franchise.  The gameplay looks ideal for the Wii.  It boggles my mind how the Wii isn't filled with 3rd-person shooters instead of rail-shooters.  But I guess that's laziness for you.

7. Thanks for holding Sony's feet to the fire on the PSN thing.  My only issue with the Wii online vs PSN comparison is that so many have spent years beating on Nintendo's weak but functional online, and yet the large response from this PSN debacle is glossed over like "oh haha, silly hackers, sh*t happens - who wants to play some HD gamezz?!?"

Though, I do completely agree with Lindy's point that there is no reason for people to take it to the other extreme and laugh at the broken (eventually repaired) car while they churn the pedals of their bike.

8a. I really, really, really agree with that guy (Chris was it?) who talked about savoring games versus devouring games.  Yes, there are time constraints now, money isn't the constraint it was, and there are many, many more platforms to find games on.

However, I firmly believe that gamers and developers once treated "the big" games as filet mignon, but now even "the big" games are like McDonald's.  Companies are pleased as punch to nickel and dime you with map packs and other DLC, but they'll be damned if you haven't already pre-ordered the 8-month-later sequel.  Tell me I'm wrong.

And though I don't have a ton of contact with adolescent/teen gamers, what I have seen from my nephew and cousins confirms the suspicion that they also "devour" games.

So, again, I'm really enjoying this oooohhHHHhh so terrible dry-spell in Wii games.  Probably for the same reason Chris is enjoying the 3DS launch.  I've had time to complete DKCR, I'm almost done with PLatUnwound Future, and I've been able to really enjoy crafting 3 different competitive teams for Pokemon White.  Good times, people!

Now, I know, the counter-argument is a simple one: "how can you prefer LESS of something? if new games come out you don't HAVE to buy them!"  Right you are.  But I think we all know that distraction and temptation are just that.  You don't HAVE to listen to a dozen people screaming at you, but it's tough to ignore and it certainly makes listening to one voice a challenge.

Furthermore, and I feel this way about most all technology, we're moving too fast! (again, I know, I'm such a lame 29-year-old).  But seriously, in an ideal world, companies would alllll look at each other and say "ya know what? let's chill a bit.  we don't need a new iPhone this month.  we don't need to make our competitors release a new console next year.  let's allll just chill - we'll make less, but we'll spend less, and we'll be a lot more stress-free for it!"
Then, everyone can savor their games, KEEP their games (instead of needing to trade them in for next month's Call of War 5), and maybe that'd be a pretty cool industry, yea? ...... no? .... well, I tried. 

8b.  Whooooaaaa there, Jonny.  Hold up a sec.  I see what you're saying that Street Fighter can have infinite replay value and that Zelda is more of a point A to point B experience, but "disposable" is just NOT the correct choice of words!

To provide yet another deliciously apropos food analogy, it would be like saying the infinite nom-nom-munch value of potato chips was more valuable than the sit-down qualities of a meat'n'potatos dinner.

9. I think the separate publishing (?) label for Nintendo's "m for mature" games would be amazingly smart.  Let's be honest, no business in its right mind would want to fudge with the golden goose of being accepted as family friendly.  But if they could somehow bypass that whole problem under the guise of another label? Man, that'd be having cake and eating it too (... am I hungry tonight?)

10. I love the nunchuk. It's so bad.  But seriously, wiimote+nunchuk is my preferred control scheme for nearly every game.  I only use the GC controller for Brawl and I only use the CCPro for Virtual Console games and Cave Story.  Everything else has been WM&NC all the way!

[yoshi1001]

I'm sure the PSN debacle made Nintendo and Microsoft (and even non-gaming companies) take a close look at their online networks for any vulnerabilities that might be similar to what brought down Sony.

I actually think there are some good things to be had in the new CT DS content-as I recall, there are some Rainbow Helms that are worth a fair bit.

[TheYoungerPlumber]

Yeah, the new equipment added in the DS sort of breaks the game, or at least allows you to become very powerful without playing Game+ over and over.

[oohhboy]

Nintendo needs their own Miramax to hide behind. To limit their risk, they could simply seed the new company and see what happens. Some indie without an office comes to Nintendo with a good game? Well "Nintendo" can't help you, but this "Nintendo" can. N wouldn't risk anything outside of the initial investment and have everything to gain assuming they are willing to let the company do what it set out to do or swallow it later defeating the whole exercise.

My Infinite Space names were based mostly on Star Trek and the British Navy. Most british ships have some really fighting names and it's something all warships should have. How much rage have you found? Given the length of the forewarning, I doubt you found much, especially if you read that thread which I guess you have based on the number of Carriers you have gone through.

Pit Fighter was a running joke in gaming magazines before the internet aquired the running joke. No one "likes" Pit Fighter, it's Stockholm syndrome.

[broodwars]

Huzzah!  Finally, after nearly 3 months of being behind on my podcasts (especially this one, where I've been as much as 8 episodes behind), I've finally caught up!  I hope it never gets that bad again.

Anyway, it's about time you guys got around to playing some Valkyria Chronicles.  I've been evangelizing this game for years, saying this is the next-generation of the Tactical Strategy RPG (no more cut-and-paste Final Fantasy Tactics clones!) and Nintendo has no business releasing another Fire Emblem until it can look and play like this.  I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying it.  Amusingly, for Skies of Arcadia fans all 3 main characters are in this game (Vyse is a recruitable Shocktrooper, Aika is a recruitable Scout, and Fina is one of the Medics who you can call in to retrieve fallen comrades).  Probably the only major fault with the game is that the way the game rates your performance is entirely based on how quickly you completed a map, and once you realize that it becomes painfully obvious that Scouts, upgraded Snipers, and to a lesser extent Lancers are pretty much the only useful classes in the game.  Still, the campaign is very well-done and the story well-told if simple.  It's a pity that people didn't buy this game on PS3, so we're stuck with PSP outings for the time being.

7. Thanks for holding Sony's feet to the fire on the PSN thing.  My only issue with the Wii online vs PSN comparison is that so many have spent years beating on Nintendo's weak but functional online, and yet the large response from this PSN debacle is glossed over like "oh haha, silly hackers, sh*t happens - who wants to play some HD gamezz?!?"

Sony's online service sucked for a month because hackers broke in and stole everyone's information, forcing Sony to shut it down for a month while they rebuilt the service.  Nintendo's online service sucks because Nintendo was cheap, inexperienced, and lazy when they designed it.  That's a bit of a big difference to me.  While PSN has its problems (and a lot of trepidation from gamers now that it's back up over security concerns), I'll still take it over the barely existent mess that Nintendo uses.

[Plugabugz]

But Nintendo's winning trump card is security through ineptitude. The system is designed as is so theres no registered or persistent data about a user kept anywhere, yet if someone hacks them all they'd get is a spreadsheet full of friend codes.

[Chocobo_Rider]

7. Thanks for holding Sony's feet to the fire on the PSN thing.  My only issue with the Wii online vs PSN comparison is that so many have spent years beating on Nintendo's weak but functional online, and yet the large response from this PSN debacle is glossed over like "oh haha, silly hackers, sh*t happens - who wants to play some HD gamezz?!?"

Sony's online service sucked for a month because hackers broke in and stole everyone's information, forcing Sony to shut it down for a month while they rebuilt the service.  Nintendo's online service sucks because Nintendo was cheap, inexperienced, and lazy when they designed it.  That's a bit of a big difference to me.  While PSN has its problems (and a lot of trepidation from gamers now that it's back up over security concerns), I'll still take it over the barely existent mess that Nintendo uses.

Uh oh, the train of cropped quotes and gross generalities has left the station!

Did you not have enough RAM to copy the part where I acknowledge that a moment's failure does not undue a past and future of superiority? =P

As for the "PSN good, NWFC bad" thinking, the PSN has more bells and whistles to be sure (never said it didn't!).  The interface from a design standpoint and the lack of friend codes make the experience more robust and - again - superior  (never said it wasn't!).

However, I've had just as many laggy PS3 sessions as Wii. The only exception being SSBBrawl during its first month after release.  Anytime before midnight was unplayabley slow.

So what I DID say, is that NWFC works.  To use your language, it is not lazy, and it is not a mess.

Is it cheaper? Yes, it is.  If Nintendo charged us $50-60/yr or $400-$600 for the console, I'm sure they'd have invested in a stronger online infrastructure.  Since my online Wii games work, since my WiiWare/VC titles are available when I need them, and since I prefer the content of the Nintendo channel to the "battle of who could care less" that is modern gaming journalism - I'm quite content with the cost ($0) benefit (bare bones yet functional online) ratio.

Again, to be clear, I take issue with the fact that it's fun and trendy to scoff at the Wii (in this case, it's online) and everyone beats on it like the bullies they couldn't be on the schoolyard playground.  Yet, the blemishes on Sony and Microsoft's face go completely ignored because they are there in the name of some "progress" towards an invisible finish line.

Annual fee to play the game I bought? Progress! (On disc) DLC charges? Progress! PSPlus? Progress!

Online gaming that just works with no frills? BUUUURN THE HERETICS!!!!

~

A member of the forum I run had his computer break down well over a year ago.  Up until last month (?) he'd been using his Wii internet browser for all his online needs.  Hey, Maxi, you post here too.  Has your online experience and hundreds of hours on MHTri been a cheap, lazy, mess?

[BeautifulShy]

I guess I better chime in here.

My experience with the Wii online service has been good. I tend to use the internet browser alot still. Mainly browsing message boards and watching videos.  As for the NWFC it works for me and I personally believe that as long as the online works well in the game and is pretty smooth than any extras like DLC that "fancier" online systems offer I generally don't care for much since the gamemakers are charging for things that should be on the disk in the first place. Patches that some Wii games have like the Conduit 2 kinda enforce a lackadaisical attitude with finding bugs and making sure the game works well. I've seen a lot of 360 and PS3 games that the publishers just put out and patch it later.That tends to make overall product not as good as it could be at release.

I generally play online games on the Wii for community aspect of playing with fellow board members and the fun interaction while playing the game. I have to admit there has been lots of fun times in alot of the online Wii games I have played here and over at NinTemple.com.

[adadad]

NinSage, why does there always seem to be a constant subtext in your posts of "us" vs "them"? I just want to take you up on a few of your points:

Is it cheaper? Yes, it is.  If Nintendo charged us $50-60/yr or $400-$600 for the console, I'm sure they'd have invested in a stronger online infrastructure.  Since my online Wii games work, since my WiiWare/VC titles are available when I need them, and since I prefer the content of the Nintendo channel to the "battle of who could care less" that is modern gaming journalism - I'm quite content with the cost ($0) benefit (bare bones yet functional online) ratio.

You make it sound like PSN and Xbox Live are identical, which is not the case. You criticise Broodwars for making gross generalisations while missing the point that PSN and Xbox Live are charged for in different ways - one of them is free and the other isn't. It's silly to lump the two in together by citing the PS3's high hardware price as the revenue stream for PSN, since Sony lose money on each piece of hardware sold. The cost of the hardware has nothing to do with the online service - if Nintendo charged a higher price for their console that would in no way a guarantee of an improved online service, and you're going on pure conjecture when you argue that point. Obviously there is your perspective as a consumer, which you have every right to make use of when deciding what precisely you are buying when purchasing a console - whether or not it is a good value proposition for you personally - however it would be fairer to say that this is what you are buying a console for, rather than what you are buying. When you purchase a console you are buying the hardware, which does not include online gaming per se.

Furthermore, (and I'm referring here exclusively to online gaming, since that is what you refer to in your post) the models Sony and Microsoft subscribe to are vastly different from each other, since Microsoft charge exclusively for online gaming, whereas Sony's and Nintendo's respective approach to online is pretty much identical; on that basis they are preeminently comparable. As with Nintendo for the Wii and DS, online gaming on the PSN is not sold independently but as a selling point of PS3 games, which is where Sony make money (alongside paid DLC, which of course is present also on the Wii).

So with that in mind, Broodwar's criticisms were (in the context of a comparison with PSN) that Nintendo was cheap, inexperienced and lazy when designing their online infrastructure. He also called the online functionality a barely existent mess. Cheap is slightly ambiguous and could be read a few different ways, as you have shown NinSage by apparently interpreting this to mean cheap for the consumer. I suspect though that Broodwar is referring to Nintendo's well-known financial conservatism. I think the point is fairly clear when you consider that Nintendo's online service lacks several of PSN's features such as trophies and a unified friends system, which suggests a lack of effort and/or research development on Nintendo's part. I think that sufficiently covers the characterisations "lazy" and "cheap". Inexperienced is a given, although this applies in equal measure to Sony in my opinion. Microsoft is the only console-maker with any experience, last gen specifically, of the kind of features which are now integrated into modern consoles, such as an online shop. By modelling many of their features on the 360's this generation however, Sony does appear more experienced than Nintendo now when taking into consideration the privileged attention they have given online. We've seen this with Sony's projects like Home, and the addition and integration of trophies a few years ago.

Finally, Broodwars called Nintendo's online functionality a "barely existent mess", my favourite criticism of the bunch, which goes to the heart of the matter. Again, I would refer back to the point that Nintendo and Sony are directly comparable in that online gaming is a feature designed to sell more retail games first and foremost. Barely existent seems to be a fair comment since I would imagine (although I have no numbers so feel free to refute this if you feel I am being unfair or overly speculative) that the Wii has far fewer games with online features versus the PS3. Is the service a mess? Well, if I were primarily interested in online gaming, and I had the choice between an online experience on the Wii or the PS3, I suspect I would opt for the PS3 version. Multi-platform owners are rare of course, however the point still stands. No doubt, the Wii system operates on a game-by-game basis. Held up next to Sony, who use a unified friend system and, as I understand it, can offer voicechat fairly universally in PS3 games through any bluetooth headset, it is not difficult to see why Nintendo's service would be called a mess - it is not unified at all, and therefore it is entirely scattershot. Friendcodes are an example, and another is the Nintendo Channel, which is unmitigated advertising, while the Shop channel contains no advertising content.

In this sense, you might say that Nintendo's service is actually difficult to classify as a service. When RFN discuss online in Wii games it is primarily with regard to the online features and performance of a single game, such as Brawl or Mario Kart. Likewise, it is telling that your proof of a decent service is to point to an individual who has put hundreds of hours into a single game. In a sense it is unfair to refer to Nintendo as having an online service. It would seem far more fair to point to individual games: Monster Hunter Tri's online service, or Brawl's online service. Evidently this would not be the case if performance and features were standardised, or even merely consistent across games. I should mention though that in PSN's case I'm sure a lot of the online functionality is the result of a trickle down effect from Microsoft, who have standardised requirements for features in 360 games, which PS3 ports will be likely to retain.

Finally, and this is a fairly general point since I've rambled for long enough, I disagree that Sony is being given an easy time for the disruption to PSN. I refer back to my initial point in this post, concerning the subtext of many of your posts which I have read. You describe the reaction to the PSN network's downtime: '"oh haha, silly hackers, sh*t happens - who wants to play some HD gamezz?!?"'. OK. What am I supposed to infer from this? I can only assume that you have been spending your day(z) reading inane Youtube comments, or that you are imagining a camp of PS360 users (no less than the gaming press? Taking a wild guess) who will do anything to defend Microsoft and Sony, who, of course, both fall under the umbrella of the HD label. And these Youtube commenters/fanboys/journalists will defend not one, but two home consoles under the moniker of HD, whilst continually attempting to attack and devalue Nintendo products? I would ask that you renounce your analogy: neither Nintendo, Sony nor Microsoft are spotty kids. They are faceless companies and corporations. If there are people out there who do not enjoy Nintendo products and express a preference for games on other consoles, be that because of online functionality, HD graphics or any other reason, then they are not bullies.

[Chocobo_Rider]

Dear adadad,

Thankfully, I need but a few short thoughts to respond to your great wall of text.

1.  Quite right! I'm very "us" versus "them" this gen.  Primarily because I've spent the last 20+ years of my life as a gamer and not until this gen have I felt that my gaming preferences have literally isolated me from my peers.  Friends I used to game with? Store clerks I used to gab with? Yea, I prefer Nintendo this gen so, I'm not a "real" gamer, or a "hardcore" gamer.

To which you might say "well if they act that way they are morons and you don't need 'em!"  True enough, but then there are a looooot of morons in the culture of gaming... and I'd love to see that change.  Wouldn't you?

2. As far as the costs, you're right, I am not an accountant for these companies but my guesses are as educated as they can be.  I feel my logic was pretty sound and you certainly didn't provide any counter points other than the concept that you disagree!

3. Building on point 2, yea, a lot of what you wrote was just rambling.  So much so that, again, it doesn't appear you had your own perspectives to share with us so much as you simply disliked mine.  To that, I can only say: sorry?? =P

4. In regards to point 1 and the notion of a crowd of gamers who are too insecure to play games that don't somehow imply a pixelcount/dick size correlation? I'm sorry to inform you that this is the reality we are in.  If you want to meet me in a chatroom sometime and go over it with you I'd be glad to do so and my website has the means.  Otherwise, if you haven't witnessed the anti-Nintendo bias from the media and self-proclaimed hardcore gamers, then all I can say is I envy your blissful ignorance.

PS - thanks for the backup, Maxi.  Have we discussed that you are apparently also a fan of the Teen Titans animated show? That series was bad.ass.

[NWR_insanolord]

Seriously adadad, I've taken college courses in which I read less than that post.

[adadad]

Seriously adadad, I've taken college courses in which I read less than that post.

Yeah. Sorry about that. I was very tired when I wrote it which is why it's so rambling. I take it you don't study English Literature then  :

I suppose the thing that gets on my nerves NinSage is that you make out that you're preaching to people who define themselves as "hardcore gamers", addressing fanboy bias against Nintendo etc, but you're doing so on a Nintendo fansite - what's the point? And you basically attacked Broodwars (a forum user on a Nintendo fansite) for legitimately criticising Nintendo and seem to be lumping him in the "crowd of gamers who are too insecure to play games that don't somehow imply a pixelcount/dick size correlation", when (and this was the unarticulated point I wanted to express in my previous post I guess) that has nothing to do with online. If I value online gaming then I have a legitimate reason to criticise Nintendo and cast the Wii in an unfavourable light next to the other home consoles. That's simply a preference and I don't see how that has anything to do with "them" which you are constantly rallying against.

Your confusion about "them" and the comments you've made give me the impression that, for you, any person who plays games on a regular basis and does not enjoy Nintendo games or consoles is wrong, or a misguided fool who needs to be taught the error of their ways. Obviously as fans of Nintendo we both enjoy their output, but I respect the fact that Nintendo don't have something for everyone, they never will and they never have. So why fret about it, and why be rude to people who don't share your opinion?

[lolmonade]

Seriously adadad, I've taken college courses in which I read less than that post.

Yeah. Sorry about that. I was very tired when I wrote it which is why it's so rambling. I take it you don't study English Literature then  : : :

"continued rambling"

English Literature: The study of using 5 paragraphs to make a point that would only take 5 sentences.
 
All kidding aside, I do agree with your points on why Ninetndo's online infastructure is considered lazy.  The 3 titles mentioned so far have been the exception, not the rule, which is an incredible missed opportunity.