Messages

26

General Gaming / Re: Xbox720 - that's 2 full revolutions - not till 2014? ~Rumor/Speculation Thread~

« on: December 04, 2012, 01:08:41 PM »

Any reason why Yahoo one of the most on the brink companies writes dooms articles on the big 3. They wrote an article saying microsoft couldn't afford to invest in xbox any more due to the xbox divsion being poor.

What article? Recent?
The challenges facing Microsoft are not quite as immediate as Nintendo and Sony (as the Shyguy said, it almost feels like Sony is facing an existential crisis due to killer competition across nearly all their major markets) because the majority of their revenues come from other, still healthy product lines. What keeps MS up at night is the very real threat that those cash cows may dry up over these next couple cycles (the computing paradigm looks to be gradually but surely shifting thanks to the lightweight, adaptable and ever-growing mobile platforms).
I am watching closely to see how much of their market remains come the inevitable Windows 9 in a few years. Meanwhile, if they can be made secure enough, cloud services just might displace that stranglehold MS has on business. Could be talking outta my ass on this one, but disruption can be fast, brutal and take no prisoners. Just ask RIM and Nokia. And heck, Sony.

To be clear, I think MS is still in a very strong position, flush with cash and with plenty of opportunity to transition into an even more ubiquitous entity than they are now...but the computing boom markets certainly are very much up for grabs and the momentum is not in their sails at this moment.
It does indeed sound like XBox (in all its planned flavours!) will be a huge part of their strategy to seize the consumer market, as it should be. If that Yahoo article is just as you said, it would actually be foolish of MS not to invest in and leverage the consumer success they have bled and bled for (wonder what total net profit for their two-generation XBox initiative works out to? Whatever it is, the colour is probably red). They need an enticing ecosystem and the "halo effects" it creates 'cuz their competitors are steadily constructing the potential means for their downfall.

27

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Wii U Future Predictions!

« on: November 29, 2012, 04:55:41 AM »

Ohhhh, almost forgot this. Gamepad becomes the Streampad. I smell E3 2013 bombshell
 
From a polygon article http://www.polygon.com/2012/11/16/3653294/wii-u-range-test-gamepad:
...The tech would even theoretically support extending the GamePad's use well outside the house, say to a local Starbucks, through Wi-Fi.

"Currently the Wi-Fi connection is peer-to-peer-based and using the GamePad outside the home would require a networked connection to the console; this is something that is a possibility for the future but is not in place today," Bekis said.

28

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Wii U Future Predictions!

« on: November 29, 2012, 04:49:56 AM »

These are fun.

- Market share:
Far greater than the 'Cube, far less than the Wii. I am most curious if Sony or MS will adopt the second screen idea (Smartglass is something quite different, a companion but not a centre-piece for a game). I doubt it. Their systems have to be significantly higher spec than Wii U while maintaining a conservative pricepoint. Even taking their extreme loss leader strategy of the last two product cycles into account, I can't see how they could afford to offer such a controller along with the spec upgrade, even if their systems launch at a premium above Wii U.

I think Wii U will do gangbusters in Japan...enduring brand power, a market veering strongly in the direction of portable and mobile platforms, the enticement of off-screen play in cramped households and the cagey offering of Monster Hunter, Dragon Quest and Pokemon offerings along with a continued slate of lifestyle non-games. Wii U seems especially well suited for Japan.
In the US, I have no idea. I want to say it will find its family-friendly, household niche... but the product, judging from advertising and resulting lack of awareness, is truly confusing. There are more options for eyeballs now than 5 years ago, and competition from nascent competitors (not to mention Steam and its ilk on the PC!) will probably intensify in the near future.

- 3rd party exclusives:
Japanese support should be fine. Given Nintendo's particularly strong relationships there and their relative position of strength (ie financial solvency) and the Wii U's robust hardware and digital platform, Ninty can likely secure some very nice software. But yeah, the West. EA seems unenthused and are relentlessly investing in mobile and digital delivery, Take Two doesn't anticipate the market for their games, Activision doesn't do exclusives (do any of them, these days?) ...the relationship with Ubi is a high point though.
This may very well be why Nintendo is so seriously courting indies now. With indies given their limited resources, they would be more likely to get, if not an actual platform exclusive, a "first platform" status.

- Perception among gamers:
Despite not being so bullish on their market impact, from a game library and experience standpoint, I actually think the system will serve "core" gamers very well (better than the 64, the 'Cube or the Wii!). Standard control options, a unique hook in the second screen that will serve some games and certain customers very well, adequate hardware, a promising digital platform and most importantly, an aggressive Nintendo looking to defend their turf and prolong their way of doing business while also exploring some new avenues. 

- Graphical capabilities years down the line:
Competing consoles will trump it, as will tablets in a couple of years (!?) It is already given that the booming PC market will remain the cutting edge. I don't really care about that, I do most of my play on the DS and the iPhone these days, but I imagine a lot of people do. I expect the graphics will remain good enough over the next 4 years for the vast majority of users however.

29

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 315: Nintendo Launch Alliance

« on: November 29, 2012, 02:29:04 AM »

kdr_11k - Having these messages show up in your games is pretty new though. I'm sure we'll talk more about it on ep 316...

Oho! Sounds like at least a couple of you guys have picked up Zombiu after all! Been enjoying the range of impressions that have accompanied this game and even if I don't end up enjoying the game itself (no WiiU, here) I can appreciate how ambitious and interesting it is. Tickled that Iwata did an Asks with the team, too.

Really enjoyed this episode, guys. Always great to hear Billy weigh in and some good discussion by Ariel in his NWR podcast debut! Hopefully Lindy can re-activate shortly but in the meanwhile, would also love to hear from Kohler again. I trust that Mr. Leahy will be making an appearance soon to discuss his new console?

30

TalkBack / Re: Game Freak Wants to Bring HarmoKnight Overseas

« on: October 01, 2012, 03:28:51 AM »

Hi, Nintendo.
I have a marvelous idea.
Lets really commit to releasing all the high quality games that you developed in-house at your own expense in the U.S. (at least). I feel you should do this because that market is oh, triple the size of the Japanese market and has quite a few peoples who like video games.
No, seriously, commit and be vocal about it! This is key too: no coyness is required, your customer base will appreciate the transparency and commitment to provide content! And after all, they know the distribution cost in the case of projects like Harmo Knight are greatly reduced thanks to digital...they just want convenienty obtainable and reasonably-priced content.
If you are worried about whether or not a game can "sell in x market", well it is time to start hiring and firing marketing and sales peoples until you find the ones that can sell a good game to a very large, paying market.


Please do your best, lots of customers are counting on you! -xoxo Unky_Op

31

TalkBack / Re: Nintendo 3DS XL Impressions

« on: July 30, 2012, 01:22:00 AM »

Appreciate the impressions.
Curious tho, you mentioned being " underwhelmed" by the dsi xl yet pleased with this one. Ive heard many liken this new portable positively with their dsi xl experience. What was underwhelming for you that was fixed with the 3ds xl?

32

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 298: How Many Licks Does It Take?

« on: July 18, 2012, 10:23:29 AM »

No love for the tootsie pop commerical reference?
Had me rollin', especially how Jon got the inflection juuust right on the "Two"!

33

Nintendo Gaming / Re: People Need To Stop Bitching

« on: July 18, 2012, 10:12:40 AM »

Activision isn't for sale right now (and haven't been for many years, before COD came out), so no one has had a chance to buy them.

Wait, this bloomberg article makes it pretty clear that Vivendi (who owns a 60+% controlling share in Acti as far as I know) is looking for a buyer, but is still In a vetting process in which no strong suitors have stepped forth.
The article:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-13/vivendi-s-search-for-activision-suitors-off-to-slow-start.html

@MagicCow, the article also goes a bit into why Microsoft has balked despite the obvious development assets they would gain...it may boil down to the conflict a specific platform holder would have with shareholders if they were to significantly limit the publishers prospective revenue by forcing them to publish for MS platforms only.
Just using the CoD example, for instance, cutting out a PS (and in the future Wii U) would comprise a hefty bulk of the game's revenue and thus impacts the true valuation the company would have for a "biased" suitor like MS.

34

Nintendo Gaming / Re: 3DS XL "Not big enough..."

« on: July 16, 2012, 01:10:33 AM »

The important thing is that 3DS is getting Monster Hunter 4. The series is such a juggernaut in Japan that people will buy the Circle Pad Pro and the Circle Pad Pro XL just to play the game if they don't have it already. They made sure one of the most popular franchises in Japan is absolutely coming to their handheld. And it's being made with the hardware in mind. Even if Capcom ports the game to Vita, it will play better on 3DS.

Why wouldnt it play as well on the Vita? Vita has got the two sticks the MH fans seem to crave, a larger capacitive screen and a...back touch screen (actually I dont know what that one accomplishes).
I am watching Capcom's announcements with great interest. I am guessing a big reason reason why MH Tri went to Wii and MH 4 went to 3ds is development cost...creating ground-up HD assets for such an expansive game when a suitably large audience on a cheaper dev platform were already available. That and/or money hats.
Capcom is surely working on true HD MH assets so I do expect an eventual announcement of MH 4 Freedom Liberation or some such for Vita next year.
Vita actually seems to have better western support, though perhaps TGS will show some strong Japanese titles.

On topic, I am giddy to see the 3ds XL + CPP XL Voltron. Besides girth comparisons, and All other complaints aside, it really floored me how Ugly the original was. I honestly couldnt beleive the news at first.
 Nyko however created a very nice alternative that Even included an extra battery for $30.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/05/nyko-power-grip-pro-3ds/

35

Nintendo Gaming / Re: 3DS XL "Not big enough..."

« on: July 15, 2012, 01:41:31 AM »

Back on topic, as I've argued before, Nintendo simply doesn't want a second analog to be the standard on 3DS. The Circle Pad Pro exists solely to get Capcom to put Monster Hunter on the platform, like the Classic Controller Pro before it. I understand that this is not a popular stance, and I don't really agree with it myself, but at this point I think it's fairly clear that that's what's going on.

I wonder if they rue the agreement at all (probably not, that one title practically puts Japan in the bag).
When they showed the custom controller for Tri there was Generally excitement. In the case of 3ds it Looks to have created something of a headache...not a surpise, the CPP sent a mixed message they apparently did not intend to transmit.
Of course, with the CPP XL due, the cynicism wont be going away anytime soon!

36

Nintendo Gaming / Re: 3DS XL "Not big enough..."

« on: July 14, 2012, 07:49:26 AM »

I was curious, so I took a peek at the teardown for the OG 3ds. You can check it out here:
http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Nintendo-3DS-Teardown/5029/1

It looks like quite the densely packed system...I can see the side without the circle pad is where the battery slots. In this case it is understandable when Nintendo states they made a design tradeoff. As for the XL, I have not seem any teardown so I am not ready to call BS on Satoru Iwata when he made this statement.

Actually Ive read transcripts from a few of his earnings report meetings now and I have to say he explains Nintendo's positions on a range of issues rather succinctly (or perhaps I should give the credit to an ace translation job). As such, I do find it needlessly cynical to say "he so full of crap". Disagreement with the features in an end product is one thing, but condemnation for shoddy and misleading management is another.
There is the decent possibility that when this multibillion dollar publicly traded company, that probably doesnt want to hamstring its own competitivness for a reason like "pride" (dont think would go over well with shareholders), says that their very expensive r&d efforts concluded that price-performance-batteryLife measures dictated their decision...well, a decent Perhaps that it did. They have the experience and the history of success in this highly competitive market of portable game players that I can appreciate their judgement.

On an aside, regarding the Vita hardware design and why it can support two sticks, I believe the secret lies in the units base thickness. Exhibit A can be viewed here in Engadgets XL review:
http://www.engadget.com/photos/nintendo-3ds-xl-review/#5138563

Note that the Vita structure thickness exceeds both halves of the XL when closed. Now remember that the XL houses the battery in the lower portion and perhaps this explains the space constraints when compared to Vita's battery compartment. Incidentally, the Vita's 2100 mAh battery delivers about the same range of gameplay hours as the OG 3ds.
 It is an interesting design question to consider how Sony's engineers will (or indeed if they even can) improve the battery life for the inevitable next hardware model. I assume they wont be increasing screen size and I dont know how much miniaturization of several key hardware components can save in space. If only battery tech could improve beyond the sad low incremental arc of this current age.



Edit: kudos for the funny OP btw, OooohBoi

37

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Nintendo Working Hard At Better 3rd Party Relationships

« on: July 14, 2012, 06:57:32 AM »

I Agree that Nintendo has made strides in their 3rd party dealings. It sure has taken a while for their mentality to change from the 16 and 64-bit days but if, for example, you look at the 3ds you can see it enjoys fairly robust support from Japanese developers. Western developers are nother story, then again since when have Western publishers made a concerted effort to create quality portable content?


At the end of the day however Nintendo is the platform holder and it is up to them to create an attractive market for third parties. They did that with the Wii but as we now know almost ALL third parties had already made their bets on the HD consoles...the trickle of quality efforts meanwhile were not adequately rewarded financially. The Wii U, with its modern architecture and a ready online platform should draw the best third party support for a Nintendo console in 3 generations...but it is up to Nintendo to sell it into the market, and their efforts thus far at even establishing exactly what Wii U is have been a bit worrying.

38

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Nintendo's Western Developer Inner Circle

« on: July 14, 2012, 06:45:56 AM »

What could these developers bring to Nintendo?
 
Vigil Games
Radical Entertainment
Raven Software
Volition Software

P.S.
 
Not the IPs they have already worked on recently.

Nintendo is less about the name of the studio and more about the talent in that studio.  In Japan, loyalty is a big deal.  In the US, people get hired and fired depending on the game that needs to get finished or if it just finished.  If Nintendo bought a company, there's no guarantee that the talent would stay there, so they'd just be buying a name.  In the case of Sega, it might mean something (though as uncle_optimus points out, the Sega name is still too expensive to be worth it).  In the case of Raven or Volition, it means little to nothing to the majority of the public. 

I'd rather have Nintendo just create their own new western studio and hire the people they want to hire for it who they believe will stick around longer than it takes to finish one game.  Buying a company for the name is a waste of money.

What I meant is that Nintendo would buy not only the name of the developers, but also the staff, which would most likely jump at the chance of working for Nintendo for job security. In the case of developers such as Raven and Radical Activision would most likely sell them to Nintendo at a decent price since they are going to lay them off any way, so why not make some cash off it in the process? As for Vigil and Volition, I do not think that THQ will last much longer. THQ's creditors would most likey sell to Nintendo due to their reputation as a competent developer. The biggest obstacle to all of this is Nintendo themselves. Had it not been for the recent financial loss they incured I would bet that Nintendo would go on a shopping spree and have SEGA and various western developers in their cross hairs and a check book on standby.

If you Have some infoz that I don't, let's say we take a lil trip down to the ol market

Kidding aside I understand better why you brought up these studios. I also agree that there is are positives with acquiring a ready made team of developers: apart from individual talent, a team will have an established culture, are familiar with each other and thus hopefully know how to work together. In this case one of the major concerns would be "does the way we have always done things jive with how our new publisher does things? These points in a dev relationship matter as well, and we all know Nintendo certainly has their own way of doing things.

Should point out that there is still no guarantee you could keep all the talent tho. Not only do western devs (and the western work culture in general) seem more prone to move around, but its not out of the question that some guys just might not want to make the next Mario Basket or something Nintendoey along those lines :p

39

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Vita > 3DS ad dis. Honest opinions?

« on: July 13, 2012, 01:22:22 PM »

Our posts were so long I literally forgot what we were talking about in this thread :p

I think it was something to do with the Atari Lynx.

O man that thing was heavy, not to mention it really weighed a lot!

40

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 297: Hippy Shows

« on: July 13, 2012, 01:19:36 PM »

Can the recent Nintendo press release saying Ocarina of Time 3D just crossed 1 million units be the nail in the coffin for VGChartz? They're reporting 1.29 million, which even if Nintendo's numbers are only from the end of June, likely is off. I doubt OoT 3D sold a fifth of its sales in the past month.

Strangely, they are closer on the overall worldwide sales figure...Nintendo reported 2.61 million units sold as of the end of March so I imagine the ensuing 3 months would bring it quite close to The VGChartz figure.
I have heard an awful lot about the sketchiness of their projections though and wish this could be cleared up. Do we at least know the general range of error on their figures? ...cuz judging by TOoT 3d, a +\- of 20% is not quite gettin 'er done...

41

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Nintendo's Western Developer Inner Circle

« on: July 13, 2012, 12:55:11 PM »

Not even Mature Balloon Fight? I for one think a reimaging like that, say for 3ds, would really pop!

1 point and 1 question:
- even if Nintendo pried one of those quality (and not on fire sale) developers from their existing publisher relationships, there is no guarantee any IP would come with such an acquisition. It is as likely that, for instance, Activision would own the rights to all the IP created by Raven software. Acquiring any nice juicy IP would this be a separate dealio.

-what is wrong with Sing? There are surely many customers who want a decent karaoke game they can have fun with in family or social settings. In fact, there might even be more potential customers than, for example, a new F-Zero and almost certainly more than for a new Sin & Punishment ....

42

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 297: Hippy Shows

« on: July 13, 2012, 08:54:21 AM »

Recently a friend of mine was tickled pink that NiGHTS into Dreams was getting an HD remake.  Now, I looooove that franchise.  But, when I heard that news it was met with an overwhelming *yaaawn*.  I don't want SEGA to spend time making HD assets for a game that is still perfectly enjoyable on the flippin' Sega Saturn.

...
AND FINALLY IN DEFENSE OF REMAKES:
Remakes make money for devs and publishers (or at least that is the idea). These companies need profits to survive and continue to make games, which I want them to do. There are plenty of new games if you don't want to buy a remake (unless it's a console launch of course, and even then you can always wait a few months).
It always bugs me in any industry when people expect main stream house hold names to operate like artistic, experimental indies. Successful indies are hugely influential on mainstream brands, they all have their place.
All I ask is that the products I pay for do not suck.

The ultimate defense for remakes...according to market response, Ocarina of Time 3D had some 2.7 million reasons to justify its remakey existence:
http://www.vgchartz.com/game/45731/the-legend-of-zelda-ocarina-of-time-3d/
...yes, I know VGchartz is not the most reliable.

Anyway, NinSage, one compromise to keep in mind is that companies don't seem to utilize their prime game-making assets (i.e. their top dev teams) on these remakes. Using the example above, Ocarina was developed by Grezzo, a relatively young but promising dev house. Having outside studios work on smaller projects like a remake/+port has many benefits, from freeing up top dev teams, providing the company a more reliable revenue stream and allowing the company to measure and build a relationship with an outside studio that can perhaps even grow into corporate matrimony one day
 

43

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Vita > 3DS ad dis. Honest opinions?

« on: July 13, 2012, 08:42:47 AM »

What I am really waiting for is the day when I can take my whole games collection any where and play the same games on a big or small screen. The nearest thing I've seen so far was the Gameboy player!

Our posts were so long I literally forgot what we were talking about in this thread :p
On your last comment: that day is surely coming, and Soon, but it is unlikely that Nintendo will be the one* who brings us there
But if they are forced to follow shortly after then I guess, for us loving and loyal customers.

(*way off topic but Microsoft, Apple and various Android players will all sooner-or-later make this type of value proposition to consumers as an extension of their burgeoning software platforms.)

44

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Nintendo's Western Developer Inner Circle

« on: July 13, 2012, 08:32:01 AM »

What could these developers bring to Nintendo?
 
Vigil Games
Radical Entertainment
Raven Software
Volition Software

P.S.
 
Not the IPs they have already worked on recently.

Sorry to hijak the thread with my silly essay, Kytim.
For fun and to get an idea of their strengths, lets look at what these studios have created. I will just pull out some notables according to my eye:
http://youtu.be/IS7Og1zvdy8

Raven Software
Developed: Hexen, Heretic, X-men Legends, Marvel Ultimate Alliance
Shoehorned-in Nintendo property I could see working: Nintendo RPG (cross btwn Mario RPG and Ultimate Alliance)
BTW: they already belong to Activision

Radical Entertainment
Developed: Battle of Olympus, Mario's Time Machine(!), Simpson's Road Rage, Tetris Worlds, Hulk Ultimate Destruction, Scarface, CSi games, Crash Bandicoot licensed games, Prototype
Shoehorned-in Nintendo property I could see working: Star Tropics!! ...uh, Mario Battle Kart!!...dunno, these guys are all over the place
BTW: they are on the sales block and may be closed down by Activision, most employees already released

Vigil games:
Developed: Darksiders
Shoehorned-in Nintendo property I could see working: Eternal Darkness or action-oriented Zelda spin-off (assuming Ninty owns the rights)
BTW: owned by THQ, maybe their best studio


Volition, Inc.:
Developed: Freespace, Descent, Red Faction, Saint's Row
Shoehorned-in Nintendo property I could see working: mature Balloon Fight, mature Tingle's Rose-Coloured Rupeeland
BTW: owned by THQ, maybe their best studio


One question though, Kytim: I know wishful thinking is one thing, but why do you assume Nintendo could just acquire one of these studios for a reasonable price? Radical Entertainment perhaps as they are actually on (fire)sale, but they have little prior history with the Big N and are under some...administrative...distress right now. Nor do any of the other studios on that list.
Any purchase of an established developer would probably require a collaborative history and positive relationship. As others have noted, a Monster games or perhaps Kuju Entertainment makes more sense. Or Sega* (my own wishful thinking) just to get their hands on IP like Panzer Dragoon and Virtual On

*just checked their valuation again and Sega would be, as expected, too expensive. It would be more like a merger given the relative sizes ...and the history of successful mergers is spotty at best

45

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Nintendo's Western Developer Inner Circle

« on: July 13, 2012, 07:59:10 AM »

$180 million, which is still way too much for a studio with only 1 big game (I have heard of Draw Something, but never used it and had no idea who made it).

The new digital arms race. Nearly all of the mobile game developers who have released products of any merit have been snapped up: NGMoco, OMGPop, Firemint, Popcap, etc.

What some more fun trends? Rovio, the Angry Birds folks, are still independent and are probably worth more than a storied (but recently troubled) company like Nokia...not to mention Electronic Arts, Konami, Capcom and Sega*. Heck, according to some articles I have seen they may even approach an Activision valuation shortly (They are supposedly targeting an IPO early next year worth MANY billions). *numbers taken from marketwatch.com

"Why So Crazy!?" you may be thinking...these are all perhaps inflated valuations but we are still wading into a sea change in the potential migration of industry value. The companies who control popular properties that can be easily and cheaply distributed to a potential audience of billions (the target market for good ol' boys like Acti and our beloved Nintendo, tho big, may be limited by cost, product complexity and sheer reach) are considered on the inside track to rake in those revenues.
OMGPop was acquired not for the revenue a mobile hit like Draw Something can generate in the near term, which is apparently quite a bit (over $50 million 2012 alone according to JP Morgan), but what they can potentially generate over the next 10 years. Zynga will almost assuredly make their investment back. Instagram cost Facebook a cool $1 billion...but they had to pay it to keep it out of the clutches of Google who, remember, themselves purchased Youtube for around the same to keep it away from Microsoft! Instagram is damn popular and could have given their prime competitor a leg-up.

The takeaway is that those companies and those acquisitions are gearing up for another level of market size and competition and are not completely analogous to the value we as established gamers would bestow upon the properties that are nearer and dearer to our hearts.

On this note, EA is a truly fascinating case. Thanks to their own acquisitions and initiatives, more so than any other player, they straddle the "traditional" and the "new" markets. Yet their market cap is albatrossed by the doldrums of the current traditional retail market (and perhaps Mass Effect 3 angry fanboy curses). Seemingly little weight is given the fact that they possess significant mobile hit-maker assets like a Popcap studios
...they are looking CHEAP, folks! @_@

46

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Rhythm Thief

« on: July 13, 2012, 07:15:01 AM »

Pullin' for Sega here, hope they get a nice ROI on this project.
I do wish the game were 10 bucks cheaper and downloadable tho.

47

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 297: Hippy Shows

« on: July 13, 2012, 07:12:42 AM »

I may be mistaken, but I would expect Nintendo to release Gamecube games as downloadable for Wii U as direct ports, nothing more, nothing less.
...

So F-Zero will restart for no reason and Metroid Prime will go all weird artifacty for that authentic GCN feel?

Metroid Prime isn't something I can comment on, as i've never played anything from that series, but I can say that I've logged dozens of hours in F-Zero GX and have never had that issue with it.
 
My take-home point is that it seems that as of late Nintendo seems to have made focus of their decisions based on improving shareholder confidence (2 2D Mario Platformers in one year?).  To me, it would make more sense to expand the Wii U's version of virtual console to include Gamecube games and give the same treatment that they gave Nintendo 64, SNES, & NES games.

I think they should do both
The 2-D Mario games are for driving overall revenue, so those were always incoming. The GC downloads have got to be on the horizon...now that the silly download limit is removed with the advent of dl retail titles, GC games can reasonably be sold for $15-20. Or hell, slap on some network play to GX or Blue Storm and charge $25 :p

48

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Nintendo's Western Developer Inner Circle

« on: July 12, 2012, 09:05:31 AM »

Nintendo's "Drought prevention" mechanism is third party support.
Absent that....it leaves a lot of thirsty customers as we have been reminded over the Last year with Wii and as some may recall with horror As being the fate of the N64 buyer.

I lived through the N64 drought. I survived the GameCube drought. I thrived during the Wii drought. My body is ready Nintendo!

Well said, sir.  (but please don't invite them to bring the droughts!)
Digital platforms and virtual console does help the situation a bit...and if VC gets a level-up to include Gamecube and Wii classics, Woot Yeah!

49

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 297: Hippy Shows

« on: July 11, 2012, 12:16:13 PM »

Agreed that Nights especially is in that group due for the hirez treatments.
Personally I dont have issue with these projects since they generally (in addition to some very good reasons already given) serve a certain market that desires to relive and replay classic experiences as well as allows a publisher to reintroduce and gauge interest in a dormant franchise.


In the case of Sega in particular I am happy they are still taking smaller initiatives such as this after all the Doom and gloom recently surrounding their operations. For a while there they had me thinking they would only support a small handful of proven cash cows.

50

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Nintendo's Western Developer Inner Circle

« on: July 11, 2012, 02:25:00 AM »

Nintendo's "Drought prevention" mechanism is third party support.
Absent that....it leaves a lot of thirsty customers as we have been reminded over the Last year with Wii and as some may recall with horror As being the fate of the N64 buyer.

But they should still increase their game creating assets because there is an appetite for more of their quality content and it could give them a shot in the arm in terms of cultivating new talent, IP and Understanding of different business models. Companies Can't be afraid to change and must try new things and Nintendo has in many ways showed that it is not afraid...but c'mon already guys, make some more good games! (insatiable me :p)

@Shingi: I understand why you would want them to buy Mistwalker and all that...but they probably figure putting more assets towards creating niche appeal RPG titles might not offer the highest ROI. Personally, I am still figuring out why they bought Monolith in the first place if all they intended to do was have it provide content for markets OTHER THAN THEIR BIGGEST MARKET... @-@?!