No word on when the Wii U goes free to play, though.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/blog/35298
Well that was a pleasant mid-week surprise. The Nintendo 2DS. A Wii U price drop. A Wind Waker HD Wii U bundle. Releases for everything except Wii Fit U. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze at $50. November 22 being revealed to be Nintendo's attempt at a response to the PS4 and Xbox One launches.
The hot-button topic seems to the be the Nintendo 2DS, which I think is a smart move. While the design does look weird, resembling a cheese wedge in the same way the original 3DS resembled a taco, the basic logic is sound. Basically, take everything about the 3DS except the 3D and put it into a more affordable package. They removed a 3D screen and chopped $40 off the price, making the cheapest model $70 less than the recently price-dropped Vita.
If you're in the market for a 3DS this year, you have three options now: the $130 2DS, the $170 3DS, and the $200 3DS XL. That's not even including the bundles that will likely happen throughout the rest of the holidays and beyond. If you're complaining about this on Twitter, you probably already have a 3DS. Not that you can't complain, but it's something directed at a different audience. It's why it didn't show up in a Nintendo Direct, because the 2DS is for kids and people on a strict budget who don't shell out $200+ for a new system twice a year. I don't know if the 2DS is for me (I'm content with my XL), but I definitely want to try it on for size to see how it feels.
The Wind Waker bundle is another thing, and I'm a little surprised that didn't show up in a Nintendo Direct, because that is directed at the "hardcore." I've seen two NWR family Wii U holdouts mention that the $300 Wii U bundle that comes with Wind Waker HD is their breaking point. I don't think it's aggressive enough, though. $300 with a game is definitely better than $350 with a game, but it'd be a much better value option if they packed in Wind Waker HD AND Nintendo Land, or something similar. My gut is that this cut won't change too much, but I could be wrong. I kind of hope I'm wrong. Still, now Wii U is $100 lower than PS4 (and $200 lower than Xbox One) and comes with a remake of one of the greatest games ever made (in this man's opinion). And I think that Wind Waker HD will be my first digital retail purchase on the Wii U. Two weeks earlier? Yes please.
We might not ever get an answer for why Super Mario 3D World and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze switched places. Maybe Retro needed a little more wiggle room. Maybe the sales forecast pointed to 3D World being a bigger Black Friday seller. Even more curious is how Tropical Freeze is priced at $50, $10 less than 3D World and standard Wii U releases. Still, Nintendo fans should circle November 22 as the landmark Nintendo release day this year. It could be perfect to drop 3D World, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, and Mario Party: Island Tour on the same day after most PS4 and Xbox One owners enter their second week or so of ownership of their new shiny console that might not have too many new shiny games to play.
It is weird to me that Nintendo is essentially taking a month off between the October 25 release of Wii Party U and the deluge of new games on November 22. It seems to me that Nintendo of America is doing exactly what they did at E3. They're getting the hell out of the way for the new console launches and hoping that their sideline attempts to hype up their products will benefit them while directly competing with systems that are more powerful.
But seriously, with the 2DS and a Wii U price cut on the way, get out your popcorn and enjoy the ride (and the games). It's going to be fun.
Also, this is like the coolest box art Nintendo's put out in recent memory. Look at it. It's awesome.
No news regarding the basic set? Will it be deeply discounted or discontinued?
...
I do have to agree that they should have just kept Nintendo Land bundled into the system and added Zelda.
2) This is just what Nintendo needed to do to get sales. Nintendo can't focus on the hardcore gamer now, but definitely can go to reclaim the family and casual market. PS4 offers nothing to those markets
A few things that worry me, Nintendo needs to work on it's pacing--releasing ... two strategy games atop of each otherIs Nintendo suddenly releasing Advance Wars or something?
...that totally looks like a strategy game:
(http://abload.de/img/saurlns0n.gif)
I'll be curious to see how a seemingly underwhelming port of a GameCube game manages to move consoles with that price cut, though.
I think what makes it underwhelming is that not every Zelda fan or Nintendo fan liked Wind Waker, of all the games to remake that is the most head scratching one for them to release. It was no where near the best Zelda, it was right next door to the worst, which we all know is that worthless Majora's Mask.
Saying that every Zelda fan already has a Wii U is really a stupid claim considering the Wii U doesn't even yet have a Zelda game and some people prefer to wait to buy the system after the game they want comes out not buy it first on the hopes the game might someday maybe come. This is not the Zelda game *most* Zelda fans are or were waiting for this is just a game Nintendo knew had left a sour taste in gamers mouths and for some odd reason they somehow thought maybe upgrading it might get people to try it again.
Before you get all on the hate I didn't have a problem with the toon shading and that is still not why I dislike this game. My problem, and a lot of people I know complain about this too but it always gets ignored by the blind loyalists who just kiss Nintendo's ass and refuse to think for themselves, this was NOT a Zelda game. It took way too damn long to get to the Zelda part and by then it had already lost my attention. I have no doubt it ended up being a good Zelda game in the end because the Demo on the collectors edition disk demonstrates that, but the game started out as some odd pirate game that had nothing to do with Zelda. If the damn game would have gotten to the real Zelda stuff maybe twenty minutes or so sooner it might have been better received.
Anyways the Wii U getting a price drop is a big deal because that is what is holding a lot of us back. When there are just so few games to justify it and when Nintendo makes odd choices like they are now known for maybe people are just waiting for it to come down in price to justify the few games they know appeal to them? Not every gamer out there worships the ground Nintendo walks on and with good reason. This whole Nintendo games sell Nintendo systems bull **** has really gotten old. Not only has it historically NOT been that way, the best fucking games for the NES, aside from five games, are NOT made by Nintendo. SNES had a few more good games by Nintendo but the BEST games for the system were all 3rd party with a handful of exception. N64, it was not that way. Gamecube had some decent 3rd party support but it really fell on Nintendo's shoulders. Wii was a joke in that department so understandably there are those of us, apparently more of us than those blind worshipers, who realize this **** has been going on long enough.
Yeah I want Mario 3D World but not enough to pay $400 dollars for it. If I am going to spend that much money on anything I need some real value. I got my Gamecube after the drop to $99 and the Zelda bundle which made it worth it, if not for that then I might have moved on like I did with Wii. I got a Wii at launch and boy do I regret that. Outside of Nintendo fan sites most gamers have a similar attitude about the Wii, it was a joke the motion controls were just a gimmick and they were not enough to sustain a fanbase. It was not a **** system but it was not their best work. NOW gamers are just fed up, if Nintendo wants us to buy their system they need to do more to win us back. Selling us games we didn't like on the Gamecube is not the way to do it. It's like if Sega would launch a new console and use Sonic 3D Blast remake in HD as their flagship title, yeah a lot of smart sense that makes right? Nintendo took their most divisive Zelda ever and chose to make that a selling point? Really to who? The people who are okay with Wind Waker already have a Wii U that might be true, but there are not enough of them apparently to move consoles, the rest of us Zelda fans, are waiting for a real Zelda game to convince us the system is worth it. So stop acting like if you don't lick Nintendo's boots your not a real fan that is about as stupid as those jerks who claim a real Star Wars fan has to hate the Prequels.
I think what makes it underwhelming is that not every Zelda fan or Nintendo fan liked Wind Waker, of all the games to remake that is the most head scratching one for them to release. It was no where near the best Zelda, it was right next door to the worst, which we all know is that worthless Majora's Mask.
And they're doing it all for $60, no less$50.
I guess we will see how things work out. I am putting my money on Wind Waker being a flop, even with the bundle.Yeah, well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.
And they're doing it all for $60, no less$50.
And they're doing it all for $60, no less$50.
*looks at Amazon*
Oh, did Nintendo finally settle on a price? They started with $50, raised it to $60, and now we're back at $50. Whatever. My point still stands: it's overpriced for mediocre content and next to nothing worthwhile added.
no **** that is my opinion that is what I said.