151
Nintendo Gaming / Re: Mii QR code collection
« on: March 31, 2011, 07:33:13 PM »
Stan "The Man" Lee
Show Posts
This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.
152
Nintendo Gaming / Re: The Official 3DS System Friend Code Thread
« on: March 29, 2011, 05:35:04 PM »
Justin Nation { MAMEiac } 0344-9277-1213
153
Nintendo Gaming / Re: Mii QR code collection
« on: March 29, 2011, 05:32:10 PM »
My own, two few I made, and a favorite I found.
154
TalkBack / Re: Super Street Fighter IV 3D Wi-Fi Night
« on: March 29, 2011, 03:36:51 PM »
Tried the code a few times, checking to be sure I put it in correctly, and it is saying it isn't a valid code.
155
Nintendo Gaming / 3DS Mii Avatar Thread
« on: March 29, 2011, 03:30:05 PM »
Didn't see another thread for this out there so I figured I'd start one. Love the method for being able to import/export/share Miis with the 3DS, have looked around and found some good ones and have played with creating a few remakes of my own (I didn't want to start with ones from my Wii, wanted this to be a little more selective). Anyway, post away. Here's my current favorites:
156
TalkBack / Re: Super Street Fighter IV 3D Wi-Fi Night
« on: March 27, 2011, 10:43:03 AM »
My 3DS friend code is: 0344-9277-1213
157
TalkBack / Re: Super Street Fighter IV 3D Wi-Fi Night
« on: March 22, 2011, 05:27:29 AM »
Gotta keep track of this thread. MvC3 over X-Box Live has been a blast. Will need to see how this stacks up.
158
TalkBack / Re: A Decade of PGC/NWR: 1999
« on: March 13, 2009, 04:58:30 PM »
For me I literally did searches looking for sites that listed top 10 games on those consoles those years. There weren't all that many out there actually. Once I got into those I then went through the reviews to see what the vibe was around the game beyond the scores since you would have several in the same score range. In the end for me it was probably easier, people uniformly salivated over PD and Pokemon Gold/Silver and then with Majora's Mask people liked it but showed reservations more commonly over it. Simple for the most part but now I and others I talked to on staff saw it as a mistake looking back now at the two games.
159
TalkBack / Re: A Decade of PGC/NWR: 2002
« on: March 12, 2009, 07:16:45 AM »
Have to agree with the people giving some love to Mario Sunshine. Though it is probably the one Mario game I've never beat to completion (timing was bad and haven't returned) the levels where you had the water pak stripped from you were like crack for me. Talk about some ridiculously hard old-school platforming but in 3D, I would buy a game of just levels like that and enjoy the hell out of it. That's one thing I loved about Galaxy, some of the levels you needed to beat to get everything in the game were plain evil in their construction and I wouldn't have it any other way. Bring on the challenge!
160
TalkBack / Re: A Decade of PGC/NWR: 2000
« on: March 10, 2009, 09:47:20 PM »
I don't know why but as much as I loved Banjo-Kazooie I wasn't quite as enamored with Banjo-Tooie. Can only think the formula by then felt too formula and lost some luster. I do remember liking it but not obsessively playing and being compelled to finish it as with the original.
161
TalkBack / Re: A Decade of PGC/NWR: 2000
« on: March 10, 2009, 09:13:14 AM »Secondly, I believe you mentioned that the genre has improved by leaps and bounds. I would have to strongly disagree with you here. That mission/multiplayer formula may have been abandoned for crappy Halo-style gameplay, but that sure doesn't mean things have improved. The mission structure with multiple challenge settings and shifting goals gave the game ridiculous replayability. A number of friends and myself still lament the fact that first person shooters on consoles have taken a nosedive so quickly since Halo hit the scene. Rare even Halo-fied the damn prequel to Perfect Dark (play that and see what a freakin mess it is).
If you consider Halo to be the shining example of the genre then I would agree it has gone nowhere. Halo is possibly one of the most over-hyped and highly-average shooter experiences I've ever had. I suppose as console shooters go perhaps it may be a highlight (considering the lack of competition really) but on the PC shooters have evolved a great deal.
While my love for Valve Software will certainly come through I give two single-player experiences that, for me, blow the likes of Perfect Dark away: Half-Life 2 (and its subsequent episodes)... and if you want the killer there is Portal. Hands-down one of the most creative gaming experiences I have had in ages mixed with a surprisingly compelling non-story and a terrific sense of humor. Shoot, to knock Perfect Dark or Halo off even go back to the original Half-Life. Highly diverse scenarios and environments to work your way through and some terrific experiences to get the adrenaline pumping.
On the multi-player end Perfect Dark and any game with only pretty much Deatmatch to offer truly has nothing at all to offer. If you want Deathmatch I recommend Quake Live. Play Quake with a plug-in through your browser. Free and highly accessible. But even that is twitchy and tired nonsense... really Deathmatch has has nowhere to truly go but down for years. If you want multi-player that blows anything Perfect Dark could ever offer away I give you as starters: Battlefield 1942 (while the oldest I still enjoy its accessibility the most), Team Fortress 2 (once I got the hang of what changed from Team Fortress Classic I was hooked), Counter-Strike (out-and-out brilliant if you can stand the learning curve and the community), and now Left 4 Dead (more squad-like play against masses of enemies and your survival is exponentially more difficult to ensure if any of the other survivors die, making for a new strategy for forced cooperation).
So if you're saying the shooter hasn't evolved I think it is a matter of what you're measuring against...
Third, you mention how bad the controls are. I would again have to disagree when comparing them to a standard controller. Comparing to a mouse and keyboard or Wii Remote just isn't fair as they are not really equals. I STILL play modern console FPS titles with the wonky ass controls of Goldeneye/Perfect Dark. No movement and look separation. I was able to beat both of those titles on OO Agent/Perfect Agent settings and unlock all of the cheats in the game.
"Comparing to a mouse and keyboard or Wii Remote just isn't fair as they are not really equals"?!?! Didn't you then just agree with my statement that the controls are now thoroughly exposed as being horrible? Still insisting on playing that way doesn't make them intuitive or better... I could play Street Fighter 2 on my SNES with the gamepad well enough but that doesn't mean I wouldn't have preferred to play on a real 6-button arcade setup. Success in spite of control doesn't end up proving much. As for being able to complete a game at a high difficulty level with the controls the game was made for I'm not sure what you think that proves? I could beat Doom with the original control it gave me but the game was made to be beat with that control. If I had to try to win matches in Quake without mouse aiming I would wager I wouldn't fare so well or if I did it would only be IN SPITE of the poor control... again not the best criteria.
Just I'd wager if you still consider Goldeneye or Perfect Dark capable of standing up or being playable for anything beyond nostalgic or appreciative value you haven't been playing much (or at least much that is any good) in the genre for the past 5+ years. In a time capsule you can appreciate them but if you're out to get your game on there's no comparison.
162
TalkBack / Re: A Decade of PGC/NWR: 2000
« on: March 10, 2009, 05:58:43 AM »Perfect Dark is still my favourite N64 game, so I quite disagree with the points of it being incompetent today. The controls are still excellent, the N64 controller works very well for FPS games with its layout and comfort, and the more resistant analogue stick makes aiming easier... but maybe this is more due to my own personal loathing of dual-analogue controllers. Its corridor levels are much better designed and make for better action than the open field levels in games like Halo, and its selection of weapons is staggering and includes pretty much any type you can think of.
The best feature of Perfect Dark is definitely the A.I. bots in the multiplayer mode. I know people will say that having online modes eliminates the need for bots, but I believe they're needed now more than ever. When you play online you are likely to find extremely skilled players who aren't even going to give you a chance; there's little hope of improving your skills if you're killed ten seconds after you respawn. Bots make for great practice because you can customize them to match your skill level, and even give them unique personality settings like moving really fast or slow, using only explosive weaponry, or having suicidal tendencies. Since I'm non-competitive my friends and I would never play the game against one another, but would instead always team up against the bots. It was a blast!
Doom still kicks big pink demon booty. Shame on you for implying it is archaic.
I don't know, it all comes across as rationalizing to me. The more you describe how it is good the more it seems like you're grasping at straws. Regardless of the merits of how they pulled it off or shoe-horned the control into the N64 controller if you actively play with either mouse and keyboard or the Wii-mote and Nunchuk at a minimum the N64 control is embarrassingly bad. If nothing else than for the immediate fact that you cannot accurately move and aim at the same time. With either scheme I described I can run backwards while picking multiple targets off and then spin and keep running in one fluid movement. N64... DEAD before I even began to try half of that. It just lacks capability.
I was actually being nice to PD in this based on how widespread the worship of it was at the time, so I truly went with what people seemed to more commonly believe was the best. Full disclosure? I loved all things Rare including Goldeneye up until somewhere around the point DK64 and JFG came out and then started to become bewildered. I was given Perfect Dark as a gift and I tried to get into playing it about 5 times for a total of maybe 3 - 4 hours and gave up on it. Just couldn't get into it. Totally failed to impress me or suck me in. Don't know what happened with the title that made me stand back and go 'Meh' but it just wasn't for me and I never understood the hype/worship of it at all.
As for Doom. Fond memories of the game, played it and Duke Nukem 3D a ton. If you loved them, don't try to go back and play them. I did. Crippling problem: No Y-axis aiming. DONE! It pains me so much to play it feeling like I can't truly move or do something so fundamental that I can't stand trying to do it. Basically I've found the furthest I can go back without pain is Quake since then we're to the point where you had reasonably functional aiming and control.
You want true FPS these days? Left 4 Dead. Co-operative multi-player, intense, zombie hordes, chaos, and in the one mode you get to play on the zombie side as a "boss zombie". Hard to express the level of joy I feel playing as a "Boomer", vomiting all over the survivors, and watching the zombie horde rush them in a frenzy. I practically giggle.
163
TalkBack / Re: A Decade of PGC/NWR: 1999
« on: March 09, 2009, 06:50:31 PM »
As long as your criticisms of the music don't include... the DK Rap. For whatever reason that sucker can't get out of my head once it starts... it is evil. Loved playing it in Donkey Konga. Hysterically bad like a train wreck but a classic. 
164
TalkBack / Re: REVIEWS: Puzzle Quest: Galactrix
« on: March 09, 2009, 05:31:59 PM »
I was, well and still am, a bit taken aback by the review... mainly because I think it misses the point and comes out more as unfair for knocking it for all the wrong reasons. Bought it for my wife and she played it ravenously until she beat it last night and walked away liking the game but literally not being sure she'd even beat it. What I'm seeing around I would tend to agree with... it didn't seem to be tested worth $#!t on the DS since she only was able to build a powerful ship after she beat the game because she made a change. Saw something similar on the GameFAQs board. Just seems a mess.
I am enjoying the PC version currently and was a bit more pissed about the negativity based on my experience there. Then I saw the DS version. As inferior as the DS version of Puzzle Quest generally looked I think that Galactrix really looks like crap on a cracker for DS and some of it even seems unnecessary. OK, so real estate doesn't allow for some things on the puzzle board. I get that. But interfaces like moving between systems look horrible. WTF? Just I think the port of Puzzle Quest was handled much better.
No final verdict but I could see negativity for the game. The issue is mentioning Bejeweled in any way, shape, or form. Puzzle Quest and Galactrix are completely in their own sub-genre, much deeper and more involved than the simplicity of Bejeweled and its ilk. Just seems like it would have been more effective to take the game down on its obvious faults instead of getting caught on a somewhat irrelevant tangent.
I am enjoying the PC version currently and was a bit more pissed about the negativity based on my experience there. Then I saw the DS version. As inferior as the DS version of Puzzle Quest generally looked I think that Galactrix really looks like crap on a cracker for DS and some of it even seems unnecessary. OK, so real estate doesn't allow for some things on the puzzle board. I get that. But interfaces like moving between systems look horrible. WTF? Just I think the port of Puzzle Quest was handled much better.
No final verdict but I could see negativity for the game. The issue is mentioning Bejeweled in any way, shape, or form. Puzzle Quest and Galactrix are completely in their own sub-genre, much deeper and more involved than the simplicity of Bejeweled and its ilk. Just seems like it would have been more effective to take the game down on its obvious faults instead of getting caught on a somewhat irrelevant tangent.
165
TalkBack / Re: A Decade of PGC/NWR: 1999
« on: March 09, 2009, 05:22:48 PM »
Hehe, not to poke the bear but I recall people defending successful "casual" games like Carnival Games though many would consider it "less than stellar" as well. 
I actually probably knew many more people that liked DK64 than despised it by a good margin, though for all of my love of Banjo-Kazooie I was annoyed with it by about the 6 hour mark. That said I also tired pretty quickly with Jet Force Gemini though I see a lot of praise for it here. Rare really lost their luster for me that year. This is from the guy who finished the entirety (including a few impossibly hard platinum medals) of Blast Corps in a single weekend in a crack-induced state and who re-played Banjo-Kazooie probably 3 times (I loved the Grunty challenge ending, so sue me).
Anyway, I look forward to all scorn once my 2000 highlights go up tonight! *puts on flame-proof boxers*
I actually probably knew many more people that liked DK64 than despised it by a good margin, though for all of my love of Banjo-Kazooie I was annoyed with it by about the 6 hour mark. That said I also tired pretty quickly with Jet Force Gemini though I see a lot of praise for it here. Rare really lost their luster for me that year. This is from the guy who finished the entirety (including a few impossibly hard platinum medals) of Blast Corps in a single weekend in a crack-induced state and who re-played Banjo-Kazooie probably 3 times (I loved the Grunty challenge ending, so sue me).
Anyway, I look forward to all scorn once my 2000 highlights go up tonight! *puts on flame-proof boxers*
166
TalkBack / Re: A Decade of PGC/NWR: 1999
« on: March 09, 2009, 11:04:56 AM »
Hehe, if people are getting on what he deemed "GoTY" for 1999 I can only imagine the $#!tstorm when my 2000 one gets posted. Consider that for 1999 and 2000 it was before we had a formal decision about these things on the site so you're left instead to look at what other people picked and go from there... I called mine the "Consensus Game of 2000" but even with that there is a matter of interpretation. I actually picked a game I disliked (and tried to politely say so) as what people seemed to consider the best game at the time and then instead complimented one that was highly regarded but at the time seemed to have more caveats around.
Though DK64 represented the beginning of the end of my love affair with all things Rare I think on a mainstream level a lot of people liked it. If you aren't looking to beat the game but just run around and have a good time it was a more impressive title to a degree. Though having to revisit the same level as 2 - 3 different characters got highly annoying to probably everyone. Still, you could do a hell of a lot in the game and there were moments where it was really fun. I think the start of the bad taste then has gotten to full funk these days since you can see the full evolution of the "Collect-a-Thon" genre that it was a major player in... but you now see it much more clearly and have more disdain for it.
But just throwing a word out there that before we had real staff consensus all we have is what is out there and rather than guess what "staff" would think it was easier just to get a feel for what seemed to qualify.
Though DK64 represented the beginning of the end of my love affair with all things Rare I think on a mainstream level a lot of people liked it. If you aren't looking to beat the game but just run around and have a good time it was a more impressive title to a degree. Though having to revisit the same level as 2 - 3 different characters got highly annoying to probably everyone. Still, you could do a hell of a lot in the game and there were moments where it was really fun. I think the start of the bad taste then has gotten to full funk these days since you can see the full evolution of the "Collect-a-Thon" genre that it was a major player in... but you now see it much more clearly and have more disdain for it.
But just throwing a word out there that before we had real staff consensus all we have is what is out there and rather than guess what "staff" would think it was easier just to get a feel for what seemed to qualify.
167
TalkBack / Re: Happy 10th Birthday, Nintendo World Report!
« on: March 08, 2009, 06:25:23 AM »They had to freeze me for the last 6 years until they found the cure for spontaneous cerebral cortex combustion. What would I do without the fine folks at Prescott Pharmaceuticals?
Brave man, I could have sworn I heard the potential side effects of that drug were: Spontaneous Dom DeLuise Transformations, Crayon Worship, and Lollipop Guild Syndrome?
168
TalkBack / Re: Happy 10th Birthday, Nintendo World Report!
« on: March 07, 2009, 06:56:32 PM »
Well, if we're doing stories... how about going OLD SCHOOL!
- I was always a Nintendo junkie and saw this really cool site while I was early on in college called N64HQ run by Scott McCall. One day he had a posting up looking for staff so I wrote some stuff and got on.
- Wrote some reviews and extremely long-winded editorials for the HQ for a while and then Scott decided to close to doors. OH NOES!
- At the very end of the HQ I decided I'd try to start up my own site and within a month or two from it closing The 64 Source was born. I'd managed to cobble together some great former N64HQ staff as well as nuts like Max Lake and Rob Stevens as well. Also picked up people like Jonathan Lindemann and some others who've come and gone.
- At its peak with 64 Source I think I was managing a staff of over 20 people. We had specific people dedicated to pretty much all major areas including news, codes, previews, release dates, etc. On top of that we had female staff, people from Europe, someone in Japan, and I think even a person in Australia. It was nutty.
- When news of Nintendo thinking about a new system was starting to form I decided to move into the business of thinking about that system... I was bored of 64 Source by then anyway. So right around the same time Billy was starting up Planet N2000 I was starting up OperatioN2000. I had more of a skeleton crew on OpN2k since it was all speculative but had much more fun trying to sift through the news and rumors as well as post things like "Dream Games" where we'd think like designers. Much more fun.
- My wife and I knew we were having a baby in a few months so I decided I couldn't be running sites anymore so we shuttered up OpN2k. Since Billy was running his own site and I wanted our content to live on (well, and to still have a platform for my blather when I felt like it) I decided to help him fold our old content into Planet N2000.
- At some point after my first daughter was born I took a graduate class on Cold Fusion and decided I wanted to kick around a project to help me learn both Cold Fusion and SQL server better. This mini-project ended up being the original Planet GameCube core that we launched around a year after I began coding. It was ugly, horrible code but it worked well enough to provide for a back-end and to spare the staff from having to hand-code HTML.
- When Billy noted that people have lost jobs over the site he wasn't kidding. Over the time I'd taught myself Cold Fusion and SQL I'd been working a real full-time job as well where I was bored to tears. When I showed them the scale of the project I'd undertaken to help them understand I could do more than they were giving me it was instead a major part of their rationale in firing me for a conflict of interest.
- For another story of how the site can do funny things to change your life (hopefully most of the time for the better) take a look at me. About 3 months later I got a new job working as a Junior level Cold Fusion programmer for a small company. I'd leveraged my experience with the site into a new opportunity to replace my old job that I really didn't like... that hiring happened 8 years ago this month. Now I'm the Directory of Strategic Projects at the same company. So I'd say that even though my ride hasn't been on the path of most with writing or being involved in some capacity with the industry I'm not complaining.
- Of course now with that change and my family I haven't really contributed since... though now I'm back to shake things up when possible since the Wii has made a 'family opinion' something more of value. Hope to have a new blog up sometime in the next week or two on the casual market.
Final sad fact: For all of the connections I'd managed to make over the years and people I'd managed to piss off I have never really been able to put together a chance to capitalize on it. The first E3 I could have attended was during my Honeymoon, and on subsequent years any number of problems have kept it from being realistic for me, the family guy, on the east coast.
Anyway, for myself I wanted to thank all of the people who have kept this independent site legacy alive. Thanks to all of the staff over the years of all of these sites, hell or even other ones on the scene out there for your time, care, and commitment. Thank you as well to the readers. My god there are too many outlets for information out there anymore... thank you for making this one of them. Truly, in this age that is as high a compliment as one can pay. Hope you all enjoyed this bit of chronology and factoids many people may not have known.
- I was always a Nintendo junkie and saw this really cool site while I was early on in college called N64HQ run by Scott McCall. One day he had a posting up looking for staff so I wrote some stuff and got on.
- Wrote some reviews and extremely long-winded editorials for the HQ for a while and then Scott decided to close to doors. OH NOES!
- At the very end of the HQ I decided I'd try to start up my own site and within a month or two from it closing The 64 Source was born. I'd managed to cobble together some great former N64HQ staff as well as nuts like Max Lake and Rob Stevens as well. Also picked up people like Jonathan Lindemann and some others who've come and gone.
- At its peak with 64 Source I think I was managing a staff of over 20 people. We had specific people dedicated to pretty much all major areas including news, codes, previews, release dates, etc. On top of that we had female staff, people from Europe, someone in Japan, and I think even a person in Australia. It was nutty.
- When news of Nintendo thinking about a new system was starting to form I decided to move into the business of thinking about that system... I was bored of 64 Source by then anyway. So right around the same time Billy was starting up Planet N2000 I was starting up OperatioN2000. I had more of a skeleton crew on OpN2k since it was all speculative but had much more fun trying to sift through the news and rumors as well as post things like "Dream Games" where we'd think like designers. Much more fun.
- My wife and I knew we were having a baby in a few months so I decided I couldn't be running sites anymore so we shuttered up OpN2k. Since Billy was running his own site and I wanted our content to live on (well, and to still have a platform for my blather when I felt like it) I decided to help him fold our old content into Planet N2000.
- At some point after my first daughter was born I took a graduate class on Cold Fusion and decided I wanted to kick around a project to help me learn both Cold Fusion and SQL server better. This mini-project ended up being the original Planet GameCube core that we launched around a year after I began coding. It was ugly, horrible code but it worked well enough to provide for a back-end and to spare the staff from having to hand-code HTML.
- When Billy noted that people have lost jobs over the site he wasn't kidding. Over the time I'd taught myself Cold Fusion and SQL I'd been working a real full-time job as well where I was bored to tears. When I showed them the scale of the project I'd undertaken to help them understand I could do more than they were giving me it was instead a major part of their rationale in firing me for a conflict of interest.
- For another story of how the site can do funny things to change your life (hopefully most of the time for the better) take a look at me. About 3 months later I got a new job working as a Junior level Cold Fusion programmer for a small company. I'd leveraged my experience with the site into a new opportunity to replace my old job that I really didn't like... that hiring happened 8 years ago this month. Now I'm the Directory of Strategic Projects at the same company. So I'd say that even though my ride hasn't been on the path of most with writing or being involved in some capacity with the industry I'm not complaining.
- Of course now with that change and my family I haven't really contributed since... though now I'm back to shake things up when possible since the Wii has made a 'family opinion' something more of value. Hope to have a new blog up sometime in the next week or two on the casual market.
Final sad fact: For all of the connections I'd managed to make over the years and people I'd managed to piss off I have never really been able to put together a chance to capitalize on it. The first E3 I could have attended was during my Honeymoon, and on subsequent years any number of problems have kept it from being realistic for me, the family guy, on the east coast.
Anyway, for myself I wanted to thank all of the people who have kept this independent site legacy alive. Thanks to all of the staff over the years of all of these sites, hell or even other ones on the scene out there for your time, care, and commitment. Thank you as well to the readers. My god there are too many outlets for information out there anymore... thank you for making this one of them. Truly, in this age that is as high a compliment as one can pay. Hope you all enjoyed this bit of chronology and factoids many people may not have known.
169
TalkBack / Re: Rick’s Rant - Episode 5: Powers Strikes Back
« on: January 27, 2009, 08:53:06 AM »
Well, you can't necessarily blame Nintendo for a phenomenon like shovelware but at the same time when you're somebody who has seen the industry rise and fall like with the Atari 2600 you can't help but be a little concerned. We're seeing a glut of what had traditionally been non-gamers come rushing into the industry. Everyone is happy as hell and seeing growth for the games industry with an entirely new demographic on the scene. Terrific! It truly is great.
BUT
As someone who personally got at LEAST 8 people who are family or friends into the Wii who had never owned game systems before or weren't terribly excited about the systems they had. Hell, 3 of them I got in line and purchased their Wii for them when they were tough to get and I still would get a tip about where or when they'd be somewhere. They were stoked about the Wii and for good reason. Thing is, for most of them 3 or 4 "casual" titles later they're on the wrong course... their interest is dwindling. Whether or not this is Nintendo's fault, they bought the bad game true, the fact is their opinion and the opinion of people like them will certainly impact Nintendo greatly. Getting the people in makes some great cash and is terrific, if they get discouraged too quickly though you will not only lose them but you may lose them for a long time as they feel burned.
This is the Atari 2600-ish scenario I'm talking about. Granted, the hardcore gamer crowd can sustain AT LEAST 2 major systems regardless of the casual market so it won't be a total crash. Even so, acting as if shovelware isn't Nintendo's problem is highly incorrect. It may not be directly their fault, it may be incredibly difficult for them to stop, but nonetheless this new "casual" gamer they're attracting is a fragile market segment who are prone to bad decisions and like it or not they'll take it out on Nintendo by hanging up their Wii-motes in disgust and potentially ignoring their next system for spite.
I plan to discuss this and expand into more things they could certainly be doing better in a new blog soon but this is a serious problem for them that they need to take seriously for the good of their bottom line and for the sake of the overall industry itself. Legitimize and fully suck in the casual market while they're there for the taking, miss or blow the opportunity and that market may not be back or at least anytime soon. If greed is their motivator think greed in the long run, not just now.
BUT
As someone who personally got at LEAST 8 people who are family or friends into the Wii who had never owned game systems before or weren't terribly excited about the systems they had. Hell, 3 of them I got in line and purchased their Wii for them when they were tough to get and I still would get a tip about where or when they'd be somewhere. They were stoked about the Wii and for good reason. Thing is, for most of them 3 or 4 "casual" titles later they're on the wrong course... their interest is dwindling. Whether or not this is Nintendo's fault, they bought the bad game true, the fact is their opinion and the opinion of people like them will certainly impact Nintendo greatly. Getting the people in makes some great cash and is terrific, if they get discouraged too quickly though you will not only lose them but you may lose them for a long time as they feel burned.
This is the Atari 2600-ish scenario I'm talking about. Granted, the hardcore gamer crowd can sustain AT LEAST 2 major systems regardless of the casual market so it won't be a total crash. Even so, acting as if shovelware isn't Nintendo's problem is highly incorrect. It may not be directly their fault, it may be incredibly difficult for them to stop, but nonetheless this new "casual" gamer they're attracting is a fragile market segment who are prone to bad decisions and like it or not they'll take it out on Nintendo by hanging up their Wii-motes in disgust and potentially ignoring their next system for spite.
I plan to discuss this and expand into more things they could certainly be doing better in a new blog soon but this is a serious problem for them that they need to take seriously for the good of their bottom line and for the sake of the overall industry itself. Legitimize and fully suck in the casual market while they're there for the taking, miss or blow the opportunity and that market may not be back or at least anytime soon. If greed is their motivator think greed in the long run, not just now.
170
TalkBack / Re: Rick’s Rant - Episode 5: Powers Strikes Back
« on: January 27, 2009, 05:59:15 AM »
Not sure what drama there is/was with someone leaving the forums or whatever else due to negativity on this site about Nintendo but really, precisely what value would the site have if it were only worshiping mindlessly at the altar of Nintendo? Especially with their success with the Wii it isn't like being critical is losing them money, especially to this market segment who is less likely to read websites (at least beyond the reviews/previews), so then why do you think the criticism is here?
Rick and I both in particular have always been extremely critical of Nintendo and their policies because we'd like to see them not only be successful today but in the future as well. As we've now seen with not only Nintendo losing their lead in one generation to Sony but then ironically 2 generations later winning it right back being complacent and comfortable in the lead doesn't keep you in first forever, and perhaps not even for long. Now, granted, the weaknesses of Sony and Nintendo are very different animals. Sony's weakness is arrogance and a blindness to anything other than their agenda to release the end-all-be-all entertainment hub in your living room no matter what the cost (especially blind when many people with a good income like me don't like all-in-one devices for the jack of all trades master of none-ness). Nintendo's is outright greed... it has visibly driven all of their worst decisions over time: reluctance to let go of cartridges, traditional heavy-handedness in third party involvement, Rick's point about the preponderance of plastic add-ons and accessories that dominate more space for the Wii than any other system to date... it has its place but it can be annoying too and it can certainly blind you to the rug coming out from under you.
So I'm not sure, for myself, what the problem would be with being critical. Hell, Rick and I were giving 30+ hours a week to sites discussing the crown jewels of Nintendo's "failure" years with the N64 and GameCube trying to both defend and push Nintendo back into the ring... requiring quite an active conspiracy theory to reconcile as us ultimately being here only to bring them down. Yes, we gave up our time, lives, and in my case one full-time job to then go into hibernation and then dump all over Nintendo to bring them down right when they finally hit the big time. MWUAHAHAHA! Nobody would ever suspect it!
Rick and I both in particular have always been extremely critical of Nintendo and their policies because we'd like to see them not only be successful today but in the future as well. As we've now seen with not only Nintendo losing their lead in one generation to Sony but then ironically 2 generations later winning it right back being complacent and comfortable in the lead doesn't keep you in first forever, and perhaps not even for long. Now, granted, the weaknesses of Sony and Nintendo are very different animals. Sony's weakness is arrogance and a blindness to anything other than their agenda to release the end-all-be-all entertainment hub in your living room no matter what the cost (especially blind when many people with a good income like me don't like all-in-one devices for the jack of all trades master of none-ness). Nintendo's is outright greed... it has visibly driven all of their worst decisions over time: reluctance to let go of cartridges, traditional heavy-handedness in third party involvement, Rick's point about the preponderance of plastic add-ons and accessories that dominate more space for the Wii than any other system to date... it has its place but it can be annoying too and it can certainly blind you to the rug coming out from under you.
So I'm not sure, for myself, what the problem would be with being critical. Hell, Rick and I were giving 30+ hours a week to sites discussing the crown jewels of Nintendo's "failure" years with the N64 and GameCube trying to both defend and push Nintendo back into the ring... requiring quite an active conspiracy theory to reconcile as us ultimately being here only to bring them down. Yes, we gave up our time, lives, and in my case one full-time job to then go into hibernation and then dump all over Nintendo to bring them down right when they finally hit the big time. MWUAHAHAHA! Nobody would ever suspect it!
171
TalkBack / Re: Rick’s Rant - Episode 5: Powers Strikes Back
« on: January 26, 2009, 08:05:36 PM »
Hehe, of course Rick couldn't stay away and let me enjoy my return without a fight. If you all think it is bad with Rick hitting Nintendo from the hardcore side, wait till I put up my next blog slapping them from the casual / family side. I don't want to be lumped into the group being blamed for the ruin of the Wii, especially when I have misgivings about how Nintendo seems to be failing to plan for the future concerning the market they may not control much longer if they continue to be comfortable.
172
TalkBack / Re: Making the Review Process Better
« on: January 22, 2009, 08:44:00 PM »See? There's another problem with numbers. Even the same reviewer wouldn't give the same game the same score after the passage of time. So not only are reviews subjective as to the reviewer, they are subjective as to the time during which they are reviewed.
Ah, but to say that you presume that only the numeric score would change over time and not the body of your opinion... which would be entirely an untrue assumption. If you've warmed to the game it would be reflected in your words, same as your numeric scores. If you've become jaded you'd think it would also enter into their review, not just reflected in the score.
173
TalkBack / Re: Jesus, I'm Old
« on: January 22, 2009, 01:01:37 PM »To Justin Nation: Did you recently write to Peer Schneider on facebook, or something?
Yeah, and he gave me a quote from the IGN offices about the context of how my name has been invoked there before that cracked me up!
Ah cool. I was just wondering because he recently mentioned it on the "To Catch An Editor" podcast.
Hehe, hopefully nothing unflattering.
174
TalkBack / Re: Jesus, I'm Old
« on: January 22, 2009, 05:28:07 AM »I can't think of another Nintendo enthusiast site from which a writer could literally have taken an 8 year hiatus, come back, and have the site still be around (and even still have some of the same people on staff, for crying out loud).
Yeah, lord don't you people have lives/jobs?!?!?
Once the sh!t hits the fan at work once more I'm sure I'll need to pull back some once again or whatever but once you get the bug to share your thoughts and annoy people... tough to give it up in a lot of ways.
175
TalkBack / Re: Jesus, I'm Old
« on: January 22, 2009, 05:25:36 AM »To Justin Nation: Did you recently write to Peer Schneider on facebook, or something?
Yeah, and he gave me a quote from the IGN offices about the context of how my name has been invoked there before that cracked me up!
The entire contents of this Web site, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright © 1999 - 2012 NINWR, LLC. All Rights Reserved. ™ and © for all products, characters, and indicia related thereto which are contained herein are owned by the companies who market or license those products. This Web site is not endorsed, sponsored, nor otherwise affiliated with Nintendo. It has been created for the sole purpose of entertainment and knowledge. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form without consent from NINWR, LLC is prohibited.
