Messages

3601

TalkBack / Re: Wii U Has 8 GB of Internal Storage

« on: June 07, 2012, 01:38:24 PM »

Not sure if this is good or bad news.


I don't want a download-only or DLC-dominated future, I don't want tons of mandatory installs and patches to get software working that should run out of the box, I don't want my console to be a PC-lite experience.  So not having a huge hard drive isn't really that bad in a lot of ways.


Except, of course, for the fact that developers want a consistent set of features they can count on for cross-platform development.  Wii U having such limited internal storage will affect gamers when developers choose to ignore the system for major releases that use large chunks of disc space in other consoles.

3602

Nintendo Gaming / Re: E3 2012 Press Conferences - Days 2-3: Nintendo Main PC & 3DS PC

« on: June 07, 2012, 01:05:07 PM »

The sad part is that they didn't need to do much to get 3DS owners excited.

Include footage for soon-to-be-released games like Rhythm Thief, Rayman Origins, Theatrhythm, and Hero of Ruins in the sizzle reel. Show a quick list of games like Zero Escape, Code of Princess, and LEGO Batman 2 and LEGO Lord of the Rings that will be arriving soon on the system. Mention that Fire Emblem is coming or show a screenshot.  Show a list of games currently in progress (or even just the names of licensed developers) for the eShop.


Doing all three would have only taken a couple of minutes and would've let everyone walk away with at least something. Instead they focused on a small number of games that look good but leave a decent-sized portion of gamers completely underwhelmed and feeling like there is a dearth of software coming (which isn't really true).

Nintendo didn't need to spend any time talking about these games - just let people know they exist. I understand focusing on a small showcase of games, but as the platform holder Nintendo needs to take that extra step and let me know that 3DS has a wealth of content coming... even if some of that content has a niche appeal.

It's sad to me that this list left me more excited after 2 minutes than Nintendo managed at any point in the two hour-long presentations they offered:
http://www.siliconera.com/2012/06/05/a-partial-list-of-upcoming-nintendo-3ds-games-rhythm-thief-included/

3603

Reader Reviews / Re: Heroes Of Ruin Demo impressions.

« on: June 07, 2012, 11:53:06 AM »

Thanks for the impressions!  This is the first 3DS game I've been at all excited about before release since Resident Evil, and the first one I've really considered buying since Kid Icarus. 


North America still has a while to wait before the demo or retail release... hopefully there will be plenty of reviews and comments posted in the meantime.

3604

Nintendo Gaming / Re: E3 2012 Press Conferences - Days 2-3: Nintendo Main PC & 3DS PC

« on: June 07, 2012, 09:21:33 AM »

...
3DS is a different case. Seems to indicate that Nintendo are finished with announcing titles that are more than 6 months away. Look at the handling of Animal Crossing/Fire Emblem. Both are coming to the West with both released/nearly released in Japan. Yet they were no shows at E3. If this is what Nintendo's policy is now it's foolhardy. They are basically stopping people getting hyped about future software thus disillusioning fans. Though I suppose it could be a positive in some cases. Last Guardian was announced 6? years ago. Sony has been burned by that. And no one will ever forgot DNF. .  . . .

This is my big disappointment from E3 - Nintendo releasing a list of 3DS titles isn't just key to making new people excited about the system, but also to keeping existing customers eager and excited and willing to promote the system through word-of-mouth channels.


When Resident Evil Revelations was announced and some details started to leak out, I was excited. I bought a 3DS system 5 or 6 months before the game released knowing there would be at least one title coming that I really wanted to play and knowing roughly when that game would hit.  Now?  There is nothing on the horizon that has me really excited, no sizzle to the upcoming 3DS lineup that makes me excited to own the system.


Why does this disappointment matter when they've already got my money? Because I frequently have people asking if the console is good, if it's worth owning, and if I'm satisfied with my purchase.  The more time passes without having something (anything!) in the future that really excites me, the less inclined I am to recommend this system to anyone else.  In fact, my actual response has gone from "it's worth owning" to "not great, but still worthwhile for some people" to "better off saving your money unless there is a big sale".


This is a solid little piece of hardware. There are a few good games on the system already, and no reason why it shouldn't be littered with good games in the future. I want to be excited about my 3DS... but sometimes it feels like Nintendo of America is actively making that more difficult.  I'd rather have at least some announcements now that make me excited and deal with delays later than not have anything at all to hang my hat on.

3605

TalkBack / Re: Nintendo 3DS Software Showcase E3 2012 Livestream

« on: June 06, 2012, 10:44:48 PM »

Wow.  Massively disappointed with the 3DS showcase. Castlevania was pretty cool, I guess.  They went into enough detail that it would be good for anyone who is really excited about the game.  Outside of that it was pretty much a non-event though.  The next biggest announcement was probably about some upcoming demos.


Saddest moment was seeing the upcoming software collage and realizing that the only games I'm possibly interested in are Heroes of Ruin, Luigi's Mansion 2, and Scribblenauts. Hardly a ringing endorsement for a system I was saying recently had more good games in the pipeline.

3606

General Gaming / Re: Microsoft's New Pricing Model

« on: June 06, 2012, 03:29:57 PM »

They are expanding this program to other stores now.

Painfully obviously they are planning this for their next system and it if it comes to pass it means I won't even be glancing at the next xbox.

This isn't (necessarily) a terrible pricing model. It does let MS market and sell more expensive hardware to people who would normally balk at the large up-front cost. As long as you look at the total cost instead of ignoring the the future payments and make a value-based decision based on all the information, you'll do fine.


Of course, the very reason that MS likes this pricing model is that most people don't consider or care about overall cost. It increases profit when people overpay for hardware and are willing to get herded into long-term contracts at potentially unfavorable rates. Just use your head before you buy and decide if it's really worth the asking price.

3607

Nintendo Gaming / Re: 3DS Repair Question (Top Screen Scratch) - Data Concern

« on: June 06, 2012, 12:58:24 PM »

Sent mine in... October last year?  Something like that.  It didn't have much data worth mentioning to be saved, but I didn't see any changes and still had the same friend code afterwards.


One odd thing was that I ended up with a ton of free play coins added to my 3DS after the fix. Not sure why or how they got there, but it was enough to power through a run of Find Mii which was pretty cool.

3608

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Nintendo 3DS Discussion

« on: June 06, 2012, 07:31:42 AM »

3DS games are still a bit lacking at the moment, but there is some good content out there and more coming in the not-too-distant future.  Mario Kart and Super Mario Land 3D are probably the safest recommendations, but my favorite game by far has been the exclusive Resident Evil: Revelations. Others to consider are Street Fighter IV, Kid Icarus Uprising, and the Starfox/Zelda remakes.

The 3DS eShop has a handful of great downloads - in fact there are probably more "must play" games here than at retail. Pushmo, Colors! 3D, Mutant Mudds, Zen Pinball, VVVVVV, and Might Switch Force are all worth owning.

So is it worth buying now?  I'm happy with my purchase... but part of that is because I was given 20 Ambassador games and Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition.  If you see a system on sale or a second-hand deal locally, I'd say go ahead and buy. Otherwise wait until there is a game you really want to play.

...With the revision on the horizon, it might be worth waiting for some details before buying in.

Has "the revision" been confirmed or is it still just rumor?  I've heard whispers that a version with a larger screen is coming eventually, but unless there is an official announcement this week I'm not going to put much faith in that possibility.

3609

Nintendo Gaming / Re: 3DS Repair Question (Top Screen Scratch) - Data Concern

« on: June 05, 2012, 05:27:07 PM »

I sent my 3DS in for repairs because the top screen stopped working. When it was returned, I had a new serial number but all data (including street pass stuff) was intact.  So maybe it's a YMMV situation?

3610

Nintendo Gaming / Re: E3 2012 Press Conferences - Day 2: Nintendo

« on: June 05, 2012, 01:15:46 PM »

I don't know what to think. Maybe my expectations for E3 were too high as I'm kind of left disappointed by all three platform holders.


The good news is that a lot of additional information will probably come out about additional games for all three systems over the next couple of days, and I'm (cautiously) looking forward to the upcoming 3DS event.

I never thought I'd say this, but...

Ubisoft won E3.

I agree.  And people say there were no surprises!

3611

Nintendo Gaming / Re: E3 2012 Press Conferences - Day 2: Nintendo

« on: June 05, 2012, 12:54:16 PM »

Puppet Master = new Reggie meme?

3612

General Gaming / Re: E3 2012 Press Conferences - Day 1: Microsoft, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Sony

« on: June 05, 2012, 10:13:53 AM »

I'm glad Wonderbook exists, but it did not belong at that press conference and CERTAINLY not for that long.  It will sell a grand total of 100 copies at best, but I'm glad it's there for those 100 kids.

BTW, as Sony promised today's Playstation Plus update is amazing: link

Almost makes up for their abandonment of the Vita. Almost.

I wanted to make a cynical comment about PS+... but really have nothing. That is an amazing update and a ton of content to be giving away to subscribers. Even if some of the games are older and probably weren't going to sell copies through traditional channels, they are still big games.


Does it make up for their lack of Vita announcements? Not if you are a Vita owner without a PS3... but I'm not sure how big that group is anyway. Vita really seems like it gets a HUGE value boost by owning Sony's console.

3613

Nintendo Gaming / Re: E3 2012 Press Conferences - Day 2: Nintendo

« on: June 05, 2012, 09:23:26 AM »

Honestly, I thought Nintendo was going to get buried this year because Sony/MS would want to take focus away from the Wii U launch and any possible 3DS momentum earned by announcing new games or price cuts or surprising exclusives.  Instead it feels like they decided to just get out of the way and leave the door wide open for Nintendo to "win" E3.


Maybe that's not fair. 360 and PS3 are old systems getting close to the end of their lifespan, and maybe I shouldn't have been expecting major software announcements this late in the game. Sony in particular didn't have a bad presentation and basically hit all the expected notes. But when it feels like Ubisoft had the best Day 1 presentation and most interesting reveals then you know there is something missing...


(No offense to Ubisoft, who actually do release a bunch of games that I enjoy playing.)




Looking forward to some 3DS software announcements!  C'mon Nintendo... don't let us down.

3614

General Gaming / Re: E3 2012 Press Conferences - Day 1: Microsoft, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Sony

« on: June 05, 2012, 09:14:04 AM »

Well, Sony's presentation was better than Microsoft's, but really didn't reveal very much of interest.


I agree that Vita support in the conference was very disappointing and wonder if The Last Guardian really is dead after not getting mentioned here.


Wonderbook looks interesting, but who knows how good it will end up being.  This is the type of idea that could be really cool or could be terrible depending on how good the final implementation is.  At least it's something new though - even if it won't appeal to most gamers.

3615

General Gaming / Re: What is your most recent gaming purchase?

« on: June 03, 2012, 09:25:25 AM »

Trace Memory was a great game - right behind Last Window and Hotel Dusk.  Another Code: R was... a bit of a disappointment.  Although, not as much as Again was.  Don't get Again.

This is my plan. Reviews for Trace Memory/Another Code: R seem mixed, but so far I haven't seen anything suggesting that Again is worth playing.

My expectations for Another Code: R aren't high... but I see no reason to avoid the game now that my Wii plays imports anyway.  So thanks for that, NoA.  Worst case: I can be one of the relatively few North Americans with bragging rights about playing the game.

I have been obsessively playing Pinball Arcade on my iPad.  Its a great game...and I really like that the tables are real authentic tables.  One of them I played often in my local arcade.

Very excited about this coming to 3DS, despite the small screen making it less attractive than a console version.


Did you see that the Kickstarter project for licensing The Twilight Zone table hit it's goal?  Great table, so it's nice to see that licensing costs and issues won't prevent it from being digitally preserved.  Now there a stretch goal has been added that is trying to get the license for Star Trek: The Next Generation as well.  A pledge of $10 now will get you both DLC tables as free add-ons when/if they get released.

3616

General Gaming / Re: Activision Reaches Settlement With West, Zampella

« on: June 02, 2012, 09:36:28 PM »

They never, EVER had the rights to Modern Warfare (since it's just part of the COD franchise). They never would have, or should have gotten the rights to it. Companies don't have to award bonuses, and they can choose when to give them out (and how) the way they want to and I don't see it as shady. Only douches should EXPECT to get a bonus. Maybe Activision should have done what they did in a different way, but Zampella and West are not innocent in this situation either.

When a bonus is negotiated and guaranteed as part of your contract, they you clearly aren't a douche to expect it when you legally meet all conditions on your side of the contract.


I'm done with this discussion.  There is no way people are going to change their views so it's not productive to point fingers and argue about stuff when none of us know all of the details.

3617

General Gaming / Re: Activision Reaches Settlement With West, Zampella

« on: June 02, 2012, 05:58:43 PM »

From what we know, it's ridiculous that Zampella and West should get anything. They were breaching their contracts with Activision and bitched that Activision looked at their company emails (which ACTV is legally allowed to do).

There's the old TJ Spyke we all know and love. Always taking the side of big wealthy multi-billion dollar corporations over the little guys.

Don't confuse the issue: West and Zampella are not "little guys"... they're not even in the ballpark.

3618

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Mistwalker's "The Last Story" European launch Feb. 24. Coming to NA from XSEED!

« on: June 02, 2012, 03:04:09 PM »

A 44 page art book will be included with lauch copies of the game at no extra cost.
 
http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/06/02/the-last-story-special-gift-for-launch-copies

Looks nice!


I wonder if the overall contents will be the same as what was released for the European special edition? Different number of pages, different page size, and surely different composition of the image elements... but the pages shown for Zael have the same content.


Looks like Europe got a better special edition. This is still pretty sweet though, and the art book for this game is better than the Xenoblade bonus we got!

3619

General Gaming / Re: Activision Reaches Settlement With West, Zampella

« on: June 02, 2012, 02:56:09 PM »

Of course we don't know, but it sounds like you must have been reading different reports than I saw.


Activision already paid $42 million dollars as a good-will gesture shortly before this was set to go to court, admitting they were wrong to withhold that money.  Activision brought on a new laywer just last month - odd behavior if you think you have a solid case and will win in court.  Activision has also been called out on behavior before the firing that, although you suggest might be totally legal, is likely illegal and certainly looks shady to the average Joe - not to mention the security company and MS contacts that were asked to help hack into email accounts.  And that's just the tip of the iceberg.


Maybe the settlement went the other way, but anyone trying to argue that Activision was in any way the harmed party here must have their heads stuck firmly... in the sand.

3620

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Official Club Nintendo Thread

« on: June 01, 2012, 11:28:34 AM »

Huge news: https://club.nintendo.com/coin-values.do


Club Nintendo coin values are changing for a bunch of games, starting next month (7/1).  Many games are worth fewer points to closer match up with their current retail values, some games have actually increased in point value though.  Check out the charts to see if any game codes you've been hanging onto are going to be adjusted.


(Source: I didn't find this myself, but it was posted via www.nintendolife.com.)




Also, the new Club Nintendo rewards are posted:

• Maboshi Arcade (WiiWare) - 150 points
• Donkey Kong (3DS VC) - 100 points
• Brain Age Express: Sudoko (DSiWare, 3DS required) - 150 points
• Kirby Super Star (Wii VC) - 150 points

Donkey Kong is the best of the lot in my opinion, offering a great game for a relatively small number of points.  But all of the options are solid entries depending on what you like to play.  The biggest detractor to Kirby Super Star is that it might be on the upcoming Anniversary compilation disc.




Yesterday I was wondering if Nintendo was going to make a real effort to get people to burn their points and register any games they might have been "saving" for Platinum Status next year.  Seems like both the new games and changes to point values have this in mind.  Well, worked for me.

3621

General Gaming / Re: What is your most recent gaming purchase?

« on: June 01, 2012, 10:58:13 AM »

I've been thinking about Bastion lately, and wanted to try out the game after hearing a good amount of praise about it.  What timing for Humble Indie Bundle #5 to show up!


So for $7.30 I grabbed:

• Bastion (Yay!)
• Psychonauts (Also yay!)
• Amnesia: The Dark Descent (Maybe yay?)
• LIMBO and Superbrothers Swords and Sworcery (Meh...)

Best part? All games are DRM free, full (downloadable) soundtracks are included with purchase, part of my payment goes to charity, and full Ubuntu support is finally included for the Humble Bundles which means the usual concerns of installation and compatibility are waived.


Very excited about this!




As a side-note, had ordered an import copy of Another Code R (Wii) a while back but the order kept getting delayed. That's not such a bad thing though: found a different place where I could get Another Code R and Trace Memory (DS) for less than the original price - so one order was cancelled and instead I'm getting two games in it's place.

3622

General Gaming / Re: Humble Indie Bundle

« on: June 01, 2012, 08:35:24 AM »

I have to scratch my head a bit at this bundle.  Sure, the games are well-renowned and are considered to be high-quality (though I personally don't like Psychonauts), but Amnesia's really the only game here I'd want to play on PC.  I already own Limbo on two consoles, and I'm holding out for a possible PS3 version of Bastian.  Between some other obligations, I just don't have the money to pay over the current average for this bundle until probably after the Bundle sale is over, so I'll probably sit this one out.  I'll just wait until Amnesia gets some absurd Steam clearance sale where it's $5 or something.

So why don't you pay $5 (or $3, or whatever) now and get Amnesia immediately instead of waiting for a price drop?  You don't need to play any of the other games, although you'd have the option to.  You don't have to exceed the average if you aren't interested in Bastion... and this way you can determine exactly where your money goes: developers, charity, or humble bundle tip.


Personally, I think it's a stellar line-up.  Bastion is the "big name", and deservedly so given all the critical praise it's garnered, but the other games are also critical darlings that are worth trying if you don't already own them on other platforms (and I don't).

Ubuntu. :


...

Meh.  It's free, easy to install, generally user-friendly, and actively supported with more stuff becoming available all the time.  When Windows 7 went down on my home PC with irrecoverable errors and then the recovery partition didn't work, I was left with no legal OS to use and this was the first good solution that I found.


Ubuntu isn't perfect by any means... but it's been good enough for home and work use in my situation.
 

3623

General Gaming / Re: Activision Reaches Settlement With West, Zampella

« on: June 01, 2012, 08:27:57 AM »

A quiet end, but sounds to me like an admission by Activision that they had no way in hell of winning this one.  Of course that doesn't mean they wouldn't drag it out as long as possible before paying to make their sins go away just because they can.

3624

General Gaming / Re: Humble Indie Bundle

« on: May 31, 2012, 04:39:02 PM »

Nice. I was recently wondering if the Indie Bundles had lost their appeal - the last couple haven't been very interesting for me and seemed to have included some repeats in the bonus content - but this proves me wrong. Bastion in particular is a game I've been curious to try.


Chalk me up for more games that I'll likely never play!

What's this?  A handy Ubuntu link for us weirdo OS users?  I take it back again. Maybe these will get played!

3625

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 36: Eponymous

« on: May 31, 2012, 01:47:18 PM »

You guys are making me proud to have bought that shirt!

You should take a picture of yourself wearing the shirt and send it to us. We'll give you something, I'm sure.

Shipped this week, but I'll be wearing it proudly once the shirt arrives.  Photos for sure!