Messages

3501

TalkBack / RE: NOA Is Here to Help!

« on: December 20, 2004, 05:11:32 PM »

That's about 4.06 million calls/emails a year.  Not bad for a company as big as Nintendo.  Also consider the fact that 40% of those calls were probably 6-year-olds wondering where their mommy was.

silks

3502

TalkBack / RE:EA Buys Approximately 20% of Ubi Soft

« on: December 20, 2004, 05:05:16 PM »

Huh.  Well dang.  EA is the 900-pound gorilla, now I guess it's eating all of the little bananas.

The reason why these companies go with EA is because of their massive distribution channels and marketing.  Heck, if I was the CEO of a small developer I'd love to be bought out by EA.  Number one, I'd be rich, and number two, EA has the ability to get my games out all over the place.  From a business standpoint it's huge.

I'm not rabidly anti-EA (although I think the NFL deal is ridiculous, don't even get me started), but it's scary how they're buying out/into smaller developers left and right.  They're really making aggressive moves and squeezing out the little guys.  The video game industry is becoming like the movie industry - a whole bunch of smaller studios owned by massive media conglomerates (Time-Warner, Viacom, etc.).

Last week I would have said the idea of an EA console is out of the question, but with the properties they have now, I wouldn't put anything past them.  After all, in 1994 the idea of a console made by Sony would have been dismissed as crazy too.  I don't think EA would want the hassle of going hardware (especially after seeing Trip Hawkins fall flat on his face with the 3DO), but who knows.  If their investors thought it would make the most money in the long run, they might consider it.

BTW - that comparison of EA to Hitler is the funniest thing I've read in a while.  Now THAT is hating.  hahaha

silks

3503

General Chat / RE:Eye to the "competition": Nintendojo

« on: December 19, 2004, 03:34:53 PM »

Thanks for the praise and criticism guys.  Whether you love everything we're doing, or hate everything we're doing, we appreciate it because at least you're paying attention to us.

silks

3504

General Gaming / RE:GTA: SA coming to Xbox in 2005

« on: December 19, 2004, 03:13:50 PM »

Yeah, anybody that regularly reads the head-to-head game reviews on IGN would wait for the XBox version of all major releases.  Every single one has the XBox first (best graphics, sound, and online play), then GameCube (same graphics as XBox, sound a little worse, no online play), then PS2 (worst graphics of the three, good sound, has online play).  It's always the same.  This is exactly why I haven't bought Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time for GameCube...I have an XBox, so if there's going to be a platform that I buy it on it's going to be that.

silks

3505

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Nintendo Announces MP3/Video Player Add-on

« on: December 19, 2004, 03:01:56 PM »

At least Nintendo is making the effort.  The cool thing about this is that it's an optional add-on...it gives people some of the functionality of a PSP without any sort of price premium.  It lets Nintendo go beyond their "all we do is gaming" ethos without looking like complete hypocrites.

Still, if buying a DS+MP3Player is the same as a PSP, I think that somebody looking for this functionality would just buy a PSP.  So I think this is definitely aimed more at the GBA market than the DS market.

silks

[UncleBob]

3506

TalkBack / RE:EA Buys Five Years of Exclusive NFL Rights

« on: December 14, 2004, 07:10:36 AM »

Quote
Originally posted by: UncleBob

Quote
Originally posted by: Silks
So I guess the question would be, does Electronic Arts have a legitimate business justification for securing this license?

Yes.  That's like saying because Nintendo gave Capcom exclusive rights to make Zelda games, they're giving Capcom a monopoly and Sony should be allowed to make Zelda games as well.

No.  The difference is that Sony never WAS making Zelda games, and has and never WILL be able to make Zelda games, so nothing is being revoked.  The customer isn't getting shortchanged because there wasn't competition in the first place.  In the case of the EA/NFL, any real possibility of fair competition is being removed.

I think "legitimate business justification" doesn't necessarily mean, "They did what was good for their company" either.  They obviously did the right and smart thing from their perspective, but that doesn't mean they aren't screwing the consumer over.

silks  

3507

TalkBack / RE: EA Buys Five Years of Exclusive NFL Rights

« on: December 13, 2004, 05:52:02 PM »

"its gonna have to be madden for the next five years"

That's exactly what everybody else is going to say as well.

I'm not mad at EA.  This deal is a masterstroke for them.  What I don't like is the fact that this has eliminated any semblance of competition for EA in the NFL football game market.  Madden isn't crap by any means, but it was nice having two games to choose from instead of one.

silks  

3508

TalkBack / RE:Mario Appears in NBA Street V3

« on: December 13, 2004, 05:44:20 PM »

To quote the lovely Paris Hilton, "This is hot".

3509

TalkBack / RE:EA Buys Five Years of Exclusive NFL Rights

« on: December 13, 2004, 05:31:05 PM »

Let's have a look at the Federal Trade Commission's website to see what antitrust law says about something like this:

- Section 2 of the Sherman Act makes it unlawful for a company to "monopolize, or attempt to monopolize," trade or commerce. As that law has been interpreted, it is not necessarily illegal for a company to have a monopoly or to try to achieve a monopoly position. The law is violated only if the company tries to maintain or acquire a monopoly position through unreasonable methods. For the courts, a key factor in determining what is unreasonable is whether the practice has a legitimate business justification.

So I guess the question would be, does Electronic Arts have a legitimate business justification for securing this license?  You could argue both ways, but it doesn't take a graduate of Harvard Law to understand that EA has effectively prevented anybody from making another pro football game for the next 5 years.  Oh, but "competitors" could still get an Arena Football League license, right?  Who cares?  And a game in which you create your own rosters will sell ONLY to the ultra-hardcore; anybody that's employed isn't going to have the time to input all of that information, and if they can get a comparable game with all of that information already included they'll most certainly buy that.

The worst thing about all this is that EA is guaranteed to jack future editions of Madden back up to $49.95 instead of the $29.95 it was at before this deal went through.  Who's going to stop them?  They're the only game in town, pardon the pun.  Somebody (aside from EA's propaganda machine) tell me how this is good for consumers.

silks

3510

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Gameboy DS

« on: November 29, 2004, 08:30:42 AM »

The "third pillar" talk is Nintendo's way of covering all of their bases.  It wouldn't make business sense for them to say, "The DS is replacing the GBA SP, but we'll keep selling the SP as long as you suckers will buy it".  Statements like these are great because they're easy for companies to go back on later.  I can see it three years from now...

Q: Why did you stop selling the GBA SP?  What happened to the "three-pillar" idea?
A: With the DS being so popular, the demand for the SP was no longer there.  The discontinuation of the SP was dictated more by market conditions than anything else.

See?  Corporate-speak is so EASY.  Maybe I should start selling a kit.

I don't think there's a successor to GameBoy in the works either.  I think that's just a smokescreen to prevent people from flipping out and saying, "OMG, Nintendo's FORCING me to migrate to DS?  Screw them!"  Nintendo is doing something behind the scenes, but I bet that that R&D will be incorporated into a DS successor instead.

silks

3511

TalkBack / RE:Nintendo Posts Healthy Financials

« on: November 25, 2004, 06:21:36 PM »

yeah they're toast

3512

Nintendo Gaming / RE: The Billy sounds off on the DS

« on: November 20, 2004, 03:58:45 AM »

That's exactly what I was thinking.  I have a Vestax mixer (you know, DJing, scratching, wikka-wikka) and what people always complain about with mixers is that the crossfader gets toasted.  Well, Vestax designed their mixer with replaceable crossfaders.  It's not necessarily easy to take them out, but pop off the front of the unit and you can replace it.  Why not have a portable work the same way?  Just have an easily-replaceable analog stick and the problem is solved.

The main problem with Mario 64 DS is the fact that we already know how good the analog control SHOULD be, so we instantly compare it against how it played on the N64 and complain about the controls.  Once we see some good new games that are SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED for the DS, I think we'll have a better idea of whether or not control will really be an issue down the line.

While I don't think Mario 64 DS was the best launch flagship title, it was chosen for several reasons:
1)  Always good to have a Mario title at launch
2)  Time - fairly quick to port over
3)  Shows that the DS can do some decent 3-D
4)  Popular game will draw people in and get them to at least try the DS

In an ideal world, these are the three titles I would have had for launch:
1)  Zelda Four Swords
2)  Wario Ware
3)  Advance Wars DS

If these three titles would have been available I would have bought all three.

silks

3513

Nintendo Gaming / RE: The Billy sounds off on the DS

« on: November 19, 2004, 06:29:58 PM »

The more I read these interviews with Nintendo executives, the more I realize they're generally a waste of time.  They'll tow the company line and do it exceedingly well because that's what they're trained to do.  You're never going to get a shred of information out of Reggie or Perrin, and you're never going to hear them say, "OK, yeah, we screwed up there...we suck."  Come on, put yourselves in their position.  They're there to make sure the public buys their product, so you're never going to get a "straight" answer out of them.  They'll put a positive spin on the most obviously negative of circumstances.

As for the launch, I agree with Billy for the most part - the DS launch is pretty underwhelming.  I'm buying a DS this weekend, but I don't plan on getting any DS games with it.  I'll probably wait until the new year because there's nothing out there right now that really interests me.  Super Mario 64 without full-on analog control?  No thanks.

silks

3514

Nintendo Gaming / RE:DS vs PSP....devs and journalists debate

« on: October 01, 2004, 01:08:12 PM »

Personally, I think the PSP is almost TOO powerful for a handheld...it's almost overkill.  The DS is bound to have shorter and less-involved games, and I don't mind that for on-the-go gaming.

PSP is hot though.  That screen is awesome.  Price point will be big...I think when the DS was announced at $149.99, a lot of people jumped on its bandwagon.  If the PSP price point is too high, you might see a lot of people jumping off its bandwagon.

Even if PSP is cheaper than $349.99, it still won't include the pack-ins that the DS has (Pictochat, Metroid Demo).  DS is one hell of a deal for $149.99.  On top of that, the DS has that buzz factor that's really intrigued the public.

silks

3515

TalkBack / RE:Crave Announces Game Based on ELF

« on: September 23, 2004, 09:36:58 AM »

Stop hating man, Will Ferrell is hilarious.  You could say the whole "he plays the same character in every movie" about tons of actors...Adam Sandler (Happy Gilmore, Waterboy, Little Nicky), Robert DeNiro (plays a gangster in almost every movie), Mike Myers (how many times has he done Austin Powers or the scottish guy), heck even Brad Pitt (guy plays a psycho or someone that "goes crazy" in a whole slew of movies - Kalifornia, Legends of the Fall, Seven, 12 Monkeys, Fight Club, etc).  Will Ferrell does one thing well, and I can live with that.

An ELF game?  I gotta see how they're going to work that.

silks

3516

TalkBack / RE:Nintendo DS Launch Details

« on: September 21, 2004, 08:42:04 AM »

Hmmm, this makes me wonder what Nintendo's October 7th announcement is going to be about.  I'm assuming that's when they will announce the launch lineup, as well as the retail price of games (something I'm very interested in - I doubt the $49.99-per-game price will stick).

silks

3517

TalkBack / RE:Nintendo DS Launch Details

« on: September 21, 2004, 05:51:46 AM »

$149.99?  Awesome.  God bless you Nintendo, God bless you.  My favorite line in the press release is:

Quote
The new media format for games means that Nintendo DS has no moving parts that could be misaligned if the unit is dropped or jarred.

Take THAT Sony PSP and UMD.

Man, it's going to be an expensive Christmas.  This is what I already have on pre-order:

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

Halo 2

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

...and soon to be added to that list are the Nintendo DS and probably 2 games.  Holy crap, that's almost $400 right there.  That's not even counting other games I may buy like Tales of Symphonia, Burnout 3 and Prince of Persia: Warrior Within.  BRING IT ON!!

silks

[Sometimes you just gotta keep swimmin'.]

3518

TalkBack / THQ ships Finding Nemo: The Continuing Adventure

« on: September 15, 2004, 05:58:02 PM »

Sometimes you just gotta keep swimmin'.

A New Underwater Journey for Nemo and The Tank Gang is Now Available Exclusively for Nintendo GameBoy Advance with the Launch of Finding Nemo: The Continuing Adventures

CALABASAS HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 15, 2004--THQ(R) Inc. (NASDAQ:THQI), Pixar Animation Studios (NASDAQ:PIXR) and Disney Interactive, a publishing label of Buena Vista Games, Inc., today announced the release of Finding Nemo: The Continuing Adventures for Nintendo(R) GameBoy(R) Advance. Families will now be able to follow the new adventures of Nemo and The Tank Gang from the beloved Academy Award(R)-winning Walt Disney Pictures presentation of a Pixar Animation Studios film "Finding Nemo." Finding Nemo: The Continuing Adventures is now available at retail outlets throughout North America.  

The original Finding Nemo video game, which launched May 2003, continues to win the hearts of gamers both young and old having earned best-seller status as a "Greatest Hit" on Sony PlayStation(R)2, a "Platinum Family Hit" on Microsoft Xbox(TM), and a "Players Choice" on Nintendo Game Cube(TM). In addition, THQ has shipped more than 6 million units across multiple platforms in more than 40 international territories.  

"The Finding Nemo video games have been a tremendous hit for THQ at retail illustrating the success the company has had in working with both Disney and Pixar," said Peter Dille, senior vice president, worldwide marketing, THQ. "As the #1 third-party Game Boy platform game publisher since 1995, according to The NPD Group, THQ is thrilled to offer Finding Nemo: The Continuing Adventures on Game Boy Advance extending the Finding Nemo franchise for fans of the film and video games."  

About Finding Nemo: The Continuing Adventures  

Revisit all your friends from the Walt Disney Pictures presentation of a Pixar Animation Studios film, "Finding Nemo." In Finding Nemo: The Continuing Adventures for Game Boy Advance young gamers will be able to explore more than 20 mini-games and play as the key characters from the movie, including Nemo, Marlin, Dory and Crush. The Tank Gang have managed to escape from the dentist's office and players will be called upon to help them get to their new homes in the ocean.  

For more information on Finding Nemo: The Continuing Adventures, or the rest of THQ's upcoming video game titles, please visit www.thq.com.

[Nintendo buys back shares in Japan to appease investors.]

3519

TalkBack / Nintendo Buys Back Shares

« on: August 30, 2004, 02:08:38 PM »

Nintendo buys back shares in Japan to appease investors.

On Friday, Nintendo Company Ltd. (NCL) announced that it will buy back $43 billion yen's worth ($391 million USD, 1 USD=110.051 JPY) of its shares in an effort to boost its stock price and appease investors.

The buyback amounts to 3.6 million shares bought at the Friday closing price of 11,920 yen.  The actual transaction took place Monday morning before trading began on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

3520

TalkBack / RE:Eat at Wendy's, Win a Trip to Nintendo of America

« on: August 27, 2004, 08:59:53 PM »

Nah, it means that you can enter by mail if you want.  Get three envelopes, three pieces of paper with your address on each of them, mail all three entries to the contest address (check the website), and that's it.

silks

3521

TalkBack / RE:Mystery DS Port Revealed

« on: August 25, 2004, 01:24:53 PM »

Maybe it can operate as a microphone with or without the headset.  Plug the headset in and it listens for input through the headset only, but without the headset it operates like a speakerphone.

silks

3522

Nintendo Gaming / RE:DS launch bundles? Anybody heard anything?

« on: August 11, 2004, 11:55:21 AM »

I think this launch I may very well go ape-$hit and buy the DS and maybe four games.  I'm going to be watching all the usual sites very closely for reviews of the launch games so I know which ones are keepers.  Then, I'm going to make some local video game store very happy.  My goal is to have several games to keep me busy when I visit my family over Christmas...you know, on the flight there, sitting around Christmas day getting fat, on the flight home, etc.

I'm positively giddy about the DS I tell you, positively giddy.

silks

3523

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Why is storage such a freaking problem!?

« on: August 06, 2004, 12:17:54 PM »

Side tangent: one of the things I enjoyed about the "old days" of cartridges was when you had the release of the first game to use a bigger cart size than anything out there.  Like, "This is the first game to use a 64Megabit cartridge!"  <ooohs and aaahs ensue>

I'm glad that'll have a chance to continue with the DS.

silks

3524

Nintendo Gaming / RE:DS launch bundles? Anybody heard anything?

« on: August 05, 2004, 05:57:19 PM »

I know it's crazy early, but I just wanted to see if there was any information floating around out there at all.  I'm not going to pre-order online, but damn it's so tempting.  I'm like a little kid, I want my toy NOW, and anything I can do that gets me a little bit closer to having it will calm my feverish mind.

silks

3525

Nintendo Gaming / RE:The stupidest editorial I ever read

« on: August 04, 2004, 12:55:54 PM »

I should have clarified that.  I meant that they were the incumbent in mindshare, as a company.  As in, any new product they announce/introduce is instantly going to generate interest from average Joe Gamer.

In terms of the handheld market, yeah, definitely Nintendo is the incumbent.  But the fact that the PSP is made by Sony has people automatically checking for it.

silks