Messages

201

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Wii stronger then the first Xbox ?

« on: February 01, 2007, 02:30:37 PM »

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I get concerned with granparents and profitability because it's the path to more and better games for me in general.

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Profitability for Nintendo should be important because without it Nintendo would go down.

If Nintendo were to profit "only" $500 million for the year by making the necessary investments to offer (for example) an HD-capable console, rather than their $600 million, I would say they don't need our well-wishes. They're far from doom. Profitability is a regularly used defense mechanism for any number of things because Nintendo brought it up in their PR in the past, particularly when they were struggling to compete. At this point it's adopted language unless one's definition of financial solvency is nothing short of having a swimming pool of gold coins like Scrooge McDuck... which approximates what Nintendo's $7 billion looks like in my mind.

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everything that has happened since last May supports my conclusions: Wii is very popular, and it's expanding the market.

Expanding their demographic, yes. The market at large has still been sucking up PS2s and 360s too.

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Finally we are getting games that we can have a blast playing with our family, unless you are an elitist snob who won't touch something "casual".

Ironically, many of Nintendo fanboys are some of the more elitist I've seen, next to some Mac users. And I've been online since the 80's.  

202

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Wii stronger then the first Xbox ?

« on: February 01, 2007, 04:00:06 AM »

You see Pittbboi, I sorta got tired of having this type of conversation since many adopt Nintendo's PR language as a matter of fact and structure discussions on its basis. Where else can you find peeps concerned more about the next game for their grandparents and Nintendo's profitability than games and products made for them?

So just understand the bubble you speak in when an opinion gets dismissed for not being consistent with "the message", and let it slide.

203

General Chat / RE:Help me buy a new TV!

« on: January 28, 2007, 05:26:14 PM »

Just yesterday I ordered the 42" Panasonic TH-42PX60U Plasma.  Panny is very highly rated and is about the best you'll find in the price range. BB is selling it for $1600, though.  For what it's worth, Amazon's price is fluctuating between $1300 and $1400.

Best Buy Page | Amazon Link

It doesn't have a direct PC link, but there are cheap adapters/cables that should do the trick. The best prices for those are on monoprice.com.

As with most plasmas, you'll wanna give the panel a proper break-in period and then calibrate the settings to give you the best picture.

- Breaking in a Plasma
- Recommended Calibration Settings (Set AFTER break-in period) Tweak to your delight if you aren't happy with these settings.

You don't need to be too concerned about burn-in. It takes a long time to really burn the phosphors. *IF* you ever get any kind of image retention, it might look like burn-in at first but it goes away by changing the channel or putting on a cartoon or something that will wipe it out.    

204

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Wii demand slowing? Or is Gamespot full of crap?

« on: January 25, 2007, 05:54:54 PM »

The first mistake is confusing almost any gaming website with journalism.  

They're gamers and PR mouth pieces before anything else.

205

General Gaming / RE: Windows Vista: Why?

« on: January 25, 2007, 05:35:33 PM »

I use Windows Explorer constantly. I like my directory trees.

AND my Classic gray color scheme.

Vista is a dud. I have it (the final version) on another computer. Seriously, wait at least for the Service Pack to come towards the end of the year if you have a choice. This thing is a step back.

There was an article somewhere blasting Vista's usability hit. Can't find it now, but they were dead on. "Add and Remove Programs" is now called "Programs and Features." (Like that's supposed to make more sense?) Changing your wallpaper is now hidden under Personalization, while Mouse Pointers still has it's own menu item... There's just some really stupid stuff here. It's like they're rushing code so hardcore that they skipped usability almost entirely.

Not to mention many anti-virus programs don't work.

Edit: Oh yeah, speaking of usability, IE7 also sucks. Why are the buttons all over the place? Why is Forward/Back on the far left side of the menu, Refresh/Stop towards the middle right, Home/Tools on the far right, etc...

206

General Gaming / RE: The "On All the Time" Computer

« on: January 16, 2007, 12:42:18 PM »

The Mini is still spec'ed for 20 watts even with the Intel chip?  Not bad...

Dumb question... Does it really need to be on 24/7?

The next best thing is a laptop. Energy efficient setups are pretty darn few and far between.

207

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Official Wii Sales Thread

« on: January 12, 2007, 06:50:56 PM »

I guess the question is, What is it in NPD's formula that conclusively biases the results, and makes one's numbers more wrong than another?

Sort of like Nielsen TV ratings. People complain because the sampling is so small, but results are generally "equally wrong" and therefore are at least relatively accurate ratio-wise among each other, even though exact figures are elusive.

So what is it that NPD does wrong that slants the results?  Is it Sony's larger retail presence in general (more stores = more track samples)?  The world may never know...?

208

General Chat / RE: Multi Disk DVD cases?

« on: December 29, 2006, 05:58:41 AM »

eBay will often have sellers. Many sell in various quantities, from 5 and up, but it's not total shipping rape.

209

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Wii Manufacturing Costs vs PS3

« on: December 15, 2006, 07:05:25 PM »

These numbers fly in the face of earlier price sheets from stores.

The 512MB NAND memory adds at least $20, as that is about Apple's price for their 512MB NAND parts. Wiimotes are likely another $15ish. Don't really know how to price their bluetooth/network chip, but around $10 wouldn't be surprising. Plus the other minor things they omit that are negligible.

210

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Wii Component work with Gamecube?

« on: December 12, 2006, 04:35:54 AM »

If the GameCube game supports progressive scan, it'll display in PS on Wii too, no problem.  But if not, then it won't.

211

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Is the Wii remote really so unreliable in Zelda: TLP?

« on: December 11, 2006, 12:47:56 AM »

Everyone will have slightly different experiences because we all have different ways we hold our controllers, how we perform movements, and where we sit in conjunction to the sensor bar.

For me the spin attack has been flawless. But the shield thrust doesn't always take for whatever reason. I'm aggressive in my attack style, so at least I don't use it much.

The slight delay in sword swinging was a little jarring at first, but you quickly learn to swing earlier than you're used to in Zelda, and it becomes a non-issue.

The only particular thing that's caught me more than a few times was the aiming. I frequently get the "aim the wii remote" message because of where I sit and the way I comfortably rest my hands as I play. I have to lift my arm up to center the wiimote a lot of times, which is a distraction. But like I said, different experiences for everybody.

212

Nintendo Gaming / RE: The Zelda: TP opinion thread

« on: December 04, 2006, 10:15:43 AM »

I look at it somewhat complimentary. The game on the whole, the story, the puzzles, are great. Nobody hates the game. These sorts of tweaks are all that's really left to say after puffing it up for it's overall awesomeness.  

213

Nintendo Gaming / RE: What more do you think it’ll take?

« on: December 04, 2006, 08:20:07 AM »

The system's just a few weeks old. Obviously execution is far from complete. Sales this holiday are all riding the hype train. Long term staying power in the next 2 years, and ability to tap the critical mass is not yet proven. Even the iPod took 2 years to take off.

They'll do better than GameCube. How much better is anybody's guess. But Nintendo's already hinted at hoping for 30+ million, which is itself basically a 50% sales increase over GCN, and on par with N64.

214

Nintendo Gaming / RE: The Zelda: TP opinion thread

« on: December 03, 2006, 11:57:25 PM »

20 hours in Just entered the Gerudo valley and so far this game is the anti-Wind Waker. It's everything WW wasn't. It has the big epic quality of OOT, and it's excellent overall so far.

If the 60 hour thing is true, I'm only a 3rd of the way through even though events thus far have been extensive and fulfilling enough that it feels like it's closer to winding down than it actually is. They've mastered the goal/success/payoff formula. Weapons aren't just stumbled across; you do something significant to get them. Though there have been mini quests or sorts, they aren't the time-wasters that WW felt bloated with. They're actually relevant.

I still instinctively press A sometimes to swing the sword. The sword swinging in general was a little annoying at first, but I've compensated for that quarter/half second delay by swinging a little earlier, and I don't really even think about it anymore. The Wiimote aiming isn't immersive; it actually pulls me out of the game because Navi is often off-screen and I have to mind the wiimote and the sensor bar rather than stay absorbed. Controlling Epona is also a handful. So there are some tweaks to improve on. I can't help but wonder how perfect the GameCube version feels, actually.

Best Zelda ever? I don't know yet. I'll always have a strong attachment to OOT, but it's up there as a formidable sequel in sheer size, story, and cinematics.  

215

Nintendo Gaming / RE: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

« on: December 03, 2006, 01:06:10 PM »

Wow, I'm a moron. I B-triggered before Z-targetting. Got through handily by z-targetting first. Thanks Knows. What a dumbass thing to get stuck on. lollerz BigJim sux. Thanks Bill, too.

216

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Official Wii Sales Thread

« on: December 03, 2006, 12:41:53 PM »

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So... Wii has sold 10 times as many units in, like 1/100th of the time then?

< 200K/year vs. 400K/day. I guess that'd makes it over twice as much in about 1/365th of the time, no? Maybe closer to 350. But that's not much of a surprise.

217

Nintendo Gaming / RE: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

« on: December 03, 2006, 12:15:14 PM »

Bill: My problem is basically that I can't seem to effectively z-target while on Epona. I'll been almost right behind the carriage and try to blow out a fire... I pull the B-trigger and try to Z-target the carriage but it doesn't "take" most of the time. Mix and repeat as they get away from me and I have to catch back up again. Grrr. So I thought something was just plain wrong with my technique, which is to say, I apparently have none.  

218

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Official Wii Sales Thread

« on: December 03, 2006, 11:40:30 AM »

Safe? Yes, every 5 year battle was decided in a few weeks.

It's a healthy start by virtue of competent supply, but I won't be drawing any conclusions for at least a year.  

219

Nintendo Gaming / RE:The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

« on: December 03, 2006, 11:33:48 AM »

Sorta stuck at a part. Harumph.


Ok, so basically I'm at the part where you have to help the lady and the sick zora kid across the field. Call me a noob, but there is something difficult about controlling Epona, multiple weapons, fending off 5 enemies, and blowing out fires at the same time.   Maybe my B-trigger/Z-targetting technique is just fubar'd. What does everybody else do?  

220

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Nintendo Wii Battery Report

« on: November 26, 2006, 08:38:16 AM »

You ask as if rechargables are wholly without precedent, a new questionable technology with unproven merits.

Yeah, get rechargables. They work fine.  

221

Nintendo Gaming / RE: The biggest disaster in Nintendo history?

« on: November 26, 2006, 08:28:54 AM »

The 1 million number was an estimate from Nintendo of Canada's GM back in September.

I don't recall any company's launch shipments ever meeting targets, but as recently as launch day Reggie expected 1 million in actual sales by mid December and 2 million by mid January (not including international sales).

So as of a week ago, they're off their year end target by around 2 weeks.

They're still expecting to have 6 million total shipped by end of March (as does Sony). If Sony actually manages to meet their goal, and I doubt they will, they're still virtually tied based on availability.

It's a sprint. This holiday doesn't mean much of anything anyway. The real interesting battle is a year away.  

222

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Wii GET! ***Official "I WIID MYSELF" thread***

« on: November 26, 2006, 07:20:35 AM »

Pretty much. If they have your CC# on file, that's insurance in case you don't return the brick.

If they instead suggest sending yours first, try offering your CC#. Some reps are better at this than others.

223

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Wii GET! ***Official "I WIID MYSELF" thread***

« on: November 25, 2006, 05:56:30 AM »

Call them. They may send a replacement unit faster than a fix for your problem.

224

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Something I noticed that I thought was odd...

« on: November 23, 2006, 04:53:52 PM »

Bild, does your floor have carpeting?

Just like a laptop, a carpeted floor is a bad place for a horizontal Wii. Keep it vertical in that circumstance. Using that round stand that came in the box should help keep it balanced upright.  

225

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Virtual Console

« on: November 21, 2006, 07:33:11 PM »

Buyer's remorse for using 500 points on Donkey Kong. Not that it's bad, but 3 levels and it's basically done.

I also got F-Zero; I predict fun times ahead on that one.