Messages

451

TalkBack / Re: History of AlphaDream: Ketchup and Plumbers

« on: July 25, 2013, 07:37:34 PM »

Nice work Justin.   I've really liked the various History of...Developer articles NWR has put out over the past few months. Even with developers I know a lot about, there's always something new to discover.

452

TalkBack / Re: Japanese Indie Developers Cannot Develop for Wii U

« on: July 25, 2013, 07:15:39 PM »

For such a Japan-focused company, you would think Nintendo would accept Japanese indie developers before they would Western indies. Such a strange policy. I don't see how Nintendo gains from this position at all.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 343: Steam Punk'd

« on: July 22, 2013, 07:27:32 AM »

Considering I listen to another podcast that regularly has a guy who skype calls on his phone while driving an 18-wheeler across the country, this audio hiccup is really nothing that should prevent you from listening to New Business.

lol. What does he talk about as he's driving?
 
Yeah, I was worried when Gui started speaking. Hearing the human voice before Jason Ricci is always a bad sign, but thankfully it wasn't bad.
 
James getting in the dig on Jonny as soon as the second segment opens. Karl being homeless. Jon explaining his psychology around buying games nowadays. Classic RFN.

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NWR Forums Discord / Re: Famicom @ 30: Jon Lindemann muses

« on: July 22, 2013, 07:20:17 AM »

November 1983. The NHL season had started. I was spinnin' "Do You Know the Way to San Jose" at the club in its honor. I had shown Drag Strip and Spitfire who was boss and the seven year itch that was the Faichild Channel F was over!
 
Now was the time for the Famicom unboxing. Maybe I can dig up the Betamax tape and post it to my YouTube account, IncredibleLindy. This system was deluxe for the time. Wired controllers. As in hardwired to the console itself. Kind of like the anti-Wave Bird. The second controller had a microphone on it! It sounded better than WiiSpeak. When I moved to Atlanta and couldn't find my headset right away, I rigged it to use on Skype for RFN. I bet you didn't notice the Nintendo difference!
 
Donkey Kong. What can I say, I loved that game! When I sang The DK Rap on the 2011 RFN Child's Play event, it was like it all came full circle. A single manly tear rolled down my face as I thought of the fun I had on that red cartridge. Kill Screen? Just about every time I hit the level with the springs was my kill screen! I have their two note sound effect set as my ringtone for people I don't want to talk to. It sets up the appropriate feeling of dread in me.
 
Donkey Kong Jr. How can such a white cartridge contain such a black heart? My mind was blown. Mario, the villain? Keeping DK caged? Was that how Mr. Mustache kept Pauline? Was he the villain the whole time? I was an agent of evil in the original? Now you know why I said **** Super Mario Galaxy. Now you know why I didn't play Super Mario Bros. 3 for decades. He could make alligators climb up vines. He could make flying vultures shoot out eggs on command! As a result, for years I said that Super Mario Bros. should have been titled DK and Son. It should have starred a hero, not a zero.
 
Popeye. Look I'll get around to it. You can't rush these things. You have to play a game when it's the right time for you. Maybe we can use my opening it as a stretch goal for RFN Child's Play 2013. Actually playing it would be a goal for 2014.
 
Next time I'll tell you about one of my all time favorite games: Donkey Kong Hockey. And about how I attempted to learn French using Popeye no Eigoasobi.

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NWR Forums Discord / Famicom @ 30: Jon Lindemann muses

« on: July 19, 2013, 02:42:46 AM »

Longtime listeners to RFN know that Greg Leahy started importing consoles at a young age. First the Super Famicom, then the N64, Wii, etc. What you may not know is that Lindy was import gaming before that Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts Guru was even born! Let's go back shall we? Back to the summer of '83.
 
I remember it well. It was the summer before my senior year in high school. Picture Vin Diesel with hair. I was fast and furious back then, know what I mean? I was no Don Juan, but I was mack-daddyin' a little bit, I could charm the ladies, spinning records at the local album oriented punk rock disco as DJ Silk. Life was good. And like most youth at that time, the arcades were my scene. Gobbling dots, jumping barrels, inflating monsters, I could do it all. So when I heard through the flax fields that some arcade-quality consoles were coming to Japan that summer, I thought I'd get the 411.
 
At first, the Sega SG-1000 interested me. Particularly a game by this cat named Yuji Naka, Girl's Garden. But I found out the title wasn't what I thought it was, so I looked at the Family Computer, Famicom for all the cool kids. The launch games were Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr. and Popeye, so a ton more than what the WiiU has. I had never played Popeye, but I was told I looked like the sailor if you squinted a lot and I definitely ate a lot of spinach to keep in shape for the DJing gigs, so I thought I'd get that too.
 
When I picked up the Famicom and three games from the import shop in Toronto, I couldn't wait to play them. But there was a problem. You may be aware that I'm somewhat known for my videogaming backlog. Yuji Horii personally sent me a tear-stained congratulatory note on my completing Chrono Trigger, in part saying: "You've made an old man happy. I can die in peace now." I was touched. Well, then as now, the shelves relentlessly stared at me, trying to sap me of my will. I resolved to finish off my Fairchild Channel F backlog of games first. Mind Reader was balls-hard man! And Video Whizball made Battletoads look like a walk in the park with Kermit.
 
Well, it's getting late and the thought of traveling the 4-0-0 in the ATL in the morning makes Mr. DiamondJ want to listen to 187 albums, so I'll call it a night and update you on my Famicom adventures tomorrow. Peace out!

456

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 342: China Don't Care

« on: July 15, 2013, 09:57:07 PM »

I listened to the show last night, just after it came out. In the letters section, I believe the gang talked about a Gamepad revision to make it more attractive, allow for purchase as a second Gamepad, etc. As  far as I know, Japan is the only region where you can buy a second Gamepad and that if it were an option in the US and other regions, it would sell for the equivalent for $130-150. Unless the theoretical revised Gamepad retails for $75 or below (and $75 is still somewhat nuts), the idea of a second Gamepad is dead to almost everyone anyway.
 
I just don't see why the Gamepad costs so much. Are they just trying to make back R&D money? Has the price of LCD screens gone up recently? There just seems to be no reason for it to be as expensive as it is. It's basically a controller with a screen on it that can wirelessly send/receive data (same as the WiiMote, only it needs higher bandwidth). No processing takes place on the gamepad, so the expense of a CPU/GPU, etc. doesn't factor in.
 
I realize that the past 10 years or so has seen the console manufacturers basically double or more the price of their respective controllers for slightly better tech than the late 90's (at least the Wiimote had some excuses for higher prices), but the gamepad has gone over the rails, doubling or tripling the prices over that.
 
Unless they address the price issue, they can revise the Gamepad all they and the fans want. It's still going nowhere as far as proliferation is concerned.

457

TalkBack / Re: Wii Party U Is Actually Really Fun

« on: July 01, 2013, 07:39:58 PM »

It's astounding that even in this generation, so many Nintendo games that could make good use of online play don't even attempt it. Is all of Nintendo's online code done by one guy at N.E.R.D.? If so, at least double the staff to two. Maybe a couple more games a year could feature what has been standard for over a decade now.
 
I think I'd be less disappointed if it was a simple lack of ability on Nintendo's part, but by this point, lack of online play seems to be due to apathy more than incompetence.
 
Nice preview though. Wii Party U does seem to have more to it than I'd originally thought.

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TalkBack / Re: Kokuga Confirmed for Summer Release in the West

« on: June 20, 2013, 11:23:31 PM »

Somewhere in England, a man is rubbing his hands together in glee at this news. 
 
The screenshots look crazy, fitting for a game like this.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: E3 2013 Bringing the Home Team Back Together

« on: June 17, 2013, 11:50:37 PM »

Really wonderful job, James, tying the Greg segment (what a treat to hear his level-headed thoughts again!) with the spirited and funny rat-a-tat chatter with this promising new Jon fellow. Great PR-idea spitballing. (BTW promising fresh voice here, looking forward to hearing more from him!) Cute little segue you put in there, too, bravo.

He's no Evan Burchfield, but I like this Jon guy. He's got potential. Like they say in pro sports, he's got a lot of upside.

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TalkBack / Re: Watch_Dogs Preview

« on: June 14, 2013, 06:18:42 AM »

Great preview.    I hadn't really paid much attention to Watch_Dogs before now. Reading this, the gameplay sounds truly interesting and that, combined with the multiplayer aspects, opens up a lot of possibilities. Hopefully you really can play in whatever style you wish, which a lot of games strive for, but rarely achieve.

461

Podcast Discussion / Re: E3 2013 Bringing the Home Team Back Together

« on: June 13, 2013, 06:29:27 AM »

Man! I'll still processing what I listened to. That was the best episode of RFN in a long, long time. And that's not to slight the quality of recent episodes, because they've been very good. I think RFN has been on an uptick lately, but damn! This episode stands out, and not simply because of the welcome visit from Greg. The thoughts and analysis of the whole gang (James, Jon and Greg) was spot on and really encapsulated E3 for me. I don't think you necessarily have to agree with their opinions to think so either.
 
To me, this episode will take its place among the best that RFN has offered. If you've never listened to RFN before, you can't go wrong by starting with this episode (then proceed to 103 perhaps ). I'll try to offer some specific thoughts brought up in the episode later, but the overwhelmingly thought right now is just that the episode was quality and can stand up with the best of any other gaming podcast going on today.
 
It's the podcast people! If you're a visitor to NWR and don't listen to RFN, start today.

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TalkBack / Re: Miyamoto Talks 3DS & GBA Versions of Pikmin, Making Pikmin 3 Replayable

« on: June 13, 2013, 02:21:40 AM »

Yeah. I remember there was a baseball game that Nintendo was a couple months away from releasing near the end of the Cube's life and then it suddenly got pulled from the schedule and ended up cancelled yet it looked practically complete.

Yeah. I was looking forward to that one. It was Pennant Chase Baseball by Exile Interactive (which I believe used to be Angel Studios of the N64 era). It was supposed to come out fall 2005, then delayed to April 2006 and just before then, canceled!

463

TalkBack / Re: The Wonderful 101 Impressions

« on: June 12, 2013, 08:43:07 PM »

It'll be nice 10 years from now when the Wii U is fully emulated. Maybe some dedicated individual will make quality net code since Nintendo often refuses to even try. C'mon! It can't be that hard or costly. Look at the numerous outfits both big and small that do it. I don't use online gaming much, but I know a lot of people do and it would be nice to have the option.
 
It can't even really be cost at this point. It's like Nintendo sees online gaming as a betrayal of their single player and local multiplayer games. The only time it is a "betrayal" is when online gaming is the only option in a game, not when it's one option out of many!
 
As for W101 itself, it looks great and right up my alley.

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TalkBack / Re: Miyamoto Talks 3DS & GBA Versions of Pikmin, Making Pikmin 3 Replayable

« on: June 12, 2013, 08:30:55 PM »

That's the thing about Nintendo's internal workings and its sometimes glacial release pace. There's no way to know how many games have been started and scrapped, sometimes very far into development. The Kirby Wii game being a prominent example.

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TalkBack / Re: 3DS Saw Boosted Sales From Animal Crossing, Will Have Strong Lineup Next Year

« on: June 12, 2013, 08:27:01 PM »

Wow! Streetpass may actually become really useful outside Japan if this is what I'm thinking it will be. No more waiting for Cons and other large gatherings in hopes of getting streetpasses.

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TalkBack / Re: Browser Based Miiverse Adds More Social Networking Features

« on: June 12, 2013, 08:16:13 PM »

STOP IT RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!! For a second you guys made me think I made a spelling mistake.

Actually.... unless the article has already been updated:

Users can now share Miiverse posts directly through Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and Tumblr. This feature has not been added to the Wii U version of Miiverse, and there has been now word on whether or not it would be added.

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TalkBack / Re: E3 2013 Day Zero Live Stream

« on: June 12, 2013, 01:21:32 AM »

Hey guys!    Are you having a livestream tonight or not? Haven't seen any tweets or anything about it. I'm at the Twitch page and nothing has happened.

EDIT: Naturally a few minutes after I post this, Jonny tweets saying they'll start soon. Good to hear.

468

TalkBack / Re: Just Being Mii: Curb Your E3nthusiasm

« on: June 05, 2013, 11:31:20 PM »

I heard rumors of Steel Diver 2 coming to 3DS and Wii U with cross platform MMO and a 30 hour AAA single player campaign. Free download as part of the Ambassador program 2.0

I heard that Miyamoto and Iwata make cameos as submarine captains. Their target? The Good Ship Fils-Aime captained by Bill Trinen. One of the many alternate universe scenarios that will be released as DLC.

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TalkBack / Re: New GameCube Controller Adapter for Wii and Wii U

« on: June 05, 2013, 11:24:45 PM »

Ha! I love adaptors like this.    Plus the various USB adaptors that allow you to play with various system's controllers on the PC.

470

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 117: Request THIS!

« on: June 01, 2013, 01:10:04 AM »

Thank you guys for another Radio Free Trivia.

Is that Lindemann's little-known C64 SID music podcast? 
 
*And that was Monty on the Run. A classic game that I played when I was a wee babe of 21. It was just the soothing balm I needed after failing in the OHL tryouts. Go Knights!*

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Nintendo Pirate Radio: RetroActive Fridge Raid

« on: May 29, 2013, 07:39:51 PM »

I just noticed this was posted on my original forum SN.  But I can't remember the password to log in nor the email address I used to register it.  =o(

Couldn't one of the admins tell you? Surely both are stored on the server. The password if nothing else.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 117: Request THIS!

« on: May 29, 2013, 07:32:26 PM »

It's also possible it was used on one of the live shows (like the Child's Play marathon, or PAX East), games used for one of the live shows can still be used for regular Radio Trivia.

Yeah, I think it was a live show, the latest Child's Play show I believe.

 2011. Greg wasn't on the last Child's Play marathon.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 117: Request THIS!

« on: May 29, 2013, 05:37:01 AM »

You're welcome James!    (regarding the third game)

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Nintendo Pirate Radio: RetroActive Fridge Raid

« on: May 29, 2013, 04:42:41 AM »

I've been re-listening to some old RFN episodes. I put this Pirate Radio episode in the queue and thought it was the next one that started. When the next episode began, I heard Jonny and Karl and thought this is going to be good, then Jonny introduced Greg, Jon and James. I thought "Greg's on the show? Wait, Greg's in Colorado with Jonny? Hold on..." it was episode 122. :p
 
Great little show and good discussion. Ya'll seemed to be having a good time. I've seen various Twitter pics and it seems like the gang got to see some good sights.
 
As for NPR... imagine Morning Edition hosted by Sweet Pete and Blue Balls. 

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TalkBack / Re: Wii U-Focused Nintendo Direct Airing on First Day of E3 2013

« on: May 24, 2013, 07:21:16 AM »

7 AM PDT. I feel sorry for the West Coasters. That's early!