Messages

26

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Wii U

« on: June 19, 2011, 12:38:11 AM »

Wait, why wasn't the answer a good one...?  If they haven't decided yet, then they haven't decided... shouldn't they say that...?

Let me put it this way: A man asks his longtime girlfriend to marry him and she says, "I don't know." Would you call that a "good" answer? If I were him, I'd certainly expect the worst.

Yeah, but (1) "will you marry me" is an important question that essentially determines the future of their relationship and (2) the girl answering "I don't know" essentially says something about her feelings towards him that's fairly unlikely to change; even though the form of the answer is indeterminate, what it implies is not.

The situation with controllers, on the other can easily change in either direction ("will support" or "won't support"), as they get a better grasp on the technical details (e.g., will reserving enough GPU power for additional controllers have too large an impact on games), and consumer demand for the feature.

In other words, Nintendo's "I don't know" is likely to mean they really don't know yet, rather than being a weasel-worded way of saying "no."  I think it's a perfectly honorable and respectable answer.

27

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Wii U

« on: June 18, 2011, 09:49:54 PM »

I feel like we got the best answer since "Yes!" wasn't an option... even if the answer wasn't a good one.

Wait, why wasn't the answer a good one...?  If they haven't decided yet, then they haven't decided... shouldn't they say that...?

After all the thing still won't be a reality for a long time, so it's not like people need to make their buying decision based on that answer...

28

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Wii U

« on: June 18, 2011, 09:43:13 PM »

yeah thats one thing....they never seem as prepared as possible at e3.

But isn't that kinda good in a way?  Personally I find it refreshing when you get a ... kinda more direct, honest, feed from the people who are actually working to make the thing, even if they're clumsy in some ways.  The more PR runs things, the more banal and content-free they tend to be ...

29

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Wii U

« on: June 13, 2011, 10:27:01 PM »

I've been considering it, but I don't like the look of the LCD televisions I've seen. They are too bright, which not only hurts my eyes but also makes colours looked washed out. I'm starting to wonder if I'm sensitive to light, though these things are the only light sources I know of which cause this. In any case, I either need to wait for better TV technology to become affordable, or I have to track down a CRT HD TV, neither of which would be an easy thing to do.

What about one of those ones that don't have a single backlight, but instead have a grid of individually modulatable LEDs (which are driven with roughly a low-pass version of the image -- and no, there are no visible artifacts)...?  That gives them vastly greater dynamic range than a traditional LCD setup, perfect blacks, etc.  I think Samsung made one, and also maybe the Hitachi silly-name TV has them ("Wooooo"?)

I'll bet such TVs are much better suited to having a wide range of brightness settings than traditional fixed backlight models (which might only have a limited range of settings at which the backlight works).

[This tech can be used to provide true HDR rendering, but of course it's limited in normal TV usage by the input source...]

30

Nintendo Gaming / Re: The OFFICIAL Big N rumor thread *bring your own salt*

« on: June 13, 2011, 09:47:40 AM »

This wasn't just close, it arguably looks more usable and comfortable.

holding up the bulk of the wait from the bottom? nah

This.

That's one of the (many) reasons why the PSP analogue stick is so horrible, you kinda have to hold it from an awkward bottom position to use the analogue stick (whereas the d-pad is in much more natural position).

Nintendo's actual design for the wiiu controller looks vastly more comfortable (not to mention more secure).

31

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Wii U

« on: June 12, 2011, 10:00:38 PM »

Certainly they should remain compatible with the old controllers, but also release new slimmer/lighter wiiu branded versions as well... then the rich could buy all new, and the thrifty could keep their old stuff.

32

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Wii U

« on: June 08, 2011, 09:45:17 PM »

What seems sort of disappointing to me is that Nintendo often has wonderful, whimsical, and appealing code-names for their consoles ... and then tosses them out and picks something awful for the official name.

I think some of it may be that it's basically Japanese speakers choosing the names -- they typically don't have the same sensibilities w/r/t "English" names that a native English speaker would, and what seems a clever and cool name to the Japanese may strike English speakers as ludicrous/embarrassing/...

In recent years, this also seems to be combined with a desire for unique names, presumably for branding purposes, and the result is ... welll you can see.

33

General Gaming / Re: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Official Best Single-Player Game Ever Thread

« on: June 08, 2011, 08:36:53 PM »

The first one is good, and is often unfairly overlooked in favour to Among Theives. It's still one of the best games on the PS3, but it's not as great as Uncharted 2. Put it this way, I wouldn't recommend playing it as strongly after Uncharted 2.

It's a hard decision -- they were both absolutely awesome games.

I think on balance, I maybe actually preferred the first uncharted though.  Hmm... possible reasons:

(1) I really, really, liked the half-submerged huge ruined jungle-city environment of U1.  The environments in U2 were gorgeous and often interesting, but somehow didn't seem as compelling.  Maybe that's because U2 kept shuttling you around between widely separated locations so much, meaning there was much less sense of being in one enormous place, and less sense of "exploring" (U1, while it actually forced you along a pretty linear path, did a great job of giving the impression of exploring the ruins).   [Shangri-la in U2 was wonderful, but way underused -- I wish they would have simply set the whole game there! -- and I was actually pretty pissed that they simply blew it up in the end... followed by a lame wisecrack!]

(2) The baddies at the end of U1 were awesomely creepy and scary, there was nothing really like them in U2 (it was all "waves of canon fodder").

But of course, those are quibbles -- U2 was a crazy cool game too.

34

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Wii U

« on: June 08, 2011, 07:54:29 PM »

So, Nintendo never even thought of using multiple controllers with the system? Doesn't that seem a little short sighted, even for Nintendo?

They certainly thought of it.

Did you read my previous comment?  Maybe they can figure out a solution that's more palatable than simply disallowing multiple wiiu controllers (e.g. reduced resolution/quality as suggested by BnM2K1, "2nd+ controllers only can do 2d gfx", etc), but it's not a trivial problem.

If GPU power is the reason behind the restriction, then the tradeoff may essentially come down to lower price vs. multiple 3d controllers... and choosing a lower price is likely to be the smarter choice.

[Maybe they could offer a "multiple controller extension box" that (for a price) added the capabilities necessary, but that kind of thing would entail a fair bit of development effort and additional complexity, and might never sell enough to be worth it.]

35

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Wii U

« on: June 08, 2011, 06:28:35 PM »

That can't be. They would be stupid to do that.

The only reason I could see being used as an excuse is if it wasn't feasibly possible. If that's the case then don't even bother releasing it.

If the remote can display 3d-rendered graphics independently of the main display (as it seeems to), those graphics are probably being generated by the GPU in the main unit, and there probably isn't enough GPU power to do it for multiple remotes.   [GPUs tend to be very power hungry and hot, so they probably can't put the GPU in the remote itself.]

If they had a "multiple wiiu remotes are allowed but only one can show fancy graphics" rules, then of course people would bitch endlessly about that...

36

General Chat / Re: Adventures in Utter Incompetence from Amazon.com

« on: August 02, 2010, 11:22:21 AM »

Anyway just thought I'd clear up some of the opinion given here, percentage wise UPS and FedEx are vastly more efficient in their delivery process then USPS who still uses very archaic systems, including a tracking system that is pathetically outdated. Signatures and things like that are more the retailer's call then UPS or FedEx except for the mentioned exception.

Maybe so, but my experience is that USPS ends up offering a vastly better service from a user perspective, especially in recent years (the quality of service has gone up).  The main advantage of UPS seems to be that it's cheaper (and thus retailers love it).

As has been mentioned earlier, much of this is because postal services (US or otherwise), with their widespread physical presence, simply have a nicer model for casual users, because unlike UPS/Fedex/etc, they actually have an office nearby most people (within easy walking distance of every place I've ever lived -- and that's a lot of places).

37

Podcast Discussion / Re: RetroActive #13 Poll -- GBA Edition

« on: June 30, 2010, 12:01:38 PM »

I just hope the site doesn't lose any professional relationships by, basically, endorsing the use of illegal ROMs and emulation.

There is no need to do so, so it's not an issue.

38

Podcast Discussion / Re: RetroActive #13 Poll -- GBA Edition

« on: June 30, 2010, 10:25:35 AM »

Agreed. It isn't a RetroActive if no one has played it before.

Wrong.  RetroActive is a way to discover old games that you've never played before.

Mother 3 is four years old and very few people here have played it.  It's a perfect candidate.

... and to give people some experience with importing, finding fan translations, etc., in a supportive group environment.

39

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Place Yer Bets: 3DS US Launch Month

« on: June 29, 2010, 11:14:47 AM »

Hmm, what I see is that the DS still seems hugely popular, is getting a massive push in stores, lots of new colors (this is in Japan), and of course the LL, tons of games, and just generally seems very "active."

It doesn't feel like a system which is being readied for phase-out, and I imagine they want to get at least one more holiday season out of it (at this point I'm assuming it's practically pure profit), and game devs probably feel the same way.

That's why I'd put any 3DS release in mid-2011, if not later, at least in Japan.

40

Podcast Discussion / Re: RetroActive #13 Poll -- GBA Edition

« on: June 28, 2010, 10:07:23 PM »

Man, what a bunch of wimps...

41

TalkBack / Re: FEATURES: NWR E3 2010 Awards

« on: June 27, 2010, 10:08:00 PM »

Isn't Kirby usually a mind-numbingly easy game? And it's still your best Wii game of E3? Does that mean it was the most fun?

I dunno about the general trend, but the last time I played a kirby game I got my ass handed to me repeatedly (that was on the gameboy tho).

42

Podcast Discussion / Re: RetroActive #13 Poll -- GBA Edition

« on: June 26, 2010, 03:38:27 PM »

Mother 3 is the only choice which is in the least bit interesting...

43

General Chat / Re: Oh Em Gee iPhone 4 yay!11

« on: June 26, 2010, 02:33:21 PM »

My main concern is how long it's going to take my apple-fanboy friends to shut up about the thing.

... and just as the constant "I've replaced my entire life with an ipad and I'm much happier!" postings were starting to die down ... :[

It's like apple wants us to be miserable!

44

TalkBack / Re: Reggie Fils-Aime On the Black Wii

« on: June 26, 2010, 02:15:21 PM »

first real lol today

45

NWR Forums Discord / Re: Gordon Ramsay's MasterChef

« on: June 26, 2010, 10:24:51 AM »

For quite a long time I actually thought that's what the main character in Halo was called...

[It made Halo fanboys seem even more absurd!]

46

NWR Forums Discord / Re: So.. I'm going to Japan...

« on: June 26, 2010, 12:51:08 AM »

I happened to read something about touring Japan which warned not to "stray off the beaten path" not because its dangerous but because, appearantly, the Yakuza "import" these big Nigerians to basically hustle the obvious tourist into their clubs/hostess bars where they'll "pursuade" you into blowing all your cash.

Don't pay attention to stuff like that; it's crap.

Japan, and even Tokyo, is ultra-safe, and probably one of the safest places in the world for straying off the beaten path; in fact you're probably safer if you don't look Japanese, because in some cases where someone would bother a Japanese, they'll leave you alone.  Take advantage of that ultra-safeness and explore like crazy.  [Another pro-random-exploration point is that Tokyo has so many train/subway stations, that you almost don't need to worry about getting lost -- no matter where you go, you'll eventually run into a station.]

In central Roppongi (but essentially nowhere else), you'll see big foreigners (indeed, mostly from Africa AFAICT) aggressively trying to lure you into seedy clubs, but you can easily just ignore them; they're annoying, but they won't do anything beyond constant whining.  [Actually, there's been a crackdown in the last few years, so these days they've become almost timid.]

My advice:  Just avoid central Roppongi; it's probably the tackiest and least interesting place in Tokyo.  Problem solved.

But do explore.  Tokyo is one of the coolest places on the planet.

47

TalkBack / Re: Okamiden Dated for Japan

« on: June 24, 2010, 10:06:25 PM »

A novel...?!  I suppose it's likely formulaic hackwork, but... you never know.... hmmm

[Not a bad price for all that either!]

48

TalkBack / Re: 4 Heroes of Light Has Depth of a Console Final Fantasy

« on: June 24, 2010, 08:13:45 PM »

The fact that they had to come out and actually defend 4 Heroes of Light made me simile. However I think that's as far things might go. I just wish someone would call them on this more.

Not totally sure what you mean.

I've played through a good deal of "4HoL" (japanese version), and it's a great game, far better than most FF games in my opinion.

It has lots of hoary old RPGisms (random encounters!), but it also just drips with charm, and that hasn't been true of any FF game since about 1994 as far as I can tell... (the "crystal" games were just sort of freaky I thought)...

In other words, Square may suck generally, as may their FF spin-offs -- no argument there -- but I think 4HoL is a fine game.  It's a minor but welcome counter-example to Square's general awfulness.

[I didn't know it was getting dissed, but I suppose it's not all that surprising; FF fans are, well, ...]

49

General Chat / Re: Adventures in Fed Ex Delivery

« on: June 22, 2010, 07:05:06 AM »

Yeah, I always use the Postal Service when possible, because except for super-fast (1 day) delivery, they really seem to handle things a lot better for home deliveries.  All the other delivery services seem predicated on the notion that the recipient is either a business or has a stay-at-home family member that's always around to accept packages at random times... (geez what is this the 50s or something?!)

Amazon Japan has a cool new service where instead of delivering to your house, they'll deliver to a nearby convenience store (I think only Lawson, but it's one of the biggest chains), where you can then pick up the package at your leisure.  Since there's a Lawson approximately every 50 meters in Japan, this works really well, and is far, far, more convenient (!) than the usual package-delivery comedy routine...

50

TalkBack / Re: Epic Mickey, Tron Legacy Controllers Announced

« on: June 21, 2010, 12:31:25 PM »

So when's the chainsaw controller making a return?!   that would be perfectly suited to the wii...  they could even incorporate both the remote and the nunchuck into it as different handles on the chainsaw.  Swinging the chainsaw: on-screen carnarge!