Topic: Episode 333: The Source of All Beauty in the Universe

[Pandareus]

We have fresh games, and Listener Mail gets very hypothetical. Also, another RetroActive already? But this one is different.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/rfn/33841

After a modestly chaotic few weeks, we're back to the most common format of this ever-changing show, with all four members, New Business, and Listener Mail. It all starts with Guillaume's wrap-up on Lego City Undercover, which seems to be under the radar but is really working for him and others playing it on Wii U. James digs into Battalion Wars, the unusual action/strategy spin-off from GameCube's dying days. Jon gets masochistic with Ultimate Ghosts and Goblins, the PSP remake of your host's least favorite 2D platformer. One more more up Jonny's alley is Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams, which he's playing in anticipation of the game's Wii U conversion later this year. With time remaining in the segment, Gui wraps back around with a severe warning on Tokyo Crash Mobs, and Jonny shares a few initial thoughts on Guacamelee.

For this week's batch of Listener Mail, it seems like everyone wants us to discuss hypotheticals. There's one on an Mother/Earthbound Kickstarter campaign, a choice between retail-only or digital-only for the Wii library, and the possibility of a Nintendo Plus service with its own "instant game collection". The last email breaks this trend, instead asking which games break all spending logic and compel us to buy systems we might not otherwise. You'll learn a lot about James in this one. Keep the revelations coming by sending your own Listener Mail for a future episode!

Even though we just wrapped up the Ys Book I&II RetroActive, it's already time to set up the next entry in this popular feature. We wanted a stark change of pace this time, so it's a special poll inspired by a recent email: Mega Man 2 vs. Mega Man 3. The timetable is compressed this time, so vote right now and be ready to play along very soon!

[Shaymin]

Regarding Mother/Earthbound and Kickstarter:

- Comparable companies haven't gone to Kickstarter directly, but Sony highly encouraged a Kickstarter for a compilation featuring Johann Sebastian Joust... and the Sony people I was following on Twitter at the time would *not* *shut* *up* about it. Granted, that's SCEA, who has a fair bit more independence than say, NOA.

- Would the shareholders see it as a loss of face for Nintendo to go after fan money, or would it be smart business to get the money up front for a relatively risky venture? "We're not putting your money at risk for this, it's paid for."

- I find it hard to believe NOA was getting behind Earthbound when the tagline from NOA marketing was "This game stinks".

Disclaimer: I have gone on record that I would pay up to the cost of a retail WiiU game for Earthbound, and the theoretical Earthbound KS would be the first time I'd Kickstart anything.

[azeke]

I am probably stepping on a thin ice here, but listening americans looking for racism is weird. There are many cases when westerners look at something made within different culture (or in different time) and say it's racist and people who are supposed to be offended just shrug and don't get what's wrong with it. It's like: "NO, i know what's better for you, and i know what's good and how to protect you". Weird and slightly insulting feeling.

On actual Guacamele game -- i've watched Giant Bomb feature of it, it looks very cool and fun. It's also relevant to two subjects that we had discussions about on forums. On excessive irony in games and on metroidvanias.

Seeing several games' take on metroidvania lately made me realize that calling it a genre is wrong. Fluidity, Toki Tori 2 are puzzle games. Guacamele is 2d beat'em up. Even original Metroid and Castlevania are not too similar -- one's run and gun and the other one more melee oriented.

Metroidvania is more closer to type of a structure, a method to pace game's challenges. Actual challenges can be anything -- shoot this monster, beat this guy, solve this puzzle, or just jump over the pit.

On big companies using Kickstarter or similar financial schemes to fund new entries in their niche series. It's actually already happening like with Veronica Mars TV series where fans basically gave money to WB to do a new movie (or a new season?). Also we've known lately that Ubisoft took over Cloudberry Kingdom guys and basically taking an already financed game and just slapping their name on it.

I know i sound kinda negative, but if say Nintendo or Capcom would do something like this with some of their series that i care enough to overcome my dislike of Kickstarter, i'd pledge. Company and investors gets more money, fans get their game. Everyone should be happy. Why is it wrong now? Is it because we want to make it harder for companies to make more games? But why?

PS btw i actually love Veronica Mars. It is a great series, do check it out.

[TJ Spyke]

Well, they are not really giving Warner the money. Warner is essentially giving the creator of the show permission to make a movie based on the show (since Warner owns it) if he pays for it.

And with Ubisoft, blame Microsoft for that. They require indy games to have a publisher to release Xbox Live Arcade games rather than release it themselves.

[Fjurbanski]

Nintendo just needs to pull a kid icarus uprising with the mother series. Release the old games on virtual console, but then put out a new entry in the series on either 3DS or Wii U (Wii U would be best, even though it would probably be on the 3DS, those jerks).


Think about how cool it would be at E3 to show off some characters in the new smash brothers, and one of them is a kid we don't recognize, and from that they segue into announcing a new Earthbound with that kid as the main character.


I think, Nintendo just needs to get some guts and make a new Mother game. If it doesn't do well, fine, but if it does, then they have a "new" franchise they can work with. They just need to quit being cowards and/or prideful about this.

[shingi_70]

Would Nintendo make a new Mother game without Ito.
I'd say most of the big indie guys from Wiiware still have good partnerships with Nintendo. (Watforward, Gaijan, Shinen).
Its not like Nintendo could stop micrsoft from Press Play and I have to assume the game did well on its various platforms to get picked up by Microsoft in favor of another developer Microsoft worked closely with. (The Behomth, SKA Studios, or signal studios).
Sucks because Max 2 looks like it would have came to the Wii U.

[Enner]

Nice show.

Regarding a hypothetical Nintendo subscription service, I was surprised that no one on the panel thought of offering Virtual Console games for free. Nintendo has an extensive back catalog with Virtual Console, but not all of them warrant a blind or individual purchase. A Nintendo subscription service that gives access to a rotation of free Virtual Console games or a Virtual Console lending library would be a compelling offer until a specific console's catalog fills out and ages. A lending library set up where only a number of Virtual Console games can be "borrowed" at a time might be more palatable to Nintendo. A user can choose to purchase the borrowed Virtual Console game at a discount if the user wishes to keep playing it while freeing up a borrowing slot.

[Leo13]

I love that idea of Nintendo plus letting you rent virtual console games.
I never purchased a single Wii virtual console game because all of the games I really liked, I could still pull out the old console and play for free and the ones I'd never played before well I didn't know if they were worth buying so I didn't.
Even today, I've never purchased a virtual console game at normal price (although between free club nintendo and 30 cents on the Wii U I now have quite a few).
If I could have paid a reasonable monthly or yearly fee and had free limited access I would've done that.

[Pandareus]

@azeke  - Eh, don't look at our comments as patronizing. First, we weren't being fully serious and I don't think any of us came off as genuinely outraged. Second, a stereotype, comment, etc. doesn't have to offend 100% of a minority group to be sexist, racist, etc. But again, we weren't fully serious.


I'm listening to the discussion right now about Earthbound and thought of another argument: Iwata saying that Nintendo would help 3DS Japanese RPGs of third parties get localized for the West. Well, it would be very weird of Nintendo to finance localizations for other companies' RPGs and yet still deny the West one of their own games. One they know there is SOME demand for. Probably more demand than for Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem, or Project X Zone.

[Thunderbird Starkiller]

Delighted to hear reference to Battle Zone Did you guys ever play the N64 version? Its one of my favorite terrible games!

[Pixelated Pixies]

I'm listening to the discussion right now about Earthbound and thought of another argument: Iwata saying that Nintendo would help 3DS Japanese RPGs of third parties get localized for the West. Well, it would be very weird of Nintendo to finance localizations for other companies' RPGs and yet still deny the West one of their own games. One they know there is SOME demand for. Probably more demand than for Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem, or Project X Zone.

That's a really good point, but you've fallen in to the rookie trap of assuming that logic has any bearing on what Nintendo decides to do.  :

[Crimm]

Project X Zone is way more interesting.


Seriously, what the **** on that game.

[Sal Paradise]

LOL. Gui FTW!

[Ignoramus]

Having just listened to this episode yesterday, hearing Gui's prophecy on today's Nintendo Direct come true blew my mind.