Messages

51

General Gaming / RE: Microsoft showing their true colors once again.

« on: October 22, 2007, 02:23:33 PM »

The speculation goes a bit too far.  The HD tuners isn't likely (see Tivo's HD problems, re: CableCards, switched digital video incompatibility, and no satellite support).

But an HD-DVD drive, sure why not. That's been speculation for a long time anyway.

52

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Wii isn't hardcore enough

« on: October 20, 2007, 10:31:16 AM »

He might be generalizing, but how are 3rd party hardcore (non-casual) game sales doing? (stats? comparisons?)

53

General Gaming / RE: Sony getting hit Hard lately (Now With Rumbling Fun Time Machines)

« on: October 19, 2007, 07:29:07 PM »

But.... the story is accompanied by a picture of a cute puppy.  Please 3rd parties, don't abandon the puppy and make him cry.  

54

General Gaming / RE: One console to rule them all.

« on: October 19, 2007, 02:14:05 PM »

Standards are highly unlikely. Duh, obviously.

But it wouldn't kill innovation if they at least based their core technologies on similar architectures, rather than going down these proprietary paths. Output will be reaching diminishing returns anyway, so I don't see what harm it'd really cause. Unless you're Sony and dead-set on pushing an architecture you spent billions making.

I don't mean identical hardware, but for example a PPC-based CPU (excluding monster-freak Cell-like concoctions) with Radeon-family GPUs could be "similar enough" while they continue with their own personal agendas (blue-ray, digital distribution, waggle stick, etc)    

55

General Gaming / RE: Portal - The Cake is a Lie!

« on: October 19, 2007, 06:53:15 AM »

Any one of them would be fine for that class of GPUs. The HIS seems to be the overall most aggressively clocked. Not bad for $170 after MIR. But if you want a single-slot card, the Sapphire has only a bit less juice than the HIS and is a bit cheaper.

Regarding DX10 support: You can also get an 8600 GTS with similar performance and DX10 compatibility at roughly the same price points here, which may be an overall better option.

56

TalkBack / RE: EDITORIALS: On Ratings

« on: October 18, 2007, 07:24:24 AM »

Recommended for Casual Players
Recommended for Enthusiasts
Recommended for All
Not Recommended

Score (1-10, no half points) & Review

?

"Enthusiasts" can encompass fans, fans of genres, hardcore players, etc. based on the context of the game, or in whatever context the reviewer uses to justify the selection (they should explain). And I use "Players" rather than "Gamers" to be able to encompass casual gamers and non-gamers.

I don't know if I would replace 5 ratings (graphics, sound, controls, etc) with another 5 ratings. I would probably give a game just 1 overall numbered score rating, using the targeted demographic (see above) as the intellectual scale in which it's judged, but S_B may be onto something too.

But certainly reviewers need to take themselves out of their reviews. It's not about them. They should be educated on the topic/genre, but still able to be as neutral as possible so they don't come at it with either a gripe or a glowing ball of fanboy sunshine.          

57

TalkBack / RE:EDITORIALS: On Ratings

« on: October 17, 2007, 01:35:11 PM »

Yep,  IGN caters to the enthusiast crowd, and perhaps their reviews are fine for that group of people.

That being said, I think if they want to also review market-expansion games, non-games, etc, they should either adjust their scales accordingly to those titles, or create an off-shoot brand that is geared towards the mainstream where games can be properly represented and content is more accessible to the other 90%.

At the VERY least, since we are on the internets where anything is possible, a very short summary review can be made available on the first page, with the "enthusiast" version on the following page(s), if they care to read them... rather than the summary getting stuck in at the end, which seems entirely backwards to me.

I have to reference and give props to GamerDad.com. They're doing a relatively good job, and I would like to see more of their type of reviews rather than watching sites compete to be more and more elite.

Edit Note: Not all IGN reviews are long, extensive, cluster-F's of "look how smart I am" techno-babble, they're just an example. I've seen much worse self-indulging reviewers at other sources.

58

TalkBack / RE: EDITORIALS: On Ratings

« on: October 17, 2007, 11:30:00 AM »

No real additional words of wisdom to add to the discussion, but I've also been disappointed by most current gaming rating systems, and it's been complicated all the more with the Wii.

Of course, "Wii Sports" games shouldn't be compared to Zelda. But going further than that, one of the main reasons why gaming hasn't gotten more credibility in the mainstream press is because it is like reading a foreign language.

A proper amount of attention should be attributed to a game's visual style and graphics, but when so many review sources go into the territory of frames per second, textures, lighting, etc, you lose 95% of the mainstream readers. *We* know they're trying to be helpful, but average people don't know what the hell they are talking about.

These gaming sources have tried so hard to be "credible" over the years that they've lost touch with the average readers, and it has grown to be common practice to discuss all the technical mumbo-jumbo without second thought.

Video games are no longer an enthusiast niche market. They're mainstream. Reviewers should start considering that. There is a market for the techno-babble, but it is the 10% enthusiast crowd. (I'm pulling that % out of my ass, but you get the idea.)

I don't need a paragraph about textures and crap like that. I can look at screenshots and decide whether I like the visuals or not.

Furthermore, other forms of media also pretty much only get ONE overall rating. Movies don't get separate ratings for acting, special effects, directing, soundtrack, stage sets, etc. That would just be silly.

...as silly as it is becoming with video games.

Is the game FUN or not?

I’ll join the chorus in saying they need to make it simple. Whatever that means, I don't know. Some kind of emotional stamp could be a good idea.  

59

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year

« on: October 16, 2007, 09:59:46 AM »

I agree I like the look of it too. Very clean and modern. They borrowed a bit from Apple in that regard, I think.

60

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year

« on: October 16, 2007, 06:40:11 AM »

The effect of the name can't ultimately be proven either way. Just because the Wii is popular, it doesn't prove the name is a positive. But while nothing particularly positive is said of the name, it doesn't mean it's not effective. It helped get attention for any number of reasons. The Wii is bigger than the sum of its parts, and that is why it's successful.

Sure, the other systems' problems helped to SOME extent, but I give credit to Nintendo for creating the "noise" in the first place. Most, if not all, of us saw the E3 2006 video where everybody was racing towards the Wii booth. Nintendo created a great level of curiosity. Sony and MS had nothing to do with that. Nintendo gets full credit for creating a "package" people were eager to experiment with. The name only added to the intrigue.

Good or bad, it didn't matter. It probably wasn't even the point. It got a reaction, and that's what mattered most. THAT is good marketing.

Anecdotally, I don't hear piss jokes anymore. I only hear "Weeeeeee" in a high-pitched voice, which has a fun/silly connotation. Maybe sometimes to pick on it, but most of the time not.  

61

General Gaming / RE: Portal - The Cake is a Lie!

« on: October 13, 2007, 01:53:44 PM »

Love Portal. It's fresh, funny... I think it would be a great Wii game, too.

62

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Official Wii Sales Thread

« on: October 12, 2007, 09:38:41 AM »

LOLz at that article. If by "analysts" and "reports" he means "SDF" and "bitching" then it's true.

Take if for what you will, but I've heard that Wii has been in shorter supply lately and shipment orders have been delayed, supposedly to accommodate a hardware update that thwarts modchips... which goes hand-in-hand with the summer software update. Supply should "normalize" by November (though will probably still be constrained).

If true that would explain the sales slowdown lately. It's a necessary evil, and the best time to do it. So I don't think they're artificially inflating a shortage.  

63

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Is Nintendo Creating Lapsed Wii Gamers?

« on: October 06, 2007, 03:42:41 PM »

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Ha ha ha ha! No no no no, son. You don't understand. This is not a negotiation. I am telling you not to insult me again. Me stating that there aren't significant numbers of whining people on the internet to cause concern and also are not equivalent in size to the content Wii owners is not the same as you underhandedly calling me unintelligent. Calling into question the rationale behind an opinion is not the same as calling me stupid, no matter how much sarcasm I use. In fact I'll dismiss your opinion again. Watch me. Here I am dismissing Bigjim's opinion. Maybe I'll use sarcasm. Welcome to the internet, BigJim. But if you insult me like that again, you'll find yourself an NWR-lapsed forumer.

I'd hardly call it negotiation either. I called you on your dismissive responses, which you willingly demonstrate. I then asked you not to muck up an intelligent discussion with it. That is not calling you unintelligent. All things considered, threatening me with the banning stick is pretty unfortunate. Are you really that upset by this discussion?

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Follow the logic train. You said you saw more of these "dismissive exaggerations" than this "concern-trolling oh-my-god-Wii-creating-Wii-lapsed-gamers-and-oh-my-god-also-a-game-drought" types posts. That's because you are in the minority here. To show a similar example, there are just as many posts from "DS lapsed" gamers (In other words, people who think there's a DS game drought) on the internet and they are in the severe minority, so their opinions are dismissed with some exaggeration. You follow?

You're still not being clear. But I THINK you're trying to say I am in the minority for thinking there are droughts and/or lapsed gamers.

If you want to talk about minorities, you're virtually the only one here who thinks lapsed gamers don't exist. Nintendo's money hats don't agree with you either. The consensus is not in favor of the "amorphous phantom group of 300" theory, so I think this dialog has about run its course.

But we get it. You don't think lapsed gamers or droughts exist. Fine. Cool. You're allowed to have those opinions if you so choose.      

64

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Is Nintendo Creating Lapsed Wii Gamers?

« on: October 05, 2007, 03:07:34 PM »

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I think that's the point, dude.You are in the severe minority on the internet as well. And nobackhanded insults, please. Or... you know, you can keep on with them.That's fine.

Then no more dismissive exaggerations. Deal?

I'm in the minority of what? Those that hate game droughts are a minority? Those that think droughts exist are a minority? Or those that think lapsed gamers exist are a minority? In any case, that's debatable.

65

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Super Mario Galaxy

« on: October 04, 2007, 09:48:53 AM »

Ok, I don't know if it's been mentioned already or if it's part of those other Japanese videos, but I just saw the SMG Prologue video on IGN.

Linky

That's freaking awesome.  

66

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Is Nintendo Creating Lapsed Wii Gamers?

« on: October 04, 2007, 08:56:11 AM »

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I think this idea of Nintendo not making the games you want is ridiculous, at least right now. People need to calm down and wait till GDC, then bitch if they don't have any new IP's or drastically different sequels.

::raises hand:: I agree with much of your post but I have to interject on just this one comment. After E3, there were folks in the "Disappointed in E3" thread discussing the weak showcase of gamer titles. Others basically told them, "Let's compromise and wait until TGS before criticizing Nintendo's lineup."

We did wait (or at least I did).  Nothing much came of TGS. So discussing the lineup is fair game, IMO.

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Mashiro: here's an idea, let's see what happens when TGS passes. THEN let's pass some judgement about Nintendo not showing us or delivering on their promise shall we?

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Kairon: If there's any better solution to this than a compromise of patience, an extension of the "where's-the-proof" deadline until the TGS in September, then I'd like to hear it. But that's the only sensible and rational answer I can come up with, hoping that patience really is the virtue everyone proclaims it to be.

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Pittboi: Yep, and WE ALL know what'll come next if Nintendo still doesn't show anything at TGS. "Wait until next year's GDC! GAWD! YOUR PROBLEM IS YOU JUST WANT EVERYTHING NOW! GEEZ TROLL!"

       

67

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Is Nintendo Creating Lapsed Wii Gamers?

« on: October 04, 2007, 04:42:37 AM »

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The number of games that cater to the gamer crowd from Nintendo has not decreased.

This seems to be the common disconnect when the topic comes up. They're not really saying the number is less. They're only saying they want more, to end the droughts.

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Seriously guys, I wish I could afford any of the action you guys are bitching on about right now.

I can definitely sympathize and empathize with that. Been there many times. LOL.  

68

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Is Nintendo Creating Lapsed Wii Gamers?

« on: October 04, 2007, 01:45:32 AM »

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But apparently there exists this amorphous, phantom-like group of Wii-lapsed gamers made up entirely of the 300 or so people who constantly complain about the Wii on the Entire internet, and their leaving the Nintendo fanfold is a major ripple in the market that is to be felt for generations to come.

Ironically, I see this kind of exaggerated, dismissive righteousness as a means to discard others' opinions more often than I see what you actually describe. This has been an intelligent thread. Let's not muck it up.

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And what point is this again? That there are Wii-lapsed gamers that can't be defined by any scientific metric but can be "felt" because people whine in the internet?

Lapsed gamers are not yet customers. That's why they're lapsed gamers. You can't claim there are no lapsed gamers just by virtue of the success that Wii's experienced thus far by the early adopters. To also synonymize these lapsed gamers with "whiners" you all to easily exaggerate and dismiss is also a pretty ridiculous retort.

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Really?! I can substitute "hardcore gamers" with... say "non-gamers?" Well the non-gamers are pretty happy, I'd imagine.

You either missed the part where I said "contextually accurate," or just want to be smart. If there's nothing else to contribute, let it go.                

69

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Is Nintendo Creating Lapsed Wii Gamers?

« on: October 03, 2007, 03:43:03 PM »

Quote
But the point is with the Wii it's not Nintendo's fault for the loosely third party support. Nintendo has done a lot to try and get third parties back but if the third parties are too stupid then there's not much Nintendo can do.

I agree to some extent. It's not entirely an act of developers having to come to Nintendo. But 3rd parties definitely dropped the ball, and clearly demonstrated a lack of vision (as many did). Nintendo could have done more for their part, including but not limited to releasing final dev kits earlier than 3 months before launch, and getting their online connectivity stuff together a lot sooner. I'm not sure anybody's hands are completely clean with the bumpy start.

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The blame this time lies mostly on the third parties which makes it the third parties creating lapsed gamers, not Nintendo.

Also an interesting point... But it's still Nintendo's problem, whether they are the cause of it or not. The onus is on them to solve it one way or another.

70

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Is Nintendo Creating Lapsed Wii Gamers?

« on: October 03, 2007, 01:36:03 PM »

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Yet because Nintendo announces something like Wii Fit all they can think about is Nintendo focusing on non gamers, even though Nintendo is just as focused on their traditional fanbase as they've been in the last ten years.

Not so ironically, I stated that the problem of volume has existed since the N64. 10 years ago.

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That's 16 regular gamer games then, which is much better then the N64 and Gamecube had in there first years.

That kind of presumes people were satisfied with those lineups, thus should be thrilled about this lineup. But as you well know, being a gamer game is not the only prerequisite to buying a game. It doesn't matter if it's 16 or 116 if they aren't products they want.

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If anyone still thinks Nintendo making non games is bad needs to open your eyes because as you can see it's hasn't effected their ability to create enough gamer games one bit.

I haven't seen anybody in this thread arguing about Nintendo's consistency. "Enough" gamer games is subjective, however. And I debate what that means because I believe they have not (in those 10 years) demonstrated that they have the manpower to fully pick up the slack in the face of weak 3rd party support. Therefore, the overall supply of gamer games has not been "enough". Nintendo is not big enough to do it alone. Third parties matter immensely, but they simply haven't stepped up.

When there are no longer dead gaps between releases that they want to play, that's when I believe there are enough. There is no exact number, we just know that there are gaps.

71

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Is Nintendo Creating Lapsed Wii Gamers?

« on: October 03, 2007, 12:40:03 PM »

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If you are aware of some other metric for measure this other than sales, I'm all ears. Otherwise, sales is the best metric.

So... you're saying there aren't lapsed gamers... because sales are good? Is this what you're saying? Because while I don't trust Nintendo's PR machine all the time, I'm fairly confident that Nintendo's not making up customers when they say (repeatedly) that they want to attract lapsed gamers.

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This however requires a uniform definition of "hardcore" and there does not exist one.

Not really. You can substitute "hardcore gamer" with whatever contextually accurate phrase that makes you happy. The point will still be the same.  Whoever "they" are, they want less gaps between the games they want to play.    

72

General Gaming / RE: CassMass: Friend or Foe?

« on: October 03, 2007, 12:05:49 PM »

Overall a friend.

But another story goes that he and/or his clothes smelled of the locoweed during E3 media briefings in those days as well.

73

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Is Nintendo Creating Lapsed Wii Gamers?

« on: October 03, 2007, 06:37:20 AM »

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Got any source or proof on that? I mean because otherwise it sounds like a pretty arbitrary statement considering Nintendo's record-breaking software sales these past two years on both the DS and Wii, which includes games like Brain Training and Mario Kart DS and Kirby and Wii Play and stuff.

If you want to chest-thump sales, you'll want to visit the Wii Sales thread instead. We're talking about lapsed gamers. Consumers lapse primarily because of low satisfaction. "Record-breaking software sales" is not proof of satisfaction, or else lapsed gamers wouldn't be an issue and this thread would be moot. Such as it is, Johnny asked a valid question about lapsed gamers, and if Nintendo has contributed to it.

You can debate the why's and how's. But it doesn't sound logical for a company to not satisfy all audiences they target if they had the manpower to do so. So my belief is that they don't have it. And haven't had it since third parties bailed on the N64 (3rd parties are just as guilty.)

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There something more going onwith the way Wii games, and to a lesser extent, DS games are reviewed and talked about by major sites. Like some Wii games threaten their ideology of what a game should be and comfort level of how this generation should have played out.

I can't really imagine most of what you typed was pointed at me, but I wanted to respond to this point, at least.

My theory on the hardcore gamers is that most don't really care if Nintendo is expanding the audience. However, history has shown that there are too often dead months in between the games they want to play. They fear that Nintendo adding "expanded audience" projects in the lineup threatens them with even more dead gaps. So they (misguidedly) lash out against those types of games, as they are the "easy" target.

So far we have not seen larger gaps, but the gaps are still there. At the heart of it, it's not what Nintendo's doing, it's what they aren't doing... and that is filling the gaps.  I don't think gamers really reject the ideals behind Wii Play and Brain Age. I believe they just want MORE Metroid, Mario, StarFox, Zelda, and fresh IPs that are attractive to them.

All that being said, Reggie made a good point, "How do you market Mario to a GTA fan?" You can't. What Nintendo is doing to some extent is putting the toothpaste back into the tube. Fine for new gamers, as they have no history to compare the games to. But by nature it is not going to be smooth sailing for all pre-identified gamers until they adequately manage these satisfaction issues. No positive sales data is going to change this, nor can it be dismissed as fabrication. Until then, the discussion will continue.  

74

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Is Nintendo Creating Lapsed Wii Gamers?

« on: October 03, 2007, 01:43:47 AM »

Jeez, a handful of us have been talking about this for years, get lambasted every time almost without fail, and now there's an intellectual discussion about it. sigh.

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What I have been thinking about today is whether Wii has also been creating "Lapsed Wii Gamers",

Nintendo has created lapsed gamers, yes. But it did not start with the Wii. I've considered myself to be a lapsed gamer for about 4 years. Not really by my own choice, but because Nintendo took a left turn once they reached the second year of the GameCube's life. After the 2002 list of heavy-hitters, they've been on a very slow path of (at best) seasonal releases that interest me. I would buy games every-freaking-month if they actually released stuff I wanted every month. It is really depressing to have this hobby I used to care a LOT about, and still WANT to care a lot about, but there's just nothing there to bite into.

The fact that third parties are failing to run with the ball makes it all the worse.

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Like I keep saying, I HAVE MONEY. TAKE IT FROM ME!!!

Amen.

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Is it just me, or is it kind of flawed logic that Nintendo is splitting their games in half. This year we got three huge titles,...

That's the problem. 3 huge titles, 10 months into the year = averages out to seasonal system usage, and that's if you want each of their huge titles, which is not always going to be the case.

Whether or not that has anything to do with them splitting their attention in half or not, I don't know. This issue preceded the Wii. But it's still a problem (whatever the cause) for consumers that don't want their system collecting dust so often. If Nintendo can't get 3rd parties to step up, then they need to do the stepping. They have not. Hence this discussion.

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We have to realize that Nintendo is now the 2nd richest company in Japan, they can now create MORE games of both casual and traditional.

They are #2 in sheer stock value and assets, but they have not demonstrated in years, including the past year, that they have the manpower to satisfy both audiences.    

[Infernal Monkey]

75

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Wii fall schedule OVERLOAD. Time to trim the list :(

« on: September 26, 2007, 03:13:58 AM »

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Originally posted by: Infernal Monkey
My list is huge.

Must buy
Super Mario Galaxy

Maybe

And that's it.

That's basically my list for the foreseeable future too.  Galaxy is a MUST. Everything else, meh...  The "wait until TGS to complain about the lineup" folks have lost their leverage on that unfortunate post-E3 discussion.

For my Wii, Dust Get!

Edit: Oh, and Phantom Hourglass. But that's for DS.