Messages

3176

Nintendo Gaming / RE: J Allard reveals what he thinks about REV's controller

« on: October 17, 2005, 05:49:12 AM »

I pretty much agree with MrAustin.  If you approach some of what Reggie says with an unbiased eye, thinking, "What is this guy really saying?" instead of, "Nintendo is so awesome!" then you will see he's saying a fair amount of bunk.  He's good at it though, and I appreciate that he's willing to admit mistakes of the past.  Of course, you'll never hear him admit the mistakes of right now.  I think everyone would agree that the launch lineup for DS was not Nintendo's best, but you won't hear Reggie say anything like that until the DS is fully mature.

If I have to hear from a PR person, I'll take Reggie over Allard by a decent margin and over Kutaragi by a few thousand leagues.  Whatever those are.

3177

TalkBack / RE:Revolution in

« on: October 17, 2005, 05:07:51 AM »

Nothing surprising about this.  I don't think Nintendo has ever said anything official (unless they said it while I was on vacation) so I don't think this really counts as a delay.  I don't think Sony will launch outside of Japan before E3, either.

I think Nintendo needs to be aggressive about getting this system out in a "timely fashion", though.  The second half isn't that big of a deal, but I think the system needs to be available in all territories before the end of the year.  I agree that a fall release (i.e. September rather than November) would be nice.  Nintendo has started to differentiate Rev from the competition, but I think it would still be a huge benefit for them to show everyone - gamers, developers, and retailers - that it's serious about competing.  No matter how different Rev is, I believe it is still competing for a lot of the same money as Sony and MS.

3178

General Chat / RE: NHL is back! 20 of 30 teams make playoffs?

« on: September 22, 2005, 06:19:23 AM »

All I have to say is Go Flames!  One down, some 80 or 90 to go.

3179

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Official DS Sales Thread

« on: September 22, 2005, 06:08:56 AM »

I doubt Sony is crying.  55,000 is fine, I bet the PSP is doing better than any Sega system ever has in Japan, and probably better than the N64, too.

3180

Nintendo Gaming / RE: New SP with Micro quality screen? Man how did I miss this?

« on: September 22, 2005, 05:59:39 AM »

*Agrees with Artimus.*

Adds: I'm GLAD I have a front-lit SP.  The DS is hard as hell to play in the sun, which is where I do most of my portable gaming.

3181

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Rev store Demos?

« on: September 22, 2005, 05:53:43 AM »

Nintendo's stuff is usually pretty durable, I think people could drop the Rev controller innocently hundreds of times before it would incur the type of damage that most DS demo units have on their touch screens.

3182

Nintendo Gaming / RE: So what's the deal? No more Revolution news until E3 '06?

« on: September 22, 2005, 05:45:15 AM »

Bring on more change!!  As long as Nintendo is offering the traditional controller shell, I don't think it will scare anyone away.  I think, properly done, more change can only attract more players.

3183

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Controlling Shooters on Revolution. A Thesis

« on: September 22, 2005, 05:36:17 AM »

The controller doesn't have to point at the TV at all.  There is some kind of a sensors that goes on top of the TV (or nearby) and it determines how the controller is pointed.

3184

Nintendo Gaming / RE: The Official IWATATON Speech Thread

« on: September 21, 2005, 09:51:51 AM »

CANADIAN INNOVATION GET!

Players will not be able to appreciate the Revolution until they can actually play it.  Some will "get it" before then, especially if some really good demo movies come out, but the proof will be in actually playing with it.  Ian, your examples are perfect.  Your mom held a Gamecube controller and compared it to a picture.  She needs to hold a Revolution controller to appreciate it.  Your brother thinks it looks silly, but he also thinks current games are too complicated, so the controller he describes (Wavebird + pointer) wouldn't sell him on a Rev anyway.

First impressions, you say?  They need to want to play it, you say?  This may be true, but the only people that have heard about the system so far are gaming nerds and their close friends and family.  By the time everyone else hears about it and forms a lasting impression, Nintendo will have shown games and will be marketing the system, and those will make it look much more attractive than a plain picture of a controller.

3185

Nintendo Gaming / RE: #1 in Japan?=#1 in the u.s.

« on: September 20, 2005, 02:02:01 PM »

I remember when the Gamecube came out and everyone insisted that Nintendo was going to put more effort into the GBA than the Cube.  I see this as the same argument, only even less convincing than before.  Just because Nintendo sees other lucrative pursuits (Gameboy, Non-gamers) doesn't mean it will stop making games for its fans.  And while I'll be the first to say that a lot of the first party games this generation have been a little disappointing, I don't think it has anything to do with Nintendo focusing more on GBA...that system got mostly ports from Nintendo, while the Cube got tons of all-new games, most of which took several times more resources to create than a new GBA title would.

Nintendo isn't going to stop supporting its original fans, just like it's not going to stop releasing a million games with Mario in them.

3186

Nintendo Gaming / RE: The Official IWATATON Speech Thread

« on: September 20, 2005, 01:43:43 PM »

...except that most of the games Nintendo dedicates to the non-gamers can be developed with tiny teams in a fraction of the time.   Which is exactly why those games were plentiful while we waited for more "hardcore" games to come out on the DS.  Brain Training took 10 people 4 or so months to develop - and that accounts for two or three separate products, if I'm not mistaken.  The same team would probably several years to release a 3D Mario or Zelda title, if they released it at all.

3187

Nintendo Gaming / RE:So what's the deal? No more Revolution news until E3 '06?

« on: September 20, 2005, 01:39:13 PM »

I think we'll see and learn more before then.  Games?  I don't know.  I'm actually content with what Nintendo has shown me.  Realistically, if Revolution lives up to what Nintendo is promising it won't matter anyway, any nonbelievers that go buy an Xbox 360 will be replaced by new people looking for an experience they can't get on either of the competing systems.

I think Nintendo will show something before E3, though.  The company has become much less secretive.  It used to be that you could expect to hear almost nothing between Christmas and E3 except for games that were actually being released in that period, but lately there are no surprises left at E3, they give them all away during the first quarter or so of the year (kind of disappointing, in a way).  My guess is they'll show one or two key games at GDC or some such in spring.  Between now and then, there will be a steady trickle of rather boring information.

3188

Nintendo Gaming / RE: The Official IWATATON Speech Thread

« on: September 19, 2005, 01:06:17 PM »

Matt was running his scurvy mouth about Nintendo for months and then he slowly but surely changed his mind, I 'ave no doubt that he was converted by the power of the Revolution.

3189

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Games were likely to see

« on: September 19, 2005, 01:01:55 PM »

Aye, WarioWare will be there for sure, and I predict it will use naught but the remote controller.

I reckon more than one Mario sports game will return and use the remote as the bat/club/stick/etc.  A dual-fisted two-remote version of Punch-out would get my ichor flowing, too!

3190

TalkBack / RE: Battalion Wars Rolls Out

« on: September 19, 2005, 12:46:58 PM »

Bill: Aye, there's many a game to be had these months.  I want this one too, but I'm sailing to the old world in a week's time, so it will have to wait.

3191

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Games were likely to see

« on: September 19, 2005, 10:01:44 AM »

Avast!  I'd love to see PilotWings more than I'd love to see land!  The game had very simple controls, even on the N64, so it could probably be done with nothing more than the remote itself, yet it could be a very "complete" experience.

B trigger: action (shoot, take picture, etc.)
D-pad up: accelerate
D-pad down: brake
A button: hold to toggle look-around mode (controller lets you turn the character's head while vehicle continues on a straight-ahead path)
Select: change camera distance from the player

3192

General Chat / RE: Arr! Nintendo's Customer Service be the best there is!

« on: September 19, 2005, 09:40:04 AM »

Arrr!  'Tis a worthy tale of a worthy trading company.

3193

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Developer/Editor Feedback regarding the NRC

« on: September 19, 2005, 09:30:23 AM »

It's funny how the Analyst says the exact opposite of everyone else: The controller will scare away everyone but hardcore pirates.  I think he might be right, but for the wrong reasons.  He seems to think the remote alone will scare landlubbers away, but I agree with the developers and media on this one: it's going to be a lot more lubber-friendly than current controllers.

However, he may be right about scaring away landlubbers after they see the array of attachments, including the traditional controller shell.  Suddenly it's just as complicated as any other controller and then some.  

3194

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Dynamic pricing for rev games?

« on: September 19, 2005, 09:12:36 AM »

I totally agree with you (ARRRR), Nintendo had plenty of ideas for the DS game lineup before launching it, the company just didn't take long enough to develop those ideas into a strong launch lineup.

3195

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Article: Nintendo's Strategy, Genre busting, why they hate hardcore, and how they've been doing this since the NES

« on: September 19, 2005, 08:18:13 AM »

ARRRR! I like ye comments about innovating to stay healthy in the industry.  I heard a tale from land-lubber Jim Kramer (has a show called Mad Money...not a reliable investing source, maybe, but funny to watch.)  He gave an interesting example of how BUNCH (Burroughs, Univac, NCR, Control Data and Honeywell) were considered THE computer investment back in the 70s or early 80s, but they completely missed out on home computers because they were too busy building already-profitable mainframes.  When was the last time you bought a piece of computer hardware from any of those comapnies?

Anyway, the compAARRRRison doesn't perfectly apply to Nintendo's situation, because they're not up-and-comers in a stable market where MS and Sony are the "old guard", but the basic idea is the same: relying on existing sources of booty and old ways of plundering is not always best.

Edit: More thoughts:  Arrr, I really liked the parts where he discussed the fine-tuning of "genre kings".  It be true that people come to expect more and more "trimmings" from the top games in each genre.  There be no point in making a new FPS if ye don't have the budget for voice actors, elaborate cut-scenes, and dozens of multiplayer gameplay options.  That's why Mario Kart Double Dash was a bit of a disappointment.  As a genre king, I had high expectations for the game to offer more maps, more options, and more challenge.  It delivered almost none of the above, and became even worse in a couple of regards.

The only place where I don't see eye-to-patch with this fella is on the notion of un-tuned game concepts early in a new genre cycle.  While there be no doubt that The Ocarina of Time, Metroid Prime, and others have offered a more polished experience, Wave Race 64, Pilotwings 64 and Super Mario 64 all offered complete, finely-tuned experiences using the new technology, moreso than any of the early DS games.  I agree that time made 3D games even better, and it is making DS games even better, but I think Nintendo can and should offer at least two really solid and complete experiences right at launch if it wants to make a great impression with Revolution.

3196

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Dynamic pricing for rev games?

« on: September 19, 2005, 07:39:42 AM »

In that case, it sounds like the Mario team really is just kinda sitting around and experimenting.  That's good, but man, I want GAMES!!  This isn't a huge surprise, we've already seen it with Donkey Konga, Wario Ware and DK Jungle Beat on the GameCube.  Heck, I think DKJB was well worth full price, but I'm not complaining if Nintendo wants to price it lower.

3197

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Just the beginning

« on: September 19, 2005, 07:32:56 AM »

I think Nintendo left games out partly for the same reason as Don'tHate (don't let the graphics distract from the concept) and maybe also partially to keep the real concepts behind the games secret.  It's also possible that if there's more to the "interface", that gameplay footage would give it away.

I kind of doubt VR just because they show a normal TV in the room during the remote controller trailer Nintendo made, but I suppose a 3D TV attachment like some people were discussing before E3 could still be possible.

3198

General Gaming / RE:360 Launch Date announced...

« on: September 19, 2005, 07:10:47 AM »

I think ThePerm is right about N64.  It was definitely September.

They showed quite a bit of new media at TGS, but I've heard that the demo version of DOA 4 that was shown to the press was only 50% complete!  It's likely that the "in progress" version is a little further along than that, but for the demo version to be 50% complete with only two months until launch is terrible.  There's also no new info on Perfect Dark 0, I smell a delay.

I think Microsoft may be looking at a DS-style launch, which is probably fine for North America, but I think it's going to really hurt them in Japan and possibly in Europe.  There is one RPG in the works that looks like it might be quite far along, but if it's not ready for launch day in Japan, I think the system is going to look pretty boring and "American" over there.  Not the impression MS needs to make.

[The Omen]

3199

Nintendo Gaming / RE:The Official IWATATON Speech Thread

« on: September 16, 2005, 10:55:03 AM »

Quote
Originally posted by: The Omen

Quote
Ugly:
- Why does everyone thing Apple is so great at designing things? The remote controller does look just like an Apple product: boring and ugly. Just a stupid opinion, though, who cares?

Apple has that sleek, minimalist futuristic 'A Clockwork Orange' style down pat.  People dig dystopian/utopian designs.  Nintendo's Revolution looks as though it could be in THX 1138 and the imagined future of society.   It's just cool.

Yeah, I know why people like it.  I just don't.  Actually, I liked iMacs back in the day because they added some colour to the world of computers.  In spite of my whining, I think the design is smart because it makes Revolution look "cool".

Nintendo: please give me an indigo Rev so I can place it next to my GameCube.  I know I don't need my GameCube anymore after the Revolution is announced, but I'm going to keep it anyway.  I plan to buy a coloured Revolution because the white/grey/black ones are so boring, but that funky retro green one is sooo going to clash with indigo.

3200

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Miyamoto New IP predictions

« on: September 16, 2005, 10:46:30 AM »

If Nintendo makes it simple enough, I think we will see certain ports adjusted for Rev control.  Nintendo needs to provide some tools for mapping typical GameCube analog stick signals to remote-waving signals and then I think a lot of developers would move certain types of games to the analog-remote setup.