Messages

951

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 245: Most Dishonorable

« on: May 31, 2011, 02:48:26 PM »

Another great episode!

Musings ...

1. Not all John Candy movies are great (some suck), but for the most part, John Candy is awesome.  Planes, Trains and Automobiles? Classic.

2. Yea, James was noticeably more curmudgeon-y than usual.


Responses ...

1. The added objectives in 1P are what made GoldenEye a great game for me.  I really loved that it felt kind of like being a spy.  So many FPSs, even ones with a spy backdrop, only have one objective: "blow the sh*t out of everything... repeat."

2. Does the mediocre online experience of DOA mean that Nintendo has not made enough improvements in their new online strategy?  Or was this Team Ninja's call? Or what?

3. I would love if Zelda (or any game) could be "as long as the content supports." But, unfortunately, so many foolish reviewers (and the foolish gamers who believe them) regard completion time as perhaps the most objective metric of a games value.  Any game whose completion time is "5 hours too short" of what the reviewer/gamer thinks it should be? will flappin' crucified!!

4a. Yeaaaaaa, Mop_it_up!!

4b. I don't miss bots, but I do really miss more co-op options and the idea that you don't have to be an expert to play a given game online. =\

952

TalkBack / Re: The House of the Dead: Overkill - Extended Cut Will Make Me Buy a Move

« on: May 28, 2011, 10:30:24 PM »

NinSage is my favorite new poster.

I kind of echo this. I might not agree with you, but I enjoy arguing with you/seeing other people arguing with you.

I coined a little phrase for myself several years ago when I started getting involved in video game message boards ... *ahem* ... "It's not about agreeing all the time.  It's about understanding that opinions can differ."  ^_^

But at the end of the day, it still has the games I want to play.

Huzzah!

953

TalkBack / Re: The House of the Dead: Overkill - Extended Cut Will Make Me Buy a Move

« on: May 28, 2011, 06:12:36 PM »

I believe you're misreading what I said. Nintendo's software lineup on the Wii is phenomenal, and is in and of itself completely worth buying the console for. My point was that you can't point to Nintendo's first-party lineup as proof that good third-party games will sell well.

You're right! I did misunderstand you! I thought you were trying to say... that other thing.

OK, so 1st party sells because it is good.  We've discussed the success of several third party titles that gave us flagship quality games.  So, I ask, what leads you to believe the deciding factor between success and failure on the Wii is anything but quality mainstream experiences?

Keep in mind, to those who enjoy simulating dance with a remote control, a game like Just Dance is the pinnacle of quality.  Just as, for so many years, the Guitar Band franchises held a value for people who enjoyed simulating music with plastic toys.

And given the tech of the time, I'm pretty sure Nintendo could have built a machine like I described and sold it for a modest profit for $299. If Nintendo could go back and do it over knowing what they know today, I'm sure they'd do that..

Well, if you're going to use your powers of space/time mind-reading then I guess I just can't provide an adequate counter =P

But, my personal belief is still that Nintendo did what was right at the time.  Both for themselves, and for gamers.  You don't have to agree with that!

NinSage is my favorite new poster.

Hey, thanks buddy! I just call 'em as I see 'em.

~

On a somewhat related note: my first down vote! NOOOO!!!

954

TalkBack / Re: The House of the Dead: Overkill - Extended Cut Will Make Me Buy a Move

« on: May 28, 2011, 03:47:43 PM »

@ Insanolord

Right, so, Nintendo games don't sell because they make good products, but because these casual gamers who apparently don't pay any attention wake up on the morning a new 1st party title is released and say "I should go to the local GameStore and give them money!"

Yea, Nintendo could have beefed up the horsepower.  But then it wouldn't have been as affordable.  It would have experienced the same price barriers the PS3/60 have experienced.

In other words, please don't be one of the people who criticizes Nintendo for making games and hardware that resonated with the audience this generation.

Plus, do we really need a world with three consoles from the same mold?

Under this model, gamers made out great, Nintendo made out great, and third parties with guts made out great too.  I just don't see why so many gamers and journalists are all gloom and doom 24/7.

Plus, please keep in mind, in no way am I trying to say that Nintendo is "better" than the competition.  Or that anyone should feel that way.  I happen to enjoy them more at the moment, but my primary motivation is simply to get everyone using the same standards.  And for a while now, Nintendo is definitely held to a different, somewhat impossible, standard.

But that's the price paid for being "different," right? That's a shame.

@ broodwars

Yea, I think I already said I couldn't help you and moved on ^_^

955

TalkBack / Re: The House of the Dead: Overkill - Extended Cut Will Make Me Buy a Move

« on: May 28, 2011, 03:11:06 PM »

@ broodwars

Yea, only Squeenix numbers their mainstream games.  *cough*SF4, RE5, MW3, ME2, Portal2, Bioshock2, Conduit2, Fallout3, Killzone3, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc...

As for comparing Nintendo's apples to these oranges, if I need to spell things out even more, you can call it whatever you like, but let's just boil the concept down to "flagship" titles.  NSMBWii was a flagship title, SMG2 was a flagship title.  Zelda's flagship titles are fairly obvious.  If you can't figure things out beyond that, I can't help you.

RE: GoldenEye, "Then, you are simply beyond convincing!" Moving on...

RE: Your proclomation that the Wii's audience is just a bunch of casual gamers who have "moved on" - yea, I'm sure that's why Epic Yarn topped 1 million, why DKCR topped 4 million.

I'm sure that has nothing to do with game quality and mainstream appeal ...

I really try to avoid being rude in my discussions.  But it seems you're just set in the idea that the Wii was purchased by nothing but soccer moms who haven't touched it since Wii Fit Plus, because, well, that was the last game released on the platform, right? =P

 Again, "simply beyond convincing"

@ Insanolord

Yup.

It's just a shame that thinking outside the box qualified as a "compromise" for most third parties =P
 

956

TalkBack / Re: The House of the Dead: Overkill - Extended Cut Will Make Me Buy a Move

« on: May 28, 2011, 01:13:44 PM »

I think perhaps a more specific explanation that might satisfy everyone (erm, almost everyone) is this:

It would have been better for third parties if the Wii was not such a radical departure from so many previous philosophies of game development.  Businesses try to minimize risk.

"This has better graphics than the last one" is a no-risk way to market a game.
"This has the same controls you've been comfy with for 10 years" is a no-risk way to sell a game.

Neither of those tried and true tactics could be applied to the Wii.  The Wii itself was a wild success on PS2-levels and developers had to change to take advantage of it.  But there was too much risk involved in that.  So, most of them just chose to play it safe.

The situation is compounded by the fact that with PS3/60 you could do minimal effort cross-platform releases once the initial investment was made.  Talk about minimizing risk! You've just doubled your sales potential!

With the Wii, however, it's like Mr. Miyagi once said:

Walk on road, hm? Walk left side (ignore Wii completely), safe. Walk right side (mainstream, full effort, Wii), safe. Walk middle (gimped, side-story), sooner or later? get squish just like grape.

Saying Madworld, No More Heroes and Zak&Wiki were mainstream? Sorry, but no.
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories? Great game? Maybe.  But see how it has a colon and a subtitle instead of a numeric digit? The defense rests.

As for GoldenEye, if 1.17 million units sold in the US and EU alone isn't a "success" in your mind? Then, you are simply beyond convincing!

957

TalkBack / Re: The House of the Dead: Overkill - Extended Cut Will Make Me Buy a Move

« on: May 28, 2011, 03:27:00 AM »

@broodwars

1. In regards to the Wii sales thing, pay closer attention.  Numbers like the ones in this thread show that it is not the console that prevents big sales.  These games were simply too limited in appeal to get big numbers on ANY console.

Effort (no gimps!) + Mainstream (no spin-offs, no side stories) + Wii = sales

The one thing I will grant you is that a dude-bro shooter needs to be on PS3/60 for optimal sales because dude-bro gamers are allergic to standard def and motion controls.

2. I'm willing to bet you're a bit surprised we haven't seen Mario Kart PS360! Building off of that, shhhh...

958

TalkBack / Re: The House of the Dead: Overkill - Extended Cut Will Make Me Buy a Move

« on: May 28, 2011, 01:51:00 AM »

@Neal

No one's talkin' gangbusters, mi amigo - just talking good or bad business decision.  Everyone assumes jumping ship from Wii is a good idea.  Don't the numbers I've provided tell a different story?

Also, I'm thinking 760k sold on the Wii was pretty darn "reasonable" for a game like Overkill. =)

Doesn't seem like a sequel is resting on anything but SEGA's whim.

@broodwars

From what I've read and heard, I'd be surprised if you did see that. =P

@Neal & broodwars

Let's not forget that if it was financially sound for every (3rd party) game to be on all platforms, then they would be.  In fact, by that logic, every third party game without an exclusivity deal would be on the Wii.  Just compress some textures, scale down the resolution, strip out the fancy lighting effects, decrease the draw-distance.  Bang.  Zero effort Wii port!

... I hope the absurdity of this example is not lost on anyone.

959

TalkBack / Re: The House of the Dead: Overkill - Extended Cut Will Make Me Buy a Move

« on: May 27, 2011, 11:24:38 PM »

Plus, let's not forget that my examples above were of games that did not require a separate peripheral.  That's going to cut the market for a PS3-release of this game even more.

Headstrong is pointing a light-gun straight at it's foot.



.... and then replacing that with a real gun and pulling the trigger. =P


But really, the bigger issue has nothing to do with business decisions, rather, as I said, is just further fuel for the fire of those who can't see why a good game would ever be on the Wii.

960

TalkBack / Re: The House of the Dead: Overkill - Extended Cut Will Make Me Buy a Move

« on: May 27, 2011, 09:29:32 PM »

You'll notice at no point did I mention sales because, if anything, the "jump ship to Wii" experiments have all proven one point: the games that originally get green-lit for Wii were never mainstream enough to "sell well."  In fact, the HD development costs will do more financial harm than good for the developers.

NMH - Wii - 400k (Japan)
NMH - PS3 - 400k (Japan)
NMH - 360 - 200k (Japan)

... not exactly the boom media outlets constantly predicted.

deBlob2 - Wii - 400k
 deBlob2 - PS3 - 200k
 deBlob2 - 360 - 200k

... yea! good move! now the HD investment losses can jeopardize the franchise!
 
 NBA Jam - Wii - 250k
NBA Jam - PS3 - 110k
NBA Jam - 360 - 130k

... and this is the game where the Wii version was not only severely castrated but, if I'm not mistaken, more expensive!

So, sorry if I'm not seeing an Overkill 2 silver lining.  Just more fuel for the naysayers.  At least in this case, I don't see the HD investment to be costly at all.

~~~~~~~~~~

Regardless, I loved Overkill because I love HotD and enjoyed seeing SEGA flesh out the franchise.  But, I would muuuuuch rather see a console release of HotD4 or *gasp* HotD5 than ever see another entry in the Overkill series.  It was disappointing that my friends didn't want to play Overkill unless I turned the voices off!

961

TalkBack / Re: Fourth Professor Layton Game Trademarked in North America

« on: May 27, 2011, 12:40:45 PM »

Great movie, isn't it?

Heck yea!  I believe I remember seeing that they had at least one more animated Layton film in the works.  I really can't get enough of the Professor these days.  I think there is also a live action movie but... yea... that probably won't be as cool.

PS - Did you get my message about a Custom Title? =P

962

TalkBack / Re: Fourth Professor Layton Game Trademarked in North America

« on: May 27, 2011, 12:02:36 PM »

yyyyyyyyyyyyYYEEEEESSSSS!!!!!

The wife and I just finished playing Unwound Future last week and I immediately watched Eternal Diva and began replaying Diabolical Box.

I, too, was getting worried this game wouldn't come stateside.  This is the best pre-E3 news I've gotten!

963

TalkBack / Re: The House of the Dead: Overkill - Extended Cut Will Make Me Buy A Move

« on: May 27, 2011, 11:58:09 AM »

I'm glad more folks will be playing this game again.

But, I gotta say this announcement is disappointing for the following reason...

Good Wii game comes out > WiiOwners: "yay! this is good!" > Others: "that looks stupid. it's just another [rail shooter]. the Wii has no games."

That game does well enough to justify an HD investment > Others: "yay! now THIS game is good!" > WiiOwners: "yea! now we like the same thing!" > Others: "pshh. no. my version is enhanced.  your version sucks, just like your console. the Wii has no games."


Notable Examples: No More Heroes, NBA Jam, deBlob franchise.  The Wii should not be a test market.  Be brave, treat the Wii like a real market, and RE4 sales will follow.

964

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 244: Party of Five

« on: May 27, 2011, 11:22:51 AM »

FYI: As part of my new performance piece, "John Lindeman: To Have and To Hold Off on Playing," I finally started playing Chrono Trigger DS last night!

965

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 244: Party of Five

« on: May 25, 2011, 01:25:57 AM »

Linky Linky.

Here are the ones you want ...

Samus' "official" backstory,
Vol. 1: http://metroid-database.com/manga/listing.php?vid=19
Vol. 2: http://metroid-database.com/manga/listing.php?vid=13

There are several other manga but they are unofficial.

Keep in mind, if you didn't like Samus' portrayal in Other M, you won't like this much better.  However, if you have the presence of mind to not only notice when Samus is acting like a scared wuss, but also notice when she's acting like a bad-ass bounty hunter, then you'll do just fine.

 I'm 100% certain there is a torrent online that contains the entire 2-volume set in one easy to read CBR file.  But, I didn't want to get in to torrent linking on the forums for fear of divine retribution. ^_^
Should you decide to pursue the internet's seedy underbelly of torrents, keep in mind that one of the chapters is mysteriously out of order.  I believe it is the first chapter of volume 2 got stuck at the end of volume 2 due to a naming error of the CBR's inner files (CBRs work just like ZIP files... probably because they are essentially ZIP files ^_^).

Enjoy!!

966

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 244: Party of Five

« on: May 24, 2011, 11:02:42 PM »

I owned a GameBoy before I owned a NES so Metroid II was my first Metroid experience.  It is the black sheep of the series (or was before Other M!) but I loved it.  Still do.

Funny, when I was a kid it took me months and months and months to finally beat that game.  I played it again in college and it took me 2 hrs and 59 minutes.  Crazy.

@ happyastoria

Wow, thanks buddy.  Just callin' 'em as I sees 'em ^_^

@ Ceric

The manga were fan-translated into English and put online.  I can get you the link(s) if you'd like.

967

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 244: Party of Five

« on: May 24, 2011, 06:36:05 PM »

choo-choo!! Lindy cracks me up.

Another fantastic episode.  Responses...

1. The single-player campaign is the primary reason I bought GoldenEye.  I was not disappointed.

2. I really dig the Pokémon movies.  They are a great way to enjoy the mythos behind the games without having to watch 600+ episodes! ^_^

3. It is really amazing to think how far the Kart franchise has come.  It has truly become one of the series I HAVE to play.

4. I'm very glad Nintendo doesn't show things until they are close to coming out.  Even waiting this long for Kid Icarus has been rough.  Other companies tease products and then spend 2-4 years saying "we're working on it! we're working on it!" - so annoying.  Yes, I know Nintendo has exceptions like Pikmin 3 and Skyward Sword.  But still, they are just that, exceptions.

5. I feel like last year a ton of games were announced for Wii/DS and then we got them.  Why would it be so crazy for that to happen again?

6. I wanna see DQX!!

7. Nintendo has to talk to the gamers at E3.  The Today Show only needs sound bytes to relay to its audience that does not watch E3.  That only takes a few seconds of stage time to accomplish.  But gamers watch E3, you gotta make 'em happy.  Last year Nintendo understood that which is why THIS was the result.

8. Lindy - I hear ya on the shrinking market of handheld games.  My experience has been that high-quality portable gaming has become a lot MORE important in my life.  Where as, I have yet to hear someone mention the "juggernaut" of phone games and cite anything besides Angry Birds.

I know millions of people might be playing millions of different games, but I'm just not sure there is a business model there.
... I guess we'll see.

9. My hopes for the Project Cafe control method are that the new touchscreen controller will be used for "traditional" gaming much like the CCPro is.  Also, I'm really hoping the 3DS can be used as a Project Cafe controller.  It would save me the price of a second controller and help justify my future 3DS purchase!

WiimotePlus handles motion control games. Done.

10. Greg, thank you for acknowledging the foolishness of wanting Sakamoto banned from future Metroid projects.  The execution of Other M was questionable, but I'm pretty sure the "father" of the franchise should be involved with it for as long as possible.   And yea, the characterization surprised (shocked/pissed off) a lot of Americans, but I believe that, in Japan, where there were mangas that introduced Samus' backstory, the Japanese were more prepared for Other M's content... and sales reflected it.

11. The panel mentioned hopes that Nintendo would "take 3D seriously" on the 3DS.  What would that involve? Doesn't it seem like, just with motion control, when done well, it's because of quality game design, but when they focus on any one technological aspect it tends to come off as a gimmick and is ignored as such. Agree? Disagree?

968

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 243: Talk Talk Talkpy

« on: May 21, 2011, 12:15:49 PM »

Oh yes, she would.  Honestly, the only problem I've found with a gamer spouse (and trust me this is a good problem to have!) is that there is almost no such thing as "single player" anymore =P

If I want to play a long single-player campaign on my own schedule (rarely happens these days anyway!) I'd have to sit her down and say: "look, this game is too time-consuming to play between our separate schedules ... you play one of your games while I'm doing this one" and then she gets a little sad, but then she is happy once she goes back to Puzzle Quest for eight-hundred-billionth time ^_^

969

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 243: Talk Talk Talkpy

« on: May 21, 2011, 12:57:00 AM »

Mop it up - You are very smart.  I thank you for being awesome.

Insanolord - You are 100% correct with your Simpsons analogy.  More people should be so smart.

Jonny - You guys do a fine job keeping things focused on Nintendo.  More is always welcome, but you do just fine. 

Also, you should never feel like you have to get to a new game just to have something new to talk about.  I've really enjoyed hearing about Lindy's trek through Chrono Trigger from week to week.  It would water down the quality of the show if you guys were just rushing from game to game for the sake of fresh topics but never really dug deep enough to have anything meaningful to comment!

~

On a personal note, I find it funny that though I usually burn through games JamesJones-style, I've really played nothing but Pokémon White, PLatUnwoundFuture and DKCR since like... March.  So my "new business" would have been very "consistent" shall we say =)

PS - watched PLatEternalDiva the other night.  Flappin' awesome.  More Prof Layton games/movies can't come soon enough!

PPS - Funny story.  Since I am an (adjunct) professor with an "L" last name, I proposed to my wife by sending her to locations around town with puzzles I printed on a ProfLayton template I made.  I had friends waiting at the different locations dressed as "strangers" to give her the next puzzle.  The last location was our favorite restaurant where I was waiting with the ring. 

We're pretty awesome dorks, so, it was pretty much the coolest thing ever ^_^

970

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 243: Talk Talk Talkpy

« on: May 20, 2011, 05:38:28 PM »

... Nintendo's seeming lack of interest in using the Wii's technical prowess to its fullest.

Yea, first party Wii games are terrible. Good point! </saaaaaaaarcasm>

971

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 243: Talk Talk Talkpy

« on: May 20, 2011, 05:35:01 PM »

We really don't need to start splitting hairs, people.  This isn't a question of Nintendo/Wii deserving fair treatment/coverage because "it's the best gaming platform" - it's a matter of it deserving fair treatment because it is a major video game platform. Period.

Does anyone in this conversation not consider the Wii a major game platform or Nintendo a major game company? Anyone?

I don't visit very many gaming sites (and the ones I do, it's mainly for the community/forums), so I don't really know the current state of the gaming media in terms of the big wigs like IGN, GameSpot, Kotaku, etc. I stopped caring much about what such sites think years ago, as I found actual player accounts to better suit my needs when I want game info than what any of those sites offered me.

This this this!  1000X this!  Don't like what websites are saying (or not saying) about Nintendo?  Don't visit their site anymore.

Agreed 100%.  I think I expressed that sentiment in my post from last night.  I don't visit Kotaku or IGN or Destructoid anymore (though D-toid still had SOME good stuff.)  I used to enjoy ScrewAttack.com's material until they got all "hardcore" and image conscious.

I do believe that if G4 had not alienated the many Nintendo fans they used to have, they wouldn't be in the ratings trouble they are in, having been dropped from DirecTV.
 
Unfortunately, it's gotten so bad that all I can pay attention to are Nintendo-centric outlets.  And that's not ideal because I am interested in the other consoles too.  But I can't find one multi-platform site that isn't dripping with flame-bait and/or Nintendo-mockery 24/7.

We should demand better.  Cutting off their hits is one thing.  But I don't think these folks really get the message that way.  If someone writes something that you feel is just plain poor journalism, you should write to them, their superior, or their parent company.  Change requires action.

.... or, just keep doin' your thing, enjoy your games and ignore the insanity.  It's certainly easier and I envy you if you can do it.  But, we gotta live in this world, I'd like it to be a cool one.

PS - before anyone over 20 gets clever, not this one.  =P

972

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 243: Talk Talk Talkpy

« on: May 20, 2011, 02:49:59 PM »

1. The "business" aspect of journalism is a problem all over because it makes the outlet's primary goal to generate hits/viewers instead of to INFORM THE AUDIENCE.  But you're right, that's the reality we live in.

However, there are millliiiiooons of Wii owners and DS owners.  If they had good business sense they would be trying to bring those people in.  Try not to think like a moron in black and white terms.  Those millions of people are not just soccer moms who don't know what a computer is.  Even if 3/4 of those Wii owners only use the console as their "third" platform? Guess what? They probably would like to know if a good game was released!!

But did Kotaku cover MH3? No. They just posted a creepy video of a foreign kid spazzing about the game.

Did Kotaku cover NMH 1+2? Yes, but they covered the (then) Japanese only PS3 port of the years old first game literally 6x more!

There's an important mass media concept called "Menu equals diet" - there can't be an audience for Nintendo/Wii information if the outlets are "too cool" to provide it.

2. The PS2 had a crap ton of shovelware.  No one seemed to have a hard time ignoring it for the sake of the good games.

973

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 243: Talk Talk Talkpy

« on: May 20, 2011, 03:03:39 AM »

BroodWars - In a word: no.

Insanolord - Good, I didn't think any sane person would be content with it.  But we CAN change it.  I don't mean to sound like an after school special here but all we have to do is not put up with it.  Speak up when sites like Kotaku and entities like G4 don't do their jobs. 

I got banned from Kotaku 3 times before I stopped signing up again.

Did I swear once? No. Did I call the author names? No.

Did I ask why an article about a toddler wearing wiimote sleeves on her feet was newsworthy? Yes.

Did I call Brian Ashcraft out about printing false rumors regarding the DS' successor? Yes.

Did I forget what the third thing was? Yes.

Did I make a difference? Well, no.  But that's because there was only a handful of folks like myself willing to speak up.  Imagine if everyone who acknowledged the double standards said something?!  They would change.  They would have to because they want to stay in business and for that they need an audience, not just sales of a product.

But, sadly, it's much easier for most people to just ignore it.... read the posts, glean the pertinent information, and let the inequality fester.

In many ways I know it's "wrong" of me to care as much as I do about getting gaming culture back to the blissful days of "Genesis sucks!" "SNES sucks!" "... wanna play Sonic 2?" "Yea, then you can come over for Castlevania IV."

I should just play the games I love and be happy, right?

Well, that's my flaw, cuz I know we can do better - we just have to ask for demand it!

PS - I feel the same way about modern journalism in general.  But I figure I'll start with gaming journalism and work my way up.  =P

974

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 243: Talk Talk Talkpy

« on: May 20, 2011, 12:41:44 AM »

happyastoria & NWR_insanolord -

You're right.  There is plenty to criticize about Nintendo - just like all the companies.  Also, the console wars are not new and any war will have casualties on all sides.

However, since you guys are apparently content with the status quo, answer me this:  Why is it only this generation that the bigger gaming media outlets almost completely ignore Nintendo? Or worse, can't write/talk about Nintendo without snide remarks?

I used to LOVE watching G4, but I can't do it any more because they can't cover the games I like without insulting them.

I used to love listening to Geoff Keighley on GameTrailers but I don't think he's brought up Nintendo once in the last 18 months without immediately inquiring about the Vitality Sensor with a smirk on his face.

I even used to think Michael Pachter was smart until he started his annual "Wii is doomed" predictions.  Don't worry, now I recognize that Pachter is stupid in regard to all consoles.  But I believe Nintendo is still his forté.

I don't care if people want to share their negative opinions or criticize all day long (not my thing, but feel free!) but I can't stand the reality of the situation that Nintendo is currently not allowed to receive credit for the things it does right (didn't like a million "hardcore" Wii games come out last year?!), yet Sony/MS only really get flak when one of them lets millions of pieces of personal data get hijacked.  What a wonderful double standard, eh?

975

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 243: Talk Talk Talkpy

« on: May 19, 2011, 01:27:43 PM »

adadad-

It's safe to say you are significantly missing my points.

I'll try to lay it all out as simply as possible...

I have no problem with criticizing the Wii or Nintendo (did I not repeatedly say it's online was overall inferior?).  I have a problem with people doing so in a manner that they would not apply to Sony, Microsoft, or their products.

I'm a big fan of gaming.  For the last two generations I was a PS1+2 guy.  In undergrad, I certainly played enough (local) multiplayer Halo to last a life time.  But, this generation I happen to (greatly) prefer what Nintendo is doing.

Yet, as I live and breathe, Nintendo has just been getting bashed from all sides this gen.  Some defend this bashing as an expression of opinion.  But here's the problem ...

An opinion: "Based on what I've seen, I hate Nintendo, what it's doing, and its products.  But I realize your opinions may differ and I respect that."
Something else entirely: "Even though I don't pay attention to what they do, I hate Nintendo, what it's doing, and its products.  And I consider you less of a gamer, less than my equal,  if you like them."

Too many people fall into that second category this generation.

I feel the root of the problem is that gamers have been wrongfully trained to think quality of gaming is based solely, or even primarily, on system specifications.  Can it help? Absolutely!  Does it make Tetris any less awesome of a game? Not even close.

Also, if a few million soccer moms and iddy bitty kiddies play Carnival Games on the Wii, it does not make No More Heroes any less enjoyable.  Millions of soccer moms and iddy biddy kiddies listen to iPods, <sarcasm> uh oh! I guess all your music sucks now! </sarcasm>

We good now?