Messages

251

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime Says Gamers are Impossible to Satisfy

« on: July 09, 2012, 10:03:35 PM »

Besides, everyone knows that Nintendo reads these forums.

It'd make sense for them to be reading these forums.  It's smart business to know what your most loyal customers are thinking about your products and services.  For example, the cruise lines track what is being discussed on cruisecritic.com  Companies pay to find out what their customers think about their products and services (NPD surveys, how most stores have a feedback survey at the bottom of the receipt) why not at least track what your customers are saying about you when the info's out there for free?

252

Nintendo Gaming / Re: What do you expect to pay for Wii U at launch?

« on: July 05, 2012, 12:34:37 PM »

I think it has to be $299.  $349 seems like it is pushing the high end and they don't want to repeat the 3DS mess and price it too high.  On the other end, I can't imagine it being less than $299, if it is that's a sign they didn't include enough power in the hardware and they're going to be way behind technologically in a couple years.  Nintendoland has to be a pack in, with as many Wiis as Wii Sports sold, they've gotta be hoping Nintendoland strikes lightning in a bottle again and is a system seller.

253

TalkBack / Re: Iwata Comments on Wii Momentum Drop

« on: July 05, 2012, 12:11:50 PM »

I was half expecting him to say "What did you expect?  The N64 and Gamecube slowed to a crawl at the end, too."

Seriously, what he said kind of contradicts itself.  On one hand, he said that the gap between the WiiU and other next gen consoles would be less but on the other hand that they had to limit the hardware to keep costs down.  If MS/Sony don't have as much cost in their controller, are launching a couple years later, and are willing to take a loss on the hardware and/or charge more for the hardware, can they really know that they're not going to be far enough behind again that 3rd parties don't support the WiiU in the same way the other consoles are supported?  He might be right but unless he has sources inside MS and Sony, I don't know how he can say that with certainty.

254

Nintendo Gaming / Re: What game series do you think won't be coming to the Wii U?

« on: July 04, 2012, 09:57:35 PM »

Lite and XL models shouldn't count. The DSi was different than the other revisions because it added online downloads and a built in camera and other things.

I'd agree that Lite and XL models don't count but I'd say that DSi was more like DS 1.1, not DS 2.  Sure it added some new features and DSiWare but the retail games were all still regular DS games.

Whether or not Nintendo meant the name to mean 3D or not, it seems that's what the public is going to think it means regardless.

255

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime Says Gamers are Impossible to Satisfy

« on: July 04, 2012, 03:55:52 PM »

Really what gamers want is to know that the 3rd party games won't dry up after 2 years on the market.  Unfortunately, that is something Nintendo cannot answer as they do not have a crystal ball.  So really gamers won't be satisfied until they know the Wii U will continue to get the majority of 3rd party games in 2013 as well as 2014 and 2015 and through until 2018 when the next Wii is released.

This seems to be the biggest obstacle for Nintendo, especially with core gamers.  The problem I see is that if gamers taker a wait and see approach, the early 3rd party games are more likely to not sell well, resulting in 3rd parties being less likely to release games, and off the vicious cycle goes.  That's why I think Nintendo really needed to wow gamers, convince them that there's going to be so many amazing games that they should buy as soon as possible, not give them a reason to wait and see what happens.

256

TalkBack / Re: EA Headed Toward Full Digital Distribution

« on: July 04, 2012, 02:54:53 PM »

I think it's still a little premature for talks of abandoning retail completely and going 100% digital.  It's probably going to happen sooner or later but look at the music industry, as much as it seems to be all about iTunes and Amazon now, you can still buy every major album release in stores on CD as well.  I don't think it's that far off until all games are offered both digitally and as physical media but I don't think the physical media is going away that soon.

257

Nintendo Gaming / Re: What game series do you think won't be coming to the Wii U?

« on: July 03, 2012, 02:27:55 PM »

I can't help but think that it was mandatory for DS games to have touch screen features, but I might be imagining it

Mario Kart DS didn't use the touch screen in any way, did it?  If one of Nintendo's most popular games didn't use the touch screen, I can't imagine they required others to use it.

258

TalkBack / Re: Club Nintendo July Games Now Available

« on: July 02, 2012, 07:24:15 PM »

I may go for Mario Tennis, I didn't play very much of it back when it came out for N64.  My only thing is that playing a tennis game using a regular controller seems like it may have the potential to feel a little boring after how fun playing Wii Sports (then table tennis in Wii Sports Resort) was.

Electroplankton was awesome, so much fun to mess around with, definitely not a game but still a very cool idea.

259

Nintendo Gaming / Re: What game series do you think won't be coming to the Wii U?

« on: June 29, 2012, 10:50:10 PM »

I think the more interesting question might be which Nintendo series won't be coming to the Wii U?  I never would have guessed that the Wii wouldn't get a new Pikmin game.  I was also surprised that there wasn't a new Wave Race, the N64 version was great and Blue Storm was a good followup but it also got passed over last generation.

260

Nintendo Gaming / Re: People Need To Stop Bitching

« on: June 29, 2012, 06:55:09 PM »

I'm going to disagree with the majority, in that I agree with Nintendo's reluctance to show future titles.  First, it keeps the competition guessing as to your strategy.  But more importantly, it allows Nintendo to go all out next E3, stealing the attention away from Sony and Microsoft's next consoles.  Timing is as important as the nature of your news.  Could Nintendo have shown one major game to create a positive impression?  Sure, (and I don't think Pikmin 3 was this game) but I think having mostly tech demos to stimulate the imagination of your audience is sufficient for now.  The whole point is to not be forgotten next year when the competition increases.

Your point that they need to have a good showing next year when they're going to have to compete with the next generation consoles is a good one.  The only thing I wonder is if by that time, it's already going to be too late to have a chance to capture the core gaming audience.  Many seem to have already lost interest and forgotten and the system isn't even out.  Maybe I'm crazy but this feels like the WiiU could end up like the Dreamcast, caught half way in between generations and people will take a wait and see approach and end up choosing the next Sony or Microsoft consoles because they're far ahead technologically.  Obviously, Nintendo is in a completely different place financially and Nintendo's first party games are superior and they're coming off of the best selling console of last generation so it's a different situation so who knows.  I want the WiiU to be successful but I just don't see that being the most likely scenario at this point.

261

TalkBack / Re: EA Wii U Sports Announcements Coming in July

« on: June 29, 2012, 04:58:48 PM »

When I first read this I thought that EA Wii U Sports was a new game, aka a clone of Wii Sports, until I read it more closely.  Personally, I'd be most interested in hearing about Tiger Woods, the ones on Wii are excellent, though it sucks they didn't make 2013 for Wii.  Also, I'm still waiting to see a good baseball game, after how fun (though shallow) the baseball in Wii Sports was I was sure we'd see some great baseball games on the Wii.  But 2K Sports has the exclusivity for baseball anyway, don't they?

262

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Which was better: Nintendo 64 or Gamecube?

« on: June 27, 2012, 06:13:56 PM »

I agree about Mario Kart 64, it may not be that impressive looking back but at the time it was something really special with it's 4 player mode.  Regardless of how it plays now, at the time it was innovative and exciting and was one of the best multiplayer experiences of its generation.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Which was better: GameCube or Wii?

« on: June 26, 2012, 11:55:39 PM »

The reason I think I'd put the Wii slightly above the Gamecube is that the experiences on the Wii felt fresh.  Most of the games on Gamecube were just a continuation of what had been released on N64.  Obviously there were improvements and innovations and so on but it wasn't that different.  The Wii, on the other hand, provided a completely fresh experience.  It may not have worked as well as it should have in some cases and the motion controls may have been forced into some games when there was no need, but when it worked well it was fun.  I don't think I could ever go back to playing a golf game without motion controls, actually swinging is so much more fun than just pushing buttons.  The Wii Sports games were a blast, bowling was just as fun as actual bowling without the funny shoes.  Wii Fit and the balance board provided another unique control option.  It wasn't used in as many games as I was hoping but using it for snowboarding was fun.  Simple uses of the pointer like in Galaxy and Link's Crossbow Training may not have been all that innovative but still felt fresh and fun.

I don't know if I'm necessarily answering the question that was asked because I could definitely see myself arguing that the Gamecube was "better" but I think I had more fun with the Wii.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: People Need To Stop Bitching

« on: June 26, 2012, 11:03:02 PM »

A little tease of an HD Zelda, any sort of small piece of information about the next Smash Bros.

Hahaha this sentence is funny for two reasons: You obviously don't remember the backlash after showing an "HD Zelda"  before the GC launched. Plus, they've already done it last E3 (so maybe Nintendo doesn't remember either; but they did remember to say that it's just a tech demo...repeatedly).

Secondly, they just gave a little tidbit of Smash Bros. not even a week ago. Look at the Talkback forum.

Wasn't the backlash not that they showed an "HD Zelda" but that they completely changed course with Wind Waker and people who were looking forward to the "HD Zelda" were disappointed?  And wouldn't that exact thing happen again if they went that route with the first WiiU Zelda?

The problem is that you're viewing things as a Nintendo fan.  You remember the Zelda tech demo, you know everything that was announced at Nintendo Direct.  That's all great and good but people in the general gaming media, general tech media, and media in general don't know, remember, or even care because E3 was Nintendo's one chance to give them a reason to care and they failed.  Their response has been disinterest which is passed on to their readers/viewers/listeners.  Maybe it's all irrelevant if the WiiU turns out to be just as fun as the Wii when it first came out and they get good 3rd party support and Microsoft and Sony don't blow them out of the water technologically in a year or two but right now non-Nintendo gamers seem not to care about WiiU and non-gamers either don't know exactly what it is or even care.

265

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Which was better: Nintendo 64 or Gamecube?

« on: June 26, 2012, 10:40:32 PM »

That's a tough question, both were really good systems and it's hard to choose.

Pro N64
Mario 64 is one of the greatest games ever made
OOT was obviously an amazing game
The N64 really introduced great mutliplayer gaming
Harvest Moon 64 was the best game in the series
Wave Race was an amazingly fun game
The AKI made wrestling games were amazingly fun
The Rush games were a blast

Pro Gamecube
Wavebird was innovative at time
Controller in general was most comfortable of any controllers in my opinion
Wind Waker was highly underrated and in my opinion more fun than OOT
Resident Evil 4 was amazing
Animal Crossing was the most addictive gaming experience in a long time
Pikmin was brilliant, both the first and second game
Eternal Darkness had such a great mix of atmosphere, story, and gameplay
The first Super Monkey Ball was a blast, both the challenging single player and frantic multiplayer

N64 negatives
The controller just wasn't comfortable
Price of the games
As amazing as Mario 64 was, it seemed like a shame not to have a sequel in the same generation

Gamecube negatives
I just couldn't get into Mario Sunshine
Harvest Moon games were a disappointment after how great Harvest Moon 64 was
As great as many of the games were, none of them had that "wow" moment like playing Mario 64 for the first time

It's basically a tie for me, both were great in their own ways and both had definite weaknesses.  If I had to choose just one I'd probably give N64 the slight edge but it's very close.

266

Nintendo Gaming / Re: People Need To Stop Bitching

« on: June 26, 2012, 06:26:36 PM »

Nintendo did that on purpose. When the 3DS was announced, we got all excited about the games. By the time the system launched, it was basically a bait-and-switch. To avoid getting our hopes up and leaving us disappointed at launch, they only showed launch window games they know are going to be ready in time.

Remember, the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence.

But is it any better to have people be disappointed from the start than it is to get them excited then have them be disappointed?  Either one seems like a negative to me.

I can understand them not wanting to say too much about games that are a ways down the line but why not a little tease of games further off, especially with the launch of a new system, a system that is supposedly going to cater more to the core crowd?  A little tease of an HD Zelda, any sort of small piece of information about the next Smash Bros.  Something to get people excited about what's coming down the road beyond the launch window, which while not bad by any means, doesn't look like anything that is going to attract current non-Nintendo gamers.

267

Nintendo Gaming / Re: I just had the most genius idea ever for Animal Crossing

« on: June 26, 2012, 04:43:14 PM »

Interesting idea, could see this being especially popular with first party titles.  People love anything Mario, Zelda, etc.  Also agree with the idea of the game checking for a save instead of having to input a code.  The only problem is that people wouldn't need to own the game to get the in game reward (could rent, borrow from friend, etc) which obviously isn't really a problem for the gamer but I could see Nintendo wanting to make it so that you need to own the game.  If they wanted to do that, maybe they could tie it to Club Nintendo since anyone who would be interested would probably be registering all of their games there anyway.  Or they could just be nice and do it by checking for a save file.

Also agree with others that they need to do something new with Animal Crossing for me to care.  I put so much time into the first game and had so much fun with it but couldn't convince myself to buy either the DS or Wii versions because they were so much of the same.  It was fun once but I don't want to repeat that same experience again.

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TalkBack / Re: Why Nintendo Direct Was Better Than E3

« on: June 25, 2012, 12:18:55 AM »

The problem with their approach is that the only people that really care about and pay attention to Nintendo Direct are the people who are already Nintendo fans.  The rest of the gaming world saw a pretty pathetic E3 and has already lost interest in the WiiU and probably didn't know or care about this Nintendo Direct.  Not sure that much of what was announced would have made much of a difference in people's opinions but it couldn't have hurt.

269

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Limiting the Wii U to one Gamepad for now - Nintendo's smartest move yet.

« on: June 17, 2012, 11:46:12 PM »

I'm not sure it's as much a smart move as them not really having a choice.  Until all of the feedback wanting multiple gamepad support, they seemed to have no plans to include it.  So, I'm guessing they had planned production of one per console and probably would have had shortages on standalone gamepads.  Also, the launch titles were probably far enough along in development with no plans of supporting multiple gamepads that they didn't want to go back and have to redesign things.  With no games supporting multiple gamepads, it would be silly to offer them for sale separately.  You could call it a smart decision but you could also say that it's a result of their miscalculation of people having interest in multiple gamepads as much as anything.

The asymmetric gameplay idea is definitely intriguing but forcing it as the only choice (or not using the gamepad, but that's supposed to be one of the main selling points of the WiiU) doesn't seem to really make sense.

Not having gamepads available separately at launch avoiding confusion is a good point but if Nintendo hadn't made it so confusing to this point that wouldn't be an issue.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: What's going to be packed in with the Wii U?

« on: June 15, 2012, 11:02:08 PM »

This is probably less likely than an HDMI cable but how about they package in a wireless sensor bar?  I've accidentally yanked the sensor bar down from the top of my TV more than once when doing something behind the TV and getting caught on that stupid wire.  Probably not going to happen but it'd be nice.

I think it has to include a sensor bar and probably a remote, even though most people don't need them.  It can't cost them that much more to add it relative to the increase in perceived value and though there are tons of remotes out there already, most are either regular remotes or regular remotes with wii motion plus added on, not the wii remote plus.  And not including one would kind of seem like conceding that they expect not to sell them to anyone but people who bought Wiis.

271

Nintendo Gaming / Re: What's going to be packed in with the Wii U?

« on: June 15, 2012, 09:56:42 AM »

One thing no one has mentioned yet...why not New Super Mario Bros. 2 as a potential pack-in? If Nintendo is seriously worried about the Wii U's market reception (and given the general sentiment following E3 they just might be) their best play would be to turn to the man in the M hat. That dude carried their first console and carried its big brother the SNES

I think there's two reasons New Super Mario Bros U won't be packed in.  First, they know it's a game that will sell millions and millions of copies as a separate release.  Second, I think they'd want a pack in that really shows off the Gamepad in the way that Wii Sports showed off the possibilities of motion controls.  Something like Nintendo Land seems like a better fit.

272

Nintendo Gaming / Re: What's going to be packed in with the Wii U?

« on: June 14, 2012, 04:28:55 PM »

What if the included a little Mario Statue with a NFC chip in his base? Then when Skylanders comes out, the Wii U version has an exclusive Mario Skylander.

What if they included a Mario statue which when combined with New Super Mario Bros U unlocked a NSMB style version of the first level of the original Super Mario Bros?

273

Nintendo Gaming / Re: People Need To Stop Bitching

« on: June 14, 2012, 01:07:58 AM »

I think as much as the numbers themselves is the quality of games Nintendo has released on the Wii compared to the previous generations.  It seemed like (and maybe I'm wrong and people will bring up examples showing it) for the N64 and Gamecube that if Nintendo developed and released a game, it was going to be good.  It might not necessarily be a game I was interested in but it was a good game.  With Wii that hasn't been true.  Wii Music was pretty much universally considered horrible.  Animal Crossing was one of their laziest releases ever, virtually a complete rehash.  As much as I wanted to have fun with Wii Play, it was not good.  Wii Party was received lukewarmly at best.  Wii Fit was a great idea but Wii Fit Plus was another cash in that left so much untapped potential.  Even their core series have been met with mixed reviews.  That's not to say that they haven't delivered some amazing experiences this generation but it seems more hit and miss than it used to be.

The other than I look at that leaves me a little disappointed by the Wii isn't what is there but what isn't.  How on earth did they not get around to releasing a new Pikmin game?  It was their best new IP of last generation and a perfect fit for pointer controls.  Where was Wave Race?  The original was one of my favorite games for N64 and Blue Storm was a solid follow up.  Where did Star Fox disappear to?  I know the series dropped off a little on the Gamecube but why just ignore it instead of getting back to what made the earlier games so fun?  Where is F Zero?  How about new Mario Golf and Mario Tennis games?  Wii Sports (and later the Tiger Woods games) showed that the Wii had perfect controls for these.  I realize they don't have unlimited resources but it seems like with the huge success the Wii had they could have found ways to keep the games coming strong.

274

Nintendo Gaming / Re: People Need To Stop Bitching

« on: June 09, 2012, 10:57:02 AM »

No. It's more likely that I like rooting for the underdog and that it takes a truly transparent person to notice the fact that while all three companies had fairly shitty conferences this year, Nintendo is the one that all internet commenters and news outlets concentrate on.

I think the reason that so many are focusing on Nintendo's poor conference is that Nintendo really needed to have a good conference.  Despite the success of the Wii, they're in the position that they need to prove, especially to gamers, that the WiiU is going to be worth purchasing.  Their E3 doesn't just impact the next year, like it does for Sony and Microsoft, but the next five years or more.  This E3 was big for Nintendo and they didn't meet the expectations of people.

But yes, it is true that people's response to things on the internet is not much of a barometer of what people in general think.  Reading comments on articles (not just on games sites but on sports, music, and basically everywhere sadly) is almost sad, there's a segment of people trying to respond to the article with good points and have a discussion that's usually overtaken by a majority of people just spewing garbage.

275

TalkBack / Re: The Disturbing Lack of 3DS at E3 2012

« on: June 09, 2012, 09:41:07 AM »

They really should've waited with the Wii U for another year to make sure the 3DS gets enough games.

They probably would have liked to have done that but with the way the interest in Wii basically fell off a cliff, they really didn't have a choice.  The lineup for Wii this year is thin enough as it is, imagine if they had to try to squeeze another year out of the Wii.

Maybe the delay in Animal Crossing means we are finally getting significant changes.

That would be amazing, if they could make an Animal Crossing that is as fun as the original without being a complete rehash.  The Gamecube version was such a great game but I couldn't be bothered to play the DS or Wii versions because I had no interest in playing basically the same game again.