Messages

176

General Gaming / Re: Video game soundtracks

« on: January 18, 2014, 01:56:17 PM »

I think I'm going to use Amazon MP3 from now on instead of iTunes, because Amazon has all the game soundtracks I want. And I can play all my music from the cloud (Amazon Cloud Player app) without having to transfer anything from the PC to my Android phone. Google Play Music doesn't have many game soundtracks, unfortunately.

177

General Gaming / Re: What is your most recent gaming purchase?

« on: January 18, 2014, 01:51:03 PM »

I finally bought myself a Wii U with the Christmas / birthday money I received from family members. I got the Mario bundle (of course), and I also bought Batman Arkham Origins, Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, and Sonic Lost World. I might sell Lost World and re-buy Sonic Colors, since that's vastly superior in all ways (music, level design, gameplay, sense of speed, boosting).

178

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Wii U in Review (News & Rumor Consolidation)

« on: January 18, 2014, 01:46:48 PM »

Why would that fail? Gaming is going mobile, look at the success of smartphone / tablet games for proof. Even Sony is pushing their PlayStation Now service as 'stream anywhere', including on tablets and smartphones. Nintendo's greatest strength right now is their handhelds, and if they could create a handheld that connects to the TV it would be the best of both worlds.

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General Gaming / Nintendo and mobile gaming...

« on: January 18, 2014, 01:41:58 PM »

I've been thinking about Nintendo's inevitable move to mobile gaming, and it would work out well for them. They could just make a minigame collection. Kirby games are full of minigames that would translate well to mobile devices, especially the Scope Shot and Dojo games from Kirby Returns to Dreamland and the Mega Punch minigame from Kirby Superstar. Super Mario 64 DS also has tons of minigames that could be ported to mobile devices, because they all relied on the touchscreen.

Nintendo could sell their minigame collections in packs of 10 games each, costing no more than $5. They could even port the Game & Watch games to mobile devices, giving players enhanced and classic (original) versions of those games.

My plan is perfect. How could Nintendo lose?

180

TalkBack / Re: With Wii U's Failures, Nintendo Lacks a Fail-Safe

« on: January 18, 2014, 01:34:19 PM »

You know, Nintendo's inevitable move to mobile gaming would work out well for them. They could just make a minigame collection. Kirby games are full of minigames that would translate well to mobile devices, especially the Scope Shot and Dojo games from 'Kirby Returns to Dreamland'. Super Mario 64 DS also has tons of minigames that could be ported to mobile devices, because they all relied on the touchscreen.

181

TalkBack / Re: With Wii U's Failures, Nintendo Lacks a Fail-Safe

« on: January 18, 2014, 01:11:14 PM »

I forgot to add, this whole situation is exactly like what Sony went through with the PS3. Sony managed to turn things around for the PS3, so why does no one think that Nintendo can do the same with the Wii U?

182

TalkBack / Re: With Wii U's Failures, Nintendo Lacks a Fail-Safe

« on: January 18, 2014, 01:07:08 PM »

Nintendo should just focus on handhelds, because that's where there strength currently is. I doubt they would ever develop games for PlayStation or Xbox. Exiting the home console market to focus on handhelds and mobile devices is their best bet.

183

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Wii U in Review (News & Rumor Consolidation)

« on: January 18, 2014, 01:02:51 AM »

Also, the reviews were right about Sonic Lost World. It doesn't come anywhere close to the brilliance of Sonic Colors. The music is bland; the stage design is a huge ripoff of Mario Galaxy; the boss battles are dreadfully boring and easy; the color powers are underutilized and feel completely out of place in the game world; and the whole presentation just feels rushed.

But on the plus side, the spin-dash is back finally. And I do like how similarly this game plays to the Genesis titles, relying on actual platforming rather than boosting (though I do love the boost mechanic in the older 3D games).

Why is there a run button? That completely goes against what Sonic games are supposed to be about. Speed should be earned through momentum, which is something this game has none of.

184

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Wii U in Review (News & Rumor Consolidation)

« on: January 18, 2014, 12:53:47 AM »

The Wii U + GamePad combo is basically a precursor to Nintendo's inevitable console / handheld hybrid. Switching a game between the TV and GamePad is still one of the coolest things I like about the Wii U. I'm currently playing Batman: Arkham Origins, and I've been spending more of my playtime on the GamePad than the TV.

185

TalkBack / Re: With Wii U's Failures, Nintendo Lacks a Fail-Safe

« on: January 18, 2014, 12:39:29 AM »

I just bought a Wii U. I guess I made a bad purchase if Nintendo really is thinking about abandoning the platform...

In all seriousness, all Nintendo needs to do is ramp up game developement and court more 3rd-party publishers. They're doing a good job with the indie teams, but something needs to be done to gain support from the big companies like EA, Bethesda, Rockstar, etc.

I'm loving my Wii U. Switching from the TV to the GamePad is the coolest thing I've ever seen; it's like that console / handheld hybrid that we've all been dreaming of. I guarantee Nintendo's next console will be an actual portable handheld that syncs to the TV.

186

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Wii U in Review (News & Rumor Consolidation)

« on: January 16, 2014, 03:41:48 AM »

Speaking of Batman Arkham Origins... God damn it Deathstroke / Slade is hard as ****. I can never get the timing of Batman's counterattack right, and Slade attacks so viciously that it's difficult to judge his movements.

187

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Wii U in Review (News & Rumor Consolidation)

« on: January 15, 2014, 11:47:19 PM »

I just found something cool. When a game is playing on the TV, you can stream the audio through headphones connected to the GamePad. It worked for Batman Arkham Origins; do all Wii U games have this feature?

188

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Wii U in Review (News & Rumor Consolidation)

« on: January 15, 2014, 11:34:31 PM »

Well Ubisoft has always had good things to say about Nintendo. Activision supports Nintendo with their Call of Duty and Skylanders franchises. WB Games put their various LEGO games on Nintendo platforms, and the Wii U got very good ports of the last two Batman Arkham games.

189

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Wii U in Review (News & Rumor Consolidation)

« on: January 15, 2014, 10:30:13 PM »

Batman Arkham Origins proves that Wii U games can have good graphics if developers actually put effort into their titles. Arkham Origins looks amazing on the TV and even better on the GamePad.

It seems that WB Games, Activision, and (especially) Ubisoft all have faith in Nintendo. Their Wii U games are on par with their Xbox 360 / PS3 counterparts. Who needs EA or Bethesda?

190

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Wii U in Review (News & Rumor Consolidation)

« on: January 15, 2014, 02:13:59 PM »

How would the GamePad having an HD screen cause input lag? The Wii U is just sending a video feed from the console to the controller, it's like a localized version of OnLive.

Tablets and smartphones work just fine with high resolution screens. Shouldn't the GamePad be on par with those devices so it can better compete?

191

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Wii U in Review (News & Rumor Consolidation)

« on: January 15, 2014, 01:45:51 AM »

Well I finally bought the Wii U today. I sold my PS3 and a bunch of games / accessories, and used my Christmas / birthday money to buy the Wii U.

First impressions:
The Wii U is very sleek and small. I'm surprised Nintendo was able to cram so much tech in a system that's barely bigger than the original Wii. And the Wii U has no heating issues like what plagued the Xbox 360 and PS3, so that's a plus.

The GamePad is very comfortable and surprisingly light. The screen is nowhere near as sharp as a smartphone or tablet, which is a shame. Nintendo could have put in a 'retina' HD screen and added a bigger battery so the controller lasts longer between charges. Tablets and smartphones run full OS's and have dedicated chips inside them, yet they have better battery life than the GamePad. So what's Nintendo's excuse for not adding an HD screen?

192

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Nintendo Optimism

« on: January 15, 2014, 01:34:52 AM »

How can you guys possibly know what Nintendo isn't working on? They always save their yearly surprises for E3 and the occasional Nintendo Direct (Hyrule Warriors was certainly unexpected). We don't even know what's coming out after Mario Kart and Smash Bros. (games like 'X' and Yarn Yoshi don't even have release dates).

193

General Gaming / Video game soundtracks

« on: January 13, 2014, 03:42:53 PM »

I love video game music, and I have a bunch of Sonic soundtracks I purchased from iTunes (Sonic Colors has an amazing soundtrack) . Why doesn't Nintendo sell their soundtracks on iTunes? And I'd love to see Capcom do the same with their Mega Man soundtracks.

194

General Chat / Re: Everything Android - The Official Android Thread

« on: January 12, 2014, 11:28:13 AM »

Lucky with phones like the Moto G and Asus' ZenFone, you can get a high quality phone with good specs at an affordable price.

195

General Chat / Re: Everything Android - The Official Android Thread

« on: January 12, 2014, 11:25:09 AM »

Think of subsidizing like a financing plan, except you're paying the carrier back for the cost of the phone plus your plan's monthly price. That's why you end up paying more in the long run.

196

General Chat / Re: Everything Android - The Official Android Thread

« on: January 12, 2014, 10:59:59 AM »

My point is these $500+ phones are way overpriced. Not everyone has expendable money to spend. What of you were buying a car or house and you were forced to pay the full cost upfront? Without carriers subsidizing phones, the iPhone would have never gotten popular and the smartphone industry would have collapsed.

Also, carriers now have a program where you can exchange your phone every 6 months so you're not suck with the same thing for the life of your contract.

The Moto G is possibly the best value in the smartphone market right now. It's very affordable ($200 and under), durable, and has decent specs

197

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Wii U in Review (News & Rumor Consolidation)

« on: January 11, 2014, 03:47:28 PM »

Next Level did an amazing job with Luigi's Mansion 2. If the developer wants to stay Nintendo exclusive, maybe Nintendo should just buy them out and make them a 1st-party studio like they did wih Retro.

Speaking of Nintendo... I'm finally going to get a Wii U! I'll trade in my PS3 + games + controllers and use my Best Buy gift card to buy the Mario bundle. What other games would you guys recommend?

198

General Chat / Re: Everything Android - The Official Android Thread

« on: January 11, 2014, 03:41:42 PM »

Even my ex girlfriend's Galaxy S4 was laggy compared to the Moto G. TouchWiz is full of bloatware and it hogs RAM; that's part of the reason why I chose a stock Android phone. Plus since Motorola is owned by Google, they should get updates quicker than the other manufacturers (as evidenced by Moto X / G getting KitKat shortly after the Nexus devices).

Most tablets run stock Android, and I'm surprised phones haven't followed suit.

199

General Chat / Re: Everything Android - The Official Android Thread

« on: January 11, 2014, 01:51:19 PM »

I'd rather get a subsidized phone than pay $500+ off contract (which is way overpriced to begin with).

In other news, I just received my Moto G from Amazon today. I haven't activated it on T-Mobile yet, but my first impressions are very positive. The phone feels very solid and durable, and stock Android is so much faster than TouchWiz. The screen also has a higher pixel density / resolution than my Galaxy S2.

I'm very impressed with what Google & Motorola were able to achieve with a $200 phone. Motorola's new direction of focusing on quality over quantity seems to be working out for them. HTC is supposedly doing the same thing (quality over quantity) with their HTC One line.

200

General Gaming / Re: Why aren't game consoles cross-compatible?

« on: January 09, 2014, 01:24:54 PM »

No no no. You guys have it all wrong. I'm not talking about "one console to rule them all".

I'm talking about an open console standard where there are multiple manufacturers making devices that all run the same games, and it's all unified under a single OS.

You buy a machine from Samsung, and it plays the same games as the machine from LG. Developers only need to make one copy of a game instead of wasting time doing ports.

Google was able to unify the snartphone industry with Android, and Valve is doing something similar with their Steam OS... Why can't the console industry create a unified standard like that? Consoles will then become as commonplace as phones and PC's. Isn't that what the industry needs to expand and survive?