Messages

101

Nintendo Gaming / Re: New Wii Zelda

« on: August 16, 2010, 09:31:13 PM »

I like the Retro Studios suggestion.  Swapping series between Nintendo devs might be a good way to freshen up the series.  There is the risk of a team just not getting the series and making an inferior game.  But I'm not talking giving Star Fox to Namco here.  I'm talking like the big Nintendo teams that can be trusted to deliver the goods.  EAD, IS and Retro are all exceptionally talented so I would trust either of them with an unfamiliar franchise.

How about IS takes on Donkey Kong, Retro takes on Zelda, and let's see EAD tackle Fire Emblem.  I'll bet THAT would be interesting.

I thought you wanted original games?

102

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Wii Successor and Glassess Free 3D: How Will It Work?

« on: August 14, 2010, 05:08:29 PM »

Does the Wii not have a special disc drive which allows it to accept both GC-sized and DVD-sized discs?  I remember the engineers bragging about it when it was first released.

103

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Wii Successor and Glassess Free 3D: How Will It Work?

« on: August 14, 2010, 04:24:54 PM »

While I would appreciate GC BC, that would entail including GC controller ports, memory card ports, the chip, and the special disc drive.  I would understand if Nintendo deemed the benefit not being worth the cost, especially considering GC games and accessories are no longer sold at retail.

Actually this is making me think whether it would be possible to release a "Wii slim", where all these GC components have been removed.

104

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Wii Games Getting Pricier?

« on: August 14, 2010, 02:46:21 AM »

Some stores here sell new games 10€ or so cheaper for the first few weeks, then raise the price to normal. Are you sure you're not seeing that with the games that went up in price?

In the case of Galaxy 2, it started out at the higher price-point.  And I'm pretty sure the other titles I mentioned were only $50 up until recently (although I haven't actively checked as I bought them long ago).

105

General Chat / Re: Futurama to pull a Family Guy?

« on: August 14, 2010, 02:43:54 AM »

I thought the last one was one of the stronger ones this season.  I lost it when the robo-dinosaurs attacked Fry.  And it stayed solid all the way to the end, unlike some other episodes.

106

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Wii Games Getting Pricier?

« on: August 13, 2010, 10:55:14 PM »

It is long over due for the PS360 games to retail for $49.99 and wii games at $39.99.

Why?  I can understand older games coming down in price, but we haven't experienced deflation yet.  And it's not like there's a newer console offering a better standard at the current price.

107

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Wii Games Getting Pricier?

« on: August 13, 2010, 10:52:44 PM »

Why is this happening?  The dollar is still near par, so I can only conclude that NoA decided that the standard Wii title MSRP could match the 360/PS3 pricepoint, without a negative impact on sales.

Two things.

First, maybe it is just the specific stores you looked at. For example, here in the US it is well known that FYE charges more for their games than most stores.

Obviously I investigated a little before making this thread.  Futureshop/BestBuy and Walmart have games like NSMBWii, Punch Out!! and TP listed at $60.

Second, Nintendo of Canada determine MSRP in Canada. Nintendo of America has nothing to do with it. As Mop said, the standard Wii game is and always has been a MSRP of $49.99. The only ones more expensive are music games (the Rock Band games without instruments are $59.99 even on Wii) or games bundled with peripherals.

I assumed NoC fell under the umbrella of NoA.  In the most recent press release I could find on the NoC site (June 2010), this is mentioned:
Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in the Western Hemisphere. 
In fact the link to "corporate information" directs you nintendo.com's corporate site.  So I'm willing to bet business like MSRP is overseen by NoA.

And yes, the standard title msrp has been $49.99 up until the last couple months.  The first game I noticed at $59.99 was Galaxy 2.

Maybe other Canadians could confirm that they've seen this too?  I know Ian's out in a suburb of Vancouver (if I'm not mistaken), but who knows the last time he bought a Wii game?

108

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Wii Games Getting Pricier?

« on: August 13, 2010, 08:25:46 PM »

Actually, since October it has averaged over 95 cents to the dollar.

http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/currency/convert?from=CAD&to=USD&amt=1&t=1y

I hope this isn't Reggie's plan to boost profitability.  Have any Americans noticed anything similar?

109

Nintendo Gaming / Wii Games Getting Pricier?

« on: August 13, 2010, 08:03:18 PM »

Background:  I live in Canada.  In the days of SNES/N64 games retailed for $70-80.  Recently they went down to $60, and a few years back when the dollar reached par with the American Dollar, they reached $50 (which I understand is the same price as in the US).

But now I'm noticing many Wii games are back up to $60.  Not only that, but certain older games that I know I purchased at $50 (NSMBWii, for example), are now selling at the higher price.  Has anyone else noticed this?  Now I must admit I don't have a huge library of games, so I might just be off the mark entirely.

Why is this happening?  The dollar is still near par, so I can only conclude that NoA decided that the standard Wii title MSRP could match the 360/PS3 pricepoint, without a negative impact on sales.

Does anyone else have any thoughts on this?

110

TalkBack / Re: Xbox 360 Outsells Wii, DS in July NPDs

« on: August 13, 2010, 01:06:04 PM »

Why would it continue to happen?  If 360's sales are a result of the redesign, then the market should return to the prior equilibrium rather quickly.  The Wii actually matched sales for last summer, so it's not like it's losing momentum.

111

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Wii Successor and Glassess Free 3D: How Will It Work?

« on: August 06, 2010, 06:53:09 PM »

It could, however, be used as a way to counter piracy.  It's certainly something for third parties to consider before they complain about costs.

Also, how big would this supposed card be (physically)?  Are we talking SD, thumbdrive, cartridge, etc..?  Would the box be roughly the size of a DS box?  This isn't the most interesting aspect, but it's something I wonder about.

112

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Wii Successor and Glassess Free 3D: How Will It Work?

« on: August 06, 2010, 04:17:52 PM »

What about a waffle-iron?

113

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Vertical console placement: Does it affect durability?

« on: August 04, 2010, 12:14:36 PM »

This is something I've always wondered about. When the Wii or any other disc-based system is set up in a vertical position, does it put more strain on the disc spinner? Or does it not make a difference? I've always figured that being vertical would cause the drive to wear out faster, because it has to work against gravity. But some say that the momentum of the side of the disc spinning down would even out the extra effort needed for the other side to spin up, so it would make no difference.

Have there ever been any tests on this?

If you want to talk the physics of the disk spinning, well gravity doesn't play a part of it (the disk as a body doesn't displace at all vertically, so gravity does no work; the line of action of gravity also goes through the center of mass, meaning it doesn't apply any net torque).  The only reason you supply spinning power is to maintain the angular velocity, which would otherwise decrease due to friction.

However the weight of the disk would apply a vertical shear stress on the spinner.  Predicting how this would affect performance over time is not possible since we don't really know the specs of each component.

114

TalkBack / Re: Conduit 2 Box Art Released

« on: July 31, 2010, 04:28:26 PM »

All this box art says to me is: "The story of this game is not important."

You won't be reviewing this game, correct?  Since you already have your opinion formed.

115

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Nintendo 3DS Discussion

« on: July 29, 2010, 10:01:46 PM »

Yeah, it would be pretty short-sighted to sell your shares just months before the release of what's speculated to be the most successful handheld ever.

If it's speculated to be the most successful handheld ever then that information is already included in the current stock price.  Stock prices are only affected by new, unexpected information.

Right.  But it's still short-sighted to sell your stock because of a single quarter loss (which is to be expected given where they are in their business cycle).  Even if the next quarter is equally poor (which it will likely be).  At least wait until the 3DS launches and make a judgment.  At the very least it will sell well, but most likely it will sell out.  So while it's possible the stock price may drop marginally, it's a risk worth taking if only to see the possible rewards of a business in super-demand.

If someone's still concerned about profit levels remaining down, consider the widespread support from AAA devs/pubs, and imagine the profits from 3rd party sales you'll see.

116

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Nintendo 3DS Discussion

« on: July 29, 2010, 04:01:26 PM »

Loosing their spot? Really? I would keep those shares if it were me.

Yeah, it would be pretty short-sighted to sell your shares just months before the release of what's speculated to be the most successful handheld ever.

117

TalkBack / Re: Aonuma: 3D Technology is Perfect for Zelda

« on: July 28, 2010, 12:47:35 AM »

I'm sure Nintendo is eager to bring anything to 3DS that will net them a whole lot of money, especially when they don't have to put the resources into actually making a new game.  -_-'

And I'm sure they're eager to make new killer apps to sell the system.  A mix of both would be ideal.

I hope, however, this doesn't mean the end of 2D Zelda.

118

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Official Wii Sales Thread

« on: July 25, 2010, 03:12:17 PM »

Well SMG1 was released just before the holiday season, was it not?  I'm sure that helped the title stay in the top 10.

And I wouldn't consider either Galaxy title to be an evergreen title.

119

TalkBack / Re: Nintendo Defeats Pirates in Dutch Court

« on: July 23, 2010, 01:16:07 AM »

So they weren't actually pirates, huh?  Just enablers, taking a profit for themselves.

120

General Gaming / Re: Sony's Motion in the Blue Ocean

« on: July 21, 2010, 10:38:52 PM »

I'm guessing the next 3 pages of the flier are dedicated to Wii's motion-enabled games available this holiday season.  Because this is a comparative report, correct?

Also, "Blu-ray powered HD"  I'm going to have to get my favourite tv station to start broadcasting in blu-ray.

121

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Which Retro Console Should I Buy?

« on: July 18, 2010, 10:41:54 PM »

This shouldn't be a tough choice if you determine what games you'd like to play.

If you're just going to buy games blindly, then I suppose an SNES might suit you best.  I understand some people feel that NES and N64 games don't play well anymore.

And if you have never played The Lion King, let me confirm that it is, in fact, a fun game.

122

General Gaming / Re: Sony getting hit Hard lately

« on: July 18, 2010, 02:49:46 AM »

I think it's the notion of the order of letters.  On a SNES pad, the letters went backwards from left to right Y -> X and B -> A.  That created a mental note in your mind as to what button to push when directed to do so on screen.  You can't get that from the PS controller. Maybe the L1/2 and R1/2 buttons... but definitely not the face buttons. There's no order to shapes.

Actually, the shapes line up exactly with YXBA if you think of them as numbers, where the number of "line" segments in the shape represents the number. Circle = 1, X = 2, Triangle = 3, Square = 4
    X
Y      A
    B

    3
4      1
    2

    △
□      ○
    ×

I guess I'm not smart enough to be a Playstation gamer...

And not to rain on your parade but there aren't any "line" segments in a circle.

123

General Gaming / Re: Sony getting hit Hard lately

« on: July 17, 2010, 05:48:18 PM »

In my opinion, the worse aspect of the Dualshock controller is the handles.  They're just incredibly uncomfortable for me.  If we're comparing it to the SNES pad of which it's inspired, it actually provide less grip.  The best analogy I can conceive is it's like hugging an anorexic chick; you just wish she'd put on weight so there'd be something more to hug.

124

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Official Wii Sales Thread

« on: July 16, 2010, 12:17:19 AM »

WiiHD Incoming!!! [/Pachter]

No kidding, it's coming out in just over two months.

125

TalkBack / Re: Iwata: 3DS to Improve Digital Distribution

« on: July 13, 2010, 01:16:29 PM »

You can't compare to past launches (DS, Wii) since they don't have any other competing consoles launching in the next few years.  At the very least, you can expect the team responsible for WiiSports to have something ready for launch.