Messages

126

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

« on: July 12, 2010, 10:49:08 PM »

On the off-topic of the next console.  If Nintendo were to release a new console for the sake of reversing diminishing sales, then they're potentially missing a big opportunity.  What I mean is, how do we even know that they have the console they want to release, ready?  Sure, they probably have a backup-plan console that could be released at any time, but this console would never match the sales of Wii.  What I hope is the determining factor, is when the tech they want to take advantage of becomes viable for mass-production.  Just like with 3DS, they've been holding it back until the tech was ready to bring to market.

Now since the Wii has reduced the competition to such a pathetic state, and because of the lack of foresight in PS3/360, Nintendo has the opportunity to wait until they can get the next console 'right', again.

Besides, they already have 'a new console' that they haven't fully exploited: Motion+!  Depending on how well Zelda+ does, Nintendo might not have to release a new console for several years.

And on a personal note, I would be very disappointed if the only upgrade was better specs.

127

TalkBack / Re: Sony Wishes to Work with Nintendo to Promote 3D

« on: July 11, 2010, 05:34:09 PM »

And the tech used in the 3DS' screen doesn't work for large screens.

128

Nintendo Gaming / Re: The OFFICIAL Wii rumor thread *bring your own salt*

« on: July 07, 2010, 11:05:22 PM »

I swear to you that I made the exact same mock-up....get this....6 years ago! hahahahahahaha

I made a very similar one around the time gyroscopes were rumoured to be in the new "Revolution" controller.  I even posted it on this site.

Too bad I didn't save a copy.

129

General Gaming / Re: Series Series - Poll 2: Metroid - Fusion for 6th. Best of a bad lot?

« on: July 06, 2010, 09:23:02 PM »

It's interesting how someone can say that "everyone hates the original Metroid", when if that were the case then all the sequels would not have been made.  I understand that many people feel it hasn't aged well, but I for one appreciate the difficulty of the game.

130

General Chat / Re: Oh Em Gee iPhone 4 yay!11

« on: July 06, 2010, 12:32:49 AM »

Again, I'm not saying this isn't a stupid design flaw, but it isn't nearly the big deal people are making it out to be.

And this comes back to my thought that people wouldn't make a big deal out of it if Apple would simply admit the flaw.

Instead when they make up a faulty excuse it only fuels the outcry.

131

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Nintendo's got 700 Problems, but.......

« on: July 05, 2010, 03:11:39 PM »

If you want to make a game that only uses two buttons you can still do it on a controller with ten buttons.  I have never met ANYONE who if I gave them a "complex" controller for a simple game was confused.  "Move with the stick, A does this, B does that."  Simple, easy, they pick it up right away.  They don't get confused because X does nothing.

I don't have evidence, but I very much believe Nintendo has tested this hypothesis and found different results.  They certainly spoke to this point prior to the unveiling of the console.

The thing is by forcing devs to think of simplifying their games the Wii has become the dumbed down simple game console for confused casuals.  That's what every dev but Nintendo treats it as.  Meanwhile the more complex games are on the consoles with controllers that give the developer the freedom to do whatever he wants.

The reason "the Wii has become the dumbed down simple game console for confused casuals" is because the industry perceives the userbase to be "dumb customers who buy shallow party games".  I have never read about a game being held from the console because the controller isn't capable enough.  The odd time a 'core' game is adapted to use motion controls, all I hear is how "we're so excited to incorporate motion into our games" (although often they're not competent in execution).  From what I've gathered, there's two main reasons why 'core' games don't make it to Wii: a) the Wii audience isn't interested in this type of game; or b) Wii isn't HD/online capable.

In my opinion you're placing way too much emphasis on the controller's limitations in an effort to explain your perceptions of the console's misgivings.

132

TalkBack / Re: Sony Wishes to Work with Nintendo to Promote 3D

« on: July 04, 2010, 02:27:43 PM »

So, basically, to sum it all up, Nintendo had made a deal with Sony, decided the deal was bad for them (and, from the sounds of it, it was), so they went behind Sony's back and made a deal with Philips.

So yeah, Nintendo screwed Sony.

Fair competitive business.  Sony was allegedly trying to secretly gain control of Nintendo's IPs (I'm positive Nintendo wouldn't have signed an agreement, if they were aware of this), so they secretly recruit Phillips to avoid doing business with Sony.  They both screwed each other, and they both have enjoyed great success at various points after.

Oh, and on topic, you just know Sony sees trouble ahead when they're extending an olive branch to their largest competitor.

133

General Chat / Re: Oh Em Gee iPhone 4 yay!11

« on: July 02, 2010, 07:15:11 PM »

No doubt it's avoidable, but I don't think Apple would still be facing much scrutiny if they weren't still pretending the design is so robust.  Given Apple's strong reputation for quality products, I don't think they'd lose much face if they'd just be honest about the flaw.

134

General Chat / Re: Oh Em Gee iPhone 4 yay!11

« on: July 02, 2010, 03:47:13 PM »

Still doesn't explain the dropped calls.

135

Nintendo Gaming / Re: The OFFICIAL Wii rumor thread *bring your own salt*

« on: July 01, 2010, 01:39:50 PM »

You got the boomerang!  Have a star!

You killed 100 chuchus!  Have a star!

I'm not a big fan of achievements, at least not how they're incorporated in most games.

136

TalkBack / Re: Nintendo Shareholder Meeting Tidbits

« on: July 01, 2010, 02:59:47 AM »

I'm just going off of what I read on Kotaku.

137

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Nintendo 3DS Discussion

« on: July 01, 2010, 02:36:32 AM »

Oh really?  And what was Sony doing when they made the Move advertisement with that Kevin Butler character waving his hands all girly-like, claiming "no more waggle"?

138

TalkBack / Re: Nintendo Shareholder Meeting Tidbits

« on: July 01, 2010, 02:33:58 AM »

Since he said a new character and not a new IP or franchise, it leads me to believe the character will be added to an existing game.

Since he also mentioned that the last character he introduced was 10 years ago (Pikmin), I would be very surprised if it wasn't a new IP.

139

General Gaming / Re: Sony getting hit Hard lately

« on: June 29, 2010, 05:42:21 PM »

Do you mean thrilled because of the mess they started from, or thrilled because their success is enviable?

140

TalkBack / Re: No Underwater Stages in Donkey Kong Country Returns

« on: June 29, 2010, 12:47:28 AM »

I found DKC water levels to be very calming.  I don't get that feeling from many games.

I will miss the fantastic music featured in those levels.

141

TalkBack / Re: Welcome to the New Nintendo World Report!

« on: June 27, 2010, 02:48:26 PM »

It looks like a mess.  For reference, I'm using Firefox with adblocker.  I see what Vudu posted, but with the small snapshots overlapping the headlines.

Talkback in the stories will be nice, once things are organized.

EDIT: It's showing up properly now, after a few refreshes.

142

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Nintendo's got 700 Problems, but.......

« on: June 25, 2010, 09:37:20 PM »

I have pretty small hands and I can only reach down on the D-pad without having to adjust.

You can reach the d-pad without taking your thumb off the control stick, unlike GC.

In that case, the d-pad on the Wii remote is more comparable to the c-stick on the Gamecube controller so that's not really a fair comparison. I'd honestly much rather have another analog stick than a D-pad.

Another stick in the place of the d-pad would be almost unusable given the design of the wiimote.  And I wouldn't get to play NSMBWii with a d-pad!

143

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Nintendo's got 700 Problems, but.......

« on: June 25, 2010, 06:44:31 PM »

Again, I remember a whole lot of excitement from devs when the wiimote was unveiled.

But that clearly was all just talk since none of them has expressed this excitement in the form of actual games.

Again, correlation does not equal causation.  Just because they don't make games, doesn't mean they don't approve of the controller!
If they didn't like it, why wouldn't they say so?

With regards to the rest of your post, I'm not going to disagree with most of your points.  But I do disagree with how "limited" the overall controller is.  I keep coming back to a single thought: Metroid Prime - a GC game that uses every button on the controller - was ported to Wii with improved controls.  Obviously one example does not cover the whole spectrum of games, but clearly the Wiimote is capable of controlling 95% of games that came before it.  With everyone disagreeing with me over its functionality, I've yet to have someone name a game that couldn't be played on it (outside of your traditional fighters).

144

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Nintendo's got 700 Problems, but.......

« on: June 25, 2010, 06:30:27 PM »

If you honestly think that the D-Pad is more accessible on the Wii Remote, or that the + and - buttons even COUNT as "easily accessible," then you my friend have freaky monkey hands.

You can reach the d-pad without taking your thumb off the control stick, unlike GC.

+/- aren't ideal for action buttons, but they don't require much effort to reach.

145

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Nintendo's got 700 Problems, but.......

« on: June 25, 2010, 03:58:31 PM »

Actually, C-stick aside, the Wii controller is only one button less than GC. 

Yeah, no.  Most of the buttons aren't readily accessible simultaneously.

Yeah, they are.

Wii: A, +, -, B, Z, C  = 6 easily accessible buttons.

GC: A, B, X, Y, L, R, Z = 7 easily accessible buttons.

Notice how I didn't mention the d-pad which is more accessible on wiimote?

146

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Nintendo's got 700 Problems, but.......

« on: June 25, 2010, 02:47:36 PM »

The third party support isn't just the controller.  I think that's a smaller part anyway.  It's more the fact that the hardware is so much weaker than the other consoles.  The Wii wasn't a conventional update while the DS was.

Seems to me that the DS is 'so much weaker' than PSP.  But certain devs have complained about Wii's power, so I guess you can't really compare handhelds and consoles.
 

 Actually, C-stick aside, the Wii controller is only one button less than GC.  In that respect wiimote is only slightly less functional, and this missing functionality is made up by the pointer/accelerometer/gyroscope inputs.

When you're making a game what would you rather hear?
1. It's the same as before but we also have added this.
2. It's missing this and this but we added that which should make up for the lack of this.
 
As a computer programmer, I don't make games, but I would vastly prefer option 1.  Option 2 is telling me how to do my job and makes big assumptions about how I want to use the hardware.

Again, I remember a whole lot of excitement from devs when the wiimote was unveiled.  Come to think of it, I can't remember a single instance where one complained that it was missing a c-stick or a GC button.  Correct me if I'm wrong.

147

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Nintendo's got 700 Problems, but.......

« on: June 24, 2010, 08:03:21 PM »

Yeah but it's like if instead of the DS having 4 face buttons it had   only 1 with the assumption being that the touchscreen would make up for   the lost button.  The DS controls just built onto the GBA's.  Nothing   was removed, only added.  You can't just play a Gamecube game on the Wii   controller.  The idea is that the remote's unique features are supposed   to replace the functionality that came before it.

Actually, C-stick aside, the Wii controller is only one button less than GC.  In that respect wiimote is only slightly less functional, and this missing functionality is made up by the pointer/accelerometer/gyroscope inputs.  Sure, you could add another button but that isn't going to solve the 3rd party situation.  And you can play GC games with a Wii controller.  Prime Trilogy demonstrates this, as does Mario Galaxy.  I'm actually curious now, can you name a GC game that wouldn't be possible on Wii, even with small adaptations (other than fighters; I've heard you use this one a million times)?

The Wii forces you to try something different while the DS gives you the OPTION to to try something different.  The proof is in the pudding.  Both systems are the clear market leaders yet the DS has very good third party support and the Wii has arguably worse third party support than even the Gamecube.  The Wii is the ONLY market leading console to have the worst third party support of it's generation.  That suggests to me that Nintendo did something wrong that they did correctly with the DS and this seems like the likely scenario.

I would not blame the 3rd party situation on the controller.  It might have been a factor in select instances, but almost all games are playable using the Wii setup, as evidenced by the wide representation of various genres.  In fact, I remember hearing a whole lot of developers get excited when the controller was originally revealed.

The main culprit behind the poor support was the perception that "only casual gamers play Wii, and they only buy crappy party games".  And it's still a misconception, explaining why Reggie has to interrupt his 'presentation of a lifetime' to remind us that Wii is still outselling the other consoles combined, and that Wii gets played more by its owners. 

148

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Nintendo's got 700 Problems, but.......

« on: June 24, 2010, 04:52:43 PM »

The Wii is only a minor hardware update to the Gamecube.  It doesn't add or refine the controls but attempts to completely replace them.  It's online capabilities are the only conventional upgrade.  It's as if the DS replaced the d-pad and buttons with the touchscreen and mic and was barely more powerful than the GBA.

Except that the standard Wii controller still has a d-pad, analog stick, and buttons.

149

TalkBack / Re: 3DS Development Costs Similar to Wii

« on: June 24, 2010, 12:09:52 AM »

Hopefully retail prices don't jump too high, if at all.

150

Nintendo Gaming / Re: New Wii Zelda

« on: June 22, 2010, 09:01:23 PM »

The only components that need to stay, for me, are the triforce and Link - the ultimate power and the hero to save it.  The game shouldn't be tangential like MM.  Give me an evil character out to get the power of the triforce, and a kingdom full enemies trying to kill me.  Throw in dungeons, heart containers, and rupees.  Call it Zelda.