Messages

301

General Gaming / Re: Meanwhile, Over At The Other Developers...

« on: June 25, 2020, 02:12:09 PM »

That said, I feel like games being increasingly large and complex makes the whole development cycle more taxing. Teams are larger and more spread out, and the likelihood of unexpected problems cropping up during development are much higher also. Trying to accurately scope the time and resources that a large project will need is really difficult, and when mistakes happen it can affect a lot of people depending on how much pressure the company is under to live up to early commitments.

Being in stuck in it for months on end really sucks because it takes a toll on both your physical and mental health pretty quickly.  But to your last point, I think part of the answer is scoping games down.  At some point, I think the $60 model is going to stop being profitable for big games, and I think we might be getting there pretty quickly.

Looks like Shawn Layden, former chairmen of Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios, in a recent interview agrees.

https://venturebeat.com/2020/06/23/shawn-layden-interview-the-man-with-the-crash-bandicoot-t-shirt/view-all/

Layden: I still remember when games would cost $1 million to make. Those days are long gone. The cost of creating games has increased. Some studies show that’s gone up 2X every time a console generation advances. The problem with that model is it’s just not sustainable. Major triple-A games in the current generation go anywhere from $80 million to $150 million or more to build, and that’s before marketing. It’s a huge up-front cost. Extended over time, it takes three or four or five years to build a game while you’re not getting any return on the investment. You just continue to pay into it looking for the big payoff at the end.

I don’t think, in the next generation, you can take those numbers and multiply them by two and expect the industry to continue to grow. The industry as a whole needs to sit back and think, “What are we building? What’s the audience expectation? What is the best way to get our stories across, to say what we need to say?” That’s going to cause the industry to look at the kind of games we’re doing, where we go from there, and what we’re putting into them. It’s hard for every adventure game to shoot for 50 or 60 hours of gameplay. That’s going to be so much more expensive to achieve.

Layden:  How can we look at that and say, “Is there another answer?” Instead of spending five years to make an 80-hour game, what does three years and a 15-hour game look like? What are the costs around that? Is that a full experience? Personally, as an older gamer now, I would welcome the return of the 12-15 hour game. I would finish more games, first of all. Just like a well-edited piece of literature or a movie — I’ve been looking at the discipline around that, the containment around that. It could get us tighter, more compelling content. It would be something I’d like to see a return to.

302

General Chat / Re: The COVID-19 Virus is Coming For Us All Thread

« on: June 24, 2020, 05:34:06 PM »

Well with cases in my area spiking, one of my coworkers has tested positive, so now the store is closed for 2 weeks.  The person who was positive I worked with them this weekend, and then they called in sick on Monday because they had the symptoms and then were positive yesterday.

So now the local country health office is sending me emails each day just to respond how I feel.  I'd like to get tested but they said because I have no symptoms they can't because the test don't do a good job if you've been recently exposed.  Now if I still don't have any symptoms by the end of next week I can get tested since if I'm someone who can spread it without symptoms then there would be enough of the virus built up to get a positive.  Otherwise only if I develop symptoms can I get tested this week.

Well as long I don't get sick it'll be like a 2 week vacation since I just sit around and play videogames on my free time anyway.  I just wish I didn't stay up late playing videogames on Sunday night and then waking up early Monday for the Smash Bros reveal.  I mean Monday was my day off so I sometimes don't get the sleep I should when I'm off the next day.  Of course I've been telling myself not to lose control because the one night I don't get enough sleep will finally be the day I was exposed so it shouldn't be too much of a surprise then.  I've made sure to get enough sleep the last 2 days so lets hope that does the trick.

Oh well, if I do get infected at least it was because of Smash Bros.  I can't think of a more fitting way for me to go.

303

TalkBack / Re: Blaster Master Zero 2 Getting New Gardening DLC

« on: June 23, 2020, 02:17:06 PM »

I was wondering when this game would receive DLC since the original got a decent amount.  Not the kind of DLC I had in mind though

304

TalkBack / Re: Bloodstained: Curse Of The Moon 2 Whipping Onto Switch Soon

« on: June 23, 2020, 02:09:15 PM »

Curse of the Moon was awesome so this is great news.  Loved how it had many different endings so it really encouraged replaying in different ways.  Cant wait to see what they'll do with this one.

305

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate And The Never-Ending 3rd Party Character DLC

« on: June 22, 2020, 04:34:15 PM »

1. I'm bad at Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Granted, I primarily used Palutena, and no one uses Palutena.

I wonder if she was nerfed because back in early 2019 a lot of people were using her at the time.  I remember some of the early tier list had her pretty high.  Reminds me of the early days of Smash Wii U I kept getting paired with Robin opponents, then I come back a year later and no one was using them anymore.

306

General Chat / Re: The COVID-19 Virus is Coming For Us All Thread

« on: June 18, 2020, 02:22:51 PM »

The general vibe of people has become much more relaxed.  All the stores have social distancing markers on the floor and employees with masks and gloves but the general public has largely blown this off.  You do see people in masks but I'm not sure if it's even 50%.  It's the standard thing where if you handle the pandemic effectively then people think the whole thing was overblown.  There's no tsunami that crashes into the seawall that everyone can see and think "good thing we took precautions".

That's literally what's happening where I live.  The place I work reopened on May 18th and for the first week most of the customers were still wearing masks.  By the end of the second week though most of the customers coming in had stopped wearing mask.  I'd estimate about 30% still wear them now.

And low and behold, the area I live in has now seen a spike in cases the last 2 weeks.

https://madison.com/news/local/health-med-fit/la-crosse-county-says-area-now-at-severe-risk-of-covid-19-spread/article_858224ec-5b4c-58de-8cb9-79276c0dbe58.html

It's just ridicules.  After Memorial Day, so many people around here just started acting like the virus disappeared and started going around without mask and getting together in large groups again.  So now we're getting hammered as a result. 

307

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Super. Paper. Mario. April. 2007.

« on: June 18, 2020, 01:44:29 PM »

Super Paper Mario is not only the worst Paper Mario by far, it's easily the worst Nintendo games I've ever played, not counting the primitive early NES games like Urban Champion.  The gameplay in Super Paper Mario is just really shallow.

Hmmm.....

Well the game has been getting 9's from pretty much every major publication so it's not really surprising.  But after reading about all the different reviews the game easily sounds like a perfect 10 to me. It sounds like the game ended up the way I expected it to all along, so I'll have no problems with it.

HMMM

Yeah I'm aware the second post was before he played the game, but the turnaround here still tickles me.

The truth bomber gets defused by the post demolition expert!

Hey I was insanely hyped for this game before release.  We finally got the first 2D Mario in over a decade with NSMB DS, and here we had another one on the way.  But unlike, NSMB which was intentionally meant to be a retro throwback, Super Paper looked like an original unique take.  It's even in my original post.

When I first read about the game at last years E3, I was expecting it to be just a spin off of Paper Mario with more Platforming and so it wouldn't be like the other Mario Platformers.  And now when I read these reviews, it sounds like the game ended up the way I expected it to all along, so I'll have no problems with it.

I mean here's what the first trailer back when it was still a Gamecube game looked like.

Even the Wii launch trailer still looked more like a pure platformer then it was.

This is what made the final game so disappointing to me.  The actual platforming ended up being so bare bones.  The second half of the game in particular just devolves into endless fetchquest to the point where it doesn't even feel like it can be labeled a platformer anymore. 

I'd say the final game is more of a 2D Adventure then Platfomer.  The levels are more about finding someone to talk to, then delivering something to someone else to finally open a new path.  It ends up sharing more in common with something like Zelda 2 or the Wonderboy in Monster World games then a traditional platformer like Mario.  Except that brings up another problem since Super Paper Mario fails at being a 2D Adventure game as well.  Something like Zelda 2 or Wonderboy at least have challenging action sections to keep players engaged, while Super Paper Mario's combat and action is just as dull as the platforming.


Seriously, I really wanted to love this game but by the end I just couldn't. 

308

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Official Sales Thread

« on: June 14, 2020, 02:07:02 AM »

Huh, thanks for checking y'all. I was under the impression Xeno 2 moved like 2 million worldwide, so I figured the launches would be higher.

It did but the majority of those sales were from the West.  The lifetime sales of Xenoblade 2 only did over 300k in Japan.  Despite the critical acclaim the Xenoblade series has never really taken off in Japan, which is quite funny when the original almost ended up Japan only.

309

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Super. Paper. Mario. April. 2007.

« on: May 28, 2020, 02:51:49 PM »

I'm surprised this game still gets so highly praised while Sticker Star gets all the hate.

Oh I agree.  Super Paper Mario is not only the worst Paper Mario by far, it's easily the worst Nintendo games I've ever played, not counting the primitive early NES games like Urban Champion.  The gameplay in Super Paper Mario is just really shallow.  As a huge fan of platformers, the level design in this game is lacking and with hardly any engagement.  IS really should have realized early on since they have no experience with making a 2D platformer, and did something else.  This is why the game becomes ridiculously padded after the halfway point because IS had no idea how to create a more challenging platforming experience that would still work with the RPG elements and so went the Sonic Team route of just putting in as much pointless crap as possible to drag out the run time.

I'm sorry to anyone that likes the game but too me trying to combine a traditional 2D Mario platformer, with the RPG elements of Paper Mario just doesn't work.  Both styles of gameplay are the polar opposite of each other, and as a result water both down to the point where neither element works in this game.  That's what makes it my most hated Nintendo game because it's just so boring to me.  It feels more like an interactive novel at times then an actual game which is inexcusable for a Mario game.

This game is basically Miyamoto's worst fear come to life.  IS focused all there attention on the story while neglecting the gameplay.  So when less then 1% of Club Nintendo said they cared about the story, the part of the game IS put the most focus on, it's no surprise Miyamoto laid the smackdown when it came to story in a Mario game after that.

310

TalkBack / Re: New Additions To NES And SNES Online Libraries Announced

« on: May 14, 2020, 10:35:15 PM »

Wow that's a pretty nice selection.  Kind of surprised they got Wild Guns when the remaster is sold separately on the eShop.  Guess Natsume must feel since the remaster has more content there's no harm in the original being on here to help advertise it.

Had a feeling they'd just put the original version of Tetris Attack, Panel de Pon, on the service.  The gameplay is the same and they don't have to pay extra for the Tetris name.  Plus the West can finally know what game Lip who's been mentioned in Smash Bros is from.

311

TalkBack / Re: Paper Mario Unfolding On Switch: The Origami King Arrives July 17

« on: May 14, 2020, 12:38:05 PM »

On the one hand, the gameplay shown in the trailer for the overworld looks more interesting then what Sticker Star and Color Splash were doing.  It also looks like Bowser will be a companion with Mario, so that should mean he'll be a character again unlike the previous 2 games where he was a mindless silence final boss.  Actually we got a unique villain again so that's a big upgrade as well.

So based on this trailer, the game certainly looks like a step in the right direction.  The only problem is the lack of battle footage has me worried.  I'm one of the few people who enjoyed Sticker Star for the adventure and puzzle aspects, but the combat was basically pointless.  I avoided combat as much as I could which is probably why I liked the game, but it was still inferior to the first 2 games because of how shallow the combat system was.

So hopefully the combat system will be more like the first 2 with more indepth RPG mechanics and actual partners to help out as well.  It would be ridicules if they solve some of the other problems of the previous 2 games but not address the biggest elephant in the room.

312

TalkBack / Re: The Timelessness of Mega Man 2

« on: May 01, 2020, 06:26:41 PM »

MM 2 and 3 are pretty similar in quality so I find them about equal.  I find MM3 has the better Robot Master stages, but MM2 has the better Wily stages and overall better set of bosses as well.  The level design in both games is very similar to each other, where they have no problem throwing in several different idea's in each level so there's always a ton of variety.  Starting with MM4, they started to just pick one idea per level and went with it.  Now in some cases this made for better game design since some idea's could be fully realized, but if the gimmick wasn't very interesting then you end up with a pretty dull level.

This is why MM2 and 3 are usually at the top of most Mega Man list, while MM4 onward can vary from person to person.  MM2 and 3 are constantly hitting the players with variety that there's a constant engagement going on that makes most people still enjoy both of them.  While the later ones can literally have one person who loves them while others feel indifferent or outright dislike toward the same game.

Personally my favorite is MM9 because it designs it's levels like 2/3, with a ton of variety at every stage, but with even more creativity and challenge.  Of course it was designed with the hardcore fanbase in mind so it's brutal difficulty isn't for everyone.  I'd certainly agree that Mega Man 2 and 3 are more timeless games because they're more friendly to players of all skill levels.

313

General Gaming / Re: Meanwhile, Over At The Other Developers...

« on: April 30, 2020, 06:49:51 PM »

I think the biggest issue is literally every major gaming company that isn't Nintendo is controlled by people with no experience in the creation of actual videogames.  They don't realize how the design process works, and so they have no problem asking for unrealistic development cycles that lead to horrible treatment of employees and the quality of the games suffering as a result.  It reminds me how interviews from former Rare employees who originally thought being bought by Microsoft was going to be great and they'd have so much more freedom, but then realize just how wrong they were.

Nintendo might have been strict on certain things, but was more willing to delay a title if they felt the quality needed it.  The supervisors from Nintendo would also give advice to Rare when game were having issues to help create a better vision that would help with development as well.  They did the same with Retro where it was Miyamoto who told them to make it First Person when they were having trouble getting the gameplay to work right in third person, and Miyamoto said a first person view would accomplish what they wanted to do better.

In comparison, Microsoft basically set deadlines for when a game had to be ready and if there was trouble with development there was no higher ups that could come in to give guidance.  So this would put a lot more stress on the employees since they now had to put in more work trying to create a clear vision for the game while still getting it done in time.  As development cost have gotten way higher and team much bigger, it's no surprise this kind of attitudes from many of these companies has less to the messes we've been getting.

314

General Gaming / Re: Meanwhile, Over At The Other Developers...

« on: April 29, 2020, 10:43:07 PM »

I feel Iwata was just pushing back on the inevitable, stretching out as much time as possible for Nintendo before the market would demand that they make big budget games as well.

I'd say the Switch shows Nintendo is still fine doing there own thing.  Nintendo software sales are higher then ever right now even though their own games aren't trying to be AAA movies like the top sellers on other systems.  I mean the closest Nintendo has in terms of production value would be Breath of the Wild, but even then, the story and voice acting is much smaller then what other open-world games are offering.  But despite that, the gameplay is selling the game in a way no other Zelda has sold before.

So Nintendo shows there is a successful middle ground between dirt-cheap smartphone games and mega-expensive AAA games.

315

General Gaming / Re: Meanwhile, Over At The Other Developers...

« on: April 29, 2020, 03:59:39 PM »

So I looked up the spoilers to see what all the fuss was about.

Wow, I'm surprised Sony even allowed that in the first place.  Broodwars comparing it to Metal Gear Solid 2 and Mass Effect 3 is too nice if you ask me.  This game legit wants the players to outright hate themselves.  The first game took place in a miserable world but there was still a heart to it that engaged the player.  This game looks to be pure misery porn for those that enjoy being depressed. 

I guess you got to hand it to the director.

https://www.gamesradar.com/we-dont-use-the-word-fun-says-the-last-of-us-2-director-neil-druckmann/

When he said he didn't want players to have fun, he truly meant it.

316

General Chat / Re: The COVID-19 Virus is Coming For Us All Thread

« on: April 21, 2020, 04:45:44 PM »

We're unfortunately being pulled in two directions by horrible situations.  There's disease and death on one side and poverty and unemployment on the other.  The more you work to prevent one direction, the worse you make it in the other.  So it isn't as simple as $$$ because for the average person $$$ is food and shelter.

The thing is poverty and unemployment there are varies ways to deal with that both during and after the crisis.  We can't bring back the millions of people who will die from the virus though if we go back to business as usual too early.

The thing about this virus every has to realize is it can take up to 2 weeks for people to even feel sick and can be contagious during that time.  Some people can literally never even get sick but will still spread the virus.  That's the kind of thing you usually see in a fictional doomsday story but instead it's real.  One person can literally infect hundreds without even knowing it because they feel just fine.

This is why drastic actions need to be taken to contain this.

317

TalkBack / Re: Nintendo Sales Party: March 2020 US NPD Group Results

« on: April 21, 2020, 03:44:21 PM »

The Switch sold over 1 million units in the month of March.  The last time a Nintendo system sold over 1 million in a non-holiday month was the DS back in 2009, during the height of its popularity.

The closest the Wii came to was around 700-800k for much of 2008.  Of course keep in mind the Wii was hitting those numbers earlier in it's lifespan.  The Switch is now hitting those numbers later in it's lifespan, with the only other Nintendo system to do that is the DS.

So yeah, that is pretty huge news.

318

General Chat / Re: The COVID-19 Virus is Coming For Us All Thread

« on: April 20, 2020, 08:24:31 PM »

This is assuming that survivors of COVID-19 develop some kind of immunity, and the jury is still out on that.  And hoping for herd immunity the natural way still posits a large number of deaths.

Yep, right now there's about 800,000 cases in America with 42,000 death.  Doing herd immunity and say half the country gets it, that will still kill millions of people in less then a year.

It sucks that everything is closed right now but the alternative is literally millions dead in such a short time that will be more devastating then any lockdown is.

319

General Chat / Re: The COVID-19 Virus is Coming For Us All Thread

« on: April 13, 2020, 07:34:50 PM »

Looking at the US death toll there is 22,000 total with 9,300 in New York state.  Around 1,500 people died yesterday in America and half of them were from New York.  The second largest death toll is New Jersey with 2,300, and of course Jersey borders New York.  So what is specific about New York where the outbreak is exceptionally terrible compared to the rest of the country?  It is a very populated state but so are California and Texas and they're nowhere close.  New York City is the largest city in America and is densely populated but there are other large cities in America and they aren't as affected.  is New York's population density unique in a way that would make it more susceptible?  I know Manhattan is an island so it can't sprawl out into the countryside like other big cities can.

Another major part is public transportation.  New Yorkers rely on public transportation, especially the subway more then any other major American city.  So in other parts of the country, somebody who's infected is more likely to drive themselves around, while in New York City, they're more likely to be on the subway exposing literally hundreds of others around them because of how crowded the area can get.

So in a way, America's lack of public transportation in much of the country probably helped us stop the spread in a lot of the other major metro area's during the early days before lockdowns started.

320

TalkBack / Re: LEGO Super Mario Launches on 8/1 - Two New Sets Revealed

« on: April 08, 2020, 04:41:34 PM »

My guess is that a lot of this is Nintendo's idea.  It seems to, frankly, miss the whole point of what Lego's appeal is and I can see Nintendo missing that but not Lego themselves.  I would think the real appeal of Lego based on licenced IP is that kids can make their own Star Wars or Marvel Superheroes world.  This seems too abstract for kids to make their own Mario world.  Mario isn't even a mini-fig!

Considering Miyamoto is suppose to be in charge of these non-videogame related collaborations, it shouldn't be too much of a surprise.  At least be happy this is what he overlooks at Nintendo instead of the games divisions.  Maybe this is why the rumors say the next Paper Mario will be an RPG again because Miyamoto is too busy yelling at Lego instead of IS.

321

NWR Mafia Games / Re: Mafia LXXXV: Metroid Dread. Game Over! Postgame Breakdown and Analysis Thread.

« on: April 08, 2020, 03:26:13 PM »

I should clear this up, the reason I voted for myself wasn't because I wanted to leave the game, it was because I figured I was about to be voted out anyway so it was a curve ball to hopefully make everyone wonder why I would be doing that.

My name had been mentioned since Day 2 and on Day 4 I was the 3rd most voted on that day.  On Day 5, Mop it up and Lucario were already voting for me early on so I figured there was a good chance a bandwagon against me could form.  Of course even if I wasn't voted out, Dark Samus had the ability to hit two people that night, and the mafia had a hit as well, so I figured there was a good chance I was getting eliminated that day either way.

So basically I decided to just get in there early and vote for myself, that way the other townies might question jumping on a bandwagon with someone who's trying to eliminate themselves.  And this way, Dark Samus or the mafia wont hit me since they might be hoping to set me up by making the townies think I'm doing a double bluff.  Or they might think I'm one of the important roles trying to trick others, so they'd waste a hit on me thinking they got Mother Brain or Kraid, but then finding out it was actually just a regular townie so the others would have been saved.

The reason I didn't post after that is because nobody was mentioning my name during the day so I figured I'd lay low and if someone did vote for me I would have just shown up to vote for myself again to maybe cause more confusion.  Of course the irony is I almost made it to the very end, and I wasn't eliminated by the vote, the mafia or Dark Samus so my plan kind of worked.  It was the Omega Pirate that got me, which is a role I completely forgot about since there was no Town Vigilante in the last game I played so I didn't even think about that.

It's always the thing you least expect that gets you.

322

TalkBack / Re: Too Many Ports? We Present The Portdoza Line To Quantify Port Levels

« on: April 03, 2020, 08:48:03 PM »

There is also a major inconsistency where some games get completely remade and others get emulated.  Why are there rumours about 3D Mario remasters when any Mario game on the N64, Gamecube and Wii should have been available for digital purchase as an emulated ROM the day the Switch launched?

Remasters are usually trying to make these games more appealing to a modern audience.  Just putting the exact ROM on the Switch might be acceptable for longtime fans that want to play the exact game again, but remaster tend to have some changes.  The big one is making them look good in HD, which for 64 and Sunshine will require quite a bit of work.  Especially something like 64 which is usually regarded as one of the most important games of all time but modern audiences might not play it because of the graphics.

Plus remaster do sometimes fix some of the flaws to make them more acceptable as well.  I mean look at Wind Waker HD.  They made the sailing not as tedious to do with the fast sail, streamlined the Triforce quest better so it also wasn't as tedious, as well as allowed the camera to take more pictures making the figurine side quest less tedious as well.  They also include Hero Mode something modern Zelda's have had since Skyward Sword which makes the enemies cause more damage and they no longer drop hearts.  This gave the game a badly needed difficulty boast which while still not a hard game by any means, at least provides a somewhat sense of actually being able to die now, which is lightyears better then the original.

As we went over in the previous thread, something like Sunshine could be improved from a remaster in a similar way.  Certain parts of that game being fixed up though tweaks in the level layout, better camera, or outright redesigns like Corona Mountain, would greatly improve the quality.  This way even the fans of the original can get more excited since they're getting a better version of the original game, which makes it easier for Nintendo to charge more money for it.

323

General Chat / Re: The COVID-19 Virus is Coming For Us All Thread

« on: April 03, 2020, 07:29:46 PM »

Sorry to hear that, Luigi. Here's hoping you'll be able to get back to work soon and that you'll be able to maintain your health care for as long as you're furloughed.

Yeah that's the one thing I worry about.  Right now they say our health care is covered but if this crisis drags on into the summer, you never know what some companies might try to do to save money.   

At least I have enough saved up in my bank account to still pay my mortgage and utilizes for about a year without any pay, so even if unemployment doesn't pay much, I'm covered on that end for the rest of this year.  Some of the people I work with though are living paycheck to paycheck so I hope they'll be ok during this.

324

TalkBack / Re: Too Many Ports? We Present The Portdoza Line To Quantify Port Levels

« on: April 03, 2020, 06:26:14 PM »

In terms of Nintendo's own games, I never saw the reason why too many ports was a bad thing when we're still getting new installments.  The only franchise I can see people getting angry about is Mario Kart since 8 Deluxe is selling so well Nintendo will probably wait until the Switch successor to release MK9.  Other then that, most of the major Nintendo series from the last decade have either gotten a new installment on the Switch, or have one in development right now.

I mean third parties on the other hand have been more port crazy, but many of these games have never been on a Nintendo system before.  So if someone was a Nintendo fan who owned a Wii U, the third party ports are basically new games for them.  Anyone else that didn't own a Wii U, the Nintendo ports are basically new games to them.  So it's kind of a win/win for the Nintendo diehard and the general gaming public as a whole.  Both sides are getting flooded with games they haven't played before.

325

General Chat / Re: The COVID-19 Virus is Coming For Us All Thread

« on: April 03, 2020, 05:29:20 PM »

Well I found out today that the company I work for will keep the store closed with no set date instead of opening again next week, but all employees will now be furloughed, so we'll have to sign up for unemployment benefits to get payed.  We'll still be covered under the companies health care during this time though so that's good news, since the health plan is a pretty good one if I was to get sick.

Now we're getting reports that due to the increasing
number of unemployment, millions of Americans may soon find themselves without any medical insurance....
https://mobile.twitter.com/JStein_WaPo/status/1246116385815703553?

So it may soon come to realization for many people that the "do nothings" in the house who passed hundreds of helpful bills that were stonewalled by the actual "do nothings" in the Senate, that nothing has been getting done in this country in the progress of helping the actual people or preparing the country for unexpected incidents such as these.

Yep, hopefully this will finally get more people to realize how terrible the current health care system is and demand major reforms.  Maybe more people will finally realize why Single Payer or at the very least a Public Option would be a very important thing to have, especially during a crisis like this.  This is what's going to end up making the virus so deadly in America because so many will refuse to get tested or go to the doctor for treatment because they just cant afford it.