Topic: Episode 306: Suckers Anonymous

[Pandareus]

We finally have the Wii U launch details. Was ignorance bliss?

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/rfn/31748

With Jon beginning an indefinite hiatus from the show (come back soon, buddy!), our good friend TYP steps in to help analyze and respond to the week's huge Wii U announcements. But first up is New Business, which is packed as usual. Mike starts with Star Fox 64 3D and his own take on Monster World IV, which again draws comparisons to black sheep favorite (and long-ago RetroActive game) Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. James catches up with New Super Mario Bros. 2, which it seems he played for most of his overseas vacation last week. Jonny gets to try the Kickstarted DS strategy game, Diamond Trust of London, and he finds some franchise redemption in Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters for Game Boy (and 3DS Virtual Console). Guillaume bats clean-up on the controversial Double Dragon Neon and the very odd Touch Detective, which he vastly prefers to Hotel Dusk.

We didn't bother with Now Playing, since the second segment directly concerns all the coverage dominating NWR this past week. Check out the event page for a convenient hub of all our recent Wii U news coverage and impressions of the launch games. On this podcast, we don't spend too much time on the hard facts but instead focus on our reactions to the various announcements and revelations, from the price to the implied delays and unexpected features. The gang isn't completely satisfied with what Nintendo showed, but we all expect to pick up a system at launch. It's part of the job, after all!

The poll is done, a winner declared, and just like that, the next RetroActive is off and running! We hope you'll join us in playing Kirby & The Amazing Mirror -- and as always, your thoughtful deposits into the official forum thread would be a great help. Also, don't forget to send in your emails because we'll probably answer more of those next week!

[Plugabugz]

Gui! quit overachieving!

[Shaymin]

I wonder how a certain labour dispute might affect RFN editing. Possibly Saturday night releases might be a regular occurence until the dispute ends... or next fall, whichever comes first.

[Do_What]

I agree on Touch Detective being a more enjoyable experience than Hotel Dusk. I was able to finish Hotel Dusk, but that's when DS was my main gaming system. It's not as good as Touch Detective though, and it's all about the story and ease of getting in and out of it.
I'm positive on the system. I fit into the exact niche that works with the Wii U. I  like console games, but play handheld games more in my home just to not monopolize the TV. So I'll try to pick one up at launch.

[Pandareus]

I'm not at all a hockey fan, Shaymin. ;-) The lock-out will affect Lindy more than I, for sure.

[oksoda]

I'm not at all a hockey fan, Shaymin. ;-) The lock-out will affect Lindy more than I, for sure.

Where as I am, so Connectivity will start being posted 15 minutes after we finish recording a segment. Then I'll lay in bed, stare at my Jonathan Toews poster, and weep quietly. 

[KDR_11k]

Regarding "they don't make these games anymore" on the MW4 talk: Two recent games I played that are in a similar vein are Fortune Summoners and A Valley Without Wind, both on the PC and both fifteen bucks on Steam. AVWW is currently undergoing a graphics remake so if it's too ugly for you you'll have to wait for version 1.3. Fortune Summoners' story is pretty much on the level of a standard magical girl anime but the gameplay works and enemies react pretty intelligently to your attacks so just mashing will get you smacked silly.

I'm sure there are more games like that out there but these two should keep you busy for a while.

[lolmonade]

I think James was right about the Virtual Console having most games a layman Nintendo game player would want.  For people on a Nintendo enthusiast website, i'm sure there are several games that we wish we could see on the system (I remember several articles about this subject months back), but for people like my cousins who used to play on NES/SNES when they were younger, all of the big Mario/Zelda/Donkey Kong/Metriod/Star Fox/Bomberman games are on there, and that absolutely meets their needs when we get together.
 
I can be counted-in as someone who will be getting Wii U at launch.  The more I hear about Wii U, the more I am interested in owning one, and while the price is more than what Wii was at launch, it isn't a deterrent for me to pick it up when I know there will be at least 3 games i'll be interested in playing before the end of the year.

[Hey Einstein!]

MUCH AS I LOVE TYP.... (great to hear him on the show again btw) I have to disagree, sort of.
I don't know about dollars but £50 either way on the price of a new console definitely effected me this time. I read the announcement on my phone, went straight to Amazon UK to check the price - £200 for the basic system and I was in as soon as I had the cash. Then it went to £220, still okay. But at £250 I am out.


With no Pikmin 3 in the European launch window, a bunch of games I could play on other systems, that crap about no Virtual Console playable on the gamepad screen (which I hope was a PR mistake) and hopefully a price drop to compete with next years new consoles. There's just not enough incentive for me to pick one up.


I'm disappointed. After E3 2011 I was really looking forward to Wii U. But this years E3, the price and the lack of exclusives that I actually feel excited to play (only Pikmin 3!) my enthusiasm has run out.


I'm sure I'll want one when the next Zelda or 3D Mario rolls around. Heck I'd want one now if it had a new Starfox or F Zero, regardless of the price. But till them I'll stick with my 3DS.


AND WHILST WE ARE ON THE SUBJECT OF CONSOLE LAUNCHES.
I have grown to loathe the expression "launch window". 6 months is a pretty big window.

[geo]

Sheesh James, stop being so harsh on monster hunter!

It's an HD Online version of the equivalent of the 2nd expansion pack of Tri.  Each subsequent 're-release' is more like an expansion pack, akin to something like the frozen throne for warcraft 3, etc.  It adds more content (equipment, monsters, weapon types), a new story mode, and a bunch of other additions to help streamline content.  Anyone who is a huge fan can appreciate the amount of content that actually gets added.  To anyone who doesnt know much about the series, do not assume this is just a modified port of the wii game.  It's much more!

Also, the reason that I like TVii over other services (like xbox, apple, google tv, etc), is that Nintendo does not have its own agenda/marketplace to push.  It is unbiased as to what content provider you choose.  Nintendo does not provide its own video/music on demand service.  Therefore, the interface is not skewed towards purchasing more content, but rather simply FINDING more content.  I'll definitely use this provided it works as advertised. 


ALSO, I think the virtual console stuff will EVENTUALLY be ported over to be run natively on Wii U, but this is a stopgap for launch. 

[ejamer]

Sheesh James, stop being so harsh on monster hunter!

It's an HD Online version of the equivalent of the 2nd expansion pack of Tri.  Each subsequent 're-release' is more like an expansion pack, akin to something like the frozen throne for warcraft 3, etc.  It adds more content (equipment, monsters, weapon types), a new story mode, and a bunch of other additions to help streamline content.  Anyone who is a huge fan can appreciate the amount of content that actually gets added.  To anyone who doesnt know much about the series, do not assume this is just a modified port of the wii game.  It's much more!

As someone who was introduced to the series with Tri, I understand where James is coming from.


Maybe Monster Hunter Wii U is more than just a modified port... but so far I haven't seen anything detailing how much new content will be included. To the contrary, everything I have read seems underwhelming for the average gamer.

• New weapon types? Fine, but I still haven't spent any meaningful time with a couple of existing weapons - so this is a nice addition but not something major.
• Harder quests? I haven't exhausted the quests and content in the Wii version yet... so how long am I going to have to play before these new additions kick in?
• New monsters? Now we're talking, but I haven't seen any numbers of lists of how many new monsters are included, and what I have seen (after looking) suggests it's a small number.

I'm excited about the game either way, but Capcom isn't doing a good job of explaining how much new content is included or why people who spent hundreds of hours playing Monster Hunter on Wii should want to start over now.

[TJ Spyke]

AND WHILST WE ARE ON THE SUBJECT OF CONSOLE LAUNCHES.
I have grown to loathe the expression "launch window". 6 months is a pretty big window.

It's actually about 4 months for Wii U, not 6 months. As for the UK price, blame UK retailers since Nintendo decided to not even give them a recommended price, but instead just let retailers pick what price they wanted.

[Crimm]

I don't know why you singled me out?


I made a joke about it being an up-port of a down-port. I don't think that's an unfair joke. I actually presented a plausible reason one might want to restart the entire MH3 experience again.

[Halbred]

For once, I actually agree with James on this.

It's a little ridiculous that Monster Hunter Tri got a 3DS port which is now getting a Wii U port. The question is whether the Wii U version will be an upscale of the Wii version or the 3DS version. The very fact that I'm asking this question is ridiculous.

Just hurry up and release MH4, Capcom.

[Pixelated Pixies]

Great episode guys. Really enjoyable.
 
The fact that Pikmin 3 isn't a launch game is crucial for me. Nintendoland isn't the kind of experience I'm looking for right now and I wouldn't touch NSMB U with a barge pole. Pikmin 3 was possibly the only launch game (short of some stealth Retro Studios release) that might have convinced me to purchase a Wii U at launch.
 
In a sense it's actually kind of relieving. Had Pikmin 3 been a launch title I would have found it much more difficult to resist purchasing a Wii U (even though I swore to myself that I'd never do that again after what happened with the 3DS). With Pikmin 3 being pushed back, at least I'll have more time to save and to consider my options. Good for me, I guess, less so for Nintendo.
 
 

[Hey Einstein!]

AND WHILST WE ARE ON THE SUBJECT OF CONSOLE LAUNCHES.
I have grown to loathe the expression "launch window". 6 months is a pretty big window.

It's actually about 4 months for Wii U, not 6 months. As for the UK price, blame UK retailers since Nintendo decided to not even give them a recommended price, but instead just let retailers pick what price they wanted.

It's 4 and a half months at the least. That is over a third of the financial year, still a pretty big freakin window if you ask me. Sony is just as guilty of protracted "launch windows". It is a phrase that has started to grate on me and one I'm bound to hear a lot next year. Pity me!


But more importantly - what are you talking about?  It's not that Nintendo decided not to give an RRP in Europe - they are not allowed to set a European price after they were fined for price fixing in the region:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2375967.stm


What they DO set is the price per unit that retailers pay, £205 for the basic pack in the UK:
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/how-much-is-wii-u-retail-tells-mcv-250-330/0102833

[KDR_11k]

I wouldn't worry about the online in CoD on WiiU, Goldeneye on Wii worked just fine (was on par with Modern Warfare 2 on the PC). You don't need a manufacturer provided network to make a good online game, PC games have good online all the time and that's without someone else doing the work for them.

[Glad0s]

I'm planning on getting the Wii U sometime around launch, but I really don't want to pre-order. The question that remains, however, is the probability of myself actually being available for me to just walk into a GameStop/Wal-Mart/Wherever and pick one up. Jonny, can you answer this question for me? I know you have a great track record for predicting such things....

[Hey Einstein!]

Just testing a theory: do I get a minus score every time I post a comment this week? This IS exciting!

[Hey Einstein!]

BINGO!


The experiment was an overwhelming success.

[ejamer]

Complaining about your score is often the best way to lower it.


Don't take things so seriously. Negatives are always easier to "earn" than positives, but the score you are carrying really doesn't matter or affect the weight/validity of your opinions. It's just a silly metagame for people who care about such things.

[Ceric]

I'm not at all a hockey fan, Shaymin. ;-) The lock-out will affect Lindy more than I, for sure.

Where as I am, so Connectivity will start being posted 15 minutes after we finish recording a segment. Then I'll lay in bed, stare at my Jonathan Toews poster, and weep quietly. 

I got nothing. I'm just slow. Though in a related note I am sad I don't get to go to my Pre-Season game.  They say I'm going to get tickets to a regular Season game so that won't be bad


I am Excited about MHTriU because in the states it will be a while for MH4 to come out.  I do think its sort of silly there not just skipping to that really.

[noname2200]

Guillaume's definitely come a long way in a short time. I remember him being very ambivalent about recommending or slamming anything ("well, it's pretty okay-ish, if you're into the sort of thing it does and stuff"). Now it's "Hotel Dusk blows, and you should pay WayForward double for Double Dragon."

I like it.

I am Excited about MHTriU because in the states it will be a while for MH4 to come out.  I do think its sort of silly there not just skipping to that really.

Because TriU is the next test.

[Stoeff.at]

Just started to listen to this episode on my way back from work - All the best to Jon and his family members!

[Hey Einstein!]

Complaining about your score is often the best way to lower it.


Don't take things so seriously...........

What part of my posts about my negative score led you to conclude that I was taking it seriously?