(Jonathan Metts) So what do you guys think about Iwata-san's announcements?

(Karl Castaneda) I think he did a great job

Karl Castaneda) I was pretty happy with Nintendo at GDC.

(Jon Lindemann) I think he gave people pretty much exactly what they wanted to hear

(Jonathan Metts) I think Nintendo capitalized on Iwata's exposure at the show, yeah.

(Ryan Jones) nintendo finally made some sort of appearance

(Vincent Anderson) I think he said what he really needed to say

(Chris Bethea) everyone's been waiting to hear something definite

(Vincent Anderson) Indeed

(Karl Castaneda) Today was "Confirmation Day"

(Jonathan Metts) I wouldn't say "exactly"...the vagueness about online DS makes it look like it won't happen for quite a while. But we heard more about Revolution than I expected, which is awesome.

(Jon Lindemann) it's one of the only times in recent memory where I've been pleasantly surprised, even giddy, about what Nintendo has presented

(Karl Castaneda) I'm still a bit lost when it comes to the Rev controller, though

(Jonathan Metts) Well, it's still a total secret.

(Chris Bethea) It'll end up being a Power Glove. :D

(Jon Lindemann) well, people wanted confirmation about DS online, and that's what they got

(Vincent Anderson) the Power Glove Mark II

(Karl Castaneda) Well, if it can play GCN games the controller can't be TOO whacky.

(Vincent Anderson) (Chris Bethea) It'll end up being a Power Glove. :D (-- Oh man, I pegged it

(Jonathan Metts) You know, I didn't want confirmation of DS online so much as I wanted Nintendo to say "Mario Kart DS is online and will launch at the end of March to destroy PSP."

(Ryan Jones) i think if they market the Rev in the US and say it has the same power that the ps3 and xb2 have then its trying to innovate the game industry with innovative games will help it

(Jonathan Metts) But that's just wishful thinking.

(Chris Bethea) hahaha yeah really

(Vincent Anderson) Yeah, no company in their right mind would ever say something like that

(Vincent Anderson) It's suicide

(Karl Castaneda) Or is it...

(Vincent Anderson) It is

(Karl Castaneda) Oh...

(Jon Lindemann) yeah, I was kind of disappointed that there wasn't a "Mario Kart will be online" announcement

(Vincent Anderson) Haha

(Karl Castaneda) I thought they said it would be online

(Karl Castaneda) That and Animal Crossing, right?

(Chris Bethea) But really, it seems to me
like Nintendo and Sony aren't even competing in the same arena

(Chris Bethea) like, Sony's device does everything in the world

(Chris Bethea) and the DS just plays lots of games

* Vincent Anderson shrugs

(Chris Bethea) That wasn't meant to be pejorative either

(Jonathan Metts) That's ridiculous, Chris. They're so competing, it's not even funny. Nintendo is taking PSP very seriously.

(Karl Castaneda) I hope so

(Chris Bethea) I'm not saying that they aren't competing

(Karl Castaneda) 'Cause if they don't, they're screwed.

(Vincent Anderson) I got in playing video games because *gasp* I like playing video games. I can get a DVD and pop it in my DVD player if that's what I want

(Karl Castaneda) I argue that with my brother every time we talk about video games

(Chris Bethea) What I'm saying is that their two devices do different things.

(Ryan Jones) i think the gba2 will really do what the psp does

(Karl Castaneda) He owns a PS2, wouldn't you know, and always says it's better to have than not to have.

(Jon Lindemann) I don't think that the PSP's big selling point will be its ability to play movies

(Chris Bethea) no, but

(Karl Castaneda) I say I want games and that I don't want to pay extra for something I already have.

(Jonathan Metts) No, but it's attractive, as it was for the PS2. As Live is for Xbox. It doesn't matter so much that people actually use it, so much as they care about it.

(Chris Bethea) I think that all of these additional features cut into its capacity to actually play games.

(Karl Castaneda) What're the chances that the Revolution's online plan gives Microsoft a run for its money?

(Ryan Jones) a lot of the psp extras are pretty much built into the hardware already, taking advantage of these features is just a software thing

(Jonathan Metts) Nah, the PSP will have some great games. What the extra stuff does do is make the system more expensive, which is definitely a problem for Sony.

(Chris Bethea) That's the other thing

(Jon Lindemann) I think the fact that PS2 used DVDs - a mainstream medium - and the PSP uses UMD - basically a proprietary medium - makes the two cases entirely different

(Jon Lindemann) there's nothing out there that already uses UMDs

(Jonathan Metts) You may be right, Jon. That's a very good point.

(Vincent Anderson) All I'm hoping is that the next Game Boy uses Gamecube discs :)

(Karl Castaneda) Kind of like this whole Blu-Ray thing

(Vincent Anderson) then with that and the revolution both having wireless of some sort, it's easier connectivity

(Jon Lindemann) If there were already UMD players out there, in use, I think it would be more of a selling point

(Jonathan Metts) But as far as movie playing, I'm more interested in how the PSP can play movies from a Memory Stick. Same goes for the Play Yan. It's a great feature that can be very useful if you've got a big enough memory card.

(Jon Lindemann) yeah, now that's cool

(Ryan Jones) sonys memory sitcks are as expensive as a DS

(Ryan Jones) do you think sony will market the UMD for a minidisc2 storing both audio or mp3's for a walkman like thing big in japan

(Jonathan Metts) Getting the most of out a PSP is definitely an expensive prospect, and not one I intend to invest in. But as I said before, it makes the system more attractive whether the features are practical or not.

(Jon Lindemann) if they had burnable UMDs, and the PSP was able to play them, that would be more useful

(Jonathan Metts) Well, enough about PSP...this is Nintendo's day, right?

(Jon Lindemann) How's about Zelda...incredible

(Jonathan Metts) How ABOUT Zelda :-)

(Karl Castaneda) Very

(Ty Shughart) yay for reverse compatibility and internet :E

(Karl Castaneda) Awesome

(Jon Lindemann) I liked the wolf howling at the moon at the end of the trailer...nice touch

(Karl Castaneda) That reminded me of an old rumor

(Jon Lindemann) makes it look like a darker game

(Karl Castaneda) About Link transforming

(Karl Castaneda) One of the transformations was supposed to be a wolf

(Jonathan Metts) Yeah, Obi mentioned that. I had forgotten all about it.

(Jonathan Metts) If you think about the mask system in Majora's Mask, it wouldn't be a stretch for Link to transform into animals.

(Karl Castaneda) The horse is also called Poseidon because it almost drowned in a flood.

(Karl Castaneda) How's that for Nintendo's sense of humor

(Jonathan Metts) Did anyone see that gigantic boar Link was riding in one scene?

(Jon Lindemann) that was AMAZING

(Karl Castaneda) He can steal 'em, I guess

(Jon Lindemann) I loved it when it plowed through those enemies

(Jonathan Metts) I hope there are more things to ride like that.

(Karl Castaneda) Grand Theft Hyrule

(Jon Lindemann) yeah, hopefully you can ride enemy "steeds" like you could pick up enemy weapons in Wind Waker

(Karl Castaneda) I'm still wondering what the "magical item" will be

(Jonathan Metts) A lot of people seem to be impressed with the ghosts

(Jon Lindemann) a lot of this is reminiscent of Lord of the Rings for me...those guys look like they're from the Paths of the Dead

(Jon Lindemann) there's obviously a big influence there

(Jonathan Metts) I only noticed them for a split second and couldn't see anything really interesting, but I guess the very presence of ghosts says something about the style of the game.

(Jon Lindemann) they don't look like cartoony ghosts either

(Jonathan Metts) Yeah, I noticed that the first time the game was ever shown, and it's still very strong.

(Jon Lindemann) It's all very well done

(Jon Lindemann) the mini-game with the cats really got a lot of people talking

(Karl Castaneda) It's a mini-game?

(Jon Lindemann) it looks like it

(Jonathan Metts) They're putting Metroid Prime-like amounts of detail into the graphics, like the detailed etching of Link's shield.

(Jon Lindemann) if not a mini-game, a mini-mission

(Vincent Anderson) I was telling people how I hoped the cats were like Cuccos except when you hit them they rape your face with their claws

(Karl Castaneda) Lovely

(Jon Lindemann) then they all start chasing you and meowing ferociously

(Karl Castaneda) Why was he fighting a Goron?

(Karl Castaneda) Training, maybe?

(Vincent Anderson) Who knows

(Jonathan Metts) That would be hilarious, a flock of cats swooping in to punish you.

(Vincent Anderson) Haha, indeed

(Jonathan Metts) Yeah, I figured it must be training.

(Vincent Anderson) Almost as funny as a bunch of chickens :|

(Karl Castaneda) Unless Gorons are evil in this one.

(Jon Lindemann) It's gotta be

(Jonathan Metts) Kind of weird to see a cute Goron in this style of game. I think that may be an issue with a lot of classic Zelda elements.

(Vincent Anderson) That Goron did look pretty mean

(Karl Castaneda) Wait, I just thought of something

(Karl Castaneda) What if the game centers around shape-shifting

(Karl Castaneda) That might not be a Goron

(Vincent Anderson) @_@

(Jon Lindemann) Well, from the E3 2004 trailer there seems to be a desert area

(Karl Castaneda) A desert? In Hyrule?

(Jon Lindemann) remember the shot where the sun is in the background and the enemies are coming over the desert riding the boars?

(Karl Castaneda) I thought there was just a lot of dust :P

(Jon Lindemann) maybe, but it looks like the same game area

(Karl Castaneda) Could be.

(Jonathan Metts) That area may not even exist by now. It's been almost a year.

(Karl Castaneda) Well, it's gonna be playable at E3, right?

(Jonathan Metts) I have to say, I hope the final game looks as clean as that video. There was no HUD at all. I think that's probably just because it's unfinished though.

(Jonathan Metts) Oh yeah, definitely playable.

(Ty Shughart) remember when that awesome blue ghost thing chased leon around in the re4 footage? that's going to be so cool when it comes out

(Jon Lindemann) now, the game that had a really clunky looking HUD was Geist

(Karl Castaneda) I'll play Geist whether it looks like crap or not.

(Jon Lindemann) the "possess" buttons in the top-right looked pretty bad

(Vincent Anderson) blue ghost thing?

(Jonathan Metts) Ty is making one of his jokes. :-)

(Ty Shughart) :-)

(Michael Cole) Good evening

(Jon Lindemann) and of course nobody gets it. :-)

(Karl Castaneda) Yeah, I was like "huh"

(Jonathan Metts) All I can say for Geist is that it better be hella fun, because it sure ain't pretty.

(Karl Castaneda) It'll be alright

(Michael Cole) Uh well, there was very very very little playable

(Jonathan Metts) TYP, want to make a comment since you played it today?

(Jon Lindemann) it looks OK

(Michael Cole) But I might be getting more info on it tomorrow if I'm lucky

(Michael Cole) The demo is very very short

(Michael Cole) and it is from before you're even a Geist

(Karl Castaneda) Good while it lasted?

(Michael Cole) So it felt like generic fps with some story and a boss

(Michael Cole) It was OK

(Jon Lindemann) the character models were better than I expected

(Michael Cole) I'm not a FPS fan, so I can't really judge too well

(Michael Cole) The controls seemed a bit sensitive, but it seemed to flow OK (classic Nintendo tutorial first level)

(Jonathan Metts) cool

(Michael Cole) It ended with some weird plant boss

(Jon Lindemann) I can see this title get 8.0's or 8.5's across the board

(Jonathan Metts) I don't think anyone's expecting another Metroid Prime from Geist

(Karl Castaneda) That's good enough for me

(Michael Cole) it was pretty statndard as bosses go: evade the attack, then hit the vulnerable spot

(Michael Cole) Yeah, the gameplay doesn't look bad as a FPS, and I'm sure threre is more to the game

(Michael Cole) I heard that they've really changed some stuff though

(Michael Cole) So we may not actually be seeing the game for a while (still)

(Karl Castaneda) I thought it was booked for May

(Michael Cole) I was hearing "after E3"

(Michael Cole) But I didn't ask anyone really knowledgable about it

(Jonathan Metts) three E3s

(Jon Lindemann) it'll be a revolution launch title

(Michael Cole) All I can say is, they showed way LESS tahn at last E3

(Jonathan Metts) Well, one last topic I want to talk about tonight

(Jonathan Metts) How important is backwards compatibility?

(Karl Castaneda) Very important

(Karl Castaneda) If I can sell my Cube and keep the games, that's a damn good thing.

(Chris Bethea) depends how far back :D

(Chris Bethea) If the Revolution has an NES slot, I'll buy fifty.

(Karl Castaneda) Haha, that'd be pretty awesome

(Michael Cole) I think its important at launch. Those who missed out on GC games may be thinking of getting a Revolution, and see backwards compatibility as the final selling point (they can revisit games they missed like RE4)

(Ryan Jones) it is very important, given that a large portion of money comes from software sales

(Jon Lindemann) it's a GREAT move

(Jon Lindemann) not one that I expected, to be honest

(Michael Cole) And yeah, in terms of being able to play games later, backwards compatibility is very good

(Michael Cole) I think it is natural

(Chris Bethea) they've never had backwards compatibility on a home console before

(Jon Lindemann) one of the things I loved the most about the PS2 was its ability to play PSOne games

(Michael Cole) I mean, given that Nintendo chose to work with the same companies, it probably wasn't too hard of a finanical move and has clear benifits

(Jon Lindemann) it let me go back and get some of the classic PSOne games for cheap and play through them

(Jonathan Metts) I've been thinking that having Revolution be backwards compatible might be VERY interesting if the next GBA is basically a portable GameCube.

(Michael Cole) exactly, which is why it is a good thing to have

(Michael Cole) It's possible, Jonny

(Jonathan Metts) Then Rev would have a built-in Game Boy Player 2.

(Karl Castaneda) I dunno, what're the chances the GBA2 will be that powerful?

(Jon Lindemann) I thought about that as well

(Michael Cole) Also depending on HOW backwwards compatible it is, we could maybe use our GBP with the Revolution

(Jon Lindemann) That would answer Rick's question about "Will the Revolution work with the GBA player"

(Jonathan Metts) if it's coming at least a year after PSP, which is about the power of the PS2...having a portable GameCube is doable, I think. But it might be expensive

(Jon Lindemann) it would BE the GBA player

(Michael Cole) Two+ years from now? Yeah, I think technology will be there

(Karl Castaneda) So what happens to the DS when the GBA2 comes out?

(Jon Lindemann) but if you can sell the console gamecube for $99...

(Jonathan Metts) Good question. But it may not matter so much by then anyway.

(Karl Castaneda) Is the DS just there to keep up the fort against the PSP while Nintendo REALLY goes all out for the GBA 2?

(Vincent Anderson) That's what most people gather

(Jon Lindemann) well, in a year the DS's price will be dropped

(Vincent Anderson) and I tend to believe that. Just a test really and something that can potententially be used for something other than games, which it might come down to

(Vincent Anderson) depending on when the next game boy comes out

(Jonathan Metts) I think that may be part of the strategy, but it doesn't mean we won't see some great DS games and Nintendo won't make some nice money on the system in the meantime.

(Vincent Anderson) haha, potententially

(Jon Lindemann) maybe the DS will be the "cheap" handheld and GBA2 will be a bit more higher-end

(Karl Castaneda) Yeah, I guess. It just seems like kind of a gip that Nintendo is claiming to be all innovative and shit when the DS is just there to be a shield.

(Jonathan Metts) That's odd though, since DS is targeted at older gamers and GBA is seen more as the kid system.

(Karl Castaneda) But hey, maybe it's not that way. Who knows.

(Vincent Anderson) Well, they stressed that the DS wasn't a Game Boy for a reason

(Jon Lindemann) just because the GBA SP is aimed at kids, doesn't mean that it always has to be

(Karl Castaneda) I think I've seen more adults with SPs than kids.

(Jonathan Metts) Okay guys, thanks for all your ideas and comments. I think we're all pretty excited about what happened today. It's up to Nintendo to maintain that excitement and spread it among the masses.

(Jon Lindemann) I agree

(Jonathan Metts) okay guys, thanks for coming

(Karl Castaneda) It's always fun to.

(Jonathan Metts) chastise your fellow staffers who didn't

(Jonathan Metts) dream dreams of Animal Crossing Online tonight