Topic: GBA & 3DS: remake/port situation comparison

Here's something I don't understand: Why do so many people blow the whole 3DS remake thing out of proportion? There are so many people who are screaming about Nintendo "running out of ideas" or "rehashing their old games". Yet, there are only TWO remakes: OOT 3D and Starfox 64 3D. The amount of new games far outnumbers the amount of remakes.

And why is it that all these complainers never raised a tantrum during the GBA era, when Nintendo released tons and tons of slightly inferior ports of their NES and SNES titles like the Super Mario Advances, ALLTP, Donkey Kong Countries, and the NES classics? Even though we got less new, original GBA titles (only one new Zelda, no new Mario platformers) because of all the ports, everyone called the GBA the best Nintendo handheld ever.

So tell me: why do you think the people never criticized Nintendo's port/remake heavy policy during the GBA era, but just hate it when there are two substantial remakes on the 3DS? Is it perhaps cool to hate Nintendo now when they've been so successful recently?

i think its probably because the only other nintendo published 3ds titles that have been released (i think) are nintendogs & cats, steel diver, and pilotwings resort...and not many are really excited about those, so they want a real "killer app" 1st party game......but yeah, i do hear people complaining that every 3ds game is just a 64 remake, which is definitely not true.

For some reason people nowadays just love to complain about anything and everything. But did people not complain druing the GBA era? That I cannot comment on because I did not frequent video game sites during my college years.

Yep the way I see it

DS was the GB of the line, DSi was the GBC of the line (only in Digital form)
and the 3DS is the GBA, it has remakes like the GBA did as well.
heres hoping the 3DS will last longer and sell more
I dont want a new handheld with a different name in 2014

I assume it's because Nintendo isn't the only one bringing remakes and "rehashes" to the system. See Rayman, SF IV3D, ect at launch. Stuff like Nintendogs and Ridge Racer are considered rehashes by most (I know nothing about Ridge Racer, but I could see why Nintendogs is underwhelming). Critics claimed Pilot Wings was a 3 hour affair. Then there's the fact that Steel Diver was a new IP, but it was poorly received by critics. Although some people enjoyed stuff like Lego StarWars and Samurai Warriors, they didn't recieve the greatest reviews if I recall. I won't go into them all, but that seems to be the general theme (other than porting): lack of wide appeal.

A few months after this, we get Pac-Man and Galaga Dimensions, which is a compilation of old games, as well as OoT:3D which lacks new content. Resident Evil was considered decent but "waiting material" and was assaulted by the inability to erase saved data. Cubic Ninja wasn't all that stellar to most. Dead or Alive Dimensions, though one of the most well-received titles, went unnoticed due to the banning in several countries and controversy (though I'm not sure it would have sold lots, I can't say for sure)

What does the near future have in store? Shin Megami Tensei and Star Fox, both of which are ports/remakes of well-recieved games. Lastly, we have no universal "killer app" that isn't a remake/port. Hope my explanation is helpful.

Also, to be fair, GBA had a "great" first year. The system had tons of new content and ports from the get-go, so that's something. If you'd like to hear the GBA side of the comparison, ask away. For what it lacked in main-series Mario entries, it made up with stellar side-series and spin-off games for the plumber.

I think it's that combined with a healthy dose of elitism. Apple's been a victim of this too. "Eww iPhone, who wants to play Angry Birds? Eww 3DS, who wants to play remakes of decade old games?"

Though to be fair, the 3DS doesn't have that great of a library of games yet, haha.

I seem to remember that a fair amount of GBA remakes/ports had new content. The Legend of Zelda: a Link to the Past had Four Swords which also opened up a new, exclusive dungeon in aLttP. Super Mario Advance 4 had the huge amount of e-Reader levels. Metroid: Zero Mission had a whole new ending added to it. Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen got seven island areas filled with Johto Pokémon added to the game. Not to mention all the Final Fantasy remakes got exclusive dungeons and stuff.

3 hours for a handheld game is pretty good. I remember beating Kirby's Dreamland on the GB in less than 1 hour.

DOA has never been a strong-seller, not when compared to Tekken, Street Fighter, and Soul Calibur. Virtual Fighter's the same way: critical acclaim, yet low sales.

Uhm. I got ten hours out of Pilotwings, but I actually played the entire game.