Talking Point News, Talking Point Features - Page 4 of 11

If in doubt, go with what you know

As the weeks pass of Wii U's early days, and the 3DS campaigns to prove that gaming handhelds still have a major role to play, there are some signs that Nintendo's being forced to adjust its strategies when preparing new games. With the previous week's debates about third party content — both multi-platform and...

When $200 of credit can't replace $400 of downloaded games

As we've spoken about before, Nintendo's current attitude to downloadable games leaves quite a bit to be desired. The Nintendo Network ID system introduced with the Wii U is a step in the right direction, but the fact that purchases remain tied to a single piece of hardware is, in this day...

Play games and forget your worries

The weekend is here, which for most surely means relaxation and happy times; oh, and video games. No matter what the speculation or news getting the video game industry into a funk, we can always settle back into our favourite hobby to have a good time. As always, some of your humble Nintendo Life writers are...

Remaining "exclusives" need to be secured, however

Let's get one key point out of the way, just so we've said it early. The delay of Rayman Legends feels, to many current and prospective Wii U owners, like a cynical cash-grab of a business move. There are good old "anonymous sources", apparently developers on the game, stating that it's...

As with Wii, developer talent and creativity will be vital

Today perhaps brings a little closure, for those inclined to allow such a thing, with details and analysis emerging of the Wii U's GPU. Since before its release Wii U has been scrutinised by some in terms of its graphical capabilities, and there are plenty of people who focus on that area...

Not, perhaps, for a want of trying

Yesterday we directed your attention to an extensive investigative article on Eurogamer, exploring the links between the gun industry and video games. Most importantly, the focus wasn't just on subjective debates about the relationship between guns in games and those on the market, but also explored real,...

Majora's Mask 3D, anyone?

The recent announcement of The Wind Waker HD for Wii U was met with a great deal of excitement not just here on Nintendo Life, but across social networks and other websites. It's a title that has a passionate, loyal following, and the prospect of an enhanced version prompted plenty of conversations about just what...

Nintendo isn't doomed, though

Today Nintendo issued its third quarter financial results, showing where the company stands in terms of profits and sales. To get the positive out of the way and to avoid any confusion, the company is now projecting a net income profit of 14 billion Yen - over $150 million dollars at the time of writing. In summary,...

Simple but effective

Among the many announcements in yesterday's Wii U Direct, only one had an immediate impact on console owners, with the Wii U Virtual Console Trial Campaign launching right after the broadcast. Balloon Fight is now available to download with some Wii U-exclusive features — which we'll get to later — and the release schedule...

Or just watch it again

So, Wii U Direct was quite a show from Iwata-san, wasn't it? While there's a tendency for gamers of all types to always want more, we feel confident in saying that Nintendo delivered plenty of announcements and news to intrigue and excite the majority. There were some genuine surprises in there, as well as big announcements...

Predicting releases is getting tougher

Yesterday brought the news that Project X Zone is being localised and released in PAL regions and North America this summer. To many that would arguably be a surprise, as the title has endured a relative failure in Japan, culminating in a major price-cut. Yet recent years have taught us that predicting...

Are Skylanders and Disney Infinity pulling a Capcom, with toys?

Yesterday, before a maelstrom of date reveals and other news, the pricing emerged for Disney Infinity, which put parents and their bank managers on alert. It also instantly raised comparisons with the Skylanders series, now two games old, which despite differences in approach to the...

Convincing sceptics is one

Recent sales figures and industry conversations have given us a fair old glut of analytical articles focused on Wii U in recent days. For a system that's barely a couple of months old, there's been a temptation in some quarters to either predict doom and a major loss of market share, or to put faith in Nintendo's...

The world didn't end, so let's play more games

So, wait, the Mayans weren't wrong, it was just crazy conspiratorial types and a lazy media that talked about the end of the world? Well hot damn, let's play some video games! Yes, 2013 is here, the world is still spinning, and we're all going to celebrate by playing games — not that we don't do that...

A subtle but important evolution

The past couple of weeks have brought a notable landmark for the 3DS eShop, even if it hasn't necessarily caused internet-shaking headlines or attracted a great deal of attention. Unchained Blades, an RPG that would typically be found in specialist gaming stores or online retailers, if you're lucky, was released by...

The DS era is left behind

The biggest release on DS in 2012, and surely the runaway winner of practically every Game of the Year award specifically tailored for the older handheld, were the Pokémon Black & White 2 titles, tied together for the purposes of simplicity. Yet its announcement and release on the platform surprised a number of...

Mario should probably lose some weight

So it's the start of a New Year, and is the ideal time to reflect on hopes for future success and on what can be done better. Nintendo had an exceptionally busy 2012, working hard to expand the 3DS user-base and releasing the XL hardware iteration, while also bringing us its new home console, Wii U. We can...

The art of a good demo

Yesterday the demo for Rayman Legends arrived on the Wii U eShop in both Europe and North America, and a number of gamers who wanted this title at launch eagerly started the download. There are a few things to say about it, both in terms of the glimpse it gives us of the game and how it is, essentially, the epitome of a well...

Ho-Ho-Holy moly that's a lot of games

Ah, the Holidays. A time of year when we all run out of money, fight tooth and nail through packed shopping malls and put on lots of weight. Festive greetings indeed, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, bah humbug and all that. Of course, we're only calling this the festive edition of WGAYPTW — let's see if that...