@Jumbif: You hold the 3DS upright like you're pointing it forward to enable gyro controls. You can disable it in the options menu.

@GamerZack: Imagine Mario Kart 7 but with tennis.

We're aware times have changed, but that doesn't mean we don't miss substantial single-player content.

@BulbasaurusRex Losing is a part of learning. If someone wants to hone their skills by challenging human opponents then who is to say that they have to win? The advantage is no more unfair than if they were pitted against a skilled player using buttons. In fact, I'd wager that by not using the gyro stuff or Simple Shot then you are the type of player that will eventually trounce those who do rely on them once you play more and build a skill set, no matter where on the spectrum your talents begin.

I admit that the Street Fighter comparison is a bit flawed but Street Fighter has way more complex systems than Mario Tennis, so the touch buttons and gyro don't matter as much. Anyway, didn't the New Play Control version of Mario Power Tennis include a Remote-only option with auto-movement? I believe so, and I don't think anyone who played with full control versus an auto-moving opponent felt at a disadvantage.

Simple Shot can be used at any time by pressing X. The shot yields no more power than any other button does. It's a convenience for new players that provides no real edge. And yep, the buttons do light up for you, and it's incredibly convenient for all players regardless of skill level because it helps you learn the color coding.

The wacky stuff comes down to a matter of taste, so if someone looks at this game and thinks it looks dull compared to Power Tennis then I totally understand. I don't personally feel that the wacky stuff added too much to the GCN game so I don't miss it very much.

As for the gear stats, I mean, it's a Mario sports game. It's a known quantity. They very seldom have any of that stuff (I think Golf might be the sole exception, and before you say MK7 those stats are related to the kart and not the character, just like the gear in Open) and frankly I don't think the series would gain anything from including hard facts about whether Wario or Donkey Kong has a faster serve. I don't think the appeal is even really about picking the best statistical player; I feel it's about picking your favorite Mario mascot and kicking some butt with them.

Sure it's nice to want things but I think by introducing such nitty-gritty details would kill a lot of the fun and make things more dense. An experienced player used to relatively overwhelming HUDs (and if you know what a HUD is then that is you) may want a detail like that, but someone who doesn't play many games, like the person to who Mario Tennis Open is trying to appeal, will take one look at the bars and percentages and say "peace out."

And with that, I'm done. I've probably typed more words addressing concerns in the comments about this one corner of Mario Tennis Open than I did for the review. I hope that everything on this page is enough to form an educated opinion about whether one is OK with spending time with the game. If not, well, it's out this coming week in all territories, try it yourself before passing judgment on a new feature.

@Slapshot: I didn't think it was a problem when played for the review, and to triple-check I just played a quick exhibition mode against the AI on Pro (4/5 difficulty) with gyro controls and nothing but the Simple Shot and I didn't score a single point. I hit the ball back all fancy a couple times, but no sweat for the computer player. A human opponent may lose a point or two here and there but if they are truly a more skilled player than their opponent they will prevail.

I would honestly not worry about the computer controlling your opponent's movement. There are plenty of ways to knock players back or spin them around to disorient and take advantage of, plus it's more difficult to plant a killer shot in gyro/training wheels mode and do the same.

A gyro character isn't suddenly Superman either; in fact, the auto-movement is pretty similar to Wii Sports, and it's easy to trounce a novice player there too.

It's kind of frustrating that IGN's review was so impacted by this specific issue because it's really not an issue at all. Good players will rise to the top online, there is no "win" button, and new players will have a less intimidating entry into what is likely going to be a very competitive environment thanks to players like the ones who are posting here concerned about the balance being messed up.

@PlatinumGamerX Don't forget Luma!

@RR529: I'm not a competitive SSFIV player so I appreciate the training wheels and realize that they can only take me so far (esp. considering how much I'd get trounced online when using them). There is a difference, which I suppose I should've made more clear: the training wheels in SSFIV help you pull off any special attack that would normally take a lot of practice to perfect — the touch and gyro controls here make you hit the correct individual button. To compare to Mario Kart, it's not as if one player is constantly getting stars and blue shells while the other makes due with, I dunno, bananas.

It's a flawed comparison I suppose, but the gist of what I was getting at is that I have serious doubts that someone's ability to enjoy themselves online will be drastically affected by playing against a touch opponent, hence why I didn't think it was worth holding against the game.

I would also expect that anyone serious about playing online for any extended period of time would "graduate" from the training wheels to doing it themselves.

It's really not as big a leap as IGN claims.

Forgot to contribute (sorry Tom!) but I'll be finishing up Max Payne 3 for review, smashin' fools online come Sunday in Mario Tennis Open and then probably some more BatmanBatmanBatman if time allows.

@Tsuchinoko: All number puzzle music outside of Picross 3D is dead to me anyway!

@47drift: That circle zoom thing on the top screen is sort of a magnifying lens, so picture the sudoku field further deep than it.

@BulbasaurusRex @Adam Aight, so as I mentioned above, the gyro stuff and Simple Shot, which acts as a "use best shot for this situation" type button, are mostly for players who have never played a Mario Tennis before or who may be intimidated by all of the button combinations and Circle Pad. It poses no real threat to an experienced player; if you get accustomed to the regular buttons then you'll have greater control over your character and strategy.

Look at SSF4 3D as an example of how this would work. Do you honestly think thy someone who relies on the touch combos will stand a chance against higher-level players? Not likely, and all they do is make the touch user feel like they have a fighting chance, even if it's mostly an illusion in practice.

As for the stats and character customizing limited to Miis, neither are ultimately IMO that big a deal. Mario sports/racing games have never been about the nitty-gritty, so it seems strange to me to hold Opem to a different standard. MK7 showed kart stats, but those were directly related to the kart and not the character — there's no difference between Mario and Luigi for weight, so with the same gear their karts are identical in performance. Not being able to customize stock Mario characters seems not so crucial to me; believe it or not, the stock characters are balanced and playing against the AI it becomes evident that they each have a certain play style. (Diddy plays deep and runs you around the court, Waluigi tends to play closer to the net, for example.) Miis are essentially create-a-character and outside of the set stable of Mario folks. All the stat comparison they offer is what Type they are (e.g. Speed, Tricky) and for what it is I feel it's plenty.

I do wish that there were more diverse characters, but when your unlocks include Baby Peach I feel like you're scraping the bottom as it is. I also wish it was easier to compare stats of gear for your Mii since sometimes it's difficult to get an accurate side-by-side image, but I think that'd be too hardcore for the audience the game is after.

TL;DR: what IGN criticized aren't things I think are worth making that big a fuss over. Skill will rise to the top, have fun online if that's your thing, try to play locally with friends at some point too if you can.

@Adam: The accessibility features are in no way a competitive advantage. They're training wheels, not win buttons.

EDIT: I can say more on what I think about those "issues" but I'm not typing all that on my phone. Check back in a bit, please!

@CowLaunch: Yeah, I think so. It's pretty much just straight-up tennis with some cartoon oomph behind it, much like the N64 version.

@GazPlant: Stick with the GameCube/Wii version, there's plenty of Mario to be had there!

Yeah, and his tie is stupid too

@XCWarrior: NPD's monthly top 10 now lists games as single entities instead of breaking them out by platform — i.e. Batman on PS3 and 360 is just listed as "Batman" in one slot. Exclusives have a tougher time charting since they have to compete with compound sales of multi-platform titles. It's why Kid Icarus failed to chart last month despite having sold enough to chart on a single-SKU breakout like the list used to do.

So I don't think MK7 not charting on NPD's list necessarily means that sales are down compared to MKDS — sales might be lower, but unless you have data for that specific title you can't say for sure.

Aww, best launch color is dying.

Hopefully it matches the Genesis game in quality and voice work.

If I can get me some HD Blops with pointer controls then I will be one happy panda.

@RR529: Well when you play a bunch of FPS games that are really similar then of course you'll think the genre is same-y. Try something different - Left 4 Dead, Portal, Bulletstorm, Crysis, Syndicate or Red Steel 2. There's a lot more variety in the genre than CoD and it's followers would lead you to believe.

Anyway, on topic, I've never been much of a FE fan but I'm willing to give this one a try once it hits. Nice to see the series get the sales itS goodwill seems to have earned.

@Kyloctopus: Because we're all the same staff?

To everyone blaming Nintendo: Dev kits aren't handed out willy-nilly, nor is Nintendo withholding one from Grasshopper. What Suda is saying is that they do not have any Wii U projects lined up at the moment because they haven't entered into any agreements with publishers about Wii U projects, hence no Wii U dev kit.

This game is neat-o fun.

@Oddy: Strange quirk, but now resolved! Thanks

@Oddy: A good amount of time will be spent on non-tendo stuff, and Runner2 is definitely on the agenda. Also looking forward to getting my hands on Heroes of Ruin, Theatrythm, Lollipop Chainsaw and Mario Tennis.

and like a million StreetPass hits you guys

Key word "devil"

@The_Fox: God I hope that happens.

Pretty pumped about this one, love the style.

@3DSLUIGI: PAX is open to everyone, you buy tickets and all that stuff. It's not industry-only by any means!

@warioswoods What would your impressions of Skyward Sword or Twilight Princess be based on each of their first 30 minutes, assuming you had never played a Zelda before?

</devilsadvocate>

You can send that over now, Damo!

@Shworange: If 3D Land was your first video game you probably wouldn't have amassed a stock of 189 lives!

@sketchturner Computers aren't basic, like I said the idea was.

What I just wrote like a million words why

@Tsuchinoko: Nope! But hey, crouch walk.

@Travis1984: What do you mean "forced" to use the stealth element? You can go as guns-blazing as you want.

@warioswoods: psst, you're not supposed to have a straight face for a lot of what happens.

@zezhyrule: True, but the camera is the free-moving one from Subsistence!

Go ninjas go ninjas go

@Extremist: Marvel is DLC for Pinball FX 2 on XBLA.

@sinalefa: Take it up with the post office.

@kkslider5552000: Different reviewers, genres, expectations, planets, etc.

PRANK BANANA

So U.S. release by 2014 then? Alrighty.

@XyVoX: I was just about to post that. Had to check my phone for a sec there, haha.

@warioswoods: All content is on the disc/cartridge. The figures do have some kind of on-board memory to save statistics and such, so that you can carry over your Skylanders to other people's games (or, in this case, a sequel).

This typo has done massive damage to my pronunciation of the word "revelations."

@40: The most I cashed in on one day was 6,000 and it made one of the three trees bloom to 60%. I have no idea if there's an upper ceiling to how many steps you can cash in, but if there is one then I think it's safe to call it reasonably high.

@28: Once a day you can put your pedometer steps towards a rock garden, and the more steps you put in the more the sakura trees bloom. It's mostly just pretty, and it takes a lot of steps to get stuff in full bloom.

Nintendo Entertainment System.

@15: Yep, typo fixed. Thanks!

@9: The protagonist is only referred to as the Sakura Samurai, and you can't name him. As for the story, it's basically "your princess is in another castle" type stuff.

@10: A game doesn't have to be fully 3D to be pretty! But anyway, Pushmo and Zen Pinball look pretty great. If you love the way this looks then great, I found the art style to be a little bland in spots.