I think it's actually basically a torture device, hence pokemon trying to escape when first captured. The pokemon undergo immense pain inside the Pokeballs, breaking their spirits and discouraging them from attempting escape when the trainers send them up. They become so convinced that trainers are sadistic enslavers that they fear ever rebelling, lest they be killed.

My other theory is that it's a piece of fiction so we're wasting time theorizing on a concept that likely doesn't have any official explanation, and our laws of physics do not necessarily apply in their universe.

I'd say I hope EA crashes and burns horribly, but I would feel bad for the innocent loss of jobs for everyday employees. Still, I hope karma bites them hard. Poor business practices and unprofessional decisions and yet they still get to drive the industry. It's a shame, this WILL sway many gamers from the Wii U, EA games sell, yet Nintendo can't do much about it if EA chooses to continually treat them like crap and turn the market against them.

I hope it's longer, I loved the 3DS one but it was short!

This "response" is coming from places outside Japan when this is a game that likely won't leave Japan. Even on the off chance it does, games change during localization based on public opinion in regions. People in Japan are NOT responding like this to Nintendo and the company would likely lose sales given the country's view on gay marriage. It's ridiculous for non-Japanese citizens to tell a company what JAPAN deems as right and wrong. Why do we feel the need to control other countries, hm? If we want gay marriage in our countries, that's fine, but Japan isn't asking for it and we're asking Nintendo to tell Japan what they want. They have a different culture than us as well as different views on the meaning of marriage. If you really want to force Japan to adopt our viewpoints, though, a game shouldn't be how you introduce them to it. This is not an issue to them and most would be rather offended if a Japanese company tried to push western values on them.

In other words, it would make perfect sense to have gay marriage in western games, but not in the video games of a region that isn't interested in it.

People already are assuming a lot about the glitch. It's not like males are automatically free to marry whichever sex they desire, it was situational. One requirement, for example, is that the player transferred their Mii from a 3DS. It was a set of variables that Nintendo didn't fully test, which happens because it's unrealistic to test every set of variables, games would never get released then. For the record, the glitch supposedly IS game breaking, so Nintendo couldn't just leave it alone. Also, as pointed out before, there IS pregnancy in the games, no sexual acts but married Miis could have children and one of the Miis (supposed to be female) would get pregnant. With this glitch there could be a pregnant male Mii. Regardless of your stance on gay marriage, pregnant men are abnormal. And as another user pointed out, Japanese grammar is gender dependent. As such, this glitch meant language was used for the wrong gender, which is also abnormal behavior. Finally, it should be taken into account that gay marriage is not a hot topic in Japan. Sure, plenty of people outside of the country would want them to have gay marriage in the game, but few in Japan would care and, in fact, would likely be bothered because it's just not something their culture is debating right now, it's outright illegal there right now with no chance of changing in the near future. If that bothers you, well a game is not the best way to start a gay rights movement in a country that isn't considering gay marriage.

Though this can be taken as them not picking sides (they're simply patching an unintentional glitch which would take more work than fully implementing it), it'll piss off gay advocates anyways. Many won't realize it was a glitch or the amount of work it would've taken to fully implement it instead of removing him. They aren't outright attacking gay marriage, they're attempting to stay neutral to a heated topic, which is the best position financially. Unfortunately they will now be hurt regardless of their decision but this choice probably did the least damage.

@Felix_

That last point should be taken into consideration. Lots of games don't even give players a choice of sex or even race. And not even just story heavy games. Harvest Moon didn't give players the choice of being female until recently. Minorities aren't always represented in video games but not necessarily for discriminatory purposes. As much as many of us game designers, especially indie developers, see game design as an art, in the case of larger corporations such as Nintendo, the industry is profit driven. Big game companies are more likely to focus their resources on the majorities in their demographics, not the minorities. In the case of mechanics such as virtual dating/marriage, there is more to take into account than with sex or race (which is more or less just swapping the character's model and sometimes a bit of text). Of course, some games might not need much alteration to allow homosexual marriage, but it remains a minority. As we go forward, I wouldn't be surprised if we see more games allow gay marriage but it's also worth noting this is a topic of high tension. By openly picking a side, game companies can risk alienating parts of the demographic that disagrees with their decision, and given there is so much controversy right now that could be harmful to their profits. Whether it's right or wrong, most of these companies are in fact profit driven and more likely won't implement anything that's currently such a heated topic.

Wow, looks like Nintendo got themselves into a bit of a pickle. Now they have two "solutions": piss off those pro-gay marriage by fixing the glitch, or piss off those against gay marriage by patching in to officially allow all gay marriage (both male and female). Or I suppose the third option is to do nothing, though that will piss off people in both groups. I'm interested to see how Nintendo resolves this, considering their install base is likely a mixture of liberal and conservative families.

You lucky Aussies. Meanwhile, we get nothing. It's not a day one purchase for me anyways but if I could get that tie, I'd preorder.

Go Tharja! That's my wife! XD

Now this is how the launches all should've been. THAT'S a lineup. And 3 more next week? I hope at the very least we also get the games at that rate, that could make up for the paltry launch lineup.

So that's the trick to being my tournament level Smash Bros friend. I need to be Luigi and simply not move. I shall now perfect the art of this strategy.

Man, I wish I was home, I want that Rayman demo now! Guess I'll just get it when I get back next week...

The hook: you can modify your cart between different forms mid race with the gamepad. Straightaway? Switch to speed form. Tight turns? Handling. Obstacles? Tank mode.

Just speculation btw, not saying they're doing this.

How did Super Mario RPG not even make this list? I don't get you people.

Huge change in gameplay. I like it. The past few titles all felt nearly the same.

Well, glad I have a 360 too.

@accc Well ideally Nintendo wants to give you reasons to purchase a Wii U instead of sticking with a Wii forever. So I don't expect them to plan on supporting the Wii much longer. That's sort of how the industry works.

@Red_Kinetic I'm in NY but I still say that's a bad idea. Amusement parks here have to be seasonal because of the weather, it makes more sense to have it further south. Even if it would be more accessible to us New Yorkers.

I'm sorry, call me immature about this if you want, but I lost all interest in this game anyways after Fish's lack of tact and professionalism. I am aware of him more than his recent tweets that appeared here and I actually was planning on downloading Fez but his ego really has bugged the heck out of me. It's not even that he spoke out against Nintendo, I've nothing against that. He just needs to learn some humility and what is appropriate to say in public mediums. A lot of good indie developers are competing for my money. I respect his opinion on disliking Nintendo, I just don't agree with how he chose to express it. He really has no filter.

Yes. Yes! YES!!!! Nintendo, please!!!!!

More ideas? A Duck Hunt shooting gallery, Doc Louis' gym (haven't worked out that one yet), and Layton's Curious Village (solve puzzles and crack a mystery, new puzzles and mysteries regularly to keep it fresh).

All of my yes.

@Late what about Pokemon Battrio? This seems the most similar it concept, since we can purchase a physical item that has a Pokemon to bring into the game.

@AcesHigh Exactly what I meant, except you probably worded it better. The worst part is that these drone operators are often not included as one of the soldiers who are sacrificing themselves. They may not sacrifice their body, but they sacrifice their minds, they have to deal with knowing they have taken lives, and the exclusion of acknowledging their value can leave them to feel even more alone, especially after they come back from war and everyone is trying to help the other soldiers readjust and not considering that these men and women too must readjust and overcome what they've seen and done. I'm not saying these medals should be any higher than those for the ones who sacrifice their lives, but they still deserve recognition and respect.

@Retronaut

That is a good theory and likely part of the reason companies would provide free content. However, I've seen this happen with digital games too. Not only does free DLC decrease the number of used games circulating, it also increases PR. DLC is relatively cheap to create and so it can satisfy customers with little costs. Happy customers will result in them continuing to support the company, as this indicates future games will have lots of free content. Also, it can rope in extra customers when they discover the game continually receives FREE content. Third, free DLC keeps customers playing the game, and the more time invested in the game the more likely they will buy paid DLC.

I never considered that it keeps players from reselling their games but chalk that up to yet another reason for free DLC!

I'm not saying that this sort of medal should be place above others that reward soldiers for service on the battlefield, but I don't think that means drone pilots don't deserve any respect and should be treated as pencil pushers. Drone piloting is a 4 year college degree for a reason: it's actually fairly complex (nothing like piloting a video game plane) and high risk. Without the most precise movements it can cost the military a lot of money in damages or, worse, innocent lives. They're playing with weaponry, not everyone should be given so much responsibility, and any casualties, even intended ones, are deaths that the individual has to face were caused by their hands. Sure, they aren't risking their lives, but they do have immense responsibilities and I think they do deserve to be recognized. Don't necessarily put these medals above those given to soldiers who have fought in battle, but still give them your respect. They give more than most people assume.

I got this game about a year ago in pure desperation over the fact we likely will never get another real BK game. My opinion... Well, if you don't like BK this wouldn't change your mind. As a fan, I was a bit disappointed. It hardly felt as expansive as the console ones (which is to be expected) and I didn't feel it had as much of the humor. If you really want one more Banjo Kazooie romp, go for it, just don't expect it to live up to the first two.

Also, to everyone complaining about the lack of Fire Emblem DLC, I don't know what you're talking about, there is new DLC today, calm down!

Typoed, I meant 2.

I still see no reason to assume they'll bring GBA to the 3DS VC. If they were, why not have announced it yet? They have ten titles completely ready. They're focusing on bringing the GBA titles onto Wii U instead. They announced it for the Wii U that hasn't been out for even a year but not for the 3DS that's been out for almost 3 years.

Funny how even when Nintendo releases a bunch of stuff everyone complains (some weeks in the past they released one thing).

Also, Nintendo said from the start that GBA games would NOT come to the 3DS VC, they were just an EXCLUSIVE treat for ambassadors.

@SpecialHam
And I'm disgusted by people who think they have a right to something they did not pay for. Crime is crime. The problem is not the punishments, it's the lack of morality. Piracy is stealing. Everyone needs to make a living. If you go into a store and shoplift, you're a criminal. If you go to a car dealer and carjack, you're a criminal. It's no different with digital content. You didn't pay for it, you have no right to it. Throw the pirates all in jail, fine by me, some countries if you steal from a shop you could have your hand cut off, ten years of jail time is kind compared to that.

Win.

Win.

Huh. Can't imagine it but I won't complain. I like that style.

Use the screen to display internet memes relevant to the current situation.

Unfortunately, this one will probably slip by my radar. I enjoyed the Digimon anime more than Pokemon (well, the first two seasons of Digimon), but I never had much interest in the games. I miss the original Digimon...

AC3 probably for me. I want to get it at some point and this is a good deal, plus my Deluxe promotion points for it, seems like a good time for the plunge...

This is truly a great gift to make up to the Wii U fanbase, it's essentially a nice chunk of the game for free, and I'm quite disappointed with how ungrateful and immature some people are being over this, I had high hopes when Ubisoft announced this yesterday. It's too late for them to release the game itself now, bringing it to Microsoft requires a simultaneous release because of Microsoft's fanbase and canceling it from the 360 now would piss off even more people. This is probably not only the best option, it is incredibly generous. It's FREE, and it's not just a demo, it's a slice of the game.

@Ideal_Hero I see what you did there!

Downloading Fire Emblem content now! Later, that Naruto demo (not a fan but will give it a go) and Wii Street U. Hope we get the free Tank Tank Tank soon but I'm satisfied this week.

Please please please give us a Pikmin 3 release date and demo!!!!!!

It shouldn't just say latest episodes, there's episodes all the way back to Kanto when the show was actually good.

That's an impressive gaming collection, I'm still on the lookout for a Virtual Boy, it's the only Nintendo console I lack.

Fire freaking Emblem. Enough said.

Oh. And I might mess around with the Etrian Oddysey 4 demo. I started it Thursday then realized it is larger than I expected and I had just gotten Awakwning so I decided I'd continue the demo later, I'm new to EO but it seemed addicting enough!

Well, I lost a lot of respect for Ubisoft; I've nothing wrong with a company making games multiplatform but Ubisoft pledged their support for the Wii U and this is a huge contradiction. Sure, it's great news for non-Wii U owners interested in it, but it hurts the sales of the Wii U version (though the other versions more than compensate that) and hurts the Wii U sales. I haven't been too worried about the Wii U taking off but now I am. I hope Nintendo can start compensating for the unreliable third parties, I doubt they'll be as lucky this generation as they were last...

Chao Garden pleasepleasepleasepleaseeee!!!

I still have my old GB, somewhere in the house. I'm such a hoarder with all things video game... I remember getting it too, with Tetris and Super Mario Land! The old dinosaur still works, though the backing to the battery spot broke so it's duct taped on.

@DreaddJester Nope, the first two generations couldn't transfer anything to the GBA ones.