Yeah, this is a little hilarious coming from him.

Don't get me wrong, I like a lot of Molyneux's games, but I think he's a bit hypocritical to be talking about others delivering underwhelming products...

I think this would be a good idea - as you say, more choice is always good.

This would particularly benefit people looking to play games that had low print runs (I'm looking at you, Atlus) where the games can be extremely expensive. However, that would require Nintendo to negotiate distribution with 3rd party companies, and that may or may not work out.

@Flowerlark: You only get charged on your credit card if the project is fully funded. Basically, you go through Amazon's payment system, and authorize a future transaction of the amount you pledge. That amount is only debited on the closing date of the kickstarter project if it reaches 100% funding; if not, you simply don't get charged.

There are other problems in that you can pledge money for a project that doesn't turn out the way it was proposed, or that development gets cancelled halfway through for whatever reason. I'm not sure what happens then (I'm not sure anybody really is at this stage, I don't know if there have been reported cases of this happening). That's another whole can of worms though.

Interesting - I might pledge enough for the limited edition. Be part of (DS) history, kids!

Also, thanks for alerting us!

It's about time the price dropped. Nintendo constantly bangs on about the perception of value from the consumer's point of view, and having the XL as the same price as the superior 3DS was a bit strange and potentially confusing for people looking to purchase a console.

I can imagine someone using one of those plastic golf club extensions, accidentally whacking the Wii U tablet and have it fly across the room and break.

It's inevitable!

I guess it's an alternative to homebrew development? Maybe?

I think something like this would work better than some other RPGs as an MMO. The problem with MMORPGs is that you're no longer the sole saviour of the world - there are millions of other people doing the same thing as you.

As a result it can be tough to make players feel important or like they're making a difference. Something like Inazuma Eleven, where you have a team of your own to manage - without requiring a "save the world" story to feel important - could nicely sidestep that problem.

Well, I'd define a 'rip off' as something that replicates, with little or no modification, gameplay mechanics (and perhaps aesthetics) from another game. I'd say that's a pretty standard definition. There is a difference between ripping off something, and being influenced by it.

In that regard, at least the main series of BF is entirely different to my knowledge of what MoH is (BF is focused on multiplayer, with little or no single player to speak of. I don't know about the spinoffs though.)

As I said, I haven't played any MoH games. I've only played BF1942, BF:Vietnam and BF2. It's entirely different from any CoD game I've ever played (1, 2, MW, MW2).

@Chrono_Cross: I haven't played any of the Medal of Honour games, but again, from my understanding I don't believe BF is a MoH ripoff. Isn't MoH a linear, infantry based, mainly single player experience? (i.e. the complete opposite of BF).

@Retro_Hype: How did CoD rip of Battlefield? Apart from both being WWII shooters, there is little similarity.

It's a bit disappointing to see some of the comments here. This article is raising a good point about the prospects of the Wii U, and all people do is bitch and moan about how they don't like Call of Duty.

Whether you like the game or not (I personally got tired of it a few games ago), it's undeniably a force in modern gaming. Considering its impact on the Wii U if it does/doesn't come to the new console is an extremely relevant point, but many of the comments are simply people voicing their dislike of the series.

How about engaging in some discussion? I know it's cool to hate CoD, but come on.

(It's been a long day at work and I'm grumpy.)

I think the Wii U needs games such as COD, and needs them to be equal to or better than the versions being put out on the 360 and PS3.

The Wii did well without COD because, for the most part, the people buying the Wii weren't the same demographic that plays COD. I don't think they can rely on that for the Wii U.

While I don't have any numbers, I imagine that the vast majority of Wii owners are people who will not be upgrading - one game console is enough, and an upgrade simply does not appeal. If this is the case, then Nintendo needs to attract people with high-profile, mainstream games. COD, among others, is exactly what is needed.

If Nintendo can get its foot in the door with the 'core' gaming demographic, who invest time and money in the Wii U before the next generation MS and Sony consoles come out, then Nintendo may have a better chance of maintaining a lead through the next console generation.

However, if they can't entice people to move across from their Xbox or PS3, then they'll have a much smaller demographic buying the console. It won't be all doom and gloom, but the fact is that a large fraction of today's gamers simply aren't interested in the Marios and Zeldas, and that's where Nintendo needs help from other franchises.

That's how I see it, anyway.

I agree - should be an interesting read.

Currently, it sounds like they didn't do a particularly good job of QA in-house (if the bugs are "that bad", shouldn't they have found them themselves?) but I hope that will be elaborated upon in the full interview.

@DeMoN-13ruce: Well, yes. Mainstream games are defined so because they're popular.

Plus, I've never thought of BF3 as a 'noob' game.

@TrueWiiMaster: Plenty of people share their physical copies of games, and have done since video games were a thing. Sure, I can understand game companies wanting to curtail the practice, but it's a huge cost to convenience from the point of view of the consumer.

Sharing account details is risky and, although I can't prove it, I'd imagine the people who do are by far the minority. I don't think that account-based digital distribution in any way exacerbates the problem. If anything I think it would enhance sales, as people can no longer trade in used games or rent games.

(Although I have to admit that not being able to buy/sell used games would be seen by many as a huge inconvenience. Hmm.)

In my opinion, Nintendo will never understand digital distribution until they move to an account-based system rather than locking games to a single console. Also, they will need to look at pricing.

From the viewpoint of the consumer, the big advantage digital distribution has is convenience. It's easy to buy games and they don't take up storage space.

Now, a lot of that convenience is lost if games are locked to a single system. That doesn't happen with cartridges. Purchasing issues aside, if Nintendo wants to charge the same amount for retail and digital games, they need to make them as attractive as each other. Digital games are arguably 'worse' due to being locked to a single system, and that is a disincentive to buy them.

If you talk to people about services like Steam, they are willing to trade physical packaging for a cheaper price and extra convenience. I don't see that equation holding with the current state of Nintendo's distribution. If I can get the same game as a digital or retail copy for exactly the same price, I'm going to go retail every time if the issues mentioned above are still present.

It will be interesting to see how the Wii and DS will finish off. I'm not upgrading to either a 3DS or Wii U, so I'll be able to finish off my collections for the current consoles.

With games still being announced for the Wii and DS (Kirby Collection, Pokemon B&W2) there's still life in the older systems yet but I don't see a rush of releases any time soon. However, there are occasionally some real gems that get released at the end of a console's life, so I'll have to keep my eye out.

As for Nintendo's finances, it would be interesting to see what would have happened if Nintendo had decided to engage a bit more with their audience. From my perspective, at least, them holding their cards so close to their chest does damage. No word of upcoming games makes people lose interest, which can lead them to jump ship. Some more timely translations may have helped them out (but then again they may not have).

@Mickeymac: What exactly do you mean? I rarely found that I was punished for exploration - it was usually pretty obvious what would get you killed and what wouldn't.

The couple of improvements I would like to see are to do with the scoring and the secrets.

I felt that, especially in the more difficult levels, it was very difficult or impossible to get a perfect score on the first run. There was some trial and error involved with some of the puzzles, and you would have to just give it a go to see what happened. That resulted in a lower score, and you would have to replay the level to get things correct the first time around. Not a huge deal, but getting the best score generally involved little skill and just required a second play through of the level.

My other gripe was due to the controls.

**** NOTE - SPOILERS!!! ****

Occasionally with the secret treasures, some actions were required that were made difficult due to inadequate sensing of motion controls. One of the later levels almost had me throwing the remote at the wall - the treasure was right at the end of a 10 or 15 minute level, and I ended up having to replay it many, many times due to the dodgy motion controls of one puzzle meaning that I was rendered unable to get the treasure.

** END SPOILERS! **

Having said that, I enjoyed the game immensely and was motivated to finish it 100%. A sequel would be good to get the IP more exposure, but I'm unlikely to play it as I won't be getting any next-gen systems.

As MickeyMac said, Feel the Magic is incredibly cheap (I got it for $5 including shipping, brand new, from eBay). There are plenty of other bargains around the place, particularly on eBay.

I've got a few more DS games I'd like to get if I can, but I've got nearly all of the ones that I'm interested in. In a way it'll be nice once games stop coming out for the DS - then I'll feel a sense of closure in terms of collecting!

Errm, there are FAR better portable GC mods around. For example:

http://www.hardwaresphere.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/portable-gamecube-console-mod.jpg

The one in this video is terrible.

EDIT: Apparently that site doesn't like direct linking. Anyone, take a look at the above link.

How well would a new F-Zero game sell? I know there's a vocal group of fans who want a new game, but would it have the broad appeal that Nintendo seems to want to aim for these days?

@Advancedcaveman: Well, thank goodness we have you here to save us from our delusional ways... Sure, there's a lot of hype surrounding Angry Birds, but it's not a bad game. Sure, it's not everybody's thing, but it has a lot going for it (extremely polished, likeable characters etc).

@Mickeymac: Did you play the second game? (Crush the Castle) It's much better than the first one edhe linked. (Although I'm still of the opinion that Angry Birds is better)

Hmm, I'll wait to hear more but so far this doesn't sound different enough to be worth me picking up.

You never know though - it might turn out to be great. I'll have to read some reviews!

If only Rovio had thought of it first... (its a carbon copy of many other games, just with a different coat of paint. Sincerely, good on them though - I'd certainly like that kind of success!)

I quite like Angry Birds - it's a good game to pick up and play for a couple of minutes while waiting around - but I really think it would have lost something in the translation to the DS. A big part of the Angry Birds charm is the distinctive graphical style, with high-resolution cartoon graphics. The DS simply could not pull that off, and I think that would be disappointing.

@shadowkaby: Oh no, they're going to make you listen to British accents! The horror!

Seriously, be thankful you got a release. Plus, a little variety in accents is probably good - the amount of people in the USA who just stare at me when I talk (I'm Australian) is a little ridiculous.

Cool, I'll be interested in checking it out.

I'm sympathetic for the employees - let's hope they can find work quickly. I see other stores going in a similar direction though, especially in Australia. The traditional retail model simply can't hold up to the cheaper online stores, and so chains like EB Games and GAME (who I believe operate independently of the UK branches) will have to adapt or be rendered irrelevant.

Also, I hold no value in going to those game stores any more. I used to shop at local computer game stores (i.e. not branches) which I enjoyed, but I find that the big chain stores are not really worth my time. The games are never 'new' (if not played, they have at least been taken out of their shrink wrap), the prices are way too high and can't really ever recall coming across any exceptional customer service.

When there are cheaper and arguably better services available online, many people (myself included) are going to make that their first stop.

Hopefully the game ends up being great. From what I've seen, the gameplay is reminiscent of the Prince of Persia Sands of Time trilogy, which definitely isn't a bad thing.

I'm keenly awaiting some reviews!

While I don't have anything against digital distribution per se, I do have a problem with the way many publishers go about protecting their IP (which is fair enough).

While I gather most console gamers do not have a lot of experience with DRM (from what I can tell, it mainly exists behind the scenes on consoles), I've come across more than I'd like on PC.

My biggest problem is when games have limited or no functionality unless they can connect to an internet server. Someday, that server is going to go down, and if the game hasn't been patched, you can no longer play it.

I've heard several companies promise to patch out the DRM 'later' (EA, 2KGames come to mind) but let's face it - doing that costs money, and what developer is going to do that when they stand to make little or no profit from it?

Personally, I'm more inclined to skip a game than buy it if I'm not sure whether or not I'll be able to play it in 5 or 10 years time. I know it's not a concern of everybody's, but it worries me a lot.

On the other hand, I've bought several games online (mainly indie ones) that I can just install and play, with no problems. I'm more than happy with that, but unfortunately the prevalence of piracy means that the prospect of releasing a DRM-free game isn't all that attractive to publishers (even if DRM does little to curb piracy).

@ChocoGoldfish: I agree with you that the DRM wouldn't be there if people didn't pirate, but I think DLC would have come sooner or later, regardless of people's buying habits. DLC=extra money, and devs/publishers would have figured it out sooner or later. I think the recent explosion in DLC has more to do with the ability to easily distribute DLC to people than offsetting the loss due to second hand game sales and the like (although I'm sure that was even more impetus to bring about DLC).

Before the internet was so ubiquitous, expansion packs were readily available for popular games. Same idea: make more money after the initial purchase.

Wait, so how does the steelbook work? I figured it was instead of the plastic case, but do you get both?

Excellent, I'll pick this up as soon as it comes out! (For some reason I'm really pumped for it - I own the first one but haven't actually played it yet...)

I wouldn't get my hopes up on making much money on the misprint - go for it if you want, but I have a feeling that it won't be worth it.

Video games are pretty hard to make money from, even though the collector's market is pretty crazy, and the print run is likely to have been too large for it to be truly rare.

That's just poor, poor work.

@James - actually, the 'US' and 'UK' billions are, officially, exactly the same and equal to 10^9. The use of billion=10^12 is a hangover from an old system that has now been officially phased out of the UK.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_scale

I've got the 25th Anniversary DSi XL - it's a really nice console! Plus, importing it from Canada (given that it came with Mario Kart DS) saved me at least $100 over buying it in Australia.

The colours are nice (I'd get the purple 3DS if it was out and I was buying one) but, for the most part, I just grab my favourite colour of the options available when I go to purchase. If something else comes out later, that's just bad luck!

I've got Yoshi's Island on the SNES, and to this day it remains one of the best, most polished game experiences I've had in my 20-odd years of gaming.

You 3DS ambassadors who haven't experienced Yoshi's Island are a lucky bunch - you're in for a treat!

Considering how amazing Wii (and Gamecube) games can look with emulation on PC, it's really disappointing that Nintendo won't include graphics processing abilities.

For those interested, do a google for Super Mario Galaxy, Wind Waker, F-Zero GX, Skyward Sword or Xenoblade HD screenshots. They look incredible.

My wife got me the Skyward Sword bundle - can't wait to get into it!

So do you have to CLOSER than 6 feet, or further away? At first I thought it was the latter (although that doesn't make a lot of sense) but then it seemed like it was the former.

How on Earth do you play that minesweeper game? I can't figure it out - I click on a box with 0 in it, and it tells me I've used up one chance...

Excellent! I'm looking forward to playing this - after some (gentle) persuasion my wife is getting it for me for Christmas.

Should be good!

I imagine it's more of a 'play as a beta-tester' kind of deal (and I mean a proper beta-tester, not the demos that companies call public betas these days) than a 'play as a gamer'.

The former is boring. Granted, he wouldn't be sitting there tracking down bugs like normal play-testers, but it'd be figuring out how to improve things, finding what works and what doesn't, etc.

I can't say I'd want that as a job - I think it'd ruin gaming for me. I'm quite content to play finished games without having to worrying about analysing every last detail!

I'm really, really looking forward to this!

While I find the idea intriguing, at $90 to buy the starter pack and an additional $16 for figurines (going by eBay) it's not something I'd currently consider putting my money down for. I have a feeling Activision has priced themselves out of the market for a lot of people.

Hell, I could go grab an entirely new game for the price of a new figurine. Unfortunately, that kind of value (or lack thereof) just doesn't cut it for me.

Having said that, if the price was lower I'd probably at least give the starter pack a crack!

Excellent! I've been looking forward to confirmation of a PAL release.

I'll be grabbing Complete as soon as I can!

As much as I love my DSi XL to bits, it does seem a bit strange to keep pushing these. They're probably going after a different demographic to the people they want to sell the 3DS to, but I can see this just confusing people.

@Rated_R_Superstar: I also agree! And there's some 80-odd million consoles out there, so if mine ever break down I imagine I'll be able to find another one second-hand!

@rudydog13: further to sillygostly's comment, M used to be M15+ and so was recommended for people over the age of 15, but with no restrictions. That got changed in the last few years to just M (perhaps because it got confused with MA15+, which DOES have age restrictions).