Latest Talking Point - Page 19
February2010
Talking Point Does Nintendo Need to Exercise More Quality Control on the Wii?
Are shoddy ports and the tide of cheap cash-in titles putting the Wii at risk?
Nintendo is right to be proud of the Wii: it has single-handedly put them back at the top of the console stack after two generations of consoles which, whilst not outright disasters, failed to capture the imaginations of the majority of the game playing public. The Wii...
Talking Point Nintendo Arcade Games on Virtual Console?
Should these arcade wonders get a re-release?
While we've already seen four of these arcade classics released as NES titles on the Virtual Console, we've yet to see Nintendo bring their own arcade games to the Virtual Console Arcade, despite many third party companies already doing so. So why exactly is Nintendo dragging its feet on these arcade...
January2010
Talking Point Are Rereleases Killing the Retro Market?
We sink our teeth into plummeting retro prices
MTV Multiplayer recently published an article detailing the decline in value of sought-after videogame classics after their rerelease on download platforms such as Virtual Console and Xbox Live Arcade. While it chronicles mainly high- profile games such as Marvel vs. Capcom 2; it’s the Nintendo...
October2009
Talking Point How Does The DSi LL Compare To Rival Handhelds?
Compare-me-do!
Nintendo's surprise confirmation of the DSi LL is proof that the company is willing to change the way it operates; normally, such a launch would be hyped to high heaven, but here's a machine that we knew little about yesterday - other than rumours - and it's going to be with Japanese gamers in less than a month. However, this isn't...
July2009
Talking Point Bit Boy!! Took 50 Times More Work Than Bit.Trip?
It did according to Bernd Geiblinger of BPlus!
Over on the official BPlus forums, Bernd Geiblinger, Art Director at Bplus (AKA WiiBoy) posted the following: Now - we fought for the 'PADING'-GameBoy sound on the game start. For the PukiPuki-Sound like you know it from original tetris and Super Mario Land including the hearts in 'PAUSE'. Complete...
May2009
Round Table Is Nintendo Neglecting the 'Hardcore Gamer'?
Nintendo Life staff members sit down and discuss all things Nintendo
Welcome one and all to Nintendo Life's new feature: The Round Table. This is where you get to see the staff debate and discuss the most topical issues going around. From stereotypical views of Nintendo’s consoles, to our feelings on the evolution of gaming; you’ll find it all...
Talking Point About "The Waggle"
A button press by any other name...
For some reason the fact that motion controls (or "gestures") are a major part of the Wii control interface bothers people; it is felt that this ruins the gaming experience and that the majority of such implementations would be better served by traditional digital button presses. Indeed some people go so...
April2009
Talking Point Should Game Stories Be Regarded as Highly as Literature?
Expert assures us that games do, in fact, tell us stories that engage our minds.
Dr Souvik Mukherjee of Nottingham Trent University believes video games should be regarded as a storytelling medium that can stand along with traditional literary texts. Of course as a computer game narrative expert he has conducted an arbitrary research study to make...
Talking Point Could The Conduit Be in for a Rough Ride at Retail?
Game designer predicts poor sales performance for high-profile FPS
With past ‘hardcore’ failures like No More Heroes, House of Dead: Overkill and (more recently) Madworld, the Wii is getting a reputation for being a casual gamers’ machine first and foremost. This certainly doesn’t bode well for Sega’s upcoming FPS title The Conduit...
Talking Point Copyright and Video Games
What is stopping us from experiencing the entire history of video games?
Last year Taito issued Space Invaders Get Even on the WiiWare download service as well as multiple versions of the original game on the Japanese, PAL and North American Virtual Consoles. This was in celebration of the 30th annivesary of the release of Space Invaders in arcades...
January2009
Talking Point Is Nintendo Ignoring WiiWare?
Before WiiWare became a reality Nintendo was telling everyone that would listen that the service would revolutionise the way people purchase and play video games.
Such was the company’s enthusiasm for the notion of digital distribution, the hype surrounding the launch of WiiWare was almost deafening. It was hard not to get carried away by the...
Talking Point Is the Virtual Console On The Slide?
Since the birth of the Virtual Console a couple of years back we’ve been granted some truly amazing slices of retro-related brilliance. Zelda, Phantasy Star, Street Fighter, Alex Kidd, Mario, Castlevania, Sonic…all of these franchises (plus many others) have been reborn in a blaze of glory thanks to Nintendo’s download portal.
At the start of...
June2008
News SNK Virtual Console Releases In Jeopardy?
It’s been on the cards for some time now but Ignition Entertainment has officially announced the Euro release of SNK’s Arcade Classics Collection, Volume One.
This retro anthology is already available on the Sony PS2 and PSP and contains 16 choice cuts from the back catalogue of this illustrious company. All of the games are taken from the...
News Only Geeks And Otaku Want Extra Storage On The Wii
In a recent interview with Edge Magazine, Laurent Fischer, managing director of marketing at Nintendo Europe had the nerve to call Nintendo fans wishing for more storage space to download VC and WiiWare games “geeks and otaku”!
Here is a section of the interview directly from this month’s Edge: First Nintendo will not be concentrating any...
April2008
Feature Why April Is A Massive Month For the Virtual Console
If you count yourself as a hardcore gamer then you will have read our recent news piece about April’s Japanese Virtual Console games with marked interest. Sure, there’s the usual amount of filler in there, like Famicom Detective Club Part II and Bokosuka Wars (neither of which are likely to make the leap over to the US/Euro VC service), but there’s a trio of games that should cause your pulse to race uncontrollably – Dracula X: Rondo of Blood, MUSHA Aleste and Metal Slug.
Dracula X is widely regarded...
March2008
Talking Point The State of Play of the Virtual Console
How do you find things?
Since the end of last year there’s been an unpleasant undercurrent of tension in the world of the Virtual Console. It all started when Nintendo’s VC releases began to strangely dry up, with the usual three-game weeks becoming a thing of the past. This controversial move then kick-started a tirade of anger, with each...
