AbuJaffer

@Steampunk A block is 128KB of data; a 1GB SD card is around 8,000 blocks. So those games are around 180MB in size each.

I doubt Nintendo has set no limit; however, I'm guessing they'll allow full-retail releases to a prestigious set of developers/publishers, like they do for 4GB/8GB game carts.

I'm expecting 500MB. 2GB sounded great but realistically it's be 500MB.

@TrueWiiMaster You know why no one uses that comeback for posts? Because it's practically the definition of a contradictory statement.

And the bigger size for games isn't going to be filled up with random I/O lines, it's going to be filled with more game content. I don't understand where you're coming from; bigger game file = better developed game. The PS3 has a 50GB limit; the games that have utilized the full extent of that limit were absolutely amazing. Every other developer ignored it. People who don't like large game files (for whatever reason, like HDD limits) just didn't buy the game. Game developers can still develop games smaller than 40 MB by the way... in case that's your beef with the system.

A 200MB game is going to be (technically) vastly inferior to a 2GB game. It's the difference between a DS game and a 3DS game. How is that a problem?

@TrueWiiMaster Is it really that hard to not buy eShop games? Are you obliged to buy stuff you don't like? Your complaints are completely unnecessary; the limit could be 32GB and you shouldn't have an issue with it. Just. Ignore. Its. Existance. It takes literally no work to do and requires you to do absolutely nothing.

I'm really happy with the limit; while a 4GB limit would have made retail downloads a much bigger possibility, this is much more practical. If you're going to buy a 4GB game you might as well buy it as a retail game.

NOW BRING ON THE FULL-GAME DOWNLOADS! My body is READY!

@warioswoods I think you're dating the wrong woman... there's a missing 'e'! It's small accidents like these that caused WWII and world hunger.

Guess we have reason to doubt all their other "news" now? I had doubts before, but now I'm just completely ignoring the "fact" that Japanese developers are moving from the Vita to the 3DS.

@Luigifan141 It's like a trading card game (such as Yu-Gioh or Pokemon), using AR. It's apparently a lot simpler though (preset attacks and all) but it's still really neat nonetheless.

This has been my most anticipated game since E3 last year. Can't wait!

@shingi_70 You do know a "new IP" could be anything from a new "casual" game (Wii Music?) to an entirely new genre (Steel Diver? How many people bought that?). It seems people throw "new IP" around with something specific in mind; a new platformer, a new FPS, etc. They don't realize it could be literally any genre... and when they don't buy it, Nintendo has less and less of an incentive to make a new IP, and instead develop that guaranteed multi-million Mario game.

Nintendo hasn't had problems before with their handheld market, and especially not the DS; I doubt the 3DS will be any different (in terms of 3rd party support). It seems the lower price makes it so people are more willing to "risk it" with new IP's (TWEWY) or innovative new fronts for current series (Ninja Gyden). Personally, I'm not worried at all about 3rd party support on the 3DS; in fact, I expect it to continue the stream of high-end 3rd party software the NES, SNES, GB, GameCube, and DS had, and possibly surpass them as well.

What I am worried about, however, is the Wii U. As long as it's within reasonable range of the other next-gen consoles, I'm sure developers will take what I call the "360 route"; make their games for the most logical "lowest common denominator" and then simply port it to the other, more powerful systems. The problem will exist if the Wii U is a lot weaker than the other systems; just one or two weaker components would cripple the system, and that'll leave the system where the Wii is today. The difference is, the Wii had enough sales developers could ignore the other systems; however, if the Wii U ends up with sales like the N64/GameCube... Nintendo's on their own.

@warioswoods The problem with that is, as the article states, digital downloads appeal to Wayforward because they don't require a publisher. Aliens, on the other hand, has a publisher; SEGA. In other words, SEGA's the one who chooses where they port Aliens, not Wayforward.

@battLeToaD They've already hinted at that. https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2011/11/wayforward_working_on_shantae_for_3ds_virtual_console

Can't wait for the series to hit the 3DS. Might pick this game up, but I'll have to see what the prices are here; importing usually adds around 40% of the original price, but sometimes they fluctuate with pricing. I'll just have to wait and see.

@sgotsch No. Especially for such (relatively) small production costs. Most developers (except ones who already make multi-limmion sellers) would kill for half a million sales.

@retro_player_22 We're not. Nintendo announced they're not planning on adding those features; however, they might do it somewhere down the line just for the heck of it (I doubt it though).

Not out in the US yet but I'll keep trying. Maybe now I'll finally be able to finish this game... farthest I've gotten was World 7 (without warp holes by the way)... and that was 6 years ago... nowadays, the farthest I can go is end of World 5.

THAT'S IT! I'M ORDERING 100 OF THESE!
...
Look at it this way; a dollar a day, for just over 3 months, and you've already bought around 100 of these. SO MANY CARDS! Foams at the mouth

This website looks amazing!

I've got a couple comments to make on this article:

First off, Nintendo could easily appease publishers by releasing cheaper-than-retail downloadable games that will attract some of the second-hand crowd. Higher profit margins for publishers and Nintendo, cheaper games for gamers, and no "online pass" problems are all positives of downloadable games. Now, people who like borrowing games and whatnot will still be affected, but people with tight wallets will surely appreciate the ability to buy games cheaper than what's sold at stores, and sometimes cheaper than some used games (especially at GameStop).

Second off, I personally am not very affected by this. While I've sometimes borrowed/allowed others to borrow some games, they've been strictly single-player affairs; I find multiplayer games to be best kept permanently, and since I buy all my games new, I'm generally unaffected by this.

Finally, Nintendo really needs to step up their online for the Nintendo populace to even accept the notion of online passes. The PS and XBOX crowd may have (mostly) bowed down to this sort of thing (with whatever losses in sales from dissatisfied customers being made up by the online passes), but Nintendo fans haven't had a comprehensive online experience anyways; asking people to pay for something they don't even have yet isn't exactly a smart move. The Nintendo Network needs to have a base community before this sort of thing becomes feasible; in other words, Nintendo better wait a couple years before allowing publishers to force this sort of thing down their throats.

Had a Genesis, but frankly I was too young to even realize a console war existed.

@Sakura_Moonlight2421 If RER, most Wii games, and a lot of 360 games, can run on 4GB and less, then a Pokemon game can surely do so as well. Don't forget, these don't have to be high-end textures/polygons/etc. (which take up the most space on gaming discs)... what will take up a lot of space, and probably is necessary (for a 3D-world experience) would be full-fledged sound effects... those things (along with cutscenes) take up a LOT of space. But I'm sure GameFreak will just make a new system for sound effects and whatnot that allows high-quality audio (and video) to take up a lot less space. Handheld developers do that a lot (discover new compression systems and whatnot).

I think a cel-shaded, animated look (similar to the anime) would be best. Think of how amazing that would be!

Also, I think at this point they should stop with the adding Pokemon and instead should work on refining the battle system... possibly introducing people to EV's within the game and whatnot (say, after finishing the game and getting 2 level 100's or whatnot).

Great, love to have a reliable site for my Playstation news.

Very harsh review... the development team is probably hanging itself right now. They obviously worked hard on it; from the innovative premise to the pleasant graphics, it's obvious they put some effort in it... but sadly if working hard made a good product life would be a lot simpler... though not really easier in any way.

I'd love this. I know it's a very random reason, but one of the biggest reasons I would love a Vita is the downloadable PSP/Vita games. It may not seem like much, but to me that's the biggest downloadable step Nintendo could make. Imagine having SSFIV, Mario Kart 7, the next Pokemon game, etc. all available on your SD card... I drool at the mere prospect of such a possibility.

I think Nintendo will be much less reliant on 3rd parties for the system's launch; they made that mistake with the 3DS and will be sure to supply a slew first-party games for the Wii U. Backwards compatibility means anyone without a Wii can still enjoy the classics such as NSMBW, Skyward Sword, the Galaxies, etc. That saved the 3DS launch for me and actually made it the best console launch I've ever experienced; backwards compatibility.

Personally my favorite platformers are 2D ones so this one will be top on my list... only thing that could be better would be a new 2D Metroid... Fusion really got me pumped for a new Metroid, but in 2D.

God dangit. This is a pretty big deal breaker... playing this game with my friends would have been a blast...

I'm still contemplating getting this game, but although platformers are my favorite genre I think I'll pass on this one (for now) and get Mario Kart 7 or Solatorobo.

I want this game in my 3DS! I want it to sit beside Tekken 3D and let me choose between a fighting game with weapons or no weapons at all. New franchise (for me) or epic nostalgia; freedom!

May be my first 3DSWare title; half the reason is because I love platformers, and the other half is me wanting to really support an eShop-exclusive developer. But higher on my list than any game besides Origins and MK7.

I remember trying this game a while back and it didn't work for me at first... but I got used to it quickly.

The "Koopa on the stairs" was shown as a secret during the 25th anniversary video compilation, so I think it's got the Nintendo stamp of approval. But single-player games (and select few multiplayer ones, usually locally) are, in my opinion, an OK place to utilize a couple glitches. Sadly, however, these days glitches are how people cheat, seeing how the developers didn't plan for them to be used, while cheats (if they even exist nowadays) are considered part of the actual game.

Who would have guessed? Remembering how long it took Brawl to come out (over a year), I'm not surprised... this time I'll try not to care about its release date so it'll just... COME UP on me... it worked for Skyward Sword but if they're going to launch another Smash Dojo then I know there's no way in hell I'll be able to simply "not care" about this game...

I didn't enjoy this game; as much as I expected.

The game's controls feel clunky, the level design feel... off (not Nintendo standards, especially coming off of Fusion and in comparison with other Mario games), and as a platformer enthusiast the platforming sections just didn't do well in my scrutinizing inspection of the game. Also, people's cries of "PLEEZ NINTY BRING DIZ GAIM INSTED IT BEST GAIM EVA!!11!" whenever I mentioned SMW rose my expectations really high, which made it so this game did nothing but disappoint, especially in comparison with SMW.

@Koto Same way Britain had to contain its population... tried to take over the countries around it to accomodate the massive population but failed because of uprisings... in Japan's case they wanted Hawaii (they had a thing for taking over islands) but ended up getting a mouthful of USA... the US didn't care if they wanted islands only...

A very nice read, although I was surprised at the audacity of some of the comments/questions. But I think he handled the questions pretty well.

As for buying the game, it seems difficult to put trust in new games these days, but I'll see if I can pick it up. It's really boiling down to this vs. Pushmo, and I think this is winning (not a really big puzzle fan, at least not compared to my love of platformers).

Wait, Link's Awakening BEFORE Link 1/2? I would have guessed it would come after Link 1 at least, seeing how it starts off with Link traveling after he saves Zelda... I think it's fake, although I could very well be wrong, with my limited Zelda knowledge.

Also, I have all the games in the main storyline now! Score!

Monster Hunter did this... it can hold up any system, any system at all, and get it to sell millions. They could release MH4 on the N64/PS1 and it would sell hundreds of thousands (eventually). It sold PSP's, not the other way around.

I can't wait to see what MH4 is going to do... especially if it's exclusive. People in Japan will faint multiple times over after its release date is announced as they keep waking up to find the news on their screen again and fainting once more.

It literally sold PSP's and Wii's in Japan, so I'm not surprised at all. I was expecting more system sales (Monster Hunter affectionados finally jumping in on the 3DS bandwagon) but it's still mighty impressive. Just wait until MH4 comes out... whew, now that will be a system seller. People will probably buy a system bundle with that game when it sells out, even if they already have a 3DS. Them Japanese sure like to hunt.

This is amazing; MUST BUY GAMES NOW! This is probably why Nintendo finally added that Download Code feature; the manager asks the team:

"How do we let specific customers download a game we don't want them to pay for?"

"Wait, what if we just give them a unique code they can enter into the eShop and they get a game for it."

"GENIUS! If only the rest of the online team were as innovative as you! PROMOTION!"

Second guy secretly thinking to himself "Should've listened to all those fan requests earlier... I should listen to the rest of their requests as well... eh, who has time for work when the Desert Temple awaits! Back to Skyward!"

I don't want to be the rotten egg, but I doubt Operation Rainfall really did much. Nintendo probably started the work to start translating the game to American English once it came out in Japan, and NOE simply worked much faster than NOA. Of course, it is entirely possible Nintendo did listen to Operation Rainfall fans and are simply working MUCH faster than NOE at translating.

Anyways, it's coming, some of your prayers have been answered, we're all happy(ier).

Darnit, I'm only planning on buying one 3DS game in the next few months... MK7. Might pick up something else... already finished SM3DL from a friend.

I ran out of salt to pinch, so I substituted it with a healthy dose of skepticism.

@Spookybif Too heavy on the sarcasm there. Or you need your eyesight checked.

I really wanted this game to do well, and I'm very happy it has gotten such favorable reviews. Every time I see it my memories of Rayman 1 crop up, and I'm reminded I never finished that insanely difficult game.... which I feel I "have" to before I tackle this game. Come at me, Rayman!

There's two issues with this strategy, and they tie together:
A) Having their games on smartphones would greatly decrease peoples' need for the companies respective consoles.
B) Having the games on smartphones means they need to be competitively priced, which wouldn't be able to fuel development prices. Ultimately, the only way they'd be able to make a profit is make crappier games, and that position isn't for top tier, AAA game manufacturers like Sony or Nintendo, but for smaller devs without the manpower or reach to make such huge, amazing games. They all have their own roles in the bigger picture, and having Sony/Nintendo take down a step would take the place of hundreds, if not thousands, of smaller, usually successful devs. They would have to join the thousands of other devs who, despite making good games, don't get the coverage they need to get attention in the VERY saturated smartphone gaming market.

@Yogsoggoth

Thanks for the heads up... I'll give it a couple months to fall in price... and to think I was expecting this game to be much LARGER than the Rush games, seeing how much larger the cartridge is...

Ah, well, Mario Kart 7 it is. SM3DL looks great, but I need a game that'll last me a while... not to mention I want to play some hardcore multiplayer Mario Kart!

This looks like an amazing game... might get it over SM3DL and Mario Kart 7, if only because I'm a Sonic fan, and this game is sure to ignite some deep Genesis nostalgia.

"If corporations are for globalization why are games region locked?"

This actually makes sense. But after thinking about it (which I'm not supposed to do about anything on the internet), I think I might have the answer; it's cheaper. Setting up servers in the US, for example, is probably cheaper than it is in Japan or the UK because of much higher minimum wages and whatnot. Then there's the whole, keeping track of each game internationally versus keeping track of each game in every region; the latter is probably a bit more manageable (and ultimately cheaper), which is what Nintendo wants to do; to pay less cash.

I really hope this console will be the first to offer cross-platform play, as in SteamPlay, but between the 3DS/WiiU/Possibly other platforms such as PC or PS3. Heck, why NOT use SteamPlay?

Either way, all I'm asking for is to take a step in Sony's direction and offer the same online experience between the 3DS/Wii U.

Sounds great; looking forward to more WayForward releases on the eShop, and will hopefully be picking it up (if I can find cash left over after getting all these games this winter).

What! The boomerang would have been a great fit! Just put it in there for us to mess around with, like in Awakening!

Good thing I live on a second floor.

For me it's not much of a problem because I know at least 3 people with 3DS that I sit with for an hour on Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays after school doing nothing but wait for the bus. Once I go to college... well hopefully by that time the 3DS will be much more widespread.