@JohnBlackstar You hit the nail on the head. It's very easy for anyone here or anywhere else to sit from afar and throw rocks at glass houses. Of course their prices are higher than Amazon... try saying that for almost ANY brick and mortar store. Amazon is taking them all out. It's only a matter of time until they gain so much marketshare that even Walmart will succumb. It doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure what the astronomical cost savings of NOT having 1,000 stores and employees does to their ability to cut margins. And guess what? The more market share they aquire and the more volume they do, the cheaper it is to buy product (per unit cost goes down), pick, pack and ship each order! They literally have no significant barriers to their growth when compared to physical retailers. They are the Galactus of retail!
And then the day will come that there are literally no more brick and mortars. And, as you mentioned, their hold on variable pricing will be very difficult to compete with by the remaining retail channels. No more dropping by the store to browse, get your hands on demos, talk to helpful staff (not everyone is a gem but Ive talked to more stars than black holes!) And no more picking up a game on a whim.
This is already happening in so many other arenas. Book stores and music stores are almost dead. Table gaming shops really struggle to stay afloat. Margins are so thin to begin with. The only way some of these places get by is by selling the experience of going in to the store, trying things out, being helped by knowledgeable staff and store owners building relationahips with their faithful customers. Small niche shops who do this well will be the few to succeed in pockets. But large chains like TRU just can't offer that without a wholesale change in their culture and the way they do business.
I do agree with most peoples feedback on here having to do with pricing and customer service. I guess all Im saying is that you could probably say that about every chain that directly or indirectly finds itself competing with Amazon.
@flapjack-ashley Thanks for the trip down memory lane flapjack! This is exactly how I remember it too. In fact, that long display case you mentioned is where I first saw the Sega Genesis. I was actually working in the electronics dept of a small regional dept store and was very familiar with selling NESs (and Atari games too). But one day Toys R Us got their Genesis display units before us and I was floored when I took a trip to get some other toy for a nephew. Believe it or not, just seeing how realistic the ball and field moved in Tommy Lasorda Baseball blew me away! Not to mention Altered Beast! Yeah... a crummy game... but in display behind the glass?? What a beauty! But the kicker was Ghouls and Ghosts. That display case showed me the potential for the future of gaming. Yeah! Stuff gets even BETTER than what we know.
That case is where I first saw the TG16, Turbo CD (the one with the suit case!), Turbo Duo and even the Sega Nomad. What memories. Thaks for that!
@tanookisuit Very simply, things change in business. I have no doubt that at the time that was the direction they were going to adopt. From the top down. But a lot can happen in 5 months. There really was a very large outcry from the consumer. And not just in niche pockets and forums like this. During just this month I watched 2 reports on national news broadcasts here in the US about it. When the issue reaches mainstream, companies tend to take notice. You can either steer your company like the titanic and forge ahead without ears to the ground telling you of warnings or you can be nimble and react to the market. Good companies, no matter their size practice this effectively.
For a while there, I feared that Nintendo was forging ahead full steam, damn the weather, damn the ice... but I'm very encouraged to see that they have decided to listen and make a way for their strategic planning to include these once-and-done products. This is a good sign.
@JaxonH You are right on target. That's a pretty good assesstment. I do think he has more influence than most everyone here gives him credit for though. He is the head of NA operations. Having worked for a couple if Japanese gaming companies in the past, I can say first hand that an international exec role in such an organization is more influential than control oriented. But when you are the head of the largest division, you analytics, marketing insights and demand forecasting carry a lot of influence. He may not carry the deciding vote but he has a place at the "table" and does play a role in their strategic planning. That is for certain.
I played probably 20 hours on the Steam version. It's an incredible game. I'll def buy it for Switch and give it another go. Really hoping you can turn off all motion controls though. Really over that stuff.
@tedko I agree with you 100% on TRU as well. I hypothesized (more whistful pondering) last month that maybe the delay with NA pre orders might imply that NOA would do away with pre orders alltogether for this very reason. Looks like hopefully they just limited pre orders to appease retailers and fans alike. But yeah, kudos to TRU for throwing the ultimate middle finger to scalpers in general! Thats where Im going to line up Sept 29! Riggie's commentary shared here today said a lot and explained a great deal. Im happy with the communication.
I believe that they held numbers for pre-orders to a much lower quantity to combat scalping. I don't see him taking the time to make this statement if it were otherwise. I believe that they are aware of the scalping issue and their inability to do anything to combat the tools that scalpers use to snap up supply from their retailers' ecommerce systems. I think he is telling us, without making a personal guarantee, that there will be enough... don't buy from scalpers.
What he says about the NES mini also makes sense when you think about the two different approaches to how large organziations plan and execute short run product lines compared to long run product lines. It would not surprise me (I have been through it) if they had an initial production run (or runs in quick succession) of the NES Minis based on a very misguided forecast. Their original plan would be to have a single run of a product line that would provide a guaranteed injection of revenue that would not require a large amount of effort to manage on a continual basis. A once and done, if you will. The production run was complete and their production partners production plan afterwards was already consumed by other customers and orders. Starting the whole process up again is very costly and because they didnt see this as an ongoing product line supported by software development and software sales, they decided to not restart production.
Their plan for the SNES Mini is actually likely to be the same. But this time they have a more educated and accurate forecast of demand. They stated in both cases that these are not long running product lines and it takes resources away from their main lines (which is true). Everything he says makes Operational sense to me. I just wish he would have said something earlier or even prior to pre-orders being released that could have eased peoples minds more. The best thing that could happen is to see tons of SNES minis on ebay SEPT 30th for below MSRP when the scalpers get stuck with hundres of dollars of ballast!
As someone who has yet been able to secure a pre-order after being in the "race" over 3 retailers (and quite annoyed about it), I actually believe him. I think this is as close to guaranteeing that there will be enough supply as he can say without saying it. The key for me is him saying its not a supply issue - which is the reasoning for pretty much all of their shortages that they speak to - they just don't acknowledge Amiibo shortages at all. And also when he states the pre-order debacle is out of their control, he may be alluding to the fact that they can't control the fact that scalpers are using bots to sell these things out immediately. When a product goes on sale at 1 or 3AM with no forewarning at all and sells out within 10 minutes (not 20 min or 30 min... 10min!!!) There is foul technology afoot. This is a common issue that plagues concert ticket sales as well. I have stated in the past that Nintendo does have the ability to dictate when retailers launch their pre-order programs (I was right about the NA campaign), but what they can't control are the scalpers using bots to systemically purchase all these pre-orders at once.
Does this bother anyone else? Why even bother marketing something to a majority of consumers who will never have the opportunity to purchase it? If this is for "enthusiasts" only why bother with the campaign? Why bother with the emails that were sent out to ALL Nintendo Club members? It seems like salt in the wound for most and in poor taste. Especially since it includes a never released game - upon which they seem to be placing a lot of focus - that most won't get to play.
@BeardedSquash Pretty much done with this crap too. I feel like I was within the "window" of between 10 and 20 minutes of both the Best Buy and Gamestop pre-order and didn't come up with one. I literally clicked the link from the text I got from Gamestop within only 10 minutes of receiving it and they were gone. It's ridiculous. I didn't have this much trouble getting the NES mini. So, contrary to what Nintendo says, this experience so far has been harder than the NES mini. Not easier.
I'll be happily content with running all those games on BigBox and won't have a shred of regret about it now.
BTW, since I'm feeling particularly salty, I seem to recall my suggestion last month that Walmart withdrew their pre-orders because they released them too soon - not in accordance to Nintendo's pre-sale "plan" and receiving a significant amount of pushback about the concept. Here it is folks... everyone releasing pre-orders at one time. When Nintendo requested - as evidenced by Nintendo directly stating that pre-sales will happen at the end of the month.
I tried to order one from 11PM to 12:30 AM PST last night. Went to bed onlt to find out that Amazon listed them 30 min later. Really beyond pissed right now.
It may have been an option when setting up the notification. I can't remember. But yeah, I agree... I'm in the US and always loved the Super Famicom. I would love to get one of those instead of the NA version.
@electrolite77 I never said they don't make peripherals. Your reading comprehension is astounding. I'm not going to go on because honestly this sounds like a child that wants something, "just cuz I want it". And I tend not to deliberate tantrums.
My point is that the economics of the situation don't justify it. At least right now. They cant keep the friggin things on the shelf. You think their first priority is to make a peripheral that addresses the concerns of something that is not a barrier to future sales in the next year? Having no cross pad is not stopping people from buying a product that they cant make enough of. Full stop. End of story. Now, color swapping is a different thing. Its a color. But introducing a change, even to something as small as a cross button in place of the buttons that their engineers decided on is whats called in engineering as a change in "form, fit or function" which requires usability, ergonomics and impact analysis. Throw in the fact that this is a Japanese company and, yeah, they aren't doing a thing without analysis. BTW, I am 100% certain that the very first concept they thought of is using the cross button as individual buttons and they tossed it. They know their legacy. They're not stupid. My POINT is that until they see a dip in sales, there is no emergency to invest the time to vet it and sell it. Regardless of whether I like it or not.
@dres, I'm not saying options are a bad thing. Personally I like how it is. I like the duality of it. I would NOT like to have a cross pad function as individual buttons when used as a single controller. But that's just me and I realize other people might like it. I think down the line they may consider it. But my only point that people seem to be missing is that there really is no need for them to address this right now. Not from a business standpoint. I hate to be the wet blanket. Its a brand new product, selling like hotcakes and their focus needs to be on keeping up with supply, making games and working on bundling strategies thay appeal to the MASSES that dont affect form, fit or function. BTW, the circle pad was an addition to the design and did not replace functionality. It also came later in the 3DSs lifecycle. I don't see this as the same thing.
What is ridiculous is to go to a business that has created a new concept that has already outsold their previous offering in a 10th of the time, which cannot be kept on store shelves more than a day and say, "Hey! You got this small bit wrong" and expect them to jump at "fixing it". They made a consious engineering decision to increase functionality of their design (having separate buttons function in two ways) at the sacrifice of a design they have had for years. I APPLAUD them for having the balls to change things up to push a concept forward. Obviously, they did not think having a D button would function as well for individual buttons as individual buttons would act as a D pad. I happen to agree with them.
I can appriciate that some people miss the D pad. Not arguing that. My only point(s) are that 1. I agree with their deisgn - my opinion and 2. There is no business justification for them to make a second option now. They cant keep them on the shelves as is and there is no huge outcry for this Dpad option. If there is, maybe they'll address it. But right now, this small microcosm os the only place I see it. And even in here, opinions are split.
What is ridiculous is to go to a business that has created a new concept that has already outsold their previous offering in a 10th of the time, which cannot be kept on store shelves more than a day and say, "Hey! You got this small bit wrong" and expect them to jump at "fixing it". They made a consious engineering decision to increase functionality of their design (having separate buttons function in two ways) at the sacrifice of a design they have had for years. I APPLAUD them for having the balls to change things up to push a concept forward. Obviously, they did not think having a D button would function as well for individual buttons as individual buttons would act as a D pad. I happen to agree with them.
I can appriciate that some people miss the D pad. Not arguing that. My only point(s) are that 1. I agree with their deisgn - my opinion and 2. There is no business justification for them to make a second option now. They cant keep them on the shelves as is and there is no huge outcry for this Dpad option. If there is, maybe they'll address it. But right now, this small microcosm os the only place I see it. And even in here, opinions are split.
@electrolite77 Arguing the validity of opinions is like catching flies with a bubble blower.
The proof in validating the strength of your opinion is how it performs when / if it comes to market. Considering the overall success of the system with the current configuration, I wouldn't hold my breath for Nintendo to be convinced that their idea of separate buttons acting as a d-pad needs the time, effort and engineering costs to "fix". Last I checked, they can't keep their current configuration in stock.
Best hope for this idea is that a small indie house develops them for the handful of people who like the idea. Most people snatching these up after the scalpers nab them are parents for their kids cuz the neighbors kids have it. Both the parents and kids could care less.
No... Not a good idea at all. Very simply, I'd rather have single buttons double as a D-pad than a D-pad double as single buttons. Think about it. There is a difference between the two approaches. Which is why the joy-cons are designed the way they are and which is why they work so great to accomplish 2 separate utilities
@Priceless_Spork The very simple reason... not sure why you don't get it... is because there WAS no other option in 1990 through, I'd say 1994 or 5 when there started to become available the tools to take apart cartridge cases cleanly and even adapters that you could plug into the cartridge slot and then the import cart (which were usually pretty loose and not of high quality). If you were around then, you'd know this. There was no ebay back then. There wasn't even the internet. Just like TWO import companies at the back of EGM magazines and Gamefan where you had to send money or call to place an order. The process was very slow and risky. We're talking weeks to get your order, in not months (or ever). And they didn't have these things till probably mid 90s. So, no real solution when we did it or, at the very least, not worth the hassle.
And the reason you're being dogged is because of your approach dude. Look at your earlier posts. You where basically calling those of us that did this mod back in the day morons. Just the fact that you don't know how this mod - it's just ONE mod you do to your SNES once - wouldn't ruin your system tells me you never heard of it, which leads me to believe you weren't there. So you don't know what it was like. Which is why you can't appreciate why we did it. Pretty simple. I'm going to drop the subject because the group is probably sick of the topic now. I wish you peace and happy gaming!
Please accept my appolgies if I dont believe you... Yes, we knew about cracking open an import game and local game and swapping the PCB out back then. But the proprietary bits needed to unscrew the cartridges apart were not readily available to most people at that time. So we had to literally crack the carts open and that in itself was even more destructive. And the fact that you got your bit off ebay means that you have only been doing this at the most since the millenial.
You're getting a lot of pushback from people because you are basically calling us dumb@$$e$ for doing soemthing during a period of time that, I believe, you have no frame of reference. And its not "breaking" anything. They were physical tabs on the inside of the system that you never would see, that served no purpose other than blocking cartridges that had no matching socket from being fully inserted. Even if I HAD a bit to swap out PCB boards without destroying the cartridge it was a pain in the butt to do that for every game every time i wanted to play it. The easiest way to enjoy your games whenever you wanted and to see the real label staring back at you was to break off 2 crummy tabs. So before you call people idiots for doing something harmless, think it through and see things from other peoples perspectives.
Back in 1990, when we were breaking off tabs, we werent thinking about building a collection or resale value of a system we already knew we'd "keep forever". We just wanted to play certain games a year ahead of when it would be released locally. Its one of those things where you had to live through the time in history to appreciate the moment. My guess is that you werent around at that time. Or at least of an age to make those decisions and ability to make the changes yourself. I could be wrong but I doubt i am. I don't recall a single one of my gaming buddies (and I had numerous) ever saying that they wouldn't mod their SNES because of resale value. We all did it because back then, Japan was the mecca for the best games a year before anywhere else or, even if ever! Many great games were never localized. That's all that mattered to a gamer in the feeding frenzy of a new age of gaming fresh off the previous NES gen of consoles. For many, THAT was the first time they had seen a significant increase in fidelity in their games from one console gen to the next - so the frenzy was very high. For others, like myself, it was only the 2nd (to include Atari 2600, its iterations and classic arcade) but no-less awe-inspiring. So you kinda had to be there to appreciate the sense of urgency to get more, better, quicker. If you had to melt or break off a couple of internal tabs to get it, no biggie. You were never going to part with the console anyway! (And I never did. LOL!)
Would love to see a HD remakes of Final Fight, Ghouls n Ghosts & Dungeons & Dragons. Real HD remakes like they did with this release of SF. The last D&D "remake" were just filters put on the existing sprites. I would pay full retail ($59) for an HD collection of classic Capcom Arcade games lovingly recreated with new HD sprites.
@davey1983 I never said contracts can't be broken. In fact I said, "unless expressly written" - which would mean a fully executed contract. Read carefully.
And I'm sorry, you are simply wrong. There are several examples in real world scenarios TODAY where producers and publishers refuse to sell to retailers based on certain criteria. The criteria are identified to the retailers and the distributors are charged with ensuring compliance in selling to their retailers if there are distributors involved. I gave you one example. Im sorry if you dont believe it. Its there for you to look into if you wish.
To think that a producer or publisher is forced to do business with every and all distribution chains and retail channels due to anti-trust laws is simply ludicrous. There are so many examples of exclusive distribution agreements out there from tools to kitchen blenders to cosmetics and jewelry its mind boggling that we're even having this discussion. And even IF a distributor or retailer wanted to go to litigation because they wanted to carry product but didn't want to play by the release plan of the producer, they would get a single shipment. There... you have the opportunity to sell. The rest are reserved for those that play along with the wishes of the commodity producer. Why on Earth do you think its a big deal when a retailer breaks a street date?! Why don't retailers put their stock on their shelves as soon as they get their product (yes, each store gets their stock a day to days ahead of the street date and keep them in the back). Why do all are pre-orders start on the same day?? Some kind of honor among retailers to be fair to their competitors?
You are right in one thing in that lawyers will find a way and prescedence to bend existing laws to the needs of their litigious clients. But the burden of prosecution is on their shoulders to prove any wrong doing. And that is a very difficult thing to do when prescedence of existing ditribution deals are so prevalent in all channels.
There's a reason why we are still seeing street dates upheld and pre-order availability timed perfectly across all large retailers and it is for the reason I stated. Unless you have real world experience to share working with OEM operations, new product introduction, supply chain and work through logistics and distribution chanels that I do not.
@cleveland124 Ah! I see. Well, I posed the question above about the possibility of Nintendo not doing presales and how they could actually use it as a press op. But that didn't mean I thought they might. I think ot would be a great idea and somehting actually progressive in it's retro thinking. But that would mean Nintendo actually CARED about it's customers. A concept I am quickly losing faith in which started with Amiibo scarcities and pretty much solidified after the NES classic fiasco.
@cleveland124 That article didn't say anything we don't already know. With no time frame at all mentioned, just "at a later date", it's kinda like saying Keith Richard's gonna kick the bucket. Well yeah... but WHEN??? (no disrespect. My money is in him outliving Justin Bieber)
@rjejr DUDE! You took the words right from my mouth. I posted on one of these similar articles that I miss the days when you had to take the risk of maybe not getting something unless you pre-ordered. But you had time to think about it. Not, if I don't log on within 20 minutes to order I missed the boat.
Yes, pre-orders used to be a way for retailers to know how to diatribute their allotments. Not even to know how many to order. For commodity products like new consoles, all retailers get what they get (based on volume of course). There is never, "well I only want 300,000 based on my pre-sales". Or "give me a million". They get what their relationship with the producer warrants (again, based on historical volume mostly). The pre-orders were just a way for the retailer to know how to properly distribute to their stores. Don't care what the people behind the desk say. They don't have all the information.
But yeah, there WAS a day when pre-orders were walk-in only. BECAUSE of that, there was enough (or at least enough over the life of the pre-sale window) to almost guarantee a unit. You just had to commit to plunking cash down ahead if time. Once pre-orders went online (im thinking maybe starting with the PS4, XBone and WiiU era) entire allotments were sucked up by "bots" employed by career scalpers. These are scripts that crawl sites and process multiple transactions faster than manual entry can. And yes, sophisticated bots work aroind the captchas and "confirm you are human" safeguards.
Stop the pre-sales and get back to giving people who really, really want these products and are not afraid to stand in line with their fellow gamers the opportunity to actually buy one!
@davey1983 Yes, they can and they do. They do it by way of controlling allocation of product to their retailers (by way of distributors). They dictate, whether directly or indirectly, how product in introduced to the market. These decisions and arrangements are made at the top of retail supply chain between OEM and retailers and distributors with little actual knowledge of the details besides street dates and pre-order dates filtered down to retail management.
There is nothing at all illegal about managing a product launch. It is the prerogative of a producer of goods to work more closely with retailers who work with them on structured launch plans. If one retailer chooses to not honor the marketing plan of a producer, there is no legal recourse for the producer, obvioisly (unless expressly written). However, there is nothing that obligates how much a producer allocates to a retailer, if anything. They simply will not sell through them. There is nothing illegal about that. In fact, there are producers in the table gaming / hobby space that will not allow their distributors to sell product to online-only retailers. They must be brick and mortar. If they find out that the distributor is selling online with no physical chanel, they will lose their distribution rights to their product. Either way, the retailer does not want want to displease a commodity producer, so they will comply. It's really not that sinister. Just business.
No, all major OEMs do this who have commodoty product. They run the show on new product introduction. The retailer deploys it in accordance to their plans or they don't get stock. Been this way for years.
This is far fetched... but I wonder if Nintendo of America, in the interest of battling the scalping issue and making more units available to actual end-users at launch will be foregoing pre-orders altogether for this launch. I see a couple of reasons for a strategy like this, especially with the understanding that initial orders will sell through no matter if they are available for pre-sale or street date: 1. This is the only way for them to insure that one unit goes to one consumer. Nintendo DOES have control over distribution policies of their retailers through their distribution and allocation agreements with each retailer. They can mandate 1 per customer. They also can mandate pre-order policy, which includes the decision to NOT offer pre-orders. 2. Battling "bots" is easier said than done. While there are technologies and safeguards out there that places like Ticketmaster and others have been investing on for years, like virus devs, scalpers are one step ahead of the technologies out there. So the best way to combat scalpers is to make each sale be based on boots on the ground, waiting in line. A scalper can easily bot multiple e-stores at once and secure multiple units over each in one sitting. But the same person would have to clone him or herself to be in line at multiple stores to come close to the same result. Throw in the limit of one per customer at brick and mortar and the number of scalped units on the market drastically declines. 2. Imagine the press!! If there were no presales, you would have to make a choice to sit at home and order on release day (which means you will get it a couple days later) or get in line, knowing the prospect that a much larger allocation of units would be available at retail. Consumers would actually have a CHANCE to go down, camp out and walk out of the store with one. Online sales would really only be attractive to those folks in remote areas but those people would then have a better chance of gettong one because most people are getting theirs from retail. And Remember, the drastically lowered allocation of online units directed to brick and mortar would drive actual consumers to their favorite store. The press would be incredible for Nintendo with people actually lining up at stores again like the old days.
I see this as a win for all legit entities involved. I would gladly camp out like I did years ago if I knew each store would be getting more that 4 units like recent releases have demonstrated.
@sinalefa Yup! And even more mistakes too. This grammatical battle is likely moot anyway as the Walmart Chat Reps referenced in the article are most likely based in India. Naria's sentence structure gives it away. Who in the US (or UK) would say, "...the item was displayed before time." What, like before time began? Before the Big Bang? Before the dinosaurs? Before Jesus? LOL!
@MS7000 Agreed. They really do seem to be getting worse at this practice over time. I attempted to collect Amiibos very early on but stopped quickly (after wave 2 I think) when it was apparent that they were going to pull this uber-short supply nonsense as a general rule in managing that product line. I just don't play the game anymore - not going to get attached to that product family.
I remember when you could go up to Gamestop and pre-order a premium or deluxe edition of pretty much anything with ease. The only constraint is that they had to close orders on a certain date (for the retailer to submit final orders). Back then, the only time you missed out is when you were dumb enough to not pre-order. Now, if you don't pre-order within literally minutes you have missed the boat. I'm too old for that nonsense anymore. But it does leave a bad taste in my mouth for the brand. As a consequence, I have recently found other avenues for entertainment that are not as compulsive and, as a result, Nintendo has gotten probably less than half (or more than) of what I used to spend on them each year.
@Ensemen It's no surprise to anyone. Just getting old is all. The more it happens the more resentment grows and the higher the possibility that people look to other means of consumable entertainment. Or they look to competitors that don't run so many short-supply promotions concerning beloved franchises.
@SanderEvers Yes, I understand the "classic" graphics will be optional. In fact, I jokingly mentioned that I hoped "classic" was an upgrade to what I would consider classic = "16bit". My overall comment was that the option was underwhelming. To me, even their newer, updated graphics fell short of what I would consider good 26 years ago. So offering an option of even worse graphics didn't do much for me. And I never said "all" indie games, I said "most". I also didn't say they were unfinished. I said that I felt the "package was incomplete". There is a difference. Unfinished means broken and unplayable. An incomplete package is a level of polish or inclusion that could have been but never was. A missed opportunity for a greater thing.
I respect your opinion. I'm glad you enjoy indie games. There are few out there that I agree are really good too! We just share different opinions on the types of games we like.
@NEStalgia Yes, I agree with you 100%. There have been a few ground-breaking Indie games. Minecraft was most definitely one of them. But it's hard for me to call out other groundbreaking games by Indies as being genre-defining the way Mario, Streetfighter, Doom, Zelda, Final Fantasy, Madden, Resident Evil, etc. have.
Yeah, it would be hard for me to categorize a developer like Wayforward as indie. They are a studio that have a collection of talent in many different disciplines working on games that are funded by larger studios that commission their work. Like Contra 4 for the DS. Even Shante was publishd by Capcom for the GBC. You can say that they are Independent in terms of the fact that they aren't a 1st party or major 3rd party. But they are growing and their business scales to the work that is commissioned or published (meaning they do not share sole financial responsibility for distribution - which does not make them 100% independent) by others. This current outing of Shante is an exception and of very high quality. But I actually see that effort as their continual steps forward in becoming a 3rd party studio that, while they may still call themselves independent, doesn't make them much different than the other 3rd party studios out there.
I'm really talking about the 1 to 2 people teams making the incredible amounts of shovel-ware on places like STEAM, the Wii and other places. I have over 300 games on Steam. Probably less than 5% I've played (or will play) more than once. I do like to give them a try but for the most part, I'm disappointed, unsurprisingly to myself. But like I said, I gave a great many a shot.
I think gamers who actually grew up in the Atari 2600, 8Bit and 16 bit and even 32 bit eras, see game quality different than gamers growing up in the XBOX / PS2 or > era where Indie gaming started to flourish. I even remember when the 1st commercial PS1 dev kit was marketed to "Independent Game Developers", I shuddered then thinking of all the sub-standard product potentially flooding the market. Any way, I think (my opinion) that classic gamers knew what it was like to compare the color pallets, MHz, processors and # of sprites of 16bit rivals when the systems first came out. They knew what it was to look for the smallest differences in pixels between the SNES and Genesis to be able to declare one to be "higher quality" over the other (and thus their favorite!). And they knew what it was like to go to the arcade to play their favorite game and wait impatiently for it to come to their home console, hoping that not too much will be lost in translation. And most importantly, they knew what it was like to pay $49 for a game... so it better be damn good!! Playing these games in retrospect now is definitely not the same as playing them back in the day without all of those factors above enhancing the total experience.
Now, we can pay $10 or even less for an Indie game. And the entry cost for a sub-par experience is not too high for the risk. Gamers who grew up gaming in the Indie-millennial era maybe didn't have that same "quality" cost vs. benefit radar built in. I don't know. I could be spouting BS. But I can definitely say that I certainly don't look at games the same as younger gamers today.
I never really got the hype about this game either. Yes I did buy it for 3DS. The mechanics are good. But like most of the other millennial Indie games, the graphics were a significant downgrade from what I enjoyed a over a decade before. To me it's the embodiment of a good game in an incomplete package... pretty much my feelings on Indie games in general - great undeveloped, potential gone stagnant because of an incomplete tutelage one can find as being part of a larger talented team of professionals working for an established commercial studio.
So hearing that it will include further downgraded graphics has 0 appeal to me. It's funny... reading the headlines, I was kinda hoping "classic" meant an UPGRADE to 16 bit graphics! LOL! But no...
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Re: Toys 'R' Us Seeks Bankruptcy Protection in North America
@JohnBlackstar
You hit the nail on the head. It's very easy for anyone here or anywhere else to sit from afar and throw rocks at glass houses. Of course their prices are higher than Amazon... try saying that for almost ANY brick and mortar store. Amazon is taking them all out. It's only a matter of time until they gain so much marketshare that even Walmart will succumb. It doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure what the astronomical cost savings of NOT having 1,000 stores and employees does to their ability to cut margins. And guess what? The more market share they aquire and the more volume they do, the cheaper it is to buy product (per unit cost goes down), pick, pack and ship each order! They literally have no significant barriers to their growth when compared to physical retailers. They are the Galactus of retail!
And then the day will come that there are literally no more brick and mortars. And, as you mentioned, their hold on variable pricing will be very difficult to compete with by the remaining retail channels. No more dropping by the store to browse, get your hands on demos, talk to helpful staff (not everyone is a gem but Ive talked to more stars than black holes!) And no more picking up a game on a whim.
This is already happening in so many other arenas. Book stores and music stores are almost dead. Table gaming shops really struggle to stay afloat. Margins are so thin to begin with. The only way some of these places get by is by selling the experience of going in to the store, trying things out, being helped by knowledgeable staff and store owners building relationahips with their faithful customers. Small niche shops who do this well will be the few to succeed in pockets. But large chains like TRU just can't offer that without a wholesale change in their culture and the way they do business.
I do agree with most peoples feedback on here having to do with pricing and customer service. I guess all Im saying is that you could probably say that about every chain that directly or indirectly finds itself competing with Amazon.
Re: Toys 'R' Us Seeks Bankruptcy Protection in North America
@flapjack-ashley
Thanks for the trip down memory lane flapjack! This is exactly how I remember it too. In fact, that long display case you mentioned is where I first saw the Sega Genesis. I was actually working in the electronics dept of a small regional dept store and was very familiar with selling NESs (and Atari games too). But one day Toys R Us got their Genesis display units before us and I was floored when I took a trip to get some other toy for a nephew. Believe it or not, just seeing how realistic the ball and field moved in Tommy Lasorda Baseball blew me away! Not to mention Altered Beast! Yeah... a crummy game... but in display behind the glass?? What a beauty! But the kicker was Ghouls and Ghosts. That display case showed me the potential for the future of gaming. Yeah! Stuff gets even BETTER than what we know.
That case is where I first saw the TG16, Turbo CD (the one with the suit case!), Turbo Duo and even the Sega Nomad. What memories. Thaks for that!
Re: 8Bitdo SN30 And SF30 Pro Controllers Are Available For Pre-Order Now
@Gs69
Yes
Re: 8Bitdo SN30 And SF30 Pro Controllers Are Available For Pre-Order Now
I just bought the NES version of this pad and the quality is exceptional. Will definitely be getting this.
Re: Nintendo Switch Is Getting A New Phantasy Star Online Game
I'd give my 3rd nut for a traditional numbered Phantasy Star single player romp. PSV anyone? ...anyone? ....No one? ...<crickets>...
Re: Nintendo Is Resurrecting The NES Classic Mini And Increasing SNES Classic Inventory
@tanookisuit
Very simply, things change in business. I have no doubt that at the time that was the direction they were going to adopt. From the top down. But a lot can happen in 5 months. There really was a very large outcry from the consumer. And not just in niche pockets and forums like this. During just this month I watched 2 reports on national news broadcasts here in the US about it. When the issue reaches mainstream, companies tend to take notice. You can either steer your company like the titanic and forge ahead without ears to the ground telling you of warnings or you can be nimble and react to the market. Good companies, no matter their size practice this effectively.
For a while there, I feared that Nintendo was forging ahead full steam, damn the weather, damn the ice... but I'm very encouraged to see that they have decided to listen and make a way for their strategic planning to include these once-and-done products. This is a good sign.
Re: Nintendo Is Resurrecting The NES Classic Mini And Increasing SNES Classic Inventory
@JaxonH
You are right on target. That's a pretty good assesstment. I do think he has more influence than most everyone here gives him credit for though. He is the head of NA operations. Having worked for a couple if Japanese gaming companies in the past, I can say first hand that an international exec role in such an organization is more influential than control oriented. But when you are the head of the largest division, you analytics, marketing insights and demand forecasting carry a lot of influence. He may not carry the deciding vote but he has a place at the "table" and does play a role in their strategic planning. That is for certain.
Re: Nintendo Is Resurrecting The NES Classic Mini And Increasing SNES Classic Inventory
I honestly feel like I just buried the hatchet with one of my best buddies after some stupid argument we had that neither of us remembers...
...Wait... I stayed up til... with nothing to show f...
Awww who am I kidding, I can't stay mad at you!
Re: First Impressions: Defying Gravity in Skyrim for Nintendo Switch
I played probably 20 hours on the Steam version. It's an incredible game. I'll def buy it for Switch and give it another go. Really hoping you can turn off all motion controls though. Really over that stuff.
Re: Don't Pay Over The Odds For A SNES Classic Mini, Urges Reggie Fils-Aime
@tedko I agree with you 100% on TRU as well. I hypothesized (more whistful pondering) last month that maybe the delay with NA pre orders might imply that NOA would do away with pre orders alltogether for this very reason. Looks like hopefully they just limited pre orders to appease retailers and fans alike. But yeah, kudos to TRU for throwing the ultimate middle finger to scalpers in general! Thats where Im going to line up Sept 29! Riggie's commentary shared here today said a lot and explained a great deal. Im happy with the communication.
Re: Don't Pay Over The Odds For A SNES Classic Mini, Urges Reggie Fils-Aime
I believe that they held numbers for pre-orders to a much lower quantity to combat scalping. I don't see him taking the time to make this statement if it were otherwise. I believe that they are aware of the scalping issue and their inability to do anything to combat the tools that scalpers use to snap up supply from their retailers' ecommerce systems. I think he is telling us, without making a personal guarantee, that there will be enough... don't buy from scalpers.
What he says about the NES mini also makes sense when you think about the two different approaches to how large organziations plan and execute short run product lines compared to long run product lines. It would not surprise me (I have been through it) if they had an initial production run (or runs in quick succession) of the NES Minis based on a very misguided forecast. Their original plan would be to have a single run of a product line that would provide a guaranteed injection of revenue that would not require a large amount of effort to manage on a continual basis. A once and done, if you will. The production run was complete and their production partners production plan afterwards was already consumed by other customers and orders. Starting the whole process up again is very costly and because they didnt see this as an ongoing product line supported by software development and software sales, they decided to not restart production.
Their plan for the SNES Mini is actually likely to be the same. But this time they have a more educated and accurate forecast of demand. They stated in both cases that these are not long running product lines and it takes resources away from their main lines (which is true). Everything he says makes Operational sense to me. I just wish he would have said something earlier or even prior to pre-orders being released that could have eased peoples minds more. The best thing that could happen is to see tons of SNES minis on ebay SEPT 30th for below MSRP when the scalpers get stuck with hundres of dollars of ballast!
Re: Don't Pay Over The Odds For A SNES Classic Mini, Urges Reggie Fils-Aime
As someone who has yet been able to secure a pre-order after being in the "race" over 3 retailers (and quite annoyed about it), I actually believe him. I think this is as close to guaranteeing that there will be enough supply as he can say without saying it. The key for me is him saying its not a supply issue - which is the reasoning for pretty much all of their shortages that they speak to - they just don't acknowledge Amiibo shortages at all. And also when he states the pre-order debacle is out of their control, he may be alluding to the fact that they can't control the fact that scalpers are using bots to sell these things out immediately. When a product goes on sale at 1 or 3AM with no forewarning at all and sells out within 10 minutes (not 20 min or 30 min... 10min!!!) There is foul technology afoot. This is a common issue that plagues concert ticket sales as well. I have stated in the past that Nintendo does have the ability to dictate when retailers launch their pre-order programs (I was right about the NA campaign), but what they can't control are the scalpers using bots to systemically purchase all these pre-orders at once.
I believe him. I hope he's right!
Re: Nintendo Shows Off Awesome SNES Classic 'Nintendo Power' Covers
Does this bother anyone else? Why even bother marketing something to a majority of consumers who will never have the opportunity to purchase it? If this is for "enthusiasts" only why bother with the campaign? Why bother with the emails that were sent out to ALL Nintendo Club members? It seems like salt in the wound for most and in poor taste. Especially since it includes a never released game - upon which they seem to be placing a lot of focus - that most won't get to play.
Re: Side-Scrolling Beat 'Em Up The TakeOver Is Punching Its Way To Switch
Oh hells yes! CAPCOM take note!
I do agree though. Could use a few more frames of animation. Looks a bit choppy. But I'm in for sure.
Re: Guide: Where to Pre-Order Your Super NES Classic Edition
@BeardedSquash Pretty much done with this crap too. I feel like I was within the "window" of between 10 and 20 minutes of both the Best Buy and Gamestop pre-order and didn't come up with one. I literally clicked the link from the text I got from Gamestop within only 10 minutes of receiving it and they were gone. It's ridiculous. I didn't have this much trouble getting the NES mini. So, contrary to what Nintendo says, this experience so far has been harder than the NES mini. Not easier.
I'll be happily content with running all those games on BigBox and won't have a shred of regret about it now.
Re: Guide: Where to Pre-Order Your Super NES Classic Edition
BTW, since I'm feeling particularly salty, I seem to recall my suggestion last month that Walmart withdrew their pre-orders because they released them too soon - not in accordance to Nintendo's pre-sale "plan" and receiving a significant amount of pushback about the concept. Here it is folks... everyone releasing pre-orders at one time. When Nintendo requested - as evidenced by Nintendo directly stating that pre-sales will happen at the end of the month.
Re: Guide: Where to Pre-Order Your Super NES Classic Edition
I responded within 10 minutes of the text and nothing...
Re: Guide: Where to Pre-Order Your Super NES Classic Edition
I tried to order one from 11PM to 12:30 AM PST last night. Went to bed onlt to find out that Amazon listed them 30 min later. Really beyond pissed right now.
Re: Guide: Where to Pre-Order Your Super NES Classic Edition
Is there anyone else who was not able to get one? Been trying for the last 50 min.
Re: Guide: Where to Pre-Order Your Super NES Classic Edition
Really super frustrated. Got it in my cart 2x only to have it sold out when checking out. Frustrating is not the word.
Re: Video: Check Out This Japanese Overview for the SNES Mini
Got one in my cart and sold out at the point of checkout.
Re: Video: Check Out This Japanese Overview for the SNES Mini
Sold out
Re: Video: Check Out This Japanese Overview for the SNES Mini
@crystalorbie
It may have been an option when setting up the notification. I can't remember. But yeah, I agree... I'm in the US and always loved the Super Famicom. I would love to get one of those instead of the NA version.
Re: Video: Check Out This Japanese Overview for the SNES Mini
I honestly wish I could say with conviction that I'm not going to even try but it would be LIES!!
I'm gonna try... but I'm not happy about it! I won't try very hard... that makes me feel better.
Speaking of... did anyone get a text from Gamestop today asking if they still wanted info updates on the SNES Mini? Maybe pre-orders are coming soon?
Re: Soapbox: Seriously Nintendo, It's Time For A Switch Joy-Con With A Proper D-Pad
@electrolite77 I never said they don't make peripherals. Your reading comprehension is astounding. I'm not going to go on because honestly this sounds like a child that wants something, "just cuz I want it". And I tend not to deliberate tantrums.
My point is that the economics of the situation don't justify it. At least right now. They cant keep the friggin things on the shelf. You think their first priority is to make a peripheral that addresses the concerns of something that is not a barrier to future sales in the next year? Having no cross pad is not stopping people from buying a product that they cant make enough of. Full stop. End of story. Now, color swapping is a different thing. Its a color. But introducing a change, even to something as small as a cross button in place of the buttons that their engineers decided on is whats called in engineering as a change in "form, fit or function" which requires usability, ergonomics and impact analysis. Throw in the fact that this is a Japanese company and, yeah, they aren't doing a thing without analysis. BTW, I am 100% certain that the very first concept they thought of is using the cross button as individual buttons and they tossed it. They know their legacy. They're not stupid. My POINT is that until they see a dip in sales, there is no emergency to invest the time to vet it and sell it. Regardless of whether I like it or not.
@dres, I'm not saying options are a bad thing. Personally I like how it is. I like the duality of it. I would NOT like to have a cross pad function as individual buttons when used as a single controller. But that's just me and I realize other people might like it. I think down the line they may consider it. But my only point that people seem to be missing is that there really is no need for them to address this right now. Not from a business standpoint. I hate to be the wet blanket. Its a brand new product, selling like hotcakes and their focus needs to be on keeping up with supply, making games and working on bundling strategies thay appeal to the MASSES that dont affect form, fit or function. BTW, the circle pad was an addition to the design and did not replace functionality. It also came later in the 3DSs lifecycle. I don't see this as the same thing.
Re: Soapbox: Seriously Nintendo, It's Time For A Switch Joy-Con With A Proper D-Pad
@Manjushri
What is ridiculous is to go to a business that has created a new concept that has already outsold their previous offering in a 10th of the time, which cannot be kept on store shelves more than a day and say, "Hey! You got this small bit wrong" and expect them to jump at "fixing it". They made a consious engineering decision to increase functionality of their design (having separate buttons function in two ways) at the sacrifice of a design they have had for years. I APPLAUD them for having the balls to change things up to push a concept forward. Obviously, they did not think having a D button would function as well for individual buttons as individual buttons would act as a D pad. I happen to agree with them.
I can appriciate that some people miss the D pad. Not arguing that. My only point(s) are that 1. I agree with their deisgn - my opinion and 2. There is no business justification for them to make a second option now. They cant keep them on the shelves as is and there is no huge outcry for this Dpad option. If there is, maybe they'll address it. But right now, this small microcosm os the only place I see it. And even in here, opinions are split.
Re: Soapbox: Seriously Nintendo, It's Time For A Switch Joy-Con With A Proper D-Pad
@Manjushri
What is ridiculous is to go to a business that has created a new concept that has already outsold their previous offering in a 10th of the time, which cannot be kept on store shelves more than a day and say, "Hey! You got this small bit wrong" and expect them to jump at "fixing it". They made a consious engineering decision to increase functionality of their design (having separate buttons function in two ways) at the sacrifice of a design they have had for years. I APPLAUD them for having the balls to change things up to push a concept forward. Obviously, they did not think having a D button would function as well for individual buttons as individual buttons would act as a D pad. I happen to agree with them.
I can appriciate that some people miss the D pad. Not arguing that. My only point(s) are that 1. I agree with their deisgn - my opinion and 2. There is no business justification for them to make a second option now. They cant keep them on the shelves as is and there is no huge outcry for this Dpad option. If there is, maybe they'll address it. But right now, this small microcosm os the only place I see it. And even in here, opinions are split.
Re: Soapbox: Seriously Nintendo, It's Time For A Switch Joy-Con With A Proper D-Pad
@electrolite77 Arguing the validity of opinions is like catching flies with a bubble blower.
The proof in validating the strength of your opinion is how it performs when / if it comes to market. Considering the overall success of the system with the current configuration, I wouldn't hold my breath for Nintendo to be convinced that their idea of separate buttons acting as a d-pad needs the time, effort and engineering costs to "fix". Last I checked, they can't keep their current configuration in stock.
Best hope for this idea is that a small indie house develops them for the handful of people who like the idea. Most people snatching these up after the scalpers nab them are parents for their kids cuz the neighbors kids have it. Both the parents and kids could care less.
Re: Soapbox: Seriously Nintendo, It's Time For A Switch Joy-Con With A Proper D-Pad
No... Not a good idea at all. Very simply, I'd rather have single buttons double as a D-pad than a D-pad double as single buttons. Think about it. There is a difference between the two approaches.
Which is why the joy-cons are designed the way they are and which is why they work so great to accomplish 2 separate utilities
Re: Feature: Is It Really Cheaper To Order Retro Games Direct From Japan?
@Priceless_Spork The very simple reason... not sure why you don't get it... is because there WAS no other option in 1990 through, I'd say 1994 or 5 when there started to become available the tools to take apart cartridge cases cleanly and even adapters that you could plug into the cartridge slot and then the import cart (which were usually pretty loose and not of high quality). If you were around then, you'd know this. There was no ebay back then. There wasn't even the internet. Just like TWO import companies at the back of EGM magazines and Gamefan where you had to send money or call to place an order. The process was very slow and risky. We're talking weeks to get your order, in not months (or ever). And they didn't have these things till probably mid 90s. So, no real solution when we did it or, at the very least, not worth the hassle.
And the reason you're being dogged is because of your approach dude. Look at your earlier posts. You where basically calling those of us that did this mod back in the day morons. Just the fact that you don't know how this mod - it's just ONE mod you do to your SNES once - wouldn't ruin your system tells me you never heard of it, which leads me to believe you weren't there. So you don't know what it was like. Which is why you can't appreciate why we did it. Pretty simple. I'm going to drop the subject because the group is probably sick of the topic now. I wish you peace and happy gaming!
Re: Feature: Is It Really Cheaper To Order Retro Games Direct From Japan?
@Priceless_Spork
Please accept my appolgies if I dont believe you... Yes, we knew about cracking open an import game and local game and swapping the PCB out back then. But the proprietary bits needed to unscrew the cartridges apart were not readily available to most people at that time. So we had to literally crack the carts open and that in itself was even more destructive. And the fact that you got your bit off ebay means that you have only been doing this at the most since the millenial.
You're getting a lot of pushback from people because you are basically calling us dumb@$$e$ for doing soemthing during a period of time that, I believe, you have no frame of reference. And its not "breaking" anything. They were physical tabs on the inside of the system that you never would see, that served no purpose other than blocking cartridges that had no matching socket from being fully inserted. Even if I HAD a bit to swap out PCB boards without destroying the cartridge it was a pain in the butt to do that for every game every time i wanted to play it. The easiest way to enjoy your games whenever you wanted and to see the real label staring back at you was to break off 2 crummy tabs. So before you call people idiots for doing something harmless, think it through and see things from other peoples perspectives.
Re: Feature: Is It Really Cheaper To Order Retro Games Direct From Japan?
@Priceless_Spork
Back in 1990, when we were breaking off tabs, we werent thinking about building a collection or resale value of a system we already knew we'd "keep forever". We just wanted to play certain games a year ahead of when it would be released locally. Its one of those things where you had to live through the time in history to appreciate the moment. My guess is that you werent around at that time. Or at least of an age to make those decisions and ability to make the changes yourself. I could be wrong but I doubt i am. I don't recall a single one of my gaming buddies (and I had numerous) ever saying that they wouldn't mod their SNES because of resale value. We all did it because back then, Japan was the mecca for the best games a year before anywhere else or, even if ever! Many great games were never localized. That's all that mattered to a gamer in the feeding frenzy of a new age of gaming fresh off the previous NES gen of consoles. For many, THAT was the first time they had seen a significant increase in fidelity in their games from one console gen to the next - so the frenzy was very high. For others, like myself, it was only the 2nd (to include Atari 2600, its iterations and classic arcade) but no-less awe-inspiring. So you kinda had to be there to appreciate the sense of urgency to get more, better, quicker. If you had to melt or break off a couple of internal tabs to get it, no biggie. You were never going to part with the console anyway! (And I never did. LOL!)
Re: Feature: Is It Really Cheaper To Order Retro Games Direct From Japan?
@Yorumi Something I never thought about but do those batteries explode like normal AA, etc. Batteries?
Re: Feature: Is It Really Cheaper To Order Retro Games Direct From Japan?
@Yorumi Wow! Memories! I melted my tabs off with a soldering iron. Smooth... like buttah'
Re: Review: Namco Museum (Switch eShop)
"1981's Galaxian sequel Galaga may be a riff on Taito's Space Invaders concept"...
Not to nit-pick but Galaxian was the riff on Space Invaders, actually. Galaga took a bigger step forward from Galaxian.
Re: Capcom Reportedly Gearing Up for Multiple Nintendo Switch Titles
Would love to see a HD remakes of Final Fight, Ghouls n Ghosts & Dungeons & Dragons. Real HD remakes like they did with this release of SF. The last D&D "remake" were just filters put on the existing sprites. I would pay full retail ($59) for an HD collection of classic Capcom Arcade games lovingly recreated with new HD sprites.
Re: Walmart Cancels All Super NES Classic Pre-Orders
@davey1983 I never said contracts can't be broken. In fact I said, "unless expressly written" - which would mean a fully executed contract. Read carefully.
And I'm sorry, you are simply wrong. There are several examples in real world scenarios TODAY where producers and publishers refuse to sell to retailers based on certain criteria. The criteria are identified to the retailers and the distributors are charged with ensuring compliance in selling to their retailers if there are distributors involved. I gave you one example. Im sorry if you dont believe it. Its there for you to look into if you wish.
To think that a producer or publisher is forced to do business with every and all distribution chains and retail channels due to anti-trust laws is simply ludicrous. There are so many examples of exclusive distribution agreements out there from tools to kitchen blenders to cosmetics and jewelry its mind boggling that we're even having this discussion. And even IF a distributor or retailer wanted to go to litigation because they wanted to carry product but didn't want to play by the release plan of the producer, they would get a single shipment. There... you have the opportunity to sell. The rest are reserved for those that play along with the wishes of the commodity producer. Why on Earth do you think its a big deal when a retailer breaks a street date?! Why don't retailers put their stock on their shelves as soon as they get their product (yes, each store gets their stock a day to days ahead of the street date and keep them in the back). Why do all are pre-orders start on the same day?? Some kind of honor among retailers to be fair to their competitors?
You are right in one thing in that lawyers will find a way and prescedence to bend existing laws to the needs of their litigious clients. But the burden of prosecution is on their shoulders to prove any wrong doing. And that is a very difficult thing to do when prescedence of existing ditribution deals are so prevalent in all channels.
There's a reason why we are still seeing street dates upheld and pre-order availability timed perfectly across all large retailers and it is for the reason I stated. Unless you have real world experience to share working with OEM operations, new product introduction, supply chain and work through logistics and distribution chanels that I do not.
Re: Walmart Cancels All Super NES Classic Pre-Orders
@cleveland124 Ah! I see. Well, I posed the question above about the possibility of Nintendo not doing presales and how they could actually use it as a press op. But that didn't mean I thought they might. I think ot would be a great idea and somehting actually progressive in it's retro thinking. But that would mean Nintendo actually CARED about it's customers. A concept I am quickly losing faith in which started with Amiibo scarcities and pretty much solidified after the NES classic fiasco.
Re: Walmart Cancels All Super NES Classic Pre-Orders
@cleveland124 That article didn't say anything we don't already know. With no time frame at all mentioned, just "at a later date", it's kinda like saying Keith Richard's gonna kick the bucket. Well yeah... but WHEN??? (no disrespect. My money is in him outliving Justin Bieber)
Re: Walmart Cancels All Super NES Classic Pre-Orders
@rjejr DUDE! You took the words right from my mouth. I posted on one of these similar articles that I miss the days when you had to take the risk of maybe not getting something unless you pre-ordered. But you had time to think about it. Not, if I don't log on within 20 minutes to order I missed the boat.
Yes, pre-orders used to be a way for retailers to know how to diatribute their allotments. Not even to know how many to order. For commodity products like new consoles, all retailers get what they get (based on volume of course). There is never, "well I only want 300,000 based on my pre-sales". Or "give me a million". They get what their relationship with the producer warrants (again, based on historical volume mostly). The pre-orders were just a way for the retailer to know how to properly distribute to their stores. Don't care what the people behind the desk say. They don't have all the information.
But yeah, there WAS a day when pre-orders were walk-in only. BECAUSE of that, there was enough (or at least enough over the life of the pre-sale window) to almost guarantee a unit. You just had to commit to plunking cash down ahead if time. Once pre-orders went online (im thinking maybe starting with the PS4, XBone and WiiU era) entire allotments were sucked up by "bots" employed by career scalpers. These are scripts that crawl sites and process multiple transactions faster than manual entry can. And yes, sophisticated bots work aroind the captchas and "confirm you are human" safeguards.
Stop the pre-sales and get back to giving people who really, really want these products and are not afraid to stand in line with their fellow gamers the opportunity to actually buy one!
Re: Walmart Cancels All Super NES Classic Pre-Orders
@Rumncoke25 Fully agreed! And I love your screen name. Swap rum with Jack and next thing you know we'll be doing karate in the garage!
Re: Walmart Cancels All Super NES Classic Pre-Orders
@davey1983 Yes, they can and they do. They do it by way of controlling allocation of product to their retailers (by way of distributors). They dictate, whether directly or indirectly, how product in introduced to the market. These decisions and arrangements are made at the top of retail supply chain between OEM and retailers and distributors with little actual knowledge of the details besides street dates and pre-order dates filtered down to retail management.
There is nothing at all illegal about managing a product launch. It is the prerogative of a producer of goods to work more closely with retailers who work with them on structured launch plans. If one retailer chooses to not honor the marketing plan of a producer, there is no legal recourse for the producer, obvioisly (unless expressly written). However, there is nothing that obligates how much a producer allocates to a retailer, if anything. They simply will not sell through them. There is nothing illegal about that. In fact, there are producers in the table gaming / hobby space that will not allow their distributors to sell product to online-only retailers. They must be brick and mortar. If they find out that the distributor is selling online with no physical chanel, they will lose their distribution rights to their product. Either way, the retailer does not want want to displease a commodity producer, so they will comply. It's really not that sinister. Just business.
No, all major OEMs do this who have commodoty product. They run the show on new product introduction. The retailer deploys it in accordance to their plans or they don't get stock. Been this way for years.
Re: Walmart Cancels All Super NES Classic Pre-Orders
This is far fetched... but I wonder if Nintendo of America, in the interest of battling the scalping issue and making more units available to actual end-users at launch will be foregoing pre-orders altogether for this launch. I see a couple of reasons for a strategy like this, especially with the understanding that initial orders will sell through no matter if they are available for pre-sale or street date:
1. This is the only way for them to insure that one unit goes to one consumer. Nintendo DOES have control over distribution policies of their retailers through their distribution and allocation agreements with each retailer. They can mandate 1 per customer. They also can mandate pre-order policy, which includes the decision to NOT offer pre-orders.
2. Battling "bots" is easier said than done. While there are technologies and safeguards out there that places like Ticketmaster and others have been investing on for years, like virus devs, scalpers are one step ahead of the technologies out there. So the best way to combat scalpers is to make each sale be based on boots on the ground, waiting in line. A scalper can easily bot multiple e-stores at once and secure multiple units over each in one sitting. But the same person would have to clone him or herself to be in line at multiple stores to come close to the same result. Throw in the limit of one per customer at brick and mortar and the number of scalped units on the market drastically declines.
2. Imagine the press!! If there were no presales, you would have to make a choice to sit at home and order on release day (which means you will get it a couple days later) or get in line, knowing the prospect that a much larger allocation of units would be available at retail. Consumers would actually have a CHANCE to go down, camp out and walk out of the store with one. Online sales would really only be attractive to those folks in remote areas but those people would then have a better chance of gettong one because most people are getting theirs from retail. And Remember, the drastically lowered allocation of online units directed to brick and mortar would drive actual consumers to their favorite store. The press would be incredible for Nintendo with people actually lining up at stores again like the old days.
I see this as a win for all legit entities involved. I would gladly camp out like I did years ago if I knew each store would be getting more that 4 units like recent releases have demonstrated.
Re: Walmart Cancels a Number of SNES Mini Pre-Orders
@sinalefa Yup! And even more mistakes too. This grammatical battle is likely moot anyway as the Walmart Chat Reps referenced in the article are most likely based in India. Naria's sentence structure gives it away. Who in the US (or UK) would say, "...the item was displayed before time." What, like before time began? Before the Big Bang? Before the dinosaurs? Before Jesus? LOL!
So neither the Queen or the Yanks win this one!
Re: The Metroid: Samus Returns Legacy Edition is Up for Pre-Order on the Official Nintendo UK Store
@MS7000 Agreed. They really do seem to be getting worse at this practice over time. I attempted to collect Amiibos very early on but stopped quickly (after wave 2 I think) when it was apparent that they were going to pull this uber-short supply nonsense as a general rule in managing that product line. I just don't play the game anymore - not going to get attached to that product family.
I remember when you could go up to Gamestop and pre-order a premium or deluxe edition of pretty much anything with ease. The only constraint is that they had to close orders on a certain date (for the retailer to submit final orders). Back then, the only time you missed out is when you were dumb enough to not pre-order. Now, if you don't pre-order within literally minutes you have missed the boat. I'm too old for that nonsense anymore. But it does leave a bad taste in my mouth for the brand. As a consequence, I have recently found other avenues for entertainment that are not as compulsive and, as a result, Nintendo has gotten probably less than half (or more than) of what I used to spend on them each year.
Re: The Metroid: Samus Returns Legacy Edition is Up for Pre-Order on the Official Nintendo UK Store
@Ensemen It's no surprise to anyone. Just getting old is all. The more it happens the more resentment grows and the higher the possibility that people look to other means of consumable entertainment. Or they look to competitors that don't run so many short-supply promotions concerning beloved franchises.
Re: Cave Story+ Will Be Receiving Classic Graphics in a Free August Update
@SanderEvers Yes, I understand the "classic" graphics will be optional. In fact, I jokingly mentioned that I hoped "classic" was an upgrade to what I would consider classic = "16bit". My overall comment was that the option was underwhelming. To me, even their newer, updated graphics fell short of what I would consider good 26 years ago. So offering an option of even worse graphics didn't do much for me. And I never said "all" indie games, I said "most". I also didn't say they were unfinished. I said that I felt the "package was incomplete". There is a difference. Unfinished means broken and unplayable. An incomplete package is a level of polish or inclusion that could have been but never was. A missed opportunity for a greater thing.
I respect your opinion. I'm glad you enjoy indie games. There are few out there that I agree are really good too! We just share different opinions on the types of games we like.
Re: Cave Story+ Will Be Receiving Classic Graphics in a Free August Update
@NEStalgia Yes, I agree with you 100%. There have been a few ground-breaking Indie games. Minecraft was most definitely one of them. But it's hard for me to call out other groundbreaking games by Indies as being genre-defining the way Mario, Streetfighter, Doom, Zelda, Final Fantasy, Madden, Resident Evil, etc. have.
Yeah, it would be hard for me to categorize a developer like Wayforward as indie. They are a studio that have a collection of talent in many different disciplines working on games that are funded by larger studios that commission their work. Like Contra 4 for the DS. Even Shante was publishd by Capcom for the GBC. You can say that they are Independent in terms of the fact that they aren't a 1st party or major 3rd party. But they are growing and their business scales to the work that is commissioned or published (meaning they do not share sole financial responsibility for distribution - which does not make them 100% independent) by others. This current outing of Shante is an exception and of very high quality. But I actually see that effort as their continual steps forward in becoming a 3rd party studio that, while they may still call themselves independent, doesn't make them much different than the other 3rd party studios out there.
I'm really talking about the 1 to 2 people teams making the incredible amounts of shovel-ware on places like STEAM, the Wii and other places. I have over 300 games on Steam. Probably less than 5% I've played (or will play) more than once. I do like to give them a try but for the most part, I'm disappointed, unsurprisingly to myself. But like I said, I gave a great many a shot.
I think gamers who actually grew up in the Atari 2600, 8Bit and 16 bit and even 32 bit eras, see game quality different than gamers growing up in the XBOX / PS2 or > era where Indie gaming started to flourish. I even remember when the 1st commercial PS1 dev kit was marketed to "Independent Game Developers", I shuddered then thinking of all the sub-standard product potentially flooding the market. Any way, I think (my opinion) that classic gamers knew what it was like to compare the color pallets, MHz, processors and # of sprites of 16bit rivals when the systems first came out. They knew what it was to look for the smallest differences in pixels between the SNES and Genesis to be able to declare one to be
"higher quality" over the other (and thus their favorite!). And they knew what it was like to go to the arcade to play their favorite game and wait impatiently for it to come to their home console, hoping that not too much will be lost in translation. And most importantly, they knew what it was like to pay $49 for a game... so it better be damn good!! Playing these games in retrospect now is definitely not the same as playing them back in the day without all of those factors above enhancing the total experience.
Now, we can pay $10 or even less for an Indie game. And the entry cost for a sub-par experience is not too high for the risk. Gamers who grew up gaming in the Indie-millennial era maybe didn't have that same "quality" cost vs. benefit radar built in. I don't know. I could be spouting BS. But I can definitely say that I certainly don't look at games the same as younger gamers today.
Re: Cave Story+ Will Be Receiving Classic Graphics in a Free August Update
I never really got the hype about this game either. Yes I did buy it for 3DS. The mechanics are good. But like most of the other millennial Indie games, the graphics were a significant downgrade from what I enjoyed a over a decade before. To me it's the embodiment of a good game in an incomplete package... pretty much my feelings on Indie games in general - great undeveloped, potential gone stagnant because of an incomplete tutelage one can find as being part of a larger talented team of professionals working for an established commercial studio.
So hearing that it will include further downgraded graphics has 0 appeal to me. It's funny... reading the headlines, I was kinda hoping "classic" meant an UPGRADE to 16 bit graphics! LOL! But no...
Re: You Still Can't Pre-Order The Super NES Classic In The US, And This Could Be Why
@Rumncoke25 Nice post dude! I think you hit the nail on the head of what pretty much everyone thinks and, maybe even... hopes!