Comments 131

Re: Feature: Nintendo - Gaming in Black and White

AlphaNerd01

I think this article makes an important point. The Virtual Console really started a renaissance for retro games, and solidified "retro" as a gaming genre. That said, after working in the retail video game industry for five+ years, partially during that renaissance, I think the majority of people downloading those games had never played them before. So I'd argue it is a lot less about nostalgia and a lot more about vying to learn more about the past. However, nostalgia can alter how gamers perceive games. For example, FFVII went from a great game to "the greatest game of all time" due in large, in my opinion, to nostalgia. But I digress.

Re: Angry Birds Dev Calls Nintendo Games "$49 Pieces of Plastic"

AlphaNerd01

This is just the slow, agonizing move to digital distribution. Companies like Nintendo will want to drag their feet, while companies like Rovio will want to expedite the process as much as possible. Neither side is right or wrong, and both types of content delivery have their benefits, but until the day comes when physical media is officially dead, this debate will rage on.

Re: Review: Sonic Colours (Wii)

AlphaNerd01

I have to admit I am VERY surprised. Looks like Sonic is making a serious comeback. And that's a guy with my avatar admitting that there was a time when I was concerned lol.

Re: Ironclad

AlphaNerd01

Wow, this is what I get for falling off the Nintendo radar for a while - an AWESOME Neo Geo CD import release. Add this to the list of games I must download eventually.

Re: Hands On: Netflix Wii

AlphaNerd01

Been a Netflix subscriber for over a year. It's well worth the investment. I requested a Wii disc from Netflix Tuesday, and got it the next day. While I've been watching movies instantly via my Xbox 360 and Boxee on my computer for a while now, it'll be nice to be able to watch on the Wii as well. I did a quick test and it looks fine. I can't recommend Netflix highly enough. If you were on the fence, Wii instant watch capabilities should sway you.

Re: Review: Data East Arcade Classics (Wii)

AlphaNerd01

Lots of Data East titles missing, but an insider told me that, "if this release is successful, a sequel is possible." I can't reveal my source, but it's credible. With that said, I'm disappointed with the presentation, but happy with the catalog. Room for improvement, but not a bad compilation either. 7/10 is a fair score. Definitely worth a GameFly rental.

Re: Miyamoto Hints Towards Next Console

AlphaNerd01

Even if these rumors had some merit, the Wii is focused on casual gamers - and the casual crowd really has no interest in HD. It's still only a fraction of the market. With that said, where else is there to go for Nintendo? If they're going to stick with Motion Control, how can they improve on the Wii if they don't upgrade to HD?

Re: Review: Shadowrun (Super Nintendo)

AlphaNerd01

I'm more a fan of the Genesis version myself, but I still have the SNES cart. Both quality games - glad you brought some attention to it. (Looking at the other comments, to my surprise not everyone knew about this one.)

Re: Nintendo Rep: Virtual Console Being Toned Down

AlphaNerd01

I call BS on this. "We in America,"? That sounds terrible - Nintendo would not use that tone or language in an email.

Regardless of this being real or not, it's still probably more or less true. Oh well, we had a good run I guess. It was fun while it lasted. I'll keep my Wii, but it'll hardly ever get turned on.

Re: Talking Point: Copyright and Video Games

AlphaNerd01

I've written about this before - but to make my point brief: Does anyone remember where retro gaming was 5 years ago? I do. To play retro games, I'd have to drive an hour to a quarterly retro gamers club meeting at an obscure game store, buy carts, trade carts, or just hope I can play someone's copy during the meeting. Now TONS of obscure games are available to download for a few bucks. We've made HUGE leaps, thanks to the all-mighty dollar.

What do I mean? Thanks to us, publishers have realized that retro games are profitable. So the win-win is they make money, and we get to play authentic-feeling emulations of the games. (Pirate emulators usually botch the sound, or have bad slowdown, et cetera.) What pisses me off about pirates is that they're detrimental to the process of progress. We're getting to the point where even licensed games can be made available to us thanks to their profitability. (TMNT Arcade on XBLA comes to mind.) Give it time, and keep playing the games legally, and I'm certain publishers will realize retro gamers are a fertile sector of the marketplace just like "casual" gamers are. (If they haven't realized this already.)

Re: DSi Has a Strong Opening Weekend

AlphaNerd01

Traded in my DS Lite for one of these bad boys to take advantage of the download service. (I have a GBA/GB Micro to play GBA games on.) Gotta tell you guys, the upgrade is worth it.

If you're in the US, you can get 70 bucks for your Lite @ a GameStop. That's 20 extra dollars, and by the time the trade deal is off, I'm sure the surplus of used DS Lites will push the price even lower than 50 - so hurry up and upgrade!

Re: The Revenge of Shinobi

AlphaNerd01

This was released on the Sega Smash Pack for Dreamcast here in the States, so I'm sure Sega can get it re-released again on the Wii VC. Honestly, I like this game - the music is good, and it's just as fun as any other Shinobi title out there.

Re: USA VC Update: Commodore 64 Launches With Three Games

AlphaNerd01

The "Nintendo games should always be in the updates because the Wii is Nintendo's system" argument is fallacious - if you attribute that argument to retail-release games, how many Wii games would we have? Not many.

The fact that "third parties" can put up VC games is what gives us variety - there are only so many (good) Nintendo games free of red tape to go around.