Cakes

(And for what it's worth, I was a Battle Mode skeptic... but it works! They just feel like giant arenas, really. And doing U-turns and stopping to hide behind trackside obstacles is great fun. Even just exploring the track you normally zip through is a good reason to play Battle Mode. I'm a convert. Check my Miiverse posts at LittleIrves/Cakes.)

If this is what a "rushed" product looks like, I want every game to be rushed.

@Dreamcaster-X I'm.... pretty sure they don't expect us to believe it's a real talk show.

But yeah, I agree that could have been a lot worse. But I also think they need to hit up the adult demographic for this, too. Kind of like they did when Mario Kart 7 released. There's weirdos all around, from age 6 to 66!

I took a chance on this one and am really enjoying it. So far revisiting the Black Box NES titles has been one of the best surprises from my time with Wii U. (For whatever reason I didn't try them on Wii's VC...)

You guys don't seem to understand what a Limited Edition is.
Nintendo is very good at making sure their products retain a kind of significance or value, whether that's through maintaining full price for longer or keeping certain special items a rarity. Pumping this out to every Best Buy in the country would just lessen its appeal.

Add my vote to post-release DLC Battle Mode Arenas. But I haven't tried this out yet. Could yield some interesting matches.

All hail the return of Game & Watch!

Just entered the first World Tournament... -7 for now. Had some opportunities to do some serious damage but just missed a few putts. Gotta improve on that score in a few days.

The online aspect will really elongate this game for me. Really enjoy video golf but the three normal courses went by quickly, and I don't love the Mario-ified holes as much. Good luck to you all and see you on the green!

I'm excited for both Stealth Inc. 2 and Scram Kitty, and agree Wii U is sooo underrated by the masses... yet I don't love the trend of turning tweets into "News" stories. Or overheard statements in podcasts, for that matter.

My favorite part: Getting Mr. Fils-Aime's "reggie-mendation."

So... haven't watched this yet, and I want to, BUT I don't want to see a bunch of new courses and surprises. Do they reveal everything the game has, or do they intentionally hold back a full circuit, or not show off every single retro course? 'Cause I want to be surprised come launch day and it's oh-so close now. Is this another Super Mario 3D World SpoilerCast, is what I'm asking?

@Xilef <mild applause>

To those North Americans who already have three of the four games... Wii Party U is great fun! Don't hesitate. It's worth the download just for the GamePad-only games, and that's a tiny part of the package. With friends, Name That Face and Do U Know Mii (or whatever it's called) are super-fun, too.

Unfortunate that so many people are upset about a decision to improve consumer's quality of life. Isn't that what games do anyway? He's not talking about force-feeding us broccoli. He's talking about new and unique forms of entertainment we haven't seen yet. We have no idea what QOL even means. So how do so many people know they'll hate it, or that it's not for them?

Jon, you're so handsome. I mean: Good review! A "7" is a positive score, people! I do wish there were more Drum levels, but as a bonus side game, I guess that's hard to complain about. Will be considering this once I exhaust my time with Mario Golf...

@World
"I think Sheffield is doing nothing worse here than being a bit ethnocentric. Like many people, he just assumes that the American way of judging a professional's quality by whether or not they could "have a beer with him/her" is universal... Not every culture cares about, or dare I say wants, that level of openness from people in positions of power."

Yes. I thought this same thing when I read the article. "Why would I care about getting a beer with some exec?" You hit the nail on the head with emphasizing that Nintendo has a different rule-set in place than Sony/Msoft. Maybe it'll negatively impact their business. But, as you say, "there's more at stake for Nintendo here than just a bottom-line." Sheffield and other Western devs would be wise to remember that.

@BertoFlyingFox Only a few days left! Your efforts are appreciated. Still 100 bucks in my pocket. Trying to stay strong over here...

@Mrclaycoat I always wanted to play either Gate of Thunder or Lords of Thunder. Lords looked more impressive, and was a later game so that makes sense, but the space theme of Gates interests me more than the fantasy of Lords. I fear I better pull the trigger soon before either of them drop off the Wii Shop...

I've got my Sing Party mic all ready to go if this ever comes out in North America. It really, really should. Although maybe the licensing is too expensive for popular songs here?

Although what I really want is Wii Music U. <<crosses fingers, toes>>

Add my vote to the Pro-Other M contingent. Thought the 3rd person/1st person gameplay was fascinating. I could give a lick about the story. The production values were top-notch, too. Would rather they give us something interesting and new than a shinier, same-y game we've already played.

Anyway. Can't wait for Tomodatchi Life. Not sure if it'll truly unseat the Sims or AC:NL over here in the west... but if it finds a comfortable audience and people appreciate it, I'll feel better about humanity again.

Oh man. Is it wrong to buy a 2DS if you already own an original 3DS and a 3DSXL? And your wife already owns her own 3DS? The price-point with a game I don't own (and have never really played... I'm not a Pokemon guy but I'm curious) is tempting.

And I saw a number of 2DSs in the wild at PAX East this weekend and they looked pretty nice. Would become a VC machine basically (since I'd really miss the 3D in retail games). Talk me off this ledge, people...

Most telling detail of this story: "it eventually turned into a multiplatform game 'due largely to Nintendo not meeting financial demands to make it a first-party project.':

Nintendo won't pay for third-party games. This, maybe more than anything else, is why they lack the support that everyone complains about. And it's just too bad that Sony/Msoft have this advantage when it has little to do with games, and everything to do with $$.

I'll add to the chorus of North Americans wanting to play this game. I'd prefer Nintendo Pocket (American) Football, personally, but I bet the fluidness of soccer makes for a tighter, faster experience of simulating the games. This is likely how I'd enjoy a soccer game, instead of direct control over one player on the field at a time. Do it, NoA!

(Now back to Rusty. SO GOOD.)

I like to think the comparison to Valve's Steam is purposeful, and their super-low-price sales are the "alien menace," and this is about destroying them with an amazing, full-price experience.

But it's probably a Mario's On the Move kind of puzzle thing in space with gravity developed by NST. And by "probably" I mean "probably not." But that's my guess based on this slimmest of evidence.

See y'all at PAX next weekend...

Love the thorough, insightful review, Mr. Reed. Maybe... too thorough? You must have pre-emptively answered every comment or question from the NLife community. You're too good!

I scanned the comments, so maybe somebody brought this up.... but if not, I can't believe no one has mentioned the obvious reason to bring GBA games to Wii U: Um, the GamePad IS a GBA!
http://www.notenoughshaders.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/gba-link-wii-u.jpg

Is there an updated list anywhere of all the VC/WiiWare games that have been removed? This is making me antsy to pick up some games before they're gone.

I'm so so happy this came over. Very intrigued. And I love the experimental pricing model, and how the gameplay is actually tied to the price. Fantastic idea. Let's see how it goes... I'm optimistic. (I also loved Let's Catch, so I'm a fan of simple mechanics with underlying story elements.)

Anyone else worried this will be a one-month-long GBA dump of great games, and then.... not much else? Seems like they're putting a whole lotta good eggs in one basket. Reminds me of the Virtual Console Arcade roll-out. Lots of games all at once! And then.... well, not much else. Still: A good way to keep people happy before M(K8)ay.

@Spuratis When did Nintendo say we'd be getting Kart news next week? Perhaps I've missed a News story or two...

As for Zelda DLC: Not for me. But I'm glad many are excited about it.

@PinkSpider I share your feelings. There's this strange, bizarro-land reality where Nintendo is hated / doomed / out-of-touch / ignorant / lazy, and then there's the world I live in where I pump 30 hours a month into Wii U and am more excited for Rusty's Real Deal Baseball on 3DS than Titanfall or Infamous.

Bummed that they won't be at PAX East, but there'll be a huge Nintendo presence there at the Handheld Lounge alone, not to mention the Classic/Current Console rooms where last year hundreds of people were playing Nintendo Land and having a blast.

That PacMan spin-off based on a cartoon is ahead of Tropical Freeze. Aliens: Colonial Marines is ahead of Tropical Freeze. What is wrong with people.

I'm not surprised the PS4/XB1 game isn't coming to Wii U, but it'd be pretty much garbage if the other version doesn't. But anyway...

What if Beyond Good & Evil 2 was announced as a Wii U exclusive? Using the GamePad as a camera to look around the world and snap pictures? That'd be awesome.

Just thought I'd throw that out there.

@Marr_the_Great So wait... are you married to a baby?

Glad to hear she digs it. Mine might too, now that ya mention it.

@Gen0neD Yes to Stunt Race FX 3D. That's a classic I could get behind. Rented the original long long ago and was super-jazzed by it at the time... even though it ran like a broken lawnmower. Finally bought it used a few years ago and, after the initial shock wore off, it's quite playable. And funny. The cars had eyeballs, people! Loved the moving course elements that were different on each lap, too-- Mario Kart 8's airplane stage, actually, seems to reimagine the Arwing appearance in SRFX.

Weird, how Nintendo UK goes the extra-mile with all these videos and promotions, and the Wii U just doesn't sell there. And NOA seems to do little and, well, sales aren't much better... but they could be with a more persistent effort at the level of the UK office.

But whatever, I'm no marketing guru. MK8 looks niiiiice.

^ ^ What both of them said.

Hmm. If this does well, I wouldn't mind seeing other WiiWare games get the HD treatment. So many good games never had a chance, given the limitations he talks about. Original games are even better, of course, but I'd definitely pay for a prettier/Miivers-ified Bonsai Barber, Rock 'n Roll Climber, or NyxQuest.

SCOOP: Simon Parkin (author of Eurogamer piece) is the next Professor Layton. The man gets it done.

@Kid_A I've got a feeling I'll be with you on this one, as I tend to love games others dislike. (Wii Music, Other M, Sticker Star...) I even really enjoyed Yoshi's Story. And I wonder how many of the 283 comments on here were written after actually playing the game, and not just reacting to an average score?

@Brown77 You're counting skills are impeccable.

Cakes is bruised, but not beaten. Round Two...

It's been awhile... be gentle!

@Skyrise
Great to see developers communicating directly with potential players. I'm really looking forward to this one, and am happy to see small teams include Wii U in their plans. The game looks lovely. In bocca al lupo!

I would buy this. Opa-Opa for Smash Bros.?

Ballpoint Universe and Stick It to the Man both look pretty solid. And I've heard great things about Ittle Dew, especially for fans of top-down Zelda. Wooden Sen'Sey looks interesting.

My concern is that most of these have come out for other platforms already, so aren't designed w/ Wii U in mind. I really hope to see more games like Scram Kitty, and the newly-announced Affordable Space Adventures, in the future, games made for Nintendo's hardware first.

People! This is a crazy-good list of games. Number Battle is strange and fun and challenging. Bonsai Barber is one of my favorite WiiWare titles, super-quirky and entertaining and DIFFERENT. Geez, do you all just want another Super Mario or Zelda game? That you've already played? No wonder why new IP and interesting concepts are so rare.

I wish the Star Wars pinball game was like the original set-up, where you could pick and choose tables. 'Cause I don't care for the Clone Wars or Boba Fett, and would want just this expansion as a standalone. Maybe I wait for 3DS version?

Merging the Wii and U shops would be great, as there's lots of WiiWare/VC games I never got around to trying. Still have my Wii hooked up on a 4:3 TV, though, so it's not a big deal.

As an aside: Man, I really appreciate the weekly eShop makeovers. Quite fetching visually, methinks. And I love how the musics changes. Holiday tune over Christmas, and last week I believe had DK's theme song? Lovely little touches. The 360 marketplace is so static and mechanical, comparatively.

EDIT: Oh yeah, wild speculation. GameCube VC added, with inaugural games Four Sword Adventures, Pac-Man VS., and FF: Crystal Chronicles, using the GamePad for GBA functionality.