GalacticMario28

I gave the vote to Crystal for how it refined the Johto region and story into something that still feels near-perfect for me while also adding new features that I thought fit very well into what they already had; nothing Crystal added felt tacked on to me. The game does have issues with grinding spots (wild Pokémon levels don't scale very well compared to trainers' Pokémon, so grinding can become a real chore), and the Kanto trainers' levels are surprisingly low, but for me the other factors I mentioned and the overall feel of the game outweigh those issues by enough to keep the game as my favorite of the series, though not by a large margin.

I'd give second place to X&Y because they had me more immersed in a Pokémon world than I'd ever been before. I loved the new features and how they were presented, and the story and characters suited my strange interests (when it comes to Pokémon, at least) surprisingly well. They could have had more postgame content, yes, but they had enough for me, as well as enough other recurring elements that kept me coming back to do side activities (such as working at the hotel in Lumiose City or having a rematch with Serena every day) for some time. Even after playing through ORAS, Kalos is still the region I most want to revisit. That's just how it goes for me.

I really need to get this game. Hopefully I can get my hands on it sometime after Christmas.

I downloaded Alpha Sapphire the other day, but I only got a chance to start playing it yesterday. I'm enjoying it so far; I don't remember many details about Gen III, so my experience is somewhat fresh.

As for next year, I think there will be a game that has something to do with Kalos. I have a feeling Game Freak isn't finished with that region yet. Of course, that's just a feeling, nothing more.

Here are my predictions for the winners. This may be overly pessimistic on my part due to the relative lack of Nintendo; I kind of hope so, anyway.

Action/Adventure: Alien: Isolation/Shadow of Mordor
RPG: Dragon Age
Fighting: Smash Wii U/Ultimate Street Fighter IV
Family: Disney Infinity 2.0
Sports: Forza Horizon 2
Mobile/Handheld: Heroes of Warcraft/Smash 3DS
Remaster: GTA V
Indie: Transistor
Fan Creation: Minecraft - Titan City
Developer of the Year: ??? (I don't know enough about some of the nominees)
GOTY: Dragon Age

I don't think there's a Toys 'R' Us anywhere near where I live, so it looks like I'm out of luck. Oh well; it could be worse.

I've supported the Wii U since launch, and I haven't regretted doing so once. It has plenty of games that greatly interest me, and it has enough extra features to complement the games and add a bit more to them; it's not a lot, but it's enough for me personally. I think there's a decent variety of games, too. Yes, there are a notable number of platformers, but I wouldn't say there are too many relative to other genres. Backwards compatibility is nice to have, as is the Virtual Console. I also like how Miiverse works and is integrated into some recent games (e.g., Super Mario 3D World). The increase in indie support is another plus for me as I've been enjoying some of those (e.g., Child of Light) as much as some bigger retail games.

Of course, there's no denying some of the issues the Wii U faces. As many have said, having data tied to the console and not to an account makes downloading games risky. Given my current circumstances, downloading retail games would be most convenient for me, but I'm not really willing to take that risk yet; there's also the fact that I like collecting physical copies of games, but the risk is a noteworthy part of why I don't download retail games very often. The Virtual Console is kind of barren at this point; regardless of whether or not there's a good reason for this, this is still a problem. Even though I don't care much for most of the multiplatform games that come out these days, I still think it's kind of bad that the Wii U has so few; and actually, now that I think about it, I would like to have the option of buying/playing those games on the Wii U in the event that I'm ever convinced to try playing one or more of them for myself.

The GamePad is a mixed bag from my point of view. On the one hand, I like it both for its use as a controller and for its features both within games (e.g., Nintendo Land, Pikmin 3) and outside of games especially off-tv play and the Quick Start Menu. On the other hand, it really isn't utilized as much as it could be, and outside of a few circumstances, I don't think I'd miss it if it were gone (even though I really enjoy using it as is).

Overall, the Wii U definitely has problems that need addressing sooner rather than later, and there are other ways in which it could be improved, but at the end of the day, I buy video game consoles for games, not for extras - no matter how much I may like those extras; I'm pleased with the Wii U's library so far in spite of its small size, and it seems like that library will continue to expand in ways that appeal to me into and hopefully beyond 2015.

Subjectively, I'd give it an A- for giving me some of the most fun games I've played in a long time (this coming from someone who grew up with the NES) and having just enough extras to liven up my experiences with those games a bit. I'm terrible when it comes to giving objective ratings, so I can't give one here; I can only say that I absolutely understand why others would rate it lower by both subjective and objective standards.

Games that are coming out before the end of the year? Not much hope for new game announcements then, but we could still get some cool new details on existing games.

This sounds like it has the potential to be useful, interesting, and maybe even successful, but I don't think there are enough details yet to really say one way or another. As someone who struggles to get a good night's sleep these days, this could prove helpful to me, so I hope it proves successful, but I can't say I'm either optimistic or pessimistic about its chances right now.

I certainly wouldn't have minded seeing something with a bit more to it, but this is still more than good enough for me.

That Miiverse stage sounds very interesting.

@3MonthBeef
That's a good point. I hadn't thought about it that way. My thought process was that I haven't really seen any games that have world maps as interactive as SMB3's, so I guess I took the concept of a having a world map at all for granted.

I prefer Super Mario Bros. 3, but I'd say Super Mario World is more influential due to its art style, its connected map, secret exits, special worlds, and Yoshi, among other things that I can't think of at the moment. SMB3 had the raccoon tail and Tanuki Suit, as well as the Kooplings, but I can't think of much else that's really been all that influential, even though I do prefer it as a game to SMW.

This news makes me think Game Freak has more in store for Kalos. But with all the new features they're adding to ORAS, they'll have to do a lot in "Pokémon Z" or the equivalent to make it worth buying.

Super Mario 3D Land for $20? Excellent. I finally have an opportunity to get that game at a lower price.

Galaxy is currently in the lead? This is a pleasant surprise. I imagine it won't stay that way for long, but it's nice to see while it lasts.

I forgot it was this weekend. It's so convenient to have it streamed here, and the live reports make it even better. I'll have to make sure I'm here for most of the day.

I think I'll go download this right now.

Interactivity with owners of X and Y? Sign me up. This will get me to start paying more attention to TPP again.

This sounds like fun. I don't have Wii Sports Club yet because I'm waiting for an opportune time to make the most of the free trial, but I'll be paying attention to see what other challenges come up.

This sounds like a great deal, but I don't think there's a Best Buy anywhere near me. That makes it harder to take advantage of this deal. I'd love to pick up Bravely Default and Kirby: Triple Deluxe.

In general, there are two things I consider when it comes to this hacked/illegitimate Pokémon thing. First: stats. The Aegislash had acceptable stats, so there's no problem there. Second: breeding/training. It's possible that the Aeglislash could have been hacked to have perfect IVs and a specific EV distribution and nature from the moment it hatched from its egg, not to mention having the right ability on top of this. While this has no impact on the battle itself, it does significantly shorten the amount of time spent trying to obtain such a Pokémon. I consider this unfair to the many trainers who have spent who knows how long breeding and hatching eggs to get the right IVs, nature, ability, and possibly egg moves. If the Aeglislash was indeed illegitimate in such a way, then I believe Rizzo should have been disqualified if he had made it further because it tramples all over the hard work other trainers put into making their teams. If such a thing were allowed for the sake of convenience, that would be a different story. But under the current rules, I stand by my position.

I really need to watch these tournaments more often. The battles are so exciting for me. Congrats to the winners and our (America's) representatives in the World Championships.

These have been some really great matches so far. Tournament play is really something else. I can't wait to see the finals tomorrow.

It would be Luigi in that bag, wouldn't it?

That's a very interesting statement. I completely agree with it. This is part of what makes Miyamoto who he is.

That is a somewhat misleading headline, but I suppose its purpose is to give hope for the future. And that's exactly what I have right now. This seems like a "testing the waters" kind of thing. If this works out the way Nintendo hopes, we may very well see a full cross-buy system in the future. I just hope it doesn't take too long.

These sound like nice updates. I should really start using Miiverse more often.

"We should care more about what a game is doing and how much fun it is, not the characters posing on the box art."

Yes. This is what I've been thinking for quite a while now. The characters and other things related to the brand do play a role in making a game, but at the end of the day, it's the gameplay that makes a game what it is. If the gameplay is different, it shouldn't matter very much if the brand is the same. Likewise, if the gameplay is the same, it shouldn't matter very much if the brand is different. I hope Nintendo embraces this idea going forward, and I hope gamers are willing to accept this idea should Nintendo choose to embrace it.

I don't even want to think about what it'd be like to have bile duct problems. That sounds pretty nasty. I just hope this doesn't have any lasting consequences for his health.

I don't have a problem with it as long as it's not taken too far. I think moderation is key here.

I'm not too concerned with achievements, personally. Cross-buy would be convenient. I'd like to see unified accounts, but I think it might be a little too soon for that. That is, I don't think Nintendo has worked out a way to unify accounts with a 'Nintendo' spin yet. But I wouldn't mind being wrong.

Now I have three more reasons to use Mii Swordfighter.

The Digital Event was easily my favorite part of E3. I did enjoy watching a bit of the Treehouse streams, but I was too busy to keep up with more than a few of them. Overall, Nintendo blew my expectations away. The self-aware humor in the skits was a nice change of pace, and the balance of old to new and expected to unexpected felt just right to me.

I think the only thing I don't like about Nintendo's E3 this year is that it sets such high expectations for next year, and it will be hard for Nintendo to live up to those expectations.

This sounds like it has a lot of potential. I'm familiar with a different Mario editor, but this one sounds like it will be easier to work with, and will have things the other editor doesn't, most notably the music composition and the level sharing. I'll have to keep my eye on this.

Business-wise, it's a reasonable decision to hold the game back, but there are two things about this that stand out to me. First, the game has already been completed for six months, yet it sounds like Ubisoft plans to wait at least another 6 months to a year before even considering releasing it; by that time, the game will probably be completely outdated and will have lost most if not all of its appeal, even if it is just a family game. Second, they actually said that; I can't believe anyone was brave enough to actually say that to the press. I'm honestly not sure if I should be angry or impressed.

I wouldn't complain if masks made a return, as long as they're used in interesting ways.

I hope I get to see Miyamoto's segment, but I'll be busy most of tomorrow, so it's no guarantee.

I was tempted to choose Child of Light for the poll because it's the only one of these I've even downloaded, but I haven't had a chance to sit down and play it yet. Fortunately, that will change in a week's time.

I'm definitely watching the Digital Event and the Nintendo Minute recap, but these nasty little things called 'finals' are going to prevent me from seeing much more. I'll have to hunt around for videos of the other things after the fact.

I'm liking all of the new Mega Evolutions. Primeval Groudon/Kyogre? Things like this are definitely doing their job: making me want the game more.

I need to mark August 16th and 17th on my calendar. I've seen previous championships on YouTube after the fact, but seeing one live would be a completely different experience.

Seems feasible, but I'll wait for the official word to make sure. I feel like there's an important balance to be struck here. If this is real, I hope Nintendo can find that balance.

Wow, the poll results are completely divided at the moment. I choose to wait and see how much of a difference it makes. If it turns out to only be useful for time trials, I don't mind it, but if it turns out to give a small portion of racers a big advantage in online races, then I say patch it.

I'm less interested in this now that I've heard some things about it. Basically, I've heard that it's a good example of a sandbox game, a genre I don't really like that much. I'll still be keeping an eye out to see what kind of changes the Wii U version will bring, but I'm a lot less likely to buy it now.

This is great. I can't believe something like this is getting this kind of exposure, but I'm not complaining. I'll have to look for this stare once I get the game.

This sounds pretty uninteresting. I like how it's unscripted; I feel like that makes it more authentic in a way.

12:00 pm for the unannounced title? I think I have class at that time. Oh well, at least I can find out about it after the fact.

This is great news, exactly what I was hoping to hear. I'm glad that Reggie emphasized how this is a start. That gives me hope that Nintendo won't just sit back and expect MK8 to do all the work. I really hope this brings a big increase in console sales.

She seems like she could be an interesting character, and I think her design fits well with the other characters' designs.

Mario Kart 8 for me. The recent footage I've seen of Watch Dogs has made it seem more like a typical sandbox game, which I don't really care for; I was only paying attention to it because of the hacking aspect, but I haven't really seen that aspect pushed in the trailers. Then again, it's been a while since I've seen a trailer, so they might have addressed that complaint. But I'll be keeping an eye on the Wii U version to see if it's any different; if it's different enough, I may buy it after all.