Comments 337

Re: The Splatoon Testfire Demo is Coming Back for a Summer Fling

HeroOfTime32

@MarcelRguez Well it's about time they embraced E-sports. That's another one of those things I was talking to you about earlier in a prior article, about Nintendo finally loosening the reigns a bit on their IPs. They're still not consistent on how they choose to manage 3rd-party usage and promotion however.

Yes, I can see how gamers would feel burned if a "definitive edition" came out that included exclusive content, but hey, you gotta try and sell this new system.

It will be A LONG while till Smash 5 arrives, so I agree about finding a way to keep Smash 4 relevant somehow. If it dies with Wii U, it would really be a shame to see it go. That's such a short time, and it would have never had it's time in the sun...like, at all.

Re: The Splatoon Testfire Demo is Coming Back for a Summer Fling

HeroOfTime32

@MarcelRguez good call. I feel pretty confident that they're will be a smash "definitive edition" with all DLC and maybe 1 or 2 more NX exclusive "surprises" thrown in.

Should be a no-brainer. Game is WAYYY too good to have sold as little as it did (only at the fault of a small Wii U gamer base, I know it had a high attach rate). It needs a large gaming base, and needs to be truly appreciated for the masterpiece it is.

Re: Nvidia Formally Ditches SHIELD Tablet Successor, Reinforcing NX Reports

HeroOfTime32

@MarcelRguez Wow, very valid point about Neo/Scorpio helping NX out by extending the lifespan of this gen. Makes it a little less relevant that Nintendo may JUST NOW be getting up to par for this gen (considering these Neo/Scorpio consoles are luxuries, not necessities for gaming this gen).

@Dakt I don't have a source but the IGN podcast (NVC) this week or last week said Nintendo is starting "trial production runs". This is prob a ~10,000 or so odd numbered run to see how the assembly line is running, and give them time to iron out the kinks in the assembly process.

They're definitely starting some form of production.

Re: Nvidia Formally Ditches SHIELD Tablet Successor, Reinforcing NX Reports

HeroOfTime32

@MarcelRguez Yeah, idk when they'll do their "formal announcement" though. Part of me thinks they need to do it well before March, to start building hype and give retailers a chance to accommodate, etc. But another part of me thinks they sort of want to blindside everyone with a great reveal, followed by one of those Apple tactics of "available to download today" sort of tactics.

The gaps that Nintendo is now generating between reveal and releases is getting much smaller lately in these past years. I think they've realized the internet community is to blame for this, as stuff gets picked apart to hell and hype is either driven or lost...it's a gamble.

Look @ Super Mario 3D World. That was revealed at E3 '13, and released THAT NOVEMBER!

They are definitely holding their NX cards very close to their chests. It's likely a very novel concept, and they're afraid of competition wanting to duplicate or replicate it and get a share of their marketplace. Look at Wii/motion gaming. Nintendo surprised everyone, and then Playstation Move released & XBOX Kinect did too. That's b/c the competition could start thinking about motion early enough to start the R&D process in time to get a product out. Nintendo is trying to avoid that right now. I'm thinking they're going to hold off on a preview/reveal for as long as they are able to.

...but naturally, I could be totally wrong. One thing is for sure... every day it gets closer

Re: Video: New Metroid Prime: Federation Force Trailer Arrives, and It's Still Fighting Dislikes

HeroOfTime32

@MarcelRguez oh god... did you have to bring up Amiibo Festival??

But great thoughts. Very refreshing to hear well-articulated points.

I especially like the point about when Nintendo's back is up against the wall, cuz well, it's true!

And yes, unlike other companies who can get away with release after release after release... Nintendo does have to walk that fine line between familiarity & freshness. Although sometimes, they walk the "fresh" line a little too aggressively. At least I feel that sometimes corporate decisions are dictated by that side of the line more times than the other side (case with F-Zero/Shiggy quote).

Re: Video: New Metroid Prime: Federation Force Trailer Arrives, and It's Still Fighting Dislikes

HeroOfTime32

@MarcelRguez I think that's more understandable when you look at the situation Nintendo found themselves in this gen.

When you've got a system that is by most standards, a flop...you've gotta bring out your heavy hitters. I imagine if there were 3rd parties present to leverage the development efforts, we would potentially see more "niche" IP's.

It's an unfortunate situation though. I'll agree. I'm a little tired of the same formulas that have be recurring lately, especially in the vein of Mario re-hashes.

But I'll give Nintendo credit, they have been trying to shake things up a little bit. Let's look @ Zelda. Link Between Worlds completely changed the conventional approach while still maintaining the LTTP charm. And although not everyone liked it, I liked the stew out of Triforce Heroes (when the internet connection worked). Now looking @ Breath of the Wild... that's completely different. For better or for worse, we'll see. I think it looks great so far though.

Moving onto Mario. They may be considered great games...but I'm tired of New Super Mario Bros. X, Y, Z or whatever iteration they choose next. I'll give them credit though on Super Mario Maker. I really never thought they'd give that kind of freedom to fans for such a popular, and very well-regulated IP. They tend to not like to see unintentional conventions broken on their IP's. So I'm sure the thought of a 1,000 koopas on the screen at once took some time to get used to for them. I remember an article discussing that in Zelda development of the past... if a puzzle was solved more than one way, it was considered "broken". They've definitely loosened up the reigns some on game & level design lately with their games. I'm hoping this translates into the next main-series Mario (hopefully 3D platformer & not 2D).

Even Federation Force is them trying something new.

It's funny. Sometime Nintendo re-hashes and sticks with the same conventions, because fans clamor for that. Sometimes fans say "WHY THE SAME OLD CRAP??". Okay, so then Nintendo mixes things up and changes formulas with games. Sometimes it works out and is praised as innovative and revolutionary, other times (in the case with this game, Federation Force), it gets absolutely slammed by the community.

I will boil it down to one thing. The Nintendo gamer base can be hard to please sometimes (although in some instances, they are 100% justified, but not all). But I do trust that Nintendo knows how to take care of their IP's (case in point, so many are still alive today), and I also trust that Nintendo has definitely created a new growth plan moving forward. They've been doing so much restructuring lately.

There's a lot more to the story than we all know. NX will be the surprise party for us all (I HOPE TO GOD IT IS... please Nintendo?)

Re: Video: New Metroid Prime: Federation Force Trailer Arrives, and It's Still Fighting Dislikes

HeroOfTime32

@HazyBean "it's most likely because other 3ds games were capable of working with full bodied character models so Nintendo's excuse doesn't work."

Yeah, but they weren't 4-player SHOOTERS. Read my post above about why this likely was. Somewhere, you've got to preserve screen real estate for the actual gameplay when there's 4 of you running around.

Enemies seem to be full size, so no issue there. I think this also helps differentiate good/bad guys.

Definitely a design choice based on hardware limitations (more-so the screen aspect, less graphical output). I don't think 3DS horsepower was what drove this decision.

Re: Video: New Metroid Prime: Federation Force Trailer Arrives, and It's Still Fighting Dislikes

HeroOfTime32

@MarcelRguez So are you implying that the Prime games weren't true to the series??? I honestly feel like they were 75% exploration / 25% shooting. It had its moments where the action cranked up pretty good.

Looking @ Federation Force... how can we judge it yet, without playing it?? I'm sure that if it has Metroid Prime branded on it, it will have some exploration/puzzle elements. This one might lean a little heavier on the action/shooting sequences, but that doesn't imply that it's not a Metroid game.

Re: Video: New Metroid Prime: Federation Force Trailer Arrives, and It's Still Fighting Dislikes

HeroOfTime32

@Yorumi Hahaa, don't throw stones in a glass house. Quite frankly, YOU come across as the monkeyhole who can't take criticisms.

That being said, sure it's a deviation from the "classic" Metroid formula...but as others have stated, it's not like they shoehorned the game into a whole different genre. It actually expands on the Metroid universe.

This isn't Wacky Metroid Racers, or Metroid Bubble Bop, or even Metroid Warriors (a la Hyrule Warriors). It's a FRICKEN METROID GAME for 3DS that happens to have a multiplayer spin. How do you expect Samus to fit in as a playable character with 2-3 other players. "I want Samus, no I want Samus!" And obviously that would throw the formula off having 3-4 Samus' running around.

I think the controls are very "Prime-ish" and they're are a LOT of recurring enemies and themes.

The arguments about the art style can go both ways. I get why people don't like the "chibi" look. Part of me thinks this was a design choice based on hardware limitations. Look @ Smash Bros 3DS. They chose that art style b/c it DISPLAYED better on 3DS. I think having shorter, mushed "chibi" characters on the screen (and these are just the protagonists, NOT THE ENEMIES) helps preserve screen real estate. It would get REAL HARD to see all the action on the screen with 3-4 full blown, fully-proportioned protagonists running around. It was definitely a design choice.

Plus, a few of you guys on here seem like you would never be pleased with whatever Nintendo did.

/end rant.

Re: Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition Gets a Snazzy Trailer and Website

HeroOfTime32

@Kirk No offense, but I literally just tolerate your comments now. You go on and on about what everything is "supposed" to be, but offer farfetched & unrealistic solutions in terms of business finances.

Sure, we get it. You want NIntendo to stroke your gaming fantasies every time you ask for it. But then where would Nintendo be at the end of the day??

This a huge corporation. Aside from obviously making a profit, pleasing shareholders, etc... They have one major goal as a company of their size. Longevity & relevancy. You don't obtain longevity by oversaturating the public with your IP's. The IP's lose their value at that point, and become dime-a-dozen eventually. Especially in today's world, where something amazing can come out, and then almost instantly become forgotten because it's been replaced by another release of sorts.

If you want the latest "tech" and "features", go play a rival system. Nintendo has, and always will, try and cater to the masses. They always aim to remain accessible.

It just seems like it's impossible to please some people these days.

I'm with @cwong15 on this one... Imagine if for Wii U they released an "NES greatest hits collection" for this holiday. 30 hand-picked games on a disc for retail value ($50-60). A lot of people would be pretty happy with that. They took it one step further and included a dedicated miniature console that hooks up to HDTV's. EVERYBODY can buy this, not just Wii U owners.

I think it's a great move.

Personally, I don't think there will be other "mini consoles", i.e. - SNES MINI/N64 MINI/ETC. At least not for a longgg time. SNES and beyond will still continue to be E-shop sales-based. This NES mini is a hook to recapture a lost and forgotten player base Nintendo used to have.

Re: Pokémon GO Player Retention Described as "Phenomenal" as Revenue Soars

HeroOfTime32

Question for anyone... purely from a profitability standpoint, do you think this success is sustainable?

I'm not sure it's done growing yet either right now, but it will eventually find it's maintainable average and that will last for a longer while. I'm optimistic about continued growth, but am curious what type of lasting numbers they can achieve.

My question, in a nutshell: A fad, or a staple?

Re: Activision Was Closer To Owning Rare Than You Might Think

HeroOfTime32

@Tempestryke I'm not sure Activision would've been the best fit... But you're 100% right that Microsoft did in fact, neuter them as you say. They almost faded into obscurity. It's a shame that their golden-era games are the only things that still keep them relevant really.

Shame Nintendo didn't want to invest more into the company. I bet that in hindsight, a few of their decisions haunt them pretty good.

But as they say... fortune favors the bold... And you can't say that Nintendo doesn't take risks.

Scared money don't make money ..... And that's exactly what happened with this Rareware deal. Nintendo was doing pretty well for themselves at the time, and pride/ego interfered with a potentially amazing trade deal that could have potentially blossomed into more Nintendo IP's and the continuation of some of our favorite, classic IP's. I personally think they thought "we don't need 'em" at the time.

Funny how they regard the need for 3rd parties differently now.