HollywoodHogan

@rjejr

Edge cover? Big deal. You and I both know that if it was a Sony or Xbox game on the cover, everyone here would be saying that those companies must have paid off the publisher for that advertising. Maybe Nintendo did too? I don't put any stock in that meaning anything in terms of how anticipated/popular this game will be. It's 2015. Who gets excited about game coverage in print media? I can't even remember the last time I looked at a gaming magazine. Ad space for Splatoon on IGN for 24hrs will have more eyes on it than that magazine will get in a month on store shelves.

But you can't honestly compare the people who bought a Wii based on word of mouth to potential Splatoon buyers. Wii Sports blew people away because it was a one of a kind experience, something no one had played before, and something that was immediately accessable to people of all ages. All you had to do was swing your arm. It's easy to get excited about that. Splatoon is a rainbow colored shooting game that is kid-friendly featuring an IP nobody has nostalgic feelings for. It's very disingenuous to imply that this game has the same potential as Wii Sports to draw gamers of all abilities into wanting to buy a Wii U to play it.

@rjejr

Point being, this game is not likely to be a system seller, so how does pairing a console many people don't want with a game they haven't heard of going to help? 90 million other people bought a Wii because Wii Sports was accessible and had a great gimmick (motion controls). This game is an online shooter for children. Those 90 million people aren't coming back for that, sorry.

It also shows how little faith Nintendo themselves have in the "special edition" bundle, as they didn't bother customizing the Wii U or gamepad with any sort of artwork. It's just a regular old Wii U in a different cardboard box you will throw in the trash. They didn't want to put any extra money or effort into production.

This must be a bundle for all those Nintendo fans who sat out buying a Wii U when SM3DW, Windwaker HD, Smash Bros and MK8 came out, and who instead were waiting for Splatoon!*

*nobody did this

Shouldn't the editor have pointed out that there is no explanation of what "MCV" means in this article? In my opinion, that is RFBL.

Don't drop the NES controller!

@TreonsRealm

Do you know what else was "leaked"? Not much. That Sony wanted to make Nintendo movies? We knew that for months.
The "news" is that the emails are now searchable on wikileaks. Other than a photo of a Sony exec with Iwata and Miyamoto and a mention of Smash Bros, there is nothing in there we already didn't know months ago. Sony wants to make movies with Nintendo characters.This editorial was a whole bunch of nothing.

It's like a dude murdering a guy, then 5 months later coming out and saying "I had a chance to murder another dude today, but I didn't do it because it's wrong" and then everybody applauding him and saying what a great guy he is. He already killed a man!! Did you people forget that?!

@TreonsRealm @DBPirate @DarkCoolEdge

NL already reported on this story earlier. Don't be fooled about their newfound morality on the issue.

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2014/12/sony_pictures_is_in_negotiations_with_nintendo_to_make_a_super_mario_movie

If anyone wants to know what Thomas is talking about, here is the original NL article posted on this matter...before they had their "ethical" change of heart!

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2014/12/sony_pictures_is_in_negotiations_with_nintendo_to_make_a_super_mario_movie

@OMC79

Hahaha it's times like this that I wish there was a search function on this site that allowed you to find articles posted by authors. Damo has posted dozens upon dozens of these advertisements disguised as "articles" for painted systems and controllers, often from the same company.

pay·o·la

n.
1. Payment of a party, especially a disc jockey or radio station, for the promotion of a product or service, such as a commercial musical recording, without making the legally required disclosure of sponsorship.

2. The money used to make such payment.

Stay tuned for Thomas' editorial next month...

Is the dress black and blue or white and gold?!

"More importantly, we don't feel the re-leaking of these emails five months after their initial spread is constructive"

Yet you found it constructive to write an editorial five months after they leaked to let us all know you won't be discussing them? I had honestly forgotten all about this.

"DeNA doesn't care about white people"

This is a great way to make people who paid $250 for a slightly upgraded 3DS feel like they actually made a good decision.

@Ralek85

Because he says if one team talks and the other doesnt, it gives them an unfair advantage. So it's better to dumb down both teams.

@steamtrain

The only reason people don't want voice chat is because they say they don't want to hear people swear online. That's the reason they say it's a 'good thing' not to have it.

How about leaving it up to the consumer to decide if they want to use voice chat, rather than having no choice at all?

People can still have fun playing it, I never said they won't, but many people are already put off that there is no voice chat. When this news was announced it was a big story on gaming sites for a reason. It's a poor decision and just another example of Nintendo's childish censorship, which is funny, since they are headquartered in a country where you can buy porno magazines and DVDs in every convince store and airport.

@jasonbrr

Imagine sitting on a couch with three people playing mario kart 8, and not being able to talk to each other. No laughing, no taunting, no excitement. Just sitting in silence playing the game. Sound like fun? Of course not. But people are saying they want to play like this online? With no ability to communicate? It's so near sighted. It's not a 'good' thing to not have the option to voice chat no matter how someone spins it.

@Faruko

First off, millions of people who buy COD do so for online play exclusively. I guarantee if it was missing from the upcoming game, it would sell half or 1/3rd of what it would normally. Destiny was guaranteed to sell in the millions because it was a game designed around the element of gameplay which makes COD so popular in the first place. People don't buy that game to play a linear 7hr campaign each year then put the game on the shelf. They buy it to play online for a 100+ hrs.

Secondly, I am not buying Splatoon because there is no voice chat. How about that? I have no desire to play a team based strategic shooter that does not give me the option to gameplan or strategize with my teammates. And who cares if when you play other games, occasionally only a couple other people bother to chat? Guess what? If your team has some people communicating and they other team has none, you have a major advantage and will likely win.

As I said before, playing an online competitive shooter with teammates and opponents you cannot communicate with is basically worthless. You might as well be playing with a bunch of AI bots. Same thing goes for MK8 online for that matter, though not to the same extent. No voice chat in MK8 makes an online race play and feel exactly like a single player one. There is no added excitement or fun as the online game removes the human element.

@Faruko

There's a lot of people in the comments complaining about voice chat, so it obviously is an important issue for people. Many are saying they aren't buying it because it won't have it.

Better to have the option to turn chat off or on rather than say no chat, period.
Nintendo spends the time and money to put a microphone in the gamepad and then they won't even let you talk into it for games they make.

Maybe on their next console with a built in microphone they will label the speaker 'blow-hole', as that is what most Nintendo games only allow you to do into it anyway

@Faruko

I can't imagine Splatoon matches fostering the aggression that COD does haha, but having a chat option and a mute button would have been a better choice than no chat at all.

@IceClimbers

You are right about MK8 and Smash Bros, as Nintendo brags about how many copies those games sold because they were hits and sold in impressive numbers. Pikmin 3, DKC:TF and Bayonetta sold less impressively (ie. flopped) and that's why Nintendo doesn't brag about how those games sold.

Zelda games don't sell well in Japan, so it misses out on bigger sales numbers that games like AC and Tomodachi enjoy

@CTs_Lieutenant

I hope you will enjoy playing a 4 vs 4 competitive online shooter that requires strategy but robs you of the ability to speak with your teammates and make a plan of attack! Might as well be playing with 3 AI bots.

Left 4 Dead 1-2 are some of my favorite online games, and when you are playing with a team of people who are using voice chat, the game is 1000X more enjoyable. Without it? It can be hit or miss (miss 70% of the time) and you are losing out on a huge portion of what makes it fun.

The inability to direct traffic and communicate with teammates is most likely going to stop me from buying this game, and most certainly will do the same thing for people who enjoy these types of games on other consoles.

I honestly believe the only people who are saying they don't want/or don't like voice chat are people who have no prior experience playing games like this online (team based shooters) or are basing it on what they heard playing free-for-all on COD, which is a mad house. Though one that I enjoy.

@VR32F1END

Don't worry...when this game joins the ranks of SM3DW, MK8 and Smash Bros on the list of games which didn't boost Wii U sales that much, Star Fox will become the next 'savior' to be written about on this site ad nauseam.

@IceClimbers

You just listed off a bunch of flops.

Absolutely horrified that about 60% of the people who voted so far don't care about/don't want voice chat for online play.

That is a HUGE issue for a game like this which requires teamwork and strategy.

Whatcha gonna do, when @Yorumi and @Quarthon run wild on you??!!

@Dipso

I think you misunderstand the term 'consumer confidence'.

Nintendo can have 60 billion dollars in the bank, but if consumers feel like the Nintendo brand is failing, and feel burned by buying a Wii or Wii U, no amount of money in the 'war chest' can bring those people back if the company continues to release hardware no one wants.

Sure, they can afford it financially, but the damage done to their brand will be hard to reverse.

@rockodoodle

With your line of reasoning, W101 and Bayonetta should have sold multiple millions rather than hundreds of thousands of copies.

I haven't bought a Wii U retail game since October because nothing interests me. Just releasing a game to 9-10 million console owners and assuming it will sell to at least a 1:10 ratio because there is no other competition is a bit optimistic. Don't fool yourself, Nintendo would much rather have an install base of 20mil and sell games to double the people.

@kensredemption

"Nintendo's profits may normally come from software sales, but at least they'll still sell months, even years after their launches. Destiny, Watch Dogs and Advanced Warfare all had strong launches, but three months down the line and they're virtually unheard of."

Who cares if the Nintendo games continue to sell three or more years later while those others don't?

A COD game or one of those other big releases you mentioned all sell more in their first 2 weeks of release than a Wii U title does in 2+ years. I'm sure those companies are just fine with making back a massive profit in one month rather than wait for a trickle of revenue from games that sell 50K copies annually for the next 5 years.

@Dipso

The analysts seemed pretty spot on when they said the Wi U would sell terribly, third parties wouldn't support it and that Nintendo would/should release games on mobile devices though.

But yes, let's only pretend they get it all wrong.

@shaneoh

Build one out of Lego

I wonder if the Wii U version of this game will run at 20FPS like the other Lego games do?

@efaulk84

It's the only game that takes advantage of the N3DS so that's why it gets a lot of attention

"I don’t think he knows what the consequences of ignoring me are" - Ramirez

50 million 3DS owners out there, but hey, let's release a niche title on the N3DS to a few hundred thousand owners!

Horrible move from the start.

@URAmk2

Out of curiosity I skimmed the link he posted as evidence to support those percentages he stated, but there is nothing in that article supporting his claims.
Those numbers don't even appear.

You win.

I would check Aokigahara or Mount Mihara

@Action51

Calls someone a 'self righteous attention seeker' then proceeds to self righteously criticize someone else! lol

People can like Nintendo but still not be happy with everything they release/do. Sorry, but having a different opinion doesn't make them a troll.

@Quarthon

When you mentioned Nintendo having a smaller presence in stores it reminded me. Last week I went into the EB at the mall for the first time in like 4 months and was shocked. The Wii U/3DS/Wii section was tucked away into a tiny corner in the back of the store (alongside the Skylanders and amiibo) and was probably the same size as the Vita section. Unreal. The PS/Xbox walls took up well over 2/3rds of the shelf space.

You could literately walk into the store and not even know Nintendo stuff was available (other than the discount bins selling Wii shovel ware)

@Action51

Just pointing out that it is of very little benefit for most people!

"This is what frustrates me so much about today's gamers"

awwhhh pooor baby!

@DESS-M-8

Most of those 25+ games were ports of older games for PS3/360 which didn't require much work, and even the Nintendo first party titles (NSMBU, Nintendo Land) were very simple and didn't take "several years" to make!

But big bad EA, UbiSoft, Bethesda, etc are hard at work on making NX games right!? Can't wait to play all those big third party games in a couple years!! Going to be real exciting!!

When do the PS5 games start getting made? What about Xbox Two? Exciting times to be a gamer!!

@Fluffy_Bunny_Bob

You forgot to mention it's a 3 minute demo of 30-20 year old games which most Nintendo fans have either already played or owned.

Good concept!

@Nictendo64

I loved how he said he lets son play violent games and shoot guns and it's not a problem, then brags how his 12 year old wants to join the army and become a drone "pilot" so he can kill people in real life using a joystick.

@AyeHaley

Toys and DLC for old games? This direct was one of the top 3!!

And the award for Best Unintentional Comedy Post on a Website goes to....

@freaksloan !! Congrats!

@manu0

It was? I must have fallen asleep around the point they were showing off a three pack of action figures then

Overall, a very lame ND.

the bad

-A lot of DLC and amiibo stuff. Not interested.
-Streetpass? People still use that?
-Nintendo hawking trading cards and toys? No thanks.
-A bunch of games based off Japanese RPGS and cartoons I don't watch
-Animal Crossing interior decorator simulator

the good

-The presentation itself wasn't very long

Sega did this years ago with the Streets of Rage re-make, so it's not like Nintendo is alone in trying to stop people from doing things like this.

"Also, 6, 7, 9 or whatever year olds have been going to PG13 movies since the crack of dawn"

I think its actually been since the dawn of man