Lin1876

I wish this guide had existed when I first imported games! These days I can read just about enough to navigate menus and answer simple questions, but one time I had to click everything to try and save (and found the quit button, infuriatingly).

So, ありがとうございます from my past self!

Getting Nintendo of Europe to foot the localisation bill is certainly one way to minimise costs...

I'm frankly amazed/appalled that we're in 2013 and there isn't a unified account system. If nothing else, being expected to pay twice for Virtual Console (on Wii U and 3DS) is nothing less than a slap in the face to consumers.

I don't get why the 8GB model exists (I don't get why a console with no hard drive exists in 2013 either, but that's another matter), but what I REALLY don't get is how Iwata thinks games are the only problem. They're by far the biggest problem, but the price is a major hurdle too. It's not so bad here in Europe where the Premium is £80+ than a PS4, but in America where it's only $50 that's hard to justify.

Nintendo seem determined to price the Wii U into irrelevance. With what it has, the Premium bundle should be £200 tops (maybe without Nintendo Land) and the basic bundle should be dropped. That would give it a precious selling point vs the PS4 and possibly 6 months wiggle room to get Mario Kart and Bayonetta out the door. It can take its chances from there.

90 hours Super Mario Kart marathon? Challenge accepted!

Seriously, though, this is a non-story. The BBC use stock images all the time, and this will have slipped past someone who doesn't know any better.

I payed the £7 so I'm a hypocrite, but I think the "standard" price of £5.49 is as much as these games should cost considering the lower/minimal development costs.

That said, compared to the fortune EarthBound costs in the wild, £7 is very reasonable. Perspective and all that.

Interesting. 3DS games have been £35 on the eShop lately, maybe NoE are getting more realistic about how much they can justify charging.

But yeah, it's still best part of a tenner cheaper on Amazon, so no thanks.

I'm disappointed but hardly surprised by that response. If the Wii U had momentum/sales/games then Codemasters would make it happen, but it doesn't, so they won't. I hardly blame them.

Still, the Wii U controllers are very ill-suited to racing games so that I probably wouldn't buy F1 2013 on the system even if it was being released.

Apparently Shinji Mikami thinks the name Resident Evil is stupid and he refuses to use it.

I expect Nintendo, if they enter China, will probably only have a niche market, similar to the one they have in South Korea. The reason being that while consoles have been banned in China, games generally have not, and there are plenty of PC and smartphone games on the market there.

I absolutely agree with practically everything that was said in that article. If Nintendo released this as a £20 eShop game I would be just fine with that (though I would have preferred Majora's Mask). However, to release a decade old game with minor tweaks and proclaim it as a new game, with pricing to match, is borderline deceit which I refuse to tolerate.

In short, as an owner of the GameCube original, I have no intention of buying The Wind Waker HD. Full Stop.

I just had a crisis! Just need to decide what to get this on now.

The main problem I have with this article is the assumption that because the author doesn't import games, the rest of the world doesn't either. Yes, localisation of Japanese games (which is what importing comes down to for the most part) is much better than it was, but it's still not perfect. Pandora's Tower, for example, was released in America almost two years after Japan, and a year after Europe. Fire Emblem Awakening was released in Europe months after it was released in America.

Further, the author contradicts himself. He says that an end to region locking will impact sales to the point where publishers will chose not to release games in a given region, then goes on to say that only a tiny minority actually care. Surely that minority won't adversely affect sales to that extent. I doubt, for example, that XSeed were put off publishing The Last Story because some people imported the game from Europe or Japan.

The final point was Nintendo's attitude to image and regional difficulties. These are at least somewhat understandable in isolation, but were Nintendo not as concerned about them when they decided not to region lock the DS? The entire argument is blown apart by the fact that the 3DS is the first Nintendo handheld to feature region locking.

Just because something has always happened does not mean it needs to keep happening. Nintendo are severely behind the curve on this, and aren't helping themselves at a time when they are being perceived, as being conservative and out-of-touch. Region locking is, mercifully, a thing of the past; Nintendo should acknowledge that fact.

I don't think there's an issue here at all. Nintendo are able to integrate different European ratings (PEGI, BBFC, USK) in their consoles, so I can't imagine it would be that difficult to extend that to include ESRB, CERO and other systems around the world. Alternatively, they could make it so that a game from outwith the home region wouldn't play if parental controls were enabled (seeing as importing games is something very, very few kids are likely to do).

I don't buy that there are legal restrictions at all. For one, these restrictions would also apply to Sony and Microsoft, and they would also have applied to the Game Boys and DS.

Why do they release exact figures in Japan but not elsewhere. It would be fascinating to see more precise figures for the UK, for example.

If Nintendo announced tomorrow they were dropping the GamePad and that the Pro Controller would be standard I would be just fine with that (aside from being annoyed at paying extra for the GamePad). On both the 3DS and Wii U, the "top" screen has been the focus with only a few games making use of the "bottom" screen outwith menus, maps, inventory, etc. In fact, I'm struggling to think of many single players games which definitely couldn't be done with a traditional system.

The DS worked because the screens were equal, but even then most games were predominantly on one screen. The second screen is a nice luxury to have (especially on handhelds where it's in easier reach), but I'd never feel lost without it.

No. With the exception of eInk screens I hate reading text on a screen for any length of time. I don't read books on a tablet, never mind a 3DS.

As the boss he ultimately has to take responsibility if things go wrong. Indeed, I suspect he might have been gone already if Nintendo was an American company. It's clear that Iwata wants Nintendo to be isolationist, or at the very least wants them to not engage with the rest of the industry more than they have to. Since he arrived in 2002, Nintendo have been out of sync. This has worked very well in the past (Wii, DS, 3DS to a more limited extent), but seems to be hurting the Wii U.

The reason, in my opinion, is that Nintendo are now targeting gamers on the PS3/360. That's fine, but they will be far less willing to tolerate a patchy online infrastructure, the lack of a good voice chat system, no unified accounts, missing analogue triggers and similar problems. There's a critical distinction between being "different" and being "out of touch", and Iwata seems unable to see that. If he has to go for Nintendo to turn themselves round then so be it.

@Hyperstar96 I never said I don't like big expansions, I just said I'm not convinced that this particular one was good value. NSLU adds a new skin to an existing game, but makes very few fundamental changes. If it cost £10-£12 I would be snapping it up, but the best part of £20 for new levels seems a lot.

Equally, I never said I'm for overpriced microtransactions in racing games. Is £10 for over a dozen touring cars and a track reasonable? For the amount I play, I'd say yes. Is £6 to unlock 10 cars already on the disc reasonable? No.

As I say, I judge DLC on a case-by-case basis, but my overriding opinion is that is should be entirely optional.

On NSLU, I'm not convinced. I haven't bought NSMBU (I'm quite scunnered with that particular sub-series), but if I wanted to buy them both I wouldn't get much change out of £65! That's a lot of money and I'm not willing to pay that, and I think substantial DLC like that should be accompanied by a price cut on the original game. Though since when have Nintendo not tried to squeeze every penny they can out of us?

I'm more convinced by smaller items, actually. Something like car/track packs in Gran Turismo is something I'm willing to pay for as long as I believe that it wasn't taken out of the original game and the price is reasonable. On-disc DLC, by contrast, must be discouraged.

It's not that difficult to port from DX to OpenGL (which the Wii U uses), but whether Squeenix feel it would be worth their while is another matter.

For me, it's X, Watch Dogs, Smash Bros., Mario Kart then Bayonetta. Need a break from Mario platformers, 3D or otherwise.

It's disappointing, if hardly unexpected, news given how slow sales have been. I like the Wii U as a concept and enjoy playing it, but Nintendo have badly screwed up in several key areas and it's no surprise to see third parties abandoning it. The third party reel yesterday was depressing viewing as it was basically PS3/360 line-up with several of the biggest games missing.

Say what you like about Ubisoft and their games, no console can survive without third party support. The Wii survived through having third party exclusives, but the Wii U doesn't even have that. Almost every game is coming from Ubisoft or Nintendo themselves, so if Ubisoft are dropping support that's a major concern.

Those words could mean just about anything really, and I think they're right not to show anything if they're not that far in. Look at Twilight Princess, which was delayed and eventually came out over 2 years after it was first shown.

If they show it next year with a 2015 date I'll be happy.

I haven't played a CoD games since World at War, but I might be convinced to pick this up. Would be at the bottom of the to-buy list though.

I seem to be the only person in the country who didn't have major issues. I stuttered a bit at the start and conked out about half-way through (nothing refreshing the page couldn't fix), but besides that it worked fine.

I'm actually going to go digital. I'd normally want a physical copy, but games like this are just made to go everywhere with you.

@GiftedGimp Though I stress that is just my opinion. If you prefer using the right stick then good for you, I just don't like it.

@GiftedGimp To be honest, one of the reasons I don't have a Pro Controller is because I'm hoping for an upgraded one to be released. I think the Wii U's stick position will make it easier to use, but it's no substitute for triggers.

To explain why, I'll stick to the car analogies. Using the stick is equivalent to right foot braking, while triggers are equivalent to left foot braking. Many racing drivers left foot brake unless they have a reason for not doing so, such as injury. Even if a driver doesn't balance the car with the throttle and brake, which many do (though you're right that karters are discouraged from doing this), left foot braking allows for an instantaneous transition from acceleration to braking an vice versa. This simply isn't possible if you right foot brake and, likewise, isn't possible using an analogue stick. Craig Scarorough outlined it quite well.

http://www.scarbsf1.com/leftfootbrake.html

@GiftedGimp It doesn't really, because you can only have throttle or brakes. However, many drivers both real and virtual use both pedals to balance the car round corners and there's simply no scope for that with the R stick. It's still a million times better than digital buttons, but proper triggers are the only way to go.

However, if game supported a good USB wheel which was also compatible with the PC and maybe even the PS3 (like a lot of the Logitech ones) then I would be very interested.

Will be interesting to see how they, and Project CARS, get round the rather crippling lack of analogue triggers (@Nintenjoe64 makes a decent point, but I never want to have to use that thing again). If they added support for the various Logitech wheels it would increase my interest though.

It would be encouraging for the Wii U if this turns out to be a thing. However, looking at how Codemasters have driven the Colin McRae and Race Driver series into the ground this generation, I'm not holding my breath for anything special from a new game. Colin McRae/Dirt is a seris which desperately needs a ground-up reboot and a focus on point-to-point rallying.

MiiVerse, unified accounts and Neo-Geo Pocket and GBA games on Virtual Console and my life will be complete. It's a great wee system right now.

I wouldn't complain about another FAST game. The original was one of those games where you feel a sequel could be really, really special if it's done properly.

@Tertis It could be the 25th anniversary. Mother first came out on the Famicom in 1989.

Seems like an odd "mistake", but even if we rule that out it could be just about anything...

@gavn64 Ah, looking back I didn't phrase that well. What I meant is that Nintendo can't claim the credit for the Let's Plays, because it's someone else's work. I think Nintendo are due something, but not everything, from these videos.

@True_Hero Exactly, there's two sides to this. It would be good if the parties involved could agree to split the revenue somehow.

It's a bit petty isn't it? I see where Nintendo are coming from as it is their content, but it stinks of Nintendo wanting free money for something they, quite frankly, have nothing to do with. They're well within their rights on this, but it's not exactly good PR to annoy dedicated fans.

Want! That is so unbelievably cool and awesome and perfect!

This was reported several days ago by other sources, old news.

However, it's clear that this is an isolated incident and I doubt parental controls being available have made any impact on the case.

Oh boy, this is bad. While Madden is of no interest to me, for the Wii U to lose such a major game is a massive blow for the system, whatever the reasons may be.

The really galling part of all this is that exactly the same happened with the 3DS, yet the same mistakes have been made once again. Surely Nintendo could have learned for their previous mistakes...

It's like a better implementation of the PSOne screen, really. A good idea with some issues.

Good point about the pot-holes, too. The roads around where I live could do some serious damage!

@Vehemont Don't count on it. They were removed from the Wii VC recently, presumably because of the Rare connection.

Great! Now if only Nintendo had given the GamePad analogue triggers then the Wii U version would actually be worth playing.

Bought it on eShop this morning. Looked around for the best deal, but realised I'd only save about £5 and I'd have to wait.

It's amazing! Don't regret a penny of the £40 asking price,

I've started with Normal Classic, because I want the true Fire Emblem experience despite being relatively new to the series.

The 3D trailer was cool, but the 3D effect makes my head hurt so I probably won't be using it much, sadly.

Hope it finds a middle ground between the N64 and GameCube games. Both were fun but the former too bland and the latter too gimmicky.

Online features sound epic though.

To be honest, I was hoping Wii Mode would be booted or at least integrated better, but these are decent upgrades. Nothing earth-moving (apart from the speed improvements), but good all the same.