Lobster

So good, they took it down from the shop!

I have to say I'm one of those who really enjoys my Wii U. I have a dozen physical games and another dozen downloads, so I say it's doing pretty well, actually!

The Wii was a freak accident, there's no doubt about that. I don't know why anyone expects the Wii U to match it. That said, it's a great console, but its gimmick may be a bit ahead of the curve.

People say that the Gamepad shouldn't be bundled with the system and I just don't understand why. The very idea of doing that is to get 100% market penetration on the Gamepad - so devs KNOW that every Wii U owner has one. That enables them to make a better game. That was the entire purpose, and if you start selling Wii Us without Gamepads, you just miss the point.

The PS4 and Xbone are capable of this second screen tech as well, but they lack the 100% factor - does the player have a Vita/Smart Glass? Devs can't count on it. It makes ports suffer because they are going to want to program for them rather than Nintendo - AGAIN - instead of going with the sure thing and making the Sony and Microsoft second screen stuff optional in their port.

This is why I say the Gamepad is ahead of its time, but should not be removed. The games would suffer. How many times has it already been said in the past months that "THIS is the definitive port?" The Gamepad is always responsible. People are starting to figure it out.

Anyway I think the theory that Sony and Microsoft will have slow launches as well is interesting. I also think that if they do, Nintendo won't get the third parties back until at least 2015, if ever, but... I think the Wii U can stand on its own merits already/until then by virtue of its backwards compatibility (with controllers and peripherals even, which is unheard of) and year head start. Plus it's cheaper, and there's bound to be another price drop sometime in 2014.

They got this.

Plus, what was wrong with GameCube and N64? People sing their praises all the time!

I noticed this while in the eShop just now and had to see what was up. How should we feel about the (un)lucky few that managed to snag this stinker before it was yanked? Pity or...? It's almost kind of cool. Five whole people bought this, and played it for a whole hour (to be able to rate it). And now nobody else can ever have it.

God, I hope it didn't fry their systems or something else unspeakably awful.

@Eisenbolan I'm a really big fan of Order Up.
(This doesn't look bad, though!)

I remember showing the app to my dad a while back and he asked if he could use the balance board with it and I had to tell him no... So obviously other people had the same idea. He was actually pretty excited to hear about it when I told him.

The funny thing is that I don't even think this is shovelware yet... It looks like it from any other dev but Game Freak. From Game Freak I'd give it a try - on someone else's 3DS first. You know, assuming it ever came out here.

So I guess we can all include Mario in that Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game now, eh?

Not really sure why this would get anyone to pick up a Wii U, they either have a sort of deer-in-the-headlights look, or else look like Mario requires some serious brainpower they don't quite possess. Not the best candids.

@tigermask If you have the Balance Board, put it in front of a Flat Screen TV. Make a house with an awesome gaming set up? But also all that other fotune cookie carp, hahaha...

@Samurai_Goroh:
(She replied hours later! Sorry, I went to bed after making my comment and only just got back on Nintendo Life.) I didn't say it's a bad thing if they release Mother 3, but they opened a can off worms indeed. Have you ever had a little kid begging for something near you? Have you ever given in, just a tiny bit, to get them to shut up? No? Well, they don't shut up. They learn that if they ask long/loud/hard enough, they get something. So they ask longer/louder/harder.

Those of you bothered by the previous amount of begging for Mother 3 are not prepared for the coming onslaught, and neither are Nintendo. It's going to be of epic proportions. Get yer helmets on.

Like I said, not necessarily a bad thing. I've been in the camp of, "Please Nintendo, please please PLEASE release Mother 3 PLEASE! We have a translation you are free to use and everything!" for years now. But if that sort of thing bothers you, you might want to watch out. And Nintendo definitely is going to want to watch out, because while Mother fans are generally super polite, there's gonna be new ones, and ones that realized the begging worked, and it's gon' get crazy all up in heah.

I felt like the price was perfectly reasonable. I think the only thing is that Nintendo is unprepared, they've opened a can of worms. They've proven that if we ask long enough, they WILL eventually respond, which means they'll HAVE to release Mother 3 sometime, and fairly soon at that. Fans are really going to step up the begging, this isn't going to placate them at all. Quite the opposite.

I'm very curious to see concrete sales figures. How many people put their money where their mouth was? I did within hours.

This looks to be quite good! I'm not a fan of sidescrolling platformers - or any platformers for that matter - but they are a gaming mainstay and it's thrilling to see one (hopefully) executed well. This one reminded me favorably of some classics.

Is it going to have that bad*** music or is that only trailer music? Because that music kicked some serious you know what.

Interesting, but this week's contest entries are all going to be the same... Nothing but stuff from the fortune cookies. Still, good luck to you guys in the UK!

Good news for me, hahaha! I'm an investor, actually it's been going up for a good portion of the year despite all the Wii U doom and gloom. Strong 3DS sales, I'm guessing.

I think it's only going to continue to go up going through the holiday season, yes. 3DS is going to continue to be very strong and Wii U sales are finally going to pick up now that there's actually some worthwhile games coming out in its second six months. Wii U is not out of the running yet, folks.

@GN004Nadleeh You are selling your console because a 9/10 game is not completely how you expected? How stupid. Especially since you will absolutely regret that when other games come along. I can think of nine other games besides this one coming out before November 25 (the first year anniversary) that are worth a look to me. Who buys an entire console just for one game? Are you saying you have no other games for your Wii U at all up to this point, and thus no reason to keep it? I think you are being irrational and speaking nonsense.

For some reason, this game just hits the "so bad it's good" vibe for many people. I've never played it but I know a few who have and they always talk about it this way. Maybe a sort of Stockholm Syndrome? After all, as @grumblegrumble pointed out, back in the (bad ol') good ol' days, we often were forced to rent the clunkers if we wanted a game to play over the weekend and didn't get to the video store fast enough!

I made a board game on a big sheet of paper of this game once.

Why can't anyone come up with a decent farm sim aside from Harvest Moon?

As I recall even Sim Farm sucked back in the day.

I absolutely think this is likely, and that Nintendo would be fools not to. As an investor, I also hope they do; I can see the long term benefits!

It is a sure thing? Far from it.

@startropics3: "The new DKCR will never have the same influence on me that the original did, but that doesn't make it a poorly designed game."

Well, the golden age for being influence by things is probably 11-12. Not just games but movies, books, TV, music. Think back to that age and what you were a fan of then probably has shaped your tastes now to an extent, or you are at least still a fan of/nostalgic for it. For example, for me that is right when Pokemania hit the States and Lord knows I have never let that go. Also Harry Potter.

It might extend a few years downward as well because I was introduced to Star Wars at that time and have remained a huge fan all my life, and it might extend a few years upward as well because studies have shown our music tastes are generally set in our early teens. But I would say it's centered on 11-12.

Were you anywhere in that range when the original DKC games came out?

Excellent article. I've been gaming since some time in '89 or '90 when I was two - I started on DOS, so not gaming consoles, actually. I wasn't allowed a handheld or a console until I was 11! But I've always been happy to play just about anything, probably because as a kid I had to get any off-PC gaming exposure however I could. These days I play modern day and retro games, PC games, Nintendo games, and Android/smartphone games all pretty equally. PC is where I get my stuff that comes to Xbox/Sony, as I can only afford so much. I realize most people don't play the variety of games I do, and some might see me as a casual for some of the games I play, but my view of it is that I like to sample it all. After all, are you really a "gamer" if you refuse to game?

The article made me laugh. Sony: meets in person. Nintendo: meets in person. Microsoft: send emails.

Yeah, I know who I wouldn't bother with! Someone doesn't seem to actually care in this equation! ROFL.

I was born in 1987, so the NES was the first console I can recall, though I never owned one (I was a PC gamer from '89 onward, haha). Several of my friends did, though, so here are some memories.

First off, I never exactly got that "wow" factor because I just accepted the NES as how games were. It took until partway through the SNES lifecycle before games really started to blow me away. (We're talking DKC, Super Mario RPG...)

The first game I remember playing was either Duck Hunt or Mario. Of the two I preferred Duck Hunt because I got to shoot a gun! I also thought the clay pigeon mode was UFOs and I was shooting aliens.

One friend had Fester's Quest. We were in preschool at the time and as you can imagine that didn't really improve things. In fact, we played for maybe an hour and got absolutely nowhere. We had no idea what we were doing. It stands out in my mind because we got SO MAD at it!

Super Mario Bros. 3 scared me because of the level where the sun comes down after you. I would actually start crying. I would refuse to be in the same room with the cart and if I saw someone playing it, I would hide behind my hands and ask, "Is this the level with the sun?"

In preschool I had a babysitter who had a son with an NES. He and a friend would sit there playing it all the time and never let me play, so I would just watch. It was usually a racing game. I don't know which one, but I really wanted to have a turn. When I would ask the babysitter to make them let me play a bit, she would tell me, "Video games aren't for girls." Even though they were the same age as me, she would always make me take a nap and they got to stay up and play the NES instead. I was sooooo jealous.

That about covers it!

Only took eight months.

Awesome! I used to make Mario levels all the time myself... Also maps and maps and MAPS for AoE and Warcraft. I must have made five notebooks worth of maps for those two games.

Games certainly do sell systems. As does not having any real competing systems around (most people don't think much about the Vita). So, when are all the Wii U games coming out? Holiday season? ... Welp.

(I don't think it's as bad as all that, but they've definitely dug themselves into a hole this year that they didn't have any reason to dig.)

This is the first game I've not waited for a review for, ever.

But then I've been campaigning for it for ages. It's only fitting.

Makes me laugh that my SNES cart is rated K-A and the VC version is rated T. Are kids more sensitive these days? Oh, I get it! Adults are more touchy! I was eight when Earthbound first hit the States and I'd still let an eight year old play.

I wonder if all third parties are managing 3% sales on Wii U... and if they are bothering to stop and think how much that actually is given the release schedules.

But no, they just compare to everything else and go, WHOA, THREE PERCENT IS WAY LESS THAN NINETY-SEVEN PERCENT! Well, of course it is. But there's got to be some context for 97/3.

Personally, I wouldn't call an average game (on this site, 5/10) shovelware... but only just. I mean, it sounds competent. Shovelware, to me, implies brokenness in some way, not just mediocrity. Mediocrity teeters on the edge of shovelware, but ultimately is just above it. Someone could possibly derive enjoyment from this game, and I wouldn't think they had suffered head trauma if they did.

Why did this make me think of Plumbers Don't Wear Ties? XD Probably because it's going to be of about that same quality!

Day 42 wonders if she's the only lady out there liking Star Wars on this site. O_o Y'all are weird, date the Star Wars gals!

Now excuse me, I am off to download this glorious game!

When I think Rumble Pak I immediately think OoT. Reeling in those fish! And bombing and everything else. My friend got it with Star Fox so when I played OoT at his house before I ever got an N64, I knew right away I needed a Rumble Pak the minute I finally got one of my own. (And OoT, of course, which to this day is my favorite game of all time.)

"Congratulations, lefties. You win this round."

Best line of the review! Well, at least it's playable by 10% of the population, that is leaps and bounds better than most things that have impossible controls!

Took me ages to figure out why this wasn't working for me. Stupid Suddenlink doesn't let you rename their routers.

I want to add that once we get to some holidays that are different around the world I expect the social media sites will just EXPLODE. I really can't think of a game that fosters more unity and friendliness than Animal Crossing and the festivals are going to be a big part of that. Everyone is going to want to see stuff that they can't see in their own version and maybe also learn about another culture in the process.

Kind of amazing when you think about it. I mean, when's the last time Call of Duty made you look up the meaning behind a Japanese cultural tradition?

I love having friends over, especially one of my best friends - I put her on speakerphone and we chat away while we play to get over the voice chat limitation. My town is a few days ahead of hers so she usually visits me.

This is a game with the ability to create and strengthen friendships, which is something really rare and that should be treasured. It's a powerful force already.

Plus it's a lot of fun to get my town all nice and perfect!

@RupeeClock Strange, I completed a similar survey yesterday and they only seemed to want to know if I had heard there was a new Animal Crossing out at all.

Well, that's nice and all, but... Don't they grasp the concept of a "system seller?" I know traditionally third party games aren't but we all also know this one had the potential to be one. Had being the key word, since it's no longer exclusive.

Just so you know, as far as I can tell, he has THREE fakes and ONE good item per visit*. It's tough! I almost bought the Wistful Painting yesterday but caught myself in time - that one is subtle. The real one of that batch was the Venus de Milo and it is currently in my museum!
*Source: Multiple Redd visits in New Leaf.

@Wintendo I'm still confident it will pick up. It's early days yet. Nintendo is good to its indies, don't forget. There's good stuff coming from them.

OK, I've finally read the review and it's great, totally hilarious. I will not be buying the game (not a genre I like anyway). What made me laugh the most was the hobbled Miiverse posting - is it a feature or a bug? Either way I guess I'm glad of it, don't think we need any M rated Miiverse communities!

@Kifa makes a depressing point though.

That said, I'm not surprised, it's not like they've been a big supporter of Nintendo consoles the past 15 years. You know, ever since PS came out.

"Do you worry the Wii U isn’t going to have enough juice this generation, or do you think it still has much potential to be found?"

I think the Wii U has enough juice and plenty of potential, but I'm not a dev. It's all down to whether they think it's worth the trouble. A title like KH3 would sell like crazy, so I think it certainly is, but I'm not Squeenix.

Meanwhile I totally agree with @Reploid... What a shame to waste it on the Xbone. Have it be a PS4 exclusive for consoles if you can't be bothered to port it to Nintendo, too, Squeenix, but don't waste it on that trash. It's not going to be worth your time/money.

Overall I think, aside from a few choice games (Smash Bros. Smash Bros. SMASH BROS.) from what I can see Nintendo is unfortunately still under everyone's radar. Now, whether that was bound to happen with two console releases or they could have mitigated it somewhat is up for debate. I still think they did the right thing by not holding a conference, and instead focusing on just games games games.

The bad news is everyone is still going Wii Who? The good news is, people aren't think negatively about Nintendo - when they DO think of Nintendo at this E3, it's still all positive stuff. They haven't been tarred by Microsoft in any way. They actually probably came out cleaner than even Sony, if somebody takes the time to stop and consider.

'What did you think of E3 overall?"

Since "I have never laughed harder at any rivalry - excellent memes and macros" wasn't a choice, I went with, "It was pretty good overall."

My immediate thought when they took out the Tingle Tuner was actually that they were trying to fix gameplay bugs from the original like the Zombie Hover glitch.

Terrible news for speedrunners.

Oh, THAT'S how I got all my NES games in the GC Animal Crossing! The eReader! I had totally forgotten. I used to love those cards, I bought TONS. I still have most somewhere I'm sure. I had just completely forgotten until this moment that the NES games were stored on about five or six cards that you had to scan in a certain order.

Ah, memories!

As for whether I'm sad that there are no retro Easter egg games in this version of Animal Crossing: not particularly. I have the whole eShop full of games right there, and most games don't cost any more than a single pack of those cards did.

I can't believe it's been over a decade since the original game came out. I played it for about two years!

@Rumbler Well it can't be Noctowl as Noctowl didn't exist yet.

This is one of my favorite games of all time. An all time classic. You know what I am amazed by? The music! It pulled some pretty impressive tunes out of that brick!

I'm not downloading Animal Crossing... I'm going out and getting the 3DS XL bundle on Sunday!

I feel like he gave the same interview - the Please, Let Me Work On Something Else For Once interview, right after Skyward Sword too. Am I just imagining this?

Poor man. Let him do something else for a change, I'm sure it will be just as good. He shouldn't be randomly bursting into tears over a video game character while walking down the street. Let him get some distance.

I would have to say my top five is:

1. Harvest Moon: New Beginning
2. Paper Mario: Sticker Star
3. Ocarina of Time 3D
4. Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
5. Denpa Men: They Came By Wave

This is a mix of time put into the game, nostalgia, charm, polish, etc. Pretty weird list, really. Actually I never would have thought you could knock OoT from my favorite 3DS game, but then HM came out and I put several hundred hours into it. OoT is still my favorite game in general though.

EDIT:
The very MINUTE New Leaf comes out of course expect it to go to the top. Sorry Denpa Men, my cherished memories of waving my 3DS around in a restaurant like an idiot will get you nothing more than an honorable mention at that point.
EDIT2:
Editing seems to have stretched my comment out so I look like a total jerk. Is there any way to fix that, mods?

Sadly I don't have enough coins at the moment. I could redeem some more but I already have Platinum for the year and none of the surveys expires before July so I'm waiting until then to do them. So it looks like I'm sitting this round out, and such a nice round it was, too... -wistful-