@TheMagus I don't remember the 2D Mario game where I was in a train on a rocky desert, or in an underwater base, or in a circus tent, or in a haunted inn...
@PlywoodStick I appreciate that you too did the research on hte matter. The deficit is there in the form of heads of state and minister frequently not being appointed through direct vote in the countries. Remember that the Council and European Council (two different entities) are formed by ministers and heads of the state. Those aren't tipically elected directly but the parliaments of the countries elect the heads of the state that then form the local governments that are approved by the parliaments. That's what happens in Italy at least. So, the Council and the European Council suffer from being indirectly elected, much in the same way as Italy didn't directly vote for Matteo Renzi nor any of his ministers. Incidentally, Mogherini was part of Renzi's government.
So, yes, there are several improvements to the current treaties that have to be done, in order to either make the European Parliament more fundamental and not bypassable or to allow for more entities to be directly elected.
And of course, lobbying in the European Union is not unheard of. There is actually a list of lobbyist in the European Union you can access (ec.europa.eu/transparencyregister/public/consultation/listlobbyists.do), and the TTIP surely is bad, especially considering the European Union has a GDP that is not so lower than that of the United States (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)), so it's not like the US lobbies can propose controversial conditions on it and nobody must bat an eye.
Returning to Nintendo now, Nintendo of Europe is in Germany, so it must be seen if it will be practical for them to sell in the UK if some significant tax on imported goods will be made in the UK. Of course, a separate trade agreement will be made with the US as soon as possible (and be careful about that! I don't see them trying something different from TTIP unless they want to favor nations splitting from the EU through incentives, which would be a smart move on their part), so it must be seen what will be the best way in the longer term for Nintendo between importing from US (NTSC is no longer a problem now) or importing from European Union. I think the volume of games sold will decide, as of course you need great sales to make importing from US practical from an economic point of view.
@PlywoodStick I understand the point of TTIP, yet I find what you say about European Union's institutions perplexing - the Euroepan Council is composed of the heads of all nations of European Union (http://europa.eu/about-eu/institutions-bodies/european-council/index_en.htm), the Council of the European Union is composed of the ministers that are part of the governments that rule said countries (http://europa.eu/about-eu/institutions-bodies/council-eu/index_en.htm), the European Parliament is elected through direct elections (http://europa.eu/about-eu/institutions-bodies/european-parliament/index_en.htm) and the European commission must be approved approved by said parliament, that also must approve the president of the Commission with a majority of the votes (http://europa.eu/about-eu/institutions-bodies/european-commission/index_en.htm). Therefore the "powerful people and are not elected or accountable to the public" are either the heads, the ministers of the countries or people appointed or at least approved by them and approved by the parliament.
EDIT: that ending was bad and worthless, removed it. Sorry for that.
@Miles_Edgeworth EXP was reintroduced in Color Splash. Defeated enemies drop hammers that increase a bar. Once the bar is full, you increase the maximum amount of paint you can carry and start over, so it's essentially a simplified level up mechanism.
By the way, to return on the actual topic of the article, Nintendo is a multinational company, Nintendo of Europe has their offices in Germany, so I don't see why it should be greatly affected by the results of the referendum. There will be effects of course, but the ones observed immediately are looking to me more like immediate market reaction than moves stemming from a thorough analysis on how Nintendo's revenues, market share and expenses might be affected. So it was to be expected to see the share value rise again.
@Dakt Agreed! Too much disinformation spreaded on all parts, and I'm tired of slogans! My point is exactly that I don't like the way it is being handled, with simple slogans dismissing or solving it, as it is a very important matter with many implications that almost anybody knows. Let's go back to video games!
At this point, I think the main problem of these ambitious games for Nintendo is not budget - 2 million copies should be more than doable for a game that is going to be released on two home consoles - it's the time required to develop them. It was announced in 2014 as something imminent and we have yet to play it. I fear that new Nintendo games, especially those on the NX, will require much more development time than before in order to be groundbreaking.
Actually, my first experience was with MK64, so when I played SMK at my friends' houses it was a bit of a nightmare, since it has very hard tracks and drifting makes you lose a huge amount of grip! The only chance is pushing the direction opposite to the direction of the turn to magically reacquire grip - and even release the undocumented Mini-Turbo that was actually already in this game, if your drift is long enough -, but that isn't obvious from the manual! I can see why they said that drifting "isn't really implemented perfectly"!
Anyway, I'm pleased and surprised that they focused on the single player experience first and foremost - it paid off in the end.
@Dezzy @freaksloan To be honest, those who sustained the result of the democratic vote did a pretty bad job as well, since one of the most searched term on Google from UK citizen in this period was "What is the EU?". I think we need far more insight on these matters than just calling the pro-Europe part crazy scare-mongers or elite leftist globalist, especially on such important matters.
Some important points already told here: the lack of motion controls is positive in some case, the best one being Table Tennis. You can freely move, you have five different types of shots and have to charge your shots to have maximum effect. You can also hit the opponent and stun him (but this could already be done in the first game). Its depth would have beeen nearly impossible with motion controls. And there other nuances too, like the crosshair oscillating while you are not zooming on Archery, that are made easier by the lack of motion controls. So I don't agree on classical controls being detrimental - from what I am seeing they are either very precise or allow more gameplay depth.
That's not to say that motion controls are bad, just that in this case their lack doesn't seem to lead to negative effects.
Regarding the score, I think it's harsh from an absolute point of view - apart from the obvious great graphics and soundtrack, I find the game fun and some events like Table Tennis, Football and Rugby require actual strategy even against the CPU - but I can see its point - giving to SEGA the message that we can and should get more - Dream Events, a bigger roster of characters usable in all events, a full story mode, online play.
@Blue_Blur You can actually use the Team Sonic and Team Mario characters in tournaments, but you will have to play a lot to have this feature!
@TTGlider In Europe it is sold as €50.99 game, so mid price, not full price. Is it full price in the US?
@Seacliff To be honest I like Morton, I hoped to see him in another role rather than "boss that you must defeat using a certain Thing", of course.
Anyway, EXP is a thing now (to increase the paint) and there are still apsects to be revelaed about the cards (consumables or not?) and it must be seen how the enemy cards work. Koopalings card would be awesome, actually, but I'm not raising my hopes THAT far.
I think it is more like contemporary open world games, with various weapons and shields having stats and being able to break and inventory management. Also, a lot of different activities like hunting or cooking, to create new items. Interesting, let's hope that if you don't have much time to play you can still find shrines and main objectives without having to wander for hours.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd... Mario & Sonic came back from the dead, again! I wonder if it's just selling a constant number of copies so that some weeks it is on the chart, some weeks it isn't! Other than that, the usual Splatoon and Super Mario Maker that really are evergreen in Japan and the Animal Crossing Happy Price that shows that such moves are sensible, after all.
Glad to see that Kirby managed to surpass 300000 copies sold!
@kurtasbestos Actually, the Pokémon-themed 2DS are sold in Japan.
@LordGeovanni @rjejr The 3DS cartidges can hold up to 8 GB, so with new cartidges released in 2017 16 GB and 32 GB should be feasible. Xenoblade Chronicles X reached 21 GB and I don't think many other Wii U games required more space. So, regardless of whether NX will be an hybrid or a home + handheld common ecosystem, I think 3DS-like cartidges will be the only medium for physical retail games on the NX.
Even though I grew up with the Italian dub of Ducktales, I'm sad that he passed away, but still glad that he lived a long and, from what it seems, good and full life. Rest in peace, Alan Young. Condolences to his family.
The names are pretty obvious: Metroid, Zelda, Star Fox, Pikmin ad Animal Crossing would all work well, I'm surprised nobody mentioned Kirby.
But you know that all I want is a Mario universe movie where the Koopalings have a personality and it is revealed that they are Bowser's children like in the German version of Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. Get some Yoshi in there too and possibly Tatanga and Wart and I would go seeing it.
Kirby games appear to stay solid and so are their sales in Japan, which is definitely good, Star Fox Zero really seems to miss something that clicks with the Japanese audience (I wonder how it's doing in the West), while Mario & Sonic and especially Mario Kart 7 came back from the dead (did the latter receive a price cut recently? If so why isn't it listed as Happy Price?). Splatoon and Super Mario Maker continue to sell with an order of magnitude comparable to that of the Wii U so I wonder if bundles are involved or if they are just considered must-have games in Japan.
@rockodoodle The "outlier" is not the Wii U, it's the Vita. It's incredibly successful in Japan, as much as the 3DS from these numbers, and everytime I see those results with the Vita being one of the most important consoles in Japan I am surprised...
@manwithoutfear I'm still waiting for a 2D Mario game where the Koopalings' battles last a decent amount of time. I really like them as characters, but as bosses they are pretty terrible, and it doesn't help that in most New Super Mario Bros. games (I haven't tried the 2) you can jump on them right after the head comes out of the shell...
anyway, the fist two Bowser battles in Super Mario 64 are epic in settings and music, but man, one bomb and he's done! And the Bowser Jr. battles in New Super Mario bros. get gruesome near the middle of the game as you realize he's a poor little child desperately trying in all imaginable ways to defeat Mario only to fail miserably each time!
To be honest, I think in the '90s Nintendo was shameless, with the Mario DiC cartoons having Koopa Kids who were nothing like the Koopalings and the crocodilian Bowser, the Super Mario Bros. movie which was even more bizarre (pseudo-steampunk with Koopa who isn't even a turtle, Yoshi that is the wrong species of dinosaur, Goomba that doesn't really look like a mushroom, and Daisy just because...), the many Mario games made by third parties like Mario is Missing, Mario's Time Machine, the Mario's Early Years series, Hotel Mario, the Zelda CD-i games...
I much more like a no-nonsense careful stance. For Mario I would start from the Amada anime series and "Super Mario World: Mario & Yoshi's Adventure Land" (in which Mario, Luigi and Yoshi actually talk, showing that their muteness is only a modern thing), and I'd rather have very well done short productions like in the case of Star Fox.
Out of curiosity, could there be some troubles with Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story? Are they keeping it as Wii U VC swan song? I was expecting it, since SMRPG, PM, M&L: SS and M&L: PiT are all in the Wii U VC.
They also produce the Pokémon Hanafuda cards, but those are not in the page for some reason.
And they even produce trump cards (French playing cards), if I'm not mistaken the last of those were dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Super Mario Bros.:
@Project_Dolphin Actually, Vulkan and Direct3D 12 are more about "coding to the metal", so it's the other way round: PC games will be more coded to the metal thanks to D3D 12 and Vulkan. Of course, this might benefit consoles too, as porting of games coded to the metal should become easier (at least in the case of XBox One, while it must be seen how PS4 graphics API are similar to OpenGL or Vulkan).
I think NX will just be its own thing, all hints by Nintendo indicate that they want it to be something new - à la Wii - so the raw hardware capabilities shouldn't be again a focus - of course, now PS4 technology is quite affordable, so at least it should be on that level, and if they will use Vulkan and ARM/x86 the developers will only be happier...
Now, I don't think the touch screen controller is the point of NX - I think it is there for two reasons: a)if Wii U games emulated Virtual Console will become a thing, a touch screen controller will be needed. Such a controller is also very useful for DS/3DS Virtual Console; b)many development teams now know how to properly use a touch screen controller, so it makes sense to continue to have one with the NX. In the same way as the Wii remote was supported by Wii U but was not the Wii U's main selling point, I think the NX will support an improved touch screen controller, but that will not be the NX's selling point.
@rjejr Well, the New Super Mario Bros. series (and Super Mario Maker, and Pikmin too!) was developed by the Software Development Group No. 4 in Kyoto, while Super Mario Galaxy 2, Super Mario 3D Land and Super Mario 3D World were developed by the Software Development Group No. 2 in Tokyo and Super Mario Galaxy was developed by the Software Development Group No. 1 in Tokyo, so if you were wondering why the 3D Super Mario games since Galaxy 2 became more linear, now you have a (partial) answer: the team was changed! But it's not the same as that of the New Super Mario Bros. series....
@rjejr Well, nobody mentioned it, but actually 4 years passed since New Super Mario Bros. U, and since this time there isn't a 3DS version being developed at the same time, something decent might come out of it...
that being said I think they will just join the development teams together this time so they don't have to develop for 2 consoles, at most adapt the games for the less powerful console if they share architecture and release all handheld games on the home console as well. In the Wii U/3DS era there was surely a problem of having releases on both fronts.
Reagrding backwards compatibility, the x86 and ARM architecture don't allow that, they should go PowerPC again, but POWER is not PowerPC and IBM sold all its factories, so it would be much more difficult this time.
Interestingly, Nintendo joined the Khronos Group, so it's likely they will rely on Vulkan this time instead of their OpenGL-derived-but-still-proprietary graphics API. Along with x86/ARM this would simplify the life of developers, making cross-platform games easier to develop and less costly for the developers.
@Dankykong There are 3 categories of events in the 3DS version of Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games:
Longer main events: Soccer and Golf - these offer longer gameplay and, in the case of Golf, 18 holes; there are Plus versions as well
Main events: 12 other events offering a shorter gameplay which tend to be either more "controlled" or more "completely followed" (e.g. the 100m is followed with the same camera angle and is not divided in 2 parts) than those of the 3DS version of Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games; those too have a Plus version
Training Events: those are the same events played in the 3DS version of the previous game, thus are more like "microgames" with limited interaction; they also don't have a Plus version
Honestly, much is pointing toward retail games gradually disappearing: in Europe the Germany factory that produced the boxes and discs was apparently closed (all Italian discs and boxes seem to now come from Japan), My Nintendo only supports digital purchases and the newly opened official Nintendo online stores in Europe don't sell physical retail games unlike the older UK online store.
And wasn't one of the Nintendo patents about a download-only console with optional optical drive unit?
@JaxonH To be honest, I don't think in Colors, Generations and Lost World Sonic is as annoying in the levels as he is in Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, and I find it much more annoying that Mario and Luigi in the 3DS version of Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games cannot speak and Toad speaks on their behalf while Sonic does speak (and even Nabbit for the first time, actually!).
Wow, another week in which Mario & Sonic isn't dead even though it's more than a month it's out (although admittedly its reception by Famitsu was definitely positive, so maybe this kind of games fits well Japanese culture, and there are enough 3DS around that local multiplayer only is viable)! I wonder if SEGA is happy about those results. Good to know that Pokkén isn't dead either!
P.S.: Xbox One sales were almost 4x those of the last week, this is odd although with these numbers even statistical fluctuations are relevant...
The real news is that in the background we finally have Larry Koopa, Bowser Jr. and Birdo together! Yay! Mario Kart 8 and Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash days are gone!
Honestly, 3 points (backup, interaction with smart device apps, My Nintendo integration) can be done already with Wii U, the second screen is sensible if we think about backward compatibility with Wii U, being a 2016/2017 home console it's pretty obvious that even low end hardware should be on par with at least Xbox One, so the news is x86 architecture, that was less obvious as Nintendo could have used ARM instead like they do with 3DS consoles (and AMD is able to design ARM chips too from scratch, like K12).
@OorWullie See, everyone is happy with this choice now
I noticed that with the New 3DS Virtual Console titles there is the option to buy either one of the two versions, but not with traditional 3DS games (e.g. Super Mario Bros. 3), could someone confirm if cross-buy is present in the latter case (non-SNES 3DS VC titles)?
@OorWullie The fact is, there isn't a store at all, in the end they just updated the preexisting game pages (which is good in a sense, the Super Mario Advance 4 and Super Mario Bros. 3 pages still state that the Koopalings are Bowser's children, with the Super Mario Bros. 3 page even stating that they are natural children )!
@HeroOfCybertron In Europe, simply the possibility of buying a game from Nintendo's preexisting games' sites with Nintendo Network credits (it was not possible before, you had to go through the consoles' eShop), plus they tell you how many Gold Coins you get. If you want to use the coins instead, you have to go to My Nintendo site.
@HeroOfCybertron Actually, it's not really the eShop, simply told, the already existing game pages have been updated with the option to buy the game, with the reward in gold coins if you do so and apparently the terms and conditions for the sale, everything else is the same as before!
@samuelvictor @Vee_Flames @OorWullie The Nintendo Official UK Store is actually a store of physical goods, therefore only boxed retail games are sold there.
Ok, broader question to everyone with a 3DS: since the Super Mario Bros. 3 page now shows me that I have bought the game (I did on the Wii U eShop), can someone confirm that now you just have to buy a cross-platform game (e.g. Virtual Console titles) once and then it shows as if you have bought it also for 3DS?
@Alundra-1998 Out of curiosity, it now tells me that I already own the games I bought through the eShop (e.g. Super Mario Bros. 3), is the device-independent account-tied purchase system finally in force?
I am surprised to see Mario & Sonic still around after almost a month and half.
Unless some further problems emerged, the Wii U sales are probably due to lack of interest rather than production issues, which is surprising considering that Pokken still sells well. I hope there will be some interest for Star Fox Zero and maybe the new Paper Mario, but I fear that this situation won't change during the year that much, with Zelda being a giant unknown factor.
The only thing I don't understand is the need of a new account system, why isn't NNID being used instead of Nintendo Account? The new functionality (including cloud saves, purchases via websites and My Nintendo) could be added to Nintendo Network.
It's nice seeing Ohshima working again with Sonic games, after all these years! I'm wondering if it was Nintendo or SEGA that asked for the help of Arzest...
I think this new shop will be managed by DeNA, while the eShop will be managed by Nintendo. Seeing what happened with Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and GameSpy, I hope Nintendo won't rely too much on DeNA, especially for online gaming functionality...
@TheWPCTraveler It is, and that's what I wanted to say: if they make an app like Pokémon Shuffle, I will be able to play it on the iPhone 4, otherwise I will be left out!
Comments 269
Re: Preview: Buckets Of Fun With Paper Mario: Color Splash
@TheMagus I don't remember the 2D Mario game where I was in a train on a rocky desert, or in an underwater base, or in a circus tent, or in a haunted inn...
Re: Video: Nintendo Releases Showcase Video for Paper Mario: Color Splash
By the way, here's another overview video, showing other elements:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geXuvL3o78M
Re: Nintendo Believes Nintendo NX, Pokémon and Smart Device Games Can Deliver Promised Profits
@PlywoodStick I appreciate that you too did the research on hte matter. The deficit is there in the form of heads of state and minister frequently not being appointed through direct vote in the countries. Remember that the Council and European Council (two different entities) are formed by ministers and heads of the state. Those aren't tipically elected directly but the parliaments of the countries elect the heads of the state that then form the local governments that are approved by the parliaments. That's what happens in Italy at least. So, the Council and the European Council suffer from being indirectly elected, much in the same way as Italy didn't directly vote for Matteo Renzi nor any of his ministers. Incidentally, Mogherini was part of Renzi's government.
So, yes, there are several improvements to the current treaties that have to be done, in order to either make the European Parliament more fundamental and not bypassable or to allow for more entities to be directly elected.
And of course, lobbying in the European Union is not unheard of. There is actually a list of lobbyist in the European Union you can access (ec.europa.eu/transparencyregister/public/consultation/listlobbyists.do), and the TTIP surely is bad, especially considering the European Union has a GDP that is not so lower than that of the United States (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)), so it's not like the US lobbies can propose controversial conditions on it and nobody must bat an eye.
Returning to Nintendo now, Nintendo of Europe is in Germany, so it must be seen if it will be practical for them to sell in the UK if some significant tax on imported goods will be made in the UK. Of course, a separate trade agreement will be made with the US as soon as possible (and be careful about that! I don't see them trying something different from TTIP unless they want to favor nations splitting from the EU through incentives, which would be a smart move on their part), so it must be seen what will be the best way in the longer term for Nintendo between importing from US (NTSC is no longer a problem now) or importing from European Union. I think the volume of games sold will decide, as of course you need great sales to make importing from US practical from an economic point of view.
EDIT: looks like the TTIP might come to a dead end. I seriosuly hope this is what will happen: http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eu-usa-ttip-italy-idUKKCN0ZL1JV
EDIT 2: of course, the United States aren't the problem, the lobbies are, so that part was reworded.
Re: Nintendo Believes Nintendo NX, Pokémon and Smart Device Games Can Deliver Promised Profits
@PlywoodStick I understand the point of TTIP, yet I find what you say about European Union's institutions perplexing - the Euroepan Council is composed of the heads of all nations of European Union (http://europa.eu/about-eu/institutions-bodies/european-council/index_en.htm), the Council of the European Union is composed of the ministers that are part of the governments that rule said countries (http://europa.eu/about-eu/institutions-bodies/council-eu/index_en.htm), the European Parliament is elected through direct elections (http://europa.eu/about-eu/institutions-bodies/european-parliament/index_en.htm) and the European commission must be approved approved by said parliament, that also must approve the president of the Commission with a majority of the votes (http://europa.eu/about-eu/institutions-bodies/european-commission/index_en.htm). Therefore the "powerful people and are not elected or accountable to the public" are either the heads, the ministers of the countries or people appointed or at least approved by them and approved by the parliament.
EDIT: that ending was bad and worthless, removed it. Sorry for that.
Re: Feature: The Biggest Wii U and 3DS Games of 2016 - Summer Edition
@Miles_Edgeworth EXP was reintroduced in Color Splash. Defeated enemies drop hammers that increase a bar. Once the bar is full, you increase the maximum amount of paint you can carry and start over, so it's essentially a simplified level up mechanism.
Re: Nintendo Share Value Starts Its Revival As Financial Markets Begin Post-Brexit Recovery
By the way, to return on the actual topic of the article, Nintendo is a multinational company, Nintendo of Europe has their offices in Germany, so I don't see why it should be greatly affected by the results of the referendum. There will be effects of course, but the ones observed immediately are looking to me more like immediate market reaction than moves stemming from a thorough analysis on how Nintendo's revenues, market share and expenses might be affected. So it was to be expected to see the share value rise again.
Re: Nintendo Share Value Starts Its Revival As Financial Markets Begin Post-Brexit Recovery
@Dakt Agreed! Too much disinformation spreaded on all parts, and I'm tired of slogans! My point is exactly that I don't like the way it is being handled, with simple slogans dismissing or solving it, as it is a very important matter with many implications that almost anybody knows. Let's go back to video games!
Re: Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Needs To Sell 2 Million Copies To Make A Profit
At this point, I think the main problem of these ambitious games for Nintendo is not budget - 2 million copies should be more than doable for a game that is going to be released on two home consoles - it's the time required to develop them. It was announced in 2014 as something imminent and we have yet to play it. I fear that new Nintendo games, especially those on the NX, will require much more development time than before in order to be groundbreaking.
Re: Miyamoto And The Super Mario Kart Team On Drifting, Battle Mode And Creating Tension On The Track
Actually, my first experience was with MK64, so when I played SMK at my friends' houses it was a bit of a nightmare, since it has very hard tracks and drifting makes you lose a huge amount of grip! The only chance is pushing the direction opposite to the direction of the turn to magically reacquire grip - and even release the undocumented Mini-Turbo that was actually already in this game, if your drift is long enough -, but that isn't obvious from the manual! I can see why they said that drifting "isn't really implemented perfectly"!
Anyway, I'm pleased and surprised that they focused on the single player experience first and foremost - it paid off in the end.
Re: Nintendo Share Value Starts Its Revival As Financial Markets Begin Post-Brexit Recovery
@Dezzy @freaksloan To be honest, those who sustained the result of the democratic vote did a pretty bad job as well, since one of the most searched term on Google from UK citizen in this period was "What is the EU?".
I think we need far more insight on these matters than just calling the pro-Europe part crazy scare-mongers or elite leftist globalist, especially on such important matters.
Re: Review: Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (Wii U)
Some important points already told here: the lack of motion controls is positive in some case, the best one being Table Tennis. You can freely move, you have five different types of shots and have to charge your shots to have maximum effect. You can also hit the opponent and stun him (but this could already be done in the first game). Its depth would have beeen nearly impossible with motion controls. And there other nuances too, like the crosshair oscillating while you are not zooming on Archery, that are made easier by the lack of motion controls. So I don't agree on classical controls being detrimental - from what I am seeing they are either very precise or allow more gameplay depth.
That's not to say that motion controls are bad, just that in this case their lack doesn't seem to lead to negative effects.
Regarding the score, I think it's harsh from an absolute point of view - apart from the obvious great graphics and soundtrack, I find the game fun and some events like Table Tennis, Football and Rugby require actual strategy even against the CPU - but I can see its point - giving to SEGA the message that we can and should get more - Dream Events, a bigger roster of characters usable in all events, a full story mode, online play.
@Blue_Blur You can actually use the Team Sonic and Team Mario characters in tournaments, but you will have to play a lot to have this feature!
@TTGlider In Europe it is sold as €50.99 game, so mid price, not full price. Is it full price in the US?
Re: Review: Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (Wii U)
An important correction: the new remixes are much more than four:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiGvWycRgz6iJjalMxEap-irWo7pW8OwK
Re: E3 2016: Check Out the Paper Mario: Color Splash E3 Trailer
@Seacliff To be honest I like Morton, I hoped to see him in another role rather than "boss that you must defeat using a certain Thing", of course.
Anyway, EXP is a thing now (to increase the paint) and there are still apsects to be revelaed about the cards (consumables or not?) and it must be seen how the enemy cards work. Koopalings card would be awesome, actually, but I'm not raising my hopes THAT far.
Re: Reaction: Key Early Lessons We Learned About The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
I think it is more like contemporary open world games, with various weapons and shields having stats and being able to break and inventory management. Also, a lot of different activities like hunting or cooking, to create new items. Interesting, let's hope that if you don't have much time to play you can still find shrines and main objectives without having to wander for hours.
Re: Kirby: Planet Robobot Passes 300,000 Sales in Japan's Media Create Results
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd...
Mario & Sonic came back from the dead, again!
I wonder if it's just selling a constant number of copies so that some weeks it is on the chart, some weeks it isn't!
Other than that, the usual Splatoon and Super Mario Maker that really are evergreen in Japan and the Animal Crossing Happy Price that shows that such moves are sensible, after all.
Glad to see that Kirby managed to surpass 300000 copies sold!
@kurtasbestos Actually, the Pokémon-themed 2DS are sold in Japan.
Re: Rumour: Nintendo UK Hints at More Mario Kart 8 DLC
Important news: this is not the only tease from NOE, and this one is actually more explicit:
https://twitter.com/NintendoEurope/status/739124929703096321
maybe the #MK8 tag wasn't a typo...
Re: US Retailer GameStop Hoping That Nintendo NX Can Arrest Decline In Hardware Sales
@LordGeovanni @rjejr
The 3DS cartidges can hold up to 8 GB, so with new cartidges released in 2017 16 GB and 32 GB should be feasible. Xenoblade Chronicles X reached 21 GB and I don't think many other Wii U games required more space. So, regardless of whether NX will be an hybrid or a home + handheld common ecosystem, I think 3DS-like cartidges will be the only medium for physical retail games on the NX.
Re: Alan Young, the Voice Actor for Scrooge McDuck, Has Passed Away
Even though I grew up with the Italian dub of Ducktales, I'm sad that he passed away, but still glad that he lived a long and, from what it seems, good and full life. Rest in peace, Alan Young. Condolences to his family.
Re: Nintendo is Getting Into the Movie Business
The names are pretty obvious: Metroid, Zelda, Star Fox, Pikmin ad Animal Crossing would all work well, I'm surprised nobody mentioned Kirby.
But you know that all I want is a Mario universe movie where the Koopalings have a personality and it is revealed that they are Bowser's children like in the German version of Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. Get some Yoshi in there too and possibly Tatanga and Wart and I would go seeing it.
Re: Kirby: Planet Robobot Stays on Top in the Japanese Charts
Kirby games appear to stay solid and so are their sales in Japan, which is definitely good, Star Fox Zero really seems to miss something that clicks with the Japanese audience (I wonder how it's doing in the West), while Mario & Sonic and especially Mario Kart 7 came back from the dead (did the latter receive a price cut recently? If so why isn't it listed as Happy Price?). Splatoon and Super Mario Maker continue to sell with an order of magnitude comparable to that of the Wii U so I wonder if bundles are involved or if they are just considered must-have games in Japan.
@rockodoodle The "outlier" is not the Wii U, it's the Vita. It's incredibly successful in Japan, as much as the 3DS from these numbers, and everytime I see those results with the Vita being one of the most important consoles in Japan I am surprised...
Re: Culdcept Revolt Will Have Its Own Nintendo Direct in Japan
@John_Enigma Maybe the reason why they still are evaluating if and what to write about the news is this:
http://neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=202745837&postcount=1784
http://neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=202745937&postcount=1786
maybe some interesting details will be revealed, but I won't raise my hopes too much...
Re: Video: A Look at Five of the Worst Mario Boss Fights
@manwithoutfear I'm still waiting for a 2D Mario game where the Koopalings' battles last a decent amount of time. I really like them as characters, but as bosses they are pretty terrible, and it doesn't help that in most New Super Mario Bros. games (I haven't tried the 2) you can jump on them right after the head comes out of the shell...
anyway, the fist two Bowser battles in Super Mario 64 are epic in settings and music, but man, one bomb and he's done!
And the Bowser Jr. battles in New Super Mario bros. get gruesome near the middle of the game as you realize he's a poor little child desperately trying in all imaginable ways to defeat Mario only to fail miserably each time!
Re: Editorial: Nintendo Should Shamelessly Exploit Its IPs to the Full
To be honest, I think in the '90s Nintendo was shameless, with the Mario DiC cartoons having Koopa Kids who were nothing like the Koopalings and the crocodilian Bowser, the Super Mario Bros. movie which was even more bizarre (pseudo-steampunk with Koopa who isn't even a turtle, Yoshi that is the wrong species of dinosaur, Goomba that doesn't really look like a mushroom, and Daisy just because...), the many Mario games made by third parties like Mario is Missing, Mario's Time Machine, the Mario's Early Years series, Hotel Mario, the Zelda CD-i games...
I much more like a no-nonsense careful stance. For Mario I would start from the Amada anime series and "Super Mario World: Mario & Yoshi's Adventure Land" (in which Mario, Luigi and Yoshi actually talk, showing that their muteness is only a modern thing), and I'd rather have very well done short productions like in the case of Star Fox.
Re: Nintendo Download: 5th May (Europe)
Out of curiosity, could there be some troubles with Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story? Are they keeping it as Wii U VC swan song? I was expecting it, since SMRPG, PM, M&L: SS and M&L: PiT are all in the Wii U VC.
Re: Nintendo Financial Results Deliver Profits but Predict Severe Drops in Expected Wii U and 3DS Sales
@TheWPCTraveler Well, you'll be happy to know that their "core business" is actually intact:
https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n09/hana-kabu_items/index.html
They also produce the Pokémon Hanafuda cards, but those are not in the page for some reason.
And they even produce trump cards (French playing cards), if I'm not mistaken the last of those were dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Super Mario Bros.:
https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n09/chara_t_m/index.html
I'm more worried about them seeing the success of mobile titles such as Miitomo and gradually thinking a new path to get mainly there...
Re: Talking Point: PS4K 'Neo', NX and Supplemental Computing Devices - Home Console Gaming May Be Changing
@Project_Dolphin Actually, Vulkan and Direct3D 12 are more about "coding to the metal", so it's the other way round: PC games will be more coded to the metal thanks to D3D 12 and Vulkan. Of course, this might benefit consoles too, as porting of games coded to the metal should become easier (at least in the case of XBox One, while it must be seen how PS4 graphics API are similar to OpenGL or Vulkan).
I think NX will just be its own thing, all hints by Nintendo indicate that they want it to be something new - à la Wii - so the raw hardware capabilities shouldn't be again a focus - of course, now PS4 technology is quite affordable, so at least it should be on that level, and if they will use Vulkan and ARM/x86 the developers will only be happier...
Re: Rumour: More Sources Highlight NX Controller 'Gimmick' and a Major Game Project
Now, I don't think the touch screen controller is the point of NX - I think it is there for two reasons:
a)if Wii U games emulated Virtual Console will become a thing, a touch screen controller will be needed. Such a controller is also very useful for DS/3DS Virtual Console;
b)many development teams now know how to properly use a touch screen controller, so it makes sense to continue to have one with the NX.
In the same way as the Wii remote was supported by Wii U but was not the Wii U's main selling point, I think the NX will support an improved touch screen controller, but that will not be the NX's selling point.
Re: Rumour: Nintendo Is Planning A Series Of Wii U Remasters For NX
@rjejr Well, the New Super Mario Bros. series (and Super Mario Maker, and Pikmin too!) was developed by the Software Development Group No. 4 in Kyoto, while Super Mario Galaxy 2, Super Mario 3D Land and Super Mario 3D World were developed by the Software Development Group No. 2 in Tokyo and Super Mario Galaxy was developed by the Software Development Group No. 1 in Tokyo, so if you were wondering why the 3D Super Mario games since Galaxy 2 became more linear, now you have a (partial) answer: the team was changed! But it's not the same as that of the New Super Mario Bros. series....
Re: Rumour: Nintendo Is Planning A Series Of Wii U Remasters For NX
@rjejr Well, nobody mentioned it, but actually 4 years passed since New Super Mario Bros. U, and since this time there isn't a 3DS version being developed at the same time, something decent might come out of it...
that being said I think they will just join the development teams together this time so they don't have to develop for 2 consoles, at most adapt the games for the less powerful console if they share architecture and release all handheld games on the home console as well. In the Wii U/3DS era there was surely a problem of having releases on both fronts.
Reagrding backwards compatibility, the x86 and ARM architecture don't allow that, they should go PowerPC again, but POWER is not PowerPC and IBM sold all its factories, so it would be much more difficult this time.
Interestingly, Nintendo joined the Khronos Group, so it's likely they will rely on Vulkan this time instead of their OpenGL-derived-but-still-proprietary graphics API. Along with x86/ARM this would simplify the life of developers, making cross-platform games easier to develop and less costly for the developers.
Re: Review: Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (3DS)
@Dankykong There are 3 categories of events in the 3DS version of Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games:
Longer main events: Soccer and Golf - these offer longer gameplay and, in the case of Golf, 18 holes; there are Plus versions as well
Main events: 12 other events offering a shorter gameplay which tend to be either more "controlled" or more "completely followed" (e.g. the 100m is followed with the same camera angle and is not divided in 2 parts) than those of the 3DS version of Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games; those too have a Plus version
Training Events: those are the same events played in the 3DS version of the previous game, thus are more like "microgames" with limited interaction; they also don't have a Plus version
I hope this will clarify a bit.
Re: Talking Point: My Nintendo's Pros, Cons and Areas for Improvement
Honestly, much is pointing toward retail games gradually disappearing: in Europe the Germany factory that produced the boxes and discs was apparently closed (all Italian discs and boxes seem to now come from Japan), My Nintendo only supports digital purchases and the newly opened official Nintendo online stores in Europe don't sell physical retail games unlike the older UK online store.
And wasn't one of the Nintendo patents about a download-only console with optional optical drive unit?
Re: Random: Someone Hacked The Original Sonic To Include Sonic Boom's Annoying Chatter
@JaxonH To be honest, I don't think in Colors, Generations and Lost World Sonic is as annoying in the levels as he is in Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, and I find it much more annoying that Mario and Luigi in the 3DS version of Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games cannot speak and Toad speaks on their behalf while Sonic does speak (and even Nabbit for the first time, actually!).
Re: Yo-kai Brand Power Strikes Again in Japan as Pokkén Tournament Passes Sales Landmark
Wow, another week in which Mario & Sonic isn't dead even though it's more than a month it's out (although admittedly its reception by Famitsu was definitely positive, so maybe this kind of games fits well Japanese culture, and there are enough 3DS around that local multiplayer only is viable)! I wonder if SEGA is happy about those results.
Good to know that Pokkén isn't dead either!
P.S.: Xbox One sales were almost 4x those of the last week, this is odd although with these numbers even statistical fluctuations are relevant...
Re: Looks Like Nintendo's Familiar Red And White Branding Is Back For Good
The real news is that in the background we finally have Larry Koopa, Bowser Jr. and Birdo together! Yay! Mario Kart 8 and Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash days are gone!
Re: Rumour: Nintendo NX Source and Details Gain Some Traction
Honestly, 3 points (backup, interaction with smart device apps, My Nintendo integration) can be done already with Wii U, the second screen is sensible if we think about backward compatibility with Wii U, being a 2016/2017 home console it's pretty obvious that even low end hardware should be on par with at least Xbox One, so the news is x86 architecture, that was less obvious as Nintendo could have used ARM instead like they do with 3DS consoles (and AMD is able to design ARM chips too from scratch, like K12).
Re: Guide: Getting Started With My Nintendo
@Mario-Man-Child If you do have one, I think there should be the password recovery, but I have not personally tried.
Re: Nintendo's Official Website eShop Purchases Are Up and Running
@OorWullie See, everyone is happy with this choice now
I noticed that with the New 3DS Virtual Console titles there is the option to buy either one of the two versions, but not with traditional 3DS games (e.g. Super Mario Bros. 3), could someone confirm if cross-buy is present in the latter case (non-SNES 3DS VC titles)?
Re: Nintendo's Official Website eShop Purchases Are Up and Running
@OorWullie The fact is, there isn't a store at all, in the end they just updated the preexisting game pages (which is good in a sense, the Super Mario Advance 4 and Super Mario Bros. 3 pages still state that the Koopalings are Bowser's children, with the Super Mario Bros. 3 page even stating that they are natural children )!
Re: Nintendo's Official Website eShop Purchases Are Up and Running
@HeroOfCybertron In Europe, simply the possibility of buying a game from Nintendo's preexisting games' sites with Nintendo Network credits (it was not possible before, you had to go through the consoles' eShop), plus they tell you how many Gold Coins you get. If you want to use the coins instead, you have to go to My Nintendo site.
Re: Nintendo's Official Website eShop Purchases Are Up and Running
@HeroOfCybertron Actually, it's not really the eShop, simply told, the already existing game pages have been updated with the option to buy the game, with the reward in gold coins if you do so and apparently the terms and conditions for the sale, everything else is the same as before!
Re: Nintendo's Official Website eShop Purchases Are Up and Running
@samuelvictor @Vee_Flames @OorWullie The Nintendo Official UK Store is actually a store of physical goods, therefore only boxed retail games are sold there.
Re: Nintendo's Gold Coin Prices Point the Way to Freebies
@LandOfZeldtir On the Nintendo site or on the console's eShop?
Re: Nintendo's Gold Coin Prices Point the Way to Freebies
Ok, broader question to everyone with a 3DS: since the Super Mario Bros. 3 page now shows me that I have bought the game (I did on the Wii U eShop), can someone confirm that now you just have to buy a cross-platform game (e.g. Virtual Console titles) once and then it shows as if you have bought it also for 3DS?
Re: Nintendo's Gold Coin Prices Point the Way to Freebies
@Alundra-1998 Out of curiosity, it now tells me that I already own the games I bought through the eShop (e.g. Super Mario Bros. 3), is the device-independent account-tied purchase system finally in force?
Re: Nintendo's Gold Coin Prices Point the Way to Freebies
By the way, in term of points 8 GBA games at $8 ($64) are like a single game at $70...
Re: Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 3 Makes Impressive Sales Debut in Japan
I am surprised to see Mario & Sonic still around after almost a month and half.
Unless some further problems emerged, the Wii U sales are probably due to lack of interest rather than production issues, which is surprising considering that Pokken still sells well. I hope there will be some interest for Star Fox Zero and maybe the new Paper Mario, but I fear that this situation won't change during the year that much, with Zelda being a giant unknown factor.
Re: Talking Point: My Nintendo and Its Account System Start The Process of Unifying Platforms
The only thing I don't understand is the need of a new account system, why isn't NNID being used instead of Nintendo Account? The new functionality (including cloud saves, purchases via websites and My Nintendo) could be added to Nintendo Network.
Re: The Guy Who Designed Sonic The Hedgehog Supervised On Mario & Sonic At The Rio Olympics
It's nice seeing Ohshima working again with Sonic games, after all these years! I'm wondering if it was Nintendo or SEGA that asked for the help of Arzest...
Re: Enhanced Digital Store With Over 2,000 Games Launching Alongside My Nintendo This Week
I think this new shop will be managed by DeNA, while the eShop will be managed by Nintendo. Seeing what happened with Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and GameSpy, I hope Nintendo won't rely too much on DeNA, especially for online gaming functionality...
Re: My Nintendo and Miitomo to Launch in the West on 31st March
@TheWPCTraveler It is, and that's what I wanted to say: if they make an app like Pokémon Shuffle, I will be able to play it on the iPhone 4, otherwise I will be left out!