Cross play is not going to happen with Nintendo. The best you can hope for is an upgrade fee.
I totally get the emulator costs money to port but the build should be very similar across a system (Nintendo uses a single game single emulator approach while Sony use the same for all games but run older games on older versions if compatibility allows) and as such if I paid less the more I upgraded where it eventually became free, I think that would be a good compromise.
I guess some would use the analogy of a "hey you didn't complain when you upgraded your VHS to DVD and then to Blu-Ray" but that only works if the Blu-Ray was the exact same as the VHS except the system you play it on...which it is not.
As for the shop accounts. They mistake they made was initially making 3DS have multiple wallets then devolving into a single country single account system (which locks you in for added insult). The successor hardware will probably use NNID which means I'll have to make one on the 3DS to transfer purchases and this would mean I lose access to some games I've bought due to the downloads being unavailable on the UK eShop (as the games are not sold on the UK eShop). Then again I prefer playing on the original hardware (and may well buy US hardware next time making a transfer impossible anyway) so would probably not bother.
Yoshi feels like a supermarket own brand version of the game. It is clear what is trying to be but it is leaving an off taste at the moment. Maybe the game kicks into gear in the later worlds or something.
While I'm interested in Pokemon Link I've got too much on my plate for now.
@ledreppe Long story short. Wii shop price was £7 (or €10) for 1000 points as that was the currency conversion they used at the time. These days Nintendo use £9=€10. The most dedicated of people could buy the Wii VC version and upgrade to save money if the price was £4.50 (well break even on NES except being able to play in both crappy 50Hz and 60Hz, save something like 10p on SNES)
@Kitsune_Rei Wait, Number Battle doesn't have local Multiplayer? The (Japan only) retail version (Suujin Taisen) has local multiplayer, download play too so this is an odd downgrade.
I hope this is not a case of too late. Makes me wonder what they'll do in HQ now if development is all here.
@DimetriWarrior Apparently the Nintendo of America offices are a bit like this on the inside (colourful and self referencing) ever since their revamp, I did see photos but the uploader took them down and who saves things anymore
As much as I hope for eShop credit to be added (not really, the UK site will once again forget they serve Ireland too and leave Irish people getting £ they can't spend) I have a feeling it will nothing like that last one was.
I do have 300 stars expiring so I guess I could hope for card case 18 to come back in stock again.
Would be nice to see the post play surveys return for WiiWare and DSiWare though (not all of these seem to track anymore but the surveys were removed when the eShop surveys came live, about 2 years ago, they said it was temporary so I left about 20 WiiWare surveys to do...)
Seems like business as usual, first party is the only thing that sells on the 3DS and not too much out of that (consider it was the best selling hardware in 2013 too, maybe that is overstated as there are far more owners of other systems). People have thoughts of reasons including £40 software and the young demographic only gets games twice a year.
As for the thought of fans shifting to digital. I was under the impression that was unpopular due to how Nintendo implement account systems (and the perception of such) and pricing (which is endemic across all hardware really).
Donkey Kong hanging around for so long is the main surprise I'd say as Wii U games tend to be bought at launch by the hardware owners (with such low demand and supply the prices may not drop) and don't drive hardware much (Nintendoland did rise in the charts but the £5 GAME offer may have done that).
@readyletsgo These charts are UK so probably including Northern Ireland. Ireland was on the chart-track website but has not been updated since November.
France is here (note is behind by a week but the latest release): http://www.sell.fr/top I can't remember when more detailed charts come out (there were overall 2013 ones a few weeks ago with actual sales numbers).
Other countries come out later in the week but include Italy, Germany and Spain.
Awakening was a last chance stallion for the series and it bolted. So I'd expect more of the self inset fanfiction, free map style Fire Emblem (curious thing, the post play survey asked me if I want to see marriage and pair up return in future games). It is a shame the series is not big enough to support both the more mainstream demographic and the demographic who wants a game with more sub-systems or a richer plot (Radaint Dawn is my thought, as the Dawn Brigade was too tough an opening volume for beginners) but maybe we should celebrate the past rather than regret the present.
I just wanted to say thank goodness this article did not fall into the cliche of describing it as "the dark souls of" which generally and lazily describes most games with difficulty and some mechanics and sub systems to get your head around.
@1upsuper I think FE5 was still the last SFC game to get a boxed retail release (the only boxart I can find for Metal Salnder is a NP Flash cart with the printable sticker you got from the kiosk).
@Ralek85 Lunatic+ is not the good kind of hard if you ask me. Throwing high stats, silver weapons and absurd skills onto enemies to the extent of having to restart maps multiple times (e.g. guy with Hammer in chapter 1 has Hawkeye, restart) just to even play one turn is not fun. Then comes the fact you're only using about 5 characters for your sanity (one of which is a female tactician forced to marry chrom so his kids are usable) which seems like a shame. In FE5 the actual combat is not the difficult part rather dealing with everything else (in particular weapons, many a first playthrough end when you find all your weapons broken and not enough money to buy the horribly overpriced ones from the preparations shop) and while the cast has weaker links everyone feels like they can contribute something (and the fatigue mechanic that forces you to rotate them is great). I do dislike how some things are non-obvious though (character specific visiting of locations, maybe if I could read the text it would help...) but the challenge feels genuine (as bigger stats won't help as much due to lower overall stats for both you an enemies, but fans like big numbers and seeing them go up which is why we've reached the modern FE challenge of balancing this by giving the enemies bigger numbers).
@yokokazuo I'd have personally gone for Holy War as Thracia is a side story of that. But both are kind of unique for Fire Emblem games in how their mechanics are compared to other entries while still being familiar.
@unrandomsam If you have the cartridge plugged in and connect to the eShop you should be able to download the patch for that problem. So no need for a recall or a replacement (in fact the download version is version 1.0, after opening the download you are prompted to update it to version 1.1).
I got a spotpass about the Luigi sales. One thing. It told me Super Luigi U was 33% off. Nintendo lied to me, via spotpass too...
But still how do you manage to have a Luigi sale and miss Luigi's Mansion 2? Then again if it was like the Mario & Luigi sale nothing of value is lost.
As for this week. Denpa 2 even though I've still not beaten the first or started the demo for the second. Geuss this means Denpa 3 is coming soon. I'll also think about Tappingo.
@Moorpheel In that case then during March make a Club Nintendo account and register the 3DS XL and eligible game. If the Pokemon download code does not work then you have something to give away but if it does work you get a free copy of Pokemon. You might also get enough coins for a downloadable DSiWare game too...
Club Nintendo only ban non-USA accounts if they find out you are not from the USA (I've only heard one case from an Australian using a forwarding service).
The reason Bibi & Tina - Das Spiel zum Kinofilm has no description is it is for Germany only and as you would imagine the text is German only.
Surprised at SMB DX but given Mario Advance series seems to be heading to Wii U VC I guess I shouldn't be. I'd like to see DK Original Edition and Four Swords Anniversary next.
Oh noes its bad news its over, those 3 million Wii U will never be sold now...
Please understand what this is. The bootrom has been dumped through a different route than before. You can't do much with the bootrom except compare it with a buddies one to see if it matches (it does suggesting you've done it). Yes through understanding all of this you might be able to figure out how to make something better work but is far from piracy (I heard about a year ago a Wii U modchip was in development, modchips will always be the far easier route to piracy).
Notice how this and the previous group have not released an exact method of how they did it.
If you were interested in how the previous group did it then watch this talk: http://fail0verflow.com/blog/2014/console-hacking-2013-omake.html It is really interesting and goes into and various methods they were able to extract data (including using the sensor bar). Basically there are design flaws which make all the hard work in the security moot. At least as far as dumping the bootrom goes.
Please, continue crying wolf about Nintedoom everyone...
@Sean_Aaron Is the Wii U region free? But otherwise I agree, low entry to development and it being much easier to prove yourself via various app marketplaces (Desura, Android, App Store etc) make the motive for homebrew a bit low (likewise the existence of cheap media boxes means you don't need a media player).
"Since it's free, you have no excuse not to check it out" A Nintendo Network ID is required is my excuse. Since the current NNID locks you one country and no single country gives me access to all my eShop purchases I have to give up redownload rights for some games (games not for sale in a country are not available for download) which I'm not prepared to do.
It is a shame as it sounds better than the original steel diver. I'm guessing the slower pace means there are no problems with lag.
Ace Attorney for me. I didn't have time to play it at release so decided to wait. Still don't have time but its not like it'll be £2.79 when it next goes on sale glares at level 5 games.
@MadAdam81 My prediction is about $28AUD (30% off $40 which is about $2.50 too much considering the eShop conversion is usually $1.5=€).
I have Crimson and Friday but am tempted to go for some of the others but Aero Porter getting too hard too fast makes think an Art Style game is a better investment, I'm left handed so liberation maiden will be misery and the other two don't seem that interesting.
@Shiryu Salesman? I get the joke Nintendo was aiming for here. The Streetpass Mii plaza has a talking rabbit as a salesperson. That is what Peppy is referring to.
So any chance of Nintendo lowering the price of Steel Diver on the eShop as its not worth £40 anymore...
Alas, a Nintendo network ID is required for this...maybe they'll make a retail download code for a premium version or something (such as Nintendo allowing multiple IDs and thus access to multiple countries, on the same system).
@3dcaleb The retail version has levels as side-scrollers with first person minigames (and a terrible turn based strategy game) while this entirely first person. Looks a lot better.
@MAN1AC 3DS? Its goes on for a long time before that and covers most of ATLUS USA library. Publishers in Europe sometimes pick up games is all there is to it really. NOE published Etrian Odyssey 1 and Trauma Centre for instance but we never saw Trauma Centre 2, Trauma Team or Etrian 2 and 3.
Conception 2 (did I get the name right) is interesting however as ATLUS USA will be doing a digital release in Europe not too long after the American release so maybe things are changing. Or maybe Conception 2 is so unappealing no publisher wanted it.
@AcridSkull What I think about regarding the level 5 statment is. Downloadable size constraints? This isn't WiiWare, there are 4 gigabyte games on the eShop.
I wonder if the truth is they don't have the UK dub rights but don't want to release it without (its possible) so made something up to make it sound like more of a technical issue.
@Anguspuss Its €18 in Ireland. Mainland Europe is getting ripped off.
Wonder if the eventual demo will be 3 uses (NISA feel that is plenty in contrast to ATLUS who offer the maximum of 30). Then again the demo is story mode so is less replayable than the demo of IV.
I wonder what the price will be. Will Atlus gouge us? When sales happen will the European price also go down since its the same publisher (Atlus stuff goes on sale a lot on the US eShop). I do wonder why they're doing this but my only guess is they couldn't find a publisher or assumed nobody would want it.
@FaulPern The SMT: DS bugfix came out months ago (back in May). Meanwhile we still wait for anything on Virtue's last reward (saving in some locations corrupts your save, mainly puzzle rooms) and Blazblue (sleep mode does not work, it drains battery as if it is awake)..
Anyone wanting a European price cut should contact Namco Europe and ask them why, I'd be interested to hear their justification (they won't comment to plebs like us but it doesn't hurt to put pressure on, they might have something to say to a website though even if it is just a no comment). Likewise SEGA regarding Rhythm Theif which has a similar pricing problem (but I think NOE had involvement in publishing both of these so it might not be the companies call).
As for the game, the impression I got from the demo was bosses were going to be super robot taisen-esque of give an enemy about 1 million HP except there is no way to skip animations to make such a thing more palatable. It didn't help I did not full understand combos and SP or whatever you need to do the strong attacks and had to use basic attack and keep SP for healing spells.
It is a shame there is no full reason. It might be that even an eShop only release isn't viable. Let's say it costs $10,000 to license the US translation (I have no idea how much it costs but as nice as XSEED are I don't think they'll give it away for free) and there are no other issues. That basically means you need to sell a few thousand copies just to pay that back. After that you still have the ratings and employing staff to pay. Maybe the eShop market would not achieve that number of sales needed to break even. If you could do a retail release you basically start with those copies sold immediately but need to get retailers to buy it and have a minimum production run.
It is remarkable how a simple feature can make you feel bad about buying a system. I have a feeling my next Nintendo handheld will be a US version and 100% digital (then NOA will start to slack on releases or something...)
I'm surprised actually. But it makes me wonder. How few units do you have to sell to make it. The charts seem very much down on Christmas. It is still probably a few thousand units.
@Bulbousaur Aliens is £5, Pokemon is £100 (I'm assuming the buyers don't have a 3DS and can find the 2DS bundle). I have to admit I bought Duke Nukem Forever at a similar price point, I guess these days I'd watch a let's play instead though. Aliens does have a decent multiplayer though (I doubt players are flocking to this though).
As you can see the player character sprites are not the same style. The style that these are following is akin to Final Fantasy Dimensions and the recent mobile FFV release. FF Dimensions had a low budget feel all around (similar to after years, it was a port of an older mobile game) and FFV was largely hated (the meteorite image where the graphics used don't loop properly is a prime example) outside of the monster graphics.
Notice how the player characters are in a different perspective to before. Need to get an idea of what I mean? Look at their feet for racing left/right sprites. You can only see one foot while in the SNES version you can see both feet.
The problem is how inconsistent everything looks (on the world map towns are now polygon models, some scenes have a mix of redrawn graphics with lazy upscaling, the floating continent is a prime example). The player characters are particularly out of place though.
What is funny is a few years ago people were complaining about bad FFIV looked on the PSP but have now come to the conclusion that looks far better than the original and this style.
@unrandomsam No its not the same. We buy 10 games get 2500 stars. Americans buy 10 games get 500 coins. They could buy their charger when it was on there with that (plus be 5/6 of the way to platinum but thats another story...) while we still need another 2000 stars.
@Kaine_Morrison But if it is in sleep mode the battery eventually drains a bit and needs charging again, meanwhile all this is doing is what exactly? Getting a streetpass hit once in a blue moon. Add in billions of consumer devices all cradled all being charged or on standby to do nothing and that is huge amount of electricity being wasted. In short, Turn the things off before you cradle them.
4500 stars is a lot for such a novelty (I'm not a fan of cradles, they just make you waste energy trying to keep something on full charge while you leave it afk in standby for eons) especially when the US price was 500 coins.
In America it is like 50 coins for a Wii game plus more for a post play survey. In Europe it will be 250 stars. In other words they buy 10 games, we buy 18. Then again it did sell out pretty quick in America so I guess it was popular and that makes things expensive.
In case anyone reads this is the far future. The guy didn't just uploaded New Super Mario Bros Wii...he did it weeks before release date. How it started/got caught was he ended up posting on a message board (Nintendo claimed expert forensics but anyone looking from the outside knew) about his purchase and fell under peer pressure to upload it to a select few (who then decided anyone could have it).
I don't know if the retailer he bought it from got into trouble. When a Candain retailer broke the street date for Pokemon X/Y (again, purchasers posted the store they bought it from) they were fined for every sold copy and due to selling so many were forced to shut down.
Game Freak are either seriously naive, lazy or incompetent not to encrypt communications. They encrypt GTS (to stop fans making their own version of Pokemon bank) so they know how to. Why they didn't do so regular trading or...battles.
Regular trading not being encrypted lead to that whole Instacheck "my SV is xxxx, I has eggs with SC yyyy zzzz pls hatch" gold rush and battling has lead to this. If wouldn't be so bad if the game sent an "I'm ready" message when you've made your move rather then sending what that move actually was, most movesets are very standardized, especially on ladder.
If they really wanted to be national they could do that trick they mentioned in the Iwata asks with the relay stations and join all the UK ones together (unless they can only join all up all of them in the world in which case I guess they would leave that for a world streetpass day). Well its the only way I'll ever get a Northern Ireland hit anyway...
Hits in my area are few though relays help a lot (listings from O2, The Coud and Nintendo are bit inaccurate). I typically get a good enough queue to boot the plaza up once a week (which is enough for me).
I'm getting a Doctor Mario and Tetris vibe (fun fact: the Japanese version of this locks you into Doctor Mario despite having all the tetris data).
We usually get one or two puyo puyo games a decade (90s; Mean bean machine and Kirby avalanche...both verisons of puyo puyo 1; 00s: puyo pop* and puyo pop fever) so it could happen.
Then again the whole Tetris rights things might cause issues (don't EA have exclusive rights now?).
*-On GBA and... NGage. IIRC it had 4 player support on 1 console too.
So does this mean Warner finally sorted out the legal issues (they did not get permission for I think it was keybaord cat)? I can imagine Nintendo holding back on a launch until such things took place.
Also would be nice if Mario etc are in the 3DS version given their reason for not being included in the US release was the game going gold before the deal was down.
@NFreak007 When I was in Berlin I saw quite considerable numbers in the large electronics stores (no idea if any were sold). But in the UK interest from what I can gather all but dead in the Wii Mini from both retailers and consumers (NOE really should have released a lot more Nintendo Selects game to go with the launch, as it stands it is a relaunch of a year dead system).
Also I'm flabbergasted about how they are so head in the sand over this. They know its a big issue, hence why they changed after Balloon fight so to refusing to find any solution as soon as it is a game that has been translated into (one or more of) FIGS is just crazy.
Can't wait until 2016 when NOE learn how to upload country specific ROMs or add some more if statements to the VC emulator (easiest solution is to give countries that would like the translation the 50Hz version but English speaking countries be left with 60Hz).
@TrueWiiMaster (and to others saying its a non-issue, btw, the article missing this obvious point has sure helped here). The display you are playing it on is the problem (the GamePad). It outputs in 60Hz ONLY (also the WiiU seems to). How it achieves this for a 50Hz game is it duplicates every 5th frame displayed. This results in it being jerkier than intended (if you can't notice this don't belittle those who have...a few might notice it feeling a bit "off").
Basically America (and Japan) gets 30 frames a second we get 25 converted badly into 30.
@GiftedGimp Nonesense. For it to be the same 50Hz it should have horrible borders on the screen and actually display in 50Hz rather than 60Hz (with every 5th frame duplicated).
@datamonkey F-Zero was only in English. Like Kirby the problem is the German translation. Can't make the translated version 60Hz due to the "optimisations" and can't give some people (with no use for the translation) an American version because crazy internal politics and/or lazy and/or NOE run by idiots.
@b_willers Super Metroid was "translated" the intro has German subtitles and thats about it. Super Mairo world was completely in English in Europe. Thing is I live in a country that does not speak German so has no use for this. Why can't I be given the perfect version? (its a bit unfair to leaves the Germans to suffer but IIRC they can make a Mii, register it to UK and redownload there)
@manu0 Even if its full speed etc its still 50Hz. The Gamepad outputs 60Hz so it repeats every 5th frame making it look jerkier than it should. Likewise the controls are less responsive. In other words if there was no difference between the 50Hz and 60Hz version you would still want the 60Hz version.
@Mikazi . When the Wii came out 1000 points was €10 which converted to £7 (£7.50 if you bought a points card). Remember what happened in 2008, the £ became worth a lot less. So when the DSi Shop came out NOE decided €1.10=£1. These prices have remained since.
NOE didn't want VC games cheaper to buy on the Wii Shop channel than the eShop on the Wii U so kept the cheaper UK prices. I guess your point still stands about why couldn't the 3DS be the same. I guess on the Wii U you can access either shop (i.e. they are competing) and oddly enough Mario's Super Picross is actually cheaper on the Wii U side (as the added 100 points for it being an import has not been applied).
This aside, what is up with Balloon Fight being €4 instead of €5?
I would not be surprised if the sex label automatically puts a game as being PEGI 16 (like how the gambling label makes it PEGi 12- this changed the Game Corner in Pokemon*). Plus NOE might not exactly want that on the box...especially for a piece of paid DLC. Still, it could be written better "smooth as silk" comes to mind but since it is DLC they could patch it...like thats going to happen.
*-The rules and the timing of them meant European Pokemon Platinum had the game corner cut (still there but the machines don't work).
I hope the $30 Mario Kart and $40 OOT are not refurbished... Club Nintendo slips is not listed in the contents (though I think the serial number can function as a registration in America).
If there was no hold up due to content of the game I wonder if it was actually Itoi that was the hold up and in a Sonic CD US soundtrack (for the recent port) kind of way of "we need this persons permission but we've not bothered talking to them".
A similar thing may have plagued Illusion of Gaia (the internal SNES emulator in early SNES VC games had a list of games, later games added an asterisk to the game, most other games that got those were never seen on VC, it was mainly stuff like Picross NP 1-9) as that title had it scenario written by an external individual who may still hold rights over it.
Apparently it is a speed forme (think Deoxys) judging by how it is alleged to tie in with the new movie (but as always with the Pokemon scans and info there is lots of misinformation and plain fake stuff).
Can we still get the Streetpass puzzle please (I mean Rhythm Heav...I mean Beat the Beat Rhythm Paradise also came out ages after America yet the puzzle came out the same time).
Personally, I'm not that surprised. NOE hardly ever release anything July/August and rarely release more than 1 thing per month. Let's see: March - MH Tri Ultimate, Luigi ("Mario" title so worldwide launch) April-Fire Emblem May-Pokemon Mystery Dungeon June-Animal Crossing
In short, February should have been its slot as none of the above would be pushed back...then again June could also work if we decide to count Animal Crossing as "worldwide launch".
@DePapier Incorrect. Brain Training performed far better in Europe than America. Unless NOAs marketing was terrible the only other difference is the name. Likewise with Professor Layton, NOEs different boxart sold the game much better than NOA did, so much so that NOA were forced to relaunch the game.
I also hear something about the first names and last names being the wrong way round. All of these make me wonder if they had to apply the English script to a Japanese version of the game (maybe Atlus USA only gave them the script) and then didn't know there some special things that had to be done. As it seems like it was a lot more work was required than what you would think of change the region code, add your name to the title screen and change bits of the script.
Comments 1,456
Re: Talking Point: Important Steps to Bring the 3DS and Wii U Closer Together
Cross play is not going to happen with Nintendo. The best you can hope for is an upgrade fee.
I totally get the emulator costs money to port but the build should be very similar across a system (Nintendo uses a single game single emulator approach while Sony use the same for all games but run older games on older versions if compatibility allows) and as such if I paid less the more I upgraded where it eventually became free, I think that would be a good compromise.
I guess some would use the analogy of a "hey you didn't complain when you upgraded your VHS to DVD and then to Blu-Ray" but that only works if the Blu-Ray was the exact same as the VHS except the system you play it on...which it is not.
As for the shop accounts. They mistake they made was initially making 3DS have multiple wallets then devolving into a single country single account system (which locks you in for added insult). The successor hardware will probably use NNID which means I'll have to make one on the 3DS to transfer purchases and this would mean I lose access to some games I've bought due to the downloads being unavailable on the UK eShop (as the games are not sold on the UK eShop). Then again I prefer playing on the original hardware (and may well buy US hardware next time making a transfer impossible anyway) so would probably not bother.
Re: Super Mario McDonald's Happy Meals Hit the Flagpole in the UK on 19th March
@craigmoss19 Can you choose which toy you get when you do this?
Re: Nintendo Download: 13th March (Europe)
Yoshi feels like a supermarket own brand version of the game. It is clear what is trying to be but it is leaving an off taste at the moment. Maybe the game kicks into gear in the later worlds or something.
While I'm interested in Pokemon Link I've got too much on my plate for now.
@ledreppe Long story short. Wii shop price was £7 (or €10) for 1000 points as that was the currency conversion they used at the time. These days Nintendo use £9=€10. The most dedicated of people could buy the Wii VC version and upgrade to save money if the price was £4.50 (well break even on NES except being able to play in both crappy 50Hz and 60Hz, save something like 10p on SNES)
Re: The Club Nintendo Rewards Are In For March
@Kitsune_Rei Wait, Number Battle doesn't have local Multiplayer? The (Japan only) retail version (Suujin Taisen) has local multiplayer, download play too so this is an odd downgrade.
Re: Nintendo's Expensive New Development Building Isn't Very Exciting
I hope this is not a case of too late. Makes me wonder what they'll do in HQ now if development is all here.
@DimetriWarrior Apparently the Nintendo of America offices are a bit like this on the inside (colourful and self referencing) ever since their revamp, I did see photos but the uploader took them down and who saves things anymore
Re: Nintendo of Europe Warns of Intermittent Club Nintendo Downtime on 11th March
As much as I hope for eShop credit to be added (not really, the UK site will once again forget they serve Ireland too and leave Irish people getting £ they can't spend) I have a feeling it will nothing like that last one was.
I do have 300 stars expiring so I guess I could hope for card case 18 to come back in stock again.
Would be nice to see the post play surveys return for WiiWare and DSiWare though (not all of these seem to track anymore but the surveys were removed when the eShop surveys came live, about 2 years ago, they said it was temporary so I left about 20 WiiWare surveys to do...)
Re: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and Pokémon X & Y the Last Nintendo Games Standing in UK Top 40
Seems like business as usual, first party is the only thing that sells on the 3DS and not too much out of that (consider it was the best selling hardware in 2013 too, maybe that is overstated as there are far more owners of other systems). People have thoughts of reasons including £40 software and the young demographic only gets games twice a year.
As for the thought of fans shifting to digital. I was under the impression that was unpopular due to how Nintendo implement account systems (and the perception of such) and pricing (which is endemic across all hardware really).
Donkey Kong hanging around for so long is the main surprise I'd say as Wii U games tend to be bought at launch by the hardware owners (with such low demand and supply the prices may not drop) and don't drive hardware much (Nintendoland did rise in the charts but the £5 GAME offer may have done that).
@readyletsgo These charts are UK so probably including Northern Ireland. Ireland was on the chart-track website but has not been updated since November.
France is here (note is behind by a week but the latest release):
http://www.sell.fr/top
I can't remember when more detailed charts come out (there were overall 2013 ones a few weeks ago with actual sales numbers).
Other countries come out later in the week but include Italy, Germany and Spain.
Re: This Is What The Box Art For Mario Golf: World Tour On The 3DS Looks Like
Also compatible with 2DS? I was worried for a moment...
Otherwise, there is not much you can do with a Maro golf box art.
Re: Matters of Import: Prepare To Die In Fire Emblem: Thracia 776
Awakening was a last chance stallion for the series and it bolted. So I'd expect more of the self inset fanfiction, free map style Fire Emblem (curious thing, the post play survey asked me if I want to see marriage and pair up return in future games). It is a shame the series is not big enough to support both the more mainstream demographic and the demographic who wants a game with more sub-systems or a richer plot (Radaint Dawn is my thought, as the Dawn Brigade was too tough an opening volume for beginners) but maybe we should celebrate the past rather than regret the present.
I just wanted to say thank goodness this article did not fall into the cliche of describing it as "the dark souls of" which generally and lazily describes most games with difficulty and some mechanics and sub systems to get your head around.
@1upsuper I think FE5 was still the last SFC game to get a boxed retail release (the only boxart I can find for Metal Salnder is a NP Flash cart with the printable sticker you got from the kiosk).
@Ralek85 Lunatic+ is not the good kind of hard if you ask me. Throwing high stats, silver weapons and absurd skills onto enemies to the extent of having to restart maps multiple times (e.g. guy with Hammer in chapter 1 has Hawkeye, restart) just to even play one turn is not fun. Then comes the fact you're only using about 5 characters for your sanity (one of which is a female tactician forced to marry chrom so his kids are usable) which seems like a shame. In FE5 the actual combat is not the difficult part rather dealing with everything else (in particular weapons, many a first playthrough end when you find all your weapons broken and not enough money to buy the horribly overpriced ones from the preparations shop) and while the cast has weaker links everyone feels like they can contribute something (and the fatigue mechanic that forces you to rotate them is great). I do dislike how some things are non-obvious though (character specific visiting of locations, maybe if I could read the text it would help...) but the challenge feels genuine (as bigger stats won't help as much due to lower overall stats for both you an enemies, but fans like big numbers and seeing them go up which is why we've reached the modern FE challenge of balancing this by giving the enemies bigger numbers).
@yokokazuo I'd have personally gone for Holy War as Thracia is a side story of that. But both are kind of unique for Fire Emblem games in how their mechanics are compared to other entries while still being familiar.
Re: Nintendo Download: 6th March (Europe)
@unrandomsam If you have the cartridge plugged in and connect to the eShop you should be able to download the patch for that problem. So no need for a recall or a replacement (in fact the download version is version 1.0, after opening the download you are prompted to update it to version 1.1).
Re: Nintendo Download: 6th March (Europe)
I got a spotpass about the Luigi sales. One thing. It told me Super Luigi U was 33% off. Nintendo lied to me, via spotpass too...
But still how do you manage to have a Luigi sale and miss Luigi's Mansion 2? Then again if it was like the Mario & Luigi sale nothing of value is lost.
As for this week. Denpa 2 even though I've still not beaten the first or started the demo for the second. Geuss this means Denpa 3 is coming soon. I'll also think about Tappingo.
Re: Nintendo Confirms Club Nintendo Promotion for Free Pokémon X Or Pokémon Y Download
@Moorpheel In that case then during March make a Club Nintendo account and register the 3DS XL and eligible game. If the Pokemon download code does not work then you have something to give away but if it does work you get a free copy of Pokemon. You might also get enough coins for a downloadable DSiWare game too...
Club Nintendo only ban non-USA accounts if they find out you are not from the USA (I've only heard one case from an Australian using a forwarding service).
Re: Nintendo Download: 27th February (Europe)
The reason Bibi & Tina - Das Spiel zum Kinofilm has no description is it is for Germany only and as you would imagine the text is German only.
Surprised at SMB DX but given Mario Advance series seems to be heading to Wii U VC I guess I shouldn't be. I'd like to see DK Original Edition and Four Swords Anniversary next.
Re: Hacking Group Claims To Have Discovered Wii U Homebrew Exploit
Oh noes its bad news its over, those 3 million Wii U will never be sold now...
Please understand what this is. The bootrom has been dumped through a different route than before. You can't do much with the bootrom except compare it with a buddies one to see if it matches (it does suggesting you've done it). Yes through understanding all of this you might be able to figure out how to make something better work but is far from piracy (I heard about a year ago a Wii U modchip was in development, modchips will always be the far easier route to piracy).
Notice how this and the previous group have not released an exact method of how they did it.
If you were interested in how the previous group did it then watch this talk:
http://fail0verflow.com/blog/2014/console-hacking-2013-omake.html
It is really interesting and goes into and various methods they were able to extract data (including using the sensor bar). Basically there are design flaws which make all the hard work in the security moot. At least as far as dumping the bootrom goes.
As for the whole "but why?". Marcan wrote about what this meant which was quoted here:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=102031256&postcount=190
Please, continue crying wolf about Nintedoom everyone...
@Sean_Aaron Is the Wii U region free? But otherwise I agree, low entry to development and it being much easier to prove yourself via various app marketplaces (Desura, Android, App Store etc) make the motive for homebrew a bit low (likewise the existence of cheap media boxes means you don't need a media player).
Re: Review: Steel Diver: Sub Wars (3DS eShop)
"Since it's free, you have no excuse not to check it out" A Nintendo Network ID is required is my excuse. Since the current NNID locks you one country and no single country gives me access to all my eShop purchases I have to give up redownload rights for some games (games not for sale in a country are not available for download) which I'm not prepared to do.
It is a shame as it sounds better than the original steel diver. I'm guessing the slower pace means there are no problems with lag.
Re: Nintendo Download: 20th February (Europe)
Ace Attorney for me. I didn't have time to play it at release so decided to wait. Still don't have time but its not like it'll be £2.79 when it next goes on sale glares at level 5 games.
@MadAdam81 My prediction is about $28AUD (30% off $40 which is about $2.50 too much considering the eShop conversion is usually $1.5=€).
Re: Weapon Shop de Omasse to Complete Guild 01 Collection, Massive eShop Discounts Available Now
I have Crimson and Friday but am tempted to go for some of the others but Aero Porter getting too hard too fast makes think an Art Style game is a better investment, I'm left handed so liberation maiden will be misery and the other two don't seem that interesting.
Re: Rumour: Steel Diver: Sub Wars Is Set In Same Universe As Star Fox
@Shiryu Salesman? I get the joke Nintendo was aiming for here. The Streetpass Mii plaza has a talking rabbit as a salesperson. That is what Peppy is referring to.
Re: Pokémon Battle Trozei Is Match Three Puzzle Action With Over 700 Pokémon, And It's Coming To The 3DS eShop
Match 3? I could swear the original was the much more original...match 4 (sarcasm as connect 4 would like a word with that...).
Re: Free-To-Play Title Steel Diver: Sub Wars Breaks The Waves Today On The 3DS eShop
So any chance of Nintendo lowering the price of Steel Diver on the eShop as its not worth £40 anymore...
Alas, a Nintendo network ID is required for this...maybe they'll make a retail download code for a premium version or something (such as Nintendo allowing multiple IDs and thus access to multiple countries, on the same system).
@3dcaleb The retail version has levels as side-scrollers with first person minigames (and a terrible turn based strategy game) while this entirely first person. Looks a lot better.
Re: Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millennium Girl Comes Questing To Europe On May 2nd
@MAN1AC 3DS? Its goes on for a long time before that and covers most of ATLUS USA library. Publishers in Europe sometimes pick up games is all there is to it really. NOE published Etrian Odyssey 1 and Trauma Centre for instance but we never saw Trauma Centre 2, Trauma Team or Etrian 2 and 3.
Conception 2 (did I get the name right) is interesting however as ATLUS USA will be doing a digital release in Europe not too long after the American release so maybe things are changing. Or maybe Conception 2 is so unappealing no publisher wanted it.
Re: Inazuma Eleven Shoots And Scores On The North American 3DS eShop
@AcridSkull What I think about regarding the level 5 statment is. Downloadable size constraints? This isn't WiiWare, there are 4 gigabyte games on the eShop.
I wonder if the truth is they don't have the UK dub rights but don't want to release it without (its possible) so made something up to make it sound like more of a technical issue.
@Anguspuss Its €18 in Ireland. Mainland Europe is getting ripped off.
Re: Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millennium Girl Comes Questing To Europe On May 2nd
Wonder if the eventual demo will be 3 uses (NISA feel that is plenty in contrast to ATLUS who offer the maximum of 30). Then again the demo is story mode so is less replayable than the demo of IV.
Re: 3DS System Update Adds Nintendo Network ID, Miiverse and Unified eShop Funds
@Nintendo3ds0 Actually I believe how that works is option unlocks when you unlock Find Mii 2.
Re: Atlus is Bringing Conception II to Europe as a Download-Only Title
I wonder what the price will be. Will Atlus gouge us? When sales happen will the European price also go down since its the same publisher (Atlus stuff goes on sale a lot on the US eShop). I do wonder why they're doing this but my only guess is they couldn't find a publisher or assumed nobody would want it.
@FaulPern The SMT: DS bugfix came out months ago (back in May). Meanwhile we still wait for anything on Virtue's last reward (saving in some locations corrupts your save, mainly puzzle rooms) and Blazblue (sleep mode does not work, it drains battery as if it is awake)..
Re: Project X Zone Price Slashed To $20 On The North American 3DS eShop
Anyone wanting a European price cut should contact Namco Europe and ask them why, I'd be interested to hear their justification (they won't comment to plebs like us but it doesn't hurt to put pressure on, they might have something to say to a website though even if it is just a no comment). Likewise SEGA regarding Rhythm Theif which has a similar pricing problem (but I think NOE had involvement in publishing both of these so it might not be the companies call).
As for the game, the impression I got from the demo was bosses were going to be super robot taisen-esque of give an enemy about 1 million HP except there is no way to skip animations to make such a thing more palatable. It didn't help I did not full understand combos and SP or whatever you need to do the strong attacks and had to use basic attack and keep SP for healing spells.
Re: Rune Factory 4 European Release Has Been Cancelled
It is a shame there is no full reason. It might be that even an eShop only release isn't viable. Let's say it costs $10,000 to license the US translation (I have no idea how much it costs but as nice as XSEED are I don't think they'll give it away for free) and there are no other issues. That basically means you need to sell a few thousand copies just to pay that back. After that you still have the ratings and employing staff to pay. Maybe the eShop market would not achieve that number of sales needed to break even. If you could do a retail release you basically start with those copies sold immediately but need to get retailers to buy it and have a minimum production run.
It is remarkable how a simple feature can make you feel bad about buying a system. I have a feeling my next Nintendo handheld will be a US version and 100% digital (then NOA will start to slack on releases or something...)
Re: Mario Party: Island Tour Arrives in the UK Top 20
I'm surprised actually. But it makes me wonder. How few units do you have to sell to make it. The charts seem very much down on Christmas. It is still probably a few thousand units.
@Bulbousaur Aliens is £5, Pokemon is £100 (I'm assuming the buyers don't have a 3DS and can find the 2DS bundle). I have to admit I bought Duke Nukem Forever at a similar price point, I guess these days I'd watch a let's play instead though. Aliens does have a decent multiplayer though (I doubt players are flocking to this though).
Re: Final Fantasy VI On Android Is Pricey and Looks Rather Peculiar
@Mario_maniac. Can we embed imagines in comments? Well here are some links to the PSP FFIV screenshots:
http://www.gamefaqs.com/psp/615911-final-fantasy-iv-the-complete-collection/images
As you can see the player character sprites are not the same style. The style that these are following is akin to Final Fantasy Dimensions and the recent mobile FFV release. FF Dimensions had a low budget feel all around (similar to after years, it was a port of an older mobile game) and FFV was largely hated (the meteorite image where the graphics used don't loop properly is a prime example) outside of the monster graphics.
Re: Final Fantasy VI On Android Is Pricey and Looks Rather Peculiar
Notice how the player characters are in a different perspective to before. Need to get an idea of what I mean? Look at their feet for racing left/right sprites. You can only see one foot while in the SNES version you can see both feet.
The problem is how inconsistent everything looks (on the world map towns are now polygon models, some scenes have a mix of redrawn graphics with lazy upscaling, the floating continent is a prime example). The player characters are particularly out of place though.
What is funny is a few years ago people were complaining about bad FFIV looked on the PSP but have now come to the conclusion that looks far better than the original and this style.
Re: 3DS XL Coloured Charging Cradles Arrive on Club Nintendo in Europe
@unrandomsam No its not the same. We buy 10 games get 2500 stars. Americans buy 10 games get 500 coins. They could buy their charger when it was on there with that (plus be 5/6 of the way to platinum but thats another story...) while we still need another 2000 stars.
@Kaine_Morrison But if it is in sleep mode the battery eventually drains a bit and needs charging again, meanwhile all this is doing is what exactly? Getting a streetpass hit once in a blue moon. Add in billions of consumer devices all cradled all being charged or on standby to do nothing and that is huge amount of electricity being wasted. In short, Turn the things off before you cradle them.
Re: 3DS XL Coloured Charging Cradles Arrive on Club Nintendo in Europe
4500 stars is a lot for such a novelty (I'm not a fan of cradles, they just make you waste energy trying to keep something on full charge while you leave it afk in standby for eons) especially when the US price was 500 coins.
In America it is like 50 coins for a Wii game plus more for a post play survey. In Europe it will be 250 stars. In other words they buy 10 games, we buy 18. Then again it did sell out pretty quick in America so I guess it was popular and that makes things expensive.
Re: Aussie Pirate Sued For Illegally Sharing New Super Mario Bros. Gets Ganon Statue From Nintendo
Maybe Nintendo wanted him to upload the statue...
In case anyone reads this is the far future. The guy didn't just uploaded New Super Mario Bros Wii...he did it weeks before release date. How it started/got caught was he ended up posting on a message board (Nintendo claimed expert forensics but anyone looking from the outside knew) about his purchase and fell under peer pressure to upload it to a select few (who then decided anyone could have it).
I don't know if the retailer he bought it from got into trouble. When a Candain retailer broke the street date for Pokemon X/Y (again, purchasers posted the store they bought it from) they were fined for every sold copy and due to selling so many were forced to shut down.
Re: Pokémon X & Y Online Battles Vulnerable to "Battle Analyser" Cheaters
Game Freak are either seriously naive, lazy or incompetent not to encrypt communications. They encrypt GTS (to stop fans making their own version of Pokemon bank) so they know how to. Why they didn't do so regular trading or...battles.
Regular trading not being encrypted lead to that whole Instacheck "my SV is xxxx, I has eggs with SC yyyy zzzz pls hatch" gold rush and battling has lead to this. If wouldn't be so bad if the game sent an "I'm ready" message when you've made your move rather then sending what that move actually was, most movesets are very standardized, especially on ladder.
Re: Nintendo UK Announces National StreetPass Day
If they really wanted to be national they could do that trick they mentioned in the Iwata asks with the relay stations and join all the UK ones together (unless they can only join all up all of them in the world in which case I guess they would leave that for a world streetpass day). Well its the only way I'll ever get a Northern Ireland hit anyway...
Hits in my area are few though relays help a lot (listings from O2, The Coud and Nintendo are bit inaccurate). I typically get a good enough queue to boot the plaza up once a week (which is enough for me).
Re: Puyo Puyo Tetris Could Be The Perfect Puzzle Mashup
I'm getting a Doctor Mario and Tetris vibe (fun fact: the Japanese version of this locks you into Doctor Mario despite having all the tetris data).
We usually get one or two puyo puyo games a decade (90s; Mean bean machine and Kirby avalanche...both verisons of puyo puyo 1; 00s: puyo pop* and puyo pop fever) so it could happen.
Then again the whole Tetris rights things might cause issues (don't EA have exclusive rights now?).
*-On GBA and... NGage. IIRC it had 4 player support on 1 console too.
Re: Scribblenauts Unlimited Scheduled For European Release On Wii U and 3DS This December
So does this mean Warner finally sorted out the legal issues (they did not get permission for I think it was keybaord cat)? I can imagine Nintendo holding back on a launch until such things took place.
Also would be nice if Mario etc are in the 3DS version given their reason for not being included in the US release was the game going gold before the deal was down.
Re: UK Store GAME Now Selling Original Wii Consoles For Just £35
@NFreak007 When I was in Berlin I saw quite considerable numbers in the large electronics stores (no idea if any were sold). But in the UK interest from what I can gather all but dead in the Wii Mini from both retailers and consumers (NOE really should have released a lot more Nintendo Selects game to go with the launch, as it stands it is a relaunch of a year dead system).
Re: European Gamers Bemoan PAL Version of Super Metroid
Also I'm flabbergasted about how they are so head in the sand over this. They know its a big issue, hence why they changed after Balloon fight so to refusing to find any solution as soon as it is a game that has been translated into (one or more of) FIGS is just crazy.
Can't wait until 2016 when NOE learn how to upload country specific ROMs or add some more if statements to the VC emulator (easiest solution is to give countries that would like the translation the 50Hz version but English speaking countries be left with 60Hz).
@TrueWiiMaster (and to others saying its a non-issue, btw, the article missing this obvious point has sure helped here). The display you are playing it on is the problem (the GamePad). It outputs in 60Hz ONLY (also the WiiU seems to). How it achieves this for a 50Hz game is it duplicates every 5th frame displayed. This results in it being jerkier than intended (if you can't notice this don't belittle those who have...a few might notice it feeling a bit "off").
Basically America (and Japan) gets 30 frames a second we get 25 converted badly into 30.
@GiftedGimp Nonesense. For it to be the same 50Hz it should have horrible borders on the screen and actually display in 50Hz rather than 60Hz (with every 5th frame duplicated).
@datamonkey F-Zero was only in English. Like Kirby the problem is the German translation. Can't make the translated version 60Hz due to the "optimisations" and can't give some people (with no use for the translation) an American version because crazy internal politics and/or lazy and/or NOE run by idiots.
Re: Nintendo Download: 16th May (Europe)
@b_willers Super Metroid was "translated" the intro has German subtitles and thats about it. Super Mairo world was completely in English in Europe. Thing is I live in a country that does not speak German so has no use for this. Why can't I be given the perfect version? (its a bit unfair to leaves the Germans to suffer but IIRC they can make a Mii, register it to UK and redownload there)
@manu0 Even if its full speed etc its still 50Hz. The Gamepad outputs 60Hz so it repeats every 5th frame making it look jerkier than it should. Likewise the controls are less responsive. In other words if there was no difference between the 50Hz and 60Hz version you would still want the 60Hz version.
Re: Nintendo Download: 2nd May 2013 (Europe)
@Mikazi . When the Wii came out 1000 points was €10 which converted to £7 (£7.50 if you bought a points card). Remember what happened in 2008, the £ became worth a lot less. So when the DSi Shop came out NOE decided €1.10=£1. These prices have remained since.
NOE didn't want VC games cheaper to buy on the Wii Shop channel than the eShop on the Wii U so kept the cheaper UK prices. I guess your point still stands about why couldn't the 3DS be the same. I guess on the Wii U you can access either shop (i.e. they are competing) and oddly enough Mario's Super Picross is actually cheaper on the Wii U side (as the added 100 points for it being an import has not been applied).
This aside, what is up with Balloon Fight being €4 instead of €5?
Re: Weirdness: Nintendo of Europe Didn't Want "Boingy Bits" in Fire Emblem: Awakening
This is probably the reason:
http://www.pegi.info/en/index/id/33/
I would not be surprised if the sex label automatically puts a game as being PEGI 16 (like how the gambling label makes it PEGi 12- this changed the Game Corner in Pokemon*). Plus NOE might not exactly want that on the box...especially for a piece of paid DLC. Still, it could be written better "smooth as silk" comes to mind but since it is DLC they could patch it...like thats going to happen.
*-The rules and the timing of them meant European Pokemon Platinum had the game corner cut (still there but the machines don't work).
Re: Nintendo Selling Refurbished 3DS and DSi Consoles
I hope the $30 Mario Kart and $40 OOT are not refurbished...
Club Nintendo slips is not listed in the contents (though I think the serial number can function as a registration in America).
Re: Video: Ace Attorney 5 Trailer Shows Its Own Brand of Wacky Courtroom Drama
@link3710 Those free costumes are free for the dates listed in the video. In other words think of them as being similar to a pre-order bonus.
Re: EarthBound Delay May Not Have Been Caused By Music Licensing Issues After All
If there was no hold up due to content of the game I wonder if it was actually Itoi that was the hold up and in a Sonic CD US soundtrack (for the recent port) kind of way of "we need this persons permission but we've not bothered talking to them".
A similar thing may have plagued Illusion of Gaia (the internal SNES emulator in early SNES VC games had a list of games, later games added an asterisk to the game, most other games that got those were never seen on VC, it was mainly stuff like Picross NP 1-9) as that title had it scenario written by an external individual who may still hold rights over it.
Re: New Mewtwo Form Revealed For Pokémon X & Y
Apparently it is a speed forme (think Deoxys) judging by how it is alleged to tie in with the new movie (but as always with the Pokemon scans and info there is lots of misinformation and plain fake stuff).
Re: Rumour: Dr Kawashima's 3DS Prescription Delayed Until September In Europe
Can we still get the Streetpass puzzle please (I mean Rhythm Heav...I mean Beat the Beat Rhythm Paradise also came out ages after America yet the puzzle came out the same time).
Personally, I'm not that surprised. NOE hardly ever release anything July/August and rarely release more than 1 thing per month. Let's see:
March - MH Tri Ultimate, Luigi ("Mario" title so worldwide launch)
April-Fire Emblem
May-Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
June-Animal Crossing
In short, February should have been its slot as none of the above would be pushed back...then again June could also work if we decide to count Animal Crossing as "worldwide launch".
@DePapier Incorrect. Brain Training performed far better in Europe than America. Unless NOAs marketing was terrible the only other difference is the name. Likewise with Professor Layton, NOEs different boxart sold the game much better than NOA did, so much so that NOA were forced to relaunch the game.
Re: Weirdness: Fire Emblem Devs Answer That Burning Question: What Happened To Everyone's Feet?
I was secretly hoping they would go all out with it and say the were hooves...even doing so in cutscenes.
But yeah if I wasn't told it would take longer for me to notice. Especially as I usually play with animations off (well I mean FE games in general).
Re: Nintendo Download: 4th April 2013 (Europe)
The letterbox update reminds me that IIRC you could send audio messages on the Wii. I don't know if anyone did.
Also does anyone ever have this in their streetpass list and if they do, do they ever recieve anything?
Re: European Release of Devil Survivor Overclocked Marred By Game-Breaking Bugs
I also hear something about the first names and last names being the wrong way round.
All of these make me wonder if they had to apply the English script to a Japanese version of the game (maybe Atlus USA only gave them the script) and then didn't know there some special things that had to be done. As it seems like it was a lot more work was required than what you would think of change the region code, add your name to the title screen and change bits of the script.