Nintendo have already claimed they are already selling it at a loss. Nintendo titans have fallen after higher profile failures. The late great Yamauchi-sensei stood down after the disappointing performance of the N64 and Gamecube whilst guru and 31 year veteran, Gunpei Yokoi was made expendable after the failure of the virtual boy. No one is indispensable at this level it seems - not even gulp Miyamoto-san.
I've no doubt it will last 5 yrs +. Whether it sells enough units in that period to avoid being labelled an also ran within it's generation [like the N64 and Gamecube] remains to be seen - I've seen enough gens now to be confident which way i'd wager.
If we're still both here in 2018, I look forward to saying "told you so" or being told likewise!
I put it to you that the Wii was nought but a progressive scanning Gamecube with an inbuilt modem - developers knew exactly what to do with it but most weren't challenged by it and had already moved on to 1080p...exactly why the Wii U is for now not a challenge to develop for.
An interesting point. Smart phone users are used to upgrading every year - how will consoles and their traditional 5 year lifecycle remain fresh and relevant to this new generation of gamer??
Think you're giving the Wii too much credit. It was a freak phenomenon that couldn't even last the duration of it's own generation. If it was the "revolution" of which you speak why have everyone including Nintendo and consumers gone completely the other direction? More like a short lived 'revolt'.
The Wii - Resting in Peace and dust under millions of tellys since 2007.
I think she's spot on. I went into Hamley's GAME on GTA V launch day to buy my copy of that title and whilst faced with an hour long queue for my copy, encountered a fella in front of me asking one of the roaming store staff about the wii U. His situation was that he had an old wii, long since forgotten and he doubted still worked. His kid was now at the age were he wanted to play family orientated Nintendo games with [some of which he still owned] and wanted a new console to play them - he even made it clear that money wasn't an issue! He asked the store rep about Wii U and the features, whether it was worth buying the new console or just another Wii on ebay and the store rep admitted he didn't have a clue about the Wii U, any of it's features - or show any desire to get this Customer's money in the tills. [no wonder I thought the chain has gone under and as this is the last store in central London, God help them!]
Anyway, I couldn't help but intervene and explain to the curious fella in the queue about the Wii U and even the merits of the Wii Mini of which the store rep had never even heard! My point is that Nintendo's marketing of the console has been shocking and whilst the majority of sales assistants in the retail industry are stoodent xbox gamers averse to "casual" gaming and disenchanted by a low wage, Nintendo don't stand a chance getting across to their target consumers without investing in a serious promotional campaign.
Really surprised to read zero love for Zelda II TAOL's release. It's my favourite NES game of all time and if you're one of the few yet to have played a version of it, IMO it's a quintessential 8-bit experience. #IAMERROR
Can I just take a moment to share with other grieving members of the Ninty fraternity that If you wish to show the due degree of respect to Mr.Yamauchi, please bear in mind when attempting to honour him with the japanese suffix "San" to appreciate that it is used to acknowledge a peer and respect those of equal age and standing. The correct title for a Gentleman of far senior years and distinguished master in his field art is "Sensei". Shared with the greatest respect to all at this sad time.
Throughout the 90s and 00s, Wayforward used to make 2-3 titles a year and have only started to take on more and more projects since the turn of this decade. They are planning on releasing at least 7 titles this calendar year - their most productive year to date. That type of growth requires significant funding and whilst they're still not making Ubisoft money they do have an established core Fan base who they can [intelligently] rely on to support further projects and ambitions. You can't knock their strategy.
Clearly Bethesda don't appreciate how Nintendo roll - the Japanese corporation are notoriously discreet and coy with their R&D. Bethesda make great games and I would love to see Elder Scrolls Online coming to Wii U but it seems neither Software or Hardware titan are going to eat humble pie anytime soon.
With Wii U sales flagging and 3DS making the lion's share of their profits it's a no brainer they would target the demographic the 3DS scares off - children.
A real shame they've ditched their signature folding design in favour of the more generic "pad" design employed by their competition - between that and the name 2DS, it does feel like a bit of a retraction from the big N.
Shibata-san's sense of humour is so welcoming. Even in his umpteenth language he manages to get it across - it's like a breath of fresh air when compared to the rigid 'suit' style of Iwata-san or the "embarrassing uncle" style of Reggie. Best moment of the Direct allowing his crew to slick back his hair for Phoenix pose!
The cube gave us the last great Paper Mario game, the best Smash Bros to date, the last great Tomb Raider game [Legend], Resident Evil 4, Zero and the definitive version of the first game, the best version of the original Metal Gear Solid, the best home console Fire Emblem [PofR] and the best F-Zero to date - then there's the Metroid Prime series and then original IPs like Pikmin, Luigi's Mansion, Toon Link, Chibi Robo, Eternal Darkness, Tales of Symphonia...and the freakin Wavebird!
When are NOE going to introduce some decent merch or promos CN rewards? I've had 10,000 stars burning a hole in my pocket for ages and have zero intention of cashing them in on [the best of a bad bunch] - a five year old Mario Galaxy CD or an original DS case in bright pink...
Nintendo, please pick up the phone to Konami and get them to licence you download titles such as Rocket Knight and Castlevania: Harmony of Despair for the eshop.
Perhaps exasperated European Club Nintendo members after those Japanese exclusive stars catalogue items? It's amazing what measures the meagre choice of stationery or shoelaces in our regional catalogue will drive one to!...
If Nintendo is to slow imminent sales of Xbox and PS4 and boost Wii U, it needs to really get on side with the most prolific third party developers of this era like Bethesda and Rockstar and get some Wii U titles in the pipeline. It is the contemporary equivalent of letting Square, Capcom and Konami walk away from the N64 to work with Sony - complacency Nintendo has never completely recovered from in the home console market - albeit in Wii sales, certainly in image.
This is a no brainer - with Winter '14 will come a surge of Xmas investors to Wii U and the holiday season market for such family titles. No point in rushing it out unpolished beforehand whilst the Wii U audience is still only Ninty core fans.
EA gave the Wii the PS2 version each season and now whinge when people don't buy their well publicised, inferior software? How dumb do they think we are?
The Wii U is now on par with anything the 360/PS3 version of their 13/14 software needs to do - there's really no excuse for skipping the platform.
@Mahe: No I have not! That is a selling point there - typical I sold my old PS2 a few months back...maybe the PS4 will be PS2 backwards compatible and I'll ebay a copy. Thanks for the recommendation.
Remember the first time playing Shenmue you went into the Arcade and actually found yourself playing Hang On or Space Harrier!? and I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks the best bits of every Warioware title are the 10-voltz classics, by a furlong.
My favourite Contra is Hard Corps on the Mega Drive/Genesis - ingeniously well thought out bosses and multiple paths to choose through the game. Hoping anything new will follow that blueprint.
The Gamepad battery is a no brainer - especially if you like to play games like MH3U for long periods online.
The white 8GB console's relative failure is directly related to Nintendo's poor global advertising of Wii U. It's target audience is the pick-up-and-play casual market that bought into the Wii when motion controls has their 5mins of novelty, trendiness back in the mid '00s. Sadly for Nintendo they have hardly bothered to tell these people that Wii U even exists and for those that have heard, they probably glance over at the white Wii gathering dust by their telly and think about saving for the latest Apple technology instead.
You want to sell more units Nintendo? Then put you hands in your deep pockets and spend some of that Wii cash on a proper global TV campaign!
@BraveBold5 It would be awesome if someone was commisioned to pick up the baton but I doubt Nintendo would back the franchise with the advertising it would need to sell well. It would probably work better on the 3DS than the Wii U IMO.
If there's another F-Zero in the pipeline it deserves to be be handled by SEGA.
GX and AX were two of the greatest titles of their generation and short of online play and HD or 3D graphics, GX wouldn't sit out of place in the Wii U or 3DS libraries.
Here's hoping for a new Metroid game in the mould of the Prime series.
Lots of great points on the used game market here.
1. I think we're unanimously agreed it has a place and needs to exist - albeit for the benefit of the consumer who has a right to do as they please with their used physical property [used games] and beneficial exposure of "last season" software that at £40 and limited print runs might well fail to reach a decent sized audience.
2. There is no issue with the retail of 2nd hand [cart or CD] copies of older gen games - the retro market needs ebay and the few surviving retro games stores to stay alive and to reach new audiences in their original, glorious formats. [I for one would never settle for a downloadable Rom over a lovely slab of grey plastic!]
3. However something has to give, and parasite companies like CEX, GAME, Gamespot etc should not be so readily able to profit at the expense of the Devs / Publishers undercutting prices of new games with 2nd hand copies. [*I recently bought a copy of Tomb Raider on PS3 on launch day [5th March 2013] for £40 and within 10 days the price had nearly halved for copies in CEX. This game is not even three months old and you can now buy it in these stores for a tenner - and NO [for the record] it is not that bad a game!]
I'd propose a solution to the DRM struggle to be that all newly released games should have a DRM code that expires exactly a year from their official, regional release date registered in the Cloud. This would get around the harmful resale of [unsealed] copies of new software whilst the title is still a latest release and in it's original print run. After the year and the code expires, the game is free to be traded in the used market for the lower fees we expect.
This way consumers can pick up cheap copies of older software no problem [exactly as you might now] and the Devs do not miss out to such an extent on their due cut from their hard work - whilst the publishers make their money back on their initial print run in which they've invested. If you cannot wait to play and want to purchase the latest releases, then it should only be fair that you pay a premium.
The greatest moral issue here is that it is totally unfair that companies like CEX and GAME should make money out of used games at the expense of the Developer/Publisher who are undercut from selling an additional BNIB copy of their [several years of] hard work.
Every sane minded Gamer wants Developers/Publishers to take risks and come up with original ideas but in a world were only very few franchises ever become 'must-buys' and make a fortune at launch [COD, FIFA etc] is it any wonder why these companies take fewer risks and churn out sequel after sequel of tried and tested franchises?
If, like me, you want to see more variety in modern gaming then you should be prepared to support the developers by paying a premium for a new copy of their work and every so often make an effort to avoid the second hand market.
That's got to be Gamecube games on VC [at best with an HD lick of paint] but at the very least with full NTSC 60hz component support which most of us Europeans never got. Perhaps even for games like MK Double Dash, Kirby Air Ride and 1080 Avalanche to have their original online functions thrown in? I for one didn't yet have internet at home back then, let alone fork out for the GC Broadband Adapter! Would love to see games never released in Europe [like Homeland make it over for Hanabi.]
Wiimotes were a revolution - against the grain, highly controversial and not without flaws. The Wii U controller is an evolution of what we already know, love and expect of Nintendo gaming - from the generic button configuration to the now all familiar touch screens.
This is their consumer telling Nintendo that they are not ready to commit to their downloadable view of the future. I cannot blame them. IMO why pay £50 online for something you will never physically own [and is only yours to keep so long as Nintendo see fit] when you can track down a physical copy for closer to £30 in the shops and then do with it as you see fit?
Comments 257
Re: Soapbox: The Wii Changed The Face of Gaming, Before The Console Industry Promptly Forgot Its Lessons
@LDXD
Agreed 100%
Re: Soapbox: The Wii Changed The Face of Gaming, Before The Console Industry Promptly Forgot Its Lessons
@unrandomsam
What if the Wii U doesn't break even?
Nintendo have already claimed they are already selling it at a loss. Nintendo titans have fallen after higher profile failures. The late great Yamauchi-sensei stood down after the disappointing performance of the N64 and Gamecube whilst guru and 31 year veteran, Gunpei Yokoi was made expendable after the failure of the virtual boy. No one is indispensable at this level it seems - not even gulp Miyamoto-san.
Re: Soapbox: The Wii Changed The Face of Gaming, Before The Console Industry Promptly Forgot Its Lessons
^^^
Only having two eyes hasn't put off sales of DS and 3DS now has it?
Re: Soapbox: The Wii Changed The Face of Gaming, Before The Console Industry Promptly Forgot Its Lessons
I've no doubt it will last 5 yrs +. Whether it sells enough units in that period to avoid being labelled an also ran within it's generation [like the N64 and Gamecube] remains to be seen - I've seen enough gens now to be confident which way i'd wager.
If we're still both here in 2018, I look forward to saying "told you so" or being told likewise!
Re: Soapbox: The Wii Changed The Face of Gaming, Before The Console Industry Promptly Forgot Its Lessons
@LDXD that's your problem - seems a rather depressing outlook to me!
If you decipher from my comments that I favour smart phone gaming - you're wrong.
We cannot ignore the growth in the market for casual, simplistic touch screen mobile gaming - [this gen's Wii]
Re: Soapbox: The Wii Changed The Face of Gaming, Before The Console Industry Promptly Forgot Its Lessons
@N64ever
I put it to you that the Wii was nought but a progressive scanning Gamecube with an inbuilt modem - developers knew exactly what to do with it but most weren't challenged by it and had already moved on to 1080p...exactly why the Wii U is for now not a challenge to develop for.
Re: Soapbox: The Wii Changed The Face of Gaming, Before The Console Industry Promptly Forgot Its Lessons
@gatorboi352
An interesting point. Smart phone users are used to upgrading every year - how will consoles and their traditional 5 year lifecycle remain fresh and relevant to this new generation of gamer??
Re: Soapbox: The Wii Changed The Face of Gaming, Before The Console Industry Promptly Forgot Its Lessons
Think you're giving the Wii too much credit. It was a freak phenomenon that couldn't even last the duration of it's own generation. If it was the "revolution" of which you speak why have everyone including Nintendo and consumers gone completely the other direction? More like a short lived 'revolt'.
The Wii - Resting in Peace and dust under millions of tellys since 2007.
Re: "Uninformed" Store Staff Are Hurting Wii U Sales, Claims Senior Games Analyst
I think she's spot on. I went into Hamley's GAME on GTA V launch day to buy my copy of that title and whilst faced with an hour long queue for my copy, encountered a fella in front of me asking one of the roaming store staff about the wii U. His situation was that he had an old wii, long since forgotten and he doubted still worked. His kid was now at the age were he wanted to play family orientated Nintendo games with [some of which he still owned] and wanted a new console to play them - he even made it clear that money wasn't an issue! He asked the store rep about Wii U and the features, whether it was worth buying the new console or just another Wii on ebay and the store rep admitted he didn't have a clue about the Wii U, any of it's features - or show any desire to get this Customer's money in the tills. [no wonder I thought the chain has gone under and as this is the last store in central London, God help them!]
Anyway, I couldn't help but intervene and explain to the curious fella in the queue about the Wii U and even the merits of the Wii Mini of which the store rep had never even heard! My point is that Nintendo's marketing of the console has been shocking and whilst the majority of sales assistants in the retail industry are stoodent xbox gamers averse to "casual" gaming and disenchanted by a low wage, Nintendo don't stand a chance getting across to their target consumers without investing in a serious promotional campaign.
Re: Nintendo Download: 26th September (Europe)
Really surprised to read zero love for Zelda II TAOL's release. It's my favourite NES game of all time and if you're one of the few yet to have played a version of it, IMO it's a quintessential 8-bit experience. #IAMERROR
Re: Feature: Hiroshi Yamauchi - The Man Who Made Nintendo
Can I just take a moment to share with other grieving members of the Ninty fraternity that If you wish to show the due degree of respect to Mr.Yamauchi, please bear in mind when attempting to honour him with the japanese suffix "San" to appreciate that it is used to acknowledge a peer and respect those of equal age and standing. The correct title for a Gentleman of far senior years and distinguished master in his field art is "Sensei". Shared with the greatest respect to all at this sad time.
Re: Nintendo's Former President, Hiroshi Yamauchi, Has Passed Away
RIP Yamauchi-Sensei.
Re: Poll: Would You Buy Grand Theft Auto V On Wii U?
Provided the Wii U port wasn't a watered down version [like FIFA13] I would buy two copies to support a Wii U release.
Re: WayForward Launches Kickstarter Campaign for Shantae: Half-Genie Hero
@Yorumi
Throughout the 90s and 00s, Wayforward used to make 2-3 titles a year and have only started to take on more and more projects since the turn of this decade. They are planning on releasing at least 7 titles this calendar year - their most productive year to date. That type of growth requires significant funding and whilst they're still not making Ubisoft money they do have an established core Fan base who they can [intelligently] rely on to support further projects and ambitions. You can't knock their strategy.
Re: WayForward Launches Kickstarter Campaign for Shantae: Half-Genie Hero
AWESOME! Got my money!! Come on people - if you're reading this then you're a Shantae fan - get your hands in your pockets!
Re: Bethesda: The Time For Convincing Publishers And Developers To Support Wii U Is "Long Past"
Clearly Bethesda don't appreciate how Nintendo roll - the Japanese corporation are notoriously discreet and coy with their R&D. Bethesda make great games and I would love to see Elder Scrolls Online coming to Wii U but it seems neither Software or Hardware titan are going to eat humble pie anytime soon.
Re: Animal Crossing Plushies Move In
Club Nintendo rewards, please.
Re: "No Plans" For Ambassador Program Following Wii U Price Cut
I will always support Nintendo with my cash - mostly on launch days - and am happy to pay their asking prices.
I do not however like the sensation that my loyalty sees me pay 20% more than the casual consumer market they cherish so highly.
Whoa betide the point when I start holding back and waiting for [imminent] price reductions on future products.
Re: Say Hello To The Nintendo 2DS - A 3DS without 3D
Nintendo the business strikes again!!
With Wii U sales flagging and 3DS making the lion's share of their profits it's a no brainer they would target the demographic the 3DS scares off - children.
A real shame they've ditched their signature folding design in favour of the more generic "pad" design employed by their competition - between that and the name 2DS, it does feel like a bit of a retraction from the big N.
Re: Video: DuckTales: Remastered Celebrates Launch With a "Moon Postcard"
@SphericalCrusher Wife hogging TV in noisy room? You own a wii U title with offscreen support and a headphone jack, buddy!
@unrandomsam Yep. There's an awful lot of excitement on here about a game receiving very average reviews...
Re: Video: DuckTales: Remastered Celebrates Launch With a "Moon Postcard"
Think I play through my NES cart until our thursday EU release. Then decide I already own the definitive version.
Re: Video: This Monster Hunter 4 Trailer May Be The Best Yet
Looks amazing. Want.
Re: Professor Layton Vs. Ace Attorney Is Being Localised For Western Release
Shibata-san's sense of humour is so welcoming. Even in his umpteenth language he manages to get it across - it's like a breath of fresh air when compared to the rigid 'suit' style of Iwata-san or the "embarrassing uncle" style of Reggie. Best moment of the Direct allowing his crew to slick back his hair for Phoenix pose!
Re: Video: UK Comic Rufus Hound Explains The Wii U Difference
It's too long [wordy and expensive] for TV broadcasting and does anyone really watch commercials on Youtube??...
Only people who will search it out will be WiiU owners and those who don't will skip this ad in 5,4,3,2,1...
Re: Ninterview: Dan Clarke And Jake Smith Talk Project Dolphin, A Print-Based GameCube Tribute
^^ only came out in Japan I believe; certainly only ever got the controller in Europe.
Re: Ninterview: Dan Clarke And Jake Smith Talk Project Dolphin, A Print-Based GameCube Tribute
The cube gave us the last great Paper Mario game, the best Smash Bros to date, the last great Tomb Raider game [Legend], Resident Evil 4, Zero and the definitive version of the first game, the best version of the original Metal Gear Solid, the best home console Fire Emblem [PofR] and the best F-Zero to date - then there's the Metroid Prime series and then original IPs like Pikmin, Luigi's Mansion, Toon Link, Chibi Robo, Eternal Darkness, Tales of Symphonia...and the freakin Wavebird!
Cube is the most underrated system of all time.
Re: Club Nintendo Rewards Get Active for August
When are NOE going to introduce some decent merch or promos CN rewards? I've had 10,000 stars burning a hole in my pocket for ages and have zero intention of cashing them in on [the best of a bad bunch] - a five year old Mario Galaxy CD or an original DS case in bright pink...
Re: Dan Adelman: Nintendo's Got "A Whole Bunch More" Coming to the Wii U eShop this Holiday
Nintendo, please pick up the phone to Konami and get them to licence you download titles such as Rocket Knight and Castlevania: Harmony of Despair for the eshop.
Re: Mysterious Cities of Gold: Secret Paths Coming To Wii U and 3DS This October
Wow - there's a trip down memory lane!
Re: Angry Birds Creator Cites Nintendo and Miyamoto As His Biggest Influences
Title should read Angry Birds creator attempts to butters up Nintendo hardcore prior to the release of his devisive, commercial software.
Re: Club Nintendo Japan Falls Victim to Hack Attack
Perhaps exasperated European Club Nintendo members after those Japanese exclusive stars catalogue items? It's amazing what measures the meagre choice of stationery or shoelaces in our regional catalogue will drive one to!...
Re: Bethesda Has No Current Plans For Wii U or Handhelds
If Nintendo is to slow imminent sales of Xbox and PS4 and boost Wii U, it needs to really get on side with the most prolific third party developers of this era like Bethesda and Rockstar and get some Wii U titles in the pipeline. It is the contemporary equivalent of letting Square, Capcom and Konami walk away from the N64 to work with Sony - complacency Nintendo has never completely recovered from in the home console market - albeit in Wii sales, certainly in image.
Re: Video: Bayonetta 2 Reveals Exciting New Hairstyle
What's so exciting about the Sue Perkins look? :-/
Re: Wii Fit U And Wii Party U Both Delayed Until Later In The Year
This is a no brainer - with Winter '14 will come a surge of Xmas investors to Wii U and the holiday season market for such family titles. No point in rushing it out unpolished beforehand whilst the Wii U audience is still only Ninty core fans.
Re: FIFA 14 Is Coming To Nintendo Consoles After All - Except The Wii U
EA gave the Wii the PS2 version each season and now whinge when people don't buy their well publicised, inferior software? How dumb do they think we are?
The Wii U is now on par with anything the 360/PS3 version of their 13/14 software needs to do - there's really no excuse for skipping the platform.
Re: The Hand of Panda Has Just Over a Day to Reach its Fundraising Goal
I'll give them the whole $500 if they give me 20% of the profits.
Re: Konami Picks Up New Contra Trademark
@Mahe: No I have not! That is a selling point there - typical I sold my old PS2 a few months back...maybe the PS4 will be PS2 backwards compatible and I'll ebay a copy. Thanks for the recommendation.
Re: Don't Expect Retro Games to Play in New Animal Crossing Releases
Remember the first time playing Shenmue you went into the Arcade and actually found yourself playing Hang On or Space Harrier!? and I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks the best bits of every Warioware title are the 10-voltz classics, by a furlong.
Re: Konami Picks Up New Contra Trademark
My favourite Contra is Hard Corps on the Mega Drive/Genesis - ingeniously well thought out bosses and multiple paths to choose through the game. Hoping anything new will follow that blueprint.
Re: Poll: Wii U Hardware Revisions and Accessories, There's No Escape
The Gamepad battery is a no brainer - especially if you like to play games like MH3U for long periods online.
The white 8GB console's relative failure is directly related to Nintendo's poor global advertising of Wii U. It's target audience is the pick-up-and-play casual market that bought into the Wii when motion controls has their 5mins of novelty, trendiness back in the mid '00s. Sadly for Nintendo they have hardly bothered to tell these people that Wii U even exists and for those that have heard, they probably glance over at the white Wii gathering dust by their telly and think about saving for the latest Apple technology instead.
You want to sell more units Nintendo? Then put you hands in your deep pockets and spend some of that Wii cash on a proper global TV campaign!
Re: Rumour: Retro's Wii U Title Is An Entirely New IP
@BraveBold5 It would be awesome if someone was commisioned to pick up the baton but I doubt Nintendo would back the franchise with the advertising it would need to sell well. It would probably work better on the 3DS than the Wii U IMO.
Re: Rumour: Retro's Wii U Title Is An Entirely New IP
If there's another F-Zero in the pipeline it deserves to be be handled by SEGA.
GX and AX were two of the greatest titles of their generation and short of online play and HD or 3D graphics, GX wouldn't sit out of place in the Wii U or 3DS libraries.
Here's hoping for a new Metroid game in the mould of the Prime series.
Re: Talking Point: Wii U vs Xbox One - Online Requirements and On-Disc DRM
Lots of great points on the used game market here.
1. I think we're unanimously agreed it has a place and needs to exist - albeit for the benefit of the consumer who has a right to do as they please with their used physical property [used games] and beneficial exposure of "last season" software that at £40 and limited print runs might well fail to reach a decent sized audience.
2. There is no issue with the retail of 2nd hand [cart or CD] copies of older gen games - the retro market needs ebay and the few surviving retro games stores to stay alive and to reach new audiences in their original, glorious formats. [I for one would never settle for a downloadable Rom over a lovely slab of grey plastic!]
3. However something has to give, and parasite companies like CEX, GAME, Gamespot etc should not be so readily able to profit at the expense of the Devs / Publishers undercutting prices of new games with 2nd hand copies. [*I recently bought a copy of Tomb Raider on PS3 on launch day [5th March 2013] for £40 and within 10 days the price had nearly halved for copies in CEX. This game is not even three months old and you can now buy it in these stores for a tenner - and NO [for the record] it is not that bad a game!]
I'd propose a solution to the DRM struggle to be that all newly released games should have a DRM code that expires exactly a year from their official, regional release date registered in the Cloud. This would get around the harmful resale of [unsealed] copies of new software whilst the title is still a latest release and in it's original print run. After the year and the code expires, the game is free to be traded in the used market for the lower fees we expect.
This way consumers can pick up cheap copies of older software no problem [exactly as you might now] and the Devs do not miss out to such an extent on their due cut from their hard work - whilst the publishers make their money back on their initial print run in which they've invested. If you cannot wait to play and want to purchase the latest releases, then it should only be fair that you pay a premium.
Re: Talking Point: Wii U vs Xbox One - Online Requirements and On-Disc DRM
^^ I think, like me, he's suggesting they are legitimate parasites.
Re: Talking Point: Wii U vs Xbox One - Online Requirements and On-Disc DRM
The greatest moral issue here is that it is totally unfair that companies like CEX and GAME should make money out of used games at the expense of the Developer/Publisher who are undercut from selling an additional BNIB copy of their [several years of] hard work.
Every sane minded Gamer wants Developers/Publishers to take risks and come up with original ideas but in a world were only very few franchises ever become 'must-buys' and make a fortune at launch [COD, FIFA etc] is it any wonder why these companies take fewer risks and churn out sequel after sequel of tried and tested franchises?
If, like me, you want to see more variety in modern gaming then you should be prepared to support the developers by paying a premium for a new copy of their work and every so often make an effort to avoid the second hand market.
Re: Talking Point: The Importance of the Virtual Console
That's got to be Gamecube games on VC [at best with an HD lick of paint] but at the very least with full NTSC 60hz component support which most of us Europeans never got. Perhaps even for games like MK Double Dash, Kirby Air Ride and 1080 Avalanche to have their original online functions thrown in? I for one didn't yet have internet at home back then, let alone fork out for the GC Broadband Adapter! Would love to see games never released in Europe [like Homeland make it over for Hanabi.]
Re: Feature: The GamePad - From Waggling Remotes To Dual Sticks and a Touchscreen
Wiimotes were a revolution - against the grain, highly controversial and not without flaws. The Wii U controller is an evolution of what we already know, love and expect of Nintendo gaming - from the generic button configuration to the now all familiar touch screens.
Re: Nintendo of Europe Apologises for Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate Stock Shortage
This is their consumer telling Nintendo that they are not ready to commit to their downloadable view of the future. I cannot blame them. IMO why pay £50 online for something you will never physically own [and is only yours to keep so long as Nintendo see fit] when you can track down a physical copy for closer to £30 in the shops and then do with it as you see fit?
Re: Interview: Per Fhager On Combining Embroidery With Video Games
Just awesome. Want!
Re: HMV Buyout Saves High Street Retailer
Now they can get back to stocking a wide range of media and let me cash in all my pure points...