@TimLatshaw: What don't you get about his comparison? He's not comparing the men, he's comparing the role their companies play in introducing video games to people.
To (almost) everybody else, is it really necessary to resort to personal attacks? Sure, he's said something you may not like about Nintendo, but that's no reason to lash out at him. How about some considered, thoughtful responses - there are only a handful in the 145 comments on this article.
NintendoLife is quickly becoming a cesspit of rabid fanboys who won't accept a single bad word about Nintendo, whether it's warranted or not, which is annoyingly effective at preventing any of the interesting discussions we used to have here.
@One-Winged-Pit: Sure, but what about after that period? I'll be transferring some Gen III Pokemon to Gen IV (and then GenV) soon, so it's not like nobody ever does transfers way down the line. What if you miss the free trial window, for some reason?
A free trial period goes some way to alleviating the problem, although it won't entirely fix it. What about Little Johnny, who gets Pokemon X for his birthday next year but can't transfer his old Pokemon because his parents won't go through the hassle of organising a new subscription to a service they don't see as being all that useful?
I'm not trying to make out that Nintendo are evil monsters for doing this - it's just that it seems rather hypocritical that so many people here are praising Nintendo for bringing in a new paid service when they would have been disgusted if it was, say, EA doing the same thing.
I'm amazed at the leeway people are giving this - presumably because it's Nintendo. Honestly, if this was any other company, people on NL would be complaining about how unfair it is.
I think the cloud storage idea is neat, and since it's optional then fair enough - charge for it. My issue with it is that transferring Pokemon now becomes a paid service, which has been a fundamental (and free!) part of the series all along.
It's not that $5 is a lot of money - it's the principle of the matter.
I'm sick of hearing people demanding that Nintendo gives them free things (whether it's Ambassador programs or Club Nintendo stuff), especially when half the time complaints then arise because people wanted something different to what they got.
People complaining about this need a reality check. Price drops can happen any time for any product. It doesn't mean that you deserve to be compensated for buying the product at the pre-sale price. If you purchase something, it's obviously because you think the asking price is reasonable. Sure, kick yourself if you could have saved money by waiting an extra month or so, but nobody owes you that money. Nobody.
This entitlement (I hate how much that word is overused, but it fits) is getting ridiculous, both on NL and in the gaming community at large. I don't know if it's because many members of the community who frequent gaming websites are too young to have lived in the real world for very long, but if you're outraged that Nintendo doesn't give you something because they've dropped their price, you need to have a look at your priorities in life.
I'm not denying that Nintendo doing another program would foster a lot of good will - it absolutely would. However, it costs them money and they certainly don't owe it to anybody.
So, if you're complaining that you don't get something for free, please stop. It's annoying.
@Marioman64: remember, though, that games have had 'save anywhere' functionality for a good couple of decades (at least), and there are very few high-profile cases of it causing corruption. In my opinion, being able to save at will far outweighs the minimal danger of save corruption
@kondabasu: "...selling reprints as though they're preowned copies from the game's original run. That's misleading and very different from the kinds of markups you see on genuine first or early prints of games or books."
Have they actually claimed that, though? I haven't seen anywhere where Gamestop has said that these are from the first print run. The markup here isn't because it's a rare first printing - it's because people will pay it. In any case, video games commonly get several printings with minor variations between them and that's never pointed out to consumers.
@Brother_Jolteon: That simply is untrue. Where do you think the games come from in the first place? They don't magically appear out of thin air - Nintendo sells them to Gamestop. After that first sale the publisher doesn't see any more money, but that's the case in every used sale.
OK, cue rant... (This also refers to comments from the previous article).
First up - I'm not a huge fan of Gamestop (or the Australian extension, EB Games) and, yes, $90 US is quite a bit for the game.
However:
1. AFAIK, Gamestop can charge whatever the hell they want for a game, as can any retailer in the US. Unless there is a law I'm not aware of, the MSRP (that's R for "recommended") is not a legally-binding amount - it's simply what the manufacturer thinks the product should be priced at. Normally, a company would be silly to charge more for their product, since their competitors will likely charge around the MSRP, but in this case Gamestop's only competition is third-party sellers. Which leads to my next point:
2. Gamestop is competing against 3rd party sellers - people selling of stock they bought up a while ago, or selling used copies. Have a look at what they have been asking. Go on, I'll wait (assuming they haven't adjusted prices since this news came out). Back now? They were charging well over $100 for Xenoblade copies on eBay and Amazon. If one can get that sort of money for a copy of the game, then Gamestop would be a bad business to not have a crack at getting something like that themselves. Supply and demand, people. They're not under any sort of obligation to sell you games at prices you consider 'reasonable' (at least, in a strict sense - of course if they're outrageously expensive they'll go out of business).
3. What benefit would selling used copies over new give them? I'm quite serious, please name one. Presumably they could charge even more for new, sealed copies - why would they take of $10 or so from every copy by ripping off the shrink wrap?
4. There is no way in hell Gamestop would have illegally ordered a reprint of Xenoblade. The legal repercussions would be enormous, and they would risk their relationship with Nintendo. @tanookisuit: they are some pretty big accusations you're throwing around there.
5. Again, AFAIK, there are no bootleg Wii games that will run on unmodded consoles. At least they're not at all common. The suggestion that these are bootleg copies is, frankly, absurd.
I don't know what has truly happened here - we'll probably have to hear from Gamestop employees to ever find out. However, people online have been labelling this a 'scam' and accusing Gamestop of all manner of illegal activities to explain this. Firstly, I don't see how it's a scam, and secondly, as mentioned above, Gamestop would be idiotic to do something horribly illegal and advertise it prominently on their website. Particularly considering the pretty marginal amount of profit they would make from this, in the scheme of things.
I understand people are upset that they have to pay $90 for a copy of the game, but that's capitalism folks. This is why laws against monopolies exist - if a company can become the only one in their area selling something, you can be sure they'll squeeze the consumer for everything they can. You should feel lucky that this is the exception rather than the norm.
Although I've got Sunshine Islands on DS, I'd love to snag a copy of this for my SNES. Alas, complete copies currently go for $500+, so it's a little out of my price range
If you actually watch the video (I did!) the quote is: "I always thought Wii U and the Vita would be great targets for Doom BFG. We should be able to bring that over directly, but it's not something that's generating enough interest on the publishing side of things because, it's just, they're somewhat marginalised platforms..."
Carmack is all for bringing it over. Your beef lies with the publishers, not him. (Actually, I think your beef should lie with Nintendo for not doing more to sell more consoles)
@TromboneGamer: What they mean is that they expect that not enough people who own the Wii U will buy the game in order to generate a profit. It's straightforward really. Interest = {Number of Wii U Owners} x {Fraction of those owners who would buy Doom BFG}. Multiply that by the publisher's share of the sale price, subtract the cost of porting and publishing the game and if you end up with a positive number then go ahead. If it's negative, forget it.
@Technosphile: That's just a guess from somebody. I don't know for sure, but I've never heard of a lack of a region lock being a weak point to allow piracy.
@Ferthepoet: What about homebrew?
@Einherjar: I would be surprised if that led to companies only releasing a game in one region - after all, your potential market is much larger if you release a game properly in a region rather than relying on people importing it. It may lead to companies not performing proper localisation (e.g. releasing in English only in Europe, which certainly wouldn't be great for many people) but I think it's more likely to mean they will at least release A version of a game in a given region rather than none.
Having said that, what is the situation on the PS3? There's no need to hypothesise - right there you have a region free console to look into (although I can't be bothered doing the research right now).
I'm yet to hear a good reason for region locking - I doubt I ever will. Nebulous claims that it reduces piracy or is required for legal reasons (even though that clearly doesn't prevent Sony having a region free console) just don't cut it.
(That last bit isn't a go at you Einherjar, just at arguments for region locking in general).
@Technosphile: Many people associate the lack of region locking with piracy. Why is that? I don't think a region-free console is any easier to pirate games for.
@Einherjar: How is it being greedy for a developer to only release in a single region? They don't see the profit from postage costs etc. I think, if anything, having to go through separate approval processes for different regions probably discourages multiple releases more than anything.
I don't think there is any good reason for region locking. People don't need to be 'protected' from other languages. It's simply an outdated business practice and makes little sense, particularly with how mobile people are these days (i.e. how likely people are to move internationally). Our world is no longer neatly divided into "regions" - Nintendo needs to realise that.
Oh, and the argument "I don't import games so nobody else does" is ridiculous - I notice one of the developers used it. Please stop bringing it up.
@SCAR392: "It just looked kinda cheap in general like all mods."
That's simply untrue. There is a long history of professional-quality mods for many different games. To name just a few: Counterstrike (Half Life), Desert Combat (Battlefield 1942), Alien Swarm (Unreal Tournament 2004), Defense of the Ancient (Warcraft 3)... The list goes on.
@mike_intv: I stand corrected about the Wii attach rate - I didn't realise it was that high. However, I'd be interested in seeing what the third party attach rate is, given that is really what the issue at hand is here.
I don't see what the ambiguity is here, though - he's simply saying that there would be a lot of fundamental code changes in order to make the game run on the Wii U, and more than can be justified given the expected profit. I think he really meant "Unfortunately it'd have to be a very different game just to run on the Wii U, and it's not a good business decision to invest the money in making it happen".
He explains himself further in the twitter comments.
@mike_intv: That's because historically (at least in the last few gens) third party games simply don't sell that well on Nintendo consoles, whereas they can do extremely well on Sony & Microsoft's offerings.
Whatever the reason, as a third party it's simply not a good business decision to release games on the Wii U. A company could get away with it on the Wii as the stupidly large install base only required a small fraction of Wii owners to buy the game (which is what happened, given the atrocious attack rate) in order to make a profit due to the lower cost of Wii development, but now the Wii U is a HD console, which comes with much higher development costs, in addition to it being unique architecture amongst the 4 major platforms, it's simply not a winning move - particularly since there is no sign of the Wii U install base suddenly increasing. It's simply not the job of third parties to get people to buy consoles (although they may end up making a killer app that does just that) and if you can cover 3/4 of the major platforms with very little effort, why spend time and money on porting to a fourth architecture that's different to all the others and try to target a userbase that will freely admit they're not interested in third-party games?
@GiftedGimp: True, it's a generalisation, but it holds true for much of the Nintendo fan base. It's not an inviting demographic to be trying to develop games for.
@element187: I very much doubt Codemasters is skipping the Wii U because they are unable to port their game. See above, and please stop blindly supporting Nintendo.
@MarioPartyFan999: I feel you - it's a pity that Club Nintendo Australia seems to only get a tiny selection of prizes in. I ended up buying a t-shirt a while ago, which I was quite happy with, but I just ended up forgetting about redeeming my codes - I didn't feel like it was worthwhile.
Cue the fanboys complaining about lazy developers...
When will you realise that it isn't the problem of third parties to increase Wii U sales? I'm sorry your precious Nintendo is struggling to shift consoles at the moment, but that's their problem to solve - don't blame other developers (who, like any business, need to make money) for not bringing games to the Wii U when it's not a trivial port.
Be honest, it's not like you would have bought this anyway - people on this site constantly go on about how they only ever buy first party games anyway.
Well, it's just lucky that nobody ever imports games, or even has any desire to play games from outside their region over ones they can already buy! I mean, otherwise region locking would mean this is a pretty disappointing announcement for fans in NA.
@Drobotic: Wow, do you have any idea how petulant you sound? As I mentioned above (and many others have before), these companies need to make a profit. Laziness doesn't come into it - if they thought that the time spent porting the game would bring in a profit, they would do it. The developers aren't there to throw money into a sinking ship just to give you more games out of the goodness of their heart.
@russellohh: I agree with many of your points in principle, but in practice it's not quite that easy. On the PC, sure, Steam allows you to install and play games on any system, and even includes cloud saving (or you can manually transfer saves, as you've stated).
However, DRM restrictions mean that you aren't always able to backup games as an insurance policy. For example, what happens if you lose your 3DS? Nintendo doesn't have an account system (yet), so your game backups won't work on a different console. You could easily render your entire digital game collection useless by losing the console, whereas that's not the case with physical copies (at least, you're less likely to lose them en-masse).
Your argument of pricing is a strong one, and I agree with it very much so - Steam sales are a prime example of digital distribution allowing the sales of games for stupidly low prices since manufacturing costs are zero, and distribution costs are minimal. (However, Steam isn't guaranteed to be around forever, though I think it's unlikely they'll go anywhere in a hurry). On the flipside, digital distribution means that pricing can be easily controlled by the distribution service and there isn't a lot one can do about it if the distribution model has regional differences - for example (I know we're not the only ones) in Australia we'll pay $90 AUD for a brand new PC game on Steam, whereas I can order a physical copy from overseas for half the price. I'm sure this is even worse on systems where the digital store has no competition.
In the end, I think we're at a point where there both physical and digital collections have advantages and disadvantages, and to my mind there isn't currently a clear winner. I still tend towards retail copies, generally because I feel they have greater longevity (I stay away from games that require online activation/online services) and partly out of a sense of tradition. I can certainly see that digital libraries are more convenient and CAN be cheaper, but I don't think it's a clear cut thing.
P.S. - have you tried replacing the battery on your Earthbound cart? If that's truly all that's wrong, you shouldn't be "out a $300 cartridge".
@Williaint: Don't be so quick to dismiss it. The original was one of the best games of the early 2000s, one of my all-time favourites, and widely considered a classic.
@SCAR392: It's not that companies can't figure out the Wii U tech, it's that because the architecture is different to the other platforms (XBox One, PS4, PC) it's much more work to develop a Wii U version than it is to support the other three platforms. It's not simply a matter of changing a compiler flag to cross-compile and leave it at that - a lot of low-level work needs to be done.
It's smart business - if you see a platform that appears to be failing, and it will take a lot of resources to develop a port for that platform, why would you do it? It's too risky, and the game development world is (unfortunately) very volatile: no point in making and publishing a port that nobody will buy.
Hell, a large number of the comments on NLife about third-party software are people saying that they don't care about third party games, and only buy Nintendo consoles for Nintendo's games. That's definitely not an environment conducive to third-party development, particularly when you can cover 3/4 of the major platforms with what's effectively a single version with minor (relatively speaking) tweaks.
While I personally grew tired of the Dream World a while ago (although I did play it quite a bit for a period of time), this seems rather sudden - B&W2 only game out last October, meaning that some of their online services will have only lasted a year.
That would be extremely disappointing for people who are only just picking the game up now, or who really enjoy the Dream World.
@ThumperUK: No, actually, it's not - piracy is copyright infringement, which by definition is distinct from theft.
It's still illegal, but it's not theft.
It's certainly in Nintendo's interest to crack down on flashcards, so I don't hold it against them. However, it is a pity that this means developers don't have an avenue for homebrew software - coming from a PC gaming background, I still think console gamers miss out on a lot by not being able to play mods, new software (or even develop their own).
Wait, so first you publish an article criticising Nintendo for not being creative enough with Super Mario 3D World, and then you write a glowing article over a remake of a game that effectively amounts to swapping in some high-res textures and changing the resolution?
Personally, I think this sort of thing is ridiculous. It isn't the job of the video game publisher to decide what an audience can or can't see. The job of the various ratings systems is to look at a game, determine if there is possible objectionable content and let the consumer know. It's then up to the consumer to decide whether or not they want to see whatever the game contains.
In addition, as you say, at the end of the day 'objectionable content' means different things to different people - thus, censorship will be a subjective process, subject to the cultural and personal values of the censor. This doesn't necessarily translate to how others feel, and so censorship is certainly a process fraught with apparent inconsistencies and bad decisions (from certain points of view).
Basically, I disagree with the kinds of censorship discussed in the article. I'm old enough to decide if I want to look at naked people, violence, hear strong language etc. If parents are doing their jobs, they are able to decide what their children have access to. It isn't the place of the video game publisher to make those decisions for us.
This is a broader issue than simply Nintendo, too - Australia only recently allowed R18+ games to be sold here, despite having that category in other forms of media. Several high-profile games were denied release as a result, which was of great annoyance to many Australian gamers for the reason I've given above - we should be the ones determining what we want to see/play/listen to.
@Realgamer4life: I'm sure SOMEONE confused the different Xbox and PS generations, but probably not that many...
It's much clearer to have a numeral after the name - we're used to the convention that the number signifies an improvement/sequel/successor. Hence, most people would (correctly) assume that the "Playstation 3" is the next model after "Playstation 2".
You need to remember that, as someone who visits, has an account with, and posts on a video gaming website, you are in a very small minority who is better informed about the status of the Wii U than most. To someone whose only familiarity with consoles is that they see them on store shelves and may have bought one for a family member in the past, it's not that obvious that the Wii U is a new console. It looks pretty much the same as the Wii, and so it's a hard sell on Nintendo's part to get people to spend $300 on what they see as basically a new controller.
The onus is on Nintendo to make it clear to consumers that the Wii U is a brand new console. Don't blame consumers because Nintendo's marketing department isn't doing a good enough job of that.
Nobody seems to have brought up the obvious, legitimate use for this - playing backed up games. In many places it's legal to make a backup of copyrighted media for personal use (although often breaking the copy protection IS illegal - go figure) and this would presumably allow for that.
Many people on this site seem to have a very black-and-white view of video game piracy. I don't agree with people simply wanting free games, but I acknowledge that there are a host of reasons why someone might want to play a pirated copy of a game, many of which I consider to be legitimate (although still illegal, I'm not denying that).
It's a pity - I only picked up MH3 recently, and have not had a chance to play it online (although I was fully aware when I bought the game that the servers were going down).
It would have been nice to try out the online side of things, but never mind - apparently single player is still pretty good! Who knows, as someone said above fans may set up their own servers at some point.
@DashDG: Really? You didn't like the look of a game, so you hope it never gets released? Never mind that other people may quite enjoy it, you find the idea of a game you might want to play so offensive that you actively wish it never gets made?
Anyway, I'm not all that surprised that the funding didn't get there. It was a slick pitch, but with little substance - it wasn't made clear to me, either through the video or on the front page, what the game would involve. There were some vague concepts listed, but no information on what the minute-to-minute gameplay would involve.
Still, it seems like they had some interesting ideas buried there. Hopefully they can come back with a more descriptive campaign so it's clearer exactly what the finished product will be like.
Unfortunately, my experience with Nintendo is that outside the US (and, I assume, Japan) the services they offer are very limited.
It's a shame, as a couple of times I've wanted to order replacement parts in Australia but there isn't an online store to order from like the one in the US.
To people saying "just use Club Nintendo", please be aware that it's not a solution for many - Club Nintendo simply does not exist and, at least as far as I am aware, in some places that DO have it, you can't link it to digital purchases (e.g. Australia, the last time I checked which admittedly was a while ago).
It might fix the situation in the USA but I imagine Nintendo would like a single system worldwide. They will need to do something else.
I absolutely believe that an account system is necessary, though, and I simply can't get my head around why Nintendo hasn't done anything about it yet.
Aargh, I'll be disappointed to lose online functionality in my games (e.g. Metroid Prime Trilogy) as I haven't had much time over the last couple of years to really play those games.
I've got an Energizer induction charger, and it's fantastic - I don't think I'd using anything else to be honest (it's not bulky and it works without having to take off the jacket etc...)
@Benjamin: It worries me seeing how critical of this you are. Do you feel threatened by Sarkeesian? It certainly seems that way.
I watched some of her new video (admittedly, only a small part) and didn't think it was particularly outstanding. However, I think it's important that the representation of women in gaming is discussed openly, and if Sarkeesian's videos are a catalyst for that then they've served an excellent purpose.
Also, are you seriously suggesting that Dead or Alive is a great victory for the portrayal of women in video games? If so, that explains a lot about your response to this.
Good to hear it's doing better. For a console that looks to have so much promise (I've only played a demo unit briefly) it was a shame to see it struggling along for so long. Hopefully this leads to elevated sales on a regular basis.
I echo the sentiments of many here - why is this on NL?
For a site that's so scared to have discussions of religion, sex and politics on it, this is a strange and out-of-character choice. Not to mention that it has nothing at all to do with video games bar the nickname.
I was late to the DS party (I got one in, I think, 2010) but it's quickly become my favourite console. Also, with my pile of shame, I'm pretty sure it will keep me going for the foreseeable future!
@FOURSIDE_BOY: Earthbound isn't a game I've got a lot of ambition to own - partly because I have a PAL SNES, and partly because I simply can't justify forking out its asking price.
I wouldn't mind playing it at some point to see what all the fuss is about, but I've got plenty of other games to get to in the meantime!
I have a lot of fond memories of the SNES. My sister and I got the Yoshi's Island bundle for Christmas one year, and I've loved the console ever since (I still own that one - my sister turned out not to like video games nearly as much as me!).
I haven't played a huge number of SNES games, but I absolutely adore the ones I have: Yoshi's Island, F-Zero, Donkey Kong Country, Super Tennis among others.
A year or so ago I picked up a few more games that are sitting there waiting for me to play them: Link to the Past, the Super Star Wars trilogy, DKC2, Unirally, Super Metroid and Pilotwings.
Unfortunately I really only want to buy games complete with boxes and manuals, which puts many out of my price range, but I'll probably add a few more games to my collection over the next few years.
Comments 492
Re: EA Executive: Shigeru Miyamoto is 'Falling Down on the Job'
@TimLatshaw: What don't you get about his comparison? He's not comparing the men, he's comparing the role their companies play in introducing video games to people.
To (almost) everybody else, is it really necessary to resort to personal attacks? Sure, he's said something you may not like about Nintendo, but that's no reason to lash out at him. How about some considered, thoughtful responses - there are only a handful in the 145 comments on this article.
NintendoLife is quickly becoming a cesspit of rabid fanboys who won't accept a single bad word about Nintendo, whether it's warranted or not, which is annoyingly effective at preventing any of the interesting discussions we used to have here.
Re: Reaction: The Pokémon Bank and the Inevitability of Online Charges
@One-Winged-Pit: Sure, but what about after that period? I'll be transferring some Gen III Pokemon to Gen IV (and then GenV) soon, so it's not like nobody ever does transfers way down the line. What if you miss the free trial window, for some reason?
A free trial period goes some way to alleviating the problem, although it won't entirely fix it. What about Little Johnny, who gets Pokemon X for his birthday next year but can't transfer his old Pokemon because his parents won't go through the hassle of organising a new subscription to a service they don't see as being all that useful?
I'm not trying to make out that Nintendo are evil monsters for doing this - it's just that it seems rather hypocritical that so many people here are praising Nintendo for bringing in a new paid service when they would have been disgusted if it was, say, EA doing the same thing.
Re: Reaction: The Pokémon Bank and the Inevitability of Online Charges
I'm amazed at the leeway people are giving this - presumably because it's Nintendo. Honestly, if this was any other company, people on NL would be complaining about how unfair it is.
I think the cloud storage idea is neat, and since it's optional then fair enough - charge for it. My issue with it is that transferring Pokemon now becomes a paid service, which has been a fundamental (and free!) part of the series all along.
It's not that $5 is a lot of money - it's the principle of the matter.
Re: Reggie Fils-Aime Reiterates That There's "Nothing to Announce in Terms of an Ambassador Program"
I'm sick of hearing people demanding that Nintendo gives them free things (whether it's Ambassador programs or Club Nintendo stuff), especially when half the time complaints then arise because people wanted something different to what they got.
People complaining about this need a reality check. Price drops can happen any time for any product. It doesn't mean that you deserve to be compensated for buying the product at the pre-sale price. If you purchase something, it's obviously because you think the asking price is reasonable. Sure, kick yourself if you could have saved money by waiting an extra month or so, but nobody owes you that money. Nobody.
This entitlement (I hate how much that word is overused, but it fits) is getting ridiculous, both on NL and in the gaming community at large. I don't know if it's because many members of the community who frequent gaming websites are too young to have lived in the real world for very long, but if you're outraged that Nintendo doesn't give you something because they've dropped their price, you need to have a look at your priorities in life.
I'm not denying that Nintendo doing another program would foster a lot of good will - it absolutely would. However, it costs them money and they certainly don't owe it to anybody.
So, if you're complaining that you don't get something for free, please stop. It's annoying.
Re: Virtue's Last Reward Glitch Resolved in eShop Version, Maybe
@Marioman64: remember, though, that games have had 'save anywhere' functionality for a good couple of decades (at least), and there are very few high-profile cases of it causing corruption. In my opinion, being able to save at will far outweighs the minimal danger of save corruption
Re: GameStop Defends Xenoblade Chronicles Pricing, Plans More "Vintage Titles" Like Metroid Prime Trilogy
@kondabasu: "...selling reprints as though they're preowned copies from the game's original run. That's misleading and very different from the kinds of markups you see on genuine first or early prints of games or books."
Have they actually claimed that, though? I haven't seen anywhere where Gamestop has said that these are from the first print run. The markup here isn't because it's a rare first printing - it's because people will pay it. In any case, video games commonly get several printings with minor variations between them and that's never pointed out to consumers.
Re: GameStop Defends Xenoblade Chronicles Pricing, Plans More "Vintage Titles" Like Metroid Prime Trilogy
@Subie98: Thanks - I do get frustrated on here by the amount of ignorance and misunderstanding displayed in the comments section.
Re: GameStop Defends Xenoblade Chronicles Pricing, Plans More "Vintage Titles" Like Metroid Prime Trilogy
@Brother_Jolteon: That simply is untrue. Where do you think the games come from in the first place? They don't magically appear out of thin air - Nintendo sells them to Gamestop. After that first sale the publisher doesn't see any more money, but that's the case in every used sale.
Re: GameStop Defends Xenoblade Chronicles Pricing, Plans More "Vintage Titles" Like Metroid Prime Trilogy
OK, cue rant... (This also refers to comments from the previous article).
First up - I'm not a huge fan of Gamestop (or the Australian extension, EB Games) and, yes, $90 US is quite a bit for the game.
However:
1. AFAIK, Gamestop can charge whatever the hell they want for a game, as can any retailer in the US. Unless there is a law I'm not aware of, the MSRP (that's R for "recommended") is not a legally-binding amount - it's simply what the manufacturer thinks the product should be priced at. Normally, a company would be silly to charge more for their product, since their competitors will likely charge around the MSRP, but in this case Gamestop's only competition is third-party sellers. Which leads to my next point:
2. Gamestop is competing against 3rd party sellers - people selling of stock they bought up a while ago, or selling used copies. Have a look at what they have been asking. Go on, I'll wait (assuming they haven't adjusted prices since this news came out). Back now? They were charging well over $100 for Xenoblade copies on eBay and Amazon. If one can get that sort of money for a copy of the game, then Gamestop would be a bad business to not have a crack at getting something like that themselves. Supply and demand, people. They're not under any sort of obligation to sell you games at prices you consider 'reasonable' (at least, in a strict sense - of course if they're outrageously expensive they'll go out of business).
3. What benefit would selling used copies over new give them? I'm quite serious, please name one. Presumably they could charge even more for new, sealed copies - why would they take of $10 or so from every copy by ripping off the shrink wrap?
4. There is no way in hell Gamestop would have illegally ordered a reprint of Xenoblade. The legal repercussions would be enormous, and they would risk their relationship with Nintendo. @tanookisuit: they are some pretty big accusations you're throwing around there.
5. Again, AFAIK, there are no bootleg Wii games that will run on unmodded consoles. At least they're not at all common. The suggestion that these are bootleg copies is, frankly, absurd.
I don't know what has truly happened here - we'll probably have to hear from Gamestop employees to ever find out. However, people online have been labelling this a 'scam' and accusing Gamestop of all manner of illegal activities to explain this. Firstly, I don't see how it's a scam, and secondly, as mentioned above, Gamestop would be idiotic to do something horribly illegal and advertise it prominently on their website. Particularly considering the pretty marginal amount of profit they would make from this, in the scheme of things.
I understand people are upset that they have to pay $90 for a copy of the game, but that's capitalism folks. This is why laws against monopolies exist - if a company can become the only one in their area selling something, you can be sure they'll squeeze the consumer for everything they can. You should feel lucky that this is the exception rather than the norm.
Re: Review: Harvest Moon (Wii U eShop / Super Nintendo)
Although I've got Sunshine Islands on DS, I'd love to snag a copy of this for my SNES. Alas, complete copies currently go for $500+, so it's a little out of my price range
Re: John Carmack: Doom 3 BFG Edition Would Be Great On Wii U, But There's Not Enough Interest
@Damien @Tylr @mike_intv @Tim_Slim @Einherjar:
If you actually watch the video (I did!) the quote is: "I always thought Wii U and the Vita would be great targets for Doom BFG. We should be able to bring that over directly, but it's not something that's generating enough interest on the publishing side of things because, it's just, they're somewhat marginalised platforms..."
Carmack is all for bringing it over. Your beef lies with the publishers, not him. (Actually, I think your beef should lie with Nintendo for not doing more to sell more consoles)
@TromboneGamer: What they mean is that they expect that not enough people who own the Wii U will buy the game in order to generate a profit. It's straightforward really. Interest = {Number of Wii U Owners} x {Fraction of those owners who would buy Doom BFG}. Multiply that by the publisher's share of the sale price, subtract the cost of porting and publishing the game and if you end up with a positive number then go ahead. If it's negative, forget it.
Re: Wii U And 3DS Developers Share Their Thoughts On Region Locking
@Technosphile: That's just a guess from somebody. I don't know for sure, but I've never heard of a lack of a region lock being a weak point to allow piracy.
@Ferthepoet: What about homebrew?
@Einherjar: I would be surprised if that led to companies only releasing a game in one region - after all, your potential market is much larger if you release a game properly in a region rather than relying on people importing it. It may lead to companies not performing proper localisation (e.g. releasing in English only in Europe, which certainly wouldn't be great for many people) but I think it's more likely to mean they will at least release A version of a game in a given region rather than none.
Having said that, what is the situation on the PS3? There's no need to hypothesise - right there you have a region free console to look into (although I can't be bothered doing the research right now).
I'm yet to hear a good reason for region locking - I doubt I ever will. Nebulous claims that it reduces piracy or is required for legal reasons (even though that clearly doesn't prevent Sony having a region free console) just don't cut it.
(That last bit isn't a go at you Einherjar, just at arguments for region locking in general).
Re: Wii U And 3DS Developers Share Their Thoughts On Region Locking
@Technosphile: Many people associate the lack of region locking with piracy. Why is that? I don't think a region-free console is any easier to pirate games for.
@Einherjar: How is it being greedy for a developer to only release in a single region? They don't see the profit from postage costs etc. I think, if anything, having to go through separate approval processes for different regions probably discourages multiple releases more than anything.
I don't think there is any good reason for region locking. People don't need to be 'protected' from other languages. It's simply an outdated business practice and makes little sense, particularly with how mobile people are these days (i.e. how likely people are to move internationally). Our world is no longer neatly divided into "regions" - Nintendo needs to realise that.
Oh, and the argument "I don't import games so nobody else does" is ridiculous - I notice one of the developers used it. Please stop bringing it up.
Re: Video: Total War Mod Allows You To Conquer The Land Of Hyrule
@SCAR392: "It just looked kinda cheap in general like all mods."
That's simply untrue. There is a long history of professional-quality mods for many different games. To name just a few: Counterstrike (Half Life), Desert Combat (Battlefield 1942), Alien Swarm (Unreal Tournament 2004), Defense of the Ancient (Warcraft 3)... The list goes on.
Re: Rumour: Nintendo Is Shaping Up To Acquire Troubled Atlus
I don't know why Nintendo would want to acquire Atlus - Nintendo already makes the best games, it would just be a waste of money.
Let Atlus rot, I say.
Re: Codemasters: F1 2013 Would Need To Be "A Very Different Game" To Run On Wii U
@mike_intv: I stand corrected about the Wii attach rate - I didn't realise it was that high. However, I'd be interested in seeing what the third party attach rate is, given that is really what the issue at hand is here.
I don't see what the ambiguity is here, though - he's simply saying that there would be a lot of fundamental code changes in order to make the game run on the Wii U, and more than can be justified given the expected profit. I think he really meant "Unfortunately it'd have to be a very different game just to run on the Wii U, and it's not a good business decision to invest the money in making it happen".
He explains himself further in the twitter comments.
Re: Codemasters: F1 2013 Would Need To Be "A Very Different Game" To Run On Wii U
@Grubdog: Yep, you got me.
Re: Codemasters: F1 2013 Would Need To Be "A Very Different Game" To Run On Wii U
@mike_intv: That's because historically (at least in the last few gens) third party games simply don't sell that well on Nintendo consoles, whereas they can do extremely well on Sony & Microsoft's offerings.
Whatever the reason, as a third party it's simply not a good business decision to release games on the Wii U. A company could get away with it on the Wii as the stupidly large install base only required a small fraction of Wii owners to buy the game (which is what happened, given the atrocious attack rate) in order to make a profit due to the lower cost of Wii development, but now the Wii U is a HD console, which comes with much higher development costs, in addition to it being unique architecture amongst the 4 major platforms, it's simply not a winning move - particularly since there is no sign of the Wii U install base suddenly increasing. It's simply not the job of third parties to get people to buy consoles (although they may end up making a killer app that does just that) and if you can cover 3/4 of the major platforms with very little effort, why spend time and money on porting to a fourth architecture that's different to all the others and try to target a userbase that will freely admit they're not interested in third-party games?
@GiftedGimp: True, it's a generalisation, but it holds true for much of the Nintendo fan base. It's not an inviting demographic to be trying to develop games for.
@element187: I very much doubt Codemasters is skipping the Wii U because they are unable to port their game. See above, and please stop blindly supporting Nintendo.
Re: Nintendo Reveals The 2013 Club Nintendo Elite Rewards
@MarioPartyFan999: I feel you - it's a pity that Club Nintendo Australia seems to only get a tiny selection of prizes in. I ended up buying a t-shirt a while ago, which I was quite happy with, but I just ended up forgetting about redeeming my codes - I didn't feel like it was worthwhile.
Re: Codemasters: F1 2013 Would Need To Be "A Very Different Game" To Run On Wii U
Cue the fanboys complaining about lazy developers...
When will you realise that it isn't the problem of third parties to increase Wii U sales? I'm sorry your precious Nintendo is struggling to shift consoles at the moment, but that's their problem to solve - don't blame other developers (who, like any business, need to make money) for not bringing games to the Wii U when it's not a trivial port.
Be honest, it's not like you would have bought this anyway - people on this site constantly go on about how they only ever buy first party games anyway.
Re: Feature: When it Comes to Games, What's in a Name?
@ueI: do you really think the box art for Layton is better in the us? I find the PAL ones much better, personally
Re: One Piece: Romance Dawn Won't Be Sailing To North America
Well, it's just lucky that nobody ever imports games, or even has any desire to play games from outside their region over ones they can already buy! I mean, otherwise region locking would mean this is a pretty disappointing announcement for fans in NA.
Re: Wii U Version Of Beyond Good & Evil 2 Looking Unlikely
@Drobotic: Wow, do you have any idea how petulant you sound? As I mentioned above (and many others have before), these companies need to make a profit. Laziness doesn't come into it - if they thought that the time spent porting the game would bring in a profit, they would do it. The developers aren't there to throw money into a sinking ship just to give you more games out of the goodness of their heart.
Re: Talking Point: The Uncertain Collectible Future of Download-Only Game Libraries
@russellohh: I agree with many of your points in principle, but in practice it's not quite that easy. On the PC, sure, Steam allows you to install and play games on any system, and even includes cloud saving (or you can manually transfer saves, as you've stated).
However, DRM restrictions mean that you aren't always able to backup games as an insurance policy. For example, what happens if you lose your 3DS? Nintendo doesn't have an account system (yet), so your game backups won't work on a different console. You could easily render your entire digital game collection useless by losing the console, whereas that's not the case with physical copies (at least, you're less likely to lose them en-masse).
Your argument of pricing is a strong one, and I agree with it very much so - Steam sales are a prime example of digital distribution allowing the sales of games for stupidly low prices since manufacturing costs are zero, and distribution costs are minimal. (However, Steam isn't guaranteed to be around forever, though I think it's unlikely they'll go anywhere in a hurry). On the flipside, digital distribution means that pricing can be easily controlled by the distribution service and there isn't a lot one can do about it if the distribution model has regional differences - for example (I know we're not the only ones) in Australia we'll pay $90 AUD for a brand new PC game on Steam, whereas I can order a physical copy from overseas for half the price. I'm sure this is even worse on systems where the digital store has no competition.
In the end, I think we're at a point where there both physical and digital collections have advantages and disadvantages, and to my mind there isn't currently a clear winner. I still tend towards retail copies, generally because I feel they have greater longevity (I stay away from games that require online activation/online services) and partly out of a sense of tradition. I can certainly see that digital libraries are more convenient and CAN be cheaper, but I don't think it's a clear cut thing.
P.S. - have you tried replacing the battery on your Earthbound cart? If that's truly all that's wrong, you shouldn't be "out a $300 cartridge".
Re: Wii U Version Of Beyond Good & Evil 2 Looking Unlikely
@Williaint: Don't be so quick to dismiss it. The original was one of the best games of the early 2000s, one of my all-time favourites, and widely considered a classic.
@SCAR392: It's not that companies can't figure out the Wii U tech, it's that because the architecture is different to the other platforms (XBox One, PS4, PC) it's much more work to develop a Wii U version than it is to support the other three platforms. It's not simply a matter of changing a compiler flag to cross-compile and leave it at that - a lot of low-level work needs to be done.
It's smart business - if you see a platform that appears to be failing, and it will take a lot of resources to develop a port for that platform, why would you do it? It's too risky, and the game development world is (unfortunately) very volatile: no point in making and publishing a port that nobody will buy.
Hell, a large number of the comments on NLife about third-party software are people saying that they don't care about third party games, and only buy Nintendo consoles for Nintendo's games. That's definitely not an environment conducive to third-party development, particularly when you can cover 3/4 of the major platforms with what's effectively a single version with minor (relatively speaking) tweaks.
Re: Global Link For Pokémon Black And White Titles Will Cease On 14th January 2014
While I personally grew tired of the Dream World a while ago (although I did play it quite a bit for a period of time), this seems rather sudden - B&W2 only game out last October, meaning that some of their online services will have only lasted a year.
That would be extremely disappointing for people who are only just picking the game up now, or who really enjoy the Dream World.
Re: Video: The Mysteries of Evolution Are Solved, Pokémon is the Answer
Haha, that was good.
It saddens me that he felt the need to explain the video. Surely people aren't that dense?
Re: Nintendo Blocks 3DS Flashcard With Latest Firmware Update
@ThumperUK: No, actually, it's not - piracy is copyright infringement, which by definition is distinct from theft.
It's still illegal, but it's not theft.
It's certainly in Nintendo's interest to crack down on flashcards, so I don't hold it against them. However, it is a pity that this means developers don't have an avenue for homebrew software - coming from a PC gaming background, I still think console gamers miss out on a lot by not being able to play mods, new software (or even develop their own).
Re: First Impressions: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD
Wait, so first you publish an article criticising Nintendo for not being creative enough with Super Mario 3D World, and then you write a glowing article over a remake of a game that effectively amounts to swapping in some high-res textures and changing the resolution?
Righto.
Re: Platinum's Hideki Kamiya Gives Smash Bros. Fans Both Barrels
If only this were a Microsoft or Sony employee, people here wouldn't be giving them a free pass...
Re: Talking Point: Censoring Boingy Bits, Bums and Gore
Personally, I think this sort of thing is ridiculous. It isn't the job of the video game publisher to decide what an audience can or can't see. The job of the various ratings systems is to look at a game, determine if there is possible objectionable content and let the consumer know. It's then up to the consumer to decide whether or not they want to see whatever the game contains.
In addition, as you say, at the end of the day 'objectionable content' means different things to different people - thus, censorship will be a subjective process, subject to the cultural and personal values of the censor. This doesn't necessarily translate to how others feel, and so censorship is certainly a process fraught with apparent inconsistencies and bad decisions (from certain points of view).
Basically, I disagree with the kinds of censorship discussed in the article. I'm old enough to decide if I want to look at naked people, violence, hear strong language etc. If parents are doing their jobs, they are able to decide what their children have access to. It isn't the place of the video game publisher to make those decisions for us.
This is a broader issue than simply Nintendo, too - Australia only recently allowed R18+ games to be sold here, despite having that category in other forms of media. Several high-profile games were denied release as a result, which was of great annoyance to many Australian gamers for the reason I've given above - we should be the ones determining what we want to see/play/listen to.
Re: Super Retro Trio Plays SNES, Genesis, NES and GBA Games
What's the compatibility like with these things, though? It's a hell of a lot of work to get perfect emulation for one machine, let alone several.
Do these machines have more or less of the problems of other emulators?
Re: Nintendo Sends Direct Wii U Marketing Message To Wii Owners
@Realgamer4life: I'm sure SOMEONE confused the different Xbox and PS generations, but probably not that many...
It's much clearer to have a numeral after the name - we're used to the convention that the number signifies an improvement/sequel/successor. Hence, most people would (correctly) assume that the "Playstation 3" is the next model after "Playstation 2".
You need to remember that, as someone who visits, has an account with, and posts on a video gaming website, you are in a very small minority who is better informed about the status of the Wii U than most. To someone whose only familiarity with consoles is that they see them on store shelves and may have bought one for a family member in the past, it's not that obvious that the Wii U is a new console. It looks pretty much the same as the Wii, and so it's a hard sell on Nintendo's part to get people to spend $300 on what they see as basically a new controller.
The onus is on Nintendo to make it clear to consumers that the Wii U is a brand new console. Don't blame consumers because Nintendo's marketing department isn't doing a good enough job of that.
Re: Nintendo Issues Statement on Wii U Hacking Attempt
Nobody seems to have brought up the obvious, legitimate use for this - playing backed up games. In many places it's legal to make a backup of copyrighted media for personal use (although often breaking the copy protection IS illegal - go figure) and this would presumably allow for that.
Many people on this site seem to have a very black-and-white view of video game piracy. I don't agree with people simply wanting free games, but I acknowledge that there are a host of reasons why someone might want to play a pirated copy of a game, many of which I consider to be legitimate (although still illegal, I'm not denying that).
It's simply not a cut-and-dry question.
Re: Nintendo Issues Statement on Wii U Hacking Attempt
Phew! Thank goodness those filthy hackers have once again been thwarted by the almighty Nintendo!
Re: The Monster Hunter Tri Servers Will be Shutdown Today
It's a pity - I only picked up MH3 recently, and have not had a chance to play it online (although I was fully aware when I bought the game that the servers were going down).
It would have been nice to try out the online side of things, but never mind - apparently single player is still pretty good! Who knows, as someone said above fans may set up their own servers at some point.
Re: Kickstarter For Ecco The Dolphin Successor Sinks Beneath The Waves
@DashDG: Really? You didn't like the look of a game, so you hope it never gets released? Never mind that other people may quite enjoy it, you find the idea of a game you might want to play so offensive that you actively wish it never gets made?
Anyway, I'm not all that surprised that the funding didn't get there. It was a slick pitch, but with little substance - it wasn't made clear to me, either through the video or on the front page, what the game would involve. There were some vague concepts listed, but no information on what the minute-to-minute gameplay would involve.
Still, it seems like they had some interesting ideas buried there. Hopefully they can come back with a more descriptive campaign so it's clearer exactly what the finished product will be like.
Re: No Plans From Nintendo For Renovated Consoles In Europe
Unfortunately, my experience with Nintendo is that outside the US (and, I assume, Japan) the services they offer are very limited.
It's a shame, as a couple of times I've wanted to order replacement parts in Australia but there isn't an online store to order from like the one in the US.
Re: Pokémon Black & White 2 Owners Can Catch Deoxys In May
Ah, awesome! I only started playing Pokemon recently, so I missed out on all events pre-BW. This will get me 1 step closer to a full Pokedex
Re: Nintendo Of America Rep Insists That Lost Digital Content "Not Covered For Replacement"
To people saying "just use Club Nintendo", please be aware that it's not a solution for many - Club Nintendo simply does not exist and, at least as far as I am aware, in some places that DO have it, you can't link it to digital purchases (e.g. Australia, the last time I checked which admittedly was a while ago).
It might fix the situation in the USA but I imagine Nintendo would like a single system worldwide. They will need to do something else.
I absolutely believe that an account system is necessary, though, and I simply can't get my head around why Nintendo hasn't done anything about it yet.
Re: Nintendo to Pull the Plug on Several Online Wii Channels
Aargh, I'll be disappointed to lose online functionality in my games (e.g. Metroid Prime Trilogy) as I haven't had much time over the last couple of years to really play those games.
Re: Nintendo Working On Wii Remote Fast Charging Battery Pack
I've got an Energizer induction charger, and it's fantastic - I don't think I'd using anything else to be honest (it's not bulky and it works without having to take off the jacket etc...)
Re: PAX Australia is Sold Out
@LuigiFan141: I really, really hope that was a joke. If not, get help...
Re: Dead Island: Riptide Is Skipping Wii U
Wait, people are arguing for FEWER games on their consoles? Even sequels to well-received ones?
That... doesn't make sense. Seriously, the fewer games that come out on Wii U, the worse off Nintendo is.
Re: Legend Of Zelda Hacked To Make Zelda The Hero
@Benjamin: It worries me seeing how critical of this you are. Do you feel threatened by Sarkeesian? It certainly seems that way.
I watched some of her new video (admittedly, only a small part) and didn't think it was particularly outstanding. However, I think it's important that the representation of women in gaming is discussed openly, and if Sarkeesian's videos are a catalyst for that then they've served an excellent purpose.
Also, are you seriously suggesting that Dead or Alive is a great victory for the portrayal of women in video games? If so, that explains a lot about your response to this.
Re: Vita Knocks 3DS Down to Second in the Japanese Charts
Good to hear it's doing better. For a console that looks to have so much promise (I've only played a demo unit briefly) it was a shame to see it struggling along for so long. Hopefully this leads to elevated sales on a regular basis.
Re: Pentagon To Review Controversial New "Nintendo" Medal
I echo the sentiments of many here - why is this on NL?
For a site that's so scared to have discussions of religion, sex and politics on it, this is a strange and out-of-character choice. Not to mention that it has nothing at all to do with video games bar the nickname.
Re: The Nintendo DS Celebrates its 8th Birthday in Europe Today
I was late to the DS party (I got one in, I think, 2010) but it's quickly become my favourite console. Also, with my pile of shame, I'm pretty sure it will keep me going for the foreseeable future!
A fantastic little system.
Re: Hardware Classics: Nintendo Super Famicom
@FOURSIDE_BOY: Earthbound isn't a game I've got a lot of ambition to own - partly because I have a PAL SNES, and partly because I simply can't justify forking out its asking price.
I wouldn't mind playing it at some point to see what all the fuss is about, but I've got plenty of other games to get to in the meantime!
Re: Hardware Classics: Nintendo Super Famicom
I have a lot of fond memories of the SNES. My sister and I got the Yoshi's Island bundle for Christmas one year, and I've loved the console ever since (I still own that one - my sister turned out not to like video games nearly as much as me!).
I haven't played a huge number of SNES games, but I absolutely adore the ones I have: Yoshi's Island, F-Zero, Donkey Kong Country, Super Tennis among others.
A year or so ago I picked up a few more games that are sitting there waiting for me to play them: Link to the Past, the Super Star Wars trilogy, DKC2, Unirally, Super Metroid and Pilotwings.
Unfortunately I really only want to buy games complete with boxes and manuals, which puts many out of my price range, but I'll probably add a few more games to my collection over the next few years.
The SNES is undeniably a classic!