bbb7002004

The thing is, Nintendo did give us some unexpected "import" stuff this gen. They brought out games like the first Rhythm Heaven, Elite Beat Agents, Glory of Heracles, several Dragon Quests, Endless Ocean 1&2 and Sin and Punishment 2.

And none of them sold particularly well.

Trust me, I'm mad about pretty much every game mentioned in the article not coming out in NA, especially when they are already being translated into English for the PAL versions. I just think that the "core" gamer's selective memory and dubious buying habits need to be remembered while were burning down NoA headquarters.

Trying to figure out how being a better version of the most popular gaming device in history is an insult, and how any Sony console/handheld has been particularly different from the PS1, but that's just me.

Nintendo makes my favorite franchises, so I'll always stick with their console. My only hope with N6 is that we will get real 3rd party support.

The Wii (and Gamecube and N64) suffered from several droughts of quality titles, since Nintendo alone cannot produce enough games to fill out an entire year, certainly not to the level that consoles with full support receive. Get rid of those droughts with 3rd party releases of big name titles, and you give people less to groan about. Sure, people will still groan, but it will just sound that much more stupid when they do.

I do however find the idea that Wii hasn't sold games is really misinformed. The last stats I saw have Wii out far ahead of its two competitors in terms of software sold, so I guess those "casuals" must be buying a lot more software than those "hardcores".

I think the argument itself is ridiculous. Decent free browser games have been around since the internet became readily available, and co-existed fine with the dedicated gaming market for years. Talking heads that critique the video game industry just want to talk about their shiny new phones, and the best way to get noticed is to spout doom and gloom when there is no evidence to back them up at all.

I mean, DS is the best selling console ever, and it even had a decent competitor in the PSP making the handheld market larger than it has ever been. I know it had a head start on the iPhone and its gaming push, but sales haven't declined anymore than is normal at the end of a product's lifecycle.

This would seem to indicate that the system will launch late March in NA, and get pushed to April for Europe/Australia. No way 2.5 mil. is enough for both regions.

Really? They don't look that bad to me.

I find the talk about extra eye strain ironic, considering handheld screens in general are eye strain city. Not sure the 3D will really make it that much worse.

A unified FC based on system and not game and a more stable platform are all I want, frankly. If I have to pay, I won't be playing online, not worth money for my tastes.

People keep track of these kinds of statistics? That small of a timeframe tells you absolutely nothing.

Though, the physical number of Wii consoles connected, if these statistics are accurate, is still more than the number of 360's and PS3's combine. Also, do you really want all of the Wii owners out there online? shutters

Two very different target audiences for two very different devices. I don't really see the ipad infringing on the handheld gaming market, especially this gen, and I don't see the DS taking over the "personal computing for people with a superiority complex and too much money" market.

The XL has a very specific market in mind. The people that were going to upgrade to it would likely do so anyway, or wouldn't care or even hear about the 3DS for a year or two.

I like the idea. I imagine it would be similar to the light rumbles felt with the wiimote when you "mouse" over objects and such. I really doubt it would be strong enough to distract you from play unless you have the grip of an amoeba.

Really? I felt like peeling out my eyes throughout that entire movie.

I think consumers should take responsibility for their purchases. If people are stupid enough to buy bad games, then that's their problem, not Nintendo's .

Nintendo develops games everyone can enjoy, including "mature gamers". I don't see how catering to a specific age group, namely 13-25 year old boys, magically expands your market place. In fact, it does quite the opposite.

I would be more upset if Capcom was actually supporting Wii. They have what, three non-remake games out now, those being Z&W, Spyborgs and the Camelot Golf game, all of which with absolutely no advertising budget at all? Everything else has been remakes of last gen. games or strait up ports of GC games.

I also guess Mr. France Capcom wasn't paying attention to the million+ sales of Monster Hunter Tri in Japan. You know, popular games tend to sell while niche titles tend to not, after all.

I want Cosmic Walker for NA release.

I'm also sad there is no date for Golden Sun DS. Guess we will be seeing that in 2011 then.

Hey look, its a DS for Senior Citizens!

Actually, I'm sure that is something Nintendo is considering with this, especially with brain training built in. I know a lot of older people who aren't interested in games specifically because the screens hurt there eyes, and imagine Nintendo wants these peoples money.

They may show something off, similar to the early concept trailers shown for both Windwaker, introducing Toon Link, and Twilight Princess, but I doubt we will see anything remotely close to final product until E3 next year.

I just hope some video of the live actors hit the interwebz, that sounds like the second best part of the whole thing, besides the game actually coming out.

It's amazing we even had video games for the past twenty years. I mean, look at the SNES, a freaking calculator has more power than that thing now a-days. No wonder all the games on it were ugly ports with terrible gameplay, graphics, and sound issues.

...Oh wait.

I had a lot of fun with this game. The review forgot to mention the shadow mode though, which allows you to play through all the story levels with an increase in the number and power of the guards, providing further replay value.

Gah, now your quoting me here too, Bahamut?

Anyway, I don't really like any of the games that use the Epic engine. It is technically impressive, but the style just generally strikes me as incredibly ugly. Personal preference, sure, but idiotic comments like this one don't help to change my mind.

That doesn't really sound like a typical Nintendo email though. It is way too straight forward in answering the question, as opposed to the normal dodgy tone Nintendo always takes. Not to mention, it sounds incredibly amateurish. "We in America"? I have never seen an official response worded so simple. It is always Nintendo of America (c) or something along those lines. I would not be surprised if this was something the site author just made up to increase traffic.

Although, the only thing left on VC I'm at all interested in are the Arcade titles. Most of the other big time retro games have already been released that I was interested in. Bring on the Wiiware!

Niche games are niche games on any console and will sell as such. fact.

I just think a lot of "Nintnedo Fans" are over reacting to this though. Suda isn't insulting Wii, or its audience, he's just saying that another game would really over saturate the franchise on the system. I mean, I love NMH, and can't wait to play NMHDS, but what's left after that? More assassins to fight? Woo hoo.

Not much else to do with the series, beyond re-hash the same ideas on another console, with a different take on combat with the natural control differences.

I think the game is a good length, personally. It builds a well balanced roster of powers that are all used well in the levels, provides a good challenge, and doesn't tarry too long or get repetitive.

I think one major problem with using Metacritic is how similar many reviewers are to one another, at least for the "professional" sites. A good portion of the people who review games for a living have similar interests and outlooks on games, since it takes a specific kind of passion to get into this industry. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this, it does narrow the the types of gamer represented by a review. I often find that many, if not all of the reviewers at professional sites like IGN have very, very different tastes in gaming then I do, making their opinions and reviews much less useful than independent sites, and makes Metacritic sway away from a lot of my personal tastes. I would also postulate that many reviewers are influenced by one another, artificially inflating scores of specific games, genres, and platforms, while dismissing other since they aren't "the popular kids in school".

I'd rather see Nintendo work on Nintendo series, personally. Let the third parties develop some new ideas, for once.

If Nintendo would have come out with Natal this year, it would be complementing the Wiimote+WMP, a completely different story than Natal alone.

I do think the point is well made though, fans are quick to retract their opinions when something comes out for their system. Look at all the hullabaloo that the Conduit created for having "fancy graphics", and compare that to the "Graphics don't matter" mantra of the last three years.

I think it's difficult to make a call either way since Natal is such an unknown at this point. Tech demos are great for hype, but until you see complete software, ones not carefully guarded by programmers keeping things up and running, it is impossible to say how well a piece of technology will work compared to another.

I do agree with what Miyamoto says in general though. Conceptualizing an imaginary object in your hand is actually a fairly difficult thing to do, making manipulation of objects and such less engrossing. Natal will work well for things that represent your body's movements themselves on screen, but nothing can replace the tactile feel of manipulating an actual object in your hand while you do the same in game. Take a tennis game for example. Playing on Natal will mean that the camera has to pick up every subtle movement of your wrists, and translate that accurately to your player to obtain the level of WMP. Along with that, you will have to imagine the racket in your hand, and how much of a twist will turn that imaginary racket, which is quite hard to visualize without some sort of controller present.

The main reason why Nintendo will continue to hold the motion control market is because they released a motion "controller". Sony and MS are releasing motion "peripherals", which tend to recieve little support from 3rd parties. I mean, Wii barely gets good third party support for motion controls even with the system being based entirely around the concept, how many games do you think Valve, etc. are really going to make for the small portion of buyers for Natal, when they can easily make money with the regular controller?

Nintendo of Japan simply does not believe online play is a big deal, and isn't going to waste money developing it in most of their titles. I'm shocked to see even Wii connect 24 support.

I remember trying out the demo on the Nintendo Channel. A very unique and intriguing premise, and seems like tons of fun if you can penetrate that first level of complexity.

So, it becomes clear why Motion Plus was announced days before E3 last year, Nintendo was trying to get a leg up on what they expected to be some real motion competition at last year's show.

I can see Natal has a big thing... next console cycle. Without it being packed in with the console, it will always be a niche market at best. Look at the Balance Board. We can all see tons of unique uses for it in games, controlling your character's movements in an FPS, pressure sensitive acceleration in a racing game, etc., but it hasn't been used by developers becasue it reduces the market the game can reach. I see both the new motion controllers suffering the same fate, working well with the little software that supports them but being ultimately forgotten.

It certainly seems like good tech for gaming, especially if you combine it with a control setup like Wii to accommodate all forms of gaming. In particular, RTS games would be fantastic with the motion camera, being able to group and command units on the fly using your hands and voice, a lot like that concept video Ubisoft showed off during their press conference.

I think the main difference between the Wii's motion controls and the other two is console focus. 360 and PS3 have both focused on classic controls, and established an audience around those types of controls, while Nintendo established their console based on motion controls. While developers just about have to use motion controls on Wii, the motion controllers on the other systems are basically just peripherals, and are much less likely to receive support from developers.

A better comparison to draw is between the 360 and PS3 motion controls and Nintendo's balance board. Even though Wii Fit has sold exceptionally well, most developers are not using the balance board for their games, unless they are making a Wii Fit ripoff. Even if both Natal and PS3 Wand sell, I doubt developers will be willing to invest much effort towards them when they can easily make a classically controlled game that will sell better.

Even if Nintendo made a phone, I doubt it would ever make it out of Japan. I would much prefer keeping my phone and portable gaming separate, personally.

The trailer has since been replaced by a nicer one. Still nothing game changing though.

I think it is designed to be a slower, more tactical experience, going for more of a blow for blow defensive game than a combo entrenched fighter. However, the trailer left me feeling very "meh" all around, just not my type of game.

I need more Wii points...

This should work on GC games as well, since the classic controller's signals are probably just being converted to their GC counterparts. Not particularly useful, but still cool, especially for GC games that need a good Dpad.

I agree with several of the comments here. I personally didn't buy the game for several reasons. First and fore-most, I'm not a huge fan of racing games. I've got Exite Truck from launch and Mario Kart Double Dash, both of which play just fine on my Wii. While it certainly looks like Exitebots is an improvement over truck, it just isn't enough to warrant buying another arcade style racer at this point. There have also been some really good Wii games released in the last few months, and even more in the coming months, and it just isn't in my budget to buy this game. With the economy, I imagine there are plenty of other people who are having to ration their gaming dollars at the moment, and with games like The Conduit, Wii Sports Resort, and Little King's Story, this game had a lot of competition for my $50.

As for general reasons it didn't sell, I think the big ones are a lack of marketing push, the overall style of the game, and the slower selling nature of Wii games to begin with. I imagine when kids are getting out of school for summer and next Christmas roll around, people will be looking at this game and the extra Wii Wheel that is packaged with some of them and pick it up for a lower price.

Its the sequel the Dragon Blade, Wrath of Fire.

Fish Sword, Trickle of Water.

That sounds really awesome, I can't wait to see some gameplay and find out how well everything works.

Wii Motion plus is a device plugged into the bottom of the Wiimote that increases its ability to determine motion.

Speaking technically, the current Wiimote has two sensors it uses, the IR camera on the front and an accelerometer built inside. The IR camera tracks IR light produced by the sensor bar to establish what you are pointing the wiimote at, and the accelerometer detects what direction the Wiimote is tilted as well as the force of movements such as swinging motions. However, the accelerometer inside the Wiimote is not capable of understanding both tilt and swing force at the same time.

Wii Sports baseball illustrates this point. Before you swing, you can twist of spin your bat by moving the Wiimote, but when you make a quick swing motion, the game plays a canned swing animation, not following the actual motion for the Wiimote.

What WMP does is add a gyroscope to the Wiimote. This gyroscope picks up the tilt of the Wiimote, but is not effected by swinging, allowing the accelerometers of the Wiimote to focus solely on swing speed and power. This means that Wii games can now incorporate both kinds of motion at once, which was impossible for the regular Wiimote, allowing for close to 1:1 motion in games designed for it.

This has no effect on older games and also does not effect the nunchuck, which picks up motion with its own built-in accelerometer.

Just get Nintendo to bundle it with the game. There doing it for EA, I'm sure they'd do it for Ubisoft as well.

And Red Steel was not bad because of the Wiimote, it was bad because their was no debugging on the later levels, and the game design overall was flawed. The sword play perhaps, but you cannot blame the glitchy IR or the terrible bounding box idea on the Wiimote.

People have also had a longer period of time to go back to games like CoD or NMH. Personally, I've only played through MadWorld once so far, but definitely plan to go back through the entire game later on.

If you want to see battle footage, just pop in Diamond/Pearl. It's going to be (basically) the same thing I bet.

Moar 2D Megaman CAPCOM!