I think the DMCA (or similar law) requires that a company continue to make available digital purchases (if under DRM) for a customer, or if unable provide a way for them to back up their purchases and disable the DRM.
This is why when Sony disabled PSP eShop access, you can still backup and download your digital purchases from your computer or a PS3.
Not to say that eventually as contracts expire the eShop will lose most 3rd party content, (but you'll still be able to download purchases).
This is also why Nintendo's approach will cost them, Sony at least incurs less maintenance b/c PS Store is just one service for all their stuff, and you can buy and download via a PC, so they don't need to support the PSV and PS3 Direct access any longer than necessary.
They'd almost save money in the long run if they updated everyone's legacy accounts to allow them to directly manage via web browser, and download straight to an SD card.
Is there anything stopping American Nindies from just approaching Nintendo of Europe instead? (And then approach NoA after its been released in Europe)
@MegaVel91 yeah its a time honored tactic kids do, try to make mom feel bad for not getting them a toy. Now the kids' mom has to deal with everyone around her complimenting her kid and asking when she's going to buy the kid a switch.
The kid should be grounded, if he had the free time to do that, he could've been helping around the house.
I'll wait and see, if its a physical release in Japan, they might still put the english ROMS on it for 1 and 2.
(I am Setsuna has the english text in the switch JPN physical).
Even if not, they all have very simple stories you can read online. The multiplayer gameplay will still be fun, even if its japanese. All the important menus are ring menus with icons. So I might just get the JPN release.
It is INCREDIBLY DOUBTFUL either SD3 or Secret of Evermore will get released on the switch. At least not by July, we'd be hearing trademark and ESRB ratings for both. The other two already have that in the US due to the phone and VC releases over the years.
The only way flash-carts would cut RAM requirements is IF they were fast enough that you could access the data directly without first putting it in system RAM.
Its not a mistake, Nintendo doesn't make much profit from the special edition. They make more profit from digital sales. This is why they often make a minimum production order to get product in stores... but its for advertising. Special Editions are a form of enticement to create a large initial install base.
The REAL mistake are retailers who open preorders well before they know how many they are getting in.
Nintendo is not going to change, in fact I suspect with the NX physical stock will be even more limited, as I said they make the most profit via digital sales.
@yorumi I read her paper, its mostly about not criminalizing possession. I don't agree with her fully, but I don't think her views should have any impact on her job unless she was expressing them as Nintendo's views.
I sort of agree in part to Rapp's stance. Criminalizing possession already causes a LOT of problems with expression unrelated to child abuse. (Sexting amongst teenagers for example) It should be treated the same as someone posting a video of them murdering a person, documentation of a crime committed, and a civil issue in that distributing something with a person w/o consent. Along with existing laws that prevent distribution and showing of obscene media (Miller Test).
That would still allow prosecution of child abuse and have the same amount of prevention against real child pornography.
@BulbasaurusRex I'll have to disagree. If NoA really feels Americans are too stupid for a touching game, they should not have localized this game in the first place. You shouldn't compromise, this trend of censoring out the more uncomfortable aspects of Japanese games does more harm then simply not bringing them over in the first place.
It makes a statement of what is acceptable and what is not in games, and I'm sorry but for games to be taken seriously as an art form, everything must be acceptable.
@RatKing64 Then they should not have brought it over, removing the skinship will reduce the amount of their core audience who will just buy the Japanese version.
The problem lies in context, normalizing a very japanese joke or reference in mario or zelda might make sense, however Fatal Frame was a mature niche title, so it was foolish to anger the handful of people that would buy the game. Its saying we're not mature enough to understand cultural difference.
It would be like localizing Huckleberry Finn and removing all references that Jim was a slave.
Fire Emblem is a tactical RPG, almost everyone buying it understands its a game from a different culture. Removing it insults our intelligence.
When you remove/water-down sexual themes in a game for the American Market it reduces any likelihood we'll get decent mature sexual games like Catherine ever again.
I almost think Nintendo would be better suited to having a mature titles label like Disney has with Touchstone. Then they don't have to worry so much if a mature japanese game released under this imprint has a bit of ecchi.
@Pandaman, it needs that stuff because thats the only way you sell things in Japan, you need to pander to the otaku crowd.
@ollietaro look here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y0aMm2Yasg I've only played the GC, Wii, and the 3DS Fire Emblem games, but FE as a whole seems more similar to Tactics Ogre/FF Tactics (or conversely they are similar to FE). The classic Langrisser series (1-2,4-5) is not like any other tactical RPG I can think of.
Depends on how it plays out, Langrisser has always looked dated. But its a very different game (at least 1,2,DL, 4, 5 were). You usually have longer battles with the PC's being super powered general units, and between 4-10 extra army units that you use. The scale is vastly increased (1000s of units sometimes are on a given map).
I recommend trying out Warsong (the first one), or via emulation: Der Langrisser (enhanced SNES remake of the 2nd one) and Langrisser IV.
o.0 If Nintendo bought Atlus/Sega, you can kiss most of the niche japanese titles good bye.
Sega has always been mismanaged. They floated water because during the Genesis days they had Kalinske, but they pissed that away, got bailed out. They had talented developers, some of the best in the industry, but many of them have moved on.
Personally I think their parent company should break Sega up, make small companies that focus on game development with low management overhead.
Part of the problem is no major company wants to be the ones to have the court decide if 1000 year old half-naked lolis getting spanked is considered child porn.
So, if they can they censor the game, but sometimes the small fan base wants the game so they can spank 1000 yr old lolis.
Hence sometimes thats why a game is not brought over, not worth the negative publicity.
Do remember, Japan already considers video games as porn, which is why they get away with more than the we do. OTOH, because Americans consider video games as toys, some things are just never going to be allowed, and could even make a company blacklisted.
Also, some Voice Actress companies don't want their idol's image tarnished by having filthy gaijin hear her voice. (Which is more shameful than voicing a video game).
The best option IMHO would be is architect the next gen's game API so that people (fans) or companies can easily just put in a text file containing translations similar to how you can designate a text file for subtitles in dvd and blu ray.
Final Fantasy Tactics sold for $50 in 1998 (I think) is $73 today.
Sometimes I think part of the reason quality in games or length or depth has gone down is that... cost to make a game rises, but cost to sell a game hasn't gone up with inflation all that much.
Popular games can offset that by selling lots of games. But there is a reason niche genres feel like they have stayed behind.
Heck I would pay $100 for an HD Fire Emblem on the WiiU.
I think one problem is that the outdoor textures don't look better. I could tell the indoor textures and the characters looked clearer. But then the outdoor ones of the grass which are flat... did not look that different.
Even so, if they add WiiU controller support like they did for WW, thats still valuable.
They might make a FF7 port to the 3DS. Considering that Sony is abandoning the vita and the japanese love their handhelds, putting a FF7 port on 3ds might make sense.
Its like crossing the street, if everyone followed the rules and did the right thing, you should be able to just walk across a crosswalk without looking.
But guess what, irregardless if the driver is in the wrong... you still look both ways, because you can't trust other people to do the right thing. The only person's behavior you have control over is yourself.
@yorumi @russellohh Enough women get that treatment. At least enough that its a very high possibility for a woman hanging out by herself in a Bioshock T-shirt is going to have her hackles rise if a gamer approaches her. It also means enough women (and some men) are reluctant to admit to being a gamer.
Its guys like that which caused me to hide my hobby. I almost never tell women that I play video games, even if they do. For man my age playing video games is like porn, it is something you hide under the bed, and don't mention in polite company. ( And at the office you're supposed to pretend that you like the Red Sox, the Patriots, and Sam Addams, anything else could possibly offend someone so you can't mention it.)
Granted, because of the 10 out of 1,000 its generally better and nicer to just give a woman exactly what a man gets... A ride on the T without a single person noticing or talking to you. The ability to just walk into barnes and noble and buy that Sailor Moon manga you say is "for your niece", without anyone interrupting you and making you late, because its rude to just say "Sorry, I have to go now."
@russellohh, those poor sods haven't learned that just because a girl plays games doesn't mean they have any extra chance at picking her up. I blame ROM/COMs that encourage the idea of making a connection based on a niche interest. That and families/schools not instructing young men to just leave women alone.
As someone who is in his mid thirties, what I have noticed is that while... men and women my age (gamer or not) still view gaming as a nerd thing.
Men and Women in their early twenties I have noticed don't have the same viewpoint, gaming is just a thing now.
@Darknyht in the US there is no difference legally between a 13 yo and a 15 yo. So I think the aging was foolish.
I do find it disturbing that polygonal bathing suits are considered adult now (yes the design is very risque). Child Porn laws were intended to protect children from being exploited, and while they don't require nudity, (and in theory if you are famous enough... you can get away with nude photos of children).
AFAIK, these costumes were fan-service optional unlocks with no sexual context. I think NOJ would have been wiser to have made these suits at least more appropriate to each wearer (and personality). (Momo from Xenosaga had for instance a more normal suit IIRC)
But, by censoring these... and Bravely Default, etc. Its setting a dangerous president that non sexual bathing suits are porn.
Not only that, but there is no harm here, most of us can just choose not to put said girl in said costume. And even if there is someone with a box of kleenex for said girl... so what? She's polygons. Not that I think its a good idea to make material specifically for that purpose. At the same time... this could lead to people thinking kids swimsuits in a K-Mart flyer is child porn.
This is why people need to speak up, enabling the president of censoring non harmful content... simply because it might be offensive allows for further censorship.
o.0 Why not just give her a more standard bathing suit o.0 The bikini over armor is just really stupid looking.
As for increasing age from 13 to 15 why? Anything under 18 is dangerous in the US. If her dialog and actions reflect a 13 year old, making her 15 would be really, really dumb.
As for sexualization: If you put a 13 or 15 year old girl in a game, she will be sexualized even if she's wearing a frumpy sweater and sweat pants.
I prefer physical. I tend to play games I've had for decades. What happens when the WiiU eShop is gone? There's no way to back up a WiiU AFAIK. Hard Drives do fail, and CD/DVD's tend to last longer.
Of course Sony has a good system with the Vita since they let you backup your vita to a computer, and restore from it selectively.
@IceClimbers, they should just charge $120 and give a premium experience. ($60 in 1990 is around $120 now). I would pay $120 for a game with a manual, that had the content of a 90's game with todays graphics.
@maukenboost, nope as other people have pointed out. By and large Nintendo is the worst platform for third party games. Irregardless of compatibility and power, the mere presence of their first party games reduces sales of third party games.
Its in their best interest to force Nintendo out of the industry. (Not our best interest mind you)
@maukenboost Exactly, markets favor a coke/pepsi system. Nintendo is never going to get 3rd party support. Not unless they managed to make a system that got 2nd or 1st place by a large enough margin; AND had better specs AND was easy to port to AND used a normal controller AND more importantly NINTENDO STOPPED MAKING THIER FIRST PARTY GAMES.
Nintendo is better off making a high spec system for a high price but placing it in the sharper image crowd. And then with one system they can focus on making high quality games for it. They won't get third parties, casuals and kids will never play their systems ever again.
They have two choices: (1) Focus on their core supporters. (2) Make pachinko machines. They will never get 3rd party support, and even if they beat M$ and Sony... they'll just be counted as their own unique market.
1. Again x86 would actually hurt them I think. Nintendo can't afford to break backwards compatibility with at least the 3DS. The only issue between x86, ARM and PPC is endian-ness which is only important when you need to compare binary data from different machines on different architectures. Very few games use assembly anymore, its all C++.
2. The game industry (3rd parties included) benefit more from Sony/Microsoft dominating the console race. a.) They don't like competing with Nintendo games. b.) Nintendo is harder to work with then Sony/M$, c.) Hence, I doubt 3rd parties will really support a Nintendo console no matter what they do, its in their best interests for Nintendo to fail.
@Darknyht Yes, but we seem to have a horde of metroid fans who are offended that someone might suggest that the zero suit is not perfectly in theme with this game. And I've been letting myself get trapped in "Someone is wrong on the interent!"
@BakaKnight Removing the costumes from the game doesn't make the game less sexist, the creators added them in the original, which reflects their sexism. NoA removes them reflecting their own variant of sexism.
The right thing would have been to not create the alternate costumes in the first place.
@ralizah Metroid is science fiction, Fatal Frame is a ghost story. Putting in random science fiction elements into a ghost story usually makes no sense especially as a random costume unlock.
Just stop for a moment and reflect... isolate the fan-boy emotions relating to Metroid... and imagine if this were a movie where samus randomly shows up out of nowhere with no explanation in a ghost story. Once you've done that... it sounds ridiculous right?
Now think about a ghost story where the leading lady ends up randomly just wearing her underwear... sure there's the fanservice alert going off, and it leaves a bad taste as bad writing... but I'm sure you've seen a movie that's done that.
Imagine if Sixth Sense ended with Samus just randomly opening the door and zapping Bruce Willis.
@SamirMalik o.0 vulnerability is a huge part of horror. The best horror is all about empathy. Not saying this costume adds anything to this particular game. But... underwear is a horror trope, so its at least thematic... samus and zelda are not, Samus fought aliens, is a bounty hunter, is all about empowerment; completely at odds with a horror game. (This is why Resident Evil has failed in recent games).
@Donutman It depends on the reason. If someone values the principal of anti-censorship no matter the content, then I respect them for not compromising. I really doubt anyone in the states buying this would buy it just for the underwear costume. But I could see some not buying hoping a LOT of people refused to buy it as an anti-censorship protest.
Of course, those people assume NOA is intelligent, in reality what will happen if anything is NOA will just not bring over ANYTHING if it required censoring.
( And if for some far-fetched reason people just outright boycotted Nintendo until they brought games over to the US... NOJ would just shrug... and shut NOA down and not really care. Do remember Japanese companies don't really care about anything outside of Japan).
@SamirMalik, the zero suit looks utterly ridiculous, which is fine. I have nothing against an optional ridiculous suit.
But seriously, have you not watched horror films? A very common theme is a woman waking up in underwear, walking to the window or trying to turn the light on, and BOOM killed by the slasher, or forced to run away. Gothic fiction which is the forerunner of horror was very clear to its audience of the sexual danger that the heroine was in.
And again considering this is a game for Adults, and the outfit was an option, all Nintendo is doing is making themselves look more foolish than the Japanese team that added the option in the first place.
Because, when kids get old enough to have input they want what the adults are playing. And Parents usually don't want to spend the money... so until they get old enough to squawk about what they want... whatever system is lying around is good enough to keep the kid occupied.
I also think the video game audience is shrinking, kids have other entertainments they find more compelling.
Considering how M$ is trying to get people back to XB1 with BC, I can't imagine Nintendo not offering it, at least for the handheld version (ARM is still the leading portable chip... heck iPhones use a variant of ARM IIRC).
As for the Wii/WiiU compatibility, I hope they put that in. It would let them sell their existing WiiU games for the NX.
I mean... ease of development isn't about processor architecture, nobody programs in assembly anymore, its all about libraries and engines. The Wii and WiiU were difficult because they used a different control scheme. (Remember Xbox 360 was the easiest of last gen to port PC games to... and it used a PPC chip).
If they have the same OS for both, and it compiles to a FAT binary (like the universal apps on OSX did), they could use ARM for the handheld and PPC for the main machine and achieve their goals.
You can still make it like the 3ds, the WiiU Shop Wii titles prove that Nintendo can wrap a Wii game in a Wii-Mode launcher.
Also, had they instead wrapped each wii app you imported from the wii into a sandboxed self-contained launcher; you wouldn't be able to use homebrew inside wii-mode.
It makes sense remaking zelda on the wiiu, if any game/franchise really has a use for the controller its Zelda. Windwaker is amazing on WiiU. I'd love to see Twilight Princess updated for WiiU.
Granted, I'd love to see them fix the Wii-Mode so we can just launch Wii games directly from the WiiU menu and return back to the WiiU menu like the 3DS.
Comments 204
Re: Wii U OS Version 5.5.2 Is Now Live
@BornInNorway81I can't seem to find it
Re: Wii U OS Version 5.5.2 Is Now Live
I think the DMCA (or similar law) requires that a company continue to make available digital purchases (if under DRM) for a customer, or if unable provide a way for them to back up their purchases and disable the DRM.
This is why when Sony disabled PSP eShop access, you can still backup and download your digital purchases from your computer or a PS3.
Not to say that eventually as contracts expire the eShop will lose most 3rd party content, (but you'll still be able to download purchases).
This is also why Nintendo's approach will cost them, Sony at least incurs less maintenance b/c PS Store is just one service for all their stuff, and you can buy and download via a PC, so they don't need to support the PSV and PS3 Direct access any longer than necessary.
They'd almost save money in the long run if they updated everyone's legacy accounts to allow them to directly manage via web browser, and download straight to an SD card.
Re: Feature: The Growing Pains of Curation on the Nintendo Switch eShop
Is there anything stopping American Nindies from just approaching Nintendo of Europe instead? (And then approach NoA after its been released in Europe)
Re: Random: Japanese Kid Crafts Cardboard Nintendo Switch After Mother Refuses To Buy Him One
@MegaVel91 yeah its a time honored tactic kids do, try to make mom feel bad for not getting them a toy. Now the kids' mom has to deal with everyone around her complimenting her kid and asking when she's going to buy the kid a switch.
The kid should be grounded, if he had the free time to do that, he could've been helping around the house.
Re: Random: Japanese Kid Crafts Cardboard Nintendo Switch After Mother Refuses To Buy Him One
@Nintendoforlife, either way, considering how the kid is trying to shame his parents into getting him a switch, he should be grounded.
Re: Seiken Densetsu Collection Announced For Nintendo Switch
I'll wait and see, if its a physical release in Japan, they might still put the english ROMS on it for 1 and 2.
(I am Setsuna has the english text in the switch JPN physical).
Even if not, they all have very simple stories you can read online. The multiplayer gameplay will still be fun, even if its japanese. All the important menus are ring menus with icons. So I might just get the JPN release.
It is INCREDIBLY DOUBTFUL either SD3 or Secret of Evermore will get released on the switch. At least not by July, we'd be hearing trademark and ESRB ratings for both. The other two already have that in the US due to the phone and VC releases over the years.
Re: Nintendo Switch to Reportedly Include 4GB of RAM
The only way flash-carts would cut RAM requirements is IF they were fast enough that you could access the data directly without first putting it in system RAM.
Re: Review: Langrisser Re:Incarnation Tensei (3DS)
Other BIG problem, earlier games in the series you would have 5-10 mercenaries. In this one, its just a lousy one or two.
I'd recommend anyone to checkout Warsong (Genesis), Der Langrisser (SNES) and Langirssier IV (Playstation or Saturn). Those three games are amazing.
Re: Some Unlucky Fire Emblem Fates Customer Have Their Special Edition Pre-Orders Cancelled
@Lunarsickness
Its not a mistake, Nintendo doesn't make much profit from the special edition. They make more profit from digital sales. This is why they often make a minimum production order to get product in stores... but its for advertising. Special Editions are a form of enticement to create a large initial install base.
The REAL mistake are retailers who open preorders well before they know how many they are getting in.
Nintendo is not going to change, in fact I suspect with the NX physical stock will be even more limited, as I said they make the most profit via digital sales.
Re: International Game Developers Association Issues Critical Statement Over Nintendo and Alison Rapp
@yorumi I read her paper, its mostly about not criminalizing possession. I don't agree with her fully, but I don't think her views should have any impact on her job unless she was expressing them as Nintendo's views.
Re: International Game Developers Association Issues Critical Statement Over Nintendo and Alison Rapp
I sort of agree in part to Rapp's stance. Criminalizing possession already causes a LOT of problems with expression unrelated to child abuse. (Sexting amongst teenagers for example) It should be treated the same as someone posting a video of them murdering a person, documentation of a crime committed, and a civil issue in that distributing something with a person w/o consent. Along with existing laws that prevent distribution and showing of obscene media (Miller Test).
That would still allow prosecution of child abuse and have the same amount of prevention against real child pornography.
Re: Editorial: Game Localisation Isn't Just About Preserving The 'Pure' Original
@BulbasaurusRex I'll have to disagree. If NoA really feels Americans are too stupid for a touching game, they should not have localized this game in the first place. You shouldn't compromise, this trend of censoring out the more uncomfortable aspects of Japanese games does more harm then simply not bringing them over in the first place.
It makes a statement of what is acceptable and what is not in games, and I'm sorry but for games to be taken seriously as an art form, everything must be acceptable.
@RatKing64 Then they should not have brought it over, removing the skinship will reduce the amount of their core audience who will just buy the Japanese version.
Re: Editorial: Game Localisation Isn't Just About Preserving The 'Pure' Original
The problem lies in context, normalizing a very japanese joke or reference in mario or zelda might make sense, however Fatal Frame was a mature niche title, so it was foolish to anger the handful of people that would buy the game. Its saying we're not mature enough to understand cultural difference.
It would be like localizing Huckleberry Finn and removing all references that Jim was a slave.
Fire Emblem is a tactical RPG, almost everyone buying it understands its a game from a different culture. Removing it insults our intelligence.
When you remove/water-down sexual themes in a game for the American Market it reduces any likelihood we'll get decent mature sexual games like Catherine ever again.
I almost think Nintendo would be better suited to having a mature titles label like Disney has with Touchstone. Then they don't have to worry so much if a mature japanese game released under this imprint has a bit of ecchi.
@Pandaman, it needs that stuff because thats the only way you sell things in Japan, you need to pander to the otaku crowd.
Re: Langrisser Re:Incarnation Tensei Dated For a 19th April Release in the West
@reionpremente I actually recently bought the japanese 1,2,4 and 5 on PC Engine, PC-FX, and Saturn.
I suspect if they did bring them over it would be the PC versions.
Re: Langrisser Re:Incarnation Tensei Dated For a 19th April Release in the West
@ollietaro look here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y0aMm2Yasg
I've only played the GC, Wii, and the 3DS Fire Emblem games, but FE as a whole seems more similar to Tactics Ogre/FF Tactics (or conversely they are similar to FE).
The classic Langrisser series (1-2,4-5) is not like any other tactical RPG I can think of.
Re: Langrisser Re:Incarnation Tensei Dated For a 19th April Release in the West
Depends on how it plays out, Langrisser has always looked dated. But its a very different game (at least 1,2,DL, 4, 5 were). You usually have longer battles with the PC's being super powered general units, and between 4-10 extra army units that you use. The scale is vastly increased (1000s of units sometimes are on a given map).
I recommend trying out Warsong (the first one), or via emulation: Der Langrisser (enhanced SNES remake of the 2nd one) and Langrisser IV.
Re: Sega Slashes Full-Year Net Profit Projection By 90 Percent
o.0 If Nintendo bought Atlus/Sega, you can kiss most of the niche japanese titles good bye.
Sega has always been mismanaged. They floated water because during the Genesis days they had Kalinske, but they pissed that away, got bailed out. They had talented developers, some of the best in the industry, but many of them have moved on.
Personally I think their parent company should break Sega up, make small companies that focus on game development with low management overhead.
And fire all their incompetent managers.
Re: Chris Pranger From Nintendo Treehouse Discusses Harsh Realities Of Localisation
Part of the problem is no major company wants to be the ones to have the court decide if 1000 year old half-naked lolis getting spanked is considered child porn.
So, if they can they censor the game, but sometimes the small fan base wants the game so they can spank 1000 yr old lolis.
Hence sometimes thats why a game is not brought over, not worth the negative publicity.
Do remember, Japan already considers video games as porn, which is why they get away with more than the we do. OTOH, because Americans consider video games as toys, some things are just never going to be allowed, and could even make a company blacklisted.
Also, some Voice Actress companies don't want their idol's image tarnished by having filthy gaijin hear her voice. (Which is more shameful than voicing a video game).
The best option IMHO would be is architect the next gen's game API so that people (fans) or companies can easily just put in a text file containing translations similar to how you can designate a text file for subtitles in dvd and blu ray.
Re: Video: Check Out a Graphical Comparison for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD
Well Zelda works really well with 2 screens, one to show the action, the other for the map/inventory.
I actually wish they would release Zelda and Link to the Past with that setup.
Re: Fire Emblem Fates Releases In North America On 19th February, Special Triple Edition Also Confirmed
Especially if it came with a nice manual....
Re: Fire Emblem Fates Releases In North America On 19th February, Special Triple Edition Also Confirmed
Final Fantasy Tactics sold for $50 in 1998 (I think) is $73 today.
Sometimes I think part of the reason quality in games or length or depth has gone down is that... cost to make a game rises, but cost to sell a game hasn't gone up with inflation all that much.
Popular games can offset that by selling lots of games. But there is a reason niche genres feel like they have stayed behind.
Heck I would pay $100 for an HD Fire Emblem on the WiiU.
Re: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Is Receiving A High-Definition Face Lift
I think one problem is that the outdoor textures don't look better. I could tell the indoor textures and the characters looked clearer. But then the outdoor ones of the grass which are flat... did not look that different.
Even so, if they add WiiU controller support like they did for WW, thats still valuable.
Re: Final Fantasy's Cloud Is Set To Cause Some Strife In Super Smash Bros. On Wii U And 3DS
They might make a FF7 port to the 3DS. Considering that Sony is abandoning the vita and the japanese love their handhelds, putting a FF7 port on 3ds might make sense.
Re: More North American Women Own A Games Console Than Men
@Yorumi Right or wrong doesn't matter here.
Its like crossing the street, if everyone followed the rules and did the right thing, you should be able to just walk across a crosswalk without looking.
But guess what, irregardless if the driver is in the wrong... you still look both ways, because you can't trust other people to do the right thing. The only person's behavior you have control over is yourself.
Re: More North American Women Own A Games Console Than Men
@yorumi @russellohh Enough women get that treatment. At least enough that its a very high possibility for a woman hanging out by herself in a Bioshock T-shirt is going to have her hackles rise if a gamer approaches her. It also means enough women (and some men) are reluctant to admit to being a gamer.
Its guys like that which caused me to hide my hobby. I almost never tell women that I play video games, even if they do. For man my age playing video games is like porn, it is something you hide under the bed, and don't mention in polite company. ( And at the office you're supposed to pretend that you like the Red Sox, the Patriots, and Sam Addams, anything else could possibly offend someone so you can't mention it.)
Granted, because of the 10 out of 1,000 its generally better and nicer to just give a woman exactly what a man gets... A ride on the T without a single person noticing or talking to you. The ability to just walk into barnes and noble and buy that Sailor Moon manga you say is "for your niece", without anyone interrupting you and making you late, because its rude to just say "Sorry, I have to go now."
Re: More North American Women Own A Games Console Than Men
@russellohh, those poor sods haven't learned that just because a girl plays games doesn't mean they have any extra chance at picking her up. I blame ROM/COMs that encourage the idea of making a connection based on a niche interest. That and families/schools not instructing young men to just leave women alone.
As someone who is in his mid thirties, what I have noticed is that while... men and women my age (gamer or not) still view gaming as a nerd thing.
Men and Women in their early twenties I have noticed don't have the same viewpoint, gaming is just a thing now.
Re: Nintendo Is Making Female Characters Cover Up For The Western Version Of Xenoblade Chronicles X
@Darknyht in the US there is no difference legally between a 13 yo and a 15 yo. So I think the aging was foolish.
I do find it disturbing that polygonal bathing suits are considered adult now (yes the design is very risque). Child Porn laws were intended to protect children from being exploited, and while they don't require nudity, (and in theory if you are famous enough... you can get away with nude photos of children).
AFAIK, these costumes were fan-service optional unlocks with no sexual context. I think NOJ would have been wiser to have made these suits at least more appropriate to each wearer (and personality). (Momo from Xenosaga had for instance a more normal suit IIRC)
But, by censoring these... and Bravely Default, etc. Its setting a dangerous president that non sexual bathing suits are porn.
Not only that, but there is no harm here, most of us can just choose not to put said girl in said costume. And even if there is someone with a box of kleenex for said girl... so what? She's polygons. Not that I think its a good idea to make material specifically for that purpose. At the same time... this could lead to people thinking kids swimsuits in a K-Mart flyer is child porn.
This is why people need to speak up, enabling the president of censoring non harmful content... simply because it might be offensive allows for further censorship.
Re: Nintendo Is Making Female Characters Cover Up For The Western Version Of Xenoblade Chronicles X
o.0 Why not just give her a more standard bathing suit o.0 The bikini over armor is just really stupid looking.
As for increasing age from 13 to 15 why? Anything under 18 is dangerous in the US. If her dialog and actions reflect a 13 year old, making her 15 would be really, really dumb.
As for sexualization: If you put a 13 or 15 year old girl in a game, she will be sexualized even if she's wearing a frumpy sweater and sweat pants.
Re: Sonic The Hedgehog Titles Being Pulled From The Wii Virtual Console
It might be Sega signed some exculsivity contract for Sonic 1 & Sonic 2, so they have to pull the titles from every store except that one.
Re: Interview: Localization Specialist Thomas Lipshultz on Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale
@Jordie you can always get a taste by getting the PSP game. You have to get the UMD, as there is no US PSN release for it
But the PSP game is amazing!
Re: Poll: The Tricky Issue of Retail Games as Download-Only Releases
I prefer physical. I tend to play games I've had for decades. What happens when the WiiU eShop is gone? There's no way to back up a WiiU AFAIK. Hard Drives do fail, and CD/DVD's tend to last longer.
Of course Sony has a good system with the Vita since they let you backup your vita to a computer, and restore from it selectively.
Re: Aonuma Talks the Legend of Zelda's 30th Anniversary, Working as Fast as Possible on Zelda U
Having a dual platform NX/Wii U Zelda might be good for the NX launch.
OTOH, if NX was WiiU compatible... then it might not be as important as say... a Metroid title at NX launch.
Of course... they also need smash bros and mario kart at NX launch.
And if they can get dragon quest, and the latest shooter games for battlefield and COD at launch that might be good.
Re: Talking Point: Five Key Challenges Nintendo Faces with the NX
@IceClimbers, they should just charge $120 and give a premium experience. ($60 in 1990 is around $120 now). I would pay $120 for a game with a manual, that had the content of a 90's game with todays graphics.
Re: Talking Point: Five Key Challenges Nintendo Faces with the NX
@maukenboost, nope as other people have pointed out. By and large Nintendo is the worst platform for third party games. Irregardless of compatibility and power, the mere presence of their first party games reduces sales of third party games.
Its in their best interest to force Nintendo out of the industry. (Not our best interest mind you)
Re: Talking Point: Five Key Challenges Nintendo Faces with the NX
@maukenboost Exactly, markets favor a coke/pepsi system. Nintendo is never going to get 3rd party support. Not unless they managed to make a system that got 2nd or 1st place by a large enough margin; AND had better specs AND was easy to port to AND used a normal controller AND more importantly NINTENDO STOPPED MAKING THIER FIRST PARTY GAMES.
Nintendo is better off making a high spec system for a high price but placing it in the sharper image crowd. And then with one system they can focus on making high quality games for it. They won't get third parties, casuals and kids will never play their systems ever again.
They have two choices: (1) Focus on their core supporters. (2) Make pachinko machines. They will never get 3rd party support, and even if they beat M$ and Sony... they'll just be counted as their own unique market.
Re: International Age Rating Coalition System, IARC, Set to Come to the eShop "Very Soon"
I thought it cost around $5000 to get an ESRB rating.
Re: Talking Point: Five Key Challenges Nintendo Faces with the NX
1. Again x86 would actually hurt them I think. Nintendo can't afford to break backwards compatibility with at least the 3DS. The only issue between x86, ARM and PPC is endian-ness which is only important when you need to compare binary data from different machines on different architectures. Very few games use assembly anymore, its all C++.
2. The game industry (3rd parties included) benefit more from Sony/Microsoft dominating the console race. a.) They don't like competing with Nintendo games. b.) Nintendo is harder to work with then Sony/M$, c.) Hence, I doubt 3rd parties will really support a Nintendo console no matter what they do, its in their best interests for Nintendo to fail.
Re: Yes, Fatal Frame's Lingerie Outfits Have Been Removed From The Western Version
@Darknyht Yes, but we seem to have a horde of metroid fans who are offended that someone might suggest that the zero suit is not perfectly in theme with this game. And I've been letting myself get trapped in "Someone is wrong on the interent!"
Re: Yes, Fatal Frame's Lingerie Outfits Have Been Removed From The Western Version
@BakaKnight Removing the costumes from the game doesn't make the game less sexist, the creators added them in the original, which reflects their sexism. NoA removes them reflecting their own variant of sexism.
The right thing would have been to not create the alternate costumes in the first place.
Re: Yes, Fatal Frame's Lingerie Outfits Have Been Removed From The Western Version
@ralizah Metroid is science fiction, Fatal Frame is a ghost story. Putting in random science fiction elements into a ghost story usually makes no sense especially as a random costume unlock.
Just stop for a moment and reflect... isolate the fan-boy emotions relating to Metroid... and imagine if this were a movie where samus randomly shows up out of nowhere with no explanation in a ghost story. Once you've done that... it sounds ridiculous right?
Now think about a ghost story where the leading lady ends up randomly just wearing her underwear... sure there's the fanservice alert going off, and it leaves a bad taste as bad writing... but I'm sure you've seen a movie that's done that.
Imagine if Sixth Sense ended with Samus just randomly opening the door and zapping Bruce Willis.
Re: Yes, Fatal Frame's Lingerie Outfits Have Been Removed From The Western Version
@SamirMalik o.0 vulnerability is a huge part of horror. The best horror is all about empathy. Not saying this costume adds anything to this particular game. But... underwear is a horror trope, so its at least thematic... samus and zelda are not, Samus fought aliens, is a bounty hunter, is all about empowerment; completely at odds with a horror game. (This is why Resident Evil has failed in recent games).
@Donutman It depends on the reason. If someone values the principal of anti-censorship no matter the content, then I respect them for not compromising. I really doubt anyone in the states buying this would buy it just for the underwear costume. But I could see some not buying hoping a LOT of people refused to buy it as an anti-censorship protest.
Of course, those people assume NOA is intelligent, in reality what will happen if anything is NOA will just not bring over ANYTHING if it required censoring.
( And if for some far-fetched reason people just outright boycotted Nintendo until they brought games over to the US... NOJ would just shrug... and shut NOA down and not really care. Do remember Japanese companies don't really care about anything outside of Japan).
Re: Yes, Fatal Frame's Lingerie Outfits Have Been Removed From The Western Version
@SamirMalik, the zero suit looks utterly ridiculous, which is fine. I have nothing against an optional ridiculous suit.
But seriously, have you not watched horror films? A very common theme is a woman waking up in underwear, walking to the window or trying to turn the light on, and BOOM killed by the slasher, or forced to run away. Gothic fiction which is the forerunner of horror was very clear to its audience of the sexual danger that the heroine was in.
And again considering this is a game for Adults, and the outfit was an option, all Nintendo is doing is making themselves look more foolish than the Japanese team that added the option in the first place.
Re: Yes, Fatal Frame's Lingerie Outfits Have Been Removed From The Western Version
Actually, its more thematic to horror and gothic horror to have the heroine in underwear than... samus/zelda suits.
While it does have an erotic undertone, the other aspect is... underwear increases the sense of vulnerability.
Considering this is a M game, I'm not angry, but more of "Really?"
Re: Parent Trap: Does The Wii U Still Make Sense For Families?
Because, when kids get old enough to have input they want what the adults are playing. And Parents usually don't want to spend the money... so until they get old enough to squawk about what they want... whatever system is lying around is good enough to keep the kid occupied.
I also think the video game audience is shrinking, kids have other entertainments they find more compelling.
Re: Sources Suggest Nintendo NX Is A Fusion Of Home And Mobile Hardware Powered By "Industry-Leading" Tech
@Maggots. OSX and iOS are actually the same OS with a different display manager. Modern OS are usually capable of running on multiple architectures.
The main difficulty between iOS and OSX is that the UI is vastly different (Touch based vs mouse based).
Re: Sources Suggest Nintendo NX Is A Fusion Of Home And Mobile Hardware Powered By "Industry-Leading" Tech
Considering how M$ is trying to get people back to XB1 with BC, I can't imagine Nintendo not offering it, at least for the handheld version (ARM is still the leading portable chip... heck iPhones use a variant of ARM IIRC).
As for the Wii/WiiU compatibility, I hope they put that in. It would let them sell their existing WiiU games for the NX.
I mean... ease of development isn't about processor architecture, nobody programs in assembly anymore, its all about libraries and engines. The Wii and WiiU were difficult because they used a different control scheme. (Remember Xbox 360 was the easiest of last gen to port PC games to... and it used a PPC chip).
If they have the same OS for both, and it compiles to a FAT binary (like the universal apps on OSX did), they could use ARM for the handheld and PPC for the main machine and achieve their goals.
Re: Talking Point: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD Would be No Surprise, as Nostalgia Rules for Nintendo
@Xenocity, 3ds has full BC to DS.
As I said Nintendo already proved they can do it with the Wii games on the WiiU E-Shop.
It would be nice if they applied that same wrapper to my Wii-apps so they're all on the same menu.
Re: Talking Point: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD Would be No Surprise, as Nostalgia Rules for Nintendo
You can still make it like the 3ds, the WiiU Shop Wii titles prove that Nintendo can wrap a Wii game in a Wii-Mode launcher.
Also, had they instead wrapped each wii app you imported from the wii into a sandboxed self-contained launcher; you wouldn't be able to use homebrew inside wii-mode.
Re: Talking Point: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD Would be No Surprise, as Nostalgia Rules for Nintendo
It makes sense remaking zelda on the wiiu, if any game/franchise really has a use for the controller its Zelda. Windwaker is amazing on WiiU. I'd love to see Twilight Princess updated for WiiU.
Granted, I'd love to see them fix the Wii-Mode so we can just launch Wii games directly from the WiiU menu and return back to the WiiU menu like the 3DS.
Re: Midora Developer Admits He Knew Kickstarter Funds Wouldn't Be Enough To Complete The Game
On average it seems that a Kickstarter game takes 2-3 years to complete.
Therefore one should be wary of any game that has a low ball funding goal.