Comments 300

Re: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker Joins New Nintendo 3DS at Peak of Japanese Charts

darthllama

@rjejr
PS4 doesn't have as much benefit of the bluray as did the PS3, but having it still helps. It allows people to trade up models without losing an important feature as well as tempt buyers who didn't hop onto the PS3 bandwagon. So users can look forward to games down the road like Kingdom Hearts 3, Final Fantasy, etc and still play their movies. With the XOne it has the functionality, but its a very North American centric system that lacks games that appeal to the region such as RPGs. Many appealing titles it does have can be found on PS3/4. Then factor in the weak marketing and lack of trust in the Microsoft brand in Japan (all 3 consoles have bombed there) and PS4 is by far the safer bet. Region free games, dvd/bluray, Netflix, and their most popular franchises all stick with Sony so the decision is an easy one.

Re: Rose Colored Gaming is Working on a New Line of Portables With Diverse Emulation Options

darthllama

@Dreamcaster-X
They have a wide variety of designs, those are templates. They are also considering taking orders for custom made designs. RCG has a nice track record of making a lot of great designs for various portable units, all of which are highly functional. I wouldn't get too down on the production shots, especially since they have a lot of other design plans.

Another feature of this unit that RCG is making is that it has a built in hdmi port allowing you to plug it straight into your television and playing your roms on a big screen. You can use the portable as the controller or use most usb based controllers and plug it into the PI.

Re: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker Joins New Nintendo 3DS at Peak of Japanese Charts

darthllama

@rjejr
A huge problem the Wii U has and Nintendo consoles in general have had since the SNES days is the lack of content to appeals to specific regions. JRPGs are a huge driving force of system sales in Japan, yet Nintendo rarely has any. Sports, fighting games and FPS games are huge in North America, but Nintendo rarely has those. People know the PS4 will get those even if their library is weak at the moment, and also know the Wii U will not get them. In all regions, the U has very limited game releases while it seems that a new game comes out for the PS4 every week (whether it is good/bad). Then the PlayStation itself has a Blu-ray drive which adds to its appeal in Japan. When the PS2 came out, it beat the snot out of the Dreamcast/GC just because it had a DVD. Users felt it was a cheaper alternative than buying a regular DVD player. That gave the PS2 a huge install base even though initial software sales were terrible since a lot of buyers bought about 1 game at most. Likewise the PS3/PS4 is finding a lot of early adopters in the region who want the system due to Blu-ray functionality. Nintendo....doesn't even have a standard DVD player so it can't double as a movie player like every other system. It is something that has become important to Japanese buyers but Nintendo has completely avoided.

Re: Editorial: Nintendo's YouTube Creators Program 'Beta' Provides Vital Feedback - It Won't Work

darthllama

Nintendo continues its trend of bad advertising and conveying a negative image. There is a reason why a lot of game publishers encourage youtubers to cover their games. Its mass advertising and hype that can nail several key markets. A company like Nintendo NEEDS all the marketing it can get. They have a lot of titles that sell like crap because people have no idea they exist or haven't seen enough of them to really care about buying. It is a shame that Nintendo refuses to change with the times and learn how it can use situations like this to a greater advantage.

Re: Nintendo Stays in Profit With Wii U on Target, Though 3DS Sales Fall

darthllama

@Nintendobro
The other points are correct too as has been proven lol.

Just because you like Nintendo game offerings better than other consoles doesn't mean their limited offerings aren't a problem. Like them or hate them games like COD/AC/Destiny/Arkham/Madden/etc move systems. All those games sales wise run laps around Wii U game sales, and there are far more of them that come out on a regular basis. Very few Nintendo offerings have that sort of power, and they come around about twice a year. Just isn't enough. Their digital library is very shallow compared to the competition as well, and games that are for multiple systems tend to be much more expensive on the eshop than steam/live/psn. Its well known that 3rd parties have openly ditched making games on the U and have stated that it is not powerful enough for future titles. Then the system lacks region centric games (no sports in US, no JRPGs in Japan) and doesn't have a built in DVD/BluRay lack other consoles. That digs Wii U in a pretty deep grave.
I like the U and the games available for it as much as anyone, but there is no denying they have 1001 problems in competing in a deep market.

Re: Not Everyone is Thrilled That Metroid Prime Trilogy Lands on the Wii U eShop Tomorrow

darthllama

Gamestop reprinting copies of Metroid Prime Trilogy did far more to the market than the digital download. The base version stopped being rare a while ago. If you have a complete copy of the collector's edition you are still looking at $70-$100 easy. If you have a new copy....people are still paying hundreds for it. That is because those are still rare physical versions you can't get elsewhere. The pictures of this article are laughable. You have one random UK version, a steelbox only version with a guy with 3 feedback, and a brand new version. Of course those will have totally different payouts. The base version is still going between $40-$50 which is exactly what you'd pay at Gamestop. All the digital version did was add some more copies into the market place for those looking to get value for their physical and just download the digital. The market will even itself out soon enough.

Re: Nintendo Stays in Profit With Wii U on Target, Though 3DS Sales Fall

darthllama

@budkin
You do know that the Wii U sales numbers are beyond dreadful and Nintendo's profitability is due to 3ds/Amiibo success right? Wii U is what has been dragging them down. In most weeks its having trouble out pacing sales of 360/PS3. They've had to dramatically reduces their sales expectations of hardware/software of the unit from what they initially hoped. Smash gave it a nice temporary boost holiday season, but its already went back to its normal putrid numbers. That is why when they talk about U, its only about Smash + MK8.

Re: Nintendo Stays in Profit With Wii U on Target, Though 3DS Sales Fall

darthllama

@readyletsgo
It is not selling for a lot of reasons. Terrible marketing/advertising. Least powerful of all next gen systems. Worst online gaming system. Terrible 3rd party support and lacks system sellers that other consoles offer. Still focuses on kid/family friendly gaming. Inadequate system for online purchases compared to PSN/Live. Bad naming scheme. Too few killer titles each year. Lack of a real default controller turns people off. Price too high compared to superior hardware being nearly the same.

Re: Best Buy Is Cancelling Majora's Mask New 3DS XL Pre-Order Duplicates

darthllama

I too have had my preorder cancelled by Best Buy. I only had one preorder, AND I made the order literally a minute after it became available. So they didn't do cancellations based on duplicates nor did they do cancelallations as a first come first serve. Totally lame. Maybe if they gave a $50 giftcard instead of a discount on something I don't want, it would be more digestible. Fortunately I ordered a copy day 1 from gamestop.com just incase someone screws up. Hopefully gamestop doesn't do the same.

Re: Club Nintendo to Close, With Replacement Loyalty Programme Coming Later in the Year

darthllama

In before someone asks "I wonder what the platinum award for the end of the year is" (its already stated for those who can't read)

Still this is both a shock and not such a shock. Club Nintendo of Europe seemed to have sporadic items available with short availabilities and NOA has consistently cut back what it offers. At this point Nintendo probably feels it'll save money by junking it all together. It'll be interesting to see what they plan to do as far as loyalty programs after this. This might likely be a sign of an overhaul and focus on the Nintendo network accounts instead of club Nintendo. Future purchases and downloads can be linked to the accounts rather than the system. Maybe they will even offer a subscription service like Live/PSN have? Maybe they'll do something stupid that we'll laugh and shake our heads at? Yeah, probably the latter.
I guess I'll burn my remaining coins on whatever they toss up by next month. A few free digital purchases never hurt anyone.

Re: Wii U Enjoyed Its Best Ever Month of US Sales in December, With Yearly Results Beating 2013

darthllama

So Wii U had its best month which had everything to do with Smash. Meanwhile PS4/One had double to triple the sales during the same period. They also produced far better overall software sales. In short, Wii U is still being pooped down on by everything else.

At least the Amiibo market is booing nicely. Really funny to see the toy sales eclipsing the game they were initially for. Good money grabbing scheme. Too bad they have been having trouble keeping up with supplies, though I guess it might also have benefited them. The fear of selling out has kept people actively seeking them out so they don't miss out on the next discontinued model.

Re: Electronic Super Joy: Groove City

darthllama

This is a legit platform game. I bought it on steam a while back, its a very fun game for those who like tough stylized 2-D platformers. Glad to see it come to the eshop at an honest price. Definitely worth the pickup.

Re: New Nintendo 3DS Release Date Confirmed for 13th February

darthllama

@Sir_JBizzle
If you plan on trading in your handheld, you better wait if you have stuff you want to transfer. Data is hard linked to the system, not just to your Nintendo network id. You have to utilize the system's transfer data function in order to move data from one unit to the next. If you just plug in your sd card, the data will not be accepted in the new unit.

Re: New Nintendo 3DS Release Date Confirmed for 13th February

darthllama

@bezerker99
It sold out online within 5 minutes. I recommend preordering in store as soon as possible. These will not last long. They are the first limited edition new 3ds xl model AND its building off of the Zelda/majora craze. I expect in-store preorders to be cut off by tomorrow.

Re: New Nintendo 3DS Release Date Confirmed for 13th February

darthllama

@cblue85
No plans on releasing the standard edition here for financial reasons. If there is a serious public outcry though it can still come later on. Over the past year NOA has really been phasing out the normal 3DS line as they've cut back colors and overall production to focus on 2DS and the XL. XL is their big ticket item and has sold the best of the 3DS family in America, so they put all their cards on the new 3DS XL model. Plus it helps cut down part of the confusion of having 2352352523 different models available.

Re: Guide: The Hottest Boxing Day 2014 Deals for Wii U and 3DS

darthllama

@Jazzer94
The Amiibo deal seems alright until you go to a Toysrus and find they have almost no stock of them. All they ever really have is the normal 3000 of Mario/DK/Peach but nothing else. So most people won't find what they want. Toysrus also has all Amiibo marked up from the normal retail price which also lames up the deal especially for anyone who has Gamers unlocked from BestBuy where you get 20% off any amiibo.

Re: Review: Meme Run (Wii U eShop)

darthllama

What a terrible review for a true gem. This is perhaps the best eshop game of the year, if not the best Wii U title period. Not since the release of Flappy Bird has a game seen such remarkable ingenuity and meticulous level of detail. This game personifies everything that is good about gaming. After decades of boring uninspired garbage such as Mario, Zelda, Metroid...Nintendo has finally been given the killer app it desperately has needed. Now they have a title on the system that can go head to head with each revolutionary annual installment of Call of Duty and Madden. If Nintendo was smart they'd buy the exclusive rights to the title and make it a pack in title with the Wii U. They can even make Meme run Amiibos and special edition 3ds units. Hopefully Nintendo doesn't miss this opportunity

Re: Video: SEGA's 3D Classics Collection Now Available In Japan, Looks Delightful

darthllama

If Sega starts releasing more Saturn/Dreamcast titles, they'd likely do it on PS4/One over the Wii U. Of the games they've released so far such as Nights, Jet Set Radio, Sonic Adventure 1/2, Space Channel 5,etc....they've all gone on XLive, PSN, Steam but have totally avoided the eshop. I don't see that changing anytime soon. I imagine they find it more of a hassle to do it for the Wii U as they have to work in using the gamepad screen which takes more work.

Re: Nintendo Highlights Great Games in a Rather Pretty Infographic

darthllama

lol its easy for Nintendo to point to stats like this when its been out twice as long as XONE/PS4. They don't include PS3/360 which is funny because they still outsell Wii U in most weeks which would make them competition as well.
Regardless I do think Nintendo's library is vastly superior to the ONE/PS4 and it deserves far more praise than what it receives.

Re: Snazzy Golf Balls Added to Club Nintendo in PAL Regions

darthllama

If those golf balls were available in NOA, I'd totally get them. Cool collector's swag. Sadly physical items continue to give us the middle finger. Having digital rewards are a nice option, but as other users point out.....its the same items repeated 99% of the time or the stuff everyone already has.

Re: Super Smash Bros. Grabs Third Place in NPD Charts as Wii U Secures Its Best Week Since Launch

darthllama

@jariw
Before and after....the weekly sales still suck lol.

Overall a disappointing sales period for Wii U. XOne sold more than triple the Wii U. PS4 doubled it. Same situation in Europe. That is first class fail.
People keep saying about big titles coming out next year, but those are few and far between. Having a couple positive blips in sale during the course of the year means nothing if you don't sustain it or build upon it. They're going to have months of nothing. Starfox comes out, get a few more sales then back to nothing. Zelda comes out, they'll have a few good weeks of sales then nothing. Then we'll hear the talk about the Super Wii U being primed for 2017 featuring bells and whistles that seem cool, but developers won't touch and specs that will be dated by the time its released.

The Amiibo's are a pleasant surprise to boost Nintendo's profit margin going forward, even if they don't spur sales of games/system.

Re: Super Smash Bros. Grabs Third Place in NPD Charts as Wii U Secures Its Best Week Since Launch

darthllama

Not a bad opener for Smash to grab 710k sales. Combined with all regions its already cracked the top 5 in all-time Wii U sales which is kind of sad.

Nintendo's word play about hardware sales doesn't bode too well. It might have done better than prior weeks, but sales since launch have been terrible. Having a 10% increase is pretty paltry especially when their competition is producing numbers by a far greater scale. Nintendo having a lot of sales now makes me laugh when they churned up a crap Black Friday sales run. They better hope they build up a lot of steam heading into Christmas, but here in the states their advertisement campaign is still invisible.