Good... A game should be 'complete' when shipped. For those saying it's a short game, according to Kamiya it should take about 20 hours to complete, and it supposedly has a lot of replayability. Platinum have also apparently put more resources into creating this game than the 1st Bayonetta..
This is the crux of it. How EA can profess to be disappointed that Mass Effect 3, Fifa 13, and Need For Speed didn't sell is beyond belief. All 3 were late ports and charging full price. Mass Effect 3 had most of the dlc missing. What they should've done is release the trilogy with all dlc, for say $50. Fifa 13 was missing features and looked visually poor. Need For Speed port was released almost 5 months later than other versions, and although it was the best looking console version because it was built off the PC version, it didn't come with the dlc of the other versions. So yeah, big surprise their 3rd party efforts were mostly overlooked...
Likely?? Of course it will... Tokyo EAD Group 1 is the A-team...they've been MIA for some time now. Don't get me wrong, this game actually looks well designed, and a ton of fun....but it lacks the ambition of Mario 64, Sunshine & Galaxy.. I'm betting that they're working on the follow up to Mario Galaxy... and it'll probably be released in 2015.
You'd like to see it used for something more than inventory and HUD management considering how expensive it is. I sort of hope the big games like Mario 3D, Zelda, and Metroid stick to more traditional controls, but i'd like to see some kind of unique gameplay twist with other franchises that makes the gamepad touchscreen really central to the experience rather than just an afterthought..
If you loved the gamecube & N64, i think there's going to be numerous great 1st party games to pick up in the short-medium term that would appeal to you. Pikmin 3 and Wonderful 101 coming in the next month are about as classic Nintendo as you can get. It really isn't all just casual stuff if you give the release schedule it's due..
My problem with Pachter is that he would STILL be paying out on the console even if it had moved 10 million units already. We get it...he hates Nintendo. It's got inferior specs, substandard online infrastructure, and doesn't have the support of dudebro publishers...But WORST of all, they pay lipservice to American expectations.
I mean... since when have Nintendo ever relied on a Battlefield, FIFA, Call of Duty, or Grand Theft Auto to survive??? Like never... It's just, his whole attitude to Nintendo is utterly condescending, just because they don't fit with what his vision of gaming should be...
There are many things I criticize Nintendo for, but I at least acknowledge that they offer something unique and valuable in the gaming space...whereas he doesn't.. In a mainstream industry largely ruled by copypaste, AAA cinematic, western oriented sigh-a-thons....Nintendo are like a breath of fresh air with their gamey, colourful creations that emphasize 'fun' and 'wonder' (y'know those things we used to have before we all became so self-conscious and serious.. ahhemm..Last of Us...)
I don't think he can grasp why any self-respecting person would find a game where you play as an alien rounding up weird plant creatures to collect fruit to be interesting....He just doesn't get it, he doesn't get Nintendo... and that's why he's so upset at their success in the industry. It's like the school yard bully. They always pick on the one kid who's different, who stands out from the crowd...because they feel threatened by their difference.
I can think of 16 reasons to get a wii U in the short term.....Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101, Rayman Legends, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Donkey Kong Country Returns: Tropical Freeze, Sonic: Lost World, Zelda: Wind Waker (HD), Batman: Arkham Origins, Watch Dogs, Super Mario 3D World, Mario Kart 8, Bayonetta 2, X, Smash Brothers, Yoshi, Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem....
I highly doubt Pachter knows of more than 5 or 6 of those..
I don't think 'fickle' was quite the word he was meaning....but, I can see how he would feel conflicted and pressured. His employer is sort of demanding that he adapts his game design to the uniqueness of the wii u gamepad, while a lot of gamers like me just want a really well designed, challenging, and fun Zelda adventure ... without the control scheme getting in the way..
Nintendo go about it in a donkey about way compared to other console makers/publishers...where the hardware is meant to serve game creation. With Nintendo, particularly since the wii....the game design is meant to serve the hardware. Not saying it's a bad thing, but it runs contrary to what the majority of game developers probably expect when they're making a game..
I think local multiplayer type games where you can have asynchronous gameplay through the use of the gamepad is really interesting. A more fully fleshed out version of 'Luigi's Ghost Mansion' for instance would be a blast to play. It definately has the potential to create some fantastic local multiplayer games, but as for single player...i'm not so sure. I have a hard enough time concentrating on what's going on with the TV screen, let alone having to worry about using a tablet at the same time. Wonderful 101 does seem to be using the gamepad in a cool way though..
Hopefully Miyamoto's new IP (whatever it is...) can show us the advantages of the tablet, because it's a huge gamble they've taken and i'm not quite sold on it at this stage...
I'm just saying that this sort of dlc model was pioneered by free-to-play MMO developers on PC who needed money for monthly bandwith costs, and obviously to make some sort of profit. This is a $60 retail game that doesn't need to be monetized in the same way. They should be creating more substantial content for the money they're asking post launch....but as you say, i guess that so long as people are willing to pay the price, it doesn't really matter...
Yeah, that's true... there is plenty that goes into creating a character....but right now on Steam, I could get Fez, The Binding of Isaac & Dungeons of Dredmor for the price of those 4 characters alone. Or if i'm anti-hipster, I could get Portal and Fallout 3 for the same price.
From past experience, I don't believe those characters were created after the game had shipped. Anytime you see a skin, character or map offered as dlc...you can virtually guarantee it's content that's been withheld from the original release.
If they went away for 4 months and created an additional mini-single player campaign/ or an entirely new multiplayer mode... plus the 4 extra characters for say $10-$15.....that would seem reasonable.. Or maybe if they bundled the 4 characters and the skins together as dlc for $10 it would be a better deal.. $63 for a few new characters and a bunch of skins is daylight robbery. This is the sort of thing free-to-play developers have done to monetize their games. This is a $60 retail release with no monthly bandwidth burden for the publisher. They essentially want you to pay $120 for their game...
$5 is a ridiculous sum to pay for ONE character...who is essentially just an added skin to the game and adds nothing of real value.. None of those additional characters would've been created after the game had been shipped. They were withheld from the full game as a way of extracting more money from gamers without putting in any real effort..
If you're happy to be gouged, it's not my concern. I just think it's poor form...
I went into the E3 Nintendo Direct with minimal expectations for M8. I just wasn't excited at all for it...but, it just looks INCREDIBLE!!
All I want is no 'blue shell', and no cheesing gimmick of any kind....It should be purely 'skill' based. Mario Kart wii just killed my enthusiasm for the Mario Kart franchise, because it felt like.. no matter how well you did in a race, you were going to be leader bombed or see another player pass you with the bullet boost late in a race. It was like, the worst thing you could do was to be coming 1st in the latter stages of a race..
It's nice to make your game accessible to a wide audience, but you need to give something to the perfectionists who treat the game almost as a sort of e-sport. Why not make two modes??? A more casual mode that retains leader bombs, etc...and a more hardcore mode which really tests your twitch reflexes and gives you no assistance at all??
$5 for another character.. that seems like a good deal...
All of this stuff should've been included in the base game. The proper way to do dlc, is to create 'new content' after the game has been shipped...i.e. a single player, or multi-player expansion...actual CONTENT.
This is just...it's TF2 hats except way more expensive. You can buy whole, quality games on Steam & GOG for $5.
For anyone who cares.....I know that's probably very few of you, but there's a great documentary on youtube entitled 'The Ravaging of Africa' that's very much relevant to this issue, and at a broader political level regarding the historic Western dominance of Africa.
I'm glad Nintendo Life do these articles. They certainly don't have to...and it would be much easier to sweep issues such as this and the Foxconn ugliness, etc under the rug... but it's important to show the 'good' and 'bad'...the TRUTH.
What i'm seeing in these comments is literally... "i don't really care"..." Who cares"..."Wow i could seriously care less".. that's just in the last 10 comments.. Spoilt, first world brats who have been raised to see yourselves as priority 'no 1' is what those posters are...
I feel sorry for you, that you lack even a basic sense of human empathy to see the world beyond your own narrow interests...but hey, at least you've got your gadgets at a cheap price right??
Nintendo have historically had a poor record in this regard and refuse to show any sort of transparency. I don't know why some of the comments here are so defensive. It's a pretty selfish attitude to say it's not my problem and just to sweep it under the carpet.
@LDXD
Well, if the game requires a patch update on Steam you can't play it offline. What I mean by 'Steam is a rental service' has more to do with the fact that your games are tied forever to your 'unique' Steam account whether your online or offline. You can't trade in the game once you've installed it. You can install it on a handful of other PC's using your account, but there are limits to that...and I certainly wouldn't want to be doing that if I spent a lot of time travelling & using different PC's.. Your subject to Steam's extremely broad EULA which basically says that Valve reserves the right to confiscate your games for whatever reason they deem fit. Steam's EULA overrides the EULA's of all other publishers, which is extremely dodgy in my opinion. Imagine Gabe Newell coming over to your house and personally taking off with your game shelf of 200 odd titles, just because you used aimbots in Counter Strike, cause that's what they do..
Also, there is no way PS4 is download only. It's the same as PS3. Check out your local online retailers. Pre-orders for launch titles have been up since the Feb. announcement.
I think Steam's a great service, I game mostly on PC...
But guess what?? You can't trade Skyrim in, because it's tied forever to your personal Steam account. You don't own the game...and if you're paying anything more than $10 for it, you're being ripped off...Also, Valve can take your entire library of games away from you, and you have little recourse to do anything about it. Have you read the Steam EULA??
The price is a serious issue... I mean, even if Miyamoto or whoever could come up with a great and innovative use for the gamepad, it's unlikely to resonate with the broader public, because the cost is still prohibitive for a casual audience. The wii was popular in part due to the novel motion control scheme which made playing games easy for non-gamers, but also because it was relatively CHEAP.
The wii u isn't cheap...and it's a much more difficult proposition to sell considering Nintendo don't even really understand it's potential..
What if you don't play online?? I certainly don't. You can't build a gaming PC for $400 and the PS4 is basically a console PC... I really don't know how they are managing to sell it so cheap without incurring massive losses. They must have some extraordinarily good partnerships with hardware and component manufacturers. Also, you actually OWN your games on Wii U and PS4, which adds value. Steam is essentially a rental service, and there's no other alternative if you want AAA games..
Nintendo invented a solution to a problem that didn't exist. They've got it the wrong way about...the hardware should be in service of game design ideas. How do they expect people to buy in when they haven't provided any compelling software to show off the value of the gamepad themselves??
I think the 1st party lineup for the rest of the year looks terrific, if somewhat conservative. But i don't think any of those games actually show off the value of having a $150 tablet like controller...which is a problem..
True... but for $428 (AU) i'd expect a bit more than 5 or 6 1st party titles a year and some half-hearted ports of older 3rd party games. There needs to be something to fill the gaps between Nintendo releases...I would've hoped that Nintendo had learnt from their mistakes last gen.
I think Nintendo's 1st party titles are going to look spectacular down the line, but I can't see too many 3rd parties putting in the effort required to downscale & yet maximize the console's capabilities when it's easier for them just to stick to PS4/Bone/Pc...
No chance of Fallout 4 or any Bethesda title coming to Wii U. It'll be a fully fledged next-gen title and they are going to be too difficult to port without severely gimping the final product....plus innovative inputs isn't what major western publishers do. They can't be bothered. They believe their audience is on PS4/XBone/PC, etc.. To be honest, I don't think i'd be interested anyway in Fallout 4 after totally burning out on Bethesda Softworks monotonous game design in Skyrim.
I agree that Nintendo should be funding more 3rd party content though, much like the deal they have with Platinum Games. Nintendo do make great games, but expecting people to pay a premium for 5 or 6 1st party titles a year and a smattering of older ports/remakes/niche titles doesn't really cut it...
I can't fathom how Nintendo thought it could build 3rd party support without providing adequate software itself. 9 months is an awfully long time to wait for a 1st party game of note. I was pretty impressed with what they showed at E3, but it's 12 months too late...
The current price point for the deluxe is worringly close to the PS4. I think Nintendo need to rethink their pricing strategy if they want to get this thing off the ground. Mario Kart 8 releasing next Spring is not going to help things in the important Q4 window. Wii U is currently $355 (US) on Amazon at the moment, which is only $45 dollars less than the PS4 with its next gen tech and 3rd party support. I don't think Nintendo can compete with PS4 on those term.
$299 (US) w/h 3D Mario World bundled in would be a start. Nintendo are going to have to bite the bullet if they don't want to be pushed out of the picture by Sony's aggressive pricing strategy.
Well, i don't know how qualified Time magazine is to comment on gaming, but they're right in this instance.. The gamepad adds nothing 'game changing' to the experience of playing games on the Wii U...and i don't think Nintendo even know why it exists. It comes at too high a cost too.. I mean, the ability to play off-tv is neat and all, but as it is..it's not without it's problems. I'd rather have a more powerful system with traditional controls..
Innovate with the 'games' and not the 'inputs'. I love Nintendo, but i'm not a blinded fanboy...They're not innovating with their wiimote's and gamepad's. They're gimmicks that don't 'improve' the gaming experience. We just want to see innovation and ambition within the game mechanics of Nintendo's IP's...and it could be fairly argued that isn't quite happening atm.. Still, I think the Q3/Q4 2013 lineup for the Wii U is really good...particularly if you're a fan of 2d platformers like me..
I'd like to ask Iwata why none of these following games are coming to Wii U, because they ALL should.
Ni No Kuni, Killer Is Dead, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, The Evil Within, Dark Souls 2, Murdered: Soul Suspect, Metal Gear Solid 5.
They're all games from publishers/developers (mostly Japanese) that Nintendo have had close relationships with. Why couldn't Iwata secure these games??
I think the line-up for the rest of the year is pretty good, if somewhat safe---if you already own a wii u. Looking at games like Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101, DK: Tropical Freeze, Sonic Lost World, Rayman: Legends, Super Mario 3D World, Wind Waker, etc.. makes me wish I was a kid again. They look great, and taken collectively are sure to get the wii u off the deck. I think it's a mistake releasing 3D Mario in December though. Ideally, I think Nintendo should announce a price drop in Q4 & bundle in 3D Mario before the Black Friday sales. Currently the pricepoint is far too close to the PS4...
The hardware business has been very lucrative for Nintendo, and making their IP's multiplatform would spell the death of Nintendo as a console maker. He does have a point though. A lot of young kids today are ignorant of Mario and Nintendo's mascot's/franchises, because there's far more competition in the hardware space than 20 years ago....even 10 years ago. Kids want tablets/ i-pads and i-phones/smartphones and do their gaming there. Wii U??? not as much...well yet. I'm not sure that Nintendo resonates with young kids of 2013 the same way as it did in 1991 or 2001 even...
The hardware sales also function to provide resources to put back into software development. So if you take the profits from hardware out of the equation, is it likely that Nintendo the publisher/developer will be able to bankroll multiple AAA standard games every year if it switched to 3rd party??
Make great games that make interesting (and not gimmicky) use of the gamepad, then market the console properly... and fortunes will probably improve markedly for Nintendo in the home console sphere.
8 GB is pretty woeful for a modern home console. PS3 super slim has 500GB and it's about $50 cheaper than Wii U premium. I think they need to bundle in a game that people will want with the console too. NSMB U w/h Nintendoland would be the obvious choice, and its the combo they should've sold the console with in the first place....
Well, Sony seems to be pretty well focused on the gaming side of things imo, but Microsoft is a different story. It is kind of refreshinng that the Wii U is probably going to be the only truly dedicated home console of the three this gen..
Wii U has been a bit of a disappointment so far, but it's exciting to think what lies ahead. Nintendo can just win over people by releasing great games as they have in the past..
I'm excited for Pikmin 3, 3D Mario, and whatever Retro Studios is working on...
I don't see why this guy is given so much attention. He's quite clearly American-centric in his outlook and openly barracking for Microsoft... He's wrong that Wii U will get no 3rd party support if EA abandons ship as well. It's almost like he doesn't acknowledge that Japan exists. Capcom, Konami, Atlus, Namco, Sega, et al will likely support the console unless sales are dire.. Ubisoft, WB and a couple of others will also bring major 3rd party western games. He's making it sound more dire than it is..
He's entitled to his opinion, but it's obvious he really dislikes Nintendo.
@chee006 yeah, 15 exclusives and probably half of them are kinect games. Admittedly, the Quantum Break game sounds intriguing...but yeah, Microsoft don't exactly have a reputation for bringing a wealth of exclusive IP to their platforms for the duration of the consoles life. I don't think they can dig themselves out of the hole they've got themselves into with respect to gamers. I still think it'll sell reasonably well, particularly in the US @ the demographic their targeting, i.e dudebro's and adult american men who watch live sports and like supercars...but my god, they are a breathtakingly arrogant organization...So many things wrong, and they couldn't care less what people think.
Wii U was never really in the picture in terms of what people want for next-gen gaming. Not saying it 'won't' have great games, cause i'm pretty sure it will..but what i've been seeing is a lot of xbox gamers say, 'stuff it, this machine isn't for me.. i'll just upgrade my PC and get a wii u' (as a 2nd system).
Nintendo has just been gifted a huge opportunity, but it won't matter unless they knock the ball out of the park at E3 by making some amazing game announcements for Q4 2013/Q1 2014..
Battletoads hahahaha!! I guess it could be a Banjo K game, they've done a couple of those on XBox haven't they?? It won't be a Goldeneye reboot because Activision own the Bond license (god knows why...)
Fair chance its a Perfect Dark entry...but uh...there isn't hardly anyone left at Rare from the good ol' days...including myself It'll be a Rare game in name only most likely...Thanks Microsoft.
The fact of the matter is, what Nintendo have bought to the table so far isn't good enough.
They're selling you 8 year old hardware at a premium price (mainly due to a gamepad which not many people actually want), they don't have proper online infrastucture, the OS still needs to be fixed, it has no 3rd party western support apart from Ubisoft and a couple of WB titles...not because of a lack of an installed base, but because western developers realized long ago that Nintendo don't make their consoles with 'them' in mind. The only 1st party title of note in the first 9 months of the console is a rehash of a 2009 title that's been rehashed a million times before, and their advertising has been nothing short of abysmal, and still targeting the grandmas, kids, and families that they did with the wii. They say they want to bring back the 'core' gamer, but everything they've done up until now has contradicted this statement of intent. As an adult gamer, I don't feel as though Nintendo are interested in my support.
I'm not saying the console is doomed, and that's not what this article's about either. It's just showing that people are voting with their wallets because Nintendo have botched the new console launch. The fact of the matter is that the console is in bad shape at the moment, and until Nintendo take steps to rectify the situation, I think such articles, are completely warranted. Hopefully after E3 things will be much different.
I think Ubisoft have some awful business practices that rival EA and Activision. Though they do have some talented people creating the games, and those four games you mentioned are all promising. They'll port the games properly and they'll support them after launch, which you have to give them credit for i guess, and is more than can be said for certain other publishers.
I don't understand why EA were expecting the likes of Fifa, NFS, and ME:3 to shift a ton of units (on a new system with a small installed base), when they'd already been available on all other platforms for many months. They're pretty decent games, but i mean Mass Effect 3 for instance... Why would anyone buy it on a Wii U when its the third part of a 'trilogy', if they hadn't already played the 1st two?? If EA wanted their games to sell, they should've released an exclusive or a 'timed' exclusive like a Mirror's Edge 2 for instance. That would've sold. Zombi U, though not the greatest game in the world, sold well in large part because it was a system exclusive. I just, I don't understand EA's attitude. I think there are other 'unspoken' reasons why they've spat their dummy in the dirt, and it probably has to do with Origin 'not' being on the Wii U.
Comments 225
Re: Trivia Title Know Your Friends Is Crashing The Wii U Party
"One question, about a nude beach, briefly depicts a man's bare buttocks":..
Awesome. Everything i've ever wanted in a game right here...
Re: Hideki Kamiya Believes The Wonderful 101 Won't Need DLC
Good... A game should be 'complete' when shipped. For those saying it's a short game, according to Kamiya it should take about 20 hours to complete, and it supposedly has a lot of replayability. Platinum have also apparently put more resources into creating this game than the 1st Bayonetta..
Re: Iwata: Third Party Wii U Launch Titles Could Not Enjoy Brisk Sales As Many Were Ports
@renaryuugufan92
This is the crux of it. How EA can profess to be disappointed that Mass Effect 3, Fifa 13, and Need For Speed didn't sell is beyond belief. All 3 were late ports and charging full price. Mass Effect 3 had most of the dlc missing. What they should've done is release the trilogy with all dlc, for say $50. Fifa 13 was missing features and looked visually poor. Need For Speed port was released almost 5 months later than other versions, and although it was the best looking console version because it was built off the PC version, it didn't come with the dlc of the other versions. So yeah, big surprise their 3rd party efforts were mostly overlooked...
Re: Miyamoto: Mario Will Likely Return To Single-Player
Likely?? Of course it will... Tokyo EAD Group 1 is the A-team...they've been MIA for some time now. Don't get me wrong, this game actually looks well designed, and a ton of fun....but it lacks the ambition of Mario 64, Sunshine & Galaxy.. I'm betting that they're working on the follow up to Mario Galaxy... and it'll probably be released in 2015.
Re: Miyamoto: GamePad's Touch Screen Primarily Used To Make Navigating Menus Easier
You'd like to see it used for something more than inventory and HUD management considering how expensive it is. I sort of hope the big games like Mario 3D, Zelda, and Metroid stick to more traditional controls, but i'd like to see some kind of unique gameplay twist with other franchises that makes the gamepad touchscreen really central to the experience rather than just an afterthought..
Re: Nintendo to Bring "Brand-New Types of Games" to Wii U in the Coming Months
Sounds like they're going after the casual market with whatever this is. We'll see i guess...
Re: Pachter: Nintendo Has Lost Its "Mojo"
@ Peach 64.
If you loved the gamecube & N64, i think there's going to be numerous great 1st party games to pick up in the short-medium term that would appeal to you. Pikmin 3 and Wonderful 101 coming in the next month are about as classic Nintendo as you can get. It really isn't all just casual stuff if you give the release schedule it's due..
Re: Pachter: Nintendo Has Lost Its "Mojo"
@KeeperBvK
My problem with Pachter is that he would STILL be paying out on the console even if it had moved 10 million units already. We get it...he hates Nintendo. It's got inferior specs, substandard online infrastructure, and doesn't have the support of dudebro publishers...But WORST of all, they pay lipservice to American expectations.
I mean... since when have Nintendo ever relied on a Battlefield, FIFA, Call of Duty, or Grand Theft Auto to survive??? Like never... It's just, his whole attitude to Nintendo is utterly condescending, just because they don't fit with what his vision of gaming should be...
There are many things I criticize Nintendo for, but I at least acknowledge that they offer something unique and valuable in the gaming space...whereas he doesn't.. In a mainstream industry largely ruled by copypaste, AAA cinematic, western oriented sigh-a-thons....Nintendo are like a breath of fresh air with their gamey, colourful creations that emphasize 'fun' and 'wonder' (y'know those things we used to have before we all became so self-conscious and serious.. ahhemm..Last of Us...)
I don't think he can grasp why any self-respecting person would find a game where you play as an alien rounding up weird plant creatures to collect fruit to be interesting....He just doesn't get it, he doesn't get Nintendo... and that's why he's so upset at their success in the industry. It's like the school yard bully. They always pick on the one kid who's different, who stands out from the crowd...because they feel threatened by their difference.
I can think of 16 reasons to get a wii U in the short term.....Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101, Rayman Legends, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Donkey Kong Country Returns: Tropical Freeze, Sonic: Lost World, Zelda: Wind Waker (HD), Batman: Arkham Origins, Watch Dogs, Super Mario 3D World, Mario Kart 8, Bayonetta 2, X, Smash Brothers, Yoshi, Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem....
I highly doubt Pachter knows of more than 5 or 6 of those..
Re: Satoru Iwata - "There Are Some Reasons Behind" Region Locking
Please understand.
Re: Weirdness: UK Survey Determines What Makes an "Average UK Gamer"
Any self-respecting person would be a gamer..I mean, what else are you going to do with your spare time....bird watching??? socializing???
Lame
Re: Eiji Aonuma - The Wind Waker HD is a "Test Case" for New Zelda Wii U Title
I don't think 'fickle' was quite the word he was meaning....but, I can see how he would feel conflicted and pressured. His employer is sort of demanding that he adapts his game design to the uniqueness of the wii u gamepad, while a lot of gamers like me just want a really well designed, challenging, and fun Zelda adventure ... without the control scheme getting in the way..
Nintendo go about it in a donkey about way compared to other console makers/publishers...where the hardware is meant to serve game creation. With Nintendo, particularly since the wii....the game design is meant to serve the hardware. Not saying it's a bad thing, but it runs contrary to what the majority of game developers probably expect when they're making a game..
Re: Poll: How Important is Dual / Second Screen Gaming?
I think local multiplayer type games where you can have asynchronous gameplay through the use of the gamepad is really interesting. A more fully fleshed out version of 'Luigi's Ghost Mansion' for instance would be a blast to play. It definately has the potential to create some fantastic local multiplayer games, but as for single player...i'm not so sure. I have a hard enough time concentrating on what's going on with the TV screen, let alone having to worry about using a tablet at the same time. Wonderful 101 does seem to be using the gamepad in a cool way though..
Hopefully Miyamoto's new IP (whatever it is...) can show us the advantages of the tablet, because it's a huge gamble they've taken and i'm not quite sold on it at this stage...
Re: Injustice: Gods Among Us Update Sneaks Out of the Shadows
@KaiserGX
I'm just saying that this sort of dlc model was pioneered by free-to-play MMO developers on PC who needed money for monthly bandwith costs, and obviously to make some sort of profit. This is a $60 retail game that doesn't need to be monetized in the same way. They should be creating more substantial content for the money they're asking post launch....but as you say, i guess that so long as people are willing to pay the price, it doesn't really matter...
Re: Mario Kart 8 Team Talk GamePad Features, Track Design And F-Zero
@Kirk
I hear ya! And yeah I agree... F-Zero U needs to happen!!
Re: Injustice: Gods Among Us Update Sneaks Out of the Shadows
@KaiserGX
Yeah, that's true... there is plenty that goes into creating a character....but right now on Steam, I could get Fez, The Binding of Isaac & Dungeons of Dredmor for the price of those 4 characters alone. Or if i'm anti-hipster, I could get Portal and Fallout 3 for the same price.
From past experience, I don't believe those characters were created after the game had shipped. Anytime you see a skin, character or map offered as dlc...you can virtually guarantee it's content that's been withheld from the original release.
If they went away for 4 months and created an additional mini-single player campaign/ or an entirely new multiplayer mode... plus the 4 extra characters for say $10-$15.....that would seem reasonable.. Or maybe if they bundled the 4 characters and the skins together as dlc for $10 it would be a better deal.. $63 for a few new characters and a bunch of skins is daylight robbery. This is the sort of thing free-to-play developers have done to monetize their games. This is a $60 retail release with no monthly bandwidth burden for the publisher. They essentially want you to pay $120 for their game...
Re: Injustice: Gods Among Us Update Sneaks Out of the Shadows
@Aviator
$5 is a ridiculous sum to pay for ONE character...who is essentially just an added skin to the game and adds nothing of real value.. None of those additional characters would've been created after the game had been shipped. They were withheld from the full game as a way of extracting more money from gamers without putting in any real effort..
If you're happy to be gouged, it's not my concern. I just think it's poor form...
Re: Mario Kart 8 Team Talk GamePad Features, Track Design And F-Zero
I went into the E3 Nintendo Direct with minimal expectations for M8. I just wasn't excited at all for it...but, it just looks INCREDIBLE!!
All I want is no 'blue shell', and no cheesing gimmick of any kind....It should be purely 'skill' based. Mario Kart wii just killed my enthusiasm for the Mario Kart franchise, because it felt like.. no matter how well you did in a race, you were going to be leader bombed or see another player pass you with the bullet boost late in a race. It was like, the worst thing you could do was to be coming 1st in the latter stages of a race..
It's nice to make your game accessible to a wide audience, but you need to give something to the perfectionists who treat the game almost as a sort of e-sport. Why not make two modes??? A more casual mode that retains leader bombs, etc...and a more hardcore mode which really tests your twitch reflexes and gives you no assistance at all??
Re: Injustice: Gods Among Us Update Sneaks Out of the Shadows
$5 for another character.. that seems like a good deal...
All of this stuff should've been included in the base game. The proper way to do dlc, is to create 'new content' after the game has been shipped...i.e. a single player, or multi-player expansion...actual CONTENT.
This is just...it's TF2 hats except way more expensive. You can buy whole, quality games on Steam & GOG for $5.
Re: Nintendo Falls Under Further Pressure Regarding Conflict Mineral Policies
For anyone who cares.....I know that's probably very few of you, but there's a great documentary on youtube entitled 'The Ravaging of Africa' that's very much relevant to this issue, and at a broader political level regarding the historic Western dominance of Africa.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUGJk1isA2Y
Re: Nintendo Falls Under Further Pressure Regarding Conflict Mineral Policies
I'm glad Nintendo Life do these articles. They certainly don't have to...and it would be much easier to sweep issues such as this and the Foxconn ugliness, etc under the rug... but it's important to show the 'good' and 'bad'...the TRUTH.
What i'm seeing in these comments is literally... "i don't really care"..." Who cares"..."Wow i could seriously care less".. that's just in the last 10 comments..
Spoilt, first world brats who have been raised to see yourselves as priority 'no 1' is what those posters are...
I feel sorry for you, that you lack even a basic sense of human empathy to see the world beyond your own narrow interests...but hey, at least you've got your gadgets at a cheap price right??
Re: Super Mario 3D World Producer Teases New Annoucement
I doubt it will be the 3D Mario follow up to Galaxy...i'd bet that Tokyo group 1 is working on that. Still intriguing...hopefully it's something good!
Re: Nintendo Falls Under Further Pressure Regarding Conflict Mineral Policies
Nintendo have historically had a poor record in this regard and refuse to show any sort of transparency. I don't know why some of the comments here are so defensive. It's a pretty selfish attitude to say it's not my problem and just to sweep it under the carpet.
Good article.
Re: Iwata: We Are To Blame For Poor Wii U Sales
@LDXD
Well, if the game requires a patch update on Steam you can't play it offline. What I mean by 'Steam is a rental service' has more to do with the fact that your games are tied forever to your 'unique' Steam account whether your online or offline. You can't trade in the game once you've installed it. You can install it on a handful of other PC's using your account, but there are limits to that...and I certainly wouldn't want to be doing that if I spent a lot of time travelling & using different PC's.. Your subject to Steam's extremely broad EULA which basically says that Valve reserves the right to confiscate your games for whatever reason they deem fit. Steam's EULA overrides the EULA's of all other publishers, which is extremely dodgy in my opinion. Imagine Gabe Newell coming over to your house and personally taking off with your game shelf of 200 odd titles, just because you used aimbots in Counter Strike, cause that's what they do..
Also, there is no way PS4 is download only. It's the same as PS3. Check out your local online retailers. Pre-orders for launch titles have been up since the Feb. announcement.
Re: Iwata: We Are To Blame For Poor Wii U Sales
I think Steam's a great service, I game mostly on PC...
But guess what?? You can't trade Skyrim in, because it's tied forever to your personal Steam account. You don't own the game...and if you're paying anything more than $10 for it, you're being ripped off...Also, Valve can take your entire library of games away from you, and you have little recourse to do anything about it. Have you read the Steam EULA??
Re: Iwata: We Are To Blame For Poor Wii U Sales
The price is a serious issue... I mean, even if Miyamoto or whoever could come up with a great and innovative use for the gamepad, it's unlikely to resonate with the broader public, because the cost is still prohibitive for a casual audience. The wii was popular in part due to the novel motion control scheme which made playing games easy for non-gamers, but also because it was relatively CHEAP.
The wii u isn't cheap...and it's a much more difficult proposition to sell considering Nintendo don't even really understand it's potential..
Re: Iwata: We Are To Blame For Poor Wii U Sales
@LDXD
What if you don't play online?? I certainly don't. You can't build a gaming PC for $400 and the PS4 is basically a console PC... I really don't know how they are managing to sell it so cheap without incurring massive losses. They must have some extraordinarily good partnerships with hardware and component manufacturers. Also, you actually OWN your games on Wii U and PS4, which adds value. Steam is essentially a rental service, and there's no other alternative if you want AAA games..
Re: Iwata: We Are To Blame For Poor Wii U Sales
Nintendo invented a solution to a problem that didn't exist. They've got it the wrong way about...the hardware should be in service of game design ideas. How do they expect people to buy in when they haven't provided any compelling software to show off the value of the gamepad themselves??
I think the 1st party lineup for the rest of the year looks terrific, if somewhat conservative. But i don't think any of those games actually show off the value of having a $150 tablet like controller...which is a problem..
Re: Kingdom Hearts III Highly Unlikely To Appear On Wii U
@TOMBOY25
True... but for $428 (AU) i'd expect a bit more than 5 or 6 1st party titles a year and some half-hearted ports of older 3rd party games. There needs to be something to fill the gaps between Nintendo releases...I would've hoped that Nintendo had learnt from their mistakes last gen.
I think Nintendo's 1st party titles are going to look spectacular down the line, but I can't see too many 3rd parties putting in the effort required to downscale & yet maximize the console's capabilities when it's easier for them just to stick to PS4/Bone/Pc...
Re: Review: Sniper Elite V2 (Wii U)
Sounds more like Sniper 'Novice'. At least we have Splinter Cell: Blacklist to look forward to, that should actually be good...
Re: Talking Point: E3 Exposed the Strains of Nintendo's Development Workload
@Parkavenue359
No chance of Fallout 4 or any Bethesda title coming to Wii U. It'll be a fully fledged next-gen title and they are going to be too difficult to port without severely gimping the final product....plus innovative inputs isn't what major western publishers do. They can't be bothered. They believe their audience is on PS4/XBone/PC, etc.. To be honest, I don't think i'd be interested anyway in Fallout 4 after totally burning out on Bethesda Softworks monotonous game design in Skyrim.
I agree that Nintendo should be funding more 3rd party content though, much like the deal they have with Platinum Games. Nintendo do make great games, but expecting people to pay a premium for 5 or 6 1st party titles a year and a smattering of older ports/remakes/niche titles doesn't really cut it...
Re: Talking Point: E3 Exposed the Strains of Nintendo's Development Workload
I can't fathom how Nintendo thought it could build 3rd party support without providing adequate software itself. 9 months is an awfully long time to wait for a 1st party game of note. I was pretty impressed with what they showed at E3, but it's 12 months too late...
Re: Pachter: Without Third Party Support Nintendo Fans May End Up Buying A Second Console
The current price point for the deluxe is worringly close to the PS4. I think Nintendo need to rethink their pricing strategy if they want to get this thing off the ground. Mario Kart 8 releasing next Spring is not going to help things in the important Q4 window. Wii U is currently $355 (US) on Amazon at the moment, which is only $45 dollars less than the PS4 with its next gen tech and 3rd party support. I don't think Nintendo can compete with PS4 on those term.
$299 (US) w/h 3D Mario World bundled in would be a start. Nintendo are going to have to bite the bullet if they don't want to be pushed out of the picture by Sony's aggressive pricing strategy.
Re: Time: Nintendo Is "Stumped" By The Wii U GamePad And Should Ditch It
Well, i don't know how qualified Time magazine is to comment on gaming, but they're right in this instance.. The gamepad adds nothing 'game changing' to the experience of playing games on the Wii U...and i don't think Nintendo even know why it exists. It comes at too high a cost too.. I mean, the ability to play off-tv is neat and all, but as it is..it's not without it's problems. I'd rather have a more powerful system with traditional controls..
Innovate with the 'games' and not the 'inputs'. I love Nintendo, but i'm not a blinded fanboy...They're not innovating with their wiimote's and gamepad's. They're gimmicks that don't 'improve' the gaming experience. We just want to see innovation and ambition within the game mechanics of Nintendo's IP's...and it could be fairly argued that isn't quite happening atm.. Still, I think the Q3/Q4 2013 lineup for the Wii U is really good...particularly if you're a fan of 2d platformers like me..
Re: Wolfenstein: The New Order Looks Set To Skip Wii U
I'd like to ask Iwata why none of these following games are coming to Wii U, because they ALL should.
Ni No Kuni, Killer Is Dead, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, The Evil Within, Dark Souls 2, Murdered: Soul Suspect, Metal Gear Solid 5.
They're all games from publishers/developers (mostly Japanese) that Nintendo have had close relationships with. Why couldn't Iwata secure these games??
Re: Wolfenstein: The New Order Looks Set To Skip Wii U
@MadAussieBloke
Will 'pub brawling' come as dlc???
Re: Talking Point: Nintendo's Wii U Lineup Makes Commercial Sense
I think the line-up for the rest of the year is pretty good, if somewhat safe---if you already own a wii u. Looking at games like Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101, DK: Tropical Freeze, Sonic Lost World, Rayman: Legends, Super Mario 3D World, Wind Waker, etc.. makes me wish I was a kid again. They look great, and taken collectively are sure to get the wii u off the deck. I think it's a mistake releasing 3D Mario in December though. Ideally, I think Nintendo should announce a price drop in Q4 & bundle in 3D Mario before the Black Friday sales. Currently the pricepoint is far too close to the PS4...
Re: Nintendo Reveal Why Its 3D Mario Title Isn't Super Mario Galaxy 3
It's a very conservative entry into the 3D Mario franchise.. What unique use of the gamepad does this entry make??
Re: Ian Livingstone: Nintendo Should Have Their IP On Every Platform
The hardware business has been very lucrative for Nintendo, and making their IP's multiplatform would spell the death of Nintendo as a console maker. He does have a point though. A lot of young kids today are ignorant of Mario and Nintendo's mascot's/franchises, because there's far more competition in the hardware space than 20 years ago....even 10 years ago. Kids want tablets/ i-pads and i-phones/smartphones and do their gaming there. Wii U??? not as much...well yet. I'm not sure that Nintendo resonates with young kids of 2013 the same way as it did in 1991 or 2001 even...
The hardware sales also function to provide resources to put back into software development. So if you take the profits from hardware out of the equation, is it likely that Nintendo the publisher/developer will be able to bankroll multiple AAA standard games every year if it switched to 3rd party??
Make great games that make interesting (and not gimmicky) use of the gamepad, then market the console properly... and fortunes will probably improve markedly for Nintendo in the home console sphere.
Re: Rumour: Nintendo Is Recalling Wii U Basic Bundle
8 GB is pretty woeful for a modern home console. PS3 super slim has 500GB and it's about $50 cheaper than Wii U premium. I think they need to bundle in a game that people will want with the console too. NSMB U w/h Nintendoland would be the obvious choice, and its the combo they should've sold the console with in the first place....
Re: Talking Point: E3 2013 Is All About The Games
Well, Sony seems to be pretty well focused on the gaming side of things imo, but Microsoft is a different story. It is kind of refreshinng that the Wii U is probably going to be the only truly dedicated home console of the three this gen..
Wii U has been a bit of a disappointment so far, but it's exciting to think what lies ahead. Nintendo can just win over people by releasing great games as they have in the past..
I'm excited for Pikmin 3, 3D Mario, and whatever Retro Studios is working on...
Re: Hands On: Rage Quitting with Cloudberry Kingdom
Looks like some sadistic fun. This would be a great game for the 3DS or the Vita even...
Re: Pachter Predicts Wii U Price Cut, Feels Nintendo Is Losing "Non-Traditional" Players To Social And Mobile
I don't see why this guy is given so much attention. He's quite clearly American-centric in his outlook and openly barracking for Microsoft... He's wrong that Wii U will get no 3rd party support if EA abandons ship as well. It's almost like he doesn't acknowledge that Japan exists. Capcom, Konami, Atlus, Namco, Sega, et al will likely support the console unless sales are dire.. Ubisoft, WB and a couple of others will also bring major 3rd party western games. He's making it sound more dire than it is..
He's entitled to his opinion, but it's obvious he really dislikes Nintendo.
Re: Consumers Go Crazy For Wii U Following Xbox One Reveal
@Macarony64
I have no idea what they were thinking...
"XBox go home. You're Drunk!!!"
Re: Consumers Go Crazy For Wii U Following Xbox One Reveal
@chee006 yeah, 15 exclusives and probably half of them are kinect games. Admittedly, the Quantum Break game sounds intriguing...but yeah, Microsoft don't exactly have a reputation for bringing a wealth of exclusive IP to their platforms for the duration of the consoles life. I don't think they can dig themselves out of the hole they've got themselves into with respect to gamers. I still think it'll sell reasonably well, particularly in the US @ the demographic their targeting, i.e dudebro's and adult american men who watch live sports and like supercars...but my god, they are a breathtakingly arrogant organization...So many things wrong, and they couldn't care less what people think.
Re: Consumers Go Crazy For Wii U Following Xbox One Reveal
Wii U was never really in the picture in terms of what people want for next-gen gaming. Not saying it 'won't' have great games, cause i'm pretty sure it will..but what i've been seeing is a lot of xbox gamers say, 'stuff it, this machine isn't for me.. i'll just upgrade my PC and get a wii u' (as a 2nd system).
Nintendo has just been gifted a huge opportunity, but it won't matter unless they knock the ball out of the park at E3 by making some amazing game announcements for Q4 2013/Q1 2014..
Re: Microsoft To Announce Sequel To "Historic" Rare Franchise At E3
but seriously...it's Conker's Bad Fur Day 2..
Re: Microsoft To Announce Sequel To "Historic" Rare Franchise At E3
Battletoads hahahaha!! I guess it could be a Banjo K game, they've done a couple of those on XBox haven't they?? It won't be a Goldeneye reboot because Activision own the Bond license (god knows why...)
Fair chance its a Perfect Dark entry...but uh...there isn't hardly anyone left at Rare from the good ol' days...including myself It'll be a Rare game in name only most likely...Thanks Microsoft.
Re: Rumour: Wii U Sold Less Than 40,000 Units In North America In April
@CDreams
The fact of the matter is, what Nintendo have bought to the table so far isn't good enough.
They're selling you 8 year old hardware at a premium price (mainly due to a gamepad which not many people actually want), they don't have proper online infrastucture, the OS still needs to be fixed, it has no 3rd party western support apart from Ubisoft and a couple of WB titles...not because of a lack of an installed base, but because western developers realized long ago that Nintendo don't make their consoles with 'them' in mind. The only 1st party title of note in the first 9 months of the console is a rehash of a 2009 title that's been rehashed a million times before, and their advertising has been nothing short of abysmal, and still targeting the grandmas, kids, and families that they did with the wii. They say they want to bring back the 'core' gamer, but everything they've done up until now has contradicted this statement of intent. As an adult gamer, I don't feel as though Nintendo are interested in my support.
I'm not saying the console is doomed, and that's not what this article's about either. It's just showing that people are voting with their wallets because Nintendo have botched the new console launch. The fact of the matter is that the console is in bad shape at the moment, and until Nintendo take steps to rectify the situation, I think such articles, are completely warranted. Hopefully after E3 things will be much different.
Re: Ubisoft Confident Its Titles Will Attract Gamers To Wii U
I think Ubisoft have some awful business practices that rival EA and Activision. Though they do have some talented people creating the games, and those four games you mentioned are all promising. They'll port the games properly and they'll support them after launch, which you have to give them credit for i guess, and is more than can be said for certain other publishers.
Re: Talking Point: Nintendo's Mixed Week With Wii U Third-Party Support
I don't understand why EA were expecting the likes of Fifa, NFS, and ME:3 to shift a ton of units (on a new system with a small installed base), when they'd already been available on all other platforms for many months. They're pretty decent games, but i mean Mass Effect 3 for instance... Why would anyone buy it on a Wii U when its the third part of a 'trilogy', if they hadn't already played the 1st two?? If EA wanted their games to sell, they should've released an exclusive or a 'timed' exclusive like a Mirror's Edge 2 for instance. That would've sold. Zombi U, though not the greatest game in the world, sold well in large part because it was a system exclusive. I just, I don't understand EA's attitude. I think there are other 'unspoken' reasons why they've spat their dummy in the dirt, and it probably has to do with Origin 'not' being on the Wii U.