gregrout

Nintendo has been a disappointment for the last two years. If they don't release the NX this year they have a lot to answer for to the people they screwed over with Wii-Us.

What has Nintendo done in 2015? Not much. They were suppose to have a replacement for the Nintendo Club, that didn't happen. Their in-house releases for 2015 lacked a lot of the quality fans expect. Nintendo has pretty much phoned it in for most of 2015. As a Wii-U owner I'm kind of miffed. Two years and out to pasture for the Wii-U isn't instilling a lot of confidence in the company. I'm not sure what the NX tagline will be, maybe "Trust us this time".

Bought it, so far it's great! There's a learning curve to finding items in creative mode, as it doesn't mirror the PC version. This could have been the definitive version had developers taken the time to take advantage of the Wii-U's hardware. The two opportunities missed are the Wii-U's game pad for inventory and not being able to use your Mii as a skin. Otherwise it's a good port.

@faint Thank you.

The e-shop was crashing this morning (7-8am EST) with Wii-U error code 102-2533. When I finally get into the store, Minecraft is not for sale. Went out for a few hours (holiday shopping), tried the eshop again (11:45am) and the Minecraft page still doesn't have an option to buy the game, only to add it to your wishlist.

There's very little incentive to develop for the Wii-U gamepad. Why waste time and money on a port that won't sell any where close to the volume of PS3/PS4, XBox360/XBoxOne and PC versions? Add the fact that making the Wii-U platform the definitive version (with touch screen inventory) would hurt Microsoft's XBox One version.

Nintendo has been dropping duds while most of Nintendo's focus is on NX. They pulled the exact same stunt with the Wii, dropping the same shovel-ware while the real talent focused on the Wii-U. We'll get our swan song, out of the Zelda game (ironically the same fate the Wii sufferred in it's last year).

They're going to have to release something spectacular if they want my money. As far as I'm concerned Nintendo has thoroughly shot themselves in the foot. I have little motivation to invest any further the Wii-U or 3DS. They killed the Nintendo Club, they've put EA to shame with so much DLC, they've spending way too much time on Amiibo and 3DS themes and far too little on quality games and they've announced the NX which should go into production in less than a year.

So far this year has been one big long disappointment for game titles. It's like reliving the final year of the Wii, only one great Zelda game came out that year. Looks like Nintendo is busy with making iOS apps and NX.

This reminds me of the last year of the Wii. Nintendo moved on to Wii-U development and most of that year was a lot of 3rd party "filler" releases with the exception Zelda Skyward Sword.

I try to avoid games like these. A game that is solely dependant on online play will likely be fun around release; then as people's interest wanes, you're left with very little. They really should have focused on bots and local play, instead of putting all their eggs in the online basket. Could you imagine Mario Kart with 1 VS 1 local racing only and online play?

I was really hoping this would have been a co-op version (With Don't Starve Together close to release on the PC). The whole "single player only" gameplay is honestly a letdown for people that have the PC version already. There's just no way I could see my kids playing this game on the Wii-U more than a handful of times before the frustration takes it's toll. It's a great game. If you don't have it on PC it's worth getting. It's just not "kid-friendly" survival game like minecraft.

It's May 27th 2015. Nintendo is running a "buy one get a free copy promotion" but you can't buy the game through the eshop...

Not using the old controllers is a deal breaker for me. I already have multiple controllers from Rockband & Guitar Hero. I'm not about to run out and rent a storage locker for a new round of controllers.

Hopefully this game will follow in Minecraft's footsteps. The building and game mechanics are entertaining, but what really made minecraft a huge success was a development team that was committed to continuously update and reinvent the game. Redstone, pistons, horses, adventure mode... the list goes on... Unfortunately, so many developers are driven by suits looking for stellar reviews and immediate profits that they tend to always pull the plug way too early.

@akaDv8R Well I did buy Fantasy Life and it's not a bad game. I managed to master everything except the mercenary class (which I intended to do; but couldn't muster the motivation - as it's VERY repetitive). The thing that really concerns me is this move towards premium-ware. Nintendo has been dabbling into it and it won't surprise me to see Fantasy Life 2 as pay as you go "game" on the 3DS if it succeeds in the smartphone/tablet market. I just hope this doesn't become the new normal for Nintendo titles. In my opinion if Nintendo goes premium-ware, they're going to lose out bigtime.

So basically Fantasy Life 2 will be the last title in the series. The whole "adult" spin is just another way of saying Premiumware. They're utterly insane if they think I'm going to install this money sink on my smartphone and let my kids rack up hundreds on dollars of "in app purchases".

No review yet... I hope this is just because it's in progress. If it's because reviewers didn't get the game pre-release it's typically a bad sign... Fingers crossed, hopefully the real team behind the Harvest Moon IP will deliver another gem like Rune Factory 4.

Based on game development cycles, from the size, scope and pure ambition of this Zelda title it's probably being reworked as a release title for the new NX platform. All huge AAA sandbox games of this magnitude take 3-5 years to develop (GTA V took 5 years alone for the PS3/XBOX360), If NX is going to be released in 2017-2018 that will give them 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 years (considering we're already half way through 2015), so they are going to have to start working on NX material now.

Rune Factory 4 should have been in the list.

Dedication to "in-house" development and "serious gaming hardware" pretty much spells out the death of the Wii-U. Nintendo has been VERY clear in the past that they have NOT given up on the Wii-U. That announcement was noticeably absent this time around. Especially with the announcement of "NX and serious gaming hardware", if there was ever a time to put out the fires of the Wii-U being abandoned, that was the time to repeat Nintendo's commitment to the Wii-U. It never came, so it's time to face the music.

I have Don't Starve for PC. It's a great game. They're working on a multiplayer version now (for PC) that includes the option to play as a female. The female character is the deal breaker for me. I have the PC version (so for me there's no real need to grab the Wii-U version), my daughters won't touch this game, especially the yougest one, unless they can play as the female character. Here's hoping...

I knew Luigi's evil gaze would scuttle any hopes of a family game nomination.

Definitely the worst offering of 2014.

@KillScottKill It's NOT taxes. The price is actually drawn into the eShop bitmap (jpg file) for the Bayonetta deal. I highly doubt Nintendo would create a separate jpeg for every tax combination out there. There's one thing that did cross my mind; it's possible, that Nintendo has started using exchange rate pricing between Canada and the USA (They didn't do this in the past because the currencies were pretty much on par).

I'm a bit surprised to see Nintendo renege on their Bayonetta 2 promotion. For the last month, Nintendo made the comment on numerous occasions that both games would sell for $59.99, they even stated that customers wouldn't pay more than $59.99. The day before release they jacked up the eShop price to $64.98 for both games.

@FritzFrapp I guess you're one of the confused people. Nintendo has stated that Bayonetta 2 will sell for $49.99 on the eShop. If you purchase the first game of the series as well, Nintendo will reduce the price of this game to match the $59.99 retail version of the game So holding up the retail version that costs $10 dollars more proves that you didn't read my post. "http://bayonetta2.nintendo.com/bayonetta/" "Buying either Bayonetta or Bayonetta 2 on Nintendo eShop will get you an automatic discount on the other game when you purchase it. You’ll end up paying just $59.98 total for both titles*. " - cut and pasted from the above link. " In stores: Bayonetta 2 will come with the original Bayonetta game included on a separate disc." - cut and pasted again. The retail price is $59.99 for the physical copy that contains both games. And here's the FAQ directly from Nintendo's website : http://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/12456/p/431 - note: "If you purchase Bayonetta 2 for its regular price of $49.99* on Nintendo eShop, then you'll get an automatic discount of $20.00 on the purchase of the original Bayonetta. With this discount, you will only pay $9.99* for the original Bayonetta."

I don't see where all the confusion is. No one is getting the first game for free. Nintendo has clearly stated that Bayonetta 2 is $49.99 (eShop). Their deal/promotion is that they will discount the original game (eShop) so the total cost for both will be $59.99, (basically $10 for the original game). The physical version is simply the $59.99 deal for both games. To my knowledge, there are no plans to release a $49.99 physical copy (Bayonetta 2 only) through retail channels in North America.

I was kind of hoping this wouldn't be as good as it is. I'm going to be sooooo poor with Smash, Pokemon, Persona Q, etc... on the way.

Yeah, a video that's 85% bad font and grunge metal and 15% of placing 4 doors, 90 degree turn with shampoo commercial effects. I almost lost it when they dug up 10 blocks of dirt. This looks amazing. They showed off the dirt block and the dirt block with grass on top. And it's going to be released in 2014! Nintendo needs to wake up here. There's a real risk of killing off your own electronic distribution business if you starting pursuing quantity over quality. Develop some quality control quickly or your eshop business will suffer. No respectable indie developer is going pour hours and thousands in development costs to produce Wii-U titles for an eshop that's become a dumping ground for shovelware.

I'll never understand why this kind of idiocy exists. Your typical kid would see even less clothing during a trip to the beach (Of course I'm assuming body length capes aren't going to be the next fashion fad). But I degress, the important message here from the higher powers that regulate the industry is that it's perfectly OK for a kid to beat the living snot out of people so long as they do so exposing as little skin as possible.

I'll wait for the Wii-U version. This title is tempting, but it's going to cost a small fortune to purchase 4 or more copies of the 3DS version just to play with your family. Buying the game only once for Wii-U will give me the fullscreen visuals that the 3DS can't because of it's smaller screen, better graphics and more gameplay variety.

Ouch, I bought a 128GB flash card, it's good to know there's a limit. This will definitely alter my habit of "buying indie games on a whim". No more impulse buying for me. The 128GB card wasn't cheap, I'd rather fill that card up with AAA titles and stellar indie games. Anyone know if there's a cap on the Wii-U?

This is really annoying. Nintendo needs to move into the 1990s already. Disabling the main feature of the software kind of defeats the purpose. Late 90s and through the 00s, Valve was banning grieving idiots. Change your terms and conditions and then cut off all access to the Miiverse or better yet ban their Nintendo Network ID. If someone is going to lose online access or even the use of their eshop purchases, it would go a long way in curbing these idiots. It's so frustrating to see innocent customers get burned for something 99.9999.....% of Nintendo customers wouldn't do. It's not right.

I really think this is a bad idea overall. I have very fond memories playing on my SNES, heck even my Colecovision. These remakes are "nice to have"s for the converted. I can state that Virtual Console was NEVER a consideration when I bought the 3DS/3DS XL/Wii/Wii-U. Once you start lining up developers and spending most your resources on emulators and remakes you're throwing in the towel. I'm not going to drop $399 on a PS4 with a Colecovision emulator. No one in there right mind is going to drop $349.99 on a Wii-U to play NES Remix. It's the new games, especially the exclusives that sell systems.

There's 3 games there I don't have, Kirby, Yoshi and Mickey Mouse. The only game there that mildly enticing is Kirby.

Minecraft for the Wii-U, that is all.

20 plays is like giving the game away for free. In 5 days you can see all there is to see.

I think my wallet is safe.

I don't know how Chasing Aurora and Little Inferno made the Wii-U list. I found those two game pretty boring. I would swap them out for Child Of Light and Unepic. The 3DS list isn't too bad. I'd add Rune Factory 4 (get it while you can as the developer has folded).

This doesn't exist in Canada

@Philip_J_Reed - I'll check it out. I could be wrong. I'm really finding this "town" a nightmare to navigate.

This title feels like Premium-ware. I wish I had read the reviews before I plunged in. I was stunned to see the game credits when I completed the third course. I bought the season's pass when I purchased the game and I have to say I'm hugely disappointed. The available DLC download surrounding Princess Peach isn't even a full course. It's only 9 holes which is hugely misleading. For the DLC cost you'd at least expect a full course.

I had fun while it lasted. I was utterly disappointed to find out this $40.00 3DS game only had 3 courses. Completing the 3rd course in first place (getting the third crown) and seeing the game credits scroll across the screen was shocking. For another $20.00 I could buy a season pass, which consists of half a course (9-holes), so far... For $40.00, I'd expect a minimum of 6 courses. This game is fun, but I'm convinced this "game" (more of a demo) is going out the door as premium-ware. We barely have a full game with gateway to a lot of DLC content. Get your wallets out...

I think the issue here is intent. If your approach towards Nintendo is as a developer, you'll be supported. If your approach as in this case, is tabloid journalist then you should be denied. Nothing was going to stop Brandon Sheffield from writing his "dire-Nintendo" click bait piece. The fact that Sheffield is linked to game development is a coincident to his interview request. There's no title or mention of any potential Wii-U / 3DS title remotely linked to Necrosoft. Nintendo saw this as what it was and gave Sheffield the cold shoulder he deserves.

I don't think I'll be touching this ever or anything else this company develops. This company has some serious issues. They released a garbage game with a grossly overpriced $49.99 price tag. They've "fixed" their game for the UK using NA gamers input but they left all their North American customers up the creek without a paddle. This should be a free update for North American purchasers especially if this company used their input to make a better product but they didn't bother. On the other side of the spectrum we have Vblank Entertainment that's been releasing update after update for Retro City Rampage. Now that is a real developer that stands behind their game. This developer doesn't deserve your business.

We should have a moment of silence for the 3DS owners out there that bought this horrific screen saver.

It's looking like the Wii-U drought of 2013 here. There's not much here except maybe the Moon Chronicles and that's questionable at best based on previous shooters (DS- with their stylus controlled camera).

I think Pete's missed the bus on this one. Indie developers will continue to come out with new games. What's completely missing from Peter's diagnosis is the huge factor mobile games have on the industry. No AAA developer has been able to develop a huge smartphone hit. Indie developers own this industry. We're seeing a lot of these hits being ported to the PC/Console. There's no sign that this is going to change anytime soon.

There's a couple of games I'd consider buying if the price was lower. It's ridiculous to see these games priced between AAA titles and proven indie titles like Trine 2.