indienapolis

I'm pretty convinced that all of this is a result of the all hands on deck approach to getting games out the door this year. Ill even bet that Mario originally WAS for 3DS. WiiU needed it more. So this year we get HD versions of portable games while they hopefully fine tune bigger releases for 2014. These games will be good, but not what we expect to see for the new console.

Like most of today's news, I'm disappointed, but I have no doubt this will be a great game.

@Sony_70 Ok, ok. Put your t-shirts on eBay already.

@Sondheimist I agree, and was trying to make a similar point re: video games as an art form and developing their own language separate from film or literature.

Anyway, when will we get a Brakhage inspired video game???

@SanderEvers Well sir, I love Mario Galaxy and would also call it intelligent, so we're not really in disagreement there. What I'm getting at is that I think video games are at a crossroads creatively, not unlike film in its infancy, and it has potential to be seen as an important art form once it realizes its medium's full potential to exercise the emotions, understand the human predicament etc. Cut-scene heavy games are just aping what movies already do better, and aren't what I'm talking about. Video games are an interactive medium whose potential hinges on gameplay mechanics and interactivity in a way that movies, comics, poetry, etc. cannot. Others have mentioned Shadow of the Colossus as an example, and I think it is an apt one. It advances what it means to be a game without without becoming an interactive movie. It also reaches places emotionally without dialogue or hand holding instruction. Its a great experience and great game that owes much to Nintendo, and I would bet that its creators would admit as much. This is where I think games can go, SHOULD go, and I think the world would be better for Nintendo applying its superior game development to experiences like that. Not at the expense of more Mario and Zelda, and not exclusively M rated, but in a direction that Nintendo is currently only the inspiration for, and not one of the trailblazers it should be.

Well that's beside the point. I'm not talking about Last Of Us specifically, as I haven't played it, but I don't think that Mature themed games and intelligent games are mutually exclusive things...

I'm surprised at people's resistance to the idea of Nintendo branching out. Eternal Darkness and Geist were both great examples of games that Nintendo was heavily involved in developing, they were for a mature audience, and were great games. I don't want to see Mario and Zelda go away, but surely there's room for intelligent IPs in the Nintendo canon.

@polynomer Well, I'm a supporter of the project and I think they've done less than a great job communicating the direction of the endeavor. Worse than that, theyve let misinformation fester across the Internet. Regardless of what people's position was on Dennis Dyack, the multiple fundraising campaigns, and now the potential reboot are a little confusing to the consumer. I'm not implying malfeasance, hell, I donated money, but I think they could do a better job with public relations.

Got my refund today from the first campaign. Like everyone else I just want to see it get made. I'm still a little confused as to the current direction of the project. Do they have backing now? What's Nintendo's involvement, if any? Are they going to seek crowd funding again or do these new opportunities eliminate the need for it?

And if those PC prices were their sole source of income, they'd go out of business.

I own a fair number of XBLA games, so this is a major deal breaker for me and beyond that, this is a disturbing trend next gen. Thankfully Nintendo had a way to transfer WiiWare and VC. I hope consumers don't just accept this and I hope Sony comes around with some kind of PSN solution.

Thanks for the info...

I think that whichever PS or MS makes an announcement first to honor download purchases will take the lead, or at least get my money. I know that it will require emulation of some sort, and maybe even cost a small fee, but I hope the market doesn't encourage this sort of abandonment. If neither, then I will happily enjoy my WiiU till they develop their consoles further. And I doubt I'm the only multi-platform gamer that feels this way.

Having no way to transfer PSN and XBLA purchases was a bad move. I own all three systems and am very disappointed by this news. And I thought having to go into Wii mode on the WiiU was a hassle! I just hope this kind of baiting people into download titles and then locking them to your old system doesn't become a trend. I think this creates an opening for the WiiU with gamers, but could also be an opening for a system that caters to people who love indies (Ouya, Gamestick, or some kind of Steam box). Or maybe a PC renaissance? All that said, if Nintendo announces a Retro made Metroid title for Christmas, they could take an early lead.

I don't see how you can say it's a fair article given its sources are entirely anonymous. There used to be a time when it was considered journalistically unethical to publish things unattributed unless it was some sort of political scandal with international consequences. The article was well written, and much of what's there may have happened. But if no one is willing to go on the record, I have a hard time wanting to burn down someone's career over an unattributed article. The games he and SK have released are a mixed bag, and probably a fairer way to judge him.

Still, a shame about SotE.

Ha! "Tone deaf" and "lost touch with reality" could just as easily be applied to CNNs half-assed and wrong-headed approach to competing with Fox News and MSNBC. Holographic Will.I.Am anyone? No wonder they are so enamored with the Kinect.

Nintendo has made a lot of bad decisions with the WiiU, no doubt, but I don't trust CNNs analysis of gaming trends any more than I would trust them with news coverage. Just from this article, I wouldn't consider the Kinect a success critically or even technologically, and porting games to smartphones when the 3DS is a financial success?? How is this person qualified to provide game industry analysis?

@GiftedGimp What are you basing this speculation on? I agree that release is damage control, it's more than implied in the release itself, but already deciding what the game is worth?? A little ahead of yourself, aren't you?

So far I think TVii is a sadly wasted idea. The biggest thing it had going for it, IMO, was to be able to search and suggest content from across streaming services and live TV, as well as create a unified queue of some sort. As someone who uses multiple streaming services, this sounded like a great idea. No more "is it on Netflix, no, launch Hulu, no, maybe pay for it through Amazon Video?". Or so I had hoped. As-is, its search function doesn't work very well, it is far from comprehensive with regards to content I KNOW is available, and when you DO find something to watch and select the viewing option, you are treated to the painful loading times it takes to open whatever service it streams from rather than the ability to stream through TVii. It's all pretty clunky and ultimately useless. I check back in from time to time to see if its gotten better, but so far no. I find the Miiverse aspect of it interesting, especially for live TV, but just not engaging enough to bother with the rest of it. Here's to hoping they can refine it.

@hiptanaka Yes.

@AlexSora89 Yeah, but its always a numbers game for publishers, and I assume a component of that is how much Nintendo is willing to pay for exclusivity and for how long. If the money/support isn't there, they won't publish a game out of charity. That said, I don't see what it would've harmed for Ubi to release for WiiU as originally planned and then rolled it out for PS and Xbox in September. Fans were pissed, the creators were pissed, and now they are trying to offer an olive branch. Does it make it all better, no, but i've seen people talking about not buying ZombiU as a result. And what good is that going to accomplish? I want more ZombiUs (and equally ambitious games) from third parties, not less.

OVERRATED?!?

Afternoon productivity ruined

I agree with this sentiment, and support petitioning companies, but I'd also add that you have to differentiate between longstanding fan requests or complaints (for which a grassroots show of support can help bring about a consumer desire) and full-on boycott, like what seems to be the current message board threat against Ubisoft and is likely going to result in no more Ubisoft games for Nintendo consoles. I think that what Ubisoft is pulling with Rayman is terrible, but unfortunately a full stoppage of support for Ubisoft games on the WiiU, when that relationship is already tenuous, won't get the fans what they want. And although Ubisoft makes some crap games, they also create a lot of quality software that I wouldn't want to see leave Nintendo altogether. I think Ubi made a numbers decision with Rayman, that while I think it is crap for me the WiiU owner, I can understand, and because of a swell of complaint they are now trying to make amends. There's no great answer here, but I think some of the boycott rhetoric seems a little overheated, and is likely just going to result in NO more original IPs, NO Rayman, and NO Assassins Creed in the future, which is lousy. Keep complaining, show support for the games you want, but be realistic about your goals, and don't be too hasty to slap away concessions your protesting won. This is consumerist entertainment we're talking about here, not civil rights.

@mwellert No, the games are tied to your system. I'm sure there's someone out there with a tricky work-around, but as far as simple plug and play, no. Nintendo (hell, no game company) wants digital downloads being swapped between hard drives.

Definitely getting. Anyone know why no season pass for WiiU?

@SCAR392 The upside is the convenience of not having to swap in and out discs and add to clutter (if that's a concern). The biggest downside IMO is eliminating the possibility of selling the game when you're done. I have a couple download titles and have grown to love the (minor) convenience of the downloaded game.

If I hadn't already bought ZombiU and AC3, I'd be all over this. For anyone on the fence I'd say the second screen functionality, though minor, makes the WiiU version of AC3 the best.

So, with the GBA Fire Emblem (and a handful of other ambassador GBA titles) quasi available for the 3DS, the promise of GBA on the WiiU, and the merger of the handheld and home teams at Nintendo corporate, are we going to finally get cross-platform purchasing? I've been willing to go along with Nintendo's pricing and upgrade plans for the Virtual Console, but c'mon, doesn't this make sense?