"(as I don't want the crap that is Party Games Vol 12, My little pony and all the other games for your 5 year old or your grandmother that the developers feel the Wii is only good for)"
You're either blind or don't want to see the excellent games that have been released already and the ones that will get released soon. Yeah, so the wii certainly has those kinds of titles, but no one is forcing you to buy them, are they?
Zombies, more zombies and yet more zombies, but now on space... Thing is, if this is what being "mature" is all about, then sign me off... It's clear the audience for this type of "mature" game (teens and very young adults) is more busy playing the types of games they already have on their XBoxes and PS3s.
I'd rather play original games with interesting and challenging gameplay on my wii. I was around before people started to misuse the word "hardcore" to mean "FPSs with lots of gore" and I have enough hardcore games on my Wii already, like any Mario game, any Megaman game, Metroid Prime, and soon Sin and Punishment 2 which is the only shooter I need.
"Awesome, but I’d of liked this for Wii more than DS, the screens on the DS are too small IMO, even though I enjoyed the first DS game the constant zooming in and out eventually got on my nerves." Just noticed this... In this game there is no need for zooming in. Puzzles have a maximum size of 10x10x10 blocks and always fit nicely on the screen (the program automatically zooms in/out so the whole puzzle is visible.
This is one of the reasons this game replaced 2D Picross for me
I love this game, it's so good I stopped playing the 2D version (and that one was my favorite puzzle game until then).
I imported the Japanese version because I didn't want to wait a year so I've been playing it since release and language is not really a problem because after a while playing around you'll know what all the menus mean. You can even participate on contests because those are listed on a web site that can be translated automatically.
But the biggest reason was the fact that Picross 2D got awful support in Europe with just 2 downloadable packs. So far, Picross 3D has had about 30 downloadable packs of puzzles with 8 contests. Somehow I'm not sure all those will make it to Europe, and I wasn't about to wait a whole year to find out...
"the report showed that the use of Wii Fit dropped by a huge 82% over the course of the study,"
Not surprisingly, if they don't use it it can't be very effective...
Wii Fit might be just a game, but some of its activities are physical enough (like running in place) to sweat a bit. I think a little activity is always good, so for people that won't get out and do something like cycle or run, it's better than nothing.
Of course, the balance board can't do much if it's just stitting there gathering dust...
Anyone that says homebrew on the DS is stupid hasn't seen ZXDS ( http://zxds.raxoft.cz/ ), which I'd say is the best ZX Spectrum emulator in any platform.
BTW, ZX Spectrum emulators are legal and most of its games are legally available from the World of Spectrum site ( http://worldofspectrum.org ) and that site even has the consent of Amstrad who now owns the Spectrum
Those two alone justify the purchase of a cart in my opinion. And there are many more good apps and games too. Which to me proves that a flashcart has enough legitimate and legal uses to remain legally available.
Yeah, Now I can't get the G&W games, but I'd love to get them eventually...
What happened with the G&W Gallery games? There were 3 for GB and 1 for GBA but none for DS. I really liked those collections and the DS is perfect for a next game in the series...
Well, as long as no one is forcing us to buy crap software, I don't really have a problem with this. There were some excellent games this year and I'm looking forward to some really interesting games next year. That's all that really matters
Well, I think the patent thing is a bit of a grey area. That's usually what companies in that position use, but as long as it is done to add interoperability to a product, it should be safe.
Note, that if other companies were not allowed to use a device shaped as a DS cart to extend the functionality of the machine, they wouldn't be allowed to make peripherals for Nintendo products either, like Classic controllers which have to imitate Nintendo's plug so they work with Nintendo's wiimote, etc...
"It's a basic technology that delivers a general image with sound and should be pretty much available for altering by anyone."
It wasn't always this way, and the fact that content providers decided to lawsuit video manufacturers is telling. Times have changed, and tv is universal now, but I still think Nintendo's position now is similar to what the content providers faced back then when they decided video technology was hurting them.
Interoperability is the key word here as it was then. As long as flash carts have legitimate uses, they'll remain legal (and they should).
BTW, I don't think this is just about piracy. Piracy is an excuse, but if it was only about piracy Nintendo would try to fight the pirates directly. But first, it is easier to go for the flash carts because they're fewer, and second, they don't want to let people run whatever software they want on their machines. They'd rather sell you something that you can easily get for free in a legal legitimate way. That is unfair, and I'm glad they're being stopped.
Edit: Also, Nintendo probably makes a lot of money from licensed developers and developer kits, so I can see how if anyone could develop for the machine they could see it as hurtful, but I think the advantages of opening the systems are enough. One of the reasons the iPhone has been so successful is the fact that anyone can download the sdk for free and start developing. I've been programming for the Mac as a hobby for many years, and when Apple switched to Mac OS X and started giving the developer tools for free it was an amazing change. And that has made the number of software being developed for the mac increase by a lot. Nintendo makes the best and most polished games for their products anyway, and there's no way a homebrew game is ever going to compete with them or take away significant sales. I just don't see what their problem is...
It's also interesting to note that the court in this case sees Nintendo's actions to limit who can develop for their consoles as an unfair restriction, and urged them to open their devices so people can develop freely.
@Ren: The parallel I drew holds because the example of video recorders is very similar to consoles.. TVs were not designed for you to record stuff, but video recorders were released which added this functionality. Your argument is like saying that because a TV uses a proprietary signal plug, no one can make devices that connect to that TV and that's just plain wrong.
BTW, I don't think there's a problem in using their proprietary card design to archive interoperability. Flash Manufacturers must reverse-engineer the consoles and they do so just to be able to produce a product that extends the functionality of the console. From what I've read, that is not illegal.
I'm just saying that flashcards are in the same boat as all those other media types which can also be used to pirate stuff. A DVD-R can be used to watch a pirated movie, but it can also be used to back up my computer, watch a free movie someone posted on the net or many other things. An iPod can be used to listen to the music I purchased legally on the go, or to listen to pirated music.
A flash card can be used to run legal homebrew software, play legal music/videos, etc... They're just adding functionality to the console that gives you power to do more with it. What you actually do with it, is your own choice. If you choose to run pirated software then it's your own choice. Just as no one is forcing you to download pirated movies off the net with your computer, and no one is saying computers should be illegal because they allow you to break the law, then by the same reasoning, flashcards should also be allowed because they don't brake the law themselves.
BTW, I'm glad judges seem to agree with this reasoning in many countries, my own included And here's a link: http://w-o-n.org/index.php?p=2962
"The companies therefore opted to sue Sony and its distributors in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in 1976, alleging that because Sony was manufacturing a device that could potentially be used for copyright infringement, they were thus liable for any infringement that was committed by its purchasers."
And this is part of what the court said:
"[There must be] a balance between a copyright holder's legitimate demand for effective - not merely symbolic - protection of the statutory monopoly, and the rights of others freely to engage in substantially unrelated areas of commerce. Accordingly, the sale of copying equipment, like the sale of other articles of commerce, does not constitute contributory infringement if the product is widely used for legitimate, unobjectionable purposes. Indeed, it need merely be capable of substantial noninfringing uses...."
So, they lost... and thanks to that you can enjoy all sorts of recording devices nowadays...
They recently lost another case in Spain too. The thing is, these flash cards are just like any other type of writable media that have many legal uses too: Video recorders, CD-Rs, etc... there are too many precedents in history that support these rulings...
The flash cards add legitimate uses to their consoles like using homebrew software, playing music, etc... and those are things that no console manufacture should be allowed to limit. They should go after the real pirates, the ones actually distributing illegal software...
Also, even if flash cards were mostly used to pirate games, that shouldn't matter. What are CD-Rs mostly used for? Pirating music. But that doesn't make them illegal. Should computers and harddrives be illegal too because people use them to pirate programs, games, music and movies??
The problem is they want to control what's used in their consoles and that is just a stupid approach. Just look at the approach of Apple or Google with the iPhone and Android. Opening up their consoles to let people freely develop and users freely choose what they want to use their consoles for would be a great idea. It's not just about piracy. Now we have a system where if a user wants to get say a notebook application they have just one choice and it's not free, while if you've got a flash cart there are a few free ones you can choose between. And that's just one example....
Wow!!!!! Great news. I love Megaman 9 and although I didn't finish, I'm close to finishing it The only MM game I finished was MM2, which I hear is the easiest in the series...
I've been playing PH again in anticipation for this one, and it looks like it won't disappoint
BTW, I agree Ocean Temple wasn't as bad. For me it was fun trying to spend as little time as possible each time you had to go in...
And I'm not too sorry for the lack of online play. PH's online mode was sort of a gimmick, I played a few times and then forgot about it... Now, if they'd made something like 4 Swords, that would be something else...
If a Stunt racing game deserves an update on modern consoles, it definitely is Stunt Car Racer, which btw was originally released in 1989 with amazing 3d visuals for the time. The Amiga version was best, but even the modest ZX Spectrum version was very playable, and really amazing for such a powerless machine.
To call Link's Awakening DX a remake is quite a stretch. It's exactly the same game with the same gameplay and graphics, just with added color plus one dungeon. That's not what comes to mind when I think of a remake of a game with modern technology...
Still I'd love to see new 2D Zelda games although I can't complain. The Toon Link Zeldas for DS are as close as you can get to them with 3D graphics
Everyone talks about shovelware for the wii. With its success it's not surprising and it's not like it hasn't happened before with the succesful consoles in older generations. And anyway, there's plenty of shovelware in all the other consoles. The point is what good games there are... Wii has plenty of great titles and some amazing stuff is coming ( Sin&Punishment 2, Metroid, Zelda, etc...). I'm sure PS3 has great games too but I'm still not interested in it... so to each their own....
They really need to make more games available as demos. I own all of those except FF (which I'll try, of course), but right now there are just too few demos...
It's a bit like the DS demos: Sometimes, once in a while, a game I'm interested in will crop up there, and it's great, but most of the times, they're not, so overall it's not such a useful service...
I had this card but traded it away. It's an ok game, but now that I have the Golf version of Wii Sports Resort, I wouldn't really play this one at all...
After having played the game I quite agree with the review although the score is too low. It's really a great game if you like climbing and the most realistic one too.
I'd say, to anyone interested in this sport to give it a try. It's not as hard as the review seems to make it, and it's very satisfying when you reach the top of the harder walls.
Rock'n'Roll Climber is actually quite good. The controls with the balance board are very cool but sometimes have some problems. The games is quite challenging, still, once you start getting the controls, it flows better and is quite fun although playing with the balance board which requires you to lean forward all the time, is tiring after a while... but that makes the game more immersive
I saw this the other day and it really made me want to play the game I wasn't too keen on the whole train thing, but it looks like this game could be a winner... (I loved the first one btw, although this one could be even better)
BTW, aspect ratio seems to be the same, so no black borders or anything of the sort. Seems like the screen will be 100% compatible with existing games.
And, it's funny. The screen resolution of the DS is exactly the same as the ZX Spectrum... No wonder the ZX Spectrum emulator looks so good on the DS..
Well, with it's current screen size, the screen resolution is 80 points per inch, which would drop to 60 with the new size. Considering that computer displays usually have 72 (although that might have changed for some people with higher end displays) that doesn't seem so bad.
Still, I'd wait and see before buying this... If games look blocky because the pixels are too big then I'd rather keep my DSi. The issue of transfering your DSiWare purchases is also key...
"Well they're already heading to do that with Warioware:DIY"
Exactly! That one is a sure buy for me!
Well, even though most people might not have ideas to create cool levels, some people will. On many computer games I've played levels created by users and some were excellent. Just look at games like DROD ( http://caravelgames.com/Articles/Games.html ) with a thriving user community that makes levels, many which end up being part of later comercial releases...
Until recently, computers couldn't be used to duplicate CDs as at most they'd come with a CD player installed, not a CDR. You had to actually buy a CD recorder yourself. But that didn't make CDr companies suspect of promoting piracy... So it's not a question of the device used to pirate something being included with the computer/console or not.
Flashcarts do have a legitimate, legal use, just like photocopiers, video recorders, cdrs, dvdrs, etc... It's not a question of how good homebrew is (there are some excellent games, but not that many...) it's a question of flashcards addressing a particular need for many people, a need not addressed officially by Nintendo, and a need which is not illegal in any way: to be able to install software being developed independent of Nintendo.
Hopefully at some point, some judge will notice that the case of the flashcards is the same as that old video recorder case and Nintendo will have to learn to live with them.
And btw, if you really want to support developers buy your games close to the release date. Don't buy them secondhand (it's legal but they don't get ANYTHING ) and don't buy them at discount price.
@Dicesukeinuzuka "to maka The people who buy used games are at least buying the game, and are probably more likely to get their games NEW and legally if they go to the store v.s. downloading games via internet. If used games were such a big problem, then I bet Big game companies would have mentioned them along with flashcarts when talking about why games' sales are slipping. I really just think your trying to make it seem okay to own a flashcart. "
Of course I'm trying to make it seem okay to own a flashcart, because it IS ok, as long as you don't pirate games with it. I don't care about the intent of the makers just the intent of the buyers. Even then, the newer flashcarts are clearly sold with the intent of being used for homebrew as they include features such as auto DLDI patching so running homebrew is much much easier.
Also, game companies clearly hate the 2nd hand market, and are doing all in their power to eliminate it. Digital content is one solution (just look at how you can't even move your DSiWare or WiiWare putchases to another console). Of course, until they actually manage to make 2nd hand trading illegal, they can't do much about it.
And why is music so different? I don't think the big music companies or film companies agree with this. Many people download all the music they listen and never care to buy the legit CDs/DVDs. Still Video Recorders and CDRs are legal (and that's not thanks to those companies, anyway. Remeber: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Corp._of_America_v._Universal_City_Studios,_Inc. ).
Hands up those who NEVER EVER have pirated anything in their whole lives. No music, no CDs, no videogames, no pc-games, no roms, no tapes (for those of us that are older), no movies in any form. If you raised your hand you're lying. Also, have you ever bought a 2nd hand game, movie, cd, etc...? That hurts the original producer just as much as pirating because you have it and they didn't get a dime from what you payed...
To me, what is important is to support those people producing content you like. When a friend shows me a band I didn't know and copies their cd so I can listen to it at home, if I end up liking it, I'll buy their record and go to their concerts (and that's no maybe, that's 100% sure). That's much more meaningful than how you were first exposed to their music. So it was a pirated CD, so what?
Anyway, the point is not that you can pirate games with these devices, the point is they have a legitimate use and it's up to the final consumer how to use them. A CDR or DVDR drive can be used to pirate all kinds of stuff, MP3 players and DVD players can be used to play pirated music or movies. Heck, even computers, printers, scanners, photo cameras or video cameras can be used to pirate stuff!! Should all those things be forbidden too?
Nintendo's policy makes no sense in the modern world.
BTW, have any of you seen the wonderful ZXDS emulator? That one alone is worth the price of a flash card, and note that the ZX Spectrum games you can get from www.worldofspectrum.org are ALL legal.
Well... Stunt Car Racer for the C64 VC would certainly be a great release... in fact there are so many great C64 games that could be released on the VC... c'mon!!!!!!!!!
Comments 270
Re: Sega to Abandon Mature Wii Audience?
"(as I don't want the crap that is Party Games Vol 12, My little pony and all the other games for your 5 year old or your grandmother that the developers feel the Wii is only good for)"
You're either blind or don't want to see the excellent games that have been released already and the ones that will get released soon. Yeah, so the wii certainly has those kinds of titles, but no one is forcing you to buy them, are they?
Re: Sega to Abandon Mature Wii Audience?
Zombies, more zombies and yet more zombies, but now on space... Thing is, if this is what being "mature" is all about, then sign me off... It's clear the audience for this type of "mature" game (teens and very young adults) is more busy playing the types of games they already have on their XBoxes and PS3s.
I'd rather play original games with interesting and challenging gameplay on my wii. I was around before people started to misuse the word "hardcore" to mean "FPSs with lots of gore" and I have enough hardcore games on my Wii already, like any Mario game, any Megaman game, Metroid Prime, and soon Sin and Punishment 2 which is the only shooter I need.
Re: Review: Tomena Sanner (WiiWare)
I love Maboshi which is also mostly about one button, so maybe I'd enjoy this one too...
Re: Look out Europe! Picross 3D Coming to Swallow Up Your Time
"Awesome, but I’d of liked this for Wii more than DS, the screens on the DS are too small IMO, even though I enjoyed the first DS game the constant zooming in and out eventually got on my nerves."
Just noticed this... In this game there is no need for zooming in. Puzzles have a maximum size of 10x10x10 blocks and always fit nicely on the screen (the program automatically zooms in/out so the whole puzzle is visible.
This is one of the reasons this game replaced 2D Picross for me
Re: Look out Europe! Picross 3D Coming to Swallow Up Your Time
I love this game, it's so good I stopped playing the 2D version (and that one was my favorite puzzle game until then).
I imported the Japanese version because I didn't want to wait a year so I've been playing it since release and language is not really a problem because after a while playing around you'll know what all the menus mean. You can even participate on contests because those are listed on a web site that can be translated automatically.
But the biggest reason was the fact that Picross 2D got awful support in Europe with just 2 downloadable packs. So far, Picross 3D has had about 30 downloadable packs of puzzles with 8 contests. Somehow I'm not sure all those will make it to Europe, and I wasn't about to wait a whole year to find out...
Edit: BTW, check out this translated page for more information: http://66.196.80.202/babelfish/translate_url_content?.intl=us&lp=ja_en&trurl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.nintendo.co.jp%2fds%2fc6pj%2fnews%2findex.html#closed_contest1
Re: Wii Fit Doesn't Improve Fitness?
"the report showed that the use of Wii Fit dropped by a huge 82% over the course of the study,"
Not surprisingly, if they don't use it it can't be very effective...
Wii Fit might be just a game, but some of its activities are physical enough (like running in place) to sweat a bit. I think a little activity is always good, so for people that won't get out and do something like cycle or run, it's better than nothing.
Of course, the balance board can't do much if it's just stitting there gathering dust...
Re: Nintendo To Appeal French Flash Card Case
Anyone that says homebrew on the DS is stupid hasn't seen ZXDS ( http://zxds.raxoft.cz/ ), which I'd say is the best ZX Spectrum emulator in any platform.
BTW, ZX Spectrum emulators are legal and most of its games are legally available from the World of Spectrum site ( http://worldofspectrum.org ) and that site even has the consent of Amstrad who now owns the Spectrum
Another excellent hombrew game is: Powder ( http://www.zincland.com/powder/index.php?pagename=news ) a great rogue-like game specifically designed for portable consoles.
Those two alone justify the purchase of a cart in my opinion. And there are many more good apps and games too. Which to me proves that a flashcart has enough legitimate and legal uses to remain legally available.
Re: Dragon's Lair DSiWare Trailer Released
Loved the cartoon as a kid, hated the gameplay... I guess it hasn't changed, so I don't think I'll get this...
Re: Get Ready to Feast on Super Yum Yum Puzzle Adventure!
Seems like a nice puzzle game but I hate the music...
Re: Nintendo Download: Blobs, Fighters, Sumo, Magic, Pets, Starships and One Last Notebook (EU)
Another week and no Excite Bike...
Re: Mega Man 10 set for March 2010
Love this!!!! I'll be getting it for sure
Re: New Sky Crawlers Screens Promise High-Flying Adventure
Seems nice! I wonder if you're locked to the chase view or if you can switch to an in-cockpit view...
Re: UK Stars Catalogue Update: Game and Watch Collection and Animal Crossing KK Soundtrack
Yeah, Now I can't get the G&W games, but I'd love to get them eventually...
What happened with the G&W Gallery games? There were 3 for GB and 1 for GBA but none for DS. I really liked those collections and the DS is perfect for a next game in the series...
Re: Review: Stunt Cars (WiiWare)
After seeing the video, it was pretty clear...
Re: DS and Wii "Year's Worst Platforms"
Well, as long as no one is forcing us to buy crap software, I don't really have a problem with this. There were some excellent games this year and I'm looking forward to some really interesting games next year. That's all that really matters
Re: Nintendo To Appeal French Flash Card Case
Well, I think the patent thing is a bit of a grey area. That's usually what companies in that position use, but as long as it is done to add interoperability to a product, it should be safe.
Note, that if other companies were not allowed to use a device shaped as a DS cart to extend the functionality of the machine, they wouldn't be allowed to make peripherals for Nintendo products either, like Classic controllers which have to imitate Nintendo's plug so they work with Nintendo's wiimote, etc...
Re: Nintendo To Appeal French Flash Card Case
"It's a basic technology that delivers a general image with sound and should be pretty much available for altering by anyone."
It wasn't always this way, and the fact that content providers decided to lawsuit video manufacturers is telling. Times have changed, and tv is universal now, but I still think Nintendo's position now is similar to what the content providers faced back then when they decided video technology was hurting them.
Interoperability is the key word here as it was then. As long as flash carts have legitimate uses, they'll remain legal (and they should).
BTW, I don't think this is just about piracy. Piracy is an excuse, but if it was only about piracy Nintendo would try to fight the pirates directly. But first, it is easier to go for the flash carts because they're fewer, and second, they don't want to let people run whatever software they want on their machines. They'd rather sell you something that you can easily get for free in a legal legitimate way. That is unfair, and I'm glad they're being stopped.
Edit: Also, Nintendo probably makes a lot of money from licensed developers and developer kits, so I can see how if anyone could develop for the machine they could see it as hurtful, but I think the advantages of opening the systems are enough. One of the reasons the iPhone has been so successful is the fact that anyone can download the sdk for free and start developing. I've been programming for the Mac as a hobby for many years, and when Apple switched to Mac OS X and started giving the developer tools for free it was an amazing change. And that has made the number of software being developed for the mac increase by a lot. Nintendo makes the best and most polished games for their products anyway, and there's no way a homebrew game is ever going to compete with them or take away significant sales. I just don't see what their problem is...
Re: Nintendo To Appeal French Flash Card Case
It's also interesting to note that the court in this case sees Nintendo's actions to limit who can develop for their consoles as an unfair restriction, and urged them to open their devices so people can develop freely.
Re: Nintendo To Appeal French Flash Card Case
@Ren: The parallel I drew holds because the example of video recorders is very similar to consoles.. TVs were not designed for you to record stuff, but video recorders were released which added this functionality. Your argument is like saying that because a TV uses a proprietary signal plug, no one can make devices that connect to that TV and that's just plain wrong.
BTW, I don't think there's a problem in using their proprietary card design to archive interoperability. Flash Manufacturers must reverse-engineer the consoles and they do so just to be able to produce a product that extends the functionality of the console. From what I've read, that is not illegal.
Re: Nintendo Download: Alex Kidd, Rubik, Pallurikio, Monkey Island, Hell's Kitchen and PictureBook Games (EU)
I wonder when will they release Excite Bike?
Re: Nintendo To Appeal French Flash Card Case
@SoulSilver IV: Did I say piracy is ok? Where?
I'm just saying that flashcards are in the same boat as all those other media types which can also be used to pirate stuff. A DVD-R can be used to watch a pirated movie, but it can also be used to back up my computer, watch a free movie someone posted on the net or many other things. An iPod can be used to listen to the music I purchased legally on the go, or to listen to pirated music.
A flash card can be used to run legal homebrew software, play legal music/videos, etc... They're just adding functionality to the console that gives you power to do more with it. What you actually do with it, is your own choice. If you choose to run pirated software then it's your own choice. Just as no one is forcing you to download pirated movies off the net with your computer, and no one is saying computers should be illegal because they allow you to break the law, then by the same reasoning, flashcards should also be allowed because they don't brake the law themselves.
BTW, I'm glad judges seem to agree with this reasoning in many countries, my own included
And here's a link: http://w-o-n.org/index.php?p=2962
This is too similar to the lawsuits caused by video recorders back then: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Corp._of_America_v._Universal_City_Studios,_Inc. This is the interesting bit:
"The companies therefore opted to sue Sony and its distributors in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in 1976, alleging that because Sony was manufacturing a device that could potentially be used for copyright infringement, they were thus liable for any infringement that was committed by its purchasers."
And this is part of what the court said:
"[There must be] a balance between a copyright holder's legitimate demand for effective - not merely symbolic - protection of the statutory monopoly, and the rights of others freely to engage in substantially unrelated areas of commerce. Accordingly, the sale of copying equipment, like the sale of other articles of commerce, does not constitute contributory infringement if the product is widely used for legitimate, unobjectionable purposes. Indeed, it need merely be capable of substantial noninfringing uses...."
So, they lost... and thanks to that you can enjoy all sorts of recording devices nowadays...
Re: Nintendo To Appeal French Flash Card Case
They recently lost another case in Spain too. The thing is, these flash cards are just like any other type of writable media that have many legal uses too: Video recorders, CD-Rs, etc... there are too many precedents in history that support these rulings...
The flash cards add legitimate uses to their consoles like using homebrew software, playing music, etc... and those are things that no console manufacture should be allowed to limit. They should go after the real pirates, the ones actually distributing illegal software...
Also, even if flash cards were mostly used to pirate games, that shouldn't matter. What are CD-Rs mostly used for? Pirating music. But that doesn't make them illegal. Should computers and harddrives be illegal too because people use them to pirate programs, games, music and movies??
The problem is they want to control what's used in their consoles and that is just a stupid approach. Just look at the approach of Apple or Google with the iPhone and Android. Opening up their consoles to let people freely develop and users freely choose what they want to use their consoles for would be a great idea. It's not just about piracy. Now we have a system where if a user wants to get say a notebook application they have just one choice and it's not free, while if you've got a flash cart there are a few free ones you can choose between. And that's just one example....
Re: Megaman 10 Heading to WiiWare!
BTW, MM9 was released in 2008... not 2009
Re: Megaman 10 Heading to WiiWare!
Wow!!!!! Great news. I love Megaman 9 and although I didn't finish, I'm close to finishing it The only MM game I finished was MM2, which I hear is the easiest in the series...
Re: New Zelda Advert Takes Different Track
Great ad!!! Only 1-2 days left...
Re: Review: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (DS)
I've been playing PH again in anticipation for this one, and it looks like it won't disappoint
BTW, I agree Ocean Temple wasn't as bad. For me it was fun trying to spend as little time as possible each time you had to go in...
And I'm not too sorry for the lack of online play. PH's online mode was sort of a gimmick, I played a few times and then forgot about it... Now, if they'd made something like 4 Swords, that would be something else...
Re: Nintendo Download: Earthworm Jim 2, Mahjong, Happy Holidays, Foto Face, Karaoke, Magic and Another Notebook (EU)
What a bad week. Where's Excite Bike???
Re: Review: Stunt Race FX (Super Nintendo)
If a Stunt racing game deserves an update on modern consoles, it definitely is Stunt Car Racer, which btw was originally released in 1989 with amazing 3d visuals for the time. The Amiga version was best, but even the modest ZX Spectrum version was very playable, and really amazing for such a powerless machine.
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stunt_Car_Racer
Re: Nintendo: We Don't Want To Remake Past Zelda Games
To call Link's Awakening DX a remake is quite a stretch. It's exactly the same game with the same gameplay and graphics, just with added color plus one dungeon. That's not what comes to mind when I think of a remake of a game with modern technology...
Still I'd love to see new 2D Zelda games although I can't complain. The Toon Link Zeldas for DS are as close as you can get to them with 3D graphics
Re: Sony Boss: All Your Sales Are Belong To Us, Nintendo
Everyone talks about shovelware for the wii. With its success it's not surprising and it's not like it hasn't happened before with the succesful consoles in older generations. And anyway, there's plenty of shovelware in all the other consoles. The point is what good games there are... Wii has plenty of great titles and some amazing stuff is coming ( Sin&Punishment 2, Metroid, Zelda, etc...). I'm sure PS3 has great games too but I'm still not interested in it... so to each their own....
Re: Miyamoto Keeps Edging Toward Hardware Design
Best graphics ≠ Best hardware. The wii and the DS certainly prove that... hardware is much more than a graphics card...
Re: WiiWare Demo Service Now Available!
They really need to make more games available as demos. I own all of those except FF (which I'll try, of course), but right now there are just too few demos...
It's a bit like the DS demos: Sometimes, once in a while, a game I'm interested in will crop up there, and it's great, but most of the times, they're not, so overall it's not such a useful service...
Still, it's a great start...
Re: Review: A Little Bit of... Nintendo Touch Golf (DSiWare)
I had this card but traded it away. It's an ok game, but now that I have the Golf version of Wii Sports Resort, I wouldn't really play this one at all...
Re: Review: Rock N' Roll Climber (WiiWare)
After having played the game I quite agree with the review although the score is too low. It's really a great game if you like climbing and the most realistic one too.
I'd say, to anyone interested in this sport to give it a try. It's not as hard as the review seems to make it, and it's very satisfying when you reach the top of the harder walls.
Re: Nintendo Download: Ninja Gaiden, My Zoo, Rock N' Roll Climber and Nintendo Touch Golf (EU)
Rock'n'Roll Climber is actually quite good. The controls with the balance board are very cool but sometimes have some problems. The games is quite challenging, still, once you start getting the controls, it flows better and is quite fun although playing with the balance board which requires you to lean forward all the time, is tiring after a while... but that makes the game more immersive
Re: Nintendo Download: Ninja Gaiden, My Zoo, Rock N' Roll Climber and Nintendo Touch Golf (EU)
Great! I've been waiting for Rock'n'Roll climber. I think I'm going to like it...
Re: Review: Excitebike: World Rally (WiiWare)
I hope this one gets released today.
Re: Check Out the Final Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks Trailer
I saw this the other day and it really made me want to play the game I wasn't too keen on the whole train thing, but it looks like this game could be a winner... (I loved the first one btw, although this one could be even better)
Re: Talking Point: How Does The DSi LL Compare To Rival Handhelds?
BTW, aspect ratio seems to be the same, so no black borders or anything of the sort. Seems like the screen will be 100% compatible with existing games.
And, it's funny. The screen resolution of the DS is exactly the same as the ZX Spectrum... No wonder the ZX Spectrum emulator looks so good on the DS..
Re: Talking Point: How Does The DSi LL Compare To Rival Handhelds?
Well, with it's current screen size, the screen resolution is 80 points per inch, which would drop to 60 with the new size. Considering that computer displays usually have 72 (although that might have changed for some people with higher end displays) that doesn't seem so bad.
Still, I'd wait and see before buying this... If games look blocky because the pixels are too big then I'd rather keep my DSi. The issue of transfering your DSiWare purchases is also key...
Re: Review: Protöthea (WiiWare)
Too bad, I like games where you move and shoot in different directions (like the original Robotron) but I won't risk downloading this...
Re: Nintendo Download: Shinobi, Brain Training, Combat of Giants, Protöthea and PictureBook Games (EU)
Shinobi is interesting. I may get it. On the Wiiware front, I wish they'd play catch up with Rock'n'Roll Climber... c'mon!!
Re: Miyamoto Open To The Idea of User-Generated Content
"Well they're already heading to do that with Warioware:DIY"
Exactly! That one is a sure buy for me!
Well, even though most people might not have ideas to create cool levels, some people will. On many computer games I've played levels created by users and some were excellent. Just look at games like DROD ( http://caravelgames.com/Articles/Games.html ) with a thriving user community that makes levels, many which end up being part of later comercial releases...
Re: NVIDIA-Powered DS Successor Coming 2010?
Well, if they announce it in 2010 it won't come out until 2011
I hope they let you transfer your dsiware games when they release it though...
Re: Sin and Punishment 2 Comes into Focus
I can't wait for this to be released...
Re: Over a Third of Wii Games Go Unreviewed
User reviews? Did I miss something?
Re: Nintendo vs R4: The Lawsuit and the Snitch
Until recently, computers couldn't be used to duplicate CDs as at most they'd come with a CD player installed, not a CDR. You had to actually buy a CD recorder yourself. But that didn't make CDr companies suspect of promoting piracy... So it's not a question of the device used to pirate something being included with the computer/console or not.
Flashcarts do have a legitimate, legal use, just like photocopiers, video recorders, cdrs, dvdrs, etc... It's not a question of how good homebrew is (there are some excellent games, but not that many...) it's a question of flashcards addressing a particular need for many people, a need not addressed officially by Nintendo, and a need which is not illegal in any way: to be able to install software being developed independent of Nintendo.
Hopefully at some point, some judge will notice that the case of the flashcards is the same as that old video recorder case and Nintendo will have to learn to live with them.
And btw, if you really want to support developers buy your games close to the release date. Don't buy them secondhand (it's legal but they don't get ANYTHING ) and don't buy them at discount price.
Re: Nintendo vs R4: The Lawsuit and the Snitch
@Dicesukeinuzuka
"to maka
The people who buy used games are at least buying the game, and are probably more likely to get their games NEW and legally if they go to the store v.s. downloading games via internet. If used games were such a big problem, then I bet Big game companies would have mentioned them along with flashcarts when talking about why games' sales are slipping. I really just think your trying to make it seem okay to own a flashcart. "
Of course I'm trying to make it seem okay to own a flashcart, because it IS ok, as long as you don't pirate games with it. I don't care about the intent of the makers just the intent of the buyers. Even then, the newer flashcarts are clearly sold with the intent of being used for homebrew as they include features such as auto DLDI patching so running homebrew is much much easier.
Also, game companies clearly hate the 2nd hand market, and are doing all in their power to eliminate it. Digital content is one solution (just look at how you can't even move your DSiWare or WiiWare putchases to another console). Of course, until they actually manage to make 2nd hand trading illegal, they can't do much about it.
And why is music so different? I don't think the big music companies or film companies agree with this. Many people download all the music they listen and never care to buy the legit CDs/DVDs. Still Video Recorders and CDRs are legal (and that's not thanks to those companies, anyway. Remeber: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Corp._of_America_v._Universal_City_Studios,_Inc. ).
Re: Nintendo vs R4: The Lawsuit and the Snitch
Hands up those who NEVER EVER have pirated anything in their whole lives. No music, no CDs, no videogames, no pc-games, no roms, no tapes (for those of us that are older), no movies in any form. If you raised your hand you're lying. Also, have you ever bought a 2nd hand game, movie, cd, etc...? That hurts the original producer just as much as pirating because you have it and they didn't get a dime from what you payed...
To me, what is important is to support those people producing content you like. When a friend shows me a band I didn't know and copies their cd so I can listen to it at home, if I end up liking it, I'll buy their record and go to their concerts (and that's no maybe, that's 100% sure). That's much more meaningful than how you were first exposed to their music. So it was a pirated CD, so what?
Anyway, the point is not that you can pirate games with these devices, the point is they have a legitimate use and it's up to the final consumer how to use them. A CDR or DVDR drive can be used to pirate all kinds of stuff, MP3 players and DVD players can be used to play pirated music or movies. Heck, even computers, printers, scanners, photo cameras or video cameras can be used to pirate stuff!! Should all those things be forbidden too?
Nintendo's policy makes no sense in the modern world.
BTW, have any of you seen the wonderful ZXDS emulator? That one alone is worth the price of a flash card, and note that the ZX Spectrum games you can get from www.worldofspectrum.org are ALL legal.
Re: Stunt Cars Gameplay Trailer
Well... Stunt Car Racer for the C64 VC would certainly be a great release... in fact there are so many great C64 games that could be released on the VC... c'mon!!!!!!!!!