Comments 178

Re: Soapbox: Why Region Locking Is A Total Non-Issue

ramstrong

I can see Nintendo''s point of view. Dealing with governmental regulations can be a frustrating affair. OTOH, for games that pass muster internationally, I'd like to see an option on eShop to buy English/Japanese version of the game. Kind of like watching subtitled Foreign movies experience.

There's nothing wrong with experiencing the latest games ahead of everybody else. That's common. Buying Japanese games when you can't read Japanese, and refused to take Japanese lessons, OTOH, well...

Re: Review: Project X Zone (3DS)

ramstrong

Great review! Not the usual 'what's the developers thinking' kind of ramblings. This one is actually very readable. I appreciate that.

Not too happy about the demo, but I can see how the game is great. This review confirms it. I will be picking this up, as soon as I'm done with Animal Crossing New Leaf, that is...

Re: Talking Point: Nintendo's Curious Decision to Monetise StreetPass

ramstrong

I think Fire Emblem Awakening has great DLC system. I bought all the maps.

Is that the new Plaza? Interesting. I wonder if Nintendo has something like that planned for eshop. Virtual Reality is upon us, I see.

I don't know about paying money to play the games. I do it for fun, but it's not important for me to get various hats. OTOH, if they allow me to pay money to remove the 10 coin limitation, then I may be interested.

Re: Aonuma: I Want To Work On Things Other Than Zelda

ramstrong

Retirement age in Japan is 60 years old? That's interesting. Isn't the divorce rate in Japan is highest around 60 year olds? Is that luck or is there something going here? Maybe he should work on games for old married couple to spend time together in retirement!

Re: GungHo's CEO Wants To Surpass Nintendo's Sales By His Retirement

ramstrong

@Damo

News articles are essays. Perhaps you're wondering where in the spectrum of First Grade Show-and-Tell and PhD dissertation news articles should lie? I think that's irrelevant. Let's put it this way: You write an article that is incomplete. People get confused. You spend some time to explain further to clarify any misunderstandings. Imagine if you can anticipate where the trouble spots are, and put explanations right there on the article. You will save that much time.

>How exactly can you possibly compare these two companies without one being seen as the "newbie" and one the "veteran"?

The same way you report 2 first finishers of a (marathon) race without making the other look like a slowpoke.

Re: Flipnote Studio 3D to Hit North America Early August, Subscription Pricing Revealed

ramstrong

Looking at the terms, this is rather confusing, so I'm guessing this is more than just about money. This is only one person's opinion, but I think the reason it's 99 cents is because they don't want to charge money for this.

If you look at various conditions that lets you get free access/coins, you will see that good work is being rewarded. You can still view the works for free, and since it is tied to your System Preferences, can you simply roll back the clock to extend viewing time? Sure. I don't see any problem with that.

How about posting and commenting? If you repeatedly make good posts, then you get coins. I think that's the trick. If I remember correctly, on the last service, it was difficult to find good posting. Even different channels did not help. Too many JB lovers/haters flip. So, this maybe less about money, than it is trying to weed out spammers/wallers.

I don't get why personal galleries is limited on days. I'd say maybe they want you to have good collection of Flips indefinitely. I'll wait until I see it in action before making judgement on it.

99 cents per month? Sure, I can pay that. And if it means that my critics will be reasonable, and helpful because they're skilled and/or paid good money to do so, then I'm happy.

Re: GungHo's CEO Wants To Surpass Nintendo's Sales By His Retirement

ramstrong

@Slapshot Slapshot said:
@Damo "A" title. GungHo is a major publisher in Japan and if you read some of the above comments, it appears that your readers might have been misinformed - it seems that a some of them think that GungHo only owns one IP, which if true, would make this guy look near insane to voice accisations such as this.


I have to agree with Slapshot. Upon first reading, I thought GungHo only owns one IP, and that it's a start up.

When you put GungHo as "rising star" and Nintendo as "Kyoto veteran", my assumption is that GungHo is a newbie. When you explained it, I guess I can see where you're coming from, but I have to say that as ESL person, I'm having trouble deciphering your intended meaning until Slapshot pointed it out.

I hope you can better provide background info on your articles next time, because if I have to do background research every time I read an article, I'd rather not read it.

Thank you for understanding.

Re: Talking Point: Wii U vs Xbox One - Online Requirements and On-Disc DRM

ramstrong

@theblackdragon finally, the user in question had been trawling that same 'lending a game equals piracy' line all day yesterday (not just here, but on the forums across multiple threads),

I keep forgetting that some people have all the time in the world to chat on-line. Thank you for the prompt response TBD! Never underestimate people's intelligence, willfulness, and tenacity to do something boneheaded stupid.

@GamerJunkie
Is that a 5 GB download? Yikes. That's my monthly Internet allowance. Can I resume interrupted download? Is there an alternative method (via DVD mailing)? Because if not, I will remove WiiU from the list of Christmas wishes!

Re: Talking Point: Wii U vs Xbox One - Online Requirements and On-Disc DRM

ramstrong

@theblackdragon There are legal precedents with regards to lending, borrowing, trading and reselling your physical personal property, up to and including a game cartridge or disc.

Not to burst your bubble here, and I see the conversation has petered to the end, but I'm curious, have any of you who said this is legal/illegal has consulted any lawyers and/or legal case somewhere? If so, please give reference.

Laws do change. Furthermore, it differs from country to country. The least you can do is give background info as to which country you're from. It would be a pity if thread wars erupted just because misunderstanding of laws of different countries.

And AFAIK, there is law, at least on US side, where if you give legal advice without a license, that's illegal. That's why when in doubt, I always say, "I'm not a lawyer" (and the proceeding advise should not be construed as legal advice. You are encouraged to seek a lawyer and discuss the matter with said professional.)

Furthermore, if we're talking about Microsoft, that's different. They have not been selling physical product for a long time. Everything, AFAIK, is license, not physical product. Internet connectivity requirements? That's been like that on PC side for years. Reading their EULA is very illuminating.

I will not be telling gigantic corporations how to do their business. I will, however, vote with my wallet. So far, Sony is on the black list. Looks like I need to put Xbox on there, too.

Re: Hands On: Going for the Combos in Project X Zone

ramstrong

@DanielBass1986
It will be a severe drain of my time. Fire Emblem or X Zone? Oh, I don't want to decide! I'm already spending too much of my time on Fire Emblem. Animal Crossing is coming up, too. I guess it's a nice problem to have: Too many good games, but I find I'm spending less time on real life as a result.

That being said, I'll definitely download the demo.

Re: Tomodachi Collection Famitsu Article Falls Foul Of Unfortunate Timing

ramstrong

@Damo
Yes, cute Japanese chick. But maybe next time you should concentrate on the Tomodachi article rather than the extra-marital affair. I am more interested in finding out whether or not we should lobby for Tomodachi to come here, or Animal Crossing would be good enough, than reading tabloid news. Thank you for your consideration.

Re: Nintendo UK Wants To Know Why You Love Your 3DS

ramstrong

Best hardware form factor (both 3DS and XL has points going for them). Not being tied to the couch while playing games is a big plus. 3D video and camera.
Various paint programs, Colors 3D, New Arts Academy.
Various music programs.
Petit Computer

Seriously, if they put some kind of BASIC programming on WiiU, I'd seriously consider getting it. I also love the fact that WiiU has video chat, and I'd like that on 3DS, too!

Re: Talking Point: The Wii U's Next-Gen Challenge Starts to Take Shape

ramstrong

@DarkLloyd If you notice, on 3DS, the stereo cam points outside. So you don't see 3D of people's head. You see 3D of the environment outside. Would also be nice if you can switch back-and-forth inner-outer camera while shooting.

I said Skype, but that's just a short hand. I think WiiU already has something similar (Panoramic video?) where you can see video and look around you, except in this case, the connection would be live, and you can chat with somebody holding a 3DS device.

Re: Target Weighs In With Wii U Basic Model Price Cut

ramstrong

@FantasiaWHT My understanding always was that if a retailer sells at anything other than the MSRP, they get punished by the console manufacturer by cutting off or at least slowing down restock shipments.

I doubt that is the case. The fact is retailers still have to pay the cost. My understanding is that consoles cost MSRP, which means retailers profit is zero. Any price reduction that is not official simply means the retailers eat the cost, instead of being reimbursed by Nintendo.

Re: Thomas Was Alone Creator Responds To Nintendo Claiming "Let's Play" Video Revenue

ramstrong

@3dsFanatic4419 Hmmm... yeah, you do raise a fair point. And that comment was directed toward Nintendo.

When I asked that question toward Nintendo, the reply I got was "We wuz gonna dump those illegal vids, but boss sez dat ain't right." Or something like that. However, when I directed it toward LPers, the respond was "Nintendo sucks!" Just play the blame game. So, it is in my opinion that Nintendo did the right thing.

>But I don't know, I just kinda find it hard to come to terms with this, but i'll take it.

It is very annoying to have your income suddenly evaporates when the IP owner exercise their muscle. However, the solution is simple. I think somebody mentioned it somewhere in the middle. For hints: read the very first post.

INDIES LOVE EXPOSURES!

Simply change your focus from Nintendo-centric LP to Indie-centric LP. If you ask very nicely, I'm sure they'll be happy to grant you the rights to show your LP and get income from showing ads. After all, their merchandising/licensing income is zero. Since you have permission, no problem! Your subscribers will not suddenly leave you just because you stop showing Nintendo stuff. After all, they're there for your humor, right? Even if you need to show Nintendo games from time to time, you still can do it! They're not banning the video, just the income.

I'm not saying seeking good Indie games is easy, but that's why it's hard work. When you highlight great Indie game, the indie will thank you. Your subs will thank you. I will thank you. Win-win-win situation.

>Also, I hope I didn't cause any anger or conflict between us. If I did, sorry!

Nobody likes to repeat himself. But that's okay. This situation is rather upsetting. I understand that. Get it off your chest and move on.

At least, you're not the delusional person who keeps mistaking who said what and where.

Re: Thomas Was Alone Creator Responds To Nintendo Claiming "Let's Play" Video Revenue

ramstrong

@3dsFanatic4419 @3dsFanatic4419 Sure, Nintendo makes the actual game, but the LPer adds his/her own elements, and play the game their own way (Commentary, way of playing game).

TBD already explained this. I added the statement that yes, your comments are yours and you're free to sell your comments for profit, but you have no right to bundle it with somebody else's property. I mentioned RiffTrax. They don't sell other's property. They only sell theirs: their commentaries.

"Just because you can, doesn't make it right?" Ummm, is that statement directed to LPers, Nintendo, or just to people who disagreed with you?

Re: Thomas Was Alone Creator Responds To Nintendo Claiming "Let's Play" Video Revenue

ramstrong

@Dreadjaws The problem here is that the people at Nintendo who made that decision seem as out of touch with reality as you are. Games are NOT THE SAME as movies or music.

You need to calm down and really read what I wrote. Less LPs=Less Game sold. More LPs=more game sold. Gameplay=patent. Game assets=copyright. 2 different things. I, TBD, and other people have shown you the difference between reviews (fair use) and copyright violation (IP hijacking).

Your condescending attitude isn't helping you. We already know games aren't static art. I don't make things up. You do. If you want to live in a dream world, be my guest. Me? I'd consult IP lawyer before doing anything. Why? Because I don't know IP laws. And neither do you.

EDIT
Nintendo don't know what they're doing? I sooner believe you're the ignorant one. They have all their sales data, right?

Re: Thomas Was Alone Creator Responds To Nintendo Claiming "Let's Play" Video Revenue

ramstrong

@Dreadjaws An LP is very, VERY different from piracy, for several reasons. For instance, unlike what you claim, what makes LP interesting is definitely the commentary. If people want to see game footage, they'll look for game footage, not for LPs.

Ever heard of RiffTrax? They sell funny commentaries of popular movies, except, they don't sell the movies, just the commentaries. That way, they sell their own IP, taking advantage of existing IP, but not violating any copyright!

Re: Thomas Was Alone Creator Responds To Nintendo Claiming "Let's Play" Video Revenue

ramstrong

@New_Age_Retro_Hippie Stop comparing an interactive experience to non-interactive experiences.

That is an extremely valid point. I'm glad you brought that up. You are correct in that games have gameplay, and that's different from copyright issues. I'm not a lawyer, yet I'm confident in saying that gameplay is not copyright, but patent. Furthermore, even if the company patented the gameplay, you can still show the gameplay in video, since by its nature, gameplay must be experienced to be fully utilized.

Game arts, however, falls into copyright, trademarks, and all those patents issues I have no qualification to comment. When you do LP, do you remove audio? Remove graphics and replace them with generic blocks? Red block for Mario, Pink for Peach, etc? No? Copyright violation!

I'm surprised that neither NL nor Hugo Smits speaks from their respective IP lawyer perspective. Do you not consult IP lawyer before incorporating? What if these issues come up? What would your IP lawyer advise?

(2)Your argument, GC-161, would carry much, much more weight if it wasn't for the fact that there exists NO evidence that LPs hurt sales.

The general consensus is that less LPs means less games sold. Furthermore, there is assumption that no revenue on LP means less LPs. I don't disagree with that, which means I agree that no revenue on LPs means less games sold.

But let's not be myopic here. Letting personal LPs receive revenue means any merchandizing opportunities will be severely reduced or eliminated entirely. Why pay licensing fees if you don't have to? If your company does not derive income from licensing/merchandizing, then I can see how LPs can only help you. But if your merchandizing income is rather substanstial, then I can see how you'd feel protecting merchandizing income is more important than maximizing game sales.

I believe Nintendo does a lot of licensing deals, so yeah, they'd protect that. They also realize that LPs help their sales, which is why they don't ban them outright, but merely removing the income stream. Does that make sense?

Re: Thomas Was Alone Creator Responds To Nintendo Claiming "Let's Play" Video Revenue

ramstrong

@grenworthshero Do you have any idea how much work goes into creating a Let's Play video? It's ten times more difficult than "coming up with something on your own", and it takes an incredible amount of dedication.
That's just like sampling in music. Are you saying artists shouldn't make money off of their work just because they worked off of another person's song?

You just said that all these LPers are idiotic losers who would rather work 10 times as hard getting sued for nothing, as opposed to coming up with original IP.

Yes, artists shouldn't get paid working off another's song. The music industry is so pirate aggressive, they'll even invade your mansion in another country without a proper court order.

Old TV shows such as "WKRP in Cincinnati" will never be released because they have to pay royalties for each and every song played in the show, even if they're just background music and a few seconds long. Terrible.

@HugoSmits

As TBD said. It's the difference between "fair use" and "copyright violation." I'm not a lawyer, so I won't tell you anything. However, if you look at news casts or maybe even comedy shows, you'll see that either they simply talk, show a picture for illustration, or show a few seconds video clip illustrating the point. That's fair use.

You never see a bunch of people commenting on other people's lousy movies and claim that it's all their money. Well, not strictly true. There was a show like that, I forget the name, but the producers actually paid licensing fees on such projects.

If you have licensing, then you're a distributor and you're fine. If you don't have licensing, then you're a pirate and not fine.

I don't see how Nintendo is shutting these videos down. They simply say fan made cannot ever make money. This is the same exact stance that George Lucas is taking with Star Wars. I don't see anything wrong with that, do you?

EDIT: The show is Mystery Science Theater 3000. MST3k.

Re: Review: California Super Sports (DSiWare)

ramstrong

@Happy_Mask Lol, I thought that chicken wrote this for a minute.

Me, too. But I realize that a different person wrote it after I barfed out at paragraph 2. Couldn't continue reading. At least I can read chicken's through the end.

Re: Nintendo Claiming Ad Revenue On YouTube User-Generated Gameplay Videos

ramstrong

@AceTrainerAndy why are people so hostile towards YouTube partners? We work hard and paid a lot of money to get our equipment.

Don't know why people think it's okay for them to get paid, but when big companies such as Nintendo who worked hard, invested heavily in their games and related infrastructures, became YouTube partner and want to make money, they suddenly become this greedy corporation. Do you AceTrainerAndy have any idea?

You can tell your subscribers what you want, just make sure you don't libel or your life will even be more miserable than now.

Well said @Placlu

Re: Nintendo Claiming Ad Revenue On YouTube User-Generated Gameplay Videos

ramstrong

@AceTrainerAndy
I think Nintendo has made the statement that they will not block your stuff. Your stuff falls under fan made, which is to say, you need to distribute it for free. If you're making money off Nintendo stuff, then you need to license the rights to do it. So, Nintendo is correct with this.
@TrueWiiMaster
It only happens under certain length. I'm curious at what the cut-off is. I think this is related to review length, which is to say 30 seconds or so. But I don't know the exact length.

Re: Insomniac's CEO Is Open To Working On Wii U, Wants To See More Zelda, Mario And Metroid

ramstrong

@Slapshot
I read the one on Digitally Downloaded above. Where's the link to yours?

The article mentioned about being stretched too thin and wanting to reach as broad audience as possible, so on the surface it looks like I'm wrong. But knowing that they've developed Facebook game, it's obvious that even if they cannot handle 2 different major project, they can at least handle 1 major and 1 minor.

The 3DS is an obvious consideration. Nobody argued about its success. Warren Spector even dabbled on it by commissioning project on it. So, the question that I have is: do they develop for 3DS at all? It's a rather curious omission (on the article).

Also, FUSE works on 360, right? Does that also work on 720? The one with no sales number whatsoever? PS4 and 720 are unproven. Wii has good numbers, and Wii U is tepid. The same could happen to Sony and Microsoft. In fact, I think it's likely. Runaway best sellers tend to have disappointing sequel.

So, if they're not adapting FUSE to PS4/720 then I'm wrong. But if they do, then I can't see where you think I'm wrong. The DD article does not say. Does your article say? Please give me the link if it does. Thanks.

Re: Insomniac's CEO Is Open To Working On Wii U, Wants To See More Zelda, Mario And Metroid

ramstrong

This is just one person's opinion, but I don't think Ted Price will develop for Wii U because, you guessed it, it's not next gen technology. There are 2 paths here: (1) Develop bleeding edge technology for the hardcore (2) Develop common technology for the masses.

PS4 and Xbox 720 are next gen. Wii U is current gen. There's nothing wrong with that. Either you develop something extraordinary for small market for premium, or you develop something nice for everybody at commodity prices.

Ted Price Insomniac is developing for the premium market. If I remember correctly, they'd be releasing one game every 3 years. That's ultra premium. There may be porting involved if the premium product is a runaway best-seller, but that's only a possibility, not certainty one way or the other.

Regarding the reporting, I have to agree that there is no U-Turn involved. As much as Ted Price loves Nintendo, that's simply not his business plan.

Re: Nintendo Wins Appeals Court Ruling In Wii Patent Case

ramstrong

@StephenYap3
It's called patent troll. The difference is that patent owner will try to make money off the device, either their own manufacture or licensing. Patent troll simply grabbed lots of variations to an existing patent and sue everybody for damage money.

Re: Review: Inchworm Animation (DSiWare)

ramstrong

@yamimami
Wow, your first comment so far and it's to me. I'm so honored! By the way, that was a long time ago. Once I got 3DS, it's New Art Academy. I did make some animation, but nothing too good to share. Ditto with Flipnote. Maybe it'll be different with FlipMemo.
I'm also active with Petit Computer and probably will make new animation with that program, instead of inchworm animation program.

Re: Feature: Robust DLC Ensures That Fire Emblem: Awakening Just Keeps On Giving

ramstrong

@Damo
However, thanks to a growing selection of downloadable maps, the battle doesn't have to end when the credits roll.

What? There's a way to play the game after the credit rolls? Please tell me the step-by-step because when the credit rolled, the game just ends without any chance to save! I finished the game in 38 hours, and currently stuck at next-to-last mission because of it.

@shonenjump86
The Golden Pack is very useful. I use EXPonential Growth all the time. It saves time in grinding since you can just Auto-Play the level and get level up every single time!

Re: Talking Point: iDÉAME, Unity and Nintendo's Continuing Indie Crusade

ramstrong

@Rapadash6
Nintendo is lucky to have the esteem of indies now, because that's all the industry has left them in the wake of the "HD generation."

I don't think it's "luck". I think that's their company policy. Great game design above fancy graphics. With most big companies afraid to take on risky project, indies are the future. Sony and MS can have their fancy graphics, but I will stick to good games, even if they're text-only. Graphic!=Fun.