sdcazares1980

The price should be much lower, considering that Nintendo is now focusing in on the 3DS.

Ugh. Nothing new here.

James is probably right about the game arriving too late in it's console cycle. Same thing happened with Twilight Princess for the GameCube. You could argue that TP for the GameCube was a bit pointless since it was also on the Wii, but both of those games appeared by the end of each of the console's cycle... and their sales suffered. It might not be a coincidence.

While it's nothing to complain about having two great Zelda games, by the end of the day, sales actually do matter.

It's Augmented Reality.

O_0

Wow! That's disappointing.

What does A.R. stand for anyway?

I'm sorry, but a lack of a save feature just killed it for me.

I'll be getting this for the Xbox 360, so Nintendo just lost a customer here (not saying that I won't be getting the Wii U, mind you.)

@sc100

I agree with you. I'm not suggesting that Nintendo should "compromise" their identity but they need to be flexible, especially in today's times. First party games are it's greatest strength (as I mentioned), so it definitely needs to keep up with that as well. Soul Calibur II, in my opinion, was a third-party game done right with Nintendo against the competition.

It is true that many people who slammed Nintendo have not played any of the Nintendo games, but unfortunately, with the kind of third party games it has, it's difficult to break that "kiddie" perception. This is why I'm arguing that the third-party support is the key for Nintendo. I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this one.

@sc100

I would argue the contrary. Had the Wii had the same specs as either the Xbox 360 or the PS3, given that they had the same third party games (Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed, etc), then there would be no reason for me to have an Xbox 360 like I do right now. It would make it much easier for me (and I suspect most "core" gamers) to make a decision, and gaming would not be perceived as expensive. The first party games and the VC are the reasons on why I have the Wii, but the third-party games of the Xbox 360/PS3 made me a bit too envious to pass them up.

In terms of the perception of the Nintendo being "kiddie," trust me it's not just "some" people, but A LOT of people. The proof is in the library of games and, to some extent, the sales.

@sc100
I hope you're right, but I think this goes much deeper than just the graphics. I think Nintendo has tried to be so "different" than the other consoles that it has alienated itself not just from the competition, but from more traditional gamers and third party developers as well. Not having online definitely hurt the GameCube, as well as games that are mostly aimed for children. If Iwata truly wants to regain the core audience back, he would have to be more cooperative with the third-party developers (as well as having similar specs of the competition). Nintendo cannot succeed with first-party games alone, and third-party hand-me-down games will not work this time.

Once again, Nintendo has completely missed the point about the specs. Nobody is saying that it's not about the game play (I wish people would stop making these silly assumptions), it's about your competition. As soon as Nintendo realizes that making games for multiplatforms is much cheaper to make than exclusives, then it would be much better for them to compete with the other consoles. Just because the Wii consoles have sold more than the PS3s and the Xbox 360s doesn't mean that they are playing the Wii consoles more.

@Alexneon

They can still make those games for the Wii U even if the power is much more powerful than advertised. That would also theoretically mean that the developers would make multi-platform games for all three console systems without compromising much of the game specs.

@misswliu81

Unfortunately, it is up to the third-party developers on how to make the games.

@Kage_88

I dunno.... they seem to be making a killing out of those triple A games for the HD consoles. We can only speculate, but judging from Nintendo's often tumultuous relationship with the third-party developers, there is still reason to worry.

Ideally, it shouldn't, but we're at the mercy of the third-party developers unfortunately. If the "Xbox 720" and the "PS4" are not only more powerful, but they both have similar specs, then you can kiss that third-party support goodbye.

I'll wait for the console to come out, but judging by Nintendo's history, I'm a bit concerned that once again it will be treated as a second-class console. Even with all the gimmicks of "innovative" gameplay, if most of the games are not going to be as good as the "Xbox 720" or the "PS4", then all this talk about being "innovative" and "fun" is not going to work.

I just wish that Nintendo had done the online multiplayer with some of the VC games since the very beginning. NOW they're doing this? Well, it's better than nothing, but I wish they had done this earlier.

WiiU or not, Nintendo still needs to release the VC games. Where's Double Dragon II? Duck Tales? Yoshi's Island for the SNES?

C'mon!

If the PS4 and the Xbox 720 are much more powerful than the Wii U, very much like the consoles of this generation, then the Wii U is going to struggle again in gaining the "core" audience back.

I simply do not understand this intense hatred for RE4 and RE5. Yes, while it is true that the original RE games made the series for what it is today, gamers' tastes change over time. I never played the pre-RE4 games much because the tank-style controls were really terrible. I did tolerate some of it, but they became too much of a chore. Had Capcom not decide to change the controls for RE4, then the series would be an afterthought (let alone win multiple GOTY awards), if not bankrupt. It astounds me that some of these "fans" would rather have the series go bankrupt rather than revamp the series to save it.

The color of the consoles are not that important, but the color of the controllers would make them easy to distinguish.

How this game is not the VC is BEYOND me!

I think there will always be a market for both (as it should be, IMO). We need the physical media to rent games because downloading them would be too much of a hassle. However, I very much prefer the digital media since it takes up a lot less space.

There seems to be a common misconception even if you buy the digital game, you won't download it again if the company goes down under. Not true. The company has a record of your purchase and you can download it as many times as you like. It's just that it won't be available for first time buyers.

@Viewtiful_Joe Wow! Comparing a video game to a girlfriend? Dude, you really need to go out more.

@Graph I really hate the trend that there are some games (like Star Wars Galaxies) that are playable ONLY for online, you pay for it, and then because of lack of consumer demand, it just perishes.

However, that's not how most digital downloads work. If a game is no longer on the market, you can still download the game as long as you made the purchase. You don't have to worry about getting the game stolen or erased: you can always download it as many times as you want. That's an awesome advantage.

I know that Nintendo has every right to release any game that it wants for any platform, but I just think that Nintendo is wasting its time trying to release console games on the 3DS. Why not just concentrate on the games that were portable releases to begin with and go on from there? Leave the console games on the Wii/Wii U as it should be, in my opinion.

I never really cared for these games, but I wish they can give us at least an explanation on why, regardless of critical reception.

@Lordlz And the Sega Genesis did what with Mortal Kombat? Sit on it's rear end and kow tow to the parents? Nope, they basically knew that's what the consumer wanted and it is because of that, the ESRB rating was born. FYI, Mortal Kombat was released in 1993, a year before the ESRB. Yet my argument is ignorant?

And it is because of the size of the disc that the GameCube was at a disadvantage. It had 1.4 GB capacity compared to 4.7 GB of the PS2. Why do you think Twin Snakes required two discs to play? I'm only seeing the correlation between the technology and the "kid-friendly" image Nintendo has, and I believe it's no coincidence. Mario games are great, but they can only do so much for Nintendo.

It's no secret that the Wii has "outsold" the PS3 and the 360 systems, but not combined. The HD systems have a combined of 130 million units sold compared to the Wii's 94 million. Had the PS3 and 360 been just one system, well, I hate to say this, but the HD system would've won.

3rd parties may not have understood on how the Wii works, but why should they now? It's a moot point now since the Wii is getting phased out.

The reason why Nintendo has survived this long is because of its history with gamers (and I'm all for it), but the way things are going, I fear that it might go in the way of Sega. Maybe not soon, but it will eventually if the Big N doesn't wise up.

@TrueWiiMaster:

Let me clarify then:

When you said that the most censored games are the most successful, then why did Nintendo decide to abandon the "no blood" policy after the Mortal Kombat fiasco? It is of course your opinion that you don't want or need blood in the games, but that's what people (myself included) want.

The decision for Nintendo to not keep up with the technology of its competitors since the days of the N64, is the reason, in my opinion, on why they've decided to release many games that are considered to be "kid friendly.". Look at the vast majority of the games (whether they are first or third party) in the Wii department. How many Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed, Arkham Asylum/City, Portal, GTA, etc. games do you see on the Wii? Compare the graphics of the Wii to the HD systems on Ghostbusters and Madden, and you'll see my point.

I wish I can define the "who's still playing them" term a little more clearly, but the more third party games are releasing triple A titles for the HD systems, the more I believe that Nintendo missed an opportunity to make their system truly competitive. It is of course Nintendo's right on what kind of system they want to create, but even Nintendo itself is starting to feel the heat on missing out. Nintendo's first party games are awesome, but let's give third-party developers the kind of hardware to work on so they can release all their games in the (almost) same exact way, not just the 360/PS3/PC versions, and have a watered-down version on the Wii.

Nintendo has every right not to release a game, but if it makes half-baked decisions like "it has questionable religious content", it's their loss.

@Lordlz Plenty of 3rd party support, meaning what? The Modern Warfare games? The 2K Sports series? I can't recall the Wii version of those games selling like hotcakes.

Catching up with HD in terms of third party games. I never said anything about M rated games, but I'm sure they also sell.

Nor did I say the GameCube was a mistake, just the company's approach to it.

Nintendo's greatest strength is in the first party, but it can't do it alone, hence that's why we have third party games. It's like over-relying on a "franchise" player in sports. Sure, we'd like to keep that player, but if others' support is piss poor, then they won't win a championship. Same goes for Nintendo. And 3rd party sales were poor because those are the watered down versions of the HD games.

By "who's still playing them", I mean long after the debut of it's sales, are people still playing these games? Are people playing the sequels?

Don't get me wrong, I still play with the Wii, but with the functions of the Xbox 360 (a system that I also own with the Wii), and the content of the games, I can see why people are looking towards the HD systems rather than the Wii.

@TrueWiiMaster Yes, the Super Nintendo was a great system, but Nintendo's "kid friendly" image did not end there. I think they let that philosophy got in over their heads for a long time, perhaps until recently with the Wii U. But I fear that it might be too late to catch up with their HD counterparts.

I might agree with you on Iwata's take on the GameCube, but that's Nintendo's problem. If they expect it to be a "toy" and not a competitor in the games business, then people will treat it as such... and they now are paying for it.

It is of course a matter of opinion about which system has the better games, but it's not just the sales, it's also who is still playing them. Nintendo has great first party games, but the third party support is much more critical, and MS/Sony have the edge.

@CaPPa I think the vast majority of people who view the 360/PS3 games as better than the Wii games is because of marketing and demographics. Sure, there are great Wii games (I own the 360, PC and Wii, BTW), but take a look at how the Nintendo markets the Wii games. Do you really believe that it's "cool factor" is just as good as the ones on the 360 and the PS3? I doubt it. I'm sorry, but you can't blame the consumers for turning its back on Nintendo when, in the eyes of many, it's the other way around. If Nintendo had jumped on the HD race with the Wii, it would've won in a landslide. And with the Wii U coming up, I'm a bit worried that it might be too late for Nintendo.

@TrueWiiMaster I'm not sure where you got the idea that the "most censored" systems were the most successful. If that were true, then the Super NES version of Mortal Kombat would've completely outsold the Genesis version, and the systems wouldn't have as many bloody games like we have today.

I might agree with you on the Sony part and the ownership rights, but we can all agree that the alternatives Nintendo provided really did suck.

The Virtual Boy was also a failure in the gaming aspect because people were having vision problems after spending not a lot of time compared to the average person playing or even staring at the TV. Shoulder adjustments were also a big problem when trying to play the game. And the library wasn't that great either. So it wasn't just a commercial failure.

The Wii might be the most sold of all the consoles, but that's because it was the most different, yet that didn't make most of the games great. Many people consider it to be a secondary console because the Xbox 360 and the PS3 provided much better games than the Wii has. People buy the Wii because of some of the old school elements it has, but that, IMO, is as far as it went. Third party developers are more comfortable with MS and Sony than Nintendo because there is greater flexibility and universality in developing the games. And let's not forget about the hardware too.

@Bass_X0 The Wii has the most notorious shovelware line-up of all the major consoles.

You forgot to mention Iwata's "Customers don't want online games." SMDH!

There's also the Friend's Code, no online multiplayer for the VC games, ROB, the Super Mario Bros. movie, and many more I wish I can name.

I appreciate people’s nostalgic feelings for physical media. In some cases, it still provides some advantages such as not having to wait hours and hours to download a game, having to return the game for some cash, and lending games to other fellow gamers. And there was a time when those products were actually hot on the market, and that’s a feeling that time can’t take away (hence the nice pic on the article).

Now, for the record, I’m 32 years of age, and have been gaming for over 25 years, so I don’t want to hear (or read in this case), that I’m “unappreciative” of the old-school stuff because it’s untrue and irrelevant.

So, needless to say, here is where I dissent from the article. While the physical media still has a place in today’s world, with today’s technology, I’m much more appreciative over the fact that I no longer have to blow the cartridges to get the game working. I also no longer have to worry about my games getting stolen nor getting damaged in anyway so that I don’t have to pay to replace them. I also no longer have to worry about the excessive clutter that takes up a lot of physical space in bookshelves and other places. (Not to mention that I’m allergic dust, so freeing up a lot of space alleviates me from that). Some people made some good arguments that the physical media wears out over time and this is true. Digital media will never have this kind of problem as long as the consoles will last.

For those of you who are worried about replacing the games, rest easy: the company does have a record of your purchase, so if any reason your game gets “lost”, you can always download them for free, even those that are no longer available on the market (such as TMNT for the NES or Double Dragon for the XBLA). For those who are worried about the company going bankrupt, the company’s new owners will still sell the games (Mortal Kombat for example), and they will have your information that was held under previous ownership (Direct2Drive to GameFly).

I’m not sure what the argument is against digital manuals. I personally prefer tutorials over reading the manual so I won’t have to worry about going back and forth on what buttons to push. Also, Super Mario All-Stars should’ve been a VC release instead of the Anniversary Edition on the Wii disc.

The bottom line is that digital downloads are here to stay. There are many more reasons on why they should exist than not. I’m frustrated by the fact that Nintendo has not released ALL of the games that they released in physical forms from the past, but IMO, it’s not worth the hassle or the space to keep the physical games for a nostalgic rush. Many of the digital games, as much as I liked them, I play no more, but it is still nice that they are in the hard drives of my Wii, Xbox 360, and PC, knowing that they maybe a time in which I would like to play them again. Besides, I don’t want to get “seller’s remorse” in thinking that I sold a good game in which I got a fraction of the price back.

No RoboCop?! :/

I'm hoping for a simultaneous release of the new Xbox and PS systems. Let's see if they can do their homework on what their competition is doing.

It is a terrible idea to not have backwards compatibility.

How about this: Nintendo should release the ENTIRE GameCube library as a downloadable service during the WiiU's life cycle. That way, the GameCube discs can be transitioned out for the following console after the WiiU. That would be better and it would give those that have current GameCube games an incentive to buy the downloadable games.

*FACEPALMS for no US release. SMH!

No VC games again?! SIGH!

It's the hardware. Let's not sugarcoat this. The Xbox 360 and the PS3 are almost identical, and are much more powerful than the Wii in terms of the hardware. Of course, you could argue about the Call of Duty games that were successfully ported to the Wii, so I guess the question is, what features would you compromise to make MvC 3 for the Wii?

At least they're not releasing the VC games. Can they now just release at least ONE VC game a week for Nintendo's New Year's Resolution?

The title of the review should've said: "Sorry, but you are finished... here."

@YoshiSage: I'm not a retro purist and I'm not happy about the fact that Samurai Showdown III is already out for the Anthology. Get me Yoshi's Island and/or Double Dragon II, and then we'll start talking about being satisfied.

Huh-huh, huh-huh! Jonathan said "balls!"