skywake

Two things Iwata confirmed near the end of the conference:
1. The Nintendo NX was hardware
2. "NX" = "Next Generation"

Given that it was announced alongside this mobile conference, that their portables are more in-line with mobile AND that the 3DS is an older platform? I'm just going to assume it's a 3DS successor until it's stated otherwise.

Again, worth repeating the things Iwata has said on the stream. The "Nintendo NX" announcement is purely there to show people that they're not "going third party". My best guess is that it's a 3DS successor. Iwata at one point was asked about some of the exploitative nature of some free to play games, specifically said that Nintendo would never create that sort of content. Thirdly they said that the games on mobile would be "different games" and that they wouldn't be porting their games. Because buttons.

Why the automatic assumption that it's "replacing" the Wii U? It could just as easily (and would make more sense) if it was a 3DS successor. Also given the nature of the announcement it could also be a "virtual" platform, like Steam.

Worth noting that Iwata specifically said that they wouldn't be porting their own games to mobile. He also made a point of their "continued commitment" to dedicated gaming hardware by announcing that a new console codenamed "Nintendo NX" was in development. This is big news for sure, but it's not "Nintendo going third party"....

I don't feel sorry for these people at all. If you brought it with the intent of enjoying it? Then you got what you paid for. If I was in that boat I'd think of reselling as simply a way to get someone else to enjoy it, not a way to make a buck. Something that is better served by it being available digitally anyways. Which is something you should be celebrating

If you brought the item with the intent of making a mint out of it? Then you're an idiot. When did this idea that you can make a profit out of your old games start? And I'm sorry, but the dudes selling original sealed copies of 5yr old games? Those guys are in the same boat as the people who are scalping Amiibos.

The more gaming companies do things like this, particularly if it's unpredictable, the better the whole market will be for consumers

I was under the impression that the Wii games being released on the eShop also supported the Pro Controller if they originally supported the Classic Controller. If not then it's a bit of a missed opportunity if they ever release something like Brawl. Also a bit of a shame that the GC adapter doesn't behave like the GC ports on the Wii in WiiMode.

Other than that I don't think anything here doesn't make sense. Games brought on the Wii only work with Wii gear and for everything else everything will work unless there's a technical reason why it can't. It's not that complicated really.

@MasterBlaster
I call them jerks because they're jerks. What more is there to say? What they're doing is effectively a scam done in a way that can't be policed. I'm not particularly mad about it because I choose not to be stung by it. However people clearly are being had by these jerks, which is why I felt the need to comment on the matter. Simple as that.

"Also, I suggest you check a dictionary and read the description of 'scalper' or 'scalping'. Scalpers, by definition, sell tickets to events at a higher price. Scalpers do not sell video games/action figures"

Scalp: To resell, especially tickets, usually for an inflated price, often illegally
.... pretty clear cut
_{Please watch the peofanity — TBD}

@pubjoe
There are a lot of things people can do to make some cash. Doesn't mean we should turn a blind eye to it purely because they're making cash. It's like those guys who go door to door offering to do some gardening for you at an inflated price. Old ladies get stung by it, are charged through the nose for them to do a half-donkeyed job. Are those people not jerks? Even if "technically" it's not illegal?

Same deal here. Scalpers screw over people who would have otherwise just been able to enjoy the service as it was intended and at the intended price. They're not doing anyone a service. Running a sob story about how people calling them out on this crap are just "rich and irresponsible" doesn't cut it. Try and pull that excuse when you get caught shoplifting, see how far you get.
_{Please watch the profanity — TBD}

See there's this thing that some people don't seem to understand. It's called not being a jerk. Scalpers are basically the same as the guys who go to a concert with an iPad to record the thing, blocking everyone else's view. Or the dude who barges infront of you to get the last item on the shelf. They're ruining the experience for everyone else because they only care about themselves. And worse yet they're smug jerks about it.

So no, I'm not a six year old for being the sort of person who leaves the Amiibos I don't want on the shelf for the next person. Just like I'm not a kid for being the person who stands back and opens the door for the old lady. It's called not being a jerk. If less people were jerks then then maybe the world wouldn't be quite as crap as it sometimes is.

And please don't assume that this is me getting mad of angry about this. Frankly I don't really care that much. I'm just merely pointing out how much of jerk move it is. The fact that you guys are getting so defensive about it maybe shows that you already know what you're doing is pretty pathetic.

_{Please watch the profanity — TBD}

People are seriously defending these guys? I mean really, get over it. If you're "one of the lucky ones" who had the option to buy it and decided you didn't want it? Then don't get it. What do people think Nintendo will do with the left overs? I'm pretty sure they'll find a way to get the rest out to fans. So please don't kid yourself into thinking that they're doing anyone a service.

Secondly even if somehow it was clear Nintendo were only producing as many as were taken up (doubtful) this still isn't being good about it. If their intent was to give the option to fans that weren't picked? Then they'd be selling them at cost plus shipping. If they were doing that then it would be purely altruistic and I'd respect that. But they aren't and so I don't.

Lastly the "grandmas sweater" point. Well for a start we know these aren't unwanted gifts, the people here brought these items with the sole intent of making a quick buck. Also when people do sell "unwanted gifts" on trading sites like this? Usually it's at less than retail and not at a tidy margin above. Mostly because people recognise that even in-box an item resold isn't worth as much as it is on shelves. Again, that's not what's happening here.

So please, don't waste your time defending these scumbags.

Before Mario Kart 8 I would have said Super Mario Kart. Now? Mario Kart 8.

Hopefully Duck Hunt is the start of more "specialised hardware" games on the VC. Been wanting Mario Paint on the VC since the service was first announced on the Wii!

Also Zombi U? I guess it's worth a purchase... especially given that it's the last week of the Nintendo Network Premium promo. I think between Duck Hunt and ZombiU I'll have enough to get one last code. Which means Zombi U becomes like a $2 game. Hard to not get one of the Wii U's few big third party exclusives at that price.

The DS lasted 6 years before the 3DS completely replaced it. It got a minor revision in its second year with the Lite and then a major revision in it's fourth year with the DSi. The 3DS is in its fourth year and the New 3DS basically here already.

Pretty easy to guess what they're talking about I think. I reckon next year there'll be no new hardware releases. The year after? I reckon we get a whole new portable console generation to replace the 3DS. Launching with this Mario game they're talking about here.

If everyone was a multi-platform gamer then he'd be 100% right. If you own any one of PS4, XBOne or PC then there's little reason to own any of the others. However you'll still be missing out on Nintendo's IP, whatever you own Nintendo's platform will have something you don't have. Which like it or not is an advantage for a platform. The problem is that some people are single platform gamers. If they're going to pick one they won't pick the one that has none of the games everyone is hyped about.

Ideally they'd have both. Ideally they'd be the platform with the games you don't see anywhere else AND the games everyone else has. But if you were picking one? It's better to have games people want that aren't found anywhere else. You can always win back the multiplatform games, you can't easily create popular franchises.

SMB 3 introduced the different suits, the world map, the koopalings and the idea of different themed worlds. SMW, while I think it's the better game, didn't add that much that wasn't already there. The pro-SMW part of this debate really boils down to "it has Yoshi"..... and my niece thinks my Tanooki Mario plush is better than my Yoshi plush. So SMB3.

What I want to know is what's the absolute worst Nintendo could do in an EULA anyway. They don't hold much data about me and there's nothing much that they can really collect. Worst case scenario they know what my email address is and how many hours I've put into Animal Crossing. We live in an age where we hold bucketloads of photos, personal communications and all sorts in our pocket. And you're worried about the Wii U automatically pushing out firmware updates? Give us a break.

I think I agree with most of the cynics so far. The only reason I can think of that you'd actually want to disagree with their EULA at any point is if you wanted to pirate content. And don't give us the "it's homebrew" crap, we live in the smarphone age. You have a super computer in your pocket. Sorry, this is about piracy. Nintendo make it easy for you to play their games, there's no excuse. So get over it.

This isn't that different from phones being sold with the Linux kernel in it IMO. Although in this case I'd argue it's less of a deal than that. Because while it might not be "illegal" to make an emulator there aren't really any legitimate ways to use an emulator outside of a device like the one here.

So I don't really see what the problem is.

I don't really understand why there are PS4/XBOne versions and not a Wii U version. Surely the Wii U makes more sense. You've got an ok-sized user base, one that's bigger and will likely remain bigger than the XBOne for a long while. Plus you've got gamers who are into things like Mario and Yoshi but not so into CoD and Assassin's Creed.

Plus lets not forget that the indie-scene on the Wii U eShop is pretty damn strong. Doesn't make sense to me...... but then again I'm not really into Minecraft and don't care either way.

Wii U + PC. You get all of the big games from Nintendo, the majority of the major cross platform games, a massive back-catalogue of PC games AND a massive back catalogue of retro Nintendo games.

With Wii U + PC I can play Mega Man 2, Super Mario World, GTA Vice City, Portal, Super Mario Galaxy, Smash Bros, the next big Zelda and all of the Assassin's Creeds. Plus all of the indie titles from obscure arty crap to super polished 2D platformers.

Also I find it odd that the same people who would moan about the cost of PC gaming are happily paying $600AU for a XBOne AND $550AU for a PS4. Whereas I'll get a PC anyway, spend an extra ~$200AU on a graphics card and then play the vast majority of "next gen" games PLUS the back catalogue but with higher details and 60fps instead of 30.

It's not really news when you think about it. "ZOMG, RETRO STUDIOS HIRES PEOPLE TO MAKE GAMES ON NINTENDO PLATFORMS!". Well, yeah, of course they do.

It's like how everyone gets hyped when someone at Nintendo says they're working on a new Zelda/Mario. Fair enough being hyped about it but isn't that always the case? These guys are either working on an announced game or they're working on an unannounced game. It's not like when there's no game announced they're sitting around saying "so, what do we do now?"....

Well it's locked at 30fps on all platforms so why would I care about it anyways?

The physical releases aren't for people who already own the console. They're not even for people who are online reading and commenting on articles like this. They're for the average person browsing in the shops. If you didn't know anything about the Wii U other than the fact that it exists you'd maybe walk down the game isle.

"Oh hey, Wii Sports in HD with online. And some remixed NES classics! Nice. Oh look, they've also got a version of New SMB where you play as Luigi. And they're all pretty cheap"

That person? You're not going to be able to market the fact that you can get that content online. No matter how good your marketing is. They won't bother looking, they probably don't really care. They're likely just looking for a console and a couple of games for their kid. We live in a digital and online world now, and that's cool, but a lot of people don't at least not for games. This is who these physical copies are for.

I got one of these before the 3DS' launch as an impulse buy. Was something like $30AU which seemed like a good deal for something portable that did a bit of retro gaming. For what it is it's decent and I got a bit of fun out of it. In the end it basically turned into a "Bomber Raid" machine.

but now that the 3DS with its VC is a thing. Meh. The 3DS is portable enough, cheap enough and you can get better stuff on the VC.

Most people I know, including myself, haven't been that loyal to a particular brand of platform. I mean you might stick with some guys for two generations particularly if there is some incentive there. Generally though, not so much. I think most "normal" people only get one console per generation if at all. A subset of people get two. A smaller subset get all of them. When the next console rolls around they re-evaluate the whole thing. Picking the one with the most immediate appeal

Plus lets get a bit of perspective here. There are only about 19mill current gen consoles out there so far. There are 260mill last gen. A good 90% of last gen consoles have not been upgraded. 19mill total only gets you 1/5th of the way through any one of the last gen consoles. So if the headline was to be more accurate it would instead say "previous gen console owners haven't upgraded yet and the ones who have aren't particularly brand loyal"

The sales one is hillarious. They're seriously predicting that lifetime sales of Mario Kart 8 will be LESS than Wii Party U's current sales? What a load.

And that's before you consider the fact that Mario Kart 7 has sold 106% of the 3DS' sales at the time of its launch. Or Mario Kart Wii which sold 140% of the Wii's numbers at the time of it's launch. Or the fact that Super Mario 3D World has sold about double the number they project Mario Kart 8 to sell....

Just a load of clickbait all round

Nintendo finally got around to dusting off the olde money printing machine. Lets see if it still works ey?

To the comments on the Nintendo financials thing where they had their sales projection. Those people saying that the 3DS numbers were optimistic. I present exhibit A

I never had a problem with the snow themed DK tracks. They tend to mix the themes around anyways. DK doesn't really not fit the ice theme any less than Wario or Rosalina.

This guy wasn't trying to approach them as a developer. He was trying to approach them as a journalist writing an article. Worth remembering that before jumping to conclusions either way about this.

You need this soundtrack to play while you go through the game. So many audio bugs.

Such weird, very Mario, wow

That music.....

puhfpurbfbaerigberiferibpiabr!!!!

The problem with the "it goes in cycles" argument here is that a lot of the reason for the indie boom is the change in game distribution. I have no doubt that the novelty of "indie games" will fade and some of the indies will become bigger. However when they do that doesn't mean that it'll go back to how it was.

When Punk went mainstream it wasn't the death of the idea of "non-mainstream" music. Punk died and New Wave took over, New Wave died and Grunge took the keys, Grunge died and made way for alternative. I'd argue that if anything music these days is more independent than it has ever been. Imagine going to a record label exec and asking "hey guys, I know it's 2014 but we want to make some Psychedelia, Grunge Revival or make something that sounds like The Jesus and Mary Chain". You'd be kicked out.

Chomps? Interesting. Even looking at the link they have an image of them in vs mode. I always remember it being a fuzzy from Super Mario World. Was this something that was different between the PAL/NA/JAP versions?

Curious.

@LeasTwanteD
If it was built for 3DS originally then surely they would have something for the second screen. When a Wii U game comes out with the bottom screen in 4:3 rather than 16:9 THEN we'll know for sure that it's a game that started on 3DS.

Sounds like an excuse for not implementing off-TV play on 90's arcade racer. If that's the case then I won't be buying that game I can tell you now.

also, since when was 16:9 480p a "non-standard resolution"? Plus it's not like the thing is used for text. It's only used for displaying a wirelessly transmitted video. If they pumped up the resolution they'd reduce the usable range, increase the compression and increase the latency of the thing. It's a balancing act.

I was going to make a point about how Nintendo should be doing something to take advantage of this. Then I remembered that a few days ago they announced their "free Pokemon X/Y" promo on the US. Coincidence? Maybe not.

It's funny, I played most of the games on the Wii U on a 32" LCD TV. In my mind Galaxy looked exactly like the HD version of it here. Memory up-scales everything.

@vattodev
How isn't it a good thing? Nintendo could have pulled this on day 1 if they wanted to. If it's so horrible why haven't they?

I'm not getting it, it seems very crass. However I'm not going to run around crying that the world is burning because it exists. It should exist and people should be able to choose to buy it. Nothing's stopping the people who don't like it from ignoring it entirely.

That said some of the defence squad here are a bit off the track I think. I get the whole "we freak out about sex but not violence" thing I really do. I don't think it applies here. Without the boobs this would be getting an age rating along the lines of Zelda. Going further this isn't like the Mass Effect Alien Lesbians thing. This is overtly objectifying women and schoolgirls no less. There is no reason why that has to be in there for the story or the gameplay.

Also I'd like to point out that people like me who aren't that happy about this are not necessarily ok with excessive violence either. However not being ok with it and avoiding games because of it doesn't necessarily mean that I support censorship. Quite the reverse, stuffs that pushes the boundaries allows us to discuss what the boundaries are. So it's helpful in that sense.

............ but I'm not buying it

The last one also launched in December on a platform that had 5x the install base. Plus we're talking DK here which is hardly what you'd call a system seller. All reasons why you wouldn't expect it to pull the same numbers.

This isn't really "unimpressive", it's just plain old obvious given the circumstances

Super Mario Kart: Send a Red shell into orbit around a dormant P2 in battle mode

Remix stage: Samus vs Bowser in the final battle of Super Mario World

@TheRealThanos I was thinking the same thing.

The difference would be that you'd be able to have lights that aren't the same as what's on the screen. Like if in something along the lines of the "emergency exit" section of Super Metroid you had a throbbing red glow behind the TV. Or as you lose light in Zelda the light goes from Green to yellow to red. Or just flashes behind the screen in a storm sequence.

Lots of options.... but will probably never happen.......

Just allow people to download 3DS games on the Wii U.

Rule #1 of reading articles:
An article that has a question in the title is begging to be answered with a no. More often than not "question articles" are articles that started out with the intent of saying one thing but had the writer convince themselves throughout the article that it was wrong.

If the author was sure of their conclusion it would have instead been titled:
"There Is A Future For The Wii U Without The GamePad"

However they weren't, it was a question, so the answer must be no

I don't think I'd worry about their investors too much. After the news their stocks did fall but only back to where they were at around Jan 1st this year. Very much expected news in other words. They're still about double what they were at the start of 2013. Plus a company like Nintendo is inherently very volatile, they are very specialised and their biggest hits can become yesterday's news in a matter of months.

So no sympathy for investors in Nintendo at all.

I have some 6200 stars saved up and have been avoiding getting anything. Waiting for the Luigis. Although with that number of stars I could get the cards and the hat. Very tempting.

Well when you see what happens at retail it makes a lot of sense to push discounts. Games here launch at $70AU or so and within 6 months or so a lot of them drop to $30AU new and as little as $10AU used. So if the eShop isn't flexible then people are just going to buy the used copies and the devs get nothing.