It would be silly for anyone to change their purchasing plans because of this. The DSi is going to be supported for a minimum of 2 years, even if this turns out to be correct. With a massive library of games built up over nearly a decade (since the release of the DS Phat), the only thing you accomplish by waiting is to cheat yourself out of a great experience.
That being said, I would caution a large grain of salt here. This story is completely unconfirmed, and NVidia has economic reasons to want this to leak right now. There's a good chance that Nintendo is shopping around for their next gen providers and that NVidia is not the only company they're talking with. There's also a good chance that the 2010 number is based on faulty information. (e.g. "What is the earliest delivery date for these parts?")
Sooooo, be careful believing everything you read. Especially on the Internets.
@Supermarioman sez... So form only a true opinion when you have the system!
Let's be clear here. The PSPGo is not a bad hardware platform. If any person here suddenly found themselves with one in hand, I can imagine that they would warm up to it in short order.
The problem with the PSPGo is a failure to appeal to the market. It costs too much money, fails to compete (even against its own brethren!), takes away functionality that used to exist, replaces it with very little, and has an identity crisis as to who exactly it's supposed to be marketed at.
The problem isn't the system itself. The problem is selling the damn things.
Kirk sez... I mean I don't want one but that doesn't mean it's completely pointless.
That's kind of the issue, isn't it? The people who wanted PSPs have no interest in this device. The people who didn't want PSPs have no interest in this device. So who exactly is going to buy it? (Other than Corbie, I mean? )
@Crow - My understanding is that the PSP and the PSPGo share the same online store. The only difference is that the Go has 16GB of internal Flash memory instead of the UMD drive. The PSP needs Memory Sticks to download games while the Go can be expanded with Memory Sticks. Oh, and the Go costs $50 more than a regular PSP.
You know, when I put it that way, the Go sounds even worse than before. Better to buy a PSP + a memory stick. You'll spend the same amount of money and be able to play far more games.
@roro44 - Considering that the Micro was significantly less expensive than the clamshell Advance, the Micro actually ended up being a commercial success. Here's the key though: Nintendo positioned the Micro as a budget system. The PSPGo is positioned as a generational upgrade.
The latter is a bit of a mistake. If Sony wanted to take away backward compatibility, they should have at least made it clear that this was a brand new platform. Instead, it ends up being the upgrade that nobody wants. (The DSi is a bit guilty of this as well. But at least Nintendo didn't invalidate their massive library of DSi carts! GBA is missed by many, but it's not nearly as bad as getting rid of the bread and butter of a platform.)
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Whatever strengths the Go may have, it is dead on arrival. The market feels that Sony never really met their needs with the PSP. As cool or uncool as the Go may be, they're not very inclined to give Sony another chance. Especially when Sony does something that appears to screw the consumer. (Namely, ditching UMDs in a more expensive device.)
@mjc0961 - Have you been paying attention to the DSi release schedule? Asphalt 4? iPhone. Guitar Rock Tour? iPhone. Castle of Magic? iPhone.
Gameloft alone has a ton more games on the system, including Blades of Fury (competitive SoulCailbur clone), Dungeon Hunter (amazing 3D RPG), Modern Combat (CoD type of games), Siberian Strike (really fun shmup), Rise of Lost Empires (RTS), and many more!
Defender Chronicles is the best Tower Defense game on any system, FF: Crystal Defenders hit the iPhone before the Wii, Tap Tap Revenge is a surprisingly fun rhythm game, SpyBot is a really fun platformer, Pandemonium is ported from the Playstation, Mr. Driller is same as ever, Clue is a unique mystery/logic game, Blimp is an accelerometer powered Space Taxi, Tales of Monkey Island: Special Edition, Simon the Sorcerer 1 & 2, SimCity, Wild West Pinball, KIL.A.TON deep breath, Gold Miner, ExZeus (aka Counter Force), Wild West Train, Crash Nitro Kart, Fast Lane, Fast and Furious, 2079, Prey Invasion, Duke Nukem 3D, GeoFighter, and waaaayyyy too much more stuff to list it all.
For better or for worse, the iPhone has become a serious gaming platform. It's not a direct competitor with the DSi (the two cover slightly different market segments), but it will be a consideration in many consumer's minds when they chose a portable gaming device.
As for the PSP, it was DOA. The hardware was very interesting and powerful, but Sony has blundered in that space far too many times. (e.g. Long load times prevented pick up and play, UMDs weren't as portable as DS carts, memory sticks are expensive, requiring a PS3 for some functionality, investing heavily in proprietary UMD movies, and now the PSP GO is in direct competition with the iPhone, but more expensive and without the phone.)
@Starwolf_UK - I disagree. I think the purpose of the program was not so much to get the systems online (WIFI usage is already high with the Nintendo DS) but rather to bootstrap their online store. Since they didn't have strong launch games, many users would have ignored it if not for their 1000 free points.
Given the amount of money it would cost Nintendo once people started buying third party games rather than Nintendo's repackaged demos, they didn't want the program to run any longer than necessary. Nintendo would only have extended the program if they felt it was less successful than they anticipated.
I'm constantly frustrated by coworkers who have Wiis but won't connect them to the internet. "Too lazy" is pretty much the reason. Yet they'll spend tons of time configuring their PS3s or 360s for internet access. Drives me up a wall.
BTW, a quick comment on the title: "Castle of Magic Trailer is Conjured Out of Thin Air"
Bringing in games from left field is Gameloft's M.O. They rarely announce a game until it is completed, in the approval queue, and due out any day. Personally, I don't see this as a bad thing as you don't get the "Where is XYZ game that I've been waiting on for a year?" responses. Plus, they get to capitalize on the initial buzz.
@Kirk - Trust me, it's actually pretty good. In typical Gameloft fashion, they've taken elements from Mario (3/World/Galaxy/etc.), DKC, Crash Bandicoot, and many others, and smooshed them together into a single game that is greater than the sum of its parts.
Granted, you won't find the next breakthrough title here, but you will find a solid platformer with enough variety to keep you playing through the entire game. With most platformers boring me to death after the first few levels, that's high praise indeed!
@Gabe - Funny story about that. You see, Square was on the brink of bankruptcy when they created the FF series. It seems that (if you can believe it) no one liked their RPGs! So they called their last RPG "Final Fantasy" with the understanding that it would be the company's swan song.
As it turned out, the game was so popular that it pulled Square back from the brink of bankruptcy and led to one of the most iconic RPG series in history. Thus the "Final" fantasy just keeps going and going and going...
Did they rate Street Fighter 2010? Because we all need a Street Fighter platformer set in the future. And who can't wait for all the cool future cyber-tech that we'll have by 2010?
@Calculon sez - The sword fighting game required zero skill
You have no idea what you're talking about. Sure, you can hack and slash for the amateur league, but once you leave that you're in for a challenge. And the on-foot game where you fight against dozens of opponents does an excellent job of making you feel like you're in a Samurai movie!
Just because you played the game for 15 minutes and gave up doesn't mean that there isn't depth. It just means that you have no idea what you're looking for and why everyone else loves these games.
As an aside, you're one of those people who never "got" Wii Boxing, aren't you?
There was a much better animation I saw last night. It was of the SSBB logo flashing, with smash cuts to text about wanting SSB DS. Unfortunately I can't find it right now or I'd share it.
For everyone hoping to see more movie tie-in titles, keep in mind that LucasArts is in a unique position. Since they are part of the same company that holds the Star Wars rights, they have a perpetual license to use the IP. So unless George wants a game buried, they're free to bring it back to life.
Personally, I'm waiting for the special edition with new graphics and updated story line. The new feature where you can't fire until the bad guys do should really liven it up!
@ballistikboy - If you want to find the fun in Puzzle League, you need to find someone to play against. Preferably, someone who already knows how to play.
I learned about Tetris Attack (the original American name) when a friend brought it over to my house and challenged me to a few games. When the action got heavy, you'd get chains, garbage blocks, RAWRs, and just absolute CRAZINESS going on! I'll tell you what, that game was one of the most incredible adrenaline rushes I've ever had!
If you want to get to that experience, you need someone to play against. The computer is a softy that can be beat with little more than speed and persistence. No fun there. Kick the butt of someone sitting next to you, however, (especially if they're smack talking the whole time) and you'll feel immense satisfaction with your purchase.
@warioswoods - Actually, it sucks. Puzzle League (more-so than Tetris or Doctor Mario) is very much a multiplayer game. The fun of the title comes from the frantic saves, long chains, and massive garbage blocks being tossed around between players. The humans element is what makes these achievements such an incredible experience. (As opposed to the computer, which is actually quite dull and predictable.) Especially if you're in the same room as your opponent.
IMHO, this Puzzle League entry is a net loss for the series. For the simple reason that it means that we're not going to get a proper Puzzle League option for the DSi since we already have this. Worse yet, we're also unlikely to get another publishing run of Puzzle League DS because... we have this.
Nintendo, you're really failing at promoting your new DSi platform. Remember, it's suppose to be more connected with more downloadable options and better game experiences. Please stop killing your message with substandard offerings!
(As an aside, it seems like everything I have to say is negative as of late. Is Nintendo really dropping the ball that much more, or am I just getting more cynical?)
MFC is great! But the list is obviously still being impacted by new DSis with free points packages. People are obviously grabbing one big game (e.g. M vs DK, Asphalt4, WarioWare Snapped) then grabbing a cheap 200 point game to use up the rest of their points. (Paper Airplane, Birds & Beans, Mario Clock/Calculator, etc.)
MFC just doesn't rate high enough on people's "big item" list compared to the MvDK, Asphalt, and WarioWare. Which is perfectly understandable, but still sucks. It's a perfect storm for killing a great game.
@WolfRamHeart - Considering that he joined 5 hours ago for the apparent purpose of "trashing the reviewer", I'm suspecting a shill. Especially given the weak language he uses in promoting the game. e.g. "seems to be a good fun party game" is an extremely odd statement.
I've seen the first episode of "There Will be Brawl". Disturbing doesn't cover the half of it. Though I do get a kick out of the idea that Kirby is some kind of serial mass-murderer.
as veterans of World Tour know, kicking a building is the fastest way to bring it down.
It's been a while since I've played my GameCube copy of the game, but I seem to recall that the fastest way to bring a building down is to get on top and jump up and down. The weight of your monster cracks it and causes it to fall in short order.
As I said, it's been a while so I may be incorrect. But it might be worth looking into.
On the topic of opinions, I have to say that this version of Rampage was a missed opportunity. When I first played it, I had a hard time considering it anything more than a toy for one simple reason: It was impossible to die!
I did a comparison with the classic Rampage titles on the disc (the $10 I spent was worth it for just these two ) and I realized that both of them had much tighter gameplay with an appropriate difficulty curve. If the developers had just followed that formula for Total Destruction, it would have been a hit title.
It's a decent game, but KDR_11 is correct. Tumiki Fighters is a superior game, and it's free.
I don't think you can go wrong by getting Blastworks at its current price. You're certainly going to get quite a bit of game for your dollar. The catch is that it will wear thin rather quickly.
@KDR_11k - The save file in SSBB holds user-created stages in addition to saved game information.
So let me get this straight: You have to pay $1.50 for a slim chance at a 5,000 in 10s of millions chance of getting a $2.00 prize? Even if you win on your first bottle (good luck!) I can't see any way that this is cost-effective.
Now if you happen to drink Pepsi anyway (blech) and win, that's just gravy. But there's no way this should ever convince anyone to buy a Pepsi they wouldn't normally purchase.
The problem with this is that almost nothing related to The Ottifants was ever released in any country other than Germany, so at 800 Wii Points it's gonna be a tough sell to anyone not from Germany!
A good game is a good game. (Look at NES Duck Tales and Rescue Rangers!) I'm looking forward to hearing a review on this one, and possibly even a NA release.
Nintendo has released two upgraded models of the DS thus far, just as they did two GBA.
Incorrect. They released one more model of DS and a next generation of handheld. The DS Lite had no feature differences unlike your Wii HD concept or like 360/PS3 which mess with the hardware on a regular basis.
The DSi is a next generation system of roughly double the power of the DS that's backwards compatible with DS software. It's almost the exact same idea as the Wii, new input method and everything. While I'll grant that it's having some difficulty being accepted by the market as a new system, that probably has more to do with its lack of launch software. Even the downloadable software (which appears to be the direction Nintendo is pushing) is rather weak at the moment.
If they DO release an HD Wii, don't you think I MIGHT want to play my downloaded games on IT instead of on my old SD Wii? DUH?
And yet, you might not be able to. Such is the way life goes sometimes. I'm planning to keep my Wii around for that very reason.
Sure, it won't look any worse than it does now, but those same games could look BETTER on the new model!
Somewhat doubtful. You're not exactly talking about the crème de la crème of Wii graphics here. For the time being, those are still relegated to discs. Perhaps that will change with the next generation and larger storage capabilities, but for now your VC/WiiWare titles will look no better or worse running on this gen or next.
Not to mention I don't have infinite space in my small room for a bazillion consoles.
See? Nintendo was thinking ahead! The Wii is the size of 2 DVD cases.
Now if I could just figure out where to stash all the controllers...
Say the Wii WAS better off without the ability to output in 720p, but now it needs the ability and Nintendo decides to release an HD Wii.
Nintendo doesn't generally do that sort of thing. If they released a Wii capable of HD, it would be a new console generation. Especially since all their APIs make assumptions about the underlying hardware.
Anybody here not deathly afraid of being forced to re-download their entire VC/WiiWare library if they bought one?
Not really. Just keep your Wii around. It's not going to look any worse.
@Stuffgamer1 - The Wii was released in 2006. Only 5 years after the release of the original XBox. Stating 8 years is a bit disingenuous because there is no console being released right now.
Additionally, I find it doubtful the XBox ever made money. (Microsoft's financials certainly suggested otherwise. The game division was losing money hand over fist at the time.) The design was a poor one. It was basically a PC stuffed into a console shell. The problem with that is that there is a ton of extra hardware in there that isn't needed for the core goal. In result, the console was far more expensive to produce than it by all rights should have been. Notice that Microsoft learned from this and used custom hardware for the 360.
Finally, I'd like to reiterate that this isn't about simply producing 720p. That's the easy part. Nintendo could have slapped some extra memory in there for another $10 and called it a day.
The problem is producing high quality output at 720p. Even the PS2 was capable of 1080i, but the quality of the image was relatively poor. To get a high-quality image with the type of bump-mapped textures you see in Mario Galaxy and SSBB, you need to increase the computational power to match the greater resolution.
Don't believe me? Go look up the XBox games capable of 720p. Go on, I'll wait. Notice how few of them there are? Many don't even run at 720p at all times. There are several that only support it during cut-scenes or other less intensive periods. Even the exception that prove the rule (Soul Calibur II) didn't really gain much from being in 720p. The GCN was quite competitive with its mere 480p support and powerful graphics hardware.
And still nobody has commented on my note that Nintendo has been advertising the Wii with HDTV's from day one.
I think it's a case of "So?" If you go in the store, what do you see? Walls lined with CRTs? Nope. Flat panel displays everywhere you look. That's just the current state of technology. Regardless of whether or not much of Nintendo's audience has SDTVs, they're not going to shoot themselves in the foot by advertising with some guy squinting to see his 12" CRT set.
But of course, they only use the fancy-pants models with the amazing built-in upconverters so we won't know how bad it'll look on OUR TV's. How do you explain THAT BS, huh?
You're too funny. You actually believe TVs shown in commercials have images on them? (You think that's air you're breathing? )
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but TV images are almost always composited on in post-production. CRT screens are actually the reason for this little trick. You see, while it was possible to sync up a camera and CRT to prevent the flicker/tearing you always see when you point a camera at a CRT, it was never worth the trouble. It was always easier to just slap a fake image on top. There you go, crisp as can be!
1. The XBox was an expensive machine sold at a loss. The GCN made a profit at $99. 2. Just because you can output 720p doesn't mean that you get as high quality of a picture. You often have to take a quality hit to get that increased sharpness.
Nintendo could have made it possible to output at higher resolutions, but the resulting quality loss probably wouldn't be worth it.
@calculon sez... Some of the most inaccurate statements I've ever heard.
Don't blow things out of proportion or anything. It was late and I made one slightly inaccurate statement. I think the rest of my post was clear enough to make up for it.
Firstly, the supposed 'power increase' to switch from 852x480 widescreen to 720 HD is 125%, a whole 100% less than you claim.
My apologies. That should have said 225% of the current solution. Which would be a 125% increase as you stated. I stated later in my post that we're looking at doubling or tripling the power of the current console. That is still a correct statement.
Secondly, it's only the pixel fill rate that needs to be increased to accommodate the higher resolution which is probably the least expensive aspect of video graphics processing
Maybe if you're still living in the turn of the century where every game uses muddy PS2 graphics. Per-pixel effects makes textel costs a linear increase. You want more pixels? Great. You need more TEVs or pixel shaders to give you the same effects on more textels in the same time. Or you need to increase the clock to process more textels in less time.
So your fill-rate point is simply irrelevant. We want good looking 720p or this is all for naught.
In addition, you all seem to forge that Nintendo are a bunch of money grabbing SOBs
I'm not sure where you get that idea. I was only pointing out the state that Nintendo was in. They were trying to offer a highly affordable console. That has nothing to do with being "money grabbing". It just seemed like good business back when Nintendo did it. Especially for a market that was used to paying less for Nintendo's consoles.
I've heard it'll cost Nintendo no more than $85 to produce a Wii by the end of the year and they're still pumping them out at full retail - I somehow think that Nintendo would have had no problem at all in recouping the cost of implementing HD by now.
Hindsight is 20/20. The original plan was to have the Wii selling for $99 by now. And Nintendo is relatively on target for that. Had they known then what they know now, they might have beefed up the hardware a smidgen and hidden the extra features at launch.
I say "hidden" because Nintendo's decision also played into feedback they were hearing from the market: Games were getting too expensive to produce. The move to HD was only going to cause those costs to skyrocket. By staying behind the curve, Nintendo helped restrain costs for their console. Of course, many publishers ran the upgrade treadmill anyway, but you can't fault Nintendo for not trying.
Stuffgamer1 sez... Okay, so the one point of mine you still haven't addressed is the assertion that having 720p support WOULDN'T have been much increase to the Wii's cost at all.
Let's do some back of the envelope calculations. 480p is properly 852x480 in widescreen, giving 408,960 pixels. 720p is 1280x720 pixels is 921,600 pixels. That's a 225% increase in memory and computing power, just to render a sharper version of an image we can already see.
And that's assuming the Wii supports the full horizontal resolution in widescreen mode. Which as I recall, it doesn't. The Wii's framebuffer is 640x480 pixels. It produces a 480p anamorphic image that stretches to the screen. (Like a DVD.) Which means that it's actually 307,200 pixels. This raises the difference to a full 3 fold increase.
For comparison, the Wii is considered approximately 2-3x more powerful than the GCN based on the increased clock rate and the doubling of the TEV units. Thus to support 720p, Nintendo could have:
a) Given us 720p with Gamecube graphics b) Increased the Wii's power another three fold from its already increased specifications.
Obviously option A was a no-go and option B would have clearly raised the cost of production. Ergo, the statement that 720p would not have raised the price of the console is patently... false.
@Prosody - You have to remember the state Nintendo was in when they designed the Wii. They were the low-man on the totem pole selling their console for $99. Despite the blue ocean strategy, they had no idea how much market share they were going to recapture.
In result, they made the Wii as cheap of a machine as possible. They aimed for the console to eventually be sold at the $99 price point. To do that, the Wii originally had no internal storage and shipped with a "menu" disc. Then at the last minute (after the Wii proved to be so popular at the E3) Nintendo added the internal storage and dropped the menu disc.
Another interesting last minute change was a commitment to WiiWare. As far as I can tell, Nintendo was originally going to support the Virtual Console. I imagine part of the reason they had branded Wii SD cards was that they had been considering supporting ONLY those cards so that they could guarantee performance. That became unnecessary in the end, so the official Wii cards languished. Notice the lack of branded DSi cards.
@Prosody - If you don't have enough hardware, you don't have enough hardware. Pure and simple.
It's been a while since I dug in the internals, but I seem to recall that the framebuffer was just large enough to hold a standard definition signal. (The GCN/Wii have a dedicated FB as the final stage before output which contains pre-computed values for each pixel. i.e. All the alpha compositing and effects have been applied.) While I would not be surprised if the signal generator could handle a larger frame, the necessary buffer simply isn't there.
Of course, if you have an emulator, there is no fixed framebuffer. You're emulating it. And if you're emulating it, you can change the size.
I think anyone who says they don't want their favourite games to be better in any way - graphically, aurally etc. - is a very peculiar kind of gamer indeed.
I think the revolt is not against games getting better, but rather against the attempt to shift focus. Most Wii gamers are focused on the quality and fun factor of the gameplay, not the graphics. They often dislike the heavy focus other consoles have on their graphics/sound. They just want to play games that aren't all clones of Quake and Unreal or simulations so "realistic" that they sap all the "fun" out of the title.
Now you're telling them, "Hey, let's focus on the graphics!" Is it any wonder you get a strong reaction?
Especially when many Wii games don't even take advantage of the graphics the system has available today. I don't really need to see how ugly Guitar Hero's PS2-ported graphics look by upping it to 720p, thank you very much.
Skykid is awesome. My only caveat is that if you have the NES version, there's not much reason to get the arcade version. It was a pretty simple game, so the two versions are extremely close. (At least, from what I recall.)
May I be the first (ok, probably the 5 billionth) to say: That is so stupid. I swear, Nintendo finds new and innovative ways to shoot themselves in the foot on a nearly daily basis.
Granted, these snafus are not necessarily as damaging as their competitors' self-inflictions, but damaging nonetheless.
The one part that boggles my mind is: Why the character creator?
Doesn't this game just scream, "Use Miis! Use Miis!"? Reinventing the character-creator wheel seems pointless and less effective than just reusing the existing models. Especially since the existing Miis would provide a more unique online identity for players. Plus, Miis seem like they would be a lot less work for Hudson.
@theblackdragon - Really? I know tons of 'em. Like, "A blonde, a brunette, and a redhead jump off a building. Which hits the ground last? (pause) The blonde. She had to stop and ask for directions!" (insert groans)
A joke that's much nicer to the shinier members of the fairer sex is this joke: So a well dressed blonde goes into a bank and asks for a $5,000 loan for one week. The loan officer looks at her suspiciously and says that they'll need some sort of collateral to execute the loan. Especially such a short one. The blonde replies that she has a Mercedes and asks if that would be sufficient. The officer speaks with the manager, the manager agrees, and so they drive the vehicle into the bank parking garage and execute the loan.
A week later the blonde comes back and pays off the $5,000 plus the $30 interest on the loan. As she's about to leave, the manager runs up to her and says, "We checked you out while you were gone. You're loaded with money! Why did you need a $5,000 loan?!?"
The blonde replies, "Where else in New York can I park my car for a week for only $30?"
Comments 551
Re: NVIDIA-Powered DS Successor Coming 2010?
It would be silly for anyone to change their purchasing plans because of this. The DSi is going to be supported for a minimum of 2 years, even if this turns out to be correct. With a massive library of games built up over nearly a decade (since the release of the DS Phat), the only thing you accomplish by waiting is to cheat yourself out of a great experience.
That being said, I would caution a large grain of salt here. This story is completely unconfirmed, and NVidia has economic reasons to want this to leak right now. There's a good chance that Nintendo is shopping around for their next gen providers and that NVidia is not the only company they're talking with. There's also a good chance that the 2010 number is based on faulty information. (e.g. "What is the earliest delivery date for these parts?")
Sooooo, be careful believing everything you read. Especially on the Internets.
Re: Nintendo Download: Star Wars, Little Tournament, Heron, Monochrome Puzzle and Viking Invasion (EU)
You can never have too much tower defense. 800 Points is rather steep, though.
Re: Reggie Trash-Talks the PSPgo
If you're paying $189 for a DSi, you're getting ripped off. I hope you didn't overpay for your PSP?
Re: Reggie Trash-Talks the PSPgo
@Supermarioman sez... So form only a true opinion when you have the system!
Let's be clear here. The PSPGo is not a bad hardware platform. If any person here suddenly found themselves with one in hand, I can imagine that they would warm up to it in short order.
The problem with the PSPGo is a failure to appeal to the market. It costs too much money, fails to compete (even against its own brethren!), takes away functionality that used to exist, replaces it with very little, and has an identity crisis as to who exactly it's supposed to be marketed at.
The problem isn't the system itself. The problem is selling the damn things.
Re: Reggie Trash-Talks the PSPgo
@Corbie sez... Come on Reggie. Stop thinking about PSPgo and get on the DSi VC please.
QFT
Re: Reggie Trash-Talks the PSPgo
Kirk sez... I mean I don't want one but that doesn't mean it's completely pointless.
That's kind of the issue, isn't it? The people who wanted PSPs have no interest in this device. The people who didn't want PSPs have no interest in this device. So who exactly is going to buy it? (Other than Corbie, I mean? )
Re: Reggie Trash-Talks the PSPgo
@Crow - My understanding is that the PSP and the PSPGo share the same online store. The only difference is that the Go has 16GB of internal Flash memory instead of the UMD drive. The PSP needs Memory Sticks to download games while the Go can be expanded with Memory Sticks. Oh, and the Go costs $50 more than a regular PSP.
You know, when I put it that way, the Go sounds even worse than before. Better to buy a PSP + a memory stick. You'll spend the same amount of money and be able to play far more games.
Re: Reggie Trash-Talks the PSPgo
@roro44 - Considering that the Micro was significantly less expensive than the clamshell Advance, the Micro actually ended up being a commercial success. Here's the key though: Nintendo positioned the Micro as a budget system. The PSPGo is positioned as a generational upgrade.
The latter is a bit of a mistake. If Sony wanted to take away backward compatibility, they should have at least made it clear that this was a brand new platform. Instead, it ends up being the upgrade that nobody wants. (The DSi is a bit guilty of this as well. But at least Nintendo didn't invalidate their massive library of DSi carts! GBA is missed by many, but it's not nearly as bad as getting rid of the bread and butter of a platform.)
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Whatever strengths the Go may have, it is dead on arrival. The market feels that Sony never really met their needs with the PSP. As cool or uncool as the Go may be, they're not very inclined to give Sony another chance. Especially when Sony does something that appears to screw the consumer. (Namely, ditching UMDs in a more expensive device.)
Re: Nintendo Download: Pinballs, Fights and Gravity
My initial reaction was, "Lame". Then I saw the Pinball game. More Pinball for the DSi platform? Yes please!
Re: Ubisoft: The DS Salad Days Are Over
@mjc0961 - Have you been paying attention to the DSi release schedule? Asphalt 4? iPhone. Guitar Rock Tour? iPhone. Castle of Magic? iPhone.
Gameloft alone has a ton more games on the system, including Blades of Fury (competitive SoulCailbur clone), Dungeon Hunter (amazing 3D RPG), Modern Combat (CoD type of games), Siberian Strike (really fun shmup), Rise of Lost Empires (RTS), and many more!
Defender Chronicles is the best Tower Defense game on any system, FF: Crystal Defenders hit the iPhone before the Wii, Tap Tap Revenge is a surprisingly fun rhythm game, SpyBot is a really fun platformer, Pandemonium is ported from the Playstation, Mr. Driller is same as ever, Clue is a unique mystery/logic game, Blimp is an accelerometer powered Space Taxi, Tales of Monkey Island: Special Edition, Simon the Sorcerer 1 & 2, SimCity, Wild West Pinball, KIL.A.TON deep breath, Gold Miner, ExZeus (aka Counter Force), Wild West Train, Crash Nitro Kart, Fast Lane, Fast and Furious, 2079, Prey Invasion, Duke Nukem 3D, GeoFighter, and waaaayyyy too much more stuff to list it all.
For better or for worse, the iPhone has become a serious gaming platform. It's not a direct competitor with the DSi (the two cover slightly different market segments), but it will be a consideration in many consumer's minds when they chose a portable gaming device.
As for the PSP, it was DOA. The hardware was very interesting and powerful, but Sony has blundered in that space far too many times. (e.g. Long load times prevented pick up and play, UMDs weren't as portable as DS carts, memory sticks are expensive, requiring a PS3 for some functionality, investing heavily in proprietary UMD movies, and now the PSP GO is in direct competition with the iPhone, but more expensive and without the phone.)
Re: Ubisoft: The DS Salad Days Are Over
@Corbie - The PSP has no chance. It should make its time. (HAHAHAHA!)
The iPhone on the other hand...
Re: Top 20 DSiWare Games in USA (24th Sept)
If that list says anything, it says that Gameloft owns the DSi. And with their upcoming games, you can be sure that they're here to stay.
Who'da'thunk it?
Re: Braben: Many Wii Owners Don't Realise They Can Go Online
@Starwolf_UK - I disagree. I think the purpose of the program was not so much to get the systems online (WIFI usage is already high with the Nintendo DS) but rather to bootstrap their online store. Since they didn't have strong launch games, many users would have ignored it if not for their 1000 free points.
Given the amount of money it would cost Nintendo once people started buying third party games rather than Nintendo's repackaged demos, they didn't want the program to run any longer than necessary. Nintendo would only have extended the program if they felt it was less successful than they anticipated.
Re: Braben: Many Wii Owners Don't Realise They Can Go Online
I'm constantly frustrated by coworkers who have Wiis but won't connect them to the internet. "Too lazy" is pretty much the reason. Yet they'll spend tons of time configuring their PS3s or 360s for internet access. Drives me up a wall.
Re: Top 20 WiiWare Games in USA (16th Sept)
I'm amazed at how long Defend Your Castle has held on. Talk about a game having legs!
Re: Castle of Magic Trailer is Conjured Out of Thin Air
BTW, a quick comment on the title: "Castle of Magic Trailer is Conjured Out of Thin Air"
Bringing in games from left field is Gameloft's M.O. They rarely announce a game until it is completed, in the approval queue, and due out any day. Personally, I don't see this as a bad thing as you don't get the "Where is XYZ game that I've been waiting on for a year?" responses. Plus, they get to capitalize on the initial buzz.
Re: Castle of Magic Trailer is Conjured Out of Thin Air
@Kirk - Trust me, it's actually pretty good. In typical Gameloft fashion, they've taken elements from Mario (3/World/Galaxy/etc.), DKC, Crash Bandicoot, and many others, and smooshed them together into a single game that is greater than the sum of its parts.
Granted, you won't find the next breakthrough title here, but you will find a solid platformer with enough variety to keep you playing through the entire game. With most platformers boring me to death after the first few levels, that's high praise indeed!
Re: Nintendo of Europe Announces WiiWare and DSiWare Plans for the Rest of 2009
@Djungelurban - If you think THAT is awesome, go check out Blades of Fury. If Gameloft releases that on the DSi...
Re: Nintendo of Europe Announces WiiWare and DSiWare Plans for the Rest of 2009
Someone call Corbie! Castle of Magic is coming, Castle of Magic is coming!!!
looks at list again
I'm going to be broke by Christmas.
Re: New Add-On Content Released For FFIV: The After Years
@Gabe - Funny story about that. You see, Square was on the brink of bankruptcy when they created the FF series. It seems that (if you can believe it) no one liked their RPGs! So they called their last RPG "Final Fantasy" with the understanding that it would be the company's swan song.
As it turned out, the game was so popular that it pulled Square back from the brink of bankruptcy and led to one of the most iconic RPG series in history. Thus the "Final" fantasy just keeps going and going and going...
Re: OFLC Ratings Promise Street Fighting Action
Did they rate Street Fighter 2010? Because we all need a Street Fighter platformer set in the future. And who can't wait for all the cool future cyber-tech that we'll have by 2010?
(Looks at calendar.) Aw, nuts.
Re: The Wii Sports Resort Events That Didn't Make It
@Calculon sez - The sword fighting game required zero skill
You have no idea what you're talking about. Sure, you can hack and slash for the amateur league, but once you leave that you're in for a challenge. And the on-foot game where you fight against dozens of opponents does an excellent job of making you feel like you're in a Samurai movie!
Just because you played the game for 15 minutes and gave up doesn't mean that there isn't depth. It just means that you have no idea what you're looking for and why everyone else loves these games.
As an aside, you're one of those people who never "got" Wii Boxing, aren't you?
Re: Review: Texas Hold'em Poker (WiiWare)
You did NOT just quote Lady Gaga. [pause] I think I'm going to have to run screaming out of NintendoLife.
Re: Flipnote Petition Says "We Want Smash Bros. DS!"
There was a much better animation I saw last night. It was of the SSBB logo flashing, with smash cuts to text about wanting SSB DS. Unfortunately I can't find it right now or I'd share it.
Re: Nintendo Download: Kindred Spirits, Rock N' Roll, Star Wars and Different Art (US)
For everyone hoping to see more movie tie-in titles, keep in mind that LucasArts is in a unique position. Since they are part of the same company that holds the Star Wars rights, they have a perpetual license to use the IP. So unless George wants a game buried, they're free to bring it back to life.
Personally, I'm waiting for the special edition with new graphics and updated story line. The new feature where you can't fire until the bad guys do should really liven it up!
Re: Review: A Little Bit of... Puzzle League (DSiWare)
@ballistikboy - If you want to find the fun in Puzzle League, you need to find someone to play against. Preferably, someone who already knows how to play.
I learned about Tetris Attack (the original American name) when a friend brought it over to my house and challenged me to a few games. When the action got heavy, you'd get chains, garbage blocks, RAWRs, and just absolute CRAZINESS going on! I'll tell you what, that game was one of the most incredible adrenaline rushes I've ever had!
If you want to get to that experience, you need someone to play against. The computer is a softy that can be beat with little more than speed and persistence. No fun there. Kick the butt of someone sitting next to you, however, (especially if they're smack talking the whole time) and you'll feel immense satisfaction with your purchase.
Re: Review: Smash Table Tennis (Virtual Console / NES)
Another 1? Ok, it's official. I'm not just cynical. (Though that may still be true. ) Nintendo is dropping the ball!
Errr... or smashing it. Or something,
Re: Nintendo Download: MUSHA, Smash Table Tennis, My Life as a Darklord and Puzzle League (EU)
@warioswoods - Actually, it sucks. Puzzle League (more-so than Tetris or Doctor Mario) is very much a multiplayer game. The fun of the title comes from the frantic saves, long chains, and massive garbage blocks being tossed around between players. The humans element is what makes these achievements such an incredible experience. (As opposed to the computer, which is actually quite dull and predictable.) Especially if you're in the same room as your opponent.
IMHO, this Puzzle League entry is a net loss for the series. For the simple reason that it means that we're not going to get a proper Puzzle League option for the DSi since we already have this. Worse yet, we're also unlikely to get another publishing run of Puzzle League DS because... we have this.
Nintendo, you're really failing at promoting your new DSi platform. Remember, it's suppose to be more connected with more downloadable options and better game experiences. Please stop killing your message with substandard offerings!
(As an aside, it seems like everything I have to say is negative as of late. Is Nintendo really dropping the ball that much more, or am I just getting more cynical?)
Re: Top 20 DSiWare Games in USA (16th July)
MFC is great! But the list is obviously still being impacted by new DSis with free points packages. People are obviously grabbing one big game (e.g. M vs DK, Asphalt4, WarioWare Snapped) then grabbing a cheap 200 point game to use up the rest of their points. (Paper Airplane, Birds & Beans, Mario Clock/Calculator, etc.)
MFC just doesn't rate high enough on people's "big item" list compared to the MvDK, Asphalt, and WarioWare. Which is perfectly understandable, but still sucks. It's a perfect storm for killing a great game.
Re: Top 20 WiiWare Games in USA (15th July)
@WolfRamHeart - Considering that he joined 5 hours ago for the apparent purpose of "trashing the reviewer", I'm suspecting a shill. Especially given the weak language he uses in promoting the game. e.g. "seems to be a good fun party game" is an extremely odd statement.
Re: Review: Incoming! (WiiWare)
@Chicken - Great review! I love the one-liners! Your review had me in stitches.
Sorry the game didn't turn out better. I know you had high hopes for it.
Re: New Take On Smash Bros. Cast Slightly Disturbing
I've seen the first episode of "There Will be Brawl". Disturbing doesn't cover the half of it. Though I do get a kick out of the idea that Kirby is some kind of serial mass-murderer.
Re: Review: Rampage: Total Destruction (Wii)
as veterans of World Tour know, kicking a building is the fastest way to bring it down.
It's been a while since I've played my GameCube copy of the game, but I seem to recall that the fastest way to bring a building down is to get on top and jump up and down. The weight of your monster cracks it and causes it to fall in short order.
As I said, it's been a while so I may be incorrect. But it might be worth looking into.
On the topic of opinions, I have to say that this version of Rampage was a missed opportunity. When I first played it, I had a hard time considering it anything more than a toy for one simple reason: It was impossible to die!
I did a comparison with the classic Rampage titles on the disc (the $10 I spent was worth it for just these two ) and I realized that both of them had much tighter gameplay with an appropriate difficulty curve. If the developers had just followed that formula for Total Destruction, it would have been a hit title.
Re: Review: BlastWorks (Wii)
It's a decent game, but KDR_11 is correct. Tumiki Fighters is a superior game, and it's free.
I don't think you can go wrong by getting Blastworks at its current price. You're certainly going to get quite a bit of game for your dollar. The catch is that it will wear thin rather quickly.
@KDR_11k - The save file in SSBB holds user-created stages in addition to saved game information.
Re: US Rock Band promotion yields free Nintendo Points
So let me get this straight: You have to pay $1.50 for a slim chance at a 5,000 in 10s of millions chance of getting a $2.00 prize? Even if you win on your first bottle (good luck!) I can't see any way that this is cost-effective.
Now if you happen to drink Pepsi anyway (blech) and win, that's just gravy. But there's no way this should ever convince anyone to buy a Pepsi they wouldn't normally purchase.
Re: Incoming Trailer and Screenshots
Oh look. Another scorched earth clone. How... um... original?
Re: Nintendo Download: Bomberman '94, StarTropics II, 5 Spots Party, Karate Phants and BOXLIFE (EU)
The problem with this is that almost nothing related to The Ottifants was ever released in any country other than Germany, so at 800 Wii Points it's gonna be a tough sell to anyone not from Germany!
A good game is a good game. (Look at NES Duck Tales and Rescue Rangers!) I'm looking forward to hearing a review on this one, and possibly even a NA release.
Re: Super Mario Galaxy Shines in 720p
Nintendo has released two upgraded models of the DS thus far, just as they did two GBA.
Incorrect. They released one more model of DS and a next generation of handheld. The DS Lite had no feature differences unlike your Wii HD concept or like 360/PS3 which mess with the hardware on a regular basis.
The DSi is a next generation system of roughly double the power of the DS that's backwards compatible with DS software. It's almost the exact same idea as the Wii, new input method and everything. While I'll grant that it's having some difficulty being accepted by the market as a new system, that probably has more to do with its lack of launch software. Even the downloadable software (which appears to be the direction Nintendo is pushing) is rather weak at the moment.
If they DO release an HD Wii, don't you think I MIGHT want to play my downloaded games on IT instead of on my old SD Wii? DUH?
And yet, you might not be able to. Such is the way life goes sometimes. I'm planning to keep my Wii around for that very reason.
Sure, it won't look any worse than it does now, but those same games could look BETTER on the new model!
Somewhat doubtful. You're not exactly talking about the crème de la crème of Wii graphics here. For the time being, those are still relegated to discs. Perhaps that will change with the next generation and larger storage capabilities, but for now your VC/WiiWare titles will look no better or worse running on this gen or next.
Not to mention I don't have infinite space in my small room for a bazillion consoles.
See? Nintendo was thinking ahead! The Wii is the size of 2 DVD cases.
Now if I could just figure out where to stash all the controllers...
Re: Super Mario Galaxy Shines in 720p
Say the Wii WAS better off without the ability to output in 720p, but now it needs the ability and Nintendo decides to release an HD Wii.
Nintendo doesn't generally do that sort of thing. If they released a Wii capable of HD, it would be a new console generation. Especially since all their APIs make assumptions about the underlying hardware.
Anybody here not deathly afraid of being forced to re-download their entire VC/WiiWare library if they bought one?
Not really. Just keep your Wii around. It's not going to look any worse.
Re: Super Mario Galaxy Shines in 720p
@Stuffgamer1 - The Wii was released in 2006. Only 5 years after the release of the original XBox. Stating 8 years is a bit disingenuous because there is no console being released right now.
Additionally, I find it doubtful the XBox ever made money. (Microsoft's financials certainly suggested otherwise. The game division was losing money hand over fist at the time.) The design was a poor one. It was basically a PC stuffed into a console shell. The problem with that is that there is a ton of extra hardware in there that isn't needed for the core goal. In result, the console was far more expensive to produce than it by all rights should have been. Notice that Microsoft learned from this and used custom hardware for the 360.
Finally, I'd like to reiterate that this isn't about simply producing 720p. That's the easy part. Nintendo could have slapped some extra memory in there for another $10 and called it a day.
The problem is producing high quality output at 720p. Even the PS2 was capable of 1080i, but the quality of the image was relatively poor. To get a high-quality image with the type of bump-mapped textures you see in Mario Galaxy and SSBB, you need to increase the computational power to match the greater resolution.
Don't believe me? Go look up the XBox games capable of 720p. Go on, I'll wait. Notice how few of them there are? Many don't even run at 720p at all times. There are several that only support it during cut-scenes or other less intensive periods. Even the exception that prove the rule (Soul Calibur II) didn't really gain much from being in 720p. The GCN was quite competitive with its mere 480p support and powerful graphics hardware.
And still nobody has commented on my note that Nintendo has been advertising the Wii with HDTV's from day one.
I think it's a case of "So?" If you go in the store, what do you see? Walls lined with CRTs? Nope. Flat panel displays everywhere you look. That's just the current state of technology. Regardless of whether or not much of Nintendo's audience has SDTVs, they're not going to shoot themselves in the foot by advertising with some guy squinting to see his 12" CRT set.
But of course, they only use the fancy-pants models with the amazing built-in upconverters so we won't know how bad it'll look on OUR TV's. How do you explain THAT BS, huh?
You're too funny. You actually believe TVs shown in commercials have images on them? (You think that's air you're breathing? )
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but TV images are almost always composited on in post-production. CRT screens are actually the reason for this little trick. You see, while it was possible to sync up a camera and CRT to prevent the flicker/tearing you always see when you point a camera at a CRT, it was never worth the trouble. It was always easier to just slap a fake image on top. There you go, crisp as can be!
Re: Super Mario Galaxy Shines in 720p
@Stuffgamer1 - You have to remember two things:
1. The XBox was an expensive machine sold at a loss. The GCN made a profit at $99.
2. Just because you can output 720p doesn't mean that you get as high quality of a picture. You often have to take a quality hit to get that increased sharpness.
Nintendo could have made it possible to output at higher resolutions, but the resulting quality loss probably wouldn't be worth it.
@calculon sez... Some of the most inaccurate statements I've ever heard.
Don't blow things out of proportion or anything. It was late and I made one slightly inaccurate statement. I think the rest of my post was clear enough to make up for it.
Firstly, the supposed 'power increase' to switch from 852x480 widescreen to 720 HD is 125%, a whole 100% less than you claim.
My apologies. That should have said 225% of the current solution. Which would be a 125% increase as you stated. I stated later in my post that we're looking at doubling or tripling the power of the current console. That is still a correct statement.
Secondly, it's only the pixel fill rate that needs to be increased to accommodate the higher resolution which is probably the least expensive aspect of video graphics processing
Maybe if you're still living in the turn of the century where every game uses muddy PS2 graphics. Per-pixel effects makes textel costs a linear increase. You want more pixels? Great. You need more TEVs or pixel shaders to give you the same effects on more textels in the same time. Or you need to increase the clock to process more textels in less time.
So your fill-rate point is simply irrelevant. We want good looking 720p or this is all for naught.
In addition, you all seem to forge that Nintendo are a bunch of money grabbing SOBs
I'm not sure where you get that idea. I was only pointing out the state that Nintendo was in. They were trying to offer a highly affordable console. That has nothing to do with being "money grabbing". It just seemed like good business back when Nintendo did it. Especially for a market that was used to paying less for Nintendo's consoles.
I've heard it'll cost Nintendo no more than $85 to produce a Wii by the end of the year and they're still pumping them out at full retail - I somehow think that Nintendo would have had no problem at all in recouping the cost of implementing HD by now.
Hindsight is 20/20. The original plan was to have the Wii selling for $99 by now. And Nintendo is relatively on target for that. Had they known then what they know now, they might have beefed up the hardware a smidgen and hidden the extra features at launch.
I say "hidden" because Nintendo's decision also played into feedback they were hearing from the market: Games were getting too expensive to produce. The move to HD was only going to cause those costs to skyrocket. By staying behind the curve, Nintendo helped restrain costs for their console. Of course, many publishers ran the upgrade treadmill anyway, but you can't fault Nintendo for not trying.
Re: Super Mario Galaxy Shines in 720p
Stuffgamer1 sez... Okay, so the one point of mine you still haven't addressed is the assertion that having 720p support WOULDN'T have been much increase to the Wii's cost at all.
Let's do some back of the envelope calculations. 480p is properly 852x480 in widescreen, giving 408,960 pixels. 720p is 1280x720 pixels is 921,600 pixels. That's a 225% increase in memory and computing power, just to render a sharper version of an image we can already see.
And that's assuming the Wii supports the full horizontal resolution in widescreen mode. Which as I recall, it doesn't. The Wii's framebuffer is 640x480 pixels. It produces a 480p anamorphic image that stretches to the screen. (Like a DVD.) Which means that it's actually 307,200 pixels. This raises the difference to a full 3 fold increase.
For comparison, the Wii is considered approximately 2-3x more powerful than the GCN based on the increased clock rate and the doubling of the TEV units. Thus to support 720p, Nintendo could have:
a) Given us 720p with Gamecube graphics
b) Increased the Wii's power another three fold from its already increased specifications.
Obviously option A was a no-go and option B would have clearly raised the cost of production. Ergo, the statement that 720p would not have raised the price of the console is patently... false.
QED
Re: Super Mario Galaxy Shines in 720p
@Prosody - You have to remember the state Nintendo was in when they designed the Wii. They were the low-man on the totem pole selling their console for $99. Despite the blue ocean strategy, they had no idea how much market share they were going to recapture.
In result, they made the Wii as cheap of a machine as possible. They aimed for the console to eventually be sold at the $99 price point. To do that, the Wii originally had no internal storage and shipped with a "menu" disc. Then at the last minute (after the Wii proved to be so popular at the E3) Nintendo added the internal storage and dropped the menu disc.
Another interesting last minute change was a commitment to WiiWare. As far as I can tell, Nintendo was originally going to support the Virtual Console. I imagine part of the reason they had branded Wii SD cards was that they had been considering supporting ONLY those cards so that they could guarantee performance. That became unnecessary in the end, so the official Wii cards languished. Notice the lack of branded DSi cards.
Re: Super Mario Galaxy Shines in 720p
@Prosody - If you don't have enough hardware, you don't have enough hardware. Pure and simple.
It's been a while since I dug in the internals, but I seem to recall that the framebuffer was just large enough to hold a standard definition signal. (The GCN/Wii have a dedicated FB as the final stage before output which contains pre-computed values for each pixel. i.e. All the alpha compositing and effects have been applied.) While I would not be surprised if the signal generator could handle a larger frame, the necessary buffer simply isn't there.
Of course, if you have an emulator, there is no fixed framebuffer. You're emulating it. And if you're emulating it, you can change the size.
I think anyone who says they don't want their favourite games to be better in any way - graphically, aurally etc. - is a very peculiar kind of gamer indeed.
I think the revolt is not against games getting better, but rather against the attempt to shift focus. Most Wii gamers are focused on the quality and fun factor of the gameplay, not the graphics. They often dislike the heavy focus other consoles have on their graphics/sound. They just want to play games that aren't all clones of Quake and Unreal or simulations so "realistic" that they sap all the "fun" out of the title.
Now you're telling them, "Hey, let's focus on the graphics!" Is it any wonder you get a strong reaction?
Especially when many Wii games don't even take advantage of the graphics the system has available today. I don't really need to see how ugly Guitar Hero's PS2-ported graphics look by upping it to 720p, thank you very much.
Re: Review: Pulseman (Virtual Console / Sega Mega Drive)
The story reminds me of the 80's cartoon Silverhawks. As the title tune said, "they're partly metal, partly real". Whatever that was supposed to mean.
Re: Nintendo Download: 07-08 July 2009 (JAPAN)
Skykid is awesome. My only caveat is that if you have the NES version, there's not much reason to get the arcade version. It was a pretty simple game, so the two versions are extremely close. (At least, from what I recall.)
Re: Top 20 DSiWare Games in USA (2nd July)
The problem is that M vs. DK is of the same genre as MFC. So it's basically killing MFC's sales, even though they're both different and great games.
Re: Review: Water Warfare (WiiWare)
May I be the first (ok, probably the 5 billionth) to say: That is so stupid. I swear, Nintendo finds new and innovative ways to shoot themselves in the foot on a nearly daily basis.
Granted, these snafus are not necessarily as damaging as their competitors' self-inflictions, but damaging nonetheless.
Re: Review: Water Warfare (WiiWare)
The one part that boggles my mind is: Why the character creator?
Doesn't this game just scream, "Use Miis! Use Miis!"? Reinventing the character-creator wheel seems pointless and less effective than just reusing the existing models. Especially since the existing Miis would provide a more unique online identity for players. Plus, Miis seem like they would be a lot less work for Hudson.
Re: Competitions: Twitter Joke Winner
@theblackdragon - Really? I know tons of 'em. Like, "A blonde, a brunette, and a redhead jump off a building. Which hits the ground last? (pause) The blonde. She had to stop and ask for directions!" (insert groans)
A joke that's much nicer to the shinier members of the fairer sex is this joke: So a well dressed blonde goes into a bank and asks for a $5,000 loan for one week. The loan officer looks at her suspiciously and says that they'll need some sort of collateral to execute the loan. Especially such a short one. The blonde replies that she has a Mercedes and asks if that would be sufficient. The officer speaks with the manager, the manager agrees, and so they drive the vehicle into the bank parking garage and execute the loan.
A week later the blonde comes back and pays off the $5,000 plus the $30 interest on the loan. As she's about to leave, the manager runs up to her and says, "We checked you out while you were gone. You're loaded with money! Why did you need a $5,000 loan?!?"
The blonde replies, "Where else in New York can I park my car for a week for only $30?"