Roderick

Haha, you still see Peach on the screen in the background =D

Well, my guess would be that people had finally exhausted their ideas for 3D platformers and can now finally CHOOSE between 2D and 3D instead of having to do 3D because it's the hot thing to do. Glad to see the industry unshackling itself as such. Well, Nintendo in any case.

My thoughts are that I've always found Yoshi to be very annoying as a character. However, Yoshi's Island was extremely good and I look forward to seeing its sequel on the DS. However, outside of that I don't really care for Yoshi's in Smash Bros or Mario Parties or Karts. I'm sorry to disappoint.

Well, theoretically you could divide up the gameplay. say you had some world with a lot of interaction controller by classic means, and then as soon as you go into combat there's a brief moment where the game allows you to go into Sword Mode with your controller and you'll only have to concentrate on the fight from them. That is of course just one of the various ways you could intercept difficulties like these. But in all honesty, I'd just like a very deep and good instructional game. I think that eventually, we'll get both those AND games. Hell, we already HAVE Red Steel. What are we speculating about? =D

yeah, I understand what you're saying completely. If it were part of a larger game it WOULD have to be dumbed down because it would have to be fun foremost. But in an instructional game I'd WANT to have it be hard to master and have different tiers of mastery, etc. Of course there could be a 'game' element inserted next to the learning, such as a tournement or sparring matches, but the essence of it would still be instructing in the very real and proper techniques and arts of swordfight. And, hell, this lies exactly on the road of broadening gaming to the non-gaming audience.

As far as I'm concerned, they can basically do anything, as long as they put Windwaker Ganondorf in there with two katanas dressed in his kimono.

I would LOVE to see a game that uses the Wiimote to teach me all the intricacies of the old European medieval swordfighting techniques, or katana-fighting, or simply swordfighting in its entirety. Maybe not even as a game, but really an instructional piece of software. I'd buy it in a snap if it were any good. Learning swordfighting (maybe even pirate-style with a cutlass!) has always been a dream of mine and this will make it very feasible. COME ON, somebody MAKE THIS!

I'm still hoping for a €200,- release. If it were 250, I think I may start to doubt whether I'd get one immediately. That said, I woke up this morning (just now) and I COULD NOT STOP BEING GIDDY. As I brushed my teeth and everything, I was simply so excited about the Wii and the presentation I was acting like a fool. I love it. I couldn't help myself. Did anyone else experience this?

Fantastic! Miyamoto might be my favourite person in the world at this moment. The way he handled that digital orchestra, and that suit he was wearing...! Such enormous style!! And amusingly, I most of all want to play that orchestra game on the Wii.

Oh god, it's unbearable! Both the waiting and the house music!

And they actually DID turn the adventuregame into a novel, called Lord of the Clans (I know). I actually own almost all of the Blizzard novels. Dan, I agree that with the inclusion of more emphasis on the gods of the Warcraft universe, it has become more Diablo-esque, which is practically a treatment on the gods and mythology of that world. Still, I'd put Diablo in the horrorgenre and Warcraft still absolutely in fantasy. And where Diablo is still more or less simply the factions of good and evil fighting, Warcraft is much more multi-tiered, with all those races and factions and cultures having their own agendas. And yet, throughout it all it's still very strikingly iconic, which is what gives it the appeal of ancient myths of our own Earth.

Well yes, many stories are better than that of Warcraft, but I've grown fond of it. Maybe it's the simplicity, or the grand gesture, or the cinematic direction, but it's well-crafted pulp and I love it. And I'd love to see a movie capturing its bold design and powerful events.

Warcraft is simply somewhat the most striking fantasy series. The setting is strong and well-crafted, but it's mostly about the iconic characters that make up the cast that are interesting. Everything about the franchise's story has this iconic feeling to it. In that respect it would be diminished if the setting were not high fantasy. That said, how many true fantasy movies are there? It's not a common filmgenre at all. But maybe you're on LotR overdose [edit: yeah I made a whoopsie with penultimate. Sometimes I just choose words on basis of what sounds coolest)

Hey, it's around dinnertime here in Dutchland.

Oh wow, I didn't see the countdown until before.

I've just seen the show itself, and seeing the footage of the sensor with Warhawk did make it seem pretty novel to play. However, the ethics behind it are excruciating, and the whole show felt so plastic and staged. 'Don't you just love surprises?' Oh sod off.

When is the Nintendo conference, and can we follow it live, and where would that be exactly?

How can Nintendo possibly resist the urge to be smug after this? Wait, I think Miyamoto will just convert the emotion into astounding bliss and general bounciness. HOT YEAH! And you know what? I think the pricetag of both the 360 and especially the PS3 will absolutely scare the casual gamers away. And since that is the new market that will decide who will dominate the coming generations, I'd say Nintendo has all the planets aligned. Come on, 500 Dollars for a 'gimped' version? Also, I'm waiting for all the Sony apologists to come and say that the added sensors and shit are not a total ripoff, but instead [whatever bullshit they come up with]. It's really, really quite obvious that they wouldn't have done this if Nintendo hadn't scared them shitless with it. Sony does hardware and third-partying well, but innovation just isn't in their dictionary.

Dammit N0wak, you know what I mean. The modern and iconoclastic FF's that have been released exclusively for the PS(2) (and PC).

I still think it's a shame there won't be any 'real' Final Fantasy titles on a Nintendo console. Not that I really care though. It's already kind of good news that Dragon Quest is coming. Ah well, for the moment I've got Skies of Arcadia Legends to keep me busy.

The same is unfortunately the case in the disappointing Worms for the DS

So the DF yo-yos are, in fact, not fool-proof. tell me, how long does a yo-yo of that quality last? Dammit, I catch myself starting to want one.

Didn't DFAC announce that the Df Yo-yo had a ball as well? So they're both not 'vanilla'.

I borrowed Mario 64DS from a friend and played it up to somewhat halfway, after which I just kind of gave up, not from difficulty but because I had lots of work to do. I also only once or twice played the original for a while because I never owned a N64. That was before I got into consoles. From my point of view, Mario 64DS offers a LOT of gameplay to dig into. May not be as nice if you already know 90% of it, but you can still sure waste away plenty of hours with it. And it's still effing Mario, you know. It's not Daikatana.

You know, maybe I should consider getting a PS2 and some dirt-cheap games as well. When will it cost 50 Euros? Anyway, I don't think we'll be hearing any news on gaming from Double Fine. For all we know Tim has booked a Yo-yo show to woo the audience. Dammit, and it would be awesome as well! As for doing a mainstream game; let them do what they do. I can't believe for a second that anything they could make wouldn't be worth getting, whether it is something artistic or crazy or 'mainstream', which in this case is sounding a bit like a dirty word, to which I object. You know, there's really nothing I'm particularly looking forward to in this E3 except the remaining hyped mysteries of the Rev Wii. Aaaaand... that's basically it. All the stuff I've been excited about; Psychonauts, Oblivion, New Super Mario Bros; is already here or almost here. I think the only thing I'd be really thrilled about is if Blizzard were to announce Diablo 3, which I think is a realistic option considering the buzz.