Zeusthecat Posted January 30, 2014 All this Nintendo news is kind of giving me indigestion. I hope they have some additional super secret awesome plans because the only thing of any substance that they announced was putting DS games on the WiiU. It's great that they are aware of the situation with the WiiU but the other steps they are taking to make it more appealing seem pretty inconsequential and pretty much sounds like the same stuff they've been saying for the last year. And the other stuff they announced just further cements the notion in my head that they are moving in a direction I have no interest in. I really want the WiiU to pull a 3DS but my skepticism is at an all time high right now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dewar Posted January 30, 2014 They want to have a platform where the platform is not the device, but rather the user I don't see this happening considering that everything is still licensed to devices, not users, but whatever. It would be nice. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bjorn Posted January 30, 2014 I don't see this happening considering that everything is still licensed to devices, not users, but whatever. It would be nice. Put your Peter Molyneux hat on and it will all start to make sense. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Justin Leego Posted January 30, 2014 Liking the idea that Iwata has a Molyneux hat. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tegan Posted January 31, 2014 I am super not surprised 64 that Nintendo thinks that health and lifestyle products are a natural evolution for the company, and I'm honestly a bit annoyed that I didn't see it coming myself. Fun trivia: the Pokéwalker is actually a much more accurate pedometer than ones that were commercially sold around the same time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Merus Posted January 31, 2014 I note that every time they've released health and lifestyle stuff - Wii Fit, the Pokéwalker, Play Coins - they've been pretty well received (the vitality sensor is an exception, but it wasn't released so nyeah). Much has been made of their engineering philosophy of withered technology, which is a great fit for that market segment. I mean, I like Nintendo and want them to do well, but I have to admit that what I want from them I'm not really ever going to get from them, and these days indies are filling in the gaps, if not quite as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JonCole Posted January 31, 2014 Are play coins well received? I still don't know what they're really used for. It's also bothered me that while devices like the Wii Fit and Pokewalker work quite well, they seem to be gadgets more than utilities. Why did the Pokewalker only have to work with one game? I guess I'm happy that the Wii Fit got a revival on the Wii U, but it's a shame that it doesn't seem to be utilized by any 3rd party fitness apps (that I'm aware of at least, let me know if I'm wrong). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
syntheticgerbil Posted January 31, 2014 Play coins are for doing all that Streetpass stuff primarily. And Nintendo hates for you to be active to gain play coins, because they think people can't make it to 1,000 steps a day! God, I hate that cap. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sno Posted February 2, 2014 Are play coins well received? I still don't know what they're really used for. I don't think anybody really thinks about them anymore, few enough games use them that i always have more than enough. I think they were there just as a small incentive to get people to take their 3DS's with them when they head out for their day, so that there might be people out there hopefully streetpassing with their 3DS's. Also, i don't know if this is really the right thread for it, but i enjoyed this Jeff Minter retrospective. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Laco Posted February 2, 2014 Also, i don't know if this is really the right thread for it, but i enjoyed this Jeff Minter retrospective. Good read. My first Jeff Minter game was Space Giraffe back in 2007, which I've always wanted to devote a decent chunk of time to, though I haven't managed it yet. I was vaguely aware of his prior games, but it's fascinating to hear the full history described in his own words. From interviews I always got an impression of him as someone with a somewhat unyielding personality, but right now he seems very aware of and philosophical about the way his previous games were variously received. Minter's choice of Vita for the next game, in part because of the quality of the screen, is interesting in the context of most of his games riffing on vector display classics. Has physical screen quality, rather than graphical potential, ever been a real factor in choosing a platform for a game before, at least post-arcade era? Home consoles and PCs are totally dependent on the TV or monitor they're connected to, while Nintendo handhelds haven't really pushed screen quality for a long time. I suppose the 3DS is the only platform with a native 3D display, but since the release of the 2DS even that's no longer guaranteed. Given the uniqueness of the original Vita's OLED screen it seems a real shame it's been dropped from the Vita 2000, especially when just about everything else has been improved. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sno Posted February 3, 2014 Minter's always seemed like a super interesting dude. He also sums up Space Giraffe in an impressively self-aware manner, i'm not sure i could say too much about the game beyond what he wrote out in that retrospective, but i definitely fell on the side that thought the game was kind of brilliant. When it clicked with me after a couple hours of being kind of baffled by it, i began finding it intriguing how the aggressively obfuscative visual light show made you rely on all the amusingly discordant sound effects as important survival cues, and after making it past that hurdle it was then that it sort of revealed itself as a really complex and interesting deconstruction of Tempest. Space Giraffe is a game that broke a lot of the rules of old-school arcade shooters. It's super counter-intuitive and full of mechanisms that encourage risk-taking instead of careful situation control, it's kind of amazing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tegan Posted February 6, 2014 So I guess Sega's allegedly doing a thing? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bjorn Posted February 6, 2014 Good thing they are serving the drinks before the presentation. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bjorn Posted February 6, 2014 Woah Amazon Acquires Video Gaming Studio Double Helix Games Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Twig Posted February 6, 2014 I'm not surprised by that at all. Amazon's been building a gaming division behind the scenes for a while. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeusthecat Posted February 6, 2014 http://kotaku.com/flappy-bird-is-making-50-000-a-day-off-ripped-art-1517498140 Question: What the fuck is Flappy Bird and how can I replicate this success so I can retire by the age of 32? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
subbes Posted February 6, 2014 http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/02/the-squalid-grace-of-flappy-bird/283526/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bjorn Posted February 6, 2014 http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/02/the-squalid-grace-of-flappy-bird/283526/ The only thing I was able to take away from that is that Bogost is incapable of fixing a drawer pull. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tegan Posted February 6, 2014 The new Sonic trailer is the perfect storm of mediocrity. Tall Sonic is freakish looking. I like how Tails has multiple belts to hold absolutely nothing, and how everyone is covered in athletic tape like an anime character. As always: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tegan Posted February 6, 2014 HE TAPED HIS SHOES TO HIS FUCKING FEET AND THEN PUT LEG WARMERS OVER THEM Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Twig Posted February 6, 2014 Sonic has always looked stupid so I guess I don't really see the problem! Though I am confused as to why they felt the need to rebrand Sonic again. Haven't the last few games been surprisingly generally well-received? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Justin Leego Posted February 6, 2014 Ooooh. I hope they have an unlockable Sonic skin where the only difference is that he has a thin moustache. I say this completely without cynicism! Mostly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeusthecat Posted February 7, 2014 I just realized something: Sonic got Waluigi'd. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sno Posted February 7, 2014 How about Knuckle's new Crash Bandicoot proportions? (Speaking of which, the team making this game seems to have been founded by former Naughty Dog members.)God, that trailer though.Skrillex... Ugh. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites