Nintendo President Gets Spanked

I like Satoru Iwata. Back in the day he was an artist at Nintendo, contributing to the Zelda and Mario series. He helped create the Kirby series. This was before he became president of HAL in the 1990's, who are responsible of the Pokemon series of games. Finally, the early 2000's saw his rise to become the head of Nintendo after the dreaded Hiroshi Yamauchi left the company.

The point is, Iwata worked his way up within the company. He was literally there at Nintendo's video gaming beginning. He knows what it's like to be at the bottom. He has game design experience. He understands what a gamer wants, or we thought so.


His two biggest success was expanding the gaming market by utilizing touch and motion technologies. The industry needed that kick in the ass. My Grandmother owns both a Nintendo Wii and DS because of this. It made gaming easier and more attractive to everybody.

Today, is a different story.


The Wii has ran it's course. The hardcore community has moved on. The Nintendo 3DS sits on store shelves, with a gigantic price cut that happened less than six months after launch.

Like I said last post, I can not recall any piece of tech that has had it's price drastically cut in recent years. I'll also include their E3 2011 press conference that highlighted a piece of new gaming tech(the Wii U) that not only confused gamers and journalists but was demoed with, well, tech demo pieces instead of actual games. The successors to Iwata's greatest hits, appears to be gimmicks instead of groundbreaking new ways to game. The 3DS has the 3D and the Wii U has an extra screen, kinda like the DS for televisions.


Today, news has come down the line that Iwata has now had his pay cut in half. I don't think we have to worry. It doesn't mean he'll have to move into a dumpster anytime soon. He was making around 2 million dollars a year.

Source: Kotaku

3DS Cautiously Optimistic

Nintendo dropped the bombshell today. On August 12th, the 3DS will drop to $169.99 from it's gigantic and painfull $249.99. This will happen less than six months from it's launch date. There has been no electronic tech gadget in recent memory that has done this. It echos of desperation from Nintendo and will reward first time buyers. The giving doesn't end there.

Users who purchased the system from launch or recently with it's humongous, original price tag will receive 10 NES and 10 GBA classic titles while be enrolled in an ambassador program, which is a just a nice way of saying "thank you" to early adopters. This will begin on September 1st.

What can I say? It's the right thing to do for a system which is crawling.

As wonderful this announcement is, it still doesn't address the fact that there is barely anything to purchase from here on to holiday 2011. As an early adopter myself, the 20 free titles are welcoming. Yet at the same time, I own many of these, multiple times over in fact on other Nintendo hardware. They sooth the sore but do little to heal the long time wound. We purchased the system for fantastic new exciting 3D games and they ain't coming out.

Source: Nintendo

Football Demos The Future

The NFL season is saved. Players and owners have shook hands and buried the hatchet. The next 10 years are safe. Thank God the drama is over!

Amongst other positive announcements, EA's Madden 12 will be out for every single platform on the planet at the end of August. To help tide the fans over, a demo will be available on August 9th.

The teams featured? Why only one of the biggest and oldest rivalries in sports history.

The Packers and da Bears!

The demo will feature the NFC Championship game of last season. Now that is awesome! The Packers are my favourite team and to have the Super Bowl Champions featured is a treat. I can't wait to play it!


- Posted using my iPod Touch. Happy 20th Sonic!

Where the heck are those 3DS games?

Luckily, a title I was looking forward to has been release. Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions is a satisfying gaming collection featuring 6 titles at a whopping $39.99. Wow!

You see that is the problem. The price is just to damn high. All of these titles would be perfect to give Nintendo's 3DS Shop a great boost while pricing the titles proper.

This is the first game I've purchased in a long time. Looking at upcoming game lists, it's pretty quiet. So where are those games?

Kotaku asks the very same question. Check out the URL below.

http://m.kotaku.com/5824847/where-are-the-3ds-games

- Posted using my iPod Touch. Happy 20th Sonic!

Sega's Great Releases On iOS

Sega is a staple of the gaming industry. Their revolutionary games and consoles helped shape the way things flow today. In particular, their Dreamcast hardware was light years ahead of it's time with hi-resolution graphics, unique abilities via the VMU(can you say WiiU?) and out of the box online gameplay/Internet web surfing. Game franchises such as Sonic, Phantasy Star, Chu Chu Rocket, Samba de Amigo, Space Channel 5 and Shenmue have influenced and inspired many great franchises today.

With all of this great gaming legacy, wouldn't it be great to have a little taste of that on the go? Just a little taste?

Luckily Sega has delivered a number of great gaming goods on the go for your iPod Touch, iPad or iPhone for great prices.

Let's start with Chu Chu Rocket. The first online, worldwide multiplayer console title is now home on iOS. Featuring everything that was great about the original DC release, the game feels like it was specifically built for touch interfaces. Beautiful graphics, catchy melodies and full of fun! Fun! Fun! At $2.99 you have to add this to your gaming library.

Next up is the big blue blur. His 20th birthday this year is celebrated with a great number of anticipated releases and fanfare. Sonic & Sega All-Star Racing is the stuff of crazy kart action. Those yearning for Mario Kart on Apple's products have their prayers answered via Sega. Sonic's racer is plenty of awesome! Featuring a ton of tracks and karts based off of Sega's beloved franchises, this is a gamer's dream. You wanna know the best part? It plays amazingly well and is just as great as Nintendo's beloved franchise. Fantastic stuff!

Sonic also appears in Sonic The Hedgehog 1, 2 and 4. Featuring a very responsive d-pad, the games fill your heart with retro fun. Ahhh! Them Genesis days. *sniff* Sonic 4 is the beloved hedgehog's recent HD action adventure which was also released for consoles. It's nice to have a little Sonic action on the go. Especially when they are awesome classic adventures like these.

Rounding out the Sega love, a number of Genesis classics such as Golden Axe, Phantasy Star 2, Streets of Rage and Gunstar Heroes are available from .99 cents to $2.99. There is plenty more, check out the App Store for the full library.

Happy gaming! Sega's got you covered. ;)

It's Still Thinking

Last night, I fired up my Dreamcast with happiness and joy. Games such as Crazy Taxi, Power Stone, Soul Calibur, Sonic Adventure 1 & 2 were played in delight.

The console now 12 years of age, has glorious content still worthy of today's masterpieces.

So today, Kathy and I have our DC VMU's in pocket as Chao's go on glorious adventures.


- Posted using my iPod Touch. Happy 20th Sonic!

Sega On iOS

This is a quick post, before the real fun begins. Sega's Golden Axe 3 is on sale on iTunes for a limited time for 99 cents. The fun will begin soon enough with an article about Sega and their iOS adventures.

- Posted using my iPod Touch. Happy 20th Sonic!

Just A Great Opening

Bioware and Black Isle Studios contributed plenty of memorable gaming delights back in the day with their Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale sagas. Those games are essential playing for any RPG fan. Posted below is the opening for the first Icewind Dale game. I love this. It's beautiful, awesome and most importantly... EPIC!

So What Have I Been Playing?

My wife and I are first time parents. We find our selves playing mountains of mobile games as opposed to console fair. I carry with me an iPod Touch and PSP-GO most of the time.


On my PSP-GO, I have been playing Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow and Resistance: Retribution. Peace Walker is possibly one of my favourite games of all time, it's worth picking up a PSP just to play it. If you haven't played it, you must. Oh, you must!


On the iPod Touch, the delights of Dead Space, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Dungeon Hunter have been keeping me busy. Dead Space on the Touch is simply amazing. EA has done an amazing job bringing some of their biggest franchises to the iOS with spectacular results. Dead Space is a must have and a crowning achievement for the mobile device.


I honesty have a huge library of mobile games for either device. Sales come, purchases are made. Big titles launch and more purchases are made. Especially, iTunes store 99 cent game sales. Yikes! Lots of games get bought! ;)

3DS Games Be Cancelling

Over 4 months on the market, one would think the 3DS would have found it's stride and be home to a few wonderful and exciting adventures. Too date, the system appears to be dry. Nintendo has been slow delivering software, with their future lineup consisting of remakes and sequels. I was really looking forward to a new IP from Nintendo to really show off the hardware and be a great bragging rights title for owners of the system.  Nope.


It also saddens me when a big title like Resident Evil hits the mobile device, one I was really looking forward to and receives the most lukewarm reviews and responses from the industry. Kotaku reports about the cancelling of several 3DS titles from developers. On top of them is Sega's Crush 3D. The title is completed and is being held until February 21st, 2012. Wow. BTW, Crush is a phenomenal game and is available for the PSP and can be easily purchased right now on the PSN.


Even the launch of the 3DS Online Shop has been disappointing. The cataloge and pricing appears to be problematic. A recent example is the 3D remake of Namco's 29 year old Xevious is available for $5.99. Yet, on iOS and Android devices, one can purchase great new titles such as Dead Space, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Dungeon Hunter 2 for around the same price.


Not all hope is lost. A couple of titles have perked my interest. Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions appears to be great fun and has been receiving positive previews. It contains 6 titles ranging from the original arcade games to brand new re-imaginings.

Here is the big one. A certain blue hedgehog turned 20 this year. To help celebrate, a 3DS specific version of Sonic Generations will be available in November alongside the big console version. The buzz has been incredibly huge and I can't wait to get my hands on it!


The 3DS is a young system. Yet, Nintendo has had experience with 4 different DS models over the years and all have been successful. However, will that success affect the course of the 3DS and be home to a ton of 3rd party shovel-ware and a small handful of great titles? Only time will tell.

Transfarring Playing The Wii U Station

The official PlayStation blog, recently had a great discussion with Hideo Kojima about the upcoming Metal Gear Solid HD Collection. Which will include Metal Gear Solid 2, 3 and Peace Walker.

This collection will include remastered versions of those titles featuring 1080p HD graphics, trophy support and dual analog controls. Peace Walker will also be Kojima's first "transfarring" title, which will be able to transfer your save data from the portable PSP edition and big console PS3 version of daddy Snake's big adventure.

Kojima also states that future titles from his studio, will be able to play back and forth from your PS3's big television screen and also be taken on the go with your PS Vita portable device. Sony displayed a similar intent with a future RPG being developed for both systems by showing an impressive E3 2011 demo of live play of jumping back and forth from a PS3 to Vita. These innovations will be available this November with the release of the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection and the rumoured PS Vita release.

Watching Nintendo's E3 2011 press conference, I felt the "Big N" went off the rails. Fanboys screamed in joy for a new console with zero demoed games displayed, including no price, launch titles or launch date confirmed. Hooray. A system who's key to fame is an additional screen during play, which we have experienced before with GameBoy Advance to GameCube connect-ability and with the Nintendo DS line.

I know that the Wii U and it's special controller/second screen will be far more advance than those examples. What I am getting at is, during E3 and what was demoed and forged within reality right now, can't the PS3 and Vita already do what the Wii U can and more?

Justin Richmond of Naughty Dog, seems to think so.

Sources:

The Official PlayStation Blog

PlayStation LifeStyle

Mobile Gaming Is Huge

I've been a mobile gamer all my life.

It started with my beloved Coleco Pac-Man tabletop to Nintendo's GameBoy to Sony's PSP. Today, I have 3 platforms I do the majority of my gaming, they are mobile. The above mentioned Sony PSP, Apple's iPod Touch and Nintendo's 3DS.

On the horizon, the much anticipated PlayStation Vita is looming. It's unveiling at E3 2011 was met with much enthusiasm and fanfare.

Why?

It boiled down to price. It's the same price as an 8-gig iPod Touch and 3DS. Simply, it is only $249.

The PSP was a huge success for Sony, even if the media wouldn't like you to believe.

During E3 2011, the PSP platform has sold over 70 million hardware units worldwide. In Japan in particular, the system continues to outsell Nintendo's DS line.

PSP was a definite success for Sony and a learning platform for the company. All of the data from hardware to software to price, all of those growing pains have been gathered, calculated and the result is the Vita.

The controls look revolutionary. The screen appears to be delicious. Connectivity with the PS3 looks impressive. It's current lineup of ongoing developed titled is solid.

In one word, as a definite mobile gamer, the PS Vita looks,

"EPIC!"