Tag: New (Page 2 of 2)

Pokemon STARring On A New Console?

November 19, 2016 / admin

Pokemon Sun and Moon launched yesterday to solid praise across the board. I myself am about an hour or so in to my adventures in the Alola region (playing Sun for those wondering. Also #TeamRowlet). The new games, which Nintendo has stated are the most preordered entries in the long-running series, improve upon the 3D of their predecessors, add new features, and of course new Pokemon that you’ll need to catch to be the very best (like no one ever was!).

Now that you’re singing the theme song, think back over the long 20-year history of the Pokemon series (and let it sink in that the first games came out 20 years ago in Japan). The catch’em all craze has been largely relegated to the handheld market, with a few non-main entries appearing on consoles along the way. Game Freak and Nintendo have maintained that this stance is due to the nature of the beasts. It’s in the name, Pokemon or Pocket Monsters. They’re meant to be brought with you, travelling companions on the road of life, arm-in-arm, you’ll win the fight, it’s always been your dream (I’ll stop now). With that in mind, the series have never made a full debut on a console since it wasn’t fitting with the theme.

Until now…

With the upcoming release of the Nintendo Switch, the lines between mobile and home console gaming are being blurred. It has already been stated that a Pokemon game is in development for the Switch’s launch window (roughly within 6 months of release) but no further details were offered. Well, according to several sources that spoke to Eurogamer, that entry could potentially be the third entry to the Sun/Moon lineup. Rumored to be Pokemon Stars, the title would be the first full-fledged entry on a home console to date. The sources that spoke with Eurogamer claimed that the entry has been pushed back from that launch window slightly but will feature enhanced visuals, potentially new Pokemon, and the ability to transfer your Pokemon from Sun/Moon through the Pokemon Bank app.

It makes sense as well, because the formula to release a third game to fill out a generation has been observed for each generation from the inception up through Diamond/Pearl/Platinum. Black/White received sequels in the form of Black 2/White 2, a first for the series, and X/Y bucked the trend, though a Pokemon Z was long-rumored. Pokemon Stars finishing out the Sun/Moon lineup falls in line with this trend and would be a welcome addition to the Pokemon family.

This would also be a smart move on Nintendo’s part. Fans have been clamoring for a console entry to the series for years now and if it sells well, they may even make one from the ground up for the Switch (still holding my breath for a Pokemon MMO, at some point). Further to that point, I think a main series entry would be a great selling point for the Switch, especially come holiday season next year. The mobile/console hybrid is the perfect proving ground for a Pokemon game to make its way out of a strictly handheld market. What other features could be brought to bear on the new system remain to be seen, but this is definitely a step in the right direction.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some Pokemon to catch.

Nintendo, A Cautionary Tale

November 12, 2016 / admin

Nintendo Logo, from Nintendo Wikia
(Image from Nintendo Wikia)

A few months ago, Nintendo announced the NES Classic Edition Console, a small, retro NES complete with 30 fan-favorite games, a controller identical in appearance to that of the original NES (compatible with the Wii/Wii U via Wiimote), and nostalgia-inducing packaging to boot (oh, an HDMI cord and AC adapter as well, but whatever, those aren’t exciting). To top off the bundle, Nintendo included modes for standard 4:3 aspect ratio as well as a CRT filter for scan lines to give you the true 80’s feel. With a $59.99 price point ($9.99 for an additional remote), people were frothing at the mouth for some good ol’ classic Nintendo goodness.

But it was not meant to be.

Yesterday, the NES Classic Edition released with EXTREMELY limited stock around the nation, as well as no apparent options for preordering. This left a lot of people with a sour taste and some negative feelings towards the Big N, with some people in comments sections (which I usually try to avoid) claiming that they will not be purchasing the Nintendo Switch because of this shortage.

Nintendo has been known in recent years to constantly short-ship many popular products. Starting with the Wii, which was near impossible to get until almost 6+ months after launch, through the popular Amiibo toys-to-life line, onto the Pokemon Go Plus, and now, the NES Classic Edition. Nintendo can’t seem to get their production quantities.

Or can they?

If you look back at the Wii console, I don’t think Nintendo had an idea how big of a hit they had on their hands. Morning talk shows were raving about it, grandparents were playing it with (and without) their grandchildren, they popped up in libraries and dorm rooms across the nation and kept going. Eventually, the demand petered out but the explosive response was more than they could have hoped for, let alone planned for.

Amiibo were similarly fated. Nintendo has not manufactured toys in many years, so I assume that capability isn’t something you can just snap your fingers and magically produce infinite quantities of plastic figurines with microchips in them. Supply quickly outpaced demand for Amiibo and they rose in the rankers of scalpers’ dreams, making the supply even more scarce. Nintendo did not want to flood the market and leave shelves full of unsold figurines, as many toy-to-life options had and continued to do. Eventually, fan favorites/hard to find Amiibo would be reprinted and everyone could have their character of choice immortalized as a tiny, glorified desk decoration*.

The Pokemon Go Plus also had a very short shelf life before initial quantities were snatched up. Nintendo has commented that more will be produced and they will continue to make them as demand requires. However, by the time the first batch had shipped, Pokemon Go had lots the sizzle of the sensation from its early days as a mobile phenomenon. Either underestimating how lazy people are, how efficient the Go Plus is at keep people from being glued to their phones, or overestimating the decline of the game, this shortage has continued to frustrate and alienate Nintendo fans.

Which brings us to the NES Classic Edition. The most egregious error, if you are to believe the comments sections. Toying with our nostalgia hits hard in our hearts and people are ridiculously upset with Nintendo over this transgression. No timeline was given for more units, just the standard response that they will continue to ship them as they are manufactured. The same people who bemoan the short cord on the NES Classic controller from one side of their mouths cry foul with the other that they can’t get their hands on one of these units. It seems Nintendo doesn’t care about their fans…

Except I see it as the other way around.

So many people have jumped ship from Nintendo, saying that Nintendo needs to get with the times. They want gritty, mature experiences that grow with them as gamers, not the “for kids” attitude Nintendo seems to take with all of their products. Most people consider Nintendo relegated to a place of secondary importance. You buy Sony or Microsoft’s new console and Nintendo’s as a supplement, if you buy it at all. I believe it’s this mindset that has pushed Nintendo to where they are today.

Nintendo has a relatively new president in Tatsumi Kimishima after the tragic passing of Satoru Iwata last summer. New management and a new direction, coupled with the shrinking space Nintendo holds in the market has pushed them to be more cautious with their endeavors. Overproducing units that just sit on shelves is wasteful. People aren’t putting their money where their mouths are (though it could be argued they can’t because of shortages), so Nintendo is putting out feelers to gauge interest before diving in and committing to larger productions. This can be seen with the launch of the Switch as well. Nintendo has stated that only 2 million units will ship initially, which is less than the Wii U shipped with. There will be shortages and we can blame ourselves for that. When you don’t buy the things a company produces, they produce less to mitigate their losses. They want to be optimistic that things will be different this time, but recent history for them has not shown this to be the case.

To play devil’s advocate, Nintendo could do more on their end to fine tune the situation to more of a happy medium. By taking preorders a bit further in advance, the company could have had a better measure of interest and adjusted production accordingly. Additionally, they have to be cognizant of the fact that a large portion of their business is powered by nostalgia. Virtual Console games, retro compilations, remakes, and the old school gaming market flourishing should be indicative of the interest in these classic titles. I don’t know how many times I’ve repurchased Super Mario World or Ocarina of Time in one format or another, but it’s not an insignificant amount of times. People love being reminded of “simpler” times and if Nintendo can keep giving people that (with enough improvements to justify the cost, like the retro modes/filters), they will keep people coming back. If they don’t start assessing their markets a bit better though, they are going to continue to alienate potential customers through perceived disservice and their caution will end up doing more harm than good in the end.

Nintendo has seen that there is interest for the NES Classic Edition and will produce and ship more. All we can do is remain patient, keep our eyes open, and speak to them with our wallets. In the end, they are a business and that’s going to be the language that gets through to them the loudest.

*- I own most of the Amiibo (excluding the Amiibo cards) and think they’re criminally underutilized. I hope some games are in development that make better use of them.

More Switch News (& Other Tidbits)

October 29, 2016 / admin

Nintendo Switch, from Polygon
(Image from Polygon)

The Nintendo Switch is on everyone’s minds after last week’s unveiling of the new system. Nintendo’s president, Tatsumi Kimishima, has given a few cryptic hints to further whet our collective appetites for more info and rumors continue to fly as Nintendo closes the vault door again after only giving us a peek at the wonderful, nerdy treasures inside. For more concrete details, we will be waiting until January 12. Waiting until after the holidays/new year when the system would potentially be forgotten in the hustle and bustle of the season is smart on Nintendo’s part and it kickstarts the new year with an updated look at the system, as well as starting the ~2 month countdown until the system’s release in March.

Speaking with Bloomberg, Kimishima didn’t give away much. He mentioned that Nintendo has only shown the core concept of the system, not what it is fully capable of. It seems they have more accessories up their sleeves, potentially a few that will be interchangeable with the Joy-Cons strapped to the side of the Switch. Rumors have been flying about the potential add-ons here, everything from infrared pointers to projectors that register motion.

An interesting bit of phrasing to note was that Kimishima said they want people to touch they console in January and experience it for themselves to fully understand what Nintendo is trying to do. The use of the word “touch” here is probably reading into it a bit much, but rumors are saying that the system will feature a 720p touchscreen, which has yet to be confirmed by Nintendo. I believe the comment was made more in the vein of getting hands-on time in order to truly understand what the system can do. Nintendo did not do a good job explaining this with the Wii U and all the cool things/ways of play that it could muster, or of differentiating it in their marketing so parents understood this was a new system, not just a Wii add-on (much like the DS/3DS). In breaking with the “Wii” branding and giving people the opportunity to actually play the console in a sufficient amount of time prior to launch, I think they are setting themselves up to be heard and understood this time. One of their main design philosophies has been to make hardware around their games, not the other way around. So if people don’t understand the hardware, then they’re not going to understand the unique ways to play the games that the company is publishing either. But I digress…

Those of you who were worried about the longevity of the 3DS need not be concerned, as Nintendo’s president has confirmed that they will continue pushing the 3DS as they feel it has a market separate from what the Switch will inhabit. That doesn’t mean consumers will see it that way. If you can play console quality games on the go, why would you settle for a (probably fantastic) 3DS title? Portability, battery life, established install bases, and plenty of other things will factor into this, for certain, but I can’t help but think that Nintendo is going to be stealing a portion of its own market (or maybe occupying the Vita’s shrinking real estate).

2 months and 15 days (but who’s counting?) will tell what we actually receive. Hopefully at that time, they give us a firm release date, price, and what’s included in the launch bundle(s). I assume there will be multiple configurations available, both varied in hard drive space and bundled accessories. Also, if by some chance you’re reading this Nintendo, give us some news about the Breath of the Wild amiibo while you’re at it! I’m going to need one of everything (Switch and Zelda amiibo), please and thank you!

In Other News

Square-Enix had a couple of exciting announcements this week. In addition to releasing the opening cinematic for Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Remix, we were treated to the news that 1.5 Remix and 2.5 Remix are being bundled and remastered for the PS4 so for the first time, the entire series, in all its convoluted glory, will be available on one console. So anyone who has been living under a rock for the past 15 years (Yeah, it’s been that long. I know it’s weird and we’re old. Take a moment, if you need it.), can play/watch from start to finish to prepare you for Kingdom Hearts 3, which is set to release next year. Now, you just have to decide the order in which to play the games. It’s kind of like a Star Wars dilemma. Chronological according to release date? Chronological according to the game’s story? Or some butchered version, hopping around to not spoil any plot points until they were intended to be revealed? I’ll leave that up to you to decide.

Not be left out, Final Fantasy XV also had a new bit of info drop. There’s going to be a DLC pack that allows you to play multiplayer, online, with each of the main 4 heroes being controlled by a human player! I assume this will be in some segmented story arc, rather than in the main campaign but since a good bit of the story revolves around Noctis and his band of brothers, it would be cool if you could experience the game with a brotherhood of your own at the helm. We’re almost exactly a month away from the game’s release and I’m ready to dive in and find out whether the 10+ year wait has been worth it!

The last bit of news was slightly more recent than even the above tidbits. Square-Enix has launched a teaser site, currently with a 5 day countdown, for a new Final Fantasy title for iPhone/Android. While there have been plenty of Final Fantasy titles of varying degrees of quality for mobile already, the interesting part of this is that it features a note from Chrono Trigger’s director, Takashi Tokita, as well as the fantastic art of Yoshitaka Amano (who has had ties to the Final Fantasy series since its inception, I believe). This already bodes incredibly well for the title as many JRPGs fans hold Chrono Trigger in very high esteem and having this duo on-board shows that Square-Enix (hopefully) isn’t “phoning” this one in. *insert pun husky photo here*

I’ll see myself out…

The Last Guardian Has Gone Gold!

October 24, 2016 / admin

Last Guardian, from PlayStation.com
(Image from PlayStation.com)

It’s almost like a dream… The Last Guardian has finally gone gold. It’s really going to be released in December. I thoroughly enjoyed Shadow of the Colossus and have fond memories of my freshman year suitemates gathering around to watch me climb impossibly large bosses, be flung around while clinging wildly to the back of flying deities, and throwing myself from Agro onto passing behemoths to stab them in their glow-y spots. ICO, I am ashamed to say, is a game I never completed but have still heard fantastic things about. I remember back in 2012, I was at my parent’s house over Christmas break and I got a call from GameStop. It was a pre-recorded message telling me that Christmas was ruined…

Ok, not really. I’m being dramatic, but it WAS letting me know that the Last Guardian had been cancelled and my preorder deposit was going to be refunded, I just needed to visit my local store to get everything squared away. Well, I wasn’t having any of that. Determined that it had to be some kind of cruel joke, I left my $5 reservation on what became “No Sku Found” for another year before finally, the credit was forcibly returned to me in the form of a $5 gift certificate.

Still choosing not to believe it was actually cancelled, I would talk about the long in-development title with friends who similarly loved Shadow of the Colossus and about what had been teased up to that point. Trico was oddly beautiful. The weird cat-bird-thing that was to be our companion on this adventure. The no doubt heart-wrenching story we would endure upon release and the grand tale that would fill the in-between.

Still, no news broke about the game…

And then it happened. We got some news in early 2015. The Last Guardian trademark had lapsed/been abandoned. Hope seemed lost. Sony did not leave us in our time of need though, as E3 2015 rolled around. A new trailer, for the PS4, and a very wide launch window.

2016.

After originally being announced back in 2009, I believe, the wait is now almost over. Will the long gestating title live up to its name and the legacy of its predecessors? That remains to be seen. Early hands-on articles report camera issues that seemed to plague games around the time of Last Guardians inception. If that’s the only criticism that can be laid at its feet for now, I can deal with that. I can be very forgiving of flaws in games that excel in other areas, such as storytelling or the remaining gameplay elements outside of the camera. When it’s all said and done, I am just excited to return to JAPAN Studio’s next foray into the world of ICO/Shadow of the Colossus. After 7 years, December doesn’t seem so far away…

First Post & Such

October 22, 2016 / admin

Hello & Welcome!

I’m not sure why you’re here, but I’m glad you are! This is my attempt at a blog about my thoughts, focused largely around games and the gaming industry with a smattering of other vices of mine spread generously throughout. As this is my first attempt at any kind of formal blog, please indulge me in my informal format. Also, please excuse the barren/vanilla aesthetic of the site as I learn and tinker with the tools at my disposal here. Without further ado, let me tell you why I’m here…

I’ve followed and enjoyed gaming since I was but a wee lad. Some of my earliest memories are of playing my NES and GameBoy (the GameBoy was technically Mom’s, but whatever). My brothers and I bonded (and similarly fought) over video games. Friendships were built over shared interests in genres and specific video games. Time and money have been invested in a fringe and frequently ostracised hobby that has become a mainstream phenomenon in recent years. I’ve grown up with games and they’ve grown up with me and many others like me. As it is a constant and favorite topic of conversation of mine, my friends have constantly been heard saying things like, “You should start a blog” or “OMG, who. the hell. CARES!?” Comments like these (more the former than the latter) are what have brought me here, to this blog, as a place to put down my thoughts and ramblings without inundating my friends’ social media feeds with overly long posts that they may or may not be interested in (but let’s be real, I’ll probably still do that anyway).

So, since you’re here, I hope you enjoy what you’ll find and understand that these are simply my thoughts on a hobby that I have grown to love. Thank you for stopping by and I hope I can stick to writing content that is interesting enough to keep you coming back for more!