Cursed Mountain – Singleplayer: 82 (Controls: 78 | Graphics: 84 | Sound: 86)
+ absolutely no load-times during a chapter
+ high quality (german) localization
+ tight atmosphere
– “slow” pacing, sluggish controls
Rygar – The Battle of Argus Singleplayer: 58 (Controls: 68 | Graphics: 64 | Sound: 71)
+ nice weapon concept
– ancient tech
– little variety
– new packaging, old content
Dragon Quest IX – Multiplayer: 90 | Singleplayer: 90 (Controls: 88 | Graphics: 90 | Sound: 89)
+ beautiful anime-graphics
+ no random battles
+ interesting story
– user-created characters too interchangable
MOON – Singleplayer: 78 (Controls: 79 | Graphics: 89 | Sound: 82)
bottom line: sci-fi advanture with future-proof visuals, oldschool gameplay and just the right atmosphere
Wii Sports Resort – Multiplayer: 86 | Singleplayer: 68 (Controls: 68 | Graphics: 63 | Sound: 70)
+ easy to pick up, yet still some depth in gameplay
+ stamps are motivating
+ technically simplistic but fitting style
– only one game supports 4 players simultaneously
A recent post on a popular gaming forum has caused a bit of controversy regarding Nintendo newest Mario game, New Super Mario Bros. Wii. The post claims that a collector’s edition of the game will be released and that it will contain exclusive characters.
“Stopped by GameStop this morning and was told that they are offering a free upgrade to the collector’s edition of New Super Mario Bros Wii when you pre-order the game. I asked what was in the collector’s edition and all they knew was that there was supposed to be some additional characters. Hope someone finds this useful.”
I’m not quite sure what to believe right now. This may simply be a misinterpretation of the employee’s words (perhaps by “characters” he meant figurines?) or maybe there truly are additional playable characters in the game. More updates as they come in.
“General marketing wisdom says that customers need to be segmented. For product planning, the target audience needs to be identified and narrowed down… The fact of the matter is, [Shigeru] Miyamoto is the head of one R&D division, which can only launch a few titles each year. To maximise the result, we have decided to counter the common marketing wisdom and go anti-segmentation if everyone else is segmenting everything. This is easier said than done. It is a huge challenge to make a game that will please and be fun for both veteran gamers with the expected depth and novice gamers who say ‘I don’t get it’ but provide them with particular depth that can lead them to deeper points just as they become eager to play longer. Nintendo would like to tackle this enormous challenge.” – Satoru Iwata
This is one thing that I think Nintendo is doing extraordinarily well. If you look at Mario Galaxy, it was clearly a core title, yet it was accessible and easy to play. You can even date back to the days of the original Mario Bros. and see that (even though they seem to flaunt it more-so now) Nintendo has always been making titles that are both accessible and hardcore, which is something very few developers have achieved in the past.
“I would say that particularly with digital download, you’re finding that there’s a sharp drop-off in the participation — particularly on console download that requires some kind of WiFi connection — by demographic. But at the same time, it would seem that the statistics of downloading Netflix videos on Xbox are pretty broad. And there’s a reason to believe that maybe it’s not the primary consumer in the household that sets up the WiFi, but that there is sort of a watershed sharing of that technology among all the consumers that might participate on it.” – Majesco EVP Gui Karyo
I couldn’t agree with this statement more, especially relating to the Wii. Setting my Wii up to get online was tedious enough, and I consider myself a very core gamer. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be for some casual gamers to get online.
“Traditionally, great games has made people excited and stimulated. Wii Vitality Sensor has great potential for various applications like measuring how horrified a player is in a horror title. What we are trying to propose first is a video game with a theme of relaxation, which is completely opposite from traditional ones, to enrich the users’ lives. Especially among those who are constantly busy, I am sure you have experienced not being able to go to bed even when you are so tired after a busy day at work and coming home late at night… What if you were able to visualize how to unwind and relax, or check the condition of your automatic nerve by simply inserting your finger in the device once a day?
We are conducting some tests internally at Nintendo, and found some patterns among our employees, like improving automatic nerve condition as the weekend nears or vice versa. Seeing what their condition is actually like, they can “visualize” how they are looking forward to weekend. And see completely different patterns on each individual person. And I think you have all had an experience where you are not in tune with how your body is doing or aware of how exhausted you body may be in a busy, strained period, but if you can visibly measure your condition every day, you can start to see how you’re doing. It would be like stepping up on a scale every day and seeing the change of your weight. Our new challenge that is different from past software development is to make a video game by using the visible activities of your automatic nerve. Before Wii Fit launched, everyone doubted how well it could sell. As for Wii Vitality Sensor, I think it will face similar doubts as to whether such a product will sell well in the video game market. Of course no one can tell how people respond to it before the launch. We understand everyone wants to enjoy a vibrant lifestyle, so I believe if the product could support that desire, it would make a large impact in society.” – Satoru Iwata
I’m a bit disappointed, but not at all surprised at this statement. As much as I would’ve loved to see the peripheral used in more core titles, it looks like third parties will have to take over in that department. Regardless, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited to see what even Nintendo has in store for the little device.
Bumping this post to the front page for now – Seeya later, guys!
Well guys, I hate to leave you behind but…I’m going off on a vacation for a few days. This will allow me to refresh my mind, get a change in scenery, and come back completely refreshed to provide you all with what we hope is the best Nintendo coverage.
Unlike last year’s vacation though, you should be covered in terms of Nintendo news. Unfortunately, an editor bailed out on us last August but I’m not expecting a similar situation this year. Austin will indeed be taking over the site while I’m away and will be handling the news on the site. He’s done this plenty of times before so I don’t foresee any problems – Unless the site explodes, of course.
I will be leaving a little bit later today and will return sometime on Thursday. However, while I’m gone, I will be popping in to do a few news posts here and there. So, I won’t be leaving completely!
I’m going to continue with a few news posts and will be bumping this post to the front page before I leave. Hope you guys don’t miss me too much!
New GamesCom Event in Cologne, Germany Plays Host to Stellar Line Up of Titles for All, from NAMCO BANDAI Games, Atari and More
LYON, FRANCE – 7th August 2009 – Namco Bandai Partners today unveiled the exciting and varied line up of titles that it will showcase at GamesCom 2009 in Cologne, Germany from August 19th to 23rd. Bringing some of the year’s most anticipated titles to the hands of the biggest audience of video game fans in the world, NAMCO BANDAI Partners’ impressive stand, located in Hall 8, Stand B 040, will feature a huge number of public hands-on gaming stations and a seated theatre where new trailers will be screened exclusively for visitors to the show.
GamesCom 2009 is the first event where newly re-named video game distribution company NAMCO BANDAI Partners will present its strong line up of highly anticipated games with something for everyone, whether a hardcore gamer or just looking for a dose of top quality fun.
