Microsoft @ E3 2012: All That Needs To Be Said

Nintendo @ E3 2012: The 3DS Software Showcase, Or How To Disappoint an Audience Without Really Trying

Nintendo did their 3DS presentation yesterday, demonstrating upcoming games for the handheld. If you watched the comments alongside the stream last night, the comments were overwhelmingly negative.

"Show us something new!" "Where's Zelda?" "This is boring!" "We already know about these games!"

I too, left the presentation a little cold. I was really hoping for something new. When they cut to Reggie Fils-Amie at the end, I was hoping for some big reveal, and instead he just told the presenter that he did a great job. I was incredibly disappointed as I walked away.

However, as I chewed it over, though, I realized something: We're incredibly spoiled.

Listen: We're getting two new Mario games, one of which is an RPG that looks very promising and another a side-scrolling Mario game. We're getting Kingdom Hearts, Castlevania, Scribblenauts, Luigi's Mansion, and Lego Batman 2.

Yet we're still whining! Why is that?

It's actually pretty simple: When you announce a separate presentation to showcase your software, there are certain expectations. I tuned in expecting to hear an announcement of a new game, not a rehash of what was already announced, and I suspect a lot of other people felt the same way. It's only natural to have that sort of reaction. After all, that's what companies do at E3, and Nintendo made a point of setting aside extra time to show off their software. It felt a little misleading.

That doesn't mean that it was a bad presentation. After all, I know a lot more about Paper Mario than I did before, and New Super Mario Bros. 2 makes a little more sense to me now (but just a little). But we all expected a little something extra, frankly.

I think that's why Nintendo made a brief announcement after the show that Fire Emblem: Awakening was making it to Western shores. They must have picked up on the hostility and decided to drop that little nugget to defuse it.

But to be perfectly honest, what more could we really ask from the 3DS in the coming months? There are going to be more than enough games to play for a while of all different types. We really shouldn't be whining as much as we are.

Are We Approaching Mario Oversaturation?

A long time ago, I had an article entitled "A Warning For Activision" wherein I said that Activision was going back to the well far too often for their franchises and drew some comparisons with Sega. I made the same argument with Mega Man too, expressing concern that Capcom was destroying the Blue Bomber with multiple trips to the well.

Now I find myself taking Nintendo to task for the same thing: Too many Mario games!

In the Mega Man article, I pointed out that Nintendo had been extremely careful with Mario during his 27-year lifespan, releasing only 16 games up until this point:

4 - NES (Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros 1-3)
3 - Game Boy (Super Mario Land 1-3)
2 - SNES (Super Mario World, Yoshi's Island)
1 - N64 (Super Mario 64)
1 - Gamecube (Super Mario Sunshine)
1 - DS (New Super Mario Bros.)
3 - Wii (Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2, New Super Mario Bros. Wii)
1 - 3DS (Super Mario 3D Land)

But something funny has happened in the last six years. Since Nintendo hit the jackpot with New Super Mario Bros. in 2006, they've been on an absolute tear with new Mario games. Here's what we'll see released since 2006 through to the end of this year:

1 - DS (New Super Mario Bros.)
3 - Wii (Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2, New Super Mario Bros. Wii)
2 - 3DS (Super Mario 3D Land, New Super Mario Bros. 2)
1 - Wii U (New Super Mario Bros. Mii)

That works out to more than a game a year. That's too much Mario.

New Super Mario Bros. was an amazing success, undoubtedly. Speaking from personal experience, I can say that when I first played it, I knew I needed a DS that instant. It had been so long since I played a new Mario game that I was positively famished for it.

Each game since then has brought something new to the table, whether it's crazy gravity hijinks, the inclusion of 3D, multiplayer or just tightened gameplay. New Super Mario Bros. Mii is going to bring more collaboration, I suppose.

However, I can't for the life of me figure out what New Super Mario Bros. 2 is supposed to bring to the table. I know that digital distribution is going to be a big part of it, but if that's the only reason it's seeing release, it just seems like a shameless money grab more than some substantial upgrade.

I guess we'll find out on August 19th.

Nintendo @ E3 2012: Snap Judgments

After seeing the hardware demonstration from Nintendo, here are some quick takes on it.


1) Nintendo did everything they needed to in the hardware portion of their conference.

The problem among most gamers was "How will the tablet work well with games? Am I going to have to swing it around?" Those questions have been answered. The Wii U has been demonstrated clearly and openly, so it should totally make sense now.

2) You can use two tablet controllers.

Finally, the question everyone wanted answered has been answered. Frankly, if it would have been one tablet, I would have been mad.

3) Still no price or release date.

Sigh.

4) Will Nintendo filter comments on New Super Mario Bros U?

If I'm playing New Super Mario Bros U and I see comments pop up about the game, will I see profanity? Crudely drawn penises using ASCII text? Or will Nintendo filter those for content? Sounds like a huge job for them.

5) Scribblenauts Unlimited is a great idea for the Wii U.

Scribblenauts is the kind of game that would be great for collaboration, and the Wii U is just the perfect place for it. The tablet controller will make it easy to use too. Maybe we'll see a Drawn to Life too.

6) The "theme park" game is so-so.

It's called NintendoLand, and I'm not so sure about it. Maybe once more people try it out they'll be able to say if it's any good.

That's all for now.

It's E3 Time! How Will Nintendo Do?

E3 is upon us, and it's like Christmas in June for gamers. For Nintendo fans, we have extra reason to be excited.

Nintendo is slowly pulling back the curtain on the Wii U, and what's out there so far looks interesting. Nintendo is primed to have a great E3 if we get answers to a few pressing questions.

• What will Nintendo price the Wii U at?

If it's priced at $399, it's going to be in trouble. If it's $299, that's great, but will it be enough for Nintendo to turn a profit?

• What's Retro working on?

Retro is apparently working on a big new project for the Wii U. There were rumors of it being a StarFox/Metroid mashup, but those seem to be quashed. So what are they doing over there?

• What games will the Wii U launch with?

Will it be an awful launch library like the 3DS? That nearly killed the 3DS in the cradle, and Nintendo can't afford another near-miss like that.

Hey, speaking of the 3DS:

• What games are on the horizon?

We know that Smash Bros. and New Super Mario Bros. 2 are certain, but what else is on the way? A new Zelda? A new Pokemon (besides Black & White 2)? A totally new IP?

• What's up with the redesign?

There are rumors about a 3DS redesign. It's not a smaller version, but a bigger one, like the DSiXL. Um... why? Anything else this thing does, or is it just bigger? Because if it's just bigger, that's weird.

• What's happening to the Wii and DS?

They're obviously going to send the Wii and DS to the big spike pit in the sky, but are Xenoblade Chronicles and The Last Story set to be the last great games for the Wii? Is Pokemon Black & White 2 set to be the DS' last hurrah, or is there more coming?

How Nintendo does this E3 will depend entirely on the answers to these questions. For my money, here are my answers:

1. $299
2. StarFox for Wii U
3. A LOT, including Pikmin 3 and New Super Mario Bros. Mii
4. A new Zelda and a new Metroid, as well as a new IP
5. It's stupid
6. One more big game for the DS, nothing more for the Wii

We'll see if I'm right in a few days.

Why the Sony Vita Is Struggling

After a strong start, the Playstation Vita has struggled as of late. It's tempting to just point and laugh at Sony, but that's not really fair, since the Vita is a great piece of hardware with lots of cool features. Something is going wrong, though, and Sony needs to fix it.

I really don't see that happening.

Handheld games live and die on three things: affordability, battery life and the game library. If a handheld has all three, it will thrive. If it has two out of three, it will succeed. If it has one or none, it's dead.

Let's run a comparison between past handhelds and get a feel for if this holds true. Side note: When comparing battery life, we're comparing between systems of the same generation. 'X' means that the system has that function, while 'O' means that it does not.

System	Affordability	Battery Life	Library
Atari Lynx	O	O	O
Game Boy	X	X	O
Game Gear	X	O	O
TurboExpress	O	O	O
Game Boy Color	X	X	O
Game Boy Advance	X	X	X
N-Gage	O	O	O
Sony PSP	O	O	X
DS	X	X	X

So far, the axiom has held true: Whomever has the most affordable handheld with the best battery life and library wins. Let's stack this up with the 3DS. When the 3DS launched, here's how things looked:

System	Affordability	Battery Life	Library
3DS	O	O	O

Now, of course, things have changed. The affordability of the system has increased greatly, and the library has increased as well. The 3DS still loses the battery life war to iOS and Android, but among dedicated gaming handhelds it wins.

System	Affordability	Battery Life	Library
3DS	X	X	X

The 3DS failed at launch. Now it's succeeding, even thriving.

Compare this to the Vita. It's more expensive than the 3DS. It has worse battery life, and the library is lackluster. The refrain among Vita gamers is "just wait!"

"Just wait! There are a ton of great games on the way! The Vita is going to be so good!" Be that as it may, as things stand right now there's a paucity of games for it. I'm not just talking about regular games, either. I'm talking about games that get people talking.

Sony is still searching for that elusive system-selling mascot. Uncharted comes close, but it's story-driven. There are only so many side stories and backstories you can tell about Nathan Drake before you run out of space in one man's life. Unless you start making games in the Uncharted universe delving into, say, Sully's past, you really can't load up on Uncharted.

(By the way, I would totally play a game based on Sully's past. Put it in the 60's with Cold War intrigue? Yes. I would play it.)

So right now, The Vita looks like this:

System	Affordability	Battery Life	Library
Vita	O	O	O

It loses the affordability battle. It loses the battery life battle, and it loses the library battle. You tell me: How is Sony going to pull out of this?

Nintendo pulled out of its 3DS nosedive by drastically lowering the price and releasing some of the games that it promised at launch. Sony could do the same if it chose, but now they're in the unenviable position of losing money on its console division and its handheld division. On the horizon, there are a few games ready to launch for the Vita, but none that are ready to capture the hearts of millions. Games like Gravity Rush may look good, but the vast majority of people have never heard of them and won't have any idea what they are.

I'm not banging on Sony, mind you. My stance on them has softened considerably in the last few years. It's always good to have another handheld around to push Nintendo a bit, as well. Still, I'm hard-pressed to find a way that Sony can fix up the Vita enough to make it viable in the long-term.

A New Goal

There were a lot of crap games for the NES. We remember all of the good ones: Zelda, Mario, Mega Man, and the like. We don't remember a lot of the crappy ones, and there were a lot of crappy ones. All told, the NES had about 700+ games released for it, so there's bound to junk in there.

And I'm going to play them all.

I don't mean that I'm going to play them all in a "Mwa-ha-ha, I will play all of you puny games!" I mean, I am going to play every NES game ever made, from A-Z, and report back.

Here are the rules:

• I will use emulators and ROMs. If you have any ethical quandaries about emulators and ROMs, then you find me a working NES and every single game ever made, even Bible Adventures, and then we'll talk.
• Every game will be played for 20 minutes, no more, no less. This is because I'm not going to sit and play a horribly crappy game for hours on end, and rare is the NES game that slowly reveals its mysteries over hours of play. If an NES game sucks, you know it sucks right off the bat, honestly.
• The games will be graded by three grades: Ugh, Meh, and Yay. Those should be self-explanatory.

We'll be making articles of these, hopefully one every week.

"But what makes you think that this feature will last? You started doing the GOG.com Replay and stopped!"

Yes, that's true. That's because GOG games are very substantial. In order to make an honest-to-God review of each game, it's a tremendous time commitment. I don't have that kind of time. With these? Heck, I can knock out ten in a day if I have an afternoon to myself.

The first two games will be 10-Yard Fight and 1942. I'll have an article up at some point.