Wow, so I just browsed through some of the comments and am absolutely flabbergasted by the response here. Are we even watching the same video? Yes, the graphics are clean and simple and I could see someone deciding they looked 'kiddy' (by the way, this is one of the stupidest sounding words...every time I read it my opinion of the writer is lowered).
But the gameplay design is, I think, objectively very sharp. The split view points. The design of the map. The way the two players on the ground have to work together to take out the player in the airship. The way the airship needs to try to remain hidden, but at the same time needs to come out to take down the ground guys.
There's a lot going on here and I don't get how someone could come away from this video thinking that this looked 'useless' or 'garbage' or any of the other stupid things you guys are saying. I mean, read through the previews of this game. Everyone seems to like it...everyone. I have yet to read a negative preview for the Metroid blast game.
@Janpieterzun I am a child at heart in a lot of ways. You should try it some time. The joy and wonder of childhood are not things that should be scoffed at. I think the world would be a much better place if adults, every once and a while, tried to reconnect with those emotions.
Look, if you want to wait...go for it. You're right, there's no reason to buy a system until you want to have that system. All I can really say is that I've been playing mine for nearly a week now non-stop. This is one of the few times I've bought expensive hardware and not had mild buyer's regret afterwards. I don't think any other console I've ever purchased has had as much built-in stuff to do as the 3DS. Between that and PilotWings I've been having a lot of fun with the system. Just a quick note about review scores...they work okay to gauge overall feelings on a game, but they aren't an exact science. I'm 6 hours into PilotWings and would give it an 8. You guys gave it a 6.5. That's cool. I'm a big PilotWings fan and in general just love flight so I get more out of the game than a lot of people. It just underlines that different people feel differently about different games. You can't list review scores like scientific proof that you're right. One of your competitors gave Steel Diver a 7.0, which--while by no means a fantastic score--is pretty different from the 4.5 you guys gave it. Again, different people feel differently about games even on a professional level. I never buy a console for any one game and nor should anyone else. No single game is worth 250$. So I didn't wait for some perfect game to come along and make the system worth it. I just needed to wait for a single game I would enjoy playing--PilotWings for me.
I love how all the American editors are all, "oh well who cares?" Yes. Because who cares that people in Europe are spending more money on a machine that does less. Seriously they should be thanking Sony for taking all that nasty PS2 stuff out of their systems. After all no one is ever going to want to go back and replay old games. That's for loserz (see how I added a 'z' there--that my friends is quality writing). In fact, as Aaron Thomas happily points out all those games are going to suck in a few years anyway. I love this industry, but sometimes I wonder how sane it really is. Imagine if the movie industry worked that way. Movies with outdated special effects and dialog would be ignored, but don't worry because as long as they make a new King Kong every three years...who cares. Or what about literature. Why does anyone read old books, when you can just go watch the movie? Oh wait. That IS how it works. James Yu comes across as particularly insane to me. Why is he whining so much about people complaining about Sony being a bunch of jerks? You'd think we were insulting his mother or something. Sony is a massive corporation and at the moment they aren't treating people in Europe very well. Why the hell shouldn't we be complaining about it? If Sony wants to take out backward compatibility then they should lower the price of the system. Plain and simple. If they did that I doubt anyone would be throwing such a huge fit right now. But to pretend like what Sony IS doing is just fine and dandy. That just seems delusional to me.
Ah yes, one more day of rampant speculation. I'm going to savor this moment. Mmm...tasty. First I have to address Mueller's opinion that Nintendo will push the Zelda launch into next year. No way in hell. Nintendo has said this will be a launch game, and for them to change thier tune would be a mistake. Much like Sony promising a certain number of systems and then finding themselves lynched by those words, Nintendo would find itself hurting if they pushed back the release date. Next the launch date. Keep in mind that reports and job posting suggest the system is already being boxed. It doesn't make that much sense given this for the system to not launch until November. The shopping season will come one way or another--so I can't really think of any reason to push the launch into the middle of it. My guess is an early October launch, or maybe...just maybe...a very late september launch. The late september launch seems much less likely simply because Nintendo needs to give retailers and game publishers enough time to prepare for the launch. Early October though, that sounds just right to me. As for the price...if I had to predict what will most likely happen I'd go with 199$. If I had to tell you my nutty theory based completely in my insane mind I'd have to go with what Shoemaker is hoping for and tell you it'll be $150. Think I'm nuts...well, yeah, I already said that...but seriously I don't think $150 is impossible. Nintendo sells the gamecube for $99 dollars and by all accounts is actually still making a profit at that price (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). The Wii from what we know is based on the same basic architecture as the gamecube, which means that from a production standpoint they don't need to radically alter thier infastructure (ala poor, poor, sony). We also know that power wise the system is anywhere from 1.5-2 x as powerful as Gamecube. That's an increase, but not a massive one. How much more this costs them then the components for Gamecube is a mystry, but we can safely assume it isn't anywhere near the amount going into the 360 or PS3. The main cost on this system has almost certainly been R&D work on the controller. How much of that will be factored into the price of the hardware is hard to guess. Now none of this means that Nintendo will go with the lowest price...what does seem to imply they'll hit as low as possible is thier entire marketing push with the system. Look, any of the readers of this site are willing to pay upward of 250$ and more for the system of our choice. Nintendo's core audience would follow them at 250$ and probably a number of other gamers less loyal to Nintendo, but still realizing that 250$ isn't an awful price. But what about the audience Nintendo wants to reach with the system? The audience who thinks that paying 250$ for a system designed to play games is nuts....the audience who probably even scoffs at that 199$ price? What about them? Nintendo has taken a huge risk creating this console to appeal to these people who don't play games. Why would they then launch the system at a price that alienates that audience? Sure, you could argue that at launch the system will sell out even without that audience, and that when the price falls and a few more non-gamer friendly games come out the audience will return...but is that really the best way to do things? Nintendo needs that non-gamer image from day one. It wants that image and I think it'll keep the price low to foster that image. Depending on how much is packaged with the system the price might be more than 150$, but I think that $150 is at least a possible price for the core unit.
1. Super Mario Bros. 3: I play this game in my girlfriend's dorm room and let me tell you, no other game I own stops people in their tracks like Mario. 2. Donkey Kong Jungle Beat: It's Donkey Kong with Bongos, what could be cooler than that? Nothing, that's what. 3. Animal Crossing: Animals are cool. 4. Sonic the Hedgehog: The box says it all, "Sonic has an attitude that just won't quit. He's flip and funny, yet tough as nails as he fights to free his frineds from evil." 5. Half-Life 2: I'm in a firefight, I'm driving a boat, I'm driving a car, I'm crossing a broken bridge, I'm controlling a bunch of crazy antlions, I'm taking off heads with a sawblade, I'm tossing soldiers like ragdolls. Cool.
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