The Random Little Game that (Unexpectedly) Could

No analyst could have ever predicted this. Not one could have ever seen this coming.

Splatoon isn’t just selling well after minimal advertising and expectations, but it’s become one of the biggest games in WiiU’s history, the best-selling WiiU game in 2015, and the most successful new Nintendo IP since Xenoblade. After seeing multiple sequels based off of the usual Nintendo properties not do well in a quickly-dying console, this game rose out of nowhere and was shoved into the WiiU lineup as a bridge between Smash Brothers and the upcoming Xenoblade sequel (Super Mario Maker wasn’t treated as a major game but has become a hardcore title, but that’s a discussion for another day).

It destroyed multiple notions on its way to over 2 million copies sold (and still counting with bundles and extra goodies on the way). It was assumed that after Goldeneye (I know, reaching farrrr back) and the Metroid Prime Trilogy that shooters no longer sell well on a Nintendo console; with Call of Duty being an absolute bomb in the Wii/WiiU systems while selling millions anywhere else. It was assumed that new IPs just don’t work on Nintendo consoles, as we see awesome ideas and clever newer Nintendo experiences from this century reduced mostly to the handhelds (Phoenix Wright, Professor Layton, Golden Sun, Brain Age, Elite Beat Agents, etc.). Lastly, it was assumed that a game that clearly is reliant on Nintendo’s online functionality would fail and burst into flames. Instead, the online community for Splatoon is even more vibrant (and nearly stronger) than that of Smash Brothers WiiU.

There is a chance that it’s a fluke success, which sometimes happens even in the cutthroat gaming industry. In a random example, Just Dance 2 for the Wii sold nearly 10 million copies, more than any Metal Gear Solid game to date. Or, it could be the ultimate proof that Nintendo needs to continue producing these new IPs or at least do a better job bringing some obscure ones out from the dead. This current gaming generation is lacking in many genres, and the third-party shooter genre is one that is extremely rare. Nintendo needs more RPGs (an answer to Final Fantasy), more racers (a response to Forza), more shooters (Advance/Battalion Wars has been quiet lately), and most importantly more mature titles outside the usual suspects of Zelda and Metroid (Eternal Darkness 2 may never happen, but something along these lines).

The main reason for the lack of hardware sales during Nintendo’s eighth generation is the lack of exciting software. Unlike the Wii and especially the DS, there just hasn’t been that many new and innovative titles to convince the disgruntled hardcore and fleeting mainstream gamers to purchase a WiiU. Splatoon however is the ultimate proof that if you throw a good fresh title in the market, the gamers will reward you and will come back in droves. From the ashes of a usually-slow season in gaming, we see Splatoon becoming the sixth best-selling game in all of 2015. Nintendo needs to take note as they prepare for the next generation with the NX, whatever that eventually becomes.





But yea, also expect a Spla2oon in the horizon.

The Delayed, Underrated, Forgotten Legacy of the Nintendo Gamecube (Part 2 of 2)

The Nintendo Gamecube is a forgotten piece of gold that could have saved or at least delayed the inevitable fail of the Nintendo WiiU. And this forgotten behavior just adds to the legacy of the purple box that housed more hidden gems than disappointments. That poor purple box suffered from gamers’ post-traumatic stress from being N64 owners and also suffered from the giant third-party conquering monster known as the Playstation 2. Now, this blog entry is splitting into two categories: Why it Failed, and Why it Could Have Been Revived. Why it Failed belongs to my Entire World blog, with the Revived entry belonging to the Eighth Generation. Now, without further interruption, my upcoming 3,000 word dedication to the Nintendo Gamecube.

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Here is Part One, in case you missed it
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Why It Could Have Been Revived


The Nintendo Gamecube failed once. Nintendo wasn’t fully at fault on that one, despite some of their controversial and baffling decisions. The Nintendo Gamecube in the 2000s could have been revived, saved, and treasured by a new generation. This, was definitely Nintendo’s wrongdoing. The Gamecube has an entire cluster of excellent forgotten games from the 2001-2005 years that remains in Nintendo’s hands----yet remains only in their hands. We have seen two generations of Virtual Console, WiiWare, and superior technology that could have revived some of these games. We have seen two generations come and go and we still have barely scratched the surface of Gamecube history.

Let’s start with what we did see. We saw Wii-versions of Mario Power Tennis (Not as good as the N64 version, but whatever), Pikmin and Pikmin 2 (random), Donkey Kong Jungle Beat (No…), and the Metroid Prime Trilogy (easily the best choice here, for the WiiMote was the perfect controller for shooters). To say that Nintendo totally forgot about the sixth generation is a total lie.

Now, here was the issue: all the missing games. Eternal Darkness could have been absolutely perfect with enhanced graphics and motion controls—that type of horror would be elevated with more personal control (and lack of) of your actions. F-Zero GX was meant to be handled with that Wii-wheel. Smash Brothers Melee deserved an online tournament mode for the much wider audience. Then there’s Paper Mario, Four Swords Adventures, Tales of Symphonia, Baten Kaitos, Super Mario Sunshine, Luigi’s Mansion, and of course the criminally underrated Rogue Leader games.

The issues continue: the Virtual Console did not include Gamecube games not just once, but twice. Only 4 games in the Gamecube sold over 3 million copies, meaning there was a cluster of games that had been played by just an inch of a fraction of gamers. Why not give the base of 70+ million Wii owners the chance to replay these games? Third-party relationships could have improved if Nintendo had reached out and tried to re-release the franchise-best Soul Calibur II, Resident Evil 0, Resident Evil Remake, Tales of Symphonia, Viewtiful Joe (cult gem that did better on Gamecube) among others.

And of course, there’s also the WiiU and the missed opportunity to launch a Gamecube Virtual Console of some sort (ANY SORT) during the early months when the game lineup was stretched absolutely thin. It could have been much better to Nintendo if they had a lineup of 30-50 Gamecube games at cheaper prices while waiting for the next big game. It could have benefited Nintendo if we saw HD versions of Smash Brothers Melee, Luigi’s Mansion (maybe throw in the sequel for good measure?), the Super Mario sports games, Mario Sunshine, Paper Mario Trilogy, Eternal Darkness (Yes, I bring this game up again), and for goodness sakes, give us SOMETHING NINTENDO! Sorry, stopped analyzing and became a disgruntled fan…

Nintendo used to be the best at bringing up the past, and it’s because of a mix of having the best lineup of first-party games and having less issues with third-party companies and licenses (although it will forever be a darn shame that we’ll never have an updated Goldeneye or NFL Blitz 2000). But with Sony revving up its past much better than before, Nintendo has to step its game up. The Gamecube could have been that next level. And it didn’t happen. And although it wasn’t the main reason for the failures of the WiiU, the fact that Nintendo curiously decided to focus on the same NES, SNES, and (eventually…) N64 games (when they could have been transferred from the Nintendo Wii itself, WITH widescreen) was curious and downright…stupid. So Nintendo lost, and the Gamecube remains without a second chance to create memories and a legacy.

Bottom Line: The Gamecube remains a curiously odd chapter that just doesn’t get revisited or mentioned much. It had a slew of great games, a slew of creative games, and they mysteriously get little to no love outside the early 2000s. It is curious, and it is quite sad. This neglecting of 90% of the great Gamecube games has led partially to Nintendo’s broken relationship with the hardcore gamer crowd and has led to weak console sales (handhelds is a totally different, and much happier story). With the new system announced and definitely on the way, this will be Nintendo’s third opportunity to link back to the past and revisit the lost years that Nintendo experienced while under the PS2 shadow. The Gamecube was Nintendo’s last truly hardcore system and until they acknowledge and celebrate this, Nintendo will struggle reaching out to the remaining hardcore crowd.

The First White Flag of the Eighth Generation

Nintendo Gamecube Release: 2001
Nintendo Wii Annoucement: 2005


Nintendo Wii Release: 2006
Nintendo WiiU Annoucement: 2011


Nintendo WiiU Release: 2012
Nintendo Successor Announcement: March 2015


Abandon ship gamers. Leave the WiiU right now. Nintendo couldn’t even wait three full years to announce that they have a successor to the rapidly-decaying Nintendo WiiU. And yes it’s just a codename, and yes we all knew this day would come. However, you make these major announcements only when your momentum with the current console starts running out. And after a bit north of two years, the Big N has pretty much unveiled their lack of hope and faith in their third-place system by not announcing a successor, but then even mentioning how its entering the smartphone business after years of denial and refusing to accept the technology. 

Run, run away fast Nintendo fans. There is nothing to see here. Yes we have a great Smash Brothers and superb sort-of 3-D Mario game in the console, but besides Zelda (and maybe Star Fox? Where are the details?) what is there to look forward to? I don’t hear of another console Pokemon game, another Donkey Kong game, no Fire Emblem, no F-Zero, no Kid Icarus, no Wario, nothing. It looks like even the first-party lineup has been severely scaled back. The 3DS got an astonishing 3 major Zelda titles. The WiiU couldn’t get 3 of anything. There is a chance that the WiiU by the end of its run won’t even outsell the Nintendo Gamecube; which is a ridiculous shame because the XBox One and the PS4 are selling at record pace and the gaming industry is bigger than ever.

And if you think I might be slightly looking too much into this; this comes after Miyamoto admits that there won’t be a 3-D Mario game. What Nintendo system doesn’t get the big Mario game? One that is being abandoned, that’s what.

Of course Nintendo is going to not reveal any specific details until at the earliest E3 2016, so they can nab whoever might be left in considering to purchase one thanks to Skyrim Zelda looming on the horizon. Not only does the WiiU get consistently outsold by the PS3, but even the Vita is performing better. Third-party companies have already left, and not even a good Wind Waker bundle and a price cut could remedy a positive solution. Unlike what happened with the N64 and Gamecube, Nintendo has decided to quietly pull the plug early before any further damage is done.

Whatever the Nintendo NX becomes, the company needs to learn from the mistakes made in the past five years with the Wii’s final years and the WiiU disaster. If you don’t own a WiiU yet, really think about it before purchasing one. There are good games to be played here, that part is true. However do you really want to now make an investment on a console that slowly but surely being abandoned by pretty much everybody?



The white flag has been raised. The eighth generation has pretty much become a two-console race.

How to Hardcore Your Next Nintendo System

Nintendo might be the first to bow out of the race.



Miyamoto has already discussed looking into the future, as the WiiU is getting no more major Super Mario titles (Which is a bummer because the system is lacking that AAA Mario game ala Mario 64/Galaxy) and after 2015 there really isn’t much to look forward to (Come to think of it, would it kill them to do a Mario 64 HD remake?). The 2015 lineup shows some promise but with the lack of pure marketing coming from Nintendo one can’t help but believe the end is near.

Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Brothers did move hardware, did sell plenty, but it still wasn’t enough to overcome the obvious third party issues and lack of software when compared to the competition. The main owners of WiiU hardware and software are your hardcore fans and those few duped into thinking it was going to be another revolutionary Wii system. In a classic case of history repeating itself, The Nintendo WiiU was a slightly more successful version of the infamous Sega Dreamcast. Of course the main difference is that Sega totally sunk after the Dreamcast, while Nintendo will stick around for at least another decade thanks to being the best first party developer in the land & because of its still strong grip on the handheld industry.

The question is, what now? What do you do from here? Where should Nintendo go from here? Although I have no say as to where the company is going, I do have an idea as to what the next Nintendo system can deliver. It would pretty much be the ultimate hardcore Nintendo system, a N64 for a new generation while also appealing to the old-school crowd. It would challenge the creativity of the Nintendo fanbase while simultaneously create a tight-knit community that would allow each person to be more than just an avatar, but instead a voice and a wholesome personality.

We can start with the first step, which is the types of games we will be seeing. Nintendo didn’t do a good job exclaiming how the WiiU was the first HD Nintendo system. The idea of HD Metroid, F-Zero, and Golden Sun should have had us salivating for hours. Instead, it was the Usual Suspects getting the HD treatment as well as the Virtual Console treatment—2-D Mario, Mario Kart, Smash Bros., Donkey Kong, Zelda; while we have to wait at least another year for Metroid, Earthbound, Kid Icarus, Fire Emblem, Wario Land, and many more. With the new system, they need to reach farther back in its history and give us long-awaited sequels and also throw in some new IPs that the company desperately needs.

Wario has gotten little to no love, although Wario Ware is an addicting franchise and Wario Land I-III remain one of the best platformers you’ll ever play. And where the heck is Waluigi’s own game? Nintendo Sports needs to make a comeback, as we can definitely use another Waverace, 1080 Snowboarding, Excitebike, Mario Tennis, Mario Golf, Mario Strikers (Need to claim that European gaming crowd) and Punch-Out. For the new generation some franchises need to evolve into deeper, more engrossing games like Kirby, Pokemon (ESPECIALLY), Professor Layton, Mario RPG, Golden Sun, among others. The lineup needs to be Nintendo IP heavy, since the third-party scene in Nintendo is about empty. Nintendo has to whether reach out by licensing a few of their franchises to third-party publishers, or instead nab a few indie companies to make games with their lesser-known and lower-hyped gaming series. However they do it, Nintendo needs to rev up its first and second-party production schedule. They have no backup. Nintendo is fighting this war on its own.



The second major aspect I would work on is the avatar concept. The Mii creation feature is pretty neat on the WiiU, as your character can drive in Mario Kart and can fight in Smash Brothers. With the new Nintendo system, we need to expand this feature exponentially. We need the ability to have our persona participate in more games. We are talking Mario Party, Mario Tennis, Mario Golf, Mario Strikers Charged, Punch-Out, Waverace, MLB Power Pros (underrated baseball gem), Wario Ware, as well as the next generation of Super Mario, Smash Bros., Mario Kart, and perhaps even Professor Layton and Pokemon. And of course we can throw in some new IPs, perhaps a few JRPGs and a few shooters?

Each avatar can have a ranking depending on how many games he/she is participating in and how many online matches they have won. Each avatar should have their own house to decorate to show off to anybody within the Nintendo network. And even cooler whenever you win contests or tournaments, have a trophy room to show off all your Nintendo-related accomplishments. This part will especially be awesome once you can create a Mii for the massive 3-D Pokemon game that Nintendo should make in the coming years.

We need more game collections. Nintendo gamers are definitely willing to spend the money, and the Pokemon sales year after year is a good example. But we need more game collections like Metroid Prime Trilogy and Kirby Anniversary Collection. We are talking about a Super Mario World Collection, Handheld Zelda Collection, Metroid Collection, Professor Layton Collection, and even a few cluster collections like Mario and Luigi Gamecube Collection, 1990s Donkey Kong Collection, among others. We could definitely use some more HD remakes of older games that can use a visual facelift. Eternal Darkness HD anyone?

Deeper first-party lineup, stronger Mii/online support, stronger link-to-the-past lineup of games, what’s the next one? The big one. This is where you reward the Nintendo fans for all their patience: the next system should be the Nintendo Entertainment Studio. This machine will not just allow us to play video games, but will allow us to MAKE video games to share to the world. The Mario Maker is a fantastic idea because Nintendo fans are the most creative in terms of gaming cult audiences. From the masterful HD jobs to the unauthorized localizing of Japanese games to even the clever YouTube videos of modded Mario levels, Nintendo fans are something special. So why not give them the ultimate freedom of making games, levels, mini-games, maps, and other goodies throughout the ninth generation? Think Little Big Planet on generation-lasting steroids.



Mario Maker 2 needs to happen. Mario Kart Maker needs to happen. As well as Smash Bros. Mod, Wario Ware Mini-Game Maker, Mario Sports Course Maker, F-Zero HD Track Editor, Kirby Level Maker, Zelda Dungeon Maker, Mario Paint 2, Mega Man Maker, Art Academy 2, Sonic Level Editor, Advance Wars Battle Map Maker (Probably the only series that can directly take on Call of Duty), Mario Party Maker, and much more. Let’s also throw in some updated versions of classic sandbox games like SimCity, RPG Maker (With Nintendo sprites) and Roller Coaster Tycoon. With the Nintendo Entertainment Studio, you can make your own levels, characters, maps, music, movies, and more---and then be able to share them with others on the massive Nintendo network. You won’t just be playing games, you will be making them. And even better, after beating that Mario game, you still aren’t done because there are hundreds of levels online to choose from to continue the experience. Even actual popular developers can contribute long after they are done with the original game.

The Nintendo Entertainment Studio offers this massive online experience of creation and sharing because it will make up for the obvious lack of games that will hamper the hardware. Third-party issues will not go away, so why not wildly make the first-party games appealing by allowing the gamer to become the developer? With enough people, you will never run out of courses to race in or dungeons to try to conquer. The lasting appeal would be pretty much endless, and would give the system more years of life even during the weakest of periods.

Nintendo since 2000 has had to adjust the rules of its gaming practices because the competitors have so much more money to spend. The Nintendo Gamecube was a smaller machine that used smaller disks. The Nintendo Wii was an extremely underpowered system that relied on revolutionary gameplay to make its profit and win the war. Lastly, the WiiU relied more on the controller than hardware strength to create its array of entertaining games—although the gamble hasn’t exactly paid off. With the Nintendo Entertainment Studio, it expands the first/second party offerings to include the gamers themselves to see what they can deliver. It doesn’t matter if the XBox OneTwo or the PS5 are more powerful, if there are 1,000 Zelda dungeons to choose from online the competition has no chance.

Bottom Line: Nintendo needs to embrace the niche audience that has kept them afloat for the past four years. Giving them unprecedented access to screw around with their favorite franchises would be a most magnificent reward, and a gift that would keep on giving. There are more Nintendo fans than the WiiU would lead you to believe. 50 million 3DS sales is no surprise, the fanbase just hasn’t been ready to embrace the console side---yet. With the NES (See what I did there?), Nintendo can satisfy its deepest of fans while also entice curiosity for new ones. Solution for the future is simple: make more games, make more collectables, deepen the online features, and lastly make the system also double as an empty canvas of unlimited potential.

WiiU: The Other DS

Smash Brothers for WiiU has finally arrived, and after years of anticipation we have finally seen the newest iteration of the grandiose franchise that has accounted for around 30 million in sales within 15 years and only 4 games. And after all the remarkable reviews, after all the hype, all the TLC given by Nintendo, after the Conan appearance, and after all the hardcore gamers seeing a nice lineup boasted by Namco and Sega support, just how well did it do?

Approximately 500,000 on opening week. Couldn’t even get first place. And couldn’t even outsell a remake of a 10-year old Pokemon game. It got destroyed by Pokemon, nullified by Grand Theft Auto, and couldn’t even defeat FarCry. This is Nintendo’s most important release in quite some time and those weak opening numbers are quite disappointing. And with looming reports of WiiU getting stomped in the Black Friday rush, there really isn’t much reason to believe in Nintendo rising out of the cellar in the eighth generation console wars.

Now, I can yell until I turn blue in the face as to some of the mistakes Nintendo has committed this year, and even with this game. No Melee re-release to hype up the next installment ala Halo Master Collection. Not much of a title (Would it kill you to give the game a proper title?). Not much of a commercial to advertise the much-anticipated game. And of course, no price cut/bundle combination strategy that has been used very successfully by Microsoft and the XBox One.

But even if Nintendo got all of this right, there is a good chance that the WiiU will not only absolutely miss the success of the Wii, but will absolutely get destroyed by the competition. And there is a simple, simple reason why: The Nintendo 3DS believe it or not.

Funny, I feel like I had written slightly about this before......

......but it bears repeating because its getting much, much worse. Especially with the WiiU still not hitting a nerve in the Western Hemisphere.

The WiiU has become a hybrid of a mediocre gigantic version of the 3DS with the totally-forgotten family-friendly anti-hardcore image of the Nintendo Wii. The WiiU has failed to shake off the bitter aftertaste of the Wii while at the same time fail to provide a lineup of games that gives the remaining Nintendo fans reason to purchase the system---and not because they are bad games but because there’s a cheaper alternative to every single one of their better efforts:

WiiU:
Smash Brothers WiiU
Mario Kart 8
New Super Mario Bros. U
Super Mario 3D World
Zelda: Wind Waker
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze


3DS:
Smash Brothers 3DS
Mario Kart 7
New Super Mario Bros. 1 and 2 (Hooray for backwards-compatibility)
Super Mario 3D Land
Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Zelda: Majora’s Mask
Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
Donkey Kong Country Returns 3DS
Star Fox 64 3D (I am throwing that in there because the WiiU is getting a Star Fox game)



The 3DS is cheaper, offers more games, offers cheaper games, is portable, and has Pokemon---something still lacking in console Nintendo systems. So honestly, why fork over $300 and get the WiiU when there is a similar lineup of games in the cheaper handheld while at the same time having a far better Virtual Console and a far better consistency of new games?

The WiiU is lacking an independent identity, and its killing its chances of taking off. The Nintendo Wii right off the bat knew what it was, a family-friendly, cheaper, simpler approach to gaming and it absolutely worked—while at the same time distance itself from the also-unique DS. The WiiU came out and in the midst of the delays and lack of software, we didn’t really know what to expect. The PS4 is PS3 on quality steroids, the XBox One is a machine of pure American entertainment. How would you describe the WiiU? Honestly? With the touchscreen, basically an expensive HD 3DS. It will even have DS games in the Virtual Console in the near future.

It needs some separation from the 3DS and extremely fast if it plans on ever being even slightly relevant. And even in the Virtual Console aspect there NEEDS to be some separation. WiiU needs Gamecube (and even some Wii games) and needs to stay away from the N64, GBA, and DS games that are associated with the 3DS. We are also talking about new IPs, bringing back old forgotten IPs (Golden Sun, seriously, where is it?), and making sure that the next installment of the popular IPs feels like the next step forward. Look at GTA IV and GTA V. Look at Metal Gear Solid IV and look at the upcoming Metal Gear Solid V. Now look at Super Mario 3D Land and look at Super Mario 3D World. Lastly look at Donkey Kong Country Returns and look at Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze. Which game combinations look and play the most alike?

You need to give the WiiU some experiences that you can’t experience on the 3DS. We are talking about the MMORPG Pokemon, we are talking about the massive open-world Mario game, we are talking about the Metroid game that has the epic Halo feel, we are talking about the massive massive sequel to whether Star Fox, F-Zero, Golden Sun, or whatever hardcore franchise has seen minimal action in the past half-decade; and lastly we are talking about that Zelda game that requires Skyrim amount of hours to finish.

The biggest drawback to Smash Brothers WiiU sales, were the phenomenal sales of the 3DS installment. And that connection alone is the perfect allegory to what is happening to the WiiU---its value is being diminished by the more attractive sibling. The Nintendo WiiU needs a massive makeover otherwise it will become another Gamecube: decent powerful system, great games, but nobody bought it....

Super Smash Brothers WiiU: Nintendo's Biggest Game in Nearly 10 Years

Hear me out, and this is the truth:



Super Smash Brothers for the WiiU is the most important video game in Nintendo’s long history since Wii Sports. The entire future of Nintendo is riding on the success of this game---which is shaping to be potentially the biggest triumph since Mario Kart Wii’s 32+ million rundown back when the Wii was king and Nintendo was raking profits like there was no tomorrow.

We all know that Smash Brothers will become a success, but the question is just how much hardware can it move? Can it make the WiiU more relevant and push it towards the crown currently being held by PS4? Can it remove the bad stench of the WiiU’s slow start (and seemingly constant denial from Nintendo)? Just what exactly can Smash Brothers accomplish? Nintendo is banking everything on this one game, with the 3DS counterpart being its sneak preview (which will also deliver plenty of sales, especially with the cool-looking Smash 3DS coming out).

Want more proof of Nintendo’s pure and utmost dependency on this game? Namco is working on this, and Nintendo rarely ever allows third-party companies to work on their first-party franchises—even though I have mentioned how this strategy should be explored more often. They took a proven company that has a popular and successful fighting franchise to lend their touches on what is now the top fighting franchise in the entire game industry. The amount of third-party characters has even increased, as Pac-Man, Mega Man, Sonic, and maybe even Snake will make an appearance. You can make your very own character to use in the game. Over six different composers have worked on the soundtrack, and the CD is available for free as long as you register your two Smash games.

The controllers that are being issued. You can use the Wiimote, use the Wii Pad, use the Virtual Console controller, and then we have a special Gamecube throwback controller being sold prior to the game’s release. We already have tournaments on this game and it’s not even out to the public yet. The game seemingly has taken note of every request fans have made, from customizable characters to new third-party characters, to enhanced online system, and even a (sort-of) ranking system.

The marketing. Nearly every week there are new announcement and updated news about the game, and Nintendo is usually extremely hush-hush about their projects. It has had its own Nintendo Direct conferences online to maintain the exposure in the gaming world. It had a tournament in the middle of E3. The upcoming game is also tied to downloadable content specials that are being shown in the WiiU and the 3DS. You cannot escape this game. If only Nintendo applied this amount of marketing to its other games.

So the question, what is left? Nintendo’s final step has to be bundles---lots and lots of bundles. We are talking bundling Smash Bros. 4 with WiiU systems in different colors, with different features, different memory sizes, and maybe other options like music CDs, Gamecube controllers, etc. Nintendo needs to guarantee that you can’t breathe the WiiU life without having the game close to you. Smash Brothers is notorious for reviving franchises (See: Earthbound, Fire Emblem, Kirby, and to a lesser extent even Metroid) so it would be extremely beneficial for new owners to have this game to see the different gaming worlds Nintendo usually offers. Who knows, maybe Mega Man can once again rise to the prominence it used to have in the NES/SNES days.

Everything is being thrown to make Smash Brothers 4 a success. Depending on the impact it makes this holiday season will determine whether or not the WiiU can ever churn out Wii-like profits, and whether or not Nintendo has to re-evaluate the way it makes and distributes games. It all boils down to this game, this holiday, and the world’s reaction.

Smash Brothers 4 will determine whether the WiiU can go down the path of the 3DS (slow start, ferocious run) or the Gamecube (sustains minimal sales, with few hits here and there).

The Hindering Success of the Nintendo 3DS

There was a recent interview of Koichi Hayashida on IGN talking about why the NES Remix games have not been released on the 3DS. In short words, he basically said that the 3DS doesn’t really have the technical capabilities to be able to run NES Remix. Of course reading the interview I found the answer interesting and would like to add one extra word:


Nonsense.


Total, unadulterated nonsense. The Nintendo 3DS will be running Super Smash Brothers (P.S., why is it lacking a true title?!?) on 60 FPS with no issue---and this fighter needs some major processing power to be able to replicate the Smash experience. You telling me that you can’t run a game that takes NES games (all of them 20+ years old by the way) and gives them little twists? Absolute lie. I don’t believe it in the slightest bit, sorry.

This is the truth: NES Remix would work perfectly fine on the 3DS, and to an extent should have been a strictly 3DS game with GBA or even SNES Remix occurring in the Nintendo WiiU. But the success of the 3DS is starting to directly affect the sales of the WiiU and Nintendo is beginning to see the problem.

Part of the WiiU’s failures (Trust me, there are dozens of reasons) includes the fact that it looks like the Nintendo DS on pure steroids. And while in hindsight it is a good idea since the original DS sold over 150 million copies worldwide during its epic run, it diminishes the value of the WiiU altogether. Why spend the $300 on a big DS when you can fork over half that cash and buy a system that is easy to move around with, and has a killer library of games?

Why get a WiiU that features Super Mario 3D World, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Brothers WiiU, New Super Mario Bros. U, and the Virtual Console feature when you can get the cheaper 3DS with games like: Super Mario 3D Land, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Mario Kart 7, Super Smash Brothers 3DS, New Super Mario Bros. 1 & 2, Virtual Console, and a much bigger assortment of games?

Nintendo is making fantastic money, but it’s all coming from the 3DS. The 3DS nearly has 85% market share in the handheld field, and is steadily being able to hold off advances from the smartphones and Apple products to continue making good money---and this is without a major 3DS release currently making waves---until Smash Brothers and the inevitable Pokemon X/Y spin-off that is. The WiiU on the other hand is getting obliterated by the PS4 and has not taken off a.n.y.w.h.e.r.e., not even in the usually-reliably Japanese region.

Nintendo is not going the Sega path, since Sega failed in every field at the same time in the late 90s. Nintendo is still raking in cash, its still going to be fine in the long run even if the WiiU fails harder than the notorious Gamecube. But in order for the WiiU to have any sort of chance, it needs to distance itself from the 3DS as much as humanely possible. And NES Remix (And potentially SNES Remix, GBA Remix, N64 Remix) is part of that solution—becoming exclusive for the struggling machine.

This is why any idea that seems better-suited for the 3DS is winding up on the WiiU: GBA Virtual Console, DS Virtual Console, The Remix Games, and the long-overdue influx of indie games. Although it seems like giving more Nintendo gamers options to play these types of games, if the 3DS owners have their hands on any of these properties, they will be much less inclined to transition to the WiiU in the eighth generation of gaming.

Nintendo has totally dropped the ball in terms of upgrading the looks of their main franchises, still sticking with the 2-D, not-as-hardcore installments to their heavy-hitters like Mario and Donkey Kong—resulting in the WiiU versions feeling like mere Windows-like upgrades to the 3DS gems. Am I really going to fork over the $60 for Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze when it looks like a game that can handle itself on the 3DS?


Side Note: One of the worst things Nintendo did in the past few years is manage to condense a first-party Nintendo Wii game to the 3DS and display how behind the Wii-series of systems is compared to the PS4 and XBox One.


So it may look strange, it may look downright bizarre that all these incredible ideas that seem perfect for the forever-improving 3DS wind up on the WiiU, but it’s mainly because the console is struggling to find its footing and momentum—and it is leading to the transferring of handheld ideas to the larger machine. The 3DS is a successful piece of hardware that is all but eliminating its own best friend, Nintendo’s own WiiU. Nintendo’s shift of focus is smart and understandable, for the console market is bigger and more successful than ever (Grand Theft Auto V anyone?) and it is time to take advantage of this.




That being said, in the field of transferring handheld ideas to consoles, why is Pokemon STILL not on the radar?

How Nintendo Can Give Gamestop the Middle Finger

Nintendo, this is definitely your chance.




You can totally shove it in the face of Gamestop for what they did to your video game.




You can give them the business-infused middle finger.


Gamestop took thousands of copies of a rare game you released in the Western Hemisphere a couple years ago and are now selling it at its current ridiculous $90 price tag. This is extremely a slap in the face to the hardcore gamers everywhere that had fought to the death to bring the game into the United States and Europe. Not to mention, they are attempting to screw you over by collecting all the profits since its “used.”

But Nintendo, you can win back the hardcore crowd, get the attention of the industry, and gain some momentum for the Nintendo WiiU. The solution is quite simple:


Make it a downloadable game.


Personally, if I ran Nintendo and witnessed Gamestop taking two of my games and jacking up the prices unfairly to take advantage of their rarity, I would make them free downloadables on the struggling WiiU system. It would be a fantastic way to convince people to buy a WiiU---which is something that nothing outside Pikmin 3 and Earthbound has been able to accomplish. Xenoblade Chronicles being a free downloadable game on Nintendo’s internet service would be a great marketing move and an excellent prelude to the highly-anticipated release of X coming out in 2014.

But since few things in gaming life are free I would not expect Nintendo to pull off such a dramatic move, even if it would be a move that would provide nothing but benefits. Either way though, making it available digitally on the WiiU and Wii internet browser at regular price would not only send a message, but would also kick Gamestop right on the stomach as the anti-Gamestop campaign picks up steam.And trust me, I can see hordes of gamers willing to download this game, which has picked up lots of positive steam since its American localization.

This would also serve as a nice experience to see just how effective it would be to release a game just digitally and avoid the physical copies. Now that your only option to obtain a physical copy is to learn Japanese, have a European Wii, or fork over nasty amounts of cash on the EBays of the internet, making it downloadable would be a potential glimpse into the future of gaming.

However, Nintendo has a chance to truly become cynically evil while at the same time become a temporary champion to the hardcore crowd. Making the game accessible to the WiiU and Wii owners for free would be the perfect counterpunch to the rising ridiculousness of Gamestop. Xenoblades Chronicles can alter the course of the history of the WiiU history. The ball is in Nintendo’s court.


Time to take action.

Make Xenoblade Chronicles, currently one of the highest-rated Nintendo games in the past half-decade, fully available to the world again—in digital form.

How Retro Studios Cost Nintendo the E3 2013 Victory

Nintendo could have won the E3


They really had a chance.

However, they took the easy route and limited Retro Studios down to just two options: a new Metroid or another Donkey Kong Country game. And one can only assume how much influence Nintendo may have had on that decision---after all Donkey Kong Country Returns did outsell the entire Metroid Prime Trilogy combined and the company really needs another hit on their hands. And Retro decided to go with another Donkey Kong Country.

What killed us gamers and Nintendo fans was that the project was a massive secret for quite some time and added to the mystery by actually hiring people from other game companies---including top dog Naughty Dog. The possibilities were endless. Say what you will about Nintendo and their decisions, they have an incredible first-party lineup of franchises that are beloved and can use a facelift:

Metroid (Other M really hurt it)

Earthbound (Nintendo needs an RPG and now)

Star Fox

F-Zero (Please....please..this one especially......)

Star Tropics (Here is a video to remind you)

Wave Race

Excitebike

Mario Party

Mario Tennis

Wario Land

Even The Legend of Zelda could use a nice facelift from Retro Studios. This Texas company has saved and/or improved three franchises within the next decade, from Metroid to the Donkey Kong brand. They have the talent, they have the patience, and the attention to detail to be able to transform lesser-known or downfallen franchises and make them relevant again. Critics know this, gamers know this, and Nintendo knows this. This is why it hurts that instead of one of the series I mentioned above, we get:












And I get that Nintendo wants to play it safe. I understand that. But Nintendo's recent success in the past decade has been because of their wild card factor. Their gambles, their surprises, their attempts to try something new. The Wii overall was a gamble, the 3DS was a gamble, Smash Brothers Brawl was a shocker when they added Snake and Sonic, Metroid Other M was a shocker, Goldeneye 007's spiritual sequel was a surprise, NBA Jam Wii was a surprise, Kid Icarus on 3DS was a shock, and there are many other smaller examples sprinkled throughout. This is what we expect, this is what we anticipate. The crazy uncle factor is what has separated them from Sony and Microsoft in this entire millennium----which have become neck and neck even with this upcoming holiday season.

So now with all the wild cards hiding and the safe games being revealed what do we see? Sequels. Mario Kart 8. Link to the Past 2 (May I remind you, on the wrong system too). Mario 3D World. Smash Brothers 4 and 4.5. Yoshi's Island 2. Pikmin 3. Shall I continue? I mean, some of those games sound exciting....but these are obvious sequels to games that we knew were going to happen. But what about:

Star Fox 6 (Last game: 2006)?

F-Zero 7 (Last game: 2004)?

Star Tropics 3 (Last game: 1994)?

Super Metroid 2 (Last 2-D Incarnation: 2004)?

All we needed was one of these games to show up with the crop of usual and expected sequels and its wild card status could have won it E3. With Microsoft being absolutely stupid and Sony saying all the right things but missing games (Did it even show any non-Kingdom Hearts exclusive games???) Nintendo had the chance to shine with a purebred lineup of games. Instead, lots of apologizing, lots of 2014 sequels, and no major surprises to look forward to from Retro Studios.

Every major system has/needs its major go-to company for the peak of quality gaming. Microsoft had Rare before being forced to depend on Bungie (and losing them..), Sony has the mighty Naughty Dog (Which practically saved the PS3 in recent years with Uncharted and The Last of Us), and Nintendo is used to depending on themselves--with some success and some failure. This must stop, its time to give this mantle to a company with a superior track record in recent years. That company is Retro Studios. Give them the keys to all the franchises and prevent them from taking the easy route. Donkey Kong Country Returns 2 is the easy route.

And this is why Nintendo lost.



No Wild Card in their hand.

The Sweet and Sour of Kirby's 20th Anniversary Collection

Before the invention of the tiny but fun multitude of games you can find in phones, tablets, and handhelds everywhere, we had Kirby. Kirby’s video games were quite easy, usually not too lengthy, but contained enough creativity and fun to make up for all those setbacks. 20 years later, while Kirby isn’t exactly a massive-selling monolith, it does provide decent sales for Nintendo—especially in the Japan area. Advertising for this game is never prevalent; relying more on word-of-mouth to boost its sales.



Let’s be frank here: Kirby’s main reason for existence is for Nintendo to have that franchise that appeals to the kiddies. No other reason. While Kirby has had its appeals to the hardcore (Kirby Super Star comes into mind every time) these games are essentially quick, throwaway games that satisfy the creative and gamer soul without much true depth. Kirby is like the Winnie the Pooh of the gaming industry---light, charming, innocent, and fluffy fun.


So how on earth did Kirby receive the greatest game collection in the history of Nintendo??!?!?!?!?




Apologies to Metroid Prime Trilogy, the Kirby 20th anniversary collection is an incredible piece of work that for some inexplicable reason has remained below the radar while not getting much press. This is by far the greatest effort I have ever seen Nintendo pull off when celebrating a birthday of one of their franchises. Metroid didn’t get this celebration, Zelda has yet to receive much of anything, and let’s not even discuss what Nintendo did to Mario.

Just throwing the stats alone should boggle you and impress you: this one disk gives you the Kirby’s Dream Land trilogy, Kirby 64, Kirby Adventure, and one of the greatest SNES games in its history: Kirby Super Star. And this is not even including all the extra features, extra goodies, extra challenges that you can unlock throughout the experience. This does not even include the special CD that comes with each game that covers the musical history of the franchise. 6 games in one, including one game that features 7 games itself? How can this not entice you to fork over the $40? Along with Metroid Prime Trilogy, this is the greatest value in the history of the Nintendo Wii.

And while this makes me happy enough to give it a near perfect score (9/10, it was one spin-off video game away from nailing a perfect) it also infuriates me because this shows that Nintendo can indeed put the effort to releasing something of this caliber in terms of linking to its rich past---and yet it barely ever happens. I have pointed this out before in--

1) Angry article 1

2) Angry article 2

3) Angry article 3

--that Nintendo is always centimeters away from gaining the trust of the rapidly-depleting hardcore—and they have yet to pull it off. And with Metroid Prime Trilogy and this game in review, both games came out in awkward times under minimal press. Why why why why why????!!??

Pokemon. Mario. Zelda. Metroid (Trust me, there’s more). Fire Emblem. Golden Sun. Earthbound. Wario. Mario Kart. Mario Party. Professor Layton. These are ALL franchises missing an authentic collection, and could definitely benefit the 3DS and/or WiiU. But somehow the first decently quality collection Nintendo has released is that of Kirby—one not as requested and not as required.

This game overall is a pure delight hands-down and receives my highest recommendation (Unless you never liked Kirby, then we have a different problem), but it leaves a sour taste in your mouth because it only displays the potential love that can be given to the other babies in the Nintendo universe; and all we can do is hope and pray that we get to see more gems like this in the near future.

P.S. This anniversary collection would have been amazing if it had a 3DS counterpart.

Nintendo's Unnecessary Financial Rope-a-Dope

So Nintendo recently posted massive, ridiculous, ludicrous losses for the past quarter. Of course they know the reasons behind it: from the ho-hum 3DS support to the absolute avoidance of anything Wii-related. But if I were holding Nintendo stock, I would be absolutely pissed. And not because I lost money, but because Nintendo seemed ready to take the hit without any sort of fight. There was no effort whatsoever to expand the lifeline of the Wii and no major changes to the 3DS during the period to try to boost sales. So what should they have done you ask? Do what they do best: link to the past.

Did you know that the 25th anniversary of Metroid happened not too long ago? Of course not, because Nintendo didn’t do much of anything to celebrate it—along with Zelda and Mario. Mario got a half-assed collection of games that was essentially a port of a SNES game (I wrote about this back in 2011), Zelda got a few Virtual Console games and Skyward Sword, but no collection whatsoever. And Metroid, they got next to absolutely nothing despite having two of among the greatest video games of all-time (Super Metroid and Metroid Prime). Naysayers will mention the Metroid Prime Trilogy, but the darn game was out of stock by the time the anniversary even occurred. Why didn’t you re-release it at a lower price?

And while we are on the subject, why not make other collections to increase the interest of the Wii? While my Wii has been collecting dust, I can guarantee you I would clean it if it means replaying Super Metroid and Metroid II on the big screen. Kirby is getting a collection anthology for the Wii---but we see nothing for other franchises like Zelda, Metroid, Earthbound, F-Zero, Mario (100+ games, he can do another collection), Pokemon, etc. The Wii may not be strong, but it can handle 90s games. Just saying.

Collection games have become all the rage in recent times with Prince of Persia, God of War, Splinter Cell, and others getting their HD versions on the Xbox and Playstation. Nintendo has not participated at all with the exception of Kirby, which is one that we never really asked for to be honest (Kirby Dream Land 2 and Kirby Super Star are arguably their only truly great games). And you can’t argue it’s to preserve the Virtual Console, since that ship has sailed a long time ago. Nintendo has so much rich history that remains untapped in this current millennium, we can only wonder how much longer it will be before it gets fully forgotten.

Bottom Line: Stop making new games and IPs for the Wii? Fine, but at least dig into the past, create some specials, create collections, and at least throw us a few final options for the Wii. And for the 3DS, dig into the handheld past and do a better job providing us with the classics that shaped the success of the Game Boy, the Color, and the Advance. It isn’t that hard, the first-party games are all in the same freakin’ company. How about you stop toying with the owners of the systems with long droughts without games and at least tap into the library of 1,000 Nintendo games waiting for a second life.

The dropping revenue can partially be blamed on the shift in handheld gaming towards mobile phones and tablets. But the rest of the blame can definitely be attributed towards Nintendo just not simply trying hard enough, instead waiting for the holiday season. We can wait for improvement for only so long. Just ask Sega.

How the Wii Ruined Skyward Sword

Let me throw this out there right now: Skyward Sword is an unbelievable game. It is a lot of fun, contains plenty to do, and contains most of that Zelda magic we’ve grown accustomed to. It doesn’t have the tedious beginning like Twilight Princess’ wolf sequences, and doesn’t have the boring overworld navigation of Wind Waker. This Zelda is arguably the best since the Zelda games from the year 2000, when we saw the likes Oracle of Ages, Oracle of Seasons, and of course Majora’s Mask. That being said, it has a huge setback, and it has nothing to do with the developers of the game and more to do with the system itself: the Wii’s hardware limitations prevent it from being something special and groundbreaking.

For years I have been stating that the reason why 90s Zelda is far more memorable than modern-day Zelda is because we have not had a Zelda that raised the bar for gaming since Majora’s Mask. The reason why we fondly remember Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time is because these games at the time represented the peak and the limits of what video games can do, and then associated that time incredible gameplay. Every official Zelda game from the original to Majora’s Mask (and this even includes Link’s Awakening) reinvented the gaming industry in different ways, and also was gaming on top of its game (no pun intended). Zelda became a synonym for quality in the world of games.


But after Majora’s Mask (still in my opinion one of the most underrated games in history), the rest of the gaming world started catching up. Because of a different approach to the franchise and also because the developers (and Nintendo’s hardware) started lagging behind the competitors, the handheld Zeldas, Wind Waker, and especially Twilight Princess became decent games marred by potential, and marred by superior presentations of other games. Now, I know graphics aren’t everything, but part of the appeal of Zelda was its incredible presentation, attention to detail, and the fact that this was Nintendo’s sandbox for creating the ultimate game. The Legend of Zelda series is the equivalent of an epic film aiming to earn all the Academy Awards. Nintendo always pushes the boundaries of what they can do when the famed hero is in the center of the game.

Now we go back to Skyward Sword. This game is superb, but (just like Twilight Princess) suffers so much from the Wii’s limitations that all I can do is sit back and be upset but what it could have been. Skyward Sword looks even weaker than Perfect Dark Zero, an XBox 360 game that is already over 6 years old. This Zelda was aiming high with its gripping storyline, creative and expansive environment, and its new art style---which suits Zelda quite well. It contains some of the best Zelda gameplay since Ocarina of Time, as well as the best story since Majora's Mask. It has the right blend of heart, humor, and whimsical adventure. This game honestly is the best we've seen from the Wii since Super Mario Galaxy 2. But the game suffers from lower textures, lack of graphical details we now see in PS3 and XBox 360 games released at around the same time, and small little bugs like partially going through a wall.


So what should Nintendo have done? Made Skyward Sword a WiiU launch title. While I am a Wii owner and am repeatedly frustrated by the pure lack of games in recent times, Skyward Sword should have been pushed over to next year and become a launch title. The WiiU also implements motion controls, so why not make this game for a system that’s rumored to be twice as strong as the 360? Not sure if you saw it, but the Zelda demo in the WiiU during E3 earlier this year looked quite phenomenal. Personally, I would have pushed for the HD next-generation graphics as opposed to continuing to make the game for a system that is pretty much 7 leagues behind the competitors in terms of graphics and hardware. What better way to start the WiiU’s life than delivering Nintendo’s first HD Zelda? Skyward Sword is quite grand in scale and would have definitely benefited from a stronger hardware at the helm.

Releasing it to the WiiU would have finally given Zelda a spot it has not received in 11 years: the peak. Skyward Sword in HD would have been Zelda on top of its game, and would have been action-adventure gaming on top of its game. It would have made a far bigger impact and would have risen amongst the surprisingly vast array of awesome action games. Skyward Sword would not have been just another good game; it would have left its mark on the industry, much like what the earlier Zelda games accomplished.

We would have gotten a Zelda game with an orchestrated soundtrack, a very different (and downright fun) mix of dungeons, adventures, and side-quests, AND then high-definition graphics that would have showcased what Nintendo’s first HD system could deliver. They should have waited. Now, we have a great game muddled in the pack of excellent games we’ve gotten in Fall 2011. While this is usually no issue for franchises like Uncharted, Call of Duty, and Saint’s Row---this is freakin’ Legend of Zelda we are talking about. It feels strange seeing this game quietly whip up good reviews and decent sales, when two generations ago the franchise delivered a game that eternally changed the gaming world forever. Skyward Sword will entertain, but won’t inspire anything like what NES Zelda, Zelda II, Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, and Majora’s Mask did.


Bottom Line: The Wii has run its course unfortunately, with unmet potential, several disappointments, competitors catching on to the motion-control craze, mysterious disappearances (where the #()*)# is F-Zero?), and a Zelda game that was aiming for the moon but could only reach the sky. Skyward Sword is a superb game that is great to follow and lots of fun overall, but it stinks to see the WiiU just around the corner and this 35-40 hour mammoth adventure have to graphically and stylistically cut corners just to fit in the realm of Wii’s limitations. If I were personally running Nintendo, I would have delayed the game to next-generation, or pulled a Twilight Princess and just release it for two systems at the same time. Much like how an excellent film can be marred because of low-quality footage, Skyward Sword is a bundle of joy that is wrapped in mediocre presentation. But if they had waited just a year more, we would have had a totally different ballgame.

Nintendo is Turning Japanese

...turning Japanese, I really think so.......

Nintendo has definitely seen better days, but its recent overhaul of the Nintendo 3DS has definitely been an improvement as they cut the price, added another circle pad, started busting out some release dates, and revamped its strategy outlook towards the machine. They had a recent 3DS conference in which they played damage control and practically promised that better days are near. With the Vita being delayed until next year, Nintendo wasted no time in bringing out the heavy-hitter franchises of Mario and Mario Kart into the holiday season. In the midst of all this however, there’s a new strategy brewing from the Big N: they are going to attempt to conquer Japan in the next couple of months.


The Wii was a massive hit around the world, but still didn’t find its audience in Japan like the Playstations and the Nintendo DS. Consider this, the PSX sold 21 million in Japan, the PS2 sold 23 million, and the Nintendo DS sold 32 million. Even the PSP sold around 18 million. The Nintendo Wii? 11.8 million. While that is no pure disaster (Gamecube: a miserable 4 million) it still could have been much better. The Wii despite losing steam for about 2 years still had a nice repertoire of great video games, and a variety of them do also appeal to the Japanese gamers.

But…..


The sales of all its big franchises stalled or didn’t improve. Super Mario Galaxy barely etched past 1 million sales, and Mario Galaxy 2 (arguably one of the best games in the recent generation) didn’t even hit that high a number. Zelda: Twilight Princess sold only 600,000 in Japan. Kirby’s latest game? 444,000. Donkey Kong Country Returns? 999,000. And let's not even look at the numbers for Metroid. Each of the games I mentioned had predecessors that sold significantly more copies in Japan. The Japanese audience just isn’t as invested in Nintendo as it used to. And for those of you playing Devil’s Advocate: the New Super Mario Bros. franchise did sell over 11 million copies in Japan and Mario Kart’s last two entries pushed past 7 million copies total.

P.S. Metroid: Other M----130,000 copies.....


I am sure Nintendo is seeing this trend, because their “Turning Japanese” strategy is going full-blast and at a fast pace. Let’s start with the 3DS. They announced a new Square Enix JRPG, a genre that’s almost dead to all us American gamers. They announced a new Fire Emblem, an extremely popular franchise in Japan. The biggest blow to Sony’s Vita is the announcement of two new Monster Hunter games---one port, and a sequel that may or may not be exclusive. Now, we Western Hemisphere gamers know next to nothing about these games but in Japan, they are freakin’ huge. The only reason why the PSP even survived was because of this franchise. Monster Hunters’ PSP games (the four of them) have each sold over 1 million copies in Japan alone (and two of them sold over 4 million) and to this day still remain in the tops of the charts in the Far East Coast (How High reference). With the 3DS getting two entries in the Japanese-friendly powerhouse, this is for sure a great way to attract Japanese gamers to the new handheld.


But the one major player in all this that surprisingly hasn’t gotten that much attention is Dragon Quest. The Wii is getting a 25th anniversary collection of early Dragon Warrior games (which by the way is being handled much better than other celebrations...) and then the news of the next major installment. Dragon Quest X is coming out not only for the Nintendo Wii, but also the WiiU. Not only are they available for both systems, but both games are accessable to the same overworld with cross-platform interaction. Not only that, but its also going to be extremely online-heavy, a move clearly motivated by the mammoth success of the previous adventure on the Nintendo DS.


Like I said before, you don't see how big the impact is until you read the numbers from Japan. Dragon Quest 9 for the DS sold over 4 million copies in Japan alone and remains the fastest-selling game of all time. Dragon Quest 8 for the PS2 sold over 3 million copies in Japan in the first week alone and is the PS2's biggest Japanese sales story in its lifetime. Dragon Warrior VII believe it or not sold more copies in Japan than Final Fantasy VII. That's right, the legendary steampunk classic Final Fantasy VIII can't beat them. Arguably the most popular and game-changing entry in the franchise, Dragon Warrior/Quest III, sold over 6 million copies in Japan across three platforms and became so huge that Enix decided to release future installments on the weekends to not create the widespread absenteeism associated with a new Dragon Warrior release. Yes, it gets that bad.


This isn't big news, this is humongous news. Dragon Quest X will be Nintendo's biggest RPG release not named Pokemon since the SNES days. All Nintendo has to do is practically promise a good marketing campaign and good relations and we can see this game as a major launch title that will also move units in the Wii spectrum. The WiiU will immediately thrive in Japan, and while that country's impact isn't what it used to be, it can still save a system from extinction from time to time (Best example: Playstation Portable). Nintendo has won America again by tapping into the mainstream and basically throwing the hardcore audience off the bridge. With all these revelations, they will pretty much rock the Japanese charts and bring the competitors to their knees.


Bottom Line: The 3DS, WiiU, and the Nintendo community have gotten some amazing news lately as we are seeing much more third-party support and beginning to see a new revolution of Nintendo gaming in the world of Japan. With Monster Hunter and Dragon Warrior, two recent Sony staples, switching sides to Nintendo, the 3DS is inches away from being a rolling stone of sales in the East. And to add to that, the WiiU got its first major player come launch time. So despite your grumblings about the newest machines from the Big N, if they keep getting news like this, then they are definitely here to stay. Monster Hunter will definitely save the 3DS, and I predict an explosive debut of the WiiU if Nintendo and Square Enix manages to release Dragon Quest X in the correct timeframe.


Okay Nintendo, let's now focus on the Western Hemisphere gamers....

WiiU Controller's potential for Success/Disaster

The WiiU controller was unveiled a couple months ago and we still are quite confused as to what its going to do alongside the WiiU system. The controller showcased its technological capabilities, but didn’t really dab into what it will do to our video games, our favorite franchises, and our favorite genres of games. And while I don’t have the answer to any of those questions, I can pretty much give opinions and predictions.

First off, the specs:
• Built-in accelerometer, gyroscope, speakers, front-facing camera, sensor strip, microphone and a 6.2 inch (15.7 cm) 16:9 resistive touchscreen
• Two Circle Pads and one D-pad
• Stylus
• Select, Start, Home and Power buttons
• A/B/X/Y face buttons, L/R bumper buttons and ZL/ZR trigger buttons
• Controller sync button

Let’s look at a few more images of the WiiU controller.




And now, let’s predict whether the controller will help/hurt certain games, franchises, genres of gaming.


Category #1: Mario
Predicted Verdict: Hurts

This controller is a bit too mighty for Super Mario, as he is a simple plumber engaged in forever-simple games that can usually be learned in a few minutes. Our fondest memories with older Nintendo systems usually involve Super Mario, and jumping and running your way through colorful levels. With that massive screen in the middle, it makes the controller a lot wider. Mario’s appeal was its simplicity. Platform games never need an extra screen, don’t let anybody else tell you different. Look at the Mario Bros. games, they are among the best is history and needed just a couple buttons. That screen? Waste of space—if you plan on playing as Mario.


Category #2: Zelda
Predicted Verdict: Helps

Zelda has always been more of an adventure game and less a combat game. While Zelda combines action and adventure with usually flawless precision, this game is far more exploration/adventure based to nearly a point of it being an RPG. As a matter of fact, some gamers out there do classify this as an RPG. That extra screen gives plenty of potential to the Zelda franchise, as you can use this screen for maps, for configuring items, for searching for hints, for fun interaction with people you meet along the way, and much more. You may think we’ve exhausted all the ideas for this franchise—this controller can honestly open the door to some new and clever ideas.


Category #3: Metroid
Predicted Verdict: Hurts

The new controller can help Samus and the Metroid brand, but this all depends on whether Samus will be 2-D or 3-D. If Samus is going to eventually hit her 2-D stride (this idea was dabbed upon with Metroid: Other M) then this new controller will not help in the least bit. The only potential I see is for maps—and its not enough of a reason to made the controller wide enough to toughen the fast reflexes sometimes required for 2-D Metroid games. If Metroid reverts back to full-fledged 3-D like in the Prime days, then it can definitely help with maps, weapon selection, and moving the fangled thing around searching for clues and details about her environment. That might justify the screen—but Metroid to me works best with simple controllers, and a simple adventure into a vastly unknown atmosphere.


Category #4: Pokemon
Predicted Verdict: Helps

This controller and Pokemon were meant to be together. Pokemon was never a fast-paced franchise, but instead a franchise built on strong and very lengthy RPG adventures full of items to collect, monsters to find, and quests and adventures to fulfill. With the extra screen, you can modify your Pokemon team without displaying what you have on the screen—making for some awesome 2-player action. You can use the screen for maps, the Pokedex, organizing items, gambling at the casinos, trading with others, altering the looks of your Pokemon, sending/receiving messages from other trainers, making phone calls, and just too much more for me to place in this already-long paragraph.

Category #5: Kirby, Donkey Kong
Predicted Verdict: Hurts

See category #1. These are simple franchises that only need simple, small controllers for fast-paced action, fast-paced reaction, and a simple pick-up-and-play experience.


Category #6: First-person shooters
Predicted Verdict: Hurts

None of the XBox 360 gamers want to hear this, but I speak the truth: The Wiimote is hands-down the best controller configuration for shooters in the history of gaming. If you could work the sensitivity within the movements of the Wiimote, you could have made an assortment of shooters that feels better and plays better than shooters done with regular controllers. But, only ONE Wii game got the configuration correct: Metroid Prime 3. This vastly underrated game amped up the action and proved to the world that the Wii can make great shooters given the right amount of effort. WiiU’s controller will obliterate everything they got right the past generation by giving us a fat controller that removes all realism and freedom of movement offered by the Wiimote. Thank goodness the WiiU is backwards-compatible.


Category #7: Star Fox
Predicted Verdict: Helps

Imagine controlling your airwing with the WiiU controller, making it like the wheel of the ship, and then using the back buttons to launch your fire. Then use the touch screen to check up on your friends and use the extra buttons for more heavy artillery. Then use the circle pads to alter the camera of the game and get a good look of the environment around you. Star Fox can definitely benefit from this.


Category #8: Mario Kart
Predicted Verdict: Helps

While I am a racing purist, preferring the classic controllers to race against others, the WiiU controller can instantly be turned into a driving wheel, and all you need are the back-shoulder buttons to drive and apply the brakes. As long as it can fix the small glitches that the WiiWheel experienced, then Mario Kart will be a heck of a good time on the WiiU. Potentially.

Category #9: Fighting Games
Predicted Verdict: Disastrous Hurt

Look at the controller. Now try to picture yourself creating a 7-button combo while holding that controller. That's all the evidence you need.


Bottom Line: The WiiU controller is definitely a hit-or-miss piece of hardware that can make the upcoming Nintendo system or completely destroy it. On one hand, you have to hand it to Nintendo for trying to introduce different ways to play the game, but at the same time some already-awesome ideas are sacrificed and risked. It was a pure miracle that the Mario Galaxy games were borderline-flawless, because the revolutionary Wiimote was not meant to interact well with platformers. Maybe all we gamers want is a simple SNES-like controller? Maybe the focus should be on improving the software?

Either way though, this controller isn’t all bad news. While some genres might be reckoned and tarnished (with fighting games suffering the most), some classic franchises like Zelda, Star Fox, F-Zero, and especially Pokemon can enter a new realm of quality if the controller and all the new features are utilized correctly. Only time will tell if this indeed happens, but one thing is certain: the WiiU controller is about to turn the Nintendo universe topsy-turvy.

P.S. One sequel that NEEDS to happen with this new controller:







Pokemon Snap 2.

Nuff said.