The Gree--er, Black Friday that Ignited a Sales Race

America’s System is back. Rejoice!





Microsoft’s XBox One, spurned by a great price cut, some awesome third-party games, Nintendo’s foot-shooting strategy with Smash Bros., the awesomely-valued Halo Collection, a wonderful Black Friday performance, and the gaming industry enjoying its everlasting growth, has finally come full circle and eliminated the demons from Summer 2013 shenanigans. It is now the highest-selling system in North America and although its still leagues behind Sony in Europe and will never make an impact in Japan, the fourth quarter of the year has been kind to the Green Machine.

Microsoft has learned to embrace its image of being America’s gaming system as opposed to its weak strategy of marketing itself as an “entertainment machine.” The XBox 360 outperformed the Wii AND the PS3 during the seventh generation, while the original XBox survived solely because of American gamers’ love for the Halo. But the company took a serious hit when it attempted to implement a DRM/strong individualized system that sounded very bad on paper for a community of consumers that is extremely social within its circle. Sony took off running by repeating its PS2 strategy, leaving Microsoft scrambling to develop a new image.

Now with the Tony Hawk-inspired and American-appealing Sunset Overdrive, third-party hits GTA V, Assassin’s Creed, Call of Duty and Destiny (some of these sell better in the XBox as opposed to the PS4), and the high value Halo Collection, the attractive games are now flowing to the stores and a stronger resume is building for XBox One. Granted the price cut (which did wonders for Black Friday) stays, its officially the best deal in the business as it has stronger online support (despite Sony having the far better reward system), similar game lineup to PS4 (although the first-party aspect needs some overhauling), and it’s just a smidge more expensive than the underpowered WiiU. It developed the right price tag and although it won’t make as much of a dent in Europe, things are looking good in the rest of the Western Hemisphere.

In order for the success to continue, the first and second party department needs to step its game up. Rareware needs to open up its vault and unveil some Blast Corps, Jet Force Gemini, LEGIT Banjo-Kazzoie, and lastly some Perfect Dark. Halo cannot be the only rider guiding this ship (Master Chief Collection hasn’t broken 500,000 despite the awesome positive press), we need more shooters and action games to continue the Blockbuster image. And then maintain good relations with third-party developers (Nintendo….take notes) and the indie industry. Hey, Puerto Rico is trying to chime in on the industry by providing tax benefits. Just saying.

To make things short, the XBox One has officially entered the race by conquering Black Friday, gaining some life, and creeping up 10 million in sales thanks to a boost in American support. Sony pretty much owns everything east of the Atlantic Ocean currently but that doesn’t have to be bad news. Microsoft can run after the rising Hispanic community, and even take on South America. Then of course slowly keep pace with Sony in Europe and who knows. Do recall the PS3 was in dead last until the final two years of its run—and wound up just 6% market share underneath the Nintendo Wii (when at one point everyone was trailing by at least 20-25% market share). They are a few good decisions and a few big games from potentially turning the tide in their favor.



The XBox One after a poor start is back. Definitely officially back.

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....

Mario Kart 8: 50cc Gaming in a 150cc Gaming World

I wanted to like Mario Kart 8.

I wanted to love Mario Kart 8.



I wanted to acknowledge the effort they made into smoothing out the mechanics to be fairer, to be faster, more creative, and to still maintain the family-friendly magic that has resonated with the franchise for two decades. I wanted to acknowledge that thanks to DLC there are more tracks, more characters, and more vehicles than ever before. I wanted to acknowledge the nice polish that had been given to the franchise. I wanted to so badly become immersed like I was back when Mario Kart 64 became the pinnacle of multi-player and arcade-like racing (and nobody outside the Burnout franchise had come even close to challenging that until Forza Horizon).

But the truth is, Mario Kart 8 once again is proof that Nintendo scales back on some of its quality punches and saves them for the next installment, as opposed to going 150% all-out to deliver the ultimate Mario Kart experience, and to deliver a sure-fire reason to own a WiiU. Mario Kart 8 is good, it might be great. But it’s still not a console-seller, it’s still not going to turn heads the way past Nintendo games like Super Mario 64, Ocarina of Time, Smash Brothers Melee, and Wii Sports did. And what really harms Mario Kart 8 is that for the same price you see a competing system release an entire anthology of its biggest franchise---4 games, all with a fresh coat of paint, upgraded visuals, and a massive, massive multi-player mode that blends it all together.

Halo: Master Chief Collection is 4 Halo games in one massive package, a package that includes the original and updated looks of the original two Halos, while remastering and tweaking the latter two installments. At just $60, you get hundreds of potential gameplay hours between multi-player, single-player, and online gaming---while getting new cutscenes from each of the games! This is allowing for the XBox One to have a breath of life this upcoming holiday season as they did another necessary price cut and have now been outselling the PS4 in the United States market. With a little more European love they can cut off the lackluster Japan sales and challenge PS4 for the crown in 2015.

Mario Kart 8 on the other hand once again has the same 32-course setup from previous Mario Karts. Once again, they inexplicably downgraded the battle mode, which is absolutely stupid how they can’t figure out a way to simply expand the idea of Mario Kart 64’s battle mode. Seriously, it’s not that hard: add new items, add new courses, and allow customizable rules. It is NOT THAT HARD NINTENDO!!

Mario Kart 8 also managed to even water down some of the classic courses, which makes little sense considering how awesome some of the new levels were. Toad’s Turnpike, Yoshi’s Valley, and N64 Rainbow Road are shorter, easier, less chaotic, and overall very ho-hum. Gone are the classic block bombs for some odd reason. Gone are the lap times and even overall race time from the grand prix. Why?!?!? Wait, why is there no way to see how my stats change depending on vehicle?!?! Wait, I don’t earn anything after earning 3-stars in all the Cups?!!?!??



THE BATTLE MODE NINTENDO, WHYYYYYY!!?!?!?!?!$(*#()*%(*#&)&(*#*)*$)*#)*$**#(*$&()*$)$


Worst of all, is all the history behind Mario Kart, and it doesn’t fully get utilized. Have we been watching all the insane features and throwbacks the Smash Brothers series has delivered? Why can’t we have an SNES Cup, an N64 cup, a Gamecube Cup, a GBA Cup, or a DS Cup? That is 80 potential courses to pick from? What sounds better: Mario Kart 8 with upside-down racing and superior online play? Or Mario Kart 8 with 100 courses, each online-capable? We are too technologically advanced in the gaming world to ever say that it might be hard to pull off; especially after seeing what Forza, Forza Horizon, Gran Turismo 5, and Burnout Paradise was able to deliver in the previous gaming generation. In a gaming world where Halo’s entire catalog runs at $60 and we can get full gaming experiences at prices of $3, $5, $10, we deserve better from Mario Kart.

Let’s have some more fun. Why not throw in some F-Zero tracks since we are already in the futuristic approach to racing? Why not Stunt Race FX? Why not Kirby’s Air Ride? Why not Diddy Kong Racing? Why not Crusin' USA/World/Exotica? Why did we kill the battle mode Nintendo? The Game Boy Advance version of Mario Kart (the underrated Super Circuit) had the entire SNES catalog. This tradition should have continued on Double Dash with the N64 circuit (which to me still has the best mix of courses in the franchises’ history).

I don’t get it, I honestly don’t. I want to enjoy this Mario Kart, but to be still so closely attached to Mario Kart of the 90s and 2000s while scaling back on even more features makes this a very frustrating experience. While seeing all the effort being given to Smash Brothers, one can only wonder what would happen if Nintendo fully dwelled and gave Mario Kart the time and love required to create the perfect installment. Give another gaming company a chance to contribute, give it a few extra years of work (look what GTA V accomplished after extra time to polish) and see what you can deliver. Make me be happy I spent $60 on you.

I want my Mario Kart to have more than just 32 courses pre-Mirror Mode and DLC. I want my Mario Kart to hit Gran Turismo territory with 70+ places to race in. I want my Mario Kart to reward me for being a good racer as opposed to coins and a few gold stars. I want my Mario Kart to have courses that doesn’t just test your skills, but can also test your endurance and patience (N64’s Wario Stadium comes to mind). I want my Mario Kart to allow me to experiment with shortcuts and secrets. And lastly, I want my Mario Kart to keep it simple while expanding the concept as opposed to improving some aspects and disappointing in others.

Will Mario Kart 8 make money and be a Nintendo hit? Of course it will, but unlike what Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64 accomplished, don’t expect it to leave a mark in gaming history. Mario Kart Wii was a forgettable mainstream hit, Mario Kart 7 was ho-hum, and this one was wasted potential thrown out to the public to keep extremely frustrated WiiU owners from burning their systems and switching to the other side.

The bar in gaming has been raised. And just like what has happened to Zelda (Still not fully recovered from Majora’s Mask), Mario (Mario Galaxy back in 2007 was its last earth-shattering game), Donkey Kong (Still lacking the personality of the SNES installments), and Pokemon (Not even going to talk about it) in recent years, Mario Kart is struggling to reach this new bar. Time to grow up. Don't just improve some things, improve everything. Step up to the plate boys, give me a full complete game. Otherwise you will see movement in software----but not in the hardware.




What hampers my complaining the most is that the damn game is still fun……..