Tag: Talking Point - Page 20
Talking Point The Wonderful 101 Provides Some Rare Family Friendly Thrills
Falls nicely into the PEGI 12 and ESRB Teen bracket
In this Talking Point, our colleague Andy Robertson — who runs FamilyGamerTV — explains why The Wonderful 101 is a game perfectly suited to families and, in particular, the young teen audience; it's an age group rarely catered to directly. Andy regularly works with families and appears on radio...
Talking Point The Wii U May Be Playing Catch-Up With Some Developers, But Money Always Talks
Some third-parties may never be on board, however
The challenges facing the Wii U, like those that faced the 3DS before it in 2011, are numerous. It's seeking to reverse stalled momentum that was, perhaps strategically, allowed to happen in exchange for a busy lineup of games in the second half of the year. This is being done against the backdrop of...
Talking Point What Games Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue Sixteen
Sweet, sweet games
It's party time, Nintendo Life readers! Or should we say PARTAY? It's the sweet sixteen celebration of the What Games Are You Playing This Weekend feature, which we're sure is a thing because we saw it on MTV once. The idea is that we find some wealthy parents, get followed around by cameras while acting like spoiled brats because...
Talking Point Nintendo's Low-Key Approach to the 2DS and Wii U Price Cut Reveals Wasn't Surprising
When going Direct isn't the right call
Yesterday may have brought huge Nintendo news, giving the company coverage on any technology or gaming site that you'd care to mention, but how that news was disseminated was interesting. With major releases we've become accustomed to short-notice Nintendo Direct broadcasts, which build hype and then drop the...
Talking Point The Wii U's Limited Hard Drive Space and Future Install Headaches
It's not just about installing eShop games
Splinter Cell Blacklist, on every platform but Wii U, has install options either mandatory or optional. According to analysis from Digital Foundry there are possible trade-offs on Nintendo's system as a result, with longer loading times and some weaker textures that are improved with an optional install on...
Talking Point Gamescom Announcements Raise the Stakes for the Wii U and 3DS
Nintendo yet to reveal its full hand
In a typical year Gamescom is a vibrant show, undoubtedly, but not necessarily one that draws a mini-E3 level of headlines. Yet if you're following Microsoft or Sony, this year's show has certainly delivered. It's all about circumstances, and with the two companies launching new hardware no high-profile...
Talking Point What Games Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue Fifteen
It's been a while...
Oh dear, we've been rather tardy of late. Despite the fact that we indulge in plenty of gaming every weekend we haven't actually shared those expected shenanigans for a good while. Things happen, weeks drift by, but this week we get back to the serious business of revealing our weekend plans to you, dear readers. Last time we...
Talking Point The "Indie Spotlight" Was A Bright Point of Nintendo Direct, But More is Needed
Both sides of the Atlantic should make noise for the Wii U eShop
Last week's major Nintendo Direct, by which we mean the full-fat multi-game broadcast on 7th August, served up the odd surprise and some release dates, with plenty also left in the tank for future presentations. What was certainly surprising, and one of the most popular news articles...
Talking Point The Wonderful 101 Direct and Demo Set the Standard for Wii U Marketing
Removing confusion and doubt
The Wonderful 101 has had a slightly peculiar route to the Wii U, in terms of visibility and awareness. At E3 2012 Nintendo used its live conference to make peculiar jokes about zombies liking French food and provide a rather thorough walkthrough of Luigi's Ghost Mansion in Nintendo Land. That presentation had good...
Talking Point Wii U and Third-Party Inconsistencies Pose Questions for Console Owners
Is Nintendo's system enough on its own?
It's been a slightly bruising week for the Wii U, though some positives have also emerged. From a first-party perspective there's the notable positive of Pikmin 3 hitting the valuable North American market, a game generally considered to be of excellent quality and an opening salvo in Nintendo's bold plans of...
Talking Point Nintendo's Financial Results Tell a Tale of Two Systems and Bold Ambition
The company builds wealth amidst negative Wii U news
Nintendo has announced its first quarter financial results, which brought some notable headlines. The company made an operating loss, but ultimately posted a net profit; despite hardware and software business struggling overall, Nintendo had boosted its coffers by roughly 8.6 billion yen ($87.8...
Talking Point The Download Games Battle is Just Beginning
So where does Nintendo and the Wii U eShop stand?
As a sign of the increasingly busy — or perhaps that should be frantic — times in which we live, it took a matter of hours for an element of a news item from yesterday to become comprehensively out of date. We're referring to an article where small 'indie' developers outlined Nintendo's approach...
Talking Point F-Zero GX HD Could Boost the Franchise onto Wii U
We're ready
While Nintendo makes great efforts to release high quality Mario, Zelda and Kirby games on a regular basis, the development of games in the Metroid, Star Fox and F-Zero franchises, for example, is approached more cautiously. In the case of F-Zero, Nintendo's reluctance to create further sequels seems to stem from fears that the series...
Talking Point Pikmin 3 Shows the First Shoots of the Wii U's Planned Recovery
It's a marathon, not a sprint
For a number of months now we've reported on sales success stories for the 3DS and often had an accompanying Wii U line saying something like "X had a quiet debut week, hardware sales still struggling". Another common refrain, this time instigated by Nintendo itself, has been "the games are coming, the fightback will...
Talking Point The Famicom Was the Beginning of the Modern Gaming Era
Solid building blocks
We recently shared the landmark news that the Famicom has celebrated its 30th Anniversary, having launched in Japan on 15th July 1983, over two years before the NES made its way West. The latter version is that best known and most commonly cited, yet it was the original model's release — Nintendo's first dalliance with a home...
Your View Predicting "Brand-New Types of Games" for Wii U is Rather Tricky
Whatever they are, they'll be welcome
Following comments made to investors during a Q & A session, Satoru Iwata got Nintendo gamers talking by suggesting that "brand-new types of games" are coming to the Wii U during 2013 and 2014, not yet announced in order to have maximum impact and avoid rivals copying the ideas. Some may speculate that these...
Talking Point Why Interactive eBooks are a Perfect Fit for Wii U
They can include video, audio and even games themselves
So, new ideas for the Wii U, how about those? It's our topic for the community's next "Your View" feature over on the forums, and something we considered ourselves in terms of brand-new types of games for the system. Of course with Wii U it's all about games right now, as the
Talking Point The Wii U Has Plenty of Opportunities for "Brand-New Types of Games"
That "strong impact in the market" could be crucial
At the end of last week Nintendo released the official translations of Satoru Iwata's most recent investor Q & A, giving us an insight into Nintendo's current standing with that audience and providing some useful teases of information on what's to come. These meetings are intriguing as, in a...
Talking Point What Games Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue Fifteen
It's not all New Leaf, really!
It's time for our semi-regular whenever-we-get-around-to-it feature where a number of Nintendo Life writers share their weekend gaming plans. We may be getting further into the Summer months, but we still intend to spend a decent amount of time inside, curtains drawn, playing games. Unless we're on the road, which is...
Poll How Important is Dual / Second Screen Gaming?
A major part of Nintendo's strategy
Yesterday brought us some interesting comments from Ubisoft Managing Director Nicolas Rioux, who spoke about the potential prominence of "second screen" gaming, even going so far as to praise the Wii U as an innovative first step. As we observed in that article, it'd be a nasty piece of irony if technical...
Talking Point The Wii U's Third-Party Concerns Are Brushed Off By 3DS
Support for the handheld is modest, yet doom-and-gloom is minimal
The 3DS is hot right now, with positive vibes bouncing around the web as its major releases have enjoyed an impressive record of critical and commercial success. Simply mentioning games like Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, Fire Emblem: Awakening and Animal Crossing: New Leaf justifiably...
Talking Point The Uncertain Collectible Future of Download-Only Game Libraries
Servers will surely shut down, but what about the games?
Just before the weekend, a number of Wii Channels were shut down. On 28th June most of the online enabled channels and services — such as Weather, News, Everyone Votes and Wii Connect 24 — went off air; low participation rates more than likely caused Nintendo to deem them an expense not...
Talking Point It's Time for Nintendo to Drop Region Locking
Microsoft and Sony have moved on
There are some realities that, despite their annoyances, are part of the typical life of a Nintendo gamer. For the second home console generation in a row Nintendo's offering is less powerful — in terms of raw graphical processing — than its direct upcoming competitors in the PS4 and Xbox One, with a focus on...
Talking Point What Games Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue Fourteen
It's obvious, isn't it?
It's the summer solstice in the Northern hemisphere, which means it's the longest day — in terms of sunlight rather than hours, because more hours would be silly — of the year. Ooh, all the more time for playing games with the curtains drawn because the pesky sun is making it hard to see the TV or portable screen...
Talking Point New Super Luigi U Opens The Door For Quick Expansions in Other Franchises
DLC and boxed copies can satisfy everyone
After a bit of a wait and a release lineup that, apart from the odd exception, has been drier than the Sahara desert in recent weeks, Luigi jumps to the rescue with New Super Luigi U. It's arrived in this week's Nintendo Download update as DLC for New Super Mario Bros. U, but will have a life of its own as a...
Talking Point The Effortless Social Charm of Animal Crossing: New Leaf
A perfect storm of platform and software?
Something peculiar is happening on social networks at the moment; lots of people are talking about a Nintendo game. We see bursts of activity on sites such as Twitter when a Nintendo Direct is taking place, of course, but there's a sustained focus on this particular title among various gamers. Whether it can...
Talking Point Nintendo's Curious Decision to Monetise StreetPass
The great social app is now tiered
StreetPass may not have been a technical marvel when included in the 3DS hardware, but it was a typically charming Nintendo move. The idea of simple data exchanges had already been utilised in the original Nintendogs on DS, but the built-in StreetPass Plaza app is accessible to everyone with a 3DS, while the...
Talking Point E3 Exposed the Strains of Nintendo's Development Workload
Delays have been common on Wii U
Nintendo and, in particular, the Wii U are in a tricky catch-22 situation; third-parties — including Ubisoft at E3 — are holding off on most additional support for the platform until sales improve, yet games are needed to boost sales. It's an issue that feels all too familiar, though the absence of much support...
Talking Point Nintendo's Wii U Lineup Makes Commercial Sense
Nintendo plays it safe, like everyone else
E3 presentations can be strange occasions, often prompting exaggerated reactions — either delight or dismay — immediately after the event, before a following hangover of acceptance and anticipation for the games on the way. That's the general sense within the Nintendo Life team the day after Nintendo's...
Feature What We Expect From Nintendo's E3 Direct
Quite a lot, actually
So after plenty of build up and waiting for all the other presentations to finish, the E3 Nintendo Direct is now a matter of hours away. It's a diversion away from the live presentations of past years, but as a pre-recorded and scripted video it has the potential to be a well-paced extravaganza; we hope it'll seize the day for...
Talking Point Nintendo's Biggest E3 Challenge is Getting Noticed
Up against a wave of new hardware
When Nintendo announced that it was foregoing the traditional live presentation at E3, a common initial reaction was one of surprise, with some interpreting the move as a sign of weakness in the face of big-hitting rivals. When considered with a bit more context and analysis, however, the argument could be made that...
Talking Point Looking Ahead to Nintendo's E3
Can you feel that tingle of excitement?
E3 2013 is now tantalisingly close, and 48 hours from the time of writing Nintendo will broadcast its pre-expo Nintendo Direct presentation, which will be focused on Wii U releases for Fall, Winter and beyond. It's a break from the usual live presentation, but nevertheless we can expect three days of...
Talking Point Nintendo Should Aim to Produce Mature, Genre-Defining Storytelling Experiences
The Last of Us sets a standard
Nintendo, when on peak form and producing its landmark titles, is capable of producing some of the greatest video games in the industry. It's the master of universal genres such as 3D and 2D platformers, adventure exploration games, and can make kart racing look easy — as mediocre copycats often demonstrate. What...
Talking Point E3 2013 Is All About The Games
Wii U games, specifically
For many, the start of a new generation heralds the beginning of a golden age for gaming, promising new IPs, a fresh approach, or simply an established franchise seen through new technology. It is a time when the sky is the limit, and gamers everywhere can come together to celebrate change. But this time, that hasn’t...
Talking Point The Wii U Controller Options Open Up PC Game Opportunities
Point and click, swipe and tap
While the Wii U was the first to kick off what will soon be considered the current generation of game consoles, we were left wondering what innovations Sony and Microsoft would be bringing to the table. With the Wii U we've had a major processor power upgrade over the Wii, which was expected, but the control innovation...
Talking Point Wii U vs Xbox One - Online Requirements and On-Disc DRM
A big deal, or a mountain out of a mole-hill?
Last week Microsoft unveiled its Xbox One, or the non-gaming aspects for the most part, and seemingly managed to confuse as many viewers as it hyped up. Those that opt for schadenfreude should tread carefully, however, as Nintendo's Wii U reveal at E3 2011 similarly baffled many in terms of what the...
Talking Point What Games Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue Thirteen
Here comes the Sun (doo-doo-doo-doo)
As we glance out of Nintendo Life Towers we see something a little unfamiliar — there's an enormous ball of fire in the sky, and it's bathing us in warmth. We would go and bask in its magnificence, but we've got some video games to play. Of course, as our team is scattered around the world — like...
Talking Point The Wii U's Next-Gen Challenge Starts to Take Shape
Microsoft, Sony and others start to show their cards
Yesterday, as we're sure most — possibly all — of you are aware, Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One, the company's offering for the "next generation" of gaming. And so we finally have a situation where, piece by piece, the rumours, leaked design documents and outright fibs are making way for hard...
Poll Do You Follow and Watch Rival Console Reveals?
Microsoft's new Xbox is next up
We're just going to come out and do it, and gauge just how much you, the Nintendo Life community, have been following the rival console reveals of the PS4 and today's Xbox Next/Infinity/they-might-just-call-it-Xbox event. As a network that includes www.pushsquare.com and www.purexbox.com, the latter of which is also...
Talking Point Nintendo Should Step Up for the Wii U eShop
It can be the home of creative new ideas from the big N
So, where does the eShop stand at roughly six months old? It's had an uneven release schedule, but looking at it as a complete picture we feel that it has a solid initial library with decent variety, combining some multi-platform titles with the odd exclusive thrown in, with genres and price...
Talking Point Nintendo's Mixed Week With Wii U Third-Party Support
If someone gives you lemons, make lemonade
The video game industry is a strange beast, especially for Nintendo and its Wii U system. Since launch it's had some early ups with launch week sales and some thoroughly decent releases, but also lows with a loss of momentum and a fair amount of negative press. Some excellent exclusive software has arrived...
Talking Point The Increasing Relevance of Kickstarter
We speak to successful crowdfunders
Kickstarter, as regular readers of Nintendo Life have no doubt noticed, is becoming increasingly visible in the gaming media. It's not just here that the crowdfunding site is gaining a lot of web space, as increasing numbers of fundraisers begin to emerge, gain significant support and, of interest to us here,...
Talking Point DLC's Increasingly Important Role for Nintendo
Games are a bit less 'final' than they used to be
It's not so long ago that Sony and Microsoft's platforms began to drown in DLC (downloadable content) while, for Nintendo gamers, it was largely restricted to the occasional Guitar Hero or Rock Band track on Wii. Nintendo had an attitude of adopting online trends and practices in its own sweet time,...
Talking Point The Wii U Virtual Console Has Started, But Not With a Bang
Oh for the days of that Revolution reveal
The Wii U Virtual Console is well and truly up and running, which its greatest supporters will say is a more-than-welcome boost of old-school goodies to fill out the Wii U lineup, and the greatest cynics may say it's another example of Nintendo mastering the art of selling very old rope. Based on the...
Talking Point Why Nintendo Life is a Part of the Animal Crossing: New Leaf Mayor Program
Jon gets recruited as an early Mayor, sadness ensues
If you follow us on twitter you may have noticed that our Editor-At-Large, Jon Wahlgren, has in his enviable, clammy hands an English-language digital copy of Nintendo’s newest quaint life sim, Animal Crossing: New Leaf. In fact, a few dozen people have received early copies — not only the...
Talking Point Censoring Boingy Bits, Bums and Gore
Won't somebody think of the children?
The past week has brought us a couple of stories around the localisation of Fire Emblem: Awakening that, depending on your viewpoint, may be considered either funny, quirky or a disheartening example of censorship. We had the Nintendo of Europe translation of one conversation remove a rather juvenile reference...
Talking Point What Games Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue Twelve
It's what we do
The weekend is upon us, dear readers, and rather than relax our weary minds with some rest we plan to exercise our thumbs and senses with some gaming shenanigans. And why not? A sharp mind is always important, whether it's planning strategies for turn-based battles or assessing an environment before charging in with guns blazing,...
Talking Point Lessons to be Learned, Again, From the Wii U Games Drought
Fresh approaches can avoid repeat scenarios
So here's the deal, Wii U owners. The next notable exclusive for the platform isn't due until late June — when Game & Wario hits North America — and then Pikmin 3 hits the same region on 4th August. The eShop DLC-exclusive New Super Luigi U comes in the summer at an undefined point; if you're in...
Talking Point It's Time for a 3DS Storage Upgrade From Nintendo
Small price, lots of space
When the 3DS was launched, it didn't even have an eShop to enjoy, and even after the online store arrived the pack-in 2GB SD card seemed perfectly adequate. With a mix of Game Boy Virtual Console titles, the odd 3D Classic and the first flashes of download-only titles from third parties, the number of blocks offered up by...
Talking Point The Importance of the Virtual Console
Old games seem to sell
The start of a new console generation is always problematic for fans of older titles, as with each passing system backward compatibility becomes an increasing issue, and older titles risk being lost to the ages due to damage. Nintendo’s recent policy has been one of allowing backward compatibility for the previous generation...