The Official "Console War" and Video Game Thread

[GP Legend]

Doubtful, the Wii is following the same example set by the Gameboy/DS. When the Wii HD comes people will buy it. The people like your dad are not he ones that make up the initial bulk of the sales, they come along once the library is established. Just look at how the Wii is progressing, most people here gave up on it or at least put it to the side till NSMB Wii came out, now its got a crapload of high quality games on the horizon that nobody expected thanks to E3 but at the same time the next Wii Play (Wii Party) is coming along to add in even more people.

They will have absolutely no problem selling their next console, you can bookmark this post and come back to it in a few years for reference. The 3DS proves that the company is just one step ahead when it comes to where to go next

As long as they continue to innovate and do not fall into the Gamecube trap of trying to just be better than its competitors. They have learned by now that the only way for them to thrive is to consider themselves as in a different league all together, if they get into a ******* contest over hardware specs and aim only for the hardcore then yes they will epic fail.

Exactly! People tend to forget that Nintendo has been around the longest of the remaining console companies, and they are STILL going strong and making money. Atari and Sega can't say the same, that's why they are just 3rd party companies now. I mean seriously. Nintendo has been around for 25 or more years. They are not stupid.

[Brad2dbone]

They will have absolutely no problem selling their next console, you can bookmark this post and come back to it in a few years for reference. The 3DS proves that the company is just one step ahead when it comes to where to go next

Maybe, but I think there's a chance that jaded hardcores will pass on the next Nintendo console. At least at first. And I'm not some Microsoft or Sony fanboy saying this. I still own every Nintendo console, and they're all plugged in and ready to play. I've been a fan of Nintendo since I was 5, but I'm sure not spending the night outside at Target again on launch day like I did for the Wii. They're going to have to earn back my trust.

I call my buddy and ask what his wii number is, then I have to enter 4589-9685-9852-8645. Then I have to read him my number 5289-9584-1254-6365. He then gives a good friend of his/aquaintence of mine my instant messenger info on the computer. Then we swap numbers. Then we all IM a fourth person for their info. 1/2 of the people involved have their computers in a separate room and have to go back and forth. We finally get around to racing, but we can't trash talk each other. We IM back and forth, and wait for the two people to go check thier computers. It repeats to see what course everyone wants to do. Back to the PCs to debate, then back to the Wiis to enjoy lackluster graphics and communication.

You forgot to mention that you get disconnected every few races and lose 200 VR points, and there are no achievements to keep you coming back.

[Dynamo of Eternia]

I really don't see what "hardcore" gamers have to be so jaded about with the Wii.

We knew up front that it wasn't going to be the graphics-extravaganza that the PS3 and 360 are, and it was going to be a very different type of system overall.

Sure, there are a lot of crap games on the system, but those are mostly 3rd party "shovelware" games (even the PS2, the #1 system of the last generation, had A LOT of crap games on it in addition to the ones that were good). Most of the first party stuff on the Wii is pretty top-notch, as it typically has been for Nintendo's past consoles. And there is enough of it to make the system worth owning (at least in my opinion).

Granted, it's not the system that I use the most currently (that tends to be the PS3 in my case), but I'm still very glad to own the Wii for the games that are good on it.

I do understand and agree with the frustration regarding having to enter all of those codes to compete online, but that's the only significant complaint that I can really see with the system.


Frankly the worst thing about this generation of consoles has been this whole "hardcore VS. casual gamers" nonsense and what makes someone one type of gamer or another .... as if everyone falls squarely within one category or the other. Frankly, in my case, compared to most truly "hardcore" gamers, I'd probably be considered pretty casual (i.e. I'm not really that competitive online or anything like that), but given the amount of systems and games that I own and play, I would look pretty "hardcore" compared to very, very casual gamers.

Additionally, the labeling of systems as being for "casual" or "hardcore" gamers has really gotten out of hand. Sure, I can see where out of the 3 systems, the Wii would be the most attractive to casual gamers.... there is a lot more stuff available for it that people can just pick up and play without having a ton of past gaming experience. But at the same time, there's enough good material (mainly in the way of first party games) that many serious gamers would be and are interested in to keep them occupied as well.

Not to mention that is seems like (based on what stereotypically defines a "hardcore" gamer) you aren't considered a "hardcore gamer" unless you spend over 90% of your gaming time playing first person shooters in online-multiplayer mode. Well excuse me if those games don't interest me much.

Frankly, I think too many people have more or less been brainwashed into these relatively new stereotypes of what constitutes a casual or hardcore gamer that have popped up within the past few years and jump on that bandwagon if their basic preferences happen to be somewhat in line with the stereotype (which doesn't mean the stereotype is correct, it just means their specific opinions, which not everyone agrees with, happen to align with certain aspects of the stereotype).

If you happen to not have much interest in the Wii, that's fine.. maybe it's not your cup of tea. It doesn't mean that everyone else who likes it and even prefers it to the other systems is automatically not a "hardcore" gamer, nor does it make it strictly a "casual" system just because it doesn't happen to float your boat.

Nor does it mean that the 360 or the PS3 can't appeal to more casual gamers. Perhaps some people who aren't really big into gaming still want to play a few things, and maybe the offerings on PS3 or 360 just happen to appeal a bit more to them (possibly including some of those 1st person shooters that so often "define" a "hardcore" gamer).

The whole thing is ridiculous.

[dorrmann]

I really don't see what "hardcore" gamers have to be so jaded about with the Wii.

We knew up front that it wasn't going to be the graphics-extravaganza that the PS3 and 360 are, and it was going to be a very different type of system overall.

Sure, there are a lot of crap games on the system, but those are mostly 3rd party "shovelware" games (even the PS2, the #1 system of the last generation, had A LOT of crap games on it in addition to the ones that were good). Most of the first party stuff on the Wii is pretty top-notch, as it typically has been for Nintendo's past consoles. And there is enough of it to make the system worth owning (at least in my opinion).

Granted, it's not the system that I use the most currently (that tends to be the PS3 in my case), but I'm still very glad to own the Wii for the games that are good on it.

I do understand and agree with the frustration regarding having to enter all of those codes to compete online, but that's the only significant complaint that I can really see with the system.


Frankly the worst thing about this generation of consoles has been this whole "hardcore VS. casual gamers" nonsense and what makes someone one type of gamer or another .... as if everyone falls squarely within one category or the other. Frankly, in my case, compared to most truly "hardcore" gamers, I'd probably be considered pretty casual (i.e. I'm not really that competitive online or anything like that), but given the amount of systems and games that I own and play, I would look pretty "hardcore" compared to very, very casual gamers.

Additionally, the labeling of systems as being for "casual" or "hardcore" gamers has really gotten out of hand. Sure, I can see where out of the 3 systems, the Wii would be the most attractive to casual gamers.... there is a lot more stuff available for it that people can just pick up and play without having a ton of past gaming experience. But at the same time, there's enough good material (mainly in the way of first party games) that many serious gamers would be and are interested in to keep them occupied as well.

Not to mention that is seems like (based on what stereotypically defines a "hardcore" gamer) you aren't considered a "hardcore gamer" unless you spend over 90% of your gaming time playing first person shooters in online-multiplayer mode. Well excuse me if those games don't interest me much.

Frankly, I think too many people have more or less been brainwashed into these relatively new stereotypes of what constitutes a casual or hardcore gamer that have popped up within the past few years and jump on that bandwagon if their basic preferences happen to be somewhat in line with the stereotype (which doesn't mean the stereotype is correct, it just means their specific opinions, which not everyone agrees with, happen to align with certain aspects of the stereotype).

If you happen to not have much interest in the Wii, that's fine.. maybe it's not your cup of tea. It doesn't mean that everyone else who likes it and even prefers it to the other systems is automatically not a "hardcore" gamer, nor does it make it strictly a "casual" system just because it doesn't happen to float your boat.

Nor does it mean that the 360 or the PS3 can't appeal to more casual gamers. Perhaps some people who aren't really big into gaming still want to play a few things, and maybe the offerings on PS3 or 360 just happen to appeal a bit more to them (possibly including some of those 1st person shooters that so often "define" a "hardcore" gamer).

The whole thing is ridiculous.

Very well said.

[Brad2dbone]

@Dynamo, I'm probably the same type of gamer as you. People who truly consider themselves "hardcore" won't think that I am in their league, because I don't play Halo or Gears of War, so maybe the whole labeling thing is stupid. I just refer to myself as hardcore, because I've been playing games for 30 years and I play at least an hour every day. I think that make me pretty hardcore.

Here's what disappoints me about the Wii. As always Nintendo's first party games are the reason to own the system. The problem is how many games did they make before NSMBW? Zelda: Twilight Princess was a GC port, then there's SMG and Super Mario Kart Wii, and a Metroid (I think, I don't play FPS's). I might be missing some but the point is that there aren't many, and my biggest gripe is that the best games don't use the motion controls for anything that can't be done just as well with the press of a button. The Wii motion control is little more than a gimmick that doesn't even work that well. It makes me mad.

[markatisu]

The Wii motion control is little more than a gimmick that doesn't even work that well. It makes me mad.

I cannot agree at all with that statement, it might not work well in the games you like to play but to look me in the face and tell me its not fantastic for Resident Evil 4 (and Resident Evil 5 as seen in the PS Move version of the game) Red Steel 2, Wii Sports Resort, or Boom Blox is just untrue. From the looks of it Epic Mickey, Metroid Other M and Zelda are going to prove what a "core" game benefits using the Wiimote and motion controls.

And the fact you just used the word gimmick just makes me groan

I can understand the critiques that its just a fancy way of pushing a button but then again that is the point, its the reason DDR is so much fun to play when essentially all you are doing is pushing directions on a diagonal pad. I do not really see what you were expecting, and seeing as how PS Move essentially 100% copies the Wiimote, the direction of the industry is going to be even less inclined to produce games you seem to want.

[madara]

The Wii is really coming around to hardcore gaming more and more. Nintendo delivered this message more then anyone else during the conferences. My only concern is the rpgs. I hate to see Tales of Graces, Xenoblade and Last Story sitting around overseas when the genre is still so lacking on the Wii. I wish Nintendo could deliver a triple combo and publish all of those before the HD system hits.

When I think gimmick I think Zelda ds games, I just can't get into them. I have no interest in stylus controls, blowing into the mic and stealth drawing scenarios. Give me full button controlled Zelda games for older fans of the series. More like Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, heck lets have another 2D experience in vein of the red headed step child Zelda 2. It seems they tried too hard to be "innovative" with these two ds games and I just found the experience very lacking to 8/16bit games in the series.

[markatisu]

The Wii is really coming around to hardcore gaming more and more. Nintendo delivered this message more then anyone else during the conferences. My only concern is the rpgs. I hate to see Tales of Graces, Xenoblade and Last Story sitting around overseas when the genre is still so lacking on the Wii. I wish Nintendo could deliver a triple combo and publish all of those before the HD system hits.

The RPG genre is lacking on every system, I do not call the every 5 years FF franchise, every 5 years DQ franchise, and random JRPG's that get brought over here as evidence of a thriving genre

Its like anemic and on life support for the Wii, while being cripple and in rehab on all the others (except for say the DS).

A lot of localization goes into those and the sales are often so pathetic (even FFXIII was pretty crappy in US sales compared to the past 12 editions) I can understand why they dont come over more frequently.

I keep hoping for Xenoblade or Last Story, Tales of Graces I can take or leave since the Tales franchise has not been good imho since Tales of Symphonia on the GC/PS2 last gen.

[IronAvatar]

What are the graphics like in this new DS?

I thought the Wii looked cool too until I played it. Graphics were a major fail. I still think it is the most over-hyped system ever.

I do still love my regular DS, so I'm hopeful.

I suggest that you look up the tech specs for the Pica 200.. It's somewhere between a fully programmable GPU and the fixed-stage GP in the Wii. The specs might not seem impressive at first, but when you consider that it doesn't have to render many pixels, it's pretty neat.

The video demo at the DMP website just does not do the graphics chip justice though. Try not to use that a reference for what it can do....the stuff I;ve seen is 10 times better than that. And when you add in the stereo 3d, it's really something special.

I mean seriously. Nintendo has been around for 25 or more years. They are not stupid.

Try 121 years. Nintendo have a massive history that is only really second to Sega in the games industry.

[Brad2dbone]

tell me its not fantastic for Resident Evil 4 (and Resident Evil 5 as seen in the PS Move version of the game) Red Steel 2, Wii Sports Resort, or Boom Blox is just untrue. From the looks of it Epic Mickey, Metroid Other M and Zelda are going to prove what a "core" game benefits using the Wiimote and motion controls.

RE 4 and 5 I played on PS2 and Xbox 360, so I don't know. Never played Red Steel 2 or Wii Sports Resort. The controls for Boom Blox SUCK, I couldn't throw the dang things unless I moved the controller just right, it was very frustrating. My favorite game that uses motion controls significantly (more than an arbitrary shake to swing a sword or whatever) is Zak and Wiki, and even that can be extremely frustrating at times, especially the final boss battle where the best strategy is to flail and pray.

I'm going to try the new Zelda, (and maybe Metroid)if the controls work and the game is great, it will could go a long way toward winning back my love for Nintendo.

[madara]

I keep hoping for Xenoblade or Last Story, Tales of Graces I can take or leave since the Tales franchise has not been good imho since Tales of Symphonia on the GC/PS2 last gen.

Yeah there sure has been alot mediocre Tales of games but most folks that have played Graces place it right up there with ToS 1 and Abyss. I hate to see such a game rot when we got a sucky Tos spin off instead. I played imported Tales of Destiny Remake, TOD 2 and Rebirth and really enjoyed those. Hard to be rpg nut in this day and age.

[markatisu]

RE 4 and 5 I played on PS2 and Xbox 360, so I don't know. Never played Red Steel 2 or Wii Sports Resort. The controls for Boom Blox SUCK, I couldn't throw the dang things unless I moved the controller just right, it was very frustrating.

You should check out the sequel, they worked quite a bit on refining the controls. It is one game that would have benefited from M+ the way Red Steel 2 and Tiger Woods did. I was hoping with the PS Move we would see a PSN version of Boom Blox

My favorite game that uses motion controls significantly (more than an arbitrary shake to swing a sword or whatever) is Zak and Wiki, and even that can be extremely frustrating at times, especially the final boss battle where the best strategy is to flail and pray.

It seems to be a lot of your experience is with the earlier games, and I can completely sympathize with your outlook. But once M+ came in, things got infinitely better. I think the newest crop of games shown at E3 are really going to go quite a ways in showing what the Wii controls should have been like in the first few years.

Epic Mickey (standard Wiimote) and the new Zelda game (M+ Wiimote) I think will set the standard for other developers to look at. It just a shame it took almost 5 years to get to that point.

Yeah there sure has been alot mediocre Tales of games but most folks that have played Graces place it right up there with ToS 1 and Abyss. I hate to see such a game rot when we got a sucky Tos spin off instead. I played imported Tales of Destiny Remake, TOD 2 and Rebirth and really enjoyed those. Hard to be rpg nut in this day and age.

Yeah I was baffled that Namco decided to bring ToS2 out here and has not brought Graces. Graces from what i watched was a very solid game, much more than Symphonia 2 the spin off. Hopefully they do so, even if its a limited release like Vesparia was on the HD systems.

More 3DS screen footage, I am sure none of this does it justice but its really nice to know its coming out so well

[Skullface]

For those of us who purchased and loved the PS3 "God Of War Collection", and are eagerly awaiting the recently announced "Sly Collection", Sony says more HD remastered PS2 collections are on the way:

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/110/1101698p1.html

It's been hinted at for a while that there will be a release of "Ico/Shadow of the Colossus". And I have absolutely no doubt that we'll get collective releases of Jak & Daxter 1-3 (possibly w/Combat Racing), along with Ratchet & Clank 1-4. Once 3rd parties see how these perform at retail, I hope they join suit. I'd love to have the following updated in HD w/trophy support:

MGS 1-3 - (Konami can update the Gamecube code from "Twin Snakes" for MGS1)
Devil May Cry 1-3
Kingdom Hearts 1&2
Resident Evil 0, REmake, Code Veronica X Complete, and 4 (Would LOVE to get 2&3 updated as well)
Prince of Persia - Sands of Time Trilogy
Onimusha 1-3 & Dawn of Dreams
Silent Hill 0-4

If Sony won't/can't add backwards compatibility via a firmware update for newer systems, this would be a welcome alternative to keeping the PS2 hooked up or adding PS2 titles to the PSN store.....

[markatisu]

I am all for a Kingdom Hearts 1/2 upscaled HD version

I wish SOMEONE would update RE2/3/CV, the RE2 parts of REDC were great and just make me sad that Capcom never redid those. I do not care as much for RE0/1/4 since they stand up pretty well on their own. Though I am sure if RE5 Move does well they could just redo the HD textures and lighting in RE4 Wii and port it over with ease (like what happened on the PC).

[TheDeviot]

Some of the best games this gen have been on the Wii, and not all of them are first party. Looking over my library I have a number of must plays.

Super Smash Bros Brawl
House of the dead overkill
Guilty Gear Accent Core
Tatsunoko vs Capcom
Madworld
No More Heroes
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle
The Conduit
Call of Duty World At War (Great game despite the nerfs from being downported from PC)
Need For Speed Nitro
Super Mario Galaxy
Metroid Prime Trilogy (Well worth revisiting prime 1&2 for play control)
New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Warioware Smooth Moves
Punchout!!
Bully Scholarship Edition (Actually less problematic than the PC/360 rereleases)
Mortal Kombat Armageddon (Gestures actually make the game more fun than the original release on previous hardware)

And there are tons of games coming revealed at E3 that look really worth at the very least trying out

Some of the ones that caught my eye were Kirby Yarn, Conduit 2, Greg Hastings Paintball 2 (Seriously looked like an interesting title.) Rockband 3,
Tournament of Legends (Preview videos made it look like it might be cool after all) Sin & Punishment 2, and I have no doubt Treyarch will do a pretty great job on Black Ops after being able to get WaW out as well as it did, and MWR with everything there. Epic Mickey looks like it'll be a great game, and I have no doubt the new Donkey Kong, Zelda, and Metroid releases are going to deliver. In a lot of ways I think the Wii has the same issue the PS2, and the 2600 had way back when, and that is so much stuff comes out it's easy for people to throw it all in the shovelware category. Which is a shame because if one does some research he or she can find enough titles to warrant having their wii. True, their tastes may have more titles for the 360/ps3/pc but the point is there's something for everybody on it. The fact that multiplatform releases are often times $20 less doesn't hurt either.

[Brad2dbone]

once M+ came in, things got infinitely better. I think the newest crop of games shown at E3 are really going to go quite a ways in showing what the Wii controls should have been like in the first few years.

Yeah, it's true that I haven't tried the M+. I'll give it a try soon enough.

there are tons of (Wii) games coming revealed at E3 that look really worth at the very least trying out

Yeah, I'm interested in a few of those titles, so Nintendo still has a chance to win me back. I just wish Nintendo games had achievements like the Xbox 360. I'm addicted to achievements.

[Skullface]

Ugh - PS3 got the YLOD again. Spent 90 minutes repairing it, turned it on long enough to retrieve my disc and sync my trophies, then turned it back off.

Fortunately, I backed up all my save data after I got it working the last time it crapped out. (Have only played LittleBigPlanet since then, so that's the only thing I need to re-backup)

Looks like I'll be using all that Gamestop credit I have to pick up a slim for my main usage console, and use the old one as a Blu-Ray player in the bedroom until it's beyond repair.

Gonna have to dig the PS2 outta storage, which is fine, as my roommates haven been wanting to play some Goldeneye after the E3 announcement, so I was already planning on fishing out the N64 anyway......

[HordakQuack]

Enjoying my Xbox Slim so far....nice and quiet

[krosfyah]

Enjoying my Xbox Slim so far....nice and quiet

I might do a trade in later in the summer. not that I've had any prob;lems with my system, but I love me some new tech, hell I want the black wii just because it's black!

[dorrmann]

Did anyone see the clip of Jimmy Kimmel trying the 3DS? He seemed truly surprised at the 3D-ness of it.

Also, I just saw that Pokemon Black and White are being released in Japan soon. I've never played a single second of Pokemon, so maybe you all can answer this question. Why are they released in color pairs? Is it solely to get people to buy two games, thus doubling the profit?

[TheDeviot]

Broke this week so I decided rather than go out, I'd try finishing some stuff in the backlog. I FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY finished Mega Man 10. Previously I'd gotten to the block devil where I kept dying. I managed to redo Wily castle 1, 2, then 3 managed to kill the block devil (Which took all of my E-Tanks).
Castle 4 is the boss master re fight. But I luckily found an exploit. There's an E tank. So I grab it die three times, continue, grab it again, die three times continue until I had 9 tanks again. (NO way you'll earn enough screws to buy more) So after re killing the masters, I get to Wily who has an easy pattern. But he does it so fast, you have to be more hardcore than John "Fatality" Wendel to do it without any E-Tanks. I managed to beat form 1 with 4 tanks.
Form 2 is actually a lot easier. Run under a laser to the right, then left three times. Then his ship comes down, and you pwn him with the pump shield.
Did this pattern 3 times before killing him.
Then he goes to form 3 which has a quick stage with those drills from MM2.
So I reload all my stuff, pick up an E Tank, and an M Tank, and get to his final form. It's basically the saucer from MM4,5,6,7,8,9 again except his attacks are more powerful, and he rips off the "Fake Shredder" from the TMNT Arcade machine. So there are two, and if you shoot the wrong one you don't damage the boss. What made it surprisingly simple though is that the fake has a black dot on his forehead. That and his saucer is a much larger target, and disappears a lot slower. But the laser balls he fires take mad damage, so I still had to use 1 E-Tank.

So I'd say definitely one of the harder Mega Man games. I was thinking midrange until I got to the damn Block Devil. Then Wily 1. If not for the tank exploit I doubt I would have beaten this one. Anyone who thought this was a breeze must have played on Easy. Normal is nuts. I don't even want to attempt this game on hard mode.

[Midwinter]

Has anyone picked up Blur for xbox 360? I would love to see some fellow org members playing online.

This game is basically like Mario kart with real cars. Even activision's ad campaign presented it that way.

[markatisu]

I have been playing Transformers pretty intensely and all I have to say is Omega Supreme is a freaking monster....I am not sure how many times it took me to get the Decepticon story done because of him.

Also, I just saw that Pokemon Black and White are being released in Japan soon. I've never played a single second of Pokemon, so maybe you all can answer this question. Why are they released in color pairs? Is it solely to get people to buy two games, thus doubling the profit?

They usually release them in pairs because each edition has 1 special pokemon to obtain. They also break up the total pokemon between the two, same overall game though.

Basically to get all the Pokemon that exist in each generation you have to buy both the games. Originally I think it was done to keep profits high, but now its just something they always do and the people who buy them expect that (like myself).

[mightybuck]

They usually release them in pairs because each edition has 1 special pokemon to obtain. They also break up the total pokemon between the two, same overall game though.

Basically to get all the Pokemon that exist in each generation you have to buy both the games. Originally I think it was done to keep profits high, but now its just something they always do and the people who buy them expect that (like myself).

or if you've got a friend that plays them, you can each get different versions. then you can just trade over pokemon that are unique to each title.

[Skullface]

Saw on Amazon today that if you pre-order Metroid: Other M, you get $20 credit toward a future video game purchase. Not too bad....

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...pf_rd_i=507846

And to pimp another deal I saw, Gamestop is now offering $200 trade-in credit for any working PS3 system through 7/18. If you're looking to upgrade to a slim, or happen to have an extra system you're not using, this is a decent deal. If only this had happened before my 60GB died......