Times are a bit rough here at the warehouse, as far as work goes. I’ve been in kind of a downer mood. Here’s to hoping that this week brings good news and great times. I know things could be much worse, but I tend to worry about the smallest things! Anyway, I hope you all had a fantastic weekend, and hopefully the week will go the same. I know you guys have earned it! See you in just a few, short hours. Man, do I miss the days when I was in school. You know how your parents always tell you that you’ll miss school once you’re out? Well, for the large majority of people, that ends up being the truth. I was in the same place back when I was in grade/middle/high school. I may have had fun while I was there, but overall, I still hated having to go. Then, once you’re out and thrown into the real world, you realize how much it sucks to be out of school! Sure, you had to do homework, put up with annoying teachers and deal with bullies…but it’s all worth it! One of the best parts about school was the fact that you had a ton of time off in the Summer! Working for those sweet months of nothing to do almost made going to school worth it. We’d all dream of the days when we could sleep late, head out for a swim with some friends, and then spend some free time gaming. Dear lord, I’d give anything to have those Summer breaks back. I desperately need them in order to catch up with my backlog of games! I can remember Summer vacation back in middle/high school really well. The days were full of swimming until I couldn’t stand it anymore, and then heading inside to play any number of games. That free time was spent oh-so well! There’s nothing better than beating the heat by hanging out inside with the air conditioning on full blast, and cozying up to your favorite video game. There was no such thing as gaming backlogs for me back then! It was one game at a time, and I had no problem tackling them! Now it’s a struggle to find an hour to jump into anything! That’s why I’m turning to you guys and gals. I know that a large majority of you are now out of school, and the whole Summer awaits. I’m sure you’ll end up doing some great outdoor activities, but I know they’ll be gaming as well! Super Mario Galaxy 2 on the big screen…DS gaming at the beach…a little of both while on vacation. Man, I am so jealous of you guys! Let’s hear what your gaming plans are for the Summer. What titles are you planning on tackling? What’s your ritual for game play in the Summer? Do you game alone, or do you and your friends go at it together? Let’s hear all about your plan, and what you’re going to be virtually chowing down on.

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GoNintendo ‘End of Day’ thoughts - Your Summer of gaming

Mom Brain and I toil away to get our new place up and running. Believe it or not, I did tonight’s late-night round from the new joint. The internet seems to be top-notch, so I’m obviously happy wtih that! While I got put together some more Ikea crap, check out Cort’s impressions below. Catch you in a few, short hours! Last week Konami and Hudson invited me to attend their little soiree where I could meet and catch up with some lovely folks, but also where they could show off some of their biggest upcoming games. Konami is putting it’s shiniest chips behind the HD consoles, but that doesn’t mean I was bored the whole night…there was still some love for Nintendo, courtesy of three gestating titles Hudson had on display which will be born on the Wii: Lost in Shadow, Deca Sports 3 , and Oops! Prank Party . Earlier in the week I had the chance to meet with a couple of their VIPs visiting from Japan: Makato Kawaguchi , producer of the Deca Sports series; and Shinichi Kasahara , producer for Lost In Shadow . Thanks to their PR team for putting everything together! So when Deca Sports 3 was officially announced Friday, thanks to Jump magazine , it wasn’t much of a surprise, but then successful franchises tend to cause sequels anyway, twice before in this series’ case. For Deca Sports, that kind of works in its favour due to its open-ended formula; so long as there are unused (and unusual) sports out there, there exists opportunity for more games based on them. The original game took direct aim at Wii Sports , offering twice as many events, including some with a bit more…personality, like Figure Skating and Curling. I think originality is the greatest appeal in these games; any developer could churn out volleyball or hockey, but making the decision to stray a bit from the expected with things like kendo, synchronised swimming or sepak takraw gets a respectable nod from this gamer. What then does the fourth game (behind 1, 2, and DS) bring to the mix? I asked Kawaguchi-san what their intent was this time around, since each of the other sequels expanded the offerings a bit, such as wi-fi play in 2 and portable multiplayer on the DS. Making controls more natural overall is the big push, including adding a “Master” mode to give advanced players more challenge using the Wii Motion Plus. After going hands on, there is a noticeable difference between normal and master controls. On display were just three of the ten sports: air racing, giant slalom, and lacrosse. The first thing I noticed was in fact visual…the game actually looks quite good for all its others simplicities; better than I remember the other games looking. This was especially noticeable in both the air racing and slalom sports where sprawing mountain vistas crowded the horizon like natural spectators. Check out my sweet pink ski-wear. It makes my butt look extra cute. Lacrosse controlled similar to ice hockey from the last game, using simple gestures to pass or shoot using the standard Wii remote, though the plus adds additional, more difficult considerations. I narrowly pulled out a win in the final seconds against the easiest difficulty. Giant slalom uses the remote and nunchuk held like actual ski poles, and you simply tilt left or right in unison to jet down the hill. Master mode adds more sensitivity and more features like forward leaning for speed control. Finally, air racing puts you in the cockpit for a lap through an obstacle course that requires certain manoeuvres to earn the best time and score. Requiring just the remote held like a serving tray or a throwing dart, the Motion Plus controls were quite a bit more natural in my hands. Missing in action were: springboard diving, indoor volleyball, racquetball, kayaking, logging, halfpipe (snowboarding), and fencing. Four have been announced to be wi-fi compatible and apparently they are streamlining the matching system to speed the time needed to start playing. I’m a little dubious about the difference between beach volleyball in the original and the indoor version appearing in this sequel. The updated controls could make a world of difference, though I hope it’s not a precedent for recycling others in the future. Kawaguchi-san said with great confidence that the standout sport for him this time around is logging, and I am willing to bet as the most unique of the bunch, he is absolutely right. Before the night was over, he pulled out a DSi running the fabled Shooting Watch , putting me on the spot to perform. While I fell far short of 16-shot’s famous score, my 90 taps respectably tied for the top score among pressfolk for the day, namely one other “Hoff” from a certain Nintendo-centric publication. Perhaps competitive button pressing will make it into Deca 4? —cortjezter

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GoNintendo ‘End of Day’ thoughts - Deca Sports 3 (Wii) — Cort’s impressions from Konami Gamers’ Night

Thank you all so much for your kind comments on this week’s podcast. I really think we might get somewhere with this Fragile Dreams mission! I’m telling you, that game has ruined me for video games from here on out…and I mean that in a good way! I’m going to go cry myself to sleep thinking about the touching matters of that title. Here’s to a great Monday morning for all! See you in a few, short hours. I feel like it’s been years since we saw the last Rinry feature. I think it’s safe to say that I’m hooked on her work! With D3stiny_Sm4sher giving us a CD review on Friday night, we’ve got a chance to give you some Rinry love on Sunday night! This time around, Rinry takes a look at the time-honored tradition of bonus stages in video games. Of course, she manages to hit on a few of my absolute favorites, including Ristar! We don’t see this feature all that often in games anymore, but this look back will have you wishing that devs would go back to their routes! Good thing there are a few devs that are keeping this tradition alive. As always, please do all that you can to get Rinry’s video noticed! I’ll gladly whore myself out to get Rinry and Jot the attention they deserve. Digg, Facebook, email, Twitter…any way you can think to spread the word! Direct link here

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GoNintendo ‘End of Day’ thoughts - Rinry takes a nostalgic look at bonus stages!

I have a great EoD thought for you guys today! You can’t get much better than a visit from Nintendo’s Denise Kaigler! I’m going to stop wasting her space, and let you guys get right to it! See you in a few, short hours. Denise Kaigler has returned once again to pump out a couple more answers to some questions that you guys asked! She may be extremely busy leading into the holiday season, but she didn’t forget about you guys! For those that don’t remember, we had the amazing opportunity of asking Denise Kaigler, Nintendo of America’s vice president of marketing and corporate affairs, a few questions. Well actually, it was you guys that ended up asking the questions. Over the past few months, Denise has been stopping by to put together some answers to what you’ve asked. This time around, she manages to squeeze in a couple more responses. Denise has let me know that she’ll have one more round of answered questions coming to us in the future. Make sure you stay tuned for those, but for now, enjoy what she has to say below! Your questions are in italics while Denise’s answers are in bold . 1. Since Microsoft and Sony are both planning to release motion controls, and it will be Motion+power on their side and only motion in the Nintendo side, what is Nintendo planning to do to even the competition? It’s interesting … I get asked this type of question from time to time. People are curious how Nintendo will respond to these new motion-control proposals. But remember that in this instance, we’re the ones being responded to. Nintendo’s motion controls created a paradigm shift for the whole industry. We encouraged millions of new people to play and that caused the rest of the industry to sit up and take notice. This past summer we launched Wii MotionPlus, which brings exacting motion controls to the Wii Remote. I’m sure many of you have tried it out and appreciate its true 1:1 motion. The fact is that we’re the only company for which motion controls are a reality today. So, really, there is no competition. As far as the “power” part of your question is concerned, the real key to video games is not the tech specs but the answer to the question “is it fun?” I think the history of video games has demonstrated that the fun and experience of playing trump all other considerations. 2. How many games do you know about that are still unannounced? All I’m asking is for a number! Oh no! No matter how I answer this question, I think you’ll either end up frustrated – or mad at me. J If it’s a small number, you’ll think we don’t have anything in the pipeline. If it’s a big number, you’ll ask why we’re sitting on so many games. The truth is, it really depends on the time of year. Right before E3, for example, I might know of a couple dozen games that Nintendo has up its sleeve that haven’t yet been announced. Knowing about games like Metroid: Other M before anyone else is one of the perks of working for Nintendo. As always, a very huge thank-you to Denise for stopping by and chatting with all of us. From what I understand, she’s quite fond of the GoNintendo gang…meaning you guys! I know I speak for the entire staff and body of readers/podcast listeners when I say that it’s truly an honor to have had this opportunity.

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GoNintendo ‘End of Day’ thoughts - Denise Kaigler returns to answer a couple more questions - what does Nintendo think of Sony/Microsoft motion…

Direct link here (thanks Zach!)

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How to replace your original Game Boy screen

Stayed up a tad later than usual to get this video to you guys. I hope it’s been worth the wait! I’m dead tired after all that, so I’m off to bed! See you all in a few, short hours. You guys have asked, and asked…and asked. We heard your cries, but we just didn’t have the means to put another series together. That is, until earlier this week. The gang has gotten together to record another set of our MST3K videos, but this time they’ve gotten an proper name. The series will be called ‘The Sprite Rippers’ from here on out. For your viewing pleasure, I’ve put together a little teaser of what’s to come. This video was painstakingly put together to sync up perfectly with the music. Unfortunately the timing is just a hair off after my YouTube upload. The source video is spot-on, but a slight delay is now present after the upload. Dailymotion decided to give me more trouble, so I was forced to take the YouTube route, and this is what happened. Hopefully you’ll still get the same impact that I was gunning for! WATCH IN HIGH QUALITY - CLICK THE HQ BUTTON! Direct link here

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GoNintendo ‘End of Day’ thoughts - MST3K videos get renamed, tease you for a return this Sunday!

Friday is here, and the weekend is calling me. I’m sure it’s calling most of you as well! We just have to make it through our Friday work/school/obligations, and then we can all enjoy some relaxation! Come on, guys…I know you can do it! Hopefully you’ll be starting the day off well-rested, which is what I’m going to work on right now. I’ll see you all in a few, short hours. I’m left scratching my head over the sales of GTA: Chinatown Wars. I didn’t expect the game to sell anywhere near what the console versions do, but I never thought it wouldn’t even break the 100,000 barrier. Honestly, I am quite shocked by all of it. I’m sure that Take-Two and Rockstar are feeling the sting of this news as well. They’ve probably been tracking sales since day one, which is why they were so quiet on the matter. I know that there’s not a full month of sales to tally from the March NPD data, but I’m still surprised to see what’s been racked up thus far. Back when Chinatown Wars was first announced at E3, I thought the game would end up being a rushed, sloppy DS title. Little did I know that as time went on, I would see plenty of screens/videos/impressions that would prove quite the opposite. Not only was the game receiving positive press, it was getting a ton of buzz. Chinatown Wars was looking to be the real deal, or as ‘real’ as one can get to bringing the GTA series to the DS. When the game was about a week away from launch, the review scores started to pour in. GTA titles usually receive the highest honors from the gaming press, and this title was no different. 10s and 9s were thrown around everywhere you looked. In just a few days, Chinatown Wars managed to become the best-reviewed DS game of all time. That’s a pretty high honor when considering some of the stellar content available for the platform. Months of positive buzz, absolutely fantastic review scores, and a marketing campaign that pushed Chinatown Wars with the same care that any other GTA title received. So where’d it all go wrong? I’m not even into GTA all that much, yet I picked this game up. All the high praise that was being heaped on was enough to push me towards a purchase. I couldn’t be happier with the decision I made. While I don’t think it deserves to be the best-reviewed game, it definitely belongs in the top 5. After playing through most of the game, I cannot fathom why so many decided to ignore this title. Did the marketing not reach the right gamers? Are fans of the GTA series not willing to revisit a camera angle that is reminiscent of what the original GTA titles used? Is the average GTA player only interested in graphics and celebrity voice acting? Is the DS market simply not right for a title like this? I just don’t know, and trying to figure it out is boggling my mind. No matter how I look at it, the end result has me both perplexed and angry. I know there are more than 100,000 core-gaming DS owners out there…plenty more. I’m trying to figure out why these guys stayed so far away from the title. Can any of you help me out? If you didn’t bother to purchse GTA: Chinatown Wars, tell me why. Leave a comment and explain what kept you away. If you don’t like the GTA series, I completely understand why you chose to ignore the title. For those that don’t mind/like/love GTA, I want to know why you didn’t pick the game up. Of course, I also want to hear from those that feel the game was never looking at in the first place. I’d love to get to the bottom of this situation!

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GoNintendo ‘End of Day’ thoughts - Where did GTA: Chinatown Wars go wrong?

Cort’s got quite the treat for you today. We have the pleasure of seeing a ’second opinion’ on Rhythm Heaven, and Cort comes to a bit of a different conclusion than I did. Please don’t attack him in the comments too badly! You enjoy his article while I slip off to bed. See you all in a few, short hours. —RMC Thanks, RMC. So the other day RMC posted his review of Rhythm Heaven for the DS, presumably the copy from Iwata’s post-keynote GDC ‘09 giveaway extravaganza. I also grabbed one on my way out, totally jazzed because money is tight for me since moving to Cali, and I’d otherwise have no chance to get my hands on it. The gist of his review: excellent . I’ve had some time to dig in, and while I can agree it’s a great concept and game have a pretty different perspective on the it overall. Don’t worry, I’m not going to bash it or sensationalise coverage for page views, because aside from this freebie handout, I get zilch from Nintendo or compensation from this site, so there’s really no incentive other than being completely honest, which you deserve regardless. Anyway, as I was saying, being one of the lucky jerks who scored a gift copy from the post-keynote stampede, I couldn’t wait to crack it open, give it a whirl and share my experience. That was why Iwata wanted to give them out, so we could evangelise the game and help it be as successful as the Japanese release. So here’s my evangelism: From the moment I popped this wafer into the backside of my DS, my mouth was climbing Mt. Smirk and my eyes beaming with delight. The bleeps, bloops, chirps and sprites are as a whole more than the sum of their parts. It’s such a charming game. The first couple levels cemented that delight by exploring a wild new universe revolving around rhythm; each level a solar system of 4 levels with a mashup remix at its centre. The remix is a brilliant concept and elegant solution for a “boss” in a game like this. The only catch is that for most levels (but expecially the remixes) it’s a bit like racecar driving: you will never excel at a track the first time. It’s only after you’ve run a few laps to memorise its details and anticipate certain parts like so much Jedi foresight that earning Superb or Perfect medals will be within reach. Speaking of which, it took me about 8-10 attempts to score my medal on the first remix. Being the OCD gamer that I am, that meant simply passing with an OK wouldn’t suffice. That only took me two tries, so the actual skill difficulty is completely acceptable. But what happened immediately after that remix completely changed me, and my opinion of the game. It’s also where my opinion and RMC will differ on one major point: controls. As anyone who’s played the game will know, the first game after that remix is Ping Pong . What can only be described as Rhythm Hell is the experience I had. Why? After a solid 60 tries, I was nowhere near accomplishing even a passing OK rating. So stepping back and pausing for a few days to contemplate the culprit, it came down to one realisation: the “flick”, while admittedly easy to learn, is simply insufficient and for all practical purposes in a rhythm game like this, fundamentally broken as-is. Let me explain. Every ounce of this game relies on extremely precise timing. So much so that it actually amplifies the imperfections of the human body. Rhythm is a concept of science, based on numbers and math; things machines and software can do with great precision, but that we can only approximate with our faulty internal mechanisms. Compound that with a mechanic like the flick which is very vague: press, hold, and slide the stylus in an unspecified direction for an unspecified distance at an unspecified speed. Doesn’t quite add up to the definition of accuracy if you ask me. So we’re left with a game expecting robotic exactness from a wholly imperfect source using an equally imprecise method. Love it. Love it. Love it. Love it. Love it. Love it. Love it. Kill me now.

Original post:
GoNintendo ‘EoD Thoughts’ - Cort’s Rhythm Heaven (DS) Second Opinion coverage

Cort’s got quite the treat for you today. We have the pleasure of seeing a ’second opinion’ on Rhythm Heaven, and Cort comes to a bit of a different conclusion than I did. Please don’t attack him in the comments too badly! You enjoy his article while I slip off to bed. See you all in a few, short hours. —RMC Thanks, RMC. So the other day RMC posted his review of Rhythm Heaven for the DS, presumably the copy from Iwata’s post-keynote GDC ‘09 giveaway extravaganza. I also grabbed one on my way out, totally jazzed because money is tight for me since moving to Cali, and I’d otherwise have no chance to get my hands on it. The gist of his review: excellent . I’ve had some time to dig in, and while I can agree it’s a great concept and game have a pretty different perspective on the it overall. Don’t worry, I’m not going to bash it or sensationalise coverage for page views, because aside from this freebie handout, I get zilch from Nintendo or compensation from this site, so there’s really no incentive other than being completely honest, which you deserve regardless. Anyway, as I was saying, being one of the lucky jerks who scored a gift copy from the post-keynote stampede, I couldn’t wait to crack it open, give it a whirl and share my experience. That was why Iwata wanted to give them out, so we could evangelise the game and help it be as successful as the Japanese release. So here’s my evangelism: From the moment I popped this wafer into the backside of my DS, my mouth was climbing Mt. Smirk and my eyes beaming with delight. The bleeps, bloops, chirps and sprites are as a whole more than the sum of their parts. It’s such a charming game. The first couple levels cemented that delight by exploring a wild new universe revolving around rhythm; each level a solar system of 4 levels with a mashup remix at its centre. The remix is a brilliant concept and elegant solution for a “boss” in a game like this. The only catch is that for most levels (but expecially the remixes) it’s a bit like racecar driving: you will never excel at a track the first time. It’s only after you’ve run a few laps to memorise its details and anticipate certain parts like so much Jedi foresight that earning Superb or Perfect medals will be within reach. Speaking of which, it took me about 8-10 attempts to score my medal on the first remix. Being the OCD gamer that I am, that meant simply passing with an OK wouldn’t suffice. That only took me two tries, so the actual skill difficulty is completely acceptable. But what happened immediately after that remix completely changed me, and my opinion of the game. It’s also where my opinion and RMC will differ on one major point: controls. As anyone who’s played the game will know, the first game after that remix is Ping Pong . What can only be described as Rhythm Hell is the experience I had. Why? After a solid 60 tries, I was nowhere near accomplishing even a passing OK rating. So stepping back and pausing for a few days to contemplate the culprit, it came down to one realisation: the “flick”, while admittedly easy to learn, is simply insufficient and for all practical purposes in a rhythm game like this, fundamentally broken as-is. Let me explain. Every ounce of this game relies on extremely precise timing. So much so that it actually amplifies the imperfections of the human body. Rhythm is a concept of science, based on numbers and math; things machines and software can do with great precision, but that we can only approximate with our faulty internal mechanisms. Compound that with a mechanic like the flick which is very vague: press, hold, and slide the stylus in an unspecified direction for an unspecified distance at an unspecified speed. Doesn’t quite add up to the definition of accuracy if you ask me. So we’re left with a game expecting robotic exactness from a wholly imperfect source using an equally imprecise method. Love it. Love it. Love it. Love it. Love it. Love it. Love it. Kill me now.

See the rest here:
GoNintendo ‘EoD Thoughts’ - Cort’s Rhythm Heaven (DS) Second Opinion coverage

Friday is here, we made it! Time to make it through one more work/school day, and then it’s time for some relaxation! Actually, I’m sure many of you actually have today off from school/work. If you’re one of those people…congrats! If not, make the best of the day you can. You can always spend the time at GoNintendo, and I’ll do my best to keep you entertained and informed. See you all in a few, short hours! When I kept hearing Climax tell us that Silent Hill: Shattered Memories was a complete reimagining of the first Silent Hill, I was pretty interested. The small details we had were looking pretty good. Now, IGN hits us with their double-feature, and I’m absolutely blown away. This is without a doubt my most-wanted Wii title as of right now. I’ve always been a huge fan of the series, and I think it’s given me some of the most sincere gaming scares up to this point. You never really feel calm while playing Silent Hill, there’s just different levels of anxiety. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories sounds like it’s going to give me a heart attack before I make it through the first hour. Either that, or I’ll be too afraid to actually move around in-game. I already know that I’m going to make sure some friends are around when I play. If I have to be scared s$@%less, so will they! Seriously, if you had any doubt about Silent Hill: Shattered Memories being a quality product, you need to go check out the two IGN articles linked below. They are jam-packed with tons of information. Don’t just read my summaries, the full posts have so much more. You can really tell by Mr. Casamassina’s articles that he is truly pumped for the game, and that there’s plenty worth being pumped for. Have you read the articles and are still unimpressed? Well please, leave a comment and let us know why you aren’t down for this experience! I want to hear your gripes, complaints and worries. Honestly, I don’t see how this game couldn’t interest almost all of the core Wii owners out there, minus the lot of us that are too scared to play.

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GoNintendo ‘End of Day’ thoughts - Silent Hill: Shattered Memories seems like the real deal