Weekly News Roundup: 08.14.2011

More thoughts from Reggie about what should have gone differently with 3DS, and Peter Moore discusses graphics

By James Stank. Posted 08/14/2011 17:40 Comment on this     ShareThis


Lately it seems as though Nintendo cannot stop saying that they made mistakes with the launch of 3DS. Sure, it’s nice to have a company come out and admit they made mistakes, but I think we’ve all heard enough about the subject. What’s more important is to hear what Nintendo is doing about it. Reggie (Nintendo’s President of America) believes even now that the launch of Ocarina of Time 3D is the start of a consistent amount of software that will be released on the platform. “And we think, really, with the launch of ‘Zelda: Ocarina of Time’ for the platform, we are now in a steady pace of having very good content coming on the platform with ‘Starfox,’ with the two ‘Mario’ titles (Mario Kart 7 and Super Mario 3D Land), with ‘Pokémon’ and obviously ‘Kid Icarus’…we have very strong content coming.”

He’s right about having very good content in the works, though I’d have to disagree with him if he thinks this pace has been steady. Zelda came out in June, and what did Nintendo give us in July and August? I’m also not too sure about what new “very good” Pokémon game he’s talking about. It’s too early for a new entry or even a remake in the core series, and the only other Pokémon game coming out soon is Pokémon Rumble Blast, and I wouldn’t think of it as a very strong game. Reggie also believes that had the e-shop and Ocarina of Time 3D been available at launch, the system would have maintained momentum and possibly wouldn’t have needed a price drop. I agree that it would have been great to have both of those at launch, but the reality is that it wouldn’t have changed anything. The first party drought that we are going through only would have started earlier, and I don’t think the situation would be any different from the one we are currently in.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D screen, Link and Epona
One thing that Nintendo always does when sales start to slow is introduce another color of the system. 3DS is no different, with Nintendo announcing the “Flame Red” 3DS. Starting September 9, those planning to purchase a 3DS will have three color variations to choose from, with more undoubtedly on the way, some time in the future. Reggie even mentioned Xenoblade Chronicles and the other big RPGs that American Wii owners are missing, saying “we will be watching very closely what happens in Europe. Certainly if there are business opportunities and positive consumer uptake from some of those titles, that will be great data for us to consider as we look at what to do with these titles.” If making Xenoblade Chronicles the number one title on Amazon wasn’t enough, I’m not too sure if anything can change the fate of these titles.

Now is a great time to be a new Wii owner, as it appears that Nintendo is ready to roll out new titles in the “Nintendo Selects” series. Sources indicate that Super Mario Galaxy, among others, is about to join the $19.99 line of great value Wii games. There may not be a better gaming deal than Galaxy for $20.

Finally, EA’s Peter Moore says that graphics aren’t everything and that Wii U is not going to be a “transitional” system. Moore went on to question how much better graphics can get. “Look, you saw Battlefield – how much better could this stuff look at some point? There’s a point of diminishing returns… I don’t even know if there’s anything better than 1080p.” He’s definitely right about diminishing returns, but until games look as good as real life, they can always look better. Moore also gave some insight into PlayStation 4 and Xbox 720. “So I don’t know what Xbox and PlayStation’s plans for their next platforms are, but it’s not going to be hanging on graphic fidelity. I guarantee you that.” Will Moore’s statement turn out to be correct? Only time will tell.

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