Thursday, September 13, 2012

Nintendo Being Nintendo

The WiiU's dates and prices have been announced for Japan, and will be announced for the U.S. later this morning. The main non-pricing/tech related news is that it looks like the flagship launch titles will be New Super Mario Bros. WiiU and Nintendo Land.

I haven't seen much of "Nintendo Land," but I dig the "symbolism" of its existance: It's a Wii Sports/Play/Resort installment, but this time set in a virtual Nintendo-themed amusement park. I like the optimisitc (on Nintendo's side) vision of what that represents: that the "Casual-core" Wii newcomers of seven years ago are now part of the broader Nintendo fan-culture (we'll find out if that's precisely TRUE soon enough.)

Moreover, though, much as I'm supposed to roll my eyes at the "regressiveness" of the New Super Mario Bros. juggernaut... and while, yes, I'd RATHER be playing a successor to Galaxy or something truly new... damn it, y'all KNOW me. The first console of the Eighth Generation is launching... with a 2D Super Mario Bros. side-scroller. That's kind of awesome.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Come on affordable. It's nice to hope for a console that won't kill my entertainment budget.

Nixou said...

And the mostly useless pseudo xbox controller which does noting that the tablet cannot do is going to sold for 5040 Yens: that is: 65 bucks, and one can expect these to be sold for at least 50 dollars/euros in the rest of the West.

Which means that millions of brain dead "hardcore" gamers will spend the price of a AAA game to buy a peripheral they don't even need in the first place simply because the design is familiar.

I rest my case: the "pro" controller is a brilliantly evil scam.

Anonymous said...

Nixou... Shut. Up.

Anonymous said...

Given the power of the system, it's more like the LAST system of the SEVENTH generation!!!!

HEYOOOOOOO!!!!!

Am I right guys? (Yes I'm being facetious but it's also kind of true)

Ezenwa Anyanwu said...

Almost 6 years to the release of the Wii, Nintendo will release the Wii U, for almost the same price, only charging an extra 50 for a game bundle, instead of for free.

Oh, and Black Ops II will come out for the system as well.

Let's see where this goes. Since I have access to the PS3 and 360, I really don't feel like I'd be losing out in any way.

Oh, and I have a 3DS XL, which I paid 1/2 price for. Much better than the original model.

ScrewAttackSamus said...

you're not being clever or original, that's for damn sure.

Anyway, the NA packages, prices, and some of the games have been revealed: $300 for a basic SKU which is the console with an 8GB hard drive, gamepad, and adapters and cables. $350 for the Premium which has a 32 GB system, gamepad, gamepad charging dock, stands, and a copy of Nintendoland. they'll be out November 18. The Premium one allows for a service where you can get points for buying digital content which you can then use to buy MORE stuff.

Also, Bayonetta 2 coming out as a WII U EXCLUSIVE: the butthurt, oh dear GOD the butthurt

Unknown said...

At least they have really strong launch titles this time, unlike with the Wii and 3DS.

Ezenwa Anyanwu said...

Regardless, I'm still getting a Wii U. It was smart, of course, to not go into the $400 realm or higher. Would it be more prudent to sell a system for less, to make more revenue for the parts that are expensive, or to sell it expensive because of the expensive parts?

D Money said...

So did you watch the US Conference and it's price reveal, MovieBob? It is $300 for the Basic White Model and $350 for the Black Deluxe Model.

And now Nintendo is PUBLISHING Bayonetta 2. With that and Pikmin 3(hopefully it is not too far after launch date) Nintendo has sold me on the console completely. And I was originally wary of it to begin with. But the price is right(for me) and the timing couldn't have been better with its Nov 18th release date.

I won't be getting NSMBU... Probably because I am much more a fan of 3D platformers than I am 2D but there is enough for me to love that I feel no regret when I decide I am buying the Deluxe model bundled with Nintendo Land(Which looks really neat) on launch hopefully.

Nixou said...

"At least they have really strong launch titles this time, unlike with the Wii"

cough cough cough cough

Sabre said...

As someone who doesn't like the nostalgic crap of Nintendo fans, I got to say that the people whining about it not being "generation 8" or whatever is just being stupid. Unless this turns out like the Dreamcast where it lives and dies between generations, then going on about it's power makes you seem childish, insecure, and out dated. Like it or not, consoles are always playing catch up to PCs. My PC is considered mid range, and even it can kick the arse of 360.

While there isn't much for my tastes, I do think bashing the tastes of others is also dumb. If you are excited for the new mario, then good for you. I mean that.

For me, I find the hard disc way to small. I hope you can swap it out PS3 style. ZombieU and Bayonetta are up my street, but not enough to buy a new console for. Hell, I still haven't gotten around to playing Bayonetta 1.

I'm going to wait until after Christmas. See how things go. I've got a few games I've not finished yet and some new games I am excited for before I even seriously think of a new console.

I am also not interested in ports of xbox games. I have a xbox and a PC for that. I'm also concerned it will go back to being the underpowered machine that only plays shovelware and first party remakes when the other consoles come out next year.

On a side note, this is the only place I've seen where people use the wikipedia "generation x" system without irony.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, it's "awesome" that Nintendo isn't bothering to innovate because they still have rabid fans like you who think the 8-bit era was the best and will take anything retro while shunning true innovation like Mass Effect, Psychonauts, Persona, ect.

Anonymous said...

"The first console of the Eighth Generation is launching... with a 2D Super Mario Bros. side-scroller. That's kind of awesome."

More like Nintendo launching with what they see as an easy and safe cash grab.

I am more interested in what they are trying to do with stuff like getting exclusive rights to stuff like Bayonetta 2. I see that as more of a risk that is hoping to snag Platinum fans. I know that I am now more interested in buying the Wii U than before thanks to that. More so than another iteration of 2D Mario at least.

Now if only a SMT/Persona/Devil Summoner game by Atlus can be made for it rather than be relegated to handhelds.

Manticore said...

Honestly NSMBU has been a little disappointing but that's mainly the Rayman Legends comparison and other platformers.

As for awesome...no. Prudent and an example of a reliable extension of the base of the old to the new. Yes I hope it works out more than a gimmick but for me its Twilight Princess all over again with AT LEAST the promise of better integration of the new hardware's unique gimmick/hook. But it seems WiiTwilightPrincess made needed impression even if it soured some.

ScrewAttackSamus said...

also Bob, you MUST get Double Dragon: Neon in all its cheesy 80s glory

smile said...

The question is whether the WiiU can shake the "casual" label that the Wii was never going to escape.

I feel like this will be determined by the sales of Bayonetta 2. It has to sell well or else we will never hear the end of people who think Nintendo is for babbies.

Johnny Josefsen said...

"Yeah, it's "awesome" that Nintendo isn't bothering to innovate because they still have rabid fans like you who think the 8-bit era was the best and will take anything retro while shunning true innovation like Mass Effect, Psychonauts, Persona, ect."

Well, there should be room enough for both things to coexist. I like 2D sidescrollers, i want new games in the genre. Not every game has to innovate, though Nintendo are pushing it a bit, really wished that they would be more creative with the enemies and the backgrounds.

-MrBaskerville

Ralphael said...

^This

I bought the New Super Mario bros 2 on the 3ds and BOY did I feel ripped off.

Nothing new about it