Starting June 5th Nintendo's DS Lite will be on sale for $99, making the 3DS an even harder sell than it already is. It's not that I don't like the system, quite the opposite, but I don't feel as though it should be as expensive as it is. Anyway, Nintendo also announced that all of Mario's games available for the DS will now come in red boxes, making it even easier for fans to just buy Nintendo games than it already was.
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In a move that leaves me puzzled, Nintendo has decided to skip online play for Starfox 64 3DS. The game will feature single cart local multiplayer with up to four friends, but will not allow you to challenge others across the globe. It's a real shame, unlike many games that shoehorn in online elements Starfox 64 3DS is definitely a game that could have really benefited from online competitive play. It would have given many gamers who had already experience the game on Nintendo 64 another reason outside of the 3D and enhanced graphics to purchase this game. I hope this doesn't mean there won't be online scoreboards as well, as that would be another major missed opportunity.
Software
01. Mortal Kombat 2011 (PS3, 360) 02. Portal 2 (360, PS3, PC) 03. Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (Wii, NDS, 360, 3DS, PS3, PC) 04. Call of Duty: Black Ops (360, PS3, NDS, Wii, PC) 05. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters (360, PS3, Wii) 06. Crysis 2 (360, PS3, PC) 07. Just Dance 2 (Wii) 08. Michael Jackson The Experience (360, Wii, PS3, NDS, PSP) 09. Pokemon White Version (NDS) 10. NBA 2K11 (360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2, PC) Hardware: Xbox 360 - 297K - Top Selling Console PlayStation 3 - 204.3K Things to note: Mortal Kombat had a stronger launch than Street Fighter IV and Marvel vs. Capcom 3! That's pretty impressive. I'm also amazed that Just Dance 2 is still hanging in there, despite having released for only a single platform. Don't get confused by the lack of Kinect titles in the top ten, both Dance Central and Kinect Sports have cleared 2 million in sales worldwide, the peripheral is still very much a system seller. This will no doubt allow Microsoft to stick with their aging hardware, despite Nintendo announcing a new console at next month's e3. The Nintendo eShop downloadable games service for 3DS was supposed to launch sometime this month, but today Nintendo announced a small delay. The 3DS firmware update adding the eShop, DSiWare transfer, web browser and more will now be released Monday June 6th, with a Japanese release the following day. This new date directly coincides with Nintendo's e3 press conference. What a surprise!
Nintendo of America has hired Scott Moffitt as Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, filling the role that Cammie Dunaway vacated. Before landing this gig he worked at Pepsico and then Henkel Consumer Goods. If I remember correctly Iwata stated Pepsi as an inspiration for his "blue ocean" strategy. If Pepsi couldn't beat Coke in the cola department they had to diversify their offerings to compete, which is exactly what lead Nintendo to success with the DS and Wii. I can't wait to see what Mr. Moffit brings to the table at Nintendo's e3 conference this year, now confirmed for 9a.m. PST June 7 at LA's Nokia Theatre.
Rumor has it that Nintendo is about unveil a discount lineup of past hits for $20 each. The titles to include Mario Super Sluggers, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Animal Crossing: City Folk, Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Wii Sports. Wii Sports?! Isn't that bundled with the Wii? Not anymore, according to these rumors. Sometime this month the Wii will receive another price cut, the console will come bundled with Mario Kart Wii for $150. Not bad at all.
Update: This information is now confirmed One particularly hardcore ( or crazy) 3DS fan had a Mii AR card tattooed just below his left wrist. He won't ever have to worry about losing his card... but he might have to worry about explaining this to future children. It does work, as you can see in the picture, but only in dim lighting. This is probably one of the cooler gaming tattoos I have seen, but it still far too permanent for my tastes. The 3DS will be out another six years, but that tattoo will last for life.
Satoru Iwata recently revealed that Nintendo is still working on the Vitality Sensor they debuted at e3 a couple of years ago. I personally don't think it will show up on the Wii, but instead appear built into the next consoles controller like the grips on exercise equipment, but Iwata says there is another reason for the delay.
"This is a totally new type of entertainment, and there are large individual differences in the biological information of humans. For example, if it was acceptable that only 80% of the users thought the result was natural, then we could propose this to consumers right now. However, we are aiming for a level of quality in which 99% of consumers feel comfortable, and that is why this project is taking time to complete." If the vitality sensor does show up for the Wii I think Nintendo will attempt to keep the system alive for another couple of years, a "third pillar" like they tried to do with the DS, GBA and Wii. This way they could still cater to their new found casual audience, while focusing on the early adopter core crowd on the next system. Nintendo won't need to worry about attracting casual users right out of the gate because they will adopt the system gradually as it falls in price- and the system will likely be completely backwards compatible with the Wii. I do feel as though the vitality sensor could have some interesting applications for core games as well. Just imagine the next Fatal Frame changing gameplay elements in reaction to the quickening pace of your pulse. But we will probably see it in Wii Relax first. Source: Nintendo In an effort to give third party developers a fair shot at success on their systems, Nintendo is now spacing out their releases to give other developers a chance to shine. In reality it will probably only result in Nintendo fans waiting longer between their gaming fixes, but it's nice to see that Nintendo is trying. Nintendo has yet to announce the release date of high profile games like Animal Crossing 3DS, Mario Kart 3DS and Super Mario 3DS in order to assess the third party release schedule. Nintendo President Satoru Iwata had this to say about the new strategy:
According to Sinobi Blog, known for their quality retail leaks, Nintendo is providing Japanese stores with very limited copies of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3DS for the game's launch. The intention is to avoid the bargain bin sales that plagued the last major Zelda release, Spirit Tracks. Apparently retailers are not allowed to place orders for more copies and Nintendo will be handling the situation very closely. Japanese gamers better reserve their copies early! Source: Sinobi Blog |