Does anyone know why there's so little buzz about Samurai Warriors? Looks like good brawling/fighting fun in the Dynasty Warrior vein, Famitsu rates it as high as SSFIV, but still not a peep from any of the gaming sites. What's wrong with the game?
It hasnt got much exposure over here, it's mostly targeted at Japan. I'm not sure about this but I don't think it's a European or American launch title
3DS sold 400k in less than an hour in Japan. It's on track to have the best opening of any portable ever.
I preordered the 3DS today. I can't wait! The launch roster doesn't look too good though so I will wait until they bring out Ocarina of Time and Kingdom Hearts 3D. The thing I'm most excited about though is finally being able to play Pokemon online since Black and 3DS finally support WPA.
Ugh, Nintendo, why the hell is it region locked? Now I don't know if I should pick up the American version or the Japanese one. I feel like Japan would have better, exclusive (well until the translation is done) games.
I got a shot of one yesterday at some launch preview. I had a good go on Street Fighter, Asphalt, Ridge Racer, Icarus, and some other fighting game..... I also watched 3d tv on it. ITs AMAZING, figures look like magical little jewels and I really enjoyed playing..... BUT it was tough on my eyes, it felt at times like looking at one of those old Magic Eye pictures where you have to hold your focus in a certain way to retain the image. It didn't take long for eye strain to appear.
It definitely seems to vary from one person to another. I finally had the chance to try one out over here in the UK recently and during my time toying with the demo's/features, I didn't feel any discomfort what-so-ever. Needless to say, it's made me even more super hyped for March 25th
The launch titles seem kind of sub-par. I thought there'd be more. I might just wait for the 3DS second gen.
So the Japanese launch has gone well. According to retailers, all 400,000 units have sold out almost within 24 hours of launch. http://www.joystiq.com/2011/02/27/nikkei-all-400-000-japanese-3ds-units-sold-out-more-on-the-way/
You have a long wait then. This won't be like the DS Lite situation. The original DS was rushed to launch and as such a lot of space was wasted. The Lite came so quickly and so soon because Nintendo knew they could easily improve on pretty much every aspect of the original DS, plus they wanted to relaunch the system with a new image (along with new marketing). With the 3DS, the device is packed tight. There isn't an ounce of wasted space (so much so that the entire back of the device also acts as the battery cover). Indeed, it sort of reminds me of the GCN, because if you open that system up you'd be amazed by how everything is packed together. Anyway, because the 3DS is packed tight a Lite redesign is impossible. The 3DS already sports dimensions that are the same as the Lite / DSi and if it went any smaller it would likely mean a smaller battery as well. If a redesign is to come it will take a couple of years and will likely be a XL version of the 3DS, because going larger (larger screens, larger 3D viewing angle, larger resolution cameras, larger battery and thus battery life) is probably the only notable difference Nintendo could introduce with a redesign. So yeah, you might have to wait until 2013 or later for a redesign because from the start the 3DS has pretty much everything Nintendo wants (with anything more likely to be introduced via firmware). By comparison, the Lite was released so Nintendo could introduce what they originally wanted with the DS as well as relaunch the image of device, the DSi was released so Nintendo could experiment with Digital Distribution and the XL was released to tap into a very real demand for larger screen (but slim) devices.
Oh, and it seems the 3DS is not only packed tight with regards to hardware but is equally packed tight with preloaded software. With every system, you have... AR Games and Perks (some use the pedometer-driven Game Coins) - Target Shoot - Target Shoot 2 (unlockable with Game Coins) - Presented with different levels of targets to move around and shoot at - Ends with bosses you must dodge and blast apart its different parts Those who like Rhythm Heaven with get a kick out of this Face Blender - Merge different faces together to create unique people - Takes photo of yourself (with internal camera) and of another person (with external cameras) at the same time - Can doodle on it Mii Maker - Create your own Mii from scratch - Take a photo of a person to automatically create a Mii (which you can still adjust) - Every Mii produces an unique QR code that when another person takes a photo of with the 3DS, they can automatically add your Mii to their system
I remember someone making an excellent point about 3D: it will be like getting used to glasses for the first time. After a while, it will probably second nature. Hope that's the case.
Seems to me they've caught the Apple bug. If they can convince people they need a new device every 12 months, they'll do it. As long as people are stupid enough to fall for it they've no reason not to. Hell, with some people out there all it takes is a pretty new colour.
Looks like Nintendo secretly packed a lot of value in the 3DS. It basically comes with a free game, since the AR games seem to be very varied and enjoyable. There are even unlockables and secrets that you unlock with the pedometer game coins. Pretty cool.
I hope that's the case too. But what I was noticing was with the screen being small and handheld it was pretty easy to move it by accident enough to lose the 3D. So unlike glasses where you're looking through them all the time from a fixed point, with this I was often having to refocus/acclimatise for the 3D after I'd pulled of a cool Street Fighter move and nudged the console a bit.
But there's no real evidence of such. With the introduction of a redesign for the DS, it has been down to a real need / reason. The Lite to basically rectify the rushed monstrosity of the original launch (badly lit screens, clumsy design, lots of wasted space, new image), the DSi to experiment with digital distribution and camera games and the XL to see if there is a real demand for larger portable devices. The reason why I say the next redesign will take longer is because the one notable redesign Nintendo can make with the 3DS is with a XL version. The problem here is because such a device would require larger screens the 3D viewing angle would become even narrower. The additional problem is there isn't a portable parallax barrier screen that boasts a larger 3D viewing angle... yet. So such a redesign will depend on when larger portable 3D screens will become feasible / affordable enough. It's the same situation as the Motion+ for the Wii. People commented at the time "Why didn't they include this from the start?". The reason being at that time in 2005 / 2006 the gyro wasn't at an affordable enough manufacturing cost. It's why other devices also didn't include it until a couple of years ago.
DS, DS Lite, DSi, DSi XL all within 6 years spells evidence to me. You can read into it however you like but the fact is there were plenty of people who rushed to upgrade and I'm sure Nintendo were very happy they felt that way. Back in the day a new console purchase meant an entirely new console, not an updated version of the previous one, that's a relatively new fad and Apple and Nintendo are leading the way.
It's has little to do with reading into it, this has been Nintendo's aim with redesigns since the original GB. So that back in the day comment is far from the truth. Anyway, my whole point was unless there are substantial improvements (to convince consumers to pick it up), a redesign won't be on the table yet. There can't be a Lite version because the 3DS is already of the same dimensions as the Lite and DSi and is jam packed at that size (so going smaller will mean a worse battery life). There's no need for a DSi like redesign as the 3DS is fully capable of digital distribution, has 3D cameras and has more sophisticated AR tech. So that leaves a XL redesign, which can't come too soon because larger parallax screens with a larger viewing angle first needs to be created and then be affordable enough for mass production. Any new features introduced in the near future no longer needs a redesign, thanks to the ability to update the firmware. Case in point, Iwata has already commented that the 3DS would be capable of video chat and all it would require is a firmware update. So, saying Nintendo is taking after Apple with regards to console production is way off. Apple can do annual releases because they support a smartphone business where annual tech updates can justify the release. Nintendo on the other hand still insists on keeping the internals the same, so they have to find other ways to justify another release, ways that are less immediate than smartphones-like devices and aren't very immediate with the 3DS.
