Wii/Wii U

[Hat Hair]

No console has been launched with a game included in quite a long time, even a nostalgic, cheap game like Giy mentioned.

Actually, every Xbox 360 hard drive comes preloaded with Hexic HD (aka Bejeweled). With that in mind, I think that Revolutions coming preloaded with SMB/Duck Hunt is more feasible than the idea may have been previously dismissed. Especially considering that the games cost more or less the same thing (I gauge SMB/Duck Hunt costing more, but that's my judgement).

 

[Zink]

But don't you need to buy the full 360 for more money to get a hard drive? Would it be cheaper to buy the core system and Bejeweled instead?

 

[Giygas]

I don't think it's fair to say that the 360 came included with a game. When I think of a system coming packed in with a game, I'm talking an actual cart or disk, not a cheap version of an online game thrown onto the hard drive.

Look at this. $200 got you two controllers, AV cables AND and an RF switch, a game (Mario bros./duck hunt) PLUS the Zapper Light Gun. You had everything you needed to fully enjoy the system right out of the box. The only thing you had to buy was, if you wanted to, more games. And that's the reason SMB sold so well. For every frikkin' NES out there, there was a Super Mario Bros. That's what got everyone into games.

 

[blaksheap82]

Agreed. It seems like Nintendo finally learned something from the Gamecube. All that happened by releasing an indigo game system was support the argument that it was "kiddy." We can only hope that Nintendo's last secret of the Revolution brings it all together. We know it will look sharp (super-awesome compared to my indigo Cube) and will have the backwards compatibility and downloadable games (HUGE plus), but we still have to hope its big first party games are awesome, and the gameplay is...playable.

The orange Cube didn't help either, I'm sure, but I didn't get a Cube until long after it was released, and I got a platinum one, hah hah. But the Rev colors all look much better, (I've been thinking red, especially since I got the red DS from the MKDS bundle.).

Supposedly, Nin is currently working on games for all its long-running franchises for the Rev, and additionally a new franchise. I'm hoping it will be more like Miyamoto's Big Three than Pikmin or something, but that's imo. BTW, what's that Raid Over the River supposed to be about again?

PS: To buy the X360 Premium package was almost as much as buying the core package and hard drive seperately, plus the wireless controllers (which were not standard, good one MS) and all the other extras, you really saved about $200 I think it was. It really made me wonder why they even bothered to release two different packages like that. Just so that people who couldn't afford $400 all at once would spend more on it later?

 

[Hat Hair]

I don't think it's fair to say that the 360 came included with a game. When I think of a system coming packed in with a game, I'm talking an actual cart or disk, not a cheap version of an online game thrown onto the hard drive.

I agree with you 100%; I only made the statement that I did in response to McFox's comment in that no console has been launched with a nostalgic, cheap game in a while. Hexic HD isn't nostalgic in my book, but it is definitely cheap. And a game! Albeit a **** one.

 

[Cashed]

PS: To buy the X360 Premium package was almost as much as buying the core package and hard drive seperately, plus the wireless controllers (which were not standard, good one MS) and all the other extras, you really saved about $200 I think it was. It really made me wonder why they even bothered to release two different packages like that. Just so that people who couldn't afford $400 all at once would spend more on it later?

There's a few reasons. They can push out more Core systems, and they will, because they make more money off of them. Recent shipments of 360s have been mostly Cores. Microsoft kept making comparisons to other types of products too and how much choice you have. If you just want the console to play the games and don't care about all the other stuff, it's there for you to get. If you care about wireless controllers, lots of save space, and doing more than just playing games, you can buy that.

And Hexic HD rules. My mom won't stop playing the damn game, though. I have to tell her to stop playing my 360. :| Sure, it's not an amazing game, but it's something to pass the time and have some run, just like a lot of the other arcade titles.

 

[falcoX]

There's a few reasons. They can push out more Core systems, and they will, because they make more money off of them. Recent shipments of 360s have been mostly Cores. Microsoft kept making comparisons to other types of products too and how much choice you have. If you just want the console to play the games and don't care about all the other stuff, it's there for you to get. If you care about wireless controllers, lots of save space, and doing more than just playing games, you can buy that.

It like the iPod mini. 100 bucks less, for a lot less features. If your going to spend $300 on a system anyways, why not spend $400 instead and get some quality features?

 

[kaid]

One reasoning I saw in EGM was that M$ was deliberatly "not" raising the console price from the Xbox... just also pushing a bundle with lots of "optional extras."

So when the PS3 comes along at $400-$450 for a core system, they can point at Sony and flame them for raising the cost of their console.

(Nevermind that Nintendo has consistantly releaced full packages at $200 for every console they've made so far...)

 

[Hat Hair]

And Hexic HD rules. My mom won't stop playing the damn game, though. I have to tell her to stop playing my 360. :| Sure, it's not an amazing game, but it's something to pass the time and have some run, just like a lot of the other arcade titles.

It's an alright game, I'll admit...shouldn't have been so critical of it, but it's nowhere near Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved. Although essentially a prettier Smash TV (through my eyes, at least), that game is awesome. One of my top 10 from '05 - hands down.

Back to the Revolution, though...a few pages back somebody guessed that the Revolution would be launching with somewhere around 30-40 titles, not counting the Virtual Console. Does anybody here really believe that that will happen? I mean, given the small number of titles released at launch for Nintendo's two previous consoles and that development kits have only just found homes in the hands of numerous developers, I wouldn't bank on more titles at launch than there were at Xbox 360's (18, I believe).

 

[Zink]

Given that the only launch title we know about is Smash Revolution, I doubt more than 10-15 launches at best.

PS: I dug my old NES out of the basement yesterday, and some games still work! I played the first Zelda which everyone said is the most awesomest game evar... and I don't like it. It's really hard to know what you are trying to do, and the map is not too helpful. Plus at the beginning you die every 5 seconds. Bleh.

 

[Destiny Smasher]

40 titles at launch? Please. I don't buy that, unless we're counting the virtual console.

The cool thing about the virtual console is that, theoretically, Nintendo could release cool games cheap, like Geometry Wars--ones made specifically for the Rev.'s virtual console. I wonder if we'll see any titles like that.

 

[Zink]

I really wouldn't be surprised to see some virtual exclusives. And has anyone actually PLAYED the NES games? Most of them are awful, no matter how "new" and "groundbreaking" they were at the time.

 

[Mic_128]

And some (Balloon fight, played it again the other day via AC) are just as awsome as ever.

 

[Zink]

There are some really good ones too.
I play Captain Skyhawk all day now.

 

[Chill]

PS: I dug my old NES out of the basement yesterday, and some games still work! I played the first Zelda which everyone said is the most awesomest game evar... and I don't like it. It's really hard to know what you are trying to do, and the map is not too helpful. Plus at the beginning you die every 5 seconds. Bleh.

I know what you mean, I remember not understanding it when I first tried to play it back in the day so I thought I'd try it again. I hated it. Some old games are still fun though like balloon fight and SMB.

 

[Zink]

I just tried to play Solstice...ugh. In most of those games you can't even tell what you are supposed to be doing. But downloading N64 games should be good.

 

[blaksheap82]

a few pages back somebody guessed that the Revolution would be launching with somewhere around 30-40 titles, not counting the Virtual Console. Does anybody here really believe that that will happen? I mean, given the small number of titles released at launch for Nintendo's two previous consoles and that development kits have only just found homes in the hands of numerous developers, I wouldn't bank on more titles at launch than there were at Xbox 360's (18, I believe).

No, and I wouldn't even count on that many. I realize that not everyone who buys a Rev at launch will all want to play the same game, but you can really only play one game at a time, and with SSBR, I'll be plenty busy with that. I won't be surprised a bit if it's delayed after the Rev launches, though.

One reasoning I saw in EGM was that M$ was deliberatly "not" raising the console price from the Xbox... just also pushing a bundle with lots of "optional extras."

So when the PS3 comes along at $400-$450 for a core system, they can point at Sony and flame them for raising the cost of their console.

(Nevermind that Nintendo has consistantly releaced full packages at $200 for every console they've made so far...)

Yeah, sounds like MS. One reasoning I read was just so that well-meaning grandparents who bought them as Christmas gifts would only see a $100 price difference, and then the grandkids would trade it in later towards the Premium package, so MS would score two X360 sales for really one unit. I highly doubt that's the real reason, but there's some sort of twisted logic in there somewhere, if you look for it. It was only in a letters' page, after all.

BTW, about trying to play old games, the same thing happened to me when I tried a Zelda I emulator, and Metroid I. But for some reason, Metroid: Zero Mission I had no problem with. So maybe some of those games will be easier to play on the VC, if they do some of that updating Nin was talking about at last year's E3.

 

[Giygas]

Some games just don't age well. I tried both the original Zelda and The Adventure of Link on my collector's edition for GCN, and I hated them. I mean, they were just utterly terrible. Not saying that they are terrible games, because they aren't. They would just be terrible if they were released in this day and age. And when I think that they were made nearly 20 years ago, I can appreciate them.

 

[Zink]

I think most of the people who hype them up just have never played them. I mean, in the 1st Link, before you got good equipment you would die every five seconds. And in the 2nd, I still can't find the candle.


NB: Remember back in this thread when Nin. revealed the controller for the Revolution? Everyone said "EWWWW! A REMOTE CONTROL!" even though Nintendo said that was exactly what they were aiming for. I just thought it was so funny the way people reacted without thinking at all.

 

[Deo_Smash]

I still have my NES out on a daily basis, with several games to play from, including Metriod, Super Mario Bros., and Zelda 1 and 2. I enjoy them all, despite how outdated they are. I don't see how you can die every 5 seconds in Zelda 1. You have a sword, start wailing! I blame todays games for those who lack of skill in retro games. People are so use to having sevral buttons, it's like they don't know how to handle with just 2. I have a friend who play Halo extremely well but when it comes to SMB3, he sucks.

I have Zelda 1 and I'll say it's a great game. A vast and wide game with tons to explore. The whole point of Zelda was to give players the feel of exploration, putting them behind the drivers wheel without a clue how to even to put into first (unless you read the manual but who does really?). I give Zelda 1 hype with good cause. Don't compare to todays standards or you won't be able to see it as a good game. I mean Crash Bandicoot is better than Zelda 1 in almost every aspect but as much as I like Crash 1, Zelda was a better just for the experience of it, to me at least.

 

[blaksheap82]

Some games just don't age well.

Yeah, in Metroid: Zero Mission, it was very evident that it wasn't just a prettier port, the physics were noticeably different, which was what kept killing me on the ROM.

 

[Mic_128]

Plus in Metroid I you just felt like you were going up a never ending passage all the time.

 

[DarkLink567]

Too true. It seemed like the passageways were wayyyy longer then in it's GBA counterpart. I actually find Zelda 1 pretty difficult. I often rush and it gets me killed. It's true that we've adapted to a more complex control scheme and that can sometimes alienate us when it comes to using simpler controls.

 

[Destiny Smasher]

Here's trhe deal with Zelda 1--though I admit I've never beaten--Zelda one delivered an experience like no other at the time that has heavily influenced gaming.

If you were in Link's place, would you really have any idea of where to go?

Real worls aren't finely mapped out places that easily guide you from one place to another. That was part of the fun of Zelda 1. You weren't guided from place to place--you could explore a good portion of the world from the get-go. That's a fine accomplishment.

I know Twilight Princess won't be like that, but...

Give us some kicking writing (and though I loved the characters in Ocarina of Time, it really did have a fairly bland story in comparison to, say, Chrono Cross), good dialogue, cool characters...Well, I'm sure Twilight Princess will deliver on what I'd want it to be, but...

SSB:3 is something I'm more concerned about right now, but I also have confidence that Nintendo will push that to the limit once Zelda is out of the way. If they delay it at launch, that's gonna be bad, and will reminesce back to DoA 4.

 

[Zink]

I don't think they will delay SSBR even if it's uncompleted... maybe you will be able to download patches and new versions via the virtual console? I was hoping for SSBR to be the only launch title so I don't have to choose between like five awesome games.

 

[DarkLink567]

You could download updates throught the VC, but how many people don't have broadband? It would cause problems if it were done like that. It coud also be possible to store it on a flash card from the computer and load it into the console, but that could take up room in the memory so I highly doubt it.

 

[Zink]

Guess not... it would cause more problems than it solves. Anyhoo, didn't Iwata say there was one last secret about the controller? If it turns out to be ,"The power button turns the Revolution off" I'm gonna be not happy. <-- like that

 

[blaksheap82]

Yeah, Iwata-san said there's one last secret about the Remote, and I can't remember for some reason if he said that about the Rev or not. I doubt that it's just the power button, but I know what you mean, if it's something easily predictable, I'll be somewhat dissapointed, too.

 

[Destiny Smasher]

Yea. I mean, it could have to do with the 'Home' button, but who knows? I'm not expecting much, so if it's no big, I'll be good, but if it IS a surprise, I'll be...surprised.

They could somehow work it where we download the games from the net on a computer, and since the Rev. has a USB thing, we could use that, or something...I don't know.

I'm stil up for the buffed-up memory card idea, myself, but if the system has a decent-sized drive, that'll be nice, too.

 

[Zink]

Maybe it's another extention?

 

[Chill]

Well, it was already revealed to IGN through developers that NA would see the console in November but here's something possibly much more interesting.

From Gamespot:

Today, though, the company's head man debunked all rumors, stating that the console will make it in time for Christmas 2006. He [Satoru Iwata] also revealed that America will be getting the console first, so that it will make it in time to stores for Thanksgiving.
...
"We can't disclose the Revolution's release period yet, but we have no plans to miss out on the year-end sales battle. As for North America, we need to release it by Thanksgiving, or otherwise we won't receive support from the retail industry. So the Revolution will be released prior to that period."
...
Iwata also told the Sankei Shinbun that a working model close to the final form factor of the Revolution will be shown at E3 in May.

I'm not completely sure if NA is getting it first. I think Gamespot may have misunderstood him and he was just saying it needed to be out in NA by thanksgiving to get better sales. Or they may be right and Nintendo wants to direct as many consoles as possible to NA benefit from a holiday release with less shortages.

This would be much more exciting if Novemeber wasn't so far away.

 

[Zink]

A November release. Set in stone. Well, as long as we have a timeframe I care not when it arrives.... *breaks down* I mean, geez! We're gonna see another awesome thing at E3... in MAY. The Revolution will be released... in NOVEMBER.
I predict the real name of the Revo will be unveiled at E3. I can picture him saying, "We have told you about our revolution. Now you will see it for yourself! *cool movie plays on big screen* This is the (insert name here)!

EDIT: w00t! I just got an idea! Maybe SSBM will be able to be played wirelessly if you play on the Revolution!!

 

[Ashura]

Can't you already play wirelessly using a Wavebird?

 

[Zink]

I mean Wifi-ly.

 

[Cashed]

w00t! I just got an idea! Maybe SSBM will be able to be played wirelessly if you play on the Revolution!!

Uh, LAN would have to be supported for that. Games like 1080 Avalanche, Mario Kart Double Dash and Kirby Air Ride will support local wifi with the Revolution, though, since they already have LAN modes.

 

[Deo_Smash]

when SSBR is released, won't it be Wi-Fi? So is there really a point in having Melee being wi-fi-able?
Not saying having it wi-fi is a bad idea, just saying it may just be kinda pointless.

 

[Zink]

darn. Sorry, I don't really know anything about this stuff.

 

[Legendary Kirby]

How much would you pay for one of these when it comes out?

 

[blaksheap82]

Cool, I didn't realize LAN games would be playable throught the Wi-Fi. Now that I think about it, I was wondering that recently.

Yea! a date was announced. I agree with Chill, it doesn't sound like Iwata was really saying NA would get it first, especially since he was basically just talking about getting in on the year-end sales. Christmas is celebrated widely in Japan, also, but does anyone know when the shopping season starts there? If it doesn't start until well after it does here, then it could be possible NA will get the Rev first, not to mention interviews rarely include everything that was said, especially ones that people just want to get one small tidbit of info out of.

 

[Hat Hair]

How much would you pay for one of these when it comes out?

Well, given that it will retail for less than $300 when it hits the market (related article), I'm fine with whatever. I can see myself spending around $400 though, because of games and such.

Zink, SSBM will not be made Wi-Fi enabled. It wasn't made with any means of connecting to the internet, and just because the Revolution will be Wi-Fi enabled out of the box doesn't mean that software lacking the ability to connect to the internet will benefit from the Revolution being able to.