Rummy

What's the latest/up and coming in battery tech? Is it possible that NX might even use a new form? I didn't know what was and wasn't feasible presently and for future, but had a quick google and have ended up nerding out a little bit over an article about various recent innovations in battery tech - maybe others will enjoy too: http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/130380-future-batteries-coming-soon-charge-in-seconds-last-months-and-power-over-the-air

I've thought about this before, and had the conversation with a fair few people(me and a lady at work sometimes talk about what we'd do with our big lottery wins...despite the fact neither of us actually play it :p) and I'm not going to lie - I imagine I'd be quite boring about it. Try and put that million into some sort of safe investment with a semi-decent return(a plan I made when interest was more around the 3%+ mark) and continue working and then just live off the combined earnings. At 4% it's already a 40 grand a year income, supplement it with a job and I'd be happy knowing I'm essentially going to have that forever - ofc, again, rates withstanding. Over time you'd still be able to save and end up with even more on the end of it! Maybe use some of the extra to speculate on a few things, see if there are greater returns etc. but just always keep that base million there to build off of. I'd probably like to think I'd spend the first few months being a little mental with it, then calm down for a few years and start giving some of the extra I can afford back to people in my life etc. Silly to think though - how easy it can be to make money simply by having it.

My first hands-on with a Wii U was a mate's before I had mine - I recall trying some NSMBU off-screen play whilst playing around and seeing what the thing could do etc. Sitting a normal distance from the console - I noticed artifacting or something on Mario just at that; it did put me off a bit. Of course I was still interested in the WiiU, thinking that off-TV wouldn't be something I'd use, and was expecting lots of asymmetrical gaming experiences that I still bought the console when I saw it on a good deal/price - but I was rather disappointed and essentially put off of Off-TV play after that experience(and also the gamepad's incredibly poor range). Btw I've seen the 3DS mentioned in terms of all this DPI/screen stuff - I recall again playing my mate's 3DSXL and found the screen on that a bit shitter feeling than the original 3DS's screen. Seemed a bit 'brighter'(like, whiter/lighter as happens when you up brightness on a TV) and that also put me off getting a 3DSXL - felt that the original 3DS screen offered a more vibrant experience.

Whole-heartedly agree that Rare could have brought those to the table - but only in the form they were before the decision forthat transaction(which I guess, is obvious in itself). The Stampers looked like they wanted out; they asked Ninty for a price that they weren't prepared to pay and then it ended up with Microsoft and Ninty selling their ends for a nice cash injection. I do think it would have been good for them to try and keep Rare, but not at literally any cost. There's opportunity costs in everything and who knows, maybe it could have been the best thing they ever did had they taken Rare when the offer was there - but I still stand by that having seen the results since they haven't had to face the potentially stiff competition they would have from Rare otherwise. I do, in someways, believe Nintendo and Rare were a strangely beautiful synergy that was based on a legacy and time, one that wouldn't have been fully respected by anyone new coming in. It's a grand shame, but I honestly sometimes wonder whether Rare could have been any better than they were, as they were, with Nintendo back in the N64 days. It's almost the perfect formula - any change was bound to mess it up.

I haven't listened to the podcast but I do think Nintendo were right to sell Rare, given the turn of events since. I'm also aware of a lot of the stuff you mentioned, compared to what people tend to generally believe. Rare had already lost key members before the sale, and it seemed as if they might lose more after - what's the point buying a studio just for its name alone if all the talent's jumping ship? Obvs as you say some of the charm remained but their output wasn't quite the same after(Viva Pinata was a great IP tho, enjoyed it for a little while at least). Definitely agree they certainly didn't need babysitting either, as you've said Rare pretty much held up the N64 alongside Nintendo - I'd say they're one of the reasons the console saw the success it did - that's why I'm quite excited for Playtonic now.

Ahhh, had a little look - only a few pic but it's kinda what I was expecting/hoping for. I used to love a lot of the official art they did to accompany the games, I recall the Prima guides tended to feature bits in them too which I really enjoyed(had one for Oracles games). It's interesting seeing them do so much more around the game than needed, don't feel like that's something that really occurs much anymore.

Then you'd think you'd have fucking learned them by now, wouldn't you!! Just seems like typical Reggie PR speak to me too, everything they've done before being done again. I'll believe the product when I see it.

Revivial - Ahhhh! I second these! Would definitely take a proper new 3D Mario with an excellent hub world and more open nature, with secrets and options etc as Shorty mentions. Failing Mario I'd go for a new 3D Metroid ala Metroid Prime. Orrrr....something ExciteBots-esque in the modern vibe. Crossover - Hmm. I'm not really sure on this one tbh. I feel like I want something a bit Animal Crossingy but with more to it- maybe a bit of that+a bit of the HM vibes? Could it work? I dunno. Exclusive - This would have to be a new Monster Hunter for me. Whilst I've not played tons of Monster Hunter, I do think with the NX console/handheld nature this would be perfect. Meet people out and about and go on little local hunts together - become friends and go on hunts online at home too. Maybe you get access to bigger/different locations in Home/docked mode than you just as a handheld.

I can hear it now... Brrrrrtickitickeechickarrrr-brrrrrtickitickeechickarrrr-open yo' eyes Brrrrrtickitickeechickarrrr-brrrrrtickitickeechickarrrr-Wake 'hup, Link! It's more D'n'B and Pokemon than dubstep zelda(which I have some of somewhere) but I'd meant to post this ages ago in response. Unironically actually quite like this(like, not all the time though).

Kinda what I was hoping to get more of with HH(not that I disliked that) - are there any snaps of the inside at all though?

Absolutely terrible imo. Why do they always feel a need to move away from some of their codenames? I think NX is nice, short and punchy as it is - they should just keep it. Plus I foresee some obvious jokes and ridicule for Nintendo naming something Focus...

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT SHORTY

Is that happening to us in the UK too? Mine's gonna be up for renewal in a month or two - if anyone knows a still cheap place for 12 months plus let me know quick!!

Excellent read @Ashley, great article on an oft-contentious topic!

Oh yeah I certainly agree - I'm excited after the gameplay video due to the fact they remark specifically on how generally open the world seemed to be barring locked off stuff for spoilers etc. I can imagine it being a bit more BK like overall, but when I consider BK/DK vs SM64 I feel like the former two were maybe even a bit more crafted; you'd find more NPCs around than you might have in SM64, the whole 'hub' felt like it had some more bits in it etc. Thinking about it all does almost make me want to replay them, now! Maybe something for the to-do list...though I'd be much better at that if it was on my 3DS! Which then makes me wonder...would there be any/much chance of us seeing this get an NX release? It'd certainly be a plus point in my books if we did.

I think the Sony figures are telling if anything - as Pestneb has touched on Nintendo were already dominant players in the market but suffered a continued decline in sales with each system - yet Sony broke in with something and managed to take a huge chunk of the thing. Tell me they weren't innovative to manage that, because I'm not sure really what else it was they would have done but innovate that made them such a success. If it was easy/simple - why did an established player like Nintendo get shamed by a newcomer like Sony? (inb4 'Sony had more money', which I can see will be the main counter-argument)

Taking a leaf out of the book of the MS/Windows numbering system? Did you play Banjo Kazooie, or to a lesser extent DK64? I think it's going to have a vibe/feel much closer to those than to that of SM64 - not that it's a bad thing ofc!

Much like myself, and I agree there's probably plenty more out there. With a potential pool of at least 80mil end users, I would be tempted to say this could do at least a million sales in its lifetime if not more. I can imagine it topping charts after its release - but do we know if it's all digital or retail also? As you mention Ashley Team17 are definitely experienced and should be a bit sensible - I wonder if they'll take the plunge on going down the line of retail release rather than solely digital distribution though. It may affect my own decision on whether I buy and at what price. It does make me wonder how much of their actual raised funds do you think they've actually used up, too. I don't know the budgets or costs needed to make games, but with experience like that of ex-Rare employees I could imagine a certain amount of efficiency for things and surely £2million is quite a lot. Hopefully they'd use what they can of what they have to invest in the game beyond just production(so maybe marketing, advertising etc). Not even sure how the breakdown of potential overflow of money goes - is it Playtonic's or Team17's or what?

Well I'm quite bad at Netflix generally - I haven't even started Orange Is the New Black! Naturally finished The Get Down yesterday - there's only 6 episodes and I think that makes only about 6-7 hours to get through, but I just couldn't stop. If you like Hip Hop, Disco, or NYC(especially back in those days) - I'd say to check it out. It isn't necessarily too music heavy, but it's got a good and occasionally stylized story against the background of it. Felt that all the acting talent was pretty great, too. Only sad thing is it's only like half the first series from my understanding - so you may be left hankering for a bit more!

Omg why you gotta come in here and call the Wii U a failure Ronnie?! You're so negative!! Can't believe you're allowed to get away with it, that'd never fly with the PS4!! THIS PLACE MAN. Personally I think just up-scaling is not good enough. It needs to be more hybrid imo, and I think the way to make this appeal to both sides of the gamers(ie console and handheld) is to ensure the dock does more than just upscale - give it some extra juice or extra possibilities somehow. Make it so that you WANT to play it at as a home console as well as a handheld. Now at first it might seem a bit raw - 'but how can I play my game just as good if I only get some features when it's docked?!' - but here they aren't selling some extra 4MB expansion pak, gameboy player, modem etc for extra functionality - the system comes as a whole two part so everyone's in the same boat. I think that's an interesting aspect that may be able to build upon the older concepts of additional power etc. I wouldn't like it to lead to incremental upgrades though, mind. One of my real concerns is that of on-the-go gaming and how it would tally with the home console nature. Is there a DS-esque cart for the system, or will you be able to take a select amount of games 'out' with you each time? How much storage will it have for on the go? What about things like patches etc which are becoming more and more common these days, especially with moves towards more online/multiplayer gaming? Is storage going to futureproof for that? How will it verify versions when offline? Will you be prevented from playing with a mate when you're out and about because one of you isn't as updated as the other etc?

Anyone else here getting down with The Get Down? I know a few of us discussed it a bit at the meet - got started on it Weds to show my mate and I'm absolutely hooked. Halfway through episode 5 right now - was gonna do some work and Netflix cos I'm so behind but I felt like I gotta give this thing my whole attention. Will definitely finish it within the next few hours!

With a quick look at VGChartz, Banjo Kazooie apparently sold 3.65mil globally, on a system that sold 32.93mil globally. Banjo Tooie 1.49mil, Nuts and Bolts 0.77mil globally. Banjo Kazooie re-release on 360 apparently 0.01mil. This is going to be a multi-platform title. Again going on VGChartz current numbers WiiU+XB1+PS4 - 13.27+21.84+42.50=almost 80mil potential console systems out there, not even accounting for those numbers being out of date and PC/Mac etc. There's still a lot of love for old-school Rare, and I'm sure there's plenty of people similar to myself who might have been interested but didn't take the plunge on the Kickstarter, that may be interested in the end product. I think with multi-platform this'll sell quite well over its lifetime. The question is...how big do we think it will be, and how big will that be for Playtonic??

I'm not exactly sure if we've been reading the same thread. How many people were 'attacking' Nintendo for the hybrid nature? Many seemed excited by the idea and the prospects of it. Who's been saying it's going to be a cheap, hybrid device that ISN'T on par with the competition? I thought it's been said/speculated repeatedly that the Tegra 2 chip will have it sitting, technically, above the XB1 but below the PS4? You are wrong on 'attacking'(a stronger word than I'd prefer, I'd say criticise tbh) Nintendo though. Of course it's fair! Innovation/doing something different isn't automatically a good thing; just go see how many people groan at some of the stuff that pops on Dragon's Den :p People innovate all the time, and many of them are shit - given the history of Nintendo and the WiiU we can try to base things on - I think many are very right to be worried, speculative, and sceptical. Anyway - nobody was really arguing the above points because I don't think they feel them. I don't really/truly think power is the issue. It's developer friendlyness, it's having system features that match the standard offered by the competition, it's having games that are good enough to make people want to buy the system(whether Nintendo's own or not, as excellently demonstrated and probably best discussed in RedShell's thread http://www.n-europe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=58714), it's having such a solid enough foundation with your system by having the arguable basics covered that the system can become a success enough by itself - and then attract everything else on top.

I realise it's a silly question to ask of you - but you care to define that so we can see who's more right when the time comes?

It's all going to be debatable - but from my own personal feeling at the time I definitely felt as if Sixaxis was a direct reaction to the Wii's motion/gyro/movement or what you want to call it controls. Obvs we can't fully distinguish, but I do definitely recall feeling at the time of announcement that it was. It does help highlight how much more we knew about the Wii earlier on, though.