tapedeck

I think we were just using these analogies to talk about Japan and the rest of the world. As I said, celebrating cultural diversity. Bet yeah you are right. I'm not keen on being lumped in with America too. Unfortunately, due to political and socio-economic reasons we are often put in the glove of America. Nice insights though @Dcubed love that old Nintendo art. They should make a game in their 1940's art-style. Beautiful.

Let me elaborate... Yes, Japan is consumer-focused. With a labour market so focused on production, the populous can't avoid a consumer way of life. Thanks for the insights and facts though @Ashley and @Dcubed, always good to receive some intelligent, backed-up info and learn from coming here. I do still believe that the eastern world (as western as it is becoming) still offers a different ideology from a cultural viewpoint, which manifests through much of the art they produce. The fingerprints of western-appealing character designs are within Nintendo as seen in Mario/Link/Samus (each of them based either on European body types or influenced by western ideas/media/myths). It's no surprise those titles export well. I think it's important that we recognise cultural diversity by celebrating differences. That's why I love and buy Nintendo products. They are SO unique in many ways. But these are things that DO affect Nintendo's perception in the market. Young people are easily led and if all they see is video games where a caucasian, muscle bound male with a gun is the main focus all the time - that's where my concerns would lie. Actually, we're kinda at that point with the AAA model from the major western studios (and Capcom/MGS), interesting. I don't want to go round in circles and I know it's difficult to approach the subject of culture/identity without sounding xenophobic/racist but like I say, I'm just keen to point out that this is perhaps a reason that Nintendo could be facing issues in this global market. It's just an opinion. : peace:

The GC frustrated the hell out of me after the initial batch of awesome. No PES in the UK was galling and the loss of Rare meant it didn't meet the affection I had for the N64/SNES. It also didn't get any of the 3D GTA's, which at the time was really annoying seeing as it was huge at the time. At least EA were solid and committed (at first) so SSX, Tiger Woods, NBA V3, FIFA were interesting. Nintendo's core titles were bizarre too. Sunshine, Wind Waker, Pikmin, Mario Kart, DK, Metroid, Star Fox. All bizarrely different from their previous iterations which make them interesting in hindsight, but a bit weird at the time. F-Zero was joyous (OST ftw) but rip-roaringly hardcore and Melee was God tier. Had the best racing series on a Nintendo console though... Dat music. Fracking superb blasting in DD 5.1. When I lived in Cyprus had this on USB for car stereo. Gorgeous blasting through the mountains. Memories!

But that's why they were successful. Wii tapped into the cult of celebrity expertly. I have NO idea why Nintendo have stopped advertising WiiU. People see that and aspire to have the same family fun as the Redknapps. It's cheesy as but it works.

Yeah, says it would ship with the game so just ordered it as normal.

I agree. £179.99 would be perfect, AKA GC territory. But...in regards to value Nintendo are offering a new console AND a gaming tablet (kinda). Surprised Nintendo haven't solely pushed that approach to advertising seeing as they wanted the console to be invisible. It would at least give it some added value. They should also have done some offer where you can trade in your Wii and get the system for £50 cheaper as well. Then donate Wii's to charity foundations or something. Just DO something...

I agree, it's almost 'normal' where I live which saddens me the most. I do believe its a wider cultural issue though. The western world is seemingly based on instant gratification. This is at odds with Eastern cultures which seem more balanced from this side of the pond, with penchants for aspects such as spirituality, inner peace and less of a focus on rampant consumerism. I believe this lies at odds with western philosophy/culture and is why Nintendo seem out of touch with westerners. The videogame industry fascinatingly gives an insight into such aspects in my opinion. The industry is a changed beast from its infancy in the 80's and 90's. I do find it funny how UK based games in the 80's were Monty Python-esque and utterly creative, before Japanese powerhouses such as Nintendo and SEGA took the mantle, driving Eastern ideals (SNES) and Western ideals (SEGA) through their mascots and respective genres. (Genesis/MD being sports/cool/tubular and SNES being confident but not bold, offering RPG's aplenty and methodical, complex titles like SMW). Their philosophies and approaches to the industry at this time fascinates me to this day. When SONY arrived, the industry became mainstream and the world of gaming changed forever.

It fascinates me how we are in the commodification era of gaming. The more I mature and read between the lines, it seems that the world we live in today is all about extracting as much as possible from something before leaving it for dead and moving on to the next big thing. I see this in gaming circles where companies like EA, Activision and UbiSoft create rapid sequels and when the sales drop they move on. Some of these titles are good, but it makes me apathetic towards the value of their software and the industry at large. I feel like I am now a manipulated consumer in a market that is set against a backdrop of constant arguments about how many polygons are on screen and 'my box is better than your box' discussions. I can't stand gaming stores anymore as huge corporate logos and "LOOK AT THIS LATEST BLOCKBUSTER" is shoved down your throat where Nintendo software is placed around the corner on a lowly shelf because it features cartoon baby dinosaurs, plant-like people or a monkey wearing a tie. Heaven forbid that we don't embrace something that isn't highly sexualised or violence-centric. When I reflect on such aspects I realise that growing up in the 80's and 90's was a much softer time where gaming was explorative and built on foundations of fun. Young gamers aren't growing up on Nintendo because SONY and Microsoft brands are cool, edgy and offer titles built on instant usability. It's an old adage from 1999 onwards but you can play Playstation with your mates when you come in from a nightclub and not have to think about it. Titles like FIFA, MADDEN, COD, HALO, FORZA, TITANFALL rinse, repeat and sell in their millions. Nintendo's titles usually appear obtuse in nature and require new ways of thinking with every release. They also lack branded sport titles and as Konami have found out - you may as well surrender without official branding. EA have monopolised that market to an obscene level. The young generation want insta-gratification too. Many parents today are digital natives (to coin Prensky) and expect their digitally native children to engage with multimedia platforms such as gaming. Yet many parents are now gamers too and they want to share their gaming experiences with their kids. Too much placating goes on - resulting in little tommy playing - or sitting and watching daddy play GTA. We have a society where kids get whatever they want to keep them happy. Consumerism at its finest resulting in kids with iPhones/tablets and much, much more - all of which has little inherent value when it's just another iWant. So, the solution? Mobile gaming is in every pocket of every kid in many cultures now. Nintendo need to engage with that audience as this could be the way in which they globally establish their brands once again. Nintendo have been facing a cultural evolution away from their 'innocent' image since the late 1990's. Now they have multiple platforms to fight off too and a home console dead on arrival. The industry is bigger than ever but if that industry becomes narrower, all of the gaming companies will suffer. Especially when EA release a FIFA box...

I see where you are coming from but... This was a full retail release in Japan which means that all of those extra unlockables were maybe already included in the package? If so, and if you bought all of the extra training teams, you would then be paying full RRP for the game. Nintendo are playing the long game. They are seeing where they can lower the price of their titles, without lowering the 'value' of their software. The last thing we want is the race to the bottom mentality on the App Store where gamers prefer 'free' with IAP as the norm. This, and Rusty's Real Baseball are Nintendo being ambiguously explorative. That can only be a good thing for them as a company and for us as gamers. I think this is a superb game and I've already got about 30hours on it. For £10 that's great value. I wouldn't mind paying extra for the DLC now that I'm invested in the game neither. I can only see positives in this model if the initial buy-in costs come down from the standard £30-40 pricing. £10-20 is much more palatable. As consumers we are used to one way of purchasing Nintendo software. But the times are changing and with improved online and 'e' stores, Nintendo need to be pushing software buy-in that identifies with these current market trends while balancing inherent value.

Yeah, I found the higher up the leagues you go the more variety teams have. The tinker emerges. I've also done something silly that has had a negative impact on my team. I taught one of my defenders how to do step overs and do other freestyle tricks. Now he does them with frequency - often being caught out and conceding from losing the ball. I've now had to resign him to the bench in favour of a more solid defender. Gutted as he was getting up to B grades! The DLC teams are just for practice/friendly matches. They give you combo cards that relate to the type of team they are.

Secured promotion in my second season but now struggling to compete for the title. Mid-table and have been tonked 4-2 by the first and second teams. Seems you have to really have a deeper squad as the games come thick and fast and tactics become more important. Seen a few teams playing different formations which spices things up - certainly when trying to dominate the middle of the park. Just switched to a 3-5-2 and winning 5-0 which is nice. Have played this solid for two days and most of my players are C-B grade now.

This is great. It's nice to play a footy management game that doesn't drag you down and beat you because you need to assess the far end of every fart coming from the club. A lack of spreadsheets helps too. I like the card-like design to everything and the simplicity of it all. Sure it has stuff missing from your typical footy management game. But this is a breath of fresh air in the sports management genre. It's got that involving factor but is immensely personable - through a combination of graphics/writing and the fictional element. Oh yeah. - My Club ID is 7E1 F3 BCAB. Deckers Utd.

Finally fixed my 3DS for this game. Took the back off cleaned battery up and readjusted it. No more random shutdowns for me now! I also took the opportunity to clean up the system too. Shame the scratches on the top screen from the clam shape design are un-treatable. Anyway...ready to put down PES' awesome career mode and get back into some 3DS gaming! Would love more Football games from Nintendo so I'm right behind this.

With Smash bros, Nintendo took ballet, Jean Claude Van damme, Conan, Robocop, Robin Hood and many more of your favourite 1980's avatars and created some kind of cosplay anti-grav fighter involving a heroine dose of bat shit insane items from both Mario Kart, Star Wars, Pokemon and the staff canteen. The results were (in the words of Conker) f***ing marvellous! I never thought they'd better the N64 game until I saw the first screenshots of Melee. They wiped the Vaseline off the N64 polygons, stripped Koji Kondo of his 1987 Midi devices, giving him a whole orchestra, and proceeded to throw the entire kitchen sink of their history onto a disk the size of a 'roided up Rich Tea biscuit. Just to show it was possible probably....Men.Tal. We talk about longevity in games. Killer Instinct on the XBone is an embarrassment when held up to the content on this disk. Actually, most people's lives don't have this much content. It was orgasmic. Joyous. NINSANE. And playing it with the GC controller was like holding onto the passionate thrusts of a wild woman for the first time. Comforting yet concerning and at risk of blowing your load way too early. But damn, when you mastered it, it was orgasmic. GOD DAMN was it worth it. Deeper than a Bankers wallet. Slicker than Brylcream on ice. As varied as my horrific puns. Smash Bros. has saved Nintendo to the hardcore crowd and Melee remains an influential slice of that reason. Notable mentions: Wavedashing Mewto Bringing Ness back Forcing the word melee on the uneducated

http://www.retrotowers.co.uk

Never come across one. Seems like a good idea although planes can be hard to control. Diddy Kong Racing: Sonic All-Stars Racing Transformed spring to mind as obvious inspiration.

OK...I finally caved in and bought an Everdrive64. The idea of playing new goldeneye maps/ single player stages was cool. But when it recently emerged that Mario64 user created games may also be played on N64’s with Memory Expansion Pak's I thought why not. I adore the N64 so this seemed like a great way to get back into the system in a new and cool way. I'm now considering getting into modding the console to look better on a HDTV (or just buying an upscaler) as well as looking to get some of the Hori controllers that are more akin to modern day console controllers. Exciting times. Still a beast of a console with so a any classics and a surprisingly buoyant community albeit primarily focused on Goldeneye.

Dat 90's soundtrack! Reminds me how it was suddenly cool to adopt the Playstation brand and CD format.

Other new items. Like the 8/speaker items. Also - if Mii's return.

God damn! No stars left. Wanted this so bad...

See you online on WiiU at Christmas.

Now we just need confirmation on what constitutes as a Nintendo 'summer'...

Great Direct! Nice that we will get to focus on the 3DS version first. Sheik and Zero-Suit Samus as separate characters have been long-time requests so good to see them. Looks stunning on WiiU and the variety is looking amazing. Custom moves, multiple online modes, returning music, just...brill!

Chris Seavour's Parachute Stan is free for 24hrs. Worth it just to hear / experience that Conker BFD humour again... http://appshopper.com/link/parashoot-stan

Staying true to their roots Kind of alluded to by @Serebii it is often said that Nintendo are stuck in the past and in some ways they do lag behind their competitors. But what I think is important to consider is that Nintendo haven't let the industry change their identity or software. Local multiplayer has remained, fun is paramount and their efficiency remains. Playing games like DK:TF or SMW3D still feels like it was put together by a Swiss clock maker who fully understands every single component and how they fit together. In a world where pizazz is all the rage, sitting down to play something so 'solid' is testament to the continued power of Nintendo as a development house. In an industry where you get terms like 8GDDR rammed down your throat as the most important thing for gaming, the fact that Nintendo have quietly (in this gen certainly) got on with their business of making some of the best (and most unique) games in the industry is testament to their legacy and their future direction.