tapedeck

Loving how the arcade and 16-Bit SEGA games are finding love on the 3DS platform. Old-Skool SEGA games are always worth the adoration. Some classic third party games (Aladdin etc.) from the Genesis/Megadrive would destroy the VC too.

Cranky's animation is superb. Love his cartwheel flips. Bad. Ass indeed.

At the metro centre? May pop in

Ahhh, Ffs. My 3DS XL isn't charging correctly. It's ok when plugged in then the battery seems to run out incredibly quick. It then turns off randomly when pressing the start button or when closing the system. (no sleep mode). Any advice on what to do? Will I lose all my games if I send it to Ninty? Thanks guys.

Sonic Lost Word on Wii U - £24.85 @ Shopto. http://www.shopto.net/product/search?view=list&products=3DSSO02,WIIUSO02

Spot on. I sat down to play this last night with a cup of tea and nearly spat my tea out. I was mesmerised. It reminded me of when I first saw Sonic on the Megadrive upon release. The fluidity, colour and high definition graphics were superb, zipping along and being supported by a cast of instruments so perfectly placed that it seemed like the freshest, coolest, hype-inducing thing I had ever laid my eyes and ears on. And this version really seems to tune in to that aura again. A lot of it is because the colours seem to pop so well in 3D. The art is wonderfully apparent because of the added depth and everything nips along - better than the PAL version ever did. The spin dash is embedded and feels perfect and as much as I enjoy the iOS version, the 3D effects here has breathed new life into this classic. Sonic just 'feels' right on a Nintendo system too, especially when sat next to the other virtual console Sonic games. If this is where SEGA are taking classic 16-Bit games, count me in as an owner of their 'Gigadrive' system. : peace: Edit: can we change the name of this thread to cover all 3D SEGA classics?

Maaaan. Remember when Konami were good and had more than MGS, Castlevania and PES? Those were the days! :awesome:

I remember a kid and his mates in college going mental when they couldn't get their college bursary as they didn't attend for one lesson. They hadn't attended as the new FIFA had come out and used this as an excuse. Not getting their bursaries resulted in them being unable to pay for their XBox Live package. I couldn't believe one lads reaction, seriously going mental as if his life depended on it. I just remember thinking that we're in a totally different world for gaming now where gaming is seen as 'a need' and SONY and MS must know they have an audience they can take the cash off. Good business no doubt. I also remember thinking 'where's the fun in that?' and how gaming should be about inclusion not segregation. Seeing how some kids (or gamers) rely so much on their online 'world' and how they need to secure financial aid for this was pretty surprising to me. So yeah, I guess I've seen how paying for online gaming can have consequences, thus I have a different perspective on it. I guess that's what makes this market so interesting, that we still have alternatives.

Thanks for the clarification @Retro_Link but Personally, I'd take free online gaming over free games - no matter how good the games. Of course, the deal is still a sweet one but seems to be in place to supplicate gamers paying for online services. I guess I just resent the monthly cost to play online considering we already pay our ISP's such a fee. Sadly (for me), it seems I'm in a minority on this one which means we'll all end up having to pay monthly fees in the long term as it will become an industry standard practice.

Yeah. The 3D screams StarFox. The SNES original would look sublime with all those polygons in 3D. Will buy Sonic before plumping for these two though. Gotta buy the hog again and again and again... Also: the menu in the e-shop for these games has INCREDIBLE pop-out 3D. Love it!

Thanks H-O-T. The free games thing is nice, but they aren't technically of value to someone who doesn't want them. Still not sure if it sweetens the deal. I'm surprised gamers are accepting of online fees. It's like we don't have a choice all of a sudden but to accept what we are given. Maybe getting old here...

Looking forward to reading all of your impressions of this.

You are all wrong... New Style Boutique for WiiU confirmed!

It was a decent show - probably the 'best' we'll see on TV and kinda disguised as a list show, which channel 4 love. I think that the TV and Videogame divide is a strange one where TV execs seem to show a huge disinterest in the gaming world. I believe this is born of an elitist thinking model where, as consoles plug into your TV, they are somehow second fiddle to TV. I like how the Wii U challenges this assumption on some level. Executives working within TV and the old-boys at the top also don't want to take you away from TV whereas video games reduce the time you'll spend watching ads and such joyous shows like celebrity fodder 15 and the 'news'. I think it will be a longtime before we see anything akin to Gamesmaster on mainstream TV again as it was born of a naivety in TV world where they thought gaming was just a joke. That cult following shows otherwise... That's why Nintendo Directs and the Microsoft approach to TV integration is quite interesting, forgoing the need to embrace the TV execs. Charlie Brooker did well to get gaming some air time, but things are changing. If Apple don't re-build the current TV model, someone else will. In regards to Twitter and the 'gamification' of social media, I don't see my life as a game and when Twitter is a digital footprint online, representing your character, it shouldn't be treat as so. I get the parallels, we post online our achievements such as got the job interview etc. but if we're taking that approach, we could call the entirety of life a mere game which is a philosophical argument.

Well, after a month of faff on, shopto didn't honour my Disney Infinity for Wii U for £39. It went from delivery drama to me chasing the post office to calling for days to get through and then they said they would send me another. Got an email last night saying a refund had been given as it's no longer in stock. More like not in stock for £39!

Miyamoto once said: Too many powerful consoles can't coexist. It's like having only ferocious dinosaurs. They might fight and hasten their own extinction. The Wii brand is like a herbivore. Nintendo plods along eating leaves, stopping to look at the rainbow seeing things as 'rosey' whereas SONY and MS consoles focus predominantly on competition, the 'coolest' thing and marketing to you in intense mannerisms through roman soldiers fighting wars, futuristic soldiers fighting wars, marines fighting wars, racers in racing wars, footballers at war with each other. And then Knack...who seems to be at war... Anyway, I digress. In an industry where marketing and image are everything, Nintendo can be extremely naive but that's kinda what makes them likeable. Their machines have soul and their games have joy. They don't feel like consumerist pieces of plastic. When I own a Nintendo system, no matter what the sales were/are like, I kinda see it as a rare toy housing so many memories. that's why people keep gameboys in glass cases and NES consoles in mint condition. Just like folk buy SONY and Microsoft systems for future third party games - gamers and families buy Nintendo consoles for the potential within the house of Mario.

Not my type of games. Definition of stale too!

I agree. Apart from Uncharted 4, those other console line-ups look awful!

Something being stale is just a matter of opinion though, surely? FIFA might be 'stale' yet sells millions every year. Why? Because it's comfortable. People know what they are getting. Stale isn't always a bad thing to some. The mobile piranha plant, cat mechanics and 4 player co-op 3DMario platforming structure indicates a freshness to me - as we've not seen such mechanics used in 3D Mario outings before. Such mechanics also seem to be universally loved. But when Nintendo throw these things in, the word gimmick gets thrown back by gamers. I think a lot of the time it's not the games that are stale, but the gamers themselves. They've 'been here, played that' before and thus struggle to express a viewpoint from anything other than a long-time gamer perspective. Nothing beats the first time you experience something. The colours of the mushroom kingdom are dull and stale to a gamer who has visited those shores time after time, no matter how fun. I think as an industry gamers (and reviewers) need to be more open, less critical for the sake of being critical and celebrate the merits of a game,. But most of all we all need to try to be more impartial too. Unfortunately the industry is plagued by too many people who feel they have to defend their console. What we are therefore left with is a vitriolic experience where lots of opinions of self-proclaimed 'experts' who have seen it all before get in the way of the content, mechanical integrations and ideas presented in a game. Instead we sometimes end up with a focus on story/graphics/music as insta-comments as to a games worth. I'm not saying that's all of the time, but it appears to be frequent.

I think, to an extend, they have tried to become more varied in regards to Genres. Especially when you look at tiles such as Metroid prime, Smash bros. Mario kart, Pikmin, Wii Sports. But still the 'cartoon/fantasy' styles of each go against the realism/simulation focuses seen on other platforms.

*Enters thread* Get me out!! Christmas is soon, right? Right guys?

Sounds legit...like recent England performances in fact.

To lose the Nintendo 'difference' ethos in the face of systems that are similar would be a heavy blow to the industry in my opinion. Difference is good. The last thing I want is for this creative industry to go the way of Hollywood where the mainstream is dominated by copy-cat movies revolving around similar themes with cut and paste actors in them. As Sony recently stated, having Nintendo do well in the market is good for everyone. This includes the consumers and game developers. Nintendo hardware also allows software to be unique each generation. It is a symbiotic relationship. To discredit that is to not really give credit to or understand what Nintendo bring to this industry. From the DPad, Shoulder buttons, analogue integration to motion control - much of Sony and Microsoft's eco-systems are built around Nintendo's gaming ideologies. Who would want to lose that in order to secure sterility? Face it: Nintendo are the alternative now. It is done. They have created their niche and in such an expansive market with two powerhouses fighting for the same gamers, being in a place where your imagination controls your destiny (rather than your budget or chipsets) isn't such a bad place for a creative powerhouse like Nintendo to be in. To adopt the thinking that Nintendo should join with Sony or Microsoft is born of fear. Fear from seeing those sales numbers and making a judgement call that Nintendo will fail now and in the future. What's wrong with failing? Nintendo are better failing on their own terms than failing on a Sony/MS system as, although hard to predict, I would estimate that Nintendo would succeed on a Sony or Microsoft platform initially but sales would fall over time as their ethos wouldn't fit with two systems that focus on realism. Sure, Mario and co. may still be critical darlings yet would they find that same passionate audience amongst online fees, the focus on graphical 'oomph' over art style and a controller that doesn't have any real integration into the software? I believe Nintendo's portfolio would look out of place in the Sony/MS camp, kind of like that amazing Rare and MS relationship. Who knows. There have been many mascots that have died on Sony and MS consoles. Sonic has been pulled into the Nintendo fold and games like Crash/Spyro have forgone their initial roots to become more 'edgy'. But it's all ifs and buts. But what I do know is that without a Nintendo console, it would definitely be a more dreary industry.