david.dakota

Wii is spot on. Time and time again Nintendo makes a great deal about having EA, Activision, Ubisoft as third party partners and by implication that means westernised games. The next breath they'll say its their job to drive console momentum to create an healthy environment for third parties. Nintendo is unable create the kind of environment EA needs with its usual cast of colourful characters, without the right demographic these third party publishers leave, and that's recognised by a significant portion of this forum and the gaming community. Nintendo needs some more western(ised) developers, developers who can give Nintendo exclusives aimed squarely at the Xbox and PS4 crowd. I know and you know that a bunch of western developers working with Nintendo can create absolute magic; let them do this with grittier, less whimsical content and people will take notice, the wider the hardware demographic within the Nintendo ecosystem, the more attractive itll be to third party publishers. No one is suggesting this comes at the expense of Japan's usual output but if Nintendo want to appeal to this more, ahem, adult audience it is they and not consumers, not publishers who need to make the first move.

T-shirt or hat...

A 6 hour campaign IS short and its ridiculous to suggest otherwise, but if it's as enjoyable as, say, the original Luigi's Mansion it'll be a great six hours. The launch day release is pretty bare, that is indisputable but the promise of more maps and modes in due course is enough for me but i understand those who want to hold back for that full package feeling (so to speak). Across the years I've criticised companies for this approach to DLC and substantial day one patches and I would feel rather hypocritical not criticising Nintendo for it, quite frankly DLC should be for added value and not finishing the product. Nintendo should be applauded for the spin they put into that Direct but they can't disguise the fact that the day one package is thin. Remember though, the lower price does somewhat compensate for the light content of the day one package. The risk to their approach is that with such limited content people could easily forget - and possibly dispose of - the game. Hopefully the additional content coming between launch and the August update will be enough to keep people interested. Another risk, I think raised by IGN at some point, is that a reviewer should give an opinion on the package on front of them, and for this reason I'm expecting slightly lower scores.. And people buy games based off these scores. This DLC approach could - as illustrated in this thread- affect sales. If Splatoon is seen internally as a sales failure it could affect not only Spltoon, but Nintendo's confidence in big new IP and the new development teams within the business. This is a risky strategy. That aside, I can't imagine many people think this is going to be anything but a joyous experience.

"intend it to become a simple "replacement" for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U." Hybrid console confirmed. These consents could indicate NX being more of a software platform. Sure, well get a home console, a dedicated handheld, maybe Japan will see a gaming feature phone? A thought.

Don't know if it's the biggest mistake but it's sure a contributory factor. Agree they can't just shift over development to NX and leave Wii U in the cold, but if they support Wii U with smaller titles (like Splatoon, Starfox, Yoshi) and leave Zelda as a big hitter for NX, drive sales to the new machine.

At this point, with the console struggling to gain any sort of positive momentum, there would be a portion of Nintendo fans who would assume Zelda was delayed for the next console. It doesn't matter if Nintendo teased a codename or not, the same debate would be happening. Zelda U is going to be pretty expensive to develop, Nintendo need to recoup that investment and profit from it. Where will it be more successful, as a launch title for NX or at the back end of Wii U? Sales differences between Twilight Princess and Skyward Bored should give a clear indication. Blah, blah, yeah, Nintendo will want to keep current Wii U owners occupied but, aside from Xenoblade, we're not seeing big investment on Wii U by Nintendo, everything they're presenting us with (so far) is, I guess, relatively cheap to develop. They're not going to throw in a massively expensive game like Zelda to keep us "satisfied".

I believe that Zelda will shift to NX where it can have a real impact, and for that reason I'll say we'll hear nothing of it. Geoff Kieley will ask Reggie but be given the brush off, that's as close as we're going to get to any further Zelda Wii U news.

Nintendo really would do well by offering big Japanese talent a home. Perhaps setting up an near-autonomous company providing exclusives to Nintendo platforms is the way to go; it would give Nintendo some great exclusive content and, hopefully, ensure Japan has a strong gaming development community in the future.

Thoughts on the new loyalty programme being shown? On one hand I think E3 would prove an excellent place to launch it, but I'm not sure if it's a little soon (of DeNA are working on it).

What a tease! I love Bill, never want him to leave!

I registered a while back, hopefully I'll get an invite soon. Dobwe know when it officially launches?

Good work. What was her response out of interest.

@Pestneb For your viewing pleasure, I present to you...

Way off subject, but age ratings absolutely need to be enforced better. @Hero\-of\-Time if it's made clear to me that the purchase is for the kids i'd would happily refuse to serve that family. Enforcement comes down to hardware and software manufacturers, retailers and parents. Hardware should offer robust but easy parental controls and monitoring, retailers should face greater sanctions for sale and parents punished for allowing children to view.

Now I know your placing the ad too young!

@dazzybee I do think you place this too young, we'll have to hope that Nintendo of America have done their research! I don't for a moment think that they'll ignore a more adult audience with better targeted ads.

No, no, no. How do you know if its misjudged? If that ad is playing on Disney XD it's perfectly judged; if its playing late night ABC then it's misjudged. It's clearly not an ad thats directed at us Nintendo's fans, this is an as aimed squarely at pre-teens. It gives a clear indication of what the game is, the striking visuals & recognisable soundtrack could prove to be a pretty effective advertisement to pre-teens.

This replenished stock should be available solely through official Nintendo stores, or in countries without, a single official partner retailer. This would help ensure only one figure per customer and alleviate some of the pressure at retail. Obviously, actually making more stock is the better solution but if they're unwilling to do that better stock management is needed. *Which reminds me, if anyone doubled up on Greninja and Jigglypuff, PM me. I missed these on preorder, so will be happy to buy any spares for cost plus postage.

How is it "better"? I love having a digital copy, love the convenience and immediacy of having games installed to a HDD - that's " better" than shelves of boxes. Or is it? Some people like those shelves.

I do. #swipetype Unless its worth some cash when I'm dead.

Isn't it about time you bought them all Wii Us for making outstanding contributions to your enterprise?

I've taken a screen grab for prosperity.

Consider me in for this week.

David is me!

I always thought further amiibo were coming, Octarians for sure. Probably the Inkopolis shop characters.