Are the on-disc loading times so rotten that they want people to manually cache parts of it to a hard drive? Guess we'll find out pretty soon.
From people who have played the Japanese disc version or the review disc of Xenoblade Chronicles X, the load times and asset streaming are okay. The packs seem to be a quality-of-life improvement for those who have extra storage. Judging from video, it takes some time for grass and detailed textures to load from the disc version. If that proves bothersome, the data packs should help alleviate that.
Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash (November 20, Wii U): I literally forgot that this game was coming out, but it looks pretty good?
The word from previews is that the game is severely lacking in content and good ideas. While the tennis action is fine, the mega mushroom stuff aren't a fun addition. While there are multiple court surfaces, it is just that one stadium that you will be playing in. The gist I was getting is that Ultra Smash is a hollow shell of a tennis game that is being sold for $49.99.
This was a pretty good Direct for me. RPGs, bombastic Smash addition, and new stuff for Splatoon and Super Mario Maker. I had feared for the mediocre disappointment that most Directs tend to be. My fears have been unfounded.
Indeed. Jeff seems to be on the lower end of this game's reception. From the reviews I've read so far, he is the only one bummed by it. All the other reviews I've read (GameTrailers, GameSpot, USGamer) like the game.
Though maybe Quiet could give Yuuri a run for her money.
The short sleeve shirt with the exposed shoulders and the orange back wrap with the black short-shorts didn't strike me as ridiculous as it does an odd trend. As far as Japanese character design goes, Yuri's fashion looks almost grounded. I guess the exposed shoulders thing is pretty weird.
Shame that this game is getting several disappointing reviews. The gist of the demerits seems that a lot of the design of the game hews too close to bad habits of the PS2-era. Oh, and some reviewers could not care for the story or the controls.
I enjoyed my time with the free-to-start trial, but I could already see the bad places the game can go to.
Just keep in mind that "industry leading" has always meant something a bit different to Nintendo than it has to other hardware manufacturers. Maybe it'll be cutting edge and I'll have to eat my words, I just don't want to see yall getting your panties in a bunch when this turns out not to be what you expected.
If you want to read in to the quotes from the article, Nintendo themselves are not saying they will have "industry-leading chips." We don't know who these "people familiar with the development plans" are. Granted, there's a chance it might be Nintendo employees. I would more likely assume the sources are from NX chip-providers (i.e. AMD).
Also, we can throw ourselves in a loop over the question of which industry are the chips leading. Is it an AMD APU ala PS4 and XB1? Is it an ARM-based chip ala mobile? Nintendo has used both types in the past for its hardware. Maybe it's both? But that would be expensive!
In the end I say, "too soon" and if they are going to do what that articles said...god help them.
While I'm not too happy to see the Wii U have a 4 year run, there maybe more dire consequences with trying to coast on it for longer than 2016-2017. The Wii U's commercial fate has been sealed for a long time (I'd say 2014). While many clamor for a price cut that will improve sales, I can't see such a thing adding any more than 2-4 million more units for a platform that has and will a lack of games to buy. Nothing it going to save the Wii U from selling less than 20 million units and being Nintendo's worse selling console platform (after the Virtual Boy).
You say it is "too soon" for Nintendo to move on from the Wii U to NX. I say "it's about damn time" for Nintendo to move on from the 3DS to NX. Other than amiibo, the 3DS has been Nintendo's sales hero and now that hero is heading for retirement. The 3DS hardware was a bit creaky when it was released in 2011. Now in 2015, it is stretching what can be tolerated. Also, chips are cheaper now so that portable games can reach higher fidelity.
When you look at the NX as replacing the Wii U, it looks sad and rushed. When you look at the NX as succeeding the 3DS, the timing is right. And it is better for Nintendo (not sure if it will be for the audience) for NX to replace the ailing Wii U and the aging 3DS in the same moment in 2016-2017.
Maybe Nintendo could coast on the 3DS and Wii U for a few more years, but I think it is better for them (and potentially for us) to soon move away from their old platforms and close that distance of "Nintendo is 5-8 years behind everyone else."
Sadly, I expect NX games more along the lines of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U than the cross-buy and cross-play you see with some games on Sony platforms. I think we will see Nintendo using same or similar assets between games for the NX home console and NX portable console and pocket the development savings for themselves.
Industry leading hardware--because that worked out so well for the Gamecube. Nintendo should maintain their lower power, lower cost mentality.
With the GCN vs. XBX vs. PS2 generation, it's hard to use that history to judge the future from when the PlayStation 2 absolutely ran away with the race from the start. As much as the Gamecube is often regarded as a failure, I wonder why the first Xbox isn't said in the same breath since the worldwide lifetime sales of those two consoles were in the same 22-26 million unit bracket.
Still, I get the sentiment of Nintendo losing out by achieving performance parity. The NX has difficult questions to answer when it presents itself.
"Why should I buy an NX over the already-established and populated PS4 with PSN and XB1 with Xbox Live?"
"If the portable NX component is sold separately and at a cheaper price, why should I buy the home console NX when the games are just as good on the portable NX?" (Wii U's greatest enemy it fell to? The 3DS. Why get Mario Kart 8, Super Mario 3D World, or Super Smash Bros for Wii U when Mario Kart 7, Super Mario 3D Land, and Super Smash Bros for Nintendo 3DS are just as good to a mass audience.)
These and many more questions are what the NX has to answer. I worry that Nintendo doesn't have the answers that will excite people to purchase any component of the NX.
Makes me wonder about Bandai Namco's other free-to-play offerings. Soul Calibur: Lost Swords is scheduled to terminate in November. I wonder if the days are numbered for Tekken: Revolution and Ace Combat: Infinity.
Ouch, the English voice acting sounds pretty bad. I hope it has a Japanese language option, but I doubt it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oV8hrrCv0gg
The EU version of the trailer mentions that the game will have English and Japanese voice over. Also, it has the sweet special edition that the NA version of the trailer replaced with a testing pattern.
Yay! While it's disappointing that there is no retail release for North America, i'm happy that the game is finally coming over. For those wondering/worrying, I believe the game will have the Japanese voice track.
@oldenglishc: It's actually the first chunk of the game that will be available for free. The rest of the game is being sold as a single DLC purchase for the eShop version.
@vaultdweller13: More depressing way to think of it: The Pokemon Company does not board or help a sinking ship. Thinking about it, The Pokemon Company or whoever has the most sway with Pokemon just doesn't give a shit about consoles. Even the Wii only saw one Stadium-ish game and two PokePark games at retail. I might be forgetting one or two, but The Pokemon Company or Game Freak has a strong stance of Pokemon being primarily a handheld franchise.
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