Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Lost spoilers (please), Bryan Danielson going off on Michael Cole, or Hanley Ramirez phoning it in, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
People raised their eyebrows at Nintendo when it announced that it was going with a dual-screen handheld for its next portable system. Even more people laughed at the notion of an underpowered console that relied on a “gimmicky” motion-control scheme. In both cases, the company sold millions of units of hardware. With that in mind, do you think the company will sell millions of Wii Vitality Sensor accessories?
On paper, it sounds boring…maybe a little stupid. It’s a frickin’ heart rate monitor! While I had my doubts about dual screens and motion controls, I knew they had the potential for fun. There’s nothing fun about a heart rate monitor.
Having said that, I know I’m not smart enough to doubt Nintendo. I’ve done it too many times in the past…but I can’t help questioning the company on this one. Shigeru Miyamoto is undoubtedly a game design genius, but can he make the Wii Vitality Sensor fun? I’m not so sure. Yet Nintendo has proven its doubters wrong so many times that I’m doubting my doubts.
All this second guessing is giving me a migraine. I know that quite a few of you have this anti-Nintendo thing going (rather unreasonably, in my opinion), but forget about whether you’ll like it or not. Do you think the Wii Vitality Sensor will sell? Do you see a way that it can be fun? What do you think a Miyamoto game featuring the Wii Vitality Sensor would be like? Make sure your heart isn’t beating too fast as you answer these question. I am not responsible for what happens to you as you type.
I have doubts about the vitality sensor too. I think it's normal.
@ Lost spoilers
Richard apparently got smokified. He may still be alive, but it doesn't seem likely.
Ben seemed to have rejoined with Locke and shot Widmore. His girl Zoe got her throat cut by Locke.
Miles is off somewhere, God knows where.
Jacob gathered Hurley, Jack, Kate, and Sawyer around a campfire explaining that once the fire burns out they will never see him again. During this time, he explained that the names on the wall were just names on a wall. Kate was only scratched off because she became a mother, but was still eligible for the role to replace Jacob. He explained to them that he was responsible for the smoke monster and that it was just a matter of time until MIB figured out how to kill him for it. He gathered them around because he wanted one of them to choose who his replacement would be because he was never given a choice. He also wants them to kill the smoke monster.
After all that, Jack stepped up and chose the role. He realized that he wasn't exactly happy in his previous life and acknowledged that this is what he was meant for. They did the whole drinking from the cup ceremony and Jack is the new Jacob.
Meanwhile, MIB went to the well he dropped Desmond in to find out he was gone. He had previously found out that Widmore intended to use Desmond as a failsafe to destroy the island if MIB managed to kill all the candidates. Knowing this, MIB now plans to find and use Desmond to destroy the island.
Sideways timeline:
Desmond goes back to the school and sees Locke crossing the street again. It seems he's going to run him down again, but Ben stops him only to get his ass whooped Hume style. Ben seems to have a flash-sideways from getting beat down by Desmond (because Ben stayed getting beat up) and Desmond tells him that he wasn't trying to hurt Locke, he was trying to get him to let go.
Ben tells Locke that.
Desmond turns himself in to Officer Sawyer (Ford) and Miles.
In jail, Desmond encounters Sayid and Kate in the holding cell. They are being shipped to county when Desmond says "if I get you 2 out of here, I will ask one thing of you and you must promise you'll do it". They agree to the terms. The paddywagon stops and Ana Lucia was the driver. She wants some money she was promised to help them escape. The "contact" isn't there yet. From down the road comes a yellow Hummer and Hurley is inside. He gives Ana Lucia like $150,000 and she lets them go. Kate leaves to go with Desmond to a concert (presumably Jack's son's piano recital which Miles will also presumably be at) and Sayid goes somewhere with Hurley.
If I forgot anything, may someone else chime in.
Lol
@ Topic
Don't forget the reasons why you have doubt about Nintendo products (Virtual Boy, R.O.B, that game pad sleeve thingy, playing GC with a GBA) they are on a roll recently but this could be the one to knock them of the horse. Maybe people are tired of buying all these random products.
@ NBA
Looking like its going to be Celtics Lakers finals.
On a plane about to head to SFO for Google I/O. There should be come interesting game news — among other things — at the keynote, according to one of sources in the company. Games, Android 2.2 (FroYo), Google TV, Chrome, and more could be on tap today!
I have a hard time mulling the vitality sensor. Based upon my heart rate the game changes what is going on?
I sort of see this as a similar move to the balance board. It's all about fitness, and being associated with physical activity puts Nintendo at the top of the heap as far as parents, media, etc are concerned. Perhaps that is what they are hoping for? A cheap add-on to boost declining Wii sales?
@BB
Beat me to all of Nintendo's duds. I'm sad that Dwight Howard will miss out on a ring again this season.
@smartguy The difference betwwen the Balance Board and the Sensor is that I can imagine having fun on a balance board. Can you picture having fun with a heart rate monitor?
@Big Blak Thanks! I'm sipping a mimosa and will pass out shortly.
@ Ray
Enjoy yourself, have a safe flight brothaman from the fif flo', and keep us posted!
If Nintendo can make a neat lie detector game out of it, I will buy this thing on day one.
-M
@Ray
I use a heart rate monitor when I do cardio. It's a tool, nothing else. Like I said, I think it is mostly about association in order to push the brand.
@ SG
There has to be more than that lol. I was going to say the Game Cube as well but thats just a personal opinion. It was an awesome console for some but the SNES and N64 had the best quality games Nintendo put out one a consistent basis.
@BB
The 64 and SNES were their golden years honestly. The GC had some fun titles. Windwaker comes to mind…I actually enjoyed Mario Sunshine….but those are first party titles. At least on the aforementioned consoles there were so many greats from all devs.
i kinda think that this device will be on par with Virtual Boy. Miilions of shades of red….
@Ray
I have to disagree with you about Miyamoto. I think the industry has passed him by. Wii Music is a good example of that.
@smartguy Then what about Super Mario Galaxy 2?
@ Smartguy;
That just goes to show you that Miyamoto marches to his own tune.
(*cymbal crash*)
-M
@iceman
Hiooooo!!
Within this past week, my wife and I put the Wii in our 7 year old son's room… he has rarely left his room since.
We are enjoying the quiet.
I will say they will but primarily to the rehab clinics, hospitals, and other medical services that have purchased a Wii. It will be a great way for them to monitor some of the Wii fit games. I heard a rumor that the Red Steel 3 game may use the vitality sensor but i don't see how it would make the gaming experience better. This will not sell well with the general gamer or public.
@bryan danielson
Is there a video of this somewhere?? was it on NXT???
@hanley ramirez
if i had a $70 million contract i would take plays off too. Baseball is a long season and you can afford to lose ball games early in the season but not late in the season.
I don't see it going well, but I didn't see the Wii doing so well either. When I worked at the hospital here we used to play with the Pulseoximeters and see who could slow their heart down the most or speed it up the most while sitting still. Also if you hold your breathe for as long as possible you can watch your O2 saturation drop.
"Also if you hold your breathe for as long as possible you can watch your O2 saturation drop."
Didn't Beavis enjoy doing this?
Btw, I'm at SFO waiting for BART to leave to the city. It feels so frickin' cold! I miss the LA weather. Actually I miss Thailand's weather.
Btw (x2), send good vibes to Bangkok. So much violence yesterday. It's completely nuts. Hope my friends and their families are safe.
The only thing I can think of that the Vitality Sensor would be useful for would be people who are using some version of Wii Fit that supports it. Otherwise, it doesn't make a whole lotta sense to me what it's even for.
@Red Dead Redemption
I rented it yesterday….I am taking it back today. It is GTA4 in the old west. The movement of the character blows. It took me a full 2 minutes to watch up 2 steps and inside a door because I made the mistake of shooting a bad guy while he was coming out the door and he landed on the steps. It took so long to get inside they ended up shooting the girl I was supposed to save. Also trying to get perfectly lined up in front of a chest to open it is like balancing an orange on a piano wire.
The riding (driving) a horse isn't bad until you try and shoot. You are better off stopping & getting off your horse first.
You have to sleep to save, but luckily you have camping gear to save anywhere. Same craptastic GTA4 opening tutorial though. Even the pop-up dialogue boxes at the top are the same and the dinging noise when they pop-up is straight from GTA.
Taxi rides, outfits & shopping are all the same too.
I equate this game to Facebook games like Farmville & Mafia Wars. Oh there is plenty to do but all of it feels meaningless and none of it is very fun.
The voice acting is good and the dialogue is pretty fair outside of the cut scenes. The cut scenes are actually pretty good and the story kept me interested.
I won't be playing this game ever again. I played it for 5 hours last night, then I just couldn't stand how bored I was.
@rpad
Yeah i saw that thing about Thailand this morning and i was like man Rpad must be worried about his peeps out there. Hey i bought the iphone replacement screen, amongst other things, let me know if you see them….
@slicky
I rented it yesterday too for the ps3. I am going to try it out with a friend of mine too. i hope my experience goes better than yours. i tend to like GTA games but hate that the gameplay is sooo short at times, which is why i rented this.
@Tokz
I liked GTA all the way up to Vice City and didn't like San Andreas or GTA4. Out of all of the missions I did none of them took over 3 minutes to do. It is a cluster of short mission with you hunting (flowers, treasure & animals) in between.
@ray
First was good. Second will just be a rehash that uses their new accessories. Maybe someone will buy it for me.
@slicky
Did you like gta4? I'm on the fence about RDR. Liked gta4 but want a more linear experience with RDR
if anyone plays RDR let me know how it is!!!
im looking for any excuse to buy that game
@thundercracker
Read slickyfats comment #20.
@smartguy
I didn't like GTA4. What I didn;t like about it was having to keep up ties with my cousin and girlfriend(s). I never got off of the second Island in GTA4 before I never picked it up again.
RDR is not linear at all. I did like the MP in GTA4 the 2 times I tried it.
@thundercracker
To me it was worth a rent (mostly because I get half of my money back for returning it the next day), but never a game I would buy at full price. I didn't try the Multiplayer though.
@slicky
if you want to try out the MP on RDR let me know. I'll be on later on with a friend of mine.
@Tokz
K then I'll keep it for the full week. I'll probably be able to be on around 5:30 central.
@slicky
I will probably be on around the same time too.
Wow did anyone else have trouble accessing this site for the last 30 minutes or so??? Kept saying Not Available
@SlickyFats Something broke. I was not happy. Looks good now!
@everyone
my bad. I needed the extra outlet for the espresso machine.
I didn't enjoy GTA4 and I doubt I will like GTA : Wild Wild West Special Edition. Call of Juarez was an awesome western. It is a linear game but you can switch off between the two main characters so it gives you two sides of the same story and let me tell you the ending is awesome. BTW the targeting system in GTA : Wild Wild West Special Edition is a rip off of Call of Juarez's targeting system. COJ is a Ubisoft game so you know its good.
^ @ ALL ^
I'm getting rid of my Incredible. Call quality is very poor. Will go back to iPhone.
@smartguy Lemme know how much you're selling it for (via email).
@ray
Returning it to Bestbuy.100% refund.:(
OMG it looks like the double down is a success??? I want to try one out now!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37233140/from/ET?Gt1=…
@thundercracker- About what Slickyfats said, I would disagree with all of it. I'm loving it! I don't have the time to type out right now what all I love about it, maybe tomorrow.
One thing that surprised me- If you hear a rattlesnake, it's not just a sound effect. There's actually a rattlesnake very close to you.
@Redd75
All of it?? Really even the parts I said were good?? jk w/ ya
Google has solved the Internet problem plaguing the convention center. Apparently someone unplugged a cable. Really?!?
@Ray
I ordered some stuff from Amazon the other day. Did it finally register for you? Just curious because I used your search box. Neat stuff btw.
@smartguy and @tokz21 Saw a bunch of items ordered. Thanks!!!
@Google I/O Eff having an 8:30AM keynote this morning. Had too much fun last night and I'll feel awful later.
I wish some of these shows happened in NOLA or close to it.
@Ray
I have an image of you buying shots of Jaegermeister served in tubes. You then take said shots stuck in the cleavage of the hot chick selling them. Ah…Bourbon Street.
@rpad
what gave it away that it was my order?? the blackest night ring? or the blackest night#2? or was it the x-men animated series volume 1?
@smartguy
hey my gf and her volunteer group will be going down to NOLA for Habitat for Humanity next Sat before Memorial day weekend. Any advice on what to see, where to hang out, must eat places… etc…
@topic
I love Nintendo, always have. Then I think other competitors came out with great next gen consoles and next gen games to go along with them. I really don't know completely what happened to the big N after the N64, but that is the last time I have really fully supported them (baring handhelds because I have never stopped on that front). I just don't find everything like the Wii to be all the great anymore. Twilight Princess had me sold on one, and then nothing really seemed that great after that game, nothing compared to that game on the Wii, therefore they still have not gotten my business.
To answer the question though, I think it will sell, but currently this doesn't seem like it will sell at quite the same numbers as other recent products of theirs.
@smartguy Ha! Nothing that crazy. Though I had to check in on Cliffy B today because I thought it was a good idea to drunk call him at 2AM last night. Oops.
@tokz
Cafe du Monde in the French Quarter for breakfast. Cafe au lait and beignets are good anytime though. I'd advise eating anything but local. In the quarter they can eat at Deanie's for fried seafoods or if they want to spend a few dollars and dress nicer they should check out Bourbon House in the quarter.
Fun stuff is relative. I enjoy going to the riverwalk since it is on the river and you can take a paddleboat up the river. Jackson Square is very old and worth seeing.
Nighttime I'd suggest Bourbon street specifically Tropical Isle, Razzoo's or the dungeon.
If they want a sandwich, look up a joint called Mother's. Best poboys on the planet.
@smartguy
thanks i'll pass it along. I wish i could go but i don't have the corporate backing those girls have. They are all going down there on their companies dime.
@tokz
I hope to have a gig one day that sends me places.
@smartguy
i have one like that right now but this is a volunteer thing and i don't think they'll send me somewhere on their dime just to volunteer. It has to be a tradeshow.
@tokz
did you play RDR MP last night. I went home early and my internet crapped out at around 445. I tried the MP on RDR and it was just awful its so glitchy. I tried playing SP again and tried out some of the mini games in town. The one where you stick the knife between your fingers just plain doesn't work.I made it to level 5 Survialist & shaprshooter and Level 3 flower picker.
At the ranch play the patrol mission with the dog. Worst thing ever! Follow the dog for a few minutes until it says you failed.
I just can't stand anymore of this gameplay. I love the graphics, sound effects (coyotes sound great as do the skunks) & the premises of the game though..
@slicky
i did. I had just missed you. when i logged on at 530 it said you were offline for 27 mins. I sent you a message in case you ever came one. I played the SP too. The first 10 mins where like 3 mins of gameplay and 7 of cut scenes. I find the riding your horse bit a little complicated. I have to idea what to do. Was it me or is the prompt font a little difficult to read and follow? I played the MP and was killed 3 times but i killed 6 people so my k/d ratio is 2 to 1 no? 1 death shouldn't count as a bounty was placed and the police was after me. I find the MP aspect of this more interesting than the campaign. I find it hard to justify $59.99 for a MP game where the SP campaign is what being praised about this game but i don't like it.
@ All
So whats the verdict on RDR so far?
@Big Blak
I'll have to play with it more before i make my final verdict but it's not looking good from my end. note: there's a joke to be made out of this sentence.
@ Tokz
Lmao
@ All
Apple reversed its "no plastic, no iPad" policy
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/20/apple-st…
@Big blak
I don't personally care much for it.I have almost 12 hours in it and it just isn't fun. Its probably worth a rent but by no means would I buy it (and I buy everything).
@tokz
I ran around in MP for 30ish minutes but never went to anything. The other 2 guys that were in there were 100 miles away.
As for the prompts…Yes they are extremely tough to read and follow. The tutorials for stuff go by kinda quick when you are trying to play and read. I got killed in my first duel because I didn't understand what to do. I was watching the screen and didn't notice the prompt had popped up at the top and it disappeared when I started to read it.
@Big blak
Its nice to see they gave her a free iPad. I guess Apple can only take just so much bad press before they do something nice.
@slicky
I totally agree there is no direction in MP. i guess that's why it's called Free Roam. If they were to make this to an MMO where you have quests like Warcraft. I would totally be into this but no direction in MP and a questionable/glitchy SP experience have turned me off from buying this. I feel bad for my friend who bought this and now has broken the seal to play with me yesterday.
@BB
And he bought Haze. That's saying something.
@ SG
Totally forgot about that. Shame, shame on you lol.
@smartguy & Big Blak
HAHA. See thats what I mean that I buy everything except RDR.
BTW I finally found a copy of Batman AA: GOTY edition. Bought it!
@slicky
I've just bought AA on walmart's website. I had a $10 gc so it ended up being around $22. i can't ask for a better deal.
@tokz
let me know if it ends up being the goty ed.
@slicky
will do. I'll be so upset if it's not. It's says GOTY and 3-D on the cover & description. It's weird that when i went back today the 360 one was missing.
It's official DLC codes being sold on ebay for RDR Golden Guns/War Horse; this is getting out of control.
http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_trkparms=65%253A12%2…
@tokz
wow $50-60 for a dang code. Your friend who bought it, did he get one of these? Tell him to sell it. that is just crazy for 1 horse.
@ slicky
i know!!!!! Im going to tell him in a bit. He works overnights and doesnt get up until 530 or 6.
You know, it's a marketer's dream to have someone pay $50 or $60 for an imaginary item.
-M