Category: Nintendo DS

Coffee Talk #227: Why Are You Down on Portable Gaming?

Over the last two years, I’ve learned about your gaming likes and dislikes. For various reasons, a lot of you — probably the majority of regular RPadholics — aren’t down with handheld gaming. This breaks my heart. Some of the best gaming experiences of my life were on handheld systems. From…

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, Bobby Cox hanging up the spikes, Courteney Cox dumping David Arquette, or the unimpressive Microsoft Windows Phone 7 presser, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Over the last two years, I’ve learned about your gaming likes and dislikes. For various reasons, a lot of you — probably the majority of regular RPadholics — aren’t down with handheld gaming. This breaks my heart. Some of the best gaming experiences of my life were on handheld systems. From Pokemon to Final Fantasy Tactics Advance to Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII to countless RPGs, I’ve had a blast playing games on portable systems.

Help me understand why you don’t dig handheld gaming as much as I do. In the immortal words of Jerry Maguire, “Help me, help you!” Why are you down on portable gaming?

This Week’s Videogame Releases

There so many great games coming out this week, ranging from major releases to several game-of-the-year editions to a follow-up to an incredibly innovative DS title. Leading the way is Medal of Honor (which one of you was kind enough to order through my Amazon links — thanks!). Bundled editions include Dragon Age: Origins Ultimate Edition, Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition, and Uncharted 2: Game of the Year Edition. Just Dance 2 is going to be a wildly popular game for the Wii (it’s already #8 on Amazon’s videogame charts). DS fans have Super Scribblenauts and Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals to gobble up. As a La Parka mark, I’m really looking forward to Lucha Libre AAA: Heroes of the Ring.

*sigh* There are like four games I want to buy this week. How about you? What new games do you plan on picking up?

Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light Review for Machinima

Here’s my Machinima.com review for Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light. Despite its flaws, it’s easily in my personal “Top 5” for 2010. It’s a delightful old-school RPG with an awesome job system (I love job systems!). Here’s a quote:

Aside from the annoying auto-targeting, I really enjoyed The 4 Heroes of Light. It offers an enjoyable adventure that lasts about 35 hours. If you want to tackle the game’s four optional towers, get every job, and level up all your gear then you can easily hit 70 hours of gameplay. A great job system and addictive level-up features make Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light an excellent value that old-school RPG fans will enjoy.

If you have a moment, please head over to Machinima, check out my review, and leave some comments. Thanks muchly!

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This Week’s Videogame Releases

There are lots of great games hitting shelves this week! In the immortal words of Michael Buffer (or Triple H), “Are you ready?!?” Enslaved has been getting great buzz from the enthusiast press. I really liked this game at E3 2010 and can’t wait to jump into it. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow just might be the first great modern Castlevania game. Although I hate the use of Michael Jordan as a cover athlete (go Pistons!), NBA 2K11 looks pretty hot. I’m not going to play it, but I sure as hell want to watch other people give Def Jam Rapstar a go. Last, but not least, is Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light, which is one of my personal favorites of 2010.

Any of you picking up new games this week?

How Bad Will the Nintendo 3DS Shortage Be?

Most analysts chalk up Nintendo’s February 2011 3DS launch to supply issues. Several experts predicted a November 2010 launch in Japan, with other regions getting the portable gaming system in March 2011. That fits in with the information I gathered at GDC 2010. Since Nintendo will be launching the 3DS in multiple regions in the span of a month, analysts are predicting a supply shortage, but how bad will it be?

Nintendo had a devil of a time meeting demand for the Wii, but who could have predicted those ridiculous sales? The 3DS is pretty much a sure thing — there’s no doubt that it will sell millions out of the gate. Nintendo knows this like I know water is wet. That said, there will probably be hundreds of thousands of people that want a 3DS but won’t be able to get one in February/March 2011. I don’t expect the shortage to be as bad as the Wii, but I could see it lasting throughout the year.

What do you think? Will the 3DS be difficult to obtain throughout 2011? Or will it only be in short supply for a few months? Does the prospect of a shortage have you thinking about pre-ordering the system?

Coffee Talk #221: So Psyched for Portable Gaming in 2011!!!

I’m so excited for portable gaming in 2011. The Nintendo 3DS is coming in March. Several developers are working on games for the PSP2. Apple iOS, Google Android, and Microsoft Windows Phone 7 games are going to get huge. At the very least, it’s going to be chaotic trying to cover and understand everything. At best, we will be overwhelmed by the flood of excellent portable games.

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, Intelligentsia’s Organic Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Adado, remembering to vote for WWE AJ Lee in the NXT poll, or if you’re going to see Wall Street 2, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

I’m so excited for portable gaming in 2011. The Nintendo 3DS is coming in March. Several developers are working on games for the PSP2. Apple iOS, Google Android, and Microsoft Windows Phone 7 games are going to be better than ever. At the very least, it’s going to be chaotic trying to cover and understand everything. At best, we will be overwhelmed by the flood of excellent portable games.

I realize that most of you RPadholics are home console guys, but I’d bet that most of you will do more portable gaming in 2011 than you did in 2010. There are too many capable platforms and too many potentially cool games. It’s going to be tough to ignore!

Are any of you guys and dolls as excited about the prospects of portable gaming in 2011 as I am? What platforms are you looking forward to? If you’re still not convinced handheld gaming is worth your time then I must ask you…why the hell not?!?

Today’s Poll: What Will the Nintendo 3DS Cost in America?

You have the initial launch information on the Nintendo 3DS and a list of games in development. What do you think Nintendo’s upcoming portable will cost in America? The Japanese price is 25,000 yen, which is around $300. However, the yen is remarkably strong against the USD, so I doubt that’s what it’ll cost over here. Please take today’s poll and explain your choice in the comments section.

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List of Nintendo 3DS Games in Development

Here’s a list of Nintendo 3DS games that are in development. It’s based on stuff I saw at E3 2010, assorted press releases, and the sizzle reel posted above. When you have a moment, please let me know which games have you excited for Nintendo’s next handheld console.

  • The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
  • Kid Icarus
  • Animal Crossing
  • Paper Mario
  • Nintendogs + Cats
  • Mario Kart
  • Pilotwings Resort
  • Paper Mario
  • StarFox64 3D
  • Kingdom Hearts
  • Chocobo Racing
  • Resident Evil: Revelation
  • Resident Evil: Mercenaries
  • Mega Man Legends 3
  • Super Street Fighter 4 3D
  • Dead or Alive Dimensions
  • Samurai Warriors: Chronicle
  • Super Monkeyball
  • Ridge Racer
  • Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater
  • Steel Diver

Nintendo 3DS Release Date: Japan February 26, America March 2011

Nintendo recently held a press conference in Japan, revealing the launch date of its Nintendo 3DS handheld console — February 26, 2011 in Japan and March 2011 in America/Europe.

Longtime handheld gamers will be pleased to learn that Game Boy and Game Boy Advance titles will be available for download, similar to the Wii Virtual Console. Super Mario Land and The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX were shown as examples.

The Nintendo 3DS will be available in two colors: Aqua Blue and Cosmos Black. The system will come with a 2GB SD card. It will cost 25,000 yen in Japan (around $300), while pricing in other regions will be revealed at a later date.

I know that a lot of you aren’t high on the Nintendo DS or Wii, but I promise you that this handheld will be amazing. I was extremely impressed with it at E3 2010. Once people see what the 3DS can do, they’ll fall in love with it. Nintendo is going to sell millions of these things…which shouldn’t surprise anyone.

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This Week’s Videogame Releases

There are lots of great games shipping this week, spanning a variety of genres. Fans of the beautiful game will be able to enjoy FIFA 11 on every platform known to man. If you’d rather kill zombies than play (international) football then there’s Dead Rising 2. Gamers that haven’t had their fill of Guitar Hero will want to check out Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock. Nothing calling out to you yet? How about giant robots?!? Get some mech action going with Front Mission Evolved. Last, but not least, is an RPG for PS3 gamers: Atelier Rorona…or as I call it Atelier Reona Rewis.

Any of you picking up new games this week? Kindly let me know what’s on your wish list!