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Bruce was not pleased.

This is really old news. I just found this Interview in IGN from May 18 in which Kensuke Tanabe, Product Manager at Nintendo NCL, explains why Hunters won't have Internet multiplayer:

IGN: With multiplayer being Metroid Prime Hunter's focus, and Nintendo's stance on going online with its Nintendo DS software, what can you tell us about the possibility of this game going online?

Kensuke Tanabe: Unfortunately, the game won't support the multiplayer internet function of the Nintendo DS. To do it, it's not that easy and we'd have to build the infrastructure for it to work properly. The timing of the game release and the building of the infrastructure just didn't match. So while it won't be online, multiplayer will still be very very fun.

Obviously release dates change, but currently Mario Kart DS is coming out less than a month after Hunters is (and Animal Crossing comes out about five weeks after).

Are you sure? Hunters should be coming out August 22, 2005 , while Mario Kart (according to IGN) is scheduled to come out on November 7, 2005. That's more than two months. I'm not sure when they'll come out in Japan, though.

Either way, you should also take in account when planning startet. I think it's fair to assume that Hunters has been in development longer than Mario Kart, so they knew less about Nintendos online plans during the planning stages.

Lastly, Hunters was developed by NST in Redmond, while Mario Kart is presumably developed by Nintendo Japan. It's possible that the Mario Kart team had access to more information about Nintendos online system than the Hunters team.

That's interesting, but you didn't say who actually agreed to give it a high score in exchange for an early review. It's probably some no-name. Gamespot gave Driver a 7.7, so it's not them. IGN gave it a 9.7, but the review came out after the game's release, so it doesn't look like they took the deal.

Also, what is your source?

Q: Will Revolution feature screens on the console or the controller?

A: No. At a June 2004 analyst briefing in Japan, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said, "We have no intention of making a two-screen console akin to the [Nintendo] DS."

http://cube.ign.com/articles/522/522559p2.html

No, really, thanks for the advice. I've been getting really close, around 740m, actually, and haven't really been playing very long. I unlocked the first Eternal right away, and haven't even worked on the second one... I like rolling up really big stuff the most...

It's just that it's getting frustrating because I seem to *always* roll up between 590-740m, without getting obviously better. So I've got to do something different, but I don't know really what. At least you've given me some ideas to try, thanks for that.

I think my problem has been that I *am* sweating the small stuff, trying to get everything possible, and thus wasting time going from area to area, avoiding larger stuff out of ( possibly pointless ) fear that I'll not be able to pick up smaller stuff because it'll disappear when I get too big to see it. I picked up this bit of advice :

if you want the Eternal version, you must get it up to 800m... The key to completing this goal is getting as big as you can early on by collecting many items very quickly. It may not seem like much, but those extra telephones, bikes, kids, and animals really do pay off in the end.

The charge-run after 600m, though, that sounds interesting, and is something I haven't done. I've not really done the charge-run much, actually, I find it kinda awkward to do. Not using it may be my whole problem.

And yea, I get the impression I'm not really good at this game. It's still pretty fun, though.

"Did you read what I said... you simply stated exactly what I originally said way back in the original post that was moded "0, flamebait.""
Umm... you said nothing about either console's performance in Japan. You also claimed that there are no good games in the "forseeable future", when clearly there are plenty of games coming up for the DS, and maybe for the PSP, if you have the patience to search through the hordes of mediocre UMD movies on that list. Ugh, not so much for the PSP, I suppose. Only one game release per month in July and August? So scratch what I said about the PSP, but the DS has a great lineup for the summer and fall.

"TFA was about the CURRENT state of handhelds, and the current state is bleak."
The CURRENT state of handhelds extends to Japan as well, and as I pointed out earlier, the DS is doing just fine in the land of the rising sun. If I knew enough Japanese (or had enough cash) to import Nintendogs, Band Bros, Trace Memory, and Electroplankton, I would be occupied for the rest of the summer.

"Did you read what I said... you simply stated exactly what I originally said way back in the original post that was moded "0, flamebait.""
Umm... you said nothing about either console's performance in Japan. You also claimed that there are no good games in the "forseeable future", when clearly there are plenty of games coming up for the DS, and maybe for the PSP, if you have the patience to search through the hordes of mediocre UMD movies on that list. Ugh, not so much for the PSP, I suppose. Only one game release per month in July and August? So scratch what I said about the PSP, but the DS has a great lineup for the summer and fall.

"TFA was about the CURRENT state of handhelds, and the current state is bleak."
The CURRENT state of handhelds extends to Japan as well, and as I pointed out earlier, the DS is doing just fine in the land of the rising sun. If I knew enough Japanese (or had enough cash) to import Nintendogs, Band Bros, Trace Memory, and Electroplankton, I would be occupied for the rest of the summer.

This is the earliest posting I can see on the VN board created shortly after the initial announcement of the game by Mythic. The post dates back to June of 2002. For all intents and purposes, the game has failed to garner much of a following in over three years. I think Mythic was smart to pull the plug on this one. My only beef is that they should have done this much much sooner.

C'mon, what's a videogame review without screenshots? Here's some for the curious, courtesy of IGN.. http://media.ps2.ign.com/media/716/716651/imgs_1.h tml

OK, just found some updated info.

Apparently the router functionality was something they tried during the design stages, but was never in the final spec.

The PS3 currently has 3 Gigabit Ethernet ports and can act as a switching hub. That functionality is still present and could be used to connect the PS3 to other devices, such as HD cable/satellite boxes, external storage, etc. Specific plans for the ports have not been announced though.

Here is an IGN article from yesterday: PS3 Router Functions Revisited

However, the games must be designed well. In Hot Shots Golf it takes 10 seconds max to load a course to play it. If a racing game took 30 seconds to load a track, no one would play it more than twice. The developers need to be VERY careful with this.

That, of course, is the big mistake. Sony is leaving it up to the developers to cover for this, and that's a huge mistake - because portable games are cheaply made. They always have been. They're (by necessity) simpler than full console games, which means that they'll be put out quicker, and with less testing, than the full console games. This shouldn't be the way things are - but it is.

Racing game that took 30 seconds to load a track? Yah. The PSP has one. Midnight Club 3 takes 70 seconds on average to load a track. And the tracks are only 150 seconds to play!

That's kindof the whole point. The system will get the reputation that the developers give it, not the reputation that it could have if the game was designed well. Even the GBA isn't immune to this - first generation games were very hard to play because they used a poor color palette, and so the GBA got a terrible reputation for having an awful screen. Later games were better, but the damage had already been done.

The onus should be on Sony, not on developers. They never should have let Midnight Club 3 see the light of day - it makes the PSP look horrible. But I think it might be too late.

Not only does the trailer look great, but the voice of the king character is none other than Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

Sorry xbox fanboy/MS PR astroturfer

Excuse me? And you're not a Sony fanboy?

I have an Xbox and a PS2. The last console game I bought (and played to death) was Gran Turismo 4 on the PS2 - and I'm planning on picking up a PSP when GTA finally comes out for it. Although if any games come out on both platforms, the Xbox version is usually the one to get as it's a better machine.

If I came across as having a negative attitude towards the PS3, it's only because of the smug air of superior contempt from Sony (and people like you) over the PS3. Remember the PS2's "Emotion Engine" massive overhype that turned out to be nothing more than a big marketing joke? I'm inclined to not believe a single word about the PS3 until I can see it for myself.

the PS3 has been in development longer

So it's an older, more dated design than the 360 then? That'll be a problem for Sony if the PS3 is obsolete by the time it hits the shelf...

And the amazingly poor showing at E3 seems to have been so bad as to turn off a large percentage of even the most diehard xbox owners.

Except that some retailers have already blown through their 360 pre-order allocations. This does not sound "turned off" to me.

We doubt MS will be able to even hold

Sorry - who is "we"? With your acidic hatred and disrespect of the Xbox and Dreamcast (including repeated use of the term "Dreamcast 360" - which isn't clever or funny), you're sounding more and more like a Sony rep. At worst you are reciting the opinions of others - at best it is in your interest to see the PS3 succeed. Your opinion is not exactly unbiased.

It looks like the diehard xbox fanboys really only have one thing right now and that is clinging to any of the high estimates for the PS3's price.

I thought they were drooling over Project Gotham and Gears Of War.. not to mention Final Fantasy and Prey.

The engine is quite good at rendering large outdoor scenarios. Take a look at Enemy Territory: Quake Wars

http://pc.ign.com/objects/748/748377.html

-B

Kirby Canvas Curse is great. Meteos and Electroplankton both look awesome too.

Other games I'm looking forward to...

Nanostray
Viewtiful Joe
Metroid
Castlevania
New Super Mario Bros. (side scroller!)

Kirby Canvas Curse is great. Meteos and Electroplankton both look awesome too.

Other games I'm looking forward to...

Nanostray
Viewtiful Joe
Metroid
Castlevania
New Super Mario Bros. (side scroller!)

Kirby Canvas Curse is great. Meteos and Electroplankton both look awesome too.

Other games I'm looking forward to...

Nanostray
Viewtiful Joe
Metroid
Castlevania
New Super Mario Bros. (side scroller!)

Kirby Canvas Curse is great. Meteos and Electroplankton both look awesome too.

Other games I'm looking forward to...

Nanostray
Viewtiful Joe
Metroid
Castlevania
New Super Mario Bros. (side scroller!)

I've seen previews/hands-on at

http://ps2.ign.com/articles/616/616670p1.html

http://www.psxextreme.com/scripts/previews2/previe w.asp?PrevID=419

and http://www.game-instructions.com/previews/we-love- katamari-hands-on-preview/

Still, its always good to read a new article to keep the interest going.

Yes.

So the original news was that platinum titles would MSRP for $35. So what? Is this a big discount? If it is, it's more of a correction than an initiative. I can't speak for Microsoft, but Nintendo's Players' Choice line has had lower prices (if I recall, $40 or less) for years. In fact, this IGN article from nearly two years ago talks about some popular Gamecube titles being discounted to $30 and even $20.

MS and Nintendo "won't go budget?" Go look at a game rack, buddy. Nintendo's been acquainted with budget pricing longer than either of the other Big Three, and Microsoft has its own Platinum Hits campaign from several years back. We're supposed to be siding with Sony for cutting the high-end budget price by a fiver? Give me a break.

I'd go as far to say that MS views the Xbox as a failure, and that's why their so eager to jump ahead into the next generation.

But in some respects, Microsoft did far better with the Xbox than they were expecting. Several pieces of the Xbox empire (like Xbox Live) have done tremendously. Launching the first global online console gaming platform is no small feat. Microsoft knew that they were in for a tough fight. Their worst-case scenario would have been "get eaten alive by Sony" - and that didn't happen (although it came close in Japan - Japan is a tiny market).

As for Nintendo, they're always a wild card

True, but that means they don't have a focus. Nintendo's street image is "handhelds for kids". Their Gameboy and DS are doing too well to allow them to win on the console front. Companies can only push one type of product at a time - otherwise their products compete against each other, the marketing message turns muddy and people stop listening.

(This muddying of the message is partly how the Nintendo 64 came unseated by it's own Gameboy - and is now Sony's problem. For Sony fans, the PSP is far more exciting than the PS2 - yet true fans of handhelds are more interested in Nintendo's DS as they already had a Gameboy.)

(And this is also why car manufacturers often have several brands to help them sell different products to different markets. Even Toyota's done it with their Scion and Lexus brands that have laser focus on markets (in this case: gen-Y'ers and luxury) that would normally exclude Toyota).

The only way I can forsee myself buying another Nintendo product is if it really is light years ahead of anything else.

Still, it'll be interesting to see what happens next.

Some big misinformation there, even if your general point is probably correct.

The PSP launched at less than $200 in Japan, making the eventual US release actually more expensive! You're right that this is normally the other way around, but it wasn't for the PSP.

Sony has always claimed that the price drop for the US release of the PS1 was due to manufacturing improvements. Supposedly they sold it roughly at cost. (I don't have a link for this handy, but this was pretty widely reported. I am sure some smart searching will find it if you don't believe me for some reason.) You could of course argue that Sony was lying, but I am not sure there is actual evidence you could use for that.

I do think it is likely that Sony will price the PS3 competitively with the Xbox360. But it is entirely possible that they might try and make it out to be the more premium product, with a slight price difference to match (much like they currently do with the PSP). Sony isn't doing that well financially, so I am not sure how much they can realistically lose on each PS3, assuming it ends up being as pricy as it could...

I do, and it looks like this; but it's unfinished.

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/628/628048p1.html

It's not running at full clockrate, it gets REALLY hot (but so does the X360's devkit, which often experiences graphics glitches and lockups when it warms up), and the GPU is a G70, not a fully-fledged RSX.

It's definitely not perfect for development, but it will start devs off with a leg up to at least start the first couple of games, and they'll run (faster) on the final as long as there are no serious sync issues, and they'll get a second revision closer to term with actual PS3 hardware in it which is when they test what it behaves like on the final PS3 Cell, RSX and Blu-ray (but possibly not Dual Shock 3). (I doubt the transition from this hardware to the final PS3 will go smoothly, so the first batch of games might not be as polished as anyone would like, but that's par for the course for launch titles.)

Somewhere in the ballpark of a Christmas 2006 release for US and Japan does sound about right, though, with Europe following sometime 2007.

*shrug* I'm gettin' both. And probably a Revolution too. Why not? :)

Not to defend microsoft, but I don't think that wireless controllers are going to be much of a problem. If they're anything even remotely like the quality of Nintendo's Wavebird for GameCube then interference isn't going to be an issue. As for battery life, microsoft has said that there will be a rechargeable battery option that can be charged from the XBox 360 system over a USB cable and that a pair of AA batteries will give ~40 hours of playtime, which might not actually be the case but is hardly an unreasonable thing to believe.

You can read about them here and here

Reliable information, no, but Nintendo has said that the Revolution would be about three times more powerful than the Gamecube (probably much more honest than MS or Sony).* As the Gamecube uses a 485MHz G3 processor, that suggests to me a single G4 or G5-type processor in the 1.2 to 1.5GHz range. Sounds good to me, and well within the realm of possibility. I don't think we'll see anything terribly exotic like those rumors say.

*http://cube.ign.com/articles/615/615019p1.html

An example of games on both systems (GC/Xbox) where GC game looks much better is http://cube.ign.com/objects/477/477635.htmlFifa 2002 World Cup Edition.

But I guess that's really just my opinion.

Here's your source!
http://cube.ign.com/articles/522/522559p2.html

Q: Is Revolution "two-to-three times more powerful than GameCube"?

A: USA Today reported this news based on a comment from Nintendo of America's vice president of corporate affairs, Perrin Kaplan. The information was later determined to be false. We do not yet know how much more power Revolution wields over its predecessor.

The two games I return to again and again are Master of Orion II and American McGee's Alice. Even better, both run just fine under Wine on my Linux box.

The two games I return to again and again are Master of Orion II and American McGee's Alice. Even better, both run just fine under Wine on my Linux box.

Units will have strengths and weaknesses against other types of units. For instance, pikemen will have a decided advantage over mounted units and axemen will be especially good against melee units.

[...] the promotions will add this type of customization in a much more fluid manner since the units are upgraded "on the fly" (i.e. with each new promotion) and you don't have to have researched a certain tech to gain access to them all. Some of the promotions include: jungle or forest bonuses, city defense, city raider, flanking, or just simple power bonuses. You will be able to make units that are specialized without changing all of a certain type and you can change "paths" as your situation dictates.

The Watchmen movie has been suspended, actually.

http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/622/622941p1.htm l?

In the movie The 6th Day, there was something that looked like a tailless helicopter with twin blade rotors that were unusually wide and could lock into swept wing position when transitioning from helicopter mode to fast, jet assisted flight. There's a lame picture in the link that doesn't really do it justice. If anyone can find a better link...

You might be interested in the new wario ware game then. :)

Images of Super Mario Brothers 2 a la Super Mario Advance.

Also, Super Mario 3 a la Su per Mario Advance 4, and Super Mario World a la Super Mario Advance 2. Yoshi's Island (Super Mario Advance 3) has screenshots here.

Images of Super Mario Brothers 2 a la Super Mario Advance.

Also, Super Mario 3 a la Su per Mario Advance 4, and Super Mario World a la Super Mario Advance 2. Yoshi's Island (Super Mario Advance 3) has screenshots here.

Images of Super Mario Brothers 2 a la Super Mario Advance.

Also, Super Mario 3 a la Su per Mario Advance 4, and Super Mario World a la Super Mario Advance 2. Yoshi's Island (Super Mario Advance 3) has screenshots here.

Images of Super Mario Brothers 2 a la Super Mario Advance.

Also, Super Mario 3 a la Su per Mario Advance 4, and Super Mario World a la Super Mario Advance 2. Yoshi's Island (Super Mario Advance 3) has screenshots here.

WoW expansion just confirmed...

http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/628/628010p1.html

"We had 4.5 months to create, design and develop a Neverwinter Night module with one hour of gameplay. Our team consisted of 7 Level Designers and 3 Artist. Teammates chose a Team Lead, Game Design Lead, Level Design Lead and Art Lead. We then had to create a company name and logo, mission statement and team contract. Several documents were created for direction; Concept, Game Design, and Asset & Development Plan. The focus was to create a module with custom content including custom character models, placeables, storyline and scripts. Milestones were put into place to insure team productivity. Gameplay testing was enforced throughout the project. Once the module was completed we then focused on marketing our module through creating an install executable on a promotional CD, DVD cases including custom art, game info, and a manual. We also produced a minute and a half trailer. To complete the process we then promoted our game at The Guildhall's "Game Exhibition" where we presented our game to the public and industry professionals."

"An ancient forest grows dark with the coming of a looming shadow. Ko, a primal hunter, is a champion of the tribe. He has to find and destroy the source of the shadow to save his world from unending darkness. The Hunt is a single player, Action/RPG set in an Ancient Period. In this Demo Module, you'll play a tribal hunter who fights beast of legend in order to gain the respect of the Village Elder."

NCSoft's Guild Wars no-subscription fee online RPG outsold WoW in this week's PC Games Chart.

WoW's good, but how much momentum will Guild Wars manage to pick up?

If graphics really mattered, the XBox would be number 1, followed closely by the GameCube, with the PS2 coming in dead last. Graphics don't matter. If Nintendo can say to developers "you'll notice only a slight increase in development cost from last generation", while MS and Sony demand developers spend 4x the cash on art than they did previously, you'll be looking at a lot more third party support for the Rev.

Ask yourself this; if HD was the norm now, and GTA :SA came out on the PS2 on SD, while MS released a game like Red Ninja, but it's in HD? Which would you buy? And would the fact that the Xbox game was in HD, despite the fact it's a terrible, terrible game really have made your choice difficult?

The resolution doesn't matter. Graphics don't matter that much. Asteroids is still a fantastic game, even though it's 2D vectors at a tiny resolution. It's gameplay and marketing and that's why Pokemon gameboy games recently topped 100 million.

I rest my case.

Agreed. I love Nintendo, and hope their new tactics succeed. It's time to build some new brands though. The plumber, although tried and true, is tired and through.

Bring on Metroid Pinball.

Here is an interview with Nintendo regarding Hunters. The relevant part is: IGN: With multiplayer being Metroid Prime Hunter's focus, and Nintendo's stance on going online with its Nintendo DS software, what can you tell us about the possibility of this game going online? Kensuke Tanabe: Unfortunately, the game won't support the multiplayer internet function of the Nintendo DS. To do it, it's not that easy and we'd have to build the infrastructure for it to work properly. The timing of the game release and the building of the infrastructure just didn't match. So while it won't be online, multiplayer will still be very very fun.

"Miyamoto has no involvement in Twilight Princess. That is mostly why it is so much different looking than the previous ones."

That's what I thought, too, but IGN's new Hyrule Times says differently:
"Luckily, I had the opportunity to interview some key members of the game's development team, including director Eiji Aonuma and also Shigeru Miyamoto, who will have a much more influential role on this new Zelda than he has the previous two."

Maybe Miyamoto's involvement is one of the reasons it looks different. IIRC, Miyamoto was opposed to the cel-shaded look of Wind Waker. Perhaps he wants to take the series back to its dungeon-based roots, since both Wind Waker and Majora's Mask were a little short on dungeons.

just because your's is functioning fine doesn't mean that Sony has their quality under control. If they were meeting the standard Six Sigma measures, this point would be moot. However, it is not.

870k is the total for this year. (I just quoted that number to point out what rate they are selling at.) The PSP launched in 2004 and probably sold plenty at launch. I recall seeing that the US and Japan sales figures were pretty close.

As for DS vs. PSP, what I heard was that the DS had a much better launch. After their launches, the PSP started slowly catching up, although it still has a long way to go. Then Nintedogs was released, and it boosted DS sales a lot. According to the link I gave earlier, the DS is still doing better, at least in Japan. The totals for this year say the PSP has sold a bit less than 1% more units than the DS, and that excludes the huge head start the DS got with its launch.

Actually, IGN's Revolution FAQ states that the "2-3 times more powerful" comment was incorrectly attributed to Nintendo. At this time, there is no information about the technical specs of the console, aside from a little information about storage and peripherals. Due to the size of the casing, it appears that the Revolution could be less powerful than the PS3 and Xbox 360. But judging by the size of current generation consoles, it's entirely possible for Nintendo's console to be smaller and still quite powerful.

And even if the "2-3 times" quote was true, it still wouldn't mean much. Sony and Microsoft both exaggerated their specs at the beginning of this current generation, while Nintendo actually understated the GameCube's power. Their conservative estimate in polygon count was exceeded by a launch title, Rogue Leader, while neither the PS2 or Xbox have even come close to their original predictions.

So while it's certainly possible that the Revolution could be the weakest of the three, at this point there's no way of telling. And given MS and Sony's histories of fudging numbers, it's likely that we won't know for sure until developers are given the chance to work with all three and make a decision.

The numbers I've seen say the Rev is "2-3 times" more powerful than the GCN, while the Xbox 360 is "13-15 times" more powerful than the Xbox 1, and the PS3 is "35 times" more powerful than the PS2.

Looking at this page, it looks like Xbox's numbers are bigger than Gamecube's in every category. And while the PS2's are smaller, the reported 35-fold increase in performance would put them well above 2-3 times increase over GCN.

So, I hope you can understand how I came to the conclusion that the Xbox 360 and PS3 are more powerful. I'm not claiming that the numbers are what's important, only that (according to reports from the companies themselves), the Xbox360/PS3 have more "RAW CPU/GPU POWAH" than the Revolution.