Topic: The OFFICIAL Big N rumor thread *bring your own salt*

[Shaymin]

There should be a powerup in the Mario games that turns Mario into a werewolf who can then savagely tear his enemies apart and devour them with blood and gore splattering all over the screen.

Now let us never speak of this again.

[broodwars]

Take this rumor with an entire container of salt given its source, but Destructoid's posting a rumor that Epic Mickey 2 may be in development.  At the very least, it looks like Disney might be trying to do some online market research on the game before officially green-lighting it.  The rumor goes on to state that the game would be released for all 3 major consoles (Wii, PS3, 360...yes, no word on Wii U), and would have 2 player Co-op (Mickey & Oswald).

Link

I'd be happy if this turned out to be a real game.  I had my share of issues with Epic Mickey (most notably that it never did live up to its own concept art, and the actual "game" part of the experience was a bit of a tedious grind), but it was a good game overall.  I'd like to see a more fleshed-out sequel that takes better advantage of the concept's potential.

[Ian Sane]

Looking at this whole second analog stick for the 3DS thing the big question is "why would Nintendo do it?"  Does that have ANY effect whatsoever on weak 3DS sales and would it improve sales?  I don't think it would matter at all.  If anything adding the stick would split the userbase and confuse consumers.  What benefit is there in adding it?  All it really does it satisfy geeks that think that since dual analog is standard on a home console it should be standard on a handheld as well.  The whole thing reaks of fanboy wish fulfillment.  There is no good reason from a business perspective for Nintendo to even entertain the idea.  If they're really doing it, then they've lost it.  If that's there big plan to get the 3DS back on track they are totally out-of-touch, even by Nintendo standards.

The 3DS has been a flop because Nintendo charged an arm and a leg for a system that has nothing but a few tech demos and N64 ports.  It has not sold because based on the current library it's a waste of money.  It is no more complicated than that.

And every time some rumour about a hardware revision to a handheld comes up there are always dipshits going on and on about how this or that should be added.  We heard about extra buttons for the GBA and an analog stick for the DS.  It doesn't matter how many times you point out that such an idea would essentially create a new system with games incompatible with the old system.  For some reason there is a segment of gamers hung up on this sort of idea.  So if your site publishes a rumour that involves this sort of thing it's instant traffic.

[TJ Spyke]

The 3DS started off slow, but has not been a flop (and sales have spiked since the price drop). I agree with the rest of your post though.

[ejamer]

...

The 3DS has been a flop because Nintendo charged an arm and a leg for a system that has nothing but a few tech demos and N64 ports.  It has not sold because based on the current library it's a waste of money.  It is no more complicated than that.

...

Good post, but I especially agree with this part.


Getting systems into the hands of gamers is all about offering software they want to play. All other problems pale in comparison, and sadly 3DS has been ill-prepared to meet that basic requirement. So far there are only a few games that have even been announced that look interesting.


In a way, I wonder why more third-party developers weren't better prepared to fill this gap. Anything decent would sell given the lack of competition... but instead of pushing titles out they seem to be actively backing away. Is it simply that DS is still viewed as a more viable market?


In some ways this reminds me of the PS3 launch. The hardware was too expensive and a lack of good games made that even more apparent. The initial hope and expectations had given way to negativity in the media. And yet, just a few years later, everyone has forgotten that rough start and now the PS3 is (arguably) the best received console at the moment.

[noname2200]

The 3DS started off slow, but has not been a flop (and sales have spiked since the price drop). I agree with the rest of your post though.

I don't mean to sound snarky, but please remind me how many 3DS units Nintendo shipped to retailers in the last fiscal quarter? I don't remember the precise number, (EDIT: Found it. It shipped 710k units worldwide between April and June) but I do recall it was pathetically low for a system that had launched only a few months ago. Didn't the DS ship several times what the 3DS did (EDIT: 1.44 million, i.e. more than double the 3DS' figure)? And I've heard no rumors about manufacturing problems with the 3DS.

There's a reason Nintendo cut a third off its price so soon, and made it what may well be the first Nintendo system sold at a loss since the Virtual Boy. And third parties are actively and publicly delaying (cancelling too?) their games because of the poor sales. Not to mention the fact that NCL's president had his salary reduced by half. ejamer's analogy to the PS3 is entirely too warranted, except that the 3DS lacks a 360 to pull its weight for it.

Things may get better, but so far "flop" is pretty accurate.

[TJ Spyke]

No, it wouldn't. The system has sold over 5 million systems so far, which is hardly a flop. It may not be selling as well as people expected, but hasn't flopped so far (and sales have improved since the price cut).

[noname2200]

As you wish. I submit, though, that Nintendo's actions demonstrate that it disagrees.

[TJ Spyke]

What do you consider a flop? They shipped fewer systems because they had so many unsold ones left in retail already. I know the 3DS hasn't been selling well, but I don't think I would qualify as a flop.

[noname2200]

In my mind, a "flop" is a product which has performed grossly under what its seller intended. Useful examples of this include Shenmue (Million+ sales notwithstanding) and Evan Almighty (Over $174 million at the box office).

In this case, Nintendo clearly expected the 3DS to do much, much better than it has. I'm a bit surprised that they're surprised, to be honest, but it seems clear to me that the 3DS' sales performance up to the price drop was drastic enough for them to hit the panic button. You said it yourself: there were too many unsold units still on the shelves.

This situation may change, mind you, and it's good that you're taking the long view on this one, but I do think it's fair to say that the 3DS has hitherto been a flop. Which, I should note, does not necessarily mean "doomed."

[Ian Sane]

I used the term "flop" because I'm kind of a snarky bastard.  But if you prefer "performed below expectations" then by all means interpret it as such.  Besides the point is that the 3DS performing below expecatations is not because of an absent second analog slider and including one is not going to turn things around.

[Chozo Ghost]

What benefit is there in adding it?

To enable FPS gaming. It would probably be done more for developers than for consumers per se. It would allow much easier porting of console games to the device without having to spend much time or effort retooling the games to suit the lack of input. I believe that was one of the problems the PSP faced and that is why Sony is including dual analog on the Vita. Nintendo never had an analog input on a handheld before so apparently they never had to learn what Sony learned, but you'd think they could have looked at Sony's example and learned from that so that they didn't have to make the same mistake themselves.

[Oblivion]

No one wants an FPS on their 3DS. That's the only thing it'll ever be good for.

[blackfootsteps]

The 3DS has been a flop because Nintendo charged an arm and a leg for a system that has nothing but a few tech demos and N64 ports.  It has not sold because based on the current library it's a waste of money.  It is no more complicated than that.

Interestingly, this same comment could be perfectly applied to the original DS launch 'period' as well.

[noname2200]

No one wants an FPS on their 3DS. That's the only thing it'll ever be good for.

It'd be perfect for twin-stick shooters too, a genre which matches perfectly with portables. Although it's not a huge genre anymore. 

[broodwars]

Anyone who's played 3rd person games on the PSP (Valkyria Chronicles 2 comes to mind) can tell you that a second analog stick would really come in handy when playing adventure or 3rd person shooter games.  I could see a lot of benefit in 3rd person platforming games as well.

[Ian Sane]

I think the second analog would definitely benefit game design on the 3DS but I don't think it would encourage sales and would risk splitting the userbase (in which case its benefits are largely negated; few games will support it anyway) and causing consumer confusion.  The worst thing would be if they couldn't do an add-on and thus made existing 3DS system incompatible with a large selection of games.

Would it be nice?  Yes.  But it's just not a good idea from a business perspective.  Nintendo SHOULD have thought of the idea before finalizing the system but they didn't and they just have to live with that.  Nintendo also SHOULD have thought about how releasing last gen hardware for the Wii would completely destory third party support but they didn't.  Lots of talk about a Wii HD but it never came and it made sense for it not to come because it would make existing Wiis incompatible with newer games.  These core features have to be there on day one or they have to wait until the next system.

It is however quite hilarious that they're making a Luigi's Mansion sequel for the thing when that game absolutely required dual analog sticks.

[Chozo Ghost]

It is however quite hilarious that they're making a Luigi's Mansion sequel for the thing when that game absolutely required dual analog sticks.

I think that adds a lot of validity to the rumor. One of the first problems the developers would have run into when they began making LM2 is the lack of a second analog, and this very game may have been the one which triggered the whole idea at Nintendo.

Luigi's Mansion isn't due to come out until next year, so it could be designed with the analog stick addon in mind. As a matter of fact, this would be an excellent game for the addon to come bundled with.

[UltimatePartyBear]

The original Luigi's Mansion had a non-dual analog control option.  They're just using that.

[Killer_Man_Jaro]

Who likes game announcement rumours? In the run-up to next week's big 3DS event, there's three titles currently circulating the ol' mill.

Link

Source claims that the following will be unveiled during the event:

• Monster Hunter Tri G: Safe to assume that's meant to be a tweaked re-release of the Wii game on 3DS. Source states it will have connectivity with the console version, whatever that might mean. This certainly seems like the kind of thing Capcom would do.
• Baten Kaitos - Silence of the Mechanised Son: New game in the Monolith Soft series. Apparently, leaked artwork shows the protagonist of the previous games with mechanised enhancements. Sounds real, because surely only Monolith could invent such an asinine subtitle -- remember, the first Baten Kaitos game was 'Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean.'
• Mach Rider Unchained: A Baten Kaitos sequel is pretty out there, but a revival of the NES obscurity Mach Rider is way closer to crazy town. Supposedly, it's "set in 2112 and is said to feature gritty vehicle racing mixed with over-the-top on foot gun battles." Real or not, that's crazy.

[ThePerm]

i hope the mach rider revival is real, I imagine some mad max meets zelda would be awesome. I've had it in my head fora while now.

[Shorty McNostril]

A new baiten Kaitos.  This is the first announcement which has me even slightly considering a 3DS.  I don't even bat an eyelid at anything else on the market thus far. 

Hopefully this rumoured redesign will be launched about the same time. 

[broodwars]

A new Baten Kaitos on 3DS?  Great, yet another RPG franchise I love being relegated to the handhelds because Japan's obsessed with them.  I guess I won't be playing that one.

[Killer_Man_Jaro]

A new Baten Kaitos on 3DS?  Great, yet another RPG franchise I love being relegated to the handhelds because Japan's obsessed with them.  I guess I won't be playing that one.

I'm not going to tell you what you should and shouldn't do, but that's kind of a lame reason not to play a game.

[broodwars]

A new Baten Kaitos on 3DS?  Great, yet another RPG franchise I love being relegated to the handhelds because Japan's obsessed with them.  I guess I won't be playing that one.

I'm not going to tell you what you should and shouldn't do, but that's kind of a lame reason not to play a game.

I don't like playing my big epic RPGs hunched over and squinting at a tiny screen with even tinnier music, especially a series like this where being able to see tiny numbers and text on the cards and acting accordingly is vital to your success.  I didn't particularly enjoy doing that when I played Birth by Sleep on my PSP a few months ago, and I really don't like doing that when I play Valkyria Chronicles 2 on my PSP now.

Besides, these days a Japanese series like that going to a handheld is a black hole.  If it goes to the 3DS, it's never going to leave it, save to go to another handheld.  So for me, a favorite RPG franchise of mine just died because Nintendo preferred Monolith work on garbage like Disaster: Day of Crisis when they could have released a very good Baten Kaitos game on the Wii along with Xenoblade.