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TalkBack / Re: Amiibo Sales Soar, Wii U Sales Increase

« on: January 16, 2015, 02:31:01 PM »

So the 3DS didn't sell well enough for Nintendo to mention it but game sales were the highest they've ever been.  Isn't that a good thing?  So maybe 3DS system sales have plateaued but that userbase is a good size and they're buying games.  Games are typically where the money is (and if Nintendo had had better third party support over the last several console generations they might remember that big money can be made off of the console maker's cut of third party sales) but Nintendo cares way too much about hardware.  A common strategy is to sell the system at a loss or break-even point and make it up in game sales.  The system is the barrier of entry but once you've got that in someone's hands they can become a regular customer.

Nintendo is all panicky about 3DS hardware sales having peaked so they've got the New 3DS and the whole plan is to get everyone to buy a 3DS again but this risks destroying customer trust in your product.  In the future people will be less likely to buy your product if they figure you're going to replace it at any moment.  Wouldn't it make much more sense to focus on game sales?  You have a healthy userbase, games are selling, the games make money and I know Nintendo doesn't lose money on hardware sales so aren't things good?

The 3DS isn't selling like the DS did but the DS was a historical success.  You can't expect to recreate something like that.  But I wonder how what impact the DSi had on sales.  The DSi was a major rip-off and was replaced by the real successor in the 3DS fairly quickly.  The 3DS started quite slow and Nintendo has never seem pleased with its sales figures.  I think casuals switching to phones for portable gaming is the main cause but I wonder if consumer distrust from the obvious scam that was the DSi had some impact.  Was everyone expecting the 3DS to get quickly replaced so they hesitated in buying one?  Is there a segment of potential buyers that have just been waiting for the New 3DS (ie: the souped up model they assumed would show up at some point) or alternatively how well will the New 3DS catch on if people remember how unnecessary the DSi was?

Nintendo has been doing that for ever portable system they have ever released. From Game Boy to the Game Boy Pocket/Color, Game Boy Advance to Game Boy Advance SP, DS to DSi, and finally 3DS to the 2DS/New 3DS.  We still havent caught on unfortunately.

It may be possible though that the portable market will never return to its former glory. They should be panicked about hardware sales because the size of install base is critical. The 3DS isnt just selling under DS levels. It's selling under the GBA and GB levels of portable consoles. The 3DS sales is a sign that the portable market is in decline, and that will effect Nintendo's future because it's the one front Nintendo has always one.

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TalkBack / Re: Monster Hunter 4 Will Feature Link, Mario and Luigi Costumes

« on: September 12, 2013, 09:10:56 PM »

The Link cosplaying will be fun.

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TalkBack / Re: Peach Returns in Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U

« on: September 12, 2013, 09:08:45 PM »

Hoping for a New Final Smash: Empress Peach Mega Strike!

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TalkBack / Re: Hyrule Historia: A Timeline for the Trash

« on: April 25, 2013, 04:29:29 AM »

I think I'm a bit confused about the "Hero is defeated timeline." This is just supposed to be the outcome if Link had happened to lose at the end of OoT? Wouldn't every single game then have an alternate timeline where the player wussed out and never beat the final boss?

Yes, that is a distinct possibility considering the game over screen in AoL. However, the Zelda timeline consists of only the legends that have been told so far. Also it's not the player wussing out. It's Link dying a hero's death.

The reason why a timeline exists is to create a great tapestry that the series can play off of. Although a retelling of the legend makes a lot of sense, as a series of video games, it needs to be timeline because they have to build off each other. The games have to matter in relation to each other, whether they are prequels and sequels.

I don't think of Tingle as a fourth wall breaker but just as a fun character. I mean his origin is just ridiculous. He's supposed to be this big joke in this legendary series. Don't take anything he says to seriously; people do that in the US so they absolutely hate him.

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TalkBack / Re: Hyrule Historia: A Timeline for the Trash

« on: April 24, 2013, 09:07:08 PM »

The "Hero is Defeated" has taken place many times in OoT for me, especially when I was younger. It was a pretty hard game back in the day. I don't see what makes the "Hero is Defeated" timeline such a bad timeline. Just because I don't beat a game, doesn't make me any less of a gamer. And just because Link fails in his quest to defeat Ganon, doesn't make him any less of a hero. In fact, dying to save the world makes him an even greater hero. I don't see what makes this timeline trash.

I think the answer to why the "Hero is Defeated" timeline exists is a bit more practical rather than being a slight on Aonuma's part. A Link to The Past never mentions Link or the Hero of Time, just that it was Knights of Hyrule. That is a pretty big omission, and make more sense to why the "Hero is Defeated" Timeline exists.

Also three equal branches follows one of the series motifs: a trio of existing forces. The timelines in a way each reflect a separate era where a different triangle of the triforce is dominant. In the "Hero is Defeated" Timeline, the triforce of power dominates as it leads to decline of Hyrule. The "Child Era" timeline follows the triforce of wisdom as its Zelda's powers that allow Link to become a child again. Wisdom allows Hyrule to defeat Gannondorf before his rise. Finally, the "Adult Era" timeline speaks of the legacy of heroes and courage, as its the timeline where Link truly defeats Gannon with his courage.

I don't have a strong response for the second flaw, other than Twinrova maybe being some type of reincarnation/ later generations. It is never stated how far apart LTTP is from OoT, other than it beings ages. Meaning probably a long time, and enough time for later generations to be born and take up the task of reviving Ganon.

For the Tingle/ MM/ WW thing, I never played the Tingle Tuner side-quests, but from the sound of it just a legend, which means its certainity is in doubt (at least within the Adult Era). It could be an echo of a story, heard across timelines and worlds. That is how great the Legend of Tingle is!

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Fire Emblem Awakening

« on: April 24, 2013, 08:06:12 PM »

I just lost my first character (Cordelia) only to see them miraculously pop again during a dialogue scene, lol. I'm playing on classic, so I thought I'd lost them for good. I guess she was a character with some amount of story significant, but not enough significance that the game would give me a game over screen for losing her.
 
It was relieving to see her again, but I can't help but feel robbed of the experience of my first character death.

The only characters whose death result in a game over are lords like Chrom and your avatar. I think everyone else dies they technically stay alive but never reenter the battlefield. Although someone like Donnel probably could die and never get another line of dialogue.