Darth Pixel

I bet, I bet, I bet...Nintendo will finish third again.
Much closer to second this time.

I think they'll keep succeeding with kids, but I think more mature gamers will not resist the call of power in the 360 and the PS 3.

I already have the 360.
The PS 3 will be my other home console. I expect first-party PS 3 games to get the most attention. In fact, this time around, I think first-party titles will decide who wins between Sony and Microsoft. Third-party titles will mostly be developed on top of middleware platforms, never leveraging the specific advantages of any particular console.
The PS 3 will also be my entry Blu-ray player, until dedicated Blu-ray players become more affordable.

I'll admit it. I bought a DS Lite. I had to experience it.
I also bought New Super Mario Bros., Metroid Prime Hunters, Brain Age and RE Deadly Silence. I have received Advance Wars Duel Strike from GameFly.

I like the DS Lite. It's a great example of industrial design done right. From that standpoint, my only complaint is with the right shoulder button, I keep pressing it every time I turn the system on and off.

New Super Mario is the only game I find graphically pleasing. Which forces me to say I discovered I am a graphics whore. :(

Most of the games I tried are definitely kiddie games.
Brain Age is a different beast. It reminds me of those psychology tests you take during job interviews. But that's OK since I like that kind of stuff.
Advance Wars Duel Strike has the most inane dialogues I have ever read. Don't tell me you can be older than 13 and think otherwise. The game is interesting otherwise.
Super Mario is obviously very fun. It's a great opportunity to re-live past fun moments on the go.
Deadly Silence is a lame port. I must say this even though I am a big fan of the series.
Metroid Prime is good. I don't want to rant about the graphics again, but I must. Compared to the GC version, Hunters looks worse than an average PS 1 game. Also, handling the camera with the stylus doesn't seem natural to me.

As always with Nintendo's platforms, first-party titles are good, very good or excellent, while third-party titles range from average to terrible.
This is also true on the DS.

Conclusion: I think I will have some fun with this new toy. Yet, I am sure I don't belong to the targeted audience, which must be much younger than I am. In fact, it is clear that Nintendo once again catered to their traditional public: Kids, teens and adults suffering from nostalgia.

Nintendo seems to be saying: "It's either gameplay or graphics, you can't have both."

I don't see why that would be true.

What is cleverly wrapped in these adopted good intentions is this: "If we can sell current-gen hardware as next-gen hardware, we will do so and we will score profit margins Microsoft and Sony can only dream of."

Nintendo already succeeded with the DS. Common, cheap hardware, sold at a huge profit margin, killing a very expensive to manufacture PSP.

Now, again, this magic trick is all based on convincing the masses that: "It's either gameplay or graphics, you can't have both."

What will they do if Sony and/or Microsoft deliver gameplay AND graphics?

I know powerful hardware can run great gameplay without modification. I don't think Nintendo's hardware will be able to run great graphics as smoothly.

Still less than 35% of Xbox games are compatible.

The list of games that are compatible is a grab-any-title-that-can-be-made-to-work kind of job, where title quality, sales rank, popularity with some, game design merit have no part.

Clearly, not even all games released by Microsoft Game Studios are covered.

Now, Peter recognizes he just had to make a promise to kill the negative uproar. So, he made a promise.
He did not give a deadline for even 50% completion, let alone 90% completion. He did not say which games will be next.
He just hopes his promise will hold until the masses stop caring about BC.

I guess it has to hold until all 3 next-generation consoles are out. After that, gamers will have many other things to compare.

:)

That's called clarity.

Consumerism at its peak.
Not even dead pixels can give light to a single negative comment.

Talk about the pot trying to call the kettle black.

Joystiq never goes for sensationalism, right!?

FYI, profitable companies bound to become even more profitable make wonderful merger and acquisition targets.

This being said, I could see a partnership between Apple and Nintendo.

The point is: I don't see how Microsoft could sell 10M Xbox 360s by November.
I think they should be happy if they sell 5M by then.

Ah, it reminds me of my my last blog entry: http://darthpixel.com/

I remember reading: "After E3 06, Sony's sales will dive, as more people switch to Xbox 360."

I guess it's not happening.

The morale of the story:

No platform-selling game = No platform sales

This eternal truth remains true.

The same thing will apply to Sony and Nintendo. Games sell consoles, people, it's not the other way around.

I was curious about this title until it became clear it is a button masher.

All gameplay videos I have seen so far were about killing large groups of enemies by pulling (I guess) amazing combos.

I truly hate any kind of button masher.

BC will be a huge benefit to PS 3. The Virtual Console is a great concept, but Sony's backcatalog is huge in comparison.

In any case, they can't get any lower than Microsoft's 35% BC rate. (even if they skip all Barbie Horse Adventures in their backcatalog)