I played the "Monster Hunter Tri" demo. I need a Classic Controller.

A couple of months after signing up for a free demo from Capcom, I finally got a copy of the Monster Hunter Tri demo disc.

For the uninitiated, this is MONSTER HUNTERRRRRRRR (after the jump): 

The Top 10 Most *AVIDLY PLAYED* WiiWare Games

This list does NOT imply that these games have sold the most units on the service. The "measure of pleasure" essentially denotes how much time players have dedicated to these games.

In fact, #9 on this list is actually #1 in terms of units sold going by the data provided by the Nintendo Channel*. My Pokemon Ranch has sold at least 109,000 copies on WiiWare (~$1,090,000 in pure revenue) as of April 8th.

[May 3rd edit: After realizing that I jotted down erroneous data for FF4: The After Years, I have updated the preceding paragraph to reflect which game has actually sold the most units according to the data on the Nintendo Channel.]

So without further delay (except for the jump), I present to you all ...

WiiWare's Top 10 "Measure of Pleasure" (as of April 8th, 2010)

3 years later, here is a graph-ical look at the M-rated titles on the Wii

(For the record, I only listed games with confirmed release dates that have come out in the US. Hence the omission of No More Heroes 2.)

While M-rated games are not the end-all that defines quality games, more than a handful of the best-selling console games this generation are. With that being said, what has the Wii produced for the particular market? Let's see if any conclusions can be drawn from this beyond "omg wii is teh suck failboat."

Keiji Inafune sneers the Japanese industry; a nobody responds

http://kotaku.com/5368490/capcoms-inafune-declares-japan-game-industry-finished 

Personally when I looked around [at] all the different games at the TGS floor, I said "Man, Japan is over. We're done. Our game industry is finished." - Keiji Inafune

I believe that his comments stem from what his cohort Jun Takeuchi recently said about the Japanese game industry. I discuss that after the jump.


http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3176056

1UP: What do you see as the best and worst trends currently in the Japanese game industry?

Jun Takeuchi: The worst trend that I see is really the technological inability of Japanese developers to develop games for next generation platforms and games that will be appreciated by users in the West. The technological ability of Japanese developers used to be so much more respected than it is now.

With that in mind, let's quickly look at what *Japanese developers* are doing on the PS3/360:

Bayonetta, Yakuza 4, End of Eternity, Lost Planet 2, Ninety Nine Nights II, Quantum Theory, FF13, GT5, NieR, etc.

Now let's examine the PSP/DS:

MOST EVERY OTHER GAME!

What could be considered at "fault" here that led to the Handheld Invasion? I believe it is two-fold:

Sony. The price of the hardware killed any interest that consumers and developers had for the hardware. Even with the price cuts, many devs were not going to (and were not prepared to) develop for a console that requires a hefty budget and a ton of technical knowledge (as relatively opposed to the 360). Therefore, consumers went and found entertainment elsewhere, and the developers (for the most part) followed where the consumers went.

Consumers themselves. While everyone is entitled to their own tastes, the inability for many Japanese consumers to broaden their horizons has led to an on-going disinterest in the 360. I am not saying that the 360 is a beacon of light, but it certainly has its fair share of unappreciated variety.

(As an aside, and as a bit of a joke, one could make the argument that it is Capcom's fault for pushing folks toward handhelds by creating the digital crack known as Monster Hunter.

Now everyone wants a piece of that pie - Namco Bandai [co-op Dynasty Warriors something or other, Tales of RM], Konami [MGS: Peace Walker], Sega [Phantasy Star Portable], etc.)

This is not even pointing out the most obvious factor of all -- top-tier titles require a lot of money to make on the PS3/360, and not everyone has access to Capcom-sized coffers of cash.

Nintendo's 1st & 3rd party lineup revealed

Full list: http://press.nintendo.com/articles.jsp?id=20008

Truthfully, there is a ton of garbage on that list that does not deserve to be posted even in an insignificant blog post on the internets. So, I am going to pick and choose notable, surprise and high-profile titles instead.

Check it out after the jump.

Raystorm HD Trailer

Quick Opinion: No More Heroes 2 gameplay demo

(IGN's got the scoop, brother: http://media.wii.ign.com/media/142/14288376/vids_1.html)

I like the smoother animations and the ability to change weapons at any time. Dual-wielding katanas, angular slicing, and the enemy life bar being tied to their lock-on circle (cleaning up the UI nicely) are very much welcome additions.

There appears to no longer be an 8-bit corner map, though. And it is for the better.

I am torn on the toned-down look of the cel-shading. I found it to be overbearing in many places in the first game, , especially in certain parts of the overworld.

However, it looks to have been reduced so much here that the game loses its visual edge and reveals itself as a decent-looking title with some new effects thrown in (like the rocket explosions from the boss or the "shockwave" produced after hitting a wrestling move).

Was this an artistic or technical decision? Or both? Somebody ask Suda, please.

And WTF is that bouncing mini-dong thing in the upper right corner of the UI?!

OMG LISTS - The Past, Present & Future of the Wii in 2009

Notes:

• I am sure that I missed out on some games for both the Wii and WiiWare. Feel free to correct my mistake.
  

• I purposefully tried to list games exclusive to the console. There are three exceptions to this: Tiger Woods 10, Virtual Tennis 2009, and Ghostbusters. The latter two were tied rather heavily to MotionPlus, and the latter is significantly different from the other version to earn a mention (specifically, the visual style and the controls).
  

• I cannot guarantee that any of these games are of quality. The way I produced this list was from a combination of franchise recognition, new intellectual properties, reviews that I have read, and gameplay footage (mostly via YouTube) that I found interesting. Think of this more as a guide to lead you away from the shovelware.
  

• I did not list Virtual Console games. Why? Google them.

• If you want to find out more about a game, Google it.
  

• I would not mind putting a list together for the PS3, PSP and DS. However, I lack the first two systems and would hope that folks with them would point me in the general direction of Qualityville.

Results after the jump.




The Wii (So Far) in 2009 (January - Early August):

Tenchu: Shadow Assassins - February 3rd.
Deadly Creatures - February 9th.
The House of the Dead: Overkill - February 10th.
Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop - February 24th.
New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis - March 9th.
New Play Control! Pikmin - March 9th.
MadWorld - March 10th.
Marble Saga: Kororinpa - March 17th.
Rune Factory Frontier - March 17th.
Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars - Director's Cut - March 24th.
Excitebots: Trick Racing - April 20th.
New Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat - May 4th.
Klonoa - May 5th.
Punch-Out!! - May 18th.
Boom Blox Bash Party - May 19th.
The Munchables - May 26th.
Grand Slam Tennis - June 8th.
Virtua Tennis 2009 - June 2nd.
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 - June 8th.
Ghostbusters: The Video Game - June 16th.
Let's Tap - June 16th.
The Conduit - June 23rd.
Overlord: Dark Legend - June 23rd.
Little King's Story - July 21st.
Wii Sports Resort - July 26th.

WiiWare (So Far) in 2009 (January - Early August):

Lit - February 9th.
Evasive Space - February 16th.
Onslaught - February 23rd.
Gradius ReBirth - March 9th.
BIT.TRIP BEAT - March 16th.
Bonsai Barber - March 30th.
Crystal Defenders R1 - April 20th.
Crystal Defenders R2 - May 18th.
BUBBLE BOBBLE Plus! - May 25th.
FINAL FANTASY IV: The After Years - June 1st.
Swords & Soldiers - June 8th.
Eduardo the Samurai Toaster - June 15th.
Let's CATCH - June 15th.
NEVES Plus - June 22nd.
Water Warfare - June 29th.
BIT.TRIP CORE - July 6th.
Bit Boy!! - July 13th.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord - July 20th.
Tales of Monkey Island: Launch of the Screaming Narwhal - July 27th.
NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits - August 10th.

-----

Wii - Confirmed Dates for 2009 (January - Early August):

Metroid Prime Trilogy - August 24th.
Cursed Mountain - August 25th.
Muramasa: The Demon Blade - September 8th.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up - September 22nd.
Dead Space Extraction - September 28th.
Spyborgs - September 29th.
A Boy and His Blob - October 13th.
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories - October 13th.
Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo - October 20th.
Need for Speed Nitro - November 17th.

Wii - Possible for 2009 or Currently Without a Specific Date:

Q4 2009:

Fragile: Farewell Ruins of the Moon
New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Rabbids Go Home
Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles
Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage
Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All Stars

TBA 2009:

Arc Rise Fantasia
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearers

WiiWare - Possible for 2009 or Currently Without a Specific Date:

Aug - Nov 2009:

Tales of Monkey Island -- Episodes 2, 3, 4, & 5

TBA 2009:

Cave Story
And Yet It Moves
Contra ReBirth
La Mulana
Liight
Rage of the Gladiator
You, Me & The Cubes

Iwata GDC Keynote Summary (Product & Firmware Revelations)

Wii Firmware 4.0:

• 32GB SDHC card capacity supported for VC, WiiWare, and saves.

• Run games straight from the card (saves can be moved to the card, but accessed only on the Wii's system memory).

Virtual Console:

• VIRTUAL CONSOLE ARCADE launched. Play arcade classics on the Wii.
  

• Space Harrier
• Mappy
• The Return of Ishtar
• Emeraldia
• Solvalou
• The Tower of Druaga
• Gapius
• Star Force

• Final Fantasy I through VI on Japanese Virtual Console.

• Final Fantasy I and IV on US Virtual Console.

WiiWare:

• Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord (My Life as a King sequel).

• Final Fantasy IV: The After Years confirmed.

DS/DSi:

• The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (DS). Control and create enemies while riding the train tracks of your design. Dungeons, puzzles and bosses are there as well.
  

• WarioWare Snapped (DSi). Take pictures and video of yourself for playback in microgames.

Wii:

• Rock & Roll Climber (Wii). Use the Wii Remote, Nunchuck and Balance Board to climb rock walls. Make it to the top and your character wails on a guitar (fo' serious).
  

Re: 'Big Bang Mini' Review

ATTN: DS OWNERS

CC: Wii & DS OWNERS

If you own a DS and Wii, download the Big Bang Mini demo from the Nintendo Channel.

If you only have a DS then find someone with a Wii and download the Big Bang Mini demo.

------

Anyway, this is a reply to Mr. Barnholt's review of the game.

He said ...

The touch screen is a nice way to launch your fireworks (just flick upwards in any direction), but you can't use the D-pad or any other buttons to move your icon, which is an outright shame.

Now, perhaps the ability to move OR shoot is derived from the desired results of the shooting mechanics (especially the blowback of missed shots) as well as the dual-screens of the DS.

If you could do both at the same time then, presumably, the player could haphazardly flick up toward the top screen with near-reckless abandon (yes, even with your own shots raining down on you - because you could avoid all that with the d-pad controls). Truth be told, I played like that in the demo to some success (sort of like button mashing in a fighting game). However, it makes your game harder than it has to be when careful shots count more.

Furthermore, if one were to play that way then I imagine checking out the top screen would happen less frequently. Why bother looking up when you are too busy dodging your own crazed shots? That would be a shame as the player would be missing out on a lot of awesome and crazy enemies.

From my time with the demo, the experience tends to be one of strategic firing as opposed to holding down a button as seen in other SHMUPs. You must pay attention to both screens, and one has to check out what type of defenses the enemy has (from the demo, for example, there are clouds and other objects that absorb your shots).

To be fair, there was an instance in which I could shoot AND move. One of the bosses in the demo shoots so many bullets at you that it is difficult to get a shot off. Then again, that is made up a bit by one being able to spam shots without blowback (I know it sounds contradictory, but removing the fallout is the difference that makes spamming worth it in this case).

He said ...

Imagine how bad this gets when you fill up the star meter and have basically completed the stage. So you take a breather, only to watch helplessly as you're unable to dart away from a spark in time.

Odd. In the demo, once the star meter filled the level is over. I have even had bullets cross over my icon shortly after the meter was filled and I did not die. Perhaps there was a change from the demo to retail copy? I even saw a GameTrailers video from, presumably, the retail version that showed the same thing ...

Anyway, I highly recommend folks to try it out. While Mr. Barnholt's explanations make sense (and he has played far more of the game than I have), I think folks will be positively surprised at what they find.