That's assuming that the idea of remaking FF7 on portables would've been an old one and not a recent one prompted by a franchise in crisis and a company-wide failure to handle HD development. A lot has changed since Crisis Core. But indeed the existence of Crisis Core means that they have some assets and such that they could recycle, so that's another point in favor of remaking FF7 itself.
Didn't Nintendo say last Investor's Meeting that they would start doing specific events to talk about games (like they one they did for MH3G/4) and keep the meetings more about business?
I think the biggest news out of the Financial Report will be we knowing the 3DS was the best selling system of 2011 (shipment).
Nintendo has given secondary treatment to retailer meetings lately as Nintendo Direct is what they currently push. Any potential big announcement won't come from financial reports, that's for sure.
If they decided to go ahead with a FF7 remake recently, PSP really wouldn't have been a good option. 3DS can still use those Crisis Core assets pretty effectively though.If they wanted to do a FF7 remake, they could've dropped the bomb on PSP. They had already remade a portion of the game in Crisis Core.
If they decided to go ahead with a FF7 remake recently, PSP really wouldn't have been a good option. 3DS can still use those Crisis Core assets pretty effectively though.
Sorry, I forgot PSP didn't have a WW launch. It was a couple years ago.Really?
I don't think reasonable people doubted it selling well so much as doubting it's ability to perform like its predecessors. The price had room to drop, revisions and colors would also boost sales as well as major games known to be in development such as Mario Kart, Mario and Pokemon on top of a decent 3rd party lineup. It was severely underperforming but only the unreasonable said things like GCN failure.Why did we ever doubt the 3DS? The thing is a beast.
Unless they anounce a mainline pokemon, 2D Mario, MH4 or another major game on that level as well as a revision. I don't see it outselling DS 2nd year. However, this is with limited knowledge just based on the lineup and anounced titles we currently know. E3 could bring some major titles. There could also be some surprise hits that the DS was famous for.Either way you look at it, the 3DS had a better first year than the DS. However, the DS really took off in its second year, so it'll be interesting to see if the 3DS can keep up.
Unless they anounce a mainline pokemon, 2D Mario, MH4 or another major game on that level as well as a revision.
Unless they anounce a mainline pokemon, 2D Mario, MH4 or another major game on that level as well as a revision. I don't see it outselling DS 2nd year. However, this is with limited knowledge just based on the lineup and anounced titles we currently know. E3 could bring some major titles. There could also be some surprise hits that the DS was famous for.
anounce that they are releasing this year. Read in context of the sentence.
I could see those all hitting the same year... At least 2 in one year.
I agree that it seems to be more about steady, diverse releases now rather than game changing blockbusters in the wake of the 2011 Trinity.And tbh Year 2 seems really rather varied. I know some don't see Icarus as a system seller, but honestly it looks insane and the gameplay is shaping up to be brilliant - certainly handheld material - and I think games like that will play a bigger part throughout the year. So really I think the increasing library of the 3DS will actually see some really great sales this year.
@ Ignis Fatuus, When did development of 3G and 4 start?
Wii U just needs the support of third parties, especially with major titles, even if they're multiplatform. Nintendo's first party will do the rest. In saying that though, I expect a pretty even battle field for next-gen when it comes to home consoles on a worldwide basis, Japan should be Nintendo land thanks again, even if Wii U doesn't perform quite as well as the 3DS. Although Sony might flounder even more should they decided to go all out with power again, they really don't learn any lessons at all.Wii U doesn't need a game multi with 3DS, but a powerful game exclusive out from the gate. And, above all, since they're already doing it with SB, it would be not so smart to play the card SMB at the same time for both platforms.
I don't think they ever specified that, but at the least we know it's been ongoing for a while now.
Also, you have to take into acount how much Sony loves hyping games still in early design stages, show bullshot videos for games that will still take 2 to 4 more years to release or just throw plain vaporware and random games names at a wall to see if it sticks into the fandom collective memory so if they didn't say anything at all about MH4 for Vita
Holiday 2012 easily imo.MH4 won't be a 2012 release
Nintendo didn't cheat - Sony was just caught with their pants down around their ankles and their thumb shoved up their ass.Vita's failure is due to its very late release, had it been launched same time as 3DS, it's software wouldn't be competing with the trio, it'd be going head to head with 3DS' own launch software. Vita's launch lineup had no chance what so ever during the holiday season. That price drop also caught Sony completely off guard. Everyone who was level headed knew the 3DS would perform well once the Marios came out, but by the time MH was revealed, it became clear the 3DS would recover even better.
Nintendo essentially cheated by launching so early.
Wii U doesn't need a game multi with 3DS, but a powerful game exclusive out from the gate. And, above all, since they're already doing it with SB, it would be not so smart to play the card SMB at the same time for both platforms.
I think it comes down to Sony thinking that Nintendo would release Wii's successor first and not the DS. Which is so short sighted, the Wii was still doing ok on a worldwide basis, and is still younger than the DS. It's also clear Nintendo is much more focused on Japan and the PSP was the biggest threat.Nintendo didn't cheat - Sony was just caught with their pants down around their ankles and their thumb shoved up their ass.
Seriously, the DS and PSP were released in 2004 for heaven's sake. There is absolutely no excuse whatsoever for Sony allowing their competitor (the same competitor whose DS absolutely trounced the PSP in the previous gen) to have a year head start when the previous gen has already had a full life, and especially when the PSP had already been dead in the west for multiple years anyway.
Honestly, it just defies reason.
Good point. Comes down to Sony not planning ahead at all and thought they could ride on the PSP.If Vita had launched alongside 3DS, it's launch lineup would've been a whole lot thinner too.
MH4 won't be a 2012 release
That's exactly what Nintendo did with MHTri and 4
I think what he meant os two seperate games that offer benefits in conjunction with them. They've mentioned a few times looking at compatibility between the two and offering different things. I think if executed well compatability between Wii U and 3DS could be a good feature like Streetpass and Spotpass. It would also help encourage people to buy the Nintendo family. GCN-GBA connectivity failed for many reasons. First of all it required a seperate cable, second the GCN wasn't that popular, and finally most of the connectivity options required 4 GBAs and cables for optimal experience.Wii U doesn't need a game multi with 3DS, but a powerful game exclusive out from the gate. And, above all, since they're already doing it with SB, it would be not so smart to play the card SMB at the same time for both platforms.
Nintendo essentially cheated by launching so early.
In Japan WiiU has a lot of options imo.
In the West I honestly think that unless they want slow growth (they'll sell a respectable amount eventually, but not right away) they honestly will need the major games on it from Day 1. And that basically means things like CoD, and Skyrim (exclusivity on some DLC here would be pretty amazing, as well as improved graphics)
Exclusivity? Depends on the power. Many people might just go for the WiiU if it promises a better gaming experience (e.g. Is noticeably more powerful than PS3/360). In this their helped to make third parties not just 'port' but produce the best graphics by the fact that PC gaming is taking over, and developers are basically toning down the power of some games.
But this all depends on its power.
Could Skyrim even pass Nintendo's QA?
I don't mean they cheated in a bad way. More in a way that they get more support early, more hardware sold early, and more time in the market to figure out what they have to do going forward. The pros of launching early far outweighs the cons of launching late, if you have the software to support it. The biggest issue with launching early is that your competitors know your cards and your console will be weaker, but in this day and age power and graphics as the usual result of power, doesn't mean as much as it use to. Of course it's not always that simple, but in general I would say that's the case.I think what he meant os two seperate games that offer benefits in conjunction with them. They've mentioned a few times looking at compatibility between the two and offering different things. I think if executed well compatability between Wii U and 3DS could be a good feature like Streetpass and Spotpass. It would also help encourage people to buy the Nintendo family.
I wouldn't say that. That's like saying Microsoft cheated for launching a year early. Or Sega/Sony cheated for launching a year before competition.
Nintendo originally was planning on releasing the 3DS in Holiday 2010. However, they saw how barren their lineup would be. I can't imagine how miserable it would've been lineup wise had they launched Holiday 2010.
In fairness, I think Nintendo did the same with 3DS initially. They just built in enough lead time to make course corrections if necessary.Good point. Comes down to Sony not planning ahead at all and thought they could ride on the PSP.
Maybe just a little, but software support dried up for the DS and the Wii, I don't see how Nintendo didn't see how important the 3DS was going to be. Oh and let's not forget that alot of third party titles were going to come earlier, I really think Nintendo did plan for a consistent release schedule from the get-go, but dropped the price once third parties panicked due to flailing hardware sales, and so we have 2012 as the start of this consistent release and not any earlier.In fairness, I think Nintendo did the same with 3DS initially. They just built in enough lead time to make course corrections if necessary.
Could Skyrim even pass Nintendo's QA?
No, I mean, if Nintendo managed to completely secure MH4 so early and without a chance of losing exclusivity that all MH related Sony had to hype on Vita since the initial reveal was the ability of playing the PSP version of P3rd with dual analog, that means MH4 has been a long time in development already for the 3DS, and probably ready to be released in 9-10 months in Japan.
In fact, I'm going to go as far as saying that probably MH4 development started before MH3G, which came as a later idea most likely from Nintendo to build MH userbase as soon as possible (MT framework already working so no extra work on it) reusing all the assets they could and putting MH4 temporarily on hold.
Define failure please. I'm sure Sony's not lighting any cigars back at HQ over the Vita's opening month of sales but at the same time they did sell out of the initial shipment and have yet to have the worldwide launch. All you can really say at this point is that the Vita is not performing as well as the 3DS or PSP in Japan and make a prediction based on upcoming releases and the limited knowledge that we have.Vita's failure....
Seriously? Nintendo has not exactly been known for the most stringent QA (post-N64, anyway).
It's not a failure that Sony will discontinue it next month, but its a failure in the launch period and in the immediate future. It might pull a PSP style come back, but Vita's power advantage is nowhere near the same magnitude as the PSP's power advantage over the DS, the sole reason of its revival. Who knows, maybe Vita will get shared multiplatform with major titles from the WiiU/Nextbox/PS4 and will be a decent competitor over time, but right now, if its not a failure, its a huge disappointment.Define failure please. I'm sure Sony's not lighting any cigars back at HQ over the Vita's opening month of sales but at the same time they did sell out of the initial shipment and have yet to have the worldwide launch. All you can really say at this point is that the Vita is not performing as well as the 3DS or PSP in Japan and make a prediction based on upcoming releases and the limited knowledge that we have.
People here keep saying they expected the Vita to come out of the gate far stronger because of the holiday season but I really don't think that applies in this case. Past history is only one piece of the puzzle when predicting performance but in today's changing market it needs to be taken with a giant grain of salt or not at all. Given that the PSP is still very healthy and that the 3DS had a stellar trio of releases in the period and looking at the Vita's launch titles and pricepoint I think that the Vita's performance is pretty much expected. In short, I don't imagine Sony is much surprised or in panic mode over the Vita's Japanese performance. There's no failure here yet.
I think that the worldwide launch is going to be interesting and the spacing of software releases for the Vita as well as any new announcements will help paint a picture of the platform's early health. I also think that Sony isn't as reliant on the Vita's market penetration as Nintendo is with the 3DS. Nintendo absolutely had to get the 3DS in tip top shape in 2011 because that platform has to carry the load for Nintendo this year. Sony at least has the luxury of a platform that's finally making money with the PS3 and is probably content to let the Vita do what it will do for at least a year before any drastic action is required.
Of course I'm not saying that Sony shouldn't have done whatever was required to get MonHun exclusivity for the Vita or that the 3DS isn't currently trouncing the Vita's sales in Japan because both of those are true statements. But let's at least get a year or so of worldwide sales numbers under our belts next time before we start calling a certain system a failure.
I thought we were talking third-party games.Wasn't Fatal Frame 4 partially not released in the US because of bugs that the team wouldn't/couldn't fix?
but Vita's power advantage is nowhere near the same magnitude as the PSP's power advantage over the DS
I thought we were talking third-party games.
I think it is. It's just the first generation of games for Vita, but they already look much better than anything on 3DS, in comparison. The exceptions are Capcom/Nintendo games. I think Vita has a lot of untapped potential to be seen yet.
And it's funny that you mention that the only reason for PSP revival is it's power... I tought the reason was only Monster Hunter (in Japan).
Nintendo absolutely had to get the 3DS in tip top shape in 2011 because that platform has to carry the load for Nintendo this year. Sony at least has the luxury of a platform that's finally making money with the PS3 and is probably content to let the Vita do what it will do for at least a year before any drastic action is required.
Monster Hunter was on PSP because of the PSP's power. It would not have been possible on the DS. It is now possible on the 3DS, and other games like Resident Evil and Kingdom Hearts are continuing to prove that the 3DS is fully capable of delivering those big console experiences that were unique to PSP last generation. This is what people are talking about when they say that the difference in hardware power is nowhere near as significant as it was last time around.I think it is. It's just the first generation of games for Vita, but they already look much better than anything on 3DS, in comparison. The exceptions are Capcom/Nintendo games. I think Vita has a lot of untapped potential to be seen yet.
And it's funny that you mention that the only reason for PSP revival is it's power... I tought the reason was only Monster Hunter (in Japan).
Seriously? Nintendo has not exactly been known for the most stringent QA (post-N64, anyway).
I don't think Pokemon will. Usually there is a lot more info provided by now by the anime, developers, famitsu, coro coro, etc. by now if a mainline was in development. I could see the possibility of a Pokemon Gray anounced this spring since Gamefreak apparently were one of the first studios to get 3DS dev kits a year before the system launched.
In a morbid kind of way, yeah.I think that the worldwide launch is going to be interesting...
In a morbid kind of way, yeah.
It probably won't do as bad in Europe as it will in North America, I'll give you that.Sony handhelds have strong currency in western markets, should be great.
Oh, I don't know why Sony released the Vita at all like this.Seriously though, I think the Vita's performance is concerning because I don't see that Sony has ever had an active, aggressive strategy with their handheld business. Or a cohesive one for that matter.
The Monster Hunter revival of the PSP really happened by accident, when you think about it. Sony didn't actively facilitate it in terms of engaging with third-parties and doing a lot to help with promotion. It was only when it became a success that they started to help push it with bundles and the like.
So in that sense it's no real surprise that a much more aggressive Nintendo, so far as pursuing third-party support goes, was able to get the next two MH games exclusively for their platform.
Basically, it all feeds into a sense that so far as handhelds go, Sony is always waiting for something to happen rather than making it happen.
Sony is hemorrhaging money overall, is deeply in debt, and is already taking a loss on the Vita. Nintendo was profiting obscenely on each 3DS sold and have a massive cash surplus. If Sony is not worried and looking hard at its possibilities, then its leadership is on par with THQ. They have much less room to maneuver, and thus a much smaller margin of error.