This week we discussed:
Movember
Batman Arkham City and boring videogame sequences
Upcoming video game releases
Playmobile Minifigure Series 1
DC issues #3
Atomic Robo and Typeface
Nanowrimo and our own previous failed/successful efforts
Geeks for Tots
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3DS: The reason I got the 3DS was for games that haven't come out yet like Super Mario World, Mario kart and Animal Crossing. That's what's stopped me from being down about having one.
ReplyDeleteNaNoWriMo: There's also http://comicstimenovember.us/ about making a 50 page comic during November which I thankfully didn't know about til it was too late.
I'm not down about having a 3DS. I love the system. I think the issue we're seeing is with handheld gaming in general. Partially Nintendo's fault for being so stubborn, but nobody else is having success with handhelds either.
ReplyDeleteThe lack of games is the biggest issue. The launch was very, very weak and in the past 6 months a few decent titles came out. And that's about it. They needed a killer title at launch to help sell the system, but there wasn't anything close to that. I know developers started to bail, but that leads to the next reason.
Cost of games. Cartridge based games cost much more to produce and much more to purchase than digital games. How can the handheld market even compete with the app store? Look at Scribblenauts. It's like 1/8th of the price in the app store. Who is going to pay $35 and up for a game when you can get them for $5, and have them with you everywhere you go?
I can only think of 3 things that a handheld offers that an iPhone/iPad doesn't.
1. Joystick/D-pad/buttons
This is very important to me, as I like to have more control. The touchscreen joysticks are the worst, and it's harder to control. There are 3rd party manufacturers working on this, but until we see something first party, it will still be an issue.
2. Exclusive Games
Nintendo generally doesn't port their titles to other systems. I think that's all going to change as the handhold system market goes. With all of the re-releasing they do, they could port their entire Virtual Console library to iOS. Even with shitty onscreen controls, those games would sell better than the limited and clunky Virtual Console store.
3. Separation
This is important because it's hard to immerse yourself in a game when you have texts, calls, emails, notifications and everything else coming in.
But all of those issues don't come close to outweighing the convenience and cost of what you can do with an iPhone.
I think this is the end of the handhold era. It's a bummer, but no different than the end of disc based music. If the 3DS makes an awesomely, easily accessible virtual store, with much cheaper games, it may survive. Start off strong with Mario Kart 8 only available as a $14.99 download and there may be a chance.