How Nintendo can take back the smartphone's market share.

I keep finding articles all over the internet about how the Nintendo 3DS and the PlayStation Vita will be utter failures simply because people already have gaming-capable smartphones in their pockets. Of course I have written about this more than once, and to summarize, I simply don’t think it’s true.

"I think it's very similar between cell phone cameras and professional digital cameras [DSLRs]. You don't use a Smartphone camera for an interview, and you don't use a really professional camera to take some small pictures when you're going to work," - Mega Man co-creator and ex-Capcom head of production Keiji Inafune

Recently, though, I had an idea that may give Nintendo an edge against the constant barrage of disposable games smartphone users tend to compare real video games. What if Nintendo starts repackaging some of their older classic games as cheap minigames? I came to this realization as I played Balloon Fight on Balloon Trip mode. I thought it resembled some very popular flash games, and might as well be their predecessor (no, I don’t know how old the “helicopter game” is).

Balloon Trip: an Existential Journey from Sir Cucumber on Vimeo.

With a very small budget they could re-make any game (or part of it) with high-resolution sprites, backgrounds and menus. Leave the retro sounds and music intact (everybody loves chiptunes!) and slap on a catchy acronym for a suffix (not “3D”, please). Instead of hosting a costly online leaderboard, let players exchange high scores over streetpass. Finally, make sure the game doesn’t have many menus or game modes; just a splash screen and then some action. When you’re done, toss a few of these games at your customers over spotpass every once in a while!

If players knew they would find a little gift-wrapped icon in their menu every once in a while with games that not only are addictive and simple, but are free, they would keep their Wi-Fi on all the time, thus providing valuable data that Nintendo could use and keeping their systems updated to prevent piracy.

If investors think gamers want cheap games above all else, then give them to us so the investors can continue to support the system and developers can continue to make quality games.

So, what will it be? A generic helicopter game or Balloon Trip SX? Fruit Ninja or Duck Hunt WZ? Wrecking Crew BT anyone? Aw yeah!

Open letter to Nintendo regarding the 3DS

Dear Nintendo:

It has been almost 6 months since the Nintendo 3DS was released and even though I am very happy with my system, it seems the public perception is different. And even though you went as far as to announce a price drop on a system that is nowhere near obsolescence to change that notion... Well, I worry. Let me tell you why.

If I had it my way I'd buy every console and every game for it, then I'd wipe my butt with any title that was anything short of perfect, just like they do in video game magazines. But that is not the case. Before I buy a game I have to know if I like it first, because otherwise it's wasted money. When it comes to hardware, I like to research it thoroughly, but I also get a feeling I must buy it as close to launch as possible in order to get the most time out of it.

I have not been this hyped about a video game system since the days of the Dreamcast, and we all know what happened to it; it was discontinued in 2 years. The reason I liked it was because of all the innovations it had made, just like with the 3DS. Now, I know what killed the DC was mostly piracy, but I can't stop feeling that the world simply wasn't ready its awesomeness. Thus, an entirely pathological fear that the 3DS might fail simply because the consumers will reject it's not what they're used to.

Now, when the rumors started popping up before launch that the 3D effect would give users headaches (or make their heads explode if they are under 18) I really started to freak out. Bad news travel faster than good news, so you made a huge gamble with the 3D if they knew there would be anything "not good" about it. I wondered: if you took such a risk, you must have one helluva plan! Yeah, you have an ace up their sleeve. I mean c'mon, you started out as a playing card manufacturer, right?

Hardware-wise, one thing that had me very excited was the fact that the 3DS would be the first commercially available 3D camera. I'm not really a camera guy, but you had the market for yourselves. You could have sold the system as a 3D camera with social network integration and that alone would sell 3DS systems to non-gamers, but you didn't. Now there's a dedicated 3d camera out there, plus a phone with a 3d camera. So unless you can figure out a way to hand out 3DS systems for free in exchange for a 2 year contract, smartphones that cost thrice as much will still be considered cheaper. Now not only is there a competition, they've got us beat both in price and picture quality. First missed opportunity.

When the web browser was released it was a huge disappointment for me. To me the DSi browser was perfect and at times more comfortable to use than even my PC. I couldn't wait to see what they would do with a higher resolution screen. What did they do? They changed the whole thing. It sucks now.

Now, on the software side, I thought the system would definitely outperform your previous handhelds thanks to the increased third party support. The old DS had a worse line-up at launch and it sold like hotcakes (remember how they made fun of how it had two screens?) eventually! As a matter of fact, when I learned that there would be no mandatory Mario game at launch, I thought that maybe you were purposely letting third party developers have this shelf space to increase their trust or something. The promised launch line-up was certainly impressive, but it has been months already and only a handful of good games are available, most of them direct ports of old games. Good games, but old. Way to play it safe, Nintendo!

Is the complexity of the system keeping developers away? Back in the day, when a new system was released, developers only needed to make more detailed graphics in order to move to the next generation. Could it be that designing for 3D displays is that much harder? Are they totally stumped by the whole "streetpass" concept? I seriously just don't get it. Developers should be over the 3DS like a giant turtle/dragon over a princess. And your people should be hard at work enticing developers to hop on board.

Then the e-shop was released and with it a ray of hope. But week after week you kept releasing only DSi games; with the exception of a few emulated Game Boy titles or 3D classics (more ports, UGH!). Playing retro games is one thing, but I don't see the appeal of playing a low-res DSi game stretched to fit the 3DS screen.

Now, going back to the first paragraph; I am very satisfied with my system. I own three awesome games for it and I've got more than enough play time left in them to last until the next killer app comes out. Not to mention two or three games currently available that I want. In the meantime I can also play my old DS games, ExiteBike 3D, those 20 games I will be getting as part of the ambassador program or go back to the preinstalled software.

Whenever I hear someone complain about the poor selection of games available I just want to smack 'em on the back of the head. This is what happens when people that get paid to play games tell the people that have to pay for the games what they should like. Sure, the average videogame magazine editor burns through 10 games a day, but what about the consumer? A good game, in average, takes about a month to beat, not counting any replay value it may have. According to Metacritic, right now there are six 3DS games with ratings ranging from “generally favorable” to “Universally acclaimed”. So there you have it: one “killer app” per month, if played at an average human pace. Then there are all the other games that got OK reviews; only five were found “generally unfavorable” or below, so I’m sure there’s something there for everyone.

More than once have I heard that the system's competition is smartphones. I don't see how anyone would compare a dedicated gaming system to a Swiss-army peripheral that only handles mediocre games; to me it would be like comparing a formula 1 racecar to a hybrid SUV. They both have their places, and while the SUV will be less expensive and more practical in most cases, if you want to race, the choice is clear.

The last time Iwata San tried to warn the world about how disposable $0.99 games would devaluate mobile games, nobody listened. Now people are talking about the death of dedicated handheld gaming platforms.

In my opinion, what you need to do is to continue pushing this message. People need to be shown, not told, the "Wal-Mart effect" these crap games are having. They need to understand that if they continue to buy disposable games then real games will simply stop being made. You need to put ads on the air addressing this directly. But you can't have a man in a suit deliver the message, nobody liked it when you did that the last time. Instead deliver the message from the gamer's point of view.

On the other hand you need to make players realize you do have options for simple, low cost games that don't come off as "cheap". Show the world this e-shop you have! You need to get these minigames on TV as well. You need to have retailers put prepaid e-shop cards next to the 3DS games shelf. Have game-specific cards for sale at retail, only to give the games visibility.

Third, the 3DS e-shop needs more quality games. You need to start making some genuine first-party offerings on this platform. Make high-res versions of top-selling DS games available on the e-shop. Make new first-party IP and try to secure 3D versions of popular smartphone games. We need an “Angry Birds” killer there! Get in the game!

And finally, you need to lower the prices on all platforms. Retail games should be at most $30, and e-shop titles could drop a buck or two, specially outdated DSi ware games. Just don't drop 'em all the way down to "dirt cheap". This would be counter-productive on the devaluation argument, but all games have their prices lowered eventually, so I don't see why downloadable games can't.

Once more, I am happy with my 3DS and I still recommend it, even more so now that it's cheaper. Sure, I felt ripped off when I first heard of the price drop, but today I feel it's a good thing (even without the Ambassador Program bonuses) because I understand that I won't see the system's true potential if it doesn't sell well. But not everybody sees it this way, and you need to work on that.

Sincerely:
Your greatest fanboy

Outdated Review: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D

When the time came to write the review for Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, I asked myself: "Self, what do Downcast readers expect from this Outdated Review™?" To which I answered "what readers?" So I'll just post a slightly amusing anecdote accompanied with my impressions on the game.

We're talking about a game that was first released in 1998. I'm going to spare you gameplay-specific details because you've probably played it already. In case you haven't, I suggest you Google it for the details, but you should at least know this: The original was critically acclaimed as the greatest game ever, and many believe it still is. The game also introduced many gameplay mechanics used to this day.

I never really played the original. I never owned a N64, and when I finally found someone to lend me one (I think the owner already had a GameCube) I decided I'd just watch as my wife played it. You see, she's not much of a gamer, but when she likes a game, she gets very OCD about it, and she doesn't mind spoiling the game for others. Hell, she doesn't even mind spoiling it for herself. But I did watch the whole thing, even the obsessive gold skulltula hunting.

As I recall, the N64 graphics were always ugly, I guess the system's much hyped antialiasing only served to make everything look like a nauseating blur. But the game wasn't particularly famous for its graphics, sound or special effects. It was simply a great game. It had lots of fun things to do, and that magic that only Shigeru Miyamoto can produce. Another thing that made the game very memorable was the music. The Lost Woods theme is even catchier than the Super Mario Bros. 2 theme (Tetris theme B still reigns supreme, though)!

The game was fun enough I was satisfied watching someone else play it, only pitching in on occasion to help solve a particularly tough puzzle.

Now, if I tell you, "they took the greatest game ever, updated the graphics and frame rate, added touchscreen menus, motion-sensing controls and high-res, widescreen, three freaking dee graphics!" it would be a pretty simple way to sell it to you. But was it as simple as that? No not really.

I really want to tell you this is a perfect game. But there are a couple things they didn't get right. I tend to leave what I didn't like for the end but I figure that might leave you with a negative impression, and I really want you to want this game, so I'll start with that.

I think one of the things I didn't particularly love was how the game was ported over to a handheld. Forget the graphics, sound or controls. A handheld game needs a certain degree of accessibility if it is to be played on the go. They went through all the trouble of adding the sheikah stones (or n00b stones as those of us who grew up on Halo call 'em) but they couldn't add an auto save function? You have to remember to save your game every once in a while, which truly shows this is a game from the nineties, and then when you load the game you always start on the same place, and have to walk all the way back to where you were to continue.

This is only a mild annoyance, the game actually has an advantage over the console in that when you close the system it goes to sleep mode, but what if my battery power runs out, or I drop my 3Ds and the cartridge pops out?

Regarding the 3D effect I think it is fantastic. Let me give you a few in-game examples. When you go to Lake Hylia and head towards the scarecrows, it will happen that you will be running then Link will jump and roll because there is a sudden drop you didn't see. This doesn't happen in 3D. You can see the fluctuations on the ground even when the texture and shading is identical throughout. This is particularly useful when riding, as Epona doesn't like that kind of jumps. When the princess drops the namesake instrument in the moat, it took my wife about 5 tries to get it because she couldn't quite line herself up; this doesn't happen in 3D because you can tell exactly where it is at the bottom.

The only problem with the effect is that at times you can feel the camera slightly focusing back and forth when you stand still in awkward positions, and sometimes the camera wobbles when going up stairs which can be dizzying when the 3D is on.

The game also features gyroscopic controls, specifically used to move the camera about and to aim long-ranged weapons, much like in Face Raiders. I find this absolutely brilliant. Just aim and shoot! There is one problem though; the same Face Raiders has: moving the system is tricky when playing in 3D.

So you have three options for aiming:

• Disable 3D and aim with the gyroscope by slightly skewing the system.
• Disable the gyroscopes and aim with the analog nub in 3D.
• Hold the system like you're playing Face Raiders, and rotate your entire body when aiming in 3D

I still can't understand why they couldn't just have an option to have the 3D temporarily disabled while gyroscoping! If you've ever fired a weapon you may have noticed one tends to shut one eye anyway. Just add a neat "blink" transition effect and bingo!

Now regarding the graphics, this is where the grievances end. To me the game is beautiful. Sure, the polygon count is almost the same as the original (in order to conserve the gameplay geometry) but the graphics are still beautiful. They smoothed and redid the textures so everything just pretty even up close.

No, you can't count the hairs on link's head. No, you can't see up his nostrils. No, you can't smell the grass. But what you see is still really pretty (except for some of the NPCs). The nasty anti-aliasing is gone. The frame rate is smooth. The colors are dreamy. Just staring at the sky, the sunset, the moon, the stars and the sunrise is magical. If you hear someone telling you the graphics are outdated, please smack 'em on the back of the head and tell them 201d said to STFU.

Then there's the fact that it's now widescreen and almost all of the data from the HUD has been moved to the bottom screen.

Speaking of which, another innovation is the touchscreen controls. These are pure genius. They took the original's cumbersome pause menus and put them on the bottom screen. While playing you will see the area map, and you can tap different "tabs" to pause the game and bring out the different menus from the original, which have been slightly improved. On the GEAR menu you can switch swords, shields and tunics, plus it shows the different key items you've earned (stones, medallions, etc.). On the MAP screen you can change floors and see some extra map information. On the ITEMS menu you see all other usable or equippable items. Note that boots are now selected on the ITEMS menu, rather than GEAR menu, so they can be assigned to a button to be changed on the fly (making the Water Temple 98% easier).

Just like in the original you can bind items to buttons that do not have a set function. This time around B is your sword button, A is the context button, L is for... uh... "L Targeting” and R is for the shield. That leaves Y and X to customize, plus they added two icons on the touchscreen right next to the buttons that you can also customize. On the opposite corners of the screen there’s a "camera" icon and an icon permanently bound to your ocarina.

It would have been nice if they implemented some of the 3DS' features such as StreetPass, but they would probably feel tacked-on or entirely disrupt the balance of the game, so at the same time I'm glad they didn't.

In general the game is loads of fun and certainly still relevant. If you noticed, all my complaints were regarding things that could have been added. Nothing was changed for the worse, nothing was taken away. So those 100 out of 100 reviews it got back then still apply here. If you've played the original, buy if or the nostalgia, if you haven’t, buy it because you're missing out on the greatest game ever.

Hey! Listen! Leave Navi alone!

"Fly, Navi, fly! The fate of the forest, nay, the world, depends upon thee!" - The Deku Tree

When I first saw The Legend of Zelda, one of the things that most impressed me was Navi. You see, I believed they had changed the way games would be made that day. They had figured a way to make a "living, breathing" cursor that helped you navigate a 3D world. It wasn't a dumb arrow, a blinking highlight or such. It wouldn't beep, or even halt the game with a text message to catch your attention; instead you'd get a cheerful "HEY!"

After that game I expected game creators to resort to more in-game resources to point the player in the right direction so the storytelling could flow. I daydreamed about the day one of the members in your party in a JRPG would point and say "maybe we should check that out". Instead we got stuck looking at cursors, arrows, HUDs, life gauges…

I'm pretty sure Miyamoto and his team were also enamored with the whole Navi concept. For the first five minutes of the game you'd think she was the protagonist! The scene in which she zips through the forest with her own catchy theme playing in the background, dodging kokiris here and there, only to bump into a fence! The way she shakes it off and continues on her quest to save the world. She HAD to find the boy… the boy with no fairy. I guess it missed its mark with the rest of mankind, but to me she was established as an important character for the remainder of the game. Not just a cursor.

Whenever she went "hey!" I knew there was something I should watch out for, and eventually she became white noise just like every other sound effect in the game, just like the gazillion footsteps, Link's fierce war cry every time he swings his sword or rolls (HHYYYYAAAAAAHHH!!!!!) or the horrible warning you get when running low on hearts (on every single Zelda game). But still, a human voice is always a thousand times more pleasing to the ear than a random chime.

Why is it, then, that Navi gets so much hate? Nobody ever bashes Link's overacting. The answer is simple; it's just another internet meme that refuses to die. I'm pretty sure someone thought it'd be funny to post a video of her repeating her famous line over and over, then some idiot who had never played the game listened to it, reached the conclusion that Navi is annoying, and decided to forward it to his friends, who in turn started remixing the sound. Before you know it everybody hates Navy out of peer pressure. Do you even remember what the game is like? She never goes off on a loop like that! Lies, all lies!

If you're going to let the internet brainwash you, let Downcast do it. I'd never steer your wrong! Now fly! Buy yourself a Nintendo 3DS and a copy of Ocarina of Time 3D! Then come back in a week or two when I will have an in-depth review of the game, even though everybody knows it's awesome already! Go!

Outdated Review: 3D Classics: Exitebike

If you own a 3DS and you're reading this before July 7^th 2011, forget about this stupid blog and go download the game! It's free until then. If you don't, well, run and buy a 3DS! This game is really neat!

You've probably heard or even played the original so I'm not going to bore you with a 26 year old review (talk about outdated!) If you haven't, well, Google it, goshdarnit! Thousands of reviews have been posted over the ages, including gameplay videos!

What you might not be able to see in Google, though, is the awesome 3D effect accomplished in this game.

In terms of menus, you get a pre-game main screen with a high-res logo, a catchy tune and three options: Start Game, Records, and Options. When you hit Start Game you see the original splash screen (but with a checkered background). The options there are still Selection A, Selection B, and Design. In Design mode it reverts to the pre-game 2st century graphics to allow making tracks easier, and trust me, it is. It's also fun. You have 32 slots to save them and you can rename them. Truly awesome, too bad you can't share them online.

The real retro goodness occurs, of course, in Selection A or B modes. It's hard to describe (screenshots work better) but they literally just turned a 2D side scrolling motocross into a 3D masterpiece that still carries all the 8-bit nostalgia you'd get from a straight up emulator!

I strongly suggest launching this game with the 3D off. Originally what you see is a game adjusted for a wide screen. The graphics do not appear stretched or resized even though clearly the 3DS screen is of a higher resolution than a NES display, all you get is some extra track on the sides to fill the wider display. The gages and timers on bottom remain the same with some extra data thrown in. The magic occurs as you adjust the analog 3D slider, the track leans back accordingly without the slightest hint of smoothing or antialiasing or anything beyond 8-bit graphics in terms of color or resolution (even though it's clearly happening). Since now you can now see the horizon, you get to see more of the stadium, and even the sky with clouds.

The game plays exactly the same and the sounds are loyal to the original, including the dreaded "OVER HEAT" screech. Since higher pitched 8-bit sounds travel better over the air, you get a very loud experience, causing people around you to turn and look at the sounds that bring back pleasant memories from their childhoods (or annoy the heck out of them).

The game still carries a lot of replay value. As a kid I used to just jam on the gas button and aim for the big ramps. Now that I understand what is going on, I adjust my landings, manage my boost/heat ratio and focus on getting high scores. It's so much fun.

Even if you're not the early adopter kind and you miss the free promotion, I still recommend you pay for it.