themblan's blog

Scalebound is not getting the reception it deserves, but it's mostly Platinum Games and Microsoft's own fault. The game is obviously not just another action-game from PG, but that is what people want, and expect. Because we have this dissonance between expectation and reality, there is mass confusion, denial, and ultimately pessimism and negativity. We don't even know what kind of game this is. If it's not another action-game, what is it? We don't know. PG and MS have not communicated this to us; this is their fault. They expected us to look at a trailer, then some gameplay that reminded us of a MMORPG (2015), then a co-op boss-battle (2016), and piece it all together; we still don't get it. PG and MS need to communicate what kind of game this is, whether it's a hybrid of multiple genres, what the game-flow is like, what kind of games it's similar to, etc. It doesn't make sense to be down on Scalebound yet. You haven't even played it yet...

When Aisha Tyler announced that Just Dance 2017 would be coming to NX, it blew my mind. 1. I didn't think any game would get an NX-confirmation at E3. 2. It came from a third-party. 3. The potential ramifications made me dream. Could other companies be announcing NX-titles? It seems weird that only Ubisoft would announce a title for NX. EA and Bethesda had their conferences, and they didn't. Why Ubisoft? 1. Maybe Just Dance 2017 is Ubisoft's only game coming out for NX. This would be sad. 2. It's only Just Dance 2017. No one cares, so I guess Nintendo wouldn't mind.

https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoNX/comments/4nr3xd/should_the_nx_go_back_to_lateral_thinking_with/ I don't think so. That philosophy applied to their handheld division, and it worked, but it would not apply to NX if it was a home-console. Even the Wii, which used an overclocked Gamecube, succeeded not because of its low specs, but because of its innovative controller. In fact, I would say that it succeeded in spite of its low specs. Imagine if Wii was a little bit more powerful. Imagine if Wii was a little more expensive. How well could it have done? If Wii was a little more powerful and $50 more at $300, I think it still would have done well. In the absence of such an attractive innovation, Nintendo should not go to 'lateral thinking with withered technology.' Isn't that essentially what they did with Wii U? It was a technological jump for them, but not for the rest of the industry or world. It's marginally better than a 360 or PS3. People didn't wan...

With the rumors of PS4 Neo and XB1 Scorpio out there, is NX doomed? Short answer: no. Here is my opinion: NX, as I wanted it to be, might be doomed. I wanted NX to be the Dreamcast of its time, a console that was the most powerful for a year, gathering hardcore gamers in droves. To be clear, Wii U's analogue is the Saturn; not the Dreamcast. But with Neo and Scorpio seemingly coming out with more power than their older siblings, it seems like now there's little to no chance that NX will be the most powerful system out. Is Nintendo doomed if this scenario occurs? Of course not, but my personal dream-scenario, where NX was the most powerful until PS5 and XB2 came out, is likely to go up in flames. Personal dream-scenario criterion #2 was extensive third-party support. NX could still get third-party support if they go with x86 for the home-console, but I doubt they will. It will probably be ARM for both home-console and handheld. I don't want to have to have two gami...

Pokemon is Nintendo's biggest money-maker right now, so it's understandable to direct their company based around that franchise, but I feel like they shouldn't. What if Pokemon was a home-console games? Would it stop selling? What if Monster Hunter was no longer portable and exclusive to a home-console NX? Would it stop selling? These are questions that Nintendo must try to answer for NX. I remember reading about a survey regarding smartphone-games and most people actually played them at home. If people are at home anyway, there is no need for a portable device. Cede the portable market to smartphones and try to take over the living-room and bedroom once again. Although Iwata talked about NX being a family of systems, I think Nintendo should focus on one thing: a home-device. Phones have overtaken the handheld market. It is annoying to carry around two devices when one leaves one's house. I wish Nintendo would take a big risk and move Pokemon to the hom...

To me, the only uncertain thing I want in NX is third-party support. Even if there were two devices with separate libraries again, I would buy them both. Some people like Pokemon more than anything. They will not buy the console. I am not one of those people. My point is that I'm going to buy the handheld and/or console because Nintendo will make games on them whether they're amazing or just great. What I want them to do is ensure third-party support throughout its lifetime; otherwise NX will be another Wii U and 3DS generation but with a unified library. In the end, I'll end up buying both devices, so to me personally, having a unified library doesn't mean much. Nintendo should be striving to be the one true gaming-console, like SNES was, and what Gamecube tried to be. They stopped trying. Wii worked, but unless they make their own phone, it won't happen again. People like I want Nintendo to be #1 again, not because of a fad, but because it's the best pu...

Original thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoNX/comments/4nnye2/if_nx_is_going_to_be_nintendos_only_future/ You have a sound hypothesis. What if Wii U and 3DS had been one system this generation? It would have been considered a success. In a worst-case scenario where all third-parties abandon ship, Nintendo could survive as long as they only have one hardware-platform to support. That said, however, I personally want to play third-party games on a Nintendo-machine again. Having third-party support makes selling the hardware that much easier for Nintendo than trying to sell it themselves.