Console Wars - the revenge

[Asher]

Originally posted by lord of the mark
Is that the xbox divisions first quarterly profit?

3rd. Its second consecutive profit.

On the conference call they mentioned that their component costs have dropped dramatically. They are turning a small profit on each hardware sold now, and a lot off software. Alas, datacentre costs are way up for XBL since it's being used so much, which eats into it still.

[asleepathewheel]

nintendo worldwide shipments over a million through dec 31:

DS:

Nintendogs: 17.79m
Pokemon Diamond/Pearl: 14.17m
New Super Mario Bros. 13.14m
Brain Age: 11.71m
Brain Age 2: 9.84m
Mario Kart DS: 9.67m
Animal Crossing Wild World: 9.2m
Super Mario 64 DS: 5.78m
Big Brain Academy: 4.61m
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass: 3.82m
Mario Party DS: 2.67m
Pokemon Ranger: 2.61m
Flash Focus: 2.11m
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Time/Darkness: 1.54m

Wii:

Wii Sports: 17.85m
Wii Play: 9.23m
Super Mario Galaxy: 5.19m
Mario Party 8: 4.35m
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess: 4.3m
Super Paper Mario: 2.16m
Big Brain Academy Wii Degree: 2m
Mario Strikers Charged: 1.65m
Metroid Prime 3 Corruption: 1.14m
Link's Crossbow Training: 1.07m
Wii Fit: 1.05m

These are sold to retail numbers.

[asleepathewheel]

Check out this link for PES 2008 Wii.

I've played only a few soccer games, mostly arcadey (megaman soccer, mario strikers) other than an old fifa I believe, but this looks really interesting using the wii mote pointer to control the ball's direction. and it looks very nice as well.

scroll down on the website for a lengthy vid.

http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/article.php?id=2949

[lord of the mark]

I played a Wii for the first time tonight. QOTM and I had taken POTM and a friend of hers skating on the national mall, then went to the Indian Museum. We took the friend home, and she and her dad showed us Wii bowling on their Wii. I bowled a couple of times. It wasnt quite like real bowling, but it was fun nonetheless. They have a parrot who lives in the same modest living room as the Wii, and the bird has apparently learned to say "nice spare".

It was not quite as much fun as Crusader Kings of course.

Ive also noted demo Wiis in Gamestops, with folks playing Super Mario Galaxy on it. SMG reminds me of nothing so much as the end part of Half Life, so even if we got a Wii, I think Id pass on that one.

[DrSpike]

A somewhat peremptory dismissal of one the very best games of 2007.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by DrSpike
A somewhat peremptory dismissal of one the very best games of 2007.

ok doc, HL at the end is about jumping among planets and I couldnt stand it. Im not a huge FPS guy, but i preferred the shooting to the jumping.

Now SMG is jumping among planets, right? So why would I like it? Tell me, I will listen.

[Nikolai]

SMG is among the best games made the last decade. It's about so much more than jumping among planets. First and foremost, it's about pure joy. Nintendo has taken the best from all previous Mario games, like Mario Bros 3, Mario World and Mario 64. Even from the disaster Mario Bros 2 they have taken a few details that workes good. The only thing in SMG that doesn't work, is the controls under water.

[DrSpike]

I haven't played the game but reviews have been glowing so I wouldn't rule it out.

There is quite a big difference between jumping in a FPS game (which others aside from you don't really like) and jumping in a platformer where it is the core of the game.

It may well be if you gripe is specifically about jumping, which probably would mean Mario isn't for you, but it seems more likely it's jumping in HL. So I doubt your conclusion.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Nikolai
SMG is among the best games made the last decade. It's about so much more than jumping among planets. First and foremost, it's about pure joy.

SMG is a good game, but I don't even consider it the best of 2007 let alone the last decade(!).

Reality check, Nikolai...

[Nikolai]

There's few games I have had so much fun with. This has to do with taste Asher. And you really have to learn that your taste isn't alpha and omega, and the only truth.

[asleepathewheel]

Originally posted by Asher



SMG is a good game, but I don't even consider it the best of 2007 let alone the last decade(!).

Reality check, Nikolai...

What is your personal favorite for 2007 Asher?

[Asher]

Originally posted by Nikolai
There's few games I have had so much fun with. This has to do with taste Asher. And you really have to learn that your taste isn't alpha and omega, and the only truth.

Err, what? I never said it was.

You said it was, I said it wasn't - both are clearly opinions.

Knock it off.

[Asher]

Originally posted by asleepathewheel
What is your personal favorite for 2007 Asher?

Don't know if I have a clear favourite. But I do have games I enjoyed more than SMG:

COD4 (still in progress), Mass Effect, Halo 3 (particularly the online coop).

SMG is still a good game, but it was just a well-polished cookie-cutter platformer.

Meanwhile, these other games have:
COD4 is basically two games in one, class-based MP that's incredibly fun (with lots of replay value) and perhaps the most cinematic single player ever.

Mass Effect: The replayability, the massive universe, the conversation system, the RPG-meets-shooter works splendidly.

Halo 3: Online co-op alone is worth it. On top of that, the "skulls" to alter the play and the co-op scoring technique.

I enjoyed SMG, but haven't come close to finishing it yet. Just more of the same as I play it. It doesn't come close to capturing the "pure joy" of Mario 64, which is still my favourite game of all time. Perhaps SMG suffers because I still don't think it compares to SM64.

[asleepathewheel]

Originally posted by Asher
I enjoyed SMG, but haven't come close to finishing it yet. Just more of the same as I play it. It doesn't come close to capturing the "pure joy" of Mario 64, which is still my favourite game of all time. Perhaps SMG suffers because I still don't think it compares to SM64.

Too linear, imho. the worlds in 64 were pretty much open, not much choice in galaxy on where to go after you select your star. I want more freedom. Nonetheless, I personally enjoyed it more than any other new game I played this year.

My backlog has exploded recently so I haven't even touched my copies of cod4 or AC beyond syncing my gamertag. And I still haven't played through halo3 yet with the aid of dramamine. Should have a lot more time in march, but not sure yet. Haven't even bought ME yet, but definitely will, along with 5 other games I still need to pick up. Oh well.

I think my backlog is at 25, spread across 3 systems. Must stop buying until I plow through some enough to complete or give up.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by DrSpike
I haven't played the game but reviews have been glowing so I wouldn't rule it out.

There is quite a big difference between jumping in a FPS game (which others aside from you don't really like) and jumping in a platformer where it is the core of the game.

It may well be if you gripe is specifically about jumping, which probably would mean Mario isn't for you, but it seems more likely it's jumping in HL. So I doubt your conclusion.

Maybe your right doc. Last Mario game i played, was donkey kong I think - that was a platformer wasnt it? With Mario? And I think one of the Atari Arcade games I have is a 'platformer' crystal something? The whole platformer thing I think doesnt do it for me, but I can see maybe it would be much better than the jumping in HL. Anyway, pretty academic, as I both have some backlog left on the PC (still playing CK as I said, and RCT3 to install) and other PC games to buy, and other electronics purchases more urgent than a console. Just an aside based on seeing SMG at Gamestop.