I really kind of numb to it right now. I decided to sleep on it before posting. But this guy above, dressed in Splatoon cosplay pretty much sums up last night. Instead of talking to the core gamer, the ones who stayed up late around the world, Nintendo showed us Wii style gimmicks and made really cheesy Switch Puns. We were 30 minutes in before we saw a real game in Mario Odyssey and that wont be out till fall.
Nintendo didn’t use the opportunity to tell us how the online system will work, rather they buried it in a press release and there are so many questions left unanswered. The launch lineup looks weak as all get out with Zelda being the lone standout and depending on pricing Bomberman R might do well.
I won’t be putting down for a preorder. I’ll probably still end up with one when I see it on the shelf because as you can see below Zelda below looks fantastic but my hype was wiped out by this disaster of a press conference.
Super Mario Run is Nintendo’s first traditional game for the Iphone. Where Pokemon Go and Miitomo are nice fun diversions this is the first game that feels like a traditional Nintendo classic. It takes the 2d sidescrolling that made Mario famous and incorporates it nicely for IOS devices. There are six worlds all together with four stages in each for a total of 24. You can beat the game in a few hours but to master it you can easily spend many more.
The game works like an endless runner except going sideways and with traditional flag jumping at the end of each stage. Some of the stages even incorporate some puzzle elements. Where the game really shines and gets difficult is in the collecting of special coins. Some of them really take a lot of trial and error to collect and some feel almost impossible.
Theres a strange build your kingdom thing where you can use points to buy houses and decorations. I could do without it but as an add on for value I can see where it helps justify the price.
Speaking of the price Mario Run is 9.99 an almost unheard of price on Ios devices. Nintendo knows the value of their properties though and i can see their justification. 4.99 seems like a more reasonable price though.
You can try the first three levels for yourself for free. One word of warning, these three levels don’t represent the true difficulty of the rest of the game. Sure it’s not hard like Dark Souls but there are challenges throughout the game. If you like the feel of the first three stages chances are you’ll like the purchased game. If you don’t your probably not going to enjoy spending ten bucks on Super Mario Run.
I still remember standing in line at a Target in Iowa for the launch of the Nintendo Wii 
So I’m surprised by my excitement for the Switch press conference next Thursday. But there it is.
I can not wait to stay up late to watch a stream of a press conference happening at Nintendo of Japan for the latest (and all signs point to last if a failure Nintendo console) The Switch.
Here’s five things Nintendo needs to do get me in on launch day.
1: Price point. The machine needs to come in at under $300. Anything above that is a joke as the much more powerful and robust PS4 and Xbox one’s are lower than that and Xbox’s successor Scoprio on the horizon for next year. If this machine tops $400 its dead on arrival. Wouldn’t be surprised if it was though.
2: Games. Solid launch lineup. We know were getting The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
3: Proof on an online system. I’m as solid as a single “Campaign” player as you will find. That being said Nintendo’s online system is a joke compared to it’s competition. I’d gladly pay $50 a year for a reliable service especially if it follows the Playstation Plus or Games with Gold model of providing free games with the service. They could even be…..
4: Games from legacy systems. There is no reason we can’t have a large library of Nintendo classics day 1 as they are all small roms at this point and easy to emulate.
5: This is the last thing but I think it’s important. Don’t overestimate your own hype Nintendo and make a plan not just for year one, or even year two. Sony has first party games in development for release into 2020 and beyond. I imagine Microsoft does as well. If your Nintendo with your vast array of characters, classic game franchises and legacy systems, you should have a plan if you want this to succeed that goes beyond coming out of the gate strong.
I’m excited to see the next step for Nintendo, especially in the middle of Sony and Xbox fighting for the most power. Sometimes it’s the unique team from Japan that ends up winning. It happened before with the Wii, and couldn’t hurt gaming if it did again.
Doctor Octoroc has taken the Geek Phenom Musical Dr. Horrible and made it 8 bit. You can get the soundtrack here. It’s bloody chiptune brilliant!
So over on Joystiq they have the news that Nintendo’s next machine is a 3-d Nintendo Ds. A portable 3-d system seems almost as far fetched as when Nintendo announced a 2 screen touch screen game boy. It’s hard to remember but most of the gaming masses, thought that was absurd then. But now who doesn’t own a DS or know someone who does? Some interesting bits from the press release. Backwards Compatible with all DS and DSI games is a plus. No glasses required is probably the biggest thing to me. If they can really pull off 3-d without glasses, then I gaurantee you some of the major television makers will be calling Nintendo headquarters in Japan, for the liscensing rights. Everything is pointing to 3d as the next must have thing in home entertainment, and one of the major consumer problems has been the cost, and the use of glasses. One problem solved. Now we will have to wait to E3 June 15th-17th, for the official news.
I can’t help but remember the last time Nintendo released a 3-d system, the results were less than spectacular.
