japan - Kotaku

posts about #japan more →
Look How Time Changes Character Design
Famitsu Awards New Super Mario Bros. Wii A Perfect Score
A "Real" Girlfriend Whose Nose You Can Poke
Shigeru Miyamoto Couldn't Get A Job At Nintendo Today
DSi LL Goes On Sale In Japan
The One About the Guy Who Married a Video Game
WET Xbox 360 Version Cancelled In Japan
Fat Princess Delayed In Japan
Just How Real Is Gran Turismo PSP?
Father Of PlayStation Makes New Company

Your version of Internet Explorer is not supported. Please upgrade to the most recent version in order to view comments.

Dsmvwl Admin Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×

anabbeynormality
11/24/09

In reply to Famitsu Awards New Super Mario Bros. Wii A Perfect Score
I can't remember the last time playing a game was a gleeful as NSMBW. It's not perfect, but the chaos with everybody talking is part of what makes it so fun. If you're the type of person the has to win or else you're not having fun, well then it's not a good game for you. But if you can shrug off a cheap death and laugh at the antics of your friends, then this game is as close to perfect as I've played.

I probably would give it a 38 or 39 out of 40, but you have to factor in how they do their scores. It's not one person giving it a score out of 40, it's 4 people giving it a score out of 10. Personally, if I'm at a 9.5, but I have to pick a 9 or 10, then I would pick 10 for this because it's a unique experience. Look how many 9's they give. It seems like for them, a 10 is basically saying, this is something special. So, basically a 40 doesn't mean perfect, it means that all 4 reviewers agree that it deserves special recognition.
Reply

Edited by anabbeynormality at 11/24/09 3:50 PM anabbeynormality was starred anabbeynormality was unstarred

天
11/24/09

In reply to Famitsu Awards New Super Mario Bros. Wii A Perfect Score
Famitsu is known for being stingy with the 10/10 ratings but I can't understand all the rage about the recent dramatic increase in awarding games that score. I always figured that 10/10 didn't mean perfect - it meant masterpiece, triumph, or something along those lines. Maybe the reviewers at Famitsu feel that there have been more masterful games released in recent times. It's just their opinion - you don't have to agree with it, but your disagreement doesn't automatically mean that Famitsu's review scores are invalid/sold for ad space.
Reply

天 was starred 天 was unstarred

UltimatePancakeSensation
11/24/09

@天: There was a time when regardless of your taste in games, you could look at every game on Famitsu's perfect list and, even if the game wasn't your cup of tea, see the merit. Those days are long gone.
Reply

天
11/24/09

@UltimatePancakeSensation: Looking up at the list in the post above, I can see merit in the games listed there that I've played (the first 10 on the list). Even though I didn't like FFXII very much I can still appreciate the good design of the game.
Reply

天 was starred 天 was unstarred

excel_excel
11/24/09

In reply to Famitsu Awards New Super Mario Bros. Wii A Perfect Score
I absolutly love the game. Can't honestly believe how good it is, I'd give it 10/10. Purely based on the level design and fun factor alone.

But Famitsu have always been selective with their 10/10's. Brawl and MGS4 getting perfect scores from 4 different reviewers? Not a chance
Reply

excel_excel was starred excel_excel was unstarred

UltimatePancakeSensation
11/24/09

In reply to Famitsu Awards New Super Mario Bros. Wii A Perfect Score
I remember when a Famitsu perfect really meant something. Nowadays they just seem to give them away to the occasional big title.

I've played this game, and it is far from perfect.
Reply

Bubbleman!
11/24/09

@UltimatePancakeSensation: I think I actually agree with Famitsu this time. For a 2D Platformer, NSMB Wii is at the very top. It's the most-polished game of its kind, by far.
Reply

天 promoted this comment Bubbleman! was starred Bubbleman! was unstarred

UltimatePancakeSensation
11/24/09

@Bubbleman!: I don't think you've played it in a family multiplayer setting, then.
Reply

Gortexfogg
11/24/09

In reply to Shigeru Miyamoto Couldn't Get A Job At Nintendo Today
Nintendo's hiring practices will likely influence the quality of their games in the future - for better or worse, who knows. But, imagine if Miyamoto didn't get hired by Nintendo: he'd just work in his garden, do his own plumbing, swing a sword around and ride on his jet ski (which doesn't sound too bad).
Reply

Gortexfogg was starred Gortexfogg was unstarred

Random J
11/24/09

In reply to Shigeru Miyamoto Couldn't Get A Job At Nintendo Today
I think this is wide spread thing for games companies in general though. The industry isn't as easy to get into as it once was. The entire 'scape of it different now. Alot of people want to go into the games industry hoping to be the next big Miyamoto, Kojima, Nomura, Schaffer, Cliffy B: but that shit's not going to happen. I think some people have an idea in their head that all these guys went into these companies at the level they are now.

I don't even think degrees are THAT important. They're even redundant in some cases. You need to have a damn good portfolio that puts you on some other level above others. You need to be the baddest programmer. The best animator. The illest concept artist. You need to be on the level with those who are already in the industry and are good at what they do. I remember on a Uni visit to EA, they pretty much told us: you need to have one slick as hell portfolio that makes you look the absolute shit, or nobody will even bother with you.
Reply

Random J was starred Random J was unstarred

shimage
11/24/09

In reply to Famitsu Awards New Super Mario Bros. Wii A Perfect Score
PokéPark? Really? Sorry, was that off topic? It's in the picture ...
Reply

shimage was starred shimage was unstarred

Protector one
11/24/09

In reply to A "Real" Girlfriend Whose Nose You Can Poke
Bash is back, alright! :D
Reply

Protector one was starred Protector one was unstarred

Taggart6: I don't always drink beer, but when I do...
11/24/09

In reply to Shigeru Miyamoto Couldn't Get A Job At Nintendo Today
I blame Corporate HR and how pretty much every company's HR division just strives to be identical to every one else.
Reply

RockyRan
11/24/09

In reply to Shigeru Miyamoto Couldn't Get A Job At Nintendo Today
I think that's true for a lot of overnight-success companies. Bill Gates, for instance, never finished college. Let's see if a college dropout can get a prestigious job at Microsoft now.
Reply

RockyRan was starred RockyRan was unstarred

kingmanic
11/24/09

@RockyRan: Bill Gates is extremely special case. If your dad was a supreme court justice and can hand you $100,000 in 1975 money and your mother knew people on the board of IBM then perhaps you don't really need a degree. The value of education is for little people. Those who lack high profile connections and easy capital.

The value of university is connecting the best and brightest together. The guys at Google met in University as did the people who founded Bioware. Numerous companies start when a few ambitious university students meet and get ideas. The actual degree is more of an endurance test. It shows you can focus and endure for 4-5 years. But it has the very useful side effect of bringing bright ambitious people together.

Paul Allen, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Steve Woz all attended university but had enough connections and personal ability to succeed without the degree. But they were bright enough to go to university/college.
Reply

excel_excel promoted this comment kingmanic was starred kingmanic was unstarred

Kris
11/24/09

In reply to Look How Time Changes Character Design
Looks like someone got some plastic surgery. He looks about 10 years younger.
Reply

Kris was starred Kris was unstarred

strideo
11/24/09

In reply to A "Real" Girlfriend Whose Nose You Can Poke
God this just screams "desperate loser"!

I mean is actual physical contact with a girl such a foreign concept to the target audience that poking her face and rubbing her cheeks is a novelty? "This is what it what be like if a girl let me touch her face. Wow!"

That being said, she is cute.
Reply

Edited by strideo at 11/24/09 8:24 AM strideo was starred strideo was unstarred

gothicdeathvr2
11/24/09

@strideo: Actually its not that...

Wait yea it is. Only in Japan do you have people who fit in your description

And this sort of marketing doesn't help.
Reply

strideo promoted this comment gothicdeathvr2 was starred gothicdeathvr2 was unstarred

strideo
11/24/09

@gothicdeathvr2: Maybe the game could actually be helpful if it encouraged the player to make some conversation with their date and tried to foster some sort of socially acceptable interaction rather than poking them in the nose. Then the player could try to go out in the real world and meet a real girl.

Naw, who am I kidding, that wouldn't sell. xD
Reply

strideo was starred strideo was unstarred

battra92
11/24/09

@strideo: I have to wonder if games like this actually make the problems facing the young otaku worse as they are given a false idea of what girls are actually like.

I don't get Japan. It's either virtual girlfriends or manga about doing your sister. Is this really the land of great innovation and videogames?
Reply

battra92 was starred battra92 was unstarred

Demonbird
11/24/09

In reply to Famitsu Awards New Super Mario Bros. Wii A Perfect Score
Of course they did, because it is a good game.

I would have taken off some points for the unnecessary motion controls, though.
Reply

Demonbird was starred Demonbird was unstarred

Slagathorian
11/24/09

@Demonbird: But perfect? Hardly.
Reply

Demonbird promoted this comment Slagathorian was starred Slagathorian was unstarred

Demonbird
11/24/09

@Slagathorian:
Agreed. It is a good game, but not deserving of a perfect score. By far.

#speakup
Reply

Demonbird was starred Demonbird was unstarred

strideo
11/24/09

In reply to Look How Time Changes Character Design
Lame.

I guess I don't like the whole "j-rocker" character design trend that Japan has been on for the last several years.
Reply

Edited by strideo at 11/24/09 7:54 AM strideo was starred strideo was unstarred

Hey_Blinkon
11/24/09

In reply to Look How Time Changes Character Design
What a great game. I'll stick with my SNES cart, so I don't have to play as Zac Efron....
Reply

Hey_Blinkon was starred Hey_Blinkon was unstarred

Earlier discussions Other discussions Show all discussions Show featured discussions only Start a new discussion

SUBSCRIBE TO Kotaku

Login

Reset Password

Register

Submit Your Comment