Enter your username and password.
Denver, 8:42 PM
Thu Nov 12
56 posts in the last 24 hours

Tip us: tips@kotaku.com
Editor-In-Chief:
Brian Crecente
Email | AIM | Twitter
Deputy Editor:
Stephen Totilo
Email | AIM | Twitter
Senior Editor:
Michael McWhertor
Email | AIM | Twitter
Senior Contributing Editor, Japan:
Brian Ashcraft
Email | AIM | Twitter
Contributing Editor, East Coast:
Michael Fahey
Email | AIM | Twitter
Contributing Editor, Oceania:
Luke Plunkett
Email | AIM | Twitter
Contributing Editor, Weekends:
Owen Good
Email | AIM | Twitter
Correspondent, San Francisco:
AJ Glasser
Email | AIM | Twitter
Columnist:
Leigh Alexander
Columnist:
Tim Rogers
Please enter your email address to have your password reset.
Registering will give you a user profile and the ability to add other users as friends. To become a commenter, however, you need to audition.
Want to know more? Consult the Comment FAQ and legal terms.
You don't need to login to comment. Just enter your email address below.
See how your address will be displayed in the Comment FAQ.
08:04 PM
07:48 PM
Modern Warfare 2 made $310 million in one day.
Transformers 2 the highest grossing movie of the year so, only made $220 million in it's entire run and that had megan fox's ass people!" #callofdutymodernwarfarereflex
07:24 PM
To be clear - because making generalisations about the Wii is always a touchy thing - I know there are Wii-only gamers who are eager for good FPS on their console, but they're obviously not the majority (of that Wii-only pool).
Since most passionate shooter fans probably own an HD console, that mostly leaves the occasional fan - a much more elusive demographic.
And if the system's biggest potential selling point for FPS - an intuitive, almost organic control system - ends up being frustrating, Reflex might be a tough sell.
07:29 PM
Therefore, I am not so sure that the control scheme will act as a barrier to success. If anything, the game being late to the party will play a much larger role. #callofdutymodernwarfarereflex
08:16 PM
But you're right, the game's tardy (to say the least) arrival won't help its fortunes. Nobody expects a Wii game to look like a 360 game, but gamers quite rightfully expect ports to show up around the same time as the other versions.
If you're a Wii owner, it's hard not to feel like the red-headed stepchild, like an afterthought. "Oh, hey! Hadn't seen you there. Here, have this: it's a valuable piece of 2007 history, you know?"
06:58 PM
07:22 PM
I fail to see such concessions in other fields.
"Oh, well, this phone doesn't have menus, it runs on last gen hardware, even though it basically cost the same and came out at the same time as your blackberry."
"Hmm? Yeah, that new CG movie looks worse than toy story did. It is okay though, the creators didn't have the budget for better computers, so it is understandable."
"Right, you see, the makers of this this refrigerator are marketing to a different demographic than sears and kenmore, so there is actually no refrigeration unit inside of it, you use blocks of ice."
Not trying to come off as a prick, but I think you see my point. If you choose to make a move like that, there is no reason it shouldn't be held against you when your competitors are doing a better job than you are.
Even more so, the wii is a financial success, so it isn't like we have to hold back such legitimate concerns to save it the shame or anything.
Seriously, the fridge example was a stretch, but if you walked into sears and a salesman pitched that to you, you would laugh your ass off.
Of course I'm aware that the video game market place != appliance market place, and that there are many other flaws in my argument (feel free to point them out), but the main point is that in a competitive marketplace a product should not be let to slide on a facet of it's design because the creators arbitrarily thought it would be best (to make more money, and what not, ease of production, etc.), especially when those facets are expected and necessary functions to ensure proper usage and enjoyment of the product. Yes, the wii works, plays games, etc. The ice box also works, but you aren't going to make excuses for that, are you? #callofdutymodernwarfarereflex
07:53 PM
06:23 PM
05:15 PM
ok... I pooed a little. #residentevilthedarksidechronicles...
04:13 PM
04:00 PM
Also, the video seems to say SINGLE PLAYER ONLY HAS BORING OPTIONS LOOK AT MARIO FLOUNDER IN THE WATER!
04:24 PM
04:57 PM
04:59 PM
Played on a lite, max brightness, wasn't as vibrant as this, if I recall. #newsupermariobroswii
03:44 PM
03:39 PM
04:27 PM
02:51 PM
03:01 PM
You REALLY, really think that the Galaxy multiplayer was good compared to this one? Are you sure? #newsupermariobroswii
02:40 PM
I almost want to say that you should chalk that up to the Wii's sad online capabilities and most gamers just being know-it-all jackasses. I'd just really like to know EXACTLY how "it's nonsense."
And don't use other games as examples. It's really dumb to say "well this other game that doesn't work anything like that game works online on the Wii!" Maybe it's that they couldn't come up with any way as to how to put Super Guide into an online game just because of how it works? I really don't know. I wouldn't mind an actual explanation outside of "hurrrr we hate Nintendo they r dum" #newsupermariobroswii
02:48 PM
I'm not sure why this game was incapable of multiplayer but the conduit was not.
But you seem rather sure, perhaps you could explain it.
Why doesn't it have multiplayer? #newsupermariobroswii
02:50 PM
02:55 PM
I don't care about why people want it or whatever. Of course everyone wants it online. I just want to know how it isn't.
What I'm saying is, everyone's complaining that Nintendo's dumb (and that's what they're being by not explaining it), but no one's actually come forward with any reasoning counter to what they've said. Saying a different genre works online doesn't work because it's duh, not the same genre with the same abilities. Thus, I brought up Super Guide and that maybe Nintendo refused to put online in on the grounds that they couldn't get Super Guide to work with 4 players online at the same time, thus, it's pushing the system to its online limits.
I'm just guessing and shooting in the dark here. And so far no one is trying to explain anything and is just pushing on with the exact same bullshit jackass responses I just talked about. If you aren't going to actually tell me with detail how it could work online or at least theories as to why to it doesn't, I don't care. Just saying, "other games have online Nintendo is dumb" is just more flamebait. #newsupermariobroswii
03:09 PM
03:47 PM
In a first person shooter they actually roll back time on the server when calculating if a shot connects or not. If you shoot on your screen where you see your enemy's head, on his screen he might not even be there anymore. So the server checks to see where he was when you fired (basically - it's more complex, though) and whether or not it hit.
Now, imagine trying to do that with sprites in a game where you're expected to use each other as a team. It starts to get more complex now since you want physical bodies to make contact and react to each other. Did he make an ice block there? Did you jump on his head, or miss? Who got to the coin first?
Now make it a poor connection. Say, 333 ms lag, or 1/3 of a second. Mario running at full speed goes a pretty fair distance in that time. How do you handle it?
I'm sure it's possible, but it adds a HUGE level of complexity. Probably adds at least 50% to the development time.
( And I have no idea how they handle it in online fighting games, like Brawl or Street Fighter. I imagine it gets ugly if you don't have a pretty good connection. This is all supposition, I have very little proof outside having a general idea of how the Source engine handles Counter-Strike :P ) #newsupermariobroswii
03:52 PM
04:21 PM
I haven't played BlazBlue but I keep hearing the online in that game is absolutely fantastic, with no detectable lag even on below-average conditions, whereas Tekken 6 falls short of providing that same experience (let's not even get into King of Fighters XII).
My point is, it's all about how the game's netcode is handled. The game itself needs to be programmed in a way that the information that needs to be distributed to other players can be easily transported while letting the game render the rest on its own console.
NSMBW is much less complicated than an FPS, where a game of that type requires the connection to accurately keep up with projectiles, player positions, and changes in the game's terrain itself if the game allows it. NSMBW is merely a platformer restricted to moving in 2D, its objects carrying a relatively primitive form of physics. It's definitely not an no-brainer, especially for a console ill-equipped for online play like the Wii. Nintendo would, however, have to make an effort with the netcode, and if Brawl's online is of any indication, it's very unlikely they'd bother with online in the near future. To solve the issue in the best manner, they'd have to make the systems connect to a dedicated server like in PC gaming (don't tell Infinity Ward about this), which would make it very easy for the game to erase the possible lag issues as long as the netcode is competently made. However, given that online was probably never on the minds on Nintendo through a vast majority of the game's development as outright refusal to make good online, I find it extremely unlikely for them to run dedicated servers for this type of game. It would be costly, but at this point Nintendo has WAY more than the money needed to maintain servers.
So yes, conclusively it is Nintendo's decision to not include online and not necessarily a technical obstacle. Nintendo has been known to greatly overcome some of the industry's biggest technical problems (Ocarina of Time's battle system, Mario 64's camera and draw distance, etc), so I don't find it very believable that something as trivial as this to be "too much" for them.
02:39 PM
I would be very, very interested in learning how they did that. That has got to be the most awesome trailer I have ever seen ever. But that guy at the end, was he cross-eyed? #residentevilthedarksidechronicles...
03:50 PM
It is expertly executed though, even though I see it coming a mile and a half away. #residentevilthedarksidechronicles...
04:24 PM
02:39 PM
03:13 PM
02:39 PM