Nintendo 3DS

[Sean]

Four Swords free for four fucking days: http://www.nintendo.com/eshop/offers?om_rid=AABfFq&om_mid=_BS6tGaB836$EKN&EID=EM10314

[TCB]

Four Swords free for four fucking days: http://www.nintendo.com/eshop/offers?om_rid=AABfFq&om_mid=_BS6tGaB836$EKN&EID=EM10314

 

Played it; not really my cup of tea. It plays much better if there's multiplayer.

 

On the other hand...it's freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee... D:

[PSI Wind]

On the other other hand the original game didn't have a single-player mode

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

I wish us Wii-u owners were getting a free zelda game(MM or TP perhaps )

[TCB]

On the other other hand the original game didn't have a single-player mode

 

Oh really? Me not being a Legend of Zelda fan counts to my stupid ignorance then heh.

[Autosaver]

It's a TON of fun. I played it back in the day when it was rereleased on the DSi. I would pick it up.

 

I really want Nintendo to patch it for the 3DS though. Making it 3D and adding wifi would be brilliant.

[MegasonicZX]

Yeah, so far I kind of like the puzzle elements that it presents (way better than links awakening already) and it makes me wonder why they never capitalized on some of the elements in four swords in more of the games.

[Marcello]

Yeah, so far I kind of like the puzzle elements that it presents (way better than links awakening already) and it makes me wonder why they never capitalized on some of the elements in four swords in more of the games.

First of all, what at the bolded.

 

Second of all, What do you mean? They made a sequel to the game with Four Sword Adventures and a single player "version" with Minish Cap. Working with a partner returned in Spirit Tracks (It was also in Wind Waker and a part of Majora's Mask). And Phantom Hourglass had multiplayer in it.

[Solkia]

meh, I already dawdled with Four Swords Anniversary the last time they gave it away.

[MegasonicZX]

First of all, what at the bolded.

 

Second of all, What do you mean? They made a sequel to the game with Four Sword Adventures and a single player "version" with Minish Cap. Working with a partner returned in Spirit Tracks (It was also in Wind Waker and a part of Majora's Mask). And Phantom Hourglass had multiplayer in it.

Sorry, was mostly talking about some of the items like the magnet and stuff (haven't played adventures or minish cap or spirit tracks yet) and yeah and while windwaker and phantom hourglass did have that stuff in there its not done like how it is on here (though I did enjoy the moments in wind waker where you did have to work with another person while phantom hourglass was just boring for me).

 

But to the bolded, yeah links awakening just doesn't click with me, its just incredibly boring after playing it for awhile and the constant item switching got on my nerves.

[Marcello]

The Magnet Gloves originate from Oracle of Seasons actually. I remember Four Swords also having the hat that makes you small, which of course returned in Minish Cap.

[MegasonicZX]

Ah, okay then.

[Salamander]

I think Minish Cap suffered from attempting to be both a Four Swords game and a game with its own miniaturisation gimmick.  It's almost as if the Four Swords aspect was only added midway through development, although I don't know if that claim would stand up to scrutiny... but certainly one or the other would have sufficed.  But perhaps that's a matter for another topic.

 

In more 3DS-centric news, Denpa Men 3 has likely been localised.  Denpa Men 2 was genuinely rather good after the more tech demo-y original game, and I'm looking forward to seeing how Denpa Men 3 expands on it.

 

Which reminds me of another idea that I've been toying with recently, owing to the main means of acquiring more Denpa Men.  What if Nintendo's eventual 3DS successor made AR its central gimmick?  It's something the 3DS already toys with, and developing that could open doorways to some quite interesting mechanics for games like Pokemon or even for Miiverse.

[Jolt_TH]

...that would actually be interesting, imagine the next Pokemon game where you can do local multiplayer battles but you can put an AR card out and actually watch your Pokemon fight!

[Marcello]

Yoshi 3DS XL Bundle:

http://www.base.com/buy/product/yoshi-limited-edition-3ds-xl-bundle-3ds-console/dgc-ninyoshi3ds.htm

 

Looks pretty cool, actually. There's nothing really special about it, but it looks nice.

[The Kid]

I just like that special edition XL's seem to come out every few months. It gives me plenty of color scheme choices.

[Thrippa]

That one's not bad looking at all.  The problem I have is that the only two I've seen that I REALLY want were extremely limited Japan-only editions, and a lot of the ones that did come over are rather blah.  I have a 3DS that I love the color of, and while I want to get a second - probably XL - eventually, I want it to be one I really want.  Like the Charizard and black-on-gold XY ones.

[Harley Quinn]

Finally got my own 3DS on Christmas Day. It isn't an XL, but it's Midnight Purple and it's pretty. :v

 

Though if I get an XL, I want the Charizard XY one...don't care if it's Japan-only or not, I'll find a way to get it.

[Skyward Sword]

I'm actually amazed how well my 3ds is holding up. I've had it since launch (about 3 years) and except for the usual wear and tear (ignorable surface scratches and slightly sinked in buttons) and some paint chipping off the d-pad it has held up well.

 

Also recently got a grip for my 3ds. It is so much more comfortable now to play games on it, and I'm currently playing through Super Mario 64 DS with the 3DS to see how well the circle pad works.

[Marcello]

Just a little announcement in case someone hasn't noticed:

 

All Europeans who linked a NNID to their 3DS by the 31st of January are now getting their Super Mario Bros. Deluxe download codes by e-mail.

[LunarEdge]

I'm actually amazed how well my 3ds is holding up. I've had it since launch (about 3 years) and except for the usual wear and tear (ignorable surface scratches and slightly sinked in buttons) and some paint chipping off the d-pad it has held up well.

 

Also recently got a grip for my 3ds. It is so much more comfortable now to play games on it, and I'm currently playing through Super Mario 64 DS with the 3DS to see how well the circle pad works.

clear arcylic shells for the standard 3ds and xl are your best friend. I put one on my aqua blue 3ds immediately after getting it and did the same immediately after selling my 3ds to a friend and got my XL. It lets you enjoy the color and prevents any scratches. Had my Aqua Blue since launch and it has no notable scratches. They're pretty cheap on Amazon too, roughly $5. Also, with the shell, they still fit into most cases.

[Cortez]

Bleh, I was planning on trading in my blue XL for the dark green Yoshi one when it's released but instead Europe is getting this ugly lime green and white edition.

It's still nice I suppose but I much prefer the dark green version other countries are getting.

EDIT: Didn't even notice the lime green one had already been posted im sorry I'll pay attention now

[Solkia]

But the DS lasted from 2004 all the way till 2011, why can't it's successor? Maybe they won't reach another peak but I'm sure they can find a way to push it more.

 

DS also had a drastic overhaul in it's design  in 2008. It's more like the DS was on the market for 4 years and the DSi was on the market for 3.

 

But I don't think 3DS is going anywhere anytime soon. I give it 2016 at worst.

 

EDIT: Goddammit I am so fucking tired of this shitty function that sends me to where I last left off instead of the fucking last page. IT's really fucking arbitrary that you have to click the timestamp to do what nearly every fucking forum layout I've ever used just by clicking the name of the thread.

[Your Vest Friend]

3DS sold 97k in America over January.

That's...eh...maybe?

[Sami]

DS also had a drastic overhaul in it's design  in 2008. It's more like the DS was on the market for 4 years and the DSi was on the market for 3.

 

But I don't think 3DS is going anywhere anytime soon. I give it 2016 at worst.

 

3DS was doing pretty well up to this point (more or less the same as the PSP - wins and loses a few months in comparison, but it did have a slight edge), but... 97k in just its third year is really bad. January is almost always the slowest month of the year, but we just got a major hardware revision and a new generation of Pokemon a few months ago. For comparison, the first time the PS2 ever went below 100k was January of 2010. 2011 for the PSP.

 

Listed below are all the months where a console (still in production) dipped below 100k in January. With the exception of the Gamecube in 2007, these were all the first times the consoles listed had done so.

 

January 2005 - none

January 2006 - GCN 66K, XBX 89K

January 2007 - GCN 34K

January 2008 - none

January 2009 - none

January 2010 - PS2 42K

January 2011 - PSP 80K

January 2012 - none

January 2013 - WIU: 57K, PSV: 35K

 

 

3DS' lifetime sales might total out below PSP at this point - it's likely only downhill at this point (year over year I mean, sales will go up and down depending on the month, but 2014 will surely be lower than 2013).

 

In other news, I found some new stuff to share on Wii U sales - 

 

By this point, the Wii U's lifetime sales are 60% of what the GameCube had at this point in its life. Aquamarine, a GAF insider, compiled some charts comparing them - 

 

 

 

 

And for kicks, another chart comparing it to the Dreamcast (it's 7% lower) - 

 

 

 

It's 93% of Dreamcast now, but that'll go down very soon. The chart is adjusted for time, so that one month where the Wii U climbs up a ton was just for Christmas. Next month will probably down to about 80%, as that'll be a Christmas for Dreamcast. 

 

If Nintendo doesn't release new hardware by 2015, they'll have literally no major source of income that whole year. 3DS is in decline and Wii U is already almost dead. They need something new. Soon.