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Stiq Figures, March 24 - 30: Pinball wizard edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Okay, so I'm a pinball enthusiast, not a wizard. I've always loved trying out new pinball tables whenever I come across them, but before I outgrew allowances, my quarters usually landed in The Simpsons, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Metal Slug cabinets. At least I knew better than to empty my savings trying to beat Gauntlet, I guess. Now that I'm old enough to associate quarters with laundry money instead of arcades, I really miss coming across those machines. Sure, there's a great digital pinball hall in Pinball FX 2, but nothing's going to replace looming over a physical pinball machine, spewing unintelligible vitriol after losing a ball to a gutter for the hundredth time. It's more rare to come across a table these days, but at least I've still got great memories from when arcades were at their prime. My dad and I poured a small fortune into the Addams Family and Terminator 2 tables, and since I grew up watching The Simpsons, trying that table out was bliss. I liked what I managed to play of the South Park machine too, until my grandmother figured out what was going on and dragged me away. I won't pass up my next chance to visit a pinball exhibit, and when I do find one, I'm going to try the tables I've never touched before. It'd be great if you shared your personal favorites in the comments so I have a clue of what to head for. Or you could just check the Japanese hardware sales data after the break and leave me to waste my money on awful tables. That's an option too, I guess.
Stiq Figures, March 17 - 23: User-created content edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Game developers can make some pretty great content, as evidenced by the games we've collectively been glued to over the past few decades. It makes sense, too - they've got the knowledge, the tool set and the experience to know what makes for a good time. From my perspective while growing up, their aptitude was highlighted by countless user-created Starcraft maps, many of which weren't exactly the work of future Blizzard designers. The exceptions to those botched efforts, however, were phenomenal. In comparison to Blizzard's official content, I put way more hours into user-created tower defense and Mass Attack maps, the latter being a gametype where clearing killcount milestones upgraded a player's perpetually-spawning units. Obstacle course-style maps were easy to retry due to their short playtimes, but in terms of content supporting longer matches? Nothing topped the Final Fantasy 7 or Super Mario RPG-themed maps, which interpreted the storylines and locales of each game with Starcraft assets. It wasn't so great when my dial-up connection gave out 90 minutes into those journeys, though. Over the last several years, developers seem to have grown fond of allowing players to create what they want. It's a welcome trend proved most strongly by Minecraft's popularity, but it's also supported by the LittleBigPlanet series and TrackMania, with Project Spark seemingly just as keen to let players experiment. As someone who used to goof off all the time in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2's level creator, or just tried to make up unconventional races with friends in Mario Kart 64, I'm really enjoying the recent openness to player creativity. I'm certainly no future level designer, but there always seem to be plenty of people ready to make up for me with fantastic ideas. Are there any games that stayed in your queue because of the content its community was making, or are you one of those people that can build a masterpiece of your own? Share your best creation-related moments in the comments, right after you check this week's data for Japanese hardware sales after the break! [Image: Blizzard]
Stiq Figures, March 10 - 16: StreetPassing is great edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. I'm not used to finding people to StreetPass with. I never managed to do it during my last two years on a campus of 10,000 students, and it's the same story in my current home in the suburban outskirts. It's for city residents or people who frequent public places, I get that - I'm just jealous of those that have the StreetPass count to finish a round of Find Mii. Though meeting some of the Joystiq team and working through video edits ranked much higher, StreetPass was one of the reasons I was excited to attend GDC this week. Even the handful of Miis I gathered traveling through airports was exciting to me, and I looked forward to the avalanche of Puzzle Swap pieces I was bound to collect. Of course, in order to StreetPass, you need to remember to bring your 3DS with you from the hotel. You also need to have time to clear out your Mii Plaza line, which is a mythical concept during GDC. Additionally, it helps if you don't leave your 3DS under a table in the press room for four hours, especially when the realization of which terrifies you enough to leave it in your suitcase for the rest of the trip. I did get about a dozen StreetPasses when I was functioning like a proper adult though, so all-in-all I'd count the venture as a modest success. I haven't earned my Yoshi hat yet, but there's always the next time I travel ... anyway, have you been able to recruit a Find Mii army where you live? Have you found a more abundant Mii population elsewhere? Is one of the games that rabbit peddles worth an investment, or is my suspicion of him justified? Tell me all about your StreetPassing experiences in the comments, right after you check this week's Japanese hardware sales after the break! [Image: Nintendo]
Stiq Figures, March 3 - 9: Favorite special consoles edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. When you want a console near its launch, it's less about what color it is and more about getting your hands on one. I've only waited in a launch line once - my friends and I scoped out the store we thought was least likely to get swarmed during the Wii's cultural roar. Six hours later, we walked away clutching our Wii Sports and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess machines. Paying full price means playing right away, but it usually takes a year or two for a console to debut in a new shade or be re-imagined as a slimmer, cheaper version of the original hardware. Extra colors and limited additions are always neat to look at, but other than the Ice Blue Nintendo 64 I bought to play The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, I've mostly passed by limited runs of consoles. Why bother if I already own one, right? That's the logical stance anyway, but sometimes a company prints your favorite character on a system and then, well ... you buy one. I have a perfectly fine launch 3DS, but I'm not going to lie - the XL's bigger screens and extra hand room feel like great upgrades. I see myself using the original for travel, while I keep the Yoshi XL safe and sound at home. There are a ton of special edition consoles out there though, and I'd put money on our readers having some awesome, out-of-the-ordinary gaming machines. Were you smart enough to pick up a Pikachu XL before the prices evolved into straight nonsense, or are you still plugging away at your Pikachu-themed Nintendo 64? Maybe a console modification has won you over, or you've made your own? Tell (and show, if possible!) us about them once you check out this week's Japanese hardware sales after the break! [Image: Joystiq]
Stiq Figures, February 24 - March 2: Best licensed games edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. This week's release of South Park: The Stick of Truth reminded us of how satisfying it is when a licensed game doesn't end up resembling a pile of burning trash. The idea of turning our favorite shows or movies into video games is an immediately attractive concept, but history has taught us that they don't always pan out so well. Let's repress our poor gaming choices, though - it's more fun to recall the games that handled their licenses well, or at least ones that played well enough to be enjoyable. My brother and I spent plenty of time reinforcing our poor compatibility as teammates in Goof Troop, but nothing claimed hours of my childhood like the Super Nintendo version of The Lion King. Maybe that's true because I spent the vast majority of that time getting killed by porcupines, stone-throwing monkeys, hyenas and botched grabs at hippopotamus tails. I've still managed to finish it twice in my life without cheats however, and I made a bit of a scene out of both victories. It's a bit tougher to find enjoyable licensed games these days, but not entirely impossible. I can still get my Disney fix from Kingdom Hearts, at least! There are plenty of games beyond those using cartoon licenses, of course, and you should tell me about the ones you've had the most fun with in the comments below! Right after you check out this week's Japanese hardware sales, of course. [Image: Disney]
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Stiq Figures, February 17 - 23: Favorite gaming jams edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Responsive controls and impressive graphics can really help a game, but there's something that only a strong soundtrack can add to the experience. Visuals and scripts invoke wonder while audio allows you to feel the game's moments, if you will. The perfect track can add an edge of anticipation to clashes with antagonists, help smash hearts against in-game tragedies, or just anchor memories of a game to your mind when you remember its tunes. With talk of games of the year or what we're currently playing, soundtracks can kind of get snubbed in our gaming-themed conversations. That could be left as one of life's tragedies that we just accept as a norm, but not on my watch! I'd love to hear about your favorite musical moments in games, songs that have stuck with you long after you earned a scroll of the credits. As for a few of my own, I think Final Fantasy 10's "To Zanarkand" is hauntingly beautiful - I always stop what I'm doing when I come across it, just so I can listen without distraction. Kingdom Hearts 2's "Dearly Beloved" (which was wonderfully interpreted by Backer Ruth) is perfect to me in its simplicity, and it always sweeps me away to the past. Mass Effect's "Uncharted Worlds" makes me want to block off two weeks to return to Shepard, Zelda: The Wind Waker's "Farewell Hyrule King" gives me the creeps in the best way, and Final Fantasy 8's "Liberi Fatali" makes me want to be a brooding teenager again. Then there's Metroid Prime's "Title Theme," Pokemon TCG's "Trainer Battle" and pretty much the entire Pokemon Red/Blue soundtrack. Okay wow, I've gotta stop. Those are my standouts, but I'm eager to hear about yours! Tell me all about them in the comments, right after you check out the PS4's debut in this week's Japanese hardware sales after the break! [Image: Square-Enix]
Stiq Figures, February 10 - 16: Co-op gone wrong edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Cooperative gaming is conceptually brilliant and even better in execution. When it works, that is. Finding teammates you mesh with can feel a bit like flipping a coin - the pal you get along with elsewhere in life can turn out to be a more menacing threat to your in-game survival than any virtual antagonist. It's tough to know who's going to work as a sidekick until a few botched rounds definitively prove that they won't. That was my experience with The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures. After being sold on the GBA-as-a-controller concept by Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles years before, I put together plans to find enough GBAs and cables to support a four-person adventure with a new group of friends. We joked around on a daily basis as friends do, sure, but it took all of 10 minutes for Four Swords to bring out the absolute worst in us. Work together to save maidens? More like endless cycles of passive-aggressive behavior and revenge for "stolen" Force Gems, "miscalculated" bomb detonations and "accidental" lobs of teammates into pitch-black chasms. Alliances formed and shattered within minutes. If we ever reached a state of peace, the voting process to judge teammates at the end of each stage immediately stirred everything back up. To this day, it's probably the worst I've ever behaved in a cooperative setting. I've witnessed more decency in games of Mario Party compared to the behavior we collectively displayed in Four Swords. Hopefully I'm not the only awful teammate out there - do you have any cooperative games that inspire your most shameful translation of teamwork? Or is it typically your "teammate" that goes rogue and causes everyone's abrupt death? Tell me about it in the comments, right after you check out this week's Japanese hardware sales after the break!
Stiq Figures, February 3 - 9: Gaming rivals edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Writing Joystiq Weekly's opening today got me thinking - there are a lot of great incentives to keep exploring video games, but having rival characters personify a game's peak challenges is one of the most satisfying examples I can think of. The sense of accomplishment from becoming adept in a game is encouraging, but compounding that with triumph over characters that often feel like they were created to be resented is immensely rewarding. There are definitely standouts from the games I've taken on - Pokemon Red/Blue's Gary Oak (or Blue, for purists) is one of the most grating opponents I've faced. There's only a handful of confrontations with him throughout the game, but it's always annoying when he shows up and, in my experience, he only appeared when I was least prepared. Final Fantasy 10's Seymour Guado was another antagonist that inspired a near-instant hatred from me, which only deepened with each of his reappearances. It's still the Nintendo characters that get me most, though. Having a near-perfect run of a Mario Kart cup ruined by Princess Peach? Being sent to the stratosphere by Donkey Kong in the Smash Bros series? Losing a match of Mario Tennis because Wario managed to spike the ball at me before I could do the same to him? Ugh, talk about frustrating. That's just me, though - share the gaming rivals that have earned the most ire from you in the comments below! Right after you check this week's Japanese hardware sales, of course.
Stiq Figures: Favorite platformers edition
Out of every game genre out there, I've clocked most of my hours in the land of platformers. Collecting wumpa fruit in Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, fooling around in Sonic the Hedgehog 2's Casino Night Zone, learning to fear the sun in Super Mario Bros. 3 before I knew what melanoma was - the basic challenge of jumping on stuff has always good enough for me. Even now that I can sort-of grasp RPG mechanics and hold my own in an FPS game, my attention snaps to platformers like Rayman Legends and Super Mario 3D World almost immediately. Mascot-branded platformers were more of a '90s or early '00s thing though, and the genre doesn't have that same prominence in modern AAA gaming. It's not like I've run out of things to play, but killing time with Donkey Kong Country 3 while I wait for Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze to launch has reminded me how much I love a well-made platformer. Since our exchange of RPGs went so well, I was hoping to have an equally excellent exchange of our favorite platformers. I can always replay something from the Mario series (and clearly I do), but I'd love to try out classics I'm in the dark about, or recent examples that might have slipped under my radar. 3D adventures like Banjo-Kazooie are great, too - whatever stands as your favorite examples from the genre are what I'd love to hear about. Tell us about the standout platformers you've romped through, right after you check this week's Japanese hardware sales after the break!
Stiq Figures, January 20 - 26: Childlike wonder edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. When I was a kid, I had the time and imagination to get drawn into great fantasy worlds in books, movies and video games. To me, Zelda games and Pokemon didn't have strategy guides to help me get out of a tough spot; they had supplementary books to enhance the worlds I was busy memorizing enemies and locations from. The best fictional worlds were coupled with iconic moments that made my tiny eyes bug out, like realizing that stationary "Pidgey" in the Power Plant was a level 50 legendary bird that was going to pound my team into the tile floor. It's harder now to get as pulled into game worlds the way I used to. Maybe it's the cynicism coupled with adulthood, maybe it's because I know what storyline tropes are now, but it's rare for me to flip out over great gaming moments and crave fiction like I used to. Thankfully, there's still the odd experience that helps me trip back into old habits. A lazy summer trip to Walmart with a friend ended with a purchase of Bioshock, which we bought just to have something to play through between shifts at our summer jobs. Once I was watching the credits roll two days later, it registered that I had spent every free moment of those 48 hours with my head buried in that game. Exploring Rapture was engrossing, as was finding audio diaries, unraveling Rapture's downfall and dealing with its haunting cast of Splicers. Gaming is still fun in general, but there's a strong incentive to keep playing new titles in order to stumble over another experience to get completely immersed in. Maybe you've found modern examples, like I did with Bioshock, that took you back to a time where review scores and advertising campaigns were irrelevant. Share your recent standout games that blew you away in the comments - for all we know, your examples might be someone else's future favorite! Just be sure to check this week's Japanese hardware sales first, right after the break.
Stiq Figures, January 13 - 19: Weird sequels edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. I can't imagine making sequels is an easy thing to do. Developers are usually expected to surpass the preceding game with a harder better, faster stronger experience that throws in new elements without losing the original's flavor. If it's a long-running series, they're also dealing with the hardcore fans of each game that would love to have a followup in the exact style of their particular favorite. Sometimes instead of going for something predictable though, developers try some radical changes instead. For the most part, those swerves end up being games I really enjoy. Filling a Zelda game with sidequests for masks, a possessed kid and a countdown for a disturbing moon's gradual descent into a small town? Sounds kinda nuts, but The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is my favorite Zelda because of its weird qualities. Its dark story and twisted take on many of Zelda's established assets struck me as a bizarrely refreshing spin on the series. Yes, sometimes the oddball installments go wrong - I finished Metroid: Other M before harboring deep disappointment toward it - but I know there are plenty of odd sequels that actually turned out pretty well! I'd like to know which of those you've most enjoyed over the years, though if you really want to warn us against the worst examples you've stumbled into, I wouldn't hate you for it. Share your favorite left-field followups with us, right after you check out this week's Japanese hardware sales after the break!
Stiq Figures, January 6 - 12: Nintendo wishlist edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. I think we've all seen the news by now - despite the 3DS being the best selling gaming device of 2013 and some genuinely great new games, Nintendo didn't have such a great year financially. Its $240 million loss prompted Nintendo President Satoru Iwata to admit that the company is "thinking about a new business structure," and it's clear that something about the company's strategy needs to change. There's no shortage of armchair analysts on the internet though, so let's not strangle each other over directions we think Nintendo should go in to achieve financial success. Instead, let's make this about you. Maybe you haven't touched anything from Nintendo since the SNES, or maybe you're still enjoying Nintendo's modern output despite its rough patches. Whatever your relation is with the developer, I'm curious: What's the best possible move Nintendo could make that would cater specifically to you? Financials are irrelevant here - it's all about your dream move from Nintendo, the exact moves that would best serve your Nintendo wishlist. For me, I would love it if Nintendo copied off Sony's homework and allowed me to play Virtual Console games on both my 3DS and Wii U with one purchase. Of course, that would mean sorting out the modern Virtual Console effort in the first place, and adding a GBA library. A new Metroid would be great, too - I went into Metroid Prime blind and unaware of the series, but Prime is an all-time favorite that I'll always be glad to return to. The biggest thing for me, though? As much as I love the established franchises, I'd be thrilled to see Nintendo put the same amount of effort they use for Zelda and Mario games into something legitimately new. I know they've experimented with new IPs on the eShop, but I mean something that could serve as an E3 presentation finale. Nintendo gets creative with their hardware and can reinvent established series, but I want to see what they'd make if they focused their strongest effort on a new cast of characters. Maybe an E3 surprise will nail my biggest complaint, but if not I guess there's always Monolith's X. Tell me about your Nintendo wishlist in the comments, right after you check out this week's Japanese hardware sales after the jump! [Stock image: Raywoo on Shutterstock]
Stiq Figures, December 30 - January 5: Most hyped for 2014 edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. We did it! The human race survived another year without blowing itself up, and our reward is another promising year of gaming. It's too early to pretend we've got a grip on everything that's going to be released this year, but there are a few high-profile titles coming our way that we've all been made well aware of. Those announced-but-yet-to-be-released games are what I'd like to talk with you about. Marketing campaigns are supposed to get people excited to buy stuff, sure, but is there a particular game that you've taken on the role of hypeman for? Something that has you ticking away days on a calendar and planning launch events with your friends? For me, I've essentially kicked Nintendo out of the conductor's chair and navigated the Super Smash Bros. Hype Train directly into my skull. The existing character reveals have all struck me as perfect choices (even the weird one), and I'll be avoiding as many details as possible to leave something to discover for whenever I get to tear into the 3DS and Wii U duo. I'm going to play both into the ground. Of course, I'll be all over South Park: The Stick of Truth and whatever Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem ends up being, though I'll be surprised if the latter makes 2014. Let me know which game you're most looking forward to this year, right after you check this week's Japanese hardware sales after the break! Note: Due to the turn of the new year, last week's sales numbers were not listed during the usual posting of Stiq Figures. Therefore, this week's sales data is not compared with the previous week. We will resume the normal up/down format next week.
Stiq Figures, December 16 - 22: Gaming resolutions edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. This time next week, we'll have cleared another year of gaming! Whatever your tastes may be, I hope 2013 offered plenty of great games to help you unwind from the daily grind. It certainly sat well with me - from The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds proving itself to be my favorite 2D Zelda ever to Resogun providing my new "just one more round" fix, this year had lots of great new experiences for me to sink hours into. I've been thinking of how some people make New Year's resolutions though, and how I would benefit from leaving behind some of my gaming habits in 2013. Chasing chore-tier achievements instead of digging into new games I would actually enjoy playing is a practice I definitely intend to abandon. I should also probably stop snatching up games that I want to play but definitely don't have time for, even if they're on sale. I love supporting developers, but the scales for doing so while spending sensibly has been tipped considerably in their favor for years. Instead of earning virtual points and lurking for Amazon deals, I'd like to spend more time playing games that I typically wouldn't try. Comfort zones are great, but if Fire Emblem: Awakening has taught me anything, failing repeatedly isn't so bad when the involved game is a brilliant addition to its genre. I'd also like to look back and play some of the iconic games I've missed out on over the years - I still haven't started Earthbound for example, despite buying it the day it released on the Wii U Virtual Console. That's just me, though. Do you have any habits you might benefit from dropping for the next year of gaming? Is it time for you to vow off buying season passes or collector's editions? Let us know what your resolutions are once you check this week's Japanese hardware sales after the jump!
Stiq Figures, December 9 - 15: Holiday highlights edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. The holidays were a pretty different time for me when I was a kid - there was no such thing as Amazon shopping sprees, and my "game collection" consisted of a few cartridges under a clunky CRT TV, right next to the Super Nintendo. When I got a new game, I played it into the ground. When a new console came along, the most I could do in hopes of securing it was adding it to every wish list I had, despite their being way too expensive. I was lucky, though. My family knew gaming was my favorite thing, and there were plenty of "shared gifts" for my brothers and I that, looking back, felt like excuses to justify the cost of a new console for me. My brothers would play once in a while, but I was the one buried in a Game Boy when traveling to my dad's, or hauling the N64 to the summer cabin for breaks from swimming. I took gaming with me everywhere I went, even if it was just the Pokemon Trading Card Game, which I swear was rigged in its coin flips. The jet black Gamecube I got was probably was the pinnacle of my present-unwrapping career, mostly due to my purchase of Super Smash Bros. Melee the day it came out. I poured over that game's manual every day until Christmas, so unwrapping that console concluded weeks of hyping myself up with an instruction booklet and issues of Nintendo Power. The Gamecube didn't like having a glass of cola spilled onto it years later, but Melee is always ready for another round, despite the scratches it has collected over the years. Did you have a keystone gaming present? Do you still dig it out once in a while like I do with Melee? Share your holiday gaming moments with us in the comments, right after you check out Japan's hardware sales after the jump! Oh, and happy holidays!
Stiq Figures, December 2 - 8: Games that broke us edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. There's a sense of accomplishment that floods from besting a game's challenge after weeks, months, maybe even years of watching your avatar crumple in its death. Sticking with a game to champion its toughest gauntlets is a test of determination and patience, especially when there's a smug antagonist pouring salt in the wounds they're continually reopening. This post isn't about those well-deserved moments of glory, though. This is more of a confession booth, where we share the challenges we were unable to conquer and have gracefully admitted defeat by. Well, maybe gracefully isn't the right word - "walked away from for the sake of our sanity while seething" sounds closer to reality. Personally, I'm not sure I've ever experienced frustration that rivaled what I felt while trying to clear the dark worlds of Super Meat Boy. Swearing while playing SMB can be therapeutic at times, but taking on the dark world version of The End reduced me to a silent, shaking, sweaty-palmed chamber of interal fury. Beyond the pitter-patter of Meat Boy, there was a solid 30 minutes of silence in the dorm room as my friends watched me fail to save Bandage Girl again and again, presumably waiting for me to snap and send something out the window. When I finally won, I went back to Chapter 5's dark world and realized how incapable I was of dealing with its gravity orbs. I promptly quit. I will never be a Golden God. Unlike some gaming challenges, I've got no one to blame. SMB controls perfectly and I'm fully aware that being unable to finish it rests solely on me. It's your turn now, though - is there something as fair as SMB that has you beat? Perhaps you've been wronged by a more glitchy or unrealistic challenge? Vent about the victories that got away in the comments, right after you check this week's Japanese hardware sales after the jump!
Stiq Figures, November 11 - 17: Let's recommend RPGs edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Atlus had a bit of a spree this morning with Persona announcements - there's the chibified spinoff coming for the 3DS, the extension of Persona 4 Arena for the PS3, the particularly surprising, rhythm-oriented dancing game for the Vita, and finally the first tease of Persona 5 for the PS3. RPG, music and fighting game fans should be happy! Persona fans should be really happy! Maybe Persona's not your thing, though. Maybe you're more eager for the RPGs that have been shown for the the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 (and the Wii U) so far, or maybe you just prefer the classics over what you've tried lately. That's okay - diversity is good. Actually, it's perfect for this post. Tell us about the one RPG that you think no one should miss out on. It can be sprite-based, it can be three months old, it can be something we've never heard of - the important part is that it holds a special charm, trait or quality that you think fellow RPG fans really need to experience. Enjoying this genre commonly requires a hefty time commitment and a willingness to persevere through bland writing and grating characters, so let's point each other toward the best experiences out there! Tell us why your choice is worth dozens of hours of our lives, right after you check out the Vita TV's debut in Japan's hardware sales after the jump.
Stiq Figures, November 4 - 10: Xbox One edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. The PS4 launched into US homes this week, and the Xbox One is about to do the same on November 22. The launch lineup is set (minus Peggle 2) and we've learned that smaller downloadable games may offer as much as 1,000 gamerscore, so all that's left to do is wait out the final days before we can start issuing commands to inanimate objects ... well, that and hoarding virtual points. Are you planning on picking up an Xbox One? Do you plan on waiting a few months to see how the early Xbox One consoles fare due to the hardware troubles of the Xbox 360? Would you prefer to play Titanfall on the One once March 11 rolls around? Tell us your plans regarding the Xbox One after checking the Japanese hardware sales data after the jump!
Stiq Figures, October 28 - November 3: PlayStation 4 edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. I know we keep hyping up the launch of new consoles and that a certain time-traveling Joystiq editor teased us all with details from the future, but you know what? I'm excited! I've had some great times on the 360, PS3 and Wii (and more recently the Wii U), but getting new, promising consoles on the market can feel like a mini holiday. The PlayStation 4 is launching on Friday, November 15 with 19 games, and those that have been using their DualShock 4 controllers elsewhere will finally have access to the library they were built for. Personally, I will undoubtedly be glued to the front window, waiting on Amazon's supposed launch day delivery. I'll probably end up canceling my order for Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag, though, in favor of picking it up locally. The last thing I need is a PS4 in my house without anything to play on it. Of course, there's always Resogun ... Hopefully something about the PS4's launch has you excited, and if not, there's always the week after. In the mean time, check out the hardware Japan is buying after the jump! A certain down-but-not-out console that recently threw a party had a surprising pick up.
Stiq Figures, October 7 - 13: Favorite pre-order bonuses edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. When pre-order bonuses are done well, they're a great argument to throw down some cash for a game months before its actual release. They help retailers get a general idea of the game quantities they should request, and customers get a sweet trinket related to the game they're anticipating! Seems like a win-win situation to me. The best bonus I ever got for pre-ordering a game I wanted anyway was The Legend of Zelda: Master Quest, a version of Ocarina of Time with completely re-worked dungeons. T-shirts and game cases are great, sure, but Master Quest struck me as the Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels of the Zelda series. The idea of accessible room layouts was thrown out the window in favor of some really bizarre dungeon design, and I remember it taking me quite a while to wrap up the game's quest. I refused to use a guide, though, so I feel that those weeks of confusion make up for my cracking under the pressure of Majora's Mask's last temple. With digital distribution becoming more prevalent, it's safe to assume that tokens for downloadable maps or skins will become the norm for pre-order incentives - tangible goodies seem to exist almost exclusively in the realm of collector's editions now. Be they digital or physical, were there any pre-order bonuses throughout your gaming career that still stick with you as great incentives? Share them with us after you witness the Vita 2000's affect on this week's Japanese hardware sales after the jump!
