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E308: DS Fanboy reacts to the Nintendo keynote
Though you got our live reactions as the Nintendo conference was actually happening, now that we've had a few moments to jump around, fume, and generally compose our thoughts, we present you with the formal reactions of the DS Fanboy staff to today's Nintendo briefing from E3.Alisha Karabinus: I'm having a really hard time seeing past Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. That could be just beyond awesome... and, of course, it could be crap. I guess we'll find out. It's surprisingly missing from the media round-ups I've seen so far. I think I'm surprised by the lack of a redesign, even though I have been against the possibility of it for so long. By now, I just assumed it was going to happen. Of course, it still could!I'm excited about the Cooking Guide, even though I just got a copy from the UK (thanks, Chris!), and I don't think it's as good as it could be. Still, it's interesting and novel ... but speaking of novel, I'd have rather seen DS Novel. All I can really say about Guitar Hero is that I'm not surprised at all that we'd see another version already.
Burning Crusade delay reaction roundup
Well, the big news of the day is the expansion release's delay until January of next year. I've just spent a good hour sifting through forums, blog posts, and general player reaction to the news, so let me see if I can't boil down the salient points for you.Yay, a delay! Well, that's not quite true. No one's really thrilled there is a delay-- we all want to play the expansion as soon as possible. But there's a certain segment of players who weren't quite ready for the release-- they wanted to finish raiding through AQ, or get their alts up to 60, or get a PVP rank while they're still here (whoops, never mind, the patch makes that a no-no), and now they have more time to do so. Lots of players are standing by Blizzard and willing to wait for new content. Blizzard has always put credo behind not releasing something "until it's ready" and there's every indication they're doing that here. Let's not forget Blizzard has also announced a new content patch before the expansion's release, including a new honor system, the new talent trees, and all kinds of other little extras. Releasing it before the expansion might give focus to something that would have been lost in the mix of Blood Elf and Draenei crowds. And finally, some players are glad Blizzard is avoiding the holiday season anyway. Not only are family and friends calling you away from Azeroth, but so are the PS3 and the Wii. If the expansion hits in January, at least that gives us a month to play our new $600 PS3 (before we abandon it for Outland, that is). Then there's the fun stuff..A delay? Blizzard, you suck! Sure, it's only a month-- it's no Duke Nukem, but a delay is a delay. Blizzard said Q4 2006, and now we find out they've messed up. And if they delay it a month now, who's to say that in January, they won't be saying Q4 2007? After all, we haven't heard a solid date yet, just "January"... A longer wait for the expansion means it's even less pointless to work for current endgame gear and raids now. Lots of players are already grinding a PVP system that won't matter in a month, and now they're grinding a PVP system that won't matter in three months. A few stalwarts planned their holidays around the release-- that's lost vacation time, and now my holiday plans are screwed! A delay just means the devs don't know what they're doing, say a few players. The talents sucked before the delay was announced, and there's no way they can fix those crappy talents in a month. A lot of players are sick of waiting already, and with all the great games coming out this season, Blizzard just lost their attention, maybe even for good. Personally, I'm fine with the delay-- I was already working on leveling up an alt before the expansion, and this just gives me more time. Can't say I understand the argument that the delay would make you quit the game for good-- the game hasn't gotten any less fun without the expansion installed just because Blizzard announced we have to wait one more month. This is still the same, fun game it's always been. If you consider playing it wasting your time just because better stuff is coming along, maybe you shouldn't be playing it anyway.But there's all the important arguments I could find for either side. Did I miss any? Are you thrilled or angry that it'll be 2007 before you see Outland? (of course I mean in non-beta form, you tester people you)
Sun rises, people pay taxes, Wii destroys gaming again
What is it with people who write about games blowing things out of proportion? It seems to be a trend lately, and it's one that we desperately wish would just go away. This time, the culprit is Keith Stuart of the Guardian Unlimited, who warns that anything could happen this winter, and he's whipped out the old saw about Wii potentially destroying the gaming industry. Where have we heard that one before?Also, apparently many of you are threatened by any sort of female presence in gaming. Did you get that memo? The fact that the Wii isn't the most graphically powerful system is, according to Stuart, a veritable crime against humanity. How dare Nintendo step away from pushing the graphical envelope to innovate a new style of gaming! Don't they know that all we care about are pretty pictures?The only thing we can find to agree with Stuart on is the fact that the Wii will probably change the industry. Of course, we tend to think it'll steer us away from knock-offs, clones, and ports for a while ... or at least, we hope that's the case. And if the Wii follows in the path of the DS, it's more likely than the gaming equivalent of nuclear winter.
