Vinnk was in the US for a few weeks, and came back to Japan with a new Wii U and a bunch of games! Then just last week Nintendo announced the $50 price drop and the Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD bundle. Sean bought a 3DS XL right before the seemingly-ridiculous 2DS announcement, but he ain’t even mad, bro. Sean and Vinnk discuss their new systems, similarities (good and bad), and how they feel about purchasing them just before major shakeups in the market. We also learn that Sean doesn’t think Super Mario Galaxy was that great of a game! :O
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In what initially seemed like an April Fools’ announcement in the middle of August, Nintendo has announced a new handheld; The Nintendo 2DS. The 2DS will compete on value with a lower price point. To drop the price, the 3D functionality has been removed along with the hinge, one of the speakers. It will be close in size to a regular 3DS laid flat. The device still has two cameras, a speaker, headphone jack, sd card, wi-fi, street passes, access to the Nintendo eShop and the ability to play all DS and 3DS games. The 2DS will retail for about $129 and is scheduled to drop on October 12th. Both red and blue versions will be available while the front panel will be either white or black.
Granted, it was announced since recording this episode that the 3DS XL is going to have its own circle pad, but that didn’t stop us from wondering a couple of things: a) Why it wasn’t built into the XL, and b) why it wasn’t announced during E3. Sean and Vinnk grapple with the relevancy of the biggest gaming industry event in the US, and come to the terrifying conclusion that just MAYBE Nintendo might not want third parties to succeed…
Want to see what Wii U and do for you? Nintendo showed Mario. And Luigi. And Batman. And Mass Effect. If you’re a Nintendo loyalist, you’re about to see what you’ve been missing.
These are all of the trailers and demo videos without Nintendo’s presenters and executives.
Another more 3DS focused press event will be held tomorrow.
The past 48 hours have been a series of buzzings about a supposed new Castlevania game for the Nintendo 3DS handheld. Website GoNintendo’s rumor mill has been churning out speculation about the supposed handheld title, called Castlevania: Mirror of Fate. According to these rumors, the game will be developed by Castlevania: Lords of Shadow producer Davis Cox, will be 2D, will be a part of the Lords storyline, and will be co-operative play with 2 starting characters.
Cox himself, who took the Castlevania reigns starting with Lords from previous long-time producer Koji “IGA” Igarashi, is currently keeping tight lipped on whether or not any of the rumors are true, as he is prodded by obviously curious Castlevania fans on his Twitter.
Konami has gone on record saying that there will be a Castlevania reveal at this year’s E3 conference, though most believed it to mean the official drop of a Lords of Shadow 2 game. If rumors prove true, it might be a dual-wield info drop for Castlevania this summer.
When Nintendo reported two straight quarterly losses in early 2011, followed by a less-than-stellar initial release of its new 3DS handheld console, it didn’t take long for the naysayers to begin spelling the company’s doom.
This is a familiar dance. It started in the ’90s, when Nintendo’s veneer of dominance started cracking in the face of competition with the Sega Genesis. Or maybe it was the decision to abandon the CD format for the Nintendo 64 when Sega and Sony made the leap. Or perhaps it was because, even with the GameCube, no Nintendo console had sold better than its predecessor — that is, until the release of the Wii.
However, despite calls that Nintendo abandon its hardware ambitions — even with the new wrinkle of the ever-rising iOS platform — there are plenty of reasons why Nintendo would never, could never, and should never stop making TV or handheld consoles.
The Wii U is set to launch by the end of 2012… but is it really? We’ve been seeing the same tech demo since E3 2011, but no actual titles running on Wii U hardware. Will Nintendo make the projected launch date, or is it all smoke and mirrors? Sean and Vinnk disagree about what this means, encourage Sony to get out of the hardware market since the PS3 has never gotten above third place in North America, the PS Vita’s launch has been a larger thud than the one for 3DS, and rumors that the Next Xbox from Microsoft will somehow ban used games. RAMPANT SPECULATION!
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