The DS, like the PS2, was an unusually successful system, and I doubt any console will ever match either one of them. But the 3DS still has life in it. I think it will match the sales of the Game Boy Advance (80 million), and perhaps eventually match the original Game Boy (100 million). In any event, it's the best handheld gaming system I've ever played and really is a sort of iPod for (good) gaming.
The only part of the game I've really seen is the infamous scene where Dante trades F-bombs with the puking demon.
I would argue that the making of WW HD was probably more a result of the fact that it would probably take Nintendo far less effort to HD-paint a cartoony game like WW up than a game like Twilight Princess, so less money would be spent and the game would be more profitable. Cartoony games aren't as dependent on heavy-duty hardware to look good as more "realistic" games. I did mention that WW was somewhat vindicated, but the fact remains that the reception to WW at reveal, during development, and to a smaller degree, at launch, was hostile. Shigeru Miyamoto was completely shocked at the vitriol for the game. Negative feedback like that figures into future design decisions. I doubt we'll be seeing a revisit of Skyward Sword's design, either.
I actually would like to see a game focused around Princess Zelda herself, BTW. I envision Zelda wielding a whip in battle. No, get your mind out of the gutter and hear me out. I would propose that the whip be controlled by the right thumbstick to allow whip tricks a la Indiana Jones or some of the Castlevania games.
Wind Waker also illustrates why Nintendo doesn't take those kinds of risks more often. It got a very cold reception at its unveiling, especially in the US, which is the Zelda series' largest market by far, it was mocked constantly during development, and though it still sold well enough to make a decent profit, and was somewhat vindicated by history, it still was far less successful than Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, or Twilight Princess. For the record, I thought WW was a great game, but Nintendo was taken aback by its reception from the gaming public. American gamers wanted the hyperrealistic Zelda they saw from the Gamecube demo and acted like Nintendo gave them the middle finger with WW.
For that matter, Majora's Mask is likewise a very divisive title in the Zelda fanbase.
Game Arts was really big on heartfelt personal stories for the characters in their RPGs. I don't have much experience with Grandia, though I have both Grandia and Grandia II, but these same traits were just as strong in the company's previous games, Lunar: Silver Star and Lunar: Eternal Blue, both of which remain among my all-time favorite video games.
Awesome, Ni no Kuni was my GotY as well. I also loved Fire Emblem: Awakening.
Don't give up hope yet, Larry. You may have done better than you thought you did. Looks like you were anxious about getting this job. That makes everyone feel like they did worse than they did.
Chalk that remark up to Sony hyperbole. However, I'd make an argument, in terms of quality, for the 3DS being the "iPod of gaming", even if it doesn't sell 9 million units opening weekend. The 3DS right now, has better breadth and depth of content than any other system, plus it has a comprehensive digital back library. I still buy cartridges for the big 3DS releases, but the 3DS is quite a jukebox of actual good games rather than the dress-up-paper-dollies-while-you're-on-the-pot games.
By the measure of "content", given that the PSV can play whatever PS1 or PSP games are available digitally, I could see Sony's remark being somewhat true, although it certainly doesn't have the ongoing stream of current content the 3DS does (some sectors of Japan seem more interested in it of late, however) and I don't think Sony meant to imply that the Vita was as huge a success as an iDevice, but even there, the 3DS fits the bill a little better in terms of games and apps.
Generally speaking, the people that play Angry Birds, Candy Crush, or the countless dress-up-your-paper-dollie-in-cute-dresses games on their phones were never going to buy dedicated gaming devices to begin with. The audience for these games are otherwise nongamers who only need a paper-dollie-dress-up-game to occupy their minds while they're sitting on the toilet. Just sayin'.
And while iDevices are improving in displays and processing power, the market largely holds down the quality, and iDevice games will not advance appreciably in quality or complexity no matter how powerful an iPad or Galaxy Note gets. It's easier for mobile developers to sell cheap freemium or 99-cent toilet-sitting games, and that will keep the market for anything of better quality depressed on mobile.
As a more involved gamer, I find my 3DS to be far more enjoyable of a gaming device than my iPad. The lack of a physical interface and the huge flood of dreck with no real quality - even Infinity Blade, vaunted as a "hardcore mobile game" is nothing more than QTEs, and I thought it was a dull piece of shit - kills mobile gaming for me. I like my iPad, but a gaming device it ain't, and iPhones and Samsung Galaxy phones are an even bigger joke as gaming devices. Nintendo will never sell 9 million Game Boy/DS-type devices in one weekend. So be it. Even Nintendo, whose sales projections for the Wii U have been overly optimistic, to put it mildly, understands that, and they've accepted it, Gaming is not, and will NEVER be, a mainstream activity like movies, and gamers and game companies need to accept that and tailor accordingly. It will always be a hobby of a small but dedicated fanbase, and as long as there's profit to be had, the games will be there.
Companies that know and understand the market they are selling to, whether they're selling a freemium dress-up game or a $60 epic like The Last of Us, are the ones who stand the best chance of survival. There are just as many companies losing their shirts in cheap-to-make mobile gaming as there are in "hardcore gaming." Just ask Zynga.
Sorry for the wall of text, man.
It is. Video game localizations have come a long way. Star Ocean, as well as Final Fantasy VII and FF Tactics, were published in the US by Sony Computer Entertainment on PS1. Sony wasn't good at localization, though I appreciated that they were willing to bring the stuff over to begin with. The text was riddled with typos, and the voices were probably of Sony office staff. Back then, though, the only three companies that were halfway decent at localization were Nintendo, Sega, and Working Designs. Square Enix hired professional anime voice actors for the PSP Star Ocean remakes.
