PixlBit

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.

I liked the music, but bad voice acting just makes me cringe, especially when other people are in the area to hear it, too. It's a big reason why I'm leery of voice-acting in general.

Enterbrain ought to consider coming out with a product like that. They do have a Game Maker suite but I think that's more geared towards shmups. I'd be all over a beat-em-up maker myself.

Good luck with your new friend.

Star Ocean 2 was a good game. Had a great soundtrack. Sakuraba is one of my favorites. I still have the PS1 original as well as the PSP remake. The PS1 original had some of the worst voice-acting on the console. and that was a low bar to begin with.

I'm personally not interested in the Atari Flashback machines. I didn't like 2600 games all that much, and I have all of those games on the Atari and Activision PS2 collections anyway. I wish Atari would do a 5200 Flashback, minus the crummy joystick, but I don't know if Atari even exists at this point.

So Schaefer finally got his game off the ground? Last I read on it was that development was really struggling along, and it was being held up as a cautionary tale about Kickstarter projects. If it's coming out soon, kudos to Double Fine for rallying the troops and getting it done.

Right now, my 3DS is keeping me content gamingwise. There's nothing on the magnitude of Ni no Kuni coming, but I'm well satisfied so far.

I'm part of the audience that would enjoy this kind of game. I liked Code of Princess a great deal, and one of my favorite games of last year was Dragon's Crown, which is providing serious challenge to Konami's Simpsons game as my favorite brawler of all time. There's been a lot of good brawlers out lately.

My favorites on that list would be Fallout: New Vegas and Resonance of Fate. I say, go with what your heart tells you. Video games shouldn't feel like work. I think we get into that trap sometimes when we buy a lot of games and then feel guilty because we don't play them all the way through or it's months before we even remove the shrinkwrap on them.