Handheld Addict

Got my PS Vita!

2012-02-17T13:30:00.000-08:00

Yeah... surprisingly, Canada Post showed up yesterday morning with my PS Vita! The earliest I've ever gotten a package from Canada Post, I think...

At this point I haven't played with it much. Even though I bought the First Edition bundle which includes a 4GB (proprietary) memory card, I ran out to Future Shop & sprung for a 32GB card.... which is another $100.00 on top of the $370-some odd I paid for the bundle & Uncharted.

I also bought Lumines Electric Symphony because Touch My Katamari isn't out until next week.

Little Deviants came in a box (yay!) not a cheap sleeve or a download code like past PSP game bundles. Although I'd be ok with having Little Deviants on my memory card rather than physical cartridge.

The PS Vita game boxes are cute.

But opening up the box, I find the game cart and...... nothing else. No game manual, no paper documentation of any kind inside.

And the PS Vita carts themselves are held in the box in a strange way. I honestly am not sure how Sony wants us to remove the carts. Maybe there's some technique I'm missing?

PS Vita cartridges are small. Smaller than 3DS/DS carts. They look about the same size as an SD card.

Part of the First Edition Bundle is a PS Vita case, which is fairly nice. The case is a hard leather shell that's designed almost exactly like a 3DS case I bought recently.

It has 4 pockets for games, and a top netted pocket for accessories like cords/headphones, etc. I put my PS Vita AR cards in there.

A lot of the reviews out there go over the PS Vita menu icon interface fairly well. I don't think I can add much to what's been said. Here's some early initial impressions.

Video: media content from a PC to PS Vita needs to be done through a Content Manager Assistant program. It's not as intrusive/clunky as Media Go was, it's similar to the Blackberry Playbook program needed to transfer media to that device. I downloaded/installed the Sony CMA a few days ago, and just used it now to transfer a MP4 simple profile video I recorded with my Neuros Recorder. Starting up the PS Vita's Video section, the page is chock full of ADVERTISING.

Basically, trailers or rental/purchases of video from the PS Store. You have to carefully tap on the little icon in the center of all this junk to get at what you've got on your own system. I can't figure out how to remove this crap from my "Live Area".

Videos seemed to be just piled into a single list, there doesn't appear to be folder support on the Vita. The video list can be sorted alphabetically or by date.

Video controls are very basic and a major step back from what was on the PSP. The ~~XMB~~ or whatever the main PS Vita menu is called doesn't use physical buttons at all except the PS button to exit applications. Unfortunately, this extends to the video controls. You need to touch the screen to bring up the video control menu, and the only options there are a standard iDevice/smartphone slider control, 15 second skip forward/back buttons, thumbnail scene search, and a pause button. There's none of the fine tuning video playback options that later PSP firmware updates brought to that system here. I'm not positive, but there doesn't even seem to be an aspect-ratio adjust. [UPDATE:] Video aspect ratio can be adjusted from 4:3 to fill the screen by double tapping on the screen.

I guess the thinking is that the Vita doesn't have a hold switch because it doesn't use the face buttons for applications like video. I like touchscreen options, like on my phone. But not allowing buttons/d-pad controls for this app seems really dumb.

Little Deviants: So I've been playing Little Deviants a bunch since I got it. It gets mediocre reviews, but I have to admit I like it & am glad I got it in the bundle. It's a collection of minigames and like most, some work some not as much. Some people call it a glorified tech demo. Maybe.... but I'm personally having fun with it for the most part.

PSP games on Vita: So I looked through my list of downloaded PSP games. 90% of them say "Cannot download to PS Vita". I have 2 PSP games that can be played on Vita: Syphon filter Logan's Shadow & Ace Combat Joint Assault. I briefly played Logan's Shadow, and... to my disappointment there was NO 2nd analogue stick support for the game. It uses the same controls as the PSP. I thought that one of the reasons that only some PSP games are compatible with Vita was that they were optimizing some of them to use the 2nd analogue stick? otherwise, the upscaling while not awesome, is ok considering it's from an older system.

The PS Vita d-pad & face buttons are also different. Yes they're small, maybe even smaller than the PSPgo buttons? But the real difference is the feel. They are clicky and high raised, they don't feel as good as PSP/Playstation controller buttons. Maybe they need time/use to get worn-in. They're not terrible but they don't have that traditional PSP feel. The analogue sticks feel nice but I don't have a game that makes use of them... well Uncharted Golden Abyss does but I haven't tried it yet.

The build quality of the PS Vita is nice. It's all plastic, but it seems very stylish looking. It's larger than the PSP, but it feels *almost* lightweight because it's so "spread out". If this was the PSP Slim we all speculated about back in 2007, it would be a major success; handily checking off most fans want lists. But this isn't 2007. It's 2012. Gamers are sick of the smartphone comparisions, but that IS where the war is-- competition from smartphones has seriously hurt Sony & Nintendo handhelds. I'm playing with my PS Vita, which feels more or less like the first PSP I bought, the PSP-1001 but with smartphone additions like the touchscreen. But that's almost all the modern touch it adds. In many ways it still feels like an old device. As I'm flicking through the apps, I kept thinking, "Man what this needs is access to the Android Marketplace..." Yes there's the PS Store but it just feels so barren compared to the Android Marketplace, iTunes App Store, hell... I bet even the Windows phone marketplace is better stocked. If only the PS Vita was Android app compatible, it would really open up the possibilities. As it stands, the Vita feels like an isolated piece of nice but dated tech. And we know the PS Store won't get much better-- because they've had years to add content & improve and they mostly haven't. Sure they will add a few apps, but it will never rival the majors.

The Vita is pretty much a games machine. Some people will really like that. Personally, I don't see enough games on the horizon to make me satisfied enough just from games. Right now I'm desperately hoping for a Star Wars Battlefront game that will show off the Vita's dual analogue sticks.

I'm really surprised by how many features were STRIPPED OUT of the PS Vita from the old PSP. We have FEWER options rather than more. There's no battery power percentage (though that disappeared with the PSPgo because of hacking) Part of Sony's thinking might be to "keep it simple" but the lack of ability to "fine-tune" the PS Vita is annoying compared to the PSP. Like wi-fi is difficult to adjust, you have to go into the settings app to turn it on/off. Remember how it used to be a switch? And wi-fi sucks a lot of power, the PS Vita battery life doesn't feel any better than the PSP-- 3 hours or so without wi-fi. Bluetooth is also turned on by default & should be deactivated if you don't need it. I can't wait to pair my bluetooth headphones to the PS Vita, but I will have to, to make sure there's no dead pixels or any other reason to return the console.

I still have much to explore/discover with the PS Vita, so maybe after a few weeks I'll have a better opinion of it, once I know what it's really capable of.

later
don

Vita not in the mail

2012-02-14T23:36:00.000-08:00

Grrrrr...... sure, I've been a bit lackadaisical about the PS Vita, but that doesn't mean I don't want it. On time. I ordered the First Edition bundle from the Future Shop website because there was a $20.00 deal on any other gaming item (I used it on Uncharted Golden Abyss)... but now I have to wait for them to ship it to me rather than buying it in store.

Based on my last big handheld console purchasing experience, Future Shop is kinda... stupid... to deal with in store... but at least I had some say in when I got my 3DS, day 1. The PS Vita First Edition bundle comes out tomorrow, and as far as I can tell they haven't even shipped mine. From my past experience with Future Shop mail delivery, it takes at least a week for delivery.

By the time I get my bundle, the regular PS Vita core units will probably be available on store shelves. I suppose by some miracle mine could arrive tomorrow, if so I'll be sure to post about it. But I doubt it.....

later
don

back from China again

2012-02-11T18:56:00.000-08:00

So I did another trip to China... this time "only" 2 weeks. It was a really great trip (Chinese New Year is awesome) but as far as gadgets go, I kinda struck out... without even realizing it until now, actually.

The pic is from Huaqing Bei, Shenzhen's electronic district. I've mentioned it in my HA post from my first trip to China 2 years ago. It's a big area crammed with gadgets, lots of fakes & hacked systems. Last time I was there I *theoretically* could have picked up a nice R4 card for my DS Lite. So I went there this time, but I didn't have a lot of time to browse the gadgetry.... if I was alone, I probably could have spent 6 hours in there just going over stuff. But I can't fully geek out when I'm with girls, know what I'm saying?

I also visited Hong Kong for a day trip, Shenzhen is really close to HK. What's really stupid is that I FORGOT that the PS Vita launched in Japan already. So there were probably some in Hong Kong stores.... not sure I'd want a Japanese Vita, just not feeling so fanatical about the system the way I've been with the PSP. But it would have been nice to try one out & touch it in person if possible. You never know. I dunno. The Canadian launch is so close that it's a moot point at this time. But yeah, again, female company kept me from really getting to go gadget shopping the way I'd like to.

Speaking of the PS Vita, I'm just not as feverish about it as I've been with past consoles, even the 3DS. I counted the days until that launched.... I guess with the glasses-free 3D it felt really new. The Vita feels like more of the same. Sure 2 analogue sticks is a big deal... but there doesn't seem to be a great showcase for the control scheme... if only there was a new Star Wars Battlefront game with the launch. And speaking of, Sony's released a list of PSP-compatible titles and no Star Wars Battlefront game is on that list (yet). They could be compatible, but I doubt they are optimized to use the 2nd stick.

I'm sure I will be more psyched for the Vita next week....

later
don

returned the BlackBerry PlayBook & PS Vita non-excitement

2012-01-09T15:03:00.000-08:00

Sigh... just got back from returning the 32GB Blackberry PlayBook. It's a great device, if only it played my videos better.... I was really on the fence about taking it back, part of me wanted to be past the 14 day return limit that Staples has.... but in the end, as much as I like the PlayBook, I'm not sure I *needed* it. Between my Toshiba NB205 netbook & HP Touchpad, those needs are fairly well met. Not to mention the browsers I have on my HTC Legend phone, PSP/PSPgo, and 3DS. None of those last 3 devices have particularly robust internet browsers-- certainly not as good as the PlayBooks-- but at least they have the basic functionality.

One thing that I really noticed about the PlayBook & the HP TouchPad is that flicking around a webpage is easier on the TouchPad. It scrolls more smoothly. When I'm websurfing with either device, I like to lightly "cast off" with my finger to move the page slowly down. If the screen was a lake, and the webpage a raft (my finger being a pole I guess) the HP Touchpad makes webpages glide along it. The PlayBook felt more resistive; I had to actually push the page a lot more to get it to move. It's a small thing but it is a big part of the overall experience. I also like how the TouchPad changes portrait/landscape orientation a little easier than the PlayBook-- but sometimes the TouchPad changes TOO easily, it's over-sensitive. So there are advantages & drawbacks to either styles.

My next big gadget purchase is going to be the PS Vita in mid-February.... and yeah, I'm "excited" for it, but I'm kinda not, y'know? I don't feel that frenzy that I felt in anticipation of past console launches or big game releases. I remember how I could not wait for the 3DS launch. This time around, I dunno. There aren't any huge PS Vita launch games that I'm super-excited for. the device itself looks nice, I know it has added touch functionality but... it looks pretty much exactly like a PSP-1000. An IGN writer wrote an article where he took his PS Vita out in public & nobody noticed. THAT'S BECAUSE IT LOOKS LIKE A FRIGGIN' PSP. Everybody has seen a PSP before, why would they care? You'd have to stare directly at it to notice the differences, and who does that when they're walking by? Even I would be hard-pressed to notice it... and I DO stare at people playing PSPs-- I always want to know what model it is & what they're playing.

So yeah, the Vita feels like it's 2005 all over again. That's not good for 2012.

When it gets closer to launch I'll probably be more jazzed. At this point in time, I'm just.... meh.

later
don

Blackberry PlayBook

2012-01-04T13:30:00.001-08:00

So I took the bait on Xmas eve, and ordered a Blackberry Playbook 32GB tablet from Staples online. But I don't think I'm keeping it....

The price point at $250.00 is fairly ok... and what I read about it seemed like it's a fairly solid tablet. I enjoy my HP TouchPad a lot but sometimes it is a bit big, especially when I take it out with me. With the case, it weighs in around 2lbs, which is close to my netbook weight. 2lbs may not sound like a lot, but when you're talking portability, trust me it is a consideration.

The Blackberry PlayBook definitely has a nice form factor. It's 7" as opposed to the TouchPad's 10", and it's very thin. On the bottom edge, there's the memory storage size (32GB) a micro HDMI port for output to an HDTV, a micro USB port, and a proprietary 3-pin port for a dock(?) One of the small issues with the micro USB port is that it's not shaped like most and you have to be careful to plug in the USB cable the right way. Usually the shape of the port shows me which way to plug it in.

The top edge has a headphone jack, power button and volume/play buttons. It's good to have hardware buttons but on the PlayBook I prefer to put it into sleep mode just using the onscreen buttons.

What's really great about coming out of sleep mode is all you need to do is swipe from bezel to bezel (either up/down or side/side) So I only need the power button to turn on the PlayBook from a full turned-off mode.

The back is a very simple soft touch rubber. Resists fingerprints but can pick up lint. It feels very comfortable though.

I love the thinness and simple design. However, the PlayBook is quite heavy considering its size. I suppose it's not unreasonable for it to weigh almost 1 lb, but when you look at the size and thinness of it, it looks like it should weigh less. So it can be a bit of a burden to hold for long periods... but the HP TouchPad weighs about 2x so....

I may not be a typical tablet user, my needs are fairly simple. I want a tablet for internet browsing, photos, music, videos and apps.

The Blackberry Playbook does most of these very well. The interface is very similar to the HP TouchPad's WebOS: apps close into a window view, you scroll horizontally between them, there's good multi-tasking.

My big problem with the Blackberry PlayBook is videos. I record videos in simple profile MP4 format, usually 368 x 208. Suited for PSP playback, but they also play very well on my HTC Legend phone and HP TouchPad. But on the PlayBook the videos are very pixelated. My videos look better on my TouchPad which has only a slightly higher resolution, but a bigger screen. Videos should look better on the PlayBook because of the smaller screen. I'm not sure if RIM is using a not very good MP4 decoder for video playback or what.... it makes me sad that my videos look so crappy on this thing.....

I really want to love the Blackberry PlayBook-- in fact I actually DO love a lot about it. Just not videos. That's not the most important part of a tablet but it is a major one for me. It's such a shame. So I think, with great reluctance, that I have to return it....... hopefully I can find a 7" tablet that will better fit my needs...... but there is also the PS Vita coming which will suck up as much $$$ as the PlayBook so maybe I need to just save up for that.

later
don

Wii sound issue

2012-01-02T20:00:00.000-08:00

I just downloaded Super Mario Kart for the Wii Virtual Console.... it's fun. Cashed in some Club Nintendo coins. I definitely have a love/hate relationship with the Mario Kart & Mario franchise in general. I slammed Mario Kart 7, but I have to admit I'm still playing it a lot.

It's interesting to see how the franchise began in Super Mario Kart, even though it can be hard to look at.... I wonder how gamers in the 1990's managed to keep their eyes from getting wrecked....

Anyway, this post is more about a Wii issue that I've been having for awhile but since I haven't turned on my Wii for a long time I didn't think about how persistant it is. Sometimes when I go back to the Wii Menu, the sound becomes all scratchy. I'm pretty sure this issue popped up after a recent update. It's kind of annoying. just another example of what I hate about firmware updates, especially FORCED firmware updates. This is a problem that stretches across different platforms, from Nintendo to Sony to Apple & so many companies.... it could be one of the biggest gadget problems to consumers. We need to be more aware of what companies are doing to our products & hold them more accountable to any damage they might do.

later
don

Swype update sucks

2011-12-31T13:13:00.000-08:00

This latest build of Swype really is terrible.

It made me update the last time I posted about Swype. I don't know what they did, but it doesn't work with my HTC Legend running Android 2.1 as good as it used to. When I go to reply to a text, whatever I type will disappear right as soon as I type it. I have to exit the messaging program & re-enter it to get it to start working normally.

This bug also affects other text-input programs on my phone as well.

I may just have to dump Swype & go back to the stock keyboard.... why do they have to keep forcing updates on us & breaking the functionality of the keyboard in the process???

I get that Android is "constantly" coming out with updates & Swype wants to take advantage of the "improvements". But they don't have to screw over users with older Android builds... why not just leave the older versions of Swype on our phones & do the updates for newer phones, if there are so many issues with older Android compatibility?

Sigh. Swype can be so frustrating.

later
don

Super Mario 3D Land

2011-12-27T21:34:00.000-08:00

Bought Super Mario 3D Land early December, and while I played it a lot the first 2 weeks or so it's kinda gotten buried under the onslaught of 3DS games this month.

Super Mario 3D Land addresses some of my major complaints with the recent direction Nintendo has taken with their Mario games: particularly the "Play Guide" where they would give an option for a developer speedrun to completely take over the game if you let them. How can that possibly be fun? You fail a bunch of times and the only alternative to playing it until you pass is to let a programmer from the dev team play it for you. That really frustrated me because it seemed like Nintendo was going to put it in ALL their Mario games. I'm happy to say they tweaked this idea-- in Super Mario 3D Land if you fail a level 6 times they offer the white tanooki suit which gives the player invincibility except from falling off a level. So the player still gets to play the game. That's what they SHOULD have introduced 2 Mario games back.This feels like a direct response to my rants on their survey questionnaires... believe me, I filled out those text boxes pretty well with my thoughts on this subject.....

But Super Mario 3D Land is not a super hard game like previous... it seems easier to me, compared to the last DS game. The first 8 worlds are relatively easy to get through but there's more content than that.... and the challenge level can ramp up in some of them too.

But the game still plays VERY conservatively; not taking risks and minimizing innovative ideas. The levels are very short, again they seem scared to make them too long because they want short burt gameplay because it's a handheld title. I'd rather they just improve the save system rather than shorten the level design.

As nice as Super Mario 3D Land is at times, I think Nintendo should have made it a Super Mario Galaxy game-- it would have had more interesting level design, and imagine walking all the way around planetoids like in the Wii games... only in 3D.... nice....

later
don

StarFox 64 3D

2011-12-25T00:49:00.000-08:00

One of the many 3DS games I binged-bought in December.... there are still a few that I haven't even played yet: Street Fighter 3D, Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy (I'm so psyched for it that I want to save it for last), and Kirby Mass Attack (DS game, but I will probably rack up most of my playtime on the 3DS)

Anyway.. StarFox 64 3D. Like most of the others (except Ace Combat) I got it with a bit of a discount. In some ways it reminds me a lot of the Ace Combat games. There are a relatively small number of missions, but the gameplay comes from replaying missions to open up different paths. But unlike Ace Combat, StarFox 64 3D is more on-rails. True, Ace Combat games are free roaming but limited to within a "sandbox area" and you are almost on rails in what you need to do within the time limit. StarFox 64 3D is mostly on rails with enemies coming at you or from behind you, then sometimes it opens up to a more free-roaming-within-a-sandbox style.

I was a bit wary of the graphics because even though things have been "remastered" the game designs are still really old. But they do hold up well, and it looks cool. I've never played this particular Star Fox game before, so it was all new to me. Basically the story/settings of the game feel like a generic Star Wars ripoff... but I don't necessarily mean that in a bad way. They do it well; I love the little touches like fighting mechs in space... that seems very anime to me.

But the game really requires the player to be spamming the A button like kaa-raaazzy. Man, if any game is going to wear out the A button, it will be this one. It's honestly a bit tiring. Also tiring are some of the boss fights... a few of them go on just way too long.

I like the how the characters are animals... it's weird but at least it isn't a Star Wars ripoff... exactly.... but what is with them shaking their heads up & down really really fast to simulate talking? What is good is that there's full voice acting in the game. Nintendo should do this a lot more in their games.

StarFox 64 3D is a fun on rails space shooter, worth it for a discounted sale price. There's a certain line that is always used--over used-- when talking about this game. So I'll just leave it out. You know what it is anyway.

later
don

HP TouchPad brightness issues

2011-12-24T22:02:00.001-08:00

I did miss my HP TouchPad while I was in China.... 5-6 weeks away from it-- I did charge it before I left but I thought the battery would be dead by the time I got back. But the charge held, was almost full power when I turned it on again.

But one thing I have noticed since that little hiatus away from it... there are some brightness issues with it. There is a light sensor that can auto-dim the brightness, I used to use it but the case I got for it covers it up so I had to turn off the sensor. But even with the sensor off, for some reason the screen will dim on its own. I loaded the HP TouchPad up with a bunch of my pics from China, and swiping through them, the brightness changes quite a bit and I can't figure out why.

It could be the latest WebOS update (I think 4.0.7) but I'm pretty sure I had this issue before the update. It even affects the videos I watch, and I don't think there was a problem with the screen going bright & dim, fluctuating so much..... I watched lots of video in the same format before I left.

My guess is that the corner of the TouchPad where the sensor is is a bit wonky. I know when I had it turned on, sometimes I'd accidentally cover it and that caused weird problems. Maybe because my case pressed down on that light sensor it's affecting it? I don't know. But now I don't keep my TouchPad fully in the case-- I make sure the corner anchor/straps aren't keeping it in place. the problem with that is I gotta be careful the TouchPad doesn't fall out....

later
don

PS Vita launch games list

2011-12-22T19:03:00.000-08:00

Sony's PlayStation Blog posted the North America launch games list:

SCEA Launch Day Titles
Escape Plan (PSN Only)
Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational
Hustle Kings (PSN Only)
Little Deviants
ModNation Racers: Road Trip
Super StarDust Delta (PSN only)
UNCHARTED: Golden Abyss
wipEout 2048

Launch Window Titles
Gravity Rush
MLB 12 The Show
Reality Fighters
Unit 13

Third Party Publisher Launch Day Titles

Army Corps of Hell	Square Enix, Inc.
Asphalt Injection	Ubisoft, Inc.
BEN10 GALACTIC RACING	D3 Publisher of America
Blazblue: Continuum Shift EXTEND	Aksys Games Localization, Inc.
Dungeon Hunter Alliance	Ubisoft, Inc.
Dynasty Warriors Next	Tecmo Koei America Corporation
F1 2011	Codemasters
EA SPORTS FIFA Soccer	Electronic Arts, Inc.
Lumines Electronic Symphony	Ubisoft, Inc.
Michael Jackson The Experience	Ubisoft, Inc.
Plants vs. Zombies (PSN Only)	Sony Online Entertainment LLC
Rayman Origins	Ubisoft, Inc.
Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen	Namco Bandai Games America Inc.
Tales of Space: Mutant Blobs (PSN Only)	Drinkbox Studios
Touch My Katamari	Namco Bandai Games America Inc.
Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3	Capcom Entertainment, Inc.
Virtua Tennis 4: World Tour Edition	Sega of America

Launch Window Titles

LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7	Warner Bros. Interactive Ent. Inc.
Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention	NIS America, Inc.
NINJA GAIDEN ∑ PLUS	Tecmo Koei America Corporation
Ridge Racer	Namco Bandai Games America Inc.
Silent Hill Book of Memories	Konami Digital Ent. America, Inc.
Supremacy MMA: Unrestricted	505 Games

There are not a lot of titles in that list that I'm super excited about... don't get me wrong, a few of those games I am interested in and will probably pick up at launch. The one I'm most excited for is that Katamari one, I'm getting Little Deviants as part of the PS Vita bundle, and Super Stardust Delta may be worth the nearly-inevitable PSN download hassles I'm almost sure to encounter.

I'm a bit loathe to post those so-called "launch window" games lists, because I think it's another one of those "lies" where some of them MIGHT come out in the next few months after launch, but if it's like the 3DS, I'm thinking, "sheyeah right". So I don't even consider them as even scheduled, personally.

The blog also posted a comprehensive list of accessories pricing... I may spring for the 32GB. Depends on how my initial PSN download attempts go (Super Stardust Delta may be a guinea pig for that)... one of the things that annoys me about the Vita is the cartridge door: It's a flimsy memory stick style door with plastic cords that hold it to the console.

see here

and here

Looks easy to get loose or break. If download pricing is more reasonable it may be better to download titles... I dunno. It is definitely more convenient to have your games on the console instead of dragging around a bunch of carts like I do with the 3DS.

later
don

PS Vita size comparison

2011-12-18T01:20:00.000-08:00

Kotaku posted up a gallery of the PS Vita next to a variety of stuff, notably a PSPgo and a 3DS.

*sigh* but seriously... of all the irreverent junk they took a picture of the Vita next to, it didn't enter their mind AT ALL to take a picture of the Vita beside, say... a PSP??????

Holy crap Kotaku, your site sucks in general because it somehow manages to crash my Firefox browser & suck up all my memory, but man... idiotic oversights like that are simply pathetic.

Anyway. It is still nice to see more of the Vita & get a general idea of its size, so here's the link to the gallery.

later
don

PS Vita user guide now online

2011-12-18T00:44:00.000-08:00

Cool. We're about 2 months away from the North American Playstation Vita launch, and Sony has posted the user manual online!

I've been very curious about the media format, particularly video formats-- that the Vita will play. From the looks of it, I think it will play the old PSP-formatted videos.

One annoying aspect of media transfer to Vita is that it appears we need to use software to transfer videos or music, etc. to the handheld. I can understand Sony wanting to lock it down, but one of the key reasons I chose a PSP over an iPod back in 2006 was that the PSP didn't need software to "manage" media on it. 6 years later, and the iPod still needs iTunes, and now Sony will require their own (no doubt inferior version) of "iTunes" to use this device. It even says that one of the first things you need to do with your Vita is register your PSN ID on it, and that you need a wi-fi connection.

I've already pre-ordered a Vita, the "early bundle" that comes with a 4GB card & Little Deviants... and also comes out 1 week before the core console.... I'm not super-excited about the launch, I think it will suffer a games drought like the 3DS did. But 2 months away is a long time, so who knows what will change between now & Feb 2012...

later
don

10 free GBA titles for 3DS Ambassadors available now

2011-12-16T22:33:00.000-08:00

Crazy morning today, not only did I get the Super Mario shoelaces, but the 10 GBA titles became available in North America! They are:

F-Zero: Maximum Velocity
Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi’s Island
Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Kirby & The Amazing Mirror
Mario Kart: Super Circuit
Mario vs. Donkey Kong
Metroid Fusion
Wario Land 4
WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames

Downloading them is a bit of a non-intuitive process to say the least. I had to remember how I did it with the NES titles. You go into the Nintendo eShop, then to Settings/Other, then Your Downloads. Then scroll down-- what screwed me up was that I had to go to the next page to find the 10 GBA games on my list. Once you find the above titles, tap Redownload, then Download, then it gives you a choice to either Download Now or Download Later. If you pick Download Later, then Continue shopping, you can go through all 10 titles, then close the eShop, close the 3DS (put it into sleep mode) and it will download all the titles while it's closed. if you choose Download Now, you'll have to repeat the process for each game.

Also something to note: You can get the original GBA screen resolution using the same method as for DS games-- hold down either the START or SELECT button (you don't need to use both) while loading the game-- make sure to hold down the button until graphics pop up onscreen. Some games just look much better in their native resolution like Yoshi's Island. Though Kirby looks good using the full 3DS screen, I bet GBA games made later in the GBA lifespan look better in general.....

All these free games, man... there's so much to play and so little time....

later
don

Club Nintendo Super Mario shoelaces

2011-12-16T21:57:00.000-08:00

[UPDATE 1/02/2012] - I've noticed that the designs on the laces are NOT WATERPROOF. So if you're thinking of ordering these, be aware of that important fact.

So I ordered the Super Mario shoelaces from Club Nintendo earlier this week. As usual with Club Nintendo Canada, shipping was fast, I got them today.... I was hoping that they'd come this week, but you never know.

They came with the Thank You card that typically accompanies these coin purchases, but I expected the packaging to be just a simple plastic bag. Instead, there's a little light cardboard design decorated with Mario characters. A somewhat more fancy presentation than past Club Nintendo rewards, in line with the Platinum Reward I got last week. Maybe Club Nintendo is trying to dress up their stuff a bit, maybe they're getting the hang of Club Nintendo better now that they've gone through some growing pains.... on one hand, I like the little touches... I don't want to throw away this stuff... but on the other hand, flourishes like this are not much use to me and only serve to clutter up my space. I'm sure I'll lose it or it'll end up in the recycling bin.

2 sets of laces: 2x white, 2x yellow. Ok, I'm really stupid-- until I looked at this picture, I had no idea that each set of laces has DIFFERENT characters on them. The yellow has "bad guys" while the white ones have "good things" (power ups)... I thought both sets of laces had the same characters on them.

I went for the yellow ones right away because I figure they go better with my shoes. But now that I'm aware that the white ones have different characters... in fact, probably more recognizable Super Mario characters to the general public.... maybe I will try the white ones out next week.

The yellow laces on my shoes. Not sure how good this actually looks... I don't wear anything yellow though I do wear a purple hoodie so maybe they do complement that....

These last 2 weeks have been pretty darn awesome for Club Nintendo and 3DS Ambassador early adopters. Having those games be bought using coins, the 10 free GBA games, and even these laces rewards, now is a good time to be a Nintendo fan. Thanks Nintendo!

I'd like to save up for the T-shirt, but right now all my coins are going towards the downloadable games.

later
don

Mario Kart 7 - same old shit

2011-12-11T08:40:00.000-08:00

Let's face it, Mario Kart 7 is just another minor update of a tired conservative franchise that's too lazy or timid to not only evolve gameplay, but remove significant game-breaking flaws inherent in the past versions.

Sigh.

It may seem trivial at first, but the menu & loading. Geez, what is with how long it takes to load the game?? The white screen stays up way too long. And the menu system itself is the exact same one from the previous Mario Karts, still clunky as hell where it kicks you out to the title page rather than makes it easier to navigate & re-enter races. It becomes a real pain to play this game over & over when the interface is so crap.

And for some unknown reason, it takes at least TWICE as long to actually close the game & exit out to the 3DS menu as it does every other 3DS game. What the hell... it's like this is a shoddy port, even though it's a 3DS exclusive game! How lazy/rushed were the developers that they couldn't make any of this smoother?

The game itself is the exact same format as the Mario Kart DS & Wii: same cups, 32 tracks, etc. Most courses are re-hashed from previous games, with a few new ones. Apparently Retro Studios was called in to create a couple of courses.

Maybe that's what this franchise needs: to be taken away from Nintendo's in-house studio & given to a 2nd or 3rd party to inject some new ideas & more important: improve gameplay. The same old shit still happens: blue shells trump anything, you can do everything humanely possible, stay in first place and still finish in 7th or 8th no matter what you do. This game is the very definition of cheap.

Mario Kart 7 does look really good. There are some interesting additions that on the surface look great but in reality somehow don't affect gameplay at all. You can tweak your kart; changing out wheels, body, etc. but it doesn't make any difference. If anything, the "enhancements" make it harder rather than gives an advantage.

Nintendo is so incredibly timid & afraid to step up their franchises in a major way. Years ago, they created a hit formula with the Mario Kart franchise. At the time it was an attractive blend of multiplayer gameplay mechanics & challenge. But they haven't done anything since to improve or evolve the experience, leaving in all the same bugs that have always been there.

Nintendo should be ashamed.

later
don

Club Nintendo Elite Status Reward 2011

2011-12-10T13:06:00.000-08:00

Cool... my Club Nintendo Elite Status Reward came in the mail yesterday.

Doesn't seem as good as the previous years Elite reward, that Mario statue, which I didn't get-- however I *DID* see it for sale at a night market in Hong Kong... though I'm pretty sure it was fake. It was somewhat cool-looking, but not worth the effort of trying to drag it home with me so I didn't buy it.

So back to the 2011 reward... these are a series of pins. Hanh??? Pins? Doesn't seem all that "elite" to me. But this reward is all in the presentation.

Frontside:

Backside:

As you can see, the packaging is very prim and a lot of care went into the design.

On one side there's even a classic Mario image.

Opening it up, the pins are fitted on top of the thin cardboard packaging.

The bottom:

The pins themselves are thick & bubbly... somewhat resembling, dare I say... a mushroom top??

The overall package has a minimalist elegant design, and the pins are nice. But I can't really see myself wearing them. I'm not sure what to do with it. This whole package feels like it was meant to be unopened & kept on a shelf to be admired from afar. But when I think about it, had I gotten a statue, that's pretty much what I'd be doing with THAT as well. And can't beat the price (free)

Thanks Nintendo.

later
don

Asphalt 3D

2011-12-07T00:52:00.000-08:00

While I was in China, a ton of 3DS games came out... I really missed my 3DS a lot. In Hong Kong I saw this guy playing a flame red 3DS on a bus, and I really wanted my 3DS then. But even if the AC adapter was universal (120-240V)-- which, I must re-state that it is NOT-- with the poor 3DS battery life, it just wouldn't be worth it. Plus honestly, I didn't have THAT much time for gaming.

But yeah, I missed my 3DS. So when I got back I bought up a bunch of games for it:

Super Mario 3D Land
Mario Kart 7
Starfox 64 3D
Street Fighter 3D
Kirby Mass Attack (DS)
Ace Combat Assault Horizon Legacy

And now, Asphalt 3D. EB Games is selling it new for $9.99. At that price, I think it's worth it. It's cheesy, clunky but fun. There's this hyperspeed mode where the screen goes all Tron-like... it doesn't look as good as the Youtube videos make it look, but it still is cool. And it throws in a bit of Burnout: Takedown with being able to knock other racers off the road. Of course Asphalt 3D is a very derivative racer that takes from other racing games. And the graphics are not great... especially if you've seen the Asphalt games on iPhone/Android.

Asphalt 3D won't go down in history as one of the best 3DS games to ever come out, but it probably won't be listed as the absolute worst, either. It is fun for what it is. The PSP had a glut of racing games, and maybe the 3DS is heading that way too, especially with Mario Kart 7 out for it. Ridge Racer 3D looks much better than Asphalt 3D, Mario Kart 7 looks better & plays more smoothly, but it is a very different kind of racing game even though both are arcadey.

If you want a fun cheap racer for the 3DS, paying $10.00 for Asphalt 3D isn't too bad a deal. The first 3DS game I know of to drop to that price.

later
don

Swype - a total pain... but worth it

2011-12-05T19:43:00.000-08:00

So a couple months or so, I downloaded Swype for my HTC Legend. Swype is an onscreen keyboard where you slide your thumb around the screen to connect letters to form words. Check out the videos on Youtube to see how it works... it looks awkward, but after using it these past 2 months.... I have to say I'm officially converted. The Swype method is AWESOME. My stock keyboard on my HTC Legend is pretty poor. What makes Swype so incredible is its word prediction, I don't know how it does it-- it has a very good sense of the word I'm looking for; even if sliding my thumb around the keyboard is sloppy, it seems to get it most of the time. The big problem with this method is that my thumb covers up the letters, so sometimes I have to stop & move my phone screen around to see where the next letter I need is. The good thing about this method is it's possible to type with one hand-- one thumb, really.

Swype is currently a free beta. Free is also awesome. But... there has to be a bad side somewhere, right? Where Swype really falls down is the "license expiring"... when it decides to, you have to uninstall the Swype installer, and re-install it, because the keyboard stops working, basically.

So I encountered this dark side of Swype the other day (luckily I was back from China, I actually was worried that it would expire while I was still there) and it was a total pain for me to reinstall. I had to try it a few times before it actually worked, as well as delete a large app (Pac-Man Championship Edition demo) to free up space... and I freely concede that that's an issue with my phone not having much internal space. But I think that each update of Swype gets re-jigged, and like all updates, some are good while some are not. There are some small issues with my latest version of Swype not playing well with my contacts editing. I don't know why that is other than they tweaked stuff.

Even with all this hassle, Swype is really good. I am envious of Samsung phones that have Swype included with it. Swype impressed me so much that I'm actually rethinking my main want in a new phone: that it has a physical keyboard. If I can get an onscreen keyboard comparable to Swype in usefulness, then a physical keyboard might not be needed. The key word being "might".

Oh Swype, why do you put me through such hell?

later
don

Back from China again

2011-11-30T23:59:00.000-08:00

So... I was in China again... spent almost 5 weeks there-- again-- and I got back about a week ago. Like last time, there was no way to access this blog, or anything Google-related. All blocked in mainland China. Oddly, I spent a total of around 2 weeks in Hong Kong, but I couldn't find much free wi-fi so I had no real internet access in HK... where I *can* access this blog or anything else online. Not blocked there.

The overall handheld scene isn't as vibrant as it was when I was there 2 years ago. I chalk it up to the general sad state we're in as far as handhelds, more than anything else. 2 years ago, the PSP was still fairly vibrant especially with hacking-- which was naturally big in China-- and it was very easy to get an R4 card for a DS Lite.

I did see "R4 for 3DS" in Beijing, but I was very suspicious about the actual quality of them. The problem is that the 3DS is region-locked, so even if there was an R4 for it, they would probably be Asia-3DS specific? I dunno. All I can say is, I saw these and had LITTLE confidence that they would work in my 3DS. And seeing how Super Mario 3D Land forces a firmware update on us (PSP-style) I wonder if they're already blocking these things.

Not that it was all about hacking & piracy. Last time, I was searching for a 16GB memory stick micro (M2) which I was happy to find for my PSPgo. This time around I had no major goal like that.

But last time, I had very little knowledge of mobile phones, and this time around, I have just enough knowledge to be dangerous (to myself)... I was *very* tempted to buy a phone in Hong Kong. They are about the same price/more expensive than Canadian prices, but the main key is that they're unlocked. Yes you pay $600.00-$700.00 (Cdn) for them, but there is no demand for a 3 year contract or other BS. Even if you go into a Canadian store with $700.00 cash, plunk it down & say, "I want to buy a phone, right now", the chances are that even then, they will NOT sell you a phone outright. You will STILL need to commit to at least 1 months service, which means you'll need to go through a credit check. You'll probably have to pay for an "activation fee" and other BS fees. All this even if they say the no-contract price for the phone is $599.99 or whatever. That STILL isn't the actual price you pay. How screwed up is the Canadian mobile phone market anyway? There should be laws.

Considering all this, you can see how it would be so tempting to walk into a reputable Hong Kong store, plunk down the $$$, and walk out then & there with a shiny new phone. But still, $600-$700 for a phone, I just couldn't do that. My little HTC Legend still does its job, and being unlocked I could actually use it with a cheap HK sim card.

But man, was I ever EVER tempted to pick up an HTC Evo 3D or Samsung Galaxy S2.

So, the other handheld issue of my trip is what handhelds did I actually take with me? I took a lot less than last time. Believe it or not, NO PSP, not even my PSPgo! I actually haven't taken that with me on trips at all this year (2011) which is the first time since getting a PSP in 2006 that I haven't brought one with me on a trip.

All I took with me was my netbook, and my HTC Legend phone. No PSPgo. No 3DS. The problem with the PSP (& PSPgo) is that the battery life is very short. My phone can play the same video content, has games (though not as robust as PSP ones), has my entire music collection, AND the battery life lasts like 9 hours. And it's smaller. And a phone. So my HTC Legend has become my go-to handheld because of size & versatility.

One annoying thing about the 3DS is the AC adapter is NOT universal. At least the PSP AC adapter can accept voltage from 120-240V. Pretty sure the 3DS AC adapter can't. And I wanted to pack light; I didn't want to bring my voltage converter--which doesn't even work that well-- so the only hope I had would be if I could buy a 3DS AC adapter in China/Hong Kong. Seemed like too much bother so the 3DS had to stay at home.

I did miss my 3DS a lot during those 4 1/2 weeks I was in China. I saw a guy playing a flame-red 3DS on a bus in Hong Kong, and I thought about how much I missed banging out a few (ok a lot of) sessions of Resident Evil: The Mercenaries.

So not long after coming back home, I bought a bunch of 3DS games. Super Mario 3D Land, Star Fox 64 3D, Street Fighter 3D... couldn't resist because Toys 'R Us had a sale where you buy 3 games & get 25% off. I also bought Kirby Mass Attack, and yesterday I picked up Asphalt 3D from EB Games for $10.00 new. And I still haven't picked up Ace Combat Assault Horizon Legacy which is my most anticipated 3DS game....

I also seemed to miss out the Hong Kong announcements of the PS Vita, not that I would have been allowed in or anything, it was probably just for press. I also wish my timing was closer to the PS Vita japan/Asia launch, I'm pretty sure I would've snagged one early there if I could have. Oh well, I just put my preorder in for one, the $300.00 bundle. Yeah I'm still nutty for handhelds.

later
don

Resident Evil Mercenaries online

2011-09-22T22:27:00.000-07:00

I've been playing Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D more than any other 3DS game. It's scary how many hours I've logged on it. One of the things I like about the 3DS and Wii is how they track what games you play & how long. The only problem I find with their system is that if you pause a game & come back to it hours later, it counts all that time as "gameplay"... so it's not totally accurate, but my 3DS says I've logged over 70 hours on RE:M3D. I should be better at it...

I've also been playing online quite a bit. I'm usually on around 6:00pm-9:00pm Pacific time. Also in the mornings from 10:00am-11:00am (Pacific)

My handle is 1_blue_pxl. Find me if you want to do some co-op.

later
don

The War of the Buttons

2011-09-15T11:34:00.001-07:00

So, all this recent news about the 3DS Slide Pad accessory, and the PS Vita.... I think I'm starting to see where the second front/phase of the Handheld War is going.

2004: Sony jumps into the handheld gaming market, expectations are high & they deliver a pretty powerful machine in the PSP. Nintendo's DS is no slouch either, and through the DS Lite becomes the most successful gaming handheld.

So between 2004-2006/2007 or so, the main gaming handheld battle was between Sony & Nintendo. But in that time Apple jumps in with the iPod Touch, and in the last few years the Apple App & Android App market have exploded (mostly Apple)... Smartphone gaming is a significant share of handheld gaming-- and it's only growing bigger.

With the upcoming release of the 3DS Slidepad accessory, looking at it... how it's kind of "core audience" in that it looks built for gamers (duh).... I think Nintendo is saying, "we have physical controls". That's completely what the accessory is about isn't it?

And that's the key fundamental difference in gaming on a smartphone or iPod Touch, than gaming on a 3DS/PS Vita.

The same strategy was used by Sony when they announced the Xperia Play: they based a whole ad campaign, creepy as it was, on that what sets the Xperia Play apart from other phones is that it has physical game controls. (Of course Sony being Sony, they had to find a way to screw it up-- making the analogue touch pads, rather than actual nubs.)

It's a big contentious point that touchscreen controls can't substitute for actual analogue sticks & buttons.

This seems to be where the next phase of the handheld war is going. Do you want actual physical controls on a dedicated gaming device, or do you want a one-size-tries-to fit-all touchscreen controls on a more versatile, pocketable device which is not necessarily optimized for gaming?

Nintendo seems to have solidified that philosophy with the Wii U controller, how it harkens back to dual analogue controls & buttons yet still keeps the touchpad for fleixibility. But they either shipped the 3DS too early, or just didn't get the memo with that console, because it's really far too much like a DS than it should be in terms of buttons, controls, shape, etc. Way too conservative a step for a next-gen console.

So now they're trying to backtrack a bit & get a bit more "hardcore" with it?

The physical controls feature & deeper gameplay are the 2 biggest assets Nintendo/Sony have with their handhelds. The problem with the deeper gameplay argument is that the nature of handheld gaming itself kinda plays against the idea of games that need to be played for hours & hours to make progress. I personally *DO* play my handhelds for hours & hours but a lot of people argue that if they wanted to do that they'd just play a full-sized home game console, especially if it's between the same franchise of game (God of War PS3 vs PSP for example)

So that basically just leaves physical controls as the biggest draw for the 3DS/PS Vita. The key to all this is... now what are the software developers going to DO with those physical controls... if we get some amazing killer apps to come out for the 3DS/PS Vita-- games that people will buy the systems just to play-- the war will shift in their favour. They kind of need an Angry Birds sort of success. (Yes, Angry Birds is available on their handhelds, but it's way more ideal on the iOS/smartphone platform.)

later
don

Playstation Vita Japan launch date announced

2011-09-13T22:39:00.001-07:00

The Playstation Vita will be released in Japan on December 17, 2011. There will be 2 prepaid 3G plans available for it (in Japan of course) 980 yen ($13) for 20 hours, and 4,980 yen ($65) for 100 hours.

Also, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom will be a launch title.

Possibly big news regarding PSP UMD legacy support: according to Gamespot's Liveblog, they posted:

Says there will be as many as 600 PSP titles that will be available to play on the Vita.

The last point Kawano is going to talk about is PSP title support on the Vita.
He says the Vita has no UMD slot on the Vita but as long as users have the software for the UMD version...Sony is going to announce some official plans surrounding this in the near future.

Wow! some sort of transfer program to put UMD games onto our Vitas? That could be huge. Of course, we HAVE heard this kind of thing before, with the PSPgo debacle. Sony just plain lied about that. And even if there is some sort of UMD transfer deal... that might ONLY be in Japan. I dunno. This is one of those things that I'm going, "Yeah right, Sony. I'll believe it when I see it."

There are a few titles that piqued my interest: Ridge Racer, Wipeout... Katamari??? Oh yeah, NOW I'm paying attention. A few more like that and I'm fully onboard this hype train.

I'm starting to get excited about Vita.....

later
don

3DS Slide Pad accessory added to Nintendo Japan site

2011-09-12T22:43:00.000-07:00

Leave it to Nintendo3DSblog to spill the details on the 3DS 2nd analogue nub accessory.... they've posted the updated page for the Nintendo Japan 3DS accessories list, which now includes the slide pad expansion.

Here's what it says courtesy Google translate:

Nintendo 3DS special enhanced slide pads

[CTR-009]

Suggested retail price 1,500円（税込） 1,500 yen (tax included) Release Date 2011/12/10 December 10, 2011

When installed in the Nintendo 3DS, a wider range of playing styles slide pad and buttons have been added.

AAA alkaline batteries ※ (operation status) with 1.

※ extended slide pad alone will not work.
Slide the pad can be used only with compatible software extension

※. The corresponding software has an icon on the right in the package:

List of planned listing of supported software

December 10, 2011
Monster Hunter 3 (tri) G
Capcom

2012 Early 2012
BIOHAZARD REVELATIONS
Capcom

This winter
METAL GEAR SOLID SNAKE EATER 3D
KONAMI

This winter
ACECOMBAT 3D CROSS RUMBLE
Namco Bandai

2012

2012
Dynasty Warriors VS
Tecmo Koei Games

Undecided

KINGDOM HEARTS 3D [Dream Drop Distance]
Square Enix

--------------------------------------------------------------

Six major games slated to support the accessory, though only Monster Hunter Tri 3G has a solid release date.

And the slide pad expansion takes 1? AAA battery? It's going to cost 1500 yen, which is $19.32 Canadian dollars. So if that's any indication for a Canadian price, maybe $19.99? Not that there's even any indication at this point that it'll be released outside of Japan. I remember having to buy the Play-Yan Micro imported because there was no worldwide release for that.

Ace Combat is one of my fave game franchises. Having it on the initial 3DS games list when the handheld was first announced, that game alone pretty much cemented my decision to buy a 3DS.

And honestly, the one game I want the most on 3DS is a *NEW* Star Wars: Battlefront game.... like Renegade Squadron & Elite Squadron that were on PSP. That's kinda the reason I'm so hyped for a 2nd analogue nub, I'm secretly hoping for a new Star Wars Battlefront game that would be cross-released on 3DS & Playstation Vita. A PS Vita version would use both analogue sticks so the 3DS needs the 2nd nub.

But the new Ace Combat game, I would get the slide pad expansion for that alone, though I'd also use it for Monster Hunter 4 & Resident Evil Revelations...

Oddly enough, I don't know why I'd need a 2nd nub for Ace Combat, it controls just fine on the PSP with only 1 nub.

Also a bit ironic: The slide pad accessory is meant for Monster Hunter 3G. Pretty clear that this accessory makes using any 3DS extended battery add-ons impossible. And if there are ANY games that *NEED* a lot of battery power to play, it's the Monster Hunter series.

later
don

Nintendo pre-TGS conference

2011-09-12T21:31:00.000-07:00

Some highlights of the Nintendo Conference Sept. 2011:

New Mario Tennis, Fire Emblem, TheaterthymFinal Fantasy, Dynasty Warriors-ish game, Kingdom Hearts 3D, Monster Hunter (Tri) 3G... but NO mention of the "boat" 2nd analogue nub add-on(?!)

Pink 3DS coming to Japan Oct. 20...

But the biggest announcement seems to be: Monster Hunter 4(!!) for 3DS!

later
don

Nintendo 3DS announcement coming Sept 12

2011-09-11T09:40:00.000-07:00

Nintendo will be holding a pre-TGS press conference focused on the 3DS. IGN will be streaming it starting 8:00PM (PST) on Sept. 12.

I'm really curious as to what will be announced. Top of my list I want more info on the "slide pad expansion" accessory. A lot more info. But I kinda doubt there will be much more than what's been leaked already except maybe more about Monster Hunter 3G. I kinda expect that the bulk of announcements will be for upcoming software.... though it would be wild if they used this press conference to announce a 3DS redesign. I'm sure a redesign is coming, but not likely this early. Still, with the sluggish sales & Nintendo making drastic moves lately, who knows....

Can't wait for 8:00PM Sept. 12.

later
don

Putting the Slide Pad Expansion into context

2011-09-08T13:03:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: IGN posted these better pics of the slide pad accessory... it looks better than the original pic, which made the 2nd nub look smaller.

So... Nintendo has tersely confirmed that the Slide Pad Expansion i.e. 2nd analogue nub, is a real accessory coming to the 3DS. From the sounds of it, there is only 1 game scheduled so far that will use it: Monster Hunter 3G.

Nintendo has stumbled into the same controversy that dogged Sony's PSP for the life of that handheld. Will making a 2nd analogue nub split the console userbase between those who have it & those who don't? That's the reason Sony always gave to not put a 2nd nub on the PSP, they didn't want some games to only be playable with a 2nd nub making them unplayable to those who have older PSPs. By making the 3DS one an add-on, it's possible for all generations of 3DS's to play games that may require it. I suspect that Nintendo will revise the 3DS to incorporate the 2nd nub. Maybe that $80.00 price drop is starting to make more sense now, hey?

But... one of the main questions has to be, how many games are actually going to use this 2nd nub? I've already talked about the many add-on peripherals for the Wii. I own the Balance Board, Wii Motion Plus dongle (x2), Wii Zapper, Wii Wheel, & the Classic Controller (a third party one anyway)

And most if not all of them only have a few games that support them.

Closer to home, look at the peripherals released for the DS:

The most famous one might be the Guitar Hero button controller. But as far as I know, only the game it came packed with supports it.

It did have the unfortunate luck of coming out just as Nintendo released the DSi which eliminated the GBA slot it needs to plug in to. Activision must've been pissed about that.

Here's one I was sorta interested in, the paddle controller. It seems like it would be really cool to play Space Invaders Extreme with it.... but again, as far as I know, only 2 games support it (Arkanoid being the other)

Here's one that I actually own! This was such an oddball peripheral, when I saw it + the game on sale at Play-Asia a while ago, I bought it for a cheap price. It lets you slide the DS across a flat surface like a mouse to interact with the game. I actually haven't tried it yet.... it's all in Japanese, but when I have time....

So again, with all these peripherals for Nintendo consoles, all of them have one common factor: very few games support them. Perhaps the widest accepted one is Motion Plus which is now incorporated into all Wii remotes. But personally, I only have like maybe 2 games that need it.

Judging by this history, how will this "Slide Pad Expansion" be any different? Obviously, Monster Hunter 3G will support for sure. Right now it isn't even confirmed that game is coming to North America (I hope it does) but what else? If any third party developer wants to support the 2nd nub add-on, they'll also have to provide alternate controls for those 3DS owners who don't have/don't want/can't get the 2nd nub add-on. I bet even Monster Hunter 3G will have alternate controls to allow this.

Although this is the one peripheral I might say I want-- or feel that we as gamers have a need for-- the most, the track record for peripheral support isn't very good. It will be interesting to see if this one has more success than all the past ones.

later
don

3DS to get a 2nd analogue nub???

2011-09-06T20:53:00.000-07:00

Ok, Nintendo 3DS Blog first mentioned this a week or 2 ago, and now IGN actually mentioned it too... there's rumours that Nintendo are working on a 2nd analogue nub peripheral that will somehow attach to current 3DS systems, and that future 3DS's will have the nub built-in.

It sounds a bit crazy... but Nintendo can be crazy sometimes, can't they? My question is, how will a 2nd analogue nub attach to the 3DS? The 3DS doesn't have a data/USB port... so how would such an attachment communicate with the system? I've heard some talk that it could cover the XYAB (face) buttons.... the PSP has a few great shooters that use the face buttons for camera control: Resistance: Retribution, the Syphon Filter games & my faves, the Star Wars:Battlefront games. Closer to Nintendo, the DS game MechAssault: Phantom War also uses this control scheme.

But would we really need a nub to cover those buttons? I'm personally ok with just pressing the face buttons themselves.

Now that I think about it, a peripheral could possibly cover the touchscreen, and sort of jut out to the bottom right side for the analogue nub placement? It sounds nutty but.... I dunno. I can't see any other form of interface other than those 2 methods.

I photoshopped that image above a while ago, I was planning on doing a rant about the lack of a 2nd analogue nub on the 3DS. It was the single biggest mistake Sony made with the PSP, and Nintendo did it again with the 3DS. Sure it's a different company, but how could they miss all the hostility toward the PSP for not having a 2nd nub??

But now... while I do think that having a 2nd nub is better than not having it... it is not simply a matter of "if you build it, they will come". Third party game developers are incredibly lazy-- they do NOT want any deviation from the status quo. Any add-on peripheral, whether it's Motion Plus, the Wii Balance Board, or Wii Zapper/Wii Wheel... third parties do NOT want to develop for them because there's no guarantee that the majority of console owners will have these peripherals.

So while a 2nd nub would enhance some games, just because Nintendo decides to retro-fit one in to the 3DS, will that spur third party devs to create games that cater to it???

We'll see... if these rumours are true......

UPDATE: IGN has posted this pic of the peripheral:

Honestly, it kinda looks like an April Fool's joke. I still don't really get how it interfaces with the 3DS. Very odd.

It could possibly use an IR blaster????? There is an IR port on the 3DS....

later
don

3DS Ambassador Program: Step 4 - download games early!

2011-08-31T11:13:00.000-07:00

Wow, a bit of a surprise.... Nintendo has made the 10 free NES games available today, one day early!

Log on to the eShop, once in the eShop main menu, scroll all the way left to Settings/Other, then go down to Your Downloads & the games will be there! Just have to tap on the Redownload button (I know I know, this is the first time we're downloading them.... just go with it)

And then.... enjoy!

The process is a bit cumbersome, after downloading each game you need to go back from the main menu, scroll down & "redownload" the next one. But they all seem to be very quick downloads. And don't forget the Ambassador Update video, click on Notifications if you want to receive any future Ambassador Program news updates through it.

So... after all that.... enjoy!

I still have to try them all out..... can't wait for the 10 GBA games...

Thanks Nintendo!

later
don

List of 10 NES games from Ambassador Program

2011-08-30T10:56:00.000-07:00

nintendo3dsblog.com has posted the list revealed by Nintendo Japan of the 10 free NES games for those 3DS owners in the Ambassador Program!

Super Mario Bros.
Donkey Kong Jr.
Balloon Fight
Ice Climber
The Legend of Zelda
Wrecking Crew
NES Open Tournament Golf
Yoshi
Metroid
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Keep in mind that there is a chance the game lineup might be different for the North America release. I'm going to have to Google some of these games... NES golf... Wrecking Crew.... I've heard of Balloon Fight & Ice Climber but I've never played them.

ooohh.. I'm psyched to play Donkey Kong Jr. again!

later
don

HP TouchPad 32gb

2011-08-21T12:25:00.000-07:00

So Friday/Saturday was a tech frenzy the likes of which I have never seen... the great & terrible HP TouchPad hunt.

I heard about the HP TouchPad being discontinued, so I kept a bit of an eye on it, then I heard about the massive price slashing by The Source & Future Shop on Friday afternoon-- I rushed down to FS to grab one, they only had a 32gb left for $149.99 which I snatched up as quick as I could (this being Future Shop it took about 20 mins. waiting for a stupid manager to enter a password into a till)... what kinda irks me is that all the FS employees bought up most of the stock before the general public could get a chance-- they were crowing about it quite proudly, as were The Source employees when I went there looking for one. I didn't know a whole lot about it when I bought it, and had I known it has such a smooth UI & user experience I would've bought another for my dad. I *really* wish I could get another one for him. That's my big regret of this whole debacle.

What a score though... this has to be the best tech deal of the year for me. It's a sweet gadget that is not as good as it should be, but for my needs, it fits the bill quite well.

So basically, the TouchPad is one of the many tablets that have been released this year; in fact I think it only came out something like 50 days ago? Bizarre that HP would just drop it like they did & slash the price by 75%. It's a dead product but I'm still seeing those annoying HP Touchpad ads with Lea Michelle, or that boxer/politician on my TV in heavy rotation... guess HP paid up at least through the weekend. I can't imagine how much money they're losing by this decision to just scrap it.

There are good things & bad things about the HP TouchPad. For multimedia, pictures, music, video, it's as good as a phone/PSP, but with a bigger screen. HP's WebOS is different than what I'm used to, but surfing the web is a mostly smooth endeavor on it-- though there are a few quirks. Not a huge deal, but the web browser can't be set to launch on a homepage. You tap to open it & then you gotta input a URL or side swipe to open the Bookmarks list. Just little things like that which make it less dynamic than it should be. But compare it to my phone browser (Android 2.1) which is OK, but is clunkier than the TouchPad browser. Then we go down further on the handheld browser list, to the Nintendo 3DS (very clunky) browser and the PSP browser. So for a portable/handheld, the TouchPad scores very well. But... compare the TouchPad to my Toshiba NB205 netbook, and it's a different ballgame.

I'm not sure it's fair to compare a tablet like the HP TouchPad to a netbook/laptop, but with the MSRPs of tablets being firmly in the $400.00-$500.00 range, it's gotta be a consideration. Let me put it this way-- I'm typing up this post using my netbook. Hell yeah did I consider doing it on the TouchPad, but the onscreen keyboard is pretty finicky. I'm used to the Android keyboard on my little HTC Legend being cumbersome... yes the TouchPad is bigger, but it takes more than double the time to type things than it does with my netbook keyboard. Using the TouchPad to do general websurfing is great. Flash loads up fine, and I haven't had any problem viewing embedded video. I can post the odd comment on message boards, but any sort of content creation, whether it's blogs or whatever, is kinda hard. I will try to post an entry using the TouchPad sometime.

The body is very black, rounded & smooth. It's also a huge fingerprint magnet. It's heavier than I thought it would be, and with the rounded body shape & weight I can't find a decent stand for it yet.

There are 2 speakers along the length of the side/bottom of it, which sound better than most handhelds (including my crap netbook speaker)but they are recessed into the smooth body & the speaker holes feel bit sharp when you hold the tablet soemtimes. the HP TouchPad also has bluetooth, I synced it with my Creative D100 bluetooth speakers and it sounds great.

The TouchPad has a front-facing camera, but no rear one. And the camera can only be used with one app, Skype. Reminds me of my PSPgo mic that has never been used because I don't Skype.

I bought the HP TouchPad with the hopes of it being a good photo viewer, music player & most important: video player.

USB - The TouchPad is seen as a USB drive, which means drag & drop. I love that! I hate having to use software to load media onto a device... it's one of the main reasons I haven't gotten an idevice yet. It has a micro USB port at the bottom of it, again no proprietary cable, I can use the same cables that I use for my phone. The USB cable it comes with also plugs into a dongle that is a power adapter wall plug. I don't think that a USB drive or memory stick can be plugged directly into the TouchPad, it does not look like there's a USB Hosting feature. The only quirk I discovered with the TouchPad is that it has to be ejected by right-clicking EJECT on the device icon in Windows. If you use the Eject USB Device command in Windows, it doesn't unmount it properly, and you'll get this "Ouch!" message on the TouchPad.

Music - The HP TouchPad supports .mp3, AAC, non-protected files (non-DRM) I haven't put much music on it yet, it's not high on my list as I'm really happy with my HTC Legend phone as my main music player. The HP TouchPad music player interface is basic, there are 2 views, list and side-scrolling album view. Playlist creation is fairly easy, tap+hold a song, then drag it to a playlist along a side panel to add it. Songs can be repeat one/all/shuffle & the usual album/artist/genre categories.

Video - Much like Android, videos are in the Photos section, all mixed in. There's 2 settings for video: fullscreen or original aspect ratio. It only plays .MP4 files, .MP4 simple profile, H.263/H.264. Which is very limited. But-- it actually plays my PSP Video 9 encoded PSP videos!!! I am *so* happy about that because I've rarely come across ANYTHING that can play those. And it plays them well, usually the best I can get is a buggy playback from any handheld that's not a PSP. So for me specifically, this is an awesome video player. More codec support would be nice. What's bad about the video playback is that it doesn't show the name of the video file, nor a thumbnail image. So you load it up with videos & get a bunch of generic video icons with only the length. No title, no date, nothing about it other than the length. That is very annoying especially if you want a lot of vids on it. I think the TouchPad was rushed to market, though things like this could be fixed with a software update if only HP hadn't abandoned it so quickly. UPDATE: I installed WebOS update 3.0.2 68 and now videos show their names! So that's an improvement.

The video controls are very basic, it's similar to the Android/iOS with the length bar, but the bar is ridiculously small for the size of the screen. So moving the playback cursor is really tricky & strangely not nearly as good as on the tiny screen of my HTC Legend, which itself is not nearly as good as the precise video playback controls of the PSP. For a screen the size of the TouchPad, it's stupid to have such a small playback bar. Again, could be fixed with an update, but...

Photos - Supports .JPG. Photos do show thumbnails, and the basic functions are here, there's a slideshow option of course. The slideshow transitions, well.. there's only one that I know of, and it's not very good. It works, but it ain't fancy. Even my Aluratek has better slideshow transition options.

Multitasking apps - The HP TouchPad can do multitasking quite well. I can play music while web browsing, open up vids/pics, pause that to do some web browsing, and come back to it. The interface uses ~~windows~~ "cards" which works fairly well. Let's say you're looking at a web page, and you want to open another web page up, it creates another card that stacks up over the previous one, and so on. So you swipe from the bottom of the TouchPad to go back to your stack of cards, and you can tap on whichever in the deck or to close one or all, you flick it up & it throws it away. That's how all the apps operate. Very nice & smooth. I love just flicking things away on this thing.

I think the TouchPad was rushed to market too early, and I also think that all the tablets are overpriced. Last year I was lusting a bit for an iPad, and I've always been interested in the tablet market. I was hoping that these tablet wars would offer some good deals as the competition heats up. I did not expect a firesale like this. It's kinda sad, actually, even though I don't think the HP TouchPad is worth $400-$500, it shouldn't be discontinued, especially so early in its lifespan. HP has some weird things going on, and with the rumblings that they might be leaving the PC market altogether, that's not good for consumers at all. I think we may see computer prices rise sharply if there's one less major company making entry-priced PCs. If the TouchPad or other tablets were priced starting at $350.00 or $250.00, then they'd be more enticing for people to buy. I don't know if it's the iPad(1/2) effect or what, but it just seems like the pricing is too steep for what they actually offer to the user. Just go to Staples, seeing their display of tablets, there are so many out there that I wonder if we'll see some more tablet firesales as competitors fall by the wayside. Motorola Xoom, BlacBerry Playbook-- I'm looking at you!

Before buying the HP TouchPad I wasn't familiar with WebOS, so now I'm trying to discover as much as I can about it. It's essentially a phone OS with a UI tweaked for tablets. But basically the same can be said for all the tablet OS's, right? Tablets are just bigger versions of smartphones. In some ways that's a good thing, but they need to be priced more reasonably. Smartphones themselves are also frustratingly overpriced, but the market demand for them unfortunately has made it profitable for all the companies (manufacturers & service providers) to overcharge.

It's too bad that there will be no support for WebOS, while I don't like it overall as much as Android, it's a smooth interface that could be improved and could have been a contender. That's the same that could be said about the HP TouchPad itself. We hardly knew ya.... there may be no future for this gadget, but in the meantime I'm having fun with it, for the price it was a great buy & now I'm looking harder at other tablets. if I could find one that's better than this, I'd gladly pay more for it.

later
don

3DS Ambassador Program: Step 3 - serial number confirmation

2011-08-20T15:45:00.000-07:00

Nintendo finally got around to putting up a site to confirm that you're enrolled in the 3DS Ambassador Program: [click here]

From the site:

Nintendo 3DS Ambassador Eligibility

To verify that you are eligible for the Nintendo 3DS Ambassador program, enter the serial number in the box below. The serial number for a Nintendo 3DS is located on the bottom of the system - just below the barcode - and starts with the letters CW followed by 9 digits. (Be sure to include the last number in the box.)

I checked, and mine seemed to be alright. I got this message:

Serial Number:
"CW000000000" <==== (not my actual serial number, just used as an example)

Eligibility:
You are a Nintendo 3DS Ambassador!

Starting Sept. 1, Ambassadors will be able to download 10 NES™ Virtual Console™ games at no charge from the Nintendo eShop. By the end of 2011, Nintendo will also provide Ambassadors with 10 Game Boy™ Advance Virtual Console games. Look for more information soon.

Important: If you have not already done so, connect to the Nintendo eShop today to make sure you are ready to download your free games starting Sept. 1. (How To) Connecting to the Nintendo eShop for the first time after Sept. 1 could delay the availability of the games.

Cool! Actually, I copy + pasted that message from the site, but what got copied was MORE than that. There was another message that doesn't show up on the page, something along the lines of "We can't read your serial number, call Nintendo for support, etc. etc." I should've kept that text, but anyway, I guess it's part of the javascript that Nintendo is using on their site. A worst-case scenario message. But if there was such a situation, I expect that all a 3DS early adopter would have to do is mail Nintendo a copy of their receipt-- as long as it's dated before August 12, 2011, it should be ok.

So now it's just waiting 10 days or so....

later
don

Star Fox 64 3D coming

2011-08-18T12:28:00.000-07:00

I really like flying games, after squeezing most of the fun out of Pilot Wings: Resort (I'm replaying it with my Darth Vader Mii), I am eagerly awaiting the Ace Combat 3DS game.

But closer on the horizon is Star Fox 64 3D which is coming September 9, 2011.

The overall gameplay looks cool. But like Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, I've never played Star Fox 64 before. So there's no built-in nostalgia for me with these games.

And I have to say, the look of Star Fox 64 3D.... it just looks so dated. I wish they'd just make a whole new Star Fox game with updated designs. That's also part of my problem with Zelda... let's face it, Link looks stupid with that outfit in 3-D, bump mapping graphics.

I am still excited for Star Fox 64 3D though.... the core gameplay looks fun. Just not too impressed by the look of it.

later
don

Streamlined Wii with no GameCube support coming to UK

2011-08-17T13:26:00.001-07:00

What the heck is with Sony & Nintendo messing around with their end-of-life consoles, stripping away features & offering a lower MSRP?? First the PSP E-1000 & now this?

Nintendo is apparently offering a "streamlined" version of the Wii in the U.K., it won't support Gamecube games or controllers. It will have a Wii controller with Motion Plus built in, and looks like it will be bundled with Wii Party & Wii Sports. They say that this Wii will be designed more to sit horizontally rather than upright vertically.... but um, the Wii can ALREADY be set up horizontally, ironically that's how Nintendo suggests it should be set up when Gamecube controllers are connected to it...

I guess this is more significant in Europe, where it seems like consoles cost a lot more than they do in Canada. So any price drop is a good thing.

I don't play Gamecube games on my Wii a lot, but I do appreciate the feature. I hate it when console makers take OUT features in consoles.

later
don

New Wi-Fi less PSP - Europe only?

2011-08-16T16:23:00.001-07:00

Ok, how odd is this? Sony announced a new PSP model-- *NO* not the Playstation Vita-- a PSP.... that has no Wi-fi capabilities, a slightly tweaked design based off the PSP-3000, & a budget price: €99.00.

The rejigged volume/start/select button area looks rather ugly. Are they a one-piece membrane overlay similar to the 3DS? Or are they capacitive touch buttons?? (yeah right) And it looks like the entire back opens up to access the UMD drive??? Very strange. This PSP E-1000 is going to have the same matte finish as the PS3. I do like the embossed Sony logo at the top right corner.

There aren't any plans to release this model outside of Europe.

[Check out these pics of it at Engadget's PSP E-1000 gallery]

I actually noticed something else about the PSP E-1000, there's only 1 speaker area. So it's only got a mono speaker?? The headphone jack is moved to closer to the bottom center of the unit-- it doesn't look like there's a port for the remote/video out, but it's hard to tell from the pics at this point.... and there is a switch-- if that's not for Wi-Fi, ~~it must be for the UMD door???~~ I think it may be the power switch. Where's the memory stick door?

It is somewhat intriguing, but why keep tinkering with the PSP? I guess Sony doesn't think it's dead yet.... at least not in Europe. And I think Japan still shows support for the handheld.

But you know what? The PSP *isn't* quite dead here in North America either. I wouldn't go so far as to say that now is the BEST time to buy a PSP, but... well, the other day I was in Future Shop, and I scanned the PSP game racks. Almost all the major PSP UMD games are priced at $9.99. It's possible to get Resistance: Retribution, the Syphon Filter games, Twisted Metal, Wipeout, etc.... most of the best of the PSP library, right now for $9.99 a game. That's pretty amazing when you stop to think about it.

Obviously, there isn't going to be much new software support coming for the PSP. But if someone was interested in a budget handheld gaming system, the PSP is a not bad choice, considering there's about 12+ major titles that are $10.00 & probably still some other good deals if one keeps an eye out.

If someone was debating between a PSP & a PS Vita, of course the choice has to be the Vita. But if someone was simply looking for a good budget game player & not concerned with the latest games, the PSP fits the bill. The only caveat I would attach to that is I'm not sure the PSP is great for little kids. There's Loco Roco, Me & My Katamari, and a few others but I'm not sure the overall library is all that little-kid-friendly. Just my 2 cents.

I guess Sony is seeing the PSP as filling the gap until the "delayed" Vita comes out.

later
don

Super Mario 3D Land & Mariokart 7 footage

2011-08-16T15:17:00.000-07:00

I just came across these videos of some gameplay action for Super Mario 3D Land & Mario Kart 7.

I have had my ups & downs with the Mario franchise, but I have to admit, it's hard not be excited for these titles.... they look really great.

Super Mario Land 3D is supposed to be coming in early-mid November, and Mario Kart 7 in Dec(?) 2011... very close release dates for major Nintendo franchises. I'm not sure I believe that they'll BOTH be out this year... this is sorta like Sony's "lie" about the PS Vita release date... but then again, Nintendo is clearly desperate for some game support for the fledgling 3DS. If at least one of them comes out this year, I'll be happy.

later
don

3DS Ambassador Program: Step 2 - The Waiting

2011-08-11T23:18:00.000-07:00

I logged in to the Nintendo eShop the morning of Aug 11... checked that I still had the You are an Ambassador! message in the NEWS section... looked good...

But I just logged in to the eShop just now (past 11:00pm Pacific time) and the Ambassador message is gone! I was kinda freaked.

So I checked the official Nintendo page about How to tell if you're an Ambassador and the message changed from what was posted there earlier in the day. Now it says:

If you are unsure of your Ambassador status, you can check back here later next week for more information on checking your Nintendo 3DS Ambassador status.

So I guess Nintendo will be trickling out some more info about next week? I've been screwed by Sony's Playstation Store too many times, so I hope everything goes smoothly with this Nintendo Ambassador program.

We'll see come September 1, 2011.

later
don

Shaw digital TV network upgrade

2011-08-11T19:46:00.001-07:00

I'm pretty depressed today.

Got this letter in the mail with big bold letters saying YOUR CABLE SERVICE IS CHANGING TO DIGITAL TV

And it goes on to say how my cable provider, Shaw, is basically taking away my analog TV service. I have no choice but to switch to digital unless I only want "basic cable".

Basically, "DIGITAL TV" is a digital box that Shaw forces people to use. This box plugs the "analog hole", making it impossible to tape TV shows with a VCR..... or in my case, my Neuros Recorder II+.

I love my Neuros Recorder II+ ever since I got it in Nov. 2007. It records in .MP4 simple profile format which is compatible with my PSP, giving it a lot of functionality for me. Not only do the files play on PSP, but also my Play-Yan Micro (Game Boy Micro, DS Lite) and my current fave handheld, my HTC Legend phone. I tape TV shows all the time for watching on my handhelds when I'm away & bored.

And it looks like that's coming to an end. Shaw sucks. I'm really pissed off about this because there's NO reason for them to remove features from "cable" TV. The truth is that the cable signal I'm getting, the channels are ALREADY broadcasting those in digital. They're just using the mandated switch from analog to digital as a cover to force people into the plans Shaw wants them to have.

Looks like I need to learn up on torrents or something.

later
don

3DS stacked on DS Lite glitch

2011-08-09T12:11:00.000-07:00

Last night I came across a weird thing with my 3DS.

I had my 3DS closed, in sleep mode (I was playing Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D 'natch) and I stacked it on top of my completely turned-off DS Lite, similar to this pic (not my hand BTW):

When... while closed, the 3DS came out of sleep mode! I could see the screens lit up & the RE:M3D music was playing! Very weird.

After doing a bit of research, I came across a bunch of Youtube videos showing the same thing. Here's one of them:

Basically, I guess it's the magnets in the DS Lites' speakers that affect the 3DS? Very weird. I flipped the DS Lite over to see if the bottom side would do the same thing & it wouldn't. I also tried putting the magnetic clasp of my DS Lite/3DS case under the 3DS & couldn't replicate it either. I guess the DS Lite speaker magnets happen to be just exactly placed to cause this weird phenomenon. I had no idea that the DS Lite could wake the 3DS out of sleep mode. I don't want to mess with it too much 'cause I don't know how it will affect the long-term health of my 3DS....

later
don

FYI: log in to Nintendo eShop before August 12, 2011

2011-08-04T15:27:00.001-07:00

Ok, so we know about Nintendo's Ambassador program where they will reward ~~early adopters~~ "Nintendo Ambassadors" who bought the 3DS at launch (or before August 12 at least) with a bunch of games; 10 games in September 2011, and another 10(?) by the end of 2011(?)..... yeah I'm still a little iffy on the whole thing at this point.

Nintendo says 3DS owners need to use their handheld to log into the eShop before August 12, 2011. But the Notifications message I got from Nintendo on my 3DS says:

These free games are available to Nintendo 3DS owners who connect the the Nintendo eShop at least once before 11:59 p.m. Eastern/8;59 p.m. Pacific time on Aug. 11, 2011.

Now, I may be reading more into it, but it seems like we need to log into the eShop *ON* August 11, not just before then. Like, that specific day. I've been logging in a lot lately, and I haven't gotten any kind of acknowledgment that I've been enrolled in the "Ambassador program". Maybe on August 12, 2011 they will send out a notification.

UPDATE: I just checked the eShop late tonight and what do you know-- a eShop News update that says I'm an Ambassador:

So I guess I'm enrolled now...

But maybe they only count the 3DS's that log on specifically on August 11. That seems stupid, I hope that there isn't too much traffic that day. Also, it's important to note that while the deadline is 11:59pm Eastern time, that's 8:59pm--before 9:00pm-- Pacific time. So I have even less time.

Yeah, you better believe I will NOT forget to log in that day. But I am wary of online registrations; I've been burned pretty badly by Sony in the past... the last time they never sent me the free movie they said they would. We'll see how this Nintendo one works out, but it seems very rushed. I hope they have their bases covered.

And finally, it's a given that this is only available to people who have access to wi-fi. Some places have lots of free wi-fi available to them, but some don't. I myself only got wi-fi in late 2009 (now I wonder how I ever lived without it)... I dunno, I guess wi-fi is easily available enough nowadays, even McDonalds has it.... but I don't think I would trust a set of one-time downloads to McDonald's wi-fi.

later
don

Playstation Vita coming in 2012

2011-08-04T14:41:00.000-07:00

Ok, now THIS is the Sony I remember. Despite everyone assuming that the PS Vita will be out "here" (North America) in late October 2011, Sony's pushed back their date to 2012. I was skeptical of a release this year from the get-go. I can usually tell when Sony is BSing-- because most of what they say is BS-- and when they kinda mumbled that during E3, I filed that under the "yeah right" category. But I was still hopeful. Oh well.

This is kinda good for people who were on the fence about getting a 3DS. I think the threat of PS Vita's arrival in 2011 caused Nintendo to jump the gun a bit on that massive price drop. Now that Sony's backing away from their overly-aggressive launch window, Nintendo's probably a bit pissed.

If Sony & Nintendo's handhelds last another generation I think we'll see more staggered release dates. I think both companies would love to see new iterations in the middle of each others current handheld lifespans, rather than both starting at the same time.

later
don

Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D

2011-08-03T12:29:00.000-07:00

I bought Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D last Sunday.... it was on sale at Future Shop for $29.99, and of course there had to be some SNAFU of some sort, right? It just wouldn't be Future Shop if it was easy. I go in there early, 'cause I had to go out to lunch-- so I didn't have a lot of time-- and see 1 copy on the shelf, no label, grab it & just when I'm about to hand over my payment the cashier says it's like $44-something (with tax) .... wait, what?? I told them I thought it was on sale for $29.99, I saw it online somewhere but I couldn't remember where.... was I mistaken? Was it some other store? Best Buy? Toys 'R Us? Walmart?? The Future Shop people had no clue (shocking, I know) so I canceled my purchase.

Later I get back home & check the Future Shop website. If you see the listing, the Future Shop site only calls it "Resident Evil" but judging by the box art it's clearly Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D. And there are no other Resident Evil games for the 3DS right now. So I go BACK to that damn Future Shop, tell the guy I saw earlier that day about the site listing, he checks it, then he checks the item number--they match-- then, he had to do some sort of "online pricematch" to give it to me for the $29.99 sale price. Sheesh.

Anyway, I've been playing it like crazy the past couple days. In some ways it's sorta like Steel Diver & much of the 3DS launch titles: polished, but light on content. It looks REALLY GOOD. The sound is also great, the production values in general are really impressive. This game shows the power of the 3DS, this is slightly better than what I've seen on the PSP. Aside from a few minor graphical hiccups, it looks really close to Resident Evil 5 on the consoles. It's gorgeous.

Aside from the non-erasable save data debacle the game set off, a lot of reviews complain about the light content & how this is a minigame mode from past Resident Evil games. There are 5 levels each with 3-5 maps to play... but a lot of the maps are reused in different levels. And the game makes use of one of my much-hated gameplay mechanics: time limits. But like one of my fave PSP games, Chili Con Carnage, I think the time limits here are important to this style of arcadey gameplay. Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D reminds me a lot of Chili Con Carnage: they are both "kill as many enemies & rack up as many combos as possible within the time limit" games. But the limitations of these kinds of games is they have fairly shallow game content. Not hours & hours of exploration & something new around every corner. Still, the bottom line is, these games are fun. That's another thing a lot of the reviews also say... despite giving the game negative scores, they almost always say it's FUN.

And hell yeah is Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D fun. I am having a blast with it. It looks super pretty & sounds great. It's a very just load it up & have a few minutes of intense zombie-killing action type of game. Not much more than that.

But I keep coming back to it, even though you're playing for minutes at a time, I can sink a few hours into it.... unfortunately, this game is reminding me of one of the 3DS' biggest weaknesses: the battery life. I'm constantly running out of juice on this thing during marathon playing sessions... hell, I get about the same or less play time than with the PSP. Maybe a bit less.

Having a second screen for the item/weapon inventory is really helpful, and they streamlined it a lot more than what it was for Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition. So it's a much faster-paced game than that one, it takes the classic basic Resident Evil ~~clunky~~ control scheme and makes it faster than it's ever been before. For the most part it works well.

One of the surprising disappointments is the included demo of Resident Evil: Revelations. A lot of people are passing on this game in favour of that one. But honestly, after playing the demo..... I thought it looked terrible. The graphics were really bad, the interface with the huge Y button on the doors was bad & you have to hold down B & use the circle pad just to run?? I know this is just a demo so maybe the final game will look much more polished, but man, aside from a few really nice looking effects like light shining through a broken window, Resident Evil: Revelations looks AWFUL. Take a look at the trailer if you need a point of reference, I think the graphics look the same as that. Even though The Mercenaries takes a lot of its look from Resident Evil 5 (& RE4)

Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D may not be worth the full $39.99 MSRP, but for $20.00 I'd say it's worth it. The $29.99 I paid for it is worth it depending on how desperate you are for a fast-paced arcadey shooter on the 3DS, which I was *very* desperate for.

later
don

Playstation Vita - do I want?

2011-08-02T15:44:00.000-07:00

I've been fairly obsessed with the Nintendo 3DS lately, but the Playstation Vita is in the back of my mind... the PSP is my all-time fave gaming/multimedia handheld after all....

But I have to admit, I'm not super SUPER excited over it the way other bloggers & posters seem to be. Sony did say that it was coming this year, and according to 3rd party leaks it may have a UK release date of October 28, 2011?

I've been kind of skeptical that the PS Vita would be out in 2011, but maybe it could happen... so that's got me perked up, that it's within reach this year.

Another thing I can't understand the excitement over is that everyone assumes that it will be super powerful & do everything. These were the EXACT SAME assumptions fans made before the PSP came out, but 2005 was so 100 years ago (give or take 94) Nobody who was around back when the PSP launched is even ALIVE nowadays, right??

Ok, there will be a PS Vita SKU with 3G connectivity. I think they all have wireless B/G/N(?) and there's a capacitive touch screen-- good that it's capacitive-- and touch panel on the back, motion sensors (like the 3DS) and GPS(?)

But we don't know the media playback formats, nor do we know anything about what kind of "apps" there will be. This thing isn't running Android where you can mod it like crazy, nor is it an Apple iOS device with a huge selection already.

So why are people just assuming that it's going to be this multimedia monster when there's no solid official indication to back it up yet?

Then there's the game: well, everyone's excited for an Uncharted game, then there's that Little Deviants where you pinch the front/back touchpads & such, and a few other portable versions of third-party franchises vaguely announced (title only)

So why the excitement? Sure, if you're an Uncharted fan then I guess this is your portable year. But it's like Nintendo pinning all their hopes on Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D for the 3DS. It's ONE game, what ELSE is there?

I've made it no secret that I haven't been happy with Sony over the years. Sorry to come off as a hater... like I said, I *love* the PSP, and I'm really looking forward to its successor. I don't know, maybe it will blow away the 3DS. I can tell you I used my PSP(s) way more than my DS Lite (though I do love my DS Lite) because I value multimedia as much as portable gaming, and the PSP fit that niche very well. Maybe the PS Vita will.... but it's whole different ballgame now. This is the era of the Smartphones. They are for different customers but there's clearly a lot of overlap between the user base.

In 2005 the market was shocked to see Sony enter the handheld gaming field with a big splash. In 2011, we have 2 dinosaurs of the videogame industry pumping out slight iterations of past innovations, expecting to charge $40.00+ per cartridge game in a world where pocketable phones with huge processing power can load games on their internal storage that might cost from $0.00 to say, $8.00 or so per game. Aside from the quality and physical buttons argument, the portable gaming industry has changed.

Even though the PS Vita feels like a last kick at the can, I'm still anxious to learn more about it. I'm sure I can see it in my collection, but right now I can't see it being my go-to device the way the PSP was.

later
don

3DS screen scratches avoidence fix

2011-08-01T17:45:00.000-07:00

I posted before about the 3DS screen scratch problem. It's starting to bug me a bit. I recently returned from a trip where I had my 3DS in a backpack so I guess stuff might have been slightly pressing the 2 clamshell sides together, because I noticed that line when I pulled it out.

So I saw this vid about how to raise the 3DS top screen enough so that it doesn't come into contact with the bottom one. There are only 2 little rubber bumpers that prevent that when the 3DS is closed, and they aren't high enough in a lot of 3DS's (including mine)

This guy pulled the rubber bumpers out, put double-sided foam tape that's for the Wii sensor bar under them then put them back in, raising the bumper profile enough.

[The 3DS Line Fix - YouTube vid]

This fix doesn't really do much if you've already got scratches but it can prevent them from getting worse.

I just did this mod and it seems to work. Ironically, after having it hang around taking up space for like 3 years, I put my Wii box in the recycling bin last year... so I didn't have my Wii sensor double-sided tape. Luckily, a friend still had their Wii box-- with the unused/un-needed tape inside-- so I was able to do it.

The 3DS seems to go into sleep mode ok when it's closed. Only problem is that I think I created some scratches around the left bumper while removing/reinserting it. Man, even when I'm trying to avoid scratches, I create scratches.... can I ever get a break?? At least they aren't on the screen but still....

I had a chance to see a recently bought 3DS, and I noticed that its rubber bumpers were visably higher than mine, so I guess Nintendo fixed the issue... which is such a stupid & simple oversight that NEVER should've made it to the public units in the first place.

UPDATE: Below are the bumpers from a recently bought 3DS:

They are definitely 1-2 mm higher than my original ones. Mine were more flush with the edge of the top panel, barely extending over it at all.

I could've sent my unit to Nintendo, but I know first-hand from my warranty replaced PSP-2001 that what these companies do is send you someone else's fixed unit that was previously sent in for repairs. So it's a gamble whether you're trading in one problem for another.

later
don

3DS price drop reactions

2011-07-31T18:10:00.000-07:00

So it looks like the 3DS will be MSRP $169.99 on August 12, 2011. Still hasn't been confirmed for Canada, I think it will happen here also, but not sure if it will be that exact same day...

Anyway, I'm sure a lot of early adopters who paid $249.99 (+tax?) are anywhere from a bit choked to outright pissed off. I've read a few message board posters swearing off Nintendo completely.

Me, I'm.... well, I'm not outraged exactly, not even angry personally. I feel a little bit choked sorta, but honestly... I knew what I signed up for when I decided to become an early adopter. Prices for tech only drop over time, they rarely increase. So no matter what piece of tech you buy; that new 3D LED TV, laptop or handheld gaming device, the price will probably only go down given enough time.

Now of course 4 months isn't a lot of time for a $80.00 price drop-- people predicted a price cut, but come on, NOBODY saw THAT MUCH of a price drop coming. It would suck if you bought a 3DS just before July 12, 2011 (because that would be just past most stores 30 day price protection guarantee)... I could see someone getting choked about that. But then again, there are people who bought DS's the day before the DS Lite was announced. Happens.

What I *DON'T* get in all this, is the huge number of postings about how people who bought the 3DS at launch price of $250.00 need their "head examined" or basically that they did something that was OFFENSIVE. People seem to be ANGRY AT the people who paid full launch MSRP for the 3DS. I don't get it. Why?

I could see if it was a reply to those early adopters who are angry about the price drop, but no, these hostile threads aren't any reaction to griping by early adopters.

Is it because they feel that those people somehow encourage Nintendo to keep its price point at $250.00? That doesn't make sense, but I can't think of why people would be so HOSTILE towards early adopters. I could understand a "Haha, suckers!" attitude, though I think that's simply juvenile to the point that it's meaningless. but why hostility? Like it's a personal attack on those who didn't buy early..... I dunno.

Me, I'm ok with having bought at launch (not like I can go back in time....) I've had problems like the screen issue and of course the price. Sure I'd rather not have those problems. It's tough to be the early adopter who gets to be the guinea pig for all the technical problems of a system. The "reward" is we get to have the system right away & can see it grow from the ground up (if it does)... but really, for me, it's about a lack of willpower & being very easily seduced by the shiny-shiny. That's why I'm a handheld addict.

later
don

3DS price drop to $169.99?

2011-07-28T13:35:00.000-07:00

Wow! Today is the first day of the Walmart price rollback, and Future Shop & Best Buy also have the 3DS on sale for about the same price.

But Destructoid is reporting that Nintendo plans to reduce the 3DS price to $169.99 on August 12, 2011! Holy cow, if that's true, that's a fairly steep price drop. And it's not confirmed for Canada yet... but it BETTER be, know what I'm sayin'....

For early adopters (like me) who paid $250.00, Nintendo is offering a bundle of download eShop games. from the Destructoid article:

So they're going to give everybody who bought a 3DS prior to this point the opportunity to download a collection of 10 NES games for free before they hit the eShop. They'll also be giving out ten Game Boy Advance titles, including Yoshi’s Island: Super Mario Advance 3, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Metroid Fusion, WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$ and Mario vs. Donkey Kong, before the end of the year. These GBA games are currently expected to be exclusive to early adopters or, as Nintendo calls them, "Ambassadors."

All things considered, if I had a choice I'd probably pick the lower price rather than the bundle games. But at least Nintendo is giving us early adopters something. And a lot of those games seem good. Compare that to Sony and their horrible treatment of PSPgo early adopters-- hell, PSPgo buyers in general-- and at least Nintendo shows some customer support.

It will be interesting to see if this price cut is really happening, the gamble is that August 12 is well after the $199 sale price period of Walmart/Best Buy/ Future Shop. but at least in the case of Best Buy & Future Shop, they offer 30 day price protection. So buyers could get it now and get the price difference if the price drops in August.

I'm glad that Nintendo is responding to the lukewarm reception of the 3DS, but gotta wonder if the system is in trouble. This does remind me a lot of the PSPgo fiasco, but accelerated.

However, a bold move like this by Nintendo might give the 3DS enough of a boost to weather the slow period until some big games come out to keep it afloat. We'll see.

later
don

3DS on sale for $198?

2011-07-22T12:00:00.000-07:00

So I've heard from RFD that Walmart in Canada will be having a temporary price "roll-back" on the 3DS to $198.?? from July 28-August 4, 2011.

[UPDATE]: Just heard that Future Shop & Best Buy will have the 3DS for $200 until July 31/2011.... I'm guessing this is to match the Walmart "sale"?

Not sure if this is true, but if interested, it certainly wouldn't hurt to check it out.

Some people speculate that this is the lead wave of a general price drop for the console. All I can say is, I've seen Walmart do temporary price drops like this on the PSP over the years, knocking around $50.00 off from MSRP from late-2007-2010. And for the most part, they were not indicative of official MSRP changes issued by Sony. They were mostly blips, or just one-off sale prices. If this price drop is even true, I'm not sure if it indicates that the 3DS will officially drop in price over the next year. Maybe?

Anyway, if you're looking for a 3DS: Walmart Canada. July 28-August 4, 2011. $198.

later
don

More 3DS game delays & cancellations

2011-07-19T22:33:00.000-07:00

Man... reading the 3DS news lately is depressing. Crush 3D is delayed 'til Feb 2012 "because the 3DS adoption rate isn't high enough yet", I'm not all that into it, but Mega Man 3 is canceled... there are probably even more 3DS games that have been canceled recently--on top of those other canceled games I mentioned that I *am* (was?) looking forward to. I loved Crush on the PSP, not sure if I will pick up Crush 3D, unless it had all-new content... still, I'd really like to see it come out.

Third- party developers jumping off the 3DS like crazy. I hate to be pessimistic, but this feels like the PSP decline in FAST-FORWARD. By about 2006-2007, developers started to abandon the PSP, marking a slow decline from 2008-onward.

But like I keep saying, the handheld market right now is not what it was back then. Some developers felt really burned by the PSP-- it started roaring out of the gate but Sony didn't support it properly so software support slumped. This time 'round, they aren't waiting... they seem ready to jump ship, if they were even "fully onboard" to begin with.

Console development (PS3/Xbox 360) may be seen as more profitable & "safer" than sinking resources into developing for the 3DS... or maybe devs are looking at smartphones as a target for the handheld game market? It still feels like 2 different markets, I don't see the Ubisofts, THQs, Majesco's, etc. developing games for smartphones... maybe they are but I don't know about them. Seems like devs that are tailored specifically to phone games are the ones creating the big name ones.

It's still a bit early to tell if the games will come... and frankly, what are people like me-- who've already bought a 3DS-- gonna do if no games come out in the next 12 months? Ignore their 3DS console some more?

That's what's really disturbing me... sure, launches are usually considered "weak" but the launch was over 3 months ago. I go to Walmart & see maybe 2 new 3DS games that have come out since then.

I try to scour the news sources for any info on *UPCOMING* 3DS games, and yes there are mentions of a few like Driver 3D (I really enjoyed Driver 76 on my PSPgo), and an Ace Combat game. But aside from Starfox 64 3D, there just doesn't seem to be much that has a firm release date.

Maybe I'm expecting too much at this point? Just doesn't feel like the 3DS is picking up any steam, only losing it.

later
don

Monster Hunter Tri

2011-07-08T21:57:00.000-07:00

I bought Monster Hunter Tri (Wii) from The Source last week, for $9.98... sweet clearance price. Been playing it tons.

I've had Monster Hunter Freedom (PSP) for awhile, and enjoyed playing that last year. So far I'm finding Monster Hunter Tri to be largely a big-screen console version of the PSP game... which is not necessarily a bad thing. The big addition is underwater monster-hunting, and it works fairly well-- very similar to the underwater sequences of Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow or Super Mario Galaxy.

The graphics are a little bit better than the PSP, and while I busted out my seldom-used Intec ~~Classic~~ Retro Controller to try it out... I actually like using the Wii remote/Nunchuk combo! Still, just having the 2nd analogue stick of a Classic Controller to control the camera takes out some of the frustration of the PSP version.

One problem with Monster Hunter Tri is that it uses pretty much the exact same text box/font style as the PSP version, and it's way too small on the big screen. On the PSP it was ok, but on the TV, it should have been formatted better. Plus Capcom seems to want to have a bit more story content in the Wii game so characters talk A LOT. There is SO MUCH FREAKING READING in Monster Hunter Tri. Of course, no voice work other than a few grunts.

And true to the Monster Hunter franchise, the difficulty ramps up pretty quick. There's a lot to manage in this RPG, and it is a slow-paced game.

I'm not sure there's a lot to significantly differentiate it from the PSP games, but if you like the Monster Hunter games, this is a pretty much a sure bet. I'm surprised how closely it sticks to the formula.

later
don

Creative D100 Bluetooth speakers

2011-07-07T22:01:00.000-07:00

I picked up the Creative D100 Bluetooth speakers today at Staples for $39.99... it was also that price during a Dell.ca sale a couple months back... I wasn't ready to part with the $$$ back then but when I heard about it being on sale at Staples, I couldn't resist again and took a bite.

CNET has a video overview of it:

The front has the appearance of one "uni-speaker" and in the center is the Bluetooth button, a light (blue when connected, green when not connected) and 2 buttons to control volume.

A closeup of the buttons (sorry for blurry picture)

The back has a hole that could be used as a handle maybe (if you have small hands)... I think it's for the sound quality? There's also an AUX port for wired audio in, but you *can't* increase the volume for that on the speakers, you can only do it from the source device. Also AC adapter port and ON/OFF switch.

No, I didn't peel the plastic off the back yet... yes, I'm one of THOSE types of people.... my Neuros Recorder II+ still has the plastic on it, 3 years later.....

On the bottom there's a panel for 4 AA batteries. The speaker looks like it would be really light & cheap feeling, but it has a surprising sense of weight to it; it's not too heavy, but won't easily tip forward or anything. There are also 4 rubber feet on the bottom for grip.

The sound quality is very good. My favourite earbuds are the Creative EP-610s, so I knew that the sound would be good. The speakers are a nice compact size, not overly small but still easy to lug around especially when using battery power.

I paired it with all 3 of my bluetooth devices: HTC Legend, PSPgo, and Toshiba NB-205 netbook. Initial pairing was easy. The BIG problem is switching between the devices. The manual says that you hold down the CONNECT button for 1 second, the light is supposed to blink then go solid blue, and then you can reconnect to another previously paired device. However, I can NOT get it to blink & go solid blue, thus, it WILL NOT reconnect..... it's very annoying.

I plan to use it mostly with my HTC Legend, so I will try to keep the multiple device use to a minimum. BUT AGAIN... when I disconnect from my HTC Legend and come back to it later, I need to manually go into my BLUETOOTH SETTINGS on my phone, and hit CONNECT. Both of my other Bluetooth headphones connect AUTOMATICALLY with my HTC Legend when I turn on the Bluetooth. So it's not as smooth a process.

UPDATE... after a day of using it, I ended up resetting it to factory default & pairing all my devices with it again. And now it does seem to switch between devices as advertised... just have to give it about 20 seconds to connect. That's one of the problems with Bluetooth-- depite being a "standard", every system seems to have its own quirks: some you have to turn on one first, then the other device-- or vice-versa. Just a matter of understanding the Creative D100's idiosyncrasies...

Pros:

sound quality is good if a little bass-heavy.
Battery life is rated at 25 hours(?) for 4 x AA. If true, that's impressive.
Small & portable though not too small.
Easy to pair devices (if not as easy to switch between them)

Cons:

Power switch is on the back. Would have been easier to access on the front as all the other buttons are there, especially if you have this placed on a recessed shelf.
Front is just fabric "speaker cover material" which feels like it could puncture easily.
No low battery meter.
Casing is a rough matte finish-which is good- but somehow, it STILL manages to be a massive fingerprint magnet! How does that work?

The cons are fairly minor ones, with the power switch placement being my biggest gripe. Also, it could use a proper handle, that would have been nice. But so far this is a pretty sweet Bluetooth speaker if one is looking for that sort of thing.

later
don

Tetris Party Live

2011-07-05T00:56:00.000-07:00

I was going back & forth over which version of Tetris Party to buy for my 3DS:

Tetris Party Deluxe, which is a cartridge that has more game modes, can be playable on my 3DS *or* my DS Lite... but costs $24.99(!) at Best Buy...

Tetris Party Live, which only has the basic Tetris game mode and online multiplayer (which I will probably never use), is downloadable & only playable on my 3DS... but costs $4.99.

Kinda easy to decide when you put it that way.

I figured if I somehow made a horrible mistake and wanted the version other than the one I first bought, I'd be out a bit over $5 bucks, but if I'd bought the cartridge first & realized I only wanted the basic game... that's $28 bucks (with tax) I'd have wasted.

So I've been playing Tetris Party Live for the last couple days. There are actually 2 modes in the basic single player: endless, and "clear 150 lines".

The problem is that I seem to TOTALLY SUCK at Tetris. I've been trying the 150 lines, but by the time I get to 70-80 lines, it simply gets too hard for me to get past. So every game I play ends around the 10 minute mark.

Compare that to Lumines/Lumines II, and while they get very difficult, the difficulty ebbs & flows, so there's a bit of a respite to the relentlessness of the pacing. And I can usually play a 30 minute session of Lumines. But Tetris Party Live, it just speeds up & up until you die (which in my case is very quick)

It's very annoying. Maybe I'll get better, but it just seems a bit, I dunno, harsh with the difficulty ramping up. I don't seem to make any improvement no matter how many games I play. They *ALL* end in about 10 minutes.

And the game generally is very plain. There is a little bit of customization with background & music, but overall it's not a great looking game. Plus, why does it not make use of both screens to play? The top screen is totally wasted, and you can't even choose to display the gameplay on the top rather than on the bottom. The top screen displays the computer when you're playing against it, but it would've been nice if it could've been used better for single player.

Consider yourself lucky, you Lumines PSP players who may've eyed Tetris with envy.... (though Tetris is available on the PS Store so if you were actually envious, you could just buy & download that...) even though Lumines could be considered a "Tetris rip-off", it's still has fairly well-balanced gameplay & great production values to give good gaming sessions, rather than the unrelenting chews-you-up+spits-you-out difficulty of Tetris Party Live.

later
don

Zenonia

2011-06-30T23:47:00.000-07:00

So I've been playing tons of Zenonia the last few days. I bought it through the Nintendo eShop (DSiWare), downloaded it onto my 3DS.

It was $7.99 + tax, coming to $8.95 total. What's annoying about Nintendo's new eShop is that money can only be put into your virtual wallet in $5.00 increments. So there will probably always be some leftover amount that you can't spend.

I actually have Zenonia (free) on my HTC Legend, but I wanted to play it on a device with physical controls. It's available for both DSiWare and PSP download, but I've heard that it was badly ported to PSP-- that it's horribly laggy (search "Zenonia PSP" on YouTube for more info) but I've also heard that they might have put a fixed copy on the PS Store... still I thought the DSiWare version might be a safer bet, and ironically, using the 3DS allows the analogue nub to be used because I think movement controls are mapped only to the D-pad on the PSP. Since the 3DS automatically allows the analogue nub to do the same thing as the D-pad, Zenonia can be played using it. But it feels made for a D-pad (even though it was originally made for a virtual D-pad) so playing with the nub doesn't always feel right.

And I do think movement is slower even on the DS version of Zenonia, so maybe because it's a port, it will never be as good as the original?

Anyway, the gameplay is an action RPG with a charming Game Boy Advance artstyle. There's a lot of content, but I've had to do a whole bunch of grinding just trying to level up my character so I can progress to the next mission. Also, there's a lot of item management; it's easy to exceed weight carrying ability, and you just start slogging when you're overweight. Then there's weapons/armour losing durability points & breaking (so you need to repair them) and combining items... but there are little/no tutorials on a lot of this stuff so you either have to be really experienced with RPGs (that's not me) or you're just guessing....

I've already sunk a lot of hours into this game, though like I said, a lot of that comes from grinding. But the look & style of Zenonia make it stand out in the lower price-point range, even though the story seems pretty nonsensical.

later
don

Xbox still not interested in handhelds

2011-06-27T09:32:00.000-07:00

Sigh... this story from Engadget is just another reconfirmation that Microsoft's gaming division-- namely Xbox-- is not anywhere near close to being interested in developing a handheld gaming console.

He calls the market a "red ocean", which means there's lots of blood in the water due to the heavy competition, and presumably not enough financial rewards to make it worth swimming in that "ocean"....

The Xbox was a huge drain on Microsoft's resources... I've heard that they lost money on every original Xbox console they sold. I know that they pumped over $1 billion into Xbox during the first generation to get the name/console out there, companies developing games for it, etc. But with Sony & Nintendo already far better positioned at that time in 2000 when they were just entering the market, they knew they had to pour dumptrucks of money into it to have a chance... and I guess it paid off because they are undoubtedly a major player in the video game industry.

The thinking is that after all that work, they would have to do it ALL OVER AGAIN if they wanted a chance at similar success in the handheld gaming venue. There's no question that it is a very complex & quickly-changing market. Sony had to basically do with the PSP what Microsoft did with Xbox. But right now, the market is very different than what it was back in 2005. I'm not even sure the big boys, Sony & Nintendo, have a very good grasp of what's going on with it. Portable gaming is being done more and more on iPhone & smartphones, and they are all downloadable, have tiny price points (free-to-like $7.99 or something) compared to the huge MSRP of retail handheld games.

I know everyone's expecting the Playstation Vita will revolutionize handheld gaming, and will blow everyone else out of the water. Ahem... the same thing was said of the PSP during its first year of sales.... but with the price points of gaming being you can choose a PS Vita game for $50.00 or download a game on your phone for $5.00..... hard to argue which is the better value. Some gamers throw out the common retort that "$5.00 iPhone games are crap, I'd rather have [big Sony franchise game]" but that's beside the point.

I wish that Xbox would develop a handheld.... there was a long standing rumour that they would make one that played 1st gen Xbox games.... but Microsoft has made it clear that's not in the cards.

later
don

Lusting for Tetris

2011-06-24T17:02:00.000-07:00

Even though I'm playing the hell out of Steel Diver, I can barely contain my desire for Tetris Party Deluxe (DS).... I've been thinking about getting that game for awhile, and recently for some reason, I'm *really* wanting it. I know my local Best Buy has some copies for $24.99, which I believe is about $5.00 below the original MSRP. Not much of a price drop, I know, but it's Tetris, so I guess it doesn't really drop in price. I was reading about it online, apparently the original Tetris DS cartridge goes for high prices because it had a low print run.

Like I said, I really want Tetris Party Deluxe DS..... but I'm holding out for Canada Day, because Future Shop/Best Buy usually have sales on stat holidays where they'll have games for 10% off. Though lately, they've been pretty chinzy about it; offering just a select type of games for sale & all that. At the time of this writing, Canada Day is about 1 week away.... but man, I could really use some Tetris Party Deluxe DS right now, know what I'm sayin'.... I'm trying to appease my Tetris hunger with a GBA Tetris Worlds rom on my HTC Legend phone, but with the touchscreen D-pad, it just does not suffice.

And I know that a 3DS Tetris is on the way, maybe by late 2011... it's stupid for me to buy a DS version when there will be a 3D version coming. But I *really want* to play some proper Tetris right now.... can't explain it, just need it.

later
don

Steel Diver

2011-06-22T22:32:00.000-07:00

I've been playing Steel Diver for the 3DS the last few days.... bought it awhile back, but only got into it recently.

It's weird, when I first heard about it, I thought, "enh... this doesn't sound very good..." and the more I heard about it (2D design all stylus controls) the more convinced I was that this was not a game for me.

But then I saw some gameplay footage and read some reviews-- both positive and negative-- and even the negative reviews made me interested! the same thing happened with Super Monkey Ball 3D, the negative reviews actually made it sound better to me & helped convince me to buy that game.

Right now I have 4 3DS games: Pilot Wings Resort, Ridge Racer 3D, Super Monkey Ball 3D & Steel Diver. And aside from Ridge Racer 3D, the 3 other games are really fun, but light in gameplay content.

Steel Diver is one of the worst for content amount. There are only 7 levels in the main campaign mode, and each level imposes a time limit, meaning that *by design* it's meant to be raced through. Levels have to be completed in either 10 or 15 minutes, with the final level 20 minutes. Add it all up and by design, the game MUST be completed in 2 hours 20 minutes. That's horrendous gameplay value. Now, it also forces replays-- you have to complete the first 6 levels using all 3 subs (so play each level at least 3 times) to unlock level 7. But forcing replaying the same levels over & over (while in this case it is fun) is still a poor way of extending gameplay.

There are a couple of other modes: periscope mode, which is pretty fun but not very deep, a racing mode where you have to get through a course by a set time limit, and Steel Commander which is like the boardgame Battleship mixed with the periscope mode. It's a turn based game where you use a sub to hunt the opponents' supply fleet, while they try the same with yours. You each have fleets of ships which are mostly sitting ducks for the enemy sub, but they can drop depth charges which can damage the enemy sub (you have to guess the subs depth between 50m, 100m, 150m and hope it's right) Steel Commander is a fun mode, but a lot of it is watching unskippable cut scenes of your ships being cut to pieces, and you can't do anything about it.

The overall game pacing is slow... it's (intentionally) clunky to control the sub, and the movement is slow & sluggish. Which is ok if you go in knowing that. In stark contrast, the periscope mode at the end of each level is over way too quickly-- less than 30 seconds to take down as many ships as you can-- and while each mode is good on their own, put together like this, it's awkward to go from such a slow-pace to such a frantic one.

Some reviewers call this a sub sim... control-wise that's sorta true, but there are a lot of goofy arcadey elements that make it fun to me. With the 3-D effect, it looks like you're playing in an aquarium. While I'd like to see just a bit more in the graphics, it does look cool... like you're playing with a little toy submarine. And the voiceover work takes it all very serious, which also makes me chuckle. There's even a boss battle where you fight a giant sea creature, having to torpedo it until it's health bar depletes-- but it doesn't die at the end of the battle, it practically taps you on the back going, "Good game, catch you next time!" before swimming off. It's a very Japanese game, which I find to be quite amusing. Maybe it's just me.

So the various modes do add to the gameplay value of Steel Diver. I'm surprised how much this game which didn't look very interesting, has won me over. I wish there was at least 2x as many levels-- there should have been 15 or more (30?) levels.

Pilot Wings Resort, Super Monkey Ball 3D, & Steel Diver are well-crafted, solid games but they seem like they were rushed to make the 3DS release date. The big question is, is it better to have a solid game that's short, or an OK game that's long? I always pick quality over quantity, but I have to say I think that full retail games should have at least 5-6 hours of gameplay value.

I wouldn't say it's worth the full retail price, but I have to admit Steel Diver is different & fun. Watch some gameplay videos, especially make sure you can see the stylus in action, so you get a proper idea of what it's like to play.

later
don

3DS top screen gets scratched when closed

2011-06-20T20:35:00.000-07:00

[Above pic found on the web]

I've noticed that my 3DS gets a little line mark on the top screen, and it's obvious that it comes from the raised edge of the bottom screen, it lines up perfectly with it.

Clearly Nintendo didn't give enough space between the 2 panels, and when the 3DS is closed, if there's any slight pressure on the 3DS (like if it's in a form-fitting case) the panels press together leaving that mark.

So far I've been able to wipe it away mostly, and it is very faint. I don't think I can even notice it when the screen is lit. But this is one of those unnecessary annoyances that's a major design flaw yet Nintendo refuses to acknowledge it. This the 3DS version of the PSP dead pixel problem, PSP-2000/3000 UMD drive problem or the DS Lite hinge problem.

[3DS forum thread on the problem]

later
don

Nintendo 3DS update fixes Ridge Racer FW glitch

2011-06-16T19:59:00.000-07:00

I guess Nintendo wasn't kidding when they said a new 3DS system update that fixes the previous update would be available by "mid-June", as they released it June 15, 2011. I waited for the fix to update because I love Ridge Racer (though I have to admit my 3DS has been totally dominated by my playing Mario Kart DS on it for the last couple weeks)

I tried out the new browser, and it's... meh.... not that different from the Wii browser, as far as I can tell. Kinda clunky, I can't see myself using it much-- but I did check out this site on it...

The big goody is the free version of Excite Bike which is really fun. And there are a few game trailers available for download, not to mention the Green Lantern movie trailer. Haven't watched the movie trailer yet, I'm just glad that the game trailers are in 3D. Mario Kart (3D?) looks pretty good, I could see myself buying that and Luigi's Mansion 2, as well as the upcoming new Kirby DS game.

One of the things they mention about the new update is that it allows automatic firmware updates(???)..... hmmm. Sounds a bit scary, but I hope that there's at least some kind of OK button that needs to be pressed before applying it. Just look at how the last update screwed Ridge Racer 3DS... how can they credibly offer auto-updates if they messed up last time?

[Nintendo's info page on 3DS updates]

later
don

Engadget Huaqiangbei article

2011-06-15T16:57:00.000-07:00

Engadget posted a nice look into the gadget market Huaqiangbei, located in Shenzhen China. (check it out) It's a pretty amazing place for electronics & handheld addicts like me. I visited there 1.5 years ago, back in Dec 2009... and the Engadget article covers a lot of what my impression was of that place.

I think I mentioned in a previous post seeing a stack of memory stick pro duo cases on a desk with someone stuffing them with (presumably) fake flash memory chips. I always warn against buying memory stick pro duos off of eBay or anything that even looks like China; but seeing that in person seared an unforgettable visual image of my fears of fake memory sticks into my brain.

I didn't know anything about cellphones back when I was there, but I'm not sure if my knowledge now would be an advantage or just get me into more trouble....

One thing that is missing from the article is that Huaqiang bei is more than just that huge cellphone "mall"... there's lots of big areas with computers & of course gaming systems. And there are street-level storefronts that are totally legitimate, bright & upscale electronic affairs where you won't likely see killer deals but you'll be more assured that the product is genuine. And of course the Meizu store is very trendy cool.

Ohhhh... Stanley Cup Game 7 is starting. Go Canucks!

later
don

Playstation Vita memory cards

2011-06-14T13:35:00.001-07:00

Engadget's posted a pic of the Playstation Vita memory cards.... apparently they come in various flavours from 4GB up to 32GB....

As expected, they are proprietary and not even a previous version of memory stick. How can they be sure you'll be forced to buy a new one if there was a chance you'd have one already? And it's not like they could use some other format--let's say SD-- that is fairly inexpensive & very common... oh wait. They could. they just choose NOT to.

Actually, I suspect this is more than just making us buy a new chip. Maybe there's some sort of hard-wired security measures in the memory cards to allow for purchased downloaded games, but more important to Sony-- anti-firmware modding measures? I may be way off on this, though. Just my guess.

The question for me is whether it's worth it to buy a big memory card. Does Sony expect it to be filled mostly with PSN purchased content? Or will PS Vita have robust media (video) support?

later
don

Borrowing games from the library

2011-06-13T21:38:00.000-07:00

What a great source for Wii games... my local library branches have at least a few Wii gems that I've always been curious about. I can get up to 2 games for 7 days.

A few weeks ago I borrowed Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces. All I knew about it was that it's a flying game, and I love flying games. So I was a bit surprised to read on the back of the box that not only is it a flying game but a flying game developed by Project Aces, the dev studio that does the Ace Combat series of games-- including my 2 fave PSP ones, Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception & Ace Combat: Joint Assault. A definite borrow!

Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces is based on the Sky Crawlers anime, and the game is pretty much Ace Combat gameplay mechanics with the Sky Crawlers skin overlaid onto it. Should be an instant-win right? The problem is that in the anime universe of Sky Crawlers, it appears there are only propeller-based aircraft, no jet engines. The aircraft in this game move pretty slowly. The mission structure, from the mission briefings to the aircraft selection to the combat & even mission types is very much like what I've played in the PSP Ace Combat games.... I was actually amazed there was no "fly through the tunnel" mission like there usually is with those games... However, the missions in Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces are very short and become an awkward blend of Ace Combat style with story elements from the anime, which I hadn't seen before playing the game (I found the DVD at the library after, and borrowed it... it's meh...) and the default motion controls, while actually a not bad idea, don't work very well in actual use. The game overall is fairly short; I think I finished it in like 5 hours.

Right now I'm borrowing Donkey Kong Country Returns and GoldenEye 007. Donkey Kong Country Returns is a good-looking platformer that is very unforgiving. Normally I'm not a fan of stingy gameplay where you have to do everything exactly right or you get nothing, but I think developer Retro expects gamers to replay it over & over, memorizing the game in an attempt to get good replay value from it, extending playing time.

GoldenEye 007 was one I was very curious about. One of the annoying things about it is that there's a glitch where if you have a GameCube controller plugged in to your Wii, or like me, a Wavebird controller dongle... the Wii remote inexplicably stops working right at the save file page. I first played the game on someone elses' Wii and it worked fine. When I took it home & booted it up that's when I noticed. I had to look it up on the internet that you have to remove any GC controller (even though my Wavebird wasn't turned on) and GC memory cards to use the Wii remote + nunchuck. While it's nice that using a GC controller is an option, there are other Wii games that also have that option yet you can still use the Wii remote without unplugging the GC stuff. So it's clearly bad programming by developer Eurocom.

Other than that it's an ok first-person shooter but I'm finding it way too dark on the screen like House of the Dead: Overkill. Maybe it's my TV? I dunno, but I mowed through like a dozen guys that I had NO IDEA where I was or what environment I was in, all I could see was a sea of black.

Oh yeah, I also borrowed Tom Clancy's HAWX 2, because I'd seen very little info about the Wii version and it's a flying game. The controls are ok, but the game is very meh. Glad I discovered that, otherwise I might've risked $5.00-$10.00 if I came across it on sale. Same with Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces... just not worth owning in my opinion.

Yup... I'm really loving the library.

later
don

3DS firmware update freezes Ridge Racer 3D

2011-06-07T13:27:00.001-07:00

Nobody seems to be reporting this except a few aussie blogs, but Nintendo has warned that the latest 3DS update could cause issues with playing Ridge Racer 3D.

Here is the page from the Nintendo site:

Please use the list on the left to select the topic
that you would like more information about.

The content in this section contains general product information and common questions about the Nintendo 3DS that are not addressed in our Getting Started, How To, or Troubleshooting pages.

3D Information
Please use the list on the left to select a topic.

Parental Concerns
Please use the list on the left to select a topic.

Nintendo eShop
The Nintendo eShop is available through the current system update. Click here for information about peforming the system update.

Internet Browser
The Internet browser is available through the current system update. Click here for information about peforming the system update.

Nintendo 3DS HotSpot
Please use the list on the left to select a topic.

Transferring Games
The ability to transfer games is available through the current system update. Click here for information about peforming the system update.

System & Hardware
Please use the list on the left to select a topic.

Applications & Features
Please use the list on the left to select a topic.

Games and SD Cards
Please use the list on the left to select a topic.

System and Feature Updates
Please use the list on the left to select a topic.

Documents and Policies
Please use the list on the left to select a topic.

Making the Most of the Nintendo 3DS Experience

Description:

Following are some tips to help you maximize your enjoyment of the Nintendo 3DS system and the 3D feature.

Information:

View the screen straight on from directly in front of you. Hold the screen 10 to 14 inches (25-35 centimeters) from your eyes.
Adjust the angle of your line of vision by holding the system at different heights. Many players have found a "sweet spot" where viewing 3D images is most comfortable.
Each person is different, so find the distance and angle that are most comfortable for you.
The Nintendo 3DS system is equipped with a 3D depth slider that lets you select the level of 3D you enjoy the most. The 3D effect can be scaled back or even turned off completely, depending on your preference.
You should take a 15 minute break every 60 minutes of game play, every 30 minutes if viewing 3D images.
Nintendo 3DS is a safe product. Viewing 3D images does not pose any risk to your vision. However, children 6 and under should not use the 3D feature of the Nintendo 3DS system. Please see the Nintendo 3DS Operations Manual for instructions on setting up Parental Controls to restrict use of the 3D feature.

If you need additional informatoin, please call 1-800-255-3700. Representatives are available from 6 AM to 7 PM (PST), seven days a week.

Related Articles:
Nintendo 3DS Operations Manual

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Requirements to Use the Nintendo eShop

Answer:

You will need the following to use the Nintendo eShop:

An existing broadband Internet connection
To add funds to your virtual wallet, a credit card (VISA or MasterCard) or a Nintendo 3DS Prepaid Card
The latest Nintendo 3DS system update

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Can I Download Directly to an SD Card?

Answer:

No. You can only download to the system memory.

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Can I Send a Gift?

Answer:

No. There is no way to send a gift in the Nintendo eShop.

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Can I Use Wii Points / Nintendo DSi Points?

Answer:

No. Wii Points and Nintendo DSi Points cannot be used on the Nintendo eShop. They also cannot be transferred to the Nintendo eShop.

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Can I Block My Child From Making Purchases?

Answer:

Yes. Parental Controls can be set to restrict the use of credit cards, prepaid cards, and online purchasing in the Nintendo eShop. Click here for instructions.

Related Articles:
How to Setup Parental Controls
How to Reset Parental Controls
Forgot Parental Control PIN
What Can I Block With Parental Controls?

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Can I Transfer Unused Funds to Another System?

Answer:

No. All Nintendo eShop transactions are applied only to a single Nintendo 3DS system and are non-refundable and non-transferable.

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Nintendo 3DS Internet Browser Overview

Description:

The Nintendo 3DS Internet Browser lets you view web pages on the Internet using intuitive stylus controls.

Key Features:

Images from the Internet can be saved to an SD Card and viewed using the Nintendo 3DS Camera application.
Images saved to an SD Card or to the Nintendo 3DS system memory can be uploaded to blogs or other sites that allow the uploading of photos.
An Internet connection is required in order to view web pages.
The Nintendo 3DS Internet browser can be launched while playing Nintendo 3DS software by pressing the HOME button, then launching the browser from the HOME menu.

More Information
Click here for more detailed information on using the Nintendo 3DS Internet Browser.
Click here for troubleshooting related to the Nintendo 3DS Internet Browser.

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What File Types Are Supported by the Nintendo 3DS Internet Browser?

Answer:

The Nintendo 3DS Browser supports the following file types:

HTML
XHTML
CSS 1
CSS 2.1
CSS 3 (some functionality is unavailable)
DOM Levels 1-3
ECMAScript
XMLHttpRequest
Canvas element (some functionality is unavailable)

Plug-ins (such as Adobe Flash) are not supported.

For specific information, refer to the compatibility lists below:

Browser Engine
Netfront Browser
NX v1.0

Protocols
HTTP 1.0
HTTP 1.1
SSLv3
TLS 1.0

Web Standards
HTML 4.01
XHTML 1.1
CSS 1
CSS 2.1
CSS 3 (some functionality is unavailable)
DOM Levels 1-3
ECMAScript
XMLHttpRequest
Canvas Element (some functionality is unavailable)

Image Formats
MPO
GIF
JPEG
PNG
BMP
ICO (some files cannot be displayed)

Plug-Ins
Plug-ins (such as Adobe Flash) are not supported.

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Can I Download Upgrades to the Nintendo 3DS Internet Browser?

Answer:

No. The Nintendo 3DS Internet Browser does not support program downloads or applets of any type.

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Can I Restrict Nintendo 3DS Internet Browser Usage?

Answer:

Yes. Browser usage can be restricted in the following ways:

Proxy settings can be set up to block certain websites.
The Nintendo 3DS Parental Controls can be set to restrict all browser usage. This will make it impossible for anyone to use the browser without first entering the PIN number associated to the Parental Controls.

Related Articles:
How to Change Parental Controls
How to Set Up Proxy / Content Filters

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Can I Use the Nintendo 3DS Internet Browser to Upload Photos?

Answer:

Yes. Images saved to an SD Card or to the system memory can be uploaded to blogs or other sites that allow the uploading of photos.

Please note the following restrictions:

Video and audio files cannot be uploaded.
It may not be possible to upload photos taken with a digital camera or cell phone.
It may not be possible to upload photos that have been altered on a computer or other device.

Related Articles:
How to Upload Photos via the Nintendo 3DS Internet Browser

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Can I Watch Videos with the Nintendo 3DS Internet Browser?

Answer:

No. Content requiring plug-ins, such as video or music files, cannot be played or displayed.

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3DS HotSpot Overview

Description:

Nintendo 3DS HotSpots provide complimentary Wi-Fi access through the Nintendo 3DS. With HotSpots, you can access all the standard Wi-Fi features the system offers (Nintendo eShop, Internet browser, SpotPass, etc), as well as exclusive content available only from HotSpot locations.

Key Features:

Free and automatic connection for the Nintendo 3DS – no setup required.
Access to network-wide content, applications, and services
Access to exclusive content, demos, and streaming video via the Nintendo Zone Viewer application.
3DS HotSpots are available in over 25,000 locations.

More Information:
Click here for more detailed information about using the 3DS HotSpots.

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Where are 3DS HotSpots Located?

Answer:

There are over 25,000 3DS HotSpot locations. 3DS HotSpots are currently located at Best Buy, Starbucks, McDonalds, Barnes and Noble, and Simon Malls, with additional locations coming soon.

To find the HotSpot location nearest you, please use the following links:

AT&T Locations
Best Buy Locations
Simon Malls (Search 'Regional Mall')

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What Content is Available at 3DS HotSpots?

Answer:
All Nintendo 3DS applications and services that use an internet connection are available at 3DS HotSpots, as well as additional exclusive content. This includes, but is not limited to:

SpotPass content and notifications
Nintendo eShop access
Nintendo 3DS Internet Browser
Wi-Fi features for online-compatible games
Movie and game trailers, and music videos
The Nintendo Zone Viewer application

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3DS HotSpot Overview

Answer:

This varies depending on the content. Some items will remain only while the system is in range of the 3DS HotSpot, while others (like the Nintendo Zone Viewer) will remain on the system indefinitely.

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How does a 3DS HotSpot Differ From a Regular HotSpot?

Answer:

A regular HotSpot offers Wi-Fi access, but you will need to manually configure the online connection settings on the Nintendo 3DS to connect. With a 3DS HotSpot, the connection is automatic with no setup required.

Additionally, 3DS HotSpots offer exclusive, targeted content.

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What Languages is HotSpot Content Available In?

Answer:

Exclusive 3DS HotSpot content is currently available in English only.

Some of the features that can be accessed via 3DS HotSpots (the Nintendo 3DS Internet Browser, for example) may be available in additional languages, depending on the feature.

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Data Transfer Overview

Information:

To complete the data transfer you will need both your Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo DSi systems, the wireless data transfer application for the Nintendo DSi, and access to the Internet. If the existing account on the Nintendo DSi is cleared, or if you no longer have access to the Nintendo DSi, the transfer cannot be completed.

Nearly all content purchased in the Nintendo DSi Shop can now be transferred to your Nintendo 3DS.
You can also transfer photos, sounds and Internet settings from your Nintendo DSi.
The Data Transfer tool for the Nintendo DSi that is needed for this process is a free download from the Nintendo DSi Shop.

Related Articles:
What DSiWare Games Can Be Transferred to the Nintendo 3DS?
Do My Unused Nintendo DSi Points Transfer to My Nintendo 3DS as Cash?
What is Transferred During the Data Transfer Process?
How Many Games Can I Transfer From My Nintendo DSi to My Nintendo 3DS?

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What Is Transferred During the Data Transfer Process?

Answer:

During a data transfer the licenses for any of your previously purchased DSiWare titles are transferred from your Nintendo DSi to your Nintendo 3DS (unless the title is noted here). After the transfer is complete, you will be able to re-download those titles onto your Nintendo 3DS from the Nintendo eShop.

In addition to transferring your DSiWare, you will also be able to transfer any photos, sounds, and Internet settings saved from your Nintendo DSi.

Save data from your Nintendo DSi cannot be transferred.

Any Nintendo DSi Points remaining in your Nintendo DSi Shop account cannot be transferred.

Related Articles:
What DSiWare Games Can Be Transferred to the Nintendo 3DS?
Do My Unused Nintendo DSi Points Transfer to My Nintendo 3DS as Cash?

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Do My Unused Nintendo DSi Points Transfer to My Nintendo 3DS as Cash?

Answer:

No. The points will not be transferred over to the Nintendo 3DS. You can use any remaining points to purchase DSiWare from the DSi Shop, and then transfer that DSiWare to the Nintendo 3DS.

Related Articles:
What is Transferred During the Data Transfer Process?
What DSiWare Games Can Be Transferred to the Nintendo 3DS?

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What DSiWare Games Cannot be Transferred to the Nintendo 3DS?

The functionality to transfer DSiWare from a Nintendo DSi to a Nintendo 3DS is available through the current system update. Click here for information about peforming the system update. All DSiWare games currently available will be able to transfer with the following exceptions:

Asphalt IV
Earthworm Jim
Flipnote Studio*
Let's Golf
Nintendo DSi Browser
Oregon Trail
Real Soccer 2009
Real Soccer 2010
SUDOKU MASTER
SUDOKU SENSEI
Sudoku Student

*Flipnote Studio cannot be transferred to the Nintendo 3DS system. Nintendo will be developing a similar application for the Nintendo 3DS.

Related Articles:
What is Transferred During the Data Transfer Process?
Do My Unused Nintendo DSi Points Transfer to My Nintendo 3DS as Cash?

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How Many Games Can I Transfer From My Nintendo DSi to My Nintendo 3DS?

Answer:

There is no limit to the number of games you can transfer.

Related Articles:
What DSiWare Games Can Be Transferred to the Nintendo 3DS?
Do My Unused Nintendo DSi Points Transfer to My Nintendo 3DS as Cash?
What is Transferred During the Data Transfer Process?

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What Kind Of Data Do You Exchange Using StreetPass With Nintendo 3DS Sound?

Answer:

When exchanging StreetPass data for Nintendo 3DS Sound with another user the following data is shared:
"Personal Mii"
Music Information
Artist name
Song name
Album name
Release date
Play count

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After you have exchanged StreetPass data with someone, how long before you can exchange data with them again?

Answer:

Once StreetPass data is exchanged with another Nintendo 3DS system, future data exchanges with that same system will not take place for approximately eight hours.

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Can Mii Characters Be Sent to the Mii Channel on the Wii?

Answer:

No. Mii characters from the Nintendo 3DS cannot be sent to the Mii Channel.

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Can Mii Characters Be Sent to the Mii Channel on the Wii?

Answer:

No. Mii characters from the Nintendo 3DS cannot be sent to the Mii Channel.

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Suspending or Exiting Applications

Description:

Information using the suspend function during Nintendo 3DS games and applications to access the HOME Menu.

Important Note!

Note: DS and DSi games cannot be suspended

Note: The HOME Menu cannot be accessed while playing over the Internet.

Note: Do not remove Game Cards or SD Cards or turn the system off while an application is suspended as this could result in corrupted or lost data or other malfunctions.

Information:
A game or application can be suspended by pressing the HOME Button during use. While the game or application is suspended the following features can be accessed without exiting the game/application:
Game Notes
Notifications
Friend List
Camera Mode
Screen Brightness Settings
Depending on the game or application, there may also be a software manual available

Once suspended the following actions will also be available:

Tapping 'Resume' will return to the suspended game/application.
Tapping 'Close' will exit the application completely.
Tapping another game/application will close the suspended software and launch the selected title.

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What DSiWare Games Cannot be Transferred to the Nintendo 3DS?

The functionality to transfer DSiWare from a Nintendo DSi to a Nintendo 3DS is available through the current system update. Click here for information about peforming the system update. All DSiWare games currently available will be able to transfer with the following exceptions:

Asphalt IV
Earthworm Jim
Flipnote Studio*
Let's Golf
Nintendo DSi Browser
Oregon Trail
Real Soccer 2009
Real Soccer 2010
SUDOKU MASTER
SUDOKU SENSEI
Sudoku Student

*Flipnote Studio cannot be transferred to the Nintendo 3DS system. Nintendo will be developing a similar application for the Nintendo 3DS.

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Important Notice Concerning Ridge Racer 3D

Accompanying the system update available on June 6, it has been confirmed that under certain circumstances when making a selection before the race starts in "Grand Prix" in "Single Play" mode of the Ridge Racer 3D game, the screen sometimes freezes. If you do not install the system update at this time, the symptom will not occur.

We apologize for any inconvenience. We will have a system update in mid-June that should take care of this matter.

In Ridge Racer 3D, pressing the B Button to return from Race Selection or Machine Selection may cause the screen to freeze. If the screen does freeze, please press and hold the Power button and turn the system off then retry. There should be no impact to the save data.

Nintendo

Man... I really want the 3DS update... it adds the web browser but more important, there's a free game, Excite Bike! But I love playing Ridge Racer 3D so I have to wait. I hope they get this stupid update patched soon since Excite Bike is only free until July 7.

later
don

Wii 2 is Wii U

2011-06-07T12:27:00.000-07:00

So... the "Wii HD" or "Wii 2" has finally been revealed & named... Wii U.

Wii U? Like Wii University?? At this point, I don't even ask anymore. "Playstation Vita"? "Wii U"? Ok whatever, know what I'm saying? I guess they're just names.

I'm still trying to get up to speed on the details, but Engadget has a nice hands-on with the Wii U Controller, and Gamespot has a word-heavy but concise quick overview of the Wii U console. Not a lot of real info about the console at this time, looks like they will save that for the Tokyo Game Show.

The controller is very strange & interesting. It looks huge! Like a tablet but with traditional dual-stick controls. Isn't that what all of us who've had to make do with touchscreen d-pads always complained about-- lack of physical controls? But this is not the perfect solution to that problem as it may look.

The Wii U controller doesn't operate independently of the console. It doesn't have its own GPU and doesn't look like it has any onboard storage. Rather, it streams content from the console, and the touchscreen can display gaming while your main TV is occupied with showing Chuck or whatever. That's actually a nice feature for me; I like to play games during commercial breaks while watching TV so I'll switch back & forth. So something like this appeals to my ADD/short attention span & constant need to be fed interactive media...

But I'm not completely sold on it. It looks odd to have this huge tablet controller with basically a dualshock/Xbox controller crammed into it-- WITHOUT the curved, hand-fitting ergonomics of the Xbox controller S-- also, the analogue sticks are "slide pads" or analogue nubs, much like the 3DS/PSP. That's ok for a handheld gaming console but we kinda expect full analogue sticks on our home consoles, don't we? Even the NGP/PSVita looks to have full analogue sticks on it. And the touchscreen is a resistive one, complete with a DS-styled stylus that tucks into the back. I am not a fan of resistive touch screens, and I'm a bit disappointed with the touchscreen on the 3DS.

So the 2 analogue "sticks" and traditional control layout looks like it's meant to lure the "hardcore gamer" back to Nintendo... but will the awkwardness of holding a huge rectangle with analogue nubs really appeal to gamers used to using molded controllers like the Xbox controller? And it's so big that it looks rather child "unfriendly", unlike the Wii remote and nunchuck. But those controls are backwards-compatible... though I can't see most Wii U games being tailored for them. So who is this new Wii U controller really going to satisfy? Maybe my doubts are a failure of my imagination; when the Wii remote/nunchuck was first revealed I was like, "Huh??" but then I saw a lot of potential in them. Right now I'm not sure how the Wii U controller will really improve gameplay in a significant way.

But there's also that the expectations this time 'round are different. Like I said, I saw a huge potential in the motion controls of the Wii remote/nunchuck... but a lot of that potential *still* hasn't been realized. Since 2006 I've seen the balance board come & go, WiiSpeak fail miserably, the Wii Zapper & Wii Wheel make a small splash on the scene & sink like a blip on a lake.... no wonder I am a bit wary of yet ANOTHER Nintendo experiment tossed out into the world.

Timing is everything, and with the 3DS just out (yes, another Nintendo experiment whose long-term outlook is not looking good right now), Playstation Vita & Wii U coming, at this point I'd rather put my $$$ towards the new Playstation handheld. But Wii U might not come out until late 2012 so a lot of things could change by then.

later
don

Xperia Play brief hands on

2011-05-04T12:01:00.000-07:00

So I got a chance to try out the Sony Xperia Play phone last Thursday, the day it came out. I happened to be walking by a Sony Style store and remembered, "Hey, isn't the Xperia Play released in Canada today? (April 28)" so I went in and was looking over the dummy model on display when one of the sales guys asked if I wanted to play with an actual unit. Of course I would!

The phone is chubby, but not as bad as I thought... once I had it in my hands it seemed fairly compact.

There have been a bunch of reviews of the phone, most of the points have been covered. But a few things I noticed:

When the phone is slid out (extended) the hinge seems very secure. I tried to jiggle the top panel a little bit but other than the slide up/down there was NO looseness when it's fully extended.

HOWEVER.....

When the phone is in its compact phone form with the top panel covering the PS controls, the top panel *DOES* feel loose-- when I used the touchscreen and was scrolling and tapping through menus, I could feel the top panel pressing down every time I tapped. And I wasn't tapping hard.

So that is a major annoyance to me.

Another big problem - the analogue pad sliders. I tried out Star Battalion which is a spaceship flying game specifically to test the analogue touch pads. They don't seem all that responsive.... I guess what I find baffling is that Sony Ericsson made a huge deal about the Xperia Play having physical buttons-- then they go and put touchpad controls for the analogue nubs?? It was a SERIOUS MISTAKE to not use physical analogue nubs like the PSP/PSPgo.

The phone is a major fingerprint magnet, there was already a bunch of greasy prints all over it by the time I tried it out (ewww). And the plastic construction isn't the best-- though not the worst either.

The shoulder buttons-- called flippers-- have been talked about in other reviews, about how unresponsive they are. I did have some problems with them, they are very thin & recessed buttons. But I noticed with Star Battalion that I had to hold both flippers down for a second for it to register a barrel-roll command, and if I simply pressed both it wouldn't always register-- which may be what reviewers were complaining about.

The screen seemed nice like the PSP screen fidelity, but I suspect in natural light (also like the PSP) it will wash right out. Brightness is another huge issue.

There are a few games preloaded, then another few that look like they're on the phone but you have to either sign into a Google account or Rogers or something to actually play them. I think you need to download/activate them before they're playable.

The D-pad & face buttons seem solid & feel like PlayStation "quality". There wasn't much content loaded so I didn't get to try out the movie playback too much, I imagine that stuff is fairly standard.

The Android experience is pretty much there, so if you're familiar with the OS, you'll know what to expect.

One thing no big-name site will talk about with the Xperia Play is the possibility of using emulators on it. But I'd say that's the key reason to get this phone. I've groused so much about the annoyance of playing GBA games on a touchscreen so I'd love to be able to play my Game Boy Advance games using these PS buttons. Not to mention PS1 emulator games....

I wouldn't count on lots of optimized games coming specifically for this phone. If you like what's already on it (Bruce Lee game, Asphalt pretty cool) then great. But I still contend that there will be little/no PSP game ports for it.

Right now the phone is $100.00 with a 3 year contract-- that contract is pretty much $50.00-$60.00 a month. So you're looking at around $2000.00 + $100.00 for the phone over 3 years. Or it can be purchased outright for $550.00.

With its issues and the pricetag, I can't see it being worth it just to have a really great GBA emulator. If Sony Ericsson comes out with an updated version with improvements, that'd be worth looking forward to.

later
don

3DS titles dropping like flies

2011-05-04T11:45:00.000-07:00

I'm getting pretty choked by the growing list of canceled 3DS titles.

Almost 1 year ago, back at E3 2010, when a bunch of 3DS games were announced I posted "Right now I'm psyched for a new Ridge Racer, Resident Evil(!), Kororinpa, BloodRayne, Saints Row..."

Ridge Racer - came out at launch. It's great, but it's Ridge Racer.

Resident Evil - "The Mercenaries" game doesn't sound all that good, it sounds very shallow & light on content. And too early/not enough info on the other Resident Evil 3DS game to tell at this point.

Kororinpa, BloodRayne, and now Saints Row are all canceled?!? Sonnuva.

All anyone seems to be excited for is that bloody Zelda REMAKE game. One game, and I didn't play it 10 years ago, I'm not a Zelda fanboy so I don't know what all the fuss is about. What about the rest of us, isn't there anything for people who aren't into Zelda?

This is starting to piss me off.

later
don

Nintendo and their user training

2011-04-16T01:21:00.000-07:00

So it's almost 3 weeks in for my 3DS ownership.... and about the 3D..... since I first saw it (which was only when I got the system) I've liked it. I have not experienced eye-strain or tired eyes or any of those symptoms that many complain about from the 3D. In fact, the 3D for the most part is comfortable with the exception of one 3D picture I took where I did a close-up of my action figures and really played around with the adjustable 3D camera setting-- I shifted it all the way to the right I think-- way beyond what was recommended... anyway, for some reason when I first look at that one pic, it HURTS my eyes, it takes a few seconds for my eyes to adjust. That's the only picture that affects my eyes in that way.

BUT... what I'm finding very vexing about the 3D is the EXTREMELY NARROW viewing angle of it. I'd heard a lot about that so I was prepared, but it is *extremely* narrow: With full 3D on, once you're in the sweet spot... if you move your head only ONE INCH to either side, it destroys the 3D effect. There is no middle ground, either the 3D effect is perfect or double images.

So the 3DS demands that you play it completely rigid with no movement of your head or the console itself. It's a big demand on the player.

I think back about the Wii, and how the Wii remote makes demands of gamers and developers. Wii owners have to accept that aiming in first-person shooters isn't going to be as sharp/quick as using an analogue stick to control camera movement. The Wii controls in general are not as fast as a Xbox or PS3 type of controller.

Nintendo is really re-training owners to adapt to the specific limitations of their systems. And with the 3DS viewing angle, it really gets me down sometimes. THAT is what gets me tired out, not the 3D itself but that it has to be perfectly still to work at all.

Although all 3DS games have the limited viewing angle, some games are worse than others. Pilot Wings Resort looks awesome in 3D, but the viewing angle is noticeably worse than my other games Super Monkey Ball 3D and Ridge Racer 3D. I don't know why. It's honestly very frustrating.

My previous handheld systems have all had pretty good viewing angles, and I never really had to think about the micro-movements I made while playing them.

That kind of ease of play is gone with the 3DS, just as the ease of play that gamers used to using a dualshock or Controller S disappeared when handed a Wii remote. The limited 3D viewing angle really sets up a barrier to enjoyment of the system.

I think about the problems that new forms of control or user interface present; like touchscreens such as on the iDevices or my phone. Before getting my phone in Dec 2010 I had previous experience with resistive (ugh) touchscreens but not much with capacitive (awesome) ones. But I found learning to use/navigate my phone via the touchscreen to be a very smooth & intuitive experience. So I don't think that it's simply a new form of interface which is Nintendo's problem. The 3D is just more difficult.

The bottom line is that this form of no-glasses 3D is very "prototype-y". I don't know how to improve the 3D but it seems like it needs very badly to have an improved viewing angle. I'm sure Nintendo is working on their next iteration of the 3DS already... if there is a way to improve it I guess they will. If so, I imagine this current 3DS will end up as obsolete as the original DS.

later
don

Nintendo 3DS creaky Dpad

2011-04-06T15:38:00.000-07:00

So....my Nintendo 3DS D-pad is getting creaky.

At first touch it seems better than the DS Lite's D-pad: that one has a more of a mushy feel to it. Even the Game Boy Micro's D-pad is tighter. But the 3DS D-pad is lower set than the DS Lite, tighter and more clicky. It actually felt really good at first.

But now when I press right direction on it, it's getting squeaky. Much like how the PSP-1000/2000 and PSPgo have squeaky D-pads. It's too bad, I wonder why this is so common?

UPDATE: I noticed there was some white dust/dirt/schmuckus of some sort in between the edge of the upper right side of the Dpad... I pulled it out and the squeaking disappeared! So that seems to have been the problem. Odd.

Reviews seem to largely ignore the 3DS D-pad, and a lot of the launch titles surprisingly seem to favour the circle pad... it's like Nintendo doesn't want people to use the D-pad or something... but I've been using it a fair amount like for racing games like the mini-game kart mode in Super Monkey Ball 3D and Ridge Racer 3D, and I have to say, the low placement of it is cramping up my thumb a bit. it's the same complaint people make about the low analogue nub placement on the PSP... but with a D-pad I think it's worse. I think I may have preferred that Nintendo had switched the circle pad & D-pad placement.

In other news, I took some pics comparing the 3DS ~~analogue nub~~ circle pad to the various PSP analogue nubs...

I was surprised that the circle pad is not much bigger than the PSP-2000 analogue nub. Basically, the PSP-2000 analogue nub is the same size as the inner circle part of the 3DS circle pad.

Of course the PSPgo analogue nub looks TINY compared to the 3DS...

The biggest differences between the Circle Pad & Analogue Nub...

Nintendo 3DS Circle Pad:

concave design
smooth but rubberized for grip
softer push but farther travel

Sony PSP Analogue Nub:

convex design
hard plastic but has little squarish textures to give it grip
takes a bit more effort to push it but has shorter travel

I don't know why everyone is saying the 3DS circle pad is better than the PSP analogue nub. Sure, a lot of launch games like Pilot Wings Resort and Super Monkey Ball 3D use the circle pad, but the problem is there aren't any third/first person shooters or action games to *really* test the mettle of the 3DS circle pad. I've been playing a DS game, MechAssault Phantom War on my 3DS and that's basically a third-person-shooter.... the circle pad handles it ok. I wouldn't say it's better than the PSP... just different, really.

And once NGP comes out with its actual analogue STICKS-- not just nubs but actual sticks that pivot, not slide-- that should blow away both of these controls... maybe? We'll see.

later
don