Nintendo Ditches the Press aand Goes Directly to U

We begin with a new trailer for Pokemon X & Y. A new Pokemon type is revealed. Fairy which is what the new Evee evolution will be. A Nintendogs like mini game will be a part of the game. +0.5 Points. These games will be released October 12th.

A new trailer for a Mario game is shown. Mario has a Cat suit. Luigi and Princess and Toad are all playable in single player and Co-Op. Yoshi can swim. The graphics look crisp. Super Mario 3D worlds. +1 point. This is a sequel to Super Mario 3D land. The levels are on a much grander scale than the previous title. Cat Mario can climb wails and scratch with his claws, and scamper up the flagpoles. Available in Decenber It was not made clear weather this is a 3DS or WiiU game

Mario Kart is next. Hover karts are a new feature. The glider has returned from  Mario Kart 7. This is Mario Kart 8 for WiiU Anti Gravity is a new feature that should make races more interesting. Avalible Spring 2014 +1 Point

Wii PartyU. A new mini game collection. Including games that can be played with just the gamepad. It has been delayed from it's original releases. Thank your for your patience. Delayed until  October
WiiFitU: New features have been caused development also delayed until December 0 Points for delays

Art Academy is in development for WiiU. Some features will be released for MiiVerese. Available this summer. +025 points. A lot of people love to draw on MiiVerse, but that might be, because they have no new games to play.

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Arkham Origins / Blackgate,  Deus Ex Human Revolution Director's Cut Disney Infinity Just Dance 2014, Rayman Legends, Scribblenaughts Unmasked, Disney's Planes, Shin Megimi Tensi IV, Skylanders SWAP Force, Splinter Cell: Black List, Sonic Lost World, Watch Dogs,  Aside from Sonic and Shin Megimi Tensi IV. None of these are exclusives. UbiSoft should get a point for supporting the WiiU +2 (For Nintendo) +1 For(UbiSoft)

Indie Games: Ballpoint Universe, Cloudberry Kingdom, Coaster Crazy Deluxe, DuckTales: Reastered, Dungeons and Dragons: Shadow of Mystra, Mutant Mudds Deluxe, OddWorld: New' Tasty, Scram Kitty & His Buddy on Rails, Shovel Knight, Spin the Bottle, A world of Keflings, +1.25 Points 0.75 for having and advertising Indie Game even though some of these are not Indie titles. +0.5 for mentioning Duck Tales

The Legend of Zelda: Windwaker HD: A trailer is shown. It looks gorgeous. +0.75 points. A release of a game I never played, but I am greatly looking forward to. The Tingle Tuner will allow you to connect on MiiVerese and share with other people through messages in a bottle.

The Wonderful 101 from Platinum Games Available Spetmeber 15th +0.5 points this game was shown last year

Mr Iwata

Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze. A new one for WiiU. We can now see DK's fur. and there are dynamic new camera angles. It will have multiplayer. You can Play as DK, Diddy Kong, or Dixie Kong it will launch in November +1 Point

Bayoneta 2. I don't think this will be a system seller that Nintendo hopes, but as with Mirror's Edge it is a good will gesture for gamers. A new trailer is shown. Over the top action. She is getting hair cut. Gameplay is shown as well Very flashy. Will launch 2014 +0.5 People want this game sooner rather than later

Monolith Software, creator of Xenoblade Chronicles, Shows a Sci-Fi RPG. with online multi-player for WiiU +1 New JRPG exclusive. It is a large scale open world. You can drive robots and fly. another 2014 release, but this one looks like it could be worth the wait. +1 Point

Super Smash Brothers! Mario, Link, Pikachu, Kirby, Samus, Fox McCluod, Pit from Kid Icarus, Donkey Kong  are confrimed characters. Different Art styles for the 3DS and WiiU versions. The 3DS looks like cell shading, but I do not believe that it is. WiiU is crisp HD visuals. The Villager from animal crossing is coming to town. Coming 2014 A new challenger is approaching It is the Blue Bomber Himeslf  MEGA MAN!!!!  He will have many of his weapon mods. +2  points 1 for Super Smash Brothers, and 1 for having the right version of Mega Man.

+0.5 Mr Iwata wore a tie. The Sony executives didn't wear ties, but something about the Microsoft employes. They just came off as sloppy

No Price cut for the WiiU -1 point

The True new HD Zelda was not shown -1

Final Score 9.5 points
+Mega Man!!!
+The Monolith Soft game looks to be a promising exclusive
+Promises kept with reveals for 3D Mario, Mario Kart, and Super Smash Brothers
-It appears the games drought will continue until October
-We Were not shown the new HD Zelda game
-No Price Cut for the WiiU

Looking Behind...

The next generation of console games is just beyond the horizon, and it's time to reflect on my experience with this generation of games. I had been working my first job and been saving up money for a new game console. I played Halo 3 at several friends houses, but I didn't feel the game was different enough from Halo 2 to warrant an expensive investment. My brother was the only person I knew that had a Wii, but he lived several hours away and I couldn't get time off to visit him and try it.

Then I saw it. Metal Gear Solid 4. This game was an amazing technological display and a fitting conclusion to a story that I had fell in love with on the PS2. I still think the parts of the game that are playable are amazing, but the game is bogged down with it's massive amount of cut scenes. While Metal Gear may have perfected the cut scene new story telling techniques were just beginning to evolve.

Naughty Dog was expanding motion capture technology with Uncharted: Drake's Fortune on PS3. The improved technique of performance capture would

Uncharted Performance Capture

get more believable and life like characters in our games. Looking at games like LA Noire, The Last of Us, or Tomb Raider we can see the performances of the actors giving the characters so much more life and emotion then the characters of the previous generation.

Another exciting change of this generation has been narratives that react to player choice. Telltale's The Walking Dead, and Bioware's Mass Effect Trilogy and Dragon Age provided decision points that effect the story in a unique way. It created exciting discussions as no one's experience was exactly the same.I found that these games would fill the drought of JRPG's that took a long time to show up on the system.

I have always been a fan of Japanese games. I wasn't following the business as closely back then so I had not realized that many Japanese developers were struggling with the higher demand of HD visuals, and many had gone to handhelds to make these games. I would later find these on my PSP and pick up a Nintendo DS to play many of these creative titles.

No retrospective of  this generation of gaming would be complete with out plastic instruments. In 2007 I had fallen in love with with Harmonix's rhythm games Guitar Hero, Frequency, and Amplitude had become addictions as well as Sony's Singstar. When I found out about Rock Band a game that combined Guitar Hero, Singstar, and added drums it was love at first sight. This game would become the focus of almost

every party or group gathering for the next several years. It was unfortunate that by the time RockBand 3 added keyboard it would seem that the bright burn of the living room rock-star had faded into obscurity.

I did debate between a Wii and X Box 360. Halo 4 looked amazing, and I had a lot of faith in Harmonix and couldn't wait to play Dance Central. Nostalgia won out though and I went with the Wii. I had not had a Nintendo console since the original NES. The virtual console. But it was The Legend of Zelda: Skyword Sword that drew me in. This game proved that motion control can work non casual games. Look forward to my top 10 game of the generation coming soon.

Mario Memories

Instead of popping in Skyword Sword I decided to start with Mario Galaxy. I was hooked. It was like I was instantly transported back to my childhood memories. I had not played Mario since 6 Golden Coins on the GameBoy, but this game was everything I had always imagined Mario's world to be. Seeing him in three dimensions for the first time was a mind blowing experience. He moved just as fluidly as I remembered but there were so many options now. The game is truly a masterpiece. The graphics are visually stunning as each new level creates a distinct and memorable area for Mario to explore. Returning to a stage is never a bore to collect the extra stars as their is usually some sort of twist to the level or added challenge that was not their the first time. From haunted houses to beaches, or snow covered mountains the variety never ends. Mario still has the same song and dance with Peach and Bowser, but it is on such a grand scale that I never would have expected. The new bumblebee power up is interesting as it allows you to fly without a running start. Music is orchestral and it always pleasant to hear the old 8-bit track remixed with the depth that a orchestra can provide. For pure fun you can not go wrong with this game it is a must play for sure for gamers of all ages and skill level

With the unfortunate closure of 1up.com I wanted to take a chance to expand on something that I had published on their site. Mario is the first game character I ever really grew attached to. Donkey Kong and the Smurfs were the first two games I ever remember playing on the Commodore 64. The Smurfs was a very repetitive game with the same level repeating and not providing much a challenge for myself, even as a toddler. Donkey Kong on the other hand I became addicted to. I found it very challenging as I was still very young and many skills required for games were still developing. I don't think I ever actually rescued Pauline and Mario was soon replaced by some other fascination, but that was only until I got my first NES. Super Mario Brothers was amazing there is not much I can say about that masterpiece that had not been said, but I loved it to say the least.

Something to keep in mind was that I was born in 1989 so I was playing all of the great games from the late 80's in the early 90's. The Super Nintendo had come out not to long after my family got our NES. Things were a lot different back then. Nintendo was marketing the NES SNES and Gameboy all at the same time. It wasn't like modern console launches were the old system is sent out to pasture. Being young during this time made it easy for my mother to trick me. I asked for Super Metroid and received Metroid, Link to the Past gave the Legend of Zelda. Mega Man 3 and 6 instead of 7. You get the picture. Asking for Super Mario World brought Super Mario Brother 2 and 3. I was so always so excited to get a new game, and I would imidietly set to work to discover any and all secrets that I could. Super Mario Brother 3 still ranks as one of my favorite games of all time (List to come in a future blog).

Something about the world of these games captured my imagination. The Mushroom Kingdom in particiular I would spend as much time imagining my own adventures for Mario and Friends as I did playing the actual game. I always saw that their was so much more to the world then what was stored in that cartridge. As I got older and realized that the no new Nintendo games would be played once they had been removed from Blockbuster. The N64 was on the horizon and how badly I wanted one, but my parents said I had to buy it myself that was a lot of money that I did not have. My brother said that we could pool our money to buy a new game system, but since he had more of the money he decided that we get a PlayStation. I never went back to Nintendo and that cheerful Italian plumber was left as a distant memory. My brother later moved away and bought a Wii. I was intrigued by the game play possiblites that the motion controls could provide. Intrigued by Skyword Sword innovation and the nostalgia for Nintendo characters I picked up a Wii bundled with Mario Kart and a copy of Skyword Sword and Mario Galaxy.

Pray for Japan but don't Forget to Play

Super Mario Brothers, Sonic the Hedgehog, Final Fantasy, The Legend of Zelda, Street Fighter, Mega Man, Wii Sports, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, Soul Calibur, Crazy Taxi, Castlevania, Devil May Cry, Silent Hill, Kirby, Pokemon, Gran Turismo, Contra Dead Rising, Kingdom Hearts, Ninja Gaiden,  Dragon Warrior, Pac-Mac, Tekken, Dead or Alive, Chrono Cross, Ridge Racer, Space Invaders and Metroid.

These are just a handful of the games that I could list off the top of my head. To really appriciate what Japan has done for video games, we need to look back to the video game crash of 1983. Shoddy ports of arcade games and an over-saturated console market led to the downfall of Atari, one of the leading home console manufacturer of the time. While this was happening a small Japanese playing card company, called Nintendo had been slowly venturing into the world of electronics. The company had released "Donkey Kong" just a few years prior, and "Mario Brothers" had just started to light up arcades.

Nintendo had tested the waters of the decaying industry with software in the arcades and hardware in the for of the "Game & Watch" series of handhelds that me with success. As The future looked grim for games on shore on the other side of the Pacific Nintendo released the Famicom which became an instant classic in Japan. The system was headed our way, but we wouldn't see it until October 18, 1985 almost two years after it was released in Japan.

No one would have ever guessed that a Italian plumber by the name of Mario would become more well known than Mickey Mouse by American children, but it happened. There was still some distrust from Americans when it came to Japanese products at this time, but at the time all we cared about were the games, and boy did we get games "The "Super Mario Brothers" trilogy alone sold over 68 million units worldwide other best sellers would include  "The Legend of Zelda" and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" which was developed by Konami's Ultra Games label.

Nintendo fever had engulfed America and we were injected with our next dose in 1989 with the Game Boy which had the revolutionary idea of having interchangeable games. And then again in 1991 with the Super Nintendo. We got more of what we wanted and it looked and sounded better, or we could take it with us on the go. Business men could be seen pulling a game boy out of their briefcases and trying to get in a quick round of Tetris before meetings.

We were also given a choice from the Japanese Sega Corporation with the appealing Genesis that had it's fast hedgehog of a mascot, Sonic, and blast processing Sonic and Sega made the claim that they could do what Nintendont. These two Japanese companies now dominated an industry created by Americans. This trend would continue after a business deal between Nintendo and Sony turned sour Sony decided they wanted to get their own slice of the video game market and released the Playstation in 1994 and would create a brand that has become synonymous with video games. Other companies would try to compete, but no one still talks about the Atari Jaguar, Lynx, or Amiga CD32.

Without this series of events the video game industry may not exist as we know it today. I know some people prefer the X-Box these days and yes Microsoft is an American company. But without the foundation and the history of these Japanese company's Master Chief may not exist as  home console manufacturing was considered a failed business venture, and without Mario and Nintendo fever gripping the United States in the 80's and 90's gaming may have become a very niche hobby on the PC. Today console gaming is about 90% of the gaming market pie. I don't know about you but I do most of my gaming on PS3, and DS which I wouldn't have if it wasn't for Japan.

The recent Tohoku tsunami and earthquakes that have hit Japan have been tragedies with damage far exceeding with over twelve times as many casualties as Hurricane Katrina. And although we may not feel that this effects us as gamers, be glad that the 3DS was done and had already shipped Sony's NGP is looking like it will be delayed. So the next time you sit down to enjoy some games take a moment to think about where they came from.

There are many ways to donate to the Tsunami relief effort and I've provided the URL of an article that will link you to a variety of charities that are working on the relief effort. Japan you are in my prayers.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_newsroom/20110311/wl_yblog_newsroom/japan-earthquake-and-tsunami-how-to-help