Quote:Killer 7, a psychological action thriller by Hiroyuki Kobayashi that has been in development for years, is confirmed to be released simultaneously on the GameCube and PlayStation 2 on July 7. The release date of July 7 appears to be a marketing gimmick, but seems to point to the completion of the title.
Nintendo's upcoming FPS Geist has also met another in a series of delays. Developed by N-Space in cooperation with Nintendo, Geist, which focuses on possessing others to progress, has been pushed back to an August release.
Quote:We see plenty of reporting and regurgitation of marketing hype. And we could subsist on an endless diet of wild speculation. But we rarely get the kind of business analysis that we need.
This gap was painfully obvious to me post-E3. Because while everyone was busily laying bets on the horse race between Sony and Microsoft for the dominance of the next generation of gaming, Nintendo was quietly disregarded on the side.
Business-wise, this was weird. Because as far as I can tell, Nintendo is the business story to watch. And strangely enough, you don’t have to try very hard to see why. I can only conclude that most of us are not looking at all.
Quote:In this light, it’s odd how few game commentators seem to understand just how profitable Nintendo really is. With a net margin of over 20%, Nintendo is a financial rock star. Just by way of comparison, General Electric, that monster global conglomerate whose executives write the books about corporate leadership that other Fortune 500 execs read, clocks in with a net margin of 11% Nintendo’s business engine is so efficient that even though they sell far less than Sony, they make, bottom line, about as much as all of Sony, Yes, that’s right. Little Nintendo generates about as much cash as giant Sony—electronics, movies, the works. (For a bunch of good financial data on this subject in one place, see PCVSConsole).
Now there are a number of lessons in this. But let me point to the most obvious:
When looking at the current console war, it’s important to keep in mind that Sony is a big company that does well on its games and film subsidiaries, but has been taking big losses in electronics. Microsoft is a very, very profitable software company that has so far taken large losses in its entertainment division. And Nintendo is a reasonably large company that has continued to make money with no obvious financial liabilities. As businesses, these three companies have different strengths and weaknesses. But none is the overwhelming leader from a business position.
Posted by: EdenMaster - 30th May 2005, 10:25 AM - Forum: DS Reviews
- No Replies
Continuing in the increasinlgly more popular WarioWare franchise comes this, the first must-have game for the DS. Fans of any previous WW game will be right at home. The game's simple yet maddening gameplay is just what you need for those few minutes on the bus in the morning, or whittling away the hours trying to unlock and defeat every microgame.
<b>Sound</b>
Sound and music comes through crisp and clear on the DS' sual speakers, and everything fits well. The music, what there is of it, is so short during the microgame that you barely notice it, but it does play during some characters stages (Ashley, for instance, has a song about her that plays all through her stage). Sound effects don't blow you away, but the occasional explosions or bowling pin clatter sound good, especially in situations where they're not necessary.
<b>Graphics</b>
Graphics on the microgames can range from the simplest 2D Game & Watch screens to some that have N64-like quality. It's difficult to rate this game on graphics because it's obviously not trying to impress with them. Graphics are functional, that's about all you can say about them. Before and after each characters stage, you get to watch a short cartoon with them as well. As I said, nothing spectacular, but you didn't buy WarioWare for it's graphics, you bought it for it's...
<b>Gameplay</b>
Oh yeah, here's where the game delivers. As every WW title before it, this game shines through on it's gameplay. On the main screen you have many characters and levels to choose from, and in each stage you get 3-5 second long microgames thrown at you in rapid succession until you lose 4 microgames. (or more if you manage to get 1ups from boss games). The microgames almost all make use of the touch screen and stylus, though some require you to blow into the DS microphone as well. The games are varied, and mostly broken up by character into basic categories. Kat and Ana's stage requires mostly scribbling, Ashleys require you to drag something on the screen somewhere else, and good old Wario,you never know what he might throw at you.
Varied and fun as the games may be, and though the game does not fall short on the number of microgames it has, the diversity of how you achieve them is the games weak point. Most of the time the games can feel repetitive, especially in Mike's level, where you must simply blow on the microphone for nearly every microgame. Most of the other levels simply require you to circle things, scribble, draw, or other such tasks. Though the game is fun, a tad more variety in it's microgames would have been welcome.
My final verdict? Touched! is a great addition to the WarioWare franchise and makes good use of the DS technology, but if a sequel is made, it could be better with more variety in the game. It also suffers from the shortness of it's predecessors, but the sheer replayability of the game almost negates this. Beyond that, this game is just as perfect as any other WW title before it. I rate the game 8.0.
![[Image: Xbox360_vs_Xbox.jpg]](http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/images/Xbox360_vs_Xbox.jpg)
![[Image: HP%20dv1000_01.jpg]](http://x.gadgetmaniac.com/wordpress/upimages/HP%20dv1000_01.jpg)
