OK, this is fishy.

[Malacite]

Rune Factory but nothing on Harvest Moon?

Also why is it we have to fight tooth & nail for every damned FE game we get? Another game in the vein (not necessarily a sequel, just in the same style) of Hotel Dusk would be awesome. That was one of the first DS games I tried and I absolutely loved it.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

I imagine you can still find a EU copy of Last Window (the sequel to Hotel Dusk) online, since DS was region free any DS or 3DS could still play it.

I think in the case of the FE2 DS remake it was really just one of those things that fell through the cracks as NOA transitioned from localizing DS to 3DS games. Its only ever been a modest seller in the states and EU has been a bit more RPG friendly these days. By the same token, however, you can bet your Pokemon + Nobunaga's Ambition will get localized because its a Pokemon game.

Western branches of game companies tend to move away from localizing for the older console in order to focus on the new hardware, so a game really has to be something that will sell for them to go back to it. Its only scrappy little studios like XSeed or Atlus USA that know how to market to their niche that will still localize for an older platform in the west. Atlus USA has Devil Survivor 2 next week for DS and then Gungnir and a Growlanser game for the PSP due out later this year and then they move on to 3DS and Vita in full.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Fire Emblem will launch in March for Japan, but the first DLC pack will be made available on April 19th and be free for all people who have a copy through May 31st.

I just wanted to go back and highlight this point and also point out some things about Kid Icarus.

If how Nintendo is doing DLC for Fire Emblem is an indicator of how they plan to do DLC in the future, they're the first company ever to do this "free DLC" think 100% right. There is no punishment for buying used, no pressure to buy the game the day of release to get the content and the first DLC pack is available for free for a month and a half, after which point it goes on sale - so no false pretenses of free DLC by way of vouchers, either.

Additionally, they're giving the retail release some space to breathe and releasing the DLC about a month later. This gives them time to work out any bugs, even if it could have arguably been included with the retail game. There are no inconvenient elements to this DLC. This is how it should be done.

EA, THQ, Sony and others would to well to take note. If Nintendo takes this approach to all DLC, I feel even more confident about the progress into digital distribution.

I also want to point out that with Kid Icarus they went the Atlus USA route. In addition to six AR cards, they included a stand to address one of the issues they had some complaints about when the press had their hands-on experiences. Nintendo didn't just default to making you go out and get a Circle Pad Pro as a solution, which is good because I can't see myself using it for everything anyway. They want people to enjoy the game comfortably and this exists as an extra option. Finally, there's the pre-order incentive, which is the free 3D Classic of the original Kid Icarus which you can grab off the eShop.

I don't see them doing this for Mario or Zelda because they don't need to be so persuasive - people will just buy the - but I do like them showcasing Kid Icarus in this fashion and wouldn't mind seeing them push other rebooted or new IPs in this way. I would hope that Nintendo would also take this approach with Pikmin 3 and work with XSeed to add some value to The Last Story as well.

[Malacite]

Speaking of Atlux and XSeed, am I the only one who sorely misses Working Designs?

EDIT: Wow, damn it all. Despite my general disinterest in Nintendo as of late, I gotta say that's a great model for DLC, especially if they do away with pre-order crap as well. I like pre-order bonuses, but only when they're mostly cosmetic or have no major impact on the balance of a game (Hey, SE, still mad about Omega you assholes).

I can honestly say that after the Wii I've lost most interest in Nintendo save for things like Zelda & Metroid, but damned if I won't give them credit where it's due. And I still think Zelda DLC could be fantastic if done right, releasing additional dungeons/tools to play with down the line that aren't available right away (for game balance) but are intended the late/post game when you've already gotten all your kit. Just as a little extra content to help ease the generally long wait between major iterations of the series.

And hell, you gotta be kidding me no DLC for things like Mario Galaxy. Nintendo may be late to the party, but I suspect it will be fashionably so.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Yeah, it seems while Nintendo might take baby steps forward, its starting to look smarter and more progressive in the face of all the backpedaling EA, THQ or Sony do.

And in the case of third parties, if this is how Nintendo is going to do DLC - its going to make the likes of EA look bad when they use the online pass, which I suspect that Nintendo will allow them to do since EA wouldn't participate if they didn't.

[Malacite]

Yeah but as you said, the backlash could be ferocious against EA - they're certainly doing everything in their power lately to retake the King of Asshats title. Even DICE is pissing me off lately with some of the recent BF3 tweaks. Yes DICE, make the Stingers do less damage while jacking up the damage of Helicopter's machine guns - BRILLIANT! @_@; I swear they nerfed the tracking all to hell too, it's almost impossible to shoot down a helicopter from the ground now unless you're one of those ace snipers who can hit the pilot at will. But anyway... at least Nintendo is making an effort, and I respect that.

I'm still not crazy about the Wii U at all after how bad the Wii was (for me personally - not saying the Wii is shit just that I feel I got cheated out of my money in the long run) and they're only just catching up to current systems in terms of performance, so unless their DLC & 1st party stuff is truly compelling, I'm still going to take a pass at it.

Now, I'm assuming this DLC plan is universal? Because if it is, then that'll be amazing for the 3DS - though I have to wonder just how much DLC a handheld can support.

[Armando]

though I have to wonder just how much DLC a handheld can support.

Well, SD cards are getting quite big and it's not like the resolution on the 3DS is extremely high. One of those 8-16 GB cards would probably go a long way.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Yeah, there's not a whole lot of space 3DS content takes up right now. Mighty Switch Force is the biggest I've downloaded.

On the 2GB card my 3DS came with I have 37 games and 6,900 blocks of storage left. The highest it accepts is the 16GB cards, which will be going in my 3DS when I got a proper HDD for my 360. Right now the 16GB card is for installing whatever I'm actively playing.

Now, this could change when Nintendo starts adding 3DS retail games to the Nintendo Network, but I have a feeling Nintendo isn't going to force me through a special program just to store my games on PC because they're not doing it with anything I have right now. They'll probably also raise the card cap to the 32 GBs before that.

We're also not far off from seeing 64GB and even 1 or 2TB cards in the years to come, which I get a feeling is going to be something the Wii U will be designed to support in addition to whatever HDD you want to use. This is another reason why I sort of give Sony's storage the shit that I do. They're charging proprietary prices for speeds and storage that are supposed to be half to three times cheaper. A 16GB Vita card has class 4 speeds and go for $59.99 when at most they should cost $29.99. I go my 16GB on sale for $19.99 because Radio Shack has them on sale all the time. The ProDuos SanDIsk make never go on sale because of the Sony licensing and still manage to cost $10 than the non-sale SD equivalent. Sony literally fucks themselves over in this market.

SanDisk owns the market right now and because they own the market, when these high-storage cards come they'll be able to sell them cheaply and more quickly as the compatible devices get out there. And all it will really take is a tablet, smartphone, gaming device or camera to get the ball rolling on that. Once adoption picks up, prices will plummet and Sony will still be charging more for poor speeds and storage.

When Sandisk licenses the Vita format, expect to still pay more than what you would for SD, just not as much as Sony's charging.

[Malacite]

Oh you're not alone in the Sony hating when it comes to Memory Storage. Ever since I got my PSP I've been pissed at them for their outrageous prices. On average, they tack on at least another $10 over the competition's storage for the same (in some cases even worse) performance. I don't know if it's a desperate bid to recover the company's losses as their playstation division is the only department turning profits afaik, or if it's part of some warped notion of finding someway to piss off their consumer base even when it's a quality product. Like everything they sell has to have some kind of detriment to it - it's getting old.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Apparently Nintendo was holding back on one announcement.

Its very blatantly Pokemon-related and will be aired in Japan and the US when a new Pokemon cartoon air this weekend.

Could be the rumored "Pokemon Gray." Or maybe the new iteration to appear on 3DS. Some are hoping for Pokemon Snap 2, but there are always people wishing for that. 3DS would be a great system for such a game, though.

[Malacite]

Pokemon XXX ?

[Firewind]

Honestly I'm thinking it's the inevitable third pokemon game in the generation (Not sure if they would call it grey though to be fair) and there have been rumour going around for a while that it will be on the 3DS (which might give me an incentive not to trade mine in for a Vita).

Looking forward to it anyway since the rest of the games coming out in the EU for the 3DS are looking shit.

[Gobo]

Its very blatantly Pokemon-related and will be aired in Japan and the US when a new Pokemon cartoon air this weekend.

Black 2 and White 2. For the NDS.

Pokemon Black 2 And Pokemon White 2 Coming To Nintendo DS In June [Update 2] | Siliconera
Pokémon Black Version 2 and Pokémon White Version 2 | Video Games | Pokemon.com

[Kailea]

Pokémon Black 2 and Pokémon White 2......really?.......really?!...... -.-

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

C-c-combobreaker?

I don't see the problem, though. As I understand it B/W ended on a cliffhanger. I hope this isn't going to send people into denial like UMVC3 did.

I doubt I'd get it regardless as B/W just proved Pokemon is a bit too much for me to keep up with now but if it gives developers another reason to localize a few more DS games and get them out west on DS since they know Pokemon will still be out there to have an audience, I'm all four it.

Plus it opens up the opportunity to get Pokemon + Nobunaga's Ambition out west, too. That's the Pokemon game I want to play more anyway.