Out Now: The Nintendo Wii U

The biggest day in video game new releases is here! That is, if you pre-ordered or are standing in line right this second.

The Nintendo Wii U and its gigantic touchscreen controller are destined to be essentially sold out between now and Christmas. With that said, there are probably a bunch of you who got one at a midnight launch, or are in line for one this morning. I pre-ordered mine online, so it won’t arrive for the next few days, but I’m cool with that.

If you’ve got it, tell me what you think! If you don’t, do you have any interest in tracking one down while Wii U hype is at an all-time high?

I Pre-Ordered a Wii U

Wii UAfter months of waiting for release info, Nintendo finally revealed most of it at their September press event. With the launch date and pricing info out there, and pre-orders running out fast at GameStop, I decided to throw my name in the pre-order hat for a deluxe set.

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To Buy or Not to Buy: Street Fighter 25th Anniversary Set

I have a hard time abstaining from purchasing items with the Street Fighter name on them. I’ve bought figurines, t-shirts, posters, fightsticks, and over 20 Street Fighter games – including Street Fighter 2010: The Final Fight. I’ve always joked with my girlfriend that if Capcom released Street Fighter branded rocks, I’d probably buy those too. As a life-long fanboy of the franchise, the purchase of Street Fighter merchandise rarely gives me pause.

But then I saw the gargantuan Street Fighter 25th Anniversary set.

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Coming Soon: The Nintendo 3DS XL

In just a few days, Nintendo is aiming to make a big splash in the North American portable handheld space with their super-sized Nintendo 3DS redesign. This new iteration features a screen that’s 90% bigger than the original, a sleeker design, and longer battery life. I want one really bad, but I’m having a hard time justifying the purchase of another 3DS when I bought the original at launch for $250, I haven’t played it much since, and the size increase kills its portability for me. Still, old habits die hard, and the urge to have the latest Nintendo hardware in my hands is strong.

Will you be picking up a Nintendo 3DS XL? Let’s discuss in the comments!

Out Now: Skullgirls

Pretty much since the inception of the genre, fighting games have been dominated by a handful of major publishers and developers, such as Capcom and SNK. Outside of the hack-fest known as Mugen, I can’t think of an indie fighting game that’s made any sort of impact on the scene. Skullgirls aims to kick history in the face by being an indie fighting game that makes a big splash. The game is available now on PSN and XBOX Live Arcade.

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Having Trouble Finding Skylanders Figures?

While Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure is a pretty fun game to play with the three figures that come with the starter pack, it’s the ability to drop in dozens of other unique characters through the toys that makes the game shine. At launch, I remember seeing displays full of additional characters for purchase. Nowadays, every Skylanders shelf I’ve seen has been virtually empty. Not too long ago, Steff and I were at a Wal-Mart looking at an empty Skylanders section, when a customer service rep came up to us to say that they received a shipment of 96 figures that morning, which all sold out before noon.

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Let’s Talk About the Upcoming Nintendo 3DS Price Drop

Even prior to yesterday’s announcement of a massive price drop, it was fairly safe to say that the Nintendo 3DS isn’t doing so hot right now. The system hasn’t sold very well anywhere, the games haven’t sold well, the game library as a whole sucks, and a number of upcoming games have either been delayed or cancelled due to the system’s poor sales. I bought one at launch and I’ve been pretty disappointed in it. The software lineup has been very weak, the 3D effect is nothing more than a gimmick and the hardware itself takes some weird steps backwards from the DS Lite. While my website metrics aren’t the most accurate means of judging the interest level in a console, all of my Nintendo 3DS posts have tanked hard, which I blame mainly on lack of interest in the platform.

So the news of a Nintendo 3DS price drop isn’t exactly a shock. What is a shock, however, is how big the drop was. Nintendo is slashing over 30% off the $250 asking price to bring the new Nintendo 3DS price to $170.
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Societal Pressures and How They Influenced My Purchase of Catherine

Shortly after writing my previous post on my time with the Catherine demo, I decided that I was going to purchase the game. Normally, when I’ve made the decision to buy a game before its release, I patiently wait until launch day and buy said game at a store. I like the experience of going into a store and getting the game immediately, rather than having the release date pass by while my game is in transit at the mercy of the postal service.

This time, I pre-ordered it online. I grabbed the PlayStation 3 version so that my girlfriend can play my copy too. I’ve never pre-ordered any games online before, and this is only the second time I’ve ever purchased a game online. No, I didn’t go out of my way to pre-order it so that I could get the bonus soundtrack and art book (though it’s a nice bonus, I guess). I pre-ordered it to save myself from any potential embarrassment.

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Pick-Up Post: Video Games Live Tickets

The first time I ever went to Video Games Live was quite the magical experience. I never thought I’d watch a live orchestra in my lifetime, let alone one playing video game music. However, it didn’t take long for the show to win me over. It was so cool to be in a venue with thousands of like-minded video game fans, enjoying the soundtrack to our lives in a way that we’ve never heard before. I loved every minute of it, and I told myself I’d be back if the show ever returned to my city.

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Pick-Up Post: The Nintendo 3DS

 

The next generation of hand-held gaming has arrived. I picked up my Nintendo 3DS first thing this morning at my local Wal-Mart, which was rather uneventful. Maybe it was the fact that my brother and I were the first two people to buy Nintendo 3DS consoles at our store at 7am, and maybe it was because we were at Wal-Mart, but there were only a total of four people when the store opened looking to buy one. My brother and I both picked up the blue 3DS as well as our own copies of Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition.

We’ll talk about the game later. For now, let’s focus on the package and the hardware itself.

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