Temple Guardian: Nintendo 3DS

*The Starcraft post will be next time instead

http://gear.ign.com/articles/107/1079234p1.html

and here's another source in case you hate IGN.

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/23/breaking-nintendo-announces-the-3ds-more-news-at-e3/

My reaction: "ok?". No doubt you've noticed the lack of DS reviews on here. Here is the thing, I don't play my DS. I bought the thing mainly for HeartGold and SoulSilver because my old games were dying. But even that I slightly regret because the remakes aren't as ground-breakingly good as FireRed and LeafGreen, but that's another story.

See, the DS mainly has RPG's as it's main type of game, but that's it. I tend to only like western RPG's, so that cuts it down even more for me. The PSP has more games that I like, but sadly, it's more expensive and Sony is still snorting crack by not having a second joystick and fixing the control issues. So news of a new handheld...I don't really care. In fact, I don't even understand why it's so great. I bought my DS with the frame of mind that it had tons of games that everybody would enjoy, because everybody had one. Sadly, I was wrong.

For a split second, let's look at the Top 5 best sellers that I just snagged off Wikipedia.

# Nintendogs All versions (22.27 million)[1]
# New Super Mario Bros. (21.39 million)[2]
# Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day! (18.59 million)[2]
# Mario Kart DS (17.28 million)[2]
# Pokémon Diamond and Pearl (16.81 million)[1]

Really? I played Nintendogs, got bored with it, then went on with life. There is nothing to do in it. I can see why NSMB sold so well. Brain Age baffles me even more because it's just an educational game that they should sell to schools in mass loads. Mario Kart DS I can also see, and I suppose Pokemon fits too. Further down we down more Brain Age, Mario, Zelda, Pokemon, and all first party titles. Now let's look at the PSP.

# Monster Hunter Freedom Unite (3 million shipped in Japan)[147]
# Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (2,725,507 approximately: 2 million in US,[148] 125,507 in Japan,[149] 600,000 in UK)[34]
# Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (2.59 million approximately; 830,000 in Japan, 710,000 in North America,[150][151] 550,000 in Europe)[151]
# Daxter (2.3 million)[152]
# Monster Hunter Freedom 2 (2.25 million)[48]

Alright, I know, giggle at the numbers. But at least each title isn't all made by the same company. But this brings me to another point, let's look at the top best selling ever.

1. Wii Play (Wii – 26.71 million)[70]
2. Wii Fit (Wii – 22.56 million)[70]
3. Nintendogs (DS – 22.27 million, all five versions combined)[71]
4. New Super Mario Bros. (DS – 21.39 million)[70]
5. Mario Kart Wii (Wii – 21.22 million)[70]

(The above list didn't count bundles). Ok cool, all Wii and DS games. Three of the five are shit. Wow, ok. That's pretty sad. Can't people just get outside or to the gym? Is it really that hard? And of course, Microsoft and Sony look at the numbers, drool, and then immediately try to re-create that. NO. I don't want Project Natal or Playstation Move (Speaking of which, Playstation Move? What a stupid name.). If Microsoft or Sony does do that, they better have damn fine games to have. They better come up with some alien way to make it work for just about all genres and have quality to the titles. I think Nintendo tends to forget that: it's about the games, not "OHHH, 3D!!!" I don't care about that, I just want something awesome to play. But then again, seeing the above numbers, then who cares? Cranking out cheap shit sells just fine.

I'm not saying we should stick to the same old without ever being brave, as I've mentioned before. I just think Nintendo and the other companies are heading the wrong direction.

Oh, and for those who are bloody excited for the DSi XL, I would stop, and take some thoughts. This new system will be out in a year or two, so do you still want the XL? I'm not shoving my anti-flailing antics around at you, I'm just saying, think money wise.

Temple Guardian

Nintendo 3DS

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