Gotta Catch Them Polygons

We’ve caught them all, we’ve caught them all again, and again, we caught the one that made the land, the one that made the sea, the one that made time, the one that made space, the one from another dimension, and the creator of the whole freaking universe. Yes, I’m talking about Pokemon, and if this is starting to sound pretty cynical that’s because I am very cynical when it comes to Pokemon. However I’m willing to give the new games announced today a fair hearing, and the benefit of the doubt. If you haven’t already seen the trailer (where were you?) then take a minute to breathe it all in and join me again on the other side.

Vita Blockers

Late last week, Kotaku posted two news articles, within five hours of each other. The first was titled, “Thousands of Developers Want to Make Games for the Ouya,” and the second was titled, “Sony Was Surprised How Few People Wanted To Make Games For Vita.” Now look at those two titles, look at them again, and tell me your first impression wasn’t the same as mine. What the fuck is going on here‽ How can an untested company without a single released console to it’s name have developers lining up out the door, and a well trusted, big name with such a history as Sony get barely any interest in comparison? Well bear with me, because the answer takes a little bit of explaining.

Sony attributes its failure to the fact that there are “so many options for publishers now that we cannot take [developed games] for granted.” Ouya, on the other hand simply says that “over a thousand [developers] have been in touch with us since our Kickstarter ended.” That’s it from each company, so we’re on our own from here on out, but I have a couple of theories I want to run by you, and let’s see what you make of them.

Peripheral Vision

Hey, have you ever heard for the Nintendo 3DS? No, me neither, but stick with me, because I’ve got some important things to say regarding how companies adapt to consumer demand. Now I don’t own a Nintendo 3DS, and I don’t really have the urge to buy one. Maybe if I had more disposable income (ie an income) I could be persuaded, but until that time I’m afraid my opinions are going to be one of a guy with no hands-on experience. Deal with it.

The Nintendo 3DS was released in early 2011 as the successor to the Nintendo DSi, advancements included greater screen resolution, 32-bit colour, two extra cameras, RAM and processor upgrades and a screen capable of displaying games in 3D without glasses. It also included a built in analogue stick, dubbed the “Circle Pad.” Now as you’re all probably aware, analogue sticks are a big deal, so much so that the first Playstation ended up re-releasing their controller, with two analogue sticks attached, in order to better play the games being developed for the system, which were now taking place in three dimensions. Nintendo also hedged their bets with the N64, including both an analogue stick and traditional direction buttons in order to successfully straddle the jump between two dimensional platformers and three dimensional adventure games. These little devices mean a character is not limited to 8 directional inputs, but can roam around in all that 360 degree goodness. Yummy yummy goodness.