Dear Reader:

You are viewing a story from GN 1.0 / 2.0. Time may not have been kind to formatting, integrity of links, images, information, etc.

GoNintendo "End of Day" thoughts - WiiWare is a few hours away...what will you be buying? (oh, and I get sentimental again)

by rawmeatcowboy
12 May 2008
GN 1.0 / 2.0

ENDOFDAYTHOUGHTS 01

Looking for the “EoD” thought? Skip the sentimental bits, which appear in italics, or just start reading after the second heart. Want to read about how much I wuv woo? Start at the sentence below.

8bh.jpg

I am a mushy guy, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. If you follow the site, you probably have a good idea of my personality. I tend to get all sentimental with you guys when the right mood hits me. Today is one of those days. I didn’t want to eat up the “EoD” section with all that stuff though, there is WiiWare to talk about!

Today was a very quiet Sunday. I had a lot of time to myself, which doesn’t usually happen. It gave me a big opportunity to sit down and think about where I am in my life. That includes family, friends, and work. I started thinking about all the amazing experiences I have had through the site. I’ve always, always appreciated you guys…your visits, podcast downloads, emails, and so on. Today…for whatever reason…I reached a new-found level of appreciation.

It’s just about 5 in the morning here, and my eyes are all droopy. I sat down at the PC over an hour ago, ready to head to bed. Instead, I had to work on the site. You know what…I am happy to do it. I am so happy to have the opportunity to do something like this. Yes, it gets to be a hassle from time to time, but not when I think about every reader and listener that we have. I truly do have, in my eyes, an amazing thing with GoNintendo. You guys…all of you…have made a life for me that I never thought possible. This wasn’t even a job that existed 10 years ago, and here I am in it. The job aspect of it is great, but the real-life connections are beyond amazing. You don’t know how much it means to me to have you guys on the site.

Like I said, you guys have always mattered to me. I know we’ve had readers that have come and gone, people that have complained from time to time, and others out there that have been downright cruel. I learn that no matter what you do, those type of things happen. It’s nothing I do wrong/right/mediocre. No matter what I do or how I do it, those things will always happen. What’s more important is that for every negative, there are hundreds of positives. I would continue on doing what I’m doing even if there was only one person out there liking what I did. Thankfully, through some sort of magic, there are plenty of you that seem to enjoy GoNintendo. There are just too many of you that are wonderful, caring, funny, and genuinely nice people. I would have never thought that doing a game site would enrich my life in so many ways.

So yeah, this little love letter went about 4 paragraphs too long, but you guys deserve it. I’ll thank you until I am blue in the face, but it will never be enough. You…the person reading this right now…I care about you and your time spent here. I am not some thoughtless, robotic posting machine (although I may appear to be one!). I am human, just like the rest of you. For whatever reasons, I have been lucky enough to fall into a situation when I can write something like this…talk to people that care, and are making my life possible. I can only hope that in some small (hopefully big) way, I am giving you something in your life that gives you joy.

Long story waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay short: Thanks guys, you’re the best.

8bh.jpg

WiiWare will officially launch in North American in just a few hours. I can’t believe we’ve already made it to this date. It seems like we’ve been talking about WiiWare forever now! Will all that waiting be worth it? If the titles we’ve already seen show us anything, it’s that a lot of developers are willing to embrace the platform. Let’s hope that their early adoption doesn’t mean shoddy projects. We all know that we have enough of that on the retail-disc side.

So, what titles do we have to choose from? If you caught the news on Saturday, we showed you the 6 titles that will hit the service. The info came from a leaked press release, the same one that gets leaked every weekend. Usually it brings us VC news, but this week there won’t be any VC titles up for grabs. Fair enough, WiiWare would probably overshadow any legacy titles that hit the Shop Channel. This early press leak also shows us that both VC and WiiWare title announcements will come in the same press release. For the most part, we won’t know what’s going to hit WiiWare until those press releases are leaked. From time to time, I’m sure we’ll find out a few titles in advance.

If you didn’t see the news, here are your six titles to choose from later today.

FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: My Life as a King - 1500
LostWinds -1000
Defend your Castle - 500
Pop - 700
V.I.P. Casino: Blackjack -700
TV Show King - 1000

There it is, your collection of day one WiiWare purchase options. Which ones do you plan to buy? I’ll share my list with you.

Without a doubt, my #1 choice is LostWinds. I cant’ stress this enough with you guys. I’ve had hands-on with the game, and it is fantastic. Excellent use of the Wiimote, fantastic level design, and a visual style that rivals most retail Wii releases. I wanted this game the first day I saw it, and I want it even more since my play test. When I hit the Shop Channel, I’m rushing this download.

FFCC: My Life as a King…I think I want to download this. The nature of the game scares me, actually. These type of games just aren’t my style, but that doesn’t stop me from being intrigued. As I said in my impressions, I think I could really get into it…as long as I understand it all. I should just bite the virtual bullet, and plop down some points on this one.

The only other title I am really interested in is TV Show King. No, really…I am dead serious about this. I love trivia games such as Trivial Pursuit, Smarty Pants, and so on. The inclusion of pop culture only makes it more fun, in my opinion. I think it has something to do with my group of friends. I know that we can all get in on this, and everyone should be on a fairly level playing field. 4 player game, 3000 questions, and Mii use for $10. I think that’s a pretty sweet deal.

As for the other titles…I don’t know what to think. Defend Your Castle looks great, and it’s definitely at the right price. I just don’t know how much mileage I can get out of it. I’ve played the PC counterpart for a good amount of time, but I feel that I’ve burnt myself out on it. Pop comes in 200 points too high in my opinion. I am not trying to knock the developer in any way, but I just don’t see my gang getting into this one. How much fun would Pop be on it’s own? Lastly, V.I.P. Casina: Blackjack doesn’t look bad either, but I am more of a Poker guy. I may…may pick this one up on a whim.

Make sure to read this…it’s important. I will cover any and all of these titles if you guys are interested. I promise direct footage of LostWinds, TV Show King, and (very likely) FFCC:MLaaK. If you guys want to see coverage of the other titles available, just leave a comment and let me know. I have the points available to download these titles, and I am more than willing to do video/give impressions so that you guys can figure out if you want to save/spend your money.

Overall, I’d say this is a pretty solid first-day batch. There’s a little bit of everything, from casual to core, platforming to strategy and lots of in-between. Out of this lineup, there has to be one title that you plan to buy…as long as you have the points. If you don’t have spare points, I am sure you’re saving up for a specific title like Toki Tori, Gyrostarr, or another one of the many titles announced. I completely understand that logic as well. You work hard for the points, spend them on something you are sure you want!

So, let’s hear it. Those of you that are purchasing games later today, give us your list and tell us why. Those that are holding back, we want to hear from you too. Tell us what’s making you skip out on launch day. Think this batch of games offers nothing interesting? Holding out for Major League Eating? All opinions are welcome. Feel free to bitch about the lack of Dr. Mario as well!

North America…WiiWare is upon us. I hope you have that refrigerator ready!