Category Archives: Video Games

Quickly: Pokémon GO + Battery Packs = Prep for Nintendo Switch?

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If you’ve played Pokémon GO, you know it’s a phone battery hog. And if you’re like me, you’re also running Charity Miles while you’re walking around, because, hey… it’s a good thing to do. But that only further adds to the battery woes.pokemon_go_logo.png

Pokémon GO didn’t make me buy a battery pack, but it did make me use the one I that I bought for camping (I have this goofy one that’s super-cheap right now). Now it’s always in my laptop bag, and goes with me in my CamelBak when my wife and I go hiking.

Here’s a question though… do we really have battery woes? Practically every tech device iu.jpegwe own – phone, laptop, tablet, eReader, smartwatch, FitBit, on and on – has a battery. We’ve got chargers everywhere. Point is, there’s already an ecosystem in most tech-savvy homes – and most non-tech savvy homes, to be honest – that supports charging a device like this. And Switch is rumored to use USB-C, which while not as ubiquitous as the standard USB jack, is not likely to cause mass confusion and consternation.

Nintendo Switch might end up being be a battery vampire, but thanks to Pokémon GO – and all our other devices that also need charging – it’s no big deal.

Nintendo’s Switch Reveal: A Different Marketing Pitch

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Nearly everything in Nintendo’s three-and-a-half minute Switch reveal we already knew from rumor. The only thing that we really didn’t know – as it turned out – was how Nintendo would talk about the new machine and who they were going to aim it at.

The nature of the Switch, it’s duality as a portable home console must have proved an interesting challenge for Nintendo’s marketing team. And what they came up with is fascinating. Here’s a couple of quick points.

No Kids Allowed: Back to the Red Ocean?

The first time we ever see the Switch, this is the setup: a 20- to 30-something man is playing Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, by himself, on a big flat-screen, with an industry standard pro controller. The portability is showcased soon after, but consider that first glimpse: no waggling of Wii-motes, no tablet controller, no kiddie colors. Coupled with the brief glimpses of Skyrim and NBA2K we see later in the trailer, this is a bald attempt at siren call to the hard core. The message is clear: go with Switch, and you can play your AAA multi-platform games wherever you like… along with Nintendo’s outstanding first-party games. This could be a boost in Nintendo’s war to win back the core. Consider: if the third party list they showed comes through at all and can remain even modestly consistent though the life of the platform, Nintendo could be swimming with the sharks again, and holding their own.

2DS/3DS is Nintendo’s Machine for Kids… for Now.

Nintendo created mobile gaming with the GameBoy and its successor systems, and have dominated the space… until smartphones. Even still, though not hitting the lofty heights of the 150-million selling DS family, the 2DS and 3DS has sold more than 60 million units worldwide. They aren’t going to want to abandon or alienate that base for awhile. (And everything we have heard says that they won’t.)

In light of the way Switch is configured and the internal corporate restructuring that Satoru Iwata oversaw at the Big N before his untimely death, Nintendo wants to turn two pillars – console and handheld – into one pillar. Eventually, the 2DS/3DS family will have to be mothballed. What happens then? How will they do it?

The 2DS price point is amazing right now. Access to the deep 3DS game library for $80. The Switch won’t be able to compete with that, with a price that’s likely going to come in between $299-$399 depending on bundle configuration. But once 12-18 months have passed, the economies of scale and chip commoditization will get that price dropping. Once that happens, Nintendo can start adding ‘lower-end’ models in more kid-friendly colors. Then .

 

Easy Mode: A Gaming Way of Life

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[All Easy Mode blogs are cross-posted over at ign.com. Link.]

Every gamer knows what Easy Mode is, and most wouldn’t admit to using it. This blog celebrates Easy Mode and all that it entails.

Why? Let me explain.

How did I – by most indications an experienced gamer – come to be this way?

It starts with the following personality trait: I will walk a hundred miles through the flaming desert, over broken glass, with no water, and wild animals attacking me from every side in order to figure out a way to make something easier. Not only in the immediate time frame, but also in the long term – even if it’s less time consuming to simply attack the problem in front of me with brute force.

This desert is no impediment to me.

I’m a writer/editor by trade and also do some layout work. I recently had to process about 300 JPEGs for size and contrast. I could have done it by hand or hired out, but screw that! Instead I spent an hour and a half and $15 devising a way – my own way – to automate the process. Such is my commitment to clever problem solving to increase efficiency. (I’m just saying: I’m not this kind of gamer because I’m lazy.)

How does this trait apply this to games? I recently analyzed my gamer tendencies (long, dark night of the gaming soul) and found these to be at the heart of what brings out the gaming curmudgeon in me:

  • Difficulty for the sake of difficulty. I’ve never been a gaming masochist. Not going to start now. (I’ve heard of Dark Souls, and I’m not playing it.)
  • Boss Battles and Mini Bosses. I begrudgingly admit that these pains in my butt are necessary and worthwhile for both achievement and story purposes, but I still hate every last awesomely rendered, ridiculously oversized one of them. At least a little.
  • A game that suddenly jumps in difficulty for no good reason. Bad game design. Happens a lot with puzzlers for some reason (like Crashmo).
  • A game that adjusts game balance by throwing more enemies at you for no good reason. Cheap way out, game designers. Cheap. And annoying.
  • Grinding. Dear lord, don’t get me started on this mother of all time sinkholes. If you can’t fold grinding into something worthwhile, hand in your designer’s badge.

Look… I’m old. I work. I don’t have time for any of this crap. I want to experience meaningful gameplay consistently from beginning to the end so I can progress through whatever level system or story you’ve offered up without getting bogged down. That’s a game that will pass the Easy Mode threshold of awesome.

Should everything in life be easy? No. Of course not. I’ve been working on my golf swing for years, and it’s just now rounding into form. Getting an education should be hard, so you’re prepared. Fights against serious illness are hard. So many things in life challenge us. For me, gaming shouldn’t be one of them.

Like this, mmm’kay??

This makes me sound like I don’t like a gaming challenge. That’s not necessarily true. I don’t mind a challenge, I just prefer that the challenge isn’t a result of bad or malicious game design. In fact, I consider a game to be a success from a design standpoint if it manages to up the difficulty without irritating me – and trust me: I’m a good barometer for that. Usually this happens because the game is so well designed that the increase in difficulty is one for which the game has prepared you. A game that incorporates superb design and extremely well-balanced gameplay hits the Easy Mode mark. And don’t underestimate how much a compelling story/mystery can help as well.

So welcome to Easy Mode! I’ll be doing game analysis and reviews (Easy Mode style of course), editorials, and other forms of complaining (sorry, Brian Altano!).

I know that there are gamers like me out there, gamers that proudly grumble when the going gets tough. Join me.