Why Reggie is Wrong for Calling Gamers "Insatiable"

"What's wrong with me" is that I don't have enough Reggie in my life.

Last week, you may have read Kotaku's post about a conversation with Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime regarding the "core gamer."  He essentially blamed the bad blood between many of today's "hardcore gamers" and Nintendo on a refusal to ever be satisfied or content with what's being offered.  Now, the general claim that gamers are an entitled bunch is defensible enough.  One merely needs to look at the myriad outcries against DLC, DRM, "online passes," HD rereleases, retailer-exclusive pre-order bonuses, and the fact that every Tom, Dick and Harry now feels the need to create a petition every time something doesn't quite go his way.  The Mass Effect 3 ending controversy and the petition for a non-GFWL PC version of Dark Souls stand out as some of this year's douchey-er "give me more!" spectacles.

But "the Regginator" invokes different reasoning when he calls out gamers.  And I'm here to tell you why, while the general sentiment is correct, the logic behind it missed the mark entirely.

Filly's Weekly Highlights: June 17 - 23

Well, I decided I'd do this thing where I give a rundown of my personal highlights every week, and offer my humble two cents.

New Releases:  Pokémon Conquest; Quantum Conundrum (PC)

E3 2012: Nintendon't Live Up to the Hype

Well, I held off an extra day to make my comments on Nintendo's E3 2012 offerings, due to their unexpected announcement that they would have a 3DS-dedicated conference this evening.

Sadly, that was one of the only surprises Nintendo had to offer this year.

E3 2012: Microsoft Continues to Underwhelm

Being the responsible college student I am, I actually went to class today, and used my fancy new DVR to record Microsoft's keynote.  Now that I'm finished watching it, here are my thoughts.

10 Reasons I'm Happy To Own a 3DS in 2012

The future of Nintendo's new handheld is looking even brighter with 2012 under way.  The majority of my most anticipated games for this year are on the 3DS, and I'm here to share my enthusiasm for the oft-berated little machine and its diverse upcoming line-up.  Some of these don't have release dates set for North America just yet, but that isn't going to keep me from getting hyped about them!

Last Chance: Sign the Operation Rainfall Petition!

Those of you who follow my humble blog are aware I'm a supporter of Operation Rainfall.  In case you've been living under a rock, the goal is to persuade Nintendo to localize the Japanese Wii games Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story, and Pandora's Tower across all regions.  We encourage "raindrops" to continue supporting Nintendo, and not to import or boycott.  We've been informing Nintendo of America of our interest in these games through letter writing, e-mails, and communication through social networks.

Xenoblade has stolen the spotlight recently with its August 19th release in Europe.  Thanks in no small part to the free advertising the Operation has provided, as well as overwhelmingly positive reviews, the game has far exceeded NoE's expectations for sales.  Brick and mortar stores and online retailers ran out of their first shipments in mere days, and while some seem to have gotten more copies, the game remains conspicuously out of stock online.  If the dubious source VGChartz is anything to go by, the game sold 30,000 copies in its first week in Europe.

All Aboard Operation Rainfall!

Short story: We (all regions) want Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story, and Pandora's Tower.

Long story: Unsurprisingly, the "core line up" for the Wii in 2011 is looking grim. In North America, only LoZ: Skyward Sword rests on the horizon. But wait! A ray of hope. Mistwalker's The Last Story and Nintendo's new IP, Pandora's Tower, still remain a distant possibility. They're already out in Japan, with Xenoblade Chronicles set to release this Fall. So far it's been confirmed that Europe will be getting The Last Story and Xenoblade, with no word on Pandora's Tower. As for North America... well, Nintendo says we're SOL, apparently.

Nintendo of America has repeatedly denied any plans to bring us these three core action-RPGs, even in the wake of the new online campaign "Operation Rainfall." This is also following Nintendo's claims that they intend to return to targeting "core gamers." In Nintendo's words, there are simply "no plans" for NA getting these three games. Pandora's Tower in PAL is also dubious. However, as Joystiq's Nintendo division has pointed out:

Not that we want to give false hope regarding the actions of a company who is always pragmatic to the point of angering dedicated fans, but "no plans right now" is far from a death knell, especially for Nintendo. Some things that there were "no plans" for in America: the black Wii, the Classic Controller Pro, the Wii Sports Resort hardware bundle. Basically, there are "no plans" until the company decides to tell people its plans.

 So, there is still hope.

North America could really benefit from having these three games (and PAL from having Pandora's Tower). The Wii is especially strapped for core releases this year, which is pretty disappointing for those of us who have supported Nintendo every step of the way. Sales-wise it's a bit of a risk, but Nintendo isn't exactly scrambling for dollars and can afford to take this risk. Especially because this could put Nintendo back in the good graces of former Nintendo fans who have since boycotted--right in time for their supposed return to core gaming, the WiiU. This would be a win for everyone so it boggles my mind that they're so hesitant to risk a few bucks.

Or at least make your systems region free, FFS. Really, I'd be more than happy to import if it was "safe." I still might unlock my Wii since apparently it's really easy, but at the same time, it would mean a risk of bricking my console.

What? Pokémon is Evolving!

Hey everyone--sorry for the lack of updates.  College "Hell Week" has just come to a close for me, with finals right around the corner.  That said, I scraped together this written "translation" of my presentation on Pokémon, first seen at ScoreCon1 in Franklin, TN.  This is for those who could not be there, as well as those who were there but couldn't understand me due to my sudden and incessant "koffing" (see what I did there?). Enjoy! (P.S.:  There is a tl;dr version at the bottom!)

                                      Pallet Town (1996)                                                  Castelia City (2010)

It's easy to compare these two pictures and recognize that Pokémon has come a long way in the past fourteen years.  We've gone from monochrome to full color; 2D buildings to fully 3D cities; link cables to local wireless. As long as the game series has been around, it still continues to climb in popularity.  In the first two weeks after its release, European Pokémon Black and White sales topped three million.  Obviously the series isn't going away any time soon, yet there remain some misconceptions about Pokémon that I felt the need to address.