The Experience of the Nintendo Experience

When the news first broke about the ‘Nintendo Experience’ – I can honestly say I was surprised. Nintendo Australia actually trying something like the Nintendo World Store in the US. Granted, that’s not exactly what the NE is, but it’s still a nice first step. It’s the first of it’s kinda in Australia, and great to see it debut right here in Melbourne.

The extent of my experiences with the Nintendo experience range from attending a party prior (thanks to Will from Aussie Nintendo) and actually showing up on Day 1. The party itself was kinda cool – I mean, being one of the first in a brand new gaming retail endeavour, and the first in Australia? You can’t say no to that. But otherwise – unless if you were one of the VIP entrants (that weren’t media or an executive in some way), you didn’t really get much out of it. It was also really easy to tell who was whom. The executives were obvious in their suits. The media and VIP guests were easily recognizable in their casual clothes. The cosplayers were also easily recognizable in their cosplays.

Yes. I’m serious about that.

Aside from that, props to Nintendo for giving the VIP winners a copy of Animal Crossing: Let’s Go To The City. And with the Wii Speak peripheral also! Say what you will about Animal Crossing, it’s still pretty cool of Nintendo to actually give away a $130 bundle. Here’s hoping they weren’t planning to transfer their DS characters over...

The next day was the official launch of the store, and my god was it insane. I got there at around 10am (some of the forumites and I had agreed to do some shopping), and already there was a decent queue. When I came back around 10:30, the line had doubled. When I returned at 11:50am to do a podcast, they had only let in 100 people into the actual store. And there was an even bigger line outside. I’d liken it to something like a midnight launch to an upcoming videogame. Personally, I’d never experienced something quite like this.

And then people were being let in...

It was probably a smart idea for Nintendo to advertise the fact that the first 100 entrants to the Experience got a Wii or DS game (the visitors weren’t given a choice). It definitely attracted a hell of a lot of people – which is easily what Nintendo wanted. I honestly bet that they weren’t expecting THAT much of a turn out - just for people to get a copy of Wii Music or a Petz game. But wow, were people happy to get a copy of said game. I’ve heard stories about people getting there at MIDNIGHT for this. Hell, two of the forumites from the Level 3 boards got there are 8:30 in the morning for this. I guess you really can’t argue with the power of a free game – even if it is a bloody Petz game.

The real reason that Jason and I were there was to record a podcast. It was an interesting scenario, because this was only our second live interview based podcast (our first being the eGames one), and everything just fell into place. Really, the only interviews that we had established beforehand were with Kristy and Sandra – the Daisy and Peach cosplayers (who were big Level 3 fans). Everything just fell into place.

By far the most interesting interviews that we did were with Heather Murphy (the head of Public Relations for Nintendo AU) and Debra Mitchell (the head of Public Relations for EB Games Australia). What made this interview interesting was the method we recorded in. You see – we had decided early on that it was going to be really difficult to record using the in-built mic on a Mac Book Pro. I mean, you try doing that. So we decided to bring some mics. Jason couldn’t find his Guitar Hero World Tour mic, and we had no other USB mics on us, so I decided to bring my Singstar mics.

When we got the mics out, this made Heather extremely adamant not to be seen with them. I mean, YOU try explaining to the head of Nintendo PR that the only way that we can interview you and get your voice correct is by using microphones branded by one of your competitors. After explaining to Heather and Debra that it was only audio – there wouldn’t be any video/imagery taken, did the interview commence. As a joke, I tried to take a picture – but she didn’t see that as a joke. Though Jason did pass off the whole Singstar thing as a joke, which was kinda cool.

Interviewing Kristy and Sandra was also rad. What struck me about the girls were just how hardcore they were into Nintendo and Japanese culture. Example – I took a picture of them, and for some stupid reason, shouted out “Very Kawaii” (Japanese for cute). Their respose? “KAWAII DESU NE!” (or something to that effect, I can’t recall precisely). But just how hardcore Nintenphiles these girls were just completely stunned me. For instance, Alioth (one of the Level 3 fourmites) had brought in a Game Boy Advance SP with the Game Boy Camera add-on. Kristy noticed this, and responded that she actually had the Game Boy Printer companion add-on WITH HER. Then both Sandra and Krirsty also brought up how awesome “Dot Matrix” was – which was how the original Game Boy displayed colours. That I can remember vividly.

Otherwise, it was an interesting experience (god, I should really stop using that term). Meeting up with all these people and having a podcast that just fell into place (so to speak), was something awesome. With plans for Nintendo to potentially open up more of these stores in other EB’s in Victoria (and eventually other states), there really does seem to be no stopping Nintendo. It seems like the start of a beautiful friendship....

Things I've Uttered/Thought Of While Playing Need for Speed Undercover

Alrighty. I saw a fantastic blog the other day where the writer was playing through the early parts of a game and proceeded to document his thoughts and utterances as he played. I loved the idea so much that I've decided to show how much I loved it by applying it to another EA game, this time, Need for Speed Undercover. It was a rental (because I'm not really big into the NFS games), but it should make for an interesting little read. Let's begin:

(During EA Title) "When did Black Box start to get independently recognized? Never saw EA LA or Tiburon getting recognized for their work..."

"Wait, this game requires an install!? Are you kidding me? Every single EA game on the PS3 hasn't needed a bloody install, and it runs absolutely perfectly...am I...wait, it's done? Whoa. That was quick".

(helicopters fly past the screen). "So how much do I need to pay to unlock those?"

(game begins as many, many cop cars are chasing me) "Jesus Christ, I know EA wanted me to buy the game, but goddamn, I don't think renting it was THAT much of an offense"

"The evil Asian chick from Die Hard 4 is giving me orders? Well...I guess I'll have to listen...she DID kick that Mac dudes ass...and Bruce Willis'"

(upon entering the open world) "Ok Maggie Q, you've just told me what to do, so where the hell do I start? There's nothing on the mini-map, there's nothing here that tells me what to do (drives around for a bit)...hey a race! Now was it THAT hard to put it on the mini-map?"

(during load screen) "I'm not good...And I'm not bad....philosophy....in an EA game? Now THIS is next gen!"

(race cutscene starts) "So why is it my totally 350Z got replaced with a not-350Z, while everyone else has more rad cars than me?"

(race finishes) "Wait. I beat all those cars...BY THIRTEEN SECONDS. On my first race. In a crappy Nissan. Something is not right. Lemme go into the option...jesus Christ it doesn't take that bloody long to autosave....alright (pushes start button), oh! So that's the main menu. Ok, rad. Let's go into options (does so), gameplay (does so)...there's no difficulty option? Not even a subtitle option?

...oh dear. We're in for a treat" (NOTE: I'm deadly serious about that margin).

(while in pause menu). "Ok, let's check what cars and stuff I can buy. (goes into Car Menu). Ok, let's see...American, Japanese, European...let's go to Japan (clicks – looks through all the cars). Hmm..the Lancer is locked, let's see...wait, what!? (message pops up – reading). You've yet to find this dealership...do you want to use your PLAYSTATION NETWORK WALLET to buy it?

That can't be right...(checks out some other cars – same deal). Oh you have got to be kidding me..(goes into parts menu – same deal). Oh you have GOT to be kidding me..."

"Ooh, Photo Mode (takes picture...game tries to connect to the internet). NO GAME, I DON'T WANT TO CONNECT TO THE INTERNET TO SAVE A PHOTO."

(driving by, suddenly a cop car sights me and chases me) "WHAT!? What the bloody hell did I do now? (drives by a billboard that says "Don't Even THINK about speeding"). Oh. That would explain quite a lot."

(during a cop chase) "STOP BLOODY SPAWNING JUST WHERE I NEEDED TO ESCAPE"

(during a 'Transporter' mission). "You've given me a car with no turbo, poor acceleration and low top speed, STOP TELLING ME TO DRIVE FASTER."

(during a Highway Battle). "Dear god, I'm driving hundreds of kilometres per hour, chasing some dude, and trying best him...it's the bloody Tokyo Highway Battle in peak hour. THIS IS AWESOME."

(while the frame rate breaks up) "Am I watching a car slide show, or am I interacting with it?

"HUH!? Did that car just pass through a barrier? When can I get a ghost car?"

So in a nutshell, this helps to describe NFS Undercover. It's not as bad as IGN says – not even close. It's enjoyable, but there's plenty of problems that do hamper the experience. Stuff like the broken framerate (which is a huge problem), the difficulty – that stuff is problematic. The mini-map is also useless. It doesn't display anything at all, which does not help in the slightest. But there's some inherent fun to actually be had – just don't go expecting something akin to Burnout Paradise. It's also unfortunate that this game will sell a whole hell of a lot more.

I've also easened up a bit on the whole "buy cars/parts via Real Life money". I can understand why EA would include a functionality like this, and I can also see who would actually buy into this – but it's still not right.

eGames 2008: Through the Eyes of Darth...

Last year marked the first time that I went to the eGames Expo as more than just a guest, and become ‘media’. This year marked the first time that I actually had something to contribute to Level 3 than just be someone wandering the show floor with far more experienced media types.

I like to think that last year was my ‘work experience year’. You know, go with the guys who have more experience and see how they work, picking up tricks of the trade and what not. It was good, even though I barely spoke to anyone barring the Level 3 guys. It was the first time that I actually met Jason and the crew, so that was also helpful. A year later, and nearly 30 podcasts behind us, I felt more and more like a media person, and hence, more confident in introducing myself to some of the other media personalities and what not that were present.

I was there for two of the three days, and here’s a recollection of my experiences.
DAY 1 (Friday 14th November):

The day was split into two parts for me. I was there initially before the show opened to set up contacts for people that I wanted to interview for the podcast, then I had to leave due to reasons of examination. From there, I returned. When I got to the show, I took a series of images prior to the opening that I’ve uploaded onto my Picasa account, which show just all the preparation it takes to get a show like this ready to go.


Cosplayers were present across all three days in general. The one moment that blew me away, and this is something that I wish I took a picture of, a Link cosplayer rocking out to Guitar Hero. Also saw a pretty rad Joker (Dark Knight, of course) as well, aside from the various Best exchange of the day came as I returned to the show, some dudes were walking past a Mudkip cosplayer and remarked that she was a Mudkip. Her response? “So I heard you liked Mudkips...”

Sad, but I laughed.

Also had a chance to meet a few people I’m fans of. Specifically related to Australian Gamer. Matt and Yug are awesome guys. Yahtzee shocked me. I was honestly expecting the Yahtzee we know and love from Zero Punctuation...but instead, I got a polite Yahtzee. Which was rad, of course. As was seeing him rock out in Guitar Hero...

Recording with the Aussie Nintendo guys...now that was fun. We recorded literally at 5pm, and was the only thing that we had recorded that day. I had JUST come back from an exam, and I was literally out of ideas and had no plan, but the six dudes made it fun. What was a surprise to me when I was conducting the interview was that YouTube’s Blunty3000 was there. I had no idea he was at the show to begin with, and within recording distance.

Would have personally loved for him to get more involved in the show, but he was busy checking footage – and I honestly didn’t want to bother him that much. It made for a fun recording though...even if it’s a little non-sensical and almost completely directionless. There were plenty of moments that I wish we did record, especially from one Lamington Child...

Speaking of Lamington Child, he possibly had the moment of the day. I went walking with Keith to go take some pictures around the show (which is where we saw the Link cosplayer playing Guitar Hero), and when we returned to the Media Office, he was re-enacting the Caramelldansen dance. I literally stood there in the doorway stunned.


Meeting Craig Lowdnes and Jamie Whincup was surreal. I mean, it was literally a last minute thing, and while I’m not a big fan of motorsport...it was something. Hearing Craig talking about gaming was also something cool.

There was more PS3 representation than I thought would actually be there. For instance, Tomb Raider Underworld was ONLY shown on a PS3 (despite Eidos’s best attempts to trick gamers into thinking that version of the game doesn’t exist), Resident Evil 5 was only at the Sony booth, Mirrors Edge and NFS: Undercover were PS3 only. Matter of fact, the only NEW game for the 360 was either Gears of War 2, or in one of the stands, Guitar Hero World Tour...

Speaking of Guitar Hero WT, where was it? The full setup wasn’t there! That would have been a great play! And better yet, where was Rock Band?

I should allude a little more on the RE5 point. One thing that I noticed about the show was that in general, there was more unreleased stuff than last year. Obviously RE5, but Ubi also showed off Prince of Persia, Shawn White’s Snowboarding (Wii and 360 verisons) and Naruto: The Broken Bond. Almost all of the games at the Funtastic/Disney booth were unreleased (Pure being the exception). Nintendo’s even had a few – in the form of Animal Crossing: Let’s Go To The City and Kirby Superstar Ultra. EA had NFS: Undercover. Sony also showed off quite a few unreleased PSP games, including LocoRoco 2 and Resistance Portable. And while not at the Sony booth, Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm was shown off...

HOWEVER, AFA Interactive took the cake with all of their games being unreleased. Basically, these were the D3/Marvellous Games, which included Bangai-O Spirits (brutally hard), Little Kings Story (which is making its first public appearance outside of Japan), Matt Hazard (which I really hate hearing about), some game based around Ben 10 and more.

DAY 2 (Saturday 15th November)

Day 2 was really memorable for me. And I’m not just saying that. I didn’t spent as long at the show as I did the day before, but there was one main reason why I was there. I’ll get to that in a moment. Anyway, experiences:

Interviewing Matt and Yug was awesome. It was literally a 10 minute thing that was slightly more prepared than the Aussie Nintendo ‘interview’ I did the day beforehand, even if I did miss out on a couple of things that I wanted to mention. It was also pretty rad to also have Yahtzee there – he basically played the same role that Blunty played the day beforehand.


The big reason why I was there was that I was a participant on a gaming trivia challenge hosted by Yahtzee – and was participated by Jason and myself, Matt and Yug, and two of the dudes from GameArena (who didn’t show). It was fun – I find that I’m better at actually answering questions about gaming than re-enacting games without using much in the way of dialogue, but actions and sound effects. Re-enacting GTA 4 and Tomb Raider is harder than it looks. And I will gladly give Yahtzee credit for his “guess the game screenshot obscured by kittens”. Yes. Kittens.

Oh, and we won. That was rad. In the end, there was a huge deficit between us and Australian Gamer, but we didn’t care. But everyone had fun.


Almost immediately afterwards, Jason had to leave, and I (finally) got to meet up with our forumites. Well, the ones that had come, anyway. It was still really awesome – they were happy I was there (because I normally can’t come to a get-together, because of work). The get together at Galactic Circus was fun – actually managed to not (completely) suck at Guitar Freaks, and played a decent run on Drum Mania. Also had some fun with SF4, actually WON a few bouts (against the computer)...to which I then got my arse kicked in two separate games by some dude who played Blanka and Alioth who played Sagat. The latter I was playing as Akuma, whom is rad and all, but takes damage like CRAZY.

As well as that, Lux, Ali and I indulged ourselves in a bit of Mario Kart DS. Made us look like huge nerds, but really, it was either that, play Daytona, or...watch someone play Initial D. Now do you understand?


And to top this all off? There were some women arguing with some dude on the way home. Particularly loud too – possibly drunk. They were swearing their heads off, threatening to stab someone with a bottle...scary stuff, because really, it could get just a little out of control and someone could have been stabbed. But hey, what can you do? It was a Saturday night and all...

Overall, it was a fun experience. We all had a great time, and the show itself was a big improvement over last year. Some general thoughts about the show:

Is there really a point for Nintendo to KEEP showing Wii Sports? I mean, the game is two years old, and everyone who owns a Wii has the game anyway – there’s better stuff out there to show off what the Wii can do than just Wii Sports...

Kudos for Sony for showing off a good mix of old and new stuff.

Hey Microsoft, why don’t you want to show off how awesome the 360 is? The first year, there was a HUGE area for the 360. The second year was a massive downsize. This year? No official presence for the 360, unless you count the Gears of War 2 bunker. And hell, none of the 360’s there were playing anything unreleased – the only ‘new’ things there were Gears of War 2 and Guitar Hero: World Tour.

Speaking of the latter point, you could argue that because Microsoft already have the sales, they don’t need to show anything off...but there are still people out there not convinced enough to buy a 360. Like myself.

I felt like I should have done more interviewing with people. Or at least pick up my own recording device and recorded people on the show floor.

So yeah, that’s eGames 2008 in a nutshell. Can’t wait for next years show – here’s hoping that we can record more stuff.

In Construction...

More to come as follows.

This is the personal blog of one DarthHomer - his life and his experiences for your expreience.