Comments on: Super Mario Galaxy

Super Mario Galaxy

reklaw — Wed, 10 May 2006 14:35:32 -0800

By: purephase

purephase — Wed, 10 May 2006 14:38:33 -0800

Thanks. I was looking for that earlier.

By: blastrid

blastrid — Wed, 10 May 2006 14:40:15 -0800

While I'm excited about the Nintendo Wii and its gameplay capabilities, I'm disappointed by your post sir. How about a few more words of what this is from (E3 obviously), and what makes this edition of Super Mario so different from the rest? Or how about the Navi fairy that acts as your target when you point the controller at the screen? /shakes head

By: bigmusic

bigmusic — Wed, 10 May 2006 14:43:32 -0800

I wonder if the little prince is going to have a camo in this game.

By: emelenjr

emelenjr — Wed, 10 May 2006 14:54:15 -0800

Is the video playing at the wrong speed for anyone else? A little slow? You can tell by the pitch of the voices talking.

By: maledictory

maledictory — Wed, 10 May 2006 14:56:00 -0800

I think that guy just has a terrible voice.

By: bshort

bshort — Wed, 10 May 2006 15:06:36 -0800

You know, I was all ready to snark about this, but Super Mario Galaxy actually looks really cool.

By: Flashman

Flashman — Wed, 10 May 2006 15:11:42 -0800

Maybe there's a game where you have to rip out the baobab trees before they grow too big and tear the planets apart?

By: Otis

Otis — Wed, 10 May 2006 15:18:49 -0800

Anyone else think the graphics were a bit....sparse? To me, it looked more like Super Mario 64 than Mario Sunshine. I hope the controller isn't the sole feature they are going to try to sell this console on.

By: sourwookie

sourwookie — Wed, 10 May 2006 15:25:17 -0800

No, I think their main selling feature will be Fun, not graphics.

By: borkingchikapa

borkingchikapa — Wed, 10 May 2006 15:26:10 -0800

Well Otis, I imagine the game is nowhere near complete - that looked a lot like just a tech demo.

By: geoff.

geoff. — Wed, 10 May 2006 15:30:22 -0800

Yeah well graphics do make it fun to an extent. I don't need a life-like Mario but if the graphics aren't going to be any better why buy a new console? The biggest mistake in the Wii is lack of HD support. Sure I can handle sparse graphics if they were in fully realized HD color and resolution, but no HD is just being stupid. Make a funky gyroscopic controller for the GameCube, but don't sell us a GameCube on steroids.

By: terpsichoria

terpsichoria — Wed, 10 May 2006 15:31:51 -0800

I hope the controller isn't the sole feature they are going to try to sell this console on. It's being sold on the controller, the new ways to play the controller encourages, accessibility, fun and a low price. It's overtly, determinedly not being sold on its graphics capabilities. I wouldn't expect the majority of Wii games to look significantly better than the latter batch of Gamecube stuff, but if you find that significantly offputting, there are two other consoles out there that are entirely based around high-definition, high-poly graphics (and I'm not dismissing their output by any means - the PS3 presentation might have been hopeless and the Xbox 360 one a bit underwhelming, but the Lost Planet demo is stunning, and Chromehounds looks fantastic too). Nintendo are aiming for something different this time, and I have to say, I've never been as excited by anything at an E3 as I was when I was watching the Nintendo presentation this year.

By: jne1813

jne1813 — Wed, 10 May 2006 15:36:37 -0800

this looks amazing

By: reklaw

reklaw — Wed, 10 May 2006 15:37:27 -0800

geoff: I think it's Sony and Microsoft who are making the mistakes. They're basically doing the same old thing yet again, only with better graphics, faster, bigger discs, etc. etc. It's boring. Nintendo is trying to do something different, and I wish them luck. I'd much rather play this game than yet another FPS/RPG/sports game where nothing's changed except the spiffy new graphics engine.

By: bobo123

bobo123 — Wed, 10 May 2006 15:38:13 -0800

Is the video playing at the wrong speed for anyone else? A little slow? You can tell by the pitch of the voices talking. Me too, try this video, same thing with a little more video at the beginning, no sound problems.

By: terpsichoria

terpsichoria — Wed, 10 May 2006 15:44:28 -0800

On preview (and slightly too late to get into the other comment) - I don't need a life-like Mario but if the graphics aren't going to be any better why buy a new console? Well, equally, if the games are going to play exactly the same but in a higher resolution and with better graphics, why buy an Xbox 360 or PS3? Simply, in both cases, for the really good exclusive games that all consoles eventually get. Buy a Wii because you can't experience Mario Galaxies or Red Steel or any of the other games that won't be coming out anywhere else. Buy a 360 because nobody else will have Lost Planet, Chromehounds or Halo 3. Buy a PS3 because... erm... Snake has a moustache. Yeah. I don't understand why you'd buy a console for its capabillities, whether that's an innovative new controller or amazing graphics. Surely you'd buy it for the actual games. If none of the experiences the Wii offers interest you, then of course you shouldn't buy one, but would that really change if it offered 720p graphics on a par with the 360?

By: ColdChef

ColdChef — Wed, 10 May 2006 15:49:07 -0800

I will never get used to that controller.

By: smackfu

smackfu — Wed, 10 May 2006 16:01:07 -0800

Those are the kind of words that are eaten.

By: fire&wings

fire&wings — Wed, 10 May 2006 16:04:50 -0800

That controller is the new Snap them up now, $900 on eBay in 5 years.

By: terpsichoria

terpsichoria — Wed, 10 May 2006 16:11:09 -0800

Interesting thought re: the Wii's graphics hardware, while we're on the subject - it's being speculated all over the place that the graphics hardware isn't actually finished yet, and that the playable demos at E3 are running on something much closer to Gamecube tech. Nintendo's hardware page says Graphics Processing Unit: Being developed with ATI, which is only fuel to the fire, really. Truth or desperation from people who can't accept that the graphics really won't look much better than the GC I don't know, but it's a thought, especially since you'd imagine they'd be using older hardware and software builds to ensure the stuff they're letting people play is stable, even at the cost of misrepresenting the graphics a bit.

By: cell divide

cell divide — Wed, 10 May 2006 16:15:19 -0800

Am I the only one who doesn't want to have to move my hand around when I play games? I used to laugh at people who, when playing a racing game, would move their hands around as if they were influencing the action. Seriously though, won't it get a little tiring after awhile, especially when playing a long game?

By: Mr.Encyclopedia

Mr.Encyclopedia — Wed, 10 May 2006 16:29:50 -0800

Judging from how well Nintendo's attempt to sell a handheld system by focusing more on innovation and a new control method has gone I wouldn't write off their console attempt just yet.

By: splatta

splatta — Wed, 10 May 2006 16:43:21 -0800

I used to laugh at people who, when playing a racing game, would move their hands around as if they were influencing the action. This is exactly why Nintendo is giving this capability to the Wii. If I hand the controller to my mom and tell her to swing it to hit a tennis ball back to me, she'll know exactly what to do. It's all about intuitiveness.

By: breath

breath — Wed, 10 May 2006 16:53:12 -0800

After hearing the description of Red Steel, I'm worried that the remote will be used for gestural input, rather than being used as a direct controller. What I mean by 'gestural' is that the remote's motion will be used to trigger actions, and the actions will be the same each time. So basically instead of pressing the A button you'll be slashing the controller horizontally. Such a control scheme seems to be entirely missing the point. The way it should be is that the remote should be the sword. You swing the remote a little high, and the sword swings a little high. I'm hoping that the developers end up doing the right thing. And SMG seems to be like exactly the right thing.

By: cortex

cortex — Wed, 10 May 2006 16:59:34 -0800

Am I the only one who doesn't want to have to move my hand around when I play games? No, but I'm not the only one who wants to. Two schools of thought, both well-represented. Seriously though, won't it get a little tiring after awhile, especially when playing a long game? One could say the same for sex. Sex remains nonetheless popular.

By: Sparx

Sparx — Wed, 10 May 2006 18:09:30 -0800

Am I the only one who doesn't want to move my hand around when I have sex?

By: robocop is bleeding

robocop is bleeding — Wed, 10 May 2006 18:10:19 -0800

Look cool. And it's not even 600$! I think my choice of 360 and Wiivolution were on the mark this generation.

By: bobo123

bobo123 — Wed, 10 May 2006 18:13:26 -0800

After hearing the description of Red Steel, I'm worried that the remote will be used for gestural input, rather than being used as a direct controller. I had read joystiq's critique earlier, seemed a little untypical since everything else I've read spoke highly of Red Steel's controls. Someone over at 1up described how intuitive it was and that after a couple minutes he wasn't even thinking about the controller.

By: coriolisdave

coriolisdave — Wed, 10 May 2006 18:18:40 -0800

::gasp:: heaven forfend that you get some exercise when gaming. What will happen to all the kiddie couch-potatos now?

By: hypocritical ross

hypocritical ross — Wed, 10 May 2006 18:25:10 -0800

further geekiness.

By: purephase

purephase — Wed, 10 May 2006 18:33:34 -0800

Here's some more coverage of both the controller and Nintendo's E3 booth (courtesy of Engadget). I'm sold. I'm going to pick-up the DS Lite (New Super Mario Bros. looks like a lot of fun) next month, but I'm anxiously waiting for Twilight Princess and Mario Galaxy. I know I'm a fanboy, but one thing Nintendo does well (and has always done well) is make gaming really fun.

By: 0bvious

0bvious — Wed, 10 May 2006 18:35:11 -0800

Thank the Lord of Entertainment for Nintendo. Finally someone has realised that the gaming industry is heading the way of the movie industry. Same - Old - Shit... I can't wait for Wii. Mario is my hero

By: flabdablet

flabdablet — Wed, 10 May 2006 18:50:21 -0800

Can I run Linux on it and use it as a router?

By: DragonBoy

DragonBoy — Wed, 10 May 2006 19:01:29 -0800

Nintendo is not going after the folks buying the 360 and PS3. They're going after the millions of people who try to play these games and give up, frustrated and perplexed. What many fail to realize is that this _is_ the market to tap into. If the Wii taps into a third of the people who don't play games now because of complexity issues, then they're going to have a bigger market than Sont and Microsoft combined. Wii wants to be to games what iPod is to digital music.

By: graventy

graventy — Wed, 10 May 2006 19:08:30 -0800

This system is going to have to live up to some serious hype. Despite all of the graphical naysayers, there's been a lot of talk about how intuitive and fun it could be. I hope it is. This is Nintendo's E3. And it should have been Sony's. Nice work, Sony!

By: mildweed

mildweed — Wed, 10 May 2006 20:14:31 -0800

I'm not certain what I think about having two controllers. I kinda liked having both hands tied to the same controller. Gives better leverage, IMHO.

By: jjg

jjg — Wed, 10 May 2006 21:26:40 -0800

Because, you know, when you're pressing a button, what you need is leverage.

By: stenseng

stenseng — Wed, 10 May 2006 21:27:35 -0800

Nintendo is going to DOMINATE this generation of consoles. The Wii is amazing. OH, SUP DUCK HUNT WITH LIGHT GUN ADAPTER

By: Burton

Burton — Wed, 10 May 2006 21:57:56 -0800

God I hope Grand Theft Auto ends up on Wii. Can you imagine using that controller to beat a hooker with a pipe?

By: emelenjr

emelenjr — Wed, 10 May 2006 22:03:39 -0800

Thanks, bobo123. I knew there was something weird about that voice. And without the extra bit tacked on at the beginning, like in the video link you posted, I wouldn't have known the voice belonged to a woman.

By: stenseng

stenseng — Wed, 10 May 2006 22:22:14 -0800

SUPER SMASH BROTHERS BRAWL NOW WITH 100% MORE SOLID SNAKE... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pjz5VUeSfo8

By: kosher_jenny

kosher_jenny — Wed, 10 May 2006 23:39:33 -0800

Holy crap strenseng, I don't even know whether or not to believe that's real or not. It's just so awesome and bizarre. (the box bit was hilarious) This stuff is really making me excited about the wii. Super Mario Galaxy looks like it will be crazy fun, and we'll finally be able to play Smash Bros. online. And from what I've been reading the control is actually going to be good as promised.* Bliss! *Of course, whether or not the games developed for it are going to use the control to the best of its capabilities remains to be seen. Call it DS syndrome, if you will.

By: greycap

greycap — Wed, 10 May 2006 23:49:42 -0800

This does look pretty amazing. Still, I prefer the live version.

By: Zombie Dreams

Zombie Dreams — Thu, 11 May 2006 00:12:35 -0800

When I was little, I hated it when people played with toy cars of different scales. I have the exact same feeling with Super Smash Bros Brawl, all those characters with different styles and sizes. About those people complaining about games being the same, only prettier: in many games, having more detail and realism actually adds to the playability of the game. What once were a few pixels in the distance now actually looks like a man hiding in the bushes. Snipe in on his head from the top of a building and watch him sink to the ground. Sorry, but I'll take that over an overweight plummer jumping on mushroom's heads anytime.

By: Tryptophan-5ht

Tryptophan-5ht — Thu, 11 May 2006 02:37:23 -0800

for what its worth, the specs i read on the wii will place it on par with xbox prime. Im ok with that. Halo is still awesome and totally playable. Im glad they decided to do something different. had to have taken balls.

By: Jairus

Jairus — Thu, 11 May 2006 05:46:48 -0800

Sorry, but I'll take that over an overweight plummer jumping on mushroom's heads anytime. Some of us prefer gameplay over pixel count. Enjoy your half-a-thousand-dollar PS3, though!

By: splatta

splatta — Thu, 11 May 2006 06:06:41 -0800

Snipe in on his head from the top of a building and watch him sink to the ground. Just like every other war/fps game ever made, except the blood looks bloodier, and the explosions are, er, explosionier! Sounds like a blast! Give me innovative gameplay and fun over graphics any day.

By: robocop is bleeding

robocop is bleeding — Thu, 11 May 2006 06:26:43 -0800

So we can replace MeTa callouts with Smash Bros duels now, right? Dibs on Meta-Knight!

By: graventy

graventy — Thu, 11 May 2006 06:31:00 -0800

Jairus : "Enjoy your half-a-thousand-dollar PS3, though!" Dude, no one's going to want to buy the crappy version. You want a PS3, you gotta shell out 600.

By: Jairus

Jairus — Thu, 11 May 2006 07:12:39 -0800

You want a PS3, you gotta shell out 600. If people don't buy this system, it's going to bankrupt Sony. I think they've made a fatal mistake in assuming western gamers have the same disposable income and gadget fetish that is a religion to Japanese teenagers.

By: robocop is bleeding

robocop is bleeding — Thu, 11 May 2006 07:25:44 -0800

But I need to spend 600$ for a PS3 because it has BluRay so I can watch 50 First Dates!!! I also need to bury two hundred bucks in my back yard to grow a money treeeeee!!!!! Seriously, I hope that when they release the Wii's pricing info, they do it in terms of "You could buy one PS3 or 2-3 Wiis" or "One PS3 or one Wii, a game, an extra controller, and a 300 dollar hooker to play Smash Bros with all night"

By: Jairus

Jairus — Thu, 11 May 2006 07:49:29 -0800

If I know Nintendo, they'll price it at $249, so they can say it's half the price of a PS3.

By: ROU_Xenophobe

ROU_Xenophobe — Thu, 11 May 2006 07:59:34 -0800

You want a PS3, you gotta shell out 600. This isn't necessarily such a bad deal. I don't have a PS2, so $600 gets me a BD player, PS2, and PS3 right after release. Presumably next spring it'll be less.

By: Jairus

Jairus — Thu, 11 May 2006 08:04:01 -0800

A feature-stripped BD player, and a PS2 that only works with some PS2 games.

By: danb

danb — Thu, 11 May 2006 11:41:44 -0800

Oh hell yes. That Smash Bros thing was amazing. As is Mario Galaxy. And that other E3 demo with the guy in the crowd taking on Miyamoto in tennis. I hope Nintendo can pull through with this. I'm excited for them.

By: Zombie Dreams

Zombie Dreams — Thu, 11 May 2006 12:38:30 -0800

'Some of us prefer gameplay over pixel count. Enjoy your half-a-thousand-dollar PS3, though!' I'll probably opt for the 360, but not because I value pixel count over gameplay, but because I realise gameplay can be enhanced by a higher pixel count (like I tried to demonstrate with my example). I enjoy games of all sorts and sizes, including platform games. I've actually recently finished Super Mario Brothers on my Treo, and had a lot of fun doing it. The feeling I get from playing Ghost Recon on Live is a LOT better and more intense, though. The whole Mario / Zelda / Kirby / etc. recycling really annoys me.

By: Jairus

Jairus — Thu, 11 May 2006 12:40:45 -0800

I have a 360, and has both amazing graphics and great gameplay. Xbox Live really changes things in ways you wouldn't expect. I plan to get a Revolution when it comes out, and then I'll be set.

By: cell divide

cell divide — Thu, 11 May 2006 12:55:23 -0800

Sony is only shipping 2m PlayStation 3's. I am sure they will sell out, even at $600. Then they'll lower the price (a bit) when the next round comes. However, if Blu-Ray is not an agreed on standard by then (or at least has a ton of available movies), I think they're fucked because the only reason to spend even $450 on a system is that it will also play the new high-def movies, and it can be an all-in-one entertainment system.

By: purephase

purephase — Fri, 12 May 2006 08:11:25 -0800

Holy hell.