The Nintendo Hybrid

  Imagine, if you will, a world in which handhelds and home consoles are one in the same. Imagine buying a new Nintendo console and also getting a handheld as well. Imagine turning off your console and fitting it into your pocket to play later away from home. Now stop imagining, because this very well could be the future of Nintendo consoles.

  Earlier this year it was reported that Nintendo's handheld division and console division merged into one building. One of the reasons cited was to further expand connectivity between console and handheld. With that said, it's a almost a no-brainer what's coming after the Wii U and the 3DS/2DS have run their course. Nintendo is aiming to create a handheld home console hybrid. Why wouldn't they? Their handheld division has always been their strongest. Even their most successful home console, the Wii, pales in comparison to the success of the Nintendo DS.  With industry analyst and everyday bloggers suggesting that Nintendo goes 3rd party or release games on the iOS market, making their next console into a hybrid that doubles as a handheld could seriously silence such asinine comments as those.

  If Nintendo realeases a hybrid for their next console, they could easily grow the fanbases of several of their handheld centric franchises. Pokemon comes to mind. Fans could finally get the home console Pokemon game they've been asking for, and when they're ready to battle, or leave the house, they just carry their hybrid with them as they would their 3DS. Even more casual focused games like animal crossing could benefit from having the portability of a handheld alongside the in home experience of a Nintendo console. Beyond just being able to game anywhere, Nintendo will no doubt add some new innovation that we never thought of. They could potentially add GPS technology, a solar energy sensor (ala solar boy django), or some other idea thats can only be described as Nintendo.

  If they do create a hybrid, there are several benefits. They could make it very affordable, due to cost being lowered. With Nintendo only pumping out hybrids instead of console and handheld, they would save a lot of resources, time, and money. They could produce games faster, since team won't have to debate about putting it on the handheld or the console. However, this hybrid would most likely have to be larger than any other handheld they ever manufactured to prevent overheating and house all this technology. It would probably at the smallest be the size of a Wii U Gamepad or Apple's iPad. The hybrid also would have to have a decent online infrastructure. It would be a waste not to. They could upgrade the miiverse to include voice chat, crossgame chat, and videochat during gameplay.  It would take a lot more effort than the average person would assume it would to get the hybrid just right, but if done right, Nintendo could dominate the home console and handheld market with a single device. 

  So I shall leave you with a little food for thought. If the Wii sold over 100 million units, and the DS sold over 150 million units, imagine how successful they would have been if combined into a hybrid somehow. This is the future console that we very well could get from Nintendo. Is your body ready?

The Wii U's Secret Weapons

  The Wii U has been getting a lot of flak lately, but it seems that the gamers on the interwebz have forgotten almost everything that Nintendo said at E3 2012. The Wii U has a few secret weapons ready to use that will create unique, innovative ways to play games, and boost its appeal to the hardcore crowd, as well as the casuals.

  Did everyone just forget about the Gamepad's NFC features? Seriously! This alone can lend to some pretty awesome game ideas. This could be used with figurines, trading cards, and all sorts of other trinkets. Imagine a Yu-Gi-Oh! game or a Baten Kaitos game that actually uses cards. The possibilities are endless with this one.

  Another Secret weapon is the mic thats built into every Wii U Gamepad. Nintendo Land has already shown that the mic can be used for gameplay by having you blow into it to activate certain parts on DK's Crash Course. The Nintendo DS made use of a mic as well, albeit limited. With the power of the Wii U, this feature should be able to be put to great use.

  The Camera in another weapon in the Wii U's arsenal. We know it has some level of face recognition, because we all used it to make a mii or two. So Imagine a horror game that takes your face and puts it in game, or a game that uses the camera to place a picture of you on the TV screen with some creepy effects like making a zombie appear behind you. Yes we know its fake, but that would certainly cause some of us to look behind us or even scream like a coward.

  Multiple Gamepads is another of it's war horses. Did everyone forget that Reggie Fils-aime got on stage and proclaimed that future games will make use of multiple Gamepads. I could see that going to use in RPG. Maybe even have the two players with the Gamepad go through different dungeons at the same time, and meet up in the middle some how, or even have it where both players are in the same room, but see different things on their Gamepads. sort of like a parallel world where player 1 affects player 2's world  through his actions and player 2 does the same.

  Last but certainly not least is the Wii remote plus. Reggie also said that their may be Wii U games that use the Wii remote. Sword play in games such as Red Steel 2 and Skyward Sword showcased how the Wii remote could make swashbuckling all the more engaging. Also, If i do play a shooter, I prefer the accuracy of a Wii remote over analog sticks. The Wii remote isn't dead just yet, so don't count it out.

  With these secret weapons in its arsenal, I can see a future full of varied games and unique and creative ideas coming from the Wii U. If Nintendo and 3rd party developers can make use of all of these features, the Wii U could end up with a library of games more unique and varied than any console before it. Is your body ready?

Yoshi's Big BreakBreak

Yoshi had been Mario's loyal guardian and ride since before we even knew he existed. He's literally been there for the Mario Bros. Since birth. (Just ignore the fact he was nowhere in Mario 1-3) Over the years this lovable dinosaurs has amassed many fans,  myself included but as a Yoshi fan I can admit  his games have went downhill since the SNES days with the exception of the Yoshi's Island on the Nintendo DS.

The problem seems to have started in the Nintendo 64 days. If you're  a true fan,  you can admit. Yoshi Story was not one of his shining moments. It was simplistic,  had a God awful song that played between chapters, and lacked the charm of the Yoshi's Island games. It seems as if Nintendo had no idea what to do with Yoshi. He had a horribble tilt and play type game on the Gameboy Advance, and a glorified tech demo on Nintendo DS. However, all hope is not lost.  The Nintendo DS did redeem Yoshi a bit with a very solid and challenging Yoshi's Island game and there is a promising yarn Yoshi game coming to Wii U.

This is the year of Luigi according to Nintendo's own president, Satoru Iwata, but this could very well be Yoshi's big year! I can actually say I've been hype for a new Yoshi game 2 times in a row now. It seems Nintendo is out of whatever rut they were in with Yoshi,  and my favorite green dinosaur lizard dragon thingie is back on the rise. True he didn't  have as many bad games as my favorite blue hedgehog,  but he certainly was heading that way. I hope this wave of good Yoshi games continues and he also finds his way onto the Nintendo 3DS. As for now,  I will impatiently await the Wii U title and hope for a demo before release to tide me over. LONG LIVE YOSHI!

Is Mario being milked dry

The question on everyone's mind these days, is simply a question of "is Mario being milked dry?" In order to answer this question, we must first acknowledge that Mario himself is a character and he has multiple games that he stars in. Is the character Mario used a lot? Yes. Nobody can argue with that, but is each individual franchise that he represent being milked? I would say no.

Let me explain. Mario on average has 1 or 2 main franchise games per console and 1 of each spinoff game. Do you honestly believe everyone who enjoys Mario and Sonic Olympics, or Mario Party is also going to go out and buy Mario Galaxy or New Super Mario Bros.? The problem is that people group anything with Mario in it as a main franchise game for some reason. Mario Kart has its own following separate from Mario Golf and Mario Tennis. I know several gamers who are "tired" of Mario platformers, but get excited every time a new Mario Kart is announced.

Think of Mario as a movie star. Would you group Enemy of the State and I Am Legend as part of the same line of movies with Will Smith? No you wouldn't. Though they all star Will Smith, they are vastly different from each other. This variety is what allows Mario to churn out several games per console and still stay fresh. If we look at each individual franchise, we see there have only been two 3D games, one sidescrolling 2D game and one RPG game on the Wii. How is that any more milked that the yearly Call of Duty games that are all the same genre? So no, Mario is not being milked, he's just the star of multiple separate game franchises.

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