Should Microsoft Consider Purchasing Atlus? (UPDATED)

UPDATE: Congratulations to SEGA, whose bid was accepted and who are now the parent company behind Atlus.

Shin Megami Tensei. Persona. Etrian Odyssey. Trauma Center. Catherine. With these titles/entries into these series' Atlus, a long-standing Japanese video game development studio has finally made a name for itself in the West in recent years and now that this niche company is poised to make broader waves in the industry their parent company, Index, is doing everything it can to completely screw them over. They are losing money in every single division other than games (thanks to Atlus' success) and so amidst rumours of money laundering (yes, it's that bad) Index announced earlier this summer that they were filing for the Japanese equivalent (well, economics experts would take dispute the use of the term equivalence here as their version of bankruptcy (called civil rehabilitation) is very similar but not exactly equivalent) to bankruptcy protection as it is understood here in the West. Along with this announcement came a secondary announcement: Part of this process would be the selling off of their subsidiaries, the biggest of course being Atlus.

 And so starting, if I am not mistaken, at the end of July, Atlus has had a metaphorical for sale sign up in their (also metaphorical) window. This sale has attracted bids from more than 20 different companies, one of them being SEGA's parent company SEGA Sammy, who bid somewhere around $200 million U.S. If SEGA is successful in the attempted acquisition they will have immediately bolstered their suite of intellectual properties with the popular, critically acclaimed and diverse Atlus library. This is something that SEGA could really use, as their in house development has been stagnant for many years and while they have been publishing a decent amount of games this generation, they have not had any serious success. In fact, there have been more than one failures, both financially and in terms of public relations (PR). Having Atlus under their ownership would be of great benefit to them. 

Thinking about this one may wonder who else would benefit from acquiring Atlus?

New Super Mario Bros. 2 Initial Impressions

I have NSMB2 (3DS) rented right now and having played it for around an hour or so I thought I would post some initial impressions of the game. I'll just write this one up in bulletpoint style. Quick and easy (both to write and to read).

Story

-Princess. Plumber. Rescue. Angry turtles. About as passé as it gets. Does anyone play Mario games for the story though?

Difficulty

-I obviously cannot comment as to the difficulty of the later stages of the game, but having played through all of World 1, most of World 2, and a couple of later stages in Coin Rush mode (one from W3 and I believe the other was 5-3) I can say that thus far it seems as though this game is going to be a little too far on the easy side. I did, however, read that the secret stages are pretty tough, and some of the downloadable coin rush stages are supposed to be very hard, so in the end it sounds like the game should appease all types of gamers with respect to the difficulty found therein and how it appeals to their particular preferences. 

Bayonetta 2 Announced....But It's a Wii U Exclusive

http://www.gamespot.com/news/bayonetta-2-wii-u-exclusive-6396397

Bayonetta 2 will be a Wii U exclusive, Nintendo revealed today. Platinum Games, creator of the original Bayonetta, will be taking up development duties once more, with the game set for release in March 2013.

This is definitely a case of jumping up and down in excitement and then stopping to scratch your head. Oh well, Bayonetta 2 is a go!

Ninja Gaiden (Arcade), II (NES) and III (NES) Heading to the 3DS?

Possibly fantastic news for old school Ninja Gaiden fans: Ninja Gaiden (arcade), Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos (NES) and Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom (NES) appear to be heading to the 3DS via the virtual console feature.

http://www.esrb.org/ratings/search.jsp?title=ninja+gaiden&fromHome=fromHome

That is, if you believe the listings for said games on the ESRB's website (linked above; screenshot below). I do, as news pertaining to the addition of other games heading to digital distribution channels like Xbox Live Arcade and Nintendo's Virtual Console have been leaked via ESRB listings in the past.

Please, please let this be true! If it is, that means there will be FOUR Ninja Gaiden titles on the 3DS (there's (apparently...unless it has been cancelled) an original Ninja Gaiden title in development for the little handheld that could). FOUR!

If this is indeed true, will you be purchasing any of these? I know for sure I will buy Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos (one of my all time favourite games). Ninja Gaiden arcade is a probable, but not certain buy. Depends upon the price. I'm not a big fan of it but it's decent. I'll probably skip Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom, as I don't really like that entry in the series.

P.S. As of now, the first NES Ninja Gaiden title (simply titled Ninja Gaiden) is not listed for the 3DS. I don't know why, and I hope that changes, because it's an excellent game, and even though I own it on the NES and the Wii I will still purchase it for the 3DS. It's not as good as the sequel that was released a year later on the NES, but it's a very good game in its own right.

Nintendo 3DS Swapnote Slideshow Demo Video "God Slideshow"

Nintendo 3DS: 'Hardcore' Gamers' Dream?

Thus far, the Nintendo 3DS has:

-A new (and GOOD) Shinobi Game!!! (btw, my first 'S' Rank:

)
-Two new Resident Evil titles (one out (although it is just a mercenaries rehash), one upcoming (actual new entry in the series))

Btw, if you are not aware of Resident Evil: Revelations, and are a RE fan, shame on you! It's aiming to be a mix of the new and old RE styles, and looks very good thus far.

-New entries in the Contra and Castlevania series announced/rumoured

-Heroes of Ruin, an upcoming (Q1 2012) online action RPG/dungeon crawler that looks VERY good

-Monster Hunter 3G or whatever it is called

-Nano Assault.

-Some other crap I am unaware of/do not care about, because really, it's all about this:

....as long as it doesn't get cancelled.

(and Shinobi, which I am loving (and is kicking my ass))

(And yes, I am aware of the existence of the NG:Sigma rehash for the Vita. I'll probably end up getting it, but the 3DS title is supposed to be an entirely new game)

Nintendo has long had a reputation for catering to the 'casual' market, and while this may not be entirely unsubstantiated, they have gone a long way to rectifying that perception with their acquisition of some serious 3rd party firepower for the 3DS (and apparently for the upcoming and stupidly titled Wii-U as well).

If you are more in line with what people mean by a 'hardcore' gamer, as I would be my most people's standards, then you may want to take a second look at the Nintendo 3DS. When thinking of the 'hardcore'/'casual' issue, it's not as clear a divide between the Vita and 3DS as you may think. The 3DS isn't just Brain Age and Nintendogs games.

When you think Nintendo, you may think Nintendogs, Brain age and Wii Sports. Well, maybe it's time to think Ninja Gaiden, Shinobi, Resident Evil, Contra, Castlevania and Monster Hunter :P

Shinobi StreetPass Challenge 1 S Rank

New Ninja Gaiden 3 Screenshots

New Ninja Gaiden 3 Screens:

Video Game Memories Pt. 3: Fifth Generation (32/64 bit Era)

Memories

The Nintendo 64 is the only system I owned during the fifth gen, so my memories are limited to that (with one exception, because I did play some PS1 at friends' houses, and the PS1 did provide me with one of my best memories). The Nintendo 64 was released in North America on September 29, 1996, a day that I will always remember......

So, the memories:

Video Game Memories Pt. 1: Third Generation (8 bit Era)

Memories

The NES is the only system I owned during the third gen, and atlhough I did play some SEGA Master System at a friend's house a few times, my only real memories of that are some shitty 3D games (with the old school red and blue glasses) and some hidden game built into the system memory.

Anyways, the Nintendo Entertainment System, aka NES, was released in North America in February 1986. My brother and I received our on Christmas, a day I still fondly recall. The NES has provided me with innumerable memories, some of which I will detail here.

So, the memories:

3DS price drops to $170 on August 12; Ambassador Program Announced

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/07/28/3ds-price-drops-to-170-on-august-12/

http://www.gametrailers.com/news/nintendo-3ds-price-drop-ambassador/3675

Looks like I am MUCH more likely to get a 3DS now (at some point, not anytime soon):


Well, this is interesting. After what can only be described as a less than stellar initial launch, Nintendo of America today announced plans to drop the suggested retail price of its portable Nintendo 3DS system to $169.99 in the United States.

The new price, down from the suggested launch price of $249.99 and effective Aug. 12, takes place just a few months after the hardware hit store shelves in the US and is undoubtedly Nintendo’s attempt to set up a strong holiday season for the system. Japanese gamers will also be seeing a price drop on the handheld device effective August 11 that will see the units MSRP go from 25,000 Yen to 15,000 Yen. Meanwhile, details of a price drop throughout European markets are expected soon, but online reports suggest that the the cost of the 3DS will go down “about a third” throughout Europe.

”For anyone who was on the fence about buying a Nintendo 3DS, this is a huge motivation to buy now,” said Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. “We are giving shoppers every incentive to pick up a Nintendo 3DS, from an amazing new price to a rapid-fire succession of great games.”



My Dream Video Game Console

If I were to design the ideal video game console.....

If I were to design the ideal video game console.....it would have the following features:

Shinobi Announced for the 3DS 1st Footage!! And Info.

First Ninja Gaiden, and then Shinobi.....Nintendo really wants me to give in and get a 3DS, don't they?

Apart from the shitty art style and the fact that it's polygonal as opposed to hand drawn pixels, this looks promising.

Here's the gameplay trailer:



Here's what Russ Frushtick from MTV (I didn't know they had anything to do with game coverage, but w/e) had to say:

My Gaming History Pt. 2

This blog series is going to be a look back through time as I recall my 20+ gaming “career,” if you will. I'll take you through the ups and downs, the trials, tribulations and the triumphs. The sleepless nights, the gorging on pizza, the tournaments, the competition, the fights. The friends made over gaming, and the friends lost ov-no wait, I can honestly say that I have never lost a friend because of gaming. That would be rather pathetic, would it not?

Part Two (Part One can be found HERE)

And so, morning, as mornings inevitably do, came.

And so did I.

My Gaming History Pt. 1

Welcome to part one of a new several part long blog series on The Thoughtful Gamers. This blog series is going to be a look back through time as I, magx01, recall my 20+ year long gaming “career,” if you will. I'll take you through the ups and downs, the trials, tribulations and the triumphs. The sleepless nights, the gorging on pizza, the tournaments, the competition, the fights. The friends made over gaming, and the friends lost ov-no wait, I can honestly say that I have never lost a friend because of gaming. That would be rather pathetic, would it not?