Atelier Shiori

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Pokebank Rant or why I’m Disappointed with Nintendo

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I admit that I am a big fan of Nintendo since my childhood. I pretty much own every console they released. However, the actions they have taken last year have made me increasingly disappointed in them, especially with their recent handling with Pokebank. There is absolutely no excuse why this application is not out yet. The worse part of it is that they still continue to leave everyone in the dark considering that they already brought the Nintendo Network servers back up several days ago.  Furthermore, Japanese and Korean players were able to download the application before it was taken off, thus giving them an unfair advantage as they can still use the application. Considering that it’s a paid service that I was planning to pay for, I felt that they should have prepared for the increase traffic ahead of time.

Another thing that is also unacceptable is that the hacked Pokémon checker doesn’t even block obviously hacked Pokémon. They should have known about this from the beginning as these tools like Pokegen was already in the wild. To me, they should have at least check for illegal abilities/moves, impossible Effort Values and Individual values since those are the easiest to catch.

As a whole, I don’t think Pokebank will release anytime soon despite rumors saying it will be Tuesday. What I think will happen is that it will get rereleased in Japan and perhaps Korea this month while other areas are left in limbo until several months later (probably in June or even next year) when nobody cares anymore. To me, I feel that Nintendo are not listening to its fans outside of Japan. They outright refuse to get rid of region locks (while the Vita, PS4 and Xbox One doesn’t have any), consider taking monetization away from people who Let’s Play Nintendo Games or even review them (until they reverse that decision) and still refuses to release Flip Note Studio 3D outside of Japan. It’s clear that they don’t care about any of their fans with the Pokebank fiasco that is still going on with absolutely no transparency of what is going on. It’s such a shame because they make a lot of good games that I enjoy. Also, don’t forget that without the fan base Nintendo has now, they wouldn’t be successful as they are now.

As a whole, I think they need to get their act together by releasing Pokebank, issue a formal apology and possibly give some kind of compensation such as extending the trial for 60 days or something. I know that handling the traffic for a service, especially for a popular franchise can be difficult, but Nintendo need to be more transparent and insure the fans that they will release it so that they will continue to support the company. There are consequences for companies who do disservice to its fan base like Capcom, so I hope that they won’t go in that direction.

With that, what do you think about the Pokebank Delay?

 

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Thoughts about the AKB48 Scandal

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For a long time, I have been a strong critic of the Asian Idol industry not because of the manufactured music, but also how they treated the girls. In an editorial I wrote and revised back in June, I have been highly critical on the AKB0048 anime as it was used to promote the group. In that post, I mentioned the girls’ tratement because they are forced to promote a purity image.

Well, I think this incident involving a 20 year old member named Minami Minegishi getting caught dating someone and then shaving her head while beg her fans for mercy. Although I don’t know much about idol culture, I think this no-date policy is going too far. It’s not just a problem with AKB48, but also the South Korean counterpart as the agency takes full control of their personal lives just to make more money off a small group who is obsessed over it. They need to change as I don’t think it’s healthy for the women to hold back their love life just to satisfy this marketing gimmick. Besides, people only have one life to live. Because of that, I would like to see some members in this group to challenge it in the courts, although I doubt it will ever happen.

No, Handheld Gaming is not Dying… Stop Saying that!

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Guess which one is the worst handheld console. (Hint; It’s the iPhone)

In the past year, I have been getting furious with articles popping on the Internet such as:

I’m sick of tired of seeing them. When I see these headlines, I get annoyed since mobile gaming is garbage. This is why I don’t use my iPhone 4S for gaming anymore since the games are boring. It’s also the reason why I have a 3DS and a Playstation Vita, to play real games. Still, some analysts can’t get it in their thick heads that mobile gaming is a fad that will eventually end. So, I’m going to share some crucial reasons why handheld gaming is better than mobile gaming:

  1. Controls: If you want to play real games, you must have a D-Pad, control stick and buttons. Smartphones don’t have these since they are not designed for gaming. Sure you can use the touchscreen, but it limits what you can do in the game. Also, on-screen controllers are not a solution since your fingers cover up the screen. Not to mention, Bluetooth controllers don’t count, they need to be built in on the device.
  2. Upgrade costs: With a handheld gaming console like the 3DS and Vita, you don’t have to worry about having to upgrade so you can play the latest games. The fatal flaw with mobile gaming is that Smartphones changes every so often and not all these devices run the same version of the operating system. You will end up spending more just to upgrade so you can play the latest games, especially if you want to do an early upgrade.
  3. Battery:  The advantage of handhelds is that you can play them until the battery runs out and it’s not a big deal. When you start using your phone as a gaming system, your battery will start draining fast. I know since I own a smartphone and the battery starts going down relatively quickly. Once you use your phone to call someone, your might be stuck if the battery goes dead. This can become a big problem if you have an emergency like having a flat tire. You will be stranded
  4. Game Experiences: If you play any good handheld console game, you realize that it has a lot of depth that will keep you playing for several hours. The problem with mobile gaming is stemmed from Sturgeons’ Law. Since the games are easy to make, the developers put little effort to make a quick buck. In turn, this leads to very unsatisfying experiences which people play for 5 minutes before deleting the application.

Overall, I think mobile gaming is terrible for the fact the games are horrible and it’s a scheme to milk everyone’s money with worthless in-app purchases. Also, handheld consoles aren’t dying any time soon as no real gamer will game only on a smartphone.

If you are wondering about the games shown in the picture: Pocket Monsters Black 2 (DS), Shining Hearts (PSP/Vita), Mario Kart 7 (3DS) and the infamous Angry Birds, which is crap by the way.

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Idiotic Comments from Phil Fish

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While surfing the Internet, I came across this article where the Fes creator, Phil Fish say that Japanese Games are (censored) horrible without giving any good reason. Not only I got enraged by his uncalled comments, but it ruins his credibility since what he said is unprofessional and also, he is in no position to say it considering that he took 5 years to make a 2D game that probably doesn’t deserve the awards it’s getting.

I do admit that Japanese Games have some problems like not localizing their games (eg Namco with their constant refusal to localize Idolmaster) and that Final Fantasy XIII is pretty mediocre, most of their games are rather good compared to what gets made in the West. I feel that western games are horrible because they play with the obsessions of violence, rehash of FPS games, poor quality mobile games that is filled with ripoff micro transactions, bad movie licensed games, ripoff DLCs over good gameplay and the list goes on. Needless to say, I feel that western gaming is going into a big rut, but that is my opinion. However, this doesn’t rule out all Western games since there are actually good ones out there such as Portal, Half-Life series, etc, but not that many.

I also like to point out that Japanese Games are made for the Japanese audience… so beggars can’t be choosers I suppose. Also, the fact that Sturgeon’s Law applies to everything, no matter where the game is made.

So in short, Phil Fish doesn’t know what he is talking about. He better off keeping his mouth shut and stop making Indie look bad.

The Despair Continues… (Update)

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Dear James,

We are very sorry for the delay in shipping out your package. As we are
still in waiting for the ordered stocks of Idolm@ster SP: Wandering Star
(PSP the Best) (Sony PSP™ Japan, No Region Protection) from our
suppliers. Please be informed that we are only depending on their
availability. Once they deliver it in our warehouse, we will definitely
ship out your order on the same day. We kindly ask for your patience.

Sorry for the inconvenience caused.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Best regards,

Ann
Play-Asia.com

Lied about the ETA and not notify me of this… It seems like they don’t want my money. Either way, I won’t buy anything from them again if this keeps it up. but yeah, waiting another week and a half to see how it goes.

Update: after a few more days, I finally got my order shipped out. It should be here by Spring Break.

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No, just no! (Anime Nano Rant)

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When I went onto Anime Nano this morning, someone decided to flood it with this nonsense. Apparently, this is worse than the news sites as this is someone’s personal tumblr that surprisingly slipped into the cracks. Blogs like these should never be allowed on the site unless they are writing constructive posts and not just sharing pictures.

So yeah, Anime Nano is crap until they start moderating this type of content from the stream. To save your sanity, use Anime Blogger Antenna, Google Reader or even an RSS reader like NewsNetWire.

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The idea of pushing Nintendo to make Smartphone Games is Stupid

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Back in June, I got a shiny Nintendo 3DS as a replacement for the broken DSi. I have played around with it for nearly two months and I think it’s a good handheld gaming console. However, it cost a bit more money and many of the first party and worthwhile titles weren’t out, except Ocarina of Time, which is why it was underperforming for a while until now.

Just recently, Nintendo has slashed $80 dollars from the price, bringing down the price of the 3DS to $169. In addition, they are giving incentives to early adopters with free downloadable games. Sadly for most investors, it wasn’t enough. They insist that the 3DS will still flop and Nintendo should give up on the console business to make games on smartphones. This idea made me angry since they don’t understand gaming more than just playing a mini game of “Angry Birds” or “Cut the Rope.”

The problem with mobile gaming is that while the games are considerably cheaper than the handheld consoles, they aren’t specifically designed for it. I know smartphones are becoming more capable. We can now play music, surf the Internet, read emails, view maps, take pictures and etc. I still feel that gaming is one of those areas that it does horribly in. While touch orientated games like “Angry Birds” works well with the smartphone, more complicated games that requires more controls makes the gaming experience subpar or downright horrible. This is because touchscreen controls don’t give any feedback compared to physical ones. In addition, most mobile games don’t have depth and typically shovelware because the makers are more concentrated on making a quick profit than on quality. While quality games exist on the app stores, most of these games still give a very forgettable experience.

For Nintendo, making games for smartphone devices are not in their DNA. They are the visionaries of the video game industry. If they give up on making hardware or start making games on other platforms such as the iPhone, they will completely lose their mojo and their ability to innovate. They have to devalue their games and probably end up in the same boat like SEGA is in.

In conclusion, I strongly disagree that Nintendo should just give up. I know smartphones are becoming more popular, but I think there is still a place for handheld gaming consoles. I believe the 3DS will eventually take off and become popular once good games are released for it. People just have to be patient.

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TSA hits a new low… and it’s outrageous!

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As you might have known back in November of last year, I have posted a rant about the intrusive pat downs and body scanning and why they are so intrusive. If touching little children isn’t enough, don’t worry… you will get outraged by this:

TSA stands by officers after pat-down of elderly woman in Florida

When I heard about it, I got outraged considering the fact that they forced a cancer stricken grandmother to take off her diaper who is probably going trough a lot of stress already. She doesn’t need to go through any more trouble than she needs to. Also, common sense will tell you that this grandmother isn’t a terrorist, especially at this state, so they could have just exempt her and let her be. Unfortunately, the TSA doesn’t care about the moral repercussions and go ahead with it anywhere. This is the part that got me really angry.

I feel that the policy needs to be changed so that the elderly and children doesn’t have to deal with the mental scaring of pat downs. I know airport security is important, but they need to have common sense and sensitivity, which there is a lack of it ever since they implement these pat downs. Also, these intrusive pat downs needs phased out completely and we should just stick to body scanners and train TSA agents to detect suspicious behavior of a terrorist. Otherwise, we should just boycott flying and stick to alternative modes of transportation until the TSA changes their ways.

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