Will you make the Switch!!

Nintendo are back! well that's the word going around from a lot of gamers and industry leaders, they released the console reveal trailer to much applause. They seem to have won back a tremendous amount of 3rd party support and really look as though they could get back in the game. I will admit the trailer did excite me, my inner child squealed a joy filled scream. I have much love for Nintendo my first home console was a NES some 25 years ago now, I still play a lot of Mario's retro titles on my 3DS quite often today. The last two home console generations however have seen Nintendo take a step away from the norm and try to innovate the way we play games at home much like they did with the release of the DS back in 2004 for handheld gamers. I guess the success of the DS prompted this considering its Nintendo's most profitable console to date with lifetime sales of around 154 millions units shipped.
        The Nintendo Wii released on November 19th 2006 and was a instant hit, it sported innovative motion controls and changed the way we played games in our living room. Much of the Nintendo Wii's success was due to it captivating such  wide audience. People who had never played a video game before could pick up and play Wii Sports on a Nintendo Wii and enjoy it. The Wii proved popular at parties and even in retirement homes, and with some great titles including one of my favourites Super Mario Galaxy has sold in its life time just over 101 million units. However even though the Wii sold in excess of 100 million units few people bought games, a lot stuck to the included Wii sports title which I will admit is endlessly re-playable and fun. This to me was the point where Nintendo started to loose its 3rd party support.

The Wii U launched November 18th 2012, Nintendo aimed to get some much needed Christmas sales, and also take a head start against Sony and Microsoft . Unfortunately Nintendo's unclear message and lack of hardware power lead to poor sales (only just over 13 million units to date) and saw Sony's PS4 and Microsoft's Xbox One take quick leads on Nintendo's console. Nintendo lost a lot of 3rd party support for the Wii U which also lead to large draughts of software releases for the console. Don't get me wrong I personally enjoyed my Wii U, I liked the ability to play on the tablet while the wife watched TV and the way the tablet's capabilities were worked into Nintendo Land were brilliant. Unfortunately for Nintendo consumers just didn't want a piece of the Wii U pie, which I feel was really disappointing as I think some of Nintendo's best games are on this console what with Splatoon, Super Mario 3D World, and Yoshi's Woolly World, these were great titles let down by there Console. 

Enter Nintendo Switch, Nintendo's latest entry and there take on a next generation console. Slated for a March 2017 release, Nintendo have so far teased us with a 3 minute trailer showing us a few of the consoles new features and glimpses of a few games possibly to hit the console hopefully at launch. What we know so far is that the console is a home/hybrid console. There is a dock station which connects to the TV in which the tablet slots into, you play on your TV like a traditional home console, however if you leave the house you now have the option of disconnecting sections of the controller attaching them to the tablet and removing it from the dock and continuing to play your game on the move. The difference between the Switch and the Wii U is that the Switch's tablet feature will work anywhere, you are not restricted to remaining within a certain distance of the home dock/console. Not much else is known at this point other than it will be powered by a custom Tegra processor which includes a NVIDIA GPU based on the same architecture found in some of the top Geforce gaming rigs. Nintendo have announced there will be a Direct press conference containing much more details January Next year. So for now we wit with baited breath to see what other goodies will accompany Nintendo's latest entry into the console race. EA have announced that a few of there bigger titles will port over to the new console. I really believe Nintendo have possibly found there stride again with this one and am looking forward to what they reveal in the months to come. Check out the teaser reveal below...

Why do we play? Why are we Gamers?

Why do I play games, why do you play games, what engages us, draws us in. I started gaming in 1989, my parents bought me a Gameboy, and a Nintendo entertainment system. Console gaming wasn't overly huge back then games where centred around either involving the entire family or were single player platformers. If you wanted to compete with other gamers you found your nearest arcade, or invited your mates around for a 2 player sesh.
       Mario Bro's/Duck Hunt was my first entry into the gaming world. I remember sitting there determined to master every level, every jump, platform gaming required, skill, coordination, and above patience. Platform games back then were easy to play but sometimes impossible to master, I loved the challenge and earning bragging rights for speed runs. Gaming was simple back then, you didn't need a fast internet connection, you didn't need a pro controller to get the upper hand, you just played and enjoyed.
    

Gaming continued liked this for me throughout the cartridge ages and well into the reign of CD, and DVD. I was a single player campaign gamer, platformers and adventure games where my escape, especially as a child/teenager, my parents had gone through a nasty separation, so gaming for me was a way of escaping reality. Even if only for a short while, I didn't have to worry about anything or concentrate on anything else but the game. I borrowed my mates Super Nintendo to master Super Mario World, played my N64 into the ground on the hunt for all 120 stars in Super Mario 64. My all time favourite game though still stands with Super Mario Sunshine, when released this game wasn't well received by the gaming world, but I loved it, it looked amazing, it was challenging, and it was different.

      I remember back in 2009 connecting my Xbox 360 to the internet, signing up for Xbox Live Gold

and playing my first online match. The game, Call of Duty Modern Warfare.

This was incredible, I had never played anything like it, I could play the game as well as either talking to mates or meeting new gamers around the world. Of course online gaming had been around already for many, many years, especially for PC, this was just my first dabble. I was hooked COD was my new gaming hobby though back then and still now I am really no good, well compared to most others I still enjoy what these games have to offer. I'm probably not as drawn to them as some of the originals especially black ops that's my favourite in the series by far. This series in my opinion launched online gaming on consoles and gave the console gaming world something it hadn't really had before.

            As you can see gaming has evolved over the decades from the arcade, to our homes, to in our hands. But has it changed, is it still engaging, I believe so. Gaming still derives from its original concept, interactive digital entertainment, its become larger than the film industry and is still evolving with VR now becoming more mainstream.

           What's your story?, why does gaming appeal to you? leave your stories in the comments if you wish, or tell us about your favourite game and why. Until next time....

                                                      Game on, and Play hard!! 

      

The Return of the oLdSkOoLz GaMeR!!

OMG gamers,

First off welcome back to my blog it has been a long absence and I apologise. My last blogs were around E3 2014, my has the gaming world changed since then. 

   PS4 is still going strong, Xbox One have played some serious catch up, and Nintendo are prepping to announce their latest entrance into next gen consoles due March next year apparently.

                THE GAMES!!!!!

There have been some amazing games over the last year to name a few Rise of the Tomb Raider was amazing, Fallout 4 has proved a popular title within the series. But my favourite so far for next gen releases has to be Quantum Break, the game is amazing from start to finish, and if you've been on the fence about buying an Xbox One, then this is the game to get you started. It's story drew me in from the opening moments and had me captivated until the final credits. The game involves gameplay intertwined with a live action to series (Think Netflix) the choices you make during the game effect which episode you see and slightly changes the course of the game moving forward.

  Gameplay is smooth and fluid with some cool moves to achieve and master. I could ramble on about this game forever but I won't as I don't want to spoil any of it. It truly has to be played to believe.

    Stay tuned for more gaming news including games, consoles, and I'll also be updating my blog to provide you all with links to my Twitch Streams and YouTube channel. Play hard, game on and please feel free to leave comments on gaming news you'd like covered, or games you'd like to see me stream over Twitch...