Xenoblade announced for New 3DS

The fact that they thought this was a better idea than just porting an HD version to Wii U is pretty baffling. I was planning to play this before XCX came out but even if I end up getting a New 3DS I'll probably stick with the Wii version.
 
I'm enjoying the meltdowns, honestly.

Now, if they required the new hardware to play smash brothers I could understand the outrage.

But they don't.

Enjoy smash brothers and don't upgrade if you can resist.
 
So do we know if this is a straight port yet or not? Or were there hints at extra content?

It actually appears to be a down-port. I'm guessing no new content, since most of their time probably went into optimizing assets to run on the thing.

The fact that they thought this was a better idea than just porting an HD version to Wii U is pretty baffling. I was planning to play this before XCX came out but even if I end up getting a New 3DS I'll probably stick with the Wii version.

It's good that you've made that decision as no localization for the port has been announced, and from my POV isn't very likely.
 
They called it a New 3DS.

Just like they called the more powerful DS revision the DSi. Also with games that could only be run on the DSi.

We're arguing semantics here. The truth is that the hardware has changed, processing power has increased and if they were to maximise that increase in processing power, it would be beyond the capabilities of the original hardware.
Pretty sure the titles that couldn't run on the original DS were just eShop titles though, right? It wasn't exactly a game-changer for most.

But Xenoblade? Well that's a headline, retail game. I would call that a bit of a game-changer. It'll depend on how much of a trend this becomes. If we see a few headline games only for the New 3DS, then its far beyond any comparison from previous handhelds and into new territory.

This is more akin to a mobile phone upgrade. Which wouldn't necessarily be so bad, but with phones, you expect that. You buy a phone knowing what will happen in the future in terms of compatibility. This is kind of just out of nowhere for existing 3DS owners. If you told them a couple years ago that there'd be a new model in a couple years that was more powerful and would lock you out of running some of the big, new games, I'm sure you'd agree it would have affected people's decisions.

I suppose it will take some time to see how much this is actually going to 'suck' for existing users, but trying to write this off as no big deal definitely shows a lack of empathy for the position many people have just possibly been put in.
 
Pretty sure the titles that couldn't run on the original DS were just eShop titles though, right? It wasn't exactly a game-changer for most.

But Xenoblade? Well that's a headline, retail game. I would call that a bit of a game-changer. It'll depend on how much of a trend this becomes. If we see a few headline games only for the New 3DS, then its far beyond any comparison from previous handhelds and into new territory.

This is more akin to a mobile phone upgrade. Which wouldn't necessarily be so bad, but with phones, you expect that. You buy a phone knowing what will happen in the future in terms of compatibility. This is kind of just out of nowhere for existing 3DS owners. If you told them a couple years ago that there'd be a new model in a couple years that was more powerful and would lock you out of running some of the big, new games, I'm sure you'd agree it would have affected people's decisions.

I suppose it will take some time to see how much this is actually going to 'suck' for existing users, but trying to write this off as no big deal definitely shows a lack of empathy for the position many people have just possibly been put in.
Great post.
 
Would be interested but i'm not buying a new 3DS to play this, i have had a 3DS since launch & this is just splitting the userbase.
 
Is the new 3ds compatible with ds games?


The game does look ugly but probably better in motion. I will get this.

I'd imagine it will be... There isn't any real DS hardware to 'lose' that wasn't already being employed by the 3DS and obviously the card slot/reader is still the same.
 
The fact that they thought this was a better idea than just porting an HD version to Wii U is pretty baffling. I was planning to play this before XCX came out but even if I end up getting a New 3DS I'll probably stick with the Wii version.

Yeah, it would have been one thing if this game was playable for existing 3ds users, but since it's not you aren't taking advantage of that large install base. The WiiU has a larger base than this unreleased system.
 
Sad it's not an HD version! D:
That game looks so stunning in HD, it's really being wasted on the 3DS. Even if it probably looks impressive in 3D as well. A game with such scope, I wanna play on a TV in all it's glory. But the 3DS is a more popular brand and they need something to move units of this revision, so I guess I understand that reasoning. But still.
 
I'd imagine it will be... There isn't any real DS hardware to 'lose' that wasn't already being employed by the 3DS and obviously the card slot/reader is still the same.

Yeah but every iteration Nintendo dumps BC. Game boy advance to s&P, ds lite to DSi, etc....
 
Good thing I procastinated buying it on Wii for the past few months.
It doesn't look as good as I was hoping and i'd have much prefered a HD version but i'll take it.
 
This can't be a real screenshot??

i would hope not, that shit looks terrible

This is like the "wow on atari" joke except using current hardware and still just as ugly

I imagine the US will get the new 3ds. I'm curious though if we'll get the options for the cases like they're showing(probably not)
 
Now imagine turning the 3D effect on, you'll get half the speed!
Same speed, half framerate.

Maybe I'm remembering this wrong but the framerate in the Wii game wasn't great either. Not sure if it was that bad but that GIF is about what I remember that game running at.
Again, its not about framerate, but about the speed the game is occurring at. A low framerate doesn't necessarily 'slow' a game down.

This is about the general speed of the game, like if somebody hit a 'slow motion' button.
 
Mobile technology is advancing significantly more rapidly than console technology and exponentially more rapidly than it was in the game boy days. I think this is a great trend, more rapid innovation and enticing people to upgrade (which creates a userbase worth making games for) is great. $200 for three years of use is more than enough as far as I am concerned.
 
I keep hearing that the improved CPU is only used of the 3D tracking and OS and not for games. If it's so then why does this game need to be exclusive to the New 3DS?
 
Pretty sure the titles that couldn't run on the original DS were just eShop titles though, right? It wasn't exactly a game-changer for most.

But Xenoblade? Well that's a headline, retail game. I would call that a bit of a game-changer. It'll depend on how much of a trend this becomes. If we see a few headline games only for the New 3DS, then its far beyond any comparison from previous handhelds and into new territory.

This is more akin to a mobile phone upgrade. Which wouldn't necessarily be so bad, but with phones, you expect that. You buy a phone knowing what will happen in the future in terms of compatibility. This is kind of just out of nowhere for existing 3DS owners. If you told them a couple years ago that there'd be a new model in a couple years that was more powerful and would lock you out of running some of the big, new games, I'm sure you'd agree it would have affected people's decisions.

I suppose it will take some time to see how much this is actually going to 'suck' for existing users, but trying to write this off as no big deal definitely shows a lack of empathy for the position many people have just possibly been put in.

I do understand what you mean (and I like that you called Xenoblade a headline game!), but I think the process will be organic. I mentioned before that not many games really require extreme amounts of hardware power. Developers would weigh the consequences of power vs. audience. It's clear that if your game doesn't need huge amounts of power, then you should make it available for all machines. Which is why I wouldn't be worried that a whole lot of games are going to be locked out for us original users.

But to port a Wii game, especially a massive Wii game like Xenoblade - I mean this didn't run at anywhere near high frame rates on the Wii and it was really pushing the hardware - I think it would be a good decision to capitalise on the faster CPU. I mean it looks like shit right now, but it looks reasonably playable and hopefully improves. But it would be completely unplayable otherwise.

What other 3DS games are there with comparable scale and graphics to Xenoblade?
 
I've just literally bought a 3DSXL too, thanks for making them revision exclusive, that's a terrible idea and it might as well be marketed as a brand new console without the 3DS moniker.

I did only pay £100 for it so I guess I'll be losing very little if I sell it on.
 
If they leave the exclusive games to ports from Wii games I don't mind. Completely new games though, I'll be pissed. I won't buy another 3DS this late.
 
This is a very strange situation. I would have preferred an HD version of Xenoblade. But, perhaps that was too resource-intensive a prospect, and the more cost-effective decision was to make a 3DS version.

Sure, they had to make the bulk of the game again, and you need the newer 3DS to play it, but there's decent positioning for people who buy the 3DS version of Smash and want to play another game with Shulk as the MC.

So, I can see why this was done.
 
I expect the consoles I buy to be the focus of a company for more than 3.5 years and to be able to play all games they release in the foreseeable future until they release a completely new console years down the line . I don't care if I'm right or wrong, its the way I feel and they won't have my support with this. If any other company pulled this I would react exactly the same, new Vita game that doesn't work on the Vita I already have? Count me out.
The original 3DS is still Nintendo's focus, considering that the large majority of their user base are on the original 3DS system. The new system won't change that status quo at all, and in a year and half, the 3DS successor will be revealed anyway.

By the way, how is Nintendo supposed to enable the original 3DS to play this Xenoblade port without the enhanced CPU?

Therefore, if the new redesign didn't exist, you still wouldn't have been able to play Xenoblade as it would never have been announced im the first place.
 
Why the hell are they releasing that port to 3DS instead of Wii U? People have been asking for a HD port, not a portable port.

Damn it.
 
I've just literally bought a 3DSXL too, thanks for making them revision exclusive, that's a terrible idea and it might as well be marketed as a brand new console without the 3DS moniker.

I did only pay £100 for it so I guess I'll be losing very little if I sell it on.

Don't jump to conclusions, Xenoblade is the only example that we know of that requires the new version. The other games can still be played on a regular 3DS, either with the joystick add-on or a different control scheme (such as moving camera control to the touch screen). Furthermore, no localization of the port has been announced. Nintendo barely bothered to localize the Wii version, which had almost double the 3DS's current existing userbase. Do you really think they're going to relocalize the game from scratch? Seems highly unlikely.
 
Mobile technology is advancing significantly more rapidly than console technology and exponentially more rapidly than it was in the game boy days. I think this is a great trend, more rapid innovation and enticing people to upgrade (which creates a userbase worth making games for) is great. $200 for three years of use is more than enough as far as I am concerned.
Nintendo and fast advancing mobile technology don't fit in the same sentence.

Look at how ugly the game looks.
 
Why the hell are they releasing that port to 3DS instead of Wii U? People have been asking for a HD port, not a portable port.

Damn it.

Less resources to pull it off. 3DS has a fairly larger player base, so maybe more people get to play it and be excited for X when it comes out.

EDIT: Forget it, for some fucking reason I forgot it would be exclusive to the new revision.
 
Pretty sure now that a HD version will come. The game is perfect for double/triple/multiple dippers
like me
due to having a smaller but more dedicated fanbase. Still probably going to pass for this version just yet. 3D is tempting, though. I wonder how much the new 3DS improves on the 3D output.
 
I saw this announcement before I saw the announcement of the 'new' 3DS.

Needless to say, I was confused reading the thread for awhile
 
Less resources to pull it off. 3DS has a fairly larger player base, so maybe more people get to play it and be excited for X when it comes out.

All they had to do was bump the resolution and possibly framerates. A bit like Wind Waker. No need to change textures or anything.
 
Yeah but every iteration Nintendo dumps BC. Game boy advance to s&P, ds lite to DSi, etc....

Sorry to quote you again... From the other thread with translated details...

- About 3 hours 30 minutes to 7 hours .... If you want to play the 3DS software
About 7 hours to 12 hours if ..... to play the DS software

So yes, it's fully DS compatible.
 
Super happy about the news ! I really love playing my jRPG on a portable system and I didn't play the game (was planning to buy a wii for it but well...)
 
Top Bottom