New Super Mario Bros. U was also harder for me than many other iterations, to the point I got stuck and gave up in the ice world somewhere.

Thanks for mentioning that - I had yet to hear anyone mention the pointer capacity, much less a game that would utilize it, and I forgot World of Goo fits in that category.

It has a whimsical charm that is utterly contagious, and though it can be finished without complete mastery, it is definitely a challenge for those that love to dig in to the mechanics for perfection.

Oops. I misinterpreted your qualification of "success" based on external values of sales and commercial acceptance, not an internal value of gameplay ideals.

I figured the 3DS version was a commercial success, if not for attach ratio as much as pure volume in comparison to Wii U.

I thought the 3DS Smash controller function was built in to the 3DS software, while the eShop's stand-alone version was for sale to those that didn't purchase the full game…

As I am in the midst of middle age, I think about accessibility of the future of games for me; how I will continue to play and enjoy games as my abilities change. Certainly turn-based games like XCOM and Fire Emblem are more in my future as my reflexes diminish but my patience and free time increases, but I don't wish…

I never knew how to properly express it, and after three days of reading your post, the better it sounds. Hope you don't mind, but I'm keeping that one…

It's important to note that this is only half of the DLC that's paid for - you can only buy one DLC item, and when the second half is done next Holiday, it will be considered a single, complete package.

The DLC is going to be what justifies my re-purchase of the game on Switch next year. I love the "last 200 hours" trace, like Billy from Family Circus, and it's hard not to want it on my Wii U playthough, showing my path of initial discovery.

I actually paid the ransom last night for one of those black New 3DS units that people are scalping online.

I shouldn't say "nothing", but the response really was not to provide more of that model, but to replace it with the 2DS XL.

Fair enough, but both of those bundles were with the White New 3DS, and my heart has been set on Black since the announcement of the hardware refresh in 2014.

You're right it was on sale for "a time" - for very small definitions of "a time". ;-)

To say that Nintendo is "doubling down" on the system is a bit presumptuous, I think. This is the same company that sold the massively popular NES Mini for only six months. By March of 2018, the 3DS family could be replaced entirely with something in the Switch spectrum, and potentially have little qualms selling the…

Our first cartridge system was the Odyssey^2, and the pack-in title used the keyboard in Crypt-Quip! a multi-player only word scramble game. We also had a utility application that was supposed to be a home-organization tool. It was a digital note board where messages could be left behind for family members and alarms…

I did not. I actually opened with it, since it seemed like a nice "DLAWP" for Keyboard Geniuses conversation. I should have put it in bold, but didn't want to take anything away from our good Merve.

Certainly environmental considerations have also been driving factors for videogame packaging. Even the Wii U cases have the "recycle" logo cut out of their boxes to demonstrate their commitment to reducing waste, which most people (not us) think of game boxes.

It's answering the question at the end…have you ever felt that real, fully-encompasing, emotional response to a video game?

I always prefer reading material for times when I can't play the game, as I always feel like reading in a game is an eye strain. Also, my brain is in a different mode when I play, so moving from visual processing to language processing is difficult. It doesn't help that I'm left-handed, which puts language on the…