Rayman demo definitely good. Loved the Rock Castle level. That's what I've been waiting to play and that's the exact kind of gameplay that I want more of. Not sure the other levels are better than Mario though. There's definitely some innovation though, but I have to say I really don't like switching back and forth between touchscreen controls on the pad and then going back to regular controls mid-level. Stuff like that is kind of cute at first, but I know after a few times I'm going to find it more distracting than anything else. Still the music and graphics are phenomonal.

Kotaku said:

We talk to people. It's part of our job. And lately we're not hearing any big bombshells about the next generation of game consoles, but we're hearing the same buzz we've been hearing all year: the next generation of Xbox and PlayStation are right around the corner.


Microsoft and Sony have been privately talking up their new consoles, the ones that will succeed the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, throughout the year.


Game publishers and developers inside and outside of Microsoft and Sony are working on next-gen games for these machines. Some major game creators have what could be called development kits, though its unclear if that means proper dev kits or simply PCs running at the specs these new consoles are expected to run at.


This is all very vague, of course. It's not like us telling you the measurement of the Wii U touchscreen to the tenth of an inch a year and a half before the system was released. But it's more than you'll hear from Sony, Microsoft or any major game companies, none of whom will publicly admit that the next generation of two major game consoles is coming upon us at long last.


We think you might want to know, so you can budget accordingly.


The first-parties (MS and Sony) won't talk. The game creators won't dare get out in front of the first-parties, which may explain why a game like Metal Gear Solid V gets announced in such a weird way: no platforms announced, not even an official title... just the absence of the official title, a space sculpted so that the astute gamer can fill in the blanks. Go ahead, fill them in. (See also: the oddly-no-consoles-announced-but-this-can't-run-on-a-360-without-the-help-of-sorcery Star Wars 1313)


Earlier this year, we broke news of the codenames of both machines: Durango for the next Xbox; Orbis for the next PlayStation. We also reported that the next Xbox will run Blu-Rays, pack in Kinect 2 and may include some protection against used games. One persistent theory we hear is that one or both consoles might require an always-online connection, but put that a notch below our other reports; that's conjecture, not official word that's reaching my ears.

The vibe I get when I hear about Durango is that Microsoft is on the mark. Sony appears to inspire less confidence.


If you talk to people about the next-gen games at, oh, I don't know, a major gaming trade show or a major gaming awards show, the persistent impression given is that these new systems will be powerful. The old comparison I heard—and saw backed up by a solid report on IGN—was that the new Xbox would be eight times more powerful than the 360. That's old reporting, from earlier in the year. We've also heard that Durango is roughly as graphically capable as the second-most powerful PC on the market today, which, yes, is quite the indirect statement. The chatter we hear is that Durango and Orbis are close in power to each other or at least both in the same league past the current gen. Much may have changed since then and, as any Wii U owner can tell you, it's damn hard to assess how powerful a system is even when playing the first batch of games a developer made for it. (Or don't ask a Wii U user... ask an Xbox 360 user to compare 2005 360 launch games Kameo: Elements of Power or Perfect Dark Zero to 2012's Halo 4).


The vibe I get when I hear about Durango is that Microsoft is on the mark. Sony appears to inspire less confidence, though I've had a hard time nailing down why and discerning how much lost confidence is due to the on-and-off troubles of the PlayStation 3 and the struggles of the Vita vs. how much lost confidence is due to any problems looming for PS4. What I do know is that confidence is high that the next Xbox will be out in time for next Christmas. Confidence is less high that Sony will pull off the same feat, though they want to.


One more measure of how close we are to the next gen of PlayStation and Xbox is how much silence there is right now. From the first-parties, it's the same as it was before Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. But look somewhere else: the covers of Game Informer. That magazine traditionally announces the big games of the following year with exclusive cover reveal after exclusive cover reveal.


In 2011, the magazine revealed games that would almost all be released by early 2013, the majority by the end of 2012:

BTW did you guys read the PSM and XBW articles I posted a couple of days back? They said the PS4 would likely cost about the same or more than the PS3 at launch. $599 + ?

Nintyfan17 said:

I was having trouble getting into the Rayman demo.

Nobody would anser my question of do you need to have the Wii U hooked up to the TV to play the first level of the demo?

I'm asking that because I haven't had my Wii U hooked up to my TV for a week and I wanted to know if you needed the TV for some levels.

There is no off screen play for the demo. If you are seeing the menu blocks on your u pad, the proper picture is on the HDTV alone.

Nintyfan17 said:

Thanks I'm getting an HDTV today so I will play it on that. I only have an SDTV right now.

Dang.

Enjoy.

gamingeek said:

I only agree on the graphics. The game design and controls, everything feels a bit simplistic. But sometimes simple is good. For my money NSMB Wii and DKCR beat it in gameplay fairly easily.

Have you played Origins? Origins is better than any NSMB game. DKCR that is close.

Oh and LBP is better than all of them.

WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH HUMANS. Horrible mass shooting at an Elementary school in Conneticut with about 20 children killed. I don't even... my god...

You think NSMB Wii is better than Origins?

Ravenprose said:

NEOGEO X console comes out next week in NA. Anyone getting it? http://neogeox.com/NeoGeo/gold

Looks effing awesome! But at $200, I think I'll stick with Wii compilation disks and VC ports.

I'll stick with my real NEOGEO.  It's pretty nice though, the game selection is limited for the price they are asking.  I am cynically assuming they are surreptitiously selling this as an emulator, for which the form factor is perfect.

robio said:

aspro said:

Not worth it.

Damn.... you guys are a bunch of cold cold muthafuckers.

I only get to say that because I paid full price for Madworld.

Iga_Bobovic said:

I known NSMB Wii is a beter game that Origins.

Oh thats right you really really love NSMB Wii.