The very same day the 3DS came out, though, Nintendo marketing manager James Honeywell was warning that the prices might creep up post-launch as supermarkets like Tesco and ASDA put an end to their frantic launch window sales grabs. (
Nintendo Warns on 3DS Price Hike, March 25th). You can say things like that when you're Nintendo and you always make a point of telling people that you don't set prices, retailers do.
It was also a little embarrassing for Nintendo that black screen error messages were widespread in the days after launch. The gaming public was told to keep calm and carry on, though, and a system update was promptly issued to deal with things.(
Nintendo Recommends 3DS System Update, March 29th).
The 3DS wasn't the only shiny new thing to launch in March, though. Another Ninty product to grace our shelves was
Pokémon Black and White. We
caught up with Game Freak’s Junichi Masuda and Ken Sugimori to chat about the game and Svend got his fingers on it for a
review.
Dragon Age II happened.
Daniel was very impressed by it. He said this: “There are countless RPGs that cast you as a hero destined to make a difference.
Dragon Age II takes things further than that. Rather than defeating an amorphous darkness you fight anger, prejudice and other weaknesses that are all too human.” It's almost enough to make you put down your copy of
Skyrim and head back on over to Thedas.
Daniel also tucked into Crysis 2, but was less satisfied by it. He likened it to porn. Make of that what you will...
Peter Molyneux
Svend got out and about a bit in March. He made his way to the games BAFTAs and
documented the occasion here. While he was there, he managed to
grab Peter Molyneux, who'd just been awarded a Fellowship award, for a chinwag about the man's past, present and future.
He also had a chat with Epic Games' Rod Fergusson about
Gears of War 3, who said things like “I personally have started to tune out of modern shooters. When I fire up a random campaign and it goes ‘OK, switch on your night vision goggles and chase this guy in the alley’ I say ‘nope’ and eject the disc.” You can have a proper look
through here.
Finally...
Serena Williams
As March rolled on 2K Sports got a bit hot under the collar about a 'sexy' ad for
Top Spin 4 featuring Serena Williams. You know, the one with the grunting and the skimpy outfit and the opponent in bondage gear. Typical tennis stuff. But it was never meant for the public eye! It was put together but then rejected before it was supposed to go out. That's what 2K said. Maybe you're a bit cynical about that. If you
are a bit cynical about that and think maybe it was actually 'leaked' with the intention of it becoming a viral video... well, who are we to tell you you're wrong? (
Sexy Serena Williams Top Spin 4 Ad Embarrassing to 2K, March 22nd).
