This post goes out to my boy Ben Fritz from Variety. He caught flack on Monday for panning Super Mario Galaxy in his review saying the game “looks old fashioned and lifeless” when compared to PS3 graphics. Aside from dismissing the fact that Nintendo has long since marginalized the importance of HD graphics, I don’t think Ben was following my guide to playing Super Mario Galaxy in a post-HD world: (more…)

Many don’t realize just how many Gamecube games have 480p and/or 16:9 widescreen support. Nintendo and other publishers never really promoted the higher resolution due to the general population’s lack of proper HDTVs. Now a few years down the line and we find ourselves with shiny, new HDTVs. Conveniently, almost 200 Gamecube titles will output at 480p. We’ve compiled a list of GC games that have progressive scan and/or widescreen. Better pick up some component cables…

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Malstrom is at it again. Today he’s delivered us a series of new (and lengthy!) articles about gaming, Nintendo and the future of the industry as a whole. I think with the outrageous success currently being enjoyed by the Wii and its software (you know, the software that ignoramuses say doesn’t exist yet) this is an especially timely delivery.

On a personal note, the reason I enjoy these columns is two-fold. First, the style is unique. There are no other writers out there today in the gaming industry that can hold a candle to the style that Malstrom brings in his articles. They tell a story, create characters and include real life quotes from industry movers and shakers, and advance the conversation instead of miring it in stagnation. Kind of like the Wii and DS.

Secondly, they use words from the analysts and industry players themselves. Oftentimes Malstrom simply sits back and lets some of these clowns set the stage for him. In this light, the columns cannot be dismissed as fanboyism or marketing because they employ something rarely seen in the putrid, vitriolic message boards and forums of today: facts. For those reasons alone, these are a welcome addition to Infendo. I haven’t seen these columns outside of Infendo (aside from at the now-retired Wiikly.com), so for that I thank Mal for the pro bono contribution. I think I speak for Blake, David and the rest of Infendo when I say thanks a million for these articles. But I digress, as usual.

On that note, here’s one of Malstrom’s latest, A Rising Continent.

– Jack (more…)

Having recently switched from SD to HD using $6 Wii component cables purchased from a Hong Kong Ebay store, I must say I’m truly impressed with Wii’s visuals. Mario Strikers Charged looks positively gorgeous in 480p wide screen, and I exhort any who can make the jump to do so as soon as your wallet permits. It’s a whole new world. So we ask you, Infendoites:

Ok, OK. There are certainly hardcore gamers out there, but there’s a point to made in here somewhere. The point is that for Nintendo, the phrase “hardcore gamer” is about as relevant to their bottom line as tube socks. Microsoft themed tube socks. It’s irrelevant to Nintendo because I seriously doubt Reggie or Miyamoto or Iwata sit around big stuffy conference rooms sweating bullets over whether or not the big and all-powerful hardcore gamer is going to like their shiny new systems. And it’s not that they can say this now, after 18 months of Wii and DS successes, it’s that I doubt they said anything like it when they were first designing both systems back in 2004 or 2005.

So why would they do this? Why would they ignore the “base” and pander to the sporadic, unreliable “non-traditional gamer?” Isn’t it obvious? It’s because they’re both a myth, at least as far as Nintendo and its strategy is concerned. (more…)

“Although the penetration of HD has been impressive, I believed, and was correct, that this penetration would not attain a level that could support the level of installed base of second-generation consoles which are non-HD. The Wii can be enjoyed on regular-resolution televisions without paying a premium,” said one analyst in speaking with News Factor on HDTV.

So is Wii proof that the world banked too early on HDTV? Early signs seem to suggest that, though HD will be inevitable (and appreciated). I loves me some HDTV, but I love gaming more. If I can get some sweet games at a much lower cost for the time being, I’m down.