Episode 57: Strikes, Aces, and Balance Boards
Between coverage of Wii Sports Club, Wii Fit U, and the Wii U’s casual-oriented holiday season, you could say this episode of the Random Nintendo Podcast is a casual affair. The show begins with a slew of news, including a full breakdown of the latest Nintendo Direct and the Wii Mini’s stateside debut. We also look at the business side of Nintendo, analyzing the decision to market Wii U as a casual/family-friendly console, new comments by Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, and the Wii U and 3DS’s October sales performance. We then circle back to the casual games that started it all with full impressions Wii Sports Club and Wii Fit U.
This episode also marks our two-year anniversary and to celebrate, we’re giving away a $20 eShop credit! As longtime listeners of the show may know, Jason isn’t very good about beating his games. He plays them heavily, but rarely makes it to the end. It’s time to change that for at least one game. Leave a comment at the bottom of this post to tell us if you think Jason should beat Super Mario 3D World or The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, and we will pick one commenter at random to win the $20 in eShop credit. The game with the most votes will be the one Jason has to beat during the remainder of 2013. We’ll announce the winner in our next episode, so make sure to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes and follow us on Twitter @RandomNintendo so you don’t miss it. You may want to stick around, too: if Jason fails to beat the chosen game before the year ends, we will then be giving away a second $10 eShop credit to another commenter.
As always, we have included links below to all the news and games discussed in this episode. Each link also lists a time stamp, making it easy to find the segments of the show that most interest you. Enjoy!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:29:20 — 68.5MB)
News
- [0:02 – 0:46] Nintendo Direct 11.13.2013 (Nintendo.com)
- [0:47] Marth Confirmed For Super Smash Bros Wii U and 3DS (IGN)
- [0:53] Nintendo is bringing the Wii Mini to America for $99.99 (The Verge)
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[1:03 – 1:29] Second Quarter Financial Results Briefing for the 74th Fiscal Term Ending March 2014 – Q & A (Nintendo Investor Relations)
- [1:10] Nintendo’s Family-Oriented Wii U Commercials: “The Pitch”, Super Mario 3D World, Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games (YouTube)
- [1:23] Ubisoft financials: Rayman Legends goes next-gen in February, first-half sales hit €293 million (VG247)
- [1:25] UK chart: COD Ghosts top, more copies sold on PS4 than Wii U (Eurogamer)
- [1:29] NPD: GTA 5, Pokemon Top US Sales (IGN)
- [1:42] Nintendo Holiday Mall Experience (Nintendo.com)
- [1:44] Wii U Game Lounge at Pottery Barn Teen (PBteen.com)
Games
- [1:49] Wii Sports Club (Official Site)
- [2:03] Wii Fit U (Official Site)
- [0:19] The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (Official Site)
- [0:27] Bravely Default (Nintendo.com Game Page)
- [0:35] Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy (IGN Game Page)
- [0:37] Kirby: Triple Deluxe (Giant Bomb Game Page)
- [0:38] Animal Crossing Plaza (Official Site)
- [0:43] Pikmin 3 (Official Site)
- [0:47] Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS (Official Site)
Official Contest Rules: All registrants must be a resident of the United States of America and age 13 or older. The contest begins on November 17, 2013 at 12:00 AM PST and ends on November 29, 2013 at 11:59 PM PST. Visitors may only enter the contest once by leaving a comment below. Any additional entries that a given visitor makes will be disqualified. One (1) commenter will be chosen at random and receive the following prize: one (1) digital code redeemable for $20 in credit on the US Nintendo eShop. Random Nintendo staff members may not participate in this contest. Random Nintendo reserves the right to disqualify any entry for any reason. The winner will be chosen at random on November 30, 2013, announced in Episode 58 of the Random Nintendo Podcast, and then notified via email.
From The Archives
Episode 262: Micro Management
Great episode as always!! Happy Anniversary!
I say you should play & beat ‘Super Mario 3D World’ for Wii U!
It should be easy to stick with ‘Super Mario 3D World’ and complete as the game looks simply amazing and should give you tons to talk about in future Podcasts!! I bet it gets a 10 in many reviews!! Can’t wait to play it myself but it may not be till after Christmas that I play!
-Maxx
Awesome episode, as always. I think you should go for ALBW for 3DS, The reviews look great and it totally redefines the zelda series with renting items. Also, the streetpass feature looks amazing!
Super Mario 3D World for sure! It looks like a fantastic game to beat 😉
The game-to-beat has to be Zelda ALBW. Side quests, fun adventures and not one but TWO princesses? How could you choose anything else? Besides, beating Mario doesn’t count unless you’re going to all the trouble of 100%ing it and that’s less likely than just making it to the end.
I am voting for Super Mario 3D World, I know I will be beating it too.
It’s like nintendo realized zelda got fat and put her on a diet, and now she’s back in shape. I say Jason play zelda, nintendo’s been workin’ her hard on this one. 🙂
Definitely Zelda ALBW, mainly because that game will probably be the longer of the 2 games and therefore less likely to pass by the end of the year. =)
I wanna win! You should beat Zelda. 🙂 Oh and congratulations on the podcast anniversary!
Free money is always nice. Jason should beat Zelda cuz its probably more of a commitment than Mario.
I agree Jason should definitely beat ALBW, reviews are great, the game looks totally worth it and happy anniversary ^_^.
You should beat Super Mario 3D
Congrats on making it to 2 years! I say that he should beat Zelda: A Link Between World. It seems like there would be more to that game, and hopefully that means he’ll fail the task and earn us an extra code. 😉
Beat Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
Play 3D World first! And be sure to bring a friend or three!
I think he should beat Super Mario 3D World first, and perhaps with a couple of pals at his side.
I vote for Zelda!
Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
Zelda 1st!
Go for Zelda. I just started playing ALBW today, but I can already tell it’s going to be my pick for handheld goty, and this is coming from a guy who found the past five Zelda games to be terrible bores.
I’m more curious to see Zelda. I want to know how good that 2D ability is.
Happy Ann.
Jason needs to beat Zelda. I find zelda games to usually be a more fulfilling experience. I’ve yet to play this new one, but I’ve heard great things!
I personally love the Legend of Zelda series, but I think he should go for Super Mario 3D World.
I would suggest Mario because don’t get me wrong Zelda is a great series problem is that it takes longer to finish the game because you have to use strategy to defeat each boss and to solve the puzzles and bash enemies that each boss is at. With Mario it’s a simple platformer that you know what to do in order to get from point a to point b.
Go for Zelda, as it usually has a more satisfying ending. Then you can wonder just when the game takes place in relation to the Oracle games and Link’s Awakening.
You have to beat Zelda. Mario is a great game but there is no story or real reward for beating it, though I do think its the more fun of the two games.
Zelda. Mario is something you can just pick and play whenever.
As a nostalgic fan, my vote goes for Zelda for sure 😛
Beat 3D World! It’s probably… maybe… arguably…better.
A link between worlds! Loved every minute of the game! And happy thanksgiving!
3D world all the way. I love a good Zelda adventure as much as the next guy, but the new Mario, man it’s something else.
I vote for The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds!
My vote is for 3D Mario World! I think that game would be more fit for a podcast 🙂
My vote has be for The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds! I think there are going to end up being way too many secret worlds, stages, and modes in Super Mario 3D World, which means it may end up taking longer than expected!
Also, happy two-year podcast anniversary! Keep it up, duders!
I vote for Zelda first!
Zelda > Than Mario…can Mario shoot freaking laserbeams hellz no!!! Link all the way mutha suckaz’s.
beat super mario first!
Ahhhh, this is a tough decision….I bought both on the same day, and while I love SM3DW, LoZ has taken all of my attention.
Go with Zelda, it’s great.
Beat Super Mario 3D World first!
A Link Between Worlds, obviously.
A Link Between Worlds. Definitely.
For sure it would have to be A Link Between Worlds, I mean come on it’s a new Zelda game we’ve been waiting for! 🙂
Obviously, you should beat A Link To The Past first. Super Mario 3D World is a fantastic game, but let’s be honest, if we’re talking about playing to completion, Zelda is the much more sensible choice. So yeah, don’t be a bunch of ass pirates, beat Zelda first.
So yeah, I’m the ass pirate. A Link To The Past is the SNES game, which you should also beat if you for some reason have not. A Link Between Worlds is the new 3DS one and it’s also great and you should do that before Mario 3D World but that is also very good so beat them both but do Zelda first.
Super Mario World 3DS hands down! The reviews are great and plus…it’s a Mario game! Plenty of fun to be had, and it shouldn’t be insanely hard to finish! Just my $0.02, if only that could get me a tank of gas for my car…
Game title confusion in the last post, sorry for double post. Pretty sure what I meant was obvious…
Legend of Zelda. Totally beat that first.
legend of zelda
Super Mario 3D World..It’s a game where you can play…not play it for 3 months and pick back up and get into the game!
i think you should play Super Mario 3D World first! amazing game!
Definitely Legend of Zelda, the game looks great. Nice throwback to Link to the Past.
Definitely Legend of Zelda. Love those games.
Thanks for entering, everyone! The contest is now closed, so stay tuned for Episode 58 tomorrow (12/1) for the winner announcement.
You should beat Zelda!
Beat Super Mario 3D World first then play Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
You should beat 3d world