It's not hard to wonder why Nintendo is losing the console war this generation: they released an underpowered console at a steep price tag. This is unfortunate, because Nintendo still has the ability to put out quality titles with the most iconic characters in gaming. The truth is, I'd like to have a Wii U, for games like Mario Kart and Zelda. The problem is at around $300, the cost of entry is too steep.
And the pity is that the majority of the cost seems to come from the touchscreen controller, which is the biggest hook of the system. And oddly enough, the Wii U can only support one of these controllers at a time, so far. This doesn't exactly scream fun party gaming.
I always felt that Nintendo really missed the boat on this system. And the saddest part is, they had the answer right in front of them.
Why isn't the 3DS the de facto controller for the Wii U, sold separately of course? It has nearly the same control layout and functionality. It would lower the price of the system to about $150, splitting the sticker shock among two purchases. Odds are, if you're in the market for a new Nintendo console, you probably already have the handheld. And what if it could support four 3DS systems at once? Then your friends can bring over their own controllers and jump into the action. And if they didn't already have a 3DS, this would be an enticing proposition.
And they could have called the damn thing the 'Wii DS'!!! That would have leveraged the power of both brands and given people something really exciting and new.
In which our hero attempts to watch every WrestlemaMania in chronological order, in an effort to gain a greater understanding of the history of wrestling. Here are his results.
WrestleMania 3
March 29, 1987
Pontiac Silverdome - Pontiac, Michigan
93,173 in Attendance (A record)
"America The Beautiful" as sung by Aretha Franklin. Really.
On commentary: Gorilla Monsoon, Bob Ueker, Mary Hart, and Jesse "The Body" Ventura The Can-Am Connection (Rick Martel and Tom Zenk) defeated Bob Orton and The Magnificent Muraco (with Mr. Fuji): Nothing of note, here.
So that's where his son gets it from.
Billy Jack Haynes and Hercules (with Bobby Heenan) fought to a double count-out: Again, didn't do much for me. Nobody likes a double count-out
Hillbilly Jim, The Haiti Kid and Little Beaver defeated King Kong Bundy, Little Tokyo and Lord Littlebrook by disqualification:
A simpler time.
Harley Race (with Bobby Heenan and The Fabulous Moolah) defeated The Junkyard Dog: Not much of a match. Kind of disappointing, considering the characters involved. Harley won with shenanigans.
The original King.
People love the JYD
DATS RACIST!!!
There ya go.
"Put it on, Dog" - Gorilla Monsoon.
The Dream Team (Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake) (with Johnny Valiant and Dino Bravo) defeated The Rougeau Brothers (Jacques and Raymond) Roddy Piper defeated Adrian Adonis (with Jimmy Hart): This was Roddy's farewell match. An excited fan jumped into the ring and (eventually) got taken out by security.
Kiss the Chimel for luck.
"Hey. You're not supposed to be here."
Worth it.
The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart) and Danny Davis (with Jimmy Hart) defeated The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and The Dynamite Kid) and Tito Santana: It must be something about the big stadium that made these potentially great matches kind of unspectacular.
Too sweet.
Butch Reed (with Slick) defeated Koko B. Ware
Ricky Steamboat (with George Steele) defeated Randy Savage (c) (with Miss Elizabeth): Often considered one of the greatest matches of all time. I agree; it was very good.
Like a leaf on the wind...
Dat leverage.
Sure, he took the title...
But Randy neve goes home empty-handed.
The Honky Tonk Man (with Jimmy Hart) defeated Jake Roberts (with Alice Cooper)
These guys looked old as hell back then.
The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff (with Slick) defeated The Killer Bees (B. Brian Blair and Jim Brunzell) by disqualification
A lot of subpar matches hurt this WrestleMania, which is too bad considering the stars involved. If it had half as many (there were 12) it may have been great.
Having a blog gives me the license to make one of the best of lists. But, always the pessimist, I'll start with what sucked
The Worst Dwight Howard
Remember that time Van Gundy was being interviewed about the problems with Dwight, and he was being pretty candid about the rocky relationship, and then Dwight popped up, put his arm around his coach without any knowledge of what was being talked about? That was hard to watch.
The Hobbit
Okay, I haven't seen the movie, so this isn't a critique on it's quality, the point is... I haven't seen the movie. The guy who attended the midnight showings of the last two Lord of the Rings films. The guy who was inspired by Aragorn to grow his hair out. The think is, when news broke that The Hobbit was going to be a trilogy, it was like a balloon was deflated. It feels like a cash-grab, and one that I can avoid, for the time being. I'm sure I'll eventually see it, and that it may be pretty good, but it won't be the whole story; just a tease.
The Public
Blaming mass murders on video games. Backing religious extremists politicians. Letting Chris Brown be relevant. The sad state of social media. George Carlin once said, “Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.”
The Meh Superhero Movies
The Avengers, Spider-man, Dark Knight Whatever... While all commercial successes, failed to excite. They all, kind of, just lived up to expectations. If this was the 90s, that would be more than enough, but I want something more. If you're not going to inspire or do something different, what's the point?
Streaming Services
Netflix stayed more expensive. Hulu has commercials even if you're a paid user. Content owners still make their content difficult to get to. Who cares, anymore?
The Walking Dead
Season 3 started out pretty great; it moved at a faster clip and had some seriously freaky moments, but has since become bogged down in it's own lore. Some characters act without motivation and often, the show just feels trite. If it didn't do so many cool, nasty things you wouldn't normally see on TV, it wouldn't be worth watching.
Video Games
Nintendo came out with a new console, which has failed to garner excitement. The 3DS and Vita are just kind of there. All the big games were part 3s or 4s, so if you weren't already invested, there wasn't a lot to be excited about. The saving grace, for me, were downloadable games, like Rock Band Blitz and The Walking Dead. The new systems can't come soon enough.
The iPad Mini
A retina screen away from being on the next part of this list. The Best Perfume - Fake It
This song may have been a B-Side in 2010, but it became a single this year... so... it's my list, anyway.
CM Punk
This year he became the longest reigning champ of the past 25 years, even surpassing the golden boy, John Cena. He had great matches with Ziggler, Jericho, Cena, Henry, Kane, Bryan, Ryback, Big Show, and even Vince. He was hilarious and threatening. The Rock's stint at WrestleMania may have been what lured me back to wrestling, but Punk is what kept me here.
Boardwalk Empire
Somehow, this show got even better. It was always good, although a little light on plot. The first two seasons were about character development. Season 3 was about turning points and consequences. The show was made by Bobby Cannavale's portrayal of Gyp Rosetti.
Gangnam Style
I don't need to link to it, I just had to bring it up so I could say, "I told you so!"
Smart Toilets
My biggest revelation of 2012. In the future, our grandkids are going to say, "You did what with paper?"
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