Electroplankton

[snes_collector]

This comes out today right? I can't wait untill I get this. Who else has already ordered themselves a copy?

[JWKobayashi]

I ordered one from eb games last weekend. To my surprise, they shipped it out Friday and UPS says that it's on my doorstop at home.

Looking forward to playing tonight & will give impressions.

[segagamer4life]

I am getting my copy through gamefly, to buy for under 30, w/ free shipping.

[goatdan]

Thank you for starting this thread. I've been wanting to pick it up, but I don't want to pay $34.99 for it because I generally know that it isn't a game as much as it is a kinda neat music... thing. $34.99 seems a lot for that.

I'm willing to pay about $30.00 for it. Has anyone seen it on sale? If not, if people can give little reviews, I'd appreciate it as I think I will end up with it at some point.

[GamecubeFreek]

I ordered it a couple of days ago from Toys R Us. Amazon must have been having a lot of demand for it because it said that it would not ship the game until March. Toys R Us had the 9th, though.

[DKTheArcadeRat]

I plan on getting it, maybe two copies for collection purposes.

[stuffedmonkey]

Edit - placed my order at bestbuy.com. I'll post my review as soon as it arrives.

[joshnickerson]

I'll be snagging it over the next couple of weeks, that's fer sure. It's just too funky and quirky to pass up.

[stuffedmonkey]

Hmmm. Unless this has been posted somewhere else - it looks like they finally have the US version of the web site up at http://electroplankton.nintendods.com/

There are a number of wallpapers, a screen saver, and a pdf download of the full manual! :)

[tholly]

I ordered mine from EB.com....should be here on the 11th....but is is in my state, according to tracking, so maybe ill get lucky and get it tomorrow....

[drummy]

Did anyone get theirs at Outpost? I preordered mine a while ago, but they sent me an e-mail said they didn't have it in stock (duh, it didn't come out yet, dummies). Anyone else get this problem?

[Lothars]

I have wanted to get this but at the moment the price really doesn't justify it

though I still might pick it up still undecided.

I am also contimplating nintendogs though as well. so it's like hmmm,

[sisko]

I picked this up today, and my opinion is mixed.

Some of the Elektroplankton are incredibly lame (Lumiloops and Sun-Animalcule). While I sat for 30 minutes at a time mixing songs with Luminaria and Beatnes. The other 6 fall perfectly in the middle as just plain mediocre.

I'm still figuring out new techniques, which allow for limitless possibilities. However, limitless possibilities doesn't necessarily mean limitless game play. While I am currently enjoying Electrplankton, I don't see myself getting too much use out of it 6 months down the road.

[s1lence]

I was going to get it and then I heard it doesn't even have a save feature. I guess for a collection it would be cool but I think I'm going to pass on this one.

[Julio III]

I've had the Japanese release for pretty much since I had my DS and one thing i love about that release is the whole packagaging so was wondering if anyone can post a pic of the US release packaging, also does it still have headphones included.

[GrandAmChandler]

Can someone explain this game to me? that is, if it is even CONSIDERED a game?? All the reviews that I read are like "We Don't really know what it is, but it's cool." Wtf. That and is this an online game only? Meaning, it can only be purchased online and not B&M?

[K3V]

Just ordered my copy. Been playing a LOT of stuff on my DS lately and this has always looked cool to me so I went for it. The fact that it's being released in limited numbers helped persuade the purchase too ;)

[Mayhem]

Can someone explain this game to me? that is, if it is even CONSIDERED a game?? All the reviews that I read are like "We Don't really know what it is, but it's cool." Wtf. That and is this an online game only? Meaning, it can only be purchased online and not B&M?

No, it's not a game, there's nothing to win or beat. It's very much a chillout tool...

http://www.ntsc-uk.com/review.php?platform=nds&game=Electroplankton

(my review of it is the first of the two articles)

[sisko]

Can someone explain this game to me? that is, if it is even CONSIDERED a game?? All the reviews that I read are like "We Don't really know what it is, but it's cool." Wtf. That and is this an online game only? Meaning, it can only be purchased online and not B&M?

It is essentially a music mixing game. Think MTV Music Generator on a very basic level, but toss in touch screen and microphone support with a unique interface.

The game was supposed to be online only, but I had mine preordered at a B&M store, so they actually shipped one out to me. That being said, it looks like I was the ONLY person to preorder this since no other stores in the district got it in.

The packaging is slick, cover art can [sort of] be seen here http://media.gamestats.com/gg/image/object/733/733808/electroplankton_dsusboxboxart_60w.jpg

The cover art (aside from the DS spine) is a reflective foil.

The manual is quite large. The paper stock of the manual is the consistency of a high quality newspaper, rather than the durable high gloss stock manuals typically come in. No headphones are included.

[slip81]

I plan on picking it up if I can find a copy. It just sucks that you can't save. Which means I'll have to run a few extra wires to my computer if I want to record anything.

But this could actually be kinda cool, I wonder if we'll start to see music pop up on the internet composed entirely with Electroplankton?

[THATinkjar]

No headphones are included.

When are companies going to learn? Like Japan, the US and Europe adores free stuff, too!

[segagamer4life]

No headphones are included.

When are companies going to learn? Like Japan, the US and Europe adores free stuff, too!

amen, we get the shaft as usual..lol

[tholly]

well.....i was just handed my copy by the UPS guy.....

Nice cover art...very shiny...

[JWKobayashi]

I didn't get much of a chance to play last night, but here are my impressions thus far:

As everyone has been saying, this is not quite a game, yet not quite a tech-demo either. It's really more of an interesting hybrid of the two. To everyone who is thinking of picking this up because you want a portable Gitaroo Man or DDR - don't. You will be disappointed.

This is not to say that Electoplankton doesn't offer a unique or fun experience; in fact that is what it does offer. It seems to be more of a title that you pick up and play often for just brief periods each time.

Now onto what this product offers. From the start of the "game" you have two options: Performance Mode and Audience Mode. I haven't touched Audience yet, so I'll concentrate on Performance Mode (which looks to be the meat of the title anyway). After choosing your mode, you have to choose an Electoplankton to play with. There are 10 different choices, and each of them are quite varied.

Each Electoplankton is basically a vechicle for creating an aural experience. Most of them require you to touch the bottom screen in order to interact with the game and create sounds. For example, one electoplankton is simply a fish-like thing jumping at a plant. Each time the fish strikes a leaf on the plant, it makes a noise. You can touch the plant in order to adjust the angle of the leaves that results in the fish making a new sound. It's really difficult to describe without seeing.

Another cool level has four fish swimming across the bottom screen. Touching one of the fish allows you to record your voice through the use of the DS microphone. The fish then treats this recording as a sample, repeating it to a beat. After recording all four fish, you can switch the speed of them, as well as a background bass beat.

However, my favorite so far is probably the NES Electoplankton. In this "level", there are four game themes to choose from - Super Mario Bros., Kid Icarus, Duck Hunt, and I couldn't quite place the fourth. Anyway, the background music is a theme from the game, and there are several game sounds that you can create by touching the on-screen Electoplankton. The game will "remember" your touches for about 5 loops of the game's song. For example, in the SMB level, the game is constantly playing the "star" music. Touching the electoplankton allow you to insert the fireball noise, the jump noise, the coin collect noise, etc, etc.

Anyway, the game is really unique and I've found myself enjoying so far. I could really see people getting into this and outputting the DS sound to a PC and recording their creations. It really has potential, but you have to go into it with the right frame of mind. Don't get it looking for a game with a clearly defined goal or you will be disappointed.

[segagamer4life]

great review, can't wait to get my hands on my copy.

[tholly]

great review, can't wait to get my hands on my copy.


well....i opened it about 15 minutes ago....and im done with it.....for a long time.....

i bought it for the collection aspect, but id hoped to get some enjoyment out of it...but i didnt.....

[snes_collector]

Ordered mine yesterday off of Amazon. I think I'll enjoy it. I love music, and I'm sure I'll have fun "making" it.

[Joker T]

I will be buying this game soon. I wish it was actually a game but, whatever.

[SkiDragon]

I bought it when I realized that it was only released online, and almost all of the online stores said they were out of stock. Seems like a future rarity (I hope), and a relatively well known one at that.

[sirhansirhan]

Does anyone know a (presumably online) retailer who has these in stock and ready to ship right now?

EDIT: Well, I just checked every online game retailer I could think of, and there are only two that seem like possibilities at this point. The first is amazon.com, which says it will ship in 2-3 days, and the other is nintendo.com, which makes no mention of it being in stock or not (although reading the fine print implies that it should arrive in 2-8 days, unless it says otherwise). Does anyone have an opinion re: which one of these I should buy it from? Also, if you've come across a different retailer who actually has it in stock, let me know.

(For the record, I checked circuitcity.com, bestbuy.com, gamequestdirect.com, ebay.com (no auctions for the U.S. one yet), gamestop.com, ebgames.com, target.com, and walmart.com.)

[goatdan]

I just purchased it from Nintendo.com tonight myself. I needed to get some DS cases and a GameCube Component Cable (a HDTV is coming home, woot!) so I figured I might as well order from them.

According to Nintendo, it's in stock.

I actually don't think this will be a future rarity, as it seems like everyone and their mother heard about it and thought it would be, so everyone purchased it. I heard from another message board that Nintendo stated they had over 2000 still in stock today, so at the least I would expect the print run to be over 10,000 (it was one of the top sellers on Amazon today too). While that isn't huge, it definitely is a success.

And for all you "Used Games = No more video games!" the reason this has done so well without any advertising for it for Nintendo is people want to get it without having to go through the used market, so they're willing to pay $34.99 for a non-game without headphones in case it does increase in value. Nintendo is profiting off the used video game market.

[SkiDragon]

Yeah, I dont often buy games with the sole intention of selling, and I didnt now, but if it sells out and the price goes up, I would have missed out. If the price goes down though... What can you do? I ordered Pokemon Box for the same reason, and it sells for $100 now. I actually was going to open mine up and use it, until I saw the price. That is why I prefer to buy used, because I dont have to "destroy" the value of the game to play it.

[sirhansirhan]

I went ahead and ordered it from nintendo.com late last night. $40 after shipping seems pretty steep, but I've really been looking forward to playing this game, and don't want to drop the ball on getting it (what with everyone on the internet saying that it is backordered).

[RevQuixo]

I went ahead and ordered it from nintendo.com late last night. $40 after shipping seems pretty steep, but I've really been looking forward to playing this game, and don't want to drop the ball on getting it (what with everyone on the internet saying that it is backordered).

I did the same...got the shipping confirm today. :)

[pacmanhat]

Is this really ONLY available online? That's the first I've heard of it... O_O

[sirhansirhan]

I went ahead and ordered it from nintendo.com late last night. $40 after shipping seems pretty steep, but I've really been looking forward to playing this game, and don't want to drop the ball on getting it (what with everyone on the internet saying that it is backordered).

I did the same...got the shipping confirm today. :)

Yeah, I ordered it in the middle of the night (like 2 AM) night before last, and just now got the shipping confirmation. So, I guess they were still in stock. I'd've felt a lot better about ordering it from them if they had simply put an "in stock--ships in 24 hours" graphic (or something similar) on the Electroplankton page.

[Spycee]

I ordered it on the 9th and my order is still at "Preparing Order" :/ Well that's what I got from living in Canada :)

Is there someone here who lives in Canada and had the game shipped ?

[jwl]

My EB got 3 copies in and none were pre-orders. Maybe that's just Canada though. $49.99 CDN though. :/

[Haoie]

It's very short but rather entertaining.

I believe it was 1 of the earlier J releases, so why such a late release elsewhere? Probably the weirdness.

[sirhansirhan]

I got my copy in the mail today. Here are some thoughts:

1) Hanenbow (the leaf bouncing plankton) and Rec-Rec (the plankton that record your voice) are the coolest. Marine-Snow is pretty sweet, too.

2) No wonder shipping was $5; it came in a box that you could fit three boxed DSes in. Why did they ship it in such a big box? Seems like Nintendo would have this streamlined.

3) For those of you who are like me and feel helpless about tracking things like this down, I noticed yesterday that gamestop.com got them back in stock, and if you order one from amazon.com, while it ships in 3 to 5 days, you get free shipping, so you'll get it $5-6 cheaper there than pretty much anywhere else. Neither of those things were the case when I was looking for the game a week ago.

[goatdan]

I got my copy in the mail today. Here are some thoughts:

I got mine recently too from Nintendo, and noticed the same thing about the size of the box it was sent it. Mine was bigger than yours I'm pretty sure, as I probably could've fit two of the short 12 packs of soda in it. Then again, I also got 10 DS cases (empty), but even so, the box probably could've held 50 of them at the very least.

The "game" is very cool, but I felt like it should've had two things:

1) More interactive things. It is really cool, but with only 10 I played for about 30 minutes and felt like I had done everything pretty good. I think it if would've had another 10 things I would've felt better about it.
2) A way to change the tune of the Plankton on the various levels. Or change the tune in the background. For instance, the NES level is playing the star music, but when you do "performance" it is playing something else that I like much better. If I could set each plankton to make one of five different sounds and play one of five different songs, it would be SO much deeper.
3) Finally, if you could save your creations to play them back. I created something that I really, really liked the other day, and if I had it saved I would have hooked it up to something and I could play it while I worked. With no save option, I will never hear it again. You have to be active in the game to make it make noises, and that detracts from the chill-out-ability that is inherent to it in my opinion. I'd rather create one track and sit back and chill with it. Maybe an option to save (Even temporarily) 3 tracks of two minutes apeice would've been nice. Considering that it would only have to save the input changes and not the actual song, I think that is EASILY doable.

Overall, I'm not sad I got it, just a little disappointed that it isn't more than it is. I didn't expect it to be anything great, but I doubt I'll play with it too much more, mostly because I can't save anything :(

[sirhansirhan]

2) A way to change the tune of the Plankton on the various levels. Or change the tune in the background. For instance, the NES level is playing the star music, but when you do "performance" it is playing something else that I like much better. If I could set each plankton to make one of five different sounds and play one of five different songs, it would be SO much deeper.

You can change some stuff; it varies on the plankton. To get the different music on the Beatnes plankton, press select. There are four or so tunes that you can choose from.


Finally, if you could save your creations to play them back. I created something that I really, really liked the other day, and if I had it saved I would have hooked it up to something and I could play it while I worked. With no save option, I will never hear it again. You have to be active in the game to make it make noises, and that detracts from the chill-out-ability that is inherent to it in my opinion. I'd rather create one track and sit back and chill with it. Maybe an option to save (Even temporarily) 3 tracks of two minutes apeice would've been nice. Considering that it would only have to save the input changes and not the actual song, I think that is EASILY doable.

The lack of a save option is weird; my assumption (which is based on little to no knowledge of how games actually work) is that saving voice samples would take up too much memory. I also humored the idea of them making a backup ROM cart that goes in the GBA port, like what the Sega CD did with the Sega Genesis port. That'd be cool (although probably not necessary).

Something that I thought was weird was that you can't combine the plankton. I was expecting to get all ten together and make a synth-pop symphony. Oh well.

[goatdan]

You can change some stuff; it varies on the plankton. To get the different music on the Beatnes plankton, press select. There are four or so tunes that you can choose from.

Aha! Very good to know :) I know what I'm doing in about three minutes :D


The lack of a save option is weird; my assumption (which is based on little to no knowledge of how games actually work) is that saving voice samples would take up too much memory. I also humored the idea of them making a backup ROM cart that goes in the GBA port, like what the Sega CD did with the Sega Genesis port. That'd be cool (although probably not necessary).

I don't think so -- Nintendogs allows you to save a voice sample. Mine is my little cousin saying, "Buh-bye puppy!" really cutely, and it has a bunch of dead air before that.

Having said that, the voice ones aren't even that many, and if you could only save shorter clips for them (15 seconds or something), that would be fine by me too. Again, it's just odd that there is NO option for this.


Something that I thought was weird was that you can't combine the plankton. I was expecting to get all ten together and make a synth-pop symphony. Oh well.

I didn't even think of that, but yes you're right about that.

It seems like a 'game' that had SO much potential and only half of it was tapped.

[le geek]

Just ordered a copy from Best Buy. I think I will like it as I tend to like weird goofy games even if they aren't rock solid...

Cheers,
Ben

[16-bit]

I absolutely love this thing.

My favorite is (4) Sun Animalcule

[Jive3D]

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[Julio III]

For me its not about creating "tunes" to save, its more the experience in making it. I mean, I usually just do the leaves one, or the one with all the arrows or the droney one (mmm) and its the whole feeling of making it as well, and you can just have it there in the background like some kind of loop you can edit and thats what it is. I hardly ever pick Electroplankton up but can really appreciate it for what it is. This is the kind of software innovation that I thought the DS was all about.

Oh, and this reminds me that I still have a sealed JPN version with headphones that I should get rid of, its been sitting in my drawer for months

[meancode]

I got Electroplankton at the end of last week and really enjoy it.

Some of the games have more then one level which is great.

I highly encourage you to read the manual (a stretch, I know) because it has an "artist statement," plus an explanation from Iwai of each of the 10 games.

The manual also tells you all kinds of things about each game that are not very apparent at the start. It is also wonderfully illustrated with little plankton drawings.

I am not sure if it will be a collector's item either. Only time will tell. I think it should be purchased just because there is nothing else like it for the DS, or any other console, at the moment. It is an entirely unique experience and is a lot of fun to play around with.

[Trumpman]

I am a musician but also really like gaming. I think this would appeal to my composing aspects, but is this toy really worth getting over, say Mario & Luigi? I'm just worried that I'll get bored with it after a few days and feel like I wasted money.

[meancode]

It sounds to me like you already made up your mind, and you will get bored with it rather quickly.

It is more art and less a game.