Pokemon not included in Olympics closing ceremony because of international recognition
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 17 Comments
Several notable characters were represented in the closing ceremony of the Rio Olympics this past weekend as the transition was made to the next event Japan will be hosting in 2020. Mario and Pac-Man were just two of many that appeared in a pre-made video. There was, however, one huge Japan-made IP that was conspicuously absent: Pokemon.
As Buzzfeed Japan reports, the site heard from a Tokyo Olympic/Paralympic Committee member that preparations started in January, well before Pokemon GO launched and became a huge success. The timing was just not considered right as Pokemon isn’t as well known worldwide, and the Mario franchise has also sold more games – 320 million compared to Pokemon’s 200 million.
Nikkan Sports has an article up about how the obvious pun of “Mario” and “Rio” from “Rio de Janeiro” was too much for the Japanese Olympic Organizing Committee to pass up. We can thank committee president and former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori for the idea.
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Reggie on needing better communication and steady flow of games with NX, mobile, merchandise, Universal partnership
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Mobile, News, Switch | 153 Comments
[a]listdaily has gone live with a new interview featuring Nintendo of America Reggie Fils-Aime. Naturally, NX came up multiple times throughout the discussion, with Reggie saying how the company has “a strong concept” and talking about lessons learned from Wii U that can be applied to NX. Mobile, merchandise, and the Universal partnership were other topics that were discussed.
Continue on below for notable excerpts from the interview. You can read the full thing here.
More: interview, Reggie Fils-Aime, top
Play Nintendo show episode 5: “Terry Takeover with Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire”
Posted on 7 years ago by Zack in 3DS, General Nintendo, Videos | 0 comments
Nintendo has released a new episode of their Play Nintendo series. The subject of this episode is Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, with the hosts sharing some tips for newcomers to the game. You can find the video below.
The Cat Mario Show – episode 25 (Europe)
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, Videos, Wii U | 0 comments
The latest European episode of The Cat Mario Show has gone live on Nintendo’s YouTube channel. You can watch it below.
More: Europe, The Cat Mario Show
Meta Knight Nendoroid pre-orders open
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 1 Comment
Retailers are now starting to take pre-orders for the new Meta Knight Nendoroid. You can reserve it on Play-Asia here or Good Smile here.
On Play-Asia, there’s a pre-order deadline of September 18. You’ll need to reserve it by July 21 on Good Smile.
From the popular ‘Kirby’ game series comes a Nendoroid of Meta Knight! Just like the previously released Nendoroid Kirby, Meta Knight makes use of magnets for posing, making his movements smooth and easy to place in all sorts of different positions!
He also comes with a selection of optional parts including his sword together with large effect parts to display him slashing with the sword. You can also display him wearing his cape as well as transformed into his flying version with interchangeable wing parts! He even comes with parts that allow you to change the direction he is looking allowing for all sorts of awesome Meta Knight poses!
The Meta Knight Nendoroid will ship in March.
Nintendo acquiring 70% of distributor JESNET, will become a subsidiary
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 1 Comment
Nintendo announced today that it will acquire 70 percent of JESNET, a distributor in Japan. JESNET will now become a subsidiary as well.
Nintendo will be paying $47 million for the transaction. The plan is for JESNET to become a subsidiary in April.
The move will also see JESNET working together with AJIOKA, which is in the video game wholesale business.
It’s worth noting that JESNET has been distributing physical Nintendo products in Japan for many years. The company was founded in 1952 and has 80 employees.
Today’s full announcement can be read here.
Palutena amiibo restock looks to be happening
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 7 Comments
Just like Lucina, the Palutena amiibo seems to be getting a reprint. Earlier this week, the figure’s official Children’s Product Certificate was updated. A new run of manufacturing was added in for this month (August).
You may want to look out for Palutena coming soon to store shelves once again. There’s no sort of exact date for her return, but the certificate suggests it’ll be sooner rather than later.
More: Amiibo
Capcom to make a 3DS game in Japan using train ridership data
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 7 Comments
Nikkei reports that, in conjunction with East Japan Marketing & Communications, Capcom will be making a game for Nintendo’s handheld in Japan “that draw on players’ train ridership and other data captured from transit smart cards.”
A system is already in place which uses “Sony’s FeliCa contactless smart card technology to read transit card data into the 3DS.” East Japan Railway’s Suica and West Japan Railway’s Icoca are among ten smartcard systems that are compatible. Ridership data such as station entries is mainly used, though personal information is not stored.
Nikkei further reports that “Capcom aims to use transit data to enhance gamers’ experience, for example by rewarding players visiting certain stations with special items.” One social game is already on the way that features over 9,000 stations in Japan.
Legend of Kusakari developers say Nintendo felt “favorable” towards Zelda inspirations
Posted on 7 years ago by Zack in General Nintendo, Interviews | 60 Comments
In a recent interview with publisher Nnooo, The Legend of Kusakari developers Librage talked about their inspirations for the title, confirming that their game is indeed inspired by the Legend of Zelda series, and elaborated on their interaction with Nintendo and how they felt about such clear inspirations.
When asked about how the team was inspired to make the The Legend of Kusakari, Librage said:
The inspiration is the Legend of Zelda itself as you can see from the title logo and its game elements!
Furthermore, when asked about the kind of reaction Nintendo had to the clear inspirations the The Legend of Kusakari has to the The Legend of Zelda series, Librage said:
This is just our subjective impression, but they seem to be very favorable about this game. We visited Nintendo headquarters for a meeting and explained our project. They said this game was easy to understand because the title and content are consistent, and praised us.
You can read the full review below.
SNES is now 25 years old in North America
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 9 Comments
The Super Famicom – where we know of it here as the SNES – celebrated its 25th anniversary last year. But in North America, the console has today reached the same milestone. It’s worth taking a moment to remember the SNES and it’s many standout games – Super Mario World, Zelda: A Link to the Past, and Super Metroid just to name a few.
