Nintendo on the challenges of making amiibo, shows how they’re tested for safety and reliability
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 12 Comments
The Nintendo CSR Report 2015 was recently published. In the digest version, there’s a big focus on amiibo, including a few interviews.
One portion of the report features an interview with Nintendo’s Masaki Amano. He spoke about the challenges faced in developing amiibo at one point, noting:
Nintendo has developed a variety of game systems such as Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. However, amiibo development was extremely challenging because we couldn’t use our existing knowledge at all and had to proceed through everything by trial and error.
For example, when we make a game system we usually make a mold of each part by cutting the metal directly from 3D data using a drill or some other tool. For a figure, however, you use almost no machinery at all to make the mold, and do everything by hand instead. For amiibo, we started by creating a master. We then took this master apart to consider how to easily coat colors or create each mold. Link, for example, has 24 separate pieces.
We took a cast of the first mold by pressing clay into each part of the master and then coating it with silicon. Finally, after repeatedly duplicating the mold with harder substances, we used iron to create a metal mold. Although we could not apply our existing knowledge or experiences, we learned along the way as we pursued absolute quality.
That wasn’t the only notable element from the Nintendo CSR Report 2015. We also get a look at how Nintendo tests amiibo for safety and reliability. See the image below.
More: Amiibo, interview, Masaki Amano, top
Nintendo CSR Report 2015 now available
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 7 Comments
The Nintendo CSR Report 2015 has now been published. You can find it in full here, and the digest version here.
The digest version of the CSR Report has a message from Satoru Iwata, as well as several interesting interviews about amiibo. We’ve broken the report down into the gallery pages below.
SEGA posts Q1 FY2016 financial results
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 3 Comments
A couple of days ago, SEGA Sammy posted its latest financial results. There was a downturn during the first quarter of FY2016, though the company’s gaming division performed a bit better.
Here’s a full breakdown of SEGA Sammy’s latest financials:
– SEGA Sammy (parent company of game publisher SEGA) said that gains in its gaming unit could not offset overall losses
– Revenue of ¥52.9 billion ($425 million)
– That’s down 41.2 percent compared to last year’s number of ¥90 billion ($723 million)
– Profit: ¥7.9 billion ($63.5 million) loss for the quarter
– That’s down sharply from a profit of ¥5.1 billion ($41 million) during the same period last year
– The poor results were attributed the downturn to a number of factors, including the economy
– SEGA said the gains in digital games for smart devices in Japan were not substantial enough to offset the “shrinking” packaged game software business
– SEGA’s gaming division (Entertainment Contents Business) did better than the company as a whole
– Entertainment Contents Business posted net sales of ¥41.9 billion ($336 million)
– That’s up 4.1 percent compared to last year
– Operating loss of ¥739 million ($5.9 million) during the period
– This number was better than the ¥1.4 billion ($11.2 million) loss during the same quarter last year
– In the packaged game business, SEGA sold 1.83 million games “in spite of the lack of sales of major titles”
– No specific sales figures for any SEGA games
Thanks to Jake for the tip.
First images of the mysterious new Pokemon
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Images | 12 Comments
Pokemon the Movie: Hoopa and the Clash of Ages premiered in Japan last month. A trailer for next year’s movie accompanies the film, and we previously heard that a new Pokemon was shown during the video.
We now have the first images of the new Pokemon. It definitely looks like the blob that was shown in fan sketches. For the time being, it’s still completely unclear what this new Pokemon is about.
More: Pokemon
Nintendo Minute – Super Smash Bros. for Wii U DLC rumble
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Videos, Wii U | 2 Comments
The latest episode of Nintendo Minute has now gone live. This week, Kit and Krysta look at some of the previous DLC that came to Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Check out the full video below.
More: Nintendo Minute
Smash Bros. Wii U vs. Smash Bros. 64 – Hyrule Castle comparison
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Videos, Wii U | 0 comments
GameXplain has uploaded another comparison video for Smash Bros. In this latest one, we get to see how Hyrule Castle compares between the Wii U version and N64 original. Watch the video below.
Another look at the Japanese Animal Crossing New 3DS XL, NFC set, cover plates
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, New Nintendo 3DS, Videos | 0 comments
There’s a whole lot of unboxing going on in the video below. We have another look at the Japanese Animal Crossing New 3DS XL, plus the Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer NFC set, and cover plates.
Dark Pit amiibo up on Best Buy’s website
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 5 Comments
Update 2: Back in stock again apparently!
Update: Now gone. It lasted a decent amount of time on Best Buy’s site!
The Dark Pit amiibo can currently be purchased on Best Buy’s website. Get an order in here. If it doesn’t work, try using this link.
Rumor: GameStop taking pre-orders for R.O.B, Duck Hunt, Game & Watch amiibo 3-pack on August 8
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Rumors | 2 Comments
The R.O.B., Duck Hunt, and Game & Watch amiibo could be seeing their first pre-orders as early as next week. Speculation has surfaced about an event GameStop will be hosting on August 8, and an exclusive three pack containing the three figures will supposedly be offered.
Here’s the lowdown:
– Special GameStop amiibo event
– Stores are being allocated extra hours in the early morning
– The 3-pack will be a GameStop exclusive (not the individuals)
– The 3-pack will be a Retro Pack featuring R.O.B., Duck Hunt, and Mr. Game & Watch
– Each store will have roughly 30 available for pre-order
– Pre-orders will be the traditional “head in store and put $5 down” style rather than Web In Store
– If a location allows more than their allocated pre-orders, the customer will not receive their pre-order
– As of now, the 3-pack is the only pre-order officially announced internally for the 8/8 event
– As a side effect, GameStop most likely not be receiving individuals of R.O.B., Duck Hunt, or Mr. Game & Watch
– Pro members may be allowed in to stores an hour early
All of this information is unconfirmed for the time being. If we hear anything official, we’ll be sure to bring the news to you.
Nintendo opens Gamescom 2015 community on Miiverse
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 2 Comments
Nintendo opened a community to celebrate E3 2015 last month. Gamescom 2015 is now getting the same treatment as well. If you’d like to participate in some discussions relating to thee expo, head on over here.
Thanks to Shinun for the tip.
