Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments

Toki Tori 2 developer Two Tribes announced a reboot for the company today.

Below are the clear-cut facts, as presented on the studio’s official blog:

• The old Two Tribes B.V., who employed the developers, is now gone.
• Its parent company, Two Tribes Publishing B.V., that owns and publishes all our games and handles all contracts, remains unaffected.
• A new daughter company has been formed and it will handle the development of future titles.
• The original founders Martijn Reuvers and Collin van Ginkel aren’t going anywhere.

Two Tribes says that “nothing much will change” for the general public. Behind the scenes though, there’s a lot that won’t be staying the same.

Two Tribes wrote:

We’ve got a ton of hindsight to work with and we’re going to be applying the lessons we learned to the new Two Tribes. Behind the scenes things will change quite a bit. We’ve decided to move away from creating custom technology and focus on what’s readily available. As a result we’ll be working with a much smaller team on our next game, a 2D side scrolling shooter, which will be re-using the existing Toki Tori 2+ engine.

Our focus will be on the design of our games, which we plan on making more of in less time than before.

Source

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Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 5 Comments

Nintendo stock has risen by 30 percent since October, according to a report from Japanese publication Nikkei. The outlet also confirms that Nintendo increased nearly 1,000 yen (7 percent) compared to yesterday.

Why the rise in stock? That can be attributed to yen depreciation in foreign markets.

If Nintendo’s stock is to increase further, analysts say Nintendo will need to improve Wii U’s sales.

Source, Via

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Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Podcast Stories | 8 Comments

With The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Nintendo took a SNES classic and made it completely new again. Yet even though there’s a lot that’s new in the game – new dungeons, a new item system, and more – it also uses A Link to the Past as a base.

Could A Link Between Worlds set a new standard? What if Nintendo were to return to the core/basic elements of its other franchises and put a new spin on them?

When Game Informer asked Zelda: A Link Between Worlds director Hiromasa Shikata if he believes Nintendo is more interested in revisiting the structure/perspective of classic SNES games such as Metroid or Star Fox, he said:

It’s an honor that people consider the game to be a success. When we make a game we often start by thinking of the basic system and letting that in turn determine a suitable setting. If there’s something fitting for the basic Star Fox and Metroid formula then I think we’ll be able to develop something. On this title, if we hadn’t come up with the idea of going into the walls at the beginning and instead thought of something new which had the player curling up into a ball, we might have ended up with Metroid, not Zelda.

Source

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Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 8 Comments

Monolith Soft, developer of Xenoblade and the upcoming Wii U title “X”, is on a hiring spree of sorts for its Tokyo studio.

The company’s planner/designer position is marked as “urgent” on an official recruitment page. This is split into game planner, town planner, and battle algorithm planner parts.

The game planner section welcomes those with additional experience of having made a game that requires networking. For town planners, Monolith Soft is particularly interested in those who can write scripts and have programming knowledge while battle algorithm planners require experience in writing enemy AI and putting together scripts.

Monolith Soft is also seeking motion designers – another “urgent” hiring. The position is mainly for those who can work on character motions during event and battle scenes.

Source

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Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 1 Comment

WHAT:

The team from Internet show Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin’? will debut its new short film in the Nintendo Chalet in Park City, Utah, during the Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 16. After participating in the Wii U Video Challenge, the Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin’? crew was selected to work with YouTube powerhouse Freddie Wong to produce an original short film inspired by the Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze game, which launches for Wii U on Feb. 21.

Nintendo’s Wii U Video Challenge asked 30 of YouTube’s top content creators to produce short videos inspired by Super Mario 3D World and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD for Wii U. After viewing all the submitted videos, Nintendo selected the Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin’? team to work with Wong on a film inspired by Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.

The Nintendo Chalet will also offer invitees the opportunity to take shelter from the cold weather and play a variety of fun Wii U and Nintendo 3DS games in a warm, welcoming environment. Games featured in the lounge include Wii Fit U for Wii U and The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds for Nintendo 3DS.

WHO:
YouTube filmmaker Freddie Wong, the Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin’? team, Nintendo of America executives

WHEN:
Thursday, Jan. 16
8 p.m. MT (Media check-in at 7:30 p.m. MT)
For media attendees: Please RSVP via e-mail to Grace Chang by 10 a.m. PT on Jan. 15

WHERE:
449 Main St.
Park City, UT 84060
VISUALS:

Freddie Wong and the Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin’? team introducing their short film inspired by Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze for Wii U.
Nintendo is not affiliated with the Sundance Film Festival.

Source: Nintendo PR

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Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments

Two significant Level-5 developers shared teases about what lies ahead for the company as part of a feature on Japanese publication 4Gamer.

Director Atsushi Sugano first told the site:

“In 2013, we released Fantasy Life Link!, which corresponded to our ‘connecting’ network theme. That was our answer to those from our development staff and players who voiced ‘I want to play more,’ and I’m grateful we were able to meet those expectations.”

“Again, while I can’t say more, there’s one more approach through which we’re currently challenging ourselves. I believe that ‘even if we go against predictions, expectations must be met’ when it comes to creativity.”

“We’re all currently working at our best to prepare something, so please wait just a little longer.”

Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino was next. He stated the following:

“In the midst of a rather sluggish consumer game industry at the moment, I believe that the industry needs a ‘new game’. We’ll try our best to make a new title that’ll surprise all of you, so please look forward to that.”

Source

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Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 3 Comments

Shota Kageyama, a composer who worked on Pokemon X/Y, Pokemon Black/White, and Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver, has left Game Freak. Kageyama also contributed to Luminous Arc and Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Kageyama shared the news on Twitter last week in which he wrote:

[Greetings] Happy New Year, everyone. I’m sorry to raise a personal matter, but I left GAME FREAK, who has been good to me these past six years and seven months, on December 31 to start a new music brand called Spica Musica.

Along with gaming, Kageyama will be pursuing other areas of interest. Kageyama said that the staff at Game Freak sent him off with smiles and support, and he’s open to working with the studio again in the future.

Source 1, Source 2, Via

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Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Random | 6 Comments

Kirby Triple Deluxe is launching in Japan in just a few days. For the game’s launch, several Kirby beanbags will be made available.

Each measures in at H70 x W100 x D70mm. Pricing is set at 630 yen.

More: Japan, Kirby

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 2 Comments

It’s not 2013 any longer, but that doesn’t mean the Year of Luigi has ceased! Over on Club Nintendo Japan, members can order a Dr. Luigi cleaning cloth for 200 points. That amount is reduced to 100 if the just-launched Dr. Luigi game is registered on the site.

Source

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Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 2 Comments

Greg Martin, an artist of countless video game boxarts from the earlier days of gaming, has passed away. Martin worked on covers for Sonic the Hedgehog titles, Flintstones 2, Jetsons, Bonk’s Adventure, several Adventure Island games, and more.

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