Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Podcast Stories, Wii U | 19 Comments

Not much seems to have changed in terms of Bethesda’s stance on Wii U. The publisher still has no plans to support the console, but Bethesda’s Peter Hines had even more to say about Nintendo on a recent episode of GameTrailers’ Bonus Round.

Hines feels that the Big N should have adopted Sony and Microsoft’s approach of reaching out to developers before launching a new console. Developers and publishers have often spoke about how they were able to shape the outcome of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One specs and hardware.

Hines’ words in full:

The time for convincing publishers and developers to support Wii U has long past. The box is out. You have to do what Sony and Microsoft have been doing with us for a long time and it’s not that every time we met with them we got all the answers we wanted. But they involved us very early on, and talking to folks like Bethesda and Gearbox, they say ‘here’s what we’re doing, here’s what we’re planning, here’s how we think it’s going to work’ to hear what we thought – from our tech guys and from an experience standpoint.

You have to spend an unbelievable amount of time upfront doing that. If you’re just going sort off deciding ‘we’re going to make a box and this is how it works and you should make games for it.’ Well, no. No is my answer, I’m going to focus on other ones that better support what it is we’re trying to do. So you’ve gotta spend more time trying to reach out to those folks before you even make the box, when you’re still designing and thinking about how it’s going to work

Source, Via

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News, Wii, Wii U | 1 Comment

GamesMarkt’s latest issue contains a report on Europe’s best-selling games of 2013 in the first half of the year, courtesy of data collected by Media Control GfK International GmbH. Sales from a total of twenty countries including the UK, France, Spain, and Germany were taken into account.

Below are the results:

GamesMarkt also shared a listing of the top ten publishers based on software market share:

01. (=) Electronic Arts – 17,25% (-2,14%)
02. (?) Nintendo – 11,82% (+0,50%)
03. (?) Activision Blizzard – 11,51% (-1,79%)
04. (?) Sony CEE – 8,78% (+2,37%)
05. (?) Ubisoft – 8,54% (+0,67%)
06. (=) Take-Two Int. – 5,07% (+0,51%)
07. (?) Square Enix – 5,02% (k.v.m.)
08. (=) Namco Bandai – 4,22% (+0,60%)
09. (?) Microsoft – 4,11% (-0,18%)
10. (?) Warnet Interact. – 2,77% (k.vm.)

Source

Posted on 10 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in News, Wii U | 0 comments

The Wonderful 101 director Hideki Kamiya has expressed on more than one occasion that he’d love to make a sequel to the Wii U game. Generally speaking, developers use cut ideas from the first title when creating a follow-up for a new IP, but in the case of The Wonderful 101, the team used up everything.

That’s where the fans come in. Hideki Kamiya is interested in fielding ideas and suggestions for super heroes to join the cast in a potential sequel.

Twitter is the best (and only) way to get in touch with Kamiya. You can tweet at him here.

Source

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 5 Comments

Minecraft has been very well represented on gaming platforms. It’s been available on the Xbox 360 for quite some time. Minecraft will soon be making its way to the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PS Vita as well.

That leaves Nintendo as the odd man out. As of now, the game hasn’t been announced for either the Wii U or 3DS.

Responding to the possibility of Minecraft appearing on either platform, Nintendo business development manager Dan Adelman said:

“What can we say on that front? [laughs].”

Nintendo senior manager of marketing for licensing Damon Baker also commented:

“We’re big fans. We have a continuing relationship with Mojang, and respect all the work that they’re doing, but no announcements at this time.”

Baker went on to speak in general terms, noting that Nintendo keeps track of “what everybody’s doing”. In fact, one reason why Nintendo is present at PAX Prime 2013 is to have conversations with developers and find out “whether they’re making games for other platforms or not.”

“We’ve got our own favorites that we’ve had conversations with. So I think it’s always a work in progress.”

Source

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 0 comments

The latest Wii U/3DS-specific UK software sales are as follows:

Wii U

1. Rayman Legends – Ubisoft
2. Disney Infinity – Disney Interactive
3. Pikmin 3 – Nintendo
4. The Wonderful 101 – Nintendo
5. Nintendo Land – Nintendo
6. New Super Luigi U – Nintendo
7. New Super Mario Bros. U – Nintendo
8. LEGO City: Undercover – Nintendo
9. Splinter Cell: Blacklist – Ubisoft
10. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed – SEGA

3DS

1. Animal Crossing: New Leaf – Nintendo
2. Mario Kart 7 – Nintendo
3. Luigi’s Mansion 2 – Nintendo
4. Mario & Luigi: Dream Team – Nintendo
5. LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins – Nintendo
6. New Super Mario Bros. 2 – Nintendo
7. Etrian Odyssey IV – NIS America
8. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity – Nintendo
9. Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D – Nintendo
10. Super Mario 3D Land – Nintendo

Source: Chart-Track

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

Digital Foundry has put up a new piece analyzing the performance and visuals put into each version of Rayman Legends.

All versions of the game were deemed very similar from a technical perspective. The main differences come down to how Legends plays on Wii U as opposed to other platforms.

You can get a better idea about how the Wii U version of Rayman Legends by checking out Digital Foundry’s piece. You can find a few comparison videos below.

Read More

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Screenshots, Wii U | 0 comments

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, DS, News, Podcast Stories, Wii, Wii U | 2 Comments

First week sales for Rayman Legends are in. The game isn’t lightning the charts on fire, but it did outsell origins by around 20%. Legends also sold the most on Wii U – 45% of total sales came from Nintendo’s console.

Below are the full charts for the week ending August 31:

Individual formats

LW		TW			Title	Format	Label	Publisher
1		1			SAINTS ROW IV	XB360	DEEP SILVER	KOCH MEDIA
2		2			SAINTS ROW IV	PS3	DEEP SILVER	KOCH MEDIA
3		3			TOM CLANCY’S SPLINTER CELL: BLACKLIST	XB360	UBISOFT	UBISOFT
–		4			FINAL FANTASY XIV: A REALM REBORN	PS3	SQUARE ENIX	SQUARE ENIX EUROPE
5		5			MINECRAFT: XBOX 360 EDITION	XB360	MICROSOFT	MICROSOFT
4		6			TOM CLANCY’S SPLINTER CELL: BLACKLIST	PS3	UBISOFT	UBISOFT
–		7			FINAL FANTASY XIV: A REALM REBORN	PC	SQUARE ENIX	SQUARE ENIX EUROPE
6		8			DISNEY INFINITY	XB360	DISNEY INFINITY	DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS
–		9			PAYDAY 2	XB360	505 GAMES	505 GAMES
7		10			ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW LEAF	3DS	NINTENDO	NINTENDO
8		11			THE LAST OF US	PS3	SONY COMPUTER ENT.	SONY COMPUTER ENT.
10		12			CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II	XB360	ACTIVISION	ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
11		13			DISNEY INFINITY	WII	DISNEY INFINITY	DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS
–		14			RAYMAN LEGENDS	WII U	UBISOFT	UBISOFT
9		15			DISNEY INFINITY	PS3	DISNEY INFINITY	DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS
–		16			MADDEN NFL 25	XB360	EA SPORTS	ELECTRONIC ARTS
–		17			MADDEN NFL 25	PS3	EA SPORTS	ELECTRONIC ARTS
–		18			RAYMAN LEGENDS	XB360	UBISOFT	UBISOFT
12		19			FIFA 13	XB360	EA SPORTS	ELECTRONIC ARTS
–		20			RAYMAN LEGENDS	PS3	UBISOFT	UBISOFT
23		21			MAX PAYNE 3	XB360	ROCKSTAR	TAKE 2
16		22			CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II	PS3	ACTIVISION	ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
18		23			MAX PAYNE 3	PS3	ROCKSTAR	TAKE 2
34		24			TOMB RAIDER	PS3	SQUARE ENIX	SQUARE ENIX EUROPE
26		25			MARIO KART 7	3DS	NINTENDO	NINTENDO
17		26			GRAND THEFT AUTO IV	XB360	XBOX 360 CLASSICS	TAKE 2
25		27			LUIGI’S MANSION 2	3DS	NINTENDO	NINTENDO
19		28			TOMB RAIDER	XB360	SQUARE ENIX	SQUARE ENIX EUROPE
22		29			ASSASSIN’S CREED III	XB360	XBOX 360 CLASSICS	UBISOFT
36		30			LEGO THE LORD OF THE RINGS	XB360	WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE	WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE
32		31			LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES	XB360	WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE	WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE
35		32			SKYLANDERS GIANTS	WII	SKYLANDERS	ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
15		33			THE BUREAU: XCOM DECLASSIFIED	XB360	2K GAMES	TAKE 2
21		34			GRAND THEFT AUTO EPISODES – LIBERTY CITY	XB360	ROCKSTAR	TAKE 2
28		35			FIFA 13	PS3	EA SPORTS	ELECTRONIC ARTS
33		36			BATTLEFIELD 3	XB360	EA GAMES	ELECTRONIC ARTS
30		37			MARIO AND LUIGI: DREAM TEAM BROS.	3DS	NINTENDO	NINTENDO
–		38			LOST PLANET 3	XB360	CAPCOM	CAPCOM
–		39			RED DEAD REDEMPTION: GOTY	XB360	ROCKSTAR	TAKE 2
29		40			FAR CRY 3	XB360	XBOX 360 CLASSICS	UBISOFT

All formats

LW		TW			Title	Developer	Label	Publisher
1		1			SAINTS ROW IV	VOLITION	DEEP SILVER	KOCH MEDIA
2		2			TOM CLANCY’S SPLINTER CELL: BLACKLIST	UBISOFT (TORONTO)	UBISOFT	UBISOFT
–		3			FINAL FANTASY XIV: A REALM REBORN	SQUARE ENIX	SQUARE ENIX	SQUARE ENIX EUROPE
3		4			DISNEY INFINITY	AVALANCHE SOFTWARE	DISNEY INFINITY	DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS
4		5			MINECRAFT: XBOX 360 EDITION	4J STUDIOS	MICROSOFT	MICROSOFT
–		6			RAYMAN LEGENDS	UBISOFT (FRANCE)	UBISOFT	UBISOFT
–		7			MADDEN NFL 25	EA TIBURON	EA SPORTS	ELECTRONIC ARTS
5		8			CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II	TREYARCH	ACTIVISION	ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
18		9			PAYDAY 2	OVERKILL SOFTWARE	505 GAMES	505 GAMES
6		10			FIFA 13	EA CANADA	EA SPORTS	ELECTRONIC ARTS
7		11			ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW LEAF	NINTENDO	NINTENDO	NINTENDO
8		12			LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES	TRAVELLER’S TALES	WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE	WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE
9		13			THE LAST OF US	NAUGHTY DOG	SONY COMPUTER ENT.	SONY COMPUTER ENT.
12		14			MAX PAYNE 3	ROCKSTAR VANCOUVER	ROCKSTAR	TAKE 2
13		15			LEGO THE LORD OF THE RINGS	TRAVELLER’S TALES	WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE	WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE
15		16			TOMB RAIDER	CRYSTAL DYNAMICS	SQUARE ENIX	SQUARE ENIX EUROPE
16		17			SKYLANDERS GIANTS	TOYS FOR BOB	SKYLANDERS	ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
11		18			ASSASSIN’S CREED III	UBISOFT (MONTREAL)	XBOX 360 CLASSICS	UBISOFT
17		19			GRAND THEFT AUTO IV	ROCKSTAR NORTH	XBOX 360 CLASSICS	TAKE 2
21		20			NEED FOR SPEED MOST WANTED	CRITERION GAMES	EA GAMES	ELECTRONIC ARTS
19		21			THE SMURFS 2	UBISOFT SF/WAYFORWARD	UBISOFT	UBISOFT
14		22			FAR CRY 3	UBISOFT (MONTREAL)	UBISOFT	UBISOFT
10		23			THE BUREAU: XCOM DECLASSIFIED	2K MARIN	2K GAMES	TAKE 2
20		24			THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM – LEGENDARY	BETHESDA	BETHESDA SOFTWORKS	BETHESDA SOFTWORKS
23		25			GRAND THEFT AUTO EPISODES – LIBERTY CITY	ROCKSTAR NORTH	ROCKSTAR	TAKE 2
–		26			LOST PLANET 3	SPARK UNLIMITED	CAPCOM	CAPCOM
24		27			BATTLEFIELD 3	DIGITAL ILLUSIONS	EA GAMES	ELECTRONIC ARTS
–		28			KILLER IS DEAD	GRASSHOPPER MANUFACTURE	DEEP SILVER	KOCH MEDIA
27		29			RED DEAD REDEMPTION: GOTY	ROCKSTAR SAN DIEGO	ROCKSTAR	TAKE 2
30		30			MARIO KART 7	RETRO STUDIOS / NINTENDO	NINTENDO	NINTENDO
26		31			BIOSHOCK INFINITE	IRRATIONAL GAMES	2K GAMES	TAKE 2
25		32			HITMAN ABSOLUTION	IO INTERACTIVE	SQUARE ENIX	SQUARE ENIX EUROPE
29		33			LUIGI’S MANSION 2	NEXT LEVEL GAMES	NINTENDO	NINTENDO
31		34			THE SIMS 3	THE SIMS STUDIO	EA GAMES	ELECTRONIC ARTS
34		35			MARIO AND LUIGI: DREAM TEAM BROS.	ALPHADREAM	NINTENDO	NINTENDO
33		36			THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM	BETHESDA	XBOX 360 CLASSICS	BETHESDA SOFTWORKS
35		37			CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 3	INFINITY WARD/SLEDGEHAMMER	ACTIVISION	ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
37		38			PLANES	BEHAVIOUR INTERACTIVE	DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS	DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS
32		39			GRID 2	CODEMASTERS	CODEMASTERS	CODEMASTERS
–		40			FOOTBALL MANAGER 2013	SPORTS INTERACTIVE	SEGA	SEGA

Source 1, Source 2

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

A whole slew of details from Hideki Kamiya’s Wonderful 101 panel at PAX Prime 2013 are now available. You can find a summary of what was shared below.

Main panel

– Kamiya goes over what the game is
– Says: “don’t be worried, it’s a 100% pure action game”
– Unite Morph was inspired by a picture book he saw when he was a kid, “Swimmy”
– Swimmy has lots of little fishies coming together to form a big strong fish
– Nintendo wasn’t too fond of the original all-star idea
– A year later thought about it, liked it too much and went original
– Kamiya’s design philosophy is “Crash and Build”
– This involves making the fun idea right away, break what isn’t until it is fun
– Kamiya can’t make a game “by blueprint” hence lots of crashing and building as it inspires him
– Kamiya next showed concept art for the game
– Originally had a much darker style
– Didn’t like the original prototype character designs at first but eventually settled on iterating the second one, an early Wonder Red
– Heroes that didn’t make it into the final game include Wonder-Giant, one of his personal favorites
– Kamiya created posters during early development to inspire the team working on The Wonderful 101
– Prototype version shown, looks visually rougher but similar in concept
– Portion where characters unite to form a bridge is why the game got shelved
– Nintendo was shown concept art of Peach, Luigi, Yoshi as bridge with Mario walking over them
– Nintendo went “eh, we can’t make that”
– Prototype with original art style had a much heavier inky look
– The Unite Morph was not originally a drawing a mechanic, but triggered by something else
– A conversation system was introduced in the second prototype
– The trigger for Unite Morph was originally based on selecting icons. However selecting icons was not fun and the drawing mechanic replaces it.
– Finished character designs were put on a board shared among the developers to keep track of them
– Kamiya didn’t want a typical protagonist vs. antagonist plot
– Wanted the protagonists to face their own personal problems in the story too
– 13 script revisions
– Seeing how scripts were matched with visuals to block out the story details in The Wonderful 101
– The script helped to determine elements of the game that needed to be created. Also determined the schedule
– Character slides where created containing details about each character for voice acting
– For voices, wasn’t keeping track of popular voice actors in the west but went with submissions sent and decided on what they liked
– The casting matrix was how they kept track of the auditions for voices
– “What makes The Wonderful 101 Platinum?” Kamiya: We view everything as teamwork, everyone has a say.
– Teamwork and open communication are signature elements of Platinum; is the core of their game development process
– They can create something amazing that way, and that’s what they feel happened with The Wonderful 101

Audience questions

– Kamiya first met Miyamoto while he was complaining to Nintendo about releasing Donkey Kong or Mario Bros. on the Virtual Console
– Kamiya asked for ideas for The Wonderful 102 in case they ever get to make it
– Kamiya would love to make Viewtiful Joe 3 and Okami 2 if Capcom gave him permission

Via

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 0 comments

More Scribblenauts Unmasked details have emerged. Today’s batch of information mainly pertains to the game’s Batcomputer.

Here’s the latest bits on Scribblenauts Unmasked:

General

– Game has 2,000 characters, vehicles and items f
– Over 30 Batman variations
– Over 130 Green Lanterns

Batcomputer

– Filters objects into categories like heroes, villains, teams, vehicles and objects, and its use of hyperlinks
– Access the Batcomputer through an icon on the Wii U’s touchscreen
– Search through the DC database for the exact Superman you’re looking for
– Ex: Red Son, Darkseid Superman, Superman Red/Blue, Thought Robot, etc.
– Batcomputer offers information on some of the game’s more obscure comic book references
– Ex: evil Yellow Lantern Hal Jordan has links to other game objects, like Yellow Lantern rings, Sinestro Corps and Parallax
– The Wikipedia-like nature of the Batcomputer’s entries can lead to some deep DC references, like Mogo, The Living Planet of the Green Lantern Corps, the furry superhero team the Zoo Crew and Flash’s Cosmic Treadmill

Source