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

This week’s UK software sales are as follows:

Individual formats

LW		TW			Title	Format	Label	Publisher
–		1			TOMB RAIDER: DEFINITIVE EDITION	PS4	SQUARE ENIX	SQUARE ENIX EUROPE
1		2			FIFA 14	PS4	EA SPORTS	ELECTRONIC ARTS
2		3			MINECRAFT: XBOX 360 EDITION	XB360	MICROSOFT	MICROSOFT
–		4			TOMB RAIDER: DEFINITIVE EDITION	XB ONE	SQUARE ENIX	SQUARE ENIX EUROPE
7		5			CALL OF DUTY: GHOSTS	XB360	ACTIVISION	ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
5		6			CALL OF DUTY: GHOSTS	PS4	ACTIVISION	ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
3		7			KILLZONE: SHADOW FALL	PS4	SONY COMPUTER ENT.	SONY COMPUTER ENT.
4		8			FIFA 14	XB360	EA SPORTS	ELECTRONIC ARTS
8		9			BATTLEFIELD 4	PS4	EA GAMES	ELECTRONIC ARTS
6		10			FIFA 14	XB ONE	EA SPORTS	ELECTRONIC ARTS
19		11			CALL OF DUTY: GHOSTS	PS3	ACTIVISION	ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
11		12			LEGO MARVEL SUPER HEROES	XB360	WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE	WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE
21		13			GRAN TURISMO 6	PS3	SONY COMPUTER ENT.	SONY COMPUTER ENT.
10		14			BATTLEFIELD 4	XB ONE	EA GAMES	ELECTRONIC ARTS
9		15			FIFA 14	PS3	EA SPORTS	ELECTRONIC ARTS
16		16			GRAND THEFT AUTO V	XB360	ROCKSTAR	TAKE 2
12		17			ASSASSIN’S CREED IV: BLACK FLAG	PS4	UBISOFT	UBISOFT
14		18			CALL OF DUTY: GHOSTS	XB ONE	ACTIVISION	ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
18		19			FOOTBALL MANAGER 2014	PC	SEGA	SEGA
13		20			GRAND THEFT AUTO V	PS3	ROCKSTAR	TAKE 2
17		21			FORZA MOTORSPORT 5	XB ONE	MICROSOFT	MICROSOFT
15		22			BATTLEFIELD 4	XB360	EA GAMES	ELECTRONIC ARTS
23		23			NEED FOR SPEED: RIVALS	PS4	EA GAMES	ELECTRONIC ARTS
24		24			LEGO MARVEL SUPER HEROES	PS4	WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE	WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE
30		25			LEGO MARVEL SUPER HEROES	PS3	WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE	WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE
22		26			DEAD RISING 3	XB ONE	MICROSOFT	MICROSOFT
20		27			MARIO PARTY: ISLAND TOUR	3DS	NINTENDO	NINTENDO
33		28			WWE 2K14	XB360	2K SPORTS	TAKE 2
27		29			KNACK	PS4	SONY COMPUTER ENT.	SONY COMPUTER ENT.
26		30			BATTLEFIELD 4	PS3	EA GAMES	ELECTRONIC ARTS
32		31			RYSE: SON OF ROME	XB ONE	MICROSOFT	MICROSOFT
25		32			ASSASSIN’S CREED IV: BLACK FLAG	XB360	UBISOFT	UBISOFT
34		33			ASSASSIN’S CREED IV: BLACK FLAG	XB ONE	UBISOFT	UBISOFT
37		34			THE LAST OF US	PS3	SONY COMPUTER ENT.	SONY COMPUTER ENT.
29		35			NEED FOR SPEED: RIVALS	XB360	EA GAMES	ELECTRONIC ARTS
–		36			ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW LEAF	3DS	NINTENDO	NINTENDO
35		37			ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES	XB360	SEGA	SEGA
39		38			POKEMON Y	3DS	NINTENDO	NINTENDO
–		39			POKEMON X	3DS	NINTENDO	NINTENDO
–		40			TOMB RAIDER	XB360	SQUARE ENIX	SQUARE ENIX EUROPE

All formats

LW		TW			Title	Developer	Label	Publisher
–		1			TOMB RAIDER: DEFINITIVE EDITION	CRYSTAL DYNAMICS	SQUARE ENIX	SQUARE ENIX EUROPE
1		2			FIFA 14	EA CANADA	EA SPORTS	ELECTRONIC ARTS
2		3			CALL OF DUTY: GHOSTS	INFINITY WARD	ACTIVISION	ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
3		4			BATTLEFIELD 4	DIGITAL ILLUSIONS	EA GAMES	ELECTRONIC ARTS
4		5			LEGO MARVEL SUPER HEROES	TRAVELLER’S TALES	WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE	WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE
5		6			ASSASSIN’S CREED IV: BLACK FLAG	UBISOFT (MONTREAL)	UBISOFT	UBISOFT
6		7			MINECRAFT: XBOX 360 EDITION	4J STUDIOS	MICROSOFT	MICROSOFT
8		8			GRAND THEFT AUTO V	ROCKSTAR NORTH	ROCKSTAR	TAKE 2
9		9			NEED FOR SPEED: RIVALS	GHOST GAMES	EA GAMES	ELECTRONIC ARTS
7		10			KILLZONE: SHADOW FALL	GUERRILLA GAMES	SONY COMPUTER ENT.	SONY COMPUTER ENT.
18		11			GRAN TURISMO 6	POLYPHONY DIGITAL	SONY COMPUTER ENT.	SONY COMPUTER ENT.
11		12			NBA 2K14	VISUAL CONCEPTS	2K SPORTS	TAKE 2
15		13			WWE 2K14	YUKE’S	2K SPORTS	TAKE 2
13		14			FOOTBALL MANAGER 2014	SPORTS INTERACTIVE	SEGA	SEGA
12		15			FORZA MOTORSPORT 5	TURN 10 STUDIOS	MICROSOFT	MICROSOFT
14		16			ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES	GEARBOX SOFTWARE	SEGA	SEGA
19		17			LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES	TRAVELLER’S TALES	WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE	WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE
24		18			DISNEY INFINITY	AVALANCHE SOFTWARE	DISNEY INFINITY	DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS
20		19			BATMAN: ARKHAM ORIGINS	WB GAMES MONTREAL	WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE	WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE
10		20			DRAGON BALL Z: BATTLE OF Z	ARTDINK	NAMCO BANDAI GAMES	NAMCO BANDAI GAMES
21		21			DEAD RISING 3	CAPCOM VANCOUVER	MICROSOFT	MICROSOFT
26		22			SKYLANDERS SWAP FORCE	VICARIOUS VISIONS	SKYLANDERS	ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
29		23			TOMB RAIDER	CRYSTAL DYNAMICS	SQUARE ENIX	SQUARE ENIX EUROPE
16		24			JUST DANCE 2014	UBISOFT (FRANCE)	UBISOFT	UBISOFT
17		25			MARIO PARTY: ISLAND TOUR	ND CUBE	NINTENDO	NINTENDO
23		26			SAINTS ROW IV	DEEP SILVER VOLITION	DEEP SILVER	KOCH MEDIA
31		27			MADDEN NFL 25	EA TIBURON	EA SPORTS	ELECTRONIC ARTS
22		28			LEGO THE LORD OF THE RINGS	TRAVELLER’S TALES	WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE	WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE
25		29			KNACK	SONY COMPUTER ENT.	SONY COMPUTER ENT.	SONY COMPUTER ENT.
27		30			RYSE: SON OF ROME	CRYTEK	MICROSOFT	MICROSOFT
30		31			THE LAST OF US	NAUGHTY DOG	SONY COMPUTER ENT.	SONY COMPUTER ENT.
28		32			MAX PAYNE 3	ROCKSTAR VANCOUVER	ROCKSTAR	TAKE 2
39		33			RAYMAN LEGENDS	UBISOFT (FRANCE)	UBISOFT	UBISOFT
38		34			ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW LEAF	NINTENDO	NINTENDO	NINTENDO
32		35			POKEMON Y	GAME FREAK	NINTENDO	NINTENDO
40		36			LEGO STAR WARS: THE COMPLETE SAGA	TRAVELLER’S TALES	XBOX 360 CLASSICS	DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS
33		37			POKEMON X	GAME FREAK	NINTENDO	NINTENDO
–		38			SONIC GENERATIONS	SONIC TEAM	XBOX 360 CLASSICS	SEGA
34		39			SONIC & ALL STARS RACING TRANSFORMED	SUMO DIGITAL	XBOX 360 CLASSICS	SEGA
–		40			TOM CLANCY’S SPLINTER CELL: BLACKLIST	UBISOFT (TORONTO)	UBISOFT	UBISOFT

Source 1, Source 2

More: Chart-Track, charts, sales, top, UK

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 6 Comments

Capcom has interest in releasing Monster Hunter Frontier G outside of Japan.

Capcom’s Yoshinori Ono said during a recent developer interview published on the company’s website:

We do. The letter “G” in the title implies it’s compatible with a wide range of platforms, including PlayStation3, Wii U, Xbox 360, and PC. We’re also planning to extend this support to PlayStation Vita. The reason why we have increased our support for so many hardware platforms is because we have our sights set on distributing services for this game in the future outside Japan. We simply can’t release a game as it is, but need to adapt all the necessary services to the unique characteristics of each region. In preparation for that, we’ve broadened our scope and started launching individual titles across multiple hardware platforms.

Now, what does this mean exactly? Monster Hunter Frontier G could very well be heading into other regions of Asia. Naturally, we’re also hoping that the game is being considered for the west.

Source

More: Capcom, Monster Hunter Frontier G, top, Yoshinori Ono

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

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata discussed two important topics for Wii U and how they apply to Japan versus overseas territories last week.

When it comes to promotion for the system, Iwata explained that more resources were devoted to Wii U as opposed to 3DS because Monster Hunter 4 and Pokemon X/Y were able to carry the handheld to a certain extent. Because Nintendo was in a position to properly “focus our energy on communicating Wii U in the year-end sales season”, sales in Japan rose to roughly 100,000 units per week.

Overseas, Nintendo was looking “to boost Nintendo 3DS sales to an explosive level”. The company also needed to provide resources towards Wii U at the same time. “As a result, we were not able to fully focus on promoting either of them,” he admitted. Nintendo originally hoped to “achieve sold sales” for 3DS by the time Pokemon X/Y had arrived and then shift towards Wii U, but “this plan did not work and we had to spread our resources over two platforms.” Additionally, “neither of them achieved explosive sales, a point we need to deeply reflect on.”

On the topic of “consumers’ attention,” Iwata said “there is a difference between the overseas markets in which other companies launched new home consoles, and the Japanese market in which their launches have been held off until this year.”

He continued:

I believe not many consumers wavered between Wii U and those new consoles from other companies because I believe that our user demographics are different to a certain degree. We tried to create a buzz in the overseas markets with Wii U that would encourage many people to look for information about Wii U, making it easier to get our messages across, but this proved to be more difficult than we had expected. I truly need to reflect on the outcome of this year-end sales season, which, in my opinion, was the worst year-end sales season in the overseas markets since I became president, and I would like to bring them back on the right track as soon as possible.

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More: sales, Satoru Iwata, top

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 38 Comments

Satoru Iwata delivered some incredibly insightful comments as to what Nintendo has planned for its future hardware during an investor briefing Q&A last week.

As many of you know, Nintendo combined its console and handheld teams in 2013. Thanks to “vast technological advances, it became possible to achieve a fair degree of architectural integration.”

Iwata says that the integration of the two teams can help overcome some technical difficulties. He mentioned, as an example, that it currently takes “a huge amount of effort” to port Wii games to 3DS, and 3DS titles to Wii U. “If the transition of software from platform to platform can be made simpler, this will help solve the problem of game shortages in the launch periods of new platforms,” he said.

Integrating the console and handheld teams will also allow Nintendo to avoid situations in which it previously “ended up developing a system that was completely different from its predecessor.” Aside from the transition from GameCube to Wii, “all the other systems required ground-up effort.”

Iwata left a tease as for what’s to come, stating:

In this perspective, while we are only going to be able to start this with the next system, it will become important for us to accurately take advantage of what we have done with the Wii U architecture. It of course does not mean that we are going to use exactly the same architecture as Wii U, but we are going to create a system that can absorb the Wii U architecture adequately. When this happens, home consoles and handheld devices will no longer be completely different, and they will become like brothers in a family of systems.

Be sure to head past the break for Iwata’s comments in full, as there’s quite a bit more he shared that would be silly to summarize further.

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More: Satoru Iwata, top

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

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata addressed the topic of third-party support – for both 3DS and Wii U – during the company’s investor briefing last week.

Regarding 3DS, Iwata says the platform has become “the number one dedicated video game system that Japanese third-party publishers are focusing on” due to its “overwhelmingly strong presence in the hardware as well as software markets”. Nintendo will continue to distribute and publish some Japanese titles “this year and the next.”

The situation is different in the west, as publishers tend to focus more on consoles as opposed to handhelds. However, Iwata noted: “the fact that Nintendo 3DS has now sold over 10 million units in both the U.S. and Europe seems to be news for third-party publishers, and we have recently been receiving more proposals from third-party publishers.”

When it comes to Wii U, “opinions significantly differ among third-party publishers.” There are still some publishers – particular those “that has great affinity with audiences that Nintendo has historically been strong with” – who continue to support the console and even look to assist Nintendo in getting people to upgrade from Wii to Wii U. “On the other hand, software publishers are not necessarily keen on making games in genres that have weaker affinity with audiences that Nintendo has not been as strong with, where making a huge investment does not guarantee a sufficient return,” Iwata explained. Ultimately, Iwata believes Nintendo must “create a strong foundation in areas Nintendo excels at and achieve a sufficient sales volume,” which is the first step for the company.

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More: Satoru Iwata, top

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 88 Comments

Nintendo has always been coy when it comes to technical specs. We rarely see spec sheets from the company, and we often don’t see comments about what Nintendo’s systems can do from a technical perspective.

Last week, Nintendo senior managing director Genyo Takeda spoke with investors about how “Nintendo tries not to emphasize the raw technical specifications”, instead opting to place the focus “on how we can use technology to amplify the value of our entertainment offerings”.

Takeda said, “Whether a machine is powerful or not only has meaning in the context of whether that can express itself in terms of gameplay to consumers.”

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More: Genyo Takeda, top

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Podcast Stories, Wii U | 7 Comments

One investor asked Nintendo how it will address the lack of software available for its systems at launch during the company’s investor briefing last week. Shigeru Miyamoto addressed the question, suggesting that the situation had been improved with Wii U. New Super Mario Bros. U and Nintendo Land were available at launch, followed by Pikmin 3 “after a long interval”, and Supre Mario 3D World at the end of last year. Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. are also on the way.

“Therefore, I feel that we have managed to overcome the challenge of releasing enough first-party franchises on Wii U,” he said.

Miyamoto later addressed what Nintendo believes was Nintendo’s biggest issues last year: “we failed to communicate the true value of Wii U, failed to make children persuade their parents to buy our products for them, and failed to offer products that parents could not resist.” He stated that, as a result, Nintendo “will need to put more focus on creating experiences that utilize the GamePad that can also be fully enjoyed when playing alone.”

Miyamoto’s final comments were about developing for Wii U. Due to the huge evolution in technology between Wii and Wii U, just using a technique such as shaders “has significantly changed our development environment as well as our developers themselves and the time to develop games, all of which are areas toward which we have been making significant reinforcements.” Miyamoto said Nintendo is now looking to work with “many outside developers” so that “past games” can be reborn on Wii U.

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

Momentum is something that we often hear Nintendo discussing. The 3DS, for example, saw a tough start, but Nintendo turned things around with a price drop and steady stream of software. This provided a momentum boost for the system.

Unfortunately, Wii U has yet to see any sort of momentum. This is something that Nintendo president Satoru Iwata reaffirmed to investors last week.

In spite of the Wii U’s struggles though, Iwata says he “never thought of resignation as an option, and I believe that my job is to do whatever I can do to deliver results, and I am as passionate about this responsibility as ever.”

Read Iwata’s full comments on momentum below.

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More: Satoru Iwata, top

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 11 Comments

Thanks to the 3DS’ install base, Nintendo now feels that it can turn a profit with the system’s software. President Satoru Iwata mentioned to investors last week that the company has “many key titles to be released in this calendar year and we will strive to drive profits from these titles.” 3DS overall is expected to be “the key profit-driver for the next fiscal year”.

With Wii U, on the other hand, Iwata admitted that “it is not easy to make a significant profit with the current units sold.” But with Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. acting “as our main drivers”, Nintendo “would like to make sure that the markets will thoroughly acknowledge the value of Wii U, including the titles that we have released to date.”

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More: Mario Kart 8, Satoru Iwata, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, top

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Videos, Wii U | 12 Comments

More: commercial, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Retro Studios