Posted on 12 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in 3DS, News | 0 comments

– Early concepts included allowing players to dig for “gold dust”
– The ability to build outdoor scenery (bridges, benches, etc) was one of the very early ideas
– The addition of being able to play as Mayor didn’t come until later
– Because of this, they had to force Tortimer to retire
– Reiteration: Tweak store hours, gather taxes (donations) from residents
– If you do a bad job as mayor, no one will complain
– Tutorial ceremonies for opening your first bridge, planting your first tree, etc etc
– Mr. Resetti’s terrifying image was discussed
– Lisa is an alpaca, Reiji is a sloth, and a tapir (who runs the Dream Emporium)
– 1.5x the number of items compared to City Folk
– Team hopes that players don’t consider the new items filler
– Upload your town data to the Dream Emporium so others can come visit whether they have your friend code or not
– Players cannot modify your town if they visit while you’re not there
– Two categories of friends: Regular pals and “best friends”
– Each category has special permissions in different towns, assumedly with “best friends” being able to modify things
– Region-specific items (plate of grapes for the Spanish New Year)

Via Cubed3

Posted on 12 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in Videos, Wii U | 0 comments

Posted on 12 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in News, Wii U | 0 comments

I think most of us assumed this to be the case, but since Activision has been really shoddy with announcing Nintendo-related news for Call of Duty in the past, CoffeeWithGames asked them specifically. Here’s their first response:

“Black Ops is shipping for 360, PS3, Wii U and PC.”

After being prodded one more time about the issue, here’s what the said:

“In terms of Nintendo products, Black Ops II will just be on the Wii U.”

So that’s that! If you want a CoD fix on a Nintendo console this year, you better get a Wii U!

Via CoffeeWithGames

Posted on 12 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in News, Wii U | 0 comments

“I think that the Wii was so revolutionary that it took the market by surprise…. That thing just exploded because it was a brand new way of playing videogames, completely new. The Wii U feels more evolutionary, the idea of this SmartGlass thing that Microsoft talked about was attractive and I think it will do good numbers. But if you’re saying, will it sell in the first 36 months what the Wii did, I think that might be a challenge because the Wii just exploded. Sometimes you like that, sometimes you actually don’t.

“You want to build a steady community that is sticky and stays with you, and doesn’t treat the Wii as we’re now seeing — there’s a lot of Wiis in the world, most of which sit on a shelf somewhere. You know. And so it was like a meteor that roared across the sky and disappeared. And you look at the industry numbers on it now, year on year the Wii has just dropped, and clearly we don’t make any games for it anymore. It just has not given the level of engagement that you need to have with a console. And that becomes the key. Selling games that are ostensibly offline was fun for a while, but then the connected engagement that we look for and the industry looks for, we couldn’t deliver.

“They made the right moves as far as online connectivity, hard drive space, having the ability to bring external hard drives in there. 32, 64 gigabytes sounds like a lot from when I first joined the industry, but you’ll figure out that takes a lot of hard drive management if you get a lot of games. We will see. But I think they recognize that they need to be part of this connected ecosystem.” – EA COO Peter Moore

I’d say he pretty much hit the nail on the head as far as his “sticky” remarks! A lot of us feel a bit offended when we hear that because we– being a Nintendo fansite– know a lot of people who really enjoy their Wiis. That being said, I think on the whole it really doesn’t have the consistency of the other home consoles. It is being treated as, for lack of a better term, much more of a novelty.

Via NWR, sourced at Wired.

Posted on 12 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in 3DS, News | 0 comments

– Tells the story of Simon and Trevor Belmont
– Both are descendants from Gabriel Belmont
– Gabriel has returned to Dracula, threatens to destroy the brotherhood
– Play as Gabriel in a prologue
– Takes place 25 years after Lords of Shadow
– Play as Alucard, Simon, Trevor, and Gabriel (briefly)
– Simon voiced b Alec Newman, Trevor by Richard Madden, and Gabriel by Robert Carlyle
– Music by Oscar Aruajo

Via Siliconera

Posted on 12 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 0 comments

Patrick, you better get on this!

Sydney Wii U Experience Store
Sydney Plaza – George Street Entrance George Street Sydney 5th November – 9th December

Melbourne Wii U Experience Store
Fountain Gate 352 Princess Highway, Fountain Gate Melbourne 5th November – 9th December

Perth Wii U Experience Pop Up
Perth Cultural Centre, St James Amphitheatre 5th November – 11th November

Gold Coast Wii U Experience Pop Up
Pacific Fair, Site 23 Courtyard 12th November – 17th November

Brisbane Wii U Experience Pop Up
King Georges Square, Area 2 18th November – 23rd November

Adelaide Wii U Experience Pop Up
Rundle Mall, Gawler Canopy 24th November – 29th November

Via NWR

Posted on 12 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in News, Wii U | 0 comments

Man, this game actually sounds kinda fun!

– Comes out January 18th, 2013
– “Party Mode” has one person singing the lyrics off of the Gamepad
– Others (who aren’t the singer) follow instructions for singing and dancing that will appear on the TV
– Microphone is wired, but I’m not sure whether it’s wired to the Gamepad or to the Wii U console
– Other players can pick up Wiimotes and use them as a tambourine, cowbell, etc
– “Sing Mode” has you reading the lyrics off of the T
– Judged on pitch, power, and flair
– Can be played solo or in a duet
– “Harmony Duet” option as part of “Sing Mode”
– Others can pass the gamepad around to queue up songs that they want to play next
– Gamepad has a mixer that can mess with the audio and add effects
– You can mute the music so the singer has to perform a capella (hahaha…)
– You can tone down the volume of the original vocals so the singer can be heard better
– Add reverb effects to the singer
– “Team Mode” has teams facing off in singing competitions
– Compete for “best solo”, “best group”, etc
– Sing together as though you’re a pop group
– Someone can be the judge of these competitions if you want
– “Practice Mode” lets you practice songs’ tricky parts
– Practice loops over and over
– Scores and accomplishments (that’s my paraphrase, NOT a secret hidden reference to anything) can be posted on Miiverse for all to see
– “It has been an incredible privilege to work side by side with Nintendo on SiNG PARTY and we are extremely proud of the game, “ says Creative Director Jamie Jackson.
– Songs include: “Call me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen, “Glad You Came” by The Wanted, “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz, “Just a Kiss” by Lady Antebellum, “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen, “You Can’t Hurry Love” by The Supremes, “I Want You Back” by The Jackson 5, many more
– There will be DLC

Posted on 12 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in 3DS, News | 0 comments

“We are making a new game on Nintendo 3DS now. Not multiplatform, but exclusive to 3DS.” – Treasure boss Masato Maegawa

He didn’t offer any other details on the game other than that it’s an “action” title, but I think we can be pretty sure that if you’ve enjoyed Treasure games in the past you’ll continue to enjoy them into the future, and this one will likely be no exception. I can’t wait to hear what it is!

Via Eurogamer

Posted on 12 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments

Peter Moore, talking about eliminating the issue of used games by embracing Free-to-Play:

“Used games were a bigger issue for the industry – I wasn’t resigned to it, but I recognised that it was the right of gamers and the right of our retailer. To be very fair, GameStop has always been very public about the fact that [they] keep the ecosystem moving with revenue that comes in, and it’s not like they go and take their game credit and go to McDonald’s and buy burgers. They re-up into new games.” – EA COO Peter Moore

Something I can really respect is someone who says “I don’t like this, but I understand why it’s important and I won’t try to change it.”. Even though I don’t like EA a lot of the time, I sure do like Peter Moore!

Via Wired

Posted on 12 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in News, Wii U | 0 comments

PR email…

Everyone’s invited as the all-singing, all- dancing SiNG PARTY powers its way onto Wii U

1st November 2012 – Get ready to get lost in the music when SiNG PARTY, the first big party game to hit Wii U, launches across Europe on 18th January 2013. The game is a full-on singing and dancing extravaganza for all your family and friends, with a broad mix of songs from all-time classics to modern party favourites – and a unique set-up to get everyone in the room on board.

The game features a variety of modes that establish dynamic roles for everyone in the room. Party Mode is at the heart of SiNG PARTY. The lead singer, holding the wired microphone included with the game, is not looking at the TV screen but reading the lyrics and performance cues off the Wii U GamePad. This allows the singer to interact with the crowd, who are invited to become part of the performance by following their own lyrical and dancing instructions shown on the TV screen. Other players can also pick up a Wii Remote to make the sound of a variety of instruments, such as a tambourine – or a cowbell!

In Sing Mode you’ll be reading the song lyrics on the TV screen as you test your vocal qualities getting real-time feedback. You’ll be judged not only on the Pitch of your singing voice but also its Power and Flair, so don’t be afraid to give your favourite tunes your own spin on your way to setting a new high score! Sing Solo or in a Duet with a partner – and, if you’re feeling particularly confident, give the Harmony Duet option a try! Meanwhile the audience can pass the GamePad around to already queue up the songs they’ll be singing next, jam along with the music or use the mixer to play around with the audio; it’s possible to mute the music, so the singer – or the original artist – performs a cappella, or you can tone down the volume of the original artist’s voice and add a reverb effect to the singer’s performance.

Things get more competitive in Team Mode, which lets you team up and face off against your musical nemeses to battle for supremacy across several game types. You could be competing for the best solo section or singing together as if you formed your own pop group – but only one team will win! If an impartial judge is at hand they can be appointed to rate each team’s performance, passing judgement on their mates using the GamePad.

You can also use Practice Mode to rehearse your solo parts and tricky sections of a particular song. The GamePad makes it easy to select a specific part and loop it until you get it just right. There’s definitely an incentive to come out on top as the awards that you win in SiNG PARTY can be posted to Miiverse for all your friends to see!

SiNG PARTY has been created by FreeStyleGames, the ground-breaking development company behind the award-winning DJ Hero series. “It has been an incredible privilege to work side by side with Nintendo on SiNG PARTY and we are extremely proud of the game, “ says Creative Director Jamie Jackson. “We can’t wait for it to be released and for players to experience the game we have created. This collaboration was a dream project for us and we believe we have created something truly innovative.” The developers have drawn on their experience with the DJ Hero and Guitar Hero franchises to create a brand new party experience, with a playlist that contains something for everybody.

From current hits like “Call Me Maybe’ by Carly Rae Jepsen, ‘Glad You Came’ by The Wanted, ‘I’m Yours’ by Jason Mraz and ‘Just A Kiss’ by Lady Antebellum to pop classics such as Queen’s ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’, ‘You Can’t Hurry Love’ by The Supremes and ‘I Want You Back’ by The Jackson 5, SiNG PARTY delivers a smashing party playlist with dozens of songs for players of all ages and musical tastes – while those who just can’t get enough will be pleased to hear that the playlist can be expanded with downloadable songs after launch*.

Whether you’re new to performing or a regular showboat, SiNG PARTY ensures an instant party in your living room that will get even the most dedicated wallflower on their feet when it launches on 18th January 2013. The game will be bundled with a single microphone and supports a second one (sold separately).

*Further details to be disclosed at a later date.