[Developer Musings] The New 3DS Dilemma: Developing around Nintendo’s hardware iterations
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Developer Musings, New Nintendo 3DS | 5 Comments
Nintendo has a notorious reputation when it comes to iterating their handhelds and in the past it has created an environment with a unique set of issues to consider for developers. Whether it was the Game Boy to Game Boy Color, DS Lite to DSi and now the 3DS to New 3DS, every generation there’s always questions among fans regarding the value and longevity of each new system. You don’t have to look very far to see how fans react to mid-cycle announcements like these, but how do developers react when a new system emerges from Iwata’s coat pocket?
We reached out to developers Stuart Ryall, Brjann Sigurgeirsson, and Ken Patterson to offer their thoughts on the announcement of the New 3DS and what implications it has on each of their development processes, if any. Will focusing on the extra processing power and C-stick split their player base too thin? Do these new units put too much pressure on fans to upgrade and consequently put pressure on developers to focus on the new units? How do these iterations impact the overall life of a console generation? Our guests this week help shed some light on the impact these mid-cycle hardware announcements have on developers, and what questions they have to ask when developing with these challenges in mind.
(Unsure as to what Developer Musings is about? Check out our first entry here for an explanation.)
The Music of 2014 – Have Your Say!
Posted on 9 years ago by Patrick(@Patricklous) in 3DS, 3DS eShop, Features, Podcast, Reader Poll, Wii U, Wii U eShop | 3 Comments
It’s that time of year again! Last year’s game music podcast seemed to go over much better than I expected a two-hour show to, so let’s do the same thing for the soundtracks from this year. And once again I’m looking for reader (listener?) input to help put the thing together and narrow down a top 10 list.
The rules are pretty much the same as last year. Vote here to rate each of the twenty shortlisted games and add in any comments if you have them (you can also use that section to tell me if neglected to include certain soundtracks). Since some of them were included in last year’s show, the voting excludes games that were released in other regions last year like Bravely Default, but not ones like Fantasy Life that I previously forgot about. I’ve also excluded any games with an English release confirmed for next year like Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate – save it for the 2015 list! There are a handful of games like Guacamelee on the list that were released on other platforms last year, but as 2014 was their first showing on a Nintendo platform they’re up for voting.
So please get your votes in and look forward to the final podcast whenever it posts. Maybe there’ll be guests or co-hosts this time? Who can say. Since I’ll be out of the country for a while – I’ll probably have left by the time this posts – don’t expect any results until mid-January at the earliest. That’s kind of late for a retrospective, but I’m sure you’re all sick of top-10 lists at the moment. I know I sure am after putting together all that Nintendo DS stuff.
More: game music, highlight, podcast, Reader poll, top, voting
[Feature] New Knowledge on the Newcomers!
Posted on 9 years ago by Vincent Ward in 3DS, Features, Game of the Month, Wii U | 6 Comments
It’s no wonder a game such as Super Smash Bros. has become the big hit it is today. Even after its near 15 year lifespan, it seems that the Smash community only grows larger and larger every day. I mean, a game where you get to mound Sonic the Hedgehog’s smug little face in with Mario’s fire-spouting fists as Mega Man tries to intervene for that one extra kill is already my game of the century based on that scenario alone. While the series is also known for its kick-ass gameplay that’s just simple enough while still providing the necessary elements to begin a huge competitive scene, it’s mainly known for accomplishing a seemingly impossible task and gathering together all of Nintendo’s star players and making it all seem so… right. As expected, there’s a huge roster of characters to select from, boasting characters from huge series’ such as Mario and Legend of Zelda all the way to lesser known series such as Earthbound and Fire Emblem. I thought it would be fun to delve deeper into some of the more unique newcomers’ history and analyze why the characters might’ve been chosen join the battle, so let’s go ahead and do that, shall we?
More: 3DS, Duck Hunt, Fire Emblem, highlight, Kid Icarus, Lucina, Palutena, Robin, Smash, wii u
[Feature] Namco Roulette: An Introduction to Pac & Pals
Posted on 10 years ago by Patrick(@Patricklous) in 3DS, 3DS eShop, Features, Game of the Month, News, Wii Shop Channel, Wii U, Wii U eShop | 6 Comments
Author: Patrick
Part of the appeal of Super Smash Bros. to me is the history behind it all. With their large cast of characters, range of collectibles and obscure music picks, I always seem to be discovering new games with each installment. The original game introduced me to Earthbound, while Melee first brought Fire Emblem to my attention. This new Smash Bros.’ cast of newcomers are largely from games released in the last few years, but what I find interesting how Namco-Bandai’s involvement in development resulted in Namco’s history finding a way into the game.
Pac-Man is one of my favourite characters to play as in the new Super Smash Bros. and it’s partially due to his “Namco Roulette” taunt. This taunt involves Pac-Man summoning a bunch of old Namco sprites from the company’s golden age for a quick cameo, but there’s no trophies or anything to give context to these characters. With that in mind, let’s look at all these Namco icons as we take either a trip down memory lane. Namco have a legacy of creating incredible arcade titles that still persists to this day –I’ve been hooked on Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme Vs. Full Boost lately- and it’s great to see it represented in Smash Bros. in some form. So let’s start by traveling thirty-five years back in time…
Discussing Everything #11 – full replay
Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Discussing Everything | 1 Comment
Update: Now over, but you can find the full replay below.
This week’s Discussing Everything will kick off in about 3 hours – roughly 4:30 PM ET / 1:30 PM PT. Come join us through the application below.
Note that you can log in with Facebook/Twitter, but these are optional. You can choose a random username as well!
Discussing Everything #11 tomorrow
Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Discussing Everything | 0 comments
Tomorrow’s Discussing Everything will take place at 4:30 PM ET / 1:30 PM PT. Bumping the event back a half hour seemed to work well enough last week, so we’re doing the same thing this week!
As far as what we’ll be talking about, there was a surprising amount of news over the past few days. The most interesting things were found through new interviews with Shigeru Miyamoto. We’ll discuss the important bits he shared and probably a few other topics as well.
Here’s a Podcast – Episode 103!
Posted on 10 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in Features, Podcast | 3 Comments
ON THIS EPISODE: We’re back! For a moment. To signify our triumphant return we bring you one of the funnier episodes we’ve ever had amidst a flurry of game discussion about Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, Bayonetta 2, Castlevania, Pokémon Omega Ruby, and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. It’s a bit tangled and messy, but what are you gonna do? Fire us?
PLUS: A little bit of podcast navel-gazing and story time as we discuss how things went for 102 episodes, our favorite moments, some behind-the-scenes trivia, and the future of the show.
AND: A huge pile of listener mail with lots of kind words about the show, discussion of Zelda, our lesser-known game recommendations, our favorite eShop games, and much more. Will we ever be back? Nobody gets to know that except lord Elrond himself.
This Week’s Podcast Crew: Austin, Jack, and Laura
Download this episode (click this link)
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The Best of the Nintendo DS – Staff Opinions!
Posted on 10 years ago by Patrick(@Patricklous) in DS, DSiWare, Features | 4 Comments
As our celebration of the Nintendo DS’ 10th birthday draws to a close, the Nintendo Everything staff got together to discuss the games we thought defined the console for us. You’ve probably noticed all the DS-centric listicles we’ve been posting over the last few weeks, but these were all user-voted so we didn’t exactly have much control over the games that made the list. So with that in mind we’re adding in our opinions on everything from the best soundtracks to the most disappointing titles, including a few games that didn’t make the original lists.
Each of the staff members contributing has their own unique gaming tastes and just so you know exactly who to argue with in the comments section, the guys who you’ll be hearing from in this article are:
Name: Brian
Site Role: The Leader of the Bunch, You Know Him Well
Name: Patrick
Site Role: Famicolumnist, Bought Too Many DS Games
Name: Austin
Site Role: Buster of Eggs, Veteran of the Review Crew
Name: Kirara
Site Role: The Radiant Reporter, Amiibo Aficionado
Discussing Everything #10 – full replay
Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Discussing Everything | 0 comments
Update: Now over, but you can find the full replay below.
This week’s Discussing Everything will kick off very soon – roughly 4:30 PM ET / 1:30 PM PT. Come join us through the application below.
Note that you can log in with Facebook/Twitter, but these are optional. You can choose a random username as well!
[Feature] Me and my amiibo – Why Nintendo’s plastic gamble means more to me than I thought
Posted on 10 years ago by Kirara Koneko(@KiraraKoneko) in 3DS, Features, Game of the Month, Wii U | 5 Comments
Author: Kira
With the recent release of Super Smash Bros. Wii U and the 1st and 2nd wave of amiibo, I have started to reflect on how these little NFC “Figure Players” have added an entirely new dynamic to the series that we’ve never had during this franchise’s history. With the addition of the amiibo we’re given an array of new possibilities that add depth and scope to a game that already had quite a bit for a brawler, and even with other companies having already released similar types of “toy” peripherals we are seeing a whole new side to what the future might hold for video games.
