January is almost over. That means you have just a few hours left to grab Dr. Mario Online Rx, Zelda: Majora’s Mask, Kirby’s Dream Land, and Dr. Mario Express from Club Nintendo.

Nintendo will most likely swap out the game selection with new downloads sometime tomorrow, so head on over to the site now before the current rewards expire.

Nugget of the day: Star Fox had metal legs?

Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 13 Comments

Anyone remember this classic Nintendo Power issue? It’s pretty old – all the way back from April 1993.

At first glace, you may not pick up on anything particularly noteworthy. Upon closer inspection of the cover, however, you’ll notice that Fox’s legs appear to be made of metal… and he apparently lacks feet/legs.

Here’s where things get really interesting. Check out this blurb regarding legless pilots:

“Legless pilots can handle more Gs than their legged bretherin. When gravity forces blood from the brain to lower extremities, it causes the pilot to black out. But if you have no legs to force blood to, more blood can stay in the brain, and it’s easier for the heart to pump blood back to the brain.

“Their legs were probably voluntarily amputated as these are all trained pilots. Their futuristic society allows for prosthetics that allows them to walk and run normally so there’s no loss in performing these amputations.”

I will mention here that other titles in the series, such as Star Fox Command, make it seem as though the characters are wearing boots – see this picture for example.

So in the SNES game, the Star Fox unit’s legs were amputated so that they’d be more effective in the cockpit? With Nintendo, you never know! I’m not ready to believe this theory just yet, but it’s interesting nonetheless. Perhaps Nintendo was thinking about having the Star Fox crew lack feet/legs early on in the series, but later changed the “metal legs” to boots.

Thanks to Jake for the tip!

Via

Zelda 25th Anniversary Poster Set has an error, replacement copies on the way

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

Club Nintendo members who ordered the Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Poster Set will soon receive a replacement copy. The Skyward Sword poster apparently contains a “design flaw”.

Nintendo will ship out new copies of the poster during the first week of February. A confirmation email will be sent once the poster has been mailed out.

“Dear Club Nintendo Member,

As you may have noticed, 1 of the posters in the Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Poster Set that we sent to you contained a minor flaw. On The Legend of Zelda™: Skyward Sword poster, there is a design flaw on the outline of the loft wing, to the right of the sword.

We apologize for the mistake and will be shipping a replacement poster to you the first week of February. You can expect to receive a confirmation email when the package is shipped.

Again, we apologize for this error and we hope that you enjoy your new poster.

Thanks again for your membership and loyalty.

Sincerely,

Club Nintendo”

Thanks to Jake for the tip!

Iwata: Not all games need rich graphics, fans expecting visuals that aren’t “cheap” for Zelda

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

Satoru Iwata has commented on the role of graphics for Wii U and Nintendo’s stance on visuals in general.

In some instances, it will be necessary to create some titles that feature “very rich graphics” with long development times. When it comes to Zelda on Wii U, “fans must be looking for the graphic representations that they do not see as cheap at all when the title is released”.

On the other hand, according to Iwata, there is software that some games may not follow that route Rhythm Heaven Fever is an example of this.

Iwata said:

“You are asking for my comment as a judge, but I also need to think about the software content, so my remarks are two sided. Looking at the software for home console systems, there are certainly the software titles for which very rich graphics must be reproduced on HD displays and which demand a large number of developers to spend a very long time to develop. It is one of the truths that a certain number of such software titles must be prepared, or the consumers will not be satisfied. But we do not think that any and all the software must be created in that fashion. When you look at Nintendo’s software, extraordinary rich graphics, massive gameplay volume and astonishing rendition effects are not necessarily the appealing point. It is, in fact, important for us that our games are appealing in other ways as well. An example of this is the Wii software, ‘RHYTHM HEAVEN FEVER,’ that we released last year in Japan. It became one of the hits, but if we had adopted rich photo-realistic graphics, it would have lost much of its appeal rather than improving its appeal. Similarly, about the Japanese title ‘Tomodachi Collection’ for Nintendo DS, the developers themselves confirmed that this software is based upon the “cheap concept.” It is not necessary for us to deploy a huge number of people in order to develop such games. When we need massive power and have a lack of internal resources, we collaborate with outside resources and pour necessary resources to where they are needed. We are increasing the frequency of working with outside developers where Mr. Miyamoto and our internal developers alone used to develop. At the same time, however, we do not forget to ask ourselves in each such opportunity, ‘Isn’t this something our internal resources alone could sufficiently deal with?’ Also, when we have such a doubt in the development as, ‘Will such cheap pictures do in terms of today’s home console graphics’ standard?,’ sometimes we conclude that ‘showing such pictures are unique and rather appealing, so it’s OK.’ So, there are a variety of different ways to show the unique appeal of software. What’s important here is not to narrow down what we can do. Rather, we have to create the dynamic range of appeals that the consumers can appreciate. We decided to make a proposal of an additional screen into the Wii U controller because developers could think of a variety of different possibilities here and there of using both a big TV screen and a screen in a player’s hand. As we will showcase the Wii U at E3 in June this year, the detailed announcements must wait until then, but we are aiming to make a system which shall not be forced into competing with the others where the contenders can fight only with massive developer resources and long development times as their weapons. Having said that, however, as I mentioned, it is true that, in some software areas, we need to be engaged in the power games. Take The Legend of Zelda franchise, for example, the fans must be looking for the graphic representations that they do not see as cheap at all when the title is released for the Wii U. When it is necessary, we do not hesitate to role out our resources.”

Source

“Zelda: The Lost Oracle” video is one of the most impressive fan projects ever

Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Videos | 0 comments

We’ve seen lots of tributes to Zelda through the years. Fans have created Flash games, amazing art pieces, and plenty of other content to show their love for the series.

“Zelda: The Lost Oracle” might be the most impressive Zelda fan-project yet.

Joel Furtado made the minute long clip above as he’s a big fan of the franchise. The video, which is based on a new Zelda title he’d like to see for Wii U, features some absolutely incredible animation.

It’s truly impressive, so be sure to check it out!

Miyamoto on nurturing developers and making a big hit, Iwata on Miyamoto’s non-retirement

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

Shigeru Miyamoto was asked about how he balances his own work with nurturing the developers during the Q&A portion of Nintendo’s latest financial briefing. Iwata also commented on the non-retirement situation surrounding Miyamoto.

Both responses can be found after the break.

Nintendo not calling Wii U a “home console system”, partnerships with third-parties

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

Satoru Iwata commented on two interesting topics during the company’s financial briefing Q&A.

First, he stated that Nintendo won’t be referring to Wii U as a “home console system”, unlike the Wii, GameCube, and other products from the company. This is because not all gameplay will be limited to what you’ll see in front of your television.

Iwata said:

“…As for the Wii U, although this system is categorized in the general video game description of a home console system, the play styles the company is proposing with the Wii U are not limited to the ones which are available only in front of TV sets, so I believe that we will not use the term ‘home console system’ for this hardware. Whenever we launch a new video game hardware system, if we cannot sustain the momentum during the launch period and a certain period thereafter, it can invite very challenging situations just like the one the Nintendo 3DS experienced. Doing our utmost to avoid such a situation is another challenge the company is focusing on. As for other things, to sum up, we will make efforts to effectively implement what we have already prepared.”

We were hearing last week that Nintendo will announce partnerships with third-parties this year. We have Iwata’s full comments on that below.

“I recall that I also heard a concern at one of these occasions in the past that the company may lack sufficient resources, and I was asked, ‘How will the company cope with it?’ It is obvious that Nintendo does not employ so many people internally. If we look at the number of our own employees, we are not a so-called ‘resource-rich’ company. When we view our company from a different perspective, on the other hand, it is an advantage because Nintendo has more freedom and flexibility to be able to collaborate with outside resources as long as we can find good partners. As a matter of fact, although many tasks used to be done only internally in the past, we are now working with people outside the company in several business fields. When we make any relevant announcements on such projects, we cannot just say we are working with this company on that project. Unless we can make more comprehensive announcements by discussing the details of the subject product, it may not make any sense to you. So, we would like to discuss this topic sometime later. There are several projects we will be able to talk about this year. I hope that I will be able to pick up examples which will show that Nintendo is taking care of the business fields in which it lacks internal resources.”

Source

Iwata: Maintaining sales momentum after Wii U is important, add-on content can help

Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 0 comments

When the Wii U launches, Nintendo won’t just be concerned about the console’s price point and initial launch lineup. They’ll also be focusing on maintaining the sales momentum once it’s on store shelves.

Satoru Iwata believes that add-on content is one way of maintaining market momentum. This is because people could play a particular title once again if such content is announced. By doing this, Nintendo can keep some momentum, raise profits, and can increase the lifespan of certain products.

Iwata said:

“…In determining the launch date of the Wii U, we need to take into account not only what to release at the launch period but how to keep the sales momentum after then. In the past, I mentioned that having strong momentum is very important for game platform businesses, and as a matter of course, we are now more convinced of that and we need to have a backup plan ready.

“Regarding the add-on content I mentioned before, effectively providing such content for a game which has sold well could be a way to keep the market momentum. The sales pace is getting slower day by day even for the biggest hit software. If we could announce some big news in connection with the add-on content for such software, many people would start playing it again, which could be an opportunity to revive the momentum. In this context, the add-on content should be considered as a key to extending the lifespan of products and to maintaining the sales momentum, as well as a chance to earn additional profits.”

Source

Nintendo will be flexible with their micro-transactions regulations

Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 0 comments

Going forward, third-parties will be able to take advantage of micro-transactions on 3DS (and eventually Wii U).

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said that the company will “ensure a relative level of flexibility for the Nintendo 3DS and the Wii U software compatible with the Nintendo Network as long as the developer has built a trusting relationship with consumers, except for the cases that consumers will be too disadvantaged.”

His full response can be read below.

“As a hardware manufacturer, or platform holder, it would be better to present third-party developers with as much freedom as possible. Some say that the guidelines and regulations we previously established are too strict and behind the times, and others say that Nintendo should not put too many restrictions on the features of software targeting the consumers who are familiar with micro-transactions. Therefore, we plan to ensure a relative level of flexibility for the Nintendo 3DS and the Wii U software compatible with the Nintendo Network as long as the developer has built a trusting relationship with consumers, except for the cases that consumers will be too disadvantaged.

“On the other hand, the reason I refer to Nintendo as a software developer is that we have a belief that our games should be a trusted brand for a very wide variety of consumers, including children and casual users who are not so familiar with the trends of video games. Therefore, we would like to have regulations with a certain degree of strictness so that consumers will get a sense of reassurance from our games. I am not saying that Nintendo is better than third-party developers. Each developer has its own customer base, and we should be more careful with this point for Nintendo consumers.”

Shinji Hatano, Senior Managing Director, General Manager of Marketing Division, also weighed in on micro-transactions:

“Third-party developers worldwide have recently been interested in micro-transactions and many of them are considering doing some business in this field. My team has exchanged information with domestic developers about what they would like to do. Each developer has its own desire, but basically, not only Nintendo but these developers share the same idea and have no objection that we need to establish the reliable system for the consumers on which they can feel safe and comfortable when they select the software. We will start organizing the various requests from developers and working with them to create new and interesting software. Please wait for some time for announcements from each developer.”

Source