“I would not single out any particular company or any particular application store, but certainly it seems like, when content is being created and made available for free, that it is devaluing content, and is potentially devaluing the expectation of consumers for what content should be. I’ve heard from a lot of developers who say, you know what, these people are right. We do need to keep the value of our content at an appropriate level. Otherwise what we risk as an industry is investing time, money and energy to create something that no one has value for. What’s important is that the value of the content be high and be maintained. As an industry that creates this content, it’s in our interest to keep the value of the content high and not allow it to be devalued over time.”

Reggie then went on to discuss the disappearance of the Nintendo Seal of Quality…

“Nintendo cannot play a role of limiting in any way the content that’s available for our platform.”

Last but not least, Reggie commented on why Photo Dojo was made available for free for a short time…

“We were convinced that as soon as consumers had that game (Photo Dojo) and had that experience, that they’d share it and talk about it and it would be something that consumers would want. That strategy has worked. From the day that we stopped making it available for free, we’ve actually sold more than what we had initially made available for free. So, strategically, it’s looking at each piece of content and deciding what’s the best way to have consumers experience the content and maintain its value over time.”

Source

Nintendo Voice Chat podcast summary

Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News, Wii | 0 comments

Iwata at GDC

– Iwata’s speech caused a bit of controversy because some people thought he was putting down social/mobile gaming
– Iwata’s message was more about making your game matter regardless of the platform you’re developing for
– Nintendo is worried about the throwaway games you buy for a dollar or two, or even $40 that are worth nothing
– Iwata said the industry is at risk due to the glut of mobile games coming out that aren’t of high-quality

Zelda’s 25th anniversary

– Reggie said Nintendo has been focusing on the 3DS and Pokemon
– As a result, there haven’t been any new Wii announcements
– Reggie said there’s more content coming before E3, but didn’t elaborate
– Could be possible he was even talking about WiiWare games
– Zelda’s anniversary won’t be like Mario’s
– Iwata had said that Miyamoto is working on something for the anniversary that will allow gamers across the world to celebrate together

Konno on Sony’s NGP, not sure if Nintendo will return to a single screen portable, more

Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News, Wii | 0 comments

Hideki Konno on the 3DS reaction in Japan…

“I actually left the day after it went on sale in Japan, so I haven’t actually go to hear any of that direct feedback yet. But I do have my own personal Nintendo 3DS, and from my house to the airport I turned on Streetpass, and the day after launch I got four hits or so. So there are already people out there using that function. I’ve looked at a couple things on the web, but I haven’t had the chance to sit down and thoroughly search for information, and I haven’t heard any direct consumer feedback from actual people yet.”

Konno on Sony’s NGP…

“It’s a bit difficult in terms of comparing the two systems. I think that our goal when we set about making this for our customers for us it’s to surprise them and create these new unique experiences. I don’t know that our goals are the same for one thing. As far as from a user’s perspective, I love these digital gadgets, so when the NGP goes on sale I’m sure I’ll take a look at it and see what software is available for it and what the system can do. Whether or not Sony or Nintendo through the launches of these two different hardware systems are trying to achieve the same goal that’s something that I don’t know. It’s difficult to speak to what they’re trying to do.”

Photo of Reggie Fils-Aime from high school

Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Random | 0 comments

Yep… this actually is Reggie Fils-Aime’s high school photo. He looks more or less the same as he does today – minus the glasses and change in hairstyle, of course!

Source

Nintendo Week (3/7)

Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, General Nintendo, Videos, Wii | 0 comments

Full Reggie interview – declining Wii sales, keeping Wii distinct, Zelda anniversary tease

Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, DS, General Nintendo, Videos, Wii | 0 comments

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Details from Retro’s GDC panel

Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Wii | 0 comments

Most of Retro’s GDC panel yesterday focused on Donkey Kong Country Returns, but there are some other neat nuggets included below as well!

– Retro Studios looked at Wario Land on Virtual Boy
– The team specifically looked at the separated platforming planes in which Wario could switch between background and foreground
– Dev. team would sometimes make something that resembled Metroid too much
– Many initial designs were scrapped since Donkey Kong Country Returns needed to be “fun and whimsical”
– Kensuke Tanabe: “We wanted to depend on Retro to make games we couldn’t [in Japan].”
– Wave level took very long to program
– Retro refers to Shigeru Miyamoto as “Master Yoda”
– Miyamoto told Retro: “Donkey Kong is my baby and you better get it right!”
– Super Guide feature was used to test and record bugs
– A bunch of bugs resulted from players running back to the left instead of always to the right
– Michael Kelbaugh joke: “We were going to make an addition to the manual that said ‘Don’t go left.'”
– Iwata told Retro: “I am looking forward to playing this product with my family and having fun”
– Retro checked back in with Retro following the game’s release and Iwata said his wish came true
– After simply running back and forth for ten minutes and watching the animations of Donkey Kong turning around, Shigeru Miyamoto told Retro that it seemed like Donkey Kong was “blowing” when he created dust clouds
– “Blow” mechanic was born from the off-handed remark above
– Retro still needed to make around 70 more levels after E3
– Retro joked that the next Nintendo classic they’d like to revive is Doki Doki Panic
– Retro also joked around by saying they’d like to make Pokemon Prime or work with Tingle

Source

No Donkey Kong Country Returns sequel currently planned, Tanabe on how Retro became involved

Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Wii | 0 comments

Despite the critical and commercial success Donkey Kong Country Returns has experienced, there are no plans for a sequel at the moment. That’s according to Retro Studio’s president and CEO Michael Kelbaugh, who also said that creating a platformer was quite difficult – moreso than he expected.

In more Donkey Kong-related news, Nintendo producer Kensuke Tanabe provided some information behind the game’s development. Tanabe said that told Retro Studios were denied a request to work on the franchise over five years ago, but were later given the opportunity to make a Donkey Kong game when the Big N felt the time was right.

Tanabe also commented on the possibility of a sequel to Donkey Kong Country Returns:

“I wasn’t even thinking about doing a sequel for Metroid Prime until Retro showed me the last scene in the game, which was near the end of development. I wouldn’t say we won’t do a sequel [for Donkey Kong Country Returns], but we don’t have anything planned at this time.”

Source

Miyamoto says Zelda was plain when he was making it, surprised that it became a mainstream genre

Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments

The latest edition of Iwata Asks is now available, which focuses on Steel Diver. So, you’re probably wondering why we’re posting Zelda news! Satoru Iwata and Shigeru Miyamoto briefly touched on the series in their discussion…

Miyamoto: When I was making The Legend of Zelda, it was very plain. (laughs)

Iwata: (laughs)

Miyamoto: I didn’t think that genre would be seen as something so mainstream. I really didn’t expect the response I got when I first made The Legend of Zelda. A world of swords and magic really wasn’t considered mainstream at the time.

Iwata: Was it? Miyamoto: The Neverending Story almost got really popular around that time. It was a world started off with such a message as: “Here kid, Take this sword.” (laughs) In a word, it was plain.

Iwata: In that sense, The Legend of Zelda and Steel Diver are the same to you.

Miyamoto: I think so. But when I said they’re both plain, I only meant it in the sense that they’re not attention-grabbers. I believe they’re the same in the way that they’re both something fun. It’s just a matter of presentation to get more people interested in it. I think the original themes are relatively plain for most of the games.

Iwata: That’s very interesting. People around the world probably think you’re surrounded by famous characters, which you use however you wish. It’s as if, when you create a game, you’ll get some kind of famous character and just plaster it all over to get attention.

Miyamoto: (laughs)

Source

Photos and Captions of Nintendo at the 2011 Game Developers Conference

Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News | 0 comments

In this photo provided by Nintendo of America, Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo Co. Ltd., delivers a keynote address titled “Video Games Turn 25: A Historical Perspective and Vision” on March 2, 2011 at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.
In this photo provided by Nintendo of America, Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo Co. Ltd., showcases the Nintendo 3DS portable video game system at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco on March 2, 2011. The Nintendo 3DS launches in the United States on March 27, 2011 and offers a realistic, immersive 3D gaming experience without the need for special glasses.