Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 5 Comments

This is a snippet from the latest Iwata Asks interview regarding New Super Mario Bros. Wii…

First, Satoru Iwata and Shigeru Miyamoto discussed how it was decided that Mario should wear overalls:

Miyamoto
But when you come to draw the body using the remaining pixels, there’s a limit to what you can do. Furthermore, because we wanted him to run properly, we needed to animate him and we were only able to use three different frames for this. When Mario is running he moves his arms, but in order to make that movement easier to see, I thought it would be best to make his arms and his body different colors. So I wondered whether there was a type of outfit that was like that…

Iwata
And that’s how you came up with overalls! (laughs)

Miyamoto
Right! Overalls were the only option! So that’s how we ended up giving Mario overalls. Fortunately, the game was set on a construction site so we thought we had no other option but to make him a carpenter! (laughs)

Iwata
There’s a sense of inevitability about all of this! (laughs)

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Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 6 Comments

“Nintendo has become one of those companies that graduates from colleges and good universities really want to work for. Because of that, the competition’s really become so fierce for positions. And that means that a lot of the recent recruits for Nintendo have tended to have the higher degree from the prestigious colleges and universities and whatnot. I often say to Mr Iwata: ‘If I was applying for a job here today, I, with my actual college degree, would probably not have been employed by Nintendo’. I might pick up on [applicants] and try to find out something really different within them which you can’t judge just by a college degree. That’s one of the special little jobs I set myself.” – Shigeru Miyamoto

Could you imagine if Shigeru Miyamoto never had an opportunity to work for Nintendo? I can’t even begin to think of how different the company would be today. Miyamoto has played such a vital role in all of Nintendo’s franchises, and even some of the small titles published by the company.

Source 1, Source 2

Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 17 Comments

In the past, Nintendo’s Eiji Aonuma has always discussed The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and has noted that no game has managed to surpass it. Last year, he told Nintendo Power that he will not quit working on the series until he accomplishes that goal. In an interview with Spanish magazine El Mundo, Aonuma once again commented on the challenge of topping the classic N64 classic and said that it will be “quite complicated.”

“Surpassing it is very complicated. In addition, the things of the past pass on to our memories and there they grow bigger. Now if you play Ocarina of Time, you realize that it is not such a good game. There are times when it does not move quickly, the graphics are not as nice as they should be, there are parts that are somewhat confusing…Now, other Zelda games are technically superior. Everything is much faster, much better…But to overcome Ocarina of Time, what is needed is a change comparable to what occurred back then. And that’s something that is quite complicated.”

Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 7 Comments

This is from an interview which was originally posted on July 22, but the information is still relevant…

“I was happy to find out that was possible. But games demand many more lines of dialogue despite the fact that the main characters don’t talk, so I couldn’t keep making them. That’s why I felt deep down after making three of them, ‘Well, that was a neat experience.’…Yes, that’s right (no more plans for Earthbound games).” – Shigesato Itoi, Earthbound designer

Thanks to Robert for the news tip!

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Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 1 Comment

Thanks to Ross M for the news tip!

Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 10 Comments

“…It’s a fact of life that job and family often pull us in opposite directions. As regular readers of this feature know, this has proved particularly challenging for me, as I’ve spent the last two years commuting almost constantly between San Francisco, Seattle, New York and my home in New England. It has been a fantastic adventure, but the time has come where I need to choose one over the other … and I have to choose my family. So, as a result, this will be the final ‘Minute’ that I spend with you all, and my last day with Nintendo of America. During my time at Nintendo I have developed friendships with so many wonderful people, from my co-workers to people I have interacted with along the way, including reporters, bloggers and video game fans like all of you. Those memories simply can’t be replaced, and I will take them with me. What I leave behind is a great team that will continue to tell the story of Nintendo’s pipeline of wonderful products. There are hundreds of people I hope I will run across again – and trust that I will. So instead of considering this ‘game over,’ I look at my choice as really just finishing one level … and moving on to the next. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to answer your questions and talk so directly with Nintendo’s fans. For now, my ‘Minute’ is up.” – Denise Kaigler

Wow, I’m absolutely shocked by this news. It really came out of nowhere. And I admit, I’m a bit sad. I truly felt as though Denise Kaigler tried her best to relate to the interests of hardcore gamers.

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Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 6 Comments

As one of the readers on our site suggested, this is probably what Geoff Keighley was referring to when he said “someone introduces himself as ‘It’s-a-me, Mario!’ in a big holiday game, and it’s not New Super Mario Bros Wii.”

Thanks to Robert for the news tip!

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

As we already know, Namco Bandai opened a new teaser site last week for a new RPG game. Over the weekend, some Japanese text popped up which stated, “that RPG will return.” The site has been updated once again today and provides a few more clues as to what this returning RPG is. Images of a lake, a volcanic area, a grassy area, and a sea with an old road can now all be seen. Additionally, there is some new Japanese text on the site such as “unknown world” and “solve a lost mystery.” Based on the design of the images, perhaps this is a new Tales title. We’ll find out for sure in three days.

Thanks to Thomas N for the news tip!

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Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 4 Comments

This information comes from Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime…

“We believe that to tease fans over an extended period of time really doesn’t do the gamer just service. So, we have always been mindful of: When’s the launch date? When’s the right time to share information? How do we break information? In particular, with this game, given the Zelda dynamic — which you find out about right at the start of the game — we really wanted to keep that secret and have it be a big reveal. That is something very new and very different in a Zelda game, [having] Princess Zelda essentially playing along with you. That’s essentially what drove the strategy for how we reveal the information, when do we reveal the information and the fact that it had to be fairly late.”

“We just thought the package art we developed with [Nintendo’s Japanese headquarters office] NCL that highlights the train and highlights the Phantom… was a great representation of the game. Not at all [it doesn’t mean North American gamers want a darker Link.”

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Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 9 Comments

“I spoke to Mr. Miyamoto and said: ‘I wanna be Link, I wanna be Link,’ and Miyamoto told me that Link isn’t going to have a voice; he is going to stay the way he is. Of course Mr. Miyamoto is always right! The way it works right now is the way it is supposed to be. It’s the genius of Miyamoto and he knows just the right formula for making his games more fun and more exciting. For example in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, If things slowed down for Mario to express his inner feelings it just wouldn’t work and this way it keeps our hearts pounding with enthusiasm.” – Charles Martinet, voice of Mario

I don’t think I can imagine Link with a voice. I’m not completely against voice acting in general for the Zelda series, but hearing Link’s voice would probably ruin a great deal of the experience for me!

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