Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 4 Comments

In June, there was talk of Nintendo of Europe laying off 130 full-time employees. An additional 190 staffers have since been confirmed to be receiving the same treatment. These people come from Nintendo’s Germany-based localization department by way of a leasing agency. Kotaku points out, “Though technically those 190 people were temporary employees, in practice, they all worked exclusively for Nintendo, and many of them had been working there for years”.

All of these layoffs combine to affect 320 employees. They will all be gone by August 31.

Nintendo said in a statement today:

As previously communicated in June 2014, approximately 130 permanent employees will be released by Nintendo of Europe (Germany) at the end of August 2014 as part of a set of measures to better enable the European business to adapt to the rapidly changing business environment.

As a separate measure, Nintendo of Europe is reorganizing its European Localization Development (ELD) department, where it currently uses a number of temporary agency workers in translation and testing activities, in order to increase flexibility and cost-efficiency in the long-term. It is intended that there will be an increase in outsourcing future translation and test activities to third-party companies on an as-needed basis, and very sadly this has meant having ended the contracts of 190 temporary agency workers, who were formally notified of this decision in June 2014.

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, Images, Wii U | 2 Comments

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The Japanese Club Nintendo website was updated today with yet another reward. Members can pick up an original shopping bag (featuring Mario elements) for 250 points.

The bag is made of polyester, comes in at 29cm x 21cm x 55cm, and has a capacity of 8kg. If you happen to have a Japense Club Nintendo account, you can check out the reward here.

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 11 Comments

Pokken Tournament is currently being considered for international release, a new comment from Bandai Namco’s Katsuhiro Harada reveals.

Harada has been answering several fan questions about the game on Twitter as of late – which included the possibility of it launching outside of Japan. You’ll find a roundup of Harada’s comments below.

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 12 Comments

Don’t expect Nintendo to ditch dedicated gaming devices anytime soon. Shigeru Miyamoto expressed the deep need for such hardware in an EDGE interview this month, telling the magazine, “A unique software experience can always be realized with unique hardware that has a unique interface.”

Below are Miyamoto’s comments in full:

“As I said before, there are always people who really want to get deeply into a game. We want to create, and they want to experience, something unprecedented all the time. For us to meet these goals, we need dedicated hardware that is designed to cater to the needs of these avid gamers. People might say that software is software. No. A unique software experience can always be realized with unique hardware that has a unique interface. That is why I believe Nintendo is, and will be, sticking to these dedicated gaming machines.”

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Videos | 16 Comments

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has issued a challenge to Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto. Guillemot is looking for Miyamoto to participate in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime was recently called out by Xbox boss Phil Spencer to take part in the same event. Reggie hasn’t posted his video yet, but we can apparently expect big things.

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 43 Comments

Nintendo is placing more of an emphasis on its core fanbase these days. It’s quite the contrast to the Wii and DS era, in which the company produced many titles for the casual player and looked to target this demographic.

But now, as explained by Shigeru Miyamoto in this month’s EDGE, Nintendo isn’t as interested in catering to those who have a “passive” interest in games.

He said:

“[These are] the sort of people who, for example, might want to watch a movie. They might want to go to Disneyland. Their attitude is, ‘okay, I am the customer. You are supposed to entertain me.’ It’s kind of a passive attitude they’re taking, and to me it’s kind of a pathetic thing. They do not know how interesting it is if you move one step further and try to challenge yourself [with more advanced games].”

“In the days of DS and Wii, Nintendo tried its best to expand the gaming population. Fortunately, because of the spread of smart devices, people take games for granted now. It’s a good thing for us, because we do not have to worry about making games something that are relevant to general people’s daily lives.”

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 2 Comments

The web version of Miiverse has received a small update that allows users to show up to three favorite game genres. Wii U and 3DS have had access to the feature since July.

As mentioned by Miiverse’s Marty:

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 1 Comment

Tekken characters won’t be appearing in Pokken Tournament, according to Bandai Namco’s Katsuhiro Harada.

Harada told one fan on Twitter:

Ha, ha, ha. Nope, Tekken characters will not be making an appearance.

As we’re making a Pokemon fighting action battle game, I’ve already touched on this while on the livestream, but in this game there will not be a high/mid/low guard system mechanic. Instead, we’re planning to include a new type of [mechanic]…

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 4 Comments

Following today’s announcement of Pokken Fighters, the Pokemon Company launched an official website with a bit of content.

First, we have the following overview of the game:

The goal for this project was to enlarge the possibilities of Pokémon Company’s Pokémon series and to “bring into the world a Pokémon game that’s like nothing before”. This vision was made possible with the expertise in 3D action games that Bandai Namco has gained while creating games for the Tekken and Soulcalibur series.

In Pokken Tournament, Pokémon look more real than ever before and they move and attack smoothly according to player’s commands, so it is a completely new Pokémon battle experience. This is not just for children as the game can also be enjoyed by adult Pokémon fans in their twenties.

With cutting edge graphics, Pokémon battles are completely revived! Coming in 2015 for the arcades.

Head past the break for comments from the Pokemon president and a pair of Bandai Namco developers.
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