Japan Expo photos: Nintendo’s booth, Zelda’s anniversary
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, DS, General Nintendo, Wii | 0 comments
Carmack very interested in working with Wii U, “slam dunk” for Tech 5 games, more “good uses” than Kinect/Move
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 0 comments
id Software’s John Carmack has commented on Wii U a few times now. But perhaps the statements below are the most supportive he’s sounded thus far. Carmack even went as far as to say that “It should be a slam dunk to move over to Tech 5 games” to Wii U.
“Pretty early on we had a pretty negative experience with Nintendo back in the Super Nintendo days. They were a different company then. They were very much about tightening, controlling the sorts of things that they want to have happen on their consoles. But that’s long in the past. The issues in the current time have just been technology missteps, where we’re out of step with them; we were at a clear point where designing for the 360, PS3 and PC made lots of sense. But you couldn’t have one content development project naturally bridge the gap. If anything, I’m much more inclined to want to develop something for Nintendo now because I’ve got a 6-year-old son and we play Wii and DS games all the time. I’d be happy to do something there. It just hasn’t been the right fit for where id Software is with our projects and technologies.
It should be a slam dunk to move over to Tech 5 games on there. We haven’t had that discussion yet as a company, but it seems technically like it’s a valid target, so I’m always happy to go ahead and get a new box in and see what it takes to bring it up and see the pros and cons of the choices they made. I think they probably made a fairly intelligent decision with the Wii U.
I think there may be more good uses of that [Wii U tablet] than [there are for] the current generation with Kinect and Move… there’s clearly a subset of games for which things like that are appropriate for. We’ve been going on with how can we use those types of motion things with Rage and it’s hard to take a game that’s fundamentally designed around a controller and get value out of doing some of those other things, while adding extra touch interfaces there, that seems like something that almost every game could make some use of without it being just like, ‘Oh, we have to do something like this.’ Because if you remember, when the DS came out, there was a lot of talk about how, ‘Isn’t this going to be just a gimmick?’ But really it did turn out to be quite a good interface to build on.”
Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva coming to North America
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
Professor Layton fans, get ready. The first movie based on the popular video game franchise is finally coming to North America. It was originally released in Japan in late 2009 and Europe last year.
Viz Media, a company that dabbles in all things Japanese-related, will be bringing the movie stateside. More details will be shared later this year.
Pokemon Card Game BW Hajimete Set images
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
Super Mario producer didn’t have all Wii U details before E3, cut Majora’s Mask feature
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 0 comments
This information comes from Super Mario producer Yoshiaki Koizumi…
“As a developer at Nintendo, I had some information about the new system, but I didn’t really have all of the information prior to the announcement at our presentation. I only knew some of the things that were considered to be safe. …We’re always asking ourselves questions like this as we’re researching new games, about the opportunities presented by the hardware. When I think about the two screens being used at the same time, it seems like an interesting opportunity to allow us to create a console game where two people are playing at the same time but can’t see each others’ screens. It’s certainly an interesting approach, but I have to clarify that it’s not something that we’re working on just yet.”
Here’s an additional nugget from Koizumi: Like his idea above, Koizumi was working on a feature in The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask that connected the Nintendo 64 and original black-and-white Game Boy systems to play on two screens. Obviously, that idea never made it into the final product. Koizumi wouldn’t share additional details, only saying that “The information’s going to be shared at some point, but I don’t think today’s the time.”
Photos and details of this year’s Platinum/Gold Club Nintendo rewards
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
Platinum – Mario & Friends Pin Badge Collection
• Official Club Nintendo collection of 25 commemorative pins representing the world of Super Mario Bros.™
• The pins come packaged in six specially created puzzle-like boxes that can be arranged to represent Mario, Goomba, and Mushroom!
• Measures approx. 9.75” H x 9.5” W x 1.5” D (box set) and 1.38” D (each pin)
Gold – Club Nintendo Original Calendar – 2012
• Desk calendar for 2012 with a built-in display stand
• Each month is represented with a two-sided calendar page full of specially designed artwork from some of your favorite Nintendo games!
• Measures approx. 4.5” H x 5.75” W
* Images shown are of the 2011 calendar. The 2012 calendar will have all new designs and artwork.
Nintendo Reveals Exclusive Gifts for Elite Club Nintendo Members
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
Some of the world’s most dedicated Nintendo fans now have the opportunity to receive special gifts from Nintendo of America. Starting today, members of the Club Nintendo™ customer loyalty program who reached Gold or Platinum status in the most recent program year (July 1, 2010 – June 30, 2011) can visit http://club.nintendo.com and log into their accounts to claim an exclusive gift free of charge.
Platinum-level Club Nintendo members are eligible to receive an eye-popping set of 25 commemorative pins that pay tribute to the Mario™ franchise. Featuring classic characters and power-ups from the Mushroom Kingdom, the pins come packaged in unique puzzle-like boxes that can be arranged to form an image of Mario, a Goomba or a Mushroom. Gold-level members, meanwhile, are eligible to receive a special 2012 desk calendar illustrated with colorful artwork from a variety of beloved Nintendo franchises and games.
Club Nintendo offers special promotions and awards Coins to consumers who register and provide feedback about eligible Nintendo products. Coins can then be redeemed for exclusive Nintendo merchandise. Members who earn 300 Coins within each program year are awarded Gold status. Members who earn 600 Coins within each program year are awarded Platinum status. For more information about how to join Club Nintendo and earn rewards, visit http://club.nintendo.com.
Source: Nintendo PR
An odd exchange between Iwata and an investor
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Wii | 0 comments
The conversation below is indeed real! It’s somewhat unexpected and quite different from what we generally see at these shareholders meetings. Yeah, it’s strange. Without further ado…
Investor: “I’m concerned about the falling stock price. I own stock, but I don’t own a single Nintendo product. I believe games are a waste of time. By the way, the reason I own Nintendo stock is because the name is nice, it’s in Kyoto and it was listed in the year of my birth.”
Iwata: “There are people in this world who don’t feel that games are a waste of time, so Nintendo continues to exist. We’d like to eliminate the thinking that playing games by yourself is negative, or when there’s a crime you immediately tie it into games. We’d like to raise the social importance of games. We’re working to expand the gaming population, yourself included.”
Investor: “During the Tohoku earthquake disaster, I believe people in the evacuation centers were lacking in exercise. Why didn’t you bring Wii Fit to them? Why didn’t you show off to the media that you’re doing more for the victims?”
Tokyo Games Show 2011 exhibitors list
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
There are a ton of companies attending the Tokyo Game Show this year, but as usual, Nintendo isn’t on the list. The Big N hasn’t attended the event in a number of years.
General Exhibition Area:
ACQUIRE Corp.
ARC SYSTEM WORKS Co., Ltd.
ASCII MEDIA WORKS Inc.
Bushiroad Inc.
Capcom Co.,Ltd
Kojima predicts a future without the term “video game”
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
The term “video game” has been around for a few decades. But Metal Gear director Hideo Kojima believes that the word will vanish sooner rather than later. Kojima made that prediction based on his belief that games, movies, and music will all blend together into one industry.
Kojima discussed that topic and how the gaming industry has changed while he’s been involved with it in issue 268 of Nintendo Power:
“In this day and age, the video game business is a major entertainment industry that surpasses movies in terms of revenue. But when I started out, it was a completely different story. Back then, the game industry was a place for people with broken dreams to gather because they couldn’t land the jobs that they really wanted. Today, the industry has matured into a wonderful place where some of the most talented people in their field can take advantage of cutting-edge technology and world-class budgets to thrill and awe the entire world.
“In the near future I believe we’ll see the term ‘video game’ itself vanish as our industry evolves and eventually absorbs the movie and music industry to create a larger, all-encompassing form of digital entertainment.”
