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General Nintendo

Last week, Satoru Iwata shared some interesting information about Zelda, 3DS system updates, and more at the company’s latest investor briefing. That wasn’t all the Nintendo president had to discusssed, though. Here’s what else he had to say:

– Nintendo believes the pack-in software for the 3DS is the equivalent of Wii Sports
– Nintendo is only releasing nintendogs + cats at launch to make way for third-parties
– Other software was finished before nintendogs + cats, but expect these titles to be released later
– Additional software hasn’t been announced, will be released this year
– Not as easy to get third-party support in the West because handhelds are downplayed
– Iwata feels that this importance will rise
– Nintendo will be looking to see how the West responds to 3DS and NGP

Thanks to Harry for the tip!

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Edith Jeter was a huge Dragon Quest fan. In fact, she actually wrote in to Nintendo Power after Enix closed down, expressing her concern that the sixth game in the series would not be localized:

“I’m now 76 years old. I may not live long enough to see Dragon Quest VI unless someone takes action soon.” – Edith Jeter, Puyallup, WA

The letter above was published roughly fifteen years ago. While Dragon Quest VI never made it out of Japan on the SNES, the game is finally releasing for the DS in just a couple of weeks. But, sadly, Edith won’t have a chance to play the title. She passed away earlier this month at the age of 91.

Gamers have been leaving Edith some heartwarming messages on an online memorial, such as the following:

“Your letter in Nintendo Power Volume 82 was the first thing I thought of when I heard DQ6 was finally coming to America. I never knew you, but you and your family are in my thoughts and prayers.” – Joshua Kanary, Mentor, Ohio


This information comes from Satoru Iwata, who was asked about Sony’s newly announced NGP…

“They’re trying to appeal to customers from a different direction than us. The customers will decide which is correct. Nintendo is not the kind of company that thinks about how we oppose other company’s product.”

Iwata also talked about the 3DS. Pre-orders in Japan are off to a good start, though Iwata is more interested in seeing continued sales rather than a “rocket start.” It was also revealed that a 3DS firmware update will be made available at the end of May to enhance wireless functionality and allow DSiWare transfers.

Lastly, regarding the possibility of putting original titles on non-Nintendo hardware, Iwata said “So long as I am CEO, it definitely will not happen.”

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This information comes from Capcom’s Jun Takeuchi…

“In most cases, launch titles until now have used around 50% of the capabilities of the system. This time, we’re suddenly using up 80 to 90%.” He boasted that the game’s graphics are so good that they will make you ask “what is the difference between a portable game machine and a console!?”.

“We have titles for 2011 that have yet to be announced.”

Regarding the secret titles, Takauchi said that they are large scale projects. Both games will be revealed by the summer, though it isn’t clear if either game is for a Nintendo platform.

Takauchi also commented about the 3DS’ hardware. Takauchi appears to be impressed with the system’s graphical capabilities, and mainly pointed out Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater as one of the more interesting examples. Additionally, he feels that the 3DS will be able to do amazing things for those who implement inventive ideas and know how to use the hardware.

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The latest Iwata Asks is different than what we’ve become accustomed to. Although it was posted on The Last Story website, RPGs in general are the focus of the latest column. Satoru Iwata, Xenoblade director Tetsuya Takahashi, and The Last Story director Hironobu Sakaguchi participated in the interview.

– Takahashi and Sakaguchi were both working at Square in the 90s
– Takahashi was a graphic designer on Final fantasy IV through VI
– Takahashi left in 1999, met up with Sakaguchi again three years later
– The Iwata Asks gathering is the first time Takahashi and Sakaguchi have met in 8 years
– Takahashi left Sakaguchi’s team to do new things (before leaving Square and after Final Fantasy VI)
– He was hoping to use 3D in different ways from VII, with fully 3D maps
– 90% of his team was unaware about using 3D at the time
– Sakaguchi’s team was similar when working on Final Fantasy VII
– Up to III, the Final Fantasy main programmer was foreign, couldn’t speak Japanese
– Sakaguchi and the programmer ate steak every night because it was the only thing the programmer could eat
– Iwata thinks one reason Japanese RPGs aren’t as successful outside of Japan is due to the excessive use of the same patterns and conventions
– Sakaguchi: “Because of this, RPGs need a change”
– Sakaguchi feels that Japanese-developed titles show feelings and detail well, thinks they can be accepted worldwide if creators value these areas
– Iwata, Sakaguchi, and Takahashi agree that there are things all people can find interesting in spite of cultural differences like foreign movies
– Sakaguchi thinks the answer to this is near and RPGs can succeed if they work towards this target
– Iwata: “This is one topic we game creators in Japan will have to clear going forward”
– There appear to be no hints of releasing Xenoblade/The Last Story overseas

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This information comes from Game Informer…

“As far as a second Epic Mickey game goes, there’s no shortage of interesting challenges to tackle. I have some ideas about music gameplay that could be fun and there’s a world of stuff can do with paint and thinner that we couldn’t even have thought of the first time around. Or we could do some stuff completely different and not to any of the stuff I’ve mentioned here. Who knows? There’s no shortage of ideas.” – Warren Spector

“I’ve actually always envisioned Junction Point – well, once we became a part of Disney – as the studio that draws inspiration from the Archives. I’ve been pretty up front about my love of the Ducks. I’d love to do a Duck Tales game, and a Gremlins game would be amazing. Oswald would make a great leading man …er … rabbit.” – Warren Spector

You know, even though I was very much hyped for Epic Mickey, I still haven’t played the game. Some of the feedback I read about the game was off-putting. Austin seemed to like the game, though, so I might as well try it!

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Capcom’s Yoshinori Ono was asked the following question at the 3DS preview event…

“Considering you are trying to make Street Fighter IV 3DS accessible to a wider audience, did you ever think about including Nintendo characters to broaden the appeal?”

Surprisingly, Ono stated outright that he would very much be interested in making a Nintendo x Capcom title. Ono believes the idea should be pitched to Nintendo of Japan, as well as Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai.

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This information comes from Nintendo’s Bill Trinen…

“We’re not opposed to Achievements. When they create their games, [Nintendo’s designers] don’t tell you how to play their game in order to achieve some kind of mythical reward. Basically, the way the games are designed is they’re designed for you to explore the game yourself and have this sense of discovery. To that end, I think that when you look specifically at games from EAD [the group long led by Mario and Donkey Kong creator Shigeru Miyamoto] and a lot of other games that Nintendo has developed a well, there are things you can do in the game that will result in some sort of reward or unexpected surprise. In my mind, that really encourages the sense of exploration rather than the sense of ‘If I do that, I’m going to get some sort of artificial point or score that’s going to make me feel better that I got this.’ And that, to me, is I think more compelling.”

I’m not really opposed to achievements myself. However, I generally don’t go out of my way to play a game just so I can earn them. How about you guys?

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Telltale is hosting a press conference in mid-February to formally announce their upcoming title based on the Jurassic Park series of games, however, it seems like that won’t be the only thing we’ll be hearing about:

“In addition to the Jurassic Park game, Telltale will reveal 5 major new multi-platform projects, including one based on a just-launched property from the TV and comic book world whose popularity is changing life as some know it.”

A life changing TV show and comic book? I really don’t know! The Walking Dead comes to mind, but I honestly would doubt that that is what they’re talking about. I guess we’ll find out in February!

Via NeoGaf



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