“At the time we were developing Ocarina of Time, not many games had both day and night. In order to heighten the sense of reality within the game, we thought changing from day to night would be important, so we set some events to happen during the day and others to happen at night.

In the game, we were only able to completely differentiate day and night, and there was no in-between. But in planning these events to occur at different times of the day, we learned how to control the characters’ actions in real time as measured within the game. Afterward we wondered if other types of gameplay would be possible using that system, and the result was the three-day cycle in Majora’s Mask.” – Eiji Aonuma

Aonuma fully explains the origins of Z-targeting

Posted on 16 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 3 Comments

Ocarina of Time is considered to be a fantastic title for quite a number of reasons. One of the most important elements implemented in the game is Z-targeting. You may be wondering though, why did the developers decide to create such a lock-on system? Well, in the latest issue of Nintendo Power, Eiji Aonuma, who has been overseeing the last few Zelda titles, explains all.

“Everyone has probably experienced how hard it can be to go where you want to go when moving your character around in 3-D space. When an opponent is approaching, in order to attack with your sword, you’ve got to position yourself in such a way as to hit it, and that can be quite difficult.

Another problem in games with a third-person perspective is that the camera must follow around the player character. Opponents with a large range of movement soon fall outside the frame. Losing track of your opponent’s location happens much too often.

That was one obvious problem with Super Mario 64, so when it came to Zelda, which features a lot of swordfights, we introduced ‘Z-targeting,’ by which the player could lock on to an opponent. The opponent would stay in front of the player, all the player’s attacks would converge on the opponent, and the camera would always capture both the opponent and the player onscreen.

This lock-on system was developed by Miyamoto and Yoshiaki Koizumi, our 3-D system director. Together with the programmers, they worked directly on adjusting game operability, camera-rotation speed, and even sound effects.”

Miyamoto: Casual gamers will graduate and become hardcore

Posted on 16 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 12 Comments

Shigeru Miyamoto has explained in the latest issue of the Official Nintendo Magazine that those who plays titles such as Brain Age will eventually move on to more hardcore titles. Miyamoto uses his wife as an example, noting that she was initially interested in Brain Age, but has now moved on to Dr. Mario.

“I think it’s a natural transition. Everyone starts off as a light user but at some point many of them become hardcore gamers. My wife bought Brain Training about three years ago. In More Brain Training, you know how there is the Dr. Mario game? She became absolutely hooked and today she is much better than I am!”

Miyamoto also commented on the ongoing discussions between the distinctions of hardcore and casual gamers/games.

“When I hear that kind of discussion, I wonder if there really is such a distinction. There are many hardcore gamers playing with casual games and I believe casual gamers do get into hardcore Nintendo games too. I think one of Nintendo’s missions is to destroy the barrier between the two and I believe Wii Music contributes that.”

Thanks to Joclo for the news tip!

Cooking Mama responds to PETA

Posted on 16 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 2 Comments

EDISON, N.J., November 19, 2008 – Food lover and culinary cutie Cooking Mama is a virtual chef who believes that good home cooked food, properly prepared from the best ingredients, can bring people together around the table and make the world a happier place. That’s why Mama is taking a stand with oven mitts raised high against the latest PETA objection targeting her freshly released videogame, Cooking Mama World Kitchen, that shipped this week for Wii™ from Majesco Entertainment Company (NASDAQ: COOL). Mama wants people to know that World Kitchen includes 51 recipes from around the world, ranging from vegetarian fare like miso soup and rice cakes to international delicacies like ginger pork and octopus dumplings.
“I would never put rat in my Ratatouille,” said a feisty Mama while beating some eggs. “Like any accomplished cook, I create my recipes to appeal to a broad range of tastes and preferences. My only goal is to ensure you leave the table well fed.”

Reggie: Hardcore and casual gamers will both support us through economic downtimes

Posted on 16 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 1 Comment

“We believe that our strategy in going for a much more massive, much more mainstream consumer really is going to play well for us. And that’s because we not only are offering these consumers fantastic entertainment value, with all of these great products like the Wii, and Wii Fit, Mario Kart, our DS products, but what we’re also offering these consumers is fantastic pocketbook value in terms of what they pay and the value they get. So we feel very good that not only the typical gaming consumer will find happiness with our products but also all of these new consumers that are only now being able to find a Wii and purchase a Wii.” – Reggie Fils-Aime

Unlike in previous years, a lot of grandmas and average Joes will probably be searching for a Wii and perhaps Wii Fit. The video game industry doesn’t seem to have been hurt terribly as a whole, but as far as Nintendo goes, the company knows that they can rely on two types of groups to support them.

Nintendo: There will be games for the hardcore in 2009

Posted on 16 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 4 Comments

“Well, certainly, I feel there are titles that should make that group [hardcore crowd] stand up and pay attention next year. If you look at something like ‘The Conduit,’ that’s really pushing the edge of graphic capabilities on the Wii and doing things that people didn’t think were possible. And I think, one, that makes other developers stand up and take notice. And two, that makes consumers say, “Huh. Maybe there’s something to this.” Or if you look at ‘Mad World’ [you can see] just the sheer creativity of that graphic style and the impact of the black and the white and the red. I think that next year you’re going to see the tide turn a little bit, in terms of people realizing that the Wii can have something of interest for everybody. I would assume that a title like ‘Sin & Punishment’ — and bringing that [intellectual property] to the U.S. for the first time — would start to get at that action-seeking, thrill-seeking need that that audience has. “Punch-Out,” while it may be more of a Nintendo fanboy [kind of game], still, I think, gets at that need for action.” – Cammie Dunaway, executive v.p. of sales and marketing, Nintendo of America

Cammie definitely has a point here. The Conduit, MadWorld, Sin and Punishment 2, and Punch-Out all have the possibility of appealing to the hardcore audience. Plus, for the most part, we don’t even know what lies in the pipeline for the second-half of 2009.

Source

Club Nintendo in NA will be like Japan, physical prizes will be up for grabs

Posted on 16 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 3 Comments

Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo executive vice president of sales and marketing, not only confirmed today that the system is still on track to release before the end of the holiday, but it will also be similar to Japan’s setup. There will be mostly physical prizes up for grabs and will feature both Japanese and North American related items.

“It’s weighted more toward physical goods. …When you purchase a Nintendo product, you go on and you say that you’ve purchased a Nintendo product, you get points for that. You also get points for filling out surveys to talk about your experience with the product. You actually get points before you purchase, if you indicate an interest in purchasing… So it really helps us to gauge marketplace demand. As you collect points — these are actually gold coins — you’re able to trade them in for real merchandise.”

International Nintendo publishing partnership strengthened with new title

Posted on 16 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 1 Comment

12/11/08 – Future Publishing Australia have today announced a new agreement with Nintendo Australia to launch Official Nintendo Magazine – Australia and New Zealand.
Official Nintendo Magazine – Australia and New Zealand builds upon the existing relationship between the two companies, a partnership which currently extends to both the US and the UK, where Future publishes the official titles in both strategically important markets.

9-year-old drives car, credits video games

Posted on 16 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 1 Comment

It’s not every day that one hears a young boy takes a family car, drives off to visit his grandmother, and eventually explains that video games taught him how to do such an act. However, that is exactly what one child did. Following reports of an unmanned car, a police officer found the 9-year-old in a store parking lot. The boy said, “It’s my first time driving, but I learned from watching dad and playing at the video arcade.”

The boy was able to drive the car “by sitting at the front of the seat and clinging to wheel.” The parents were warned to watch over their car more carefully in the future.

Nintendo News: Experience Nintendo at a Mall Near You

Posted on 16 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments

Nintendo News
Experience Nintendo at a Mall Near You
Nintendo’s nationwide mall invasion continues in full force. Already thousands of people across the country have seen and experienced the wide variety of Wii™ games available for the holidays. And later this month, Nintendo will give weary mall shoppers a break with massages, a relaxing atmosphere and fun Nintendo DS™ games.
Since Oct. 31, malls nationwide have included a nine-screen Wii presence featuring game demos and interactive game play. The Wii area helps people get the scoop on all the cool Wii games for the holidays and beyond, including Wii Music™, Wii Sports™, Mario Kart™ Wii, Mario™ Super Sluggers, Wario Land™: Shake It! and Super Smash Bros.™ Brawl. The Wii experience will be available through Dec. 29 at the following malls: