Details from Nintendo’s 76th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, Mobile, News, Switch, Wii U | 178 Comments
Update: All finished! You can get caught up on the full recap below.
Nintendo’s 76th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders is about to begin. NStyles appears to be in attendance and Cheesemeister will be translating, so we should be getting information from the event as it happens.
The meeting will kick off at 9 PM ET / 6 PM PT. We’ll start posting tidbits around then.
– A Mario towel, Pikachu cookies, and room-temperature green tea given to attendees
– From left: Umeyama, Mitamura, Ueda, Mizutani, Shigeyuki Takahashi, Kimishima, Takeda, Miyamoto, Shinya Takahashi, Yamato, Tanaka
– 20 minutes before it began, the seats were about 30% filled (can hold 1,000); up to 60% around 10 minutes before start time
– About to start; all of the directors have entered
– Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima greets the audience
– Auditor Minoru Ueda makes a report
Report
– The 76th annual report is not being read by president Kimishima, but rather a recorded narration is being played with slides
– There were no big 3DS hit titles, so sales were low
– Splatoon, Mario Maker, Twilight Princess HD did well
– amiibo hit 24.7 million units
– Download sales totaled 43.9 billion yen
– Miitomo got off to a good start
– Operating income recovered, but losses due to the strong yen reduced ordinary and net income
– Assets: 1 trillion, 296.9 billion yen; net assets minus liabilities equal 1 trillion, 160.9 billion yen, down 6.6b yen from last
– Issues to address. Up to now, the goal has been to expand the gaming population irregardless of age, gender, or experience. Now, the focus is to increase the population exposed to Nintendo IPs.
– Pokemon Sun/Moon 3DS due out worldwide in November, with many other Nintendo, strong 3rd-party titles to be released
– The aim with 3DS is to make the platform active again
– NX reconfirmed for worldwide launch in March 2017; the dedicated game machine business will continue to be core
– amiibo and download businesses will continue to receive focus
– Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing come to smart devices this fall
– Focusing on My Nintendo, we want to create synergy between the dedicated game machine and smart device businesses
– Nintendo IP will be used in theme parks, character goods, and film contents
– Nintendo said the Wii U would continue to fight on, but only Zelda is coming next year
– The resolutions that were voted upon are explained (these can be found online already)
– There are 6 resolutions this year
More: top
Unreal Engine 4 mentioned in software engineer job listing from Nintendo
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 43 Comments
A new listing on Nintendo’s job site includes a mention of Unreal Engine 4. The company is seeking a software engineer who is familiar with “existing game engines.” Unreal Engine 4 is the only one specifically mentioned.
Nintendo’s listing makes note of the following:
We are seeking an engineer to join a team responsible for design, development, debug and delivery of system drivers and tools for Nintendo gaming systems. The successful candidate will be a high-energy problem-solver with a passion for excellence and a proven track record. We are looking for people who are excellent team players, and who also work well on individual assignments. In addition, the successful candidate will be a high-energy problem-solver with a passion for excellence. An interest in system software is essential. In this position, the engineer will receive a very rewarding experience working with key technologies for gaming systems.
The listing is naturally causing speculation about what this could mean for NX. Most had assumed that the technology would be compatible, however – anything else would be very surprising.
Thanks to uPadWatcher for the tip.
More: Unreal Engine 4
Producer says Tetris movie planned as a trilogy “purely because the story we conceived is so big”
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 21 Comments
Empire has a few extra tidbits about the new Tetris movie. It’ll be the first film in what is a planned trilogy, as was previously rumored.
Larry Kasanoff, who’s working to bring Tetris to theaters, spoke about the decision to create three movies with Empire. He stated that it was needed “purely because the story we conceived is so big. This isn’t us splitting the last one of our eight movies in two to wring blood out of the stone. It’s just a big story.”
Kasanoff also said:
“We want the story to be a surprise, but it’s a big science-fiction movie. I came up with the idea as I was thinking about Tetris and the theme of creating order out of chaos.
We’re not going to have blocks with feet running around the movie, but it’s great that people think so. It sets the bar rather low!
I guarantee you it’s not what you think. No-one has come remotely close to figuring out what we’re doing.”
Casting for the Tetris movie is “well underway”. Some shooting will take place in China.
More: Larry Kasanoff, movie, Tetris
Nintendo details Hyper Japan Festival 2016 plans
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
Nintendo has a whole bunch of plans lined up for Hyper Japan Festival 2016. Along with playable games, a number of activities are in store.
Yo-kai Watch, Monster Hunter Generations, Dragon Quest VII, Fire Emblem, and Pokemon will all be represented in some form or another. Here’s the full rundown of events straight from Nintendo:
In a true celebration of the Japanese phenomenon YO-KAI WATCH® Nintendo will be inviting visitors to step into Springdale, offering them a fully immersive experience and the chance to get involved with a host of YO-KAI WATCH® themed activities. Starting today, Nintendo UK is hosting a unique Fan Art Contest, challenging you to share your artistic interpretation of your favourite Yo-kai in a bid to win a one-off YO-KAI WATCH® prize bundle and have your art prominently showcased on the Nintendo booth at HYPER JAPAN Festival 2016 for all visitors to admire. For more details on how to get involved, Click here.
During HYPER JAPAN Festival 2016, you will have the chance to wander the town of Springdale, take part in the iconic YO-KAI WATCH® dance with Jibanyan in front of a green screen with the opportunity for you to share your creation directly to your social channels*, as well as take part in a Yo-kai Stamp Quest, a mission whereby the first 300 people each day to spot ten hidden Yo-kai located around Springdale on the Nintendo booth (and receive a stamp for each Yo-kai they spot, as well as a stamp for playing the game on the booth) will be rewarded with a YO-KAI WATCH® Medal Mystery Bag*! Everyone that completes the Yo-kai Stamp Quest will also have the opportunity to enter into a prize draw raffle for a chance to win a host of special YO-KAI WATCH® goodies.
Nintendo @E3 2016 Miiverse community closing on June 30th
Posted on 8 years ago by Matt(@OnePunchMaz) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
Nintendo opened up a special Miiverse community for its presence at E3 2016 where fans could discuss everything that happened in Los Angeles. Obviously, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was by far the most talked about game in this community. This Thursday, June 30th, Nintendo is closing that Miiverse community again – so if you want to get any posts in, do it now.
Nintendo’s stake in Rare almost went to Activision instead of Microsoft
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 12 Comments
Nintendo’s stake in Rare was sold to Microsoft in 2002. However, history almost went down a different path.
Xbox co-creator Ed Fries told IGN that Nintendo’s stake almost went to Activision. Activision outbid Microsoft originally, and it seemed like the latter company would lose the deal. Microsoft ended up increasing its offer at the last minute though, which allowed them to acquire Rare.
Fries’ full words are in the following video:
More: Activision, Microsoft, Rare
Trailer for the third Yo-kai Watch movie
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Videos | 13 Comments
A new trailer has come online for the third Yo-kai Watch movie, which is known as Yo-kai Watch The Movie: The Great Adventure of the Flying Whale and the Double World. Watch it below.
As you can see, the new film will feature both animated and live-action parts. It’ll open in Japan on December 17.
More: Level-5, movie, Yo-kai Watch
SEGA on Sonic being linked to Nintendo and collaborating with the company
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 35 Comments
Nintendo and SEGA have formed a close relationship over the past several years through Sonic. The character appeared in Smash Bros., teamed up with Mario in multiple games based on the Olympics, and more.
Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka spoke about Sonic’s link to Nintendo in this week’s issue of MCV. Here’s what he had to say about that:
“When SEGA stopped making hardware and just started doing software, the first platform that we released Sonic on was a Nintendo console. We felt from the very beginning, that the Nintendo platforms were where the passionate Sonic fans were. Historically that is where our relationship started with Nintendo. Unfortunately, the Wii U didn’t manage to get as many gamers on the hardware as we would have liked. That was unfortunate for Sonic because we didn’t get the mass of people to enjoy the content. But Nintendo has always been a great partner, we have Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Sonic in Super Smash Bros… we really appreciate the work that they do.”
More: interview, SEGA, Sonic the Hedgehog, Takashi Iizuka, top
Reggie argues in favor of motion controls in new DeadLock episode
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Videos | 40 Comments
Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime appeared on the latest episode of DeadLock. The video takes on the topic of motion controls in an attempt to find out if they hinder gameplay. Reggie argues in favor of them, as well as unique controls schemes and innovation as a whole.
Here’s the full video:
More: Reggie Fils-Aime
Monolith Soft opens a teaser site for its Kyoto studio
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 14 Comments
A new teaser website and Twitter account are now open for Monolith Soft’s Kyoto studio. The page has the following tagline: “Become a creator of captivating dreams in Kyoto”. In early July, the full site will open.
It should be noted that Monolith Soft Kyoto is the development studio that often helps Nintendo develop games. They are separate from the Tokyo team, which creates original titles like Xenoblade Chronicles X. The Kyoto group is currently working on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.