Upcoming Japanese eShop releases (1/20/16)
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
Several new titles are coming to the Japanese eShop on January 20. Here’s a look at the upcoming digital downloads:
Wii U Virtual Console
Klonoa 2: Dream Champ Tournament (GBA, 702 yen)
1080° Snowboarding (N64, 1,000 yen)
3DS Download
Gakuyu Unmei Kyodotai ~Friends in the Same RPG~ – 1,000 yen
Castle Conqueror Defender – 500 yen
More: Japan, Virtual Console
Rare had interest in amiibo-style toys during the N64 era
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 5 Comments
Former Rare developer Chris Seavor shared interesting insight into the studio’s past on Twitter. In a message published yesterday, Seavor showed an image of the unreleased title Urchin, which would have had toys-to-life functionality similar to that of amiibo.
That’s as follows:
Scanner works finally… Oh look, Urchin was gonna have an Amiibo a decade before they were even a thing !!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/JjnLcmUjzm
— Christopher Seavor (@conkerhimself) January 11, 2016
Seavor continued the discussion with one fan on Twitter and noted that an amiibo-like idea was something Rare gave some thought to “years and years ago during the N64 cycle.”
@IOnEI_Falcon It was just toy, although I remember T&C wanted to do Amiibo style things with toys years and years ago during the N64 cycle.
— Christopher Seavor (@conkerhimself) January 11, 2016
First three Pokemon movies being bundled in a Blu-ray package next month
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 28 Comments
A special Pokemon movie set will be available in North America starting next month. On February 9, you’ll be able to pick up “Pokemon: The Movies 1-3 Steelbook Blu-ray Collection”. This naturally features the first three Pokemon films in a single, limited edition package.
You can pre-order the movie collection over on Amazon.
Doing so will save you $5, bringing it down to $35.
More: Pokemon
Atlus teases “several unannounced titles”, says 2016 is a year where its popular series gather
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 2 Comments
Atlus CEO Naoto Hiraoka was interviewed in this week’s issue of Famitsu. On the topic of the company’s 2016 and future plans, Hiraoka said:
“In 2015, we were able to develop existing IP like Persona 4: Dancing All Night and Etrian Mystery Dungeon. In 2016, starting with Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir, we plan to release a large number of titles. In the summer, we’ll launch the long-awaited Persona 5. Of course, in addition to that we have several unannounced titles. I have no doubt this will be a year Atlus’ popular series all gather together.”
Etrian Odyssey V is long overdue, and should hit Japan this year. As for other surprises? We can only hope that Atlus will continue to spread the love on Nintendo platforms!
More: Atlus, Famitsu, interview, Naoto Hiraoka
Pokemon 20th anniversary promo video, monthly Mythical Pokemon distributions
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News | 2 Comments
The Pokemon news continues! A new video promoting the franchise’s 20th anniversary can be seen below.
One important point from the video mentions monthly Mythical Pokemon distributions. This will start in February, and features the likes of Mew, Darkrai, Arceus, and much more. You’ll be able to obtain these Pokemon in X/Y as well as Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire.
Pokemon 20th anniversary logo, Super Bowl commercial planned
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 5 Comments
We’ve mentioned before that big gaming franchises are celebrating big anniversaries this year. Pokemon, for instance, is 20 years old in 2016. An official logo was sent out today commemorating the occasion.
Also revealed is that Pokemon will be seeing its first ever Super Bowl commercial on February 7. This will “encourage fans to Train On,” The Pokemon Company says.
Birthday month discounts coming to Nintendo Account in Japan
Posted on 8 years ago by Matt(@OnePunchMaz) in General Nintendo, News | 7 Comments
Nintendo Account is, as the name implies, Nintendo’s new, unified account system. Announced for early this year in the West, the program had somewhat of a surprise launch in Japan in December. Personalized discounts were one of Nintendo Account’s announced features – however, so far users with Japanese accounts were only able to take advantage of global discounts, not much different to sales on the eShop.
However, that is changing with a new feature coming this month. Users who link their Nintendo Network ID to their Nintendo Account before the 24th of their respective birthday month and opt in to receive promotional e-mails from Nintendo will receive special discounts on the 24th of their birthday month. This means that we should learn what this month’s discounts are on January 24th.
Right now we don’t know if birthday month discounts will also be available to European and North American users once Nintendo Account launches there. Nintendo is likely to share more details on the system’s Western launch in the coming weeks.
More: Japan, Nintendo Account
Sonic’s 25th anniversary will be celebrated thoughtout the year, movie still happening
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 39 Comments
A new advert for Sonic the Hedgehog’s 25th anniversary has been spotted in the latest issue of ToyWorld Magazine, which is posted above. Information about SEGA’s plans is also included. It doesn’t reveal too much, but there are a few interesting takeaways.
Here’s the main highlight:
“2016 will be a a celebration of Sonic’s 25th birthday throughout the year. New Style Guides and new collaborations across toy, gift apparel, branded events and bespoke retail events initiatives will be on offer throughout the year.”
In other Sonic news, the previously-announced movie is still happening. That information comes from writer Van Robichaux, who told one fan the following on Twitter:
@MudHuntr Still in the works but I can't comment beyond that!
— VAN™ (@VanTheBrand) January 10, 2016
More: SEGA, Sonic the Hedgehog
Nintendo is now on Tumblr
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 17 Comments
Nintendo has joined plenty of social media sites over the years, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. The Big N is now on Tumblr as well. If you’d like to keep up with their posts, visit Nintendo’s page here.
More: Tumblr
Oculus founder says Virtual Boy “hurt” the VR industry, praises LED display
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 146 Comments
During a Reddit AMA yesterday, Oculus founder Palmer Luckey was asked for his thoughts about the Virtual Boy. Luckey was mostly down on the system, but had a positive comment regarding its LED display.
Luckey personally doesn’t consider the Virtual Boy to be a VR device. He finds this to be a “shame”, as he says Nintendo’s product “hurt the industry in the long run.” Luckey also acknowledged the Virtual Boy’s LED display – the first in a consumer device – and noted that it was “probably the best contrast of any display up to that point”.
Below are Luckey’s full comments:
“Not really a VR device, IMO. No head tracking, low field of view, essentially a monochrome 3DTV.
A real shame, too, because the association of the Virtual Boy with VR hurt the industry in the long run.
It did have the first LED display in a consumer device, though – probably the best contrast of any display up to that point!”
