Masuda: Pokemon GO “will bring about a new kind of experience” compared to existing games
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 5 Comments
Game Freak’s Junichi Masuda spoke about a number of general Pokemon topics in this month’s issue of GamesMaster. He also commented specifically on Pokemon GO a bit as well, in which he stated that the game “will bring about a new kind of experience, different from that of existing Pokemon titles”.
Masuda’s full comments:
“Amongst other things, this year will see the launch of Pokémon Go – a groundbreaking mobile game that will encourage fans to search far and wide in the real world to discover Pokémon. Players will be able to catch, trade, and battle in the real world by utilizing location information.
“I have been involved personally in the project. It is a game where players can search, trade and battle Pokémon in the real world. I think Pokémon Go will bring about a new kind of experience, different from that of existing Pokémon titles, allowing players to explore their own neighborhoods, searching for Pokémon together with their friends. It is in this way that we hope that Pokémon Go, which will be released in 2016, will provide new enjoyment to our fans.”
Niantic was originally planning on hosting a Pokemon GO session at GDC. However, those plans were cancelled so that the team could focus on the game itself. A field test for Pokemon GO will be held in Japan later this month.
More: Game Freak, interview, Junichi Masuda, Niantic, Pokemon GO, top
[Let’s Talk] March 2016 Nintendo Direct thoughts
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Let's Talk | 80 Comments
Let’s Talk #41: March 2016 Nintendo Direct thoughts
This week’s Nintendo Direct was the first time in awhile that we saw a new presentation that wasn’t about a specific game. A Pokemon broadcast was held just last week, and there was the Smash Bros. video back in December. However, the last actual Direct covering multiple games was held back in November.
Nintendo shared news about both of its current platforms, Wii U and 3DS. In terms of announcements, Paper Mario: Color Splash and Kirby: Planet Robobot were the big ones here. SNES support was also revealed for the New 3DS Virtual Console. That’s in addition to localization of Monster Hunter Generations and Rhythm Heaven Megamix, release dates for games such as Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE and Mario & Sonic Wii U, updates for Super Mario Maker and Splatoon, and more.
Nintendo Directs are always big events, so today’s Let’s Talk is dedicated to this week’s presentation. Were you happy with what was shown? Or maybe you were looking for something more/else? Regardless of how you felt, tell us in the comments below!
Highlights from last week’s topic: What do you want to see from Pokemon Sun/Moon?
More: highlight, Nintendo Direct, top
Commercial gives a first look at the Ace Attorney anime
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Videos | 6 Comments
Update: Added in higher-quality version of the commercial.
A 15-second commercial gives us a first look at the new Ace Attorney anime series. Check out the video below.
More: Ace Attorney, anime, Capcom
Universal Studios Japan – 40 billion yen for Nintendo attractions, finish by 2020
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 17 Comments
A bit of new information about Universal and Nintendo’s partnership was reported last month. At the time, it was confirmed that the collaboration between the two sides would extend to Japan. Sankei West shares a few more nuggets on this front in a new article.
Universal Studios Japan plans to spend 40 billion yen (should be roughly $350 million if I’m converting correctly!) on Nintendo attractions, which will be housed on the left side of the park’s main gate. The plan is to have the work done by 2020 in time for the Summer Olympics. It’s a large-scale investment – about the same scale as the Harry Potter-themed area that opened in July 2014.
Nintendo Minute – “A New York Minute”
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Videos | 17 Comments
This week’s episode of Nintendo Minute has gone live. In today’s episode, Kit and Krysta reflect on their time at Nintendo NY for the Pokemon Day celebration and trip to the local GameStop to check out the Pokken Tournament Early Access Competition. Take a look at the video below.
More: Nintendo Minute
Various amiibo up for pre-order on Amazon Canada
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 3 Comments
Amazon Canada has started taking pre-orders for a bunch of upcoming amiibo. This includes Roy, Ryu, Famicom R.O.B., and the next wave of Animal Crossing figures/cards. The various items can be reserved here
.
No Disney Interactive booth at E3 2016
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 13 Comments
Disney Interactive is among the latest companies to be pulling away from E3. GamesBeat received confirmation from the publisher that it will not have a booth at this year’s expo in June. Disney will instead opt for “additional direct to fan engagements through the summer this year.”
More: Disney Interactive, E3 2016
Playtonic adds two more former Rare staffers
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 5 Comments
Simon Gerges and Lee Jackson, two former staffers from Rare, have joined on with Yooka-Laylee developer Playtonic. Both have already started putting their skills to the test at the studio.
Gerges is an experienced engineer, have been previously hired 12 years ago by Playtonic co-founder Chris Sutherland. He worked on the Banjo-Kazooie, Kameo and Kinect Sports franchises.
Jackson is a QA manager who was involved with the likes of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts and the Viva Piñata series.
More: Playtonic
Rumor: Kensuke Tanabe and Retro no longer on good terms, Sakamoto could be new NCL producer
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Rumors | 44 Comments
Nintendo’s Kensuke Tanabe has long been associated with Retro Studios. While working with the company, Tanabe acted as producer (or co-producer) on all of its games – the Metroid Prime and Donkey Kong Country titles. Now, however, the two sides “are allegedly no longer on good terms,” according to a report from Liam Robertson.
Here’s one excerpt from Robertson’s report:
“Last year, I was investigating Tanabe with regards to this. This involved speaking to a number of developers who had worked alongside him. The way in which they all described Tanabe’s directorial style was fascinating. Their words built up a portrait in my mind of a Gordon Ramsey esque figure who strived for perfection and berated anything short of it. It’s difficult for me to fully convey my impressions of him without explicitly detailing the anecdotes shared with me in confidence, which could compromise those involved; but I will try my best to elaborate.
More: Kensuke Tanabe, Retro Studios
Miyamoto on his favorite movie, games of 2015
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 12 Comments
What was Shigeru Miyamoto’s favorite movie of 2015? That honor goes to Star Was: The Force Awakens.
Speaking with Game Informer, Miyamoto shared some thoughts as to why he was impressed with the film:
“There were a lot of good movies last year. One movie that I would have to talk about is Star Wars. It was a movie that I was very worried about. I really enjoyed the original three movies. But as they started to rely more on CG and computer graphics, I gradually stopped watching the Star Wars movies.
I felt that for the people who were taking that on that it was a very big challenge for them. My expectation is that they’d maybe find a way to barely meet that challenge. But when I saw that movie, I was very impressed with what they were able to do.
As a creator, I really respected their ability to take on the challenge and bring back some of the feelings that people had the first time they watched the movies. I really liked that some of those actors from Episode IV came back after all these years, and you can see how they had aged. As a fan, it was a really great movie.”
Miyamoto also discussed his favorite games of last year: Splatoon and Super Mario Maker.
“I haven’t seen as many video games. Two of the games that I have been really happy with. One is Splatoon. We had a very young staff work on that game; particularly in the Japanese market, they’ve introduced a whole new genre of shooter.
And then Super Mario Maker, which Mr. [Takashi] Tezuka worked on, we’re seeing a lot of dads are playing together with their kids. That’s made me really happy.”
