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!”
More: Oculus, Palmer Luckey, Virtual Boy
Longtime Rare developer officially joins Playtonic
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 7 Comments
Kevin Bayliss was at Rare for over 20 years. Now he’s with Playtonic, the developer behind Yooka-Laylee. It actually sounds like he’s been assisting the team for some time, but he’s joining them in an official capacity.
Bayliss was one of Rare’s first employees. As graphics director, he helped come up with characters for well-known titles such as Battletoads, Killer Instinct, Diddy Kong Racing, and Star Fox Adventures. Bayliss also worked with Shigeru Miyamoto to create the modern Donkey Kong and sidekick Diddy for Diddy Kong Country.
More: Kevin Bayliss, Playtonic
Square Enix collaboration also lined up for Monster Hunter X
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
Mega Man isn’t the only new collaboration on the way to Monster Hunter X. Starting on January 15, players can take on a quest made in partnership with Square Enix. It lets players take on Kushala Daora, and provides the Knyaight Sword and Knyaight Series armor for your Felyne Palico.
More: Capcom, Japan, Monster Hunter X, Square Enix
Game Informer ranks the top 50 games of 2015
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 20 Comments
Game Informer has an annual tradition of sharing its top 50 games from a particular year. In the magazine’s latest issue, they’ve done this once again – now for 2015.
Below is what Game Informer considers to be the top 50 games of last year (ranked by release date):
New Year’s dev drawings – Super Mario Maker, Ace Attorney, more
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Images | 4 Comments
Japanese magazine Nintendo Dream is celebrating the start of 2016 in its latest issue. Various game developers and other key members related to the industry contributed handmade drawings, including representatives from Nintendo, Capcom, Square Enix, and more.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing the various images featured in Nintendo Dream. The second set of drawings, rounded up in the gallery below, features Super Mario Maker, Ace Attorney, and some others. We also have text accompanying the shots (including many developer comments!) after the break.
More: Nintendo Dream, top
GameStop now taking orders for the Skylanders amiibo combo packs
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 2 Comments
GameStop has started accepting orders for the new Skylanders amiibo combo packs. Hammer Slam Bowser with Clown Cruiser, in addition to Donkey Kong with Barrel Blaster, can be ordered here. Each one is priced at $25.
