Aonuma on Majora’s Mask, returning to time manipulation in the future, amiibo, remakes, retirement
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News | 2 Comments
GameSpot has gone live with a new Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D-centric interview featuring series producer Eiji Aonuma. Aonuma shared some insight into the game, and touched on several other topics as well including returning to time manipulation in the future, amiibo, remakes, and retirement.
Look below for some excerpts from the interview. The full thing can be found here.
Reggie stops by the StreetPass Mii Plaza
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime is stopping by the 3DS StreetPass Mii Plaza. He’s even wearing an Epona hat! So long as you have SpotPass enabled, Reggie should be appearing in your 3DS soon.
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Hasbro introducing western Yo-Kai Watch toy line in 2016
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 3 Comments
Yo-Kai Watch is starting to make its mark in the west. It was announced today that the hugely-successful franchise is coming to North America, Latin America, Europe, New Zealand, and Australia in toy form thanks to Hasbro. Hasbro will bring out the first round of Yo-Kai Watch toys in 2016.
Today’s announcement additionally states: “The Yo-Kai Watch cross-platform experience will also include additional broadcasting, video game and merchandising relationships to be announced later this year.” Perhaps we’ll finally hear about something with regard to localization of the Yo-Kai Watch games?
More: Level-5, Yo-kai Watch, Youkai Watch
Nintendo supports independent game developers at IndieCade East
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS eShop, General Nintendo, News, Wii U eShop | 8 Comments
Nintendo will be at IndieCade East starting today in full force. Not only will the company be showing off several smaller titles from indies, but it will also have the chance to meet with tons of East Coast developers.
The following games will be on hand at IndieCade East this weekend:
IronFall: Invasion from VD-Dev: This Nintendo 3DS exclusive takes full advantage of the C Stick features of the New Nintendo 3DS XL system for better aiming. The game supports online and local multiplayer for up to six players, for fast and frantic fun.
Moon Chronicles from Renegade Kid: An update is now available for this critically acclaimed first-person game, designed to fully use the extra control options available on New Nintendo 3DS XL – including the C Stick and new ZL and ZR Buttons.
Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse from WayForward: This game is now available in the Nintendo eShop, but Nintendo will be showing off updates that take advantage of New Nintendo 3DS XL.
Gunman Clive 2 from Hörberg Productions: This Nintendo 3DS exclusive has a strong following, and its loyal fans have been hungry to check out this sequel, which launched Jan. 29 in the Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS.
Affordable Space Adventures from KnapNok Games and Nifflas Games: This suspenseful stealth puzzling Wii U exclusive features co-op play and will be playable at the show.
Swords & Soldiers II from Ronimo Games: This side-scrolling strategy game, which is a Wii U exclusive and features local multiplayer, will be on hand at the show.
Elliot Quest from PlayEveryWare: An 8-bit retro RPG game with a hero on a quest to cure his curse of immortality. Explore Urele Island and uncover its secrets when this game launches in March, exclusively in the Nintendo eShop on Wii U.
Blek from Broken Rules & kunabi brother: Imagination and creativity come to life in this beautiful award-winning puzzle game that launched on Feb. 12 in the Nintendo eShop on Wii U.
Damon Baker, Nintendo of America’s senior manager of Licensing, will also be hodling a seminar titled “Self-Publishing with Nintendo.” At the event, indies can learn how to work with Nintendo and find out what it takes to get their games published on the eShop.
Source: Nintendo PR
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Pokken Tournament screenshots
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Screenshots | 2 Comments
More: Bandai Namco, Japan, Pokken Tournament
Pokken Tournament launching for Japanese arcades this summer
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 2 Comments
At the Japan Amusement Expo in Chiba, Bandai Namco revealed that Pokken Tournament is coming to Japanese arcades this summer. There was a new trailer as well, though it hasn’t come online just yet. We’ll post it here when it goes live.
More: Bandai Namco, Japan, Pokken Tournament, top
Shulk amiibo back in stock at GameStop
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 11 Comments
GameStop is taking orders for the Shulk amiibo once again. You can grab the figure right here. Hopefully this isn’t like yesterday when Shulk was in stock for all of two minutes! Note that the amiibo won’t ship until May, based on GameStop’s listing.
Nintendo books 299-seat theater for E3 2015, 3 booths reserved
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 12 Comments
E3 2015 isn’t until mid-June, but we do have a tiny bit of news about the expo already.
Nintendo has booked a 299-seat theater for an event at E3 2015. How exactly the room will be used is unknown at this time. One common thought is that it will be used for a roundtable, which would be business as usual for Nintendo.
Nintendo has also secured three booths for E3 2015. These are 4822, 5244 and 5644 in the West Hall.
E3 2015 will run between June 16 and June 18.
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The Cat Mario Show episode 9 (Europe)
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Videos | 0 comments
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Satoru Iwata’s thoughts on 2015 and the future, Wii U sales, and smartphones
Posted on 9 years ago by Kirara Koneko(@KiraraKoneko) in General Nintendo, News | 31 Comments
The following is a series of questions asked of Satoru Iwata in an interview with Nikkei:
Q: Nintendo in January downgraded its forecast group operating profit for fiscal 2014 to 20 billion yen ($165 million), half its original prediction. What is your latest outlook?
A: The improved 3DS (a hand-held game device with 3-D graphics) did not debut in the U.S. and Europe until after the start of the year, which meant demand did not increase as quickly as we expected. That does not mean that 3DS business itself has significantly declined.
The revised estimate already takes advertising factors including expenses for the new 3DS models into consideration. We do not expect our results to slide much further.
Q: Why have sales of the Wii U remained flat?
A: I believe the Wii U business still has considerable room for growth, as a number of software titles that are compatible with the console are slated for release in 2015.
The way Japanese gamers enjoy video games is different from their counterparts in the West. More and more Japanese gamers play on smartphones and 3DS hand-held devices. On the other hand, a majority of gamers in Europe and the U.S. still connect their consoles to TVs and play them on a bigger screen. In the global video game market, game titles for consoles are still dominant, and that market is much larger.
Q: What are you doing to shore up your console business?
A: Newer consoles are equipped with a function to process micropayments using Suica electronic money cards [in Japan]. Our service that allows people to purchase games online using those cards is popular.
It is also possible to turn smartphone games from other software makers into 3DS-compatible games and offer them for relatively low prices. We intend to pursue a variety of options. Only those products and services that receive strong support from customers will survive.
Q: The market for smartphone games continues to expand. What are your plans for this category?
A: In the past, I have opposed making smartphone and tablet versions of Nintendo titles. Prices for content aimed at smartphones and tablets are falling quickly. I am still wary of the category. We intend to develop products that will allow customers to identify with Nintendo products and make people pay attention to Nintendo games.
For example, some Nintendo game consoles incorporate Mii, which creates a digital avatar to represent players. It would be fun for players to use their Mii characters as icons on social media. We are currently developing an application that will allow users to do that. The app will be announced around the time our full-year results are released.
Q: What is Nintendo’s outlook for the next fiscal year and later?
A: We foresee improved performance for the next fiscal year, so long as we are not adversely affected by foreign exchange fluctuations. I have been saying we hope to achieve a profit suitable for Nintendo as early as fiscal 2016. My understanding is that an operating profit of 100 billion yen is the level the market and shareholders expect of us.
