Masuda talks about the inspiration and meaning behind Pokemon’s Hoenn region
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News | 1 Comment
Game Freak’s Junichi Masuda was one of the designers on the original Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire games. That means he created environments and maps that make up the region of Hoenn.
In an interview with Kotaku, Masuda revealed that he was inspired by his childhood summers on the island of Kyushu in making Hoenn.
Masuda said:
“So [Hoenn] was inspired by when I would go and visit my grandparents when I was younger. I grew up in Tokyo, which was obviously a big city, and my grandparents lived in Kyushu, a Japanese island. It was really completely different there. Where I came from we didn’t have clean rivers or a lot of insects or wildlife, but when I visited my grandparents I got to experience that abundance of nature – I’d got out and catch bugs, play in the river, catch fish in the ocean, explore forests.”
“I really wanted to express those childhood memories with the Hoenn region when I first thought about Ruby and Sapphire,” he says. “It’s expressed in how abundant the nature is compared to some of the other settings, and also in the idea of secret bases, which was like making tree-houses or a special fort when I was a kid.”
In kanji, “Hoenn” can be roughly translated to “abundance” and bonds” or “connections” when considering “ho” and “en”. This is something that Masuda spoke about as well.
“One of the original themes was this idea of abundance – not just of nature, but of how warm people are in the country, and people were always so nice to me there. Neighbours would say hello to me on the street. That’s the hidden meaning: the abundant bonds between people and nature.”
Fans line up for wave 3 amiibo at Nintendo World
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 12 Comments
People came flocking to Nintendo World in New York City this week in hopes of getting their hands on the wave 3 amiibo. Kotaku reports that on one particular day, over 300 people were queuing around the block.
Interestingly, Nintendo World is the only store in the U.S. to have all of the retailer-exclusive figures in one place. The likes of Shulk and Rosalina were promised, which certainly made Nintendo World an attractive destination for consumers who are invested in obtaining all amiibo.
More: Amiibo
Update: Most back in stock – Amazon taking pre-orders for the Super Mario series amiibo
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 5 Comments
Update 5 (1/29): Yoshi, Luigi, and Peach are currently back in stock.
Update 4: All amiibo are now sold out!
Update 3: And Yoshi is live. Remember, Mario is only available at launch through the Mario Party 10 bundle.
Update 2: Bowser
and Peach are also live.
Update: Toad pre-orders are now open as well. Get them in here
.
Amazon is the first retailer to be taking pre-orders in the U.S. for the new Luigi amiibo. To clarify, this isn’t the Smash Bros. Luigi figure – rather, it’s part of the upcoming Super Mario series.
Pre-orders for the new Luigi amiibo can be placed here.
. It will be released on March 20 alongside Mario Party 10.
New support Pokemon for Pokken Tournament: Frogadier and Eevee
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
The official manual for Pokken Tournament has been uploaded to the arcade game’s official website. It gives us a look at a few things – notably two new support Pokemon. Frogadier and Eevee are now confirmed for Pokken Tournament.
More: Bandai Namco, Japan, Pokken Tournament
Aonuma reflects on Majora’s Mask’s short dev time, was originally worried about fans accepting the game
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News | 1 Comment
Majora’s Mask might be one of the most interesting games in the Zelda series. Not only is the title darker and different from other entries, but development itself was also atypical.
Eiji Aonuma reflected on the original release of Majora’s Mask in a recent issue of GamesMaster. In his chat with the magazine, he discussed the game’s short development cycle, and how “innovation truly comes when you have to work under some kind of big pressure.”
Below are his words in full:
“Nintendo Creators Program” launches for YouTube, currently in beta
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 35 Comments
Nintendo has just announced the “Nintendo Creators Program”, a new opportunity for fans on YouTube to earn revenue. Users will be able to receive a part of the advertising proceeds for Nintendo-related YouTube videos by signing up on the official page.
The program is currently in beta form. It should launch in full on May 27.
More information can be found here. View this page for a list of supported games.
Nintendo postpones investors meeting as Iwata is ill
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 16 Comments
Nintendo was set to kick off its third quarter results briefing with analysts and investors in just a short while. However, president Satoru Iwata has posted a message on the company’s Japanese Twitter account confirming that the meeting has been delayed. That means we’ll have to wait at least a few more days to find out about the latest juicy tidbits from Nintendo.
Unfortunately, Iwata explained that he is currently has a fever, and influenza is suspected. A new date for the briefing will be announced sometime in the future.
More: Satoru Iwata
Iwata reiterates that Nintendo’s games won’t be considered for smart devices
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 11 Comments
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata is remaining steadfast in his stance against bringing the company’s titles to mobile platforms.
As reported by Bloomberg, Iwata recently reiterated that Nintendo won’t consider releasing its games on smart devices. “If we follow current games on smartphones and we just bring our current games into smart devices, it won’t lead to the future,” he said.
Although Nintendo is opposed to making smartphone versions of its games, the company isn’t against such devices entirely. Nintendo hopes to leverage hardware like phones to attract consumers to its own systems.
More: Satoru Iwata
amiibo “how to” videos
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Videos, Wii U | 2 Comments
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Worldwide amiibo sales are at 5.7 million
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 14 Comments
Nintendo has shared data for amiibo in the past, but most of the numbers have been specific to the U.S. Company president Satoru Iwata offered something a bit clearer today as part of Nintendo’s financial results today. According to Iwata, roughly 5.7 million amiibo have been sold worldwide.
