Koji Igarashi leaves Konami, starting new studio
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 5 Comments
Well-known Castlevania producer Koji Igarashi has left Konami. His final day with the company was on March 15.
Following his departure from Konami, Igarashi now intends to open a new development studio.
Igarashi told IGN:
“I’ve decided to break out on my own to have the freedom to make the kind of games I really want to make — the same kind I think fans of my past games want as well. Leaving Konami was a big decision, and not one I took lightly – I’ve spent my entire career there, made many friends, and had a lot of great opportunities – but I hope all the gamers and fans who have supported me in the past will join me in being excited about what comes next. Wish me luck!”
Igarashi played a role in many of Konami’s Castlevania titles, starting with Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. He last produced Harmony of Despair.
More: Koji Igarashi, Konami, top
[Interview] Nnooo talks Blast ‘Em Bunnies, escapeVektor’s future, eShop thoughts, and more
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS eShop, General Nintendo, Interviews, Wii U eShop | 0 comments
We were recently given the opportunity to interview Nic Watt, founder/creative director for Nnooo. Watt tackled questions about Blast ‘Em Bunnies, escapeVektor, the eShop, and more.
Head past the break for our full interview.
More: Blast 'Em Bunnies, escapeVektor, highlight, indie, Nic Watt, Nnooo
Level-5 talks Professor Layton’s origins, determined to keep series going
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, DS, General Nintendo, News | 3 Comments
Eurogamer has put up a new piece detailing the origins of Professor Layton. The site spoke with Level-5 CEO and president Akihiro Hino, who also briefly touched on the series’ future.
Head past the break for the rundown of what Hino shared. You can also find comments from Professor Layton’s voice actor here.
More: Akihiro Hino, Level-5, Professor Layton
Pikachu is Japan’s mascot for 2014 World Cup
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 2 Comments
Pikachu, as well as a bunch of other Pokemon, are acting as Japan’s mascots for the 2014 World Cup. Adidas is the official kit designer for the Japanese national team, and announced its relationship with Nintendo earlier today. All of the Pokemon are dressed with the “Samurai Blue” kit gear.
More: 2014 World Cup, Pokemon
Video: Fan remaking Super Mario 64 with the Blender Game Engine
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Videos | 6 Comments
Aryok Piñera, who goes by the name “aryoksini” on YouTube, has started a project that remakes Super Mario 64 in the Blender Game Engine. The new version comes with a fresh look at some slight changes in gameplay mechanics. Potential feature additions include Oculus Rift support, portals and online multiplayer.
You can keep track of future developments on Piñera’s Twitch and YouTube channels.
More: fan video, Super Mario 64
Aonuma: Need to innovate with Zelda, Link Between Worlds a new direction for potential entries with top-down view
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News | 11 Comments
ONM has put up its full interview with Zelda series producer and Zelda: A Link Between Worlds composer Ryo Nagamatsu. Between the two, there’s talk about the need to innovate with the franchise, how A Link Between Worlds has created a new direction for potential Zelda games which make use of the top-down view, and more.
Head past the break for comments from Aonuma and Nagamatsu. You can find even more quotes on ONM here.
Club Nintendo post-play survey changes coming next month
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, General Nintendo, News, Wii | 7 Comments
A couple of notable changes are coming to the North American Club Nintendo site next month.
First, Wii and DS games will no longer offer 10-coin post-play surveys. Keep in mind that all such titles will continue to receive product registration surveys.
Also changing next month is the deadline to complete newly earned post-play surveys. This will be set at 30 days after they are issued for all games.
Both of these changes will be taking place on April 7.
Thanks to Forte-sama for the tip.
More: Club Nintendo
Premium Mario Playing Cards now available on Club Nintendo Europe
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
Club Nintendo members in Europe can order a new reward starting today. Nintendo has added in “Premium Mario Playing Cards”. These are “super-shiny playing cards, decorated with images of your favourite Mario characters and power-ups.
You can place an order for the cards here. The set costs 3,000 points.
More: Club Nintendo, Europe, Mario
Phoenix Wright creator Shu Takumi initially believed the “series should not continue”
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, General Nintendo, News | 2 Comments
Initially, Phoenix Wright creator Shu Takumi intended to end things after the third game’s release.
He explained to ONM:
“I felt that Phoenix’s story had been told, and that the series should not continue. Knowing when to end a story is very important and I wanted to avoid dragging it out and having it become a shadow of its former self.”
We did eventually end up getting Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney. Phoenix Wright wasn’t playable, but he did appear in the game – a result that came about as a request from Takumi’s colleagues.
“Years later, when it was decided within Capcom that Ace Attorney 4 would go ahead, my position was that we should change the main character and tell a new story. I didn’t plan to have Phoenix in the game, but my colleagues said they wanted him to appear in some form, which is why he ended up being the accused in the first case in Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney.”
