The site writes that J Trust “aims to use cash raised through a record rights offering to fund takeover bids” such as Index “as part of a client-boosting strategy”. The company will have as much as 130 billion yen (roughly $1.3 billion) “in cash on buyouts without seeking external financing”.

SEGA Sammy Holdings is also said to have placed a bid for Index.

Source

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team TV bloopers

Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, Videos | 1 Comment

Masahiro Sakurai (Smash Bros. creator) writes a column about game development, says many people may not realize how difficult it is

Posted on 11 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News, Wii, Wii U | 4 Comments

The following is a column that Smash Bros. and Kid Icarus: Uprising creator wrote for Famitsu magazine in Japan. He starts off reminiscing about the three years it took to make Super Smash Bros. Brawl:

“When you think about three years like that, that’s the amount of time between entering middle or high school and graduating from it [in Japan]. You have all these people working their fingers to the bone to complete just a single project. The games I make tend to be played for a long time, and whether I’m satisfied with the results or there are things I’m not happy with, it always takes a lot of time to make them.”

A “surprise announcement” is planned for Yakuza on August 18

Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 1 Comment

Yakuza fans will want to be on the lookout for a “surprise announcement” pertaining to the series on August 18. News will be shared during the “Yakuza Character General Election” in Shinjuku, Tokyo at 4 AM local time.

It’s unclear what SEGA has in store for this mysterious reveal. New game? Some kind of special item? Something else We’ll find out in a little over a week.

Source, Via

Kamiya wonders why western gamers focus on game sales and reviews

Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 6 Comments

Writing on Twitter, Platinum Games’ Hideki Kamiya posted a series of messages tackling the topics of sales and reviews.

Kamiya seems to believe that, when it comes to western gamers, they focus too much on these two elements. Both are used as ways to evaluate a title.

In Kamiya’s opinion, players should determine a game’s quality by experiencing it “rather than borrowing some numbers”.

“For foreign gamers, games that sell and don’t sell tend to be a hot topic… I wonder why they care so much about sales that it makes them choose what to play. It may be because (sales) numbers are the most obvious way to evaluate a game, and reviews seem to be another… I think that rather than borrowing some numbers to judge the quality of a game, you should decide by yourself.”

Source 1, Source 2

Zelda: A Link Between Worlds/A Link to the Past overworld comparison

Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, Videos | 0 comments

“Where Will Luigi Fall Asleep? Next” – video 2

Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Videos | 0 comments

SEGA talks Sonic deal with Nintendo, hopes Sonic can help Wii U, improving franchise’s quality

Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 0 comments

SEGA has partnered with Nintendo to put out three exclusive games on Nintendo platforms. Two have been revealed thus far: Sonic Lost World and Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. There’s also one final mystery title in development.

SEGA’s European chief Jurgen Post spoke about the deal with MCV, stating:

We have Sonic: Lost World on Wii U and 3DS and then Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics later in the year too. Plus there is a third game we haven’t announced.
Historically Sonic games have always sold very well on Nintendo platforms, so it’s a good fit. And Nintendo and Sega have always worked together in a positive way – the first game Sonic debuted on after we stopped making hardware was a Nintendo platform.

Post later addressed the Wii U’s slow start. It’s a concern for sure, but Post hopes Sonic can help improve the situation:

Iwata says putting Nintendo games on other platforms would be a short-term fix, higher expectations, more

Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 1 Comment

Some have said that Nintendo should take its franchises elsewhere. This has never been a realistic option, however, and president Satoru Iwata has said that such a move would only be a short-term fix to achieve profits.

“If I was to take responsibility for the company for just the next one or two years, and if I was not concerned about the long-term future of Nintendo at all, it might make sense for us to provide our important franchises for other platforms, and then we might be able to gain some short-term profit. However, I’m really responsible for the long-term future of Nintendo as well, so I would never think about providing our precious resources for other platforms at all.”

Iwata says it’s more difficult to attract players’ attention, Animal Crossing sales boosted by word of mouth

Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News | 0 comments

Attracting people’s attention isn’t so easy these days, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata believes. More information is circulating than ever before, which places a limit on the ability to pay attention.

Iwata told Toyo Keizai:

What I feel most now is that getting the attention of customers in video games is much more difficult than before. With all of the information that people have access to now, the ability to pay attention is limited. These big differences occur, whether we like it or not.