“The Wii U was kind of the pioneer of the connected tablet interface. This gave us some ideas for the first iteration of tablets connected with console games. It’s not confirmed yet, but if it’s possible to do it and it makes sense, yes we will provide some kind of experience on the Wii U. Our focus is on the new generation of Microsoft and Sony consoles.”

– Ubisoft managing director Nicolas Rioux

The irony of the situation notwithstanding, it would be pretty unfortunate to see Ubisoft’s next gen games skip the Wii U, but perhaps even more troubling (politically) to see the games hit the platform but skip out on the tablet-integration interface. Given that the Wii U is the only console that actually ships with such a device installed, common sense would dictate that it’d be easiest to develop such extra features for. Unfortunately, the case is such that making an iPad app means you’ve covered the PS4 and XBO in one swipe, whereas developing something separate for the Wii U Gamepad requires additional resources.

Such has been the situation with Nintendo consoles for a while now– their unique architecture is designed the help Nintendo stay in the game, but it’s a bit of a turn off for third parties.

Via NintendoLife

Video: Reggie says processing power doesn’t matter, games are most-important, more

Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Videos, Wii U | 12 Comments

Capcom won’t be at Gamescom 2013

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

Capcom will not be at this year’s Gamescom, according to an official statement from the company. A representative put it succinctly: “We’re not attending gamescom this year.”

You may remember that Capcom did attend Gamescom last year. In fact, the company held a press conference so that it could highlight its slate of games.

Source

Club Nintendo Elite rewards news coming soon

Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 4 Comments

A new Club Nintendo year was ushered in today. That means rewards will soon be revealed for members who reached Gold/Platinum status.

Just when will we be hearing news regarding this year’s prizes? Very shortly, apparently. An image posted to the main Club Nintendo page mentions, “Thank you to our Elite members. Gifts are coming soon.”

Nintendo has typically sent out Gold/Platinum rewards at the end of the year. I imagine that will be the case once again this year.

Club Nintendo Japan adds stylus pen set

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

A new reward has landed on the Japanese Club Nintendo site today. For 180 points, users can receive a special stylus pen set for use on the 3DS or Wii U GamePad. Each order comes with two white/black pen variations.

Iwata’s investor approval rating dips to 77.26 percent

Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 2 Comments

Satoru Iwata’s investor approval rating has taken a fairly sizable hit.

Last year, Iwata’s rating stood at 90.60 percent. It has now fallen to 77.26 percent – a little more than a 13 percent dip.

Iwata is the only Nintendo executive with an approval rating less than 90 percent. In the past, it has been as high as 96 percent.

Source, Via

[Feature] Justifying the existence of the Wii U Gamepad, and why the device already speaks for itself

Posted on 11 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in Features, General Gaming, General Nintendo, Wii U | 22 Comments

“I don’t see a device that’s failing to meet its potential– I see a tool whose potential is being mislabeled.”

Author: Austin

Coming out of the vacuum that was the E3 show-floor, the last thing I expected to hear out of the gaming press was that Nintendo needed to “justify the existence of the Gamepad”. But alas, that is indeed what I heard! Writers weren’t terribly coy with their impression that we’ve yet to see a truly exceptional experience on the Wii U that couldn’t even remotely be done anywhere else, and they– by their count– certainly didn’t see anything like that at E3 this year.

Neglecting experiences like ZombiU or Nintendo Land (which is an understandable and deliberate oversight), they might be right: We haven’t yet seen a game that both uses the Gamepad in a truly creative way and manages to pass the level of critical acclaim that many people are looking for. But here’s my question “why is that what the Gamepad needs?”

Microsoft executive thought company owned Donkey Kong following Rare purchase

Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Podcast Stories | 8 Comments

In collaboration with Nintendo, Rare worked on a number of Donkey Kong games, including Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong 64. It’s perhaps due to the studio’s strong involvement with the series that a Microsoft executive thought that the company owned the IP following its acquisition of Rare.

Former Rare staffer and Conker’s Bad Fur Day director Chris Seavor revealed on Twitter:

@IOnEI_Falcon Here's a true story.. When Rare was first bought by MS a group of execs came on a tour.. One of them noticed the Donkey Kong.
— Christopher Seavor (@conkerhimself) June 16, 2013

@IOnEI_Falcon ..Posters everywhere and said.. 'Hey that's great.. We own Donkey Kong right ??' ………/massivesigh
— Christopher Seavor (@conkerhimself) June 16, 2013

Donkey Kong was one of Nintendo’s first franchises, so it’s kind of hard to believe how out of the loop this Microsoft executive was!

Source, Via

Pokémon Company is holding “Pokémon Game Show” expo in Japan

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

Apparently Pokémon is big enough a brand to warrant having its own exposition/convention in Japan this year, as the Pokémon Company has set up a large-scale event called “Pokémon Game Show” to showcase games like Pokémon Tretta, the trading card game, and Pokémon X/Y, the latter of which will be playable for attendees.

The show will take place in Tokyo at ‘Tokyo Big Sight’ on August 17th and 18th this year. More info to come.

Via Siliconera