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

Video: Reggie on Wii U third-party support, would like to be Link the most, Smash Bros. appearance

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

Man… Reggie sure has been saying “my body is ready” a lot. It feels like E3 2007 all over again!

Iwata on inaccurate reports by the media

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

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata responded to misreports by the media during the company’s investor’s meeting this week.

As of late, some publications have been misconstruing Iwata’s comments. Some outlets, for instance, had reported that Nintendo wouldn’t be attending E3 2013 when that certainly wasn’t the case. Those articles surfaced following the news that Nintendo decided against holding a press conference this year.

Regarding the media, Iwata said the following (summarized):

“Some media reports have, without asking or referring to official announcements, without confirming and reporting as if announced — that is, taking some of my words out of context and rewriting them to amplify animosity and reporting as if I had said it. So when considering media influence and the content of reports and whether they’d be misread, it may be refuted. So when ignoring such a report would be a big minus, I may actively respond. I cannot control information flow on the Internet. Because there may always be some very unfortunate or regrettable information transmitted, refuting would only help to spread it. I take great care in deciding how to respond so as not to upset stock holders. Nintendo Direct is most-watched not on PC, but eShop. In that way there can be a direct channel to customers. By distributing info reliably, even if there are bad reports, not as big a problem.”

Source

Iwata on Nintendo’s approach to networking, Smash Bros. will be online

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

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata tackled a question during the company’s investor’s meeting earlier this week about its approach to networking. He gives some interesting insight, and confirms what most had expected: the next Smash Bros. will offer online play.

A summary of Iwata’s response can be found below.

“Many ways to use networking, including online play, which requires being on at the same time. Miiverse shares exp. With further development, you’ll be able to send your play data to Miiverse for others to download and play against at a different time. This sort of feature will vary depending on network usage. NSMBU dev. efforts spent on tuning local multiplayer, Miiverse for strategy. Mario Kart and Smash Bros. will have online play to meet customers’ demands. Miiverse to enjoy games together at different times to feel moved by others’ play experiences, and to move others with your own experiences. Networking to be used to best match the game.

Source

Tokyo Game Show 2013 to be attended by 181 companies

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

181 companies have confirmed their appearance for this year’s Tokyo Game Show. Some of the top Japanese publishers including Capcom, SEGA, Level-5, and Konami will be present.

For the full lineup, check out the listing below.

Up-to-date listing of Nintendo subsidiaries

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

Nintendo released a document for its 73rd Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, which features an up-to-date listing of subsidiaries. You’ve got the usual suspects like Nintendo of America, Retro, and NST. The list also includes 1-UP (formerly Brownie Brown), NERD (otherwise known as Nintendo European Research and Development SAS ), and more.

Head past the break for the full rundown.