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

Assassin’s Creed has started to become a yearly franchise for Ubisoft. Since 2009, the publisher has produced one major entry per year.

That fact brings about an intersting question: could Assassin’s Creed eventually experience franchise fatigue? Will fans soon grow tired of the series?

Ubisoft Montreal boss Yannis Mallat weighed in:

“No. The players will tell us. Right now there are more and more coming into the franchise, so I don’t see that day. It’s our breakthrough. When you have quality content, the frequency of coming out with the game is not an issue at all. On the contrary, people expect more and more of that content. So it’s natural to be able to provide that content. The gamers are happy and it’s our job to make them happy.”

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

Posted on 11 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in General Gaming, General Nintendo, News, Podcast Stories | 0 comments

His words, not mine:

Well, that’s certainly a Suda-like thing to say! But of course he was joking, and I’ll admit I’m not sure I follow his reasoning for using assassins over other types of characters fully, since it sounds like a non-assassin would be equally as effective in expressing the fine line between life and death… his games are great though, so I’m just going to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume I’m missing something!

Via Siliconera

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

One Best Buy employee went out of his way to save R.O.B. the robot, Nintendo’s classic NES accessory, and put his job on the line in the process.

A customer intended to recycle of R.O.B. as well as a NES Deluxe Set through Best Buy’s “Renew Blue” program. Understanding the nostalgic and historic value of the item, the staffer had hopes of saving it. The problem came about when his manager warned him that he’d be fired if he took R.O.B. home.

Thankfully, R.O.B. is safe and is being moved to Best Buy’s headquarters rather than the scrapheap.

Best Buy spokesman Jon Sandler said:

“We are in the process of retrieving the robot and gaming system from the store so that we may put it on display here at our corporate headquarters in Richfield. A bit of nostalgia that our employees and visitors alike, are sure to enjoy!”

Best Buy senior specialist Jeremy Baier added:

“We recycle virtually any consumer electronic device out there, but as you can imagine an item like this is fairly unusual and we can see why it captivated our employee’s imagination.”

We don’t actually have a full resolution about this story. The employee’s fate is unclear, though he did not steal R.O.B. or the Wii U system. According to Business Insider, which reported on the situation, “Best Buy explained that it doesn’t publicly comment on its workers for privacy reasons, but did say that the sequence of events is currently being reviewed to ensure that the company’s policies were followed.”

Thanks to Captain N for the tip.

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

Source 1, Source 2

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

The “N” series isn’t done just yet! Five years following N+, developer Metanet Software has announced a third installment, which will conclude the franchise.

Co-founder Mare Sheppard said during the reveal of N++ at GDC earlier today:

“We’re making N++. The final iteration of N. We’ve never really felt like N was done. We felt some ideas could be taken further. Part of us didn’t feel like we could move on to other games until we finished N. Anytime we ever felt like returning to N, we felt like it’d be a step backward. So to move forward, we gave up on N.”

Things haven’t been so easy for Sheppard and co-founder Raigan Burns over the past few years. Although the company did produce new games, “they never felt as good as N. We felt crushed and lost confidence. We started to feel like N was the only thing we could ever do.”

After reflecting on Metanet’s recent past, Sheppard noted how N++ came about after fan interest and realizing that the series required a conclusion.

“Is this a step back? At this point in our lives, this feels like the right thing to do […] It doesn’t matter if the game is popular or critically acclaimed. We know we’ll have tried our best to make it great, and close that chapter, and have the feeling of being done and feeling free. Making games couldn’t be so rewarding if it wasn’t so difficult. It would help all of us better if we could talk about the psychological pitfalls of making games as much as the technical ones.”

Unfortunately, specific details about N++ were not provided including intended platforms. More information is coming soon.

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

I typically wouldn’t be posting this since Grasshopper Manufacturer’s past few games haven’t been on Nintendo systems, but there’s speculation that the first piece of art in the gallery above is referencing Shinobu from No More Heroes. And if there is somehow a new No More Heroes game, we all know that Suda51 promised it for the Wii U years ago. Again, all speculation at this point.

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

Destructoid personally confirmed with Vigil co-founder Ryan Stefanelli that Crytek USA will bid on the Darksiders IP.

Stefanelli said:

“When the Darksiders IP goes up for auction, Crytek will be bidding for it. Not much more to say since the rest is left up to courts and legal shenanigans, but we’re all excited at the prospect.”

Yesterday, Crytek USA CEO David Adams posted a tweet containing the news. It was initially unclear, however, if Adams’ Twitter account was legitimate.

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

During a GDC panel yesterday, the developers behind Asssassin’s Creed III discussed how four different studios came together to make last year’s action-adventure game. Ubisoft Quebec game director Marc-Alexis Cote, Ubisoft creative director Alex Hutchinson, Ubisoft game director Damien Kieken, Ubisoft Montreal senior producer Francois Pelland, and Ubisoft Singapore senior producer Hugues Ricour participated in the discussion.

Ubisoft Montreal was mainly in charge of Assassin’s Creed III’s core design and main missions. Singapore handled naval battles while Annecy tackled multiplayer. Finally, Quebec “tried to create the sense of the American Dream”, according to Hutchinson.

Having numerous studios work on a project has numerous advantages. Adopting this process does, for instance, let developers polish certain aspects to their fullest potential. It also allows for issues to be solved, sometimes overnight.

“When you are a co-dev partner, you will focus on a limited amount of features. Those features, you will be able to polish them. It’s not easy. It’s not rainbow land. It’s something that you need to work hard at to make it work. But if you do that, I really think it holds the keys to next generation development.”

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

A few hours ago, Nintendo held a session at GDC to show off its new Nintendo Web Framework for the first time. Polygon was at the event and has a write-up of the proceedings. We’ve posted a summary of the report below.

– Nintendo first showed Wii Street U
– This is one of the first apps built from the Nintendo Web Framework
– Nintendo Web Framework uses WebKit as a core
– Compatible with existing apps
– Framework can help make apps that run on the GamePad, TV, or both
– Can also be used to port games made using web technology much faster than it would take to port over a game by actually coding it for the Wii U specifically
– Gunman Clive isn’t a Nintendo Web Framework game, but it’s an example of how a game available on other platforms can benefit from being on a Nintendo system and having access to more precise control methods
– Nintendo senior software engineer Ryan Lynd took over the presentation to show off some of the specific steps in the Nintendo Web Framework process
– Simple video-on-demand app was first demonstrated
– This shows the software’s ability to make changes, refresh, and see them reflected on the GamePad or TV screen instantly — the same way a web developer would work on a web app
– Sketch Ball: simple platformer made entirely in Javascript and ported to Wii U with the Nintendo Web Framework
– Lynd showed off the ability to quickly create new stages using HTML backgrounds as well as the option to use the GamePad’s camera and accelerometer
– Sketch Battle will be included in the Nintendo Web Framework SDK as a demo for developers to mess around with and learn from
– Nintendo Web Framework’s codename was Bamboo
– Name was chosen since the plant grows quickly over a short span of time
– In an effort to live up to that name, Nintendo is pursuing some aggressive developer-friendly policies with Nintendo Web Framework
– Devs can obtain the Framework SDK for free after signing an agreement
– Only necessary to purchase a dev kit
– Nintendo will not require concept approval so that developers can choose their own price and release date for apps
– Will also allow for use of freemium models in apps developed in the Nintendo Web Framework
– Nintendo also has plans for Unity game engine support on the Wii U
– More Unity Wii U details this week

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