It was confirmed earlier this week that Assassin’s Creed creator Patrice Désilets had departed from the company, but official comments from Désilets imply that he was forcefully removed.

Assassin’s Creed producer and former THQ Montreal colleague Jean-François Boivin is also out from Ubisoft, Désilets confirmed via Twitter:

Thinking of my good friend and producer @jfboivin who also got fired yesterday. I’m sharing your support with him…
— Patrice Desilets (@PatriceDez) May 8, 2013

Boivin’s initial run with Ubisoft began in 2005, and eventually took over as production manager and associate producer on Assassin’s Creed, Assassin’s Creed 2 and Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood. Boivin moved on to THQ Montreal in 2010.

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15 EA games are going to skip Wii U due to its lack of support for Frostbite 3

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

Madden is out the door, FIFA is up in the air, and now we’re hearing that a total of 15 games are set to skip out on Wii U due to the console’s poor testing when put up against EA’s ‘Frostbite 2’ and (consequently) ‘Frostbite 3’ engines. We don’t know for sure which games will be skipping the console, but it’s a safe bet that Battlefield, Mass Effect, and some of the studio’s Star Wars titles won’t be hitting Nintendo’s home console when they come to PS4 and the next generation Xbox.

So when it comes down to it, much like with Wii, Wii U owners may just have to give up on multiplatform support. We’ll certainly have good third party games (it’ll be much cheaper to developer for Wii U than PS4, after all) and great indie titles, but when it comes to these big-budget action games, we seem to be missing out on pretty much everything! Which may not be much of a loss given that most of us bought a Wii U for Nintendo first party titles and other games like that anyway.

Via VideoGamer

Will Wright talks about the three developers he admires most: Miyamoto, Molyneux, and Sid Meier

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

“[Miyamoto] always takes the player first. Right off the bat he works with the controller, what does it feel like, how tactile and kinesthetic is what he’s working on. He works from the inside out: ‘what is the first five second player experience?’ So his games have this craftsmanship behind them that’s amazing and unique.”
“I think Peter Molyneux takes a lot of risks. He’s got this vicarious thing about dealing with little worlds full of little people which very much matches my sensibilities in a way.”

“I’ve always enjoyed [Sid Meier’s] games. His games are just playable, they’re just like a comfortable chair you sit in. I grew up playing board games, and Sid did as well. Sid in some ways is recapitulating our youth, the kind of games we would play back then.”

– Will Wright

Despite some player apprehension regarding the choice of Peter Molyneux, I think Wright has made three very good choices on an idealogical level. These three developers don’t always deliver on their promises and don’t always live up to what Wright has said about them, but when they do they truly make some fantastic games. They’re the type of people that the gaming industry should be all about!

Via Joystiq

Nintendo refunds Club Nintendo Wii U owners for Super Metroid orders

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

Super Metroid was one of the four digital rewards added to Club Nintendo in April. As many of you know, the title will be included in the Wii U Virtual Console Trial campaign next week, meaning it will be available for just 30 cents for a full month.

Those who ordered Super Metroid from Club Nintendo and are now receiving a full refund – yes, the complete 150 coins. You should be getting the full amount back as long as you’re a Wii U owner. Amazingly, these Club Nintendo users can still keep the download code for use on the Wii U or Wii.

A very generous move on Nintendo’s part!

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Unannounced Ubisoft Reflections title to be revealed at E3 2013

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

Watch Dogs is a multi-team project. Along with main developer Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft’s Romania and Reflections studios are also working on the game.

Ubisoft Reflections isn’t just assisting on Watch Dogs. The team also has a brand new title of its own in development, managing director Pauline Jacquey has revealed.

Jacquey said at the UK’s Game Horizon conference earlier today:

“We work on Watch Dogs. We work on [Just Dance 4], and we work on something that I’m not supposed to tell you about. I wish that I could. It’s going to be announced at E3.”

Ubisoft Reflections previously created Driver: San Francisco. The team has collaborated with other Ubisoft studios over the past couple of years.

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CastleStorm footage

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

CastleStorm is coming to at least one Nintendo platform – we just don’t know which.

Disney Interactive takes $54 million loss

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

Disney turned a profit in almost all of its business sectors during the past fiscal quarter. The one unprofitable area? Gaming, of course!

Disney Interactive lost $54 million for the first quarter of 2013 ending March 30. However, it is an improvement over last year’s $70 million loss. Revenues also managed to reach $194 million.

A similar downturn is expected by Disney in the current quarter. With the launch of Disney Infinity in August though, the company could see improved profits later in the year.

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EA says it will bring Star Wars games to all major platforms

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

EA signed an exclusive deal with Disney to develop and publish “new Star Wars titles for a core gaming audience, spanning all interactive platforms and the most popular game genres”.

There’s no doubt that new Star Wars releases from EA will appear on the PlayStation, Xbox, and PC platforms. But what about Wii U? EA hasn’t exactly been supportive of the console as of late.

No announcements were made, but EA said during an investor conference call today that it plans to bring Star Wars titles to all major platforms. Hopefully EA considers Wii U to be a “major platform”…

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Patrice Désilets gone from Ubisoft once more

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

Update: Désilets released official comments stating that he was “terminated” and was then “unceremoniously escorted out of the building”.

Contrary to any statements made earlier today, this morning I was terminated by Ubisoft. I was notified of this termination in person, handed a termination notice and was unceremoniously escorted out of the building by two guards without being able to say goodbye to my team or collect my personal belongings.
This was not my decision.
Ubisoft’s actions are baseless and without merit. I intend to fight Ubisoft vigorously for my rights, for my team and for my game.

Assassin’s Creed creator Patrice Désilets left Ubisoft and joined THQ Montreal in 2011. In an odd twist of fate, Désilets had the opportunity to return to Ubisoft after his team was acquired by the company.

Not so fast, though: Désilets won’t be back at Ubisoft after all. A representative told Kotaku that “since the acquisition, the good faith discussions between Patrice and Ubisoft aimed at aligning Patrice’s and the studio’s visions have been inconclusive.” Désilets has therefore decided to depart once again.

Ubisoft’s full statement reads:

“The acquisition of THQ Montréal in January allowed Ubisoft to welcome 170 experienced developers, including Patrice Désilets, to our existing and renowned workforce. Unfortunately, since the acquisition, the good faith discussions between Patrice and Ubisoft aimed at aligning Patrice’s and the studio’s visions have been inconclusive. As a result, Patrice has left the studio. Our priorities remain with the teams already hard at work on projects in development. They are at the root of Ubisoft Montréal’s past and future successes.”

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