WWE 2K14 coming this fall, Yukes and Visual Concepts working together
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
WWE has offered up some of the first comments about the transfer of its wrestling rights to new owner Take-Two Interactive.
As previously mentioned, 2K will publish all WWE titles going forward after THQ sold its assets last month. A new five-year deal is in place.
Fans can look forward to the next title, known as WWE 2K14 (as opposed to WWE ’14), this fall. Yukes will remain as the primary developer behind the annual wrestling releases, but Visual Concepts will assist the studio from here on out.
According to WWE executive VP of consumer products Casey Collins:
“We looked at a lot of different leaders in the industry and talked to all of the big guys, and for us, we had been with THQ for so many years, it was nice to finally go out and date a few other companies and see what kind of thought process they had about the video game industry going forward. As we look at the next-gen systems coming out, whether that’s this holiday or next holiday, we want to make sure we align our property with who we thought would be a leader going forward on these next-gen systems. With Yukes, we have a lot of history, and we’ve been very happy with what Yukes has done in the past. What we’re going to do moving forward is meld Yukes with the team at Visual Concepts, so we can have the best of both worlds. Having Yukes’ experience and then getting the Visual Concepts guys on board with them, we think this is going to be a dynamic duo.”
The new WWE game-making team will include “some of the key designers behind the WWE gaming franchise” from THQ. Additionally, “the THQ Fight Team is also being brought over, and they’ll report directly to Visual Concepts. Their experience in the marketing, their experience in the development, their experience with our franchise for years. We thought that it was very valuable to keep that continuity.”
Nintendo will be at Gamescom this year
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Podcast Stories | 0 comments
Nintendo decided to leave Gamescom behind in 2012. This year, however, the company will be returning to the expo.
Tim Endres, Gamescom project manager at organiser Koelnmesse, commented on the news:
“Nintendo’s return is an absolute highlight for our community, exhibitors and trade visitors from around the world.”
Game Center CX – Fire Emblem show
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Videos | 0 comments
Activision lays off 30 staffers
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
Activision has confirmed layoffs of about around staffers today. Kotaku has heard rumblings that quite a few Treyarch employees were included with the dismissals, but Activision says that the majority stems from separate divisions such as the section handling licensed titles.
The company said in a statement:
“Like any successful business, Activision Publishing consistently works to align its costs with its revenues—this is an ongoing process. In 2013, we expect to release fewer games based on license properties and as a result are realigning our structure to better reflect the market opportunities and our slate. Approximately, 30 full-time employees have been impacted globally, which represents approximately one half of one percent of Activision Blizzard’s employee population. We are offering those employees who are impacted outplacement counseling services.”
Activision also offered up the following regarding Treyarch:
“Now that we have launched Black Op II, we are taking a minimal reduction in staff to better align our development talent against the needs of DLC development. The release of the DLC will not be impacted by this move.”
Ubisoft hosting mysterious Assassin’s Creed event next Wednesday
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
Ubisoft is sending out mysterious invitations for some sort of Assassin’s Creed event taking place next week. MCV writes on Twitter that the invite lists a February 27 date, which would be next Wednesday.
Might it be time for the reveal of Ubisoft’s next Assassin’s Creed game? During the company’s latest financial call, CEO Yves Guillemot teased that information would be shared “very soon”.
Not much is known about the next Assassin’s Creed. What we do know is that it will feature a new hero and time setting, and is being developed by an “all new team”.
The next Assassin’s Creed will launch before April 2014.
Team behind Days of Dawn now a Wii U developer
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Wii U eShop | 0 comments
German developer Bumblebee launched a Kickstarter for a new turn-based RPG, Days of Dawn, late last month. PC, Mac, and Linux were the game’s only confirmed platforms, but the indie team announced last Friday that it has become a Wii U developer. Bumblebee said that a Wii U version “is now within reach” and it would be “a dream platform for the game.”
Days of Dawn only has until mid-Sunday to reach its $50,000 goal. Currently, the total stands at $27,392. It’ll be tough to raise another $23,000 (give or take) in less than a week, but it’d certainly be nice to see another indie effort on Wii U.
You can find more information about Days of Dawn here.
Rumor: Sony takes a shot at Nintendo with new ad
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Rumors | 0 comments
Sony will be announcing its successor to the PlayStation 3 in just a matter of days. A proper reveal will be taking place this Wednesday.
In order to spread the word, Sony has been publishing various ads across the net – from pre-roll videos on YouTube to traditional block ads on websites.
There have already been a couple of ads spotted that seemingly come off as a bit of an insult to Microsoft and/or Nintendo. Now yet another traditional ad has been discovered that clearly takes a shot at the Big N and the company’s Mario IP. Take a look below:
We can’t verify the ad’s validity since we haven’t come across it ourselves as of yet, but based on a few of previous ones, it looks to be the real deal.
Video: “Luigi Does the Harlem Shake”
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Random, Videos | 0 comments
Nintendo actually posted this video to its YouTube account. The year of Luigi has begun!
A second deleted scene from Wreck-It Ralph
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Videos | 0 comments
UK retailers are asking Nintendo to pull a 3DS, cut the price of Wii U and reboot marketing
Posted on 11 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in General Nintendo, News, Podcast Stories, Wii U | 0 comments
After news of January’s absolutely abysmal sales of Wii U in the states, UK retailers are asking Nintendo to do exactly what they did with 3DS to their home console: Cut the price, get some games, and start fresh.
“Wii U has not caught the public’s imagination yet. We need a killer app to drive sales, and a big marketing push to clearly communicate what Wii U is all about – it will probably be better to focus on the premium edition to do this.” – Tesco games buying manager Jonathan Hayes
“A price drop on the console or extremely competitive bundle options to encourage consumer take-up would be ideal.” Grainger Gamers’ commercial director Simon Peck
“Both the machine and software prices are too high to compete. The price point needs looking at but this alone will not fix the issue.” Founder of Xbite Nick Whitehead
“Lower prices should be led by Nintendo and publishers – not left to retail to discount down to the optimum price point.” Barkman Computers’ Nick Elliot
Ultimately the issue isn’t that the price is too high: It’s that the price is too high for what they’re offering for most people. Try as they may, I don’t think most gamers care about Monster Hunter, New Super Mario Bros., or even Pikmin. Third party support will be key if Nintendo wants to grow beyond just being a Nintendo-games box. Not that I would honestly complain if all the Wii U had was first and second party Nintendo games. That’s what I bought the thing for, after all.
