Assassin’s Creed creator Patrice Desilets left Ubisoft a few years ago. But now that THQ is no more and its assets have been sold off, Desilets has returned to the place where he started.

It has been confirmed today that Desilets is once again working for Ubisoft, as THQ Montreal was taken in by the publisher. In January, when asked about his status, Ubisoft said that it was “too soon to say for certain” if Desilets would be back for another stint with the company.

A spokesperson said in a statement:

“We are very pleased to welcome Patrice to Ubisoft again and anticipate that this renewed partnership will produce new ideas and high-quality titles for Ubisoft’s customers.”

Desilets is hard at work on two projects: 1666 and a mysterious game codenamed Underdog. Neither title has been revealed as of yet.

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Nintendo, Next Level on what separates Luigi from Mario

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

Back in the day (pre-Super Mario Bros. 2), Mario and Luigi were completely identical. They looked the same and played the same.

Now, however, the two brothers have separate identities. Luigi is known these days for being a bit of a wimp, and from a gameplay perspective, can jump higher and can be slightly slippier to control.

Nintendo’s Yoshihito Ikebata and a pair of staffers recently discussed the differences between Mario and Luigi. Read their comments below.

Geisler says he would make another ‘Road Rash’ via Kickstarter, if fans would support it

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

Road Rash is an old game. So old, in fact, that its first iteration released back in 1991, and it had 12 subsequent releases including one on the 3DO, one on the SEGA Master System, and one on the Gameboy Advance. Since the GBA version, however, we haven’t seen a single entry in the series despite its success, which prompted one Reddit user to ask game-creator Dan Geisler whether we’d see the franchise return in the future:

“It hasn’t resurfaced because I was burned out after Road Rash 3. But I’m ready to do another one now. I just needed 20 years off. I’m ready to make a better one now. I miss playing it too. If there is enough interest, I’ll do a Kickstart on it.”

– Programmer and co-designer of Road Rash, Dan Geisler

The systems this would come out for and what gameplay mechanics it might use (technology has improved somewhat since the GBA release) remain a secret, but if you see a kickstarter for Road Rash pop up in the near future, don’t be surprised.

Via Eurogamer

Jury rules against Nintendo in glasses-free 3D patent lawsuit

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

Seijiro Tomita took Nintendo to court over a glasses-free 3D patent last month after filing a lawsuit back in 2011. Today, a New York federal jury ruled against the company, which will be forced to pay $30.2 million in damages.

Tomita was granted a patent in 2008 for technology that allows users to see 3D content without special glasses. While Nintendo did meet with Tomita in 2003, the hardware manufacturer argued that he was one of many providers it met with and, as The Verge notes, “avoided key aspects of his patent.” The jury sided with Tomita in the end, resulting in the guilty verdict for Nintendo.

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ESRB changes marketing requirements, details

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

“This policy addresses cross-marketing of games, not bundling products together. The fundamental goal is to ensure that the cross-promotion of products is appropriately targeted. In doing so we may consider a variety of factors including the nature of the product, audience composition of the media vehicle being used, the intended audience of the game, whether registered users are of a certain age, whether an age-gate is employed, etc.”

– ESRB Statement

– Publishers and developers can now create “General Audience” trailers for M-rated games that won’t require an age gate to watch
– If one of these is made, it must begin with a four-second statement reading “The content of this trailer has been approved for a general audience.” with a green background, similar to what you see in a movie theatre before previews
– M-rated games can now be marketed alongside lower-rated games, if the two games appeal to the same audience (ie. you can put a God of War pamphlet inside of the Uncharted game box)

Via GameInformer

Latest GT.TV to have Miyamoto interview, will talk about Mario’s “lost brother”

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

The Shigeru Miyamoto interviews aren’t done! There’s at least one more coming – specifically on Thursday night’s episode of GameTrailers TV. Among other things, Miyamoto will be talking about Mario’s “lost brother”. Hmm…

You can catch the latest GT.TV at 1:30 AM tomorrow night on SpikeTV.

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Target: Buy 2, get 1 free starting on Sunday

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

Target will be hosting a special sale starting on Sunday. Consumers can take advantage of a “buy 2, get 1 free” offer through March 23. All games across all systems are eligible. Also worth noting, Target will be handing out a $50 gift card with the purchase of a Wii U Deluxe Set purchase.

Pretty good deals ahead! And it’s perfect timing given that LEGO City will be out next Wednesday.

Thanks to Captain N for the tip.

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Miyamoto on video games’ future, Pikmin 3

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

And a bonus! If Miyamoto wasn’t working on video games, he’d probably continue work as an industrial designer.

“Originally, I started off as an industrial designer, and the dream of all industrial designers is to create something that sort of amazes and surprises people. I ultimately chose the path of creating video games, but if I hadn’t been creating video games, I think that and hope that I would be creating things that are similar to that. So, when I look at that as being something that perhaps I might have been able to create, but ultimately wasn’t able to because of the path that I chose, I have a tendency to look at the person that created that thing as a potential rival. So that’s sort of where that thought came from.”

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Retro City Rampage dev says he’s keen to work with Nintendo again, despite issues getting his game released

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

“Nintendo’s been great to work with, everyone there. Dan Adelman’s a champ and works incredibly hard to help Indies and deserves a lot of recognition, and on the European side, Christian, Oliver and Pepe were just as supportive, to name a few. The pleasant experience working with them on a personal level is the primary reason why I’ll continue to make games for Nintendo platforms.”

– Vblank’s Brian Provinciano

Gah, the more I hear about this game’s development process the more I feel like I want to pick it up just to support what this guy’s all about. It doesn’t seem like a bad game either– the problem is that it’s only on WiiWare, so eShop points cards won’t apply to it! If the game comes out on Wii U or 3DS I’d be sure to pick it up– as I think a lot of you new Wii U owners would as well!

Via NintendoLife

2012 UK retail entertainment chart

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

Seven games managed to crack UK’s retail entertainment chart for 2012. Call of Duty: Black Ops II was the best-performing release of the year, topping 2.5 million in the country.

The list in full:

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Activision Blizzard –––– 2,672,364
2. FIFA 13, Electronic Arts –––– 2,601,877
3. The Dark Knight Rises, Warner Home Video –––– 1,694,434
4. The Twilight Saga – Breaking Dawn – Part 1, Entertainment One –––– 1,515,604
5. Our Version of Events (Emeli Sande), Universal Music –––– 1,446,844
6. Now That’s What I Call Music 83 (Various Artists), EMI Music/Universal Music –––– 1,389,006
7. Avengers Assemble, Walt Disney Studios ––– 1,349,937
8. TED, Universal Pictures –––– 1,188,295
9. War Horse, Walt Disney Studios –––– 986,870
10. The Hunger Games, Elevation Sales –––– 946,592
11. Mrs Brown’s Boys – Series One, Universal Pictures ––– 913,145
12. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, 20th Century Fox ––– 888,629
13. Assassin’s Creed III, Ubisoft ––– 886,198
14. Now That’s What I Call Music 82 (Various Artists), EMI Music/Universal Music ––– 866,031
15. Prometheus, 20th Century Fox ––– 853,079
16. Ice Age 4 – Continental Drift, 20th Century Fox ––– 819,009
17. 21 (Adele), XL Beggars ––– 816,317
18. Sherlock Holmes – A Game of Shadows, Warner Home Video ––– 816,126
19. + (Ed Sheeran), Warner Music ––– 811,038
20. Now That’s What I Call Music 81 (Various Artists), EMI Music/Universal Music ––– 756,035
21. Halo 4, Microsoft ––– 753,489
22. Born To Die (Lana del Rey), Universal Music ––– 743,210
23. Brave, Walt Disney Studios ––– 743,021
24. Bridesmaids, Universal Pictures ––– 710,185
25. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Elevation Sales ––– 707,875
26. Johnny English Reborn, Universal Pictures –––– 694,651
27. Mrs Brown’s Boys – Series Two, Universal Pictures –––– 670,956
28. The Amazing Spider-Man, Sony Pictures –––– 656,620
29. The Woman In Black, Momentum Pictures –––– 654,589
30. Take Me Home One Direction, Sony Music ––– 643,433
31. Right Place Right Time, Olly Murs ––– Sony Music 597,370
32. The Adventures of TinTin – The Secrets Of, Paramount –––– 597,282
33. Babel Mumford & Sons, Universal Music –––– 592,173
34. Mrs Brown’s Live Tour – Good Mourning, Universal Pictures ––– 585,925
35. Michael McIntyre Showtime, Universal Pictures –––– 579,011
36. Hitman Absolution, Square Enix –––– 571,248
37. Just Dance 4, Ubisoft –––– 562,453
38. Despicable Me, Universal Pictures –––– 549,111
39. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Paramount –––– 545,502
40. Far Cry 3, Ubisoft -––– 540,237

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