If you’re a game developer who is solely (or majority) owned by folks who are not Japanese, Nintendo says you’re going to have to partner up with a Japanese company if you want to release your game in that region on one of their consoles. It’s an interesting rule to have in place, and one that doesn’t affect too many publishers– but indie developers get hit pretty hard when trying to bring their games overseas.

Various developers have chimed in on the subject below:

“Unless you own a Japanese company, you are required to partner with a Japanese company. This results in shared royalties, which is not ideal. Not all developers are willing to go through the hassle of releasing their games in Japan, which reduces the number of games available in that market.”

– Renegade Kid’s Jools Watsham

“Our opinion on the rule you talk about is honestly moot. We have no desire to tell others how to do their business, and if they require 51% of publisher’s stocks to be Japanese owned, we’ll work around that if we want to release in Japan; and will find a publisher who meets that criteria.

“Do we wish we could self-publish in Japan? Certainly. But we trust that they have their reasons for the above rule, and we will do our best to get our games to eager Japanese fans, whatever it takes.”

– Gaijin Games

“I think Toki Tori 2 is interesting for the Japanese market, but as I said before we have to find a good publisher first.”

– Two Tribe’s Shan Poon

Via NWR

Guillemot: Watch Dogs team grew substantially after revelatory E3 reveal

Posted on 12 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in News, Wii U | 0 comments

Watch Dogs is shaping up to be one of the most highly anticipated titles of the year, in part due to the fact that after its E3 reveal– and the positive reaction from press and gamers– Ubisoft significantly ramped up the development of the game, adding people to the teams until they had enough minds working on the project to realize the vision while simultaneously launching it across platforms and across generations.

“E3 was a great revelation for Watch Dogs. It gave us a chance to increase the whole project, giving the studio the chance to have bigger teams to help them achieve this goal they have.

“You always have great ideas, but you need enough people to bring it to life. After E3, we really made sure they had all the teams they needed and all the capacity they wanted to fullfil their dream. It’s an open world that is well-adapted to what people want to play today. So there’s good potential for success.”

– Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot

I think that the game is bound to be successful given where and when it’s launching, but which platforms it will be successful on remains to be seen. I would guess a strong PS3/360 showing, and a fairly weak (due to install base) showing on Wii U and PS4/720. As a small sidenote, Guillemot once again iterated that Ubisoft does like the Wii U, but they need it to sell more before they can go all in with it.

Via MCVUK

Shin Megami Tensei IV video shows off equipment gameplay

Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, Videos | 0 comments

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked dated for Europe

Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 0 comments

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked will finally launch in Europe on April 5, publisher Ghostlist has announced. The company just confirmed yesterday that Overclocked is now in production.

Those who pre-order the 3DS title from the Ghostlist Store will receive a double-sided poster. Overclocked’s boxart is on one side, while the other side features “an amazing panoramic view of Tokyo handpicked from the wealth of incredible artwork created by the Atlus team.”

Source: Ghostlight PR

Rock Band Music Store update (3/5/13)

Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii | 0 comments

The following Rock Band Music Store songs will be made available on March 5:

All-American Rejects – “Kids in the Street” – keyboard support
Blink-182 – “Always” – keyboard support
Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Give It Away” – keyboard support, Pro Guitar and Pro Bass expansions for $0.99

Each song can be purchased for 200 Wii Points.

Source: Harmonix PR

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity demo available next week

Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 0 comments

Nintendo is launching a demo for Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity in just a few days. Starting on March 7, 3DS owners in North America will have an opportunity to try out the game prior to the game’s release. Nintendo plans to publish Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity on March 24.

Source

Injustice: Gods Among Us – Battle Arena week 4 winners

Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Videos, Wii U | 0 comments

First up is Superman vs. Sinestro…

And next, Green Arrow vs. Hawkgirl:

Sakurai says fans shouldn’t worry about his injury and Smash Bros. development

Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News, Podcast Stories, Wii U | 1 Comment

Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai is dealing with a lot of pain at the moment. In this week’s Famitsu, he revealed outright that he is suffering from calcific tendonitis and several ruptures in the muscles. The pain itself is bad enough, but it’s also affecting his work on the next Smash Bros. games.

Sakurai does have a Twitter account and fans from all over the world have been writing in and wishing him well. He’s been keeping tabs on the various messages, but told everyone that they shouldn’t worry about his injury or the development of Smash Bros.

Thanks a lot of encouragement messages.Please don’t worry about my injury & SMASH BROS development.
— ?? ?? (@Sora_Sakurai) March 1, 2013

Source

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate 3DS online multiplayer workaround confirmed for European launch

Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Podcast Stories, Wii U | 0 comments

Capcom just released an app in Japan that makes it possible to play the 3DS version of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate online. Users download a tool onto a Wii U console, which is connected online through a Wii LAN Adapter or Wii U LAN adapter, and join up with others. Basically, the Wii U acts as a middleman – except it’s a machine.

Thankfully, Nintendo has confirmed that the tool will be made available in Europe. Gamers will be able to add an app to the Wii U known as the “Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate Packet Relay Tools for Nintendo 3DS” at launch. It will be free to all system owners.

A statement from Nintendo reads:

Jett Rocket II site open, first screenshots

Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS eShop, Podcast Stories, Screenshots | 0 comments

Shin’en has opened an official website for Jett Rocket II. Access it here. The site contains the game’s first screenshots, which we’ve posted in the gallery above.