Nintendo has 812.8 billion yen in the bank
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
You have to reason to be worried about Nintendo. They’ve got lots – and I mean lots – of money stowed away in the bank.
Take a look at this tidbit from the latest issue of Nintendo Gamer:
“Buried in reams of financial data is the revelation that Nintendo have 812.8 billion Yen (£6.7/$10.5 billion) in the bank – enough for it to take a 20 billion Yen loss (£163/$257 million) every year until 2052. Then there’s almost 469 billion Yen (£3.8/$6.0 billion) held in premises, equipment and investments. When that runs out – we’re in the year 2075 by this point – they’ve got some of the most valuable intellectual property in gaming to sell off before the company goes out of business.”
So even though the 3DS went through a rough patch in its first year and Wii sales have been down as of late, Nintendo has plenty of cash to keep them going for decades.
Inafune is confident Wii U is impressive “really interested” in the platform
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments
Even though Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune hasn’t tested out Wii U yet, he does have a few thoughts about the system.
When asked about the upcoming console, he said “whenever Nintendo comes out with something new, it’s always good.” Inafune hinted at being interested in supporting Wii U because he enjoys making something for new hardware.
Inafune said:
“I can’t comment too much about it because I haven’t touched it yet, but whenever Nintendo comes out with something new, it’s always good. So I’m confident it must be impressive. If I get a chance, I always want to try out creating for a new platform. So I’m looking forward to that chance. The same thing could go for the Wii U because it’s part of the challenge in evolution, and it’s a challenge in motion control. It’s in that testing stage, so I’m really interested.”
Be sure to head on over to GameSpot for further talk from Inafune. He discusses the state of Japanese gaming, being open to collaborating with Capcom on Mega Man, and more.
Updates to the Nintendo Channel (3/8/12)
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii | 0 comments
Videos
Nintendo Week 3/8
Nicktoons MLB 3D Trailer
Zuma’s Revenge DSiWare Trailer
Retro City Rampage will cost $15
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii | 0 comments
Retro City Rampage will be one of the pricier games on WiiWare. Vblank’s Brian Provinciano revealed a $15 price point in an interview with PocketNext.
Even though Retro City Rampage will be slightly expensive for a downloadable title, Provinciano believes the game’s large amount of content warrants the price of admission.
Provinciano told PocketNext:
“There are so many devices out there, and you can reach a huge market; it’s unimagineable on other platforms. Unfortunately, with that comes the downside of a race to the bottom: the 0.99-cent app problem. The race to the bottom is a terrible, terrible thing. With Retro City Rampage, I felt very strongly that it was a fifteen-dollar game, and that’s what I’m charging; in fact, it’s bigger than Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, and that launched at $40. And I’ve questioned, do I have to launch it at $15 because of the ‘race to the base?’ And I’ve tossed [and turned] about that, but no. It’s a fifteen-dollar game, at least.”
Retro City Rampage will be available for WiiWare, as well as Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and PC in May.
Kid Icarus: Uprising “Metroid & Komayto” video
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, Videos | 0 comments
Epic: Batman: Arkham City makes “fantastic use of the touch controller”, not a straight port
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments
Epic Games VP Mark Rein has apparently seen both Batman: Arkham City and Aliens: Colonial Marines running on the Wii U.
Sadly we don’t have any concrete details to share about these two titles. But at GDC last week, Epic Games VP Mark Rein did tease how Arkham City makes “fantastic use of the touch controller. Rein also said that the Wii U version will not be a straight port.
Batman: Arkham City will presumably launch alongside the Wii U later this year.
2D Mario for 3DS not being made by EAD Tokyo, and other nuggets from Hayashida
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
Interviews with Koichi Hayashida continue to pour in from GDC. There are a few duplicate questions/answers below, which makes sense given how many interviews were conducted with the Super Mario 3D Land director.
We do get a few interesting pieces of information though, such as a confirmation that the 2D Mario game recently announced by Nintendo president Satoru Iwata is not made by EAD Tokyo. This shouldn’t come as surprise given the fact that the studio has only handled the 3D Mario’s in the past, but it’s nice to know for sure!
Once again, head past the break for the full Q&A breakdown…
Epic likes Wii U, says “E3 will be a big eye-opener”, expects it to succeed, noncommittal about support
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments
Epic Games VP Mark Rein has fired off a slew of comments about Wii U.
Rein first commented on his overall thoughts about the system. He said that he likes Wii U, noting that “E3 will be a big-eye opener for people.” Rein even hinted how it’s possible to accomplish more with the console than what was shown with the “gorgeous” Zelda HD experience.
He said:
“I like the Wii U. I think E3 will be a big eye-opener for people. I played Batman: Arkham City on the Wii U and they are doing some really cool stuff with the controller. Do you remember the Zelda demo they had on it? Would you not buy a Wii U just to play that? Of course you would. That’s what Nintendo is all about. Their hardware is the software delivery service for their great content. That Zelda demo was gorgeous and we can do even more than that with Unreal Engine 3. I think it will do great.”
Next, Rein talked about how Nintendo’s stable of franchises will boost sales. Additionally, Rein expressed confidence that parents are prepared to upgrade their children’s Wii’s. Even though he would’ve liked Wii U to be in store shelves last year, he’s still excited about it.
He said:
“It’s a great brand that a lot of parents really trust and they’re probably ready to buy their kids an HD Wii that does that much more than just being an HD Wii. I’d love it if they’d done it last year, but I’m excited for them to do it this year. I’d be shocked if it doesn’t do well. Did you play that Battle Mii game? Two players would play with a Wii Remote and Nunchuk and one would play with the Wii U controller? I would buy a Wii U to play that game in a heartbeat. And I hope people make those kind of games with our technology. I think we’ve yet to really see what the Wii U can do and I think at E3 this year they’re going to shock us.”
Epic’s confidence in Wii U means we’ll be seeing support from the company, right? Not so fast.
Rein said the following when asked about supporting the system:
“If I had 10 development teams I’d make a game for every single platform and make that the special game for that platform. If you’re the special game on that platform you do really, really well. Gears was one of the special ones on Xbox 360. Infinity Blade is a special game on the iPhone and iPad. Shadow Complex was a special game on Xbox Live Arcade. But we don’t have 10 development teams so it’s just a matter of picking and choosing what we do and doing the best thing we can for the idea that we have.”
