Microsoft “completely discounted Nintendo” when releasing the Xbox 360 due to GameCube’s performance
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, News, Wii | 103 Comments
The latest episode of IGN’s Podcast Unlocked features an interview with former Microsoft executive Peter Moore and Xbox boss Phil Spencer. At one point of the podcast, they reflected on the launch of the Xbox 360. Moore noted that Microsoft “completely discounted Nintendo” when bringing out the console due to the performance of the GameCube.
Here’s a roundup of everything that was mentioned:
“I also then remember the E3 when, God bless, Kaz Hirai and Jack Tretton announced $599, and we were all back stage like ‘Woohoo!’ We knew then we had an opportunity to get ahead, drive ahead, get our games out quickly and get that lead. And I always said that the first to 10 million wins.” – Moore
“It was one of the greatest times of my career. You had to build a team, because we were growing then. We had prematurely put the Xbox to sleep, we needed to get ready for this and we knew what we needed to do. We had a three-day meeting at the Sheraton in Bellevue where we wargamed the scenario, and I actually played Ken Kutaragi. And we brought in a consultancy, it was a lot of fun. And the one thing we’d forgotten about, I don’t know if you remember this Phil [Spencer], we completely discounted Nintendo. Because they came off the GameCube and it was a disaster.” – Moore
“…and they destroyed both of us!” – Spencer
“Yes, with the Wii. But we wargamed for three days, what are you going to do, what do the launch titles look like, what are the marketing budgets, what is the positioning? And it was a fascinating experience which I’ll never forget. And this is a decade ago. And I actually played Ken, and my job was to destroy the launch of the Xbox 360.” – Moore
Of course, you can’t really bank on anything these days! Although the GameCube was far from Nintendo’s most-successful console, we all know what happened with Wii.
More: interview, Microsoft, Peter Moore, Phil Spencer
Fat City footage
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Videos, Wii U eShop | 2 Comments
Fat City launched on the North American Wii U eShop a couple of weeks ago, but we haven’t seen much footage of it since then. That changes with the video below!
More: Fat City, Heavy Iron Studios
Splatoon becomes the highest-selling game on the Japanese Wii U eShop
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 3 Comments
Dragon Quest X has long been the most popular game on the Japanese Wii U eShop. However, that honor has since gone to Splatoon, which is now the top-selling title on the store. We don’t have concrete numbers for digital sales, but it’s estimated that they’re higher than 57,000 units.
More: Splatoon
Yet another couple of videos for The Great Ace Attorney
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, Videos | 0 comments
Capcom hasn’t slowed down its promotion of The Great Ace Attorney. You’ll find another couple of videos for the game below.
More: Capcom, Japan, The Great Ace Attorney
Reggie on Nintendo sharing its IPs, online vs. local multiplayer, new IPs, more
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 11 Comments
The latest interview with Reggie Fils-Aime has been published by The Washington Post. Nintendo of America’s president commented on the company’s approach to having its IPs shared with others, deciding on giving games local multiplayer as compared to online, new IPs, and more.
You can read up on what Reggie had to say after the break. There are also some additional comments about amiibo on The Washington Post here, though it’s mostly rehash of what he’s stated previously.
More: interview, Reggie Fils-Aime, top
Anima: Gate of Memories no longer planned for Wii U
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 18 Comments
Anima: Gate of Memories has long been thought to be coming to Wii U. That’s in part because its creator has relayed interest in making the title for Nintendo’s console since the project’s early Kickstarter days. Sadly, we have now received information indicating that a Wii U release will not be happening.
You may recall that there were rumors about a Wii U version no longer being in the table earlier this year. However, at the time, creator Carlos García told us that the situation has remained the same, and it would still be brought to the system.
The developer of Anima: Gate of Memories partnered with BadLand Indie a few months ago. García intended to bring Anima to Wii U for a number of years, but it seems as though the situation changed once the partnership with BadLand was formed, as this version was removed from projections.
BadLand Indie told us earlier this week:
With a game that has a long history like Anima: Gate of Memories there are bound to be changes during development which conflict with previously released information. What I can say with certainty is that in the upcoming launch of the game this fall no Wii U release is planned.
So that’s that I suppose! Unless something changes in the future, Wii U will not be getting Anima: Gate of Memories. It’s unfortunate, but there’s not much that can be done about the situation.
More: Anima: Gate of Memories, BadLand Indie, indie, top
Splatoon – European Splatfest footage, a note about matchmaking
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Videos, Wii U | 3 Comments
We posted a few videos from Splatoon’s North American Splatfest earlier today. You can now view a couple of videos for the European version below.
As a side note, I wanted to pass along a tiny bit of news about today’s Splatfest. In North America, you have have noticed a few rounds in which you were playing against your own team. Nintendo tweeted about the situation and explained that this was done to ensure that matchmaking was conducted in a timely fashion.
In order to keep matchmaking timely, you may be in a match against four players on your chosen team. #Splatfest
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) July 4, 2015
Thanks to Scott for the tip.
More: Splatoon
Zero Escape 3 main visual, details
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, Images | 11 Comments
A first piece of art from Zero Escape 3 was shown during an Aksys Games panel at the Anime Expo today. You can see it above.
Zero Escape 3, which was finally announced last night, is said to be going back to the vibe of 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors.
Other details shared during today’s panel include:
– 4infinity meant mars infinity
– Will take place in place where people train to go to mars
– Development just started
– The picture above is the main visual for Zero Escape 3; it’s the promo art
– Fan enthusiasm encouraged reevaluation of Zero Escape 3 and allowed it to enter production
– Uchikoshi in previous games wanted people to question common sense; in this one, he wants you to reevaluate your values
– Uchikoshi leaves the puzzle creation to his staff
– Kazutaka Kodaka (Danganronpa director) knows the ending of Zero Escape 3 and says it is out of this world
– Kodaka helped out with Punchline; exchanges ideas with Uchikoshi frequently
–
More: Aksys Games, Spike Chunsoft, Zero Escape 3
Update: Kickstarters open – Comcept, Studio 4°C tease “Red Ash”
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 23 Comments
Update (7/4): Bumped to the top. Red Ash is pretty much what we all thought it’d be – a Mega Man Legends spiritual successor.
There are two Kickstarters going currently – one for the game and one for the anime. The game is the main one we care about, but platforms are unconfirmed aside from PC. So our coverage of Red Ash will be ending unless we hear about any versions for Nintendo platforms.
Comcept and Japanese animation company Studio 4°C are teasing a new project titled “Red Ash”. A debut teaser for the title was uploaded today, and we have it below.
A post on the Mighty No. 9 Kickstarter page reads:
Now what in the world could this be…?
Well…whatever it is, we decided to give our backers a special first look at it!
If you want to know more, you are all just going to have to wait until Independence Day to find out!
We can’t say anything more until then, but we think you get the idea.
Please share this video with all your friends, and help spread the word!
We’ll be hearing more about Red Ash at the Anime Expo this weekend. Keiji Inafune is holding a panel at the event, and he’ll be making a special announcement that “may interest Mega Man fans.” It’s being speculated that Red Ash is a spiritual successor of sorts to the Mega Man Legends series.
Update: Live in Europe – Splatoon – first Splatfest live in North America
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 9 Comments
Update: Bumped to the top. The Splatfest is now live in Europe.
It’s 12 AM PT / 3 AM ET, so the first Splatfest in Splatoon should now be live in North America. This first event pits cats against dogs. You’ll have until 12 AM PT / 3 AM PT on Sunday to participate.
In Europe, the first Splatfest will begin later today – 6 PM BST / 7 PM CEST. That event has pop music going up against rock music. As is the case in North America, Europe’s first Splatfest also lasts for the full day.
