X-Com creator making 3DS game, will be a launch title
Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 3 Comments
Seemingly out of nowhere, X-Com creator Julian Gollop revealed today that he is working on a title for Nintendo’s upcoming handheld. The project is most likely far into development, as its release will coincide with the 3DS’ launch. Gollop wouldn’t share much information about the project, though he did mention that it will be a turn-based tactical RPG. You can read his full comments below.
“Publishers run a mile from anything with turn-based mechanics – it is regarded as too niche. RTS games pretty much killed off turn-based strategy games in the mid-90s – but now even RTS games are regarded as niche. So all my experience working turn-based games from 1983-1997 is now somewhat obsolete, despite the success of X-Com. However, I am now working on a turn-based tactical RPG which will be a 3DS launch title. Thanks to ‘Advance Wars’, ‘Fire Emblem’ and ‘Final Fantasy Tactics’ it seems turn-based games are not totally dead – at least for Nintendo handhelds. I would also argue that Pokemon has a lot of parallels with X-Com in its game system, despite being classified as an ‘RPG’. The core of Pokemon is a turn-based tactical battle enriched by a sophisticated higher level meta-game that allows players to experiment with many game elements and combinations of forces – and Pokemon is the second most successful game franchise in the world. If done right, would an X-Com game with a turn-based combat system be successful? Absolutely!”
Natsume talks working with the Virtual Console (no Harvest Moon 64), 3DS thoughts
Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii | 3 Comments
First, Natsume’s Vice President of Operations Graham Markay was asked if Harvest Moon 64 will be released on the Virtual Console…
“It (Harvest Moon 64) will not [be released on the Virtual Console]. It will not. And it’s not from lack of trying. Unfortunately, the code of the game is not… it’s not an easy transfer. It would be really time-consuming and long, and we’ve looked into it, and we’ve tried to see if there’s any way around certain things, but the conversion to virtual console, it’s just… I shouldn’t say it’s never going to come out, but there’s just a really, really, very small chance that it would ever come out. Which is unfortunate because we know that for a lot of dedicated, die-hard fans, that’s their favorite.”
Markay also shared his thoughts on the 3DS…
“It looks exciting. I mean, from everybody’s aspect whether it’s television manufacturers, Sony, Nintendo, it seems like 3D is the next thing. Speaking for myself and the company, yeah, it’s exciting. Speaking for myself personally, I wear glasses. So putting glasses on top of glasses is always a bit… when I take my kids to see a 3D movie, they enjoy it a little bit more than me because I always tend to not see it as well as they do because of the glasses. But it’s exciting; we are a supporter of the 3DS.”
I really had no idea that it could be so technology difficult to bring titles like Harvest Moon 64 to the Virtual Console. I wonder if similar issues are holding up other releases that could land on the service.
Thanks to Robert for the tip!
Natsume to be a “definite supporter of the 3DS”
Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 2 Comments
This information comes from Natsume’s VP of Operations, Graham Markay…
“I think Hiro’s [Natsume CEO] pretty excited about it. From a company standpoint, the 3DS looks innovative, it’s moving forward. Anything that’s shown and then it causes you to start thinking in your head how you can utilize it, or what you can make for it, I definitely think is something that excites us. So, uhh…we are actually looking into the 3DS, and who knows, maybe some announcements in the future… [Laughs] …Okay, that one’s an announcement (Harvest Moon)! So that one should probably come in the future. [Laughs] Moving forward, I can pretty much say that Natsume will be a definite supporter of the 3DS.”
At this point, it looks like Harvest Moon 3D won’t be a launch title for the 3DS, but you can expect it sometime after launch. Besides that title though, I’m sure we can expect a ton of other Natsume releases for the system – they’ve really supported the DS and it sounds like the company is fully on board with the Nintendo’s next handheld.
Miyamoto on Skyward Sword, the 3DS, importance of social networking/user-generated content, much more
Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, DS, General Nintendo, News, Videos, Wii | 4 Comments
Warren Spector really wants the 3DS, talks Duck Tales interest
Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News | 2 Comments
First, here’s what Spector had to say about the 3DS…
“You know, if I talk about that, someone’s going to kill me, so we should move on (Laughter). I will say that we were backstage, and we were just so privileged to be part of the Nintendo press conference. That was absolutely one of the most fun things and coolest things I’ve ever done in my life. But anyway, we were backstage afterwards listening to the 3DS discussion and it’s like, we were just like getting more excited, cheering back there. Who knew it has a 3D camera? And you can watch 3D movies without glasses? I really expected him to say, ‘…and it tucks you into bed at night.’ It’s like, ‘holy cow, sign me up, I want the first one off the assembly line.’ It’s amazing, and I’m not getting paid to say that. As a gamer, I just want it bad.”
Spector was also asked if there are Disney characters besides Mickey he’d like to bring to the games medium…
“Oh, heck yeah. (Laughter)… Oh yeah… Don’t draw any conclusions. A day does not go by where I don’t tell somebody at Disney: ‘Gimme the ducks. Gimme the ducks! Uncle Scrooge, come on! Donald! Huey, Dewey, and Louie! Come on, let me do a duck game!’ So yeah, I would love to do a duck game. Uncle Scrooge is the coolest character, you know? He was Indiana Jones before Steven Spielberg was a gleam in his mother’s eye, you know? I mean, come on. He’s a great character.”
I feel like it’s only a matter of time before Warren Spector makes a 3DS title. He comes off sounding extremely excited each time he talks about the system. Who knows… Maybe he’ll bring Duck Tales to the handheld.
Sakurai impressed with Resident Evil: Revelations, thinks he can learn from it
Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 0 comments
This information comes from the Australian/New Zealand edition of the Official Nintendo Magazine…
“I’ve been most impressed with the Nintendo 3DS. The Resident Evil demo was very impressive. The real time graphics in that are very impressive and I’ve already seen things that I can learn from that.” – Masahiro Sakurai
At E3, it didn’t seem like Revelations was blowing players away. But for some reason, people have really sounded like they’ve enjoyed it since then. I’m certainly looking forward to it, and I was surprised to learn that the official trailer Capcom released was running in real time.
Sakurai: There will be a lot of different weapons in Kid Icarus: Uprising
Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 0 comments
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“One thing I can talk about is that Pit uses a lot of weapons and this is a very important aspect of the game. There’s a wide variety of very different types of weapons. Each one is very unique and presents a wide range of gameplay possibilities and a multitude of ways to approach different enemies with different weapons. All of this weapon variation makes you feel like you’re playing the game with a brand new character because the feel is so varied when you use different weapons.” – Masahiro Sakurai
In the first Kid Icarus game, there were a few different weapons, but as a general rule the game stayed pretty similar throughout. Uprising is looking like it’s going to have a lot of different gameplay types, and if you match that with a lot of different weapons, it’s sure to be a very diverse experience!
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Via Dtoid
Sakurai: It’ll be hard to go back to 2D
Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News | 3 Comments
This information comes from Masahiro Sakurai…
“Yes this is indeed my first 3D game but I have a feeling that it’s going to be hard to go back [to 2D]. For example when you watch Avatar in 3D you take notice of the 3D element initially but then as the movie goes on you forget about the 3D novelty as your eyes get used to it and simply enjoy it for what it is. That’s the nature of the way we get used to things as they become familiar. The problem is that when you go back to 2D after 3D it feels flat. So in terms of game development I would think that going back to 2D after working on a 3D project may be very difficult for me.”
In a few years, it wouldn’t surprise me if 3D is dominating the industry. I expect that all of Nintendo’s future handhelds will have 3D support, and eventually, so will the company’s home consoles. Because of that, I don’t think developers will have to worry about returning to 2D.
Sakurai trying to prevent eye strain in Kid Icarus, sees 3D Wii as a possibility
Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, DS, News, Wii | 0 comments
Sakurai on his involvement with the 3DS…
“The first discussions were with Mr Iwata (the head of Nintendo) in July 2008. And I was asked to create a game specifically for the platform. But at the time I didn’t have any staff so started hiring and created Project Sora and was able to start development in May 2009.”
Sakurai on whether he influenced the development of the 3DS…
“I made a lot of suggestions from very early stages on until now. Early on, Nintendo were soliciting lots of feedback from within the company and from me. And I had very specific requests from Mr Iwata in regard to what my ideal picture of the device was, etc.”
Rumor: Nintendo to hold “fall conference” in North America this year, 3DS has more surprises
Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News | 6 Comments
This information comes from someone who attended a Dragon Quest IX Tag Mode event on Saturday…
“I was at the Dragon Quest IX GameStop Tag Mode event today and the local Nintendo rep showed up to give out some goodies and help assist players in downloading their event map. I got to talking with the guy and I was able to grill him on a lot of things. The most interesting bit of info he shared with me was that Nintendo already has their Fall Conference lined up. The date and location are already set, they have just yet to formally make an announcement. He also teased me by saying there is still a lot of things the general public doesnt know about the 3DS. So more surprises coming soon in that regard.”
Nintendo held a “fall conference” last year, but it was the first time in awhile that there were no events overseas. However, with the 3DS on the horizon, it seems very likely that the Big N will set something up in North America and Europe this year. There’s a good chance that we’ll hear something within the next few weeks, or early next month.
