“Before there was even an official naming of the 3DS, or before it was even decided that there would be 3-D capabilities, Mr. Iwata had brought up the topic of a new portable gaming system and with that, the request to create a new title for that system…. The topic of Kid Icarus came up. There wasn’t necessarily any direction decided for that — that it would be an RPG, or an action game, or a shooting game. But first of all, the topic did come up that Kid Icarus would be revived, and that Kid Icarus would be well-matched with a game idea that was particular to my style. With that, we moved forward.”

Sakurai on a remark that it’s been awhile since we’ve seen Kid Icarus and that there are no real expectations about what this new game will play like…

“That’s not necessarily the case. Having said that, there are things that you want to maintain from the original, but also a lot of things that I want to change. With that freedom, I did want to change the genre of the game. In thinking about the game, what is the core of the game, I feel that Kid Icarus is slightly comical.

At the time, games like Zelda or Metroid coming out on the Disk System were trending towards very serious adventure types of game. Kid Icarus doesn’t take the player entirely seriously. So I wanted to take advantage of that element and make a story and a flow of gameplay based around a character who is very serious about moving forward in the game but is also very carefree.”

New 3DS game announced

Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 3 Comments

– Vektor Tank 3D+
– Redesigned for 3DS
– War action game
– “Enjoyable without the need for graphic violence”
– War takes place in a virtual environment rather than on the battlefield in the future
– Humans aren’t hurt, buildings not really destroyed
– Vektor Tank is your weapon
– 3DS acts as a virtual camcorder
– Movements are detected, mapped onto the camera in the game with cameras and motion sensors
– Aim for enemies and targets
– Retro-inspired retro look
– Q2 2011 release

Also, PR below:

Vienna, Austria – Wednesday, July 7th 2010
New Platform
Bplus shifts its main development focus away from WiiWare™ and on to a new platform – the Nintendo 3DS™. The new handheld offers fantastic opportunities to create fresh ideas with new ways of presentation, leading to games that offer completely new experiences. With Nintendo 3DS the virtual worlds come even closer to the player.
Bernd Geiblinger, CEO and Art Director of Bplus, comments: “WiiWare was just the beginning – it was a fantastic way to get a foothold in the industry and it offered lots of opportunities to learn things and gather experience. Now, with new partners and a strong financial background, we gear up and fully set our focus on development of Nintendo 3DS retail games.”

Konno: 3DS awareness will be spread by word of mouth, online convenience important

Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 1 Comment

Hideki Konno, manager of Software Development Group 1, Nintendo EAD discussing the origins of the 3DS…

“When I was developing Luigi’s Mansion, we experimented with having an additional display, a panel, to attach to the screen in order to enable 3D effects. At that time, because of the high cost of the 3D panels and the low resolution of the game, it wouldn’t show 3D sufficiently, but we hoped that some day the technology would support 3D.”

Konno on the possibility of advertising in cinemas…

“Our key point with 3DS is that you don’t need glasses, which you obviously need to use in cinemas. So we think regular marketing and promotional activities will be very tricky for us. I think that a lot of awareness about 3DS will be spread by word of mouth.”

Konno on whether players will experience any side effects with long sessions….

“I think the sense of eye fatigue differs for each individual. We’ve provided flexibility to allow users to adjust back to 2D. I think the solution is simply that when you feel dizzy, close down the system and take a break. Like with the Wii – don’t swing too much or you’ll tire your arms.”

Konno on moving forward with online, without hassling consumers…

“I wanted the system to be as convenient as it can be in the online field. I wanted to realise a situation where you wake up in the morning, open your 3DS and there’s new content already downloaded and waiting for you, not because you went looking for it but because we pushed it to you. Maybe one day consumers will open their 3DS and find that their daily paper or magazine subscription has already been delivered to their device.”

Source

NTT DoCoMo in talks with “videogame makers” about 3G

Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News | 1 Comment

“Videogame makers know that in order for portable game machines to take the next step forward, they need wireless communication. We are discussing this with various players.” – NTT DoCoMo President Ryuji Yamada

Yamada wouldn’t specifically identify who NTT DoCoMo has been in contact with, but one would think that the company is talking to Nintendo and Sony. What he did say is that a component could be included in hardware which would access NTT DoCoMo’s 3G network or connect to their routers that use a 3G connection to create a local Wi-Fi network. We know that Nintendo is looking to enhance wireless/online functionality with the 3DS, so might their next handheld support 3G?

Source

Kojima wants to release new MGS not too long after 3DS launch, models close to PS3, considering co-op, may/may not be director

Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 9 Comments

This information comes from Hideo Kojima…

– Started working on the demo after Peace Walker was finished
– Kojima called some of his staff over, told them they’d make an E3 demo, and moved them to a seperate floor
– “Long Version” of the demo was created first, but Nintendo wanted it to be shorter so more people could play
– There was a long version at E3, but most people played the short version
– Demo based on Metal Gear Solid 3, with redone characters, backgrounds with high polygon models
– Kojima feels it’s necessary to release the game within one year of the 3DS’ launch

“It was a secret project, so even at Kojima Productions, aside from the people developing the demo, no one knew about it. Although, we did make it with the Peace Walker staff…The high level models are about the same quality as the stuff we made on the PlayStation 3, although it’s tough to see this. If we’d had a bit more time, we could have made something better…I was the director of the demo. What will happen from here on out is not set…What we wanted to do this time is show that we’re making an entry in the Metal Gear Solid franchise that can be enjoyed in goggle-free 3D on the 3DS. The reason we made it based off MGS3 is because there are many who played MGS for the first time through Peace Walker, so we though the timing would be just right. Everyone wants to know the story of The Boss. MGS3’s story can’t change, so we’re thinking of Co-ops, 3D and portable-like elements.”

Source

Miyamoto says Nintendo considering Miis for 3DS, not worried about ports, strongly believes in Skyward Sword’s controls, much more

Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, DS, General Nintendo, News, Wii | 2 Comments

Miyamoto on how long the 3DS has been in development/what the process is like behind the scenes…

“Basically the way it works is – once we’ve finalised the design for a new hardware system and we’ve launched the hardware system, the hardware teams immediately begin research on what the next system will be. So it’s been – I don’t know how long – I guess about six years since we launched Nintendo DS, so they’ve been researching and experimenting with various things over the last six years, but it really finally started to take this shape that we see now about three years ago.”

Miyamoto on why this is the best time for Nintendo to introduce a new 3D system…

“Well, there were kind of two things that led to it. First of all, the LCD screen technology has really advanced quite a bit over the last few years, and that played a big part in it. The other is obviously – as you pointed out – we’ve experimented with 3D a lot over the years, and in all the experiments that we did, with the sole exception of the Virtual Boy, everything else that we worked on was really 3D as a peripheral or an accessory to an existing hardware system. And what’s unique about a portable gaming device is that because it’s both a gaming system and a monitor, both together in one device, there is no accessory. What that means is everybody who purchases the device is able to experience the 3D effect, so it was kind of this combination of us focusing in on the idea of a portable device as a 3D device, and the fact that the LCD screen technology had advanced to a point where it was finally going to be possible to do it.”

Play.com says their 3DS game launch dates were ‘an estimate’

Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 1 Comment

Yesterday we told you about Play.com’s listed release date for a few 3DS titles, but today they’re telling us that those dates were just estimates. Talking to Eurogamer, Play said that they had heard estimates from companies, and simply went with those. What do you guys think? Is this a cover-up, or are we looking too far into it?

Source

Game Critics Best of E3 2010 winners announced

Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii | 0 comments

Best of Show
Nintendo 3DS
(Nintendo)

Best Hardware
Nintendo 3DS
(Nintendo)

Best Sports Game
NBA Jam
(EA Canada/EA Sports for Wii)

Best Social/Casual Game
Rock Band 3
(Harmonix/MTV Games/Electronic Arts for PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii)

Kojima discusses Metal Gear Solid 3DS, mentions he only had 2 months to create the E3 demo

Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 2 Comments

Update: Added in a more understandable translation (thanks FB32!)

This information comes from a rough Google translated interview with Hideo Kojima…

“A sample of the 3DS game we showed at E3 was actually an experiment which combined MGS with a handheld that offers 3D. I’ve only had two months to create it. And that’s one reason why we have called it “The Naked Sample.” Having said that, I can assure you that the 3DS will definitely have its own version of MGS, making the most of “naked eye” 3D technology. But for now, I can not tell you what the final title will be.”

This makes it sound like we’ll see Metal Gear Solid on the 3DS eventually. It’s just a matter of what form it’ll take. Although, considering Kojima hasn’t had much time to work with the system, I wouldn’t expect the title to make it out for the 3DS’ launch.