Monolith Soft: From A to Xeno (Part 2)
Posted on 8 years ago by Patrick(@Patricklous) in DS, Features, Game of the Month, Wii | 8 Comments
As June draws to a close, I’m back with a second look back at the history of Monolith Soft and the games they created over the last generation of Nintendo consoles – with the exception of the actual Game of the Month. This was a period of change for the company and saw the release of several more experimental titles. Bandai Namco sold the majority of their stock in Monolith Soft to Nintendo in 2007 and while they wouldn’t become a first-party developer until later, all games from this point on would be on Nintendo consoles. Despite this, Monolith would still keep close ties with their previous owner, who took on publishing duties for some of their more niche games. Following the release of Baten Kaitos Origins there was a gap of two years before Monolith Soft’s next title – Soma Bringer.
Video: A look at how Metroid Prime: Federation Force stacks up to Hunters
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, DS, Videos | 6 Comments
Metroid Prime: Federation Force – made with New 3DS in mind, thought about Wii U, tried multiplayer Metroid game for DSi
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, DS, News, Wii U | 11 Comments
Engadget has published a new interview with Nintendo’s Kensuke Tanabe about Metroid Prime: Federation Force. Tanabe discussed the game’s origins, revealed that a Wii U version was considered, and spoke about how Nintendo tried making a multiplayer Metroid game for the DSi. There’s that and much more in the interview roundup posted after the break!
More: interview, Kensuke Tanabe, Next Level Games, top
Rumor: Asda to no longer carry 3DS, Wii, and DS products
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, DS, Rumors, Wii, Wii U | 1 Comment
Asda, a retailer in the UK, will apparently stop selling 3DS, Wii, and DS games. This supposedly includes Wii U as well, which is strange since Asda was seemingly done with the console in 2013.
This is all part of a range change taking place in eight weeks. Stores are being advised to clear through stock at discretion with sale stickers.
Star Fox Command’s initial prototype was “very much like the original Star Fox”
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, News | 1 Comment
Star Fox Command could have ended up as a very different game. Initially, the plan was to make it “very much like the original Star Fox,” according to developer Dylan Cuthbert.
So what happened? Cuthbert recently stated that Shigeru Miyamoto “specifically told us to take the game in the direction of Star Fox 2”. He wanted the game “to be more experimental” and to use the “DS’ tow screens in as interesting a way as possible.”
Cuthbert’s comments in full:
The initial prototype we made was very much like the original Star Fox, but Miyamoto specifically told us to take the game in the direction of Star Fox 2 and I was happy to explore those more strategic themes. Miyamoto told us to be more experimental, using the DS’ two screens in as interesting a way as possible. Takaya Imamura was stationed in our office permanently during development and created the story lines and other character-based parts to the game.
More: Dylan Cuthbert, interview, Star Fox Command
A look at the cancelled DS game Initial D EX
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, News | 0 comments
SEGA was once developing Initial D EX for the DS. Unseen64 reports that the company’s “Rosso” department was working on the street racing game back in 2007/2008.
Interestingly, Initial D EX was never actually announced. We only know of its existence thanks to a few images that briefly appeared on the SEGA Rosso website.
A screenshot from Initial D EX can be found above. Unseen64 has a few additional ones here.
More: Initial D EX, SEGA
Lifetime sales for Nintendo platforms, top selling games on Wii U and 3DS
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, DS, New Nintendo 3DS, News, Wii, Wii U | 32 Comments
Nintendo updated a couple of important listings in conjunction with today’s financial results. We now have the latest figures for lifetime Wii U, 3DS, Wii, and DS hardware sales. Additionally, Nintendo shared new listings of the best-selling games on Wii U and 3DS. All of that information can be found in the gallery below.
Renegade Kid pitched Dementium: The Ward as a new Silent Hill game for DS
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, News | 1 Comment
Renegade Kid is known in the horror genre for Dementium: The Ward. Interestingly enough, that game was originally pitched as a potential Silent Hill title for DS.
On Twitter earlier today, Renegade Kid co-founder Jools Watsham said:
Little known fact: We pitched "The Ward" to Konami in 2007 as something that could have become a Silent Hill DS game.
— Jools Watsham (@JoolsWatsham) April 27, 2015
Watsham also told IGN:
Our goal was always to release The Ward as an original game, but we were also open to the idea of turning it into a licensed horror game and approached Konami to see if they wanted to work together to mold it into a Silent Hill game for the Nintendo DS.
They were kind enough to meet with us, but the meeting only lasted a few minutes and ended with their [representative] saying they wouldn’t let a team like us handle the Silent Hill license.
That was Renegade Kid’s first pitch in 2007. The studio reached out to Konami again a few years later, with a new pitch based on the Dementium II engine. Sadly, Konami still wasn’t open to the idea.
“Konami’s response that time wasn’t dismissive like the first time,” Watsham mentioned to IGN. “They simply didn’t want to venture into the DS space with a horror title at that time.”
Source
More: indie, Konami, Renegade Kid, top
Best Buy: Sin and Punishment: Star Successor for $7 and more
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, DS, News, Wii, Wii U | 1 Comment
Best Buy is running a new sale on some older titles. There are a few highlights, including Sin and Punishment: Star Successor for $7 and WarioWare: D.I.Y. for $6. You can find all of the deals here.
Inti Creates wasn’t originally planning on making any Mega Man Zero sequels
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, GBA, General Nintendo, News | 13 Comments
USGamer put up a massive piece that recounts the history of Inti Creates. There are plenty of quotes mixed in from Takuya Aizu, the company’s president.
One of the more interesting topics concerns Mega Man Zero. Aizu first explains how Inti Creates originally wanted to kill off X, but Capcom intervened.
The main concept that we wanted to explore was Zero killing X. We wanted to come up with something really sensational. There was something about Mega Man Zero at first that we felt wasn’t quite right — it wasn’t true to our idea of the character. So we tried to resolve that by coming up with this dramatic concept.
Within the team, there was no resistance at all. In fact, right up until we went to master the game, the plot played out with Zero defeating X. However, Capcom as a company… it didn’t serve well for the company to have a series in which X is the hero and then another title where that same hero gets killed off. And so because of that, at the very, very, very end, like right before we sent the game to be manufactured, we had to change it so that the X that Zero kills was actually a copy. We didn’t have time to change the game play, though, so just the story changed slightly.
