Miyamoto wonders why Pikmin hasn’t sold more and why people think the games are difficult
Posted on 1 year ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, General Nintendo, News, Switch, Wii U | 0 comments
In a new interview published today, Shigeru Miyamoto commented on the Pikmin series and said he’s wondered why the games haven’t sold more and why people think they’re so difficult.
For Pikmin 4, it sound like Nintendo wanted to make the game as approachable as possible. The company’s Yuji Kando said the team “prioritized ease of play and experimented with making the controls easy enough for those who aren’t used to playing games.” Camera and AI improvements were a focus as well. Miyamoto added that Nintendo wanted to “retain the depth of gameplay that makes Pikmin so interesting, while providing the functional support to address the challenges around controls.”
Here’s the full interview excerpt:
More: interview, Pikmin, Pikmin 2, Pikmin 3, Pikmin 4, Shigeru Miyamoto, top, Yuji Kondo
Nintendo devs reveal Pikmin origins, started out on N64
Posted on 1 year ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, News, Switch | 0 comments
The original developers behind Pikmin have discussed the game’s origins, including how it was originally being developed for the N64.
Masamichi Abe, who was director at the time, said in a new interview published today that “discussion of this project started during the transition from Super NES to Nintendo 64, so we had a strong aspiration to utilize its ability to display a large number of characters on screen.” Shigefumi Hino, who also was director, added that it was originally “envisioned a game that would control a lot of characters with AI.” The interview includes a number of concept art / images as well, and character designer Junji Morii talked about being inspired by Tim Burton.
More: interview, Junji Morii, Masamichi Abe, Pikmin, Shigefumi Hino, Shigeru Miyamoto, top
Valve reached out to Nintendo first before Dolphin emulator was removed from Steam
Posted on 1 year ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, General Nintendo, News, Wii | 0 comments
Much discussion has taken place after Valve took down the Dolphin emulator listing last week on Steam. However, new information has come to light revealing that the move was technically spurred on by Valve initially.
Rather than Nintendo filing a DMCA, the GameCube and Wii emulator was removed after Valve brought it to Nintendo’s attention. The Verge obtained emails showing how the Big N’s lawyers especially took issue with the use of cryptographic keys.
The email reads:
More: top
Baten Kaitos director again comments on cancelled Baten Kaitos III
Posted on 1 year ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, GameCube, News, Switch | 0 comments
Yasuyuki Honne, the director at Monolith Soft for the Baten Kaitos series, has again commented on Baten Kaitos III – which never released. He also once again confirmed that there were plans for a title on DS that was scrapped as well.
According to Honne, Baten Kaitos III was targeted for next-gen platforms – so if anything, it would have been on Wii and not GameCube. Unfortunately, things weren’t meant to be “due to Bandai Namco’s restructuring and budget review, as well as tri-Crescendo’s financial struggles”. Honne added that “Baten Kaitos is a complicated series with lots of circumstances involved.”
More: Bandai Namco, Baten Kaitos, Monolith Soft, top
GameCube and Wii emulator Dolphin seeing Steam release
Posted on 1 year ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, News, Wii | 0 comments
When you think of GameCube and Wii emulation these days, one of the first tools that comes to mind is Dolphin. As it turns out, it’s now heading to Steam.
Currently Dolphin has a Steam page here. While it’s technically not live yet, fans can add it to their wishlist. Then when it has been officially made available, they’ll be notified. More information regarding “the process and features of the Steam release” will follow at launch – which is targeted for Q2 2023 at the moment.
Video: Metroid Prime Remastered comparison (Switch vs. GameCube), gameplay
Posted on 1 year ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, Switch, Videos | 0 comments
Thanks to GameSpot, we have a new comparison video for Metroid Prime Remastered that has the Switch version going up against the GameCube original. Additionally, new gameplay has surfaced.
It’s clear that Retro Studios put quite a bit of work into Metroid Prime Remastered. Aside from an updated resolution, assets have been updated, lighting has been improved, and more.
Baten Kaitos 1 & 2 HD Remaster announced for Switch
Posted on 1 year ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, News, Switch | 0 comments
Bandai Namco has just announced Baten Kaitos 1 & 2 HD Remaster, updated versions of the classic card RPGs now making their way to Switch. A release is planned for this summer.
Both Baten Kaitos titles were developed by Monolith Soft of Xenoblade fame. Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean came out at the end of 2003 in Japan, 2004 in North America, and 2005 in Europe. It was followed by Baten Kaitos Origins – which is actually a prequel – in 2006.
Masahiro Sakurai on the making of Kirby Air Ride, why Kirby was turned into a racer
Posted on 1 year ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, News | 0 comments
In a new video on YouTube, Masahiro Sakurai discussed the making of Kirby Air Ride and why he decided to create a racing game based on the franchise. He acted as the project’s director and a designer.
Sakurai first pointed out how more games were needed to coincide with the Kirby: Right Back at Ya anime. With a racing game, it would be quicker to develop than a traditional action game. Other titles for were also already planned, including a mainline entry for GameCube that ended up getting cancelled.
More: Kirby Air Ride, Masahiro Sakurai, top
Sakurai talks about the making of Super Smash Bros. Melee
Posted on 1 year ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, News | 0 comments
Masahiro Sakurai published a new video on YouTube today going over the creation of Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Sakurai mentioned how the goal for the project was to “power up Smash Bros. by leaps and bounds”. That meant going all out with content, making tons of improvements compared to the original N64 title, and more. Since the team was able to create something for the GameCube which had higher specs, a better development environment, and optical media, they could offer better graphics and orchestral arrangements for various tracks.
More: Super Smash Bros. Melee, top
Metroid Prime devs put GameCube dev kit in freezer to fix post-release issue
Posted on 1 year ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, News, Wii | 0 comments
Believe it or not, the developers at Retro Studios working on Metroid Prime back in the day actually put their dev kit in a freezer while attempting to fix a particular issue that affected a small portion of GameCube owners.
Jack Mathews, a technical lead engineer that worked on the project, shared this story while reflecting on the 20th anniversary of the game. Nintendo had shipped a “bad batch” of GameCubes that affected the CPU, but it turns out that Metroid Prime was the only game that wasn’t working properly. Because of this, animated objects weren’t acting the way they normally would on any other console.
