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:

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Baten Kaitos director again comments on cancelled Baten Kaitos III

Posted on 2 years 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 2 years 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 2 years 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.

More: comparison, Metroid Prime Remastered, Retro Studios

Baten Kaitos 1 & 2 HD Remaster announced for Switch

Posted on 2 years 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.

More: Bandai Namco, Baten Kaitos 1 & 2 HD Remaster, Monolith Soft, top

Masahiro Sakurai on the making of Kirby Air Ride, why Kirby was turned into a racer

Posted on 2 years 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 3 years 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 3 years 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.

More: Metroid Prime, Retro Studios, top

Masahiro Sakurai was the first to praise Resident Evil 4’s camera system

Posted on 3 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, News, Switch, Wii, Wii U | 0 comments

Resident Evil 4 has earned a ton of acclaim over the years, but it was apparently Super Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai who was the first to praise the game’s camera.

That news came about during a discussion with Shinji Mikami and Jun Takeuchi. Mikami was the original director of Resident Evil 4 while Takeuchi has worked on several different entries in the series.

More: Capcom, Resident Evil 4

Autechre says it was originally asked to work on Metroid Prime’s soundtrack

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

According to Sean Booth of Autechre fame, the music duo almost got a chance to create the soundtrack for Metroid Prime.

The information was revealed during a Twitch AMA with one fan asking about how Booth as well as Rob Brown – the other half of Autechre – were included in the game’s credits. Booth responded by saying that they almost handled the soundtrack for Metroid Prime, but the role eventually landed with Kenji Yamamoto, who handled music for other entries in the series.