I’m not usually one to post tidbits coming from Nintendo representatives, in large part because they don’t always know what they’re talking about. However, some interesting information has surfaced from “D” over on NeoGAF, who spoke with a rep while at GameStop.

Below is a quick summary:

– West Coast port strike directly affected amiibo shipments
– Nintendo still has amiibo from January/February on shipping crates that haven’t been unloaded
– Amiibo for the newer wave (King Dedede, Sonic, etc.) were delivered by air
– This costs a lot of money, and Nintendo doesn’t intend to keep on doing that
– There will be a restock of older waves, especially for rare characters such as Wii Fit Trainer
– Nintendo only made so many since they thought there wouldn’t be much demand for some franchises with obscure characters
– Nintendo has been receiving a ton of emails from people that can’t find/are looking for these rare characters, and they are trying to do what they can to get them out there but due to the port strike
– A lot of those characters are still on the ships
– You should keep checking store for some of the older characters to appear
– amiibo for the upcoming wave (Ness, Charizard, etc.) are having their release dates and pre-orders held at due to the port strike and because Nintendo wants to make sure the situation with the strike will not affect shipments again
– Nintendo also wants to gauge the market for demand, which will determine how many to produce
– Once most of the cargo gets offloaded and the situation improves, Nintendo will talk to retailers about stock, and an announcement will be made
– Majora’s Mask New 3DS XL is gone
– It was truly a limited edition release
– There is no stock anywhere in any warehouse, and there are no plans for a restock
– Retailers were apparently informed about 6 months before the Majora’s Mask New 3DS XL release and ordered accordingly
– The rep didn’t know anything about a release date or Nintendo Direct for the remaining Mario Kart 8 or Mewtwo DLC
– Nintendo Directs are somewhat random in nature, and the rep doesn’t really get any sort of heads up
– If Nintendo wants to show gameplay of something, then the Directs are the only way they’ll do it

We can’t officially confirm that the information above is valid. It definitely sounds spot on though!

Source

More: Amiibo, top

Pre-order updates (3/22/15)

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, New Nintendo 3DS, News, Wii U | 0 comments

Below are the latest titles that can be currently pre-ordered at retailers:

Wii U

Rodea: The Sky Solider – Amazon (new), Best Buy, GameStop
Legend of Kay HD – Amazon
Mario Party 10 amiibo bundle – Best Buy, GameStop
LEGO Marvel’s Avengers – Amazon
LEGO Jurassic World – Amazon, GameStop
Terraria – Amazon
Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem – Best Buy
The Legend of Zelda – Amazon, Best Buy
Xenoblade Chronicles X – Amazon, Best Buy
Yoshi’s Woolly World – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Splatoon – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Mario Party 10 – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Devil’s Third – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop

New 3DS games

Xenoblade Chronicles 3D – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop

3DS

Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson – Amazon, GameStop
Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold: The Fafnir Knight – Amazon
Rodea: The Sky Solider – Amazon (new), Best Buy, GameStop
Lord of Magna: Maiden Heaven – Amazon, GameStop
Fire Emblem – Best Buy
LEGO Marvel’s Avengers – Amazon
LEGO Jurassic World – Amazon, GameStop
Puzzle & Dragons Z + Puzzle & Dragons Super Mario Bros. Edition – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Terraria – Amazon
LEGO Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin – Amazon, Best Buy
Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Devil Survivor 2: Record Breaker – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Etrian Mystery Dungeon – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Fossil Fighters: Frontier – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Story of Seasons – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop

Thanks to Jake for the tip.

More: pre-order

Custom firmware enables region-free 3DS gaming on Japanese New 3DS systems

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in New Nintendo 3DS, News | 24 Comments

Cell9 has come up with new custom firmware for Japanese New 3DS systems that makes region-free gaming possible.

“NTR CFW 2.0” has one purpose: to enable titles from around the world to be playable on the system. Piracy is not possible in any way, and only retail cartridges are acceptable.

The one downside is that you won’t be able to boot up the Japanese eShop. However, you can access a custom menu to take in-game screens and use plug-ins.

Gamers will need a Japanese New 3DS and an import copy of Cubic Ninja in order to use NTR CFW 2.0. Keep in mind that it only works with 3DS firmware versions 8.1.0/9.1.0/9.2.0.

As for what lies ahead in the future, Cell9 hopes to support the original 3DS and other regions at some point.

Source, Via

Xenoblade Chronicles 3D “Your Will Shall Be Done” trailer

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in New Nintendo 3DS, Videos | 3 Comments

More: Monolith Soft, Monster Games, top, Xenoblade Chronicles 3D

Nintendo on Xenoblade Chronicles 3D – dev length, challenges, why New 3DS only, more

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in New Nintendo 3DS, News | 2 Comments

Nintendo Life recently caught up with Hiro Yamada, general coordinator of Xenoblade Chronicles 3D. Yamada addressed several topics about the project, including when it began, challenges in porting to New 3DS, why it couldn’t be done on the regular 3DS, use of the two screens for information, and amiibo.

We’ve rounded up the various comments from Yamada below. For those who are interested, the original interview is located here.