Even more commentary from Super Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai has poured in through a new IGN interview. There’s some rehashed stuff here, but Sakurai did speak about taking advantage of the 3DS for its portability, customization, online plans (no world rankings), and more.

Head past the break for the full rundown.

Iwata comments on region locking

Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 2 Comments

Out of the big three hardware manufacturers, Nintendo is the only company with a home console that implements a region lock. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One will be region free when they launch later this year. Of course, the 3DS is region locked as well.

In a recent interview with IGN, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata weighed in on the region locking situation.

He said:

“From some people’s perspective, it might seem like a kind of restriction. However, we hope people can appreciate the fact that we’re selling our products worldwide. There are many different regions around the world, and each region has its own cultural acceptance and legal restrictions, as well as different age ratings. There are always things that we’re required to do in each different region, which may go counter to the idea that players around the world want the freedom to play whatever they want.”

“I hope that game fans can understand that the industry isn’t doing this solely out of business ego. There are some reasons behind it.”

For what it’s worth, Iwata discussed this topic before Microsoft changed the Xbox One’s region locking policies.

Source

Disney Infinity – Toy Box trailer: Captain Jack Sparrow meets Tonto

Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Videos, Wii, Wii U | 0 comments

“The Atlus brand and consumer business will continue” amidst parent company bankruptcy, according to official statements

Posted on 11 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in 3DS, DS, General Gaming, General Nintendo, News, Wii, Wii U | 0 comments

“From hereafter also, the development and sales of the Atlus brand as well as the consumer business will continue. Other retail and download titles that are currently on sale will continue to be sold as they are currently.”

– Official Statement from Atlus

As a big fan of Atlus’ work myself, this is great news. What will happen to the parent company (and where Atlus may end up after their rough patch) is still up in the air, but with any luck things will maintain their current scheduling at the developer themselves.

Via Kotaku

Sonic Lost World general producer says some bits are similar to Mario Galaxy

Posted on 11 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 0 comments

“With Lost World we wanted to evolve how Sonic works in 3D. When you think about a 3D level, it’s still limited – the sides are limited – so we talked about making levels as cubes or tubes. Expanding the sides around 360 degrees enables players to take many paths, not just two or three. We ended up with a tube stage and realised we were a bit close to Mario Galaxy!”

– Sonic series General Producer Takashi Iizuka

I must be the only one that didn’t instantly think of Super Mario Galaxy when I saw the trailer for Lost World… The connection is clear to me, but I didn’t think it was so obvious that it seemed as though the team blatantly ripped off the style. And it sure plays a heck of a lot differently.

ONM via NeoGaf.

Aonuma on decision to remake Wind Waker, going back to buttons on 3DS, Mario 3D Land inspiration, Zelda Wii U, difficulty with multiplayer

Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, GameCube, General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 2 Comments

Wired’s interview with Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma is up now for viewing, and it contains a lot of interesting nuggets about Nintendo’s classic series.

Aonuma commented on all three current Zelda projects: Wind Waker HD, A Link Between Worlds, and Zelda Wii U. Topics include the decision to remake Wind Waker (there was pushback internally!), the change to full button control on the 3DS with A Link Between Worlds and how Aonuma gained inspiration from Super Mario 3D Land, the difficulty in implementing multiplayer, and more.

Head past the break for Aonuma’s full remarks.

Nintendo keeping region locking in place due to parental controls and game ratings

Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News, Podcast Stories, Wii U | 7 Comments

For some of its systems, Nintendo decided against implementing a region lock. But now we’re in an era in which all of the Big N’s hardware make use of the functionality. Both the 3DS and Wii U do not allow games to be played outside of their original regions.

Why has Nintendo decided to adopt such an uncompromising stance? According to a statement from Nintendo of America, region locks allow for parental controls and “ensure compliance with regional standards and rating systems.” And no: Nintendo’s region locks aren’t going anywhere.

“Nintendo has no plans to remove region locking from our systems. By taking this approach, Nintendo is able to include parental controls and ensure compliance with regional standards and rating systems.”

Source

Amazon: Nintendo Land for $21

Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments

Over on Amazon, Nintendo Land is available for just $20.99. That’s one of the lowest prices we’ve seen for the game yet.

You’ll be saving $39 (or 65%) with a purchase. Nintendo Land originally went for $60 when it launched alongside Wii U last year.

Injustice: Gods Among Us – General Zod history video

Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Videos, Wii U | 0 comments

GameStop ad (7/3 – 7/9)

Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, Images, News, Wii, Wii U | 0 comments

GameStop’s weekly ad has gone live. It’s another very slow week for the retailer, but perhaps something will pique your interest.