Nintendo of America senior director of corporate communications Charlie Scibetta says that “the relationship is great between Nintendo and Electronic Arts.”

But when pressed further and asked what makes their relationship “great”, Scibetta would only note:

“You’ll have to ask EA when it comes to any future announcements or future product plans. I don’t want to speak for them.”

As far as overall third-party support for Wii U is concerned, Scibetta admitted that the console needs to sell so that external companies can reach a large audience:

“Third parties want the same thing that we do, which is the install base to grow so they have a larger audience to sell their games to. We feel that’s our job to help drive that install base, and we haven’t had the software so far in 2013 that’s going to do that. But we’re confident between now and the holiday and again in 2014, we do have the software that’s going to grow that install base. And when that happens, we think that Wii U will be a far more attractive platform for third parties to want to publish on. The same thing happened on Nintendo 3DS that we think will happen on Wii U, which started off slow, but when the software came around, the hardware sales came. We’re looking for the same dynamic for Wii U.”

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Zelda: Wind Waker HD/GameCube comparison

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

Thanks to miriam for the tip.

Tezuka on Yarn Yoshi’s E3 absence, more

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

Despite being announced during a Nintendo Direct broadcast earlier this year, Yarn Yoshi was missing in action at E3 2013. According to longtime developer Takashi Tezuka, the Wii U title didn’t appear this week since it wasn’t ready to be shown yet.

Tezuka also commented on the decision to approach Good Feel for a new Yoshi project that is reminiscent of Kirby’s Epic Yarn:

“I looked at [Epic Yarn] and thought it was really beautiful. It seemed like it would be a good fit for Yoshi as well. We found that the Wii U would be able to make it a much more expressive game. It looked like it would be a lot of fun.”

Later in the interview, Tezuka hinted that we could see some increased difficulty in Yarn Yoshi. The team may look to include different modes, or some other ways to offer a challenge for core players.

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Off-screen Deus Ex: Human Revolution – Director’s Cut footage

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

[E3 Impressions] Sonic: Lost World

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

“I see it as a spiritual sequel, a continuation, refinement, and extrapolation of what was established in Sonic Colors.”

System: Nintendo Wii U
Release Date: October 13th, 2013
Developer: Sonic Team
Publisher: SEGA/Nintendo

Author: Jack

I must say, I don’t think I’ve felt this much buzz surrounding the (we’re far past much-)maligned Sonic franchise since the release of Sonic Unleashed back in 2008. While that iteration ended up as all of the others have in the post-Adventure scrap heap, something feels different about this. It felt like in the trailer as though an emphasis was placed on technical gameplay as opposed to a return to something: speed, the 90’s, etc. The last title in the 3D Sonic series, 2011’s Sonic Colors, was surprisingly solid, and although it fundamentally lacked enough to be considered a triple-A title, it showed finally that Sega team, behind director Morio Kishimoto, was willing to look behind the confines the original trilogy on Genesis imposed upon the series.

Sir Kishimoto is back at it this time, and golly was I interested in giving Sonic yet another last go at this year’s E3.

[E3 Impressions] Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games

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

The blue blur and his plump plumbing rival return to The Olympics, but it’s not as exciting as Nintendo and SEGA might want you to believe.

System: Nintendo Wii U
Release Date: November, 2013
Developer: Unknown
Publisher: Nintendo

Author: Laura

Alright, alright so I know you all have been DYING to know more about Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games (phew), so here’s the scoop: Unless the frame rate and controls are improved– or the other mini games available in the full version are more fun than what I played– it will not be worth $60.

[E3 Impressions] A Surprise Hiding in Plain Sight: Pikmin 3

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

The latest entry in the Pikmin series has been in the works for nearly 9 years, and it shows.

System: Nintendo Wii U
Release Date: August 4th, 2013
Developer: Nintendo EAD Group No. 4
Publisher: Nintendo

Author: Jack

Were you to ask me what I’d be excited for the most coming into Nintendo’s first E3 with the Wii U on the-stocking-shelves a few days ago, I’d probably have a fully mindful answer for each finger-on-the-hand. Given the somewhat sparse industry-wide response to Nintendo’s follow-up to the successful Wii, and with two competitor consoles set to drop in five months, I was fully expecting Nintendo to arrive at the Los Angeles Convention Center guns a-blazing, ready to duke it out with Sony and Microsoft the way they do best: releasing can’t miss first-party Nintendo gaming experiences that no other platform really has an equal for.

Amazon: LEGO Batman 2 Wii U for $30

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

Amazon has lowered the price of LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes down to $29.99. You’ll be saving around $20 by picking the game up now.

Platinum on Bayonetta’s new hair style and more

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

Jeanne is back in Bayonetta 2. Will she be playable? Producer Yusuke Hashimoto won’t say.

“As you can see in the demo, she will appear at some points, but where the story goes from there, that is something we’ll talk about later.”

As far as Bayonetta’s new hair style goes, Hashimoto commented:

“We think of it less as cutting her hair. Her personality is the type that would not want to remain stagnant. She would want to change her style, taste in fashion, and her costumes. Down the line in the series, she may make further changes to her appearance.”

Hashimoto closed out with remarks on the Umbra Climax:

“Those monsters Bayonetta summons will vary depending on your weapon combinations. That’s another element and won’t see all of them even if you play the demo.”

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