Tekken producer keeping quiet about Wii U/3DS projects
Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 0 comments
Namco Bandai has been rather quiet about Tekken 3D… and we know even less about Tekken for Wii U. With such little information distributed, one would hope that we’d receive news sooner rather than later.
But no dice. By the look of things, we won’t be hearing about either project anytime soon. When asked about the 3DS/Wii U games, Tekken series producer Katsuhiro Harada said, “The Nintendo projects are top secret and we can’t talk about it at the moment, sorry!”
Both titles are obviously early on in development. I expect that Namco Bandai will talk about Tekken 3D within the next few months or perhaps early next year, but Tekken Wii U is most likely farther away. We’ll just have to keep our patience!
EA COO doesn’t think Wii U will be a transitional console, online talk
Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments
Some industry insiders have expressed concern that the Wii U will be a “stop-gap” console. In other words, rather than taking a full leap to the next generation, these people believe that the console will be a means to transition between hardware generations and will be considered more of an upgrade.
EA COO Peter Moore does not share that opinion. In a recent interview, Moore said that specs and graphics will begin to take less of an important role and will make way for other elements such as interfaces, communities, and controls.
Moore explained:
“People will start talking about it being a transitional platform. And I don’t think that’s going to be the case, and here’s why. I think the [tablet] controller [is huge]. This is not about specs anymore… This is about, as it was with the Wii, is the controller a unique way of enjoying a game experience, regardless of what the graphic fidelity is? I don’t know what Xbox and PlayStation’s plans for their next platforms are, but it’s not going to be hanging on graphic fidelity. I guarantee you that. Look, you saw Battlefield – how much better could this stuff look at some point? There’s a point of diminishing returns… I don’t even know if there’s anything better than 1080p. In the early days of our industry, this stuff was absolutely about how much better the games looked – shinier helmets, greener grass – but I’ve been around long enough to know that seeing your breath in a football game is a huge deal. But that’s no longer the case any more. Now it’s about interfaces. Now it’s about building a community in a rich, powerful,way. And now it’s about, ‘What is the way we can control the game?’ You’ve seen that with Move, you’ve seen it with Wii MotionPlus more recently, and you’ve certainly seen it with Kinect. And Nintendo’s job, quite frankly, is to build a better mousetrap with regards to the way that we use the controller. So I don’t know what Xbox and PlayStation’s plans for their next platforms are, but it’s not going to be hanging on graphic fidelity. I guarantee you that.”
Moore also took a few moments to discuss how Nintendo are now taking online more seriously with Wii U:
“It’s critically important to us and we are relieved, if anything else, that they have made a huge commitment that they have presented to us… Online certainly was not a factor with the Wii, as you know; although they had capabilities, it just wasn’t there at the level that both Xbox Live and PlayStation had. But I think Nintendo totally gets that multi-player, building community, co-op play, having the ability to bring games that are deeper – all of these things are now very important.”
Batman: Arkham City screenshots
Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Screenshots, Wii U | 0 comments
Nintendo considers Wii U to be a “game console”, not “home console”
Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments
The Wii U is not your traditional “home console” from Nintendo. Unlike what we’ve seen from them in the past, the system allows you to play an entire title directly on the controller. You also won’t be limited to the television.
For these reasons, Satoru Iwata doesn’t want people to label Wii U as a “home console”. Rather, he believes that it is more of a “game console”.
Speaking with investors last week, Iwata also discussed how he hopes the console can become “Nintendo’s new answer to the upcoming change of lifestyle.”
“…Also, I just mentioned ‘home console’ unwittingly, but although the Wii U was announced as the successor of the Wii, I believe it will be positioned slightly different than the past home consoles. In the past, there were two categories of gaming systems, handheld devices and home consoles, and there was thought to be a great wall in between those two categories; however, the Wii U will be connected to a home TV, but it is not a simple home console, meaning it is not something ‘playable only when facing the TV.’ This is because, the controller has its own screen, so even if you are not facing the TV or the TV is occupied for some other reason, you can still use the game system. Therefore, in our release, we have written ‘a new game console’ and not ‘a new home console.’ In English, both are translated as ‘console’ and therefore, this nuance will not be expressed but, in the Japanese releases, we would like to propose the Wii U without using the term ‘home console.’ For your information, for game systems that have been sold as handheld devices, many consumers do not actually use them outside of their homes. Given this fact, we proposed the idea of carrying the Nintendo 3DS outside by enhancing the communication functionality and challenging consumers to change their usual routine but, on the other hand, there is a very high demand for playing a game system inside the house without using the TV, and we would like to answer that demand with the Wii U. In other words, since our lifestyles are changing minute by minute, I think that a play style where a person plays only when the person sits in front of the TV and has to occupy the TV is becoming less and less fitting with the times. Therefore, I would like to make the Wii U Nintendo’s new answer to the upcoming change of lifestyle.”
Nintendo wants to regain trust before Wii U launch, price/date announcement next year
Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 0 comments
Some Nintendo fans might be concerned that the Wii U could see a price drop soon after it’s released. President Satoru Iwata is aware of this and hopes to regain trust from consumers before the new console arrives.
You might also be wondering when we’ll be getting a Wii U launch date and price. Iwata confirmed to investors last week that an announcement can be expected next year.
“…With regard to the influence on the Wii U, what we have to take most seriously is that the price markdown could damage the trust of the consumers who bought the Nintendo 3DS just after the launch. I feel greatly accountable for it. Our decision of the price markdown this time has a side effect that, at the launch of the Wii U, people may feel that the price might drop in the near future if they wait. Nevertheless, we have decided to cut down the price of the Nintendo 3DS as we consider it as a necessary decision now. What we will be able to do to recover the consumers’ trust before the launch of the Wii U is very important to us. Since the Wii U we showed you at the E3 show in June was still in the development phase without very specific proposals on the software titles, we are going to announce the release date and the price next year when we are able to explain the specific proposals. Anyway, the biggest influence is on our consumers’ trust, I think. …”
Sakurai: Base next Smash Bros. expectations on Kid Icarus, can improve much from Brawl, more
Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 0 comments
It’s going to be a long wait for the Smash Bros. title. Not only will Masahiro Sakurai’s team be working on one version for Wii U, but they’ll also be creating the first entry in the franchise for a handheld.
Kid Icarus: Uprising, Project Sora’s current project, will be released before the end of the year. Once that’s out of the way, Sakurai’s team will likely move on to Smash Bros. soon after. Sakurai said in a recent interview that “you can base your expectations of the new Smash Bros. once you see how well-made Kid Icarus is.” He also stated that the team can improve “many things” from Brawl.
“I will think about this once Kid Icarus is complete. But as it is a game of a competitive nature, I do not think that any one person should have an advantage. …There are many things that can be improved upon even in Brawl. Also, I think you can base your expectations of the new Smash Bros. once you see how well-made Kid Icarus is. The director of each game is the same, but because I regularly change my team around after projects, we will be able to see how good the team is then.”
It’s much too soon to be talking about the character roster, but when he was asked which other characters can be included in Smash Bros., Sakurai said:
“That is completely undecided, but it is true that Nintendo has not created many new characters lately.”
Mass Effect 3 producer finds Wii U “interesting”, needs to spend more time with hardware
Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments
If you ask me, Mass Effect 3 and Wii U could be a fantastic pairing. I’d argue that it’d be a better match on the platform than a game like Metro: Last Light or even Aliens: Colonial Marines. Although no game is confirmed for Wii U, you may remember that executive producer Casey Hudson said that the Mass Effect universe “feels like it’s a really nice fit.”
Hudson shared more thoughts about Wii U in an interview with NowGamer. He said that he believes the console is “interesting” and “exciting”, though has to “think more about it and spend more with with the actual hardware.”
“It’s an interesting system. One of the challenges and opportunities with that kind of device is that it takes a while to really figure out what the amazing forms of gameplay will be – but it also has enough flexibility to potentially do things that are totally unprecedented in games. It’s very exciting, but I definitely need to think more about it and spend more time with the actual hardware.”
Killer Freaks dev says Wii U will make shooters easier to control
Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments
This information comes from Killer Freaks From Outer Space producer Guillaume Brunier…
“We’ve used the accelerometer feature. If you move very fast the game will know and adjust movement speed. Those familiar with FPSes know how difficult it is to go around 180 degrees. With these new controls it’s a thing of the past.”
It’s going to be very interesting to try out this type of control scheme. It’s probably easier than dual analog controls, but I’m not sure if it’ll beat out the Wiimote pointer setup. It’s been difficult for me to return to dual analog due to my comfort with the Wii controller!
No Wii U at Gamescom 2011
Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments
Nintendo is bringing most of their E3 lineup to Gamescom 2011. One thing is missing, though: The Wii U.
Nintendo has confirmed that the console won’t be making an appearance at the trade show next month. On the bright side, attendees can get their hands on The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Super Mario 3D Land, and a bunch of additional 3DS titles.
