Breath of the Wild director on rethinking Zelda’s conventions, having all staff playtest at the same time
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch, Wii U | 10 Comments
When Breath of the Wild was teased many years ago, one of the aspects Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma highlighted was the desire to upend the series’ conventions. That’s something Nintendo managed to do in the end, resulting in a very different type of Zelda game.
In an interview with GamesRadar, director Hidemaro Fujibayashi spoke about Breath of the Wild’s development and re-thinking Zelda’s conventions, of which he stated:
More: Eiji Aonuma, Hidemaro Fujibayashi, interview, top
Zelda: Breath of the Wild director still trying to find his trademark on the series
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch, Wii U | 12 Comments
Zelda: Breath of the Wild producer Hidemaro Fujibayashi has actually been working on the franchise for quite awhile. He directed a few different entries, including Oracle of Ages/Seasons, Skyward Sword, and more.
Although Fujibayashi has greatly contributed to Zelda, he’s not quite sure what his lasting mark on the series will be. In his view, he’s still figuring that out.
Nintendo on researching games like Skyrim while making Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch, Wii U | 6 Comments
Zelda: Breath of the Wild wasn’t the only open-world game on Switch last year. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim also just so happened to launch on the system a few months ago.
When creating Breath of the Wild, Skyrim was one game Nintendo looked at to see what it would be like to make an open-world title. However, that doesn’t mean the developers wanted to take specific elements from that game. Instead it was practically used as research.
Lots of Nintendo maintenance scheduled for next week
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 3 Comments
Following the holiday break, Nintendo has a bunch of maintenance scheduled for next week. Switch, Wii U, and 3DS will all be impacted during several periods. Also, maintenance for Animal Crossing: New Leaf – Welcome amiibo and Pokemon Sun/Moon/Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon is still planned.
Here’s the full maintenance schedule for next week:
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Switch surpasses Wii U’s lifetime sales in Japan
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch, Wii U | 23 Comments
According to the latest data from Famitsu, Switch has overtaken Wii U’s lifetime sales in Japan.
Through December 31, Nintendo’s new console stands at 3,407,158 units sold. Wii U managed to sell 3,301,555 units in its lifetime. Switch sold 115,255 units during the week of December 25, whereas Wii U was at 69 units.
Some reports had previously highlighted that Switch’s sales had surpassed Wii U, but these were premature as the newer platform was still several thousand units behind based on information from all sales trackers. It wasn’t until the latest data was published – finally made available tonight from Famitsu – that the milestone was confirmed.
New photos from The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild: Master Works
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Images, Switch, Wii U | 14 Comments
In Japan, a brand new art book for Zelda: Breath of the Wild recently debuted. It’s packed full of concept art across more than 300 pages. Below, you’ll find new images from the book.
We’ll likely be getting the Zelda: Breath of the Wild art book eventually, but since we’re still waiting on the Zelda Encyclopedia (which finally arrives in April), it could be quite awhile before it heads west. For now, Play-Asia has the Japanese version in stock here.
2018 Game Developers Choice Awards nominees announced
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch, Wii U | 10 Comments
The nominees are in for the 2018 Game Developers Choice Awards. This will be the 18th time that awards will be handed out by the organization.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild leads the way with six nominations. Super Mario Odyssey also has a couple of nominations. Both are up for Game of the Year.
You can find the full list of nominees below. All winners will be announced at the Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCA) ceremony on March 21 at 6:30 PM PT / 9:30 PM ET.
More: GDC 2018
UK software sales (Week ending 12/30/2017) – Switch/Wii U/3DS charts
Posted on 6 years ago by Matt(@OnePunchMaz) in 3DS, News, Switch, Wii U | 0 comments
This week’s Switch/ Wii U/3DS-specific UK software sales are as follows:
Switch
1. Super Mario Odyssey – Nintendo
2. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Nintendo
3. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Nintendo
4. Splatoon 2 – Nintendo
5. 1-2-Switch – Nintendo
6. Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle – Ubisoft
7. FIFA 18 – EA
8. Sonic Forces – SEGA
9. Just Dance 2018 – Ubisoft
10. L.A. Noire – Take 2
Wii U
1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Nintendo
2. Super Mario 3D World – Nintendo
3. New Super Mario Bros. U + New Super Luigi U – Nintendo
4. Just Dance 2018 – Ubisoft
5. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze – Nintendo
6. Mario Party 10 – Nintendo
7. Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Warner Bros. Interactive
8. Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games – Nintendo
9. Paper Mario: Color Splash – Nintendo
10. Minecraft: Wii U Edition – Nintendo
3DS
1. Pokemon Ultra Moon – Nintendo
2. Pokemon Ultra Sun – Nintendo
3. Mario Kart 7 – Nintendo
4. Super Mario 3D Land – Nintendo
5. New Super Mario Bros. 2 – Nintendo
6. Miitopia – Nintendo
7. Tomodachi Life – Nintendo
8. Mario Party: The Top 100 – Nintendo
9. Luigi’s Mansion 2 – Nintendo
10. Super Mario Maker – Nintendo
Source: Chart-Track
More: Chart-Track, charts, sales, UK
Nintendo feels that Breath of the Wild’s freedom needs to be maintained in future Zelda games
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch, Wii U | 60 Comments
Zelda: Breath of the Wild has no set way of getting through the game. Thanks to its freedom, players can tackle it in any way they see fit. Zelda’s freedom has allowed players to come up with all sorts of interesting ways of solving puzzles. In some cases, they’ve even found ways of skipping large sections of Shrines entirely.
Producer Hidemaro Fujibayashi told IGN in a new interview that this was “all according to plan.” Nintendo wanted players to be able to have “multiple answers, multiple ways, multiple ways of doing anything.”
Zelda: Breath of the Wild devs borrowed assets from Mario Kart 8 while working on the Master Cycle Zero
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch, Wii U | 2 Comments
No one could have expected Nintendo to add a motorcycle in Zelda: Breath of the Wild. But in The Chammpions’ Ballad, Nintendo did just that. The reward at the end of the DLC is none other than the Master Cycle Zero.
In an interview with IGN, Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma discussed the development of the new motorcycle. You might be interested to know that Nintendo imported assets from Mario Kart 8 as a “test drive” of sorts.
