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Whereas Nintendo’s E3 showing was generally well-received in 2014, the same can’t be said of this year’s event. A number of fans have expressed disappointment in terms of what Nintendo brought to the table during its latest Digital Event last month.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata and Shigeru Miyamoto both addressed the reaction to the company’s E3 2015 presence at a recent shareholders meeting. The two of them noted the following:

Iwata:

E3 this year was held a week later than it has been held in the last few years, and it was held right before our general meeting of shareholders. Including the preparations for this meeting, I prioritized my works in Japan and did not travel to the U.S. to attend E3. As a representative of our board of directors who attended E3 this year, I would like to ask Mr. Miyamoto to talk about it. There will be a video that I would like to show afterward.

Shigeru Miyamoto (Senior Managing Director and General Manager of Entertainment Analysis & Development Division):

E3 is the annual industry trade show that is usually held around May or June in the U.S. It is true that E3 has the aspect that the shareholder just mentioned. It actually started as a trade show for the U.S. market, and due to the spread of the Internet, the information dispatched at E3 spread around the world. Nintendo views E3 as not only an industry trade show in the U.S. but also as an occasion with which the entire Nintendo group should be involved.

During Nintendo’s latest shareholders meeting, one attendee brought up the slow launches of both Wii U and 3DS. This same person expressed concerns about NX meeting a similar fate.

Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo, addressed this by stating:

The situation for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U is in line with what you mentioned. For Wii U in particular, it cannot be said that it had a successful launch. As for Nintendo 3DS, in Japan there was a temporary slowdown but we managed to make a recovery by offering a number of initiatives collectively. On the other hand, Wii U has not been able to recover at this point in time. Because of this, the size of the installed base compared to the Nintendo DS or Wii eras appears not to be as solid and this is reflected in the company’s profitability. But taking a look back, it was not the case that Nintendo DS sold with huge momentum from the beginning. When it first started to lose momentum, we offered a number of titles from a new genre, such as “nintendogs” or “Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day,” and these titles were widely accepted even by those who had never played video games in the past. This sequence of events led to a very large business. The platform business can sometimes be referred to as a “momentum business.” Thus, it is ideal to have a jump start and drive momentum. Looking back at some of Nintendo’s past platforms, this ideal launch has been achieved 100 percent by perhaps only Wii. Even the Nintendo DS launch had areas in which we could have done better. I cannot disagree with your indication that Wii U is experiencing the most unfavorable situation.

Since the word “NX” has been mentioned, please let me elaborate. When Nintendo announced the collaboration with DeNA on March 17 of this year, I mentioned that Nintendo is currently developing a new dedicated video game system codenamed “NX.” The reason I mentioned this was, at that time, there were more than a certain number of people that thought that Nintendo would give up on the dedicated game system business and concentrate on smart device application development, or that Nintendo should take that path. In addition, such tone could be seen frequently through the media. I felt it was necessary to communicate that Nintendo is not pessimistic about the future of the dedicated game system business but rather more and more eager to continue it. On the other hand, details on the new platform essentially should come later. This is because the entertainment business has an aspect where there is value in surprising consumers. It is not convincing enough to the consumer if we describe how the magic works before actually showing it to them and then expecting them to be surprised or delighted. Having the element of surprise or doing the unexpected is the premise for introducing new ideas and having them welcomed with surprise. That is why I have been repeatedly saying that the next news on NX will not be announced during 2015 but will be announced in 2016. Nevertheless, since NX has news value, when I am interviewed on various occasions, I am asked about it almost every time. I will not share details on NX today but with regard to the launch of Nintendo 3DS and Wii U not necessarily having progressed well and not acquiring sufficient support from software publishers, we intend to offer NX through a Nintendo-like solution. Thank you for understanding that we are making various considerations and preparations in order to avoid what happened with the previous generations.

On a different note, I believe the standard for software publishers in selecting what hardware to provide their games for is the installed base after all. The larger the installed base or the more it is believed that the installed base will largely expand, there is an aspect that more software publishers are likely to join in. On the other hand, Nintendo is collaborating with various software publishers. At E3, which was held in the U.S. and is the largest trade show in the video game industry, we received many proposals for joint initiatives. In addition, Japanese software publishers have close relationships with our licensing department on a regular basis. As for collaborations with software publishers or their games, please consider that there are various ongoing projects below the surface.

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Super Mario Maker won’t have an inherent content filter, so players can potentially upload any kind of level. Should other users find a level offensive or inappropriate, however, they can report that level. The level will then be reviewed by Nintendo who will decide whether to take it down or not.

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Over on Reddit, Hyperkin revealed a new GameCube-style controller for Wii U called the “ProCube”. This would work with all titles on the console that support the Pro Controller, and wouldn’t require an adapter since it syncs directly with the system.

The ProCube is very much like Nintendo’s original GameCube controller. It just has a few extra buttons that would make it work with Wii U games that offer the Pro Controller scheme.

As things stand now, the ProCube isn’t an absolutely final product that will hit the market. It’s currently in the prototype stage, and Hyperkin will have it at EVO 2015 to gather feedback. Hyperkin product manager Chris Gallizzi told GamesBeat, “If the overall feedback is awesome and accepting we will move into production.”

Hyperkin will be using feedback obtained from EVO players to make changes to things such button placement and the sensitivity of the analog sticks. Ultimately, the company wants to have a controller that can appeal to everyone.

The ProCube is only planned as a wireless controller at the moment, but a wired version could be produced as well. Assuming the reception is positive, it’s expected to carry a price point somewhere between $30 and $40.

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A new multiplayer mode has now been added to Splatoon. As part of Ranked Battle, players can now participate in “Tower Control”.

Nintendo describes Tower Control as follows:

The objective of Tower Control is to ride a single floating tower into the enemy’s base. Both teams rush toward the tower, which is initially placed in the center of the map, and the tower will start moving automatically once a player climbs aboard. But beware: Riding the tower will increase the chances of being splatted, as every player has his or her target on the tower. Riding the tower alone is pretty tough, encouraging randomly selected teams of players to team up to accomplish their goal. Just like in Ranked Battle and Turf War, players will be rewarded for working together as a team. Surrounding the tower and protecting the player riding the tower, using each stage’s features to gain an advantage and supporting each other are the keys to victory.

Tower Control joins Splat Zones as one of the modes available in Ranked Battle. At some point in the future, “Rainmaker” will also be added as a Ranked Battle option.

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As is the case in Europe, Nintendo will be offering two versions of Yoshi’s Woolly World in North America. Consumers can purchase the standalone title or a bundle that comes with a Yarn Yoshi amiibo. Amazon has now posted the boxart for the bundle, which we’ve added in above.

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Nintendo came out with Splatoon’s 1.3.0 update last night. It makes changes to the Ink Resistance, Stealth Jump, and Ninja Squid. Take a look for the video below to see how these modifications stack up to the previous version of the game.

NIS America released a new gameplay trailer for Rodea: The Sky Soldier. Check it out below.

Over on the official Splatoon Tumblr, Nintendo has taken the opportunity to introduce the Squid Squad. The Squid Squad is a music group responsible for the background music played during Turf Wars. Nintendo says that “their shows sell out instantly and they’re always being mobbed by fans, so they don’t make public appearances very often.”

Syn., Vo. & Gt., Ba., and Dr. are the different members of the Squid Squad. You can read up on details about each below.

This group of squid punks is the Squid Squad. They’re one of Inkopolis’s hottest acts, and their tracks can be heard as background music during many of the Inkling Turf Wars. Sadly, their shows sell out instantly and they’re always being mobbed by fans, so they don’t make public appearances very often.

Syn.

The keyboardist is the group’s only girl. The melodies she weaves reveal a foundation in deep-sea squid funk that’s truly on another level.

Vo. & Gt.

This guy handles lead vocals and guitar in the Squid Squad, and he writes most of the music and lyrics, too. Welll, he never actually learned to read music, but he’s got a gift for rippin’ phat guitar riffs, and most importantly he’s got that rockstar charm to inspire the other members to greatness.

Ba.

The bass player is the group’s oldest member. He’s one cool customer who doesn’t show much emotion, but make no mistake, he’s the backbone of this band. He’s always the first one at soundcheck, and the last one to leave the stage at the end of the encore.

Dr.

The dummer’s a bit rough around the edges. They call him wild child for a reason. This youngster’s sense of rhythm is uncanny, and when it matters most, his sticks are always there to lead the way with a wicked beat barrage. He really gives his all on stage—if you look closely you might catch him weeping during a drum solo.

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In a couple of months, HORI will be releasing a Link-styled “Battle Pad” for Wii U.

The controller plugs into the Wii Remote and has short stroke L and R buttons, three Turbo settings, and a large d-pad. It should work with Classic Controller and Classic Controller Pro supported titles and “most” Virtual Console games. Players can use it with games like Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Super Mario 3D World, and Mario Kart 8.

Amazon lists the Link Battle Pad for release in North America on September 21 with a $27.99 price point. Europe is getting the controller in August.

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