Iwata on integrating handheld/console teams, next system will “absorb the Wii U architecture adequately”, more
Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 38 Comments
Satoru Iwata delivered some incredibly insightful comments as to what Nintendo has planned for its future hardware during an investor briefing Q&A last week.
As many of you know, Nintendo combined its console and handheld teams in 2013. Thanks to “vast technological advances, it became possible to achieve a fair degree of architectural integration.”
Iwata says that the integration of the two teams can help overcome some technical difficulties. He mentioned, as an example, that it currently takes “a huge amount of effort” to port Wii games to 3DS, and 3DS titles to Wii U. “If the transition of software from platform to platform can be made simpler, this will help solve the problem of game shortages in the launch periods of new platforms,” he said.
Integrating the console and handheld teams will also allow Nintendo to avoid situations in which it previously “ended up developing a system that was completely different from its predecessor.” Aside from the transition from GameCube to Wii, “all the other systems required ground-up effort.”
Iwata left a tease as for what’s to come, stating:
In this perspective, while we are only going to be able to start this with the next system, it will become important for us to accurately take advantage of what we have done with the Wii U architecture. It of course does not mean that we are going to use exactly the same architecture as Wii U, but we are going to create a system that can absorb the Wii U architecture adequately. When this happens, home consoles and handheld devices will no longer be completely different, and they will become like brothers in a family of systems.
Be sure to head past the break for Iwata’s comments in full, as there’s quite a bit more he shared that would be silly to summarize further.
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Nintendo will distribute/publish more Japanese 3DS games in the west, Iwata on third-party Wii U support, more
Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 5 Comments
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata addressed the topic of third-party support – for both 3DS and Wii U – during the company’s investor briefing last week.
Regarding 3DS, Iwata says the platform has become “the number one dedicated video game system that Japanese third-party publishers are focusing on” due to its “overwhelmingly strong presence in the hardware as well as software markets”. Nintendo will continue to distribute and publish some Japanese titles “this year and the next.”
The situation is different in the west, as publishers tend to focus more on consoles as opposed to handhelds. However, Iwata noted: “the fact that Nintendo 3DS has now sold over 10 million units in both the U.S. and Europe seems to be news for third-party publishers, and we have recently been receiving more proposals from third-party publishers.”
When it comes to Wii U, “opinions significantly differ among third-party publishers.” There are still some publishers – particular those “that has great affinity with audiences that Nintendo has historically been strong with” – who continue to support the console and even look to assist Nintendo in getting people to upgrade from Wii to Wii U. “On the other hand, software publishers are not necessarily keen on making games in genres that have weaker affinity with audiences that Nintendo has not been as strong with, where making a huge investment does not guarantee a sufficient return,” Iwata explained. Ultimately, Iwata believes Nintendo must “create a strong foundation in areas Nintendo excels at and achieve a sufficient sales volume,” which is the first step for the company.
More: Satoru Iwata, top
Nintendo on downplaying tech specs
Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 88 Comments
Nintendo has always been coy when it comes to technical specs. We rarely see spec sheets from the company, and we often don’t see comments about what Nintendo’s systems can do from a technical perspective.
Last week, Nintendo senior managing director Genyo Takeda spoke with investors about how “Nintendo tries not to emphasize the raw technical specifications”, instead opting to place the focus “on how we can use technology to amplify the value of our entertainment offerings”.
Takeda said, “Whether a machine is powerful or not only has meaning in the context of whether that can express itself in terms of gameplay to consumers.”
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Miyamoto on providing enough software for Nintendo systems, working with outside devs to recreate past games for Wii U, more
Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Podcast Stories, Wii U | 7 Comments
One investor asked Nintendo how it will address the lack of software available for its systems at launch during the company’s investor briefing last week. Shigeru Miyamoto addressed the question, suggesting that the situation had been improved with Wii U. New Super Mario Bros. U and Nintendo Land were available at launch, followed by Pikmin 3 “after a long interval”, and Supre Mario 3D World at the end of last year. Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. are also on the way.
“Therefore, I feel that we have managed to overcome the challenge of releasing enough first-party franchises on Wii U,” he said.
Miyamoto later addressed what Nintendo believes was Nintendo’s biggest issues last year: “we failed to communicate the true value of Wii U, failed to make children persuade their parents to buy our products for them, and failed to offer products that parents could not resist.” He stated that, as a result, Nintendo “will need to put more focus on creating experiences that utilize the GamePad that can also be fully enjoyed when playing alone.”
Miyamoto’s final comments were about developing for Wii U. Due to the huge evolution in technology between Wii and Wii U, just using a technique such as shaders “has significantly changed our development environment as well as our developers themselves and the time to develop games, all of which are areas toward which we have been making significant reinforcements.” Miyamoto said Nintendo is now looking to work with “many outside developers” so that “past games” can be reborn on Wii U.
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Iwata on the importance of momentum, never thought about resigning
Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 0 comments
Momentum is something that we often hear Nintendo discussing. The 3DS, for example, saw a tough start, but Nintendo turned things around with a price drop and steady stream of software. This provided a momentum boost for the system.
Unfortunately, Wii U has yet to see any sort of momentum. This is something that Nintendo president Satoru Iwata reaffirmed to investors last week.
In spite of the Wii U’s struggles though, Iwata says he “never thought of resignation as an option, and I believe that my job is to do whatever I can do to deliver results, and I am as passionate about this responsibility as ever.”
Read Iwata’s full comments on momentum below.
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Iwata on 3DS/Wii U profitability, Mario Kart/Smash will drive Wii U, more
Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 11 Comments
Thanks to the 3DS’ install base, Nintendo now feels that it can turn a profit with the system’s software. President Satoru Iwata mentioned to investors last week that the company has “many key titles to be released in this calendar year and we will strive to drive profits from these titles.” 3DS overall is expected to be “the key profit-driver for the next fiscal year”.
With Wii U, on the other hand, Iwata admitted that “it is not easy to make a significant profit with the current units sold.” But with Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. acting “as our main drivers”, Nintendo “would like to make sure that the markets will thoroughly acknowledge the value of Wii U, including the titles that we have released to date.”
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze commercial
Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Videos, Wii U | 12 Comments
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U screenshot (2/3/14)
Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Screenshots, Wii U | 5 Comments
Along with today’s screenshot, Sakurai passed along the following message on Miiverse:
A size comparison of Lucario’s standard special attack, Aura Sphere, in its weakest and strongest states. The attack is faster and more powerful when the Aura Sphere is bigger.
Retro originally wanted to include Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze’s dynamic 3D camera in Returns
Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii, Wii U | 5 Comments
It’s not unexpected for developers to abandon a few ideas while making games. For Retro Studios, the team was able to take some elements abandoned for Donkey Kong Country Returns and implement them into its direct sequel, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.
One feature scrapped from Returns but included in Tropical Freeze is the game’s dynamic 3D camera. Retro was forced to cut the idea due to a lack of time, but managed to save it for the Wii U title.
Retro Studios president Michael Kelbaugh told ONM this month:
“As a game developer, I’ve felt that you always leave something on the drawing board that you wish you could have got in and you’re always tormented by the thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if we have included…?’ I really believe, however, that those thoughts inspire future games and ideas that you use on the next game. For example, the dynamic 3D camera we used in Tropical Freeze was something we wanted to work into Donkey Kong Country Returns. We didn’t have the time, so we implemented it into Tropical Freeze instead.”
Thanks to joclo for the tip.
Media Create software sales (1/20 – 1/26) – Top 50
Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 1 Comment
This week’s expanded Japanese software sales are as follows:
01./00. [PS3] Sengoku Basara 4 #
02./01. [3DS] Kirby Triple Deluxe
03./02. [3DS] PazuDora Z: Puzzle & Dragons Z
04./00. [PS3] Saints Row IV
05./00. [PS3] Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z
06./00. [PSV] Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z
07./04. [3DS] Yo-kai Watch
08./49. [3DS] Attack on Titan: The Last Wings of Mankind
09./03. [3DS] Pokemon X / Y #
10./05. [3DS] The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds #
11./07. [PS3] Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster
12./00. [PSP] La Corda d’Oro 3: Another Sky feat. Jinnan #
13./00. [PSV] Uta Kumi 575 #
14./06. [3DS] Battle For Money Sentouchuu: Densetsu no Shinobi no Survival Battle!
15./08. [3DS] Monster Hunter 4 #
16./10. [WIU] Super Mario 3D World
17./12. [PS3] Grand Theft Auto V
18./09. [PSV] Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster: Twin Pack #
19./11. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf #
20./00. [360] Saints Row IV
