Iwata on software delays, says highest-quality products needed to keep maintain consumer trust
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News, Podcast Stories, Wii U | 0 comments
It has been made clear that Nintendo was unable to deliver all of its intended software for Wii U on time. Nintendo has cited a number of reasons for development days, such as the difficulties in making the jump to the HD era. It’s also true that more time than usual was needed to bring some 3DS content to market.
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata also pointed out during the Q&A portion of Nintendo’s E3 2013 analyst briefing that the company must polish its games to the highest level. With the popularity of games on smart devices and other recent trends, Iwata feels that “it is becoming increasingly more difficult to have consumers understand and appreciate the value that a particular game offers than ever before.”
Putting out the highest-quality products is therefore essential. Nintendo feels the need to “improve and re-polish any game that we feel is still lacking in quality.” If Nintendo were to release poor software, consumers’ trust could be lost and the brands of popular franchises could be damaged.
Iwata acknowledges that consumers still don’t understand Wii U’s asymmetric gameplay
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Podcast Stories, Wii U | 0 comments
Asymmetric gameplay was intended to be one of the Wii U’s key features. Yet, it hasn’t caught on with consumers just yet.
This is something that Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata acknowledged during Nintendo’s E3 2013 analyst briefing Q&A. Iwata also feels that Nintendo Land hasn’t been able to step into the same role as Wii Sports did for the Wii.
To remedy the situation, Nintendo will continue to release titles in order “to show how convenient and delightful it is to have the Wii U GamePad controller, and how it changes the gaming experience.” The company hopes that will games such as Pikmin 3, consumers will begin to think, “Indeed it is good to have a GamePad.”
Iwata talks further about third-parties on Wii U
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments
Last week, Nintendo held an analyst briefing at E3 2013. It was led by Nintendo global president Satoru Iwata. Following the presentation, Iwata conducted a brief Q&A, and one analyst pressed the CEO further about third-party support on Wii U.
Iwata iterated two points: the plan to bring Nintendo games to the console one after another to create momentum for the platform and that “third-party software developers actively working on software for Wii U right now.”
Iwata also pointed out how, if the Wii U gains momentum and other third-parties do well, people will begin to “definitely question” those who do not support the system.
Video: “What’s Different in New Super Luigi U?”
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Videos, Wii U | 0 comments
[E3 Impressions] Mario Kart 8
Posted on 12 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in Features, Wii U | 0 comments
System: Nintendo Wii U
Release Date: 2014
Developer: Nintendo EAD Group No. 1
Publisher: Nintendo
Author: Austin
The differences between titles in the Mario Kart series are perhaps only noticeable to those with a lengthy history with the franchise. The subtle focus of Mario Kart 7, for instance, feels much different than the marshmallow-y approach taken by Mario Kart Wii, and the slippery controls in Mario Kart 64 mean you need more focus to pull off power-slides than the game’s DS counterpart. It’s a series long-accepted for its rigidity, and the recently announced Mario Kart 8 does not appear to do anything to change up that formula.
Mario Kart 8 team on anti-gravity idea, Miyamoto’s reluctance to include Miis, scrapped drill idea, more
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News, Podcast Stories, Wii U | 0 comments
Nintendo’s Hideki Konno and Kosuke Yabuki divulged a number of intriguing tidbits about Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart in general while speaking with MTV Multiplayer. The two discussed the origins of the anti-gravity idea, how Shigeru Miyamoto was very reluctant to make Miis playable, an abandoned idea for drills on karts, and more.
As always, you can find the full responses after the break.
Sakurai on the formation of Smash Bros. roster, selection is stressful “almost to the brink of death”
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News, Podcast Stories, Wii U | 0 comments
Choosing the roster for the Super Smash Bros. games isn’t easy. Director Masahiro Sakurai describes the stress put on him as coming close “to the brink of death.”
“The amount of stress I feel, it’s almost to the brink of death. Because it’s not just a matter of me personally thinking this character or that character is going to be in the game; it’s that we also have the game balance, animation, graphics and sound to think about in order to make that character fully fleshed out in that universe. I have to think about all of that when I go through this decision-making process.”
In Sakurai’s opinion, Smash Bros. is all about the character roster. Not having characters such as Mario, Kirby, Samus, or Link playable would make some feel that “it might not be Smash Bros.”
Nintendo’s Tanabe, Tabata imagine Metroid Wii U ideas, Tingle brainstorming
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Podcast Stories, Wii U | 0 comments
Metroid isn’t happening on Wii U… for now anyway. But Nintendo developers have no problem discussing hypothetical in which the GamePad could be taken advantage of.
First up is Kensuke Tanabe, the producer of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Island:
“Samus obviously has a lot of features [in her space suit]. There’s a lot you can do with that thing — once she pulls her arm up and pulls out that [metal flap] and does some of this stuff [Tabata pretends to punch buttons on her forearm]. I can see mapping some of that to the GamePad. I think that would be really cool.”
Nintendo project leader Risa Tabata also has a few ideas:
“I [told Tanabe], ‘What, you want to hook a GamePad on a Zapper [gun peripheral]?’ He said: ‘No, that’d be too heavy. Maybe something more streamlined. But like a Zapper-style thing with a GamePad feature on it or some device like that. I’d love to do some shooting stuff with something like that! Maybe some day.’”
And here’s the strangest thing of all: an idea from Tanabe to bring back Tingle.
“There’s no definitive plan or anything. It’s just me off the top of my head.”
“I know how hated the character of Tingle is in the U.S. I know that people cannot stand Tingle. But to me that challenge is: Could I take this character that is so reviled in the West and just [do] a complete turnaround and make him a beloved, fun character? The idea of that really just gets me going. I know we have made a Tingle game in the past, but maybe at some point down the road. …”
“It’s like love. It’s like romance: You meet someone and you’re like, ‘Oh god, I can’t stand that person.’ And then three weeks later, you’re madly in love — it’s that turn, that quick whip, that motivates [me] a little bit.”
“If we we ever get a really successful Tingle game, maybe we will have like a big Tingle statue out there [points to Nintendo’s E3 booth outside the room’s walls].”
