Nintendo was initially planning on showing the first Wii U commercial during tonight’s episode of X Factor. For whatever reason, that didn’t happen. It was instead broadcasted on Homeland.

The advert hasn’t made its way online yet. When it does become available, we’ll have it on the site.

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Trailer: “What’s new in Skylanders Giants”

Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Videos, Wii, Wii U | 0 comments

Rayman creator: Wii U “surprisingly powerful”, Legends using new lighting engine

Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments

Rayman creator Michel Ancel isn’t just impressed by the technology inside the Wii U GamePad. He’s also more than pleased with the console’s hardware.

Speaking with Nintendo Power this month, Ancel noted a couple of times how he finds the Wii U to be “surprisingly powerful.” Like most developers, he’s noticed that the system offers “a lot of memory”, which allows for “huge textures”.

Because of the hardware behind Wii U (and Ubisoft’s own optimizations), the Rayman Legends team has been able to implement a new lighting engine. Sprites now have proper lighting as well as shadows.

“What surprises me with Wii U is that we don’t have many technical problems. It’s really running very well, in fact. We’re not obliged to constantly optimize things. Even on the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions [of Origins], we had some fill-rate issues and things like that. So it’s partly us – we improved the engine – but I think the console is quite powerful. Surprisingly powerful. And there’ a lot of memory. You can really have huge textures, and it’s crazy because sometimes the graphic artist – we built our textures in very high-dentition. They could be used in a movie. Then we compress them, but sometimes they forget to do the compression and it still works! [Laughs] So yeah, it’s quite powerful. It’s hard sometimes when you’re one of the first developers because it’s up to you to come up with solutions to certain problems. But the core elements of the console are surprisingly powerful.

“And because we’re developing for Wii U, we don’t have to worry about cross-platform optimization.

“We can push what the console can do; push it to its limits. And of course, we have a new lighting engine. In fact, the game engine for Origins was mostly just classic sprites in HD, but now we can light them and add shadows and all these things. So there is some technical innovation with the engine itself. “

Tekken Tag Tournament 2: Wii U Edition screenshots

Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Screenshots, Wii U | 0 comments

Looks like we have one of the first looks at the customization elements in Tekken Tag Tournament 2: Wii U Edition…

No PES on Wii U this year

Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments

I don’t think anyone expected Konami to release a Pro Evolution Soccer game on Wii U this year. For those who were holding on to a tiny glimmer of hope though, PES brand manager Tim Blair officially confirmed that no such title is in development for the console.

“At the time we don’t plan to make PES for the Wii U or the PS Vita. This does not mean we never will. We are still exploring these exciting platforms to make a successful game that takes advantage of these platforms.”

So even though PES is ruled out for Wii U this year, we could see the series down the line. Even the Wii saw PES 2013, so I can’t imagine Konami holding back on Wii U for PES 2014.

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New Nintendo Land details

Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments

The latest issue of the Official Nintendo Magazine has a new batch of information on some of Nintendo Land’s mini-games. You can read up on new details for Balloon Trip Breeze, Metroid Blast, Mario Chase, and Pikmin Adventure. There are a few tidbits about each.

Balloon Trip Breeze

– Hero carries parcels between islands
– Earn currency to spend in the theme park by delivering the parcels
– Tap certain obstacles on the GamePad
– If you tap randomly and try to cheat, the spikes will ricochet

Metroid Blast

– Sensor not used to aim for shooting
– It is used for MotionPlus (like Skyward Sword)
– Gunmen boasts Samus’ full moveset – morph ball, charge shots, evasive dodges and grapple beams
– Again, can use the grapple beams to hang from the gunship

Mario Chase

– In the Mud River Run stage, mud moats can be crossed via bridges that dissolve under the escapee’s feet
– At the end of the round, you get a breakdown of everyone’s movement

Pikmin Adventure

– It’s the Pikmin world re-imagined as clockwork Gashapon toys
– Enemies will appear in plastic capsules, dispatched by a giant vending machine
– When a Pikmin is eaten by an enemy, they emerge as Poo (!) Friends must then help to chip them out

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Hori gearing up to release a boatload of Wii U accessories in Japan

Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments

Hori is preparing a slew of Wii U accessories that will begin to release in Japan in December. Practically all of the companies peripherals are intended to improve the GamePad with protection, covers, and more.

The full lineup of accessories, along with photos, are posted below.

– Lustrous screen protector (780 yen, December release): prioritizes the GamePad’s high image quality using lustrous materials.
– Fingerprint screen protector (780 yen, December release): blocks fingerprints and also makes it easier to remove fingerprints.
– Standard screen protector (500 yen, December release).
– Excellent screen protector (1980 yen, December release): 99.7% glare reduction, 96.8% see through.
– Black, blue, or red soft Wii U GamePad pouch (1280 yen, December release).
– Black, blue, or red hard Wii U GamePad pouch (1580 yen, December release).
– Clear GamePad cover (980 yen, December release): polycarbonate cover.
– Clear and clear black GamePad cover (1480 yen, December release): thermoplastic polyurethane cover.
– Black and white GamePad cover (1480 yen, December release): silicon cover.
– Set of 2 stylus’ (680 yen, December release).
– Stylus strap and holder (680 yen, December release).
– Wii U GamePad in-ear headphones (1280 yen, December release): 1.3 meter cable, volume control, 3.5mm stereo miniplug.
– Black or white GamePad cleaning cloth (680 yen, December release).

Source 1, Source 2

Why Rayman Legends is ditching the Moskito shooting stages

Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments

In Rayman Origins, Ubisoft sprinkled a number of Moskito shooting stages throughout the experience. These sections won’t be returning in the sequel, however. Why?

Rayman creator Michel Ancel told Nintendo Power that it was a matter of variety. The team felt that Rayman Legends offers a great deal of varied gameplay, so those stages weren’t needed.

“For me, that was really there to break up the normal experience a little bit; to offer players something completely different. But with the varied gameplay in Legends, we already have that feeling. To me, it was a bit too much to bring back the shooter stages on top of that.”