Nintendo Everything

Nintendo’s former longtime president Hiroshi Yamauchi died today at the age of 85. Satoru Iwata has since responded to the news with a short statement.

Iwata said:

“We will continue to treasure the values Yamauchi taught us — that what makes you unique lies at the core of entertainment. And we at Nintendo will continue to change the company flexibly to adapt to the times, as Yamauchi did, to carry on his spirit.”

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This week’s Japanese eShop update is as follows:

3DS

Downloadable Titles
San Goku Shi (Romance of the Three Kingdoms, retail title) – 4,500 yen (from 9/19)
Nobunaga no Yab? (Nobunaga’s Ambition, retail title) – 4,500 yen (from 9/19)
Mushibugyo (retail title) – 5,980 yen (from 9/19)
Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition (retail title) – 2,000 yen (from 9/19)
Gureko Kara no Ch?sen-j?! Keisan no Shiro to Obake-tachi Hiki-san DEMO – FREE
Gureko Kara no Ch?sen-j?! Keisan no Shiro to Obake-tachi Wari-san DEMO – FREE
Maru G?kaku! Hisho Kentei DEMO – FREE
Maru G?kaku! Kihonj?h? Gijutsushasha Shiken DEMO – FREE
Maru G?kaku! ?y?j?h? Gijutsusha Shiken DEMO – FREE

Virtual Console
Kanshakudama Nage Kantar? no T?kaid? Goj?san Tsugi (Famicom)

Wii U

Downloadable Titles
ARC Style Yaky? (Baseball)!! SP – 800 yen

Virtual Console
Famicom Mukashi Banashi Shin Onigashima (Zengohen) (Famicom) – 500 yen

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Although Nintendo has only released one Pokemon Snap game, there has certainly been clamoring from fans for a sequel. Game Freak’s Junichi Masuda is also a fan, and sounds open to considering a new entry.

However, Masuda feels that simply bringing out Pokemon Snap “as the same game” – in other words, “how it was before” – wouldn’t be the best idea. He instead feels that a new release would require “a new idea or something that will make it more appealing to players.”

Regarding the possibility of a new Pokemon Snap, Masuda told Polygon:

“Personally, I really love the Pokemon Snap game, but it wouldn’t be interesting if we just released the same game, how it was before, for the Wii U or 3DS. So we have to come up with a new idea or something that will make it more appealing to players. Sometime down the road, we may have something.”

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When asked about a mainline Pokemon game for Wii U in the past, Game Freak director Junichi Masuda hasn’t been open to the possibility. His thinking is that the RPG games are better-suited for handhelds due to the communication aspects.

Unfortunately, not much has changed. Polygon quizzed Masuda once again about a potential Pokemon Wii U game, Masuda said the following:

“The series was built around the idea of trading Pokemon, trading these creatures, and everything we designed about the games was based on that concept. That trading aspect was also to promote communication between people, and really, you need the handheld to be able to go places in real life, meet people, easily trade and battle with them. I think that’s the reason we designed them on the handheld; it’s really important to Pokemon.”

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Polygon has put up a huge report on Pokemon X/Y, which covers gameplay between the beginning up to the first gym. You can find a summary of details below – including comments from Game Freak’s Junichi Masuda. Alternatively, you can find Polygon’s full piece here.

– Start off by choosing your gender
– Customize how your character looks next
– Begin the adventure by meeting with 4 neighborhood kids who are also setting out to do the same
– Scene is shown over coffee in a little Parisian-style cafe
– Given your starter Pokemon and Pokedex here from one of these friends
– They explain what X and Y’s professor expects from them
– Need to travel the world and fill up the Pokedex with information on new Pokemon
– Formula of going to the professor, picking a Pokemon, traveling alone and occasionally battling against one main rival was changed in order to heighten focus on the games’ key theme of bonds
– Bonds are between Pokemon and their trainers as well as between trainers and their new in-game friends
– Friends will travel with you as you move through Kalos

“This time we really wanted to make it a journey about you and your friends. When you first meet the kids at the beginning of the game, you don’t actually know them, so you’re meeting them for the first time. But one of the central themes of Pokemon X and Y are bonds — the bonds between people, and the bonds between people and Pokemon, for example. When focusing on this theme, we wanted to make [the game] a journey about meeting these friends and then getting to know them over the course of the adventure.”

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In addition to North America, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate has been discounted in Europe. The Wii U and 3DS versions are both on sale for 50% off. The promotion period lasts for four days only.

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Along with today’s screenshot, Sakurai passed along the following message:

“By any chance, are you hiding something from me?”