Witch Beam’s Assault Android Cactus has been confirmed for Wii U. The studio’s bullet hell shooter will be available on Wii U in Q1 2014 in addition to the PlayStation 4 and PS Vita.
Assault Android Cactus will include boss fights, dynamic music and stages, four different characters with unique play styles, and four-player local co-op.
The 3DS and PlayStation Vita are executing “fundamentally different strategies,” Nintendo marketing executive Scott Moffitt has said.
Moffitt explained to GameSpot that Sony is trying to extend the console experience into the portable space. When it comes to Nintendo though, Moffitt said the company is mainly tasked with creating unique content for gamers who may only have a limited time to play.
He said:
“Certainly, on the handheld side, we’re heading in a very different direction than PlayStation with Vita. It really comes back to, in my opinion, the core strategy. I believe their view on the market is that the handheld gaming occasion and the home gaming occasion are one in the same, that people just have the desire to keep continue playing their home console game when they leave the house.”
“And our philosophy, our belief, our strategy, is that we believe it’s kind of a different occasion. The moment of time you’re willing to play, the amount of time you have able to play when you’re away from home is different and your gaming behavior is different.”
“You’re not going to grab the whole bag of Doritos chips and sit on the couch for three hours; you have 25 minutes until the bus comes or whatever it might be. So the nature of the game ought to be a little different and the nature of the experience ought to be a little different. So I do believe on that, we have fundamentally different strategies.”
Much like the US, the Wii U Basic Pack is more or less being phased out in Europe.
A Nintendo spokesperson told Eurogamer that Nintendo is concentrating on the 32GB Premium Pack. Expect the Basic package to become “limited” in the UK going forward. And while Nintendo won’t say that they’re ditching the Basic Pack outright, we can deduce that it won’t be restocked in the future.
Nintendo’s full statement reads:
“The current Wii U Basic Pack will become limited in supply. However we are always looking for fun and interesting ways to package up our products for different groups of fans.”
Skylanders Swap Force 3DS, developed by n-Space, has been detailed by Activision. The game has its own story, levels, and special starter pack characters. Rattle Shake, Volcanic Eruptor, and Free Ranger cannot be found in any other Skylanders Starter Pack.
Here’s the official story overview, courtesy of Activision:
The story of Skylanders SWAP Force on Nintendo 3DS begins in Boomtown, home of Skylands’ favorite pilot, Flynn. As the town is celebrating Flynn as their hometown hero, a new villain known as Count Moneybone sneaks his way into Boomtown to kidnap Cali, long-time friend to Flynn and the Skylanders. Now it’s up to Portal Masters everywhere to assemble the Skylanders and SWAP Force to save Cali and defeat the evil Count Moneybone.
Skylanders Swap Force on 3DS will be compatible with all of the toys from Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure and Skylanders Giants. All character abilities, levels and customization will carry over to Swap Force. Additionally, the level cap for all characters has been raised from 15 to 20.
Source: Activision PR
The DS isn’t going anywhere. Even though the 3DS is very much in the limelight now, especially with the just-announced 2DS model, Nintendo is still producing DSi XL units. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime also told Kotaku that some retailers still have regular DSi stock.
He said:
“There are retailers that continue to carry DSi and DSi XL today. Typically you’ll be able to find more DSi XL out in the marketplace. And typically that product will be priced at $99.”
Reggie also indicated that a good amount of DSi XL units are making their way to Latin America:
“We do continue to manufacture and to sell out to retail [the] DSi XL. We also continue to manufacture and ship DSi to just a handful of U.S. retailers but more broadly throughout Latin America.”
