Ubisoft continues to say all the right things about Wii U, such as how it likes the system and its potential. That’s what CEO Yves Guillemot expressed to GamesIndustry in a new interview:
“We like the machine itself, with its possibility to have different types of gameplay on the TV screen and on the tablet. It’s something that’s really new for the industry, and we’ll continue to see more of that on the PS4 and Xbox One.”
Later in the interview, Guillemot mentioned that the company expects Wii U to take off sales-wise this Christmas. Once the new year rolls in, Ubisoft will “review what happened” (and will presumably assess its support of the console).
“We will continue to support the Wii U this Christmas, and we’re expecting it to take off in terms of sales. And we’ll review what happened again at the beginning of next year.”
Is Nintendo releasing too many Mario games? Depending on who you ask, some would say yes and others would say no.
Nintendo of America senior director of corporate communications Charlie Scibetta is in the latter group. Speaking with Shacknews, Scibetta said that the company is “putting out the right number of Mario games based on what fans are asking for, based on what our own developers’ creative visions are.”
“We think we’re putting out the right number of Mario games based on what fans are asking for, based on what our own developers’ creative visions are. The key to that is as long as there’s innovation is occurring within the gameplay, as long as there’s new features, then marrying the characters and the IPs that people love is the right call from our standpoint.”
“If you look at something like Super Mario 3D World, the gameplay on that one that I find really cool is those transparent warp points. Usually you used to go into one and pop out the other, and that was the end of the gameplay experience. Now, there’s a whole dynamic there where you can navigate in there, try to avoid enemies, try to get a better advantage. You could theoretically make a whole new game with those kind of gameplay dynamics.”
Scibetta was also asked if Nintendo should instead focus its efforts on creating new IP rather than developing so many Mario titles. He said:
“If we didn’t put Mario on it, then it would just seem like a new IP. Because there’s those new gameplay dynamics like that, we think there’s the innovation there that will keep people interested and keep the Mario brand fresh.”
“You could call all the games that we’re making here new IP in the sense that they’re new gameplay experiences. They just happen to also have the IP that people associate with.”
EDGE has published its full interview with Eiji Aonuma, the producer of the Zelda series. A lot of interview snippets already found their way online over the past few weeks, but there are still some interesting things to read up on. Head past the break for Aonuma’s comments on Zelda: A Link Between Worlds.
G.Rev just put out its first game on the 3DS eShop today. Kokuga, originally launched as a retail product in Japan, can now be purchased overseas digitally.
Now that G.Rev has put out a game on the eShop, could future titles make their way to the store as well? CEO Hiroyuki Maruyama is keeping an open mind, but would like to see how Kokuga performs before making any decisions.
He said:
“It would, of course, depend on the content of the game, but we are very conscious of the possibility in regards to development for the 3DS. I think we want to first see how Kokuga does in the eShop. The physical release in Japan was full priced, but we decided to reduce it for the eShop ($14.99 in the US). We hope many gamers will purchase a copy and enjoy it!”
Circle Entertainment has unleashed details on Castle Conqueror – Dark Ages, the company’s first self-made 3DS game. A roundup of information can be found below.
– Strategy game
– Plays like Castle Conquerer Heroes 2
– Medieval setting
– Choose different heroes to serve different countries at the start of the game
– 8 heroes
– 8 countries
– Each hero has unique abilities and skills
– Each country has unique technology and tactics
– 51 unit types
– Each unit has its own advantages and disadvantages
– Factors such as terrain and weather now influence the battlefield
– During the night, the line of vision for all units decreases
– Boats will be damaged by bad weather at sea
– Art style skews more Japanese
– Japanese voices
– Circle Entertainment in the heart of development currently
– Development will hopefully finish within the next few months
– Hoping for a Q4 release
