Activision wants Nintendo to do well. Speaking with GamesIndustry, Activision Publishing boss Eric Hirshberg said that the company has “a vested interest in making them successful.”
Hirshberg’s comments came in response to a question about Activision’s support in light of struggling Wii U sales.
He responded:
“I don’t think we’re slower to move (on new platforms); we’re a very choiceful company. We’re very choiceful in the number of titles we make. We scrutinize opportunities very carefully, and when we go into them we go big. And I think that’s been part of the formula for our success. We were there with a lot support for the Wii U at launch with a Call of Duty game, with a Skylanders game and with several other titles. We want to see Nintendo be successful and we want to do anything we can to help them be successful. Obviously the Wii U is struggling – that’s not a secret, I don’t think there’s any other way to read the narrative right now – but they’re a really good company and they’ve got some incredible IP that has yet to come, that they honed for that platform. We have a vested interest in making them successful.”
A Hat in Time already surpassed its target goal and stretch goals on Kickstarter, but there still have been opportunities for additional content.
The campaign has raised a total of $230,000 thus far. Thanks to the extra $30,000, Grant Kirkhope will compose two more tunes for the game. Gears for Breakfast also has plans for new enemies. While specific details are being kept under wraps, the team is “working hard on providing as much variety as possible with the funding”.
This week’s GameStop ad has gone live. There aren’t many deals, but you can see what the retailer is offering below.
Nintendo stuff is towards the end of the video. There’s also a bit at the beginning of Conan with the Bayonetta 2 cosplayer.
Armikrog isn’t guaranteed to be fully funded on Kickstarter. Donations have kicked up considerably over the past couple of days, but there’s still roughly $65,000 needed before the $900,000 goal is reached. The Wii U stretch goal also looms at $950,000.
So what will happen if Armikrog misses out on its Wii U target? Nothing, really! Animation director Mike Dietz recently said that the team will simply take pre-orders through Paypal and “continue funding the game.”
“If we fund the game through Kickstarter but fall a little short of the 950K Wii U stretch goal, we’ll open up a Paypal site to take pre-orders to continue funding the game. I feel confident we can make up the difference after the KS ends.”
Dietz also shared a little information regarding the Wii U version of Armikrog. It will contain exclusive content, but Dietz didn’t reveal any specifics.
“We’re still working through the design and how Armikrog will best utilize the unique capabilities of the Wii U, but it is safe to say there will be content exclusive to the Wii U.”
Yoichi Wada stepped down as Square Enix CEO back in March. But he’s still very much with the company. And his new position at Square Enix is a bit surprising.
While Wada is no longer CEO, he is Chairman of the Board. The move was made sometime this month despite Square Enix’s previous announcement that Wada would not be reappointed to Board of Directors.
Despite what was listed in the official European Nintendo Downloads press release, F1 Race Stars Powered Up Edition will not be releasing on the Wii U eShop this week. Codemasters, the game’s official developer and publisher, confirmed the news. The company hopes to ”confirm timings for F1 Race Stars very shortly”.
