Wii U sales haven’t been up to snuff these past few months, but Nintendo doesn’t sound concerned. Senior communications director Charlie Scibetta believes that the system’s games will lead to increased momentum.
GameSpot asked Scibetta if Nintendo stands to see a difficult holiday season against the likes of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. To this, he said: “the short answer is no.”
“If you’re a consumer going in and you have these options; we know what the price points are now from the competitors, we know what the games are from the competitors; and we know now what the Wii U is going to offer. We feel good about where we stack up. It’s the software that’s going to motivate them.”
“We saw with the Nintendo 3DS, it got off to a slow start, but then when software started rolling in, sales have done really well.”
Satoru Iwata isn’t ready to hang in the towel for the Wii U just yet. In spite of the doom and gloom surrounding the system, Iwata feels that “there is plenty of opportunity left”. It’s much too early for Wii U’s fate to be decided, he feels.
Iwata told The Wall Street Journal:
“I think there is plenty of opportunity left for the Wii U. We don’t think anything has been decided in the first six months.”
A new visitor has joined the StreetPass Mii Plaza. If your 3DS is connected online, you should be receiving a SpotPass notification about the arrival of Eiji Aonuma, the producer of the Zelda series.
More Brand-New Pokémon Also Introduced at Nintendo’s Developer Roundtable at E3
BELLEVUE, WA—June 11, 2013—Junichi Masuda, Director at GAME FREAK inc., joined Tsunekazu Ishihara, President and CEO of The Pokémon Company, at Nintendo’s Developer Roundtable at E3 on Tuesday evening in Los Angeles to discuss Pokémon history and share new features debuting in the Pokémon X and Pokémon Y video games when they launch worldwide October 12, 2013 exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS system. Mr. Masuda revealed a new communication feature debuting in Pokémon X and Pokémon Y—Player Search System or PSS. He also showcased two new battle scenarios players will come across when exploring the Kalos region—Horde Encounters and Sky Battles. These new ways to battle will require Pokémon Trainers to plan accordingly and build a Pokémon party that can withstand a multitude of Pokémon or take on flying Pokémon high in the sky.
The PSS allows players to connect, battle, and trade with other players nearby and around the world. The PSS makes it easy to find other people playing Pokémon X or Pokémon Y near you or even on the other side of the world. When the new communication feature is on, the PSS alerts players when someone nearby is playing Pokémon X or Pokémon Y and gives you the option to battle or trade with them wirelessly. Players with a wireless Internet connection can also connect with Pokémon X and Pokémon Y players anywhere in the world via the PSS, making it easy to battle or trade with others close by or thousands of miles away.
When Pokémon like Houndour, Axew, Tauros, and Miltank appear en masse in the wild in Pokémon X and Pokémon Y, players will be facing a Horde Encounter. In past Pokémon titles, Pokémon battles have always involved the same number of Pokémon on both sides, like a regular one-on-one match or a Triple Battle. Horde Encounters take battling to a new, intense level that forces a player to battle against multiple wild Pokémon that attack all at once—with only a single Pokémon on the player’s side. Players will need to ensure their Pokémon has moves that can attack multiple Pokémon at once or they may quickly find themselves on the losing end of the battle.
Select Trainers you encounter in Pokémon X and Pokémon Y will challenge players to Sky Battles—fierce battles that take the action high above ground. While players traverse the Kalos region, Trainers standing high on cliffs or in other distant places will want to battle, but players can only participate if they have certain Pokémon in their party that can fly. The Sky Battle is a visually stunning battle scenario and an exciting new addition to Pokémon video games.
Never-before-seen Pokémon made their debut at Nintendo’s Developer Roundtable at E3:
•An evolved form of the recently announced Fletchling, Talonflame, is a Fire- and Flying-type Pokémon that gains a whole new level of speed and firepower. Reaching speeds of up to 310 mph when diving for its prey, Talonflame can attack its foes with devastating kicks while embers spew from its body as it zooms through
the sky. Talonflame knows Brave Bird, one of the strongest Flying-type moves. Use Brave Bird carefully, though, because the incredible strength of this move also does damage to the user.• The Water Gun Pokémon Clauncher uses its one oversized claw not only to seize prey but also to shoot condensed water at others as a projectile. This capability is so intense that it can crack a boulder! A Water-type Pokémon, Clauncher can also use its giant claw to crush opponents with the powerful Water-type move Crabhammer, which is more likely to land a critical hit. Critical hits against opposing Pokémon will do twice the usual damage.
•Some would say that the Poison- and Water-type Pokémon Skrelp appears to be nothing more than a rotting piece of kelp, but don’t let its appearance fool you. Using its unique look to its benefit, Skrelp pretends to be a piece of seaweed, and when prey wander past it, Skrelp bathes them in poison so they can’t struggle when it attacks. Skrelp uses the Poison-type move Sludge Bomb, a move that can leave opposing Pokémon poisoned. A poisoned Pokémon will slowly take damage over the length of a battle.
It was also revealed that Pokémon X and Pokémon Y are the first Pokémon titles that allow players the choice to play the game in one of seven languages: English, Japanese, French, Italian, German, Korean, or Spanish.
Pokémon X and Pokémon Y will carry a suggested retail price of $39.99.For more information about Pokémon X and Pokémon Y, including new images and gameplay video featuring information announced today, please visit pokemon.com/xy.
Source: Nintendo PR
The Pokemon X/Y developer roundtable has just started. We’ll keep tabs on updates here, so keep checking back.
РMr. Tsunekazu Ishihara, President and CEO of The Pok̩mon Company, is now taking the stage
РHe is very excited for Pok̩mon players all over the world to begin their adventures at the same time
РMr. Ishihara is giving a brief history of Pok̩mon
– Now Prez of Pokemon Co is talking about communication and connective nature of series, and how that’s evolved
– We’ll learn more about the connectivity in Pokemon X&Y later tonight from Junichi Masuda
РPok̩mon X and Pok̩mon Y will refine the core aspects of Pok̩mon games: collecting, battling, and trading
– Pokemon X&Y being called a culmination of everything in the series thus far
– Mr. Junichi Masuda, Director at GAME FREAK inc., is on stage now
– We’re seeing the Pokemon X&Y bootup screen. RIDING POKEMON. Big Eiffel Tower-like… tower
– Just saw a main character grinding down a rail. Definitely character clothing customization options (though how many I’m not sure)
– Mr. Masuda is discussing the challenges of a global video game release
– There are over 800,000 Japanese characters in the game, which translates to 1.4 million words in English
– Talking about the hurdle of localizing for global release – 800k JPN characters becomes 1.4 million English words
– Players will be able to choose 1 of 7 languages to play the game (English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese, or Korean)
– The new PSS (Player Search System) will allow players to search for others locally or globally (via Wi-Fi) to battle and trade
– PSS is on lower screen of 3DS, tracks Friends, Acquaintances, and Passersby
– Tracks two ways – local wireless and the Internet
– You can basically be connected with other players all around the world at all times
– Passersby – PSS recognizes other players playing XY. If you interact with one of anyone on that list, they become an Acquaintance
РMr. Masuda is demoing a battle via the PSS. The two opposing Pok̩mon are new for Pok̩mon X and Pok̩mon Y
– Acquaintances can then become Friends. And you can log and access up to 100 Favorites of any of those three categories of interactions
– Various options for battles. There is a default set, but you can change things re: special Pokemon and other rules
– Battle: Camera placements move around. Split-screen views and more
– Now we’re seeing what you see when you’re back on the PSS (lower) screen
– Two new pokemon announced: Clauncher (water) and Skrelp (poison)
– Because a Passerby was battled, that Passer has now become an Acquaintance
– Save Screen shows a Pokedex count of 113 Pokemon and 8 Badges
– If you interact more than once, the game will ask if you want an Acquaintance to become a Friend. Pretty easy system
РAnother new Pok̩mon, Noivern, is being used to demo the awesome 3D modeling process used for Pok̩mon X and Pok̩mon Y
– Decided to adapt the official Pokemon art style and make that come alive in 3D
– A lot more specifications were needed for different angles of the Pokemon, emotions and much more
– Boom Burst: New Normal-type move
РMr. Masuda is discussing the various ways players can interact with Pok̩mon in Pok̩mon-Amie
– Allows better bonding with Pokemon
– Strong bond will result in more critical hits or better dodging
– Time to talk about battles: introducing Horde Encounters (5-on-one battles). (Axnew, Tauros being shown as examples.)
– But a Horde might include a variety of different Pokemon. Not just 1 type. Designed to make wild encounters more thrilling
– Dilemma: only introducing strong Pokemon in battles would ruin the balance, because you can capture. So – Hordes. Challenge but balanced
– Mr. Masuda is showing a video of a Gogoat encountering a horde of Houndour
– Just like any typical RPG, you make 1 attack, and then all of the Horde will attack
– Another new type of battle has been announced! Prepare for Sky Battles
РOnly some Flying-type Pok̩mon (and a few others) can enter a Sky Battle. Mr. Masuda is demoing now
– Trainers will challenge you to Sky Battles. Limited set of Pokemon can participate – mostly Flying types
– If you don’t have any Pokemon that can engage in a Sky Battle, you can’t enter the challenge
РTalonflame, a new Fire- and Flying-type Pok̩mon, has just been revealed in a Sky Battle demo against Noctowl
– Very dynamic camera, taking a variety of positions through the air. Night time scene looks fantastic. Talonflame vs. Noctowl
– Talonflame has just been switched out for Haunter! But wait…Haunter isn’t a Flying-type Pokémon
– Haunter has a levitate ability so it can fight in a Sky Battle. Now fighting a Aerodactyl
– Q: Multiple save files? A: No. Just one
– Q: Importing Pokemon from previous games? A: They’re working on it. DS/3DS comm. barrier is slightly tricky
– Q: Will there be DLC? A: Hoped that wouldn’t be asked, but they are exploring the possibilities. No announcements
– Q: Explanation for Fairy type being discovered and applying to older Pokemon? A: Dragon type has had an advantage. Wanted balance
– Q: How many new Pokemon? A: No comment
– Q: Why base this location on France? A: France has a focus on a beauty and that was a focus for X&Y. Wanted to see how to express
– Q: Considered tweaking EV and IV to make being competitive easier? A: X&Y will make some of these ideas more visible and intuitive
Q: Depth of customization? A: You can choose hair style, set appearance. PSS shows player icons so chose to allow for custom appearance
– Diagonal movement
– Q: Player movement appears to be 8-way. Why not full analog? A: Keeping a grid-style bc of tracking Pokemon encounters. But freer movement
– Q: Didn’t hear buuut A: Music will have different feel than past games bc it’s less modified/compressed than in older games
– Q: How does Mewtwo change form? Do you want him in Smash? A: -long pause- Can’t explain “Mewthree” Pokemon. Can’t talk about other games
– Sakurai just chimed in (joking) – “We’re thinking about it.”
– Q: New or old villain team? Form of rival? A: “You can expect to see a Team ‘Something'” There’s a Rival, but maybe not just one
– Pokemon X&Y will read your registered friends list from the 3DS system, so the game will automatically have those people as your friends
– Some areas have different types of methods of getting around. (i.e. we’ve seen the grinding and so on). Depends on area
– Flow of battles – seeing opponent’s team ahead of time – is the same as before. You can select the song for the battle though
– Q: Riding Pokemon – benefits? Diff from bike? A: Sounds like you can ‘borrow’ Pokemon to traverse to destinations. Can help open paths too
