Austin caught up with Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma earlier today, who spoke a bit about The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD.
When asked why the team chose not to feature the 3DS as the Tingle Tuner, Aonuma said that they wanted to focus on the social aspect of Miiverse. The Tingle Tuner was originally used as a way for one player to help the main player through the Game Boy Advance. Now it’s as though the whole world is helping players, so the spirit of the device is left intact.
Aonuma later added that the team didn’t truly try to implement 3DS functionality due to the staff’s focus on Miiverse.
Wind Waker HD essentially replaces the Tingle Tuner from the GameCube original with the new “Tingle Bottle”. This allows players to exchange messages with each other. Once you have access to the item, you can put a message in a bottle, attach a screenshot, and send it off. Messages will be added to Miiverse, and you’ll find comments from other players that wash ashore.
We’re hearing rumblings of two 3DS announcements in this week’s Famitsu. The magazine has supposedly revealed that a Nobunaga’s Ambition game and Romance of the Three Kingdoms title are coming to the handheld, courtesy of Tecmo Koei. Details haven’t leaked out yet, and I’m slightly skeptical of the report, so take this update with a grain of salt for the time being.
Super Smash Bros. Wii U entry will run in 1080p. The news was shared during Nintendo’s Wii U Software Showcase event earlier today.
That’s all, folks!
Based on the latest comments from Ubisoft, you can probably expect to see fewer titles from the publisher on Wii U.
The company said during an investor meeting that it has reduced plans for Wii U due to the system’s soft launch. Ubisoft is also expecting a price cut due to recent sales struggles and the weaker yen.
Analyst David Gibson relayed the news from Ubisoft:
Ubisoft at investor meeting said it has reduced plans for WiiU following soft launch and expects price cuts given sales and weaker yen
— David Gibson (@gibbogame) June 12, 2013
Game & Wario will be available at retail and on the Wii U eShop. If you opt for the latter, you’ll need a decent amount of storage available on your console (or externally). Game & Wario will take up 3.9GB of space, according to the game’s official website.
Eshiro said the digital-only release was due largely in part to the game’s development schedule.
Much has been made about Capcom’s decision to release Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destines as a digital download. This is the first time that a core entry in the series will not be available at retail.
Speaking about the move, producer Motehide Eshiro said:
“The reason we are releasing the game as digital only is not primarily due to a lack of retail support. One of the main reasons we went for a digital version is it will be more convenient for the users. We felt that if someone will be interested in Dual Destinies they will want to get it right away, and if we offer a digital version, instead of going to a store however many miles away, they can just download it directly to their 3DS.”
Eshiro additionally noted how Capcom was looking to reduce the time it would take to release Dual Destinies overseas. Because of the game’s tight development schedule, dropping the retail version was necessary. Eshiro said that he wanted to avoid having fans wait a long time for Dual Destinies’ arrival, unlike past entries.
“We didn’t want to have too much lag time between the Japanese and American versions. Offering a downable version was one of the ways to cut down that lag time.”
The hope for a retail version of Dual Destinies isn’t completely dead. According to Eshiro, Capcom will consider a physical release if there’s enough of a push from fans.
Eshiro lastly commented on the possibility of bringing past or future Ace Attorney games for consoles. This isn’t in the cards currently, Eshiro says:
“The series is popular as handheld games. In Japan, everyone takes the train to work so it’s easy for someone to start up the game and play for a little bit while they’re on the train. In North America it’s a bit harder because everyone drives to work. That’s something we would have to think about at [Capcom] and see if it’s a viable solution for the series.”
