One of the Wii U’s most-appealing features is its ability to play games off-screen. A majority of the titles allow system owners to experience titles directly on the GamePad.

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is not included as an off-TV play release. Why is this so?

Producer Ryozo Tsujimoto explained that the team wanted to keep Monster Hunter 3’s two-screen experience in tact:

“We don’t have that feature within Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate – really, the way that we approach making the title for the Wii U was that we wanted to make the Wii U GamePad subscreen a compliment to the main screen. So instead of making the screens replaceable or being able to switch them, we really wanted to make sure that players are utilizing both real estate of the screens, in conjunction with each other.”

In the end, if you wish to play Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate without a TV, you could always go with the 3DS version.

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Coaster Creator 3D will be released on the North American 3DS eShop next Thursday for $9.99.

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Siliconera writes today that Ubisoft will be shipping a new product known as Assassin’s Creed III: Washington Edition “very soon”. The publisher is likely packing in the full game as well as the full Tyranny of King Washington DLC. Although Washington Edition hasn’t been confirmed for Wii U, one would think it has a pretty good shot at hitting the platform given that Assassin’s Creed III is already out on the system.

Thanks to KIDNINTENDO for the tip.

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This week’s Famitsu review scores are as follows:

Dynasty Warriors 8 (PS3) – 9/9/9/9
Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission (3DS) – 8/9/8/8
Shining Ark (PSP) – 9/8/8/8
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Plus (PSV) – 8/8/9/8
Professor Layton and the Azran Legacies (3DS) – 8/8/8/8
Macross 30 (PS3) – 8/8/8/8
Sharin no Kuni, Himawari no Shoujo (PS3) – 9/8/7/8
Senran Kagura: Shinovi Versus (PSV) – 8/9/8/7
D.C. III Plus: Da Capo III Plus (PSP) – 7/8/7/6
Stellar * Theater Portable (PSP) – 7/8/7/6
Risen 2: Dark Waters (PS3/360) – 7/7/7/7
Osawari Tantei Nameko Daihanshoku (3DS) – 7/7/6/6

In the interview above, Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg is talking all about the upcoming Skylanders: Swap Force, and he addressed one of the key issues people have been having with the game: Why do they need to pay for a whole new portal to place their figurines on?

Well, according to Hirshberg the portal adds new functionality that lets it read the swapping parts of the upcoming came, meaning players can mix and match elements of characters in order to strategize (to whatever extent the game allows, anyhow) more efficiently.

Via Nintendo Life

Activision has confirmed layoffs of about around staffers today. Kotaku has heard rumblings that quite a few Treyarch employees were included with the dismissals, but Activision says that the majority stems from separate divisions such as the section handling licensed titles.

The company said in a statement:

“Like any successful business, Activision Publishing consistently works to align its costs with its revenues—this is an ongoing process. In 2013, we expect to release fewer games based on license properties and as a result are realigning our structure to better reflect the market opportunities and our slate. Approximately, 30 full-time employees have been impacted globally, which represents approximately one half of one percent of Activision Blizzard’s employee population. We are offering those employees who are impacted outplacement counseling services.”

Activision also offered up the following regarding Treyarch:

“Now that we have launched Black Op II, we are taking a minimal reduction in staff to better align our development talent against the needs of DLC development. The release of the DLC will not be impacted by this move.”

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Something happened with Aliens: Colonial Marines. The final product that we know of today is quite different than the demo showcased last year. It’s only natural to begin wondering about the discrepancies between the two.

Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford president addressed the situation – but only somewhat – on Twitter today. Pitchford understands that gamers are interested in receiving an explanation, and it sounds like official statements could be coming in the future.

Below are some of the Twitter exchanges between Pitchford and fans regarding the demo versus final game controversial:

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The intro bit is the main new item of this video. We saw the interview translation during last week’s Nintendo Direct.

Update: Bumped to the front page with Gyrozetter, more Shin Megami Tensei IV, Dragon Quest X, Digimon World Re:Digitize Decode, Monster Hunter 4, and Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon scans.

Thanks to Mo for the tip.