Nintendo has published the next entry in its Iwata Asks discussion series. This time around, Satoru Iwata sat down with Yoshio Sakamoto, Masamichi Abe, and Naoko Mori for a chat about Game & Wario.
An English version isn’t available currently, but NeoGAF member “StreetsAhead” did translate a significant amount of points from the interview. There’s talk about how the Wii U title wasn’t always planned as a Wario game, how Nintendo of America influenced the naming of the project, and more.
Head past the break for the full summary.
DICE explains reasoning behind lack of Battlefield 4 Wii U, says Frostbite isn’t supported currently
What started out as a simple question ended up turning into a complicated answer.
You may remember how at Nintendo’s E3 2011 press conference, EA CEO John Riccitiello – now gone from the company – essentially promised Battlefield for the Wii U. He teased: “Imagine a shooter, like Battlefield, with jaw-dropping graphics and smooth character animations of the Frostbite engine, brought to you on a Nintendo system with that breakthrough controller.” Now along with Battlefield 3, Wii U won’t be getting Battlefield 4.
So what exactly is preventing a Wii U port? DICE was approached by Eurogamer in search of some answers.
You can read up on the company’s reasoning below, which also includes a confirmation that the game’s Frostbite engine currently isn’t supported on Wii U.
This week’s North American Nintendo Downloads are as follows:
3DS download
HarmoKnight – $14.99
3DS VC
Legend of the River King – $4.99
3DS retail
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
Resident Evil: Revelations
Source: Nintendo PR
Atlus has gone live with a teaser site for Etrian Odyssey: Millennium Girl. You can find it here.
We’re still waiting for the first direct-feed screenshots from Millennium Girl. We’ll get some images soon, hopefully.
LEGO City: Undercover was developed by TT Fusion, but Nintendo certainly played a role in the game’s development. Of course, the Big N did publish the title, though the company typically hasn’t been too involved with titles created by outside studios.
The amount of Nintendo staff who worked on LEGO City: Undercover may surprise you. Producer Masakazu Miyazaki, co-producer Azusa Tajima, executive producer and Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, and countless others contributed to the Wii U release.
You can find a complete listing of Nintendo staff who worked on LEGO City below.
A few hours ago, Nintendo held a session at GDC to show off its new Nintendo Web Framework for the first time. Polygon was at the event and has a write-up of the proceedings. We’ve posted a summary of the report below.
– Nintendo first showed Wii Street U
– This is one of the first apps built from the Nintendo Web Framework
– Nintendo Web Framework uses WebKit as a core
– Compatible with existing apps
– Framework can help make apps that run on the GamePad, TV, or both
– Can also be used to port games made using web technology much faster than it would take to port over a game by actually coding it for the Wii U specifically
– Gunman Clive isn’t a Nintendo Web Framework game, but it’s an example of how a game available on other platforms can benefit from being on a Nintendo system and having access to more precise control methods
– Nintendo senior software engineer Ryan Lynd took over the presentation to show off some of the specific steps in the Nintendo Web Framework process
– Simple video-on-demand app was first demonstrated
– This shows the software’s ability to make changes, refresh, and see them reflected on the GamePad or TV screen instantly — the same way a web developer would work on a web app
– Sketch Ball: simple platformer made entirely in Javascript and ported to Wii U with the Nintendo Web Framework
– Lynd showed off the ability to quickly create new stages using HTML backgrounds as well as the option to use the GamePad’s camera and accelerometer
– Sketch Battle will be included in the Nintendo Web Framework SDK as a demo for developers to mess around with and learn from
– Nintendo Web Framework’s codename was Bamboo
– Name was chosen since the plant grows quickly over a short span of time
– In an effort to live up to that name, Nintendo is pursuing some aggressive developer-friendly policies with Nintendo Web Framework
– Devs can obtain the Framework SDK for free after signing an agreement
– Only necessary to purchase a dev kit
– Nintendo will not require concept approval so that developers can choose their own price and release date for apps
– Will also allow for use of freemium models in apps developed in the Nintendo Web Framework
– Nintendo also has plans for Unity game engine support on the Wii U
– More Unity Wii U details this week
Ubisoft Toronto is moving on from Rainbow Six: Patriots and Splinter Cell: Blacklist to begin making the sequel to Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag in partnership with Ubisoft Montreal. Black Flag is due out this fall, and the next Assassin’s Creed will likely arrive the following year.
The Assassin’s Creed project is just of five projects in the pipeline for the Toronto studio. Speaking with Polygon, managing director Jade Raymond said that the team has “two big collaborations coming that we’re not talking about, on two of the biggest franchises at Ubisoft. We also have two new IP.” One of Ubisoft Toronto’s mystery titles will be Splinter Cell-related.
Raymond is remaining mum on the details of each of Ubisoft Toronto’s new games, but did note:
“The thing that’s great to me is that there is still some of my favorite people who, you know, we were in the trenches shipping that first one. We lived through all of that stuff together and some of those guys are still on the franchise and have been there. So it’s a just for me to work with some of those people again.”
