A year ago, one Zelda fan suggested that Nintendo’s legendary series should be turned into a LEGO set. “MINGLES” set up a page on LEGO CUUSOO, which eventually gained 10,000 votes of support.
That milestone led to an official review from LEGO. But, unfortunately, the project has been denied despite the large amount of support.
Simply put, it’s a business decision. It was explained that “multiple new element molds would be required to create the minifigures for such a product, and the expense of these molds means that the Legend of Zelda project unfortunately does not pass the LEGO Review on the basis of the business case.”
The full official statement:
WeeWaa was one of the strangest game/peripheral combinations we ever saw on Wii. But for a number of reasons – mainly the decline in interest from its investor and publisher – the product never hit retail.
Klaus Lyngeled, the owner and creative director of Zoink and the creator of the project, explained:
“We did finish the game for Wii, and the tech and gameplay [were] working really good. But the investor and publisher didn’t go through with publishing it since the Wii market wasn’t strong enough. It was a very big disappointment to us, too, since we had worked with the project for many years. We even designed the plush toy ourselves and set up the full production in China.”
Lyngeled pointed to the third-party market on Wii as a big factor behind the decrease in interest from its investor and publisher:
“It was mainly because they didn’t see any third-party games selling on Wii. The kids angle worked really well on Wii. At the beginning, we had deals lined up with both Walmart and Toys ‘R’ Us. They loved it, but then the market changed, and third-party games just didn’t sell.”
Purchasing mature content from the European Wii U eShop is… inconvenient. Currently, consumers can only buy such titles between 11 PM and 3 AM due to a law originating from Germany.
But in its latest podcast, ONM claims that a fix is in the works. If true, one would think that Wii U users wouldn’t be as limited when it comes to mature content on the eShop.
Take this update with a grain of salt until Nintendo of Europe makes an official comment.
Capcom COO David Reeves is stepping down. Reeves will now assume his old consultancy and advisory role, which he held prior to his COO appointment in March 2010.
Reeves commented:
“Over the past three years I have been very fortunate to be able to manage Capcom at an operational level in Europe but I want now to take up several new global consulting opportunities in non-competing industries, which, when combined with my existing and extensive charity commitments, means I cannot commit full time to my existing role at Capcom Europe. I have therefore chosen to relinquish the day to day management at CEE from the end of January 2013 and revert back to a consulting and advisory role for the company.”
Capcom Europe’s senior director of PR Ben Le Rougetel commented:
“We were very fortunate to have David for three years in the COO role in Europe. His experience has brought CEE both expansion in the PAL Regions and stability within the European entity. David will continue as a consultant with us and we are in the latter stages of formulating a reorganisation in Europe and will be making an official announcement later in January 2013 when everything has been finalised.”
In the video above, one user is playing on Wii U. The other, Mattrayu, is playing on the 3DS. Seems to work rather well.
BlayzBloo: Clone Phantasma is launching on the Japanese eShop next week. But could a western release be in the cards?
You may remember that Aksys localized the original, BlayzBloo: Super Melee Action Battle Royale, for DSiWare back in 2010. There seems to be at least some interest in bringing over the eShop sequel, as the official BlazBlue Facebook page states the following:
So – BlayzBloo: Clone Phantasma on 3DS then. This is coming out on the 26th of December in Japan as many of you know – but we’re curious. How many of you would like to see this get a western release?
Hit ‘like’ if you want this to come out in the west.
Comment if you played the previous BlazyBloo!
Make your voice be heard here.
Nintendo’s holiday wishes are coming from every possible direction. The company itself produced an online eCard, and Retro Studios did so as well.
Nintendo of Europe head Satoru Shibata has also produced a lengthy letter thanking fans for their support relating to this year’s Nintendo Directs, and extended a seasonal greeting.
Look below for Shiabata’s post.
