Does the Wii U’s early 2013 lineup seem a bit… light? More on that later, but Nintendo UK’s James Honeywell would tell you otherwise.
Honeywell highlighted Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge, and Sing Party while speaking about the Q1 2013 lineup. He also said: “I’m sure E3 will be another great show and there will be lots of fantastic titles to come.”
“As well as a strong launch line up, we’ve also got a really strong Q1. We’ve got a lot of fantastic titles – Monster Hunter, Ninja Gaiden, Sing Party, fantastic titles for everyone. And beyond – I’m sure E3 will be another great show and there will be lots of fantastic titles to come.”
Mortal Kombat 9 was NetherRealm Studios’ first true crack at a fighter following its transition from Midway Games. Adam Urbano, the company’s senior producer, feels the team learned a great deal from the project.
Urbano explained what the staff took away from Mortal Kombat 9 in an interview with NowGamer. He also revealed that Injustice: Gods Among Us, NetherRealm’s upcoming game, will offer more content.
“On one end of the spectrum, we learned what works, and on the other, what not to mess with. We’re retaining a lot of the key features like the amazing 3D graphics set on a 2D fighting plane, the need for tournament-level depth, and the success of having a ton of content available for players of all experience levels. We’re planning to have more content in Injustice than we had in MK9.”
Urbano also discussed the importance of improving DLC and netplay:
“We also paid a lot of attention to the things we know we need to improve. We weren’t happy with how we handled ‘compatibility packs’ for DLC play, so we have a whole new system that ensures all players get the content they need. We also spent two years focused on netplay, realizing that nothing matters more for network play than launching with solid, great fundamental netcode.”
In terms of content purchased from the Wii U eShop, having a Nintendo Network ID is pointless. At least for now, games downloaded from the store aren’t tied in to your account. They’re instead locked to the system itself… so it would appear.
One NeoGAF user, “DSN2K”, claims to have received access to a number of free titles after receiving a previously used console. That’s in spite of the fact that a new account was apparently set up on the same Wii U, and DSN2K says the system was wiped before he received access to it. He was able to download digital games such as Trine 2: Director’s Cut and Nano Assault Neo without paying a cent.
There are likely two possibilities here – either the console wasn’t completely, 100% wiped, or all Wii U eShop content is indeed tied to the hardware itself.
Capcom is continuing to highlight creatures from Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate. The latest, Volvidon, is a fanged beast in the game.
Volvidon screenshots and details are posted below, straight from Capcom-Unity.
Before we talk about the Volvidon, let’s first talk about its habitat: the Volcano. In the world of Monster Hunter, extreme heat will cause your health to deplete slowly until you pass out, presumably due to dehydration – much like real life. To remedy that, there are Cool Drinks.
When you see the Volvidon, make sure you’re ready to rock, because this beast is certainly ready to roll – in quite the literal sense, actually! With its armadillo-like shell and physique, rolling into a ball shape is no trouble for Volvidon; and with that, it can quickly roll forward, backward and even sideways, depending on where you and your companions are.
Bonk: Brink of Extinction was one of the last games Pi Studios worked on prior to its closure. Once the plug was pulled on development, the company shut down soon thereafter.
Siliconera sources say that Brink of Extinction was nearly done. It would have launched digitally on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii.
Unchained Blades producer Hiroyuki Abe would naturally like to see the game’s sequel in English. But like most localizations, it all comes down to fan interest and sales.
Abe hinted that “the possibility of Exxiv coming over grows quite a bit” if the original game sells well:
“The original game and concept for Unchained Blades was well received. We were eager to create a sequel based on the same concept that people seemed to enjoy. In terms of Exxiv, coming over is something we will still have to evaluate. If American gamers buy a lot of Unchained Blades from Xseed, the possibility of Exxiv coming over grows quite a bit!”
There are a couple of ways to purchase Unchained Blades. You can download the 3DS eShop version which launched today, or buy it from the PlayStation Network.
Warner Bros. Interactive and developer NetherRealm Studios still have some characters to reveal for Injustice: Gods Among Us. A date for an announcement hasn’t been confirmed, but Ed Boon told one fan on Twitter: “We are working on it.”
Injustice: Gods Among Us won’t be out until April, so there’s likely more than one character to reveal before the game ships.
MCV is reporting that Activision’s UK and Ireland MD Peter Hepworth has left the company. Hepworth made the move in order to pursue new opportunities.
Andrew Brown, Activision’s previous UK MD, will take over Hepworth’s role on an interim basis.
An Activision spokesperson said:
“Peter Hepworth, Managing Director of Activision’s UK operations has decided to leave the company to pursue new career opportunities. We will be continuing to work with Peter on UKIE initiatives and would like to thank him for his many years of service. In the interim, the Activision Blizzard UK and Ireland business will be overseen by Andrew Brown, Vice-President of Sales Excellence, while we look at a longer term solution.”
Activision Europe PR manager Sophie Orlando will also be departing. Orlando plans to join a PR agency in Australia.
