A few sites are reporting that an announcement will soon be made for Solatorobo in North America. Some folks are speculating the XSEED will be publishing the title, though that has yet to be confirmed. Apparently we’ll be seeing the announcement before month’s end. If it happens, we’ll be sure to let you know!
Donkey Kong™ arrives on the Nintendo eShop today and is even bigger and better on the small screen.
16th June 2011: Following the launch of the Nintendo eShop on June 7th 2011 players have been treated to an array of new downloadable content for the Nintendo 3DS, and they will continue to do so each Thursday as the Nintendo eShop, Nintendo DSi Shop and Wii Shop Channel continue to be filled with games and applications for all to enjoy.
So far on the Nintendo eShop players have been treated to the classic NES™ game Excitebike™ re-mastered in 3D and available as a free limited period download, Pokédex™ 3D, the free application where you can see your Pokémon come to life in full 3D and even Virtual Console Game Boy™ games – The Legend of Zelda™: Link’s Awakening DX™, Super Mario Land™, Alleyway™ and Tennis ensuring there is something for everyone.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D Brings a New Dimension to a Timeless Classic on Nintendo 3DS
REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– The 25th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda™ video game series goes into high gear with the June 19 launch of The Legend of Zelda™: Ocarina of Time™ 3D game. Available exclusively for the portable Nintendo 3DS™ system, the new game introduces a fully re-mastered version of one of the most acclaimed installments in Nintendo’s fan-favorite The Legend of Zelda game series. Combining adventurous game play and classic story elements with enhanced graphics and previously unavailable challenges, this new edition also highlights the deep, engaging experiences made possible by Nintendo 3DS with intuitive hand-held motion controls and the ability to play in 3D without the need for special glasses.
Experienced fans and newcomers alike will have plenty to discover in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D as they guide the heroic Link™ on an adventure through Hyrule, where they will encounter vividly enhanced characters and environments. The new touch-screen interface makes it simple to navigate menus and switch between items, while new motion controls allow players to swiftly and accurately aim their weapons when targeting in first-person view. After completing the main game, players will also have access to the additional Master Quest that provides even more challenges with redesigned dungeons, more challenging enemies and environments that are experienced in reverse.
Thanks to Dimitris P for the tip!
This information comes from Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot…
“We will announce one game that we want to launch day one that is a new type of game, which should be interesting. It is still very important, just because you can test a market and also see through the eyes of the first consumers. They are the people that actually have the word of mouth factor. The trendsetters. It doesn’t increase [costs] very much because the advantage is in being close to the other machines, you can do the game for all the formats at the same time. [Ubisoft is evaluating the Wii U for] both new content and a third location [for existing franchises].”
This information comes from EA Games label president Frank Gibeau…
“It served us well on PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3. Getting in early is partly about being a successful transition company and figuring out where the hardware is going to go. With the Wii U it’s important for us to get there on day one so we can get in and build as big an audience as possible. We’ve been doing this for 25 years and trying to pick platforms and more often than not we get it right. I hope we have this one right. That’s the gamble.”
This information comes from Sega West president Mike Hayes…
“At some point we were the biggest, certainly top three third-party publisher on Wii, so for us it was a great platform… we’ve got absolutely no qualms about [Wii U]. I just think we’re all a bit premature in being a bit glass half full on 3DS. Everyone was clamouring ‘oh please bring it out in March, you must bring it out’ and then it’s like you get to June and it’s all ‘sales aren’t very good…’ Well, they haven’t got the software yet… That controller is absolutely brilliant and we have to think of innovative ways to use it. We’re doing high definition Sonics, we’re doing obviously Aliens: Colonial Marines, so you can bring them across, and that’s relatively low cost, which is good news. Then you spend your money on how do you use that controller effectively to make it unique and differentiate it.”
This information comes from Karl Slatoff, chief operating officer at Take-Two…
“For us it’s really about understanding what the hardware capabilities are and understand how it’s going to fit into what our goals are from a franchise creation perspective. Really understanding what that platform can deliver and developing for that platform. So that’s our philosophy, not just with the new Nintendo console but across the board. Whether we’re looking at the 3DS or the PlayStation Vita or any of the new formats that are coming out. We can’t look at them all the same way. We’re not just going to port over.”
This information comes from the latest Iwata Asks…
Iwata: Among the real-time demos, the opening scene is particularly striking. How did you make that?
Kawagoe: Today, you can use a CG tool to move the camera, but back then we couldn’t do that because of how the game was constructed, so we asked to make the system to enable Nintendo 64 console to move the camera and we used that.
Iwata: First there was the music by (Koji) Kondo-san, and you made the images to match that?
Kawagoe: No, the music came later. The landforms of Hyrule Field weren’t originally made for cut scenes, so even if you think, “I want to film a scene like this…”
Iwata: The right place for it might not exist in the game.
Thanks to the 1:1 functionality of Wii MotionPlus, players will be able to raise Link’s sword in the air for a charge attack in Zelda: Skyward Sword. Did you know that Shigeru Miyamoto wanted to implement the idea was thought of thirteen years ago?
As was stated in the latest Iwata Asks, Shigeru Miyamoto was looking to include sword raising in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. But it wasn’t until Skyward Sword that he was able to accomplish his goal.
Aonuma: That’s right. Apart from the horse, ever since The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Miyamoto-san has said that he wants Link to raise his sword over his head.
Osawa: He said that to me, too. We couldn’t do it on the Nintendo 64 system.
Iwata: But you can raise the sword in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, right?
Aonuma: Yes. It uses the Wii MotionPlus technology, so we’ve finally done it.
Iwata: After 13 years, you’ve fulfilled another wish.
Aonuma: So to Miyamoto-san, all the games in The Legend of Zelda series are connected.
This information comes from the latest Iwata Asks…
Iwata: So Young Link was going to show up. Riding Epona is also a distinct characteristic of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. How did the idea for a horse come up?
Osawa: It just arose all of a sudden.
Koizuma: No, I don’t think it was sudden. Actually, we’d been talking about a horse even during the development for Super Mario 64.
Osawa: Oh, I didn’t know that.
Koizuma: But it didn’t happen for Super Mario 64. I was certain we would do it for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, so I got ready. By the way, Epona was a girl.
This information comes from the latest Iwata Asks…
Iwata: Partway through development, one and a half years before release, you had to do modeling and motions not just for Adult Link but for Young Link, too. Koizumi-san, how did you solve that?
Koizuma: We solved it with a simple trick. We realized that by applying a scale of a certain value to Adult Link’s model, we could double-up use of all the same things.
Iwata: You realized that you could use the motions of Adult Link for Young Link, too.
Koizuma: Yes. We could solve it technologically, so I said, “We can make Young Link,” and gave it my approval.
Those who play The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time start off as Young Link. Later, switching between the boy and Adult Link becomes a crucial gameplay element. But things weren’t always planned that way.
According to the latest Iwata Asks, the developers originally planned on just including Adult Link. Their thinking was that it was a natural decision since the one focus of the title was sword-fighting. Eventually, however, Shigeru Miyamoto requested that Young Link be added.
Iwata: For example, was the division into Young Link and Adult Link something you were thinking about from the start?
Osawa: No, at first there was always Adult Link.
Iwata: Only Adult Link showed up?
Osawa: Yes. At first, we were just going to have him in an adult form. If you think about the chanbara element, that only made sense. With a child form, the sword would be small and his reach too short, so he would be at a terrible disadvantage, especially against large enemies.
Iwata: And it wasn’t like you could just make the enemies small.
