IndustryGamers has posted a lengthy interview with Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma. Aonuma discusses some interesting topics, such as his involvement for Wii U, his desire to make something other than Zelda, and online gaming for the console (and talk relating to Zelda). Aonuma has also confirmed that Four Swords for DSiWare will not contain online functionality.
Aonuma’s thoughts on Wii U…
“First off… I’ve been involved in it in some capacity since the stage where we started to bring things all together and decide what to make of this new system. We had the idea already that we’re going to have this monitor in the controller. So that was about 2 years ago when I started to be involved in these meetings and we decided how we should further develop the system, and in what direction we wanted to take it.
“The way I was involved in many ways in the project was as the representative for how Zelda will evolve with this new console. That was the perspective I brought to those meetings. Obviously, Zelda is one of those games in which a lot of the gameplay is centered around the idea of items and tools that the player uses in various ways in their environment. And so, so far it’s just been me examining how I’d like to use that new controller on the interface there to allow additional control or easier control over the toolset that’s given to the player as well as how to open up new possibilities.”
It’s almost unbelievable to think that we’re getting the first, true Zelda game made for Wii in 2011. By the time the game launches, it’ll be around five years since the Wii launched around the world. Skyward Sword will finally be released this year, but it arrives as fans are starting to move on to Wii U.
The fact that it takes so long for console Zelda titles to be released is something that Eiji Aonuma finds to be “a personal challenge”. The Zelda producer would like to launch games quicker and achieving this goal is something that he looks into.
“I can’t really speak to Mario, obviously – it’s not my forte. But with regards to Zelda, the development process is typically around 3 years and that’s a pretty big timeline obviously. So you’ve got a timeline for a given Zelda game and you’ve also got a timeline for new hardware. So obviously when those two timelines can line up neatly, then, yes we’d love to have something out and available at launch. There have been times when we’ve realized how important that is. For example, when Twilight Princess was being developed, we started on the GameCube and it turned out the game was going to complete itself more or lese around the time of the Wii launch and I thought, ‘Well, it would be a real waste not to have that available for new players with that functionality in the forefront.’ So we did make a Wii version of the game as well as the GameCube version.
1. [PSP] Monster Hunter Portable 3rd – 968,269
2. [DS] Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 Professional – 469,469
3. [PSP] Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy – 454,522
4. [PS3] Dynasty Warriors 6 – 443,873
5. [PS3] Yakuza of the End – 376,193
6. [Wii] Donkey Kong Country Returns – 368,527
7. [PSP] Dai-2-Ji Super Robot Taisen Z Hakai-hen – 364,881
8. [PSP] Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity – 352,511
9. [Wii] Wii Party – 349,951
10. [PSP] SD Gundam G Generation World – 332,278
11. [PS3] Samurai Warriors 3Z – 323,168
12. [DS] Pokemon Black/White – 303,299
13. [3DS] Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracles – 301,156
14. [PSP] Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 3 – 275,202
15. [3DS] nintendogs + cats – 244,048
16. [3DS] The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D – 223,260
17. [DS] Ni no Kuni – 217,847
18. [DS] Ace Attorney Investigations 2 – 214,994
19. [Wii] Mario Sports Mix – 207,449
20. [Wii] Mario Kart Wii – 204,858
This information comes from Rovio’s vice president of franchise development Ville Heijari…
“We really haven’t looked into the Wii U specifically yet – we haven’t announced anything for Nintendo consoles yet. But if you look at the control methods, if you look at the Wii U, I mean that’s a really, really natural match, so obviously we’re very interested in developing there as well.
“[The 3DS is] a really really interesting platform. Many people doomed it outright as it being somehow gimmicky, but obviously the same thing as with the Wii U: if you look at the 3DS, Angry Birds games would make a perfect match there.”
Hmmm… unless I’m going crazy, I thought that Angry Birds was already confirmed for WiiWare and 3DS. Since the game is supposedly coming to Nintendo’s current home console, I don’t see why it couldn’t end up on Wii U as well.
Regardless of how Naughty Dog feels about Wii U, the studio wouldn’t develop any games for the platform. That’s because they’re a Sony subsidiary. But Naughty Dog’s game director Justin Richmond was asked to share some thoughts about the console nonetheless.
Unlike most outside companies, Richmond doesn’t completely sold on Wii U is offering – at least not yet. He feels that although the idea behind the system “is very, very cool”, Richmond said that “there’s nothing that the Wii U has that the Vita and PS3 doesn’t.”
“To be honest with you, the idea of it is very, very cool. But there’s nothing that the Wii U has that the Vita and PS3 doesn’t. You know, it’s an interesting piece of technology, and I’m interested to see how people use it. I’m not completely sold yet. That the screen isn’t multi-touch, that’s a little weird. It seems there are some very strange holes in it, but to be fair, last time I was sceptical of the original Wii, and look at how that did. I’m sure that he games they make for Wii U will be amazing.
