This information comes from XSEED’s Facebook account…
“The 3DS is a slick piece of hardware, we are definitely looking into some 3DS games that some quality developers are working on.”
XSEED gave the DS a fair amount of love. They also took some rather significant risks with games such as Retro Game Challenge. I’d love for them to continue that tradition with the 3DS by bringing over some of the more quirky titles from Japan.
Thanks to Jake for the tip!
This information comes from Satoru Iwata…
“The new ‘Rhythm Paradise’ game we showed you in our Financial Results Briefing in January will be available this summer. I tried out a near-final version of the game, and felt that this ‘Rhythm Paradise,’ playable with a TV monitor, never loses the uniqueness of the original ‘Rhythm Paradise.’ In contrast to ‘Wii Remote Plus Variety’ I introduced before, this game is intentionally designed to be played only with buttons. We have sharpened such different attraction of both titles that we believe that you can have a totally different kind of fun.”
Button-only gameplay is perfectly fine with me! There are many cases in which motion controls aren’t necessary, and I believe Rhythm Heaven Wii is one such example. Now, let’s hope Nintendo announces the game for overseas territories…
Just like all of the other rumors we’ve posted thus far, the points below are not confirmed. We’ll have to wait until E3 before Nintendo shares substantial information about the console. For now, though, you can check out the latest Project Cafe rumors from 1UP’s Sam Kennedy.
– Nintendo looking to create the first social game console
– No Friend Codes
– Console will be designed around the concept of connecting, sharing, gaming with others
– Think of the above as if you are in a cafe
– Nintendo hoping to stream video of games being played to other people’s consoles so friends can see what each other are up to
– Might be able to join another friend’s game seamlessly
This information comes from Satoru Iwata…
“…Furthermore, an already announced new title from the ‘Kirby’ franchise, ‘Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword’ and ‘JUST DANCE 2,’ which will be localized by Nintendo for the Japanese market, and the other new titles currently unannounced will be ready to be launched within this year. Before the launch of the Wii successor, we will be aiming at creating other excitement for Wii in Japan, which has a large installed base of Wii hardware.”
We’ll definitely get a few new Wii game announcements at E3. Project Cafe is still far off on the horizon, and there are only so many games that Nintendo can localize for North America/Europe… Japan needs some titles, too, of course!
This information comes from Nintendo’s Financial Results Briefing…
“However, for the system update, we need to have consumers voluntarily go online with their Nintendo 3DS. We are planning to do some promotional activities in order to urge them to do so. More specifically, we will give a free download of ‘ExciteBike’ as one of the ‘3D Classics’ series during a certain period of time after the beginning of the system update. We would like to announce this widely and have as many people as possible update their hardware and start using Nintendo eShop. Concerning the Virtual Console software, we will begin with GameBoy and GameBoy Color software, and continue with this until we gradually realize the Virtual Console software for the other platforms.”
It isn’t clear if the Excitebike download is Japan-specific or if North America and Europe will also offer the game for free. I have a feeling that this will be a global promotion, but for now we’ll have to wait for a confirmation from Nintendo’s other departments.
This information comes from Nintendo’s Financial Results Briefing…
– Called Wii Remote Plus Variety in Japan
– Comes with one Wii Remote Plus
– Sold at a special value price
– 12 games
– Works only with Wii Remote Plus
– Several video game developing companies Nintendo has worked with competitively created the games for this title
– Unique development process
– Nintendo collected good ideas that use the Wii Remote Plus from developing companies
– Then asked a developing company to complete a promising prototype game that had been created in-house during the experimental stage
– Nintendo’s in-house dev team helped with some development
– Nintendo will disclose the development process of each game in the future
– Releasing this July in Japan
Project Cafe will in fact be released next year, but the console won’t launch until April at the earliest. As a result, Nintendo will have to deliver content for the Wii for at least one more year. And that’s exactly what the Big N plans to do. Satoru Iwata has promised that Nintendo isn’t giving up on the Wii just yet, and, as we noted earlier in the day, will ship significant software every month until the end of the year.
“We have not released any new Nintendo software titles for Wii, except for ‘The Last Story’ (Japanese Title) in January, partly because we have focused on the launch of Nintendo 3DS since the beginning of this year. Therefore, some in Japan seem to have the misunderstanding that Nintendo has given up making efforts on Wii. We are actually ready to release new Wii software titles every month from May to the end of this year. Today I’d like to tell you about our definite plan for this summer.”
These titles include: Pandora’s Tower on May 26, GoldenEye 007 in June, and Wii Play: Motion in July. Rhythm Paradise, Inazuma Eleven Strikers, Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, Just Dance 2, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and a new Kirby title will also be released before the end of the year.
