Sakurai explaining that Project Sora was created to make a new Kid Icarus game…
“Before there was even an official naming of the 3DS, or before it was even decided that there would be 3-D capabilities, Mr. Iwata had brought up the topic of a new portable gaming system and with that, the request to create a new title for that system…. The topic of Kid Icarus came up. There wasn’t necessarily any direction decided for that — that it would be an RPG, or an action game, or a shooting game. But first of all, the topic did come up that Kid Icarus would be revived, and that Kid Icarus would be well-matched with a game idea that was particular to my style. With that, we moved forward.”
Sakurai on a remark that it’s been awhile since we’ve seen Kid Icarus and that there are no real expectations about what this new game will play like…
“That’s not necessarily the case. Having said that, there are things that you want to maintain from the original, but also a lot of things that I want to change. With that freedom, I did want to change the genre of the game. In thinking about the game, what is the core of the game, I feel that Kid Icarus is slightly comical.
At the time, games like Zelda or Metroid coming out on the Disk System were trending towards very serious adventure types of game. Kid Icarus doesn’t take the player entirely seriously. So I wanted to take advantage of that element and make a story and a flow of gameplay based around a character who is very serious about moving forward in the game but is also very carefree.”
– Vektor Tank 3D+
– Redesigned for 3DS
– War action game
– “Enjoyable without the need for graphic violence”
– War takes place in a virtual environment rather than on the battlefield in the future
– Humans aren’t hurt, buildings not really destroyed
– Vektor Tank is your weapon
– 3DS acts as a virtual camcorder
– Movements are detected, mapped onto the camera in the game with cameras and motion sensors
– Aim for enemies and targets
– Retro-inspired retro look
– Q2 2011 release
Also, PR below:
Vienna, Austria – Wednesday, July 7th 2010
New Platform
Bplus shifts its main development focus away from WiiWare™ and on to a new platform – the Nintendo 3DS™. The new handheld offers fantastic opportunities to create fresh ideas with new ways of presentation, leading to games that offer completely new experiences. With Nintendo 3DS the virtual worlds come even closer to the player.
Bernd Geiblinger, CEO and Art Director of Bplus, comments: “WiiWare was just the beginning – it was a fantastic way to get a foothold in the industry and it offered lots of opportunities to learn things and gather experience. Now, with new partners and a strong financial background, we gear up and fully set our focus on development of Nintendo 3DS retail games.”
Hideki Konno, manager of Software Development Group 1, Nintendo EAD discussing the origins of the 3DS…
“When I was developing Luigi’s Mansion, we experimented with having an additional display, a panel, to attach to the screen in order to enable 3D effects. At that time, because of the high cost of the 3D panels and the low resolution of the game, it wouldn’t show 3D sufficiently, but we hoped that some day the technology would support 3D.”
Konno on the possibility of advertising in cinemas…
“Our key point with 3DS is that you don’t need glasses, which you obviously need to use in cinemas. So we think regular marketing and promotional activities will be very tricky for us. I think that a lot of awareness about 3DS will be spread by word of mouth.”
Konno on whether players will experience any side effects with long sessions….
“I think the sense of eye fatigue differs for each individual. We’ve provided flexibility to allow users to adjust back to 2D. I think the solution is simply that when you feel dizzy, close down the system and take a break. Like with the Wii – don’t swing too much or you’ll tire your arms.”
Konno on moving forward with online, without hassling consumers…
“I wanted the system to be as convenient as it can be in the online field. I wanted to realise a situation where you wake up in the morning, open your 3DS and there’s new content already downloaded and waiting for you, not because you went looking for it but because we pushed it to you. Maybe one day consumers will open their 3DS and find that their daily paper or magazine subscription has already been delivered to their device.”
MEDIA ALERT: N.Y.C.-METRO AREA FAMILIES GET UP AND GET PLAYING AT WII GAMES: SUMMER 2010 COMPETITION
First-Ever Nationwide Wii Tournament Kicks Off July 16 at Liberty State Park with Special Appearance by Olympic Gold Medalist Shawn Johnson
WHAT:
Nintendo is hosting a kickoff event at Liberty State Park on July 16 to celebrate the first-ever nationwide Wii™ video game tournament. Participants will get off the couch and on their feet for a chance to win great prizes while having fun playing Nintendo’s motion-control video games together – whether they’re kids, adults, teens, seniors or families. Olympic gold medalist and Dancing with the Stars champion Shawn Johnson, the official Wii Games: Summer 2010 Ambassador, will make a special appearance to greet participants and fans.
“Videogame makers know that in order for portable game machines to take the next step forward, they need wireless communication. We are discussing this with various players.” – NTT DoCoMo President Ryuji Yamada
Yamada wouldn’t specifically identify who NTT DoCoMo has been in contact with, but one would think that the company is talking to Nintendo and Sony. What he did say is that a component could be included in hardware which would access NTT DoCoMo’s 3G network or connect to their routers that use a 3G connection to create a local Wi-Fi network. We know that Nintendo is looking to enhance wireless/online functionality with the 3DS, so might their next handheld support 3G?
Once touted as a Wii-exclusive, NBA Jam will now apparently will be released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, too. Well, that’s if the latest USK ratings from Germany are to be believed. Nothing is confirmed at the moment, though there have been a few signs pointing to HD versions of the game, such as a listing found on a developer’s LinkedIn profile a few months back.
Interestingly, Reggie Fils-Aime stated during Nintendo’s E3 press conference that NBA Jam for Wii is an “exclusive version.” Does this mean that the Wii title will offer content not seen on the PS3/360? Hopefully EA will clear things up sometime soon!
This information comes from Hideo Kojima…
– Started working on the demo after Peace Walker was finished
– Kojima called some of his staff over, told them they’d make an E3 demo, and moved them to a seperate floor
– “Long Version” of the demo was created first, but Nintendo wanted it to be shorter so more people could play
– There was a long version at E3, but most people played the short version
– Demo based on Metal Gear Solid 3, with redone characters, backgrounds with high polygon models
– Kojima feels it’s necessary to release the game within one year of the 3DS’ launch
“It was a secret project, so even at Kojima Productions, aside from the people developing the demo, no one knew about it. Although, we did make it with the Peace Walker staff…The high level models are about the same quality as the stuff we made on the PlayStation 3, although it’s tough to see this. If we’d had a bit more time, we could have made something better…I was the director of the demo. What will happen from here on out is not set…What we wanted to do this time is show that we’re making an entry in the Metal Gear Solid franchise that can be enjoyed in goggle-free 3D on the 3DS. The reason we made it based off MGS3 is because there are many who played MGS for the first time through Peace Walker, so we though the timing would be just right. Everyone wants to know the story of The Boss. MGS3’s story can’t change, so we’re thinking of Co-ops, 3D and portable-like elements.”
