– Marth is the main character
– New maps for “My Unit” character
– “My Unit” from Altea Kingdom, wants to join Altea Knights
– Choose gender’s name, face style, eye type, hair style, initial unit type
– Conversations change in the game based on appearance/abilities
– Two new stories for My Unit, one is Prologue
– Prologue story involves My Unit joining the Altea Army to becoming a soldier who fights with Marth
– Other story is a side story, meet conditions to play it on a new map
– Local and Wi-Fi multiplayer
– 4,800 yen
Thanks to Thomas N and Robert for the tip!
The following information comes from Super Mario Galaxy 2 producer Yoshiaki Koizumi, who was interview in Famitsu this week…
Koizumi on how it was decided to include Yoshi…
“The idea for Yoshi has existed ever since the project document I wrote for the original Galaxy five years ago,” Koizumi said. “We also had ideas for other animals like bulls and birds. That eventually morphed into the Rock Mushroom and Fluzzard, but the idea still hasn’t drifted much from what we wanted to do.”
Koizumi on why Yoshi wasn’t in the original…
“The planet and gravity stuff in the first game was a brand-new experience that hadn’t been seen in games before,” he said. “I figured combining that with Yoshi would have been too many new features to contend with. That’s why his debut got saved for this game.”
Koizumi on why Yoshi can survive in space and eggs happen to appear in Yoshi stages…
“Well, it’s because he’s a space Yoshi! There are Yoshis all over the place, you know. Call it one of the mysteries of the cosmos.”
Koizumi on the Cosmic Witch…
“Giving the player video hints was an idea that we first used in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat on the GameCube,” Koizumi said. “SMG2 can be tough in spots, so like in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, we thought we’d show not just a sample run, but also play through sections for you up to a certain point.”
Koizumi on Spaceship Mario…
“And then there’s the Spaceship Mario, the planet you travel around the world map on. “We wanted a Mario-shaped planet from the get-go, but we couldn’t work it into the last game,” Koizumi recalled. “There were some technical limits behind what we could do graphically in the first game, and we were able to use our experience to get over that with the sequel. We originally had you flying a mushroom-shaped spaceship around the world map, but the original design was kind of hard to spot on the map, so we went with something easier to notice — a mobile Mario onscreen.”
Koizumi on how the developers decided on the number of stars needed to progress on the map…
“Balancing the game is always a difficult process,” Koizumi admits. “We had people testing out the game’s difficulty near the end of development — not just the Super Mario Club [Nintendo’s debug/testing unit], but for example, a 60-year-old employee who hadn’t played any 3D games before. The end result is that the game’s trickier than the last one, and therefore you need to collect more stars to advance.”
DECA SPORTS 3, Bonk, and Lost In Shadow among Hudson’s Highlights at E3 2010
San Mateo, Calif. – June 2, 2010 – Hudson Entertainment, the North and South American subsidiary of HUDSON SOFT, will be showcasing a diverse line-up of titles at the 2010 Electric Entertainment Expo from June 15-17 in Los Angeles. Hudson titles to be shown include:
– Takes place in a post-apocalyptic Earth
– Humans heritage put in a spaceship, taken off the planet, but it crashes into another planet, cargo scatters
– Ship’s computer trying to recreate the ecosystem from the Earth on the new planet, but is creating strange plant and animal life instead as a result of the crash
– Set 1,000 years after the crash
– Ship is mysteriously releasing poisonous elements into the atmosphere, you need to stop it
– Work together with the planet’s species (Ewok-like race called the Guardians)
– The Guardians have used technology from the ship to quickly advance their own
– The Guardians weren’t human-friendly at first because the crash caused a lot of damage, but help them because they want to drink alcoholic beverages humans make
– Regarding a release in other territories: “I think it’d be a good thing for the industry if we took a moment to rethink what Japan’s games should be doing. There are gamers worldwide, of course, and making games to meet their needs certainly isn’t a bad thing, but I feel like we’re throwing out too many Japanese values and the uniqueness of our games along the way. A lot of Japanese kids don’t even play games these days, right? I want to teach them again that games are a lot of fun, just like how our parents taught us when we were kids.” – Yoshihiro Sudo, Kadokawa Games
EA SPORTS Active meets American College of Sports Medicine exercise guidelines
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – June 2, 2010– A new study conducted by Dr. John Porcari from the University of Wisconsin concludes that using EA SPORTS ActiveTM and EA SPORTS ActiveTM More Workouts from Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) passed fitness guidelines for an effective workout put forth by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). The results indicated that EA SPORTS Active can improve aerobic capacity and favorably affect body composition when used on a regular basis as part of a healthy, active lifestyle. ACSM is the largest international sports medicine organization and leading authority on exercise science.
“ACSM sets key guidelines on what constitutes a healthy, active lifestyle, recommending that individuals perform 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise five days per week, or 20 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise three days per week, as determined by specific heart rate and oxygen consumption criteria” said Dr. John Porcari, Ph.D, the Executive Director of the La Crosse Exercise and Health Program at the University of Wisconsin who led the study. “In terms of the intensity criteria, both workouts tested from EA SPORTS Active were sufficiently intense to be within ACSM guidelines.”
1. [Wii] Super Mario Galaxy 2 – 340,000 / NEW
2. [DS] Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Masou Kishin – The Lord of Elemental – 81,000 / NEW
3. [DS] Soccer Tsuku DS: World Challenge 2010 – 50,000 / NEW
4. [DS] Medarot DS – 50,000 / NEW
5. [DS] Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 – 34,000 / 1,098,000
6. [PS3] Lost Planet 2 – 34,000 / 118,000
7. [PSP] Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker – 25,000 / 697,000
8. [PS3] World Soccer Winning Eleven 2010: Aoki Samurai no Chousen – 22,000 / 79,000
9. [Wii] New Super Mario Bros. Wii – 16,000 / 3,859,000
10. [360] DeathSmiles IIX – 16,000 / NEW
11. [360] Alan Wake
12. [DS] Tomodachi Collection
13. [PSP] World Soccer Winning Eleven 2010: Aoki Samurai no Chousen
14. [Wii] Wii Fit PLus
15. [Wii] Mario Kart Wii
16. [PS2] World Soccer Winning Eleven 2010: Aoki Samurai no Chousen
17. [PSP] Blaze Union: Story to Reach the Future
18. [PSP] Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (PSP the Best)
19. [360] Lost Planet 2
20. [Wii] Wii Sports Resort
21. [PSP] Hagane no Renkinjutsushi – Fullmetal Alchemist: Yakusoku no Hi e
22. [DS] New Super Mario Bros.
23. [DS] Captain Tsubasa: Gekitou no Kiseki
24. [PS3] Super Street Fighter IV
25. [PS2] Strike Witches: Anata to Dekiru Koto – A Little Peaceful Days
26. [PSP] Pro Yakyuu Spirits 2010
27. [PS3] NieR Replicant
28. [Wii] World Soccer Winning Eleven 2010 Play Maker: Aoki Samurai no Chousen
29. [DS] Yumeiro Patisserie: My Sweets Cooking
30. [PS2] Suzunone Seven: Rebirth Knot
– Hero is Elza, not Erza
– Heroine is Kanan
– Elza lost his family as a child, fights as a mercenary to make a living, hopes to become a knight
– Knights are respected while the opposite is true for mercenaries
– Kanan is mysterious character
– Elza’s mercenary group has come to Ruri Island looking for work
– Complete missions with your mercenaries, but you only control Elza, other characters are CPU controlled
– Scans show first look at battle scenes with status displays
– 3-4 battle members besides Elza in the scans, two names are Quark and Jackal
– Only Elza can use Gathering, use it to attract enemy’s attention
– Blue light from Elza’s arm will appear when he casts Gathering, enemies might come over and surround him
– Use Gathering to allow allies to cast magic
– Counter will show up over an ally’s head when they cast magic, when it reaches zero the spell will be executed
– Enemies will have their attention placed to ally’s casting spells unless you use Gathering
– Elza doesn’t have Gathering immediately, obtains it following an early mission on Ruri Island
– Identifying the power that Elza obtains plays a role in the game
Update: The price of the DSi will be lowered in the UK as well: “In the UK Nintendo will be reducing the trade price of Nintendo DSi to retailers from 18th June 2010.”
On June 19, the DS Lite will no longer cost consumers ¥16,800 in Japan, as retailers will be able to determine the system’s pricing. Meanwhile, the DSi’s price will be dropped from ¥18,900 to ¥15,000 while the DSi LL will be priced at ¥20,000 instead of ¥18,000. Nintendo has also announced that new Blue, Yellow and Green color LL system’s will be available on the same date.
Thanks to Thomas N and Robert for the tip!
