Update (10/17): Nintendo’s latest maintenance plans have been changed again. First, there will no longer be shop maintenance. Nintendo Network ID maintenance is still taking place at the times listed originally (see the very bottom of this post). Finally, Wii U and 3DS online features (rankings, etc.) will be down on Monday at the following times:
– 2 PM PT – 7 PM PT
– 5 PM ET – 10 PM ET
– 10 PM in the UK – 3 AM in the UK (Tuesday)
– 11 PM in Europe – 4 AM in Europe (Tuesday)
Update (10/16): Bumped to the top. The “All” maintenance we mentioned previously has now been updated to say “Using Nintendo Network ID”. So in addition to eShop maintenance, Nintendo Network ID will also be affected.
Original (10/14): Nintendo’s various online shops will be undergoing maintenance on Monday. That includes the Wii U and 3DS eShops, Wii Shopping Channel, and DSi Shop.
The maintenance period is planned for the following times:
– 1 PM PT – 5 PM PT
– 4 PM ET – 8 PM ET
– 9 PM in the UK – 1 AM in the UK (Tuesday)
– 10 PM in Europe – 2 AM in Europe (Tuesday)
For Wii U and 3DS, in addition to eShop maintenance, Nintendo listed “All”. I’m not quite sure what that means, but perhaps something else will be affected aside from the eShops.
XSEED Games is handling the localization of Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale. For the western release, the company decided to name one of the various cows in the game after PlatinumGames’ Hideki Kamiya. We’re not really sure how or why that happened, but XSEED apparently has some sort of story about the naming process. Maybe they’ll share it with us one day!
Ghost Police, a “a non-shooting shooter” with a retro art style, is already guaranteed to happen. However, the project just recently launched a Kickstarter in hopes of adding some extra bells and whistles. One stretch goal in the campaign would allow for a 3DS version.
In Ghost Police, players manipulate the world by using a special brush of sorts. Players will be navigating two ships simultaneous through two overlapping levels of obstacles and enemies, though power-ups – which increase the size of your brush and your timer gauge – will help you along the way.
Ghost Police’s main funding goal is £10,500, and if that goal is met, Jake Kaufman will be brought in to handle the soundtrack. The 3DS stretch goal lies further out at £100,000.
You can find Ghost Police’s Kickstarter here.
Next week, The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes will be releasing in Japan (not to mention the west as well). Consumers can pre-order the game on Amazon for a triforce emblem keychain. You can get a look at the Japanese bonus above.
Niantic is the main developer behind Pokemon Go. Additionally, Nintendo and The Pokemon Company are heavily involved with the project.
Niantic CEO John Hanke recently spoke with TechCrunch and talked about what it’s like working with the Big N. He said:
“Terrific. It’s an honor to have the support and insights of a company that has brought decades of joy to people through their IP, game design, technology innovation. They share our same values of using innovation and play to bring people together. We have so much respect for Nintendo, as well as The Pokémon Company and of course Google. We couldn’t ask for a better group of companies.”
A couple of days ago, it was announced that Nintendo, The Pokemon Company, and Google are investing $20 million in Niantic. This will allow the developer to continue work on Pokemon Go and expand the company overall.
Earlier this week, Atlus brought out The Legend of Legacy in North America. Check out the game’s first hour in the video below.
Bandai Namco has reduced the cost of several Wii U and 3DS games on the eShop over in North America. You can get your hands on Tekken Tag Tournament 2, One Piece games, and more at a lower price.
Here’s the full lineup:
Wii U
One Piece: Unlimited World Red – $19.99
Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2 – $19.99
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Wii U Edition – $19.99
3DS
One Piece: Unlimited World Red – $19.99 (was $29.99)
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy+ – $19.99 (was $39.99)
Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2 – $19.99 (was $29.95)
One Piece: Romance Dawn – $29.99 (was $39.99)
Tenkai Knights: Brave Battle – $19.99 (was $29.99)
Keep in mind that these prices won’t expire, as they’re permanent drops.
Masayuki Uemura, a lead designer of the Nintendo Entertainment System, held a presentation at New York University’s Game Center last night. Uemura shared a couple of interesting insights that I wanted to relay here.
First, the front-loading slot was implemented since VHS systems were popular in the mid-190s. The team wanted to make the NES to take on a somewhat similar appearance. Uemura also commented on why the Zapper was bundled in: because Americans loved guns, apparently!
Several new games out came out this week on the Wii U and 3DS eShops. If you’re interested in checking out what’s new in screenshot form, take a peak at the gallery below.
