REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–“Dawn of the First Day. 72 Hours Remain.” With these iconic words, Link begins his suspenseful three-day journey to save the world from a crashing moon in The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D game, launching the same day as the New Nintendo 3DS XL system on Feb. 13. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D is a remastered and enhanced version of the classic that’s unlike any other adventure in The Legend of Zelda series, and New Nintendo 3DS XL offers the smoothest and most engrossing portable gaming experience possible.
While the game is playable on any Nintendo 3DS family system, players that pick up New Nintendo 3DS XL can experience The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D with added features, like the ability to control the camera with the C Stick and experiencing the game’s remastered and detailed graphics using the new face-tracking 3D technology built into the new system. Playing The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D on New Nintendo 3DS XL is the best way to experience this memorable adventure.
Sonic Boom has sold 490,000 copies worldwide on Wii U and 3DS, SEGA has confirmed. The company’s report doesn’t actually clarify if that figure is shipped or sold-in to consumers. However, it’s disappointing in any case, and Sonic Boom is the worst-performing entry in the series ever.
Today’s information about Sonic Boom’s performance comes from SEGA’s latest financial report. Other interesting tidbits are as follows:
– SEGA spent $210 million on games development
– That is a 27 percent increase compared to the year prior
– Advertising expenses climbed 53 percent, up to $73 million
– SEGA is releasing 50 games by the end of the financial year in March, but combined sales of all those are expected to be about 5.4 million units
– SEGA initially expected to sell about 300,000 units of its four latest Wii U games
– That is now revised to 230,000, making it the weakest platform in terms of unit sales
– Full year expectations for 3DS 1,160,000
– SEGA’s revenue for the three-quarter period was $685 million
– After expenses, that lowers to a profit of $18 million
– SEGA is now organizing a sweeping business restructure, which will rebuild the corporation into three divisions, as part of a wider plan to “drastically improve profitability”
– At least 300 positions at the corporation are targeted for redundancy
– SEGA has set aside $125 million for the restructure costs
– SEGA expects to lose $110m for the full year
In a message posted to Vblank Entertainment’s website, the studio shared full details about what’s included in the new Retro City Rampage DX update. The patch is coming to Europe today, and North America soon.
Retro City Rampage DX will not remain consistent at 60 frames per second. On New 3DX, the game runs natively. Speaking of the New 3DS, Retro City Rampage DX also makes use of the C stick.
Today’s news from Vblank isn’t entirely about Retro City Rampage. In the post, the company confirms that another 3DS title will be made, but additional information was not revealed.
You’ll find the full post from Vblank below.
The following is a series of questions asked of Satoru Iwata in an interview with Nikkei:
Q: Nintendo in January downgraded its forecast group operating profit for fiscal 2014 to 20 billion yen ($165 million), half its original prediction. What is your latest outlook?
A: The improved 3DS (a hand-held game device with 3-D graphics) did not debut in the U.S. and Europe until after the start of the year, which meant demand did not increase as quickly as we expected. That does not mean that 3DS business itself has significantly declined.
The revised estimate already takes advertising factors including expenses for the new 3DS models into consideration. We do not expect our results to slide much further.
Q: Why have sales of the Wii U remained flat?
A: I believe the Wii U business still has considerable room for growth, as a number of software titles that are compatible with the console are slated for release in 2015.
The way Japanese gamers enjoy video games is different from their counterparts in the West. More and more Japanese gamers play on smartphones and 3DS hand-held devices. On the other hand, a majority of gamers in Europe and the U.S. still connect their consoles to TVs and play them on a bigger screen. In the global video game market, game titles for consoles are still dominant, and that market is much larger.
Q: What are you doing to shore up your console business?
A: Newer consoles are equipped with a function to process micropayments using Suica electronic money cards [in Japan]. Our service that allows people to purchase games online using those cards is popular.
It is also possible to turn smartphone games from other software makers into 3DS-compatible games and offer them for relatively low prices. We intend to pursue a variety of options. Only those products and services that receive strong support from customers will survive.
Q: The market for smartphone games continues to expand. What are your plans for this category?
A: In the past, I have opposed making smartphone and tablet versions of Nintendo titles. Prices for content aimed at smartphones and tablets are falling quickly. I am still wary of the category. We intend to develop products that will allow customers to identify with Nintendo products and make people pay attention to Nintendo games.
For example, some Nintendo game consoles incorporate Mii, which creates a digital avatar to represent players. It would be fun for players to use their Mii characters as icons on social media. We are currently developing an application that will allow users to do that. The app will be announced around the time our full-year results are released.
Q: What is Nintendo’s outlook for the next fiscal year and later?
A: We foresee improved performance for the next fiscal year, so long as we are not adversely affected by foreign exchange fluctuations. I have been saying we hope to achieve a profit suitable for Nintendo as early as fiscal 2016. My understanding is that an operating profit of 100 billion yen is the level the market and shareholders expect of us.
The Xenoblade Chronicles X official website has been updated with quite a bit of new images and information.
Check out the latest shots in the gallery below.
