Nintendo Everything

The Mario Kart TV feature in Mario Kart 8 took quite a bit of work to implement, director Kosuke Yabuki told EDGE this month.

Highlight reels are determined by several factors like “the way the race develops, the way items are used, as well as changes in position.” To get things working properly, Yabuki said the development team “spent a lot of time to make it what it is.”

Mario Kart 8 automatically creates highlight reels based on a number of elements, including the way the race develops, the way items are used, as well as changes in position. It may look fairly simple, but we spent a lot of time to make it what it is. In two player multiplayer, the AI focuses on moments that show the relation between these two players… I think it creates a really nice, enjoyable video, even if it does look simple.

EDGE mentioned that Mario Kart 8’s YouTube uploading ability “suggests a change of thinking at Nintendo.” When asked why the company included this sharing feature, Yabuki responded:

When we were preparing the automatic highlight reel feature, we wanted users to share these videos with others, not just watch them by themselves. For example, after uploading a reel to YouTube, you can re-watch the highlights of your online battle the next day in your office, or at school or even on your smartphone. It will definitely encourage people to keep playing, and may be a great way to invite others to join you for a game.

Thanks to joclo for the tip.

Ittle Dew could finally be hitting the North American Wii U eShop next week. On its website, Nintendo has the game listed for a May 29th launch. We’ll let you know if we receive an official confirmation.

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Activision is one of the elements people tend to point to when discussing how the rhythm genre collapsed. Between 2006 and 2011, there was at least one new “Hero”-related release from the company each year.

Original Guitar Hero developer Harmonix believes that Activision did play a role in the decline of rhythm games, but feels that the publisher wasn’t the only factor.

Harmonix co-founder Alex Rigopulos wrote in a Reddit AMA held earlier today:

I think there’s probably some truth to the notion that Activision “over-published” Guitar Hero. But I wouldn’t agree that the decline of the genre was “entirely the fault of Activision”. Reality is always more complicated than this. For example, it didn’t help that GH and RB were the most expensive video games on the market during a brutal recession. I also don’t think that either GH or RB delivered enough (or the right kind of) evolution of the experience in the years that followed the initial releases–something we hope to address at some point in the next outing.

[M]usic games need to evolve just like every aspect of pop culture. The band game boom was followed by a dance game boom, which will be followed by some other manifestation of music games–hopefully some of the new stuff Harmonix is working on! Music is a permanent aspect of the human experience, and so is gameplay. It’s Harmonix’s job to figure out new ways for music and gameplay to amplify each other’s emotional power.

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Heads up, Disney Magical World players: there’s new content available to download. As of now, a “Pirate World” can be accessed.

Nintendo of America shared the news on Twitter in the form of the following tweet:

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Nintendo has sent out codes to Club Nintendo members for a Tomodachi Life demo. If you’re a Platinum member, you may have received the email above (or could potentially be receiving it soon). Those who try out the demo can bring their progress over to the full version and will earn a free in-game bonus item.

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Fuzzy Wuzzy Games is resubmitting its indie release Armillo to Nintendo today. While it’s been a fairly long wait for the title, the game will now feature more polish and difficulty select.

Fuzzy Wuzzy said on Twitter:

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In February 2009, Wall Wireless, LLC initiated a patent infringement case against Nintendo. But today, Nintendo announced that the court dismissed the case after the United States Patent and Trademark Office canceled all the patent claims Wall Wireless was relying on in its case.

Wall Wireless, LLC primarily enforces patents, for those unaware. The company claimed that the DS and DSi family of systems infringed a patent.

You can find Nintendo’s full announcement below.

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