Sakurai says Smash Bros. may not have existed without Iwata, credits him for keeping it alive after Melee
Posted on 3 days ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
Masahiro Sakurai and Satoru Iwata had a close relationship over the years, and now Sakurai has spoken more about in a recent interview. As part of that, we get to hear more about how Nintendo’s late president impacted Super Smash Bros.
Sakurai, who’s the director of the series, attributed the existence of Smash Bros. to Iwata given that he worked on the original prototype. Plus, Iwata still wanted Sakurai on board with the franchise after he left HAL Laboratory. Sakurai noted that if he wasn’t asked to work on Smash Bros. following Melee, the series could have died out.
More: interview, Masahiro Sakurai, Super Smash Bros., top
Pokemon CEO says Pokemon “will go downhill” if “we become complacent”
Posted on 1 week ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
As the franchise celebrates its 29th anniversary today, The Pokemon Company CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara has reflected on the future. This comes as part of an interview with BBC.
Pokemon has maintained its popularity since its Japanese debut in 1996. Even over the past few years, it’s clear that interest isn’t waning. We’ve seen the smash hit that was Pokemon GO, the craze over Pokemon cards, and the dedicated video games are still selling incredibly well.
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope director: harder to make than Kingdom Battle, Ubisoft’s comments were “a bit hurtful”
Posted on 1 week ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 0 comments
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope creative director Davide Soliani has opened up about developing the game as well as Ubisoft’s comments following its launch.
In an interview with VGC, Soliani said that Sparks of Hope was actually tougher to make than Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle. It seems that with the first entry, there weren’t really any expectations or limitations. However, Kingdom Battle ended up being a success story which impacted Sparks of Hope. Davide noted that there “was too much overthinking about it all around me.”
Squaresoft tried to convince Nintendo to use CDs for the N64
Posted on 2 weeks ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
As many gamers know, back in the day, Nintendo went with cartridges for the N64 as its media format. In many ways, this ended up doing quite a bit of damage. That was especially so given that PlayStation ended up using CDs.
Why was this a big deal? For one thing, CDs had the ability to hold more data compared to the N64. They were also becoming the more popular medium at the time and were cheaper to produce. Nintendo’s decision also led to some struggles with third-parties including Squaresoft, which ended up moving Final Fantasy to the PlayStation.
Capcom comments on Okamiden following Okami sequel announcement
Posted on 2 weeks ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, News | 0 comments
Capcom producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi was recently asked to comment on the Nintendo DS game Okamiden in light of the recent Okami sequel announcement.
Depending on how you look at it, the series is in somewhat of a tricky spot. Technically, in some ways, Okamiden is a sequel to Okami – but it didn’t have any involvement with Hideki Kamiya, the IP’s original creator. Now Kamiya is on board to create a true sequel. However, some fans might be wondering what that means for Okamiden.
Square Enix considered 3D remake for Dragon Quest 3
Posted on 1 month ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 0 comments
According to Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii, Square Enix gave consideration to a Dragon Quest 3 remake in 3D.
Towards the end of last year, Square Enix ended up releasing a new version of the classic RPG in HD-2D. Horii said this was the best call as going the 3D route “significantly changes the feeling of the game”.
Nintendo never celebrated its 100th anniversary, Star Fox designer explains why
Posted on 1 month ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
A company reaching its 100th anniversary is a massive milestone, but it turns out that day came and went without much fanfare within Nintendo.
Takaya Imamura, who is known for his work on the character designs for games such as Star Fox and F-Zero, revealed that Nintendo never actually celebrated that anniversary. It seems this was largely due to former president Hiroshi Yamauchi. Yamauchi had a certain mindset and believed in particular philosophies, so the 100th anniversary was treated just like any other day.
Stardew Valley creator against overloading the game with content, but doesn’t want to close the book definitively
Posted on 1 month ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 0 comments
NPR recently caught up with Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone, who addressed the game’s future.
There are two sides to the coin here. First, Barone acknowledged that he has some caution as overloading the game with too much content, which could be “detrimental”. But even if he decides to end support at some point, he doesn’t want to definitively close the book – “even 50 years from now,” he said.
More: ConcernedApe, interview, Stardew Valley
Xbox “really looking forward to supporting” Nintendo Switch 2
Posted on 1 month ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch eShop | 0 comments
Xbox began its support with the current Nintendo Switch, and that should extend to Nintendo Switch 2 as well.
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer was recently asked about his thoughts concerning the new console in an interview with Gamertag Radio. Spencer has heaped paise on Nintendo plenty of times before, so it’s no surprise that he once again shared some very positive thoughts here.
Shigeru Miyamoto reflects on Wii, says it was special to him
Posted on 1 month ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii | 0 comments
Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto reflected on Wii in a recent interview and mentioned that the console was particularly special to him.
While speaking with IGN, he said that the goal he and late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata had was to create something that anyone can play, regardless of their experience of games. Miyamoto noted how it makes him “happy to think that the population of people that play games increased because of the Wii.” That was in part thanks to the Wii Remote – a controller that anyone could use and understand fairly quickly.
