Kimishima on supporting Switch in the long term, eventual retirement, more
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Switch | 9 Comments
This week, Japanese publication Nikkei conducted an interview with Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima. The two sides discussed a number of different topics.
One of the first things discussed is how Nintendo is looking to support Switch in the long term. “We want to continue selling this console for more than 5-6 years (the usual lifetime for a new game console),” Kimishima said. By expanding sales with continuing to provide new ways to play in the second year and beyond, they could see Switch exceeding Wii which sold 100 million units in six years.
More: interview, Tatsumi Kimishima, top
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 director on the character models, reason for outsourcing, more
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 55 Comments
Monolith Soft president and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 director Tetsuya Takahashi recently met with Persona producer and director Katsura Hashino for a lengthy discussion. The two met for the very first time to share some development stories in an interview, which was published on Den-fami Nico Gamer.
Siliconera translated one interesting excerpt about the development struggles on Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Takahashi spoke about a great desire to improve the character models for the game, and talked about the reason why outsourcing was so necessary. With under 100 developers working at Monolith Soft, about half working on Zelda, and a few more needed for R&D, the company had around 40 of its own staffers available.
Here’s a part of the discussion:
Atari moving forward with RollerCoaster Tycoon on Switch, explains decision to use crowdfunding
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 20 Comments
Atari recently announced plans for a new RollerCoaster Tycoon on Switch. However, there was some confusion with the project, as it was accompanied by a crowdfunding project on StartEngine.
Fred Chesnais, CEO of Atari Game Partners, confirmed to Polygon that RollerCoaster Tycoon is coming to Switch no matter what happens on StartEngine. He also said that a team has been contracted and a prototype has been built.
More: Atari, Fred Chesnais, interview, RollerCoaster Tycoon
Zelda: Breath of the Wild devs on The Champions’ Ballad DLC, what’s next for the series, more
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Switch, Videos, Wii U | 6 Comments
Nintendo has published a new video interview with Eiji Aonuma and Hidemaro Fujibayashi, the series producer for Zelda and Breath of the Wild’s director respectively. The two talked about a few different topics, including The Champions’ Ballad DLC, what’s next for the series, and more. Watch the full interview below.
Watch Mr. Aonuma and Mr. Fujibayashi talk about The Legend of #Zelda: Breath of the Wild and share some behind-the-scenes insight into The Champions’ Ballad DLC. pic.twitter.com/v8v5Rbsbpr
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) January 31, 2018
Eiji Aonuma says Breath of the Wild may have been the most enjoyable Zelda game to work on
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch, Wii U | 13 Comments
Eiji Aonuma has been involved with the Zelda series for many, many years. Yet out of all of the games he’s contributed to, Breath of the Wild may have been the most enjoyable one to work on.
Aonuma spoke extensively about the process of making Breath of the Wild in the latest issue of Game Informer. The reason why development was so enjoyable was due to the staff working on the game. Aonuma said that the team “took so much initiative, and were always looking at everything in the game with this eye to improve.” Even though Aonuma was worried about how Breath of the Wild would turn out, that feeling started to fade as he saw the staff put Breath of the Wild together.
Secret of Mana producer looking to make a new entry in the series, Switch could be a target platform
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 49 Comments
Square Enix has started doing more with the Mana series in recent years. This has been primarily through remakes, though it now looks like the company is setting its sights in an entirely new entry.
Masaru Oyamada, who is producing the new Secret of Mana remake, recently said that the goal has been to create a new title. Square Enix first wanted to started out with remakes “in order for people who have played the titles to get to know it once again as well as give players who are new to the series an opportunity to experience the game and get everyone up to speed.”
More: interview, Mana, Masaru Oyamada, Square Enix
Square Enix considering the Secret of Mana remake for Switch, aware of western interest in Seiken Densetsu Collection
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 51 Comments
Square Enix will soon be bringing out a remake of Secret of Mana. At least for now, the game won’t be offered on Switch. That doesn’t mean Square Enix isn’t considering it, however.
Producer Masaru Oyamada reiterated to USgamer that development on the Secret of Mana remake began before Switch was announced. Square Enix was later “very surprised to see the amount of demand and feedback we received for a potential Switch version.” Although there are no promises, Oyamada said the team “will make an effort to see what is feasible in the future”.
Square Enix gave some consideration to making Dragon Quest XI an open-world title
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Switch | 12 Comments
Dragon Quest XI could have taken an open-world approach. In an interview with DenfaminicoGamer, series creator Yuji Horii said that the idea was considered towards the start of development.
Dragon Quest XI has a little bit of open-world gameplay, but is still based on the franchise’s linear approach. Horii said that some players might have a difficult time understanding what to do next in an open-world, and creating a big story would be difficult.
Here’s the full exchange between Horii and DenfaminicoGamer, as translated by Siliconera:
More: Dragon Quest XI, interview, Square Enix, Yuji Horii
Former Retro dev on Prime 2’s initial multiplayer focus, original Prime 3 plans, cancelled projects, more
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, News, Wii | 76 Comments
Shinesparkers has published a new interview with former Retro Studios staffer Jack Mathews. Matthews worked at the company as a former technical lead engineer on the initial Metroid Prime Trilogy.
During the discussion, Matthews had quite a bit to say about revised plans and cut ideas for the series. These include the initial idea to have Metroid Prime 2 be multiplayer focused, a more bounty hunter-like setup for Metroid Prime 3, and more. He also touched on some of the projects that were cancelled at Retro before Metroid Prime released.
You can find some notable excerpts from the interview below. Head on over here. for the full talk.
Monster Hunter World devs on the lack of a Switch version
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 605 Comments
In the past, when asked about why Monster Hunter World isn’t appearing on Switch, Capcom has been a bit cagey. IGN finally managed to get a concrete answer out of directors Kaname Fujioka and Yuya Tokuda in a new interview.
Fujioka and Tokuda explained that one reason for the lack of Switch plans is due to the game’s lengthy development. Capcom originally started on the project four years ago, and Nintendo’s newest console wasn’t around at that time. Also explained is that, “for every title we decide what the best fit for hardware is for the concept.”
Fujioka and Tokuda’s full words:
