Former SEGA of America CEO says Sonic’s “downward cycle” isn’t abnormal, similar to other big franchises
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 53 Comments
Sonic the Hedgehog was one of the most iconic video game characters during the SEGA Genesis days, but he’s had a tough time over the past several years. Former SEGA of America CEO Tom Kalinske weighed in on the situation in this month’s issue of Game Informer, explaining that it’s not entirely unnatural.
Kalinske feels that Sonic’s “downward cycle” is part of the “natural up and down for any character.” He compared the situation to other big franchises like Star Wars. After being on the decline for some time, Kalinske says that it’s now time for Sonic “to have an upward cycle again”.
As Kalinske stated:
“I think there is some natural up and down for any character. We’ve certainly seen it with the Marvel characters over the years. We’ve seen it with Barbie. We’ve seen it with Star Wars. We’ve seen it with G.I. Joe and Hot Wheels. All of these brands have had their cycles. I think Sonic has had a downward cycle for a while, and it’s time to have an upward cycle again for a while.”
Thanks to Jake for the tip.
More: interview, SEGA, Tom Kalinske
Activision CEO believed the Wii would “completely transform video games” the first time he saw it
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii | 28 Comments
During a recent episode of the Corner Office podcast, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick commented on a wide array of topics. Some interesting discussion came about when Kotick was speaking about how he’s been able to get early looks at certain things that would end up having a big impact on society. Kotick referenced the Macintosh and Toy Story, but in the video game industry, his favorite example is the Wii.
Before the Wii was unveiled, Kotick was invited to Nintendo’s headquarters in Japan for a preview of the platform. Late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata and Shigeru Miyamoto were both present. Kotick was simply handed a Wii remote, and was asked to try fishing. It all came naturally, and after that demo, he believed “this is going to completely transform video games”.
Kotick’s full words:
More: Activision, Bobby Kotick, interview, top
Suda51 talks No More Heroes 3
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 4 Comments
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle came out at the start of 2010. Since then, fans of the series have been left waiting as to when we’ll be seeing a third entry. Creator Goichi Suda – otherwise known as Suda51 – has spoken about the prospects every now and then over the years, though that hasn’t translated into an actual game.
Destructoid did ask Suda51 once again about No More Heroes 3. On that topic, he had this to say:
“It’s not going to be 20 years, I’m hoping it’ll be 10 years or maybe earlier than that. It might be like an indie game. No More Heroes fans’ voices are still strong, but young gamers have never heard of it, so I want to create something for them as well.”
Suda51 added that 2018 will be the 20th anniversary of Grasshopper, so he’d like to make some news related to No More Heroes. However, he did say “I’m not sure.”
More: Goichi Suda, interview, No More Heroes 3, Suda51
Splatoon devs pick sides on various Splatfest topics
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments
Over on Nintendo of Europe’s website, Splatoon producer Hisashi Nogami and Katsuya Eguchi fielded a number of questions about the game. Most of the talk was about Splatfest topics, but they were also asked about things like their favorite weapon and who’s behind the Squid Research Lab.
Find Nogami and Eguchi’s answers below. A second portion of the interview is on the way, so look for that soon as well.
More: Hisashi Nogami, interview, Katsuya Eguchi, Splatoon
Natsume on parterning with Arc System Works for River City: Tokyo Rumble, open to more series localizations
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News | 1 Comment
It was due to Natsume’s relationship with Arc System Works that River City: Tokyo Rumble was able to head west. That game originally came to Japan a few years ago, but Natsume was finally able to publish it in English at the end of last month.
Speaking about the partnership with Arc System Works and how River City: Tokyo Rumble came to be overseas, Natsu,e producer Taka Maekawa told Siliconera:
“Our partnership with Arc System Works started almost a year and a half ago through a good friend of mine in Japan. It all started with Gotcha Racing and Brave Tank Hero for the Nintendo 3DS, then continued with Super Strike Beach Volleyball and River City: Tokyo Rumble this year. With River City, I contacted Arc System Works as soon as I saw the news that Million’s title rights (who were the right holders of Tecnos Japan titles) had been transferred to Arc System Works.”
Siliconera also asked if Natsume would be open to localizing more River City games, such as the medieval spinoff for 3DS and River City Ransom SP. To this, Maekawa said:
“Of course! We are definitely open for any opportunities with other titles in the Kunio series!”
Dark Souls creator believes the franchise is unworthy of comparisons to Zelda
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 11 Comments
Since the inception of Dark Souls, FromSoftware’s series has often drawn comparisons to The Legend of Zelda. But Hidetaka Miyazaki, creator of the former franchise, doesn’t feel it’s worthy of the analogy.
Speaking with Rolling Stones, Miyazaki said that Zelda and Dark Souls “are different games belonging to different genres” while also adding that “they’re guided by different concepts of game design.” He also feels that the only similarities may lie in how “Zelda became a sort of textbook for 3D action games.”
As for his own personal thoughts of Zelda, Miyazaki said that it’s “truly monumental”.
Miyazaki’s full comments:
“When I was a student, The Legend of Zelda was truly monumental, so to be perfectly honest, I feel deeply unworthy of the comparison. The Legend of Zelda and Dark Souls are different games belonging to different genres though, and they’re guided by different concepts of game design. They don’t need to aspire to the same ideals. If there are similarities, they probably stem from the fact that The Legend of Zelda became a sort of textbook for 3D action games.”
Natsume on how it approached River City: Tokyo Rumble’s localization, choosing the subtitle
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 0 comments
Natsume recently published River City: Tokyo Rumble, the localized version of Arc System Works’ Japanese 3DS release. TinyCartridge spoke with US producer Taka Maekawa about the western edition.
Regarding Natsume’s approach to localization, Maekawa explained:
“A lot of factors went into how we approached the localization. Times have changed – in the 1980s, games were still being strictly Americanized when brought over to a Western audience. So when the NES game came out, the idea of putting Kunio and Riki into t-shirts and jeans and giving them English names (Alex and Ryan) made a lot of sense.”
“We approached most things situationally; did it make sense to retain the original translation, or go in a new direction? For example, the game heavily relies on its environment (Tokyo) to set the story’s theme and tone, and we wanted to retain that theme. So we decided to maintain Japanese names whenever it made sense to do so – being set in Tokyo, with many of the characters wearing their school uniforms, Japanese character names and locations made the most sense.”
Natsume kept the “River City” name in place to tie it into the American version of the series. However, the game’s primary action is in Tokyo, which is where the “Tokyo Rumble” subtitle comes in. The team explored other potential subtitles such as Bad Blood, Tokyo Brawl, Street Gangs, The Lion Alliance, along with “a few other combinations of word soup before we hit upon Tokyo Rumble and it stuck.”
Nintendo artists on making images for Zelda: Breath of the Wild, bow importance
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch, Wii U | 2 Comments
We’ll be seeing The Legend of Zelda: Art & Artifacts in English next February. However, in Japan, it came out last month as Hyrule Graphics.
Much of the book features various images from the Zelda games, ranging from character concept art to official illustrations. Towards the end though, there’s an interview with several Nintendo artists who have worked on the games – starting with the original up through Breath of the Wild.
The Breath of the Wild segment isn’t too long, but we went ahead and translated it since the section was interesting enough. It reveals Takumi Wada, who last contributed to Skyward Sword, as the person leading the way on drawing artwork, and Satoru Takizawa as the art director. There’s some talk about how important the bow is as well, with producer Eiji Aonuma stressing this early on in development. We also get a bit of a look at some variations that were drawn of the art where Link is shooting an arrow.
Head past the break for our full translation.
Former Sony Computer Entertainment America boss praises Nintendo, didn’t anticipate Wii being so successful
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii | 14 Comments
It’s easy to forget that Nintendo wasn’t in the best position following the GameCube. It wasn’t one of the company’s better-performing systems, so all eyes were on the big N to see what they’d come up with next.
Nintendo promised a revolution with the Wii, and that’s arguably what we got. That turned out to be its best-selling console, and one of its best-selling gaming platforms as a whole. With the initial hysteria surrounding Wii, it was incredibly tough to find for a long time. Nintendo was also successful with its mission of connecting with casual gamers.
In retrospect, not many could have anticipated the Wii’s success. Former Sony Computer Entertainment America president and CEO Jack Tretton “certainly didn’t.”
More: interview, Jack Tretton, Sony, top
Image & Form: “SteamWorld Heist has done quite a bit better for us than SteamWorld Dig”
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS eShop, News | 0 comments
Image & Form appears to be pleased with SteamWorld Heist thus far. Not only has the game been received well, but it’s selling quite alright, too. Image & Form CEO Brjann Sigurgeirsson told Nintendo Life that “SteamWorld Heist has done quite a bit better for us than SteamWorld Dig”.
When asked about SteamWorld Heist’s sales performance on 3DS, Sigurgeirsson said:
