interview

Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 3 Comments

Last week, Nintendo of Europe published an interview with Splatoon producer Hisashi Nogami and general producer Katsuya Eguchi. The second part of the discussion went up today.

While the initial round of questions were mainly about Splatfest topics, this portion is much more focused on the game itself. Nogami and Eguchi were asked about Splatoon’s origins (wasn’t initially set as a shooter, not tied to a Nintendo franchise), inspiration for its style, what aspect of the game’s success they’re surprised by, and the Squid Sisters popularity.

Continue on below for Nogami and Eguchi’s comments.

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Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS eShop, News, Wii U eShop | 0 comments

Antipole DX will no longer launch in 2016 as originally planned. In a Miiverse post, creator Edward Di Geronimo explained that the project is roughly 95 percent complete, though other obligations have prevented development from finishing entirely. Although it’s nearly done, we won’t be seeing Antipole DX this year.

Geronimo isn’t ready to share any sort of new date at the moment. He said Antipole DX “is very close to done and doesn’t need a lot more work, but I’m just not sure when the timing will work out.”

The full Miiverse post reads:

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More: Antipole DX, indie, interview, Saturnine Games

Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News, Switch | 21 Comments

This past week, Marvelous announced a new Senran Kagura game known as Peach Beach Splash. It’s not planned for Nintendo platforms, but series creator and producer Kenichiro Takaki remains interested in supporting what the big N brings to the table.

In an interview with DualShockers, Takaki spoke briefly about his interest in NX as well as how he still wants to make a pinball game. You can read his comments on both of those topics below, along with talk about how Nintendo initially reacted to Senran Kagura.

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Posted on 8 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.

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Posted on 8 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:

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Posted on 8 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.”

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Posted on 8 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.

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Posted on 8 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!”

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More: Arc System Works, interview, River City: Tokyo Rumble, Taka Maekawa

Posted on 8 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.”

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Posted on 8 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.”

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More: Arc System Works, interview, Natsume, River City: Tokyo Rumble