Nintendo of Canada on Yo-kai Watch’s popularity in North America, 3DS ports, Nintendo Directs
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News | 26 Comments
Nintendo held a Yo-kai Watch 2 event with Level-5 and Hasbro this past weekend in Toronto. GameSkinny attended the event, and was able to speak with Nintendo of Canada communications manager Andrew Collins. Collins commented on how Yo-kai Watch has become popular in North America, the 3DS versions of Yoshi’s Woolly World and Super Mario Maker, and Nintendo Directs.
You can read up on GameSkinny’s interview here for some other topics. We’ve posted a few excerpts below.
More: Andrew Collins, interview, Level-5
Miyamoto on making Super Mario Run simple, Nintendo’s approach and future on mobile, more
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Mobile, News | 30 Comments
Just when we thought all of the Super Mario Run interviews with Shigeru Miyamoto were done and over with, another one popped up on our radar. Pocket-lint was among several outlets that caught up with Miyamoto following the big news a few weeks ago. Topics in the interview included the importance of making Super Mario Run simple, how Nintendo is approaching mobile and its future there, and more.
As always, we encourage you to read up on the full article, which you can do right here. A roundup of notable comments can be found after the break.
More: interview, Shigeru Miyamoto, Super Mario Run
Gotta Protectors’ English version was mainly translated by one person
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS eShop, News | 0 comments
Gotta Protector’s localization was confirmed last February. However, it wasn’t until late July that the game made its way to North America.
Localization veteran Brian Gray was the main person behind Gotta Protector’s English version. In an interview with Michibiku, he mentioned that 8-4 helped out, but it was only him who translated the project.
According to Gray:
“8-4 had their usual — awesome! — team looking over everything and handling the bulk of communication with Ancient, but the translation was entirely me.”
In the same discussion, Gray also touched on how he became involved with Gotta Protectors and the origins of the English version. Regarding this, he said:
More: Ancient, Brian Gray, Gotta Protectors, interview
Crash Bandicoot in Skylanders Imaginators is meant to introduce the franchise to new fans
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments
There hasn’t been too much going on with Crash Bandicoot in recent years, but that’s starting to change. Crash and Dr. Cortex will both have their own figures in Skylanders Imaginators and will be playable in the game. Additionally, a special Crash level is being created in the form of Thumpin’ Wumpa Island.
Vicarious Visions’ Jennifer O’Neal spoke about Crash’ representation in Skylanders Imaginators with Gamereactor, noting that it’s an opportunity to reintroduce the series “to a new generation of fans”. She said:
“As you know it’s the twentieth anniversary of Crash Bandicoot so what better time to reintroduce them to a new generation of fans […] I can play as Crash or Neo and my kids can create their own character and play alongside me and that’s what Skylanders is about, bringing families together, playing co-operatively and it’s really fun. Crash and Neo have their own level, it’s called the Thumpin’ Wumpa Island. There’s a lot of fun gameplay that’s really nostalgic for the player that’s played the original Crash Bandicoot games, there’s Wumpa fruit you collect, there’s crates you smash and bounce on and there’s even a really cool area in the level that’s like the old boulder chase levels.”
Wii U owners can obtain the Skylanders Imaginators Thumpin’ Wumpa Islands Adventure Pack this holiday. It includes the Crash and Dr. Cortex figures as well as the new level.
Splatoon producer on the game’s reception, competitive scene, and Callie vs. Marie
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 57 Comments
A few days ago, Nintendo posted an interview with Splatoon producer Hisashi Nogami on its German YouTube page. An English version hasn’t been made available, but we do have a complete translation of the Q&A.
During the brief interview, Nogami touched on Splatoon’s reception, the competitive scene, and his preference of Callie or Marie. Head past the break for his full comments.
More: Hisashi Nogami, interview, Splatoon, top
Capcom considered having Phoenix be a mafia and underworld lawyer in Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS eShop, News | 12 Comments
Siliconera published an interesting interview excerpt today with Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice game and scenario director Takeshi Yamazaki. When asked about ideas that were considered, Yamazaki revealed the team thought about having Phoeinx act “as a lawyer in an underground court that served the likes of the mafia and other underworld inhabitants.”
Here are his full comments about it:
“There was one real sticking point while I was writing the design document for Spirit of Justice, and that was how were we going to put Phoenix in a corner, given that he’d become this legendary lawyer in the course of this series.
One idea was to have Phoenix stand as a lawyer in an underground court that served the likes of the mafia and other underworld inhabitants. That underground court would hold trials and render judgment on those who’d broken the rules of the underworld, meaning that even Phoenix would have a tough time believing in his own clients. Furthermore, everyone involved in the trials would be members of the underworld, including witnesses and prosecutors, so naturally, there would be false testimonies, forged evidence, bribes, blackmail, and other dirty dealings going on. Under those circumstances, we figured even Phoenix would feel incredibly like a fish out of water.”
It’s always neat to see what a game could have been. Had Capcom gone in this direction, there’s no question that Spirit of Justice would have been a very different experience.
FAST Racing Neo port unlikely for NX
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 15 Comments
When new systems hit the market, some developers and publishers are inclined to bring over older projects. With FAST Racing Neo and NX, however, there are no such plans. You can purchase FAST Racing Neo from the Wii U eShop where it’s likely to stay.
Shin’en was asked about the possibility of a FAST Racing Neo port on NX in an interview with Nintendoomed. On the subject, the studio said:
“For the Wii U we think FAST + DLC is just perfect and certainly one of the best games you could get there. If we would do another FAST game on a new platform we would not simply do a port. We would try to look at the platform to see what could be done beyond the current game.”
That takes care of that! We’ll see Shin’en projects on NX one day, but when we do, it probably won’t be a port of FAST Racing Neo. And if/when the FAST series returns, it should be something more on the new side.
More: FAST Racing Neo, indie, interview, NX, Shin'en
1990 video shows a brief look inside Nintendo and a young Shigeru Miyamoto
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Videos | 3 Comments
As we mentioned yesterday, Nintendo is now 127 years old. BBC is pulling something out of its archives in celebration.
In 1990, the Money Programme visited Nintendo in Japan, and it was apparently one of the first times that cameras were let inside. A good portion of the brief video also shows a young Shigeru Miyamoto, and has him speaking about why be enjoys working at the company.
Here’s the full video:
#OnThisDay 1889: #Nintendo was founded! In 1990 the Money Programme spoke with Super Mario creator, #shigerumiyamoto. pic.twitter.com/VIAunCAIXI
— BBC Archive (@BBCArchive) September 23, 2016
More: interview, Shigeru Miyamoto
Mastiff CEO on Gurumin 3D localization, 3DS challenges
Posted on 8 years ago by Zack in 3DS eShop | 0 comments
MonsterVine have recently interviewed Bill Schwartz and David Bruno, whom are the President and CEO of Mastiff respectively, about their upcoming title Gurumin 3D: A Monstrous Adventure. The interview mostly covers the many details and nuances of translating a game from Japanese to English and how Mastiff in specific takes on localization jobs.
When asked about what factors Mastiff keeps in mind when localizing a game, Schwartz had this to say:
It was a really big project, with issues that you constantly have to kind of deal with. There’s a character who’s always locked in a cage, and says nothing, while there’s another character that translates for him. We had to come up with our own mistranslations for him to reflect the poor translations the character does, whether it was phrases or weird sounds.
There’s a monster dancing near his boombox near the beginning, and as the hero takes off, he says “I’ll support you with my dancing”, while in Japanese it was more or less just “do your best”, in a kind of vanilla way that isn’t too enthusiastic or passionate. So we couldn’t just use “do your best”, since that was too excited and supportive. So since he could have meant it or not, and he was dancing, we used “I’ll support you with my dancing”, which is true to the original meaning, but different in literal terms.
1996 interview with Miyamoto, Super Mario 64 developers available in English for the first time
Posted on 8 years ago by Zack in General Nintendo | 8 Comments
Two seperate interviews from 1996 with Shigeru Miyamoto and other Nintendo employees who worked on Super Mario 64 together were recently translated and published on the website Shmuplations for any interested party to read.
The interviews come from a time where Super Mario 64 had just been released and was making waves in the gaming world. The questions cover a variety of topics about Super Mario 64, focusing mostly on the creative process of designing a game in 3D compared to 2D and the early history of the game.
On the origins of Super Mario 64 and how the project got started, Miyamoto had this to say:
Well, in the beginning… we were working on something really simple—deceptively simple, even, from the perspective of the team that would go on to finish the huge, final game. (laughs) There was a room made of simple lego-like blocks, and Mario and Luigi could run around in there, climb slopes, jump around, etc. We were trying to get the controls right with an analogue 3D stick, and once that felt smooth, we knew we were halfway there. And so, along the way, we realized wanted to create a slightly larger area for them to move around in…