Natsume on how it approached River City: Tokyo Rumble’s localization, choosing the subtitle
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.”
Nintendo artists on making images for Zelda: Breath of the Wild, bow importance
Posted on 8 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 8 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 8 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:
Yuji Naka, Takashi Iizuka, Miyamoto on Sonic jumping over to Nintendo platforms
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, DS, General Nintendo, News, Wii, Wii U | 6 Comments
These days, it’s easy to associate Sonic with Nintendo. The character has appeared in Olympics games with Mario, and SEGA even partnered with the big N on some exclusive games. During the early ’90s, however, things were much different as Mario and Sonic were pretty big rivals.
Game Informer put up a new piece today about how Sonic eventually landed on Nintendo platforms following SEGA’s exit from the gaming hardware business. It contains some interesting quotes from the likes of creator Yuji Naka, Sonic developer Takashi Iizuka, and even Shigeru Miyamoto.
Read up on some noteworthy comments below. You can find Game Informer’s article here for more.
More: interview, Mario, Mario & Sonic, Shigeru Miyamoto, Sonic, Takashi Iizuka, top, Yuji Naka
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.
