Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai says large-scale game development is “unsustainable”, thinks generative AI can help
Posted on 3 weeks ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai has weighed in on the current state of large-scale game development and the possibility of improving the situation with generative AI.
ITmedia was able to speak with Sakurai about various topics during an interview, and towards the end of the discussion, he was asked about his thoughts concerning the future of the games market. The outlet mentioned how development is only increasing in scale while the indie market is also growing.
More: interview, Masahiro Sakurai, top
Mario Kart World dev comments on why non-Mario characters aren’t included
Posted on 3 weeks ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 0 comments
Mario Kart World has a ton of playable characters, but they’re all strictly from the Mario universe and not from any other Nintendo franchises. If you were hoping to see the likes of Link from The Legend of Zelda or Isabelle from Animal Crossing returning from Mario Kart 8, you might be left disappointed. But according to producer Kosuke Yabuki, that was never in the cards to begin with.
Ouest-France recently spoke Yabuki and this was one of the topics that came up. He indicated that other Nintendo characters wouldn’t be the right fit and there was already plenty of possibilities with Mario alone.
More: interview, Kosuke Yabuki, Mario Kart World, top
Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles won’t have War of the Lions content, Square Enix explains why
Posted on 1 month ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch, Switch 2 | 0 comments
When Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles arrives later this year, content from the War of the Lions version won’t be included. Square Enix has now explained why.
The War of the Lions came to the PSP back in 2007. It features quite a bit of additional content, including new characters and jobs, new pre-rendered cutscenes, and multiplayer features. Unfortunately, these aspects will be missing in The Ivalice Chronicles.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment was initially planned for Nintendo Switch 1
Posted on 1 month ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch 2 | 0 comments
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment was originally planned as a game for the original Nintendo Switch. Yosuke Hayashi, studio head of AAA Studio (Koei Tecmo), revealed that information in a new interview.
Hayashi said that plans for the project shifted midway through the development. He didn’t say what the turning point was, but ultimately Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is now a Nintendo Switch 2 game. Hayashi feels that the move only made the game “more fun” and there were improvements to the amount of enemies on screen as well as the frame rate.
Devil’s Third director says panned Wii U game was innovative for its time
Posted on 1 month ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments
Devil’s Third went through a bit of a rollercoaster during its development. Originally, THQ was slated to publish the game and it wasn’t even planned for Nintendo platforms at the time. But after THQ went bankrupt, South Korean company Doobic picked up the project. Doobic ended up going out of business itself, and eventually, Nintendo stepped in to handle it.
Whether it was because of the change in partners or another reason, Devil’s Third didn’t turn out well even though it initially seemed to be a potentially interesting Wii U exclusive. But now in 2025, director Tomonobu Itagaki has reflected on the title, feeling that it “was innovative for a game of its time”.
SEGA says Mario Kart World and Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds are “fundamentally different”, talks Nintendo Switch 2
Posted on 1 month ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch, Switch 2 | 0 comments
Although Nintendo Switch 2 just received a big racer in the form of Mario Kart World, SEGA believes it can can coexist with its own upcoming game Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds.
In a recent interview, Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka said these two titles “are going in different directions”. He brought up how Mario Kart World is featuring an open world. Iizuka ultimately feels “the design itself is fundamentally different.”
He told VGC in the interview:
Deltarune cut an entire segment from Chapter 3, concept art shared
Posted on 1 month ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch 2, Switch eShop | 0 comments
Nintendo published a new interview today with Deltarune creator Toby Fox, and that discussion revealed that an entire segment of content was cut from Chapter 3.
The next two chapters of Deltarune just came to Nintendo Switch today with Switch 2 getting the release tomorrow. In honor of the launch, Nintendo decided to catch up with Fox for that interview.
Nintendo keeping quiet about Diddy Kong in Mario Kart World
Posted on 1 month ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch 2 | 0 comments
Mario Kart World has a ton of different characters – both new and old – but there’s a notable absence as Diddy Kong doesn’t appear to be on the roster. While IGN recently attempted to get some clarity from the game’s producer, it seems Nintendo is keeping quiet at the moment.
Diddy Kong originally appeared in Mario Kart: Double Dash on the GameCube. He’s been featured in other titles since then, including Mario Kart 8 Deluxe through the Booster Course Pass.
More: interview, Kosuke Yabuki, Mario Kart World
Nintendo doesn’t like describing Mario Kart World’s map as an open world
Posted on 1 month ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch 2 | 0 comments
Mario Kart World features a big map that players can full explore, with many fans describing it as an open world. However, Nintendo itself isn’t big on using that term as a label for its Nintendo Switch 2 racer.
Speaking with The Washington Post, Kosuke Yabuki said that the “open world” term is “just a little bit too ambiguously defined.” That’s why we’ve seen Nintendo refer to the explorable map as “Free Roam” instead.
More: interview, Kosuke Yabuki, Mario Kart World
Mario Kart World doesn’t have a 200cc mode, but producer not ruling out future update
Posted on 1 month ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch 2 | 0 comments
At least at launch, Mario Kart World will not include a 200cc mode.
200cc was introduced for the first time with Mario Kart 8. However, it was actually available immediately in that title either – Nintendo brought it to the game later on as an update.
