Shigesato Itoi on Earthbound’s continued popularity, Mother 4, Iwata’s passing, more
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 4 Comments
Japanese outlet Game Watch interviewed Shigesato Itoi at an Earthbound event in Japan. The discussion has since been translated by Tuxedo Unmasked.
We’ve posted some of Itoi’s comments below. He addressed Earthbound’s continued popularity, Mother 4, Iwata’s passing, and several other topics. If interested, you can also read the full interview here.
More: interview, Mother 4, Satoru Iwata, Shigesato Itoi, top
Tetsuya Takahashi on making Xenoblade Chronicles X fun on a budget and more
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 22 Comments
Eurogamer published a new feature today about Monolith Soft and studio head Tetsuya Takahashi. You can read the full thing at this link, but we’ll be sharing some of it here as well.
With Xenoblade Chronicles on Wii, the team encountered some issues and were in danger of missing the launch deadline. But Nintendo producer Hitoshi Yamagami swooped in and assisted Takahashi in getting things back on track.
The situation was different with Xenoblade Chronicles X, as Takahashi explained:
“We wanted to achieve something that was more about us as Monolith Soft being able to create an open world system, to implement online features, and to transition into the high definition era. With that game we’d learned how to create locations that are fun to explore on a budget. If we had no restrictions at all in terms of costs, then for example we could easily make a varied and interesting map simply by creating textures and models for four or five different to use in a single 20km squared area. But within restrictions we had the difficult task of creating varied and fun locations using just the textures and models for a single kind of environment.”
Takahashi also mentioned also said that lessons were learned when making Xenoblade Chronicles. Monolith Soft was able to achieve its goals despite certain restrictions it put on itself, such as not using middleware to increase the speed of production.
Head past the break for a few more comments from Takahashi.
Excitebike 64 devs on the game’s development – origins, Miyamoto feedback, more
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 2 Comments
Last month’s issue of GamesTM has a very interesting feature on the making of Excitebike 64. We encourage you to pick up the magazine to read it in full, though we wanted to share some of the information and comments here.
Excitebike 64 was the next title from Left Field Productions following the Nintendo-published NBA Courtside. Several ideas were pitched, many of which were focused around sports given the studio’s specialty in the genre. The possibility of a motocross game was flying about in part due to a few producers at Left Field enjoying it, and that’s what was ultimately selected.
Henry Sterchi, a producer from Nintendo working on the title, mentioned to GamesTM that Excitebike 64 began “as a more traditional motocross game”. However, as ideas were being prototyped and mechanics were being worked on, Left Field came up with an idea of developing a sequel to the NES classic. It was eventually proposed to Nintendo, who approved it soon after.
Sterchi told GamesTM:
“Excitebike 64 started out as a more traditional motocross game to prove out the core engine, handling and basic play. The handling was physics-driven and realistic, but I wouldn’t have called it a technical simulation. We did try some real-time track deformation such as tyre ruts, but it was abandoned because it wasn’t that fun and quite a technical drain.”
“We’d already discussed and prototyped the thing we wanted around the turbo mechanic and track designs in order for it to be an authentic Excitebike experience, so it was always the hope that they’d go for it and if it didn’t work out, it was ready to stand on its own as a more traditional motocross racer.”
More: Excitebike 64, interview, Left Field Productions, top
Monolith Soft boss on appealing to Japan/the west, “mass” hiring clarified, more Xeno games
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 49 Comments
GameSpot has posted another feature with Monolith Soft head Tetsuya Takahashi. In today’s interview, Takahashi commented on things like making games that will appeal to both Japan and the west, the “mass” hiring the studio had in October (which carries a rather interesting response), the possibility of additional Xeno games, and more.
Continue on below to read up on Takashi’s comments. You should also give GameSpot’s original piece a look here.
More: interview, Monolith Soft, Tetsuya Takahashi, top
Level-5 open to having franchises on NX and Wii U, says Yo-kai Watch and Pokemon can coexist peacefully
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Switch, Wii U | 21 Comments
The only Yo-kai Watch title we’ve seen from Level-5 on a Nintendo console is the upcoming Yo-kai Watch Dance: Just Dance Special Version. But could the studio expand its efforts to bring a proper title to Wii U, or even NX? Company CEO Akihiro Hino is certainly open to the possibility.
Hino said he “would definitely want to proactively consider it,” if Level-5 has a title that would make sense as a Wii U game. Taking things further, Hino expressed interest in potentially making games for NX if it can “bring Level-5 games to as many kids as possible.” Speaking broadly about Level-5, he added that if the company finds this to be the case, “it wouldn’t be impossible” to see its games on the system.
Hino also addressed Pokemon again, which has seen some comparisons to Level-5’s Yo-kai Watch series. He believes the two can coexist peacefully. Hino mentioned: “If kids are willing to buy both of them, I couldn’t be happier.”
More: Akihiro Hino, interview, Level-5, top
NES designer on Nintendo and Sony’s failed partnership, emphasis on design, indie comparison
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 12 Comments
Back in the day, Nintendo and Sony once attempted to work with each other. The SNES PlayStation prototype is evidence of that. Had the two sides collaborated, Sony would have come out with its own SNES-CD peripheral for the console.
NES designer Masayuki Uemura, in an interview with Gamasutra, spoke about Nintendo and Sony’s failed partnership during a NES celebration at The Strong Museum of Play’s International Center for the History of Electronic Games. Whereas companies like Sony began to focus on graphics and the technological side of gaming at the time, Nintendo still pushed for innovation with design.
Uemura said:
“You might know that we tried to collaborate with Sony once. We knew what Sony was thinking and what kinds of things they were trying to develop. During this time when Sony and other companies started launching products, people started realizing how difficult it is to create a game with great mechanics. Since the time of Game & Watch, Nintendo was doing their best to create game design mechanics that fully utilize the limited technological specifications. What happened was when they started launching those products with high quality graphic design they started emphasizing the graphics processing power – in other words, it wasn’t just the game mechanics they had to focus on but they also had to focus on graphic expression and sound design, not just game design. That’s how the market got saturated with all these kinds of products.
“By contrast, Nintendo was always trying to push the limitations of new types of play. That was a difference between Nintendo product lines and the others. With the maturity of the game industry…it was time to start thinking about redefining the importance of mechanics and design. So for a couple decades the game publishers and hardware manufacturers were focusing on graphics processing power and sound effects and so forth and not focusing much on innovating in game design and mechanics.”
More: interview, Masayuki Uemura, Sony, top
Xenoblade X devs – wanted to evolve JRPGs, Xeno name, game is a culmination of ideas
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 25 Comments
GameSpot sat down with a pair of developers behind Xenoblade Chronicles X. The site chatted with executive director Tetsuya Takahashi as well as art director Norihiro Takami. During the discussion, Takahashi and Takami commented on the complex nature of Xenoblade Chronicles X, the Xeno name, how the Wii U game is a culmination of ideas held onto for a very long time, and more.
We’ve rounded up a number of Takahashi and Takami’s statements below. Additional comments can be found in GameSpot’s piece here. Some concept art is also in the gallery below.
KnapNok on Affordable Space Adventures’ reception and sales, more DLC possible, could hit 3DS
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS eShop, News, Wii U eShop | 1 Comment
KnapNok’s Anchel Labena has commented on a number of topics pertaining to Affordable Space Adventures as part of an interview with Nintendo Life.
Regarding the game’s reception, Labena said that the game has received “some pretty amazing reviews”, which came as a bit of a surprise given its “quirky nature”. Sales were strong out of the gate, though “things slowed down a bit during the months after.”
Labena’s comments in full:
“We’ve been getting some pretty amazing reviews, which we are obviously really happy about. It really caught us by surprise, since Affordable Space Adventures is such a quirky title that we didn’t know what the press would think about it. I guess that all the positive press really affected sales at launch, because we saw a sudden surge of interest from players, YouTube streamers and other media outlets who hadn’t heard about the game before its launch.
While sales kicked off to a great start, things slowed down a bit during the months after launch. We still keep selling units on a daily basis though. It doesn’t come as a surprise either. We are, after all, a digital-only release, and presence in the Wii U eShop is crucial for us. Every time our game shows up in the eShop front page (like a banner, a Nintendo Highlights video or being included in a list of indie games for example), we have a considerable spike in sales. The new update is surely going to get a new surge of interest in the title, so we hope to keep the momentum going with that. We also just launched in Japan, and that’s definitely a super interesting market to get into. You have to think different in how you approach the audience there. Luckily, there are also fans there. One of them posted a drawing on Miiverse and it took as a while to understand that her handwriting said “I’ve been waiting for a year for this game since Knytt Underground” (Knytt Underground being the previous game of Affordable Space Adventure’s Game Director, Nicklas Nygren). What I can tell you, however, is that the game has definitely been a success for us and we are quite happy about how it is performing.”
More: Anchel Labena, indie, interview, KnapNok Games, Nifflas, top
Zelda: Tri Force Heroes – Miiverse Miiting part 2 – cut costumes, abandoned icon seller, more
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 2 Comments
The second part of The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes’ Miiverse Miiting has gone live. Director Hiromasa Shikata once again participated in the discussion, but he was also joined by Grezzo’s Mikiharu Oiwa this time around as well.
The new Miiverse Miiting is quite a bit more interesting than the last one. There are comments about the working relationship between Nintendo and Grezzo, concept art for Princess Styla, cut outfit ideas, an abandoned idea for an icon seller that would let you buy extra icons with Rupees, and more. Head past the break for the full talk.
Shigesato Itoi on why there won’t be a Mother 4
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 64 Comments
Speaking with Game Watch Impress, Shigesato Itoi commented on why Mother 4 is unlikely to happen. He told the site:
“Among big-time popstars, if they, you know, put out ten albums, around the fourth album, they can’t make very good songs. The albums sell, but everyone at the concerts wants to hear songs from those first three albums. Everyone. I’m glad that video games are not my profession. If it was my job, I would’ve already made 4 and 5.”
“When I made 3, I thought I could do it, so I did it,” Itoi added. He went on to say that 4 is “totally impossible.”
