Reggie says Wii U’s slow launch was due to a lack of big games
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 72 Comments
Speaking with Polygon, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime discussed the Wii U’s slow launch. It all came down to one notable issue: the system lacked big games.
Reggie explained:
“This industry is all about content. I can map out why the Wii took off at launch, it had two killer pieces at launch: Twilight Princess, Wii Sports. Look at our DS business. Our DS business was OK, but it was the launch of DS Lite, the launch of Nintendogs, the launch of the first New Super Mario Bros. where that system sort of dramatically took off.”
“So what happened with Wii U? Once the software came that showcased the capabilities of the system, guess what happened? The hardware took off.”
“I think it began holiday of 2013 as we prepped those launches that gave us some momentum. Then Mario Kart 8 hit, then it was Smash. I think it really was holiday of ’13, when we started to get the momentum.”
Reggie also pointed out that something similar happened with the 3DS. When Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D and Mario Kart 7 launched, the system’s sales began to pick up.
More: interview, Reggie Fils-Aime, top
BoxBoy! team on visual style ideas, why Kirby didn’t work, development difficulties, crowns, story
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS eShop, News | 1 Comment
In a recent issue of Famitsu, BoyBoy! director Yasuhiro Mukae, executive producer Satoshi Mitsuhara, and design lead Haruka Ito spoke about the 3DS game. There were some very interesting comments shared by the three developers, so we went ahead and translated a good portion of the interview.
Topics include:
– Different visual styles they experimented with
– Why Kirby wasn’t chosen as the main character
– An initial idea to have the obtainable crowns required to beat the game
– Development difficulties
– The story
Head past the break for our full translation!
More: BOXBOY!, Famitsu, HAL Laboratory, interview, top
Inafune would still want to make Mega Man Legends 3 if he had the chance
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 24 Comments
Capcom cancelled Mega Man Legends 3 roughly four years ago. But that doesn’t mean Keiji Inafune (who was working on development of the project) wouldn’t be interested in bringing it back.
Game Informer recently asked Inafune if ReCore – a new Xbox One title coming from his Comcept studio and Armature – will use any ideas from Mega Man Legends 3. To this, he said that he’d like to make that game if he had the chance.
Inafune’s full comments:
Maybe not at the level of calling out specific gameplay features that would have gone into Legends 3. To be completely honest, if I had the chance, I would still say, “Yes, I want to still make that game.” In that regard, there’s something probably emotional or spiritual that I feel like on a very high level that I don’t completely lose everything, all my ideas, that I had at that time. They may have been transferred or carried over or been reflected in some way, shape, or form in ReCore. That’s something that is part of me, so it’s going into ReCore. One thing that I feel is very different though is that if I went down the Legends 3 path and I was continuing on that path I feel like maybe it’s a bit of more of a throwback to when it was made. Going back into time, but giving it a new skin and fresh look. With ReCore though, I’m not looking back. I’m looking into the future. I’m looking beyond what I can do today. This has given me the opportunity to retain some of what was in my soul, but then transfer that into a future outlook and direction. That’s a big difference in the path that, to me, is different between those two titles.
More: Capcom, interview, Keiji Inafune, Mega Man Legends 3
Reggie believes “there’s a strong opportunity for a dedicated amiibo-centric game”
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 13 Comments
Even though Nintendo is now in the toys-to-life business, the company has yet to come up with a game that truly takes advantage of amiibo. There’s nothing really out there right now from the Big N like Skylanders or Disney Infinity. As for what the future holds, perhaps Nintendo will explore a dedicated amiibo game in the future.
In an interview with GameSpot (watch the full interview here), Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said that he – along with the Treehouse team – have told the developers in Japan that “there’s a strong opportunity for a dedicated amiibo-centric game”. Reggie is sure that the different teams “are thinking about it”, and how they’re give such a title “the unique Nintendo spin”.
Reggie’s comments in full:
So I’ve got nothing to announce today in that space, but I’ll tell you the Treehouse team, myself we visit Japan very frequently. And all of us share our wishes with the development team of what we’d love to see. And it’s not saying anything out of school to say that we’ve communicated that we think there’s a strong opportunity for a dedicated amiibo-centric game where it’s all about the magic that happens with amiibo. And so I’m certain that the developers are thinking about it, and thinking about what’s the unique Nintendo spin that would come in that type of gameplay.
More: Amiibo, interview, Reggie Fils-Aime, top
Reggie – fan feedback, NWC success and future, Zelda Wii U, amiibo, EarthBound, and more
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Videos, Wii U | 52 Comments
GameSpot has put up an 18-minute interview with Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America. Topics include fan feedback, the Nintendo World Championships, Zelda Wii U, amiibo, EarthBound, and more.
You can watch the interview in full below. We also have a summary available for the entire interview.
– Nintendo sees how people are reacting to the Digital Event through real-time social media, what people are commenting on
– Reggie says Star Fox Zero has been showing really well, big lines on the show floor
– Super Mario Maker, Yoshi’s Woolly World did well also
– Reggie says Metroid Prime: Federation Force “is a tough concept”
– Nintendo tried to communicate that there’s no Samus, gameplay is different in the Digital Event
– Since they heard that it wasn’t entirely clear, Nintendo spent time on Metroid Prime: FF during Treehouse Live
– Reggie heard that the reaction to Blast Ball “has been quite fabulous” from those who have played it
– Nintendo World Championships targets for simultaneous views, VOD views immediately after
– Both of those targets were blown away
– Nintendo doesn’t have a formula for E3 that is locked in for years
– Super Mario’s anniversary, Super Mario Maker, Splatoon made sense for the Nintendo World Championships to return
– Feedback of the NWC was phenomenal, so Nintendo will consider how they might do it more regularly
– Nintendo wanted to showcase games launching in the 6-9 months at E3
– Reggie said Nintendo breaks its own rules “all the time”, but this is generally the company’s mentality
– Nintendo was worried that “showing wonderful footage” of Zelda Wii U “would lead to further disappointment on behalf of the fans”
– Nintendo will have many opportunities to show Zelda Wii U
– Reggie has seen how Zelda Wii U has been progressing, and it will be “wonderful”
– Nintendo also feels that it had more than enough content for E3, so they didn’t want to pour salt on wounds
– “The state of the Wii U is quite strong”, had a strong year
– Nintendo feels that if it continues putting out great software, it’ll drive the install base
– “The support we’re getting from third-parties continues to be there”
– Reggie says the Skylanders announcement “has been incredibly well-received”
– Splatoon “performing exceptionally well”
– Strong sell-through for Splatoon globally
– Nintendo’s online presentations are done internally, though they have some external support
– For Nintendo’s E3 2015 announcement video, there was a script, but some things were made up as they went along like Reggie firing Bill (this was unscripted)
– With the Nintendo Direct Micro, they thought it’d be fun for Bill to be small, working his way up
– Nintendo is “extremely pleased with amiibo”
– Nintendo knows there is some frustration with amiibo, and is committed to improving the flow of product, which Reggie says they’re delivered on
– During the 30-day time period for the most recent amiibo launch, Nintendo sold through about 1 million units
– Nintendo is now looking forward to the different forms of amiibo
– Nintendo will continue experimenting with the amiibo form factor
– For a dedicated amiibo game, Nintendo isn’t announcing anything
– However, the Treehouse team and Reggie visit Japan and share their wishes with the developers, and have communicated that there is a strong opportunity for an amiibo-dedicated game
– Nintendo will continue delivering unique, compelling, and differentiated experiences
– Tomodachi Life was one of last year’s big surprises
– EarthBound: Nintendo knows about the love for the franchise, thought Beginnings was a great way to service the fans
– Nintendo knows the love is there for EarthBound, and will see what happens
– In terms of releasing Beginnings, there are a lot of consumers who don’t know the fundametal series, and thought it’d be best to bring them back to the beginning
– Reggie says the industry loves focusing on the shiny new thing, which is currently virtual reality
– Reggie believes that VR will take off when it’s inherently fun and socialable/shareable
More: interview, Reggie Fils-Aime, top
Miyamoto wanted “to let other people enjoy the experience of making games” with Super Mario Maker
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 1 Comment
It’s not often that we see titles from Nintendo that put the creation tools in players’ hands. So why did Shigeru Miyamoto decide to make Super Mario Maker?
During a recent press event, Miyamoto said: “I still just love making games, it’s my favorite thing.” In developing Super Mario Maker, he wanted “to let other people enjoy the experience of making games themselves.”
Super Mario Maker launches for Wii U on September 11.
Miyamoto says Star Fox Zero’s style was made with a purpose, games look the same these days
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 169 Comments
Nintendo finally unveiled Star Fox Zero during its Digital Event that aired on Tuesday. In creating the game, Shigeru Miyamoto has said that the team decided to focus on the gameplay and a purposeful visual style. Miyamoto feels that, these days, the realistic look of games causes them to “all look the same”.
As reported by The Wall Street Journal:
In a press event Sunday, Miyamoto said that the point of Star Fox Zero is the gameplay and the visual style of the game, which is somewhat cartoony. It was made that way with a purpose. “A lot of games nowadays look so realistic that they all look the same,” Miyamoto said.
Star Fox Wii U is due out this holiday for Wii U. PlatinumGames is working with Nintendo on the game’s development.
Hyrule Warriors Legends – Wind Waker story epilogue, unannounced character(s), more
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 34 Comments
Nintendo and Koei Tecmo officially revealed Hyrule Warriors Legends during the Digital Event that took place on Tuesday. In an interview with Famitsu this week, producer Yosuke Hayashi shares more information about what we can expect from the game.
In one of his responses, Hayashi notes that planning started for the 3DS version after the Wii U title released. He said:
That was after the release of the Wii U version. The Wii U version got a positive reception from people who played it, but as there are already many Zelda titles on the Nintendo 3DS, many Zelda fans said “I’d like to play this on 3DS”. The development of the Nintendo 3DS version took off from there.
Takahashi says it takes about 30 hours to get a Skell in Xenoblade Chronicles X
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 11 Comments
Xenoblade Chronicles X has a feature that allows players to obtain and fly various mechs known as “Skells”. Just don’t count on gaining access to a Skell right away. Speaking with IGN, senior director and chief creative officer Tetsuya Takahashi said that it takes about 30 hours before mechs become accessible.
He said:
“The reason we decided to do that was because the scale of the game changes once you get a Skell. We wanted to make sure that the initial difficulties you might have had maneuvering across terrain or trying to figure out how to reach a certain spot would be something you had a full sense of before you got the Skell.”
“We didn’t want people from the very beginning being able to be to zip towards the exact opposite end of the continent. We wanted people them to have the experience of knowing that distance first hand by running it. Once you do have the opportunity to control a Skell, it really does change the feel of the game. And we feel like these are gradual steps that ease you into that process.”
“When people hear 30 hours of gameplay, they might be reacting to that number a little bit. But I think that something that’s going to be familiar to MMO players is the idea that 30 hours is not necessarily a really long time if you think about the total gameplay time that might pick up. Now, certainly in traditional JRPG terms that may feel like that’s quite a ways out, but I think that we’ve designed the content in such a way that it feels fast as you’re going through it.”
Xenoblade Chronicles X launches in North America and Europe in December.
Yooka-Laylee developer interview with Grant Kirkhope and Andy Robinson
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News | 1 Comment
At E3 2015 this week, GameXplain sat down with Grant Kirkhope and Andy Robinson to talk about Yooka-Laylee. You can watch the full half-hour discussion below.
