Jar Jar Binks appears in Disney Infinity 3.0, but he isn’t playable
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 7 Comments
Jar Jar Binks is in Disney Infinity 3.0. He acts as a mission giver in the game’s campaign and a spawnable townsperson in the Toy Box mode. However, Jar Jar Binks isn’t actually playable.
Vice president of digital business/franchise management at LucasFilm’s interactive division Ada Duan and Disney Interactive’s John Vignocchi told Polygon:
“Anything is possible. Once we figured out what we wanted that three-week experience to be, we all dove in and said let’s do Star Wars: A New Hope. Interestingly, in terms of the surveys that came back from all the kids experiences’, they said, ‘Where is Anakin? Where is Darth Maul?’ It was because this generation had grown up with the Clone Wars. They wanted to know where there favorite characters were, where’s Jar Jar? So when we were deciding how much Star Wars should we bring into Infinity, we were like, ‘Please, let’s not only focus on the classic trilogy; we need to bring the Phantom Menace as well, as well as Star Wars Rebels.” – Duan
“I remember when we saw how high he was on the character chart, I was like, ‘This has got to be because people hate him, right?’ I was totally wrong.” – Vignocchi
Tanabe on lack of Mario Bros. 2 support in Super Mario Maker, wants to revisit the title
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 15 Comments
Super Mario Maker has support for Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and New Super Mario Bros. U. But what about Super Mario Bros. 2?
Nintendo’s Kensuke Tanabe addressed this while speaking with USgamer at E3 last week, in which he stated:
“Super Mario Bros. 2, as you know, when we created that game in Japan, it didn’t have Mario as the main character Probably because of that, it’s been overlooked for Super Mario Maker. I didn’t talk to Mr. (Takashi) Tezuka at all about it, actually. It does seem sort of unfortunate.”
Tanabe did give a bit of hope for the future, as he seemed to show some interest in something like a Super Mario Bros. 2-style version of Mario Maker. “If I ever have the chance, yes, it would be interesting to work on something like that,” he said.
Reggie – always thinking about new systems, digital vs. physical games, more
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Switch | 44 Comments
Polygon has a few more quotes up from its interview with Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America. Much of the talk focused on new consoles and Reggie’s take on digital vs. physical games.
For those that are interested, continue on below for the breakdown of Reggie’s remarks. Be sure to check out Polygon’s original article here as well.
On how Nintendo is in front of the curve in terms of when a company might next release a next-gen console, and how the company takes big chances while innovating in video games…
“So, bad news for you, I’ve got nothing to share specifically about NX.
“One element of your premise is that Nintendo as a company has a history of being innovative and driving innovation. You look at the DS with the incorporation of the touch screen. You look at what we did with Wii. We’re constantly trying to innovate. So to frame it as ‘Here’s a company with a history of innovating. I’d love for them to innovate more.’ We accept that and that is part of our DNA.
“The other thing I would say is that, we see in our existing business, and we anticipate looking into the future, how this gaming industry is going to continue to evolve. And absolutely, our challenge is to think about what that future looks like and create a business model, technology approach and consumer messaging approach that brings it all together to a successful platform and a successful platform launch. We’re constantly thinking about that.”
More: interview, Reggie Fils-Aime, top
Chibi-Robo!: Zip Lash devs again comment on the decision to make the game a platformer
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 4 Comments
The developers of Chibi-Robo!: Zip Lash have once again commented on the decision to make the game a platformer as opposed to an adventure experience.
In an interview with Nintendo World Report, producer Risa Tabata explained:
“That was sort of our hint to focus on the action types of things. For the previous Chibi-Robo games, we had more of the adventure aspect. And for those who are really big fans of Chibi-Robo, it was great. People loved it, but we couldn’t quite say that it was widely known by a lot of people. So we wanted to branch out and explore more things.”
Nintendo producer Kensuke Tanabe added that a platformer “would be a great place to expand that fanbase” in America.
More: Chibi-Robo!: Zip Lash, interview, Risa Tabata, Skip, Vanpool
GungHo wanted “to reach out to a broader audience” with Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 5 Comments
GungHo Online Entertainment had one goal in mind when making Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition: to reach a broader audience.
CEO Kazuki Morishita told GamesBeat:
Back in 2011, we were coming up with a new concept for Puzzle & Dragons. I came to the conclusion that our target audience for the 3DS version—I wanted it to be kids, kids who don’t have smartphones. I’ve always wanted to release the game for 3DS and reach more of that audience. The target audience for PZD Mario is definitely much younger than the smartphone crowd. Going back to your question, Gung Ho’s goal with that title is to reach out to a broader audience with the core gameplay of the series.
Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition launched for 3DS in May. It came packaged with GungHo’s first Puzzle & Dragons effort for the handheld, Puzzle & Dragons Z.
Playtonic talks Yooka-Laylee – not wanting to copy Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong Country inspiration, more
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 2 Comments
The latest Yooka-Laylee comes from Polygon, who sat down with Grant Kirkhope and Andy Robinson to discuss the 3D platformer. The two commented on topics such as not wanting to copy Banjo-Kazooie, taking inspiration (and elements) from Donkey Kong Country, and more.
Head past the break for a roundup of the Q&A. You can find Polygon’s original piece here.
More: Andy Robinson, Grant Kirkhope, interview, Playtonic, top, Yooka-Laylee
Reggie says Wii U’s slow launch was due to a lack of big games
Posted on 9 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 9 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 9 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 9 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.
