interview

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.”

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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.

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More: Chibi-Robo!: Zip Lash, interview, Risa Tabata, Skip, Vanpool

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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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More: Capcom, interview, Keiji Inafune, Mega Man Legends 3

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.

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Posted on 9 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

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Posted on 9 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.

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