Nintendo “talked about the possibility” of featuring Mario in Splatoon
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 11 Comments
At one point, Nintendo “talked about the possibility” of featuring Mario as the main player character in Splatoon. That’s according to Shigeru Miyamoto, who revealed the information to EDGE this month.
Miyamoto told the magazine:
“There were heated debates over who the main player character should be. Whether it should be Mario, or a squid. When we talked about the possibility of it being Mario, of course we could think of the advantages: anybody would be willing to touch it as soon as we announced that we had the new Mario game. But at the same time, we had some worries. If it were Mario, we wouldn’t be able to create any new IP.”
Splatoon was first announced at this year’s E3. It’s a brand new third-person shooter of sorts from Nintendo and includes completely unique characters.
More: interview, Shigeru Miyamoto, Splatoon, top
Aonuma further discusses Zelda Wii U’s open world
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 13 Comments
Eiji Aonuma, producer of Zelda Wii U, shared extensive comments to EDGE this month about the game’s open world without giving too much away.
EDGE started out by asking Aonuma about the challenges of adapting a linear design to a world that can be freely explored. He said in response:
In the original Legend of Zelda, there was no clear way to lead the main character to his goal. It was something that we entrusted to the players to find by themselves. As the game later expanded into a franchise, the structure of the game worlds became more and more complex – especially with the introduction of 3D – making it necessary for us to point the player in the right direction. Consequently, progression in the games became more linear.
To recreate a similar experience to the original, we have to give the game world a simple structure that players can understand intuitively. In doing so, it’s very important that we make every aspect of the world feel real and physically connected, so that it’s doesn’t look fake.
We can achieve this thanks to the hardware features of Wii U, but to truly get a deep understanding of the game world, we also need a real map that depicts the world as it is. The GamePad is very effective for displaying this, and thus also [for] providing players with a constant hint on where to head to. I think we can safely say that the innovations in this new game are only possible thanks to the Wii U hardware.
More: Eiji Aonuma, interview, top, Zelda Wii U
Miyamoto says Nintendo isn’t as interested in making casual games these days
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 43 Comments
Nintendo is placing more of an emphasis on its core fanbase these days. It’s quite the contrast to the Wii and DS era, in which the company produced many titles for the casual player and looked to target this demographic.
But now, as explained by Shigeru Miyamoto in this month’s EDGE, Nintendo isn’t as interested in catering to those who have a “passive” interest in games.
He said:
“[These are] the sort of people who, for example, might want to watch a movie. They might want to go to Disneyland. Their attitude is, ‘okay, I am the customer. You are supposed to entertain me.’ It’s kind of a passive attitude they’re taking, and to me it’s kind of a pathetic thing. They do not know how interesting it is if you move one step further and try to challenge yourself [with more advanced games].”
“In the days of DS and Wii, Nintendo tried its best to expand the gaming population. Fortunately, because of the spread of smart devices, people take games for granted now. It’s a good thing for us, because we do not have to worry about making games something that are relevant to general people’s daily lives.”
More: interview, Shigeru Miyamoto, top
There won’t be Tekken characters in Pokken Tournament
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 1 Comment
Tekken characters won’t be appearing in Pokken Tournament, according to Bandai Namco’s Katsuhiro Harada.
Harada told one fan on Twitter:
Ha, ha, ha. Nope, Tekken characters will not be making an appearance.
As we’re making a Pokemon fighting action battle game, I’ve already touched on this while on the livestream, but in this game there will not be a high/mid/low guard system mechanic. Instead, we’re planning to include a new type of [mechanic]…
Activision CEO says you can’t count Nintendo out for the long-term
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 9 Comments
Nintendo can’t be counted out in the long-term, Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg has said.
Hirshberg, when asked about Nintendo’s current situation and what could be done to turn things around with Wii U, he stated:
It’s probably a better question to ask Nintendo. They are obviously not off to the start they’ve probably hoped they would’ve had with the Wii U, but they also have some of the world’s best IP and some of the world’s best game makers. I’ve always said they’ve been through rough hardware cycles before, but when you have the kind of game makers and beloved IP like they do, you can’t count [Nintendo] out for the long-term.
Activision’s lineup of Wii U releases have continued this year with The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark, and the upcoming Skylanders Trap Team. However, it’s looking like Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare will not be arriving on the system.
More: Activision, Eric Hirshberg, interview
Tezuka officially confirms that you’ll be able to share levels online in Mario Maker
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 6 Comments
Mario Maker allows users to create their own Mario stages, but it wouldn’t be too much fun without the ability to share creations with others, right? Thankfully, Takashi Tezuka has officially confirmed that this functionality will be included.
Tezuka teased while speaking with EDGE this month, “There will need to be a system for sharing courses online”. And that’s the latest on Mario Maker for now!
More: interview, Mario Maker, Takashi Tezuka, top
Zelda Wii U’s open world won’t be like the open worlds from other games
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 20 Comments
Producer Eiji Aonuma recently shared a cryptic teaser about the nature of Zelda Wii U’s open world.
Aonuma – among other employees like Shigeru Miyamoto – were interviewed in this month’s EDGE as part of a significant Nintendo feature. Regarding Zelda Wii U’s world, Aonuma teased:
“Since we’re talking about open worlds, let’s state upfront that we don’t plan to have an open world in the same way other companies have been doing in recent years.”
We’ll let you know if any other interesting bits come out of this month’s EDGE.
More: Eiji Aonuma, interview, top, Zelda Wii U
Image & Form announcing the next SteamWorld game soon, working on other projects as well
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS eShop, News | 0 comments
Image & Form will soon be announcing the next entry in the “SteamWorld” series.
In an interview with Prankster101 Productions, lead programmer Olle Hakannson mentioned that a reveal should be taking place in “maybe a month” or so. The discussion took place at GDC Europe, so the announcement should only be a few weeks away.
It’s also worth mentioning that Hakannson teased other projects from Image & Form as well. The studio is planning “at least one game for every platform, like a specific game for each platform.”
Check out some excerpts from the interview below. You’ll also find the full talk here.
More: Image & Form, indie, interview, Olle Hakannson, SteamWorld
Hayashi explains the roles of Omega Force, Team Ninja, and Nintendo in Hyrule Warriors’ development
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments
Three different companies contributed to Hyrule Warriors to make the game possible. Omega Force and Team Ninja, two subsidiaries under Koei Tecmo, created the project directly. Nintendo also helped out in some capacity.
But what exactly was each company’s function? We now know courtesy of producer Yosuke Hayashia, who divulged to ONM this month:
Omega Force were kind enough to create the “basic Dynasty Warriors style gameplay”, Team Ninja made the “one-on one” and “boss battles” sections for us, and Nintendo gave us the “understanding required for the Zelda series”. As we were using the Zelda IP, Nintendo did detailed checks at the beginning of development, but what really stood out from a developmental perspective was Nintendo’s constant encouragement to “take a freer approach in the creation process”.
Thanks to joclo for the tip.
Ubisoft Europe boss talks Wii U, believes Smash Bros. can increase momentum
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 16 Comments
Ubisoft’s European boss Alain Corre commented on the status of Wii U while speaking with GamesIndustry at Gamescom 2014 last week.
Corre’s mainly discussed the new Super Smash Bros., which he believes “will be a trigger to increase the momentum of the Wii U at Christmas.” He added that the series “could be magical” on the console.
Corre’s comments in full are as follows:
“To be honest, we always want more consoles. Just Dance 2015 is resonating very well. We think it will please a lot of [existing] Wii U owners and push more families to buy extra Wii Us. But we also believe that Super Smash Bros. will be a trigger to increase the momentum of the Wii U at Christmas. As a gamer, I was playing [Super Smash Bros.] over ten years ago, and it has some of the best moments that Nintendo has shared. I think that franchise could be magical [for the Wii U]. Nintendo has some of the best franchises in the world and it knows how to make great games. It proved that with Mario Kart, and it will prove that again with Super Smash.”
