Bandai Namco on why Pokken Tournament is being made for arcade first
Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 10 Comments
Prior to Pokken Tournament’s announcement, many gamers assumed that the title would be confirmed for Wii U. That didn’t happen though, as it’s only for arcades at present.
In an interview with Japanese website 4Gamer, Bandai Namco’s Katsuhiro Harada explained why Pokken Tournament is hitting arcades first. When 4Gamer said that Pokemon is considered family-oriented and that this isn’t necessarily the same for arcades, Harada responded:
Pokken Tournament targeted at fans between the ages of 18 and 30
Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 3 Comments
With Pokken Tournament, The Pokemon Company and Bandai Namco hope to appeal to older fans. Producer Katsuhiro Harada, in an interview with 4Gamer, said that the team is “aiming for something over 18 years of age to the early 30s” when it comes to age demographics.
Harada said:
“Naturally, it’s being developed into something that elementary school children can also enjoy, but if we’re talking about age demographics, we’re aiming for something over 18 years of age to the early 30s.”
“When it comes to Pokémon, everyone says they love it up until the fourth grade, and what’s funny is that there are kids who graduate from it after that. Well… it’s not that they ‘graduate,’ since they’re still fans, but they just don’t show [their enthusiasm], and kind of play it more behind-the-scenes.”
“That applies to some of the kids out there. However, for some reason, once they get into their 20s, there are more and more people who enthusiastically share their love for Pokémon.”
“This title is being made as an ‘adult’s Pokémon’ for that generation of people who grew up with Pokémon. Those in their 20s and 30s today have spent a lot of time during their school days with Pokémon, and have some strong memories looking back at the games and anime.”
“And for those people, Pokkén will finally allow them to experience what it’s like to freely move around their favorite Pokémon, and I expect it to be a very impressive title. Please look forward to it.”
Tetsuya Nomura was “very happy” to be involved with Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate for his collaboration
Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 0 comments
At New York Comic-Con last week, Square Enix’s Tetsuya Nomura revealed a new collaboration with Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. The Kingdom Hearts III director is making original male and female weapons along with armor and original Felyne equipment.
Nomura spoke a bit about his involvement with Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate with Famitsu this week. “I’ve publicly stated that I love the Monster Hunter series, especially the multi-player,” he said. “So when I received the offer, I was honestly very happy.”
Nomura’s designs are specifically made for the west. They’re not available in the Japanese version of the game, which launched last week.
Nintendo UK: “Wii U has had quite a good year so far”
Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 21 Comments
The latest issue of MCV has interviews with Nintendo’s UK marketing boss Shelly Pearce and UK general manager Simon Kemp. During the discussion, Pearce states that the “Wii U has had quite a good year so far”.
Pearce said in the magazine:
“We’ve really seen momentum pick up with Mario Kart 8 back in May. That was when we saw a step change, not just in terms of sales but also people’s attitudes to Wii U. People are starting to consider buying now, which was cemented by our E3 activity. All the software that we showed then gave people confidence that there were lots of games coming that they wanted.”
“One of the key things for us is that people are staring to realise what software there is, what games they can get this Christmas, but importantly a lot of key stuff that is coming next year, too. It is a really strong line-up.”
“We are expecting to see real growth from Wii U this Christmas and we will continue to build on that next year”.
Kemp also said the following:
“We’ve felt a real increase in interest and momentum. Compared to 12 months ago, it does feel noticeably different.”
Pearce mentioned Splatoon, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, and The Legend of Zelda as Nintendo’s big titles for 2015.
More: interview, Shelly Pearce, Simon Kemp
Video: More Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire talk from Game Freak
Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, Videos | 0 comments
Game Freak on the Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire demo, Pokemon Snap, and more
Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News | 2 Comments
CVG has published a new interview with Game Freak’s Junichi Masuda, which covers a wide array of topics. Masuda was asked about the Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire demo, fan requests like the return of Pokemon Snap, and more.
Read on below for a few excerpts from the discussion.
Game Freak says a new Pokemon Stadium game would “need to have some sort of new invention”
Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 35 Comments
Nintendo hasn’t published any new Pokemon Stadium games since 2007. By the sound of things, the series won’t be returning anytime soon.
Speaking with USgamer, Game Freak’s Junichi Masuda said that simply improving the graphics wouldn’t be “as impactful or impressive” since Pokemon games are in 3D these days. A new Pokemon Stadium would instead need “some sort of new invention” for its existence to be justified.
Below are Masuda’s full comments:
“It kind of goes back to the core philosophy of Pokémon as a brand: We really want to excite people and surprise them with new things they weren’t expecting. The original games, of course, were 2D and in black and white, and seeing them in 3D was a stark contrast… it was kind of a huge surprise for players. Nowadays, the Pokémon are already in 3D, and I’m not sure that better graphics would be quite as impactful or impressive. So in order to come back to the Stadium series, I think we’d need to have some sort of new invention to justify it.”
More: Game Freak, interview, Junichi Masuda, Pokemon, Pokemon Stadium, top
Game Freak open to Amiibo support
Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 13 Comments
The Wii U and 3DS will both be receiving Amiibo support in the future. What might the functionality mean for a franchise like Pokemon?
While Game Freak’s Junichi Masuda won’t share any specifics regarding potential ideas, he did tell GameSpot that the company could be open to supporting Amiibo down the road. That will happen “if we can find some really cool way out to use Amiibo with NFC, and add some new type of gameplay,” Masuda said.
His full comments:
“You might be aware that Pokemon as a brand used NFC for Pokemon Rumble U for the Wii U. Not in the exact same way as that, but if we can find some really cool way out to use Amiibo with NFC, and add some new type of gameplay, then I think we’d definitely be supportive of using it in the future.”
More: Amiibo, Game Freak, interview, Junichi Masuda
Video: Game Freak talks more about Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire
Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Videos | 2 Comments
German website ntower was recently given the opportunity to speak with Junichi Masuda and Shigeru Ohmori from Game Freak. Both staffers talked more about Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire.
If you don’t want to sit through the entire thing, here’s a summary that ntower shared with us:
– Project started on 11.21.2012
– Hoenn is a place full of life. Pokémon with special abilities are sitting in the grass and you can see them on the overworld map. There are also Pokémon at the beach, etc.
– Some places did change, even the story has been changed a bit
– There are going to be trainer battles underwater. Special battle animations like a slower movement of Pokéballs are going to make this a special occasion.
– PSS/PokéMonAmi/Supertraining will all be present in the remakes
– Pokémon X / Y will be compatible with ORAS, but there will be no patch to make the primal evolutions available in X and Y. The same goes for the new mega evolutions.
– You remember the trumpets? Yeah, they are going to be present in the Remakes, but not as much as before.
– The origin of the trumpets lies in Masudas past, since he was part of a marching band in Highschool.
– You will be able to do much more once you have finished the story of ORAS, like flying around with Mega Latias and Mega Latios. Secret bases, contests, hunting legendary Pokémon and other stuff will keep you busy.
– Figuring out the origins of the Mega Evolution will be a big part of the story.
– Multi-Nav is going to be on your touchscreen and will show different things, like Pokémon in your current area or a map. It also shows what your friends do in their games.
No trainer customization in Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, Game Freak keen on keeping random encounters
Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 68 Comments
Pokemon X and Pokemon Y introduced trainer customization for the first time. Although it was far from extensive, it was certainly a great addition to the series. Players could dress themselves in various hats, boots, dresses, and more.
Unfortunately, Game Freak has decided against bringing back trainer customization for Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire. The studio’s Junichi Masuda explained why this is so to USGamer:
“In terms of the customization of the trainer, that was really kind of a special thing for the Kalos region, which featured this kind of motif of France and really focused on this beauty and fashion aspect, which is why it was a prominent feature in that game. For this game, we’re focusing on adventuring elements, so we don’t have the actual free customization of the trainer, but you’ll see the items you use throughout the game visually represented; for example, when you’re underwater, you’ll have this little mouthpiece that lets you breathe. So there’s some cool stuff for how your trainer changes clothes and puts on accessories throughout the game.”
“It’s really meant to give unique traits of personalities to the different regions. So with the secret bases, for example, they’re really popular in the Hoenn region. Everything we come up with always tie back into the themes of the games we’re working on, so with the original Ruby and Sapphire we had the theme of richness or abundance, which is in the name of the region: The ‘Ho’ part means richness or abundance in Japanese, and ‘enn’ means bonds, like the bonds between people and their Pokémon, for example. So it’s just reflecting the theme of the individual regions.”
