interview

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 4 Comments

In the latest issue of Famitsu, Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino commented on a wide array of topics pertaining to the Youkai Watch franchise. This includes the creation of the actual IP, the anime, Youkai Watch 2, and more.

Head past the break for Hino’s comments.

“We’ve created a lot of different IPs, and I figured it was about time that we made something like Doraemon, that could be loved by many people over a long period of time. That was the start of it. I researched what would give something appeal and longevity, and pondered what would be relatable to people and developed the open world RPG that children could play, Yokai Watch. I think title’s popularity is the fruits of trial and error.”

“Anime is content that is offered for free, and I strongly promote its use. The [Yokai Watch] anime focuses on problems that modern children face and is made so that the audience can laugh off such problems and be entertained as well.”

“Keita isn’t a child who always does the right thing, but has his own flaws as well, like trying to watch naughty TV shows late at night or making fun of people. Keita’s actions are depicting what is ‘normal’ for modern children. He’s not a good boy, but someone who says what he thinks. I believe that character setting made him very relatable to people.”

“I’m working on bringing out a third yokai that is different from those 2. It’s like with a variety show – you don’t continue with the same members all the time, but switch them out every now and then to change the atmosphere. That’s what makes a show last longer. I believe that Yokai Watch needs such a device.”

“When planning the first Yokai Watch, I already thought to release the sequel as 2 different versions. Children like having things that other people don’t have, so from a marketing perspective, having 2 versions is a good idea. Also, a lot of people play Yokai Watch with their parents. Where people would have some hesitation about getting 2 copies of the same game, if you have different versions, it’s a lot easier for them to buy both.”

“The key for a long-lasting hit piece of entertainment is whether the business side like merchandise, games, and movies is successful. That’s why you develop commercial goods necessary for cutting edge entertainment and include the latest features in your games.”

On another important note, international expansion for Youkai Watch is “in consideration in a big way.”

Source

More: Akihiro Hino, Famitsu, interview, Level-5, top, Youkai Watch

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U eShop | 4 Comments

Shin’en’s Manfred Linzner provided a very brief update about FAST Racing Neo while speaking with Mii-Gamer in a recent interview.

Linzer acknowledged that fans “really want to see the game”, but the studio will only have one opportunity to show FAST Racing Neo for the first time and make a strong impression. He also mentioned that the team “knew there was so much more possible on Wii U than anyone showed so far”, and they’re trying to “push the hardware.”

Linzer’s comments in full:

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More: FAST Racing Neo, interview

Posted on 10 years ago by Jarop(@gamrah) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 0 comments

Many fans were curious as to why the upcoming One Piece Unlimted World Red had an original story rather than something closer to the original series. Producer Koji Nakajima sat down with the folks over at Siliconera to go over the thought process behind that and a few other aspects of development, here’s a summary:

• Re-writing parts of the One Piece storyline was exciting for him from the perspective as a fan
• Nakajima wanted every One Piece game he produces to focus on a side story or certain arc, to further explore the game’s universe
• After all characters for the game had been created, they are tweaked to be consistent within the One Piece universe
• He wanted the game to feel like adventuring as Luffy and living the adventurous life of a pirate
• That meant not just focusing on battling, but fishing and other elements
• With the Red update, the emphasis on battling was re-focused with the additional of the coliseum along with characters Boa Hancock and Trafalgar Law
• The game has giant boss battles and Nakajima said the Red Dragon fight was one of his favourites
• Unsure what’s next for the series, but contemplating releasing One Piece Unlimited Cruise in North America (previously only released in Europe)

Source

More: Bandai Namco, interview, One Piece: Unlimited World Red

Posted on 10 years ago by Jarop(@gamrah) in Videos, Wii U eShop | 0 comments

Nihilumbra was one of the many indie titles showcased for Nintendo platforms at E3 this year and the folks over at Mii-gamer sat down with developer Beautiful Games to talk about their design process and more, here’s an excerpt of the interview:

7. Nihilumbra is your first game to be released on Nintendo platforms. Why did you decide to bring Nihilumbra over to the Wii U? What is your opinion on the Wii U? Is it a good platform?

Kevin: When we started developing Nihilumbra, the WiiU didn’t exist at all, but as soon as we saw it announced we thought that it was a great platform for our game, mainly because it’s mechanics. It would be really hard (if not impossible) to port Nihilumbra to a console with a typical controller, but with that touching interface… it was perfect.

Sometime later, in a convention, we met someone from Nintendo Europe and we showed him the game. “We think that this game would be great on a WiiU” we said, “Well, what can we do to make it happen?” he answered. Everything was really easy an natural after that.

I guess that I have two different subjective opinions about WiiU, as a game designer and as a gamer.

As a game designer, I would say that it’s absolutely great. I always say that it’s the best thing that happened to console hardware since they added joysticks to controllers. With it we can make games that weren’t possible before, we can introduce asymmetric local multiplayer because, for the very first time, we have two different screens and two different input modes at the same time in one console. Really, as a game designer, I am constantly having new ideas of games that were not possible before.

As a gamer, I would say that I am concerned about the same stuff that concerns everyone: The games. It seems that there are not too many great games right now. It’s impossible to predict the future, and I’m no analyst. Let’s just say that, if Nintendo manages to build a strong base of games, it will have everything it needs to be a great console.

You can check out the full interview here

(Thanks to Mike for the tip!)

More: BeautiFun Games, developer, interview, Nihilumbra

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 35 Comments

Devil’s Third may not be the traditional kind of game that we’re used to seeing on Nintendo platforms – not to mention the type of game that Nintendo typically publishes – but creator Tomonobu Itagaki isn’t worried that his game won’t find an audience on Wii U.

Speaking with Canada.com, Itagaki mentioned that he’s already seen comments from fans stating that they’ll purchase a Wii U just to play Devil’s Third, and he believes that “gamers are the ones who make the future.”

You’ll find Itagaki’s full comments below.

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More: Devil's Third, interview, Valhalla Game Studios

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 12 Comments

Next Level Games’ Ken Yeeloy, in a recent interview, sounded off on several topics. Yeeloy commented on the studio’s development process, how being a second-party Nintendo dev affects projects, projects in the works (nothing could be revealed as expected), some continued interest in Punch-Out!!, and more.

Read on below for a few of Yeeloy’s words.

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More: interview, Ken Yeeloy, Next Level Games, top

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 2 Comments

Nordic Games still isn’t ready to make any announcements about Darksiders. The company is currently “looking at all possible design directions”, product development director Reinhard Pollice told GenGAME.

That being said, Nordic says that Darksiders has a future “and it will be awesome.” Pollice also mentioned how fans should keep the series on their radar and keep track of what the company is announcing in the future.

Check out the exchange between GenGAME and Pollice below:

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More: Darksiders, interview, Nordic Games, Reinhard Pollice

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 2 Comments

IGN has gone live with several new quotes from Reggie Fils-Aime. The Nintendo of America president was asked about the possibility of Amiibo crossovers, Nintendo’s vision for Wii U, and how the company intends to avoid game droughts.

You can find a few interview excerpts below, and more over at IGN.

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More: interview, Reggie Fils-Aime, top

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 5 Comments

In the latest issue of Famitsu, Final Fantasy Explorers director Atsuhi Hashimoto and project manager Takahiro Abe spoke more about befriending monsters, the game’s difficulty, and the game’s world. You can find their comments below, courtesy of Siliconera’s translation.

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More: Atsuhi Hashimoto, Final Fantasy Explorers, interview, Japan, Square Enix, Takahiro Abe

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS eShop, General Nintendo, News, Wii U eShop | 2 Comments

Shovel Knight has been highly trumpeted by Nintendo since the game’s early days of development, up through release. Heck, the title is even playable at the Nintendo World store right now.

All in all, Yacht Club Games’ Nick Wozniak says Nintendo has “been really accommodating to our weird requests, and getting stuff done to see if they can promote us better.”

You can find Wozniak’s full comments about working with the Big N below.

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More: indie, interview, Nick Wozniak, Shovel Knight, Yacht Club Games