Hideki Kamiya explains why he doesn’t work on sequels
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 5 Comments
Hideki Kamiya has a habit of working on original projects rather than sequels. As an example, he created Devil May Cry but wasn’t involved with the sequel. Platinum Games is also developing Bayonetta 2 without Kamiya, even though he directed the first one.
Kamiya explained to Famitsu recently that it’s not a matter of him not wanting to work on sequels. Rather, working on brand new titles allows him to create “new entertainment”. Kamiya mentioned how Viewtiful Joe and Okami may not have been made if he worked on Devil May Cry 2, while The Wonderful 101 may never have existed if he decided to direct Bayonetta 2.
“It’s not that I don’t want to make sequels – I really do! But considering the nature of my position, I don’t really get a chance to. Somebody needs to offer new entertainment to gamers and do the work of sowing seeds that can later grow to be strong pillars. It sounds a little overblown, but I’ve come to believe that is my purpose. If I had been involved with Devil May Cry 2, then Viewtiful Joe and Okami might never have been made. If I was directing Bayonetta 2, then I wouldn’t have been able to make The Wonderful 101.”
More: Famitsu, Hideki Kamiya, interview, top
Reggie on Wii U’s competition, people now understand it’s a new console, publisher relationships, more
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Podcast Stories, Wii U | 9 Comments
Forbes has put up a new interview with Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime. Wii U’s competition and third-party support were discussed, as was the issue of people not understanding the system is a new console – which Reggie believes has been addressed.
You can find Reggie’s full comments below. Forbes’ full piece can be found here.
More: interview, Reggie Fils-Aime, top
Masahiro Sakurai on his huge workload for Super Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS and more
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Podcast Stories, Wii U | 5 Comments
The amount of work Masahiro Sakurai puts into the new Smash Bros. games is kind of unbelievable. One of his tasks has him inputting a ton of different parameters, which under normal circumstances, would be a job for multiple staffers – not just one employee.
Sakurai wrote in his weekly Famitsu column this week:
“With the previous Smash Bros. games, I would input all the fighter specs and attack hitboxes, and with the new games I’m doing something very similar. If I were to hand over the work to someone else, it would be a full-time, multi-person designated workload.”
Why would Sakurai take on such an involved task by himself? For one thing, he’s working with a new team. Collaborating with Namco Bandai does have its advantages though, as he says the company has created development tools that are more advanced and allow for more immediate trial and error.
Sakurai also says working alone is “faster and more accurate”.
More: Famitsu, interview, Masahiro Sakurai, Super Smash Bros., top
Nintendo UK speaks about Super Mario 3D World and Zelda: A Link Between Worlds’ critical reception
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 1 Comment
Super Mario 3D World and The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds sat very well with critics. The two are among the highest-rated titles of 2013.
While speaking with MCV, Nintendo UK marketing boss Shelly Pearce commented on the critical reception of both titles. Pearce said:
“The latest adventures in two of our most loved franchises, Mario and The Legend of Zelda, have achieved 10/10 review scores in mainstream and specialist media and have been credited as ‘must-have titles’ as well as reasons to purchase hardware. We look forward to hearing more from the fans.”
Iwata Asks: Nintendo 3DS Guides: Louvre now live
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS eShop, General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
Nintendo has published a new Iwata Asks focusing on Nintendo 3DS Guides: Louvre. You can find the full discussion here. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata and Shigeru Miyamoto both participated in the discussion.
Dinosaur Planet was originally planned as a Diddy Kong Racing/adventure game hybrid
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, General Nintendo, News | 4 Comments
Rare was originally developing Dinosaur Planet for the N64. However, the project was cancelled, and ultimately saw a complete transformation. The final game ended up as Star Fox Adventures for the GameCube.
Former Rare staffer Phil Tossell spoke about what the studio initially had in store for Dinosaur Planet while speaking with Retro Gamer this month. Tossell revealed that the project “was supposed to be a hybrid of Diddy Kong Racing and an adventure game.”
“Actually, it was supposed to be a hybrid of Diddy Kong Racing and an adventure game. Every level would have some kind of track in it and a race as part of the story. It took a while to settle down…”
One reason why Dinosaur Planet turned into a Star Fox title was because of Shigeru Miyamoto’s feeling that some of the characters between the two were similar in appearance. To say the least, Rare welcomed the opportunity to work on one of Nintendo’s legendary franchises.
“It seemed like a no-brainer. They’re offering this great character from this great franchise! I was attached to Dinosaur Planet but I love the original Star Fox. Our only concerns were how we could fit it into this game we have.”
Thanks to joclo for the tip.
Video: Nintendo’s Coaster Crazy Deluxe developer interview
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U eShop | 3 Comments
More: Coaster Crazy Deluxe, indie, interview
Masahiro Sakurai on Smash Bros. development, workload, more
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 7 Comments
Masahiro Sakurai published yet another column in this week’s Famitsu. Sakurai talked all about working on the new Smash Bros., games including his workload, schedule, living arrangements, and more. You can find a roundup of Sakurai’s quotes, courtesy of Polygon’s translations.
More: Famitsu, interview, Masahiro Sakurai, Super Smash Bros., top
ZombiU and Fire Emblem devs talk about working with perma-death in story-writing
Posted on 11 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in 3DS, General Gaming, General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 1 Comment
In the latest issue of EDGE magazine there lays a feature about the inclusion of permanent death in a game– that is, when a character dies, they’re gone for good and you can’t do anything about it. Two notable examples of games that utilize permanent death (perma-death) have come within the last year or deux: ZombiU from Ubisoft on the Wii U and Fire Emblem: Awakening on 3DS from Nintendo. A designer from both games sat down with EDGE to discuss their experience with perma-death:
I think that all of the Fire Emblem games are fun, but a lot of beginner players stay clear of them because they think they are difficult. I think this is a real shame. A big reason for wanting to include this mode was so that those kinds of people could play Fire Emblem too…Since your characters come back when they die, one advantage is that you can play more aggressively or take more risks.
– Fire Emblem: Awakening director Kohei Maeda
[Writing ZombiU] was the toughest challenge I’ve faced in over ten years of writing for games. It took… the whole production team to find solutions for all the ‘But what happens if you die here?’ issues, which were sometimes mind-bendingly complicated.
I created the Prepper character and the survivors’ notes to establish a link and reinforce between the survivors who all fall under this mysterious character’s influence. Without a main player character, you need to embrace your main NPCs. Our character assemblage system produced avatars that were less gorgeous than a single player character would’ve been.
– ZombiU design director Gabrielle Shrager
More: Fire Emblem, Gabrielle Shrager, interview, Kohei Maeda, ZombiU
Detune working on new 3DS title, details are “top secret”
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS eShop, News | 0 comments
Detune recently put up KORG M01D on the 3DS eShop. That’s not the only piece of software the company intends to bring to Nintendo’s portable.
Speaking with Nintendo Life, Detune’s Nobuyoshi Sano confirmed the existence of a brand new title, of which details are “top secret”. While Sano wouldn’t share any specifics, he did say that it has something to do with sound.
Sano commented:
Yes! We have yet to really get started, but yes we do have something planned! The details of the software are top secret, but I can say one thing — Detune will be making it, which means it will be something that has to do with sound. And we plan to make full use of the 3DS display! Stay tuned!
