Sakurai on Smash Bros. Ultimate – development, Spirits, new fighters, online and eSports, future
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 0 comments
In last week’s issue of Famitsu, the Japanese magazine shared a lengthy interview with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai. A slightly longer version was then issued on the publication’s website.
During the interview, Sakurai commented on most major aspects of the game. This includes when development itself actually started, Spirits (including World of Light), the new fighters, online play and eSports, and what lies ahead for the future. We’ve prepared a full translation of the discussion below.
Gorons were originally going to look “drastically” different in Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch, Wii U | 0 comments
When The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was early on in development, Nintendo had some very different ideas in mind for the design of the Gorons. Lead NPC artist Hirohito Shinoda revealed in the recently-translated Creating a Champion art book that the team was planning a drastic change in which they had bigger heads, a more human-like appearance, and more. However, “none of them really fit.” This led to basing the Gorons on their original design from Ocarina of Time.
Shinoda said:
Sakurai on how he wasn’t directly involved with character balancing in Smash Bros. Ultimate
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 0 comments
DenFamiNicoGamer was recently given the opportunity to speak with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai. At one point of the discussion, Sakurai revealed that he wasn’t directly involved with character balancing for this game.
Siliconera translated the relevant portion of the interview. Here’s what Sakurai said on the subject:
Game Freak wanted Pokemon: Let’s Go’s visuals to be acceptable for parents, not scary
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 0 comments
Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu and Pokemon: Let’s Go, Eevee director Junichi Masuda has commented on the game’s visuals.
According to Masuda, the team wanted to make the graphics approachable – especially for parents. He explained that he “didn’t want to make it a game that would cause parents to feel mistrustful of our games.” Game Freak also “didn’t want it to look scary.” This is partially why the team went about making character proportions “look a bit childish”.
Sakurai clarifies why he left HAL Laboratory, doesn’t feel “stuck in a rut doing similar things”
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
Masahiro Sakurai started out at HAL Laboratory where he directed several Kirby games. About a decade later, he left the company and now operates on more of a freelance basis.
Sakurai spoke with EDGE this month about a variety of topics, including why he left HAL. He noted that it had nothing to do with losing interest in creating Kirby games. As far as Smash Bros. goes, he says it lets him make “something with more value and wide-reaching effects.” Sakurai added that he doesn’t feel like he’s “stuck in a rut doing similar things.”
More: HAL Laboratory, interview, Masahiro Sakurai, top
Nintendo still believes Switch will reach 100 million in software sales, but less sure on 20 million hardware target
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 0 comments
Japanese publication Kyoto Shimbun recently spoke with Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa. During the discussion, Furukawa mentioned that Switch and its games have done well so far this holiday season. Also, the company still expects to hit 100 million units in software sales by March 2019.
From April to September alone, Switch software sales were around 42 million. The rapid release of titles helped for the increased demand this holiday season. Smash Bros. Ultimate, Super Mario Party, and Pokemon: Let’s Go have all proven popular.
Furukawa also briefly addressed Nintendo’s current goal of selling 20 million Switch consoles sold this fiscal year. He did acknowledge that it’s not an easy goal to meet, and it can’t be predicted how the new year will go. However, Furukawa hopes that the Switch’s playstyle and its portability will keep attracting people, and Nintendo will continue to release new titles.
More: interview, sales, Shuntaro Furukawa, top
Game Freak was concerned about how well Switch would sell, director on bringing over Pokemon Yellow with new features
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 0 comments
What was the biggest concern for Game Freak while developing Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu and Pokemon: Let’s Go, Eevee? Apparently how much Switch would sell.
Director Junichi Masuda was interviewed for the game’s Japanese strategy guide, which was then published in the English version. In it, Masuda mentioned that the team started development before Switch launched “so we really couldn’t predict at all whether the console was going to sell well or not.” The team was “quite relieved to see it hit record sales figures” following release.
Travis Strikes Again wasn’t originally going to be set in the No More Heroes universe
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 0 comments
Travis Strikes Again is a part of the No More Heroes Universe, but that wasn’t always the case. It was when the Switch was originally unveiled that director Suda51 felt the hardware would match up well with the character. After this, the storyline was tweaked to focus on Travis and drum up excitement for No More Heroes 3.
Suda51 has also revealed that “the core team [at first] was only five people.” Since then, it has grown to 15 during development. The small team size has helped Suda51 build a stronger core for future project and work with younger staffers whereas he didn’t speak to them directly on previous titles.
Zelda: Breath of the Wild devs on making Link a more neutral character, giving him a blue tunic
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch, Wii U | 0 comments
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild introduces some radical design changes for Link. His signature green look is gone, as is the classic hat he’s worn since the earliest games.
Some of the developers behind Breath of the Wild spoke about these changes in the game’s newly-translated art book. Series producer Eiji Aonuma said that he wanted to “make Link a more neutral character in a variety of ways.” Additionally, while the blue look “organically ended up that way” according to Aonuma, senior lead artist Yoshiyuki Oyama added that “Link wearing blue clothes appeared pretty early on because the blue stood out against the backgrounds we were producing.”
Reggie talks about appearing on stage with PlayStation and Xbox execs at The Game Awards 2018
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
The Game Awards 2018 started in a rather neat fashion. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime appeared on stage, as did Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios boss Shawn Layden and Xbox head Phil Spencer. They weren’t there to announce anything, but rather come together and deliver a brief speech. It’s not exactly something that happens a lot.
Reggie spoke about the moment with IGN after the show last week. Here’s what he had to say:
