Ken Lobb talks about initial fan resistance in making Metroid Prime first-person
Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, General Nintendo, News | 5 Comments
Ken Lobb, now the creative director at Microsoft Studios, once played a prominent role at Nintendo and worked on several games. This includes Metroid Prime – a title that, at the time, stirred up some controversy for turning the franchise into a first-person adventure.
Lobb spoke about the initial fan resistance surrounding Metroid Prime as part of an interview with EDGE this month. He said:
The fight, in the pre-internet world, was that we were getting a lot of pressure from fans. Nowadays, you’d be buried under Twitter, NeoGAF — both of which I love, by the way — but those voices are even louder today than they were back then. It comes back to a lesson I learned a long time ago: always listen to your customer, but also understand that if you do focus testing what you’re going to hear is, “I want that thing you did last time, because that was awesome.” Every once in a while, you have to learn to not listen to that and go, “Actually, Metroid in firstperson we think could make more sense.” Great creatives are going to disrupt their earlier designs and make things that are new, or build completely new games or new genres.
Retro Studios not working on Mario Kart 8
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments
Remember how Retro Studios contributed to some of the retro tracks in Mario Kart 7? Well, that seems to have been a one time thing. While not absolutely confirmed, a Nintendo representative indicated to NintendoWorldReport that Retro Studios is not involved with Mario Kart 8.
More: Mario Kart 8, Retro Studios
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze updated to version 1.1.0
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 1 Comment
Update: Fixes a bug within the game:
Fixes an issue where, upon completing level 3-3 – Frantic Fields, the path to level 3-4 – Scorch ‘n’ Torch would not open up, preventing players from proceeding with the game
Original: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze has received a new update: version 1.1.0. Thing is, we’re not quite sure what it does at present! If we obtain any information, we’ll update this post.
Retro’s Kelbaugh/Nintendo’s Tanabe on game development, working with Wii U, more
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 2 Comments
IGN has gone live with a new feature about how Retro goes about making Nintendo games. There’s commentary from Retro’s Michael Kelbaugh as well as Nintendo’s Kensuke Tanabe. You can find quotes from both below, and IGN’s full piece here.
More: Kensuke Tanabe, Michael Kelbaugh, Retro Studios, top
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze cut-scene comparison
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Videos, Wii U | 0 comments
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze – defrosting bananas promo
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Videos, Wii U | 0 comments
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze – “It’s Hard” trailer
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Videos | 5 Comments
Tanabe/Kelbaugh on keeping Nintendo games off mobile devices
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
Veteran Nintendo producer Kensuke Tanabe and Retro Studios CEO Michael Kelbaugh have both weighed in on why the Big N is against putting its games on mobile devices.
Tanane told GameSpot that translating the controls available with traditional games is “a really, really difficult task.” Also, when all is said and done, “I want Nintendo games to be played on Nintendo hardware,” he stated.
Tanaba’s quotes in full:
More: Kensuke Tanabe, Michael Kelbaugh, Retro Studios, top
Retro didn’t want to “shoehorn” online co-op into Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Podcast Stories, Wii U | 17 Comments
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze allows for local cooperative play, but the game doesn’t offer an online option. Speaking with GameSpot, Retro Studios CEO Michael Kelbaugh said the team did not wish to “shoehorn” the functionality in.
He said:
“If we’re going to create an online component for Donkey Kong, we really need to do it right and not shoehorn in, ‘Oh, let’s play Dixie remotely.’ That just wasn’t an objective for Tropical Freeze. So if we were really go back and create an online environment, I think we owe it to the fans to do it better than just making online co-op. We really need to put some thought and resources into doing it the right way.
“If we were to make a full online experience, I’d want to spend time to do it and make sure that we stay true to the franchise and incorporate this new feature in the right way. And I’m not sure that this game is the right way to start Donkey Kong Country Online [laughs]. I’m really a purist at heart, especially when it comes to Donkey Kong Country, and I’d want to approach it the right way.”
Retro says Wii U is “a powerhouse”, new game has been in the works for a few months
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 33 Comments
Retro Studios president and CEO Michael Kelbaugh commented on several topics while speaking with GameSpot, including the Wii U’s technical capabilities.
According to Kelbaugh, the console is “a powerhouse”, adding, “It’s more than adequate to make great games on.”
“Unfortunately, the perception is that it’s not a very powerful machine. That’s just not true. It’s a powerhouse. It’s more than adequate to make great games on.”
Kelbaugh also mentioned that the Wii U is a “great box to make games on.”
