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Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, News | 32 Comments

Game Informer recently spoke with Mark Pacini from Armature Studio. Although some of the discussion touched on Batman: Arkham Origins – Blackgate and his new game ReCore, he also spoke quite a bit about his days at Retro and directing Metroid Prime.

One interesting anedcote was about when Retro was meeting with Shigeru Miyamoto and other folks from Nintendo’s main headquarters in Japan. After the meeting, Pacini’s boss said that they were upset with him. Why? Pacini didn’t have a pencil and paper at the meeting, so Nintendo felt he wasn’t listening. Pacini called it a “very noobie mistake” on his part, and wanted to make sure that wouldn’t happen again.

Making Metroid Prime was the toughest project for Pacini from a development standpoint and getting it completed. “I think it was just the amount of stuff we were trying to do in the time we were doing it,” he said.

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Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, Let's Talk | 46 Comments

Prior to this week’s Nintendo Direct, we had gone several months without a major presentation. March was the last time when we saw a broadcast with new announcements in a prepared video. Most people have been expecting that we’d hear something about NX soon, but Nintendo first decided to share news about the 3DS.

Quite a bit was shown during the Nintendo Direct on Thursday. Not all of the games themselves were new, but it at least showed that the 3DS will continue to receive support into next year. Super Mario Maker is heading to Nintendo’s portable in December, followed by Poochy & Yoshi’s Woolly World next February (with a Poochy amiibo of course), Mario Sports Superstars in spring, Dragon Quest VIII, and a Pikmin side-scroller. Let’s also not forget about Ever Oasis and Tank Troopers. Nintendo also unveiled new Zelda amiibo, released new Hyrule Warriors DLC, Picross 3D: Round 2 (in North America, December 2 in Europe with a physical option) and Zelda: Skyward Sword digitally, and teased Animal Crossing: New Leaf’s update (with new amiibo cards and a Nintendo Direct to come).

Now that our brief recap is out of the way, what do you think of this week’s Nintendo Direct? Were you pleased with what was shown, or were you let down? Have any thoughts about particular games? Let us know in the comments below.

Highlights from last week’s topic: Your dream NX game

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Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS eShop, Videos | 0 comments

Next month, tinyBuild will be bringing Punch Club to the 3DS eShop. Check out the video below for some footage recorded from Twitch’s PAX West stream.

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Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Mobile, News | 9 Comments

Pokemon GO fans found hints of a new buddy system through recent data mining. Today, Niantic officially revealed the feature, which will be called “Buddy Pokemon”.

As Niantic puts it, Buddy Pokemon lets users choose their favorite Pokemon to open it up for in-game rewards and experience. You’ll see the creature walking with your Trainer avatar on your profile screen. Bonuses include Candy for walking together. Of course, you can change your Buddy Pokemon whenever you wish.

View some screenshots of Buddy Pokemon below. You can find Niantic’s full message below, which also teases “a lot more” for the fall.

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Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 17 Comments

Nintendo earned big exposure during the closing ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympics last month. Mario appeared in a special video, and Japan’s prime minister even dressed up as the famous character. Mario and other characters had representation in the closing ceremony to ring in the next Olympics Japan will host in 2020.

Japan Today has a follow-up report on Nintendo’s involvement, and shared some interesting information. The site reached out to spokesperson Yasuhiro Minagawa, who said that the company did not need to pay anything for Mario’s inclusion. It merely came about due to Nintendo’s “cooperation”.

“I want to make that clear. We did not pay,” Minagawa stated. “And we are not going to become Olympic sponsors either.”

Source

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Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 0 comments

Over in Korea, a Pokemon Sun/Moon demo rating has popped up. The listing is specifically called “Pokemon Sun & Moon Special Trial Version”.

As far as when the demo is launching, that’s not yet known at the time. It’s also unclear if it’ll be a global release.

Source

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Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Mobile, News | 0 comments

Pokemon GO keeps on trucking, as Sensor Tower reports that the game has exceeded $440 million in gross worldwide revenue on the App Store and Google Play. Niantic’s net revenue now sits at over $308 million thus far.

That’s the highlight from Sensor Tower’s report, but we also now know that global installs have surpassed 180 million worldwide. It’s estimated that the app has been installed on more than 12 percent of all active U.S. smartphones at some point. And as of August 30, active U.S. players on iOS have spent 32 minutes on Pokemon GO, which lines up closely to its launch in July. Lastly, in terms of revenue, Pokemon GO is still earning more than $4 million in worldwide net revenue each day.

Source

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Posted on 8 years ago by Jakob Vujovic(@jakovujo) in Reviews, Wii U eShop | 5 Comments

System: Wii U (eShop)
Release date: September 1, 2016
Developer: Thomas Happ
Publisher Thomas Happ

When I think of the first Metroid on the NES, images of disorienting palette swapped vertical shafts with ascending and interlocking platforms connected into a webwork by horizontally scrolling rooms with enemies waiting in ambush from underground lava pools comes to mind. The imagery is distinct, but without a map it’s all very disorienting. Admittedly, I have never really played more than a few hours of Metroid. It was way before my time, and having first played Super Metroid with all of its advancements, there’s no reason for most people to go back to it beyond nostalgia and historical significance. Even with my relatively limited experience, I can tell that Axiom Verge was made out of a love and understanding of the original Metroid. However, it does more than just pay homage and instead creates mechanics and surprises with its clear admiration and understanding of Metroid as a jumping off point.

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Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS eShop, News, Wii U eShop | 7 Comments

This week’s North American Nintendo Downloads are as follows:

Wii U Download

140 – $7.99
Alice in Wonderland – $5.00
Axiom Verge – $19.99
Game for Toddlers – $3.99
The First Skunk Bundle – $24.99
Free Balling – $9.99
Panda Love – $1.49
Piano Teacher – $39.99
Skunky B’s Super Slots Saga #1 – $14.95
Super Hero Math – $7.99
Tallowmere – $4.99

Wii Retail on Wii U

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword – $19.99

Wii U Demo

Word Logic by POWGI

3DS Download

Adventure Labyrinth Story – $5.00
Picross 3D: Round 2 – $29.99
Ping Pong Trick Shot – $1.99

StreetPass Mii Plaza

A bustling parade of new games and features is headed to StreetPass Mii Plaza! Boost past the competition in Slot-Car Rivals, slay demons midair in Ninja Launcher, invest millions in Market Crashers, nourish an army in Feed Mii and gather explorers to seek out treasures in Mii Trek. This meet ’n’ greet just turned up the heat! Go to StreetPass Mii Plaza and download either Slot-Car Rivals or Market Crashers for free after performing a simple StreetPass Mii Plaza software update. And then purchase any of the remaining new StreetPass Mii Plaza games individually for $2.99 each or as a bundle for $8.99.

3DS Demos

Picross 3D: Round 2
Word Logic by POWGI

Wii U / 3DS DLC

Play as new character Toon Zelda by purchasing the new DLC Pack for the Hyrule Warriors Legends game that borrows elements from classic hand-held adventures The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. You can also purchase a Season Pass for the game for $14.99, which grants you access to all previously released DLC, as well as any additional downloadable content as it launches.

eShop Sales

Wii U / 3DS
– Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, DuckTales: Remastered and more games from Capcom are on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on Sept. 6.
– Angry Bunnies, Color Zen (Wii U and Nintendo 3DS) and more games from Cyrponia are on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on Sept. 25.

Wii U

– Rock ’N Racing Off Road DX is more than 35 percent off (reduced from $7.99 to $4.99) until 8:59 a.m. PT on Sept. 22.
– Chubbins and Soon Shine are on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on Sept. 30.
– Run Run and Die, Unepic and more from EnjoyUp Games are on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on Oct. 6.
– FreezeME is more than 40 percent off (reduced from $13.99 to $7.99) until 8:59 a.m. PT on Sept. 15.
– Test Your Mind is more than 65 percent off (reduced from $2.99 to 99 cents) until 8:59 a.m. PT on Sept. 15.
– STEEL LORDS is 50 percent off (reduced from $14.99 to $7.50) until 8:59 a.m. PT on Sept. 28.
– Astral Breakers, Emojikara: A Clever Emoji Match Game and more from Intropy Games are on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on Sept. 5.

3DS

– Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan is more than 65 percent off (reduced from $29.99 to $9.99) until 8:59 a.m. PT on Sept. 12.
– Snow Moto Racing 3D is 50 percent off (reduced from $7.99 to $3.99) until 8:59 a.m. PT on Sept. 8.
– Fun! Fun! Minigolf TOUCH! is 25 percent off (reduced from $2.99 to $2.24) until 8:59 a.m. PT on Sept. 22.
– AiRace Speed, 2 Fast 4 Gnomz and more from Qubic Games are on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on Sept. 22.
– Legend of Dark Witch, Tappingo and more games from CIRCLE Ent. are on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on Sept. 22.

Activities

StreetPass Weekend – Fans are invited to celebrate the new StreetPass Mii Plaza updates and games with a special StreetPass Weekend from Sept. 1 to Sept. 5. Just bring a Nintendo 3DS family system to a Nintendo Zone hotspot near you to collect StreetPass tags. And if you’re headed to PAX West, be sure to take your system along! It will be StreetPass central!

Source: Nintendo PR

More: Nintendo Download, top, Virtual Console

Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 1 Comment

Today’s Japanese Nintendo Direct had something else not included in the overseas versions. Momotaro Dentetsu 2017: Tachiagare Nippon!! is slated for winter.

Nintendo previously secured the Momotaro Dentetsu license from Konami.

Here are some screenshots:

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