SEGA on Sonic being linked to Nintendo and collaborating with the company
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 35 Comments
Nintendo and SEGA have formed a close relationship over the past several years through Sonic. The character appeared in Smash Bros., teamed up with Mario in multiple games based on the Olympics, and more.
Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka spoke about Sonic’s link to Nintendo in this week’s issue of MCV. Here’s what he had to say about that:
“When SEGA stopped making hardware and just started doing software, the first platform that we released Sonic on was a Nintendo console. We felt from the very beginning, that the Nintendo platforms were where the passionate Sonic fans were. Historically that is where our relationship started with Nintendo. Unfortunately, the Wii U didn’t manage to get as many gamers on the hardware as we would have liked. That was unfortunate for Sonic because we didn’t get the mass of people to enjoy the content. But Nintendo has always been a great partner, we have Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Sonic in Super Smash Bros… we really appreciate the work that they do.”
More: interview, SEGA, Sonic the Hedgehog, Takashi Iizuka, top
Reggie – Nintendo “struck a chord” with Zelda: BotW, need to mix up the formula for new players
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch, Wii U | 8 Comments
Nintendo believes it has “struck a cord” with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Speaking with The Verge, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime stated:
“We think we’ve struck a chord. And we’ve struck a chord with what is a very important franchise for us. A franchise that is going to be key to our long-term success.”
Reggie went on to talk about the changes being introduced in Zelda: Breath of the Wild. New elements were needed “in order to bring new players in.” At the same time though, Nintendo “needed to do it thoughtfully in order to maintain the current player.”
According to Reggie:
You can hear the Song of Time in Zelda: Breath of the Wild after speeding up footage
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Switch, Videos, Wii U | 9 Comments
During E3, Nintendo showed a ton of footage from Zelda: Breath of the Wild based on the Great Plateau. Various areas are located here, including the Temple of Time.
Now here’s a bit of trivia for you: the Song of Time is actually included in the E3 demo. After speeding up footage shown last month, fans have discovered that the classic tune can indeed be heard.
Since it was slow-paced in the original footage, not many people heard the Song of Time. It’s definitely there though!
ZeNfA Productions making “Hot Rod Racer” for the Wii U eShop
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U eShop | 5 Comments
ZeNfA Productions, developer of ZaciSa’s Last Stand, is revealing its next game exclusively to Nintendo Everything today. The indie studio is readying “Hot Rod Racer”, which is coming very soon to the Wii U eShop.
Hot Rod Racer is what you’d expect based on the title: a racing arcade game. ZeNfA shared the following overview with us:
The year is 199X. The world’s most dangerous racing competition has been created: the F-Ze… er, I mean the INFINITRACK GP! Created by – oh, I don’t know, some nefarious corporation I suppose – it stretches on indefinitely and has never been completed by ANYONE. Of course, that hasn’t stopped thousands of thrill-seekers from attempting to conquer it every day on their shiny new bikes and in their speedy new hot rods, and on this day in particular you too take it upon yourself to join those who have etched their names in the halls of glory by challenging this course yourself. There’s just one problem… you’ve somehow managed to get onto the track driving the wrong way! But hey, a couple of head-on collisions never hurt anybody, right? (Don’t quote me on that.) Choose your vehicle, give it a paint job and some upgrades, and see how far you can make it on the Infinitrack! This is Hot Rod Racer!
Hot Rod Racer will offer unlimited racing, multiple vehicles, and four different environments. In terms of features, it’ll boast online and local leaderboards, rewards and unlocks, Miiverse stamps, and off-TV play.
Here’s the first trailer:
Hot Rod Racer is planned for release in July (possibly July 21) across North America, Europe, and Australia. The game will cost $2.99 / €2.99 / £2.69, with a 15 percent discount planned during the first week.
More: Hot Rod Racer, indie, top, ZeNfA Productions
Aonuma on Zelda: BotW – art style, expanding from Skyward Sword, music, logo, more
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch, Wii U | 11 Comments
Game Informer now has its full interview up with Eiji Aonuma about The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. The project’s producer tackled topics like the art style, trying to expand on Skyward Sword, whether the team was inspired by particular open world games, music, logo, dungeons, and more.
Head past the break for Aonuma’s comments. For the full interview, head on over here.
New Sonic game launching in 2017, series concept art for various characters
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Images, News | 20 Comments
Sonic the Hedgehog’s 25th anniversary took place this week. A special event was held in Japan earlier today in Tokyo to celebrate, with Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka in attendance. Iizuka was able to announce “officially” that a new game is happening, and it’ll be out next year. Specifics will be shared during the anniversary party on July 22.
Aside from that, SEGA also shared a bunch of concept art from the Sonic series of various characters through the ages. We’ve rounded up those images below.
More: Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehogg, top
Level-5 on Yo-kai Watch sales and potential for big success overseas
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 6 Comments
The first Yo-kai Watch game did alright when it arrived in North America last year. However, it’s not quite the same sensation as it is in Japan currently.
Level-5 president and CEO Akihiro Hino noted in an interview with The Verge that the series is on the same path as when it debuted in Japan a few years ago. Much like in the states, Yo-kai Watch only sold adequately. It was when the second entry released that the franchise really picked up steam, and Hino thinks something similar could happen overseas.
According to Hino:
“We have to understand that it takes time. But then at the same time we have to work as hard as we can to shorten the time as much as possible.”
“I think we’re following the same kind of sales trend as Japan. Meaning that our first game in Japan had OK sales, but it only became a huge phenomenon when we released the second game. I think our launch here in the US is kind of the ideal sales that we had expected.”
“For the markets where it takes more time, we have to change the messaging, trying to push the aspects that are more familiar to those markets. Not just push the game as-is, but pick the unique aspect that will be familiar.”
“We do believe that Yo-kai Watch can be as big of a social phenomenon [in the West] as it is in Japan.”
More: Akihiro Hino, interview, Level-5, sales, top, Yo-kai Watch
Aonuma, Miyamoto, Trinen on Zelda: BotW – towns, clothing, missions, story
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch, Wii U | 24 Comments
IGN is back with another feature on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The site has more commentary from producer Eiji Aonuma, Shigeru Miyamoto, and Bill Trinen on the game. Topics include towns, Link’s clothing (including the blue tunic), missions, and story.
Head past the break for the rundown of Aonuma, Miyamoto, and Trinen’s comments on these aspects. The rest can be found here.
Reggie – Zelda: BotW is a system seller, effective transition from Wii U to NX
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch, Wii U | 51 Comments
Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has once again sounded off about The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The latest comments were published by Associated Press, in which Reggie speaks about mixing up the Zelda formula, offering players an “open-air experience”, and how the new game will be a system seller.
Below are all of Reggie’s words on Breath of the Wild:
“The typical Zelda formula has been going from dungeon to dungeon, beating a variety of different bosses, to get better weapons. The formula has been totally up-ended. You’re in a wide-open space, you can do whatever you want, but your weapons will break over time, you have to find different types of elements to solve puzzles. So, it’s an open-air experience – that’s what we’re calling it – where you as the player can essentially navigate through this wide open world.”
“We wanted to focus on this new Zelda experience because we knew that once fans got a chance to play that it would increase their desire for the game. And the fact that we’ll be launching it simultaneously on Wii U and NX (upcoming Nintendo console) really means that we’ve just shared with consumers around the world the system seller or one system seller for NX. So that’s why we’ve focused on it, there’s lots of time to share more details about our upcoming system, but right now it’s all about Zelda.”
Microsoft tried partnering with Nintendo before creating the Xbox
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 34 Comments
Before Microsoft went on to create the Xbox, the company reached out Nintendo in hopes of potentially working together. Xbox co-creator Ed Fries talked about the behind-the-scenes situation during a recent episode of IGN Unfiltered.
According to Fries, Microsoft visited Nintendo and sat down with late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata. Microsoft spoke about what they were looking to do, and asked if there could be a potential partnership. The bottom line: Nintendo said no. There was some talk about one side handling software and networking while the other concentrated on hardware, but nothing ever panned out.
Here’s the full statement from Fries:
