Splatoon – North American Splatfest #12 taking place next weekend
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 7 Comments
Just like in Europe, Splatoon’s 12th Splatfest will be held in North America next week. The theme is different in the states though, with players being asked if they’d rather build a snowman or a sand castle.
This new Splatfest will begin on March 19 at 12 AM ET / March 18 at 9 PM PT. It’ll last for a full day, and Nintendo will post the results soon after the competition ends.
Thanks to StreetPass_SW for the tip.
Game Freak’s Masuda on appealing to longtime Pokemon fans and newcomers
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 33 Comments
Pokemon has been around for 20 years, which is a very long time. The series has plenty of longtime fans, but new players come into contact with the series each day as well.
So how does Game Freak – the maker of the Pokemon RPGs – appeal to both types of players? That’s something GamesMaster asked the studio’s Junichi Masuda in an interview this month.
He told the magazine in response:
“Today you will see ’90s kids who played the first Pokémon games, who are now parents playing with their children. But some of the core gameplay elements simply appeal as much now as they did in 1996. The collectable elements of the game still appeal to people’s sense of achievement, and it’s great for strategic thinking.
“You have to make accurate judgements about what to change and what not to change. It is also about not making things too difficult. After two or three generations, games have a tendency to become more difficult. In recent titles, catching Pokémon by throwing PokéBalls is explained in-game, but we also make a point of trying to get into the heads of children who have picked up a Pokémon game for the very first time in order to better understand how the games feel to a first-time audience.”
More: Game Freak, interview, Junichi Masuda, Pokemon, top
Miyamoto on Star Fox Zero – difficulty, improvements, building interest in dogfighting games, more
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 7 Comments
Another Star Fox Zero interview with Shigeru Miyamoto has popped up online. This time around, there’s a discussion published by TIME. Miyamoto talked about the switch in approach (now like a movie instead of a TV series), appealing to new players, his approach to difficulty, improvements that have been made, and building interest in dogfighting games.
We’ve posted some excerpts from the interview below. More comments from Miyamoto can be found on TIME here.
More: interview, PlatinumGames, Shigeru Miyamoto, Star Fox Zero, top
[Let’s Talk] What are you playing? – March 2016
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Let's Talk | 32 Comments
Let’s Talk #42: What are you playing? – March 2016
It’s been a little while since we last had a Let’s Talk topic dedicated to the games we’re actually playing. That’s what we want to hear from you guys about this week!
As for me, I’m not playing too much at the moment. I just finished Rhythm Thief & the Emperor’s Treasure a couple of days ago, which I enjoyed quite a bit more than I anticipated I would. The rhythm games get quite challenging towards the end!
I’m also thinking about starting up Zelda: Twilight Princess HD soon – maybe next weekend. I do have a huge backlog that I’ve talked about plenty of times before… but I have such fond memories of Twilight Princess, and I’ve really felt like going through that one again as of late. We’ll see.
So how about you guys? Which games have your attention at the moment?
Highlights from last week’s topic: March 2016 Nintendo Direct thoughts
CoroCoro teases “Pokemon Elections” for the movies, will be “huge”
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 15 Comments
Another tease stemming from this month’s issue of CoroCoro concerns the Pokemon movies. Apparently, something known as “Pokemon Elections” are the way. We’ll be seeing a special countdown on the official site, with more details planned for the next edition of CoroCoro. The magazine promises that it’ll be “huge”.
CoroCoro to begin sharing Pokemon Sun/Moon updates starting next month
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 19 Comments
This month’s issue of CoroCoro sadly lacks any news on Pokemon Sun and Moon. Come next month, however, it sounds like we’ll finally have some concrete information. A teaser in the latest issue says special features for the two games will begin. It’s officially due out on April 15, though chances are that the magazine will leak a bit earlier than that.
More: CoroCoro, Pokemon Moon, Pokemon Sun, top
A few more Zero Time Dilemma details
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 0 comments
This week’sissue of Famitsu has extensive coverage on Zero Time Dilemma. You can find a bunch of details from earlier in the week here and some interview excerpts with director Kotaro Uchikoshi here. We’ve also now gone through the interview and picked out a few more details. There aren’t massive spoilers here, but I know some folks can be sensitive to certain information about the story and other aspects – so tread lightly towards the end of the post!
To clarify something from the interview, when it was mentioned that they originally planned to make the second and third games in the series at the same time, they were going to make it for the DS. But right around that time, the 3DS and PlayStation Vita – two new handheld systems – were announced, so they considered moving development to both platforms which could allow for improved graphics and overall quality. That meant more development time and a higher budget would be needed. This is also why the team ended up developing the second game first, and then waiting to see what the reception was like before moving on to the third title – Zero Time Dilemma.
Aonuma and Sano on Twilight Princess HD – challenges, picking Tantalus, more
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 14 Comments
Last week, Stack published an interview with Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma and assistant director Tomomi Sano about Twilight Princess HD. Between them both, they commented on when the project began, challenges in remaking the game, why Tantalus was specifically chosen, and more.
As usual, we’ve picked out some excerpts below. The full interview is located here.
Miitomo releasing on March 17 in Japan
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Mobile, News | 16 Comments
Miitomo will launch in Japan on March 17, Nintendo has announced. Pre-registration will close at 12:00 Japan time.
A specific start time (in actual hours) has not been determined just yet. Once it’s live, there will be notifications on the Nintendo Twitter account and also to pre-registered email addresses.
Previously, Nintendo confirmed plans to bring out Miitomo in March, but had not provided a specific date until today. It’s unclear when other regions will be receiving the app, though it should be sometime this month.
February 2016 NPD: Fire Emblem Fates sales breakdown by version, Project X Zone 2
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 16 Comments
We have a few more bits of information regarding Fire Emblem Fates’ debut sales in the United States, along with data for a crossover 3DS title.
Nintendo confirmed earlier today that Fates sold close to 400,000 copies between Birthright and Conquest in February, with digital sales included. NPD leaker creamsugar puts the games at a combined 315,000 units sold – less than Nintendo’s amount since eShop sales aren’t accounted for here. Birthright sold the most with 44 percent (roughly 138,600), followed by Conquest at 41 percent (roughly 129,150) and the special edition at 15 percent (roughly 47,250).
Moving on, debut sales are in for Project X Zone 2. The game sold 18,000 copies in the United States last month – not counting any eShop sales.
Note that Fire Emblem Fates and Project X Zone 2 did not have a full month of sales since they launched during the middle of February. NPD’s February reporting period ended on February 27.
Thanks to Brian for the tip.
