[Let’s Talk] What are you playing? – January 2016
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Let's Talk | 78 Comments
Let’s Talk #35: What are you playing? – January 2016
A new month is here! And a new year as well. So that means we want to know what you’ve been playing. Have you started up something entirely new for the month? Or maybe you’re continuing something you started a little while back? Whatever the case, let us know in the comments below!
Highlights from last week’s topic: Impressions of Xenoblade Chronicles X
December 2015 Patreon giveaway winner
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Site updates | 2 Comments
It’s time to announce the winner of our December 2015 Patreon giveaway! Each person pledging $5 or more was automatically eligible for the prize, which was Super Smash Bros. for 3DS. I can now announce that the winner is Brian Brackney. Congratulations!
As for January, we’ll be giving away a Shovel Knight amiibo. Each person pledging $5 or more – regardless of region – will be entered automatically.
To close out, I wanted to bring up something else quickly. I’m curious if there’s anyone who would be interested in having ads removed as a Patreon reward. This wouldn’t be something like $1, but it wouldn’t be something crazy such as $20 either. Now that we have a user account system, this might be doable. We’d make it so that so long as you’re logged in, you wouldn’t see any ads on the site – the code for ads wouldn’t even load in your browser. If there’s enough interest, we might pursue something like this. Otherwise we’ll leave the Patreon rewards as they are!
That’s all for now. See you next month!
Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam devs on bringing in Paper Mario, dash mechanic, more
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 0 comments
A few members of the Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam development team were interviewed in this month’s issue of Nintendo Dream. The lineup includes producer Akira Otani (Nintendo), director Shunsuke Kobayashi (AlphaDream), and director of battle team Jun Iwasaki (AlphaDream).
We’ve translated some excerpts from the interview after the break. The staff commented on how it was decided that Paper Mario would appear, the new dash mechanic (and Shigeru Miyamoto signing off on it!), and more. Read on below for the full breakdown.
New Year’s dev drawings – Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, Splatoon, Fire Emblem, more
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Images, News | 2 Comments
Japanese magazine Nintendo Dream is celebrating the start of 2016 in its latest issue. Various game developers and other key members related to the industry contributed handmade drawings, including representatives from Nintendo, Capcom, Square Enix, and more.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing the various images featured in Nintendo Dream. The first set of drawings, rounded up in the gallery below, features The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, Splatoon, Fire Emblem, and some others. We also have text accompanying the shots after the break.
More: Nintendo Dream, top
Yacht Club on how the Shovel Knight amiibo came to be, Nintendo’s role, cut idea
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 0 comments
In an interview with Nintendo Life, Ian Flood and David D’Angelo from Yacht Club Games spoke all about Shovel Knight. One prominent topic was the Shovel Knight amiibo.
Speaking about how the figure came to be, the two developers stated:
David D’Angelo: That started in 2014, the possibility of it even happening – what it would look like, what it could do.
David: Yeah, Nintendo said “pitch us on it” when they showed us the New 3DS. We started chatting about ideas with amiibo and they asked us whether we wanted to formally pitch to do an amiibo. That kind of thing is strange, like you’re sending a paper to no-one! But the whole thing was shocking, really, they kept saying let’s move this forward, and we couldn’t believe it was going to happen.
Ian: The excitement leading up to it was something else. What was funny was that we were waiting for the announcement, website, trailer and stuff like that, and retailers kept leaking it. It was tricky to get the information out there. It’s one thing to leak that it’s a thing, but it’s another to leak that it’s in a game series it’s not! There was a lot of information around, and we couldn’t easily say it was wrong without talking about it fully.
Ian: Yeah, we had to say it was a mis-listing, so not denying everything. We had people getting pre-emptively mad about the release date, pricing. All mad at details that were incorrect. We’re pretty receptive online and tried to answer queries.
Ian: So we tried to calm everyone down and put out a definitive update with full details. But that was fun, a few guys were at PAX for the reveal at the Nindies@Night event, and we were all excited that we had prototypes in a box. The guys were keeping them under their coats at the hotel so that we kept a lid on it, yet the whole time that was happening images were online. It was a bubble where the guys at the event were keeping a secret, but EVERYONE in the entire would knew about it.
But still, it was an immensely exciting day with everything coming together.
More: Amiibo, interview, top, Yacht Club Games
Splatoon adding the Octobrush Nouveau weapon in a few hours
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 4 Comments
It’s almost time for another weapon update in Splatoon. In just a few hours from now, the game will be adding the Octobrush Nouveau.
This latest weapon should be going live at the following times:
– 2 AM PT
– 5 AM ET
– 10 AM in the UK
– 11 AM in Europe
View some screenshots of the Octobrush Nouveau below.
Street Fighter, Dead or Alive, Sony Japan Studio producers reflect on Iwata’s passing
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 8 Comments
Recently, Japanese website 4Gamer caught up with a few developers to reflect on the passing of Satoru Iwata. Producers from Capcom, Team Ninja, and even Sony Japan Studio talked about the late Nintendo president, and in some cases, shared some of their memories with him.
Here’s an overview of what the different developers spoke about:
Capcom producer Yoshinori Ono (Street Fighter)
– Remembered several anecdotes, happened after the two had several chances to meet after the launch of the 3DS
– Iwata told stories about old gadgets, or about the era of old PC programmed in assembly
– Iwata responded courteously when Ono asked him to sign a cartridge of Balloon Fight he had brought from home
– Another memory: on a return flight from San Francisco, they sat side by side on the plane, talking about games, movies and the entertainment system
– He won’t forget the memory of sharing Iwata’s ideas and thoughtfulness
– Ono was shocked when he heard the news of Iwata-san’s passing,
– Will keep their conversations and the moments in which they dined together and had a chat engraved in his memory, holding them in mind for his life and work in the future
Nintendo Download (12/31/15, North America) – 1080° Snowboarding
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS eShop, News, Wii U eShop | 8 Comments
This week’s North American Nintendo Downloads are as follows:
Wii U Download
Molly Maggot – $1.99
Wii U Virtual Console
1080° Snowboarding – $9.99
eShop Sales
Wii U/3DS
– Puzzler World 2013 (Nintendo 3DS), Atlantic Quest (Nintendo 3DS) and more from Maximum Games are on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on Feb. 1.
Wii U
– Runbow is 25 percent off (reduced from $14.99 to $11.25) until 8:59 a.m. PT on Jan. 14.
– Santa Factory is more than 65 percent off (reduced from $7.99 to $2.49) until 8:59 a.m. PT on Jan. 6
– Blocky Bot and Paper Monsters Recut are on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on Jan. 21.
3DS
– ?Nano Assault EX is 25 percent off (reduced from $9.99 to $7.49) until 8:59 a.m. PT on Jan. 21.
– Real Heroes Firefighter 3D is 50 percent off (reduced from $9.99 to $4.99) until 8:59 a.m. PT on Jan. 14.
– Castle Conqueror Defender, Demon King Box and more games from Circle Entertainment are on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on Jan. 21.
– Disney Frozen: Olaf’s Quest, Big Hero 6: Battle in the Bay and more games from GameMill Entertainment are on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on Feb. 8.
Activities
Tips for your new Nintendo system: Did you get a new Nintendo system for the holidays? Make sure to get the most of your new system by playing games featuring your favorite Nintendo characters. Check out our top tips for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS!
Source: Nintendo PR
More: Nintendo Download, top
Pokemon president recalls how Iwata helped localize the series’ first games
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 9 Comments
In a new interview with 4Gamer, Tsunekazu Ishihara talked about how late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata’s vital work helped bring the original Pokemon games to the west. You can read up on the full excerpt below, courtesy of Siliconera’s translation.
4Gamer: I believe there may be more people now that don’t know that Iwata-san was involved in Pokémon.
Ishihara: I think there are even people within Nintendo that don’t even know. 1998 was around the time Iwata-san was working as President of HAL Laboratory.
More: Game Freak, interview, Satoru Iwata, top, Tsunekazu Ishihara
3DS surpasses 20 million units sold in Japan, Splatoon over 1 million
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 3 Comments
This week’s Japanese sales numbers include two big milestones for Nintendo. One is all about hardware, and another applies to one specific game.
First, 3DS has sold over 20 million units in Japan. It’s also important to mention that Splatoon has now sold over 1 million copies in the territory. The game likely already reached that number with digital copies included, though Famitsu’s data officially confirms the figure with physical units. It’s a nice way for Nintendo to close out the year!