Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash’s online elements detailed, no support for lobbies/communities
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 39 Comments
Some Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash players may find that the game is a bit limited in terms of content. It doesn’t sound like there’s much there in the way of modes, which also extends to online play.
This is a bit bizarre, but Ultra Smash lacks support for lobbies or communities. Essentially, that will take it tough for players to connect with friends online. The only modes available for Internet play include Single and Doubles.
Both of these feature Relaxed and Serious options. For the latter, it’s possible to play ranked battles and grow your standing among other players worldwide. Doubles lets players team up with another person locally or with an amiibo. It’s also worth mentioning that you can’t control the length of the match unlike local multiplayer. However, players can choose for a tiebreaker or a two-game, one-set match.
More: Camelot, Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash, top
Pokken Tournament adds Dark Mewtwo
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 39 Comments
The image above is a look at Dark Mewtwo, who was just added to the arcade version via a surprise update. He’s an exclusive boss in the fighting game – for now anyway. In any case, get a look at Dark Mewtwo below.
More: Bandai Namco, Pokken Tournament, top
SEGA talks again about Sonic, bigger focus on quality, appealing to new and old fans
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 19 Comments
SEGA has once again commented on the Sonic franchise, plus what fans can expect in the future.
Chris Olson, SEGA of America’s chief operating officer, highlighted two key points while speaking with Polygon. He pointed to “a greater focus on quality” as well as interest in appealing to new and old fans. Additionally, SEGA isn’t looking to rush Sonic titles out the door.
Olson’s comments in full:
“(SEGA) wants to bring Sonic to where gamers are. …there’s still a very large-sized audience with old-school Sonic fans who grew up with the Genesis. We have an obligation to the fans of Sonic and the consumer.”
“The business is always a conflict of weighing bringing a title to a market and making the yearly plan versus maybe waiting and bringing something else. You can see that on the mobile side of things. In the earlier day of mobile development, there was a tendency to bring things out immediately. Those days are … gone. Consumer expectations have been raised.”
“Video game development is a pretty chaotic thing, and it’s important not to rush things, because we want to be sure we’re bring out the most polished thing. When we look at bringing Sonic to modern-day gamers, we … obviously want to appeal to as many people as possible but still focus on what it means to be Sonic and a Sonic game. Maybe that might lose some fans along the road, but we’re picking up new fans that will hopefully grow with us as Sonic grows.”
Olson also said SEGA will continue to “[evaluate] different ways to bring cool experiences” based on Sonic, it will do so with an increased emphasis on combining “cool” with “quality.”
More: Chris Olson, interview, SEGA, Sonic, top
New Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash trailer shows a pair of secret characters
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Videos, Wii U | 19 Comments
Nintendo released another new Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash trailer today, which shows a couple of the secret characters we’ve previously heard about. You can view it after the break.
More: Camelot, Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash, top
Kimishima – wants 100-200 million My Nintendo members, Miitomo talk, NX offers new experience
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Mobile, News, Switch | 32 Comments
More tidbits have been translated from Nikkei’s interview with Nintendo president and CEO Tatsumi Kimishima.
We already heard Kimishima’s mention that Nintendo has interest in bringing its mobile apps to over 100 countries (with eight supported languages). We also heard him mention that he believes Nintendo could exceed profits from the Wii and DS days.
In terms of what’s new, here’s what Kimishima said when asked when the localization of Nintendo’s mobile apps will take place:
“I want to do it as soon as possible. This is because our goal is to increase the number of My Nintendo members. It would be good if we reached one hundred or two hundred million members.”
Kimishima was also asked if Nintendo will lose money on Miitomo. He replied with the following:
“If you want to dress your Mii in certain outfits, it’ll be so that you can select and purchase them. Also, it will have game elements.”
Finally, Kimishima did briefly touch on NX. Of course, Nintendo won’t be talking about it until next year, but it “offers a totally new experience.” He also wants it to be adopted quicker than the 3DS and the Wii U.
More: interview, Tatsumi Kimishima, top
IARC rating system now live for the eShop
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS eShop, News, Wii U eShop | 5 Comments
We’ve previously talked about the IARC rating system and how it would be extremely beneficial for eShop developers as well as gamers in general. Thanks to what it provides, anyone can easily submit their title and have it rated in various regions.
We recently heard that the IARC rating system would be coming very soon to the eShop. And interestingly, it looks like this has now happened. Information coming from a pair of independent developers reveal that the system is up and running for Nindies. We probably won’t see any immediate results, but developers are now starting to take advantage of what the IARC provides.
More: top
Nintendo shops undergoing 24-hour maintenance in a couple of days
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS eShop, DSiWare, News, Wii Shop Channel, Wii U eShop | 4 Comments
Nintendo’s various shops are undergoing some heavy maintenance in just a few days. This will begin Sunday evening for those of you in North America and in the very early morning on Monday over in Europe. The Wii U and 3DS eShops, Wii Shopping Channel, and DSi Shop will be affected.
The upcoming maintenance is particularly notable due to its length. It seems that the maintenance period will last nearly an entire day.
Here’s the full breakdown of times:
– 7 PM PT (Sunday) – 7 PM PT (Monday)
– 10 PM ET (Sunday) – 10 PM ET (Monday)
– 3 AM in the UK (Monday) – 3 AM in the UK (Tuesday)
– 4 AM in Europe (Monday) – 4 AM in Europe (Tuesday)
As for the reasoning behind the downtime, Nintendo says that it’s planning a large-scale exchange of servers. It’s also possible that the maintenance will end a bit early, though you should definitely expect it to take awhile!
More: maintenance, top
Nintendo – mobile apps will be in over 100 countries, 8 languages; profits could top Wii/DS era in 3 years
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Mobile, News | 15 Comments
Tatsumi Kimishima recently spoke with Japanese outlet Nikkei. According to the new Nintendo CEO, the company’s mobile applications will be localized into 8 languages, and will be available in over 100 countries. He also mentioned that Nintendo’s profits will have the potential to exceed the Wii/DS era in three years time.
More: top
Nintendo Download (10/29/15, North America) – Human Resource Machine, Octodad
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS eShop, News, Wii U eShop | 10 Comments
This week’s North American Nintendo Downloads are as follows:
Wii U Retail
Barbie and her Sisters Puppy Rescue – $39.99
Wii U Download
Human Resource Machine – $9.99
Octodad: Dadliest Catch – $14.99
PictoParty – ?
Wii U Virtual Console
Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town – $6.99
3DS Retail
Barbie and her Sisters Puppy Rescue – $29.99
3DS Demo
The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes – Get the free demo and team up with two friends* to tackle a tricky dungeon via local play anytime! Heroes will just need their own Nintendo 3DS system, along with their own demo. (Other modes, such as single-player and Download Play won’t be available.) You’ll even get to try out three costumes: Hero’s Tunic, Kokiri Clothes and Legendary Dress. You can also try online co-op play (with three different dungeons!) at the specific times below:
Oct. 30: 3-5 p.m. PT
Oct. 31: 3-5 p.m. PT
Nov. 1: 3-5 p.m. PT
3DS Themes
Ashley’s Halloween
eShop Sales
Wii U
– Resident Evil Revelations is 75 percent off (reduced from $39.99 to $9.99) until 8:59 a.m. PT on Nov. 2.
– Canvaleon is more than 50 percent off (reduced from $13.95 to $6.95) until 8:59 a.m. PT on Nov. 5.
– Shapes of Gray is more than 25 percent off (reduced from $6.99 to $4.99) until 8:59 a.m. PT on Nov. 5.
– Swords & Soldiers II is 20 percent off (reduced from $19.99 to $15.99) until 8:59 a.m. PT on Nov. 5.
– 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 Nov. 26
– The Letter is 75 percent off (reduced from $1.99 to $.49) starting at 9 a.m. PT on Oct. 31 until 8:59 a.m. PT on Nov. 2.
3DS
– Resident Evil Revelations and Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D from Capcom are 75 percent off (reduced from $19.99 to $4.99) until 8:59 a.m. PT on Nov. 2.
– Code of Princess is more than 65 percent off (reduced from $29.99 to $9.99) starting at 9 a.m. PT on Nov. 2 until 8:59 a.m. PT on Nov. 16.
– Urban Trial Freestyle is 60 percent off (reduced from $4.99 to $1.99) until 8:59 a.m. PT on Nov. 12.
– Aqua Moto Racing 3D is 50 percent off (reduced from $7.99 to $3.99) until 8:59 a.m. PT on Nov. 5.
Activities
Super Spooky StreetPass Weekend – Skip the tricks this Halloween and head straight to the treats with National StreetPass Weekend. Stop by any of the more than 29,000 Nintendo Zone hotspots across North America with your StreetPass-enabled Nintendo 3DS system from Oct. 30 through Nov. 1 – you could get up to six StreetPass tags! Collect more Mii characters to help you battle ghouls and ghosts in Monster Manor and Battleground Z, or pick up enemy tokens for StreetSmash in the Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS game. If you’re playing the Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer game, you might even run into Filly, a special character who is currently only available from Nintendo Zone. And that’s not all! To celebrate the launch of the YO-KAI WATCH game on Nov. 6, a spooky new YO-KAI WATCH panel is coming to the Puzzle Swap game in StreetPass Mii Plaza! So when you’re out and about over the Halloween weekend, be sure to take your Nintendo 3DS system with you – you never know who you might find with the StreetPass feature! Find a hotspot near you here: http://www.nintendo.com/3ds/nintendozone
The Nintendo Holiday Gift Guide – The Nintendo Holiday Gift Guide has arrived! Check it out for the top games from your favorite characters like Mario and Yoshi. Plus, you can browse through fun categories like “Battle” and “Grab a Friend.” Feeling inspired? You can easily make your own Wish List to share with your friends and family. For even more ideas, you’ll also find out which games fans on Miiverse told us would be at the top of their Wish Lists this year. Check out the Holiday Gift Guide by visiting http://happyholidays.nintendo.com/.
Source: Nintendo PR
More: Nintendo Download, top, Virtual Console
Nintendo on maximizing the value of its IP
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 24 Comments
Nintendo commented on how it intends to maximize the value of its IP during its latest financial results briefing. Here’s what was shared by CEO Tatsumi Kimishima:
“As you know, Nintendo’s basic strategy has consistently been “expansion of the gaming population.” A variety of popular characters, including Mario and Link, appear in Nintendo’s video games and these characters are the source of Nintendo’s IP value. By increasing the number of people who have access to this Nintendo IP or video game characters, music and world view, and by increasing the value of Nintendo IP, we aim to further expand the gaming population.
More specifically, we will provide people with new applications on their smart devices by utilizing our Nintendo IP. We are also planning to offer new attractions at theme parks by using Nintendo IP. Further, by using Nintendo IP in a variety of other ways, such as licensing and commercializing this IP for visual content and merchandizing products, we are planning to maximize the value of Nintendo IP, which has traditionally been used mainly for our dedicated video game systems. Needless to say, there is no change to the fact that dedicated game systems remain at the core of Nintendo experiences.”