Japan: Nintendo Account is now live; official blog launched
Posted on 9 years ago by Matt(@OnePunchMaz) in General Nintendo, News | 8 Comments
In Japan, Nintendo’s new all-encompassing account feature, Nintendo Account, is now live. You can sign up for it here.
As promised, you can register using your existing Nintendo Network ID or your various social media accounts such as Facebook and Twitter. European, Australian or North American NNIDs won’t work though – looks like we have to wait until the service officially launches in the West. Note, however, that this is not My Nintendo, the successor to Club Nintendo. That is scheduled to launch next year.
Until February 1st, there’s also a promotion where you get back 100 yen for every 1000 yen you spend on the Nintendo eShop.
Finally, Nintendo also updated its official Japanese website. Other than its new visual design, you can now also buy games there and have them downloaded directly to your Wii U or 3DS. They also launched a new blog called Topics where announcements will be made.
More: Japan, Nintendo Account, top
New Pokken Tournament fighter and support character to be announced on December 10
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 35 Comments
A few months ago, Bandai Namco held a Twitter campaign so that fans could vote on the next support Pokemon they’d like to see in Pokken Tournament. And in just a matter of days, we’ll finally know who was selected… and more!
The game’s Twitter account teases that two announcements will be made in December 10. In addition to sharing the fan-selected support Pokemon, a brand new fighter will be revealed as well. Who do you guys think will make it in?
More: Bandai Namco, Pokken Tournament, top
Rumor: Mass NX production to begin at the end of Q1 2016, 10-12 million shipments next year
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Rumors, Switch | 22 Comments
Nintendo will enter mass production of the new NX system at the end of Q1 2016, according to a Digitimes report. Even though the company hopes to ship 20 million units in 2016, “the device’s upstream component suppliers expect shipments to only reach around 10-12 million units.” Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) has allegedly been put in charge of manufacturing NX.
NX will apparently undergo mass shipments in the second quarter. Digitimes also says that suppliers such as Foxconn Technology, Macronix, Pixart Imaging, Coxon Precise Industrial, Nishoku Technology, Delta Technology, Lingsen Precision Industries and Jentech will provide components for the device.
More: top
Nintendo Download (12/3/15, Europe): Xenoblade Chronicles X, Mario & Luigi Paper Jam Bros and more
Posted on 9 years ago by Matt(@OnePunchMaz) in 3DS eShop, News, Wii U eShop | 0 comments
This week’s European Nintendo Downloads are as follows:
Wii U Retail
Xenoblade Chronicles X (available Friday, December 4th) – €59.99 / £49.99 / CHF 77.90 ; €49.99 / £40.99 / CHF 63.90 until 18/12/2015 for users who have downloaded Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii) on the same Wii U
Wii U Download
Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure (Wii Download) – Special introductory offer until 18/12/2015: €14.99 / £13.49 / CHF 21.00 (Regular price €19.99 / £17.99 / CHF 28.00)
Human Resource Machine – €9.99 / £8.99 / CHF 14.00
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Basic High-Speed Data Loading Pack Impact: High – free (available November 30th)
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Enemy High-Speed Data Loading Pack Impact: Medium – free (available November 30th)
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Player High-Speed Data Loading Pack Impact: Medium – free (available November 30th)
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Skell High-Speed Data Loading Pack Impact: Medium – free (available November 30th)
Wii U Virtual Console
Kirby: Power Paintbrush (Nintendo DS) – €9.99 / £8.99 / CHF 14.00; €4.99 / £4.49 / CHF 7.00 until 10/12/2015 for users who downloaded Kirby Mass Attack on the same Wii U
Kirby Mass Attack (Nintendo DS) – €9.99 / £8.99 / CHF 14.00; €4.99 / £4.49 / CHF 7.00 until 10/12/2015 for users who downloaded Kirby Power Paintbrush on the same Wii U
3DS Retail
Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros (available Friday, December 4th) – €39.99 / £34.99 / CHF 51.90
3DS Download
Pokemon Picross – free
Pokemon Picross 200 Picrites (only 1 time) – €0.99 / £0.89 / CHF 1.40
Pokemon Picross 200 Picrites – €1.49 / £1.39 / CHF 2.10
Pokemon Picross 1000 Picrites – €6.99 / £6.29 / CHF 9.80
Pokemon Picross 2000 Picrites – €12.99 / £11.69 / CHF 18.20
Pokemon Picross 4000 Picrites – €24.99 / £22.49 / CHF 35.00
3DS Themes
The Winx at Alfea – A fairylicious school – €1.99 / £1.79 / CHF 2.80
Mia and Me – A Centopic friendship – €1.99 / £1.79
eShop Sales
Wii U
Wicked Monsters Blast! HD PLUS – €2.99 / £2.69 / CHF 4.20 until 31/12/2015, regular price € 7.99 / £7.19 / CHF 11.20
EDGE – €0.79/ £0.71 / CHF 1.12 until 17/12/2015, regular price €1.99 / £1.79 / CHF 2.80
RUSH – €0.79/ £0.71 / CHF 1.12 until 17/12/2015, regular price €1.99 / £1.79 / CHF 2.80
Swords & Soldiers – €1.19 / £0.99 / CHF 1.68 until 17/12/2015, regular price €2.99 / £2.69 / CHF 4.20
Toki Tori – €0.79 / £0.69 / CHF 1.10 until 17/12/2015, regular price €1.99 / £1.79 / CHF 2.80
Toki Tori 2 + – €2.99 / £2.49 / CHF 3.99 until 17/12/2015, regular price €14.99 / £12.99 / CHF 19.99
3DS
AeternoBlade – €4.99 / £4.50 / CHF 7.00 until 31/12/2015, regular price €14.99 / £13.50 / CHF 21.00
3D MahJongg – €3.99 / £3.59 / CHF 3.99 until 17/12/2015, regular price €4.99 / £4.49/ CHF 4.99
Darts Up 3D – €0.99 / £0.89 / CHF 1.40 until 31/12/2015, regular price €2.99 / £2.69/ CHF 4.20
Football Up Online – €1.99 / £1.79 / CHF 2.80 until 31/12/2015, regular price €3.99 / £3.59/ CHF 5.60
Gardenscapes – €5.99 / £4.49 / CHF 5.99 until 17/12/2015, regular price €7.99 / £5.99/ CHF 7.99
Pazuru – €4.49 / £2.99 until 17/12/2015, regular price €5.99 / £3.99
Source: Nintendo PR
More: Europe, Nintendo Download, top, Virtual Console
[Review] Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon
Posted on 9 years ago by Vincent Ward in 3DS, Reviews | 4 Comments
System: 3DS
Release date: November 20, 2015
Developer: Spike Chunsoft
Publisher Nintendo
In a world where the characters typically can only just speak their own name, having a game that features 720 different Pokemon with their own personalities and jobs is a feat in and of itself. But once you mix in the addictive dungeon crawling mechanics of the Mystery Dungeon series and all the other elements that make Pokemon titles the iconic series it is, you are given the definitive Mystery Dungeon title and one fun RPG.
Lost Reavers is being made by young devs, Bandai Namco trying to reach new audience on Wii U
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U eShop | 26 Comments
The most recent of Famitsu has a two-page feature on Lost Reavers, Bandai Namco’s upcoming free-to-start title for Wii U. There’s more about the game in general as well as a brief interview with producers Takashi Otani and Katsuhiro Harada.
First, here’s an overview of the different characters:
Sayuri: “The Short Range and Long Range All-Rounder”
Using a katana for short-ranged attacks and a submachine gun for shooting, it is easy to use her and is thus recommended for first-time players.
Dwayne: “A Firepower Oriented Power Type”
At the core of this character is his assault rifle, though there is the possibility of using many other smaller firearms. When using his powerful bazooka, the exhilaration one feels is outstanding.
Shadow Stalker: “Tricky and Versatile in Attacking”
Fights wielding both a melee weapon and a shotgun. Has a characteristic combo that consists of him reloading while attacking. For advanced players.
Victoria
Rather than rapid-fire damage, she is a skilled shooter who focuses more on dealing damage in one shot. Recommended for those who enjoy shooting games.
Wii U was Target’s best-selling online items during Thanksgiving
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 56 Comments
Update (11/29): Bumped to the top. Target’s press release clears up that Wii U was actually the #1 best-selling item on its website during Thanksgiving.
Original (11/27): Wii U sold extremely well at one North American retailer during Thanksgiving yesterday. Business Insider reports that the console, along with the iPad and iPad Watch, helped Target achieve its biggest online shopping day ever.
“Demand outpaced 2014’s record Thanksgiving performance, making it Target’s biggest day for online sales yet,” Target said in an official statement.
Nintendo brought out a new Wii U bundle for the holidays which comes with pre-installed copies of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Splatoon. At Target, the bundle has been available for just $250.
Shigesato Itoi on Earthbound’s continued popularity, Mother 4, Iwata’s passing, more
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 4 Comments
Japanese outlet Game Watch interviewed Shigesato Itoi at an Earthbound event in Japan. The discussion has since been translated by Tuxedo Unmasked.
We’ve posted some of Itoi’s comments below. He addressed Earthbound’s continued popularity, Mother 4, Iwata’s passing, and several other topics. If interested, you can also read the full interview here.
More: interview, Mother 4, Satoru Iwata, Shigesato Itoi, top
Tetsuya Takahashi on making Xenoblade Chronicles X fun on a budget and more
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 22 Comments
Eurogamer published a new feature today about Monolith Soft and studio head Tetsuya Takahashi. You can read the full thing at this link, but we’ll be sharing some of it here as well.
With Xenoblade Chronicles on Wii, the team encountered some issues and were in danger of missing the launch deadline. But Nintendo producer Hitoshi Yamagami swooped in and assisted Takahashi in getting things back on track.
The situation was different with Xenoblade Chronicles X, as Takahashi explained:
“We wanted to achieve something that was more about us as Monolith Soft being able to create an open world system, to implement online features, and to transition into the high definition era. With that game we’d learned how to create locations that are fun to explore on a budget. If we had no restrictions at all in terms of costs, then for example we could easily make a varied and interesting map simply by creating textures and models for four or five different to use in a single 20km squared area. But within restrictions we had the difficult task of creating varied and fun locations using just the textures and models for a single kind of environment.”
Takahashi also mentioned also said that lessons were learned when making Xenoblade Chronicles. Monolith Soft was able to achieve its goals despite certain restrictions it put on itself, such as not using middleware to increase the speed of production.
Head past the break for a few more comments from Takahashi.
Excitebike 64 devs on the game’s development – origins, Miyamoto feedback, more
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 2 Comments
Last month’s issue of GamesTM has a very interesting feature on the making of Excitebike 64. We encourage you to pick up the magazine to read it in full, though we wanted to share some of the information and comments here.
Excitebike 64 was the next title from Left Field Productions following the Nintendo-published NBA Courtside. Several ideas were pitched, many of which were focused around sports given the studio’s specialty in the genre. The possibility of a motocross game was flying about in part due to a few producers at Left Field enjoying it, and that’s what was ultimately selected.
Henry Sterchi, a producer from Nintendo working on the title, mentioned to GamesTM that Excitebike 64 began “as a more traditional motocross game”. However, as ideas were being prototyped and mechanics were being worked on, Left Field came up with an idea of developing a sequel to the NES classic. It was eventually proposed to Nintendo, who approved it soon after.
Sterchi told GamesTM:
“Excitebike 64 started out as a more traditional motocross game to prove out the core engine, handling and basic play. The handling was physics-driven and realistic, but I wouldn’t have called it a technical simulation. We did try some real-time track deformation such as tyre ruts, but it was abandoned because it wasn’t that fun and quite a technical drain.”
“We’d already discussed and prototyped the thing we wanted around the turbo mechanic and track designs in order for it to be an authentic Excitebike experience, so it was always the hope that they’d go for it and if it didn’t work out, it was ready to stand on its own as a more traditional motocross racer.”
