Miyamoto pushed Tezuka to make “something grander” than Mario Paint with Super Mario Maker
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 21 Comments
Nintendo has previously spoken about how a part of Super Mario Maker’s origins stemmed from wanting to create a new Mario Paint. This was a desire held by longtime developer Takashi Tezuka.
During the 30th anniversary Mario concert in Japan today, Tezuka reiterated that he wanted to create a Mario Paint title for Wii U. However, Shigeru Miyamoto pushed Tezuka to make “something grander”. That ultimately led to the creation of Super Mario Maker.
DeNA West CEO thinks “at least 150 or 200 million people” will give Nintendo’s mobile games a shot
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Mobile, News | 20 Comments
DeNA West CEO Shintaro Asako thinks that there’s a big opportunity for Nintendo’s upcoming mobile games to reach a huge number of people. In an interview with alistdaily, Asako expressed his belief that “at least 150 or 200 million people” will try out these offerings when they’re ready for launch.
Asako told the site:
“Hundreds of millions of people have bought Nintendo consoles. Those are people who decided to spend a minimum of $200 just to get access to Nintendo IP. That number is already twice as big as the Candy Crush total user base. Not only that, every single person buying Nintendo devices spends an average of about $100 per year on software. So I have no question that when Nintendo’s mobile games come out, at least 150 or 200 million people will try it. These people are super core Nintendo fans who used to spending $150 to $250 just to access the content. Let’s say only 10% end up playing, and then those users pay $3 a month, that’s still perhaps a $60 million dollar a month game.”
alistdaily also asked about the marketing strategy he thinks will be necessary for Nintendo’s mobile games. Regarding this, Asako said:
“We know Nintendo IP is powerful, but we need to let people know the game is coming out. From that perspective I think mass marketing makes sense for Nintendo games. Usually you have more on digital marketing and later on the mass marketing kicks in, because you don’t want to start mass marketing until you’ve evaluated LTV (long-term value), because otherwise you might be wasting money. When you have strong IP like Nintendo you can kind of predict what kind of installs you can get, so to reach the level of mass-marketing isn’t that much of a risk.”
More: DeNA, interview, Shintaro Asako, top
August 2015 NPD: Wii U and Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold sales
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 14 Comments
On Thursday, NPD issued its latest U.S. sales report. We now have some additional information pertaining to the August 2015 period.
Wii U hardware sales are estimated to be at roughly 43,000 units. Etrian Odyssey Untold 2: The Fafnir Knight, which launched in the states last month, sold under 13,000 copies.
Nintendo said officially on Thursday that over 7 million amiibo have been sold in the U.S. thus far. Additionally, 3DS has seen a 30 percent increase in 2015 thus far, and Splatoon has sold 600,000 copies.
Miyamoto wanted to make Mario his Mickey Mouse, Eguchi thinks Mario Maker will motivate Nintendo
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 14 Comments
Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto reflected on the classic character he created in an interview with The New York Times. In a few of his comments, Miyamoto spoke about how he wanted Mario to achieve great success much like Mickey Mouse.
According to Miyamoto:
“I really wanted him to make my Mickey Mouse. I wanted to use him in all the different games I made. My hope was that 10 or 20 years down the road, he would be the iconic character of video games. I feel tremendously fortunate that’s what came to pass.”
Miyamoto also spoke about the evolution of Mario as a whole:
“We were only able to have five Koopas on screen at one time. As the technology has evolved, we’ve gone on to having more enemies, 3-D technology and analog sticks. I’ve been fortunate that at every phase of new technology, we’ve been able to introduce a new ‘Mario’ game that leverages it without having to think too deeply about a new story. It’s kept ‘Mario’ fresh and exciting for people throughout the 30 years of the series.”
More: interview, Katsuya Eguchi, Shigeru Miyamoto, top
Zelda: Tri Force Heroes details – characters, costumes, items
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 6 Comments
It’s a double-dose of Zelda updates in this week’s Famitsu. Along with new details about Hyrule Warriors Legends, the magazine has presented more information about The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes.
In terms of the plot, there was a beautiful, fashionable Princess in a beloved, fashionable Kingdom. However, a witch curses the princess to wear tights that cover her completely and cannot be removed. The king then sought the “Legendary Hero” to defeat the witch in order to undo this spell.
Famitsu shares the following about some of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes’ characters:
Miyamoto says it’s time to take Super Mario Bros. in a new direction
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 20 Comments
TIME has an interview with up Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. Some of the comments are actually from June, but there’s a sprinkling of fresh remarks as well.
One interesting excerpt concerns Miyamoto talking about how Super Mario Maker is like a transition point for the franchise, as Nintendo feels it’s time “to move in a new direction”. Miyamoto said:
“Doing this now at the 30th anniversary [of Super Mario Bros.] is really putting some more of that creativity into the players. But at the same time, we as the developers feel that it’s time for us to move in a new direction, and we’re preparing to work on the future of Super Mario from here on.”
You can check out TIME’s full piece here.
More: interview, Mario, Shigeru Miyamoto, top
Japanese Genei Ibun Roku #FE boxart, images of the different editions
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Images, Wii U | 11 Comments
Famitsu has posted the official Japanese Genei Ibun Roku #FE, as shown above. You can also find images of the different editions in the gallery below.
More: Atlus, boxart, Genei Ibun Roku #FE, top
The hardest Super Mario Maker levels: Travis stumps Dave
Posted on 9 years ago by Travis(@nintentravis) in Features, Videos, Wii U | 8 Comments
For the past two weeks we’ve been profiling the craziest, best, or most creative Super Mario Maker levels. Well the big day is tomorrow, so Travis wanted to put the shoe on the other foot and try to create the hardest level he could. He enlisted the help of his friend Dave to play “Bumpers in the Night!”
That wraps up our Super Mario Maker pre-launch coverage! We’re excited to see what people will be creating as of tomorrow, make sure to forward us the best levels you come across!
More: highlight, Super Mario Maker, top
August 2015 NPD: top 10 best-selling games in the U.S.
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 25 Comments
NPD Group has released a listing of the top ten best-selling games in the U.S. for the month of August 2015. The results can be found below.
Madden NFL 16 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3)
Minecraft (360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4)
Gears of War: Ultimate Edition (Xbox One)
Grand Theft Auto V (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, PC)
Lego: Jurassic World (360, 3DS, Wii U, PS3, Xbox One, PS4, Vita)
Rare Replay (Xbox One)
Until Dawn (PS4)
Call of Duty: Black Ops Combo Pack (360, PS3)
Batman: Arkham Knight (PS4, Xbox One)
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, PC)
August 2015 NPD: 600,000 copies of Splatoon sold in the U.S., 3DS sales up 30%
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 2 Comments
GamesBeat has reported some additional information from the August 2015 NPD report. According to the site, Nintendo has sold 600,000 copies of Splatoon in the United States. Additionally, the company “reported a 30 percent increase in sales for its 3DS handheld line for the eight months of the year”.
