[Let’s Talk] The future of 3D Mario games
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Let's Talk | 97 Comments
Let’s Talk #4: The future of 3D Mario games
3D Mario platformers have done quite a bit since Super Mario 64 launched for the N64 back in 1996. We’ve seen Mario leap into paintings, explore a tropical island, and even travel through space. Super Mario 3D World, the series’ latest entry, also allowed for four-player multiplayer for the first time in a 3D Mario game.
So what’s next? Where do new 3D Mario games go from here? That’s the topic for this week’s Let’s Talk!
If I’m being completely honest, I’d want to see Super Mario Galaxy 3 above anything else. I absolutely adored the Galaxy games on Wii, and would be very interested to see what Nintendo could do with the idea on another console.
That’s not to say I’m against other possibilities! Actually, I’d also be open to another game like Super Mario 64. I feel like a lot of people would love to see a sequel to that game, or something that follows a similar sort of path.
The one thing I absolutely don’t want is another game like Super Mario 3D World. I did like Super Mario 3D Land on 3DS (a lot!), and thought World was pretty good. But now I’d like for Nintendo to move on from that overall type of game.
And now it’s your turn! Where do you want to see 3D Mario platformers go from here? Do you have any ideas for new titles? Sound off in the comments section, and be sure to check out some of your highlights from last week’s topic below!
Last week’s topic: Which Wii games do you want to see on New 3DS?
IndigoRift
If Kirby’s Return to Dreamland happened, I might consider purchasing it. Otherwise, if the Wii game isn’t something that’s hard to find, I really don’t care to see any ports. They need to catch up on N64 and GCN first.
mofi
Something that allows for short intensive bursts gameplay wise. I don´t know maybe Galaxy, MadWorld, Muramasa or something like that
Hexodious
If they make a port of Pandora’s Tower and The Last Story, then i’ll buy the New 3DS in a heartbeat.
Project X Zone 2 devs on development, story, improvements, and surprises
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 7 Comments
Update: Fixed first names for Morizumi and Ishitani.
Bandai Namco officially unveiled Project X Zone 2 last week. After the announcement, Famitsu caught up with a few of the game’s developers for an interview. The magazine spoke with Kensuke Tsukanaka (producer, Bandai Namco), Souichiro Morizumi (Monolith Soft, development director), and Koji Ishitani (development producer, Monolith Soft).
Famitsu starts by asking when development on Project X Zone 2 kicked off. According to Morizumi, the team was “considering the project and playing new entries of featured games” after Project X Zone’s Japanese launch. Work truly began after the team received feedback from the western release in 2013.
Tsukanaka also said, “The release had very good reputation in North America and Europe. So given the situation both domestically and overseas, we started to create the sequel.”
March 2015 NPD: Wii U and 3DS hardware sales, Code Name: S.T.E.A.M., and more
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, New Nintendo 3DS, News, Wii U | 23 Comments
The March 2015 NPD results were reported on Thursday. Nintendo neglected to share hardware sales, but we do have a couple of very close estimates. The family of 3DS systems sold roughly 260,000 – 270,000 units while Wii U moved about 80,000 – 85,000 units.
Aside from hardware sales, we have data for two 3DS titles that debuted in North America last month. Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. sold just 31,000 units, based on a figure provided by reliable NPD leaker “creamsugar”. Fossil Fighters: Frontier also launched last month and managed to sell roughly 35,000 copies.
That’s not all on the NPD front, as cremsugar shared a few lifetime U.S. sales figures for Wii U titles as well. Those are as follows:
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker – roughly 326,000 units
ZombiU – roughly 204,000 units
Bayonetta 2 – roughly 157,000 units
The Wonderful 101 – roughly 104,000 units
Fans find 5 new character spaces, more stage slots within Smash Bros. 3DS files
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 34 Comments
Fans are continuing to comb through the files in Super Smash Bros. for 3DS following the arrival of the latest patch. Interestingly enough, the discoveries don’t stop at the potential addition of Ryu and Roy to the roster.
After looking through the fighter table, it’s revealed that there are five generic “Mario” placeholders. These should be spots that will eventually be taken by other characters. One might be for Lucas and two more could be for Ryu and Roy, but it’s unclear who would take the final two slots. If nothing else, this finding may suggest that Nintendo may have plans for at least five DLC characters.
But that isn’t all! A change in the stage table reveals that the number of additional slots has been increased from 4 to 14. Given that each stage has an omega version, there’s a possibility that we could see up to 7 new stages. One of these could be a Kirby stage due to a pair of new songs found within the files – specifically “MoriStage” (Forest Stage song from Kirby’s Air Ride) and “PupuLand” (N64 remix of Dream Land from Kirby Super Star).
These findings are very, very interesting, but it’s important to remember that Nintendo has not made any announcements about upcoming DLC for Smash Bros. aside from Lucas. Even though what’s been uncovered thus far has been legitimate, we don’t truly know what the company has in store for the games.
More: DLC, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS, top
Xenoblade Chronicles X lets you disable head gear visuals while maintaining stats
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 5 Comments
Xenoblade Chronicles X director Koh Kojima is at it again. Over on the official Twitter account, Kojima published a few more tweets about the game.
Today’s update is all about head gear. Kojima reveals that there is a setting which allows players to disable hear gear visuals, but maintain stats at the same time. Basically, it’s an option for those who want to see characters’ faces during cut-scenes while head gear remains equipped.
Below are Kojima’s full tweets:
There is one little thing to continue on an earlier topic. It comes close to what I tweeted on April 6th. There is a setting which allows you to disable the visuals of head gear (although it is equipped, it isn’t visible). People who don’t like that characters’ faces are hard to see in cut-scenes can relax with that. In contrary to the fashion equipment, you can set this starting from the first playthrough.
More: Monolith Soft, top, Xenoblade Chronicles X
Update: More emails – Sony was pursuing a Smash Bros. movie
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 35 Comments
Update 2: Bumped to the top. Another email has been found. Arad said in one message that Keiko Erikawa, one of the founders of Koei Tecmo, was “instrumental to the Mario deal” – likely because of her relationship with Nintendo.
Update: We’ve posted a couple of other email exchanges below. It sounds like Sony was interested in Nintendo’s full stable of IPs!
You may remember that, last year, there was talk about Sony securing the rights to a Mario movie. That news came about due to a leak within Sony – specifically emails between top executives within the company and producer Avi Arad.
As it turns out, Sony wasn’t just interested in Mario. WikiLeaks has now obtained emails which reveal that the company was very much interested in creating a Smash Bros. movie as well. It seems that Arad would have been involved with this film, too.
Just like the Mario movie, specific details are not available at this time. There’s a good chance that both projects will never happen!
More: Sony, Super Smash Bros., top
March 2015 NPD: top 10 best-selling games in the U.S. – Mario Party 10 takes the fourth spot
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 4 Comments
NPD Group has released a listing of the top ten best-selling games in the U.S. for the month of March 2015. The results can be found below.
1. Battlefield: Hardline (Xbox One, PlayStation 4, 360, PS3, PC)
2. Bloodborne (PS4)
3. Grand Theft Auto V (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3)
4. Mario Party 10 (Wii U) (sold 290,000 copies physical and digital, according to Nintendo)
5. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, PC)
6. MLB 15: The Show (PS4, PS3)
7. Minecraft (360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4)
8. NBA 2K15 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, PC)
9. Borderlands: The Handsome Collection (PS4, Xbox One)
10. Final Fantasy: Type 0 HD (PS4, Xbox One)
March 2015 NPD: Nintendo’s response – hardware sales up nearly 60% this year
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, New Nintendo 3DS, News, Wii U | 3 Comments
We’re still waiting on the March 2015 NPD chart, but Nintendo has already delivered its response for the month.
Several statistics were highlighted in the new press release. According to the company, sales for Nintendo hardware systems thus far in 2015 “have increased by nearly 60 percent over sales during the same time frame in 2014.”
Other than that, we know that Mario Party 10 sold close to 290,000 copies in its first two weeks on the U.S. market, cumulative Smash Bros. Wii U and Mario Kart 8 sales are at 1.6 million and 1.9 million units respectively, and more.
Head past the break for today’s full announcement and sales data.
Nintendo working on a patch for Smash Bros. online connectivity issues relating to Mewtwo
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 2 Comments
Yesterday, various reports surfaced about issues with Super Smash Bros. for Wii U after players downloaded the game’s new Mewtwo DLC. Nintendo is already on the case though, and a patch is in the works to address all problems.
Issues come about when experiencing the single-player modes, and it’s apparently not just limited to 10-Man Smash in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. You may encounter a bug after trying out Classic, All-Star, Stadium, Trophy Rush, or Smash Run (for 3DS). If you play these modes after downloading the Mewtwo DLC and attempt to connect online, you may be unable to do so.
For the time being, Nintendo advises Mewtwo owners to avoid the aforementioned modes until the new patch has been released. Note that regular Smash, Smash Tour (for Wii U) and online play are unaffected by the latest bug.
More: Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, top
Nintendo Download (4/16/15, North America) – 3D Fantasy Zone II, Donkey Kong 64, more
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS eShop, News, Wii U eShop | 0 comments
This week’s North American Nintendo Downloads are as follows:
Wii U Download
Word Search by POWGI
Tilelicious: Delicious Tiles
Wii U Virtual Console
Donkey Kong 64
Wii U Demo
Word Search by POWGI
3DS Download
3D Fantasy Zone II
A-Train 3D: City Simulator
DOOORS
Word Search by POWGI
Pazuru
3DS Demo
Word Search by POWGI
3DS Themes
Yoshi’s Springtime Siesta
StreetPass Mii Plaza on Nintendo 3DS
Battleground Z and Ultimate Angler – The next evolution of StreetPass Mii Plaza has arrived with new features and two new games! Fight your way through hordes of zombies in Battleground Z, or kick back and reel in a few fish and some legendary monsters on the StreetPass Islands in Ultimate Angler. Buy either game for $4.99 each or both for $7.99, and purchase StreetPass Mii Plaza Upgrade for $4.99 to unlock several new features like StreetPass Birthdays and a Mii character VIP Room.
Smash Bros. Update
Required Super Smash Bros. Update for Online Play – A new software update for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS is now available! Users will be required to download this update prior to using the game’s online multiplayer features. After the update, players can also purchase more costumes for their Mii Fighters, including ones inspired by Mega Man X and Proto Man from Capcom’s Mega Man series.
eShop Sales
Wii U/3DS
– Super Spring Sale! It’s the last chance to save during the Super Spring Sale! Visit http://www.nintendo.com/eshop/offers to check out great deals and save up to 30 percent off on select games. The Super Spring Sale ends April 20 at 8:59 a.m. PT.
– Darts Up and Darts Up 3D from EnjoyUp Games are on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on May 14.
Wii U
– Paparazzi is 40 percent off (reduced from $4.99 to $2.99) until 8:59 a.m. PT on April 28.
Lucadian Chronicles DLC is 37 percent off (reduced from $7.99 to $4.99) beginning at 9 a.m. PT on April 21 until 8:59 a.m. PT on April 28.
– Costume Quest 2 is 33 percent off (reduced from $14.99 to $9.99) beginning at 9 a.m. PT on April 17 until 8:59 a.m. PT on April 24.
3DS
– Castle Conqueror EX, Fairune and Parking Star 3D from Circle Entertainment are on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on May 7.
– Code of Princess, Etrian Odyssey Untold: Millennium Girl and more from ATLUS are on sale beginning at 9 a.m. PT on April 20 until 8:59 a.m. PT on April 27.
– Real Heroes: Firefighter 3D is 50 percent off (reduced from $9.99 to $4.99) until 8:59 a.m. PT on April 30.
Permanent Price Reduction
Breezeblox is reduced to $4.99 (from $9.99) beginning at 9 a.m. PT on April 16.
Activities
International StreetPass Week
Take your Nintendo 3DS system on a whirlwind tour without leaving your hometown! From April 16 to April 26, collect up to six Mii characters from across Europe, the United States and Canada when you stop by a Nintendo Zone location. U.S. and Canada visitors will even get a special Mii of Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America. Find a Nintendo Zone hotspot near you here.
Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. “Declaration” Tournament
See how your Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. squad stacks up online in Nintendo’s Public Tournaments. Top players earn unique titles that are visible online and earn major bragging rights with their friends and around the world. The new “Declaration” tournament runs through April 20. Opt in via the SpotPass feature for notifications on future tournaments, and click here for more information on multiplayer tournaments. Good luck, agents!
Mega May is Back! – Vote Today
During the entire month of May, Nintendo and Capcom are celebrating our favorite blue bomber, Mega Man, with six game releases on the Virtual Console service for Wii U. The Game Boy Advance versions of Mega Man Zero 2, Mega Man Battle Network 3 Blue, Mega Man Battle Network 3 White, Mega Man Battle Network 4 Red Sun, Mega Man Battle Network 4 Blue Moon and Mega Man & Bass will land on the Nintendo eShop throughout the month. Click here to vote for the first game of Mega May, which will release May 7. Voting is open until 11:59 p.m. PT on April 29.
Source: Nintendo PR
