Nintendo is surprised by Splatoon’s success
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 36 Comments
Nintendo announced last week that, since launch, Splatoon has sold over one million copies worldwide. The game’s success is something that surprised the company.
Speaking at Nintendo’s latest shareholders meeting, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said:
As some of you may have seen the TV commercials we have been airing recently, “Splatoon” is a brand-new title and not a title from an established series. It has a very unique and fantasy-like setting. This game, inspired by squid squirting out ink, is played by human-shaped characters with squid-like features shooting, instead of squirting, ink at each other, and the team that paints the widest area in its team color wins. Having received high recognition from our consumers for its novelty, this title’s sell-through sales reached 1 million units in less than a month from its release. We feel very grateful for this, since our view was not so optimistic prior to release, for it being a non-series title.
More: sales, Satoru Iwata, Splatoon, top
Iwata on third-party collaborations, Nintendo has “received many proposals for joint initiatives”
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 8 Comments
Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo, tackled the topic of third-party partnerships during the company’s most recent shareholders meeting.
Iwata started out by mentioning that support ultimately comes down to a system’s installed base. “The larger the installed base or the more it is believed that the installed base will largely expand, there is an aspect that more software publishers are likely to join in,” he said.
Speaking about what Nintendo is specifically doing, Iwata explained that it is collaborating with various third-parties. At E3 last month, the company “received many proposals for joint initiatives.”
Iwata concluded by noting: “there are various ongoing projects below the surface.”
…I believe the standard for software publishers in selecting what hardware to provide their games for is the installed base after all. The larger the installed base or the more it is believed that the installed base will largely expand, there is an aspect that more software publishers are likely to join in. On the other hand, Nintendo is collaborating with various software publishers. At E3, which was held in the U.S. and is the largest trade show in the video game industry, we received many proposals for joint initiatives. In addition, Japanese software publishers have close relationships with our licensing department on a regular basis. As for collaborations with software publishers or their games, please consider that there are various ongoing projects below the surface.
More: Satoru Iwata, top
Nintendo’s full comments on E3 showing, acknowledges disappointment with announcements
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 7 Comments
Whereas Nintendo’s E3 showing was generally well-received in 2014, the same can’t be said of this year’s event. A number of fans have expressed disappointment in terms of what Nintendo brought to the table during its latest Digital Event last month.
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata and Shigeru Miyamoto both addressed the reaction to the company’s E3 2015 presence at a recent shareholders meeting. The two of them noted the following:
Iwata:
E3 this year was held a week later than it has been held in the last few years, and it was held right before our general meeting of shareholders. Including the preparations for this meeting, I prioritized my works in Japan and did not travel to the U.S. to attend E3. As a representative of our board of directors who attended E3 this year, I would like to ask Mr. Miyamoto to talk about it. There will be a video that I would like to show afterward.
Shigeru Miyamoto (Senior Managing Director and General Manager of Entertainment Analysis & Development Division):
E3 is the annual industry trade show that is usually held around May or June in the U.S. It is true that E3 has the aspect that the shareholder just mentioned. It actually started as a trade show for the U.S. market, and due to the spread of the Internet, the information dispatched at E3 spread around the world. Nintendo views E3 as not only an industry trade show in the U.S. but also as an occasion with which the entire Nintendo group should be involved.
More: E3 2015, Satoru Iwata, Shigeru Miyamoto, top
Iwata’s full comments on Wii U and 3DS launches, NX will be offered “through a Nintendo-like solution”
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Switch, Wii U | 12 Comments
During Nintendo’s latest shareholders meeting, one attendee brought up the slow launches of both Wii U and 3DS. This same person expressed concerns about NX meeting a similar fate.
Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo, addressed this by stating:
The situation for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U is in line with what you mentioned. For Wii U in particular, it cannot be said that it had a successful launch. As for Nintendo 3DS, in Japan there was a temporary slowdown but we managed to make a recovery by offering a number of initiatives collectively. On the other hand, Wii U has not been able to recover at this point in time. Because of this, the size of the installed base compared to the Nintendo DS or Wii eras appears not to be as solid and this is reflected in the company’s profitability. But taking a look back, it was not the case that Nintendo DS sold with huge momentum from the beginning. When it first started to lose momentum, we offered a number of titles from a new genre, such as “nintendogs” or “Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day,” and these titles were widely accepted even by those who had never played video games in the past. This sequence of events led to a very large business. The platform business can sometimes be referred to as a “momentum business.” Thus, it is ideal to have a jump start and drive momentum. Looking back at some of Nintendo’s past platforms, this ideal launch has been achieved 100 percent by perhaps only Wii. Even the Nintendo DS launch had areas in which we could have done better. I cannot disagree with your indication that Wii U is experiencing the most unfavorable situation.
Since the word “NX” has been mentioned, please let me elaborate. When Nintendo announced the collaboration with DeNA on March 17 of this year, I mentioned that Nintendo is currently developing a new dedicated video game system codenamed “NX.” The reason I mentioned this was, at that time, there were more than a certain number of people that thought that Nintendo would give up on the dedicated game system business and concentrate on smart device application development, or that Nintendo should take that path. In addition, such tone could be seen frequently through the media. I felt it was necessary to communicate that Nintendo is not pessimistic about the future of the dedicated game system business but rather more and more eager to continue it. On the other hand, details on the new platform essentially should come later. This is because the entertainment business has an aspect where there is value in surprising consumers. It is not convincing enough to the consumer if we describe how the magic works before actually showing it to them and then expecting them to be surprised or delighted. Having the element of surprise or doing the unexpected is the premise for introducing new ideas and having them welcomed with surprise. That is why I have been repeatedly saying that the next news on NX will not be announced during 2015 but will be announced in 2016. Nevertheless, since NX has news value, when I am interviewed on various occasions, I am asked about it almost every time. I will not share details on NX today but with regard to the launch of Nintendo 3DS and Wii U not necessarily having progressed well and not acquiring sufficient support from software publishers, we intend to offer NX through a Nintendo-like solution. Thank you for understanding that we are making various considerations and preparations in order to avoid what happened with the previous generations.
On a different note, I believe the standard for software publishers in selecting what hardware to provide their games for is the installed base after all. The larger the installed base or the more it is believed that the installed base will largely expand, there is an aspect that more software publishers are likely to join in. On the other hand, Nintendo is collaborating with various software publishers. At E3, which was held in the U.S. and is the largest trade show in the video game industry, we received many proposals for joint initiatives. In addition, Japanese software publishers have close relationships with our licensing department on a regular basis. As for collaborations with software publishers or their games, please consider that there are various ongoing projects below the surface.
More: Satoru Iwata, top
Nintendo Download (7/2/15, North America) – Ocarina of Time, Roving Rogue, more
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS eShop, News, Wii U eShop | 2 Comments
This week’s North American Nintendo Downloads are as follows:
Wii U Download
Roving Rogue – $7.99
Quadcopter Pilot Challenge – $8.99
Wii U Virtual Console
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time – $9.99
3DS Download
Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3 – $39.99
Mercenaries Saga 2 – $4.99
3DS Themes
Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies Mood Matrix
Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies Court Record
Ace Attorney Trilogy Pixel Art
Ace Attorney Trilogy Main Characters
Pokémon: Mega Charizard Y & Mega Rayquaza
Pokémon: Eevee Collection: Espeon & Umbreon
eShop Sales
Wii U
– Bombing Bastards and Spot the Differences: Party! from Sanuk Games are on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on July 9.
– Ittle Dew is 50 percent off (reduced from $9.99 to $4.99) until 8:59 a.m. PT on July 30.
– Plenty of Fishies is 40 percent off (reduced from $4.99 to $2.99) until 8:59 a.m. PT on July 31.
3DS
– Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies from Capcom is 44 percent off (reduced from $29.99 to $16.79) until 8:59 a.m. PT on July 16.
– Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy from Capcom is 25 percent off (reduced from $29.99 to $22.49) until 8:59 a.m. PT on July 16.
– Talking Phrasebook – 7 Languages is 40 percent off (reduced from $4.99 to $2.99) until 8:59 a.m. PT on July 9.
– European Conqueror 3D, The Legend of Dark Witch and Tappingo from Circle Entertainment are on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on July 23.
– Toy Stunt Bike is 50 percent off (reduced from $4.99 to $2.49) until 8:59 a.m. PT on July 30.
– Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove, 4 Elements and more games from Tulip Games are on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on Jan. 1.
Activities
Splatoon: New Game Mode and Splatfest – Tower Control, a new game mode that finds Inklings riding a tower into the enemy’s base, has been added to Ranked Battle. In addition, the theme for the first Splatoon Splatfest is “Cats or Dogs” and starts July 4. Learn more here: http://splatoon.nintendo.com.
Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. “Independence” 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 “Independence” tournament runs from July 2 to July 6. Opt in via the SpotPass feature for notifications on future tournaments, and click here for more information about multiplayer tournaments. Good luck, agents!
Source: Nintendo PR
More: Nintendo Download, top, Virtual Console
3D Streets of Rage 2 hitting the North American 3DS eShop on July 16
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS eShop, News | 1 Comment
A listing on the eShop reveals that 3D Streets of Rage 2 is coming to North America on July 16. SEGA will be making it available for $5.99, much like other 3D Classics. You can view some screenshots from 3D Streets of Rage 2 in the gallery below.
SEGA has another couple of 3D Classics launching this summer. 3D Gunstar Heroes is due out in August, followed by 3D Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in September.
More: 3D Streets of Rage 2, SEGA, top
Zelda: Ocarina of Time also heading to the North American Wii U Virtual Console tomorrow
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U eShop | 2 Comments
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is launching on the North American Wii U eShop tomorrow, a listing on Nintendo’s website confirms. It will be available as a Virtual Console download for $9.99.
Here’s the official overview:
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time – one of the most critically acclaimed games ever made –returns on the Nintendo eShop for Wii U. Set off on a legendary journey to stop Ganondorf, who has plunged Hyrule into darkness. Travel through time as child and adult Link and experience Hyrule in peace and war to save the world and protect the Triforce.
Your quest takes you through dense forests and across wind-whipped deserts. Swim raging rivers, climb treacherous mountains, dash on horseback across rolling hills, and delve into dungeons full of creatures that fight to the finish to put an end to your adventures. As Link, you’ll also travel through time to solve puzzles, save friends, and right Ganondorf’s wrongs with the help from your trusty Ocarina of Time and the mysterious youth, Sheik. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is one of Nintendo’s most epic challenges ever and one of its most touching stories, and is an absolute must-play for Nintendo fans.
Zelda: Ocarina of Time was confirmed as one of Europe’s Virtual Console releases for this week on Monday. Europe is getting Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising tomorrow as well.
Zelda: Tri Force Heroes – Miyamoto’s approval, tons of outfits, online and Colosseum talk
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 3 Comments
Even though E3 2015 was a couple of weeks ago, outlets have continued to post interviews that were conducted at the show. IGN has now put up its full interview with The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes director Hiromasa Shikata. Shikata talked about showing the project to Shigeru Miyamoto, the tons of different outfits in the game, and the online and Coliseum modes.
You can get a look at what Shikata shared in the interview below. Some additional comments are on IGN here.
Best Buy not taking pre-orders for the Dark Pit amiibo, in-store only on July 31
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 4 Comments
Earlier today, we found out that the Dark Pit amiibo will be exclusive to Best Buy in the United States. The retailer has since followed up with an official announcement.
Best Buy will be handling the sale of Dark Pit in a different manner than usual. For one thing, pre-orders won’t be available for the figure. He also won’t be sold online. You’ll need to head to your local Best Buy on July 31 for a chance of obtaining Dark Pit.
Nintendo has no plans for amiibo support in Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 3 Comments
Most Nintendo games these days incorporate amiibo functionality in one way or another. The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, however, will not.
Director Hiromasa Shikata told IGN that Tri Force Heroes “isn’t a natural fit” for amiibo. “There’s no reason to shoehorn it in,” he added.
Shikata’s words in full:
“I think it’s really something as simple as this game isn’t a natural fit for it. I think [that’s] because we’re focused on giving players the ability to choose different outfits to impact their experience within the game. We didn’t think amiibo added anything other than what games with it are already doing. There’s no reason to shoehorn it in.”
