Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 1 Comment

GameSpot has a new interview up with the developers behind Kirby and the Rainbow Curse. Supervisor Kazuhiro Yoshikawa, art director Teruhiko Suzuki, director Kazushige Masuda, and HAL Laboratory’s Shinya Kumazaki participated in the discussion.

Read on below for some comments from the various developers. You can also find GameSpot’s full feature here.

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Site updates | 16 Comments

I do not sleep much. That’s probably why I’m tired all of the time! Much of my day is dedicated to ensuring that we’re totally up-to-date with news. But during those few hours when I hit the hay, there are a couple of folks to fill in for me. Jon joined us about a year ago and has typically posted a bunch of news Monday through Friday for a few hours. Kira fills in a bit later in the early morning. That’s how things have been on the site for awhile, but the situation is changing starting next week.

Due to the way Jon’s personal schedule has worked out, he’s unable to carry on with posting news from this point on. He’ll still be with us contributing features and other content, and we’re going to go over some possibilities in the near future. In terms of news though, which is the most important aspect of the site, I’m happy to say that we’ve found someone to take over Jon’s role – and you may have seen some of his work already.

Join me in welcoming LyonHart, everyone! LyonHart – or Dennis – actually started earlier this week, as he’s been tag-teaming the night shift with Jon while Kira has been on vacation over the past few days. Kira will be back next week, and that’s when LyonHeart is taking over Jon’s shift permanently. Kira is remaining on board with her regular shift.

I’m extremely grateful for Jon and Kira’s efforts over the past several months. Both of them have been instrumental in keeping the news cycle going all day long on Nintendo Everything! LyonHart is now up to the task of handling news, and I’m very confident in his abilities. Say hello if you have a moment. I’m sure he’ll appreciate it!

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii, Wii U | 2 Comments

By the time Rodea: The Sky Soldier hits store shelves in Japan, it will be about 3.5 years since the game was originally announced. So what took so long? Prope’s Yuji Naka, along with director Jin Hasegawa, commented on this and more at Kadokawa Games’ “Rodea: The Sky Experience Tour 2014 ~First~”. You can find a summary of what was shared below, courtesy of 4Gamer and Siliconera.

– The Rodea discussions began with “what thoughts went into the creation of Rodea?”
– Director Hasegawa always wanted to make a game where you can fly
– He’s dreamed about doing this since he was a kid
– Before making Rodea, Hasegawa had always been involved in the development of games with violence, so making an all-ages game is something he’s been wanting to do for a while
– These two thoughts prompted Hasegawa to meet up with Yuji Naka
– After they met, he felt like he might be able to make two of his wishes come true
– Naka says a sequel to NiGHTS was highly demanded around the world, but it was never made sort of for the same reason that Steven Spielberg never made a sequel to E.T
– Naka: “I didn’t want to do anything that could possibly take away from the good that was NiGHTS”
– Naka instead was doing research and development for a game that would allow you to fly around the skies more freely
– Making a game that lets you freely fry around in 360 degrees proved to be difficult, even with access to a gyro sensor-equipped controller
– Naka came across the Wii while going about his usual trial-and-errors for finding a way to make something work
– By using the Wii Remote, he felt that he might be able to make a new type of action game that would give you the freedom of flight in 360 degrees
– Naka now needed to get a game company to get on board with his project
– Naka crossed paths with Kadokawa Games when it was determined that the game could happen
– Development began, but opinions held by the developers at Prope clashed with those of the publishers
– Naka says out of the 9 years of existence since the establishment of Prope, they’ve never had as many arguments as they did while working on Rodea
– In the end everything worked out and both the publisher and developer were able to come to an agreement
– Naka still remembers all the trouble that went into the making of the game

Source

More: Jin Hasegawa, Kadokawa Games, NIS America, Prope, Rodea: The Sky Soldier, top, Yuji Naka

Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, DS, GameCube, News, Wii | 2 Comments

The Mario Party series has sold more than 39.6 million copies worldwide, Nintendo has revealed. A message posted on the company’s European website confirms the news.

That figure takes all sales into account up through December 2014. It also includes all games – Mario Party for the N64 up through Mario Party: Island Tour on the 3DS.

Mario Party 10 is the first Wii U instalment in the revered Mario Party series, which since its debut – Mario Party – on Nintendo 64 in 1999 has sold over 39.6 million* copies globally.

* Figure as of December 2014. This figure incorporates the following titles: Mario Party (Nintendo 64), Mario Party 2 (Nintendo 64), Mario Party 3 (Nintendo 64), Mario Party 4 (Nintendo GameCube), Mario Party 5 (Nintendo GameCube), Mario Party 6 (Nintendo GameCube), Mario Party 7 (Nintendo GameCube), Mario Party 8 (Wii), Mario Party 9 (Wii), Mario Party Advance (Game Boy Advance), Mario Party DS (Nintendo DS), and Mario Party: Island Tour (Nintendo 3DS).

The next Mario Party game, Mario Party 10, launches next month.

Source

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, Videos | 0 comments

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, Videos, Wii U | 2 Comments

More: Kadokawa Games, NIS America, Prope, Rodea: The Sky Soldier, top

Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii, Wii U | 18 Comments

Update 2: Wii version is officially confirmed for the west, via Rodea’s English website. Check out the image below:

Update: NIS America’s PR doesn’t mention it, but the Wii version will apparently be brought over as well. Perhaps as a first-print bonus like Japan?

Rodea: The Sky Soldier is heading to North America and Europe. At its annual press event today, NIS America revealed that the company will be publishing Kadokawa Games and Prope’s title overseas. A release is planned for the fall.

NIS America intends to distribute Rodea: The Sky Soldier both physically and digitally. Additionally, both versions will be brought over – Wii U and 3DS.

Check out Rodea’s English boxart below. A collection of Japanese screenshots can also be viewed in the gallery. You’ll also find an overview after the break.

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, New Nintendo 3DS, News | 9 Comments

Nintendo posted a Japanese transcript of its latest financial results briefing Q&A today. There isn’t anything too earth-shattering, but some interesting tidbits were shared.

Here’s a brief summary:

– Some talk about amiibo in Japan selling differently to the US, since the toys-to-life category isn’t really a thing in Japan yet (Skylanders and Infinity are both niche)
– Some talk of them doing experiments with amiibo that aren’t plastic figures or cards in the future
– Iwata says there is a lot Nintendo has to change
– This includes making better use of smart devices and character IP to drive their core hardware/software business
– QOL department is separate from others
– QOL department is comprised of staff from the hardware division, both software divisions, and the systems department
– QOL, using smartphones, and character IP licensing will be the big focus at the next meeting
– Nintendo’s ability to produce New 3DS units last year was low
– Nintendo couldn’t guarantee high shipments for all regions during the holidays so made a decision to focus on Japan (and a low-population region AU)
– There’s a question on marketing and Iwata’s answer makes it clear he knows it’s no longer an age where you can just do a ton of TV ads and guarantee something will sell

Source

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Rumors | 11 Comments

Speculation about Rosalina, Donkey Kong and Wario getting their own Super Mario amiibo first surfaced last week when Nintendo updated the Japanese Mario Party 10 website with a few images (see above). Now Nintendo España is adding fuel to the fire and may have essentially confirmed the rumors.

Take a look at this roughly translated section from a Nintendo España / Spain press release:

From the collection of Super Smash Bros., now on sale, you can play with amiibo Mario, Peach, Yoshi, Luigi and Bowser. What have not you done with them and not find them anywhere? The March 20 comes a new collection of ad hoc amiibo made for Mario Party 10: Super Mario Collection, which includes new amiibo Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, Yoshi, Bowser, Estela, Donkey Kong and Wario.

That’s still not a complete and total confirmation, since there’s a small possibility that the press release text is an error. We’ll let you know if we hear anything out of Nintendo of America/UK!

Source, Via

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS eShop, News, Wii U eShop | 3 Comments

This week’s North American Nintendo Downloads are as follows:

Wii U Retail

Kirby and the Rainbow Curse (available Friday)

Wii U Virtual Console

Axelay

Wii U Demo

Citizens of Earth

3DS Download

Pokemon Shuffle
Adventure Bar Story
Excave
Flap Flap

3DS DLC

THEATRHYTHM FINAL FANTASY CURTAIN CALL – New DLC – New add-on tracks are now available for North American fans of THEATRHYTHM FINAL FANTASY CURTAIN CALL. The update includes music from a variety of Square Enix games, including tracks from CHRONO TRIGGER and NIER. Click here to view a trailer for the game.

3DS Demo

Citizens of Earth

3DS Themes

NES: Ice Climbers

DSiWare

Fishdom
4Elements

eShop Sales

Ice Cream Surfer is 70 percent off (reduced from $5 to $1.49) until 8:59 a.m. PT on March 5.
99Moves, Abyss and more titles from EnjoyUp are on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on March 12.
Snow Moto Racing 3D is 50 percent off (reduced from $7.99 to $3.99) until 8:59 a.m. PT on Feb. 26.
Chat-A-Lot is 50 percent off (reduced from $7.99 to 3.99) until 8:59 a.m. PT on March 5.
TOYS VS MONSTERS is 25 percent off (reduced from $3.99 to $2.99) until 8:59 a.m. PT on March 12.
2 Fast 4 Gnomz is 40 percent off (reduced from $4.99 to $2.99) until 8:59 a.m. PT on March 12.

Activities

Pokémon Art Academy Competition – Put your Pokémon creativity on display in an online competition featuring art made in Pokémon Art Academy! Create your masterpiece using the Pokémon Art Academy game for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems, and then post your work to the Pokémon Art Academy Miiverse community. The winning artists will receive a 100-card pack of custom-designed Pokémon Trading Card Game cards displaying their artwork.

Source: Nintendo PR

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