November 2014 NPD: Nintendo’s response – big Pokemon, Smash, amiibo sales
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 11 Comments
Nintendo’s response to the November 2014 NPD report is in. Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, Super Smash Bros. for 3DS, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and amiibo all experienced high sales.
On the portable side, 3DS software sales rose by over 40 percent compared to the same time last year. Wii U hardware and software sales increased by over 10 percent and 90 percent respectively over the same period last year. The week of November 23 was the biggest single week of Wii U hardware sales since the console’s launch in 2012.
Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire have sold almost 1.5 million combined physical and digital units in the U.S. thus far. Total Smash Bros. 3DS sales have surpassed 1.5 million copies while Smash Bros. Wii U sold nearly 710,000 units. Nintendo says amiibo sales “are approximately equal to sales of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U so far, while Link, Mario and Pikachu (in that order) have been the best-selling figures to date.”
View Nintendo’s full NPD response below.
One Piece: Super Grand Battle! X getting amiibo support for costume unlocks
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 8 Comments
amiibo support is coming to One Piece: Super Grand Battle! X. Bandai Namco has revealed that the functionality will be used to unlock special costumes in the game. A Jump scan shows Luffy wearing Mario and Luigi costumes, Sanji wearing a Fox outfit, and Zoro in a Link costume.
Jump also shows how to unlock secret character Sabo. This can be done by entering a special cheat code on the start screen: L+R, BX, Left, Right, AY, Up and Down. View some footage of Sabo below.
Nintendo Download (12/11/14, North America)
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS eShop, News, Wii U eShop | 10 Comments
This week’s North American Nintendo Downloads are as follows:
Wii U Retail
Angry Birds Star Wars
Angry Birds Trilogy
Wii U Download
Lucadian Chronicles
Wii U Virtual Console
Crash ‘n the Boys Street Challenge
3DS Retail
Angry Birds Star Wars
Angry Birds Trilogy
Moshi Monsters Katsuma Unleashed
Moshi Monsters: Moshling Theme Park
Transformers: Dark of the Moon Stealth Force Edition
Wipeout 2
3DS Download
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy
Xeodrifter
My First Songs 2
Hazumi
Talking Phrasebook – 7 Lanauges
I Love My Little Girl
I Love My Little Boy
3DS Virtual Console
Harvest Moon 3 GBC
3DS Demos
I Love My Little Girl
I Love My Little Boy
I Love My Horse
eShop Sales
Another World – 20th Anniversary Edition is more than 50 percent off in the Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS and Wii U starting at 9 a.m. PT on Dec. 12 until 8:59 a.m. PT on Dec. 22.
How to Train Your Dragon 2, Planes Fire & Rescue and many more games from Little Orbit are on sale starting at 9 a.m. PT on Dec. 16 until 8:59 a.m. PT on Jan. 14.
Shut the Box, Blok Drop U and other games from RCMADIAX are on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on Jan. 7.
Woah Dave! is more than 70 percent off (reduced from $4.99 to $0.99) starting at 9 a.m. PT on Dec. 15 until 8:59 a.m. PT on Jan. 2.
Rage of the Gladiator, Monster Shooter and more fun games from Gamelion are on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on Jan. 8.
Steel Empire is more than 40 percent off (reduced from $29.99 to $15.99) until 8:59 a.m. PT on Jan. 15.
Darts Up 3D and Soccer Up 3D from EnjoyUp are on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on Jan. 8.
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U Photo Challenge
Join the fans in the Super Smash Bros. community on Miiverse by posting a snapshot from the game based on the theme “Eat!” After the challenge ends on Dec. 16, Mr. Sakurai and the game’s developers will select and announce a handful of their favorite images.
Source: Nintendo PR
More: Nintendo Download, top, Virtual Console
Sakurai talks Duck Hunt inclusion in Smash Bros., 8-Player Smash originally planned for Melee, more
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 11 Comments
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U launched in Japan last week. As such, Japanese magazine Famitsu sat down with director Masahiro Sakurai for a chat about the latest entry in Nintendo’s successful series. Some very interesting tidbits were shared, to say the least.
One of the topics Famitsu brings up is the inclusion of Duck Hunt. “The original Duck Hunt is a quite major game,” Sakurai said. He notes that the title could be the best-selling shooter game in the world since it was included with the NES in America.
Nintendo of America shares updated amiibo statement – some sold-out figures may return later
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 5 Comments
Nintendo of America has sent us an updated statement about the amiibo stock situation in the U.S., Canada, and Latin America. What the company says is actually encouraging, as the Big N notes: “Certain sold-out amiibo may return to these markets at a later stage.” Perhaps there’s some hope for Villager, Wii Fit Trainer, and/or Marth returning to retailers in the future.
In any case, here’s the full statement:
“Some amiibo were very popular at launch, and it is possible that some amiibo in the United States, Canada and Latin America may not be available right now due to high demand and our efforts to manage shelf space during the launch period. Certain sold-out amiibo may return to these markets at a later stage. We are continually aiming to always have a regular supply of amiibo in the marketplace and there are many waves of amiibo to come.”
Keep in mind that these comments do not come from a customer service representative. Rather, they’re from Nintendo directly.
Koji Kondo on the difficulty making Super Mario Bros. 3’s theme, why the title screen didn’t have music
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
In a recent interview with USgamer, Koji Kondo was asked about what soundtrack/piece of music gave him the most difficulty. Kondo pointed to one game: Super Mario Bros. 3.
As he explained:
The most challenging [piece] was the main theme for Super Mario Bros. 3. The [original] Super Mario theme itself was almost a little too empowering. That indelible impression it left in the user’s mind with how it matched up with what Mario was doing on the screen—that was a big mountain to climb when we started working on the music to Super Mario 3. I remember creating lots of different music in different styles, trying to come up with something that would match that game and be different enough from the original Super Mario theme. It was tough. It took me a long time to come up with something I thought would work, and it was really me and Mr. Miyamoto and Mr. Tezuka—the three of us—right up until the very last stages of development, listening to all of these different music pieces that I created, before we finally settled on what we ended up using.
Any time you’re working off of existing music, and you’re revamping it for the next title, that’s just always a tough gig. And that’s true for every title, starting from the first [one]. It’s tough for me, of course, but maybe even more so for the people on my staff, who are working on different arrangements of music they didn’t even compose. They’re working on music that I composed, and now they’re having to go back and do some rearranging to match [music from] current games. So if it’s tough for me, I think it’s even tougher for them.
More: interview, Koji Kondo, top
Rumor: Unseen64 has news about a canned Metroid 3DS project
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Rumors | 5 Comments
Unseen64’s Liam Robertson is teasing a cancelled Metroid project that was apparently in the works for the 3DS. For those unaware, Unseen64 often publishes articles about canned games and other noteworthy gaming secrets.
Robertson teased on Twitter today:
Anywho, I have recently been privy to some cancelled Metroid stuff. I hope we can share some of that some day soon. It's a bit complicated.
— Wonder Tamaki~ (@Doctor_Cupcakes) December 10, 2014
It's all a bit of a minefield, unfortunately. I try to be careful about sharing things that could endanger someone's career.
— Wonder Tamaki~ (@Doctor_Cupcakes) December 10, 2014
This is a Metroid 3DS game, to be clear.
— Wonder Tamaki~ (@Doctor_Cupcakes) December 10, 2014
It also seems that we can look forward to some news about a cancelled Wii game from High Voltage Software that was tied into a popular TV show:
Stuff I can actually talk about: going to release info on a cancelled High Voltage Software Wii game soonish + Black 2.
— Wonder Tamaki~ (@Doctor_Cupcakes) December 10, 2014
The High Voltage Software game is related to a popular TV show and is something nobody has ever really heard/seen anything about.
— Wonder Tamaki~ (@Doctor_Cupcakes) December 10, 2014
Koji Kondo shares music trivia about various Nintendo games
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 4 Comments
IGN just published another interview with Koji Kondo, the man behind much of the famous music in Nintendo’s games. You can find the full discussion here, though we’ve pulled out a few excerpts below.
What you’ll find after the break is music trivia about various Nintendo games. Kondo shared tidbits about games like Super Mario Bros., Super Mario 3D World, and more. You’ll also find some comments about why he wanted the Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D development team to stay faithful to the sound from the original game.
More: interview, Koji Kondo, top
Devil Survivor 2: Record Breaker heading to North America early next year
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 3 Comments
Atlus has announced that Devil Survivor 2: Record Breaker is getting a western release. The game is scheduled to arrive in North America early next year for $49.99.
View an announcement trailer for Devil Survivor 2: Record Breaker below. You’ll also find an overview and lineup of new features below.
