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Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS eShop, News, Wii U eShop | 1 Comment

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

Wii U Virtual Console

• Pac-Land
• Pac-Man Collection
• Soccer

3DS Virtual Console

• Double Dragon II: The Revenge

3DS Download

• AiRace Xeno
• Van Helsing sniper Zx100

eShop sales

• Nintendo eShop Sale – Save up to 30 percent on top franchises being featured at E3, including select Super Mario Bros., Sonic the Hedgehog, The Legend of Zelda, LEGO and Yoshi games. Hurry — the sale in the Nintendo eShop for both Wii U and Nintendo 3DS ends Monday, June 16, at 8:59 a.m. PT.
• Nicalis Games – To celebrate the recent release of 1001 Spikes, Nicalis is discounting select games in the Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS, including Ikachan, Cave Story 3D, NightSky and VVVVVV. This offer ends at 9 a.m. PT on June 26.
• INAZUMA ELEVEN – It’s almost summer, and international soccer excitement is in the air. Celebrate the season with a worldwide sale on soccer RPG INAZUMA ELEVEN, now 50 percent off in the Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS. This offer lasts until 9 a.m. PT on July 13.
• Soccer Up 3D – For a limited time, Soccer Up 3D is available at the discounted price of $2.99 in the Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS. This offer ends at 9 a.m. PT on July 16.
• Resident Evil Revelations – A scary good deal. Starting today until 9 a.m. PT on June 19, Resident Evil Revelations on Nintendo 3DS and Wii U will be 50 percent off in the Nintendo eShop.
• QubicGames – For a limited time, QubicGames is discounting select games in the Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS, including 2 Fast 4 Gnomz and AiRace Speed. This offer ends at 9 a.m. PT on July 2.

Source: Nintendo PR

More: Nintendo Download, top, Virtual Console

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 20 Comments

Game Informer has put up a few new comments from Eiji Aonuma regarding The Legend of Zelda for Wii U. Aonuma discussed the fan reaction to the game thus far, and also remained mum for the most part on Link. You’ll find his comments below.

Read More

More: Eiji Aonuma, interview, The Legend of Zelda, top

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 90 Comments

This information comes from Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma…

“It’s a rumour. Actually that comment I made jokingly. It’s not that I said that it wasn’t Link. It’s that I never said that it was Link. It’s not really the same thing, but I can understand how it could be taken that way. It seems like it has kind of taken off where people are saying ‘oh it’s a female character’ and it just kind of grew. But my intent in saying that was humour. You know, you have to show Link when you create a trailer for a Zelda announcement.”

“I don’t want people to get hung up on the way Link looks because ultimately Link represents the player in the game. I don’t want to define him so much that it becomes limiting to the players. I want players to focus on other parts of the trailer and not specifically on the character because the character Link represents, again, the player.”

Source

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Posted on 10 years ago by Jarop(@gamrah) in 3DS, Screenshots | 1 Comment

A look at Palutena on the 3DS version today, along with a look at the Home-run contest which will be making a return:

The goddess is up to bat for the Home-run Contest, a returning mini-game on the 3DS version! It’s been streamlined with added features here and there, like sturdier glass and doubled speed for long hits. You can also have fun comparing your rankings for this mini-game with your Global Smash Power.

More: Masahiro Sakurai, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS, top

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, Screenshots | 10 Comments

Update: Bumped to the top of the page with more screenshots, art, fact sheet, and boxart.

More: Code Name: S.T.E.A.M, top

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 4 Comments

This information comes from Devil’s Third creator Tomonobu Itagaki, speaking with Joystiq…

“We developed the game up to an early playable version at THQ but then there was the unfortunate end of that company. Then, when we went looking for partners and found Nintendo who really supported my vision. I’m not really sure if it would have been possible ten years ago to be honest, but I’ve had a long relationship with Nintendo going back to the Nintendo and Super Nintendo. Once I went independent, I definitely went over to Nintendo to say hello.”

“I like to think of myself as a warrior. There will always be accidents on the battlefield. You have to find ways through those and adapt. The world has been through financial crises in the past few years yet we’ve all found ways to continue on. One thing that’s different from my previous company is my relationship to the people I’m working with. Previously I wasn’t necessarily responsible for hiring and taking care of everyone, but my position is different now and I feel a lot of responsibility for my team.”

“I’m not one to go looking for fights in back alleys. I prefer to find them in a big avenue. That’s why I tried to pick the most major genre I could think of, the modern shooter. That’s what led me to make Devil’s Third.”

“When people play this game I want them to think, ‘What does it mean to live?’ I want them to think about life itself. What does it mean to be alive? What does someone believe in a world like this? We’re all citizens in a very fragile world order, as if it’s made of a glass, that can shatter at any moment.”

Source

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Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 9 Comments

During the Q&A portion for the Code Name: S.T.E.A.M’s roundtable, one attendee asked if the 3DS game has slowed work on Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem – a Wii U game announced in January 2013 and hasn’t been talked about since. Fortunately, the answer is no. Intelligent Systems said, “We’re right on schedule, but if I answer in any more detail I will lose my job so please have mercy on me.”

Another attendee asked prior if Code Name: S.T.E.A.M’s existence is why there isn’t a new Advance Wars. To this, Intelligent Systems said, “We are always thinking about our next iteration of Advanced Wars and Fire Emblem.”

Source, Source 2

More: Advance Wars, Fire Emblem, Intelligent Systems, Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem, top

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, Videos, Wii U | 0 comments

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Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 2 Comments

Nintendo revealed a new IP for the 3DS during an E3 2014 roundtable event held tonight. The game, titled Code Name: S.T.E.A.M, is being led by the folks at Intelligent Systems. It will launch next year.

You can keep track of the details here.

More: Code Name: S.T.E.A.M, E3 2014, top

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 58 Comments

Update: Over. Had a rough start due to traffic killing the site again, but you can check out a bunch of details below.

Nintendo is closing out its E3 activity for the day with a mysterious roundtable. We know that the session will be held to announce some kind of new IP, based on the tweet above.

In any case, we’ll be gathering all of the information that pops up online and covering this roundtable as it happens. Keep checking this post for news throughout the event. We’ll also make a dedicated, separate mini-post once the announcement is made.

The roundtable will begin at 9 PM ET / 6 PM PT. It should last 90 minutes.

Updates below:

Details

– Note: Treehouse showing a big demo of the game tomorrow (confirmed on the stream)
– Code Name: S.T.E.A.M
– Out next year
– Set in London
– Steampunk vibe
– Stars the character Fleming
– In the video, monsters are taking over
– Airships exploding in the air
– Nintendo shows the live opening of the Steam Gate bridge
– Everything in the city is steam-powered
– Cel-shaded people
– It’s the age of Steam we’re told.
– Airships
– Monster attack knocks the character down
– Enemy has a lot of purple eyes
– Nintendo showed the opening cinematic
– Hitoshi Yamagami directing (Fire Emblem, Xenoblade Chronicles)
– Turn-based strategy game
– Borrows elements from action games
– “If Nintendo is making a strategy title, there is a long term partner we have worked with before: Intelligent Systems.”
– Intelligent Systems devs showing off the game
– Creative director: Paul Patraschcu
– Art director: Takako Sakai

“This is an entirely new title from Nintendo. A turn-based strategy game with elements taken from action games. “Players will take command of the unit steam a unique fighting force created by Abraham Lincoln to defend against a mysterious invasion from space.”

– Third-person shooter elements
– 3 save files

“Turn-based strategy, third person shooter, steam-punk … Codename Steam is a quirky little title that came to be from a collusion of all of these elements. We like to start with how we came about getting the idea for this title.”

– Fleming dodges around what appears to be the city’s streets
– Monsters are everywhere

“As you can tell from my history I have been working with IS for a long time and became a big fan of turn-based strategy, but I’ve always wanted to share these games with more people; this has been quite a challenge for me. This is, I think, because people have a timidity about turn-based strategy.”

– Gameplay switches to John, who stealths his way around looking for enemies
– After his turn, the enemy bolts forward and attacks
– Bottom screen shows a steam meter
– It goes down as players use skills
–
Henry scores some coins floating in the streets as he travels around

“I have been sharing Mr. Yamagami’s worries. I wonder why strategy games don’t have more fans. The answer I came up with myself, perhaps in many strategy games, there is too much abstraction between the player and the game world. What happens is often dictated by invisible parameters and numbers you don’t understand. The interfaces are often quite abstract.”

“This creates, in my opinion, a bit of an emotional disconnect between player and world of the game, perhaps this is why so many people find it intimidating or unnatural to play a strategy game. My solution was to take the camera and bring it to the level of the fighting units.”

“I’ve been thinking about solving this problem and at that time Paul came to me with his ideas. My initial thought of bringing down the camera was, ‘Yes, this will bridge that gap.’ But my worry was without some overhead view was how would you know what was going on. We said try a mini map radar.”

“Of course Mr. Yamagami was right so we focused on what we had, this first-person POV. You have several units you can control. You can control a fire team made up of four different characters. You have this view all of the time. This type of exploration is gameplay.”

– Enemy’s turn again
– A scorpion-like monster scoots forward
– Developer thinks many strategy games are too abstract,”Invisible parameters”
– While aliens move, it looks like players can freely swap between players for different views
– John gets ready to chuck a bomb; a yellow arch shows its projection
– The scorpion-like alien-monster is called a Hound
– The field is filled with small brick ledges, crates and lamps held by floating Steam balloons
– Green-lit TV screens are propelled through the air
– Switching between the characters give you a different view
– Can switch between characters at almost any time
– Adding steam punk elements to world helped convey important details
– One example is a red pipe that goes to objective

“So I think you have this problem of not receiving this problem with strategy, but we overcame it. But I felt we still needed some sort of help so players could find their way around the battlefield. I had the idea of solving the problem with steampunk. By adding steampunk themed items in the game we could solve the problem.”

“For instance you can see a red pipe that extends all the way through the map. The pipe goes all of the way to the objective. We also have telephonoscopes that float around which give you hints.”

– Different collectibles are scattered around the field
– There’s a book with a heart stamp
– These green TVs offer hints on how to play on the map
– The first hint offers a weak point on the Hound
– Uses touch controls for interface and controlling team
– Enemies can apparently attack more than once
– Henry gets hit, makes a snappy remark, and is pelted again

“At this point we had the navigation problem solved. With the touch screen the interface was very intuitive. We were still missing the strategic element to the game play. We realized with the context, the 3d map and exploration, the classic style of move attack then select the next unit, style of game play really did not work within this format.”

“We turned again to action games, to first-person shooters. The thought process between a strategy game and a shooter are quite similar. You get some information about the environment and then you come up with a plan and then you execute a plan. You do that in a linear fashion in a game like Fire Emblem. In a shooter you have to solve problems in a nonlinear fashion.”

– Movement inspired by action games
– Turn based movement closer to shooter than Fire Emblem
– Henry nabs the heart-labelled pack. It is, in fact, a health boost

“We wanted to come up with a system that was nonlinear. So we came up with action points which quantifies how much a unit can move and the speed they can move.”

– The goal is finally in sight. It’s marked by a very clear icon helpfully reading

“The image I hit upon was a steam locomotive. That’s when I hit upon the idea of using units operating on steam to make it easier to understand. I had an ‘aha moment’ and we knew what to do.”

“I initially pitched the steampunk setting as a setting, but having heard this idea of steam-powered warriors it all made sense to me.”

“The units where steam engines on their back and this gives them steam. A gauge shows how much steam they have.”

– Steam gauge shown at bottom of top screen and shows cost of actions, like firing weapons
– When you’re spotted, exclamation points pop up above the enemy’s head, Metal Gear Solid style
– Until you perform some sort of action your steam isn’t completely used up
– Within the limits of your steam you can move around the battlefield
– This allows the player to explore and that adds to the exploration element
– Patraschcu said originally they wanted to have an undo button, but people were pushing on the undo button all of the time
– Each map has its objective
– In this case, it was reach the goal
– The game is structured as a campaign and divided into missions
– Each mission has several maps
– You’ll add new members throughout games
– Each have unique powers
– Art style conveys each characters powers instantly
– The bottom screen displays your team, abilities, end turn options and more
– All the action stays on the top screen of the 3DS
– No grinding for XP; focused more on expanding team
– Character design is based on American comic books
– The developers were inspired by artists like Jack Kirby and Bruce Timm
– Spoken dialogue happens during gameplay
– Can enable a grid overlay on the battlefield
– Main characters’ weapon design is based on the weapon’s abilities and an animal motif based on the character’s personality
– The terrain has a lot of depth and reflects the variety of strategic choices in the game
– Pixel art used for terrain to ensure it looks good at all distances
– Each map made to look unique
– The developers came up with some original aliens that riff on creatures from the Lovecraft mythos
– Another enemy type called “Prowler”–intelligent and work together in teams
– Can use machines and weapons, like humans
– The aliens resemble insects
– Overwatch attacks can stun & interrupt enemy movement
– Save steam at the end of a turn to attack enemies when in range
– Overwatch can now stun enemy
– Costs 1-attack to stun them, negating enemies next turn
– Ex: high stun ratio character, followed by second character attack for heavy damage
– Overwatch attacks equated to ambushes. “Feels really good”
– Strategic elements based on 3 things: movement, attacks, and planning overwatch attacks
– Spinning pillars on map are checkpoints
– More to them than just saving game
– Can use collected metals from aliens to restore health and steam at checkpoints
– Tradeoff is that spent metals can’t be used to buy weapons down the line
– So if you risk not cashing them in for HP you’ll be rewarded by being able to buy better weapons
– 1 difficulty mode in the game
– Newer strategy players will benefit by using metals at checkpoints

Q&A

– Question: Does the game take place in London? But there is Abraham Lincoln?

Answer: London is the starting point of the game. At that time Britain was the greatest Empire and thus the alien’s first target.

Steampunk also fits with London. Sounds like the game will have other locales.

– Question: this and Splatoon are shooters; is this a conscious shift in Nintendo’s strategy / portfolio?

Answer: “Not really”. They prototyped an idea, and it felt good. NOA notes that the shooter style of game is very approachable with constant player feedback

– Question: Japan has a history of making Japanese historical figures larger than life. Why pull from western history?

Answer: There were several settings pitched. One was “steam punk civil war”. Everyone had lots of ideas to riff on within the team. Felt it was a rich context choice.

– Question: Q on the rock music. Can you talk about the composer/style?

Answer: Advance wars composer Hirano is working on this. Similar to days of ruin in style. Music has both 19th century string-type instruments and rock music for the steam punk. Music is dynamic, to reflect enemy awareness of danger, etc.

– Question: How is death treated? Is there permadeath?

Answer: There is not permadeath. It is not a game that relies on individuals–it relies on teams of chars. Would not work if you could lose characters. You can revive them on the map by using medals

– Question: will there be online play?

Answer: yes there will be multiplayer and there will be online supported, but details ate pending

– Question: how large is the cast?

Answer: not talking now. Stay tuned.

– Question: will there be amiibo integration, since this is a 2015 game?

Answer: not a bad idea. We’ll think about it.

– Question: similarities to Valkyrie Chronicles. Was the team influenced by that game?

Answer: yes, the lead developer likes that game. But it wasn’t an inspiration. That game is a traditional strategy game, and players rely on the overhead map/view. Not really a shooter. Nintendo & IS wanted the shooter like gameplay to be integral and not a facade.

– Question: Is code name steam why we haven’t gotten a new advance wars?

Answer: nonononono. We are always thinking about the next iteration of AW and FE. Teasing they will reveal info on those later when they are ready

– Question: Q: Has this impacted development on the FExSMT game.

Answer: nonononono. They are on schedule.

Source 1, Source 2, Source 3

More: Code Name: S.T.E.A.M, E3 2014, top