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Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii, Wii U | 5 Comments

NEWEST SKYLANDERS® GAME – SKYLANDERS TRAP TEAMTM – TAKES TOYS-TO-LIFE PHENOMENON TO NEW LEVELS BY BRINGING DIGITAL CHARACTERS INTO THE PHYSICAL WORLD

Skylanders Originator Toys for Bob Returns with
Ground-Breaking Innovation

Portal Masters Can Now Capture and Play as Villains;
Capture and Play as Kaos for the First Time Ever

SANTA MONICA, Calif. – April 23, 2014 – Skylanders® is redefining the toys-to-life phenomenon with yet another ground-breaking innovation, Skylanders Trap Team™. On October 5 in North America, Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI), will introduce the newest installment to the Skylanders franchise, which will reverse the magic of bringing toys to life – incredibly letting kids pull characters out of the digital world into the physical world.

With Skylanders Trap Team, Portal Masters seek out and defeat the most wanted villains in all of Skylands, pulling them out of the game and into living rooms by capturing them in magical Traps. Players can then send villains back into the game where they play as them to fight for good. The game will include the Traptanium PortalTM, a new ring of magical energy that enables kids to not only bring their Skylanders to life, but also magically capture villains using the new Traps. Once they’ve defeated the villains, kids will be able to place a Trap into the new portal to capture them. They will also be able to hear the villains inside the Traps, an innovation that truly brings life to toys.

This exciting new play pattern also gives players the option to switch between playing as a Skylander hero or a villain at any time, creating fun and unique “tag team” gameplay. In addition, fans can even take their Traps and their Skylanders characters to their friends’ houses for fun, co-operative adventures across all console game systems.

“When we created Skylanders, we invented a new category of play and, in the process, disrupted two industries – videogames and toys. With each new Skylanders game, our commitment to continuous, disruptive innovation has led to surprising and delightful new ways for kids to play with toys and games,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, Inc. “With Skylanders Trap Team, we’re no longer just letting kids bring their toys to life inside the game anymore. This time, we’re letting them pull their toys out of the game as well. We are confident this installment of Skylanders will once again redefine what’s possible at the intersection of the physical and virtual worlds.”

“When Activision first introduced the Skylanders franchise in 2011, it promised to redefine play by merging the physical and digital worlds. The company delivered on that pledge with three blockbuster titles – all of which have been named to the annual Toys”R”Us Holiday Hot Toy List – and is now poised to do it again with the introduction of Skylanders Trap Team,” said Richard Barry, Executive Vice President, Chief Merchandising Officer Toys”R”Us, Inc. “With Skylanders Trap Team, Activision is reversing the magic of ‘toys-to-life,’ allowing kids to bring characters out of the digital world and into the physical world for the first time. We’re thrilled to continue as a marquee destination for Skylanders products, providing a comprehensive, global marketing and merchandising program, including our fully exclusive Legendary series of figures that will introduce Skylanders Trap Team to our enthusiastic customers this October.”

In Skylanders Trap Team, Kaos continues his ongoing quest to rule over Skylands. He has discovered the location of the legendary Cloudcracker Prison — a fortress built entirely out of the magical substance TraptaniumTM and home to Skylands’ most nefarious baddies. In an attempt to build his own army of foes, Kaos blows up the prison, releasing the most wanted villains and blasting shards of Traptanium to Earth in the form of Traps. Now it’s up to Portal Masters to recapture all of the escaped villains using powerful Traptanium Traps and defeat Kaos before it’s too late! The new adventure delivers a diverse and dynamic story-driven gameplay experience, filled with adventure, combat, puzzles, mini-games, activities, platforming and drop-in/drop-out co-op play — all set within new compelling environments.

Skylanders Trap Team introduces Skylanders heroes known as Trap Masters, brand new Core Skylanders characters and reposed fan-favorite Skylanders characters. The game also features a variety of elementally aligned Traps with unique and interesting designs. With every addition to their Trap Team collection, Portal Masters unlock exciting gameplay possibilities within each level.

Fans can pre-order Skylanders Trap Team starting on April 23, with special offers available at select retail destinations worldwide. Skylanders Trap Team will be available on Xbox 360™ and Xbox One™video game and entertainment systems from Microsoft, PlayStation® 3 and PlayStation® 4 computer entertainment systems, Nintendo’s Wii™ system, Nintendo’s Wii U™ system, and a completely unique adventure available on the Nintendo 3DS™ hand-held system. The game will be available on October 5 in North America; October 2 in Australia/New Zealand; and October 10 in Europe.

More: Activision, press release, Skylanders: Trap Team, top

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

This video unfortunately uses autoplay, so head past the break to check out the talk.

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More: Animal Crossing, GDC 2014, top

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U eShop | 0 comments

IGN has put up a piece detailing the development of NES Remix up through the creation of the game’s impending sequel, including quotes from director Koichi Hayshida. You’ll find the full roundup of information below.

– Soon after Super Mario 3D Land came out, Hayashida and Nintendo’s Tokyo EAD studio needed to decide on their next project
– Super Mario 3D World was on the list
– NES Remix also came to mind

On the game’s origins…

“From the company side of things, they really wanted us to focus on Super Mario 3D World, but I sort of snuck off on my own free time and worked on getting some of the Famicom games up and running on Wii U. One of the results from my experimentation was [the NES-inspired minigame] Luigi Bros., which we included in 3D World. The other thing that came to fruition was NES Remix.”

– After working on Super Mario 3D World, Hayashida moved over to NES Remix full-time, in part out of nostalgia

“Personally speaking, I didn’t get to play a lot of Famicom [the Japanese name for the NES] games as a kid. So one reason, that might be a little selfish, was I wanted to play these games at work. And this was one way for me to do that. I wanted to go back and experience some of those titles.”

“That being said, as adults we’re busy people,” Hayashida continued. “And we don’t have a lot of time to play a game from beginning to end. For example, we don’t have time to sit down with one of the early Zelda titles and play it from beginning to end. So I really wanted a chance to play some specific scenes.”

– Hayashida designed 100 stages on his own before Nintendo hired developer Indiezero
– Indieszero helped to finish the game
– 3 more Nintendo employees joined 13 members from the Indiezero team
– Hayashida was concerned about the dated graphics
– Wasn’t sure if they would appeal to a younger audience
– Hayashida remembered the Double Mario concept from 3D World

“I thought ‘Wow, maybe we could take something new like that and apply it back to some of these classic games.'”

– The idea gave the team a way to add new elements into classic game scenes

On the importance of preserving the original games despite adding in improved graphical fidelity and other effects…

“I want these to be true to the spirit of the originals. There were things that happened based on the technology at the time. For example, there was object clipping. If too many objects were onscreen at the same time, the games would drop frames.”

“I think it’s really important to keep that flavor. To me, part of the challenge is, if you’re dropping frames, you’re moving slower. And the processing speed is dropping, but we need to recreate some of that because it did help make the game a little easier.”

– Hayshida understood that while it was important to add in new technology, it should not be at the expense of that original gameplay

On concerns from the fans…

“When we started development on NES Remix 2, we weren’t sure if the first NES Remix was going to be successful. I was really worried what the response for this title was going to be. Luckily, once it was launched, the reception was actually very good.”

– NES Remix was number one for four weeks straight according to Nintendo’s download rankings
– Hayashida believes it’s ranked in the top half of digital games currently available on the eShop
– With proof that the game was received well, and an audience asking for a sequel, Nintendo decided to spur development of NES Remix 2
– 12 team members were added to build the game quickly
– Original 13 devs from Indieszero grew to 25

On how the minigames in NES Remix 1 & 2 served an additional purpose…

“[Each one] represents the fundamental criteria to play these games. hey’re the famous scenes that everyone wants to play. It just so happens they naturally contain a look back to some of the strategic tip & tricks you would find in game magazines and things like that.”

“So a lot of these scenes are either encompassing things that you learned throughout the game, or they’re the parts that taught you how to play the rest of the game. I really think that playing these scenes would actually lead back to success in playing the main game. It’s an interesting effect.”

Source

More: interview, Koichi Hayshida, nes remix, NES Remix 2, top

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 9 Comments

This week’s Japanese software sales are as follows:

1. [3DS] Youkai Watch – 34,690 / 754,910
2. [PS3] Dai-3-Ji Super Robot Taisen Z Jigoku-hen – 31,724 / 174,156
3. [PS4] Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn – 31,326 / NEW
4. [3DS] Ace Attorney 123: Wright Selection – 26,925 / NEW
5. [3DS] Mario Party: Island Tour – 18,848 / 304,835
6. [PSV] Dai-3-Ji Super Robot Taisen Z Jigoku-hen – 17,755 / 145,991
7. [3DS] Wagamama Fashion: Girls Mode Yokubari Sengen! Tokimeki Up! – 12,315 / NEW
8. [PSP] Juuza Engi: Engetsu Sangokuden 2 – 8,499 / NEW
9. [3DS] Detective Conan: Phantom Rhapsody – 8,336 / NEW
10. [PS3] Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes – 8,018 / 198,054
11. [PS3] Sengoku Musou 4 – 6,553 / 212,619
12. [3DS] Crayon Shin-chan: Arashi o Yobu Kasukabe Eiga Stars! – 6,357 / 22,766
13. [3DS] Kirby Triple Deluxe – 6,218 / 553,578
14. [3DS] Pokemon X/Y – 5,315 / 4,034,629
15. [PS3] J-Stars Victory Vs. – 4,691 / 169,109
16. [3DS] Monster Hunter 4 – 4,409 / 3,260,421
17. [WIU] Just Dance Wii U – 4,367 / 29,934
18. [3DS] Fossil Fighters: Infinite Gear – 4,144 / 140,178
19. [3DS] Puzzle & Dragons Z – 4,115 / 1,439,301
20. [PSV] Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F 2nd – 4,102 / 125,173

More: charts, Japan, Media Create, sales, top

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 25 Comments

The latest Japanese hardware sales from Media Create are as follows:

Vita – 17,905
PS4 – 14,396
3DS LL – 14,023
PS3 – 6,468
3DS – 5,920
Wii U – 5,204
PSP – 2,094
Vita TV – 1,133
Xbox 360 – 240

For comparison’s sake, here are the hardware numbers from last week:

Vita – 24,078
3DS LL – 17,291
PS4 – 13,034
PS3 – 7,305
3DS – 6,271
Wii U – 5,512
PSP – 2,027
Vita TV – 1,220
Xbox 360 – 229

More: charts, Japan, Media Create, sales, top

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

Along with today’s screenshot, Sakurai passed along the following message on Miiverse:

Don’t eat him. You can’t eat him.

More: Masahiro Sakurai, Miiverse, Super Smash Bros. for 3DS, top

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Screenshots, Weekly Screenshot, Wii U eShop | 4 Comments

Hey all, it’s Brian and Austin from Nintendo Everything here to re-welcome Manfred from Shin’en back with yet another screenshot from the upcoming Wii U release of Art of Balance! He’s got plenty to say about what graphical details they’re implementing for the menus in the game, so revel in the relaxing room where you select your levels and read up about how it came to be below! Unless you’d rather simply revel at the picture. That’s okay too.

Hi guys, it’s Manfred from Shin’en again with another fresh shot from Art of Balance Wii U. This time we’ll show you one of the the level selection screens.

When developing the original game on Wii, we realized that a simple 2D grid would be good enough for a level select menu, but that in itself was too boring. So we came up with the idea of stacked boxes in a lush 3D environment. We think coming back to the this beautiful menu gives players a nice break after solving a level. On Wii U, we had tons of performance to waste on this screen so we implemented quite a number of effects.

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More: Art of Balance, highlight, Shin'en, top

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

Youkai Watch has been an unbelievable success for Level-5. The game has continued to sell week after week, and has now shipped over one million copies in Japan.

One could say that Youkai Watch got off to a slow start. However, once the game’s anime debuted in Japan, sales saw a major boost. Youkai Watch’s shipments came in at 500,000 units in mid-February, but have doubled since.

More: Level-5, sales, top, Youkai Watch

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, Videos | 1 Comment

More: DLC, Mario Golf: World Tour, top

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Wii U eShop | 3 Comments

Thus far, there have been two NES Remix games. Both, obviously, only include titles from the NES era.

But how about something like SNES Remix? Or GBA Remix? This is actually something that director Koichi Hayashida is open to.

Hayashida told IGN in a recent interview:

“Well personally I’m a fan of those games, and I like them a lot. If there’s a big enough outpouring of support for these titles, it’s something I’d like to take a look at.”

“Well, personally, I have a large desire to explore that very idea (Super Nintendo/Game Boy Advance in future Remix games). But it really harkens back to the answer I just gave. Does the marketplace want it or need it?”

“If we get a big enough cry for that, with a lot of people saying, ‘Hey, we’d love to see more of these perhaps for the SNES, Game Boy or Game Boy Advance,’ then it would be something we can take a look at.”

Source

More: Koichi Hayashida, nes remix, top