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Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 33 Comments

Retro Studios president and CEO Michael Kelbaugh commented on several topics while speaking with GameSpot, including the Wii U’s technical capabilities.

According to Kelbaugh, the console is “a powerhouse”, adding, “It’s more than adequate to make great games on.”

“Unfortunately, the perception is that it’s not a very powerful machine. That’s just not true. It’s a powerhouse. It’s more than adequate to make great games on.”

Kelbaugh also mentioned that the Wii U is a “great box to make games on.”

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More: Kensuke Tanabe, Michael Kelbaugh, Retro Studios, top

Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U eShop | 8 Comments

KnapNok Games (Spin the Bottle: Bumpie’s Party) and Nifflas (Knytt Underground) have revealed their collaboration title for the Wii U eShop. Here’s what we know thus far, courtesy of a Gamasutra interview with Nicklas ‘Nifflas’ Nygren and KnapNok’s Dajana Dimovska and Lau Korsgaard:

– Uses the GamePad extensively
– Trying to make “an atmospheric, low-key, very suspenseful game that gets the players excited but a bit scared at the same time, and to have a game where a complex configurable vehicle is fun to figure out and control.”
– Technical stealth puzzles that you don’t see in most games
– Control a lot of the ship with the GamePad touch screen
– Interface will communicate the personality of the spaceship
– Scan enemies and configure the ship to avoid detection
– Ship can overheat
– Action never pauses when the player stares at the second screen
– Will need to pay a lot of attention to the UI
– Get lots of info from it about dangers
– “There will be some shortcuts, but the aim isn’t to not have to look at the UI.”
– “We aim to design puzzles that can be executed elegantly by only changing the ship’s configuration at safe locations with no time pressure.”
– “In occasions where actions need to be made while flying, the player should never have to jump between two different sub-menus.”
– Single-player and local multiplayer

– On using the Wii U hardware:

Lau: This is mostly the GamePad we are talking about here. I think we have seen very few games, also from Nintendo themselves, that actually uses the GamePad in a meaningful way. Hopefully we can show that the Wii U is great, and it can give you experiences you can’t get anywhere else as long as developers dare to design something exclusive for the hardware.

– Nifflas and KnapNok on making the game for Wii U:

Nifflas: I have no idea 🙂 I just want to make a cool game for it!

Lau: Ha ha, yeah, if we wanted to earn money I guess we shouldn’t be in games. It is really hard to make any sensible business rationales in this market. Yes, there are not that many Wii U consoles out there, but does it matter if there are 5 or 10 million units sold when we just need to sell some 10-20-30 thousand copies to be happy? As long as we keep our cost low, I think it is much more important to work on a platform that excites us than to work on the stuff that everybody else is doing.

– Playable at the GDC Play booth PL406 March 19th to 21st and at The Media Indie Exchange March 17th in San Francisco

You can find a whole lot more over on Gamasutra.

Source

More: Affordable Space Adventures, indie, KnapNok Games, Nifflas, top

Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 2 Comments

Nintendo recently confirmed mini-games for Yoshi’s New Island at a press event held in in San Francisco. We’ve rounded up details from Polygon’s report below.

– Competitive and co-op multiplayer
– Pair up for multiplayer matches with friends
– Flutter Finish and Eggy Pop among the multiplayer modes
– Eggy Pop: egg as many balloons as possible to rack up points within a given time
– This is intended to be cooperative
– Eggs spew from a central flower one at a time
– Flutter Finish: endurance-based racing mini-game
– Use Yoshi’s hover and hold abilities to grunt across a coin-filled sky
– Dropping off-screen and out-of-sight is inevitable, but the player with the highest score wins
– This is a combination of coins gained and distance traveled
– 6 multiplayer mini-games included
– 4 haven’t been revealed
– Share mini-games through Download Play

Source

More: details roundup, top, Yoshi's New Island

Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Images, Wii U | 10 Comments

Nintendo has released new images of three tracks from Mario Kart 8: Sweet Sweet Canyon, Mario Circuit, and Thwomp Ruins. You can find them above.

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Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U eShop | 1 Comment

Ronimo Games has announced Swords & Solders II for the Wii U eShop. The original game hit WiiWare back in 2009, and was later ported to other platforms – including 3DS.

Here’s what we know about Swords & Soldiers II, straight from Ronimo:

A sequel to the 2009 original, Swords & Soldiers II sends Redbeard and his gang of burly Vikings on an all-new adventure, making new friends and facing new enemies. This isn’t just about who can organize the best barbecue party anymore — this time the world also needs some serious saving!

More details about Swords & Soldiers II will be revealed at GDC 2014 and PAX East. A teaser site can be found here.

More: indie, Ronimo Games, Swords & Soldiers II, top

Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, News, Wii | 9 Comments

Polygon has obtained an official statement from Nintendo regarding the company’s recent announcement to shut down the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection in May. You can find it in full below.

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Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS eShop, News, Podcast Stories, Wii U eShop | 4 Comments

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

Wii U Download

My Farm

Wii U Virtual Console

Renegade – $4.99

3DS Retail

Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy – $39.99 (available Feb. 28)

3DS Download

Tappingo – $2.99

3DS Virtual Console

Renegade – $4.99

eShop sale

Knytt Underground – Step into the extraordinary world of Knytt Underground, the latest iteration in the legendary Knytt series. Knytt Underground is a unique platform adventure experience, delivering zen-like game play, vibrant environments and dynamic characters. Now through March 3, get Knytt Underground for 50 percent off exclusively in the Nintendo eShop on Wii U.

Source: Nintendo PR

More: Nintendo Download, top, Virtual Console

Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, News, Podcast Stories, Wii | 24 Comments

Just after Nintendo made its Japanese announcement that the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection will be shutting down in May, its Australian subsidiary followed with the same news.

The closure means that online play, matchmaking, and leaderboards will be unavailable, as well as other features. However, the Wii/DS shops, Internet browsers, YouTube, and Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Pay & Play will remain in tact.

Nintendo has also provided a listing of all Nintendo-published games that will be affected by the Wi-Fi Connection’s closure. They are as follows:

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Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 16 Comments

We have one more notable piece of news from coming out of Japan tonight. On March 31, the Nintendo Video app for 3DS will no longer be supported.

It’ll be interesting to see how Nintendo Video is handled in North America and Europe. In the US, the Big N previously pushed it pretty heavily, partnering with the likes of CollegeHumor for BearShark and Dinosaur Office.

Source

More: Japan, Nintendo Video, top

Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, News, Podcast Stories, Wii | 6 Comments

Update: Nintendo of Australia has already followed up with an announcement of its own, confirming that this announcement is for all territories.

Original: The Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service will end for Wii and DS on May 20, Nintendo has announced. Although the news pertains to Japan at the moment, there’s a good chance Nintendo of America/Europe will follow up with confirmations of their own in the coming days.

Many Wii and DS services will still remain in tact despite the shutdown. They are as follows:

Wii (will still be enabled):

Wii Shop Channel
Delivery Channel
Hulu
Internet Channel
YouTube

DS (will still be enabled):

DSi Shop
DS/DSi browser

Source

More: Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, top