Iwata not ruling out physical release for Wii Sports Club
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 12 Comments
Wii Sports Club is being made available digitally as individual chunks. Tennis and bowling will be available as separate downloads later this week, followed by baseball, golf, and boxing down the line.
Despite this release model, Wii Sports Club could launch as a physical product in the future. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata wouldn’t rule out the possibility during the company’s investor Q&A last week.
He said:
“Nintendo Fall Preview” on this week’s GT.TV as well
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments
Next week, GT.TV will be hosting an entire show dedicated to Nintendo. But it looks like there will be a few goodies on this week’s episode as well.
New levels from Super Mario 3D World and The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds will be appearing on GT.TV this coming Friday. We’ll be hearing a bit from Reggie Fils-Aime, too.
As far as next week goes, that’s where we’ll be hearing about Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze… and more from Reggie, apparently. A bit confusing, but from what I can gather, there will be Nintendo-related coverage on GT.TV over the next two weeks.
Mario/Luigi Wii U bundle sold out on GameStop.com, Target.com
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 3 Comments
The recently-released Mario/Luigi Wii U bundle is sold out on GameStop.com as well as Target.com. Both retailers currently list the product as “unavailable”. As of now, Best Buy seems to be one of the few retailers still taking orders online.
GT.TV’s “Nintendo & Donkey Kong” episode scheduled for November 15
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 1 Comment
We already knew GameTrailers TV would be hosting a special episode on Nintendo (as is the case every year), but we now have an exact date. The episode will air next Friday – November 15 – 1 AM.
Reggie Fils-Aime will be on hand to provide “a look at Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and more,” according to an official listing on Spike.
What’s next for Nintendo? GTTV is joined by Nintendo’s Reggie Fils-Aime to get a look at Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and more.
Bill Trinen is expected to be appearing on the episode as well. What else is in store? Feel free to take your guesses!
Goodbye Galaxy Games shares new Tappingo screenshots, details
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS eShop, News | 0 comments
Flipper, Ace Mathician, and Color Commando developer Goodbye Galaxy Games has shared new details about its first effort for the 3DS eShop.
“Tappingo” is a new puzzle game for the digital store. It has players solving pixel art puzzles by making numbered blocks extend into lines. The lines continue on until they hit something, making things more difficult. You’ll need to use other blocks and lines to stop the line at the correct length for the best results.
Tappingo will include 100 puzzles, small and big grids, and a feature which keeps track of the time it takes you to solve a puzzle.
You can find the official Tappingo website here.
More: Goodbye Galaxy Games, indie, Tappingo, top
Nintendo won’t fire staff in order to cut costs, Iwata doesn’t see a dark future for the company
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 9 Comments
Nintendo’s R&D expenditures are up, but sales are down. With the company adding on roughly 1,000 staffers over the past four or five years, an attendee at Nintendo’s financial results briefing Q&A asked about a possible reduction to the workforce.
This isn’t something that president Satoru Iwata is considering. Iwata pointed out the common ups and downs in the video games business, and feels that things will improve. As a result, he said, “Restructuring the workforce is not the first option we consider even when cost cutting is required.” Iwata also mentioned Nintendo is taking this approach “because we do not see a dark future for Nintendo.”
More: investor Q&A, Satoru Iwata, top
Nintendo hoping to “enrich” the VC lineup
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS eShop, General Nintendo, News, Wii U eShop | 2 Comments
Nintendo’s Virtual Console has been disappointing, to say the least. Releases continue to trickle out very slowly, with some weeks seeing the absence of new classic games entirely.
With any luck, the situation will improve in the future. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said during an investors Q&A briefing several days ago that the company has been unable “to take full advantage of our assets yet, so we would like to enrich our Virtual Console lineup.” Iwata added, “As the ability to digitally offer our products has given us greater flexibility in offering new propositions to our consumers, we should naturally consider these possibilities in the future.”
More: investor Q&A, Satoru Iwata, top, Virtual Console
Iwata – End-of-year Wii U may not be targeting same user as the competition, new consoles beneficial for Nintendo
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 0 comments
Nintendo has several Wii U titles lined up for the holidays, including Wii Party U, Wii Sports Club, Wii Fit U, and Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games. Whereas the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are looking to appeal to core gamers, each of these aforementioned titles from the Big N would likely garner a more “casual” label. Therefore, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said during a recent investors Q&A that he and the company as a whole “wonder if the target user will actually be the same” compared to what the competition intends to offer.
Iwata did point out that the launch of new consoles brings about some benefits for Nintendo. “Though there are some who take the view that intensified competition means overseas competition will be tough for Nintendo,” Iwata said, “no matter how Nintendo does domestically, I do not necessarily see it that way.” That’s because new systems “energize the video game industry as a whole.”
You can find Iwata’s full comments about the Wii U’s end-of-year lineup, competition, and more below.
More: investors Q&A, Satoru Iwata, top
Iwata on the 2DS, commitment to 3D – “we are not saying that we will abandon 3D or cease to make new propositions in 3D”
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 0 comments
When Nintendo unveiled the 3DS, the system’s stereoscopic 3D feature was one of its standout qualities. The functionality has seen a lesser emphasis as of late though, culminating with the launch of the 2DS last month – a system which ditches 3D entirely.
During Nintendo’s investor Q&A last week, an attendee asked if the handheld’s arrival means “Nintendo is perhaps wavering a bit on its initial plans.” The person also questioned whether the 2DS was a part of president Satoru Iwata’s original vision.
Iwata responded by mentioning that development of the 2DS “began a long time ago.” Nintendo “realized beforehand that it would be difficult to maximize the sales potential of Nintendo 3DS without an entry-level product ready in time for the release of a new Pokémon title.” Given the different price options for the 3DS, the yen’s value at the time, and ability to offer another option for the 3DS platform, Nintendo believed the 2DS was a smart move to make.
Iwata also confirmed that the 3DS and 3DS XL will stil be sold, and Nintendo is “not saying that we will abandon 3D or cease to make new propositions in 3D.”
More: 2DS, investor Q&A, Satoru Iwata, top
Iwata talks smart devices and handheld market; strong 3DS sales, but system hasn’t captured great momentum overseas
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News | 3 Comments
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata discussed the topic of “smart devices” – encompassing smartphones and tables – during the company’s latest financial results briefing Q&A.
Iwata acknowledged that people now tend to play smartphones in instances such as traveling by train whereas they were previously playing a handheld system. However, despite the rise in smart device popularity, he believes reports that the handheld market is shrinking are very much exaggerated.
Iwata pointed to strong sales of the 3DS in his argument. The system managed to sell 5.5 million units in 2012, and Nintendo expects similar sales this year. That being said, Iwata did note that 3DS momentum hasn’t been as strong in the US and Europe compared to Japan.
Elsewhere in his comments, Iwata mentioned how Nintendo is looking to take advantage of smart devices for its own benefit. Iwata is in favor of promoting the company’s own products through smartphones, for example, and said many people tend to watch Nintendo Directs on these devices.
Head past the break for Iwata’s full comments.
