Nintendo News/Rumors Thread

[Daniel]

http://www.siliconera.com/2013/01/30/de ... -about-it/

Developing Consoles Games Is Expensive; Here’s What Nintendo Plan To Do About It

Nintendo are collaborating heavily with third-party developers and publishers to create games for the Wii U. PlatinumGames are working on Bayonetta 2 and The Wonderful 101, TT Games on Lego City Undercover, Namco Bandai on Super Smash Bros. and Atlus on a Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem crossover RPG.

In a recent Nintendo Direct presentation, company president, Satoru Iwata, said that other such collaborations are underway as well. The reason Nintendo are going out of their way to do these collaborations, he explained in a financial results briefing this evening, is that game development costs are on the rise, and it’s becoming harder for companies to develop exclusive games for a single console.

“As the developing cost of games for home consoles has been high, it has been very difficult for third-party developers to take a risk by developing games only for one home video game console,” Iwata said. “We therefore have had various discussions with software developers for the projects.”

He added later: “We are willing to actively cooperate with software developers to produce something new beyond the traditional licensing business. We believe that this is possible because Nintendo is not only a platform holder but has a powerful in-house software development team.”

In addition to these collaborations, Iwata adds that Nintendo also plan to make it easier for independent developers to create Wii U games using web technologies like HTML5, JavaScript and Unity. Nintendo will demonstrate their efforts to bring these technologies to Wii U at GDC.

[Daniel]

http://www.siliconera.com/2013/01/30/ni ... -the-west/

Nintendo To Help Japanese Developers Bring Their 3DS Games To The West

The Nintendo 3DS is selling like hot cakes in Japan, having crossed 10 million in sales in under two years, but it isn’t doing as well in the west. In the U.S. and Europe, 3DS sales are below expectations, and Nintendo need to do something about it.

What they’ll do, according to Nintendo president, Satoru Iwata, is release more games that widen the system’s appeal. This involves releasing around ten key games in the near future that will help sell the 3DS to more people.

“We plan to intensively and actively sell approximately 10 key titles on our own in order to change the Nintendo 3DS system from a handheld device just to play the Mario series to the one to enjoy a variety of games,” Iwata stated at the company’s third quarter financial results briefing.

He added: “Naturally, we will keep the momentum of already-released titles with much sales potential by, for example, having them digitally distributed.”

Iwata doesn’t name all ten 3DS games that Nintendo have pegged their hopes on, but he does name six of them—Fire Emblem: Awakening, Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, Brain Age: Concentration Training, Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins, Animal Crossing: New Leaf and of course Pokémon X/Y.

Additionally, Iwata says that third-party developers in Japan are assigning their top teams to develop big games for the 3DS, and that Nintendo will help distribute their key games overseas.

Iwata stated: “Among those third-party titles both developed and published in Japan, there have been some games which Nintendo published in Europe, including the Professor Layton series. We will increase the number of such games for the U.S. market as well as in Europe. We are also willing to flexibly assist third-party developers in distributing their valuable games overseas.”

[z3kEn]

RUMOR: Is this artwork from Monolith Soft’s 3DS project?

Monolith Soft updated its Facebook page with new artwork from Yasuyuki Honne for a new project in development at its Kyoto studio.

The image text reads that the developer is seeking staff to work in its Kyoto studio. Specifically, they’re recruiting 3D CG designers, motion designers, and effect designers, according to the Facebook description.

gematsu

[z3kEn]

Activision CEO: We're Somewhat Disappointed with the Launch of the Wii U

In Activision's post-earnings call, company CEO Bobby Kotick touted the sucess of their Skylanders franchise, has acknowledged concerns about the franchise's impact on NIntendo's next-gen console the Wii U; and has even admitted that they were "somewhat" disappointed with the console.

As you know, we were somewhat disappointed with the launch of the Wii U...And I think it's a challenging environment this year, and one of the things we are concerned about is what the install base of hardware will be like for 6-11-year-olds. But we have a lot of confidence in the franchise in the long term. I think we're delivering another great product this year.

Later in the same call, Kotick talked a bit about next-gen, how 2013 is a "transitional year," and how they publisher isn't immune to unfavorable market dynamics.

While we had a strong 2012, we recognize that 2013 is a transition year as we enter the ninth year of the current generation of console video game systems...We encounter new threats from unproven business models, and we compete against new category entrants. We aren't immune to unfavorable market dynamics, but we have navigated these transitions many times before, and we are prepared to do so again.

This hasn't been a very good week for the Wii U. Not only is the world's biggest videogame publisher disappointed with their next-gen console, but one of their former exclusives -- Rayman Legends -- is now being delayed and is even set to appear on other platforms, too.

gameranx

[Seraph011]

RUMOR: Is this artwork from Monolith Soft’s 3DS project?

Monolith Soft updated its Facebook page with new artwork from Yasuyuki Honne for a new project in development at its Kyoto studio.

The image text reads that the developer is seeking staff to work in its Kyoto studio. Specifically, they’re recruiting 3D CG designers, motion designers, and effect designers, according to the Facebook description.

gematsu

Looks nice...sana talaga pang 3DS para naman mapakita din yung graphics prowess ng 3DS not just with using the 3D effect.

[z3kEn]

Crytek: "Crysis 3 on Wii U had to die"

Cevat Yerli reveals a lack of Nintendo and EA support for title
Crytek

Outspoken Crytek CEO and president Cevat Yerli has revealed that the Wii U version of its super shooter Crysis 3 was cancelled after a lack of support from both the platform holder and the publisher.

"We did have Crysis 3 running on the Wii U. We were very close to launching it," he told GamesBeat.

"But there was a lack of business support between Nintendo and EA on that. Since we as a company couldn't launch on the Wii U ourselves - we don't have a publishing license - Crysis 3 on Wii U had to die."

Today the game was revealed as the number one title on the UK software charts.

Yerli was more careful when discussing the recent launch on the Sony PlayStation 4, choosing not to pass judgement on the capabilities of the machine just yet, but praising the timing of the reveal.

"I have less of an opinion about the next-gen consoles and more about the fact that-I think going out and talking about it was a good thing for the market. I'm not about to judge it at this stage."

It was a contrast to comments he made two weeks ago, when he explained that consoles would never again be able to technically compete with the PC platform.

"If you predict how hardware evolves at the current speed of evolution, and then take consumer pricing evolution, already two years ago you could see, whatever launches in 2013 or 2014 or 2015, will never beat a PC again."

[/b] gameindustry

Wii U needs to sell more, says Ubisoft CEO

Yves Guillemot praises Nintendo's latest console, but says sales must increase; Watch Dog team ramped up after E3 unveil.

The Wii U must sell more units, according to Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot. Speaking to MCV, the executive praised Nintendo's latest console, but said sales must increase.

"We think Wii U is a great machine. But it just has to sell more," Guillemot said.

As of December 31, the Wii U has officially globally sold 3.06 million hardware units and 11.69 million software copies since launch. The system reportedly sold only 57,000 units in the United States during January.

Guillemot also commented on Watch Dogs, saying after the cross-dimensional game's unveiling at the 2012 Electronic Entertainment Expo, the published increased resources for developer Ubisoft Montreal.

"E3 was a great revelation for Watch Dogs," Guillemot said. "It gave us a chance to increase the whole project, giving the studio the chance to have bigger teams to help them achieve this goal they have. You always have great ideas, but you need enough people to bring it to life. After E3, we really made sure they had all the teams they needed and all the capacity they wanted to fulfill their dream.

Watch Dogs is currently in development for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, and PC. Set in Chicago, the game puts players in the shoes of Aiden Pearce, a hacker who uses his smartphone to break into the city's central operating system to control things like security cameras and also to obtain personal information.

[/b] gamespot

[z3kEn]

Diablo III May Not Be A Sony Exclusive After All

Blizzard appears to be considering its options

Diablo III was shown off this weekend at PAX East and up to now it had appeared that it was a Sony exclusive, given that it's only been announced for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4.

However, this may not actually be the case as in an interview with Penny Arcade Report, the game's lead designer Joshua Mosqueira clarified Diablo III might actually make it onto other systems as well.

We don't have any announcements to make at this time. But we're not necessarily a Sony exclusive.

Blizzard Entertainment's Chris Metzen announced back in February that the developer had entered into a "strategic partnership" with Sony to bring Diablo III to its home consoles, but it now seems likely that it will eventually be made available on other systems. Could it be feasible for it to make an appearance on Wii U? Only time will tell.

The action RPG has been out on PC since May 2012 and was an online-only experience. The console versions, however, will allow for offline play.

nintendolife

[Seraph011]

Pansin ko yung mga lumalabas na new first party titles for the 3DS, ang prices nila are $34.99. Permanent na kaya ito? Sana!

[Seraph011]

Super Smash Bros 3DS coming soon...

http://www.zeldauniverse.net/zelda-news ... ng-soon-2/

[z3kEn]

RUMOR Exclusive Legend of Zelda Wii U Info Surfaces in Swedish Magazine

A Swedish gaming magazine, Level 82, has put together what appears to be an exclusive feature on the new Legend of Zelda for the Wii U—details of which have yet to be revealed anywhere else. It doesn't appear to be a late April Fool's joke, nor is it anything to laugh about as the feature graces the cover of the magazine. It might just be a very elaborate joke, so we suggest taking it with a heavy pinch of salt.

Reddit user Jejmaze has a copy of the magazine and he managed to provide a translation for it—much to everyone's disbelief of its content—detailing what may be the next Legend of Zelda title from Nintendo.

According to the magazine, the game is set to be the biggest and most expensive game Nintendo has already produced, with every single region in the game larger and more detailed than all of Ocarina of Time. A quote in the preview says something of the game's compass, which its writer found useful:

"I search my pocket for the compass. The item that previously had a pretty much useless function has become my best friend. I wouldn't survive a day without it in this enormous unforgiving world."

The magazine goes on to state that the game is set to take place before Ocarina of Time, and Link's mission to help reunite the races of Hyrule, as tensions are simmering.

The part where the whole story gets fishy is that suggests the main character can choose to play as any race you want, with each race having a different storyline and offering a different playstyle for the player to experience. According to the magazine, this allows puzzles in the dungeons to have multiple solutions.

That sounds alright, but Link has always been a Hylian and to make him any other race doesn't sound like something Nintendo might do with the story. Assuming it's real, it's an interesting direction for the studio to take.

[/b]

[migs23]

^Probably could be right after skyward sword if true kasi hindi ba united and races ng hyrule nun, hope they will reveal this at e3

[z3kEn]

Batman Arkham Origins and Splinter Cell: Blacklist coming to Wii U

[Seraph011]

Nintendo 3DS Direct
Join us this Wednesday for a Nintendo Direct episode featuring the Nintendo 3DS.

LIVE - April 17 at 7 a.m. PT / April 17 at 10 a.m. ET

[Daniel]

sana pwede rin dito yan sa pinas. hindi region-locked.

[Seraph011]

sana pwede rin dito yan sa pinas. hindi region-locked.

Pwede ata siya panoorin direct from the website bro eh...

http://www.nintendo.com/nintendo-direct ... 4-17-2013/

[Clestcruz]

Holy Crap! Earthbound Is Coming To The North America Virtual Console In 2013

http://kotaku.com/holy-crap-earthbound- ... Socialflow

[Daniel]

http://www.siliconera.com/2013/04/17/ni ... hot-blast/

Game and Wario. Win!

[Seraph011]

http://www.siliconera.com/2013/04/17/ni ... hot-blast/

Game and Wario. Win!

Gaganda ng announcements for the 3DS! Meron pang Super Luigi!

http://www.joystiq.com/2013/04/17/ninte ... -and-more/

[Tibarn]

...nintendo direct video

[z3kEn]

RUMORSquare Enix developing Dragon Quest Monsters 2 remake?

Square Enix recently trademarked the name “Iru to Ruca no Fushigi na Fushigi na Kagi” in Japan, which roughly translates to “Iru and Luca’s Wonderful Mysterious Keys.”

Game Jouhou speculates the trademark could be for a Dragon Quest Monsters 2 remake. Square Enix has already remade the first game, Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry’s Wonderland, for 3DS.

In 2001, Square Enix released Dragon Quest Monsters 2: Malta’s Mysterious Keys (or Malta no Fushigi na Kagi) for Gameboy Color in two versions: Dragon Quest Monsters 2: Malta’s Mysterious Keys – Luca’s Journey (released overseas as Cobi’s Journey) and Dragon Quest Monsters 2: Malta’s Mysterious Keys – Iru’s Adventure (released overseas as Tara’s Adventure).

The trademark seems to imply a remake combining both versions.

gematsu