Nintendo president Saturo Iwata has told British newspaper The Times that the company is stepping up its development and marketing campaigns in a bid to thwart the iPhone and iPad, which Iwata claims are the ‘enemy of the future’.
As promised Pokémon Sunday have teased Pokémon fans by unveiling three black silhouettes of the starter charters for the highly anticipated Pokémon Black & White.
Nintendo have revealed that the 3D functionality of the Nintendo 3DS can actually be disabled if the user wants to play a certain game but doesn’t wish for it to display the stereoscopic 3D effect.
The 3DS, as it’s called, will have the unique capability of offering stereoscopic 3D, an effect not unlike what’s being employed in films like Avatar and How to Train your Dragon, but without the need for glasses. But if you don’t want to use it, it’s a feature that can be deactivated.
Legendary games designer Shigeru Miyamoto has recently had the opportunity to sit down with revered gaming publication Edge to discuss the possible future of Nintendo online services.
In the intriguing interview Shigeru Miyamoto states that Nintendo haven’t quite decided whether or not gamers should be provided with a free online gaming service similar to Wii, or whether the company should introduce a paid subscription based online model like Microsoft’s Xbox Live.
“… Probably the other thing that we are desperate to realise is the core [online] business structure,” Nintendo’s Entertainment Analysis and Development boss told us. “Do we need to demand customers pay monthly fees to enjoy online activities? Or give an online subscription that is free of charge, but then offer something extra for people that pay, so that they get some extra value? With these core business strategies I think we are less active than we should be.”
- Shigeru Miyamoto, speaking to Edge magazine
According to Pokémon website Serebii three new starter characters for the highly anticipated Pokémon Black & White will be revealed during Pokémon Sunday, May 16th.
So far the only monsters that have been revealed are Zorua and Zoroark so Pokémon fans worldwide will be glued to their TVs and computers for the next two weekends to see the new monsters.
Nintendo president Reggie Fils-Aime is confident that the Nintendo DS will continue to sell exceptionally well throughout 2010 despite heavy opposition in the form of Apples iPhone and iPad devices.
“We have not seen any impact on our DS business. In the first three months [of this year] we’ve set two new sales records for the Nintendo DS. We think that through April that we’ll have the best four month time period to kick off a new calendar year that we’ve ever had with the device. So certainly we’re seeing momentum, [Apple is] seeing momentum. I think two products can succeed at the same time.”
- Reggie Fils-Aime
Nintendo have reiterated that they’re still on course to show off their 3D handheld games console, the Nintendo 3DS, at this years E3 gaming expo in Los Angeles next month.
“We’ve mentioned that this coming E3, in June, we’ll be showcasing a new 3DS with 3D capability in a handheld product. We think the consumer is going to be very interested in that news.”
- Reggie Fils-Aime, talking to CNBC
Nintendo have finally confirmed that the Black Nintendo Wii is making its way to North America, May 9th.
The Black Nintendo Wii bundle will retail for $199.99 and will include a copy of the well received Wii Sports Resort and the original Wii Sports, a Wii Remote and Nunchuck, plus the Wii MotionPlus peripheral.
Major US gaming emporium GameStop have mysteriously omitted Call of Duty: Black Ops for the Nintendo Wii from its online search listings.
The title is currently only available for pre-order for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows, though no concern should be given at present as no specific systems have been revealed for the highly anticipated title.
The latest edition of the Call of Duty franchise was revealed last night by developer Treyach and publisher Activision.
Treyach the developer behind the next instalment of the highly regarded Call of Duty franchise showed off the next game in the series titled Black Ops which is due for release November 9th 2010.
Whilst information regarding the storyline is fairly scarce at present, UK retailer Game has stated that Black Ops will be set across the globe ”from Cuba to the Arctic and the jungles of Vietnam.”
