Monthly Archives: July 2010

Nintendo Wii: New Zelda Wii Is A Prequel To Zelda: Ocarina Of Time

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Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma has informed the Official Nintendo Magazine that the highly anticipated Zelda: Skyward Sword for Wii takes place before the events of  Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

“Yes there is a master timeline but its confidential document! The only people to have access to that document are myself, Mr. Miyamoto and the director of the title. We cant share it with anyone else!”

“I have already talked to Mr. Miyamoto about this so I am comfortable in releasing this information – this title (Skyward Sword) takes place before Ocarina of Time. If I said that a certain title was ‘the first Zelda game’, then that means that we cant ever make a title that takes place before that! So for us to add titles to the series, we have to have a way of putting the titles before or after each other.”

- Zelda producer, Eiji Aonuma

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Nintendo: Nintendo Dominate First Half 2010 US Video Game Sales

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Revered online gaming specialists Gamesutra have announced that six Nintendo titles have dominated the top 11 “million sellers” during the first half of 2010 in the United States.

  1. Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver – DS
  2. Red Dead Redemption – 360/PS3
  3. New Super Mario Bros – Wii
  4. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – 360/PS3
  5. Battlefield: Bad Company – 360/PS3
  6. Wii Fit Plus – Wii
  7. Final Fantasy XIII – 360/Ps3
  8. God of War 3 – PS3
  9. Wii Sports Resort – Wii
  10. Super Mario Galaxy 2 – Wii
  11. Just Dance – Wii

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Nintendo Wii: GoldenEye 007 ‘Pushes The Wii To Its Limits’

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Activision’s Dawn Pinkney has explained to online gaming publication NowGamer that their re-imagined version of the classic N64 first person shooter seriously pushes the Wii console to its limits.

“We just had to go about it in a clever way in terms of how we create our levels,” Pinkney explained, “systems that we’ve put in place to keep them varied, all of the different character animations and so on. We had to be very clever to include all of this, but yes this is pushing the limits of the console.”

- Dawn Pinkney, Activison

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Nintendo: Nintendo States It Doesn’t Want To Criminalize Obsessed Fans

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An inquisitive Nintendo shareholder directed a question to Satoru Iwata at a recent company meeting, asking how Nintendo plans to respond to the wealth of fan fiction and Nintendo tributes.

In connection with Nintendo’s basic strategy of “gaming population expansion”, I would like to ask about the handling of fan activities and intellectual properties. Recently, there are many fan magazines, original short movies, music bands, cosplay activities, websites, orchestras and so on, based on Nintendo’s titles. If these activities threaten Nintendo’s intellectual properties or licenses, will Nintendo crack down on them aggressively, or just view them as fan activities? If Nintendo has any policies, please let us know.

As the principle, please understand that the question is regarding a rather delicate issue to which no one can perhaps identify a clear-cut criterion. Of course, we cannot say that we can give tacit approval to any and all the activities which threaten our intellectual properties. But on the other hand, it would not be appropriate if we treated people who did something based on affection for Nintendo, as criminals. It is true that some expressions are detrimental enough to diminish the dignity of our intellectual properties, and others destroy our intellectual properties’ world-views by connecting them with something not based on fact. We think one of the criteria for deciding how to respond is whether the expression in question socially diminishes the dignity or value of our intellectual properties or not. Of course, it is very hard to have a blanket standard as this problem involves many complex elements that are very difficult to judge.

In these meanings, we cannot say OK to any and all such activities and, at the same time, it is not feasible for us to immediately respond to each small issue of this nature every time. However, these days an individual can easily transmit information through the Internet. Hearing your question today, as we cannot find these problems only by ourselves, we feel that a kind of contact window should be set up so that people can somehow report to us any inappropriate uses of Nintendo’s intellectual properties which diminish their dignities or values, so that we can respond appropriately.

- Nintendo president Satoru Iwata addressing a shareholder regarding fan fiction

Nintendo 3DS: Ubisoft Planning To Launch 6-8 3DS Launch Titles

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Universally renowned gaming publisher and developer Ubisoft are  looking to corner 25 to 30 percent of the 3DS market by launching between six to eight titles for the Nintendo 3DS at launch.

So far Ubisoft have revealed Assassin’s Creed, Ghost Recon, Splinter Cell, Driver, Battle of Giants and a puzzle-based mystery game titled ‘Hollywood 61′ for the Nintendo 3DS at launch.

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Nintendo: Shigeru Miyamoto Talks About Key Nintendo Issues

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Shigeru Miyamoto recently sat down with German gaming publication Speigel to discuss his thoughts on a number of key Nintendo issues.

Nintendo has been criticised for reusing previous characters like Mario and Link in upcoming games, but Miyamoto feels that the use of Miis and franchises like Pikmin proove that Nintendo are capable of doing things other than “Marios and Zeldas”.

Miyamoto feels Mario is like “working with a blank canvas” – we don’t know what he likes to eat, or his favourite colour. He feels that new games can be made with Mario very easily because he isn’t tied to a particular role or image.

He was asked how he felt his creations being handled and developed by others: “It’s a bit like when your children are leaving your house one day. But I know where they are moving in and believe me when I say: I’m having a close look on what they’re doing. They know I’m always there for consultancy.”

Miyamoto feels that the use of 3D in the 3DS can be used in a more meaningful way than a “visual gimmick”. For example in a 3D platformer like Mario, some players might have trouble jumping on platforms. In a 3D picture, with depth perception, it might be a lot easier.

Vitality Sensor is still in development, but E3 wasn’t the right place to show it.

- Translated extract of Shigeru Miyamoto speaking to Spiegel

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Nintendo Wii: Shigeru Miyamoto Says Wii 3D Is ‘Not Our Next Step’

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Shigeru Miyamoto has confessed to German website Spiegel that a 3D Nintendo Wii wouldn’t be the company’s next step, as the vast majority of consumers don’t have a 3D television in their households.

“I do not believe that Wii 3D will be our next step. One reason Wii is indeed so successful is because most people do not have any HDTV equipment and know how to appreciate what the Wii offers.

“The Nintendo 3DS is possible because it is a portable console and it works without 3D glasses. For the living room, consumers would need a 3D TV and it will take some time before enough households have 3D TVs.”

“Many people still have a lot of fun with the Wii, there are still many good games out for it. But we think about a successor once a console is launched. We monitor the market closely. When the time comes, we will announce a successor. But that will not be anytime soon.”

- Shigeru Miyamoto

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Nintendo 3DS: Key Japanese Developers Comment On The Nintendo 3DS

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Japanese gaming publication Famitsu has interviewed a wealth of developers to find out what they really think about Nintendo next revolutionary handheld, the Nintendo 3DS.

“I wear glasses, so I’m happy that 3D glasses are not needed. I directed the E3 demo. It was based off Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater, but the backgrounds and character modeling were all redone in high polygon. It’s not finalized, but we’re thinking about CO-OPs and other things — elements fitting of a 3D and portable game machine.”

-  Hideo Kojima, Konami

“I’m being struck with the intense desire to make something on it. It’s the same sort of excitement I had when I first saw the Wii and DS in Nintendo’s office, but now it’s at a whole new level. This may the first time in the industry where the terms ‘next generation’ and ‘personal dream’ were so appropriate. I’d gladly throw away everything else for a shot at touching the 3DS.”

- Atsushi Inaba, producer, Platinum Games

- “Video games need three things to be successful: a concept, a technology platform, and good marketing. The Nintendo 3DS is a perfect example of those three things bundled into one.”

- Keiji Inafune, producer, Capcom

“3D on a large screen has an impact on you and gets you that much closer to the game or movie you’re watching, but 3D on the 3DS’s smaller screen is interesting in its own right. Instead of feeling like you’re ‘really there,’ you feel like it’s ‘really in the palm of your hand,’ so to speak. Having these dynamic home 3D titles is great and all, but personally, I want to take a different approach and make games that take advanatage of what a 3D portable has to offer.”

- Hideki Kamiya, producer, Platinum Games

“It really makes me feel the speed at which the history of video games is unfolding — like, ‘We’ve really made it this far, huh?’ You have a living, breathing world you can touch right in your hands. I think we’ve finally gone from an era of constructing virtual worlds from pixels to one where the world is truly, honestly there. If I had to sum up the sort of game I’d like to make, I would simply call it ‘the next game,’ because the 3DS marks the arrival of the ‘next platform.’”

- Goichi Suda, CEO, Grasshopper Manufacture

“Nintendo has been re-examining the concept of game consoles as ‘toys’ ever since the Wii, and I think the 3DS is the final result of those efforts. If you believe that gamers will demand more social features and immersiveness in their portable single-player or multiplayer experiences, then Nintendo certainly has that covered with the 3DS’s Wi-Fi and 3D features. There’s a lot of ideas I’d like to work with.”

- Toshihiro Nagoshi, R&D creative officer, Sega

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Nintendo 3DS: Nintendo Confirms The Final Design For The 3DS

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Nintendo’s Hideki Konno has told technology publication Wired that the final design of the Nintendo 3DS won’t be noticeably different from the version Nintendo showcased at this years E3 event.

Asked by Wired whether the 3DS’s outer appearance could change between now and whenever it’s actually released, Nintendo’s Hideki Konno replied, “You can take this as the final shape”.

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