Shigeru Miyamoto has told online gaming publication Pocket Lint that Mario Kart 3DS is working extremely well with the new hardware.
“What’s really exciting is our new ability to have a sense of depth. Once you have the true 3D visual it becomes very clear where all the objects are on that space, so jumping on objects becomes easier.”
“We’ve found that pulling the camera far back to observe the car racing works really well”.
- Shigeru Miyamoto
Nintendo have today confirmed that they’re holding a special event in New York and Amsterdam to showcase the forthcoming 3DS console on Wednesday January 19th.
The 3DS event in New York will feature a presentation from Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime along with hands-on time with the machine and the all-important release date and pricing.
Revered gaming publication Edge has named Super Mario Galaxy 2 as its game of the year fending off fierce competition from the likes of Red Dead Redemption, Call of Duty: Black Ops and Mass Effect 2.
“Super Mario Galaxy 2 nips and tucks its predecessor’s triumphs into tuned and taut snippets of interactive euphoria.
“Galaxy 2 is product of a surfeit of imagination and a will to test and delight that sits at the very peak of videogame artistry.”
- Edge magazine
Online gaming publication CVG is reporting that the Nintendo Wii is the most pirated games console with an incredible 25,770 torrents, versus 24,240 torrents for ‘PlayStation’ and 24,108 for Xbox 360.
PC: 113,624 available torrents
PSP: 31,742 available torrents
Wii: 25,770 available torrents
PS3: 24,240 available torrents
X360: 24,108 available torrents
DS: 18,714 available torrents
EA CEO John Riccitiello believes that the Nintendo Wii would “explode” at retail if the price point was reduced to $99.
“I would say they did exceptionally well in ’07 and ’08, started tapering in ’09 and ’10, and… I think if they were to price down to $99, they would explode.
“I think they’ve now got competition, in the form of gesture-based gaming from Sony and Microsoft. If they were to find ways to promote third party content better, as opposed to first party content, and would hit pricing, I think the platform would see new life.”
- John Riccitiello, EA
Nintendo Europe have announced via a press release that they’re holding a exclusive Nintendo event in Amsterdam at 3pm CET on January 19th 2011. Possible 3DS related announcement? I think so.
Please mark your calendar for January 19th 2011 and plan to attend an exclusive Nintendo event in Amsterdam. The event begins at 3 p.m. CET and will continue into the evening. More details will be coming soon, so be on the lookout!
- Nintendo press release
Sega’s Alan Pritchard believes that the Nintendo Wii is currently “in a strange place” and that “things are different” compared to the days when the Wii was flying off store shelves at a ridiculous pace.
“The Wii as a platform is in a strange place. We’ve got the economic situation. It’s hard for retailers, and consumers are buying fewer products.
“The Wii had such a massive amount of success for three years; things are different now.”
“It’s hard for the core titles. Going back 12 or 18 months when we release those titles, it was a risk.”
“Nintendo was supportive of the strategy. There was an intent to take the Wii console a little older, and make a more core machine. So games like MadWorld, House of the Dead and Conduit fit that strategy.
“House of the Dead is a more established and casual franchise, and that did very well. Conduit 2 is getting a good buzz.”
- Sega’s Alan Pritchard
Sega have confirmed that they’re planning to announce three new Sonic titles during 2011 following the positive response to Sonic Colours on the Nintendo Wii and the Nintendo DS.
“Colours is our pure Sonic gaming experience. That’s had some high scores. It’s also the highest pre-selling pure Sonic title we’ve had ever. That’s a good indication. With the quality of the game, we’re confident of that. That’s our pure platforming Sonic.”
“We have some announcements in the early part of next year that will further support and add to this strategy. There will be two of three big Sonic announcements in the early part of next calendar year.”
- Sega’s vice president of sales and marketing, Alan Pritchard
Golden Sun: Dark Dawn is a genuinely intriguing and graphically lush role playing title.
The game starts with a long narrative explaining the events behind the previous Golden Sun games whilst keeping players up to date with what’s currently happening in the world of Weyard.
For those who’re newcomers to the critically acclaimed series the game intuitively offers hyperlinks within the in-game dialogue to explain the numerous references to the previous games, giving you plenty of background information regarding previous events and characters.
No role playing game would be complete without the inclusion of monstrous special forces and in the instance of Golden Sun you can summon creatures called Djinn. The Djinn fall into four different categories Venus (earth), Mercury (water), Mars (fire) and Jupiter (wind).
These Djinn combined with your characters special elemental skills offer an impregnable and devastating force. Their attacks can be used in two different ways. You can choose to set a Djinn to a certain character to unleash its attacks or you can summon a Djinn that’s in its resting phase to launch an all-powerful attack.
Your party also has an affinity with the elements allowing you to alter specific things throughout the lavish world. For instance one of the protagonists is an Earth Adept which allows him to change flowering plants into vines to climb up rock faces for example which adds in interesting spin on the already great game play.
If you’re looking for a solid role playing title with gorgeous visuals and an enormous amount of charm then look no further than Golden Sun: Dark Dawn.
8/10
