Fez launched earlier this year on Xbox Live Arcade for the Xbox 360. The puzzle/platform game’s developer, Polytron, has recently confirmed that the title will be ported to other platforms next year, 2013.
Because Fez received widespread praise from several publications, here’s hoping the game arrives on the Nintendo eShop for the Nintendo 3DS and/or Wii U.
The Wii U was released on November 18th, 2012, in North America, and, obviously, there weren’t many video games released this year for the new console, compared to the existing PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Based on Metacritic, with a Metascore of an 87 out of 100, the best reviewed Wii U game of 2012 is BioWare’s port, Mass Effect 3: Special Edition.
The first Nintendo-published game on the website’s list of the best reviewed Wii U games of the year is New Super Mario Bros. U, with a Metascore of an 84 out of 100.
Here are the top 10 reviewed Wii U games of 2012, according to Metacritic:
Capcom Senior VP, Christian Svensson, has told members of the Capcom Unity forums that the company is looking to bring new products to Wii U, rather than producing ports of older existing games. Svensson wouldn’t specify if they are working on any new IP’s for the console. Hopefully we should get some announcements before, or during, E3 2013.
“With regard to WiiU, in general we’re looking forward, not back so late ports are generally not on the table.”
As you may have previously heard a hacker by the name of Neimod claims to have taken full control of the Nintendo 3DS in kernel mode using an unmodified console and an exploit that uses a retail game. Now Jools Watsham from Renegade Kid has weighed in on the subject saying that if the system is exploited by hackers for piracy than developers may actually leave the platform. Here’s what he had to say on the matter.
“If piracy gets bad on the 3DS, we will have no choice but to stop supporting the platform with new games. Some say that piracy leads to more game sales, claiming that it enables players to try before they buy. Bullshit. The percentage of people who will spend money on a game that they already got for free is surely very small – especially with so many “free” games already in the market. The line between what should/should not be free is getting very blurry.”
The latest edition of Games Master magazine includes a number of developers offering some insight into the Wii U and its potential power. There’s been a lot of debate regarding whether or not the Wii U is truly a next generation console. Here’s what Ubisoft’s Gabrielle Shrager, Mass Effect 3′s external producer, and more think about this particular issue.
ZombiU senior scriptwriter Gabrielle Shrager:
“Next-gen? Or Next-next-gen? Depends what you mean by that. With the Wii U, Nintendo has definitely recognized the importance of fast chips speeds and cutting-edge graphics, but that is not the hart and soul of the machine.”
Frozenbyte’s Mikael Haveri:
“Wii U is next-gen in the way the Wii was. Clearly revolutionary in many ways, but possibly slightly less on the pure power side. It is a reasonable guess that the next round of competition will trump the specs by a bit, but the important question is if they will also implement a touch interface. So in this way the GamePad is the most important new addition, clearly combining the console experience with the now-very-popular tablets. All of the games are designed whit the GamePad as an integral part, and if that proves to be even nearly as popular as the Wii Remote, then Nintendo might actually define next gen.”
FIFA 13 line producer Matt Prior:
“The Wii U is an exciting new piece of hardware that offer opportunities that other consoles can’t, simply because of the uniqueness of the platform, in particular the GamePad. We wanted to ensure that we utilized that uniqueness and delivered features that utilized the GamePad, not just in a gimmicky way but in ways that added real value and improvements to the game. Just as important, we wanted to use the power of the GamePad to open up the game to more gamers. Graphically, the Wii U is on par with the Xbox 360 and PS3, and we were even able to make some key graphical improvements.”
Mass Effect 3 external producer Melanie Faulknor:
“The way that the GamePad works, where you can take the game that you’re playing on the TV and instantly transition it onto the GamePad, I think that in itself is going to become a household standard, because if you are sharing a television, this constant fight for the TV is no longer an issue.”
A boy from Talladega, Ala., received a Nintendo 3DS XL box for Christmas. Instead of containing the actual handheld, the box was full of rocks wrapped in tissue paper.
The box was purchased from a local Walmart, and after explaining to the retailer what had happened, the boy’s mother was able to receive an actual Nintendo 3DS XL for her son.
Apparently, scams like this happen because consumers purchase merchandise from Walmart and then return it to the store with the items missing.
Christian Svensson, Capcom’s Corporate Officer & Senior Vice-President, has revealed via the Capcom Unity forums that the company is completely aware that the fans want Ace Attorney Investigations 2, but they currently have no news to share at the moment.
1. Still no news to share
2. Ace Attorney was a choice in the franchise lists. That is all that is necessary.
3. The demand for AAI2 is not something that is unknown to us and thus not something that needs to be demonstrated further.
Zen Pinball 2, which is developed by Zen Studios, launched last September on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita.
Wii U’s edition of the pinball video game was initially scheduled to launch this month, but it’s developer confirmed that it will be released on the Nintendo eShop next month – January, 2013.
A Game Faqs member claims that a sequel to Diddy Kong Racing is in the works for Wii U. The member, who goes by the name yakkiduck, says Monster Games is working on the project, which is supposedly releasing sometime next year.
The member also says the unconfirmed game will feature an adventure mode, online multiplayer, Miiverse implementation, and players will be able to race as their Mii characters.
If this rumor is true, which would you rather get first – another Mario Kart or Diddy Kong Racing – for Nintendo’s new Wii U console?
A new Japanese trailer for Pokemon Black & White 2 states that we should be getting some fresh Pokemon related news on January 8th. Sadly, there’s no exciting hints to tell us what the news is related too. It could be a new game, or something a little more trivial, such as a new WiFI event. Whatever it is, we will be sure to let you know. What are you hoping for?
Thanks, Salman
