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Add enough money to your North America Wii U eShop account by July 28 and receive $5 or $10 eShop credit.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/34990
Monday Nintendo distributed a Wii U promotional newsletter that advertised up to a $10 eShop credit for Wii U owners that add enough funds to their Wii U eShop account before the deadline.
Details of the promotion are explained on the Club Nintendo website. Wii U owners that add between $50.00 and $99.99 in funds before the deadline will receive a promotional code via email worth $5.00 eShop credit. Those who add $100.00 or more will receive a $10 credit. This offer is valid in the United States and Canada and, according to the fine print, the code can only be redeemed on Wii U.
This promotion is valid now through July 28 at 11:59 p.m. PST.
Nintendo is trying so hard to not lose their 20% that they lose licensing revenue altogether. Every game that doesn't come to Wii U is lost money to Nintendo.The Laffer curve in action?
Nintendo's president responds to concerns regarding publishers' wavering support for Wii U.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/34858
Nintendo President Satoru Iwata acknowledged concerns over Wii U third party support, and conveyed that Nintendo believes its upcoming first party titles and successful new third party releases are critical to building healthy third party lineup for Wii U.
During the Nintendo General Meeting of Shareholders question and answer session, a question was posed regarding Wii U's flagging momentum and third parties announcing games for competing consoles and not Wii U. While Iwata was quick to point out "other big publishers have made all of their main titles available for the platform", and decisions regarding Wii U support are made on an individual publisher basis, he agreed that "it is desirable that many developers support Wii U and release a lot of games for the platform as soon as possible."
Mr. Iwata explained that the company is taking a two-pronged approach to improve third party support "right away." The first is to begin "seamlessly" releasing first-party titles on a regular basis to demonstrate that there is a market on Wii U with money to be made, since third parties "tend to avoid investing in a platform with little presence." The second thing Iwata wants to see happen is successful third-party releases for Wii U. Iwata expressed his position that much of the lackluster performance of third party releases thus far have been due to the fact that they were previously released on other platforms; when high-profile multiplatform games are released on Wii U concurrently with the other versions, Iwata predicts that if Wii U versions perform much better in the marketplace than expected, publishers will take notice. "Even if these publishers did not have any concrete plans to develop Wii U software, they will swiftly change their minds when they see the successful examples from others."
As part of his response to the question, Iwata signaled that sweetheart deals with third parties are not in the cards. Iwata explained that "if we tried to do nothing but buying our way to create such a good condition for developers, our own business could collapse." While Iwata did not elaborate on what he meant by "buying our way", it strongly suggests that Nintendo will not begin actively subsidizing Wii U versions of multiplatform games or buying third party exclusives to prop up third party support.
You don't have to be a Nintendo apologist to like Wii Party U. The game's predecessor had a ton of fun multiplayer games and modes, and the Wii U version only seems better.I never meant that to imply that only Nintendo apologists like Wii Party U or should like Wii Party U. My brief time with that game on the show floor was amusing. I meant that the title of that blog post reads as though Neal is aware that the game is perceived as not being good/creative/whatever, and that he's going out of his way to defend it.
I won't deny being a Nintendo apologist, but considering I started that off with "my reaction to Wii Party U was a sneer," you could think of a better example, TYP.At least to me, the terms "apologist" and "fanboy" are not the same thing, though both could apply to the same person in a given situation. You were skeptical of the game at first (unlike a fanboy), but after you got some time with it you liked it, and now you are defending the game from unwarranted criticism or apathy. Since an apologist is someone who "speaks or writes in defense of someone or something", it is an appropriate label.
And yet, this piece reads like justifying things from Stockholm syndrome victim. "Let's dream", "it might have". It feels like you're apologetic about your excitement.Neal IS a Nintendo apologist (his last blog post was titled "Wii Party U Is Actually Really Fun"). But at least he wears it on his sleeve.
List is lacking HarmoKnight and Gunman Clive. I expect these injustices to be rectified posthaste, gentlemen (and ladies).More than one staffer listed Gunman Clive, myself included. Can't say I played more than the demo of HarmoKnight, though, which felt too similar to another game (on this list) that I'm not enjoying very much to be honest....
Sonic Lost World for 3DS holds a lot of promise. Find out why it might even be better than its Wii U counterpart!
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/impressions/34626
The Sonic: Lost World E3 demo for Nintendo 3DS strongly resembles its console big brother, right down to its art style and soundtrack. While it is easy to dismiss the 3DS version as a downport or lesser version at first glance, the demo's impressive 3D visuals, interesting level design, and surprisingly responsive controls left me more impressed by the portable entry than its console sibling.
The first two levels in the demo are three-dimensional levels that take place in Windy Hill Zone. The introductory level explains the various game mechanics and controls, which are similar to but slightly different from the Wii U game's and—from what I could tell—more responsive. Sonic jogs at a moderate pace when only using the circle pad and increases speed when either trigger button is held (L or R). Sonic handles surprisingly well: I found it easy to change directions to maneuver around obstacles and pits, even when running. In the Wii U demo Sonic felt somewhat loose and easier to over-steer, and I had no such problems when playing on the 3DS. Sonic can also jump and double-jump (A or B without a nearby enemy); the double-jump does not result in Sonic becoming vulnerable, unlike on the Wii U. Sonic can also perform his homing attack by pushing the jump button when in midair and auto-locked onto one or more enemies. He can also perform an aerial kick and ground bounce (which are confusingly triggered via similar jump-then-X button combinations). The spin-dash is mapped to Y. These 3D levels also highlighted some features not showcased in the Wii U 3D levels on display. Just as in the Wii U demo, Sonic will climb walls and other obstacles when holding down the run (trigger) button. But in the 3DS game, the wall-climbing mechanic also allows Sonic to run sideways up walls and even wall jump between parallel walls in narrow spaces. The second level also featured an Asteroid whisp power-up, in which Sonic transforms into a small planet and can demolish enemies and the environment, turning them into asteroid (moons?) that orbit around him until the power times out. Finally, these levels look great in stereoscopic 3D, with a great sense of depth without coming off as distractingly showy.
The third level on display is a 2-D side-scrolling level set in desert ruins. I found this level to be fairly challenging, as it incorporated switch puzzles in which Sonic must stun boulder-shaped baddies on the switch in order to move blocks that are in Sonic's way or to create paths. Many of these puzzles required you to move quickly once the boulder baddie was stunned in order to progress. Other areas of the level required Sonic to destroy all of the enemies in order to progress. While the notion of kill rooms are cause for concern, as they became a serious pacing problem in Sonic Rush for DS, this level was sufficiently interesting to hold my attention. Most of these areas were reasonably large and required timing and skilled wall-jumping to find and reach all of the enemies. Oddly, the 2D level on display suffered from an occasional drop in framerate that I did not notice on the first level.
Overall the 3DS demo of Sonic: Lost World was a pleasant surprise, and I look forward to its release later this year.
NWR investigates the PS3 version of Batman's upcoming multiplatform prequel.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/preview/34615
Batman: Arkham Origins was Warner Bros. Interactive's biggest title at E3 this year. Unfortunately, only the PS3 version of the console game was on display, so NWR was not able to experience the Wii U version of this title. Nonetheless, the developers' presentation and our hands-on time with the PS3 version of this multiplatform game certainly are of interest to Wii U owners.
The game takes place roughly two years into Batman's crime-fighting career on a snowy Christmas Eve, and is being described as his first true challenge against super-criminals. A bounty of $50 million has been put on Batman's head by crime lord Black Mask, and Batman must avoid and thwart various assassins out to claim their reward. Meanwhile, other villains are plotting their own schemes in the vicinity that the Dark Knight must deal with, including Anarky and the Joker.
The prequel strongly resembles Arkham City in pretty much every way. The player explores a sprawling metropolis landscape riddled with crime, chasing down primary objectives as well as optional side missions. Combat consists of the same weighty brawl-and-counter mechanics found in the first two Arkham titles, and familiar gadgets such as the batarang, cryptographic decoder, and grappling hook were available and necessary to progress through the demo. WB highlighted a few new additions to the formula at E3, such as the addition of a new martial artist enemy type and the Remote Claw gadget. The latter is attached to two objects (or enemies) and then retracts, drawing movable objects together (e.g., an explosive barrel toward an enemy) or creating a tightrope between two stationary objects.
Perhaps the most interesting new addition to the Arkham series is the enhanced detective mode, in which Batman scans for clues with his computer in order to reconstruct a crime scene. Reconstructions are shown in augmented reality, laid over the normal detective vision graphics. In the demo, Batman traced clues to reconstruct the sequence of events that led up to a helicopter crash, and the player could fast forward and rewind a simulation of the crash in order to trace the trajectory of shrapnel and determine the angle from which the helicopter was shot down.
Origins is most certainly a conservative sequel, but the demo on display was still compelling. The degree to which the Wii U version leverages the system's unique features remains to be seen, but NWR will have more information on the Wii U version as it becomes available.
How does Sonic fare in the Lost World? Check out our initial impressions of the Wii U game from the show floor.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/impressions/34574
Sonic: Lost World was among the more popular demos at Nintendo's booth on the first day. And while the controls at times seem somewhat elusive even to this Sonic veteran, the imaginative level designs hold a great deal of promise.
The E3 demo contains three levels that showcase the variety in level design. The first level, reminiscent of Green Hill or Emerald Hill from the Genesis games, has been compared by many to Super Mario Galaxy, and with good reason. Sonic travels amongst planetoid-like objects, grabbing rings, bouncing off springs, and attacking robotic baddies to save the innocent, fluffy critters captured within. Controlling Sonic is quite satisfying in this level, as there are few places where Sonic can fall off. Instead, there are branching paths on several planetoids, depending on whether you go up or down, left or right, etc. This level also featured the laser attack from Sonic Colors, in which you aim with the touch screen and flick to initiate. I found the touch screen controls to be finicky, but to be fair no one else in front of me in line seemed to have any trouble.
The second level is a 2D side-scrolling scene similar to those found in Sonic Colors (down to a sweet tooth motif similar to the one found in the Wii game). I was not able to get hands-on time with this level, but like the first it includes secret branching paths and old-school references such as the blast cannons from Oil Ocean in Sonic 2.
In the third level on display Sonic continually runs forward, and the challenge comes from navigating the tunnels and pathways, moving left and right and jumping to avoid falling off. These sequences are interspersed with sections in which Sonic free-falls, and you must avoid baddies, grab rings, and control the speed of your fall (pushing R as desired to fall more quickly). This level was fun, but I fell off a few times, once because of a homing attack placed me someplace I had not anticipated and once because of what seemed like an overly sensitive analog stick.
As with other 3D Sonic games, the combat mechanics felt a bit obtuse. For example, Sonic can perform a kick attack by jumping with A and then pressing X—but only if there is actually a nearby enemy—so it is difficult to practice. Meanwhile, Jumping and pressing X can also cause Sonic to bounce not unlike when Sonic has a water shield in Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Pushing A while in mid-air triggers Sonic's familiar homing attack, which is very generous with locking onto the enemies and springs.
Overall I'm still interested in Sonic: Lost World—the levels are cleverly designed and are visually appealing with bright colors. However, I remain apprehensive about the game's controls. I suspect some of my troubles were user error—I’m fairly poor at Sonic Colors, after all—but after playing the demo I fully expect this 3D Sonic game to wrestle with the same control challenges as prior entries.
