Messages

[D3 Publisher's first 3DS title is Dream Trigger 3D.]

176

TalkBack / 3D Arcade Shooter Coming to 3DS

« on: December 15, 2010, 09:37:03 PM »

D3 Publisher's first 3DS title is Dream Trigger 3D.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24553

D3 Publisher announced Dream Trigger 3D, an arcade shooter for Nintendo 3DS. The original title will have players using sonar to detect sound and expose colorful enemies, which then explode into 3D patterns when hit.

The game will have over 50 stages set to a dynamic soundtrack that changes as players move through the layered environment, dodging attacks and destroying enemies in arcade action.

The game will be developed by Art Co. Ltd. The developer is based in Tokyo and worked on Astro Boy: The Video Game for Nintendo DS in 2009.

[WiiWare developers launch a contest to keep their demos on the Wii Shop Channel longer.]

177

TalkBack / WiiWare Contest Gives Hint for Demo Longevity on the Shop Channel

« on: December 10, 2010, 02:36:49 PM »

WiiWare developers launch a contest to keep their demos on the Wii Shop Channel longer.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24523

Broken Rules and Gaijin Games have announced a contest to win free copies of their WiiWare titles, And Yet It Moves and Bit.Trip Fate. The reason for this contest is to keep the demo versions of these titles on the Wii Shop Channel for a longer period of time.

Game demos on the recently reinstated Wii Shop Channel demo service are time limited. The demos have been available since November 22, but will be removed by the end of the month unless the full versions of the games have enough user ratings in the Nintendo Channel to qualify for Bronze status. If they do qualify, this will extend the demo availability for 11 weeks. 

Broken Rules will choose contest entrants who rate And Yet It Moves to win copies of Bit.Trip Fate, and Gaijin Games will choose from entrants who rate Bit.Trip Fate to win And Yet It Moves. Full details of the contests are on the developer websites.

[Level-5 is expecting their Studio Ghlibi collaboration to perform well at retail in Japan.]

178

TalkBack / Level-5 Ships 600,000 Copies of Ni no Kuni

« on: December 08, 2010, 11:02:39 PM »

Level-5 is expecting their Studio Ghlibi collaboration to perform well at retail in Japan.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24519

Level-5 announced that the initial shipment to Japanese stores for the Nintendo DS game Ni no Kuni is around 600,000 units in total.

The fantasy RPG comes with a magical book that is used while playing the game to look up spells and monsters. The game, which is released in Japan on December 9, is the first game where the animation company Studio Ghlibi have been involved with development.

[European gamers have a couple of months before they can unravel Kirby's Epic Yarn.]

179

TalkBack / Kirby Coming to Europe in February 2011

« on: December 06, 2010, 01:58:34 PM »

European gamers have a couple of months before they can unravel Kirby's Epic Yarn.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24512

The European release date for Kirby's Epic Yarn has been announced for February 25, 2011. 

While Donkey Kong Country Returns was released in time for the holiday season, and has been available since December 3, shortly after the US release of November 27, Kirby's Epic Yarn will not be available until early next year in Europe. 

Nintendo's announcement gave us some clues on localized terms for the game. While the title is still Kirby's Epic Yarn, the Prince and Kirby will be collecting strands of "magic thread" to sew Patch Land together, rather than magic yarn. Kirby is said to be made of wool, but uses a yarn whip to roll enemies into balls of yarn. The apartments where their friends congregate are called the "new flats near Prince Fluff's castle." It is yet to be seen how the below term will be translated for UK English.

[The game is finished but not expected for a release this year.]

180

TalkBack / Final Bit.Trip Game Named

« on: November 30, 2010, 08:30:29 PM »

The game is finished but not expected for a release this year.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24500

Details have emerged for the final installment of the Bit.Trip series, titled Bit.Trip FLUX. The game is complete and is likely to be released in early 2011, Gaijin Games programmer Chris Osborn told Destructoid. He also mentioned that the game is not meant to be Wii Zapper compatible, unlike the previous game in the series; it would be possible, but difficult to play using that control scheme.

Osborn added that he is currently working on more Bit.Trip RUNNER, though the specifics of the project are unknown. He stated, "It would be foolish for us to not revisit RUNNER at some point, as it's the most popular game in the series so far."

181

TalkBack / Re: Professor Kawashima Confirms Brain Age 3

« on: November 30, 2010, 03:11:49 PM »

Jared got hold of 3D Brain Training (Tech Demo) at E3. I think you had to point out which of the left and right images was in 3D. Not many people saw it as it was one of those "walking demos" that could only be found tethered to a human. Wonder if that will have anything to do with it.

[Even more Brain Training coming to a Nintendo platform.]

182

TalkBack / Professor Kawashima Confirms Brain Age 3

« on: November 29, 2010, 06:21:56 PM »

Even more Brain Training coming to a Nintendo platform.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24490

In his book, Saraba Nou Game (Farewell Brain Games), Professor Ryuta Kawashima confirms that the next Brain Age game is in development. At the time the book was written, the game's release was expected by the end of 2010. As the Nintendo 3DS was previously expected to be released this year, it is possible that the 3DS is the target platform. A Brain Training tech demo for 3DS was shown at E3 2010.

There are no further details about the new game in the book, as Kawashima said he's sworn to secrecy. He explained that the reason for the long interval between the second game in the series and this new game is that Satoru Iwata and he agreed that they would wait for a "special idea" for the third title.

[Public 3DS showcase will take place in January.]

183

TalkBack / Nintendo World Returns to Japan in 2011

« on: November 24, 2010, 11:26:25 AM »

Public 3DS showcase will take place in January.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24484

Nintendo's previously announced Japanese Nintendo 3DS demo event, where the public will be able to try the Nintendo 3DS for the first time, will take place in Tokyo on January 8-10, 2011. The venue is the Makuhari Messe convention center and admission is free.

The last time Nintendo World took place was in 2006, focusing on Wii following the reveal at E3 that year.

[Level-5's soccer RPG series is being translated for release in Europe.]

184

TalkBack / Inazuma Eleven Coming to Europe

« on: November 24, 2010, 09:08:04 AM »

Level-5's soccer RPG series is being translated for release in Europe.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24483

The first of Level-5's Inazuma Eleven games for Nintendo DS will be released in Europe under distribution by Nintendo. The release date is set for January 28.

Initial screenshots show that the game will keep its Japanese title, rather than using the translated name - Lightning Eleven. This is the first time the soccer RPG series, from the company that brought us Professor Layton, has been announced for a release outside of Japan.

The announcement of a Swedish release comes from Bergsala, who work as a distribution company for Nintendo in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and in some cases, Finland. Further information and screenshots have been posted on Nintendo Sweden's website. As it would be highly unusual for a game to be released in only these countries, it is expected that the game will be announced shortly for the rest of Europe.

185

TalkBack / Nintendo Exhibiting at CES 2011

« on: November 24, 2010, 09:06:42 AM »

Update: Announcement was made in error, Nintendo will have no show floor presence.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24482

Update: A press release from the planners of CES, the Consumer Electronics Association, states that the announcement that Nintendo of America would be exhibiting at the show was made in error. Nintendo has meeting rooms booked only.

Nintendo have been announced as an exhibitor at CES 2011, the first time they will attend the event for 16 years. The Consumer Electronics Show is the world's largest consumer technology trade show and is known for new product announcements. Next year it takes place between January 6-9.

Other companies announced to be exhibiting within the 9,800 square feet Gaming Showcase include AMD, HP, Intel, Lenovo, LevelUp, Logitech, Microsoft, Nintendo, Nokia and Sony.

With the Nintendo 3DS launching in March 2011, it is likely to be the focus of Nintendo's display.

[Nintendo releases new DSi bundles for Black Friday.]

186

TalkBack / Green and Orange DSi Colors Coming Out This Week

« on: November 22, 2010, 09:53:31 AM »

Nintendo releases new DSi bundles for Black Friday.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24478

For Black Friday, green and orange Nintendo DSi bundles will be released, containing a console and a copy of Mario Party DS in the box.

The DSis will be available from November 26 at a suggested retail price of $149.99, while supplies last. 

In Nintendo's announcement for the consoles, they also state that 43 million systems from the Nintendo DS family of consoles have been sold in the United States. This total is for up to the end of October 2010.

187

TalkBack / Re: Super Scribblenauts Maxwell Doll Giveaway

« on: November 20, 2010, 02:14:07 PM »

Neither of you told us until now!

xcwarrior, if you'd please send over your info again we'll ask the developers to check whether they sent you the game. What we did was send your friend code to them, and asked them to let us know if any of the prize winners were visible on their lists. They never contacted us, so could we could only assume everyone received their prizes.

TJ Spyke, our own Mike Gamin sent the game to you on the 5th October. I'm afraid if you haven't received it by now, it may have been eaten by USPS.

I'm really sorry for the inconvenience and hope that neither of you are too disappointed. Please don't let it put you off from entering this or future contests, we do a lot of work to organise giveaways so our readers have the chance to win occasional swag. We are really only doing this for you guys

[This week's downloads will be accompanied by free demos of four games.]

188

TalkBack / WiiWare Demos Back in the US on November 22

« on: November 18, 2010, 11:56:22 AM »

This week's downloads will be accompanied by free demos of four games.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24467

Downloadable WiiWare demos are returning to North America next week. The games available on the demo service this coming Monday are Bit.Trip Fate, And Yet It Moves, ThruSpace, and Jett Rocket.

The service offers free, trial versions of WiiWare games for download. It is expected that new games will be added each week, with older games removed periodically.

[Budcat Creations is closed as of today, and Bizarre Creations' closure is expected in the near future.]

189

TalkBack / Activision Closes Bizzare and Budcat Subsidiaries

« on: November 16, 2010, 07:47:36 PM »

Budcat Creations is closed as of today, and Bizarre Creations' closure is expected in the near future.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24457

Bizarre Creations is in the process of possibly be shut down by the parent company, Activision. The company has filed notice to their employees that a sale or closure is likely in 90 days, a legal requirement for the UK-based developer. Bizarre created the Geometry Wars series and more recently developed James Bond 007: Blood Stone, which came out November 2.

Activision's official statement, reproduced below, gives the impression that they are considering the studio's future, with a sale or closure being a possibility.

Over the past three years since our purchase of Bizarre Creations, the fundamentals of the racing genre have changed significantly. Although we made a substantial investment in creating a new IP, Blur, it did not find a commercial audience. Bizarre is a very talented team of developers, however, because of the broader economic factors impacting the market, we are exploring our options regarding the future of the studio, including a potential sale of the business.

Budcat Creations, also an Activision subsidiary, has been closed as of today according to an anonymous source at PC Gamer. There has been no official word on the closure of the developer, whose work included ports of Guitar Hero games for Wii and PS2 since they were acquired by Activision in 2008.

[Rock Band developer on the market from MTV Games' parent company.]

190

TalkBack / Viacom to Sell Harmonix

« on: November 11, 2010, 10:15:24 PM »

Rock Band developer on the market from MTV Games' parent company.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24435

In a financial earnings statement released today, Viacom announced that they are in the process of selling Harmonix.

Viacom are auctioning the company, which is a money-losing business unit and has dragged down Viacom's earnings for several past quarters. They are now talking with several potential buyers. The sale will mark Viacom's withdrawal from the console game market. CEO Philippe Dauman said, "Harmonix has and will continue to create terrific video games, but for us, it is about focus. The console games business requires an expertise and scale that we don't have."

Harmonix noted in the Rock Band forums that the sale will not affect ongoing work as Viacom will continue to fully support the business until the sale is completed. Downloadable content for current titles, Rock Band 3 and Dance Central, is also unaffected. Partnerships with other companies such as EA Distribution are unaffected on existing games.

[Miyamoto speaks on the possibility of a Wii Music sequel.]

191

TalkBack / Wii Music 2 in Development?

« on: November 11, 2010, 02:45:53 PM »

Miyamoto speaks on the possibility of a Wii Music sequel.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/rumor/24430

In an interview with Techland during Mario's 25th birthday celebration on November 7, Shigeru Miyamoto spoke a little about potentially including Mario in a follow-up to Wii Music, and went on to say that changes were in progress to improve the game, specifically mentioning a new interface.

Miyamoto: In most of his games, it's about the player's actions on the screen or the player being able to experience the actions of Mario. He doesn't seem to fit that role of a musician for us right now. With the Mii characters that players create to represent themselves appearing in different games– again, like Mario does–I thought that idea of using Miis was a good fit. And so the user could feel that they were there playing the music....

And there's a lot of potential still in Wii Music, I think. Because we're going to change it up, a new interface is coming, and all of that.

Wii Music had a poor reception at its release two years ago, but went on to achieve good sales totals worldwide. Past reports have indicated Miyamoto's interest in developing Wii Music further, adding features to the original while not being a true sequel in a similar way to Wii Fit Plus.

[Nintendo's water action game coming to WiiWare in December.]

192

TalkBack / Fluidity Launching as Hydroventure in Europe

« on: November 10, 2010, 05:12:26 PM »

Nintendo's water action game coming to WiiWare in December.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24427

The Nintendo-published water physics puzzle game has been renamed from Fluidity to Hydroventure for its European WiiWare release.

The title is set inside an illustrated magical book, Aquaticus, and navigating the chapters will rid the world of the "Influence", a corruptive goop that has spread through the book. The level moves by tilting the Wii Remote, causing water, ice, or clouds to flow through the level. Shaking the Wii Remote causes the water to jump over obstacles, and players must navigate these levels with a limited amount of water to clear the goop and collect Rainbow Drops to restore the magic book. The game has four chapters, with over 80 Rainbow Drops in each level to collect with the help of six unlockable abilities.

Hydroventure, along with the Hydroventure demo, launches on December 24 across Europe for 1200 Wii Points.

[Pre-order to get Ghost Trick and the first Phoenix Wright title together.]

193

TalkBack / Ghost Trick and Phoenix Wright Bundle Available for Pre-order

« on: November 05, 2010, 08:58:16 PM »

Pre-order to get Ghost Trick and the first Phoenix Wright title together.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24407

The Capcom Store is now offering pre-orders for a bundle of two Nintendo DS games. The Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective New Classic Bundle includes Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney together for $39.99, $10 more than Ghost Trick alone.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is the first game in the Ace Attorney series; this title is currently difficult to obtain as it is out of print. 

The deal is exclusive to the Capcom Store, and will be on sale beginning January 11, 2011.

[The incomparable prosecutor comes to life as a figurine.]

194

TalkBack / Ace Attorney Investigations 2 Collectors Editions Revealed for Japan

« on: November 03, 2010, 10:31:06 PM »

The incomparable prosecutor comes to life as a figurine.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24396

While a US release of the second Ace Attorney Investigations game has yet to be announced, today a Japanese release date was set for February 3, 2011.

The game will be available in three packages. Firstly, the game alone will be sold at standard price,  ¥5,040. For a premium, there is a selection of a special edition box sets.

The most expensive is the Limited Edition, at ¥8,000. This includes a soundtrack CD with music from the game, a DVD with footage from Tokyo Game Show, a CD/DVD booklet with an original manga, and a 180mm (1/10 scale) model of Miles Edgeworth. The Collectors Package contains the items in the Limited Edition without the figurine at ¥6,090, and the Extended Edition includes only the game and the figurine for a total of ¥7,140.

The sets containing the figure are exclusive to the e-Capcom store, as is an additional strap featuring the game.

[Smaller loss than last year, but huge drop in Wii software sales.]

195

TalkBack / EA Posts Lower Quarterly Loss Than Predicted

« on: November 03, 2010, 10:26:35 PM »

Smaller loss than last year, but huge drop in Wii software sales.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24395

Electronic Arts has posted a net loss of $201 million for the three months ending September 30, the second fiscal quarter. This is a better result than expected, with the same period in 2009 recording losses of $391 million.

Wii software sales dropped dramatically, with 82 percent fewer sales compared to the same period in 2009. Wii games accounted for only six percent of EA's total output. Nintendo DS game sales were one percent. 

EA's leading platforms are PS3 and Xbox 360, with game sales coming to 34 and 30 percent of the total, respectively. This gives them the claim of number one publisher for HD consoles. The majority of remaining revenue is from digital sales, also at 30 percent.

[Four demos available as the service launches for the European Wii Shop Channel.]

196

TalkBack / WiiWare Demo Service Starts in Europe

« on: November 02, 2010, 04:09:38 PM »

Four demos available as the service launches for the European Wii Shop Channel.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24389

Starting November 5, the European Wii Shop Channel will feature ongoing downloadable WiiWare game demos. The demos will be free of charge and available to download for limited periods of time as the selection is updated.

Demos for Furry Legends, Jett Rocket, Zombie Panic in Wonderland, and Nintendo's ThruSpace, the 3D puzzle title released on the Japanese service in September, will be available at the launch of the service this week. The full version of ThruSpace will be released this week as part of the Weekly Downloads. 

Current free demos will be listed at wiiware.nintendo.co.uk and the Wii Shop Channel.

197

TalkBack / Re: Jam with the Professor: Part 1

« on: October 29, 2010, 08:12:20 PM »

I request pictures of exactly how unplayable your composition is. You could video your failure to play it, even.

[Four games expected around launch, more to follow.]

198

TalkBack / 3DS Software Release Windows Revealed

« on: October 29, 2010, 06:12:47 PM »

Four games expected around launch, more to follow.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24372

Following Nintendo's Financial Results meeting today, where figures for all of Nintendo's sales and profits for hardware and software were released to investors, a supplementary information document gave a launch schedule for October 2010 onwards, including a preliminary list of Nintendo published games for Nintendo 3DS.

The release schedule shows the 3DS hardware release dates that have already been confirmed, February 26, 2011 for Japan and March 2011 for US/Europe, and also gave release windows for some games that have already been announced.

Nintendogs + cats, PilotWings Resort, Steel Diver, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D were all listed for a Spring 2011 launch. Kid Icarus Uprising was given a date of simply 2011, and Star Fox 64 3D, Animal Crossing, Paper Mario, and Mario Kart were all listed as TBA. The US/Europe listings had the same games, but all releases were TBA.

It is noted in the document that game titles and launch schedules are subject to change. The listings are given below.

Japan
Nintendo 3DS - 2011/2/26
nintendogs + cats (Temp.) - 2011 Spring
PilotWings Resort (Temp.) - 2011 Spring
Steel Diver (Temp.) - 2011 Spring
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (Temp.) - 2011 Spring
Kid Icarus: Uprising (Temp.) - 2011
Star Fox 64 3D (Temp.) - TBA
Animal Crossing (Temp.) - TBA
Paper Mario (Temp.) - TBA
Mario Kart (Temp.) - TBA

US/Europe
Nintendo 3DS - 2011/3
Animal Crossing (Temp.) - TBA
Kid Icarus: Uprising (Temp.) - TBA
Mario Kart (Temp.) - TBA
nintendogs + cats (Temp.) - TBA
Paper Mario (Temp.) - TBA
PilotWings Resort (Temp.) - TBA
Star Fox 64 3D (Temp.) - TBA
Steel Diver (Temp.) - TBA
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (Temp.) - TBA

[Mega Man character designer to leave Capcom and subsidiary Daletto at the end of the month.]

199

TalkBack / Keiji Inafune Leaves Capcom

« on: October 29, 2010, 03:25:26 PM »

Mega Man character designer to leave Capcom and subsidiary Daletto at the end of the month.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24371

Keiji Inafune announced today that he will be leaving his position as head of research and development, and management groups at Capcom, and CEO of Daletto, an online games business subsidiary of Capcom effective from the end of October. Inafune has been with Capcom for 23 years.

Inafune believes that he is no longer effective at the requirements of a CEO for Daletto, and as for Capcom, he has achieved all that he can as a developer. He feels it means death for a creator to settle down.

Translated from Inafune's blog by Andriasang, "There was a chance that I could continue to be Capcom's power. I bet on that chance until the end. The means of both Capcom and myself to be happy. That was surely possible. However, now that chance is completely closed off."

He added, "Capcom must, from here on out, walk without me. I too cannot depend on Capcom," feeling that a future collaboration would not be possible.

His resignation from the company follows comments early this month when he said he hates his job and wants to retire early in an interview on Dead Rising 2, which he produced.

Inafune will be replaced by Jun Takeuchi, a longtime Capcom producer who has recently worked on Lost Planet 2 and Resident Evil 5.

[Get ready for Sissel's adventures on 01.11.11.]

200

TalkBack / Ghost Trick Release Date Announced for January

« on: October 28, 2010, 11:24:45 AM »

Get ready for Sissel's adventures on 01.11.11.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24364

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is coming to the US on January 11, 2011.

After being delayed from a holiday release this year, Ace Attorney creator Shu Takumi's latest creation will be available for Western gamers early next year. The game was released in Japan in June of this year. 

Capcom also released the official box art for the game today, which we have updated in our game profile.