Tag Archives: Nintendo
Boss Battles vs. Linear Gameplay: An A-G Debate
All gamers have their conflicts. A few of them have become notorious for sparking never-ending “flame wars” within the various online venues built for gamers to discuss issues and events in the industry. We’ve decided to host our own A-G Debate series, in which various staff members will share their opinions on gaming and dispute the finer points of the medium. Today, editor Bradley Russell and I sat down to settle a debate he has become dubiously known for bringing up whenever possible: Are boss battles out of date, or a well evolved game mechanic?
When Gamers Get Greedy: The Issue Of Entitlement Among Franchise Fans
The issue of gamer entitlement is one that has been talked about a lot, especially this year with the whole Mass Effect 3 ending debacle. So why do a lot of gamers seem to feel so entitled? Should gamers be able to demand things from developers and publishers? I will answer these questions and more as I attempt to break down the issue of gamer entitlement.
Video games are unique in the fact that their fan base is seemingly becoming more and more entitled every year. You simply don’t see this kind of entitlement with other entertainment mediums. If a movie comes out that has a terrible ending, you don’t hear people demanding that the director and actors film a new one. The same goes for music and television as well. You may hear people complaining about a certain movie or CD, but there is a big difference between voicing your dissatisfaction with something and demanding that it be altered in some way that will take time and money from the people who created it in the first place.
Nintendo and Unity Unite
Unity Technologies, developer of the cross-platform Unity engine have announced a worldwide license agreement with Nintendo for their upcoming Wii U console. This will mean a form of the popular engine is going to be available to both Nintendo and their third-party development partners in order to create new software for the Wii U.
This agreement will also entitle Unity Technologies to release a Wii U add-on for current users of the engine, enabling software already developed with Unity to be easily ported onto the Wii U platform.
Unity is already in use by 1.2 million developers worldwide which would suggest we’ll see some exciting games ported from all the platforms that currently support the engine; for example: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PC and even iOS and Android. This will allow the possibility for popular games like Rochard, AaaaaAAaaaAAA…!!!, Muffin Knight, Deer Hunter and Foreign Legion: Buckets of Blood to make an appearance on the upcoming console and will guarantee to provide a stable influx of original indie content.
This agreement seems to be a sensible move by Nintendo who will be putting a focus on software downloads with the Wii U. The potential for indie games companies to contribute will provide good variety, pushing the console’s innovative control system and gamepad.
According to Unity Technologies the Unity Wii U content will not be widely available until 2013.
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Wii U Trailer Features Mushrooms and Nintendo Costumes
The recent Wii U announcements, which you can read more about here, revealed some rather surprising news for the November bound system. Not the least of which is it’s very own Tekken Tag Tournament 2 port featuring exclusive Nintendo character costumes and a Mushroom Battle Mode. Namco Bandai released a trailer for Tokyo Game Show 2012 to help you visualize how Nintendo has crossed 0ver into Tekken land.
That’s right, you can now dress your characters in Mario, Luigi, Link, and Zelda costumes. Quite the exclusive for one of 2012′s top fighters. But wait, you get more. Battle it out with mushrooms that can grow or shrink your characters and just add some over-the-top Super Mario craziness to the Wii U launch title. Tag in on November 18, 2012.
Rayman Legends- Castle Rock Footage
This is quite possibly one of the greatest things I have ever seen. Watch, and be amazed!
Nintendo Power Shutting Down
Reports are surfacing that Nintendo Power, which has been in publication since 1988, is unfortunately shutting down. Ars Techinica was the first to break the news, revealing that Future Publishing was in fact going to stop publishing the magazine.
Apparently employees of the publication were notified last week of the magazine’s impending closure. The employees are currently being transitioned to other publications within Future Publishing.
A source that spoke with Ars Techinica said that Nintendo was unwilling to renew their contract or take part in any digital initiatives.
It is unknown at this time how many more issues of the magazine will be published, or how current subscribers will be compensated when the magazine no longer exists.
Source: Ars Techinica
Pokemon Conquest DS Review- Never Thought I’d Live to See the Day
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Tecmo Koei
Platform: Nintendo DS
Release Date: June 18, 2012 (NA)
ESRB: E – Everyone
Over the years, there have been many offshoots of Nintendo and Game Freak’s popular Pokémon series. Some have claimed their own place of honor among video game greats, such as Pokémon Stadium. Others have enjoyed a smaller, but dedicated following, like Pokémon Snap. Several of these have strayed quite a bit from the traditional Pokémon path. But even with the series’s history of branching out and exploring other genres and fresh ideas, I never thought I would be writing a review of a Pokémon-centered turn-based strategy game. Based off of feudal Japan, no less.
Nintendo 3DS XL releases July 28th in Europe, August 19th in U.S.
A new version of the Nintendo 3DS will be released later this summer, the 3DS XL. The system will come with a 4GB memory card, but no AC adapter (weird, I know)
Europe will receive the system in 3 colors: red, blue, and silver. People in the U.S. will get red and blue, but not silver.
The design is slightly different for this version and it will have a price point of $199.99 when it launches on August 19th in the U.S. and July 28th in Europe.
Via: Joystiq
Kirby: 20th Anniversary Special Collection Contents
A couple months ago Nintendo announced that they would be releasing an anniversary collection of Kirby games for the Wii, but didn’t reveal which games would be included.
Famitsu has just revealed what games will be included in the collection, along with the Japanese release date. The collection will contain the following games:
- Kirby’s Dream Land
- Kirby’s Dream Land 2
- Kirby’s Adventure
- Kirby Super Star
- Kirby’s Dream Land 3
- Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
The collection will also include a timeline and a soundtrack. The release date in Japan has been set for July 19, but no release date has yet been set for North America.
Source: Andriasang
Via: Joystiq
ZombiU E3 Gameplay Demo
One of the more interesting games shown at Nintendo’s press conference was a new zombie game called ZombiU. Before you start thinking this is a Left 4 Dead rip-off you should watch the video below and read up on some information about the game. It includes quite a few unique concepts that should make it well worth playing when it releases.
