Exactly 20 years ago Mario was arriving to shock the world and change the history of gaming. September 13th, 2005 marks the 20th anniversary of our favourite plumber. With more than 30 games under his belt Mario has become one of the most popular icons for the gaming industry.
Nintendo Japan launched a special mini-web site to celebrate this anniversary, check it out here.
Perry Kaplan, NOA´s vice president of marketing and corporate affairs was recently asked about the revolution controller. Nintendo said one of the main reasons for not showing the controller was that the comptition might decide to copy the idea and add it to their own systems, so Kaplan was asked if the controller is actually something that can´t be simply added by Microsoft or sony as an add-on:
“The entire controller will be remarkably innovative. We’re working on something that truly will provide a unique gameplay experience. That’s our goal — to not only have a unique controller, but introduce a new way to enjoy games. We’ll have to see if its innovation inspires others to creativity as well. And remember, we are securing the appropriate intellectual property rights for the product.”
I´ve always wondered about this, i think the unique feature of the revolution´s controller would have to be something that directly interacts with the console´s hardware, otherwise, there´s no point in hiding it since they can just add it later even if the 360 or ps3 already launched.
Hopefully we´ll find answers this week, get ready for the TGS!.
Via | IGN
Brian Farrel, THQ president has talked abou the company´s plans for the revolution. He confirmed that THQ is developing games for the next-generation Nintendo console.
It´s great to see third parties joining Nintendo for revolution games development, apparently they´ve been working very closely with Nintendo “We’re seeing more from Nintendo now [for Revolution] than we have an any other Nintendo platform.” said Farrel when IGN asked him but they haven´t revealed too much due to Non-Disclossure agreements.
Farrel also said that they feel like “Nintendo is waking up”. I´m glad to hear that.
Source: IGN
Shigeru Miyamoto recently talked to a japanese radio show where he was asked about the future for Nintendo and the aswers left us with even more questions. I think we are getting used to that. Here´s the transcript of the interview.
Why wait so long to release a new installment of Mario? The wait is frustrating players everywhere…
Mario is and always has been a concept title from his birth. We are always looking for new ways of playing with him, manipulating him, to create something new and unique. We’re in the midst of preparing something special for his future, something never before seen. You’ll understand when you see it that we can’t quite release it right away. The new Mario game will surprise many people. Give us the benefit of the doubt. I think we’ll present you with a new way to have fun. There’s even a new character by his side.
Mario 128 will be released for Revolution then?
Yes, of course! It’s no surprise, but of course we will rename it, obviously. That won’t be the only surprise of next year though. We based the Revolution around this new type of game. Mario 128 played a large role in the Revolution’s conception, much like Mario 64 in it’s time. But we won’t just be focusing on Mario. We’re working on some very impressive games which push interactivity to the max. Games of a new era.
The new Zelda, it’s not really good news that…
Please allow me to interrupt you by saying that you will have to be patient, really. This will be, without a doubt, the last Zelda game as you know it in its present form. I worked on it personally, moreso than Wind Waker! I haven’t invested as much into any game as I have this one. Our goal was to make the best Zelda game ever. The most rich/satisfying and melancholy. We’ve really improved it in just a few months. Everything’s coming together much quicker. We may have some last minute ideas…
You’re going to move it to Revolution?
No, it is a Gamecube title.
In any case, you want to preserve the air of mystery around Nintendo?
We will be revealing many details soon. It’s true, we do like surprises (laughs). While our gamers are sleeping, we’re busy thinking up new ideas. But while they’re playing - we’re playing as well.
So what is this special “never before seen” thing in Mario 128? And who’s the new character by his side? How will Twilight Princess be the last Zelda game as we know it? Has this game really seen more of Miyamoto’s magic than any other? Nintendo’s air of mystery continues, though for how much longer until all is revealed..?
So, Mario will get a new sidekick, who? what´s his role?, Twilight Princess will be the last Zelda game for the franchise as we know it, will we start seeing darker and more serious Zelda games?.
My head is spinning. Seriously, we need answers.
Via | Gamecube Europe
Looks like people loves virtual pets, Nintendogs has sold over 250,000 copies only in the first week of sales in the U.S.
According to an official press release “Nearly 15 percent of all DS owners bought Nintendogs in just a week, a virtually unprecedented adoption rate for any title on an established system. And it’s also helping sell new DS hardware.”
Looks like Nintnedo has a winner with Nintendogs and i wouldn´t be surprised if they actually come up with Nintencats, Nintenfishes or something.
The Metroid Prime Hunters official website has been updated with some extra information of the game, new screens and a couple of extra images but it also confirms what we all suspected would be the reason for the game´s delay until 2006. Hunters will be getting wi fi support!
Metroid Prime Hunters will allow you to test your bounty hunting skills against other players trough Nintendo wi fi connection
Link | Official Website
Via | 4 Color Rebellion
Nintendo announced the lineup for the rest of the year, some of the games don´t have an official launch date yet.
So with Metroid Prime Hunters and The legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess delayed until 2006 what games are left for holydays? I´ve listed the ones that look promising.
Nintendo DS
Oct. 24: Metroid Prime Pinballand DS Rumble Pack from Nintendo
Nov. 14: Mario Kart DS from Nintendo
Nov. 28: Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time from Nintendo
November: Mega Man Battle Network 5: Double Team from Capcom
November: Need for Speed: Most Wanted from Electronic Arts
November: Viewtiful Joe Double Trouble from Capcom
Fall: Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow from Konami
Game Boy
October: Mega Man Zero 4 from Capcom
Nov. 8: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire from Electronic Arts
Fall: Tony Hawk (working title) from Activision
Gamecube
September: Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects from Electronic Arts
Oct. 3: Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness from Nintendo
Oct. 17: Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance from Nintendo
Oct. 24: Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix from Nintendo
Nov. 7: Mario Party 7 from Nintendo
Nov. 8: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire from Electronic Arts
November: Mega Man X Collection from Capcom
November: Need for Speed: Most Wanted from Electronic Arts
Dec. 5: Super Mario Strikers from Nintendo
Fall: SSX On Tour from Electronic Arts
Fall: X-Men Legends II: Rise of the Apocalypse from Activision
You can catch up the full list here.
Yep, our little Metroid Prime Hunters countdown is gone, Nintendo has announced the game´s launch has been delayed just like Twilight Princess until, at least, the first quarter of 2006.
No details were revealed on why Hunters was pushed back but everyone seems to be thinking the same: to support Wi-Fi.
Well, i guess we´ll have to wait some extra months and if it´s to add the wi-fi support i think it might be worth the wait.
Remember the Nintendo conference we talked you about a couple of weeks ago? well, we didn´t get any revolution info but we certainly got a few surprises specially for European Nintendo fans.
At the Games Convention in Leipzig Nintendo announced they will be releasing a Gamecube bundle with the launch of Mario Smash Football. The package will include the game and a White Perl Gamecube wich sounds pretty cool. No price was given for this bundle.
They also announced they´ll be launching the DS in 2 new colors, well, not really new since Japan got´em centuries ago but they haven´t been distributed in the rest of the world. This new colors are Pink and Green.
But there are more surprises for you lucky europeans, in other Nintendo News, the company will be releasing the Play-Yan (probably with a different name), an add-on wich allows you to play mp3 and mpeg4 files on your Nintendo DS.
I think we should´ve seen before that this was basically a conference with European related news but i guess we all hoped they´d give away more info on the revolution.
Ok, lets forget about the bad news. Nintendo confirmed today the rumors we´ve been hearing about all week. The DS price will drop 20 bucks this week with the release of Nintendogs. This means the handheld will cost $130 USD from now on.
The price drop will be universal, meaning that you can also expect to see it on other countries and currencies.
This are great news for those expecting Nintendogs and Advance Wars: Dual Strike and i think it might have a possitive effect on the worldwide DS sales.
