The next Nintendo Direct starts in about 10 minutes from the time of this posting. For the first time in a while, we’ve had more than 24-hour notice of this event, which has allowed for rumor and speculation to take place among the citizens of the Internet. I won’t go over those rumors now, since the show will start before I’m done typing. Click the link below to view our live blogging of the event while you watch the above video.
Read the rest of this entry »
Speaking as someone who is interested in game development, I’m happy to announce that according to this article on IGN, Nintendo has changed some of their developer policies that will likely result in many great new games coming to the eShop.
Prior to the changes, independent game developers were required to have a designated office in order to keep their materials secure. That is no longer the case, and comes as great news because many independent developers work remotely, and constantly send files back and forth through the net.
But most importantly, the unit threshold has been eliminated. This was perhaps the worst element of Nintendo’s old policies, and required developers to sell a certain amount of copies of their game before they ever saw any revenue from it. Now that the unit threshold has been removed, developers will receive revenue from the first game they sell, which is incredible! That’s a much better business practice, and how it should have been to begin with.
This morning, my Mii Plaza received a rare SpotPass hit. Miyamoto’s Mii visited Mii Plaza stating that he is playing Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon. With his visit, he gives you any puzzle pieces from any of the puzzles that you are missing, a good chance to get one of those rare pink puzzle pieces. He also counts as a level 5 character in Find Mii.
This is the second Miyamoto Mii that I have in my system, receiving the first one back in 2011 when I was at E3 when he was using his personal (Non-Nintendo, Non-Gold Pants) Mii. I have video proof of that, here.
This morning, a Nintendo Direct Mini was published to YouTube without any advanced warning that I was aware of, other than the fact that Japan received a similar announcement late last night.
The disembodied head of Satoru Iwata made announcements regarding Flipnote Studio 3D, which will be made available as a free download from the 3DS eShop this summer.
Improvements over the DS version include:
In addition, there will be a 3DS “Flipnote Gallery: Friends” community available for sharing your animations among your 3DS friends. Your friends can rate, comment, and download copies of your animations. This service will be free to use.
Another service will be available for a small monthly fee called “Flipnote Gallery: World”. This is a larger scale version of friends that will be available to all other FG:W subscribers. The first 30 days will be free as a demo, in addition to special free access days after the free trial has ended. It was also stated that if your animations sent to FG:W are rated highly enough, you could get free months for additional use of the service.
The existing DSi Flipnote Studio online services will end on May 31st to make room for Flipnote Studio 3D. You can still use Flipnote Studio to make your own animations, you won’t be able to share them anymore.
Videos created using Flipnote Studio 3D will be made available to download for free on the 3DS eShop so you can get ideas of what it can do and see the results in 3D.
UPDATE: As of now, you can access the Nintendo Direct Mini and Flipnote Studio 3D Samples by going to “Recent Arrivals” in the eShop and then selecting “Latest Videos”.
Nintendo has announced the next Nintendo Direct to take place at 9AM EST / 6AM PST.
Since the last Nintendo Direct was mainly talking about new games announcements, I don’t expect to hear anything we’ve not heard of before this time around, but I do hope to hear release dates on games that have generically been slotted a release date by quarter. Hoping something significant for Wii U coming soon with Rayman Legends getting bumped into fall ’13.
Hit the jump for the Nintendo Direct video and our live coverage.
Read the rest of this entry »
Nintendo’s second world-wide Nintendo Direct begins at 9AM EST, 6AM PST. Based on a translation of a message that appeared in Japanese, Iwata will be talking about the games coming out for Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Wii in the near future. Click the link below for our live coverage and join in on the conversation.
Read the rest of this entry »
SAN JOSE, Calif., (January 21, 2013) – Leading video games publisher and developer NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. today announced that Project X Zone™ (working title) will be coming to challenge gamers in both North America and Latin America in the summer of 2013, exclusively for Nintendo 3DS™ system. This epic crossover title brings together the fiercest and most popular legacy characters from NAMCO BANDAI, SEGA®, and Capcom’s most beloved franchises to create a Strategy-RPG experience that can only be described as the ultimate cross-over title.
Developed by Banpresto and Monolith Soft, Project X Zone features over 50 characters from 29 historic game franchises by three of Japan’s most prolific video game companies. In Project X Zone players will use a team of two characters known as a Pair Unit to explore the world within the game. An additional character known as a Solo Unit can be combined with the Pair Unit to assist in battles with Solo Attacks as well as augment the attacks available for players to execute. Throughout the game, epic battles are waiting to erupt at a moment’s notice. Players will have to master an array of screen-busting moves including Solo Attacks, Support Attacks, Cross Hits, and Finishing Moves in order to defeat a multitude of foes.
“Project X Zone is the first title to ever combine such a large cast of characters from a varied list of game franchises into one grand adventure,” said Carlson Choi, Vice President of Marketing NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. “Developing a cohesive game and storyline to encompass all of these great characters and their battle-styles was a huge challenge that has paid off greatly with the creation of a truly unique and groundbreaking gaming experience.”
Project X Zone takes place in a world surrounded by a hidden chaos with shadows and evil lurking beneath the peaceful cover of everyday life. When a rift in time and space suddenly appears, a doorway to various universes is opened allowing both heroes and villains from different worlds to cross paths. Players will be able to take control of a huge selection of paired heroes including favorites such as Jin and Xiaoyu (TEKKEN), Toma and Cyrille (Shining Force™ EXA), to X and Zero (Mega Man® X) and discover the cause of the rift and stop evil from coming through and spreading into their world.
Project X Zone will launch the summer of 2013; exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS system.
You can view a 16 Minute extended trailer that shows a majority of the characters featured in the game after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
What do Jack Sparrow, Mr. Incredible, and Sully have in common? They are all characters in a new game from Disney Interactive and Avalanche Software due to release on every major platform and then some this June called Disney Infinity.
Disney Infinity will bring Skylanders-like collectables into a “Toy Box” (play on words with sand box) game where the figurines comes to life on your large (or not so large) screen.
Unlike Skylanders, Disney Infinity allows the linking of two characters at one time and a power-up in the form of a “power disc”.
From the press release announcing the game:
The Disney Infinity Platform includes:
- Disney Infinity Interactive Pieces – Initially a line of 40 collectible interactive pieces will be introduced that allow players to expand and customize their play experiences.
- Disney Infinity Interactive Character Figures – Seventeen character figures will allow players to experience a variety of their favourite characters in true to property experiences and in “Toy Box” mode.
- Disney Infinity Base – When figures are placed on the Infinity base, they unlock the world and play experiences of Disney Infinity.
- Disney Infinity Power Discs – Interactive discs can be placed on the Infinity base to power up characters and “Toy Box” with unique powers, customizations and gadgets.
When launched in June, there will be 20 character figurines available with an additional 20 more released through the end of the year.
Disney Infinity will be released worldwide on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, PC, and mobile devices.
Click below to view the UK trailer and the full press release…
Read the rest of this entry »
Jesse and Zac talk about the week’s news on VGTicker.
Links to articles referenced in this episode:
Let us know how we’re doing by entering comments below or writing an e-mail to us at tips@vgtribune.com.
You can subscribe to our iTunes Subscription feed at this link. Otherwise, you can listen to the show in the player shown below. If you’d like to view the images mentioned during the podcast or view the unedited video, the youtube video will be posted after the jump.
Read the rest of this entry »
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Multiple places online have been trying to define where the X and Y come into play in the new Pokemon games. X is obviously the deer like Pokemon called Xerneas, while Yveltal is the flying bird like pokemon with the Wingspan and tail that looks like a Y.
It’s easier to see the Y in Yveltal, but most people have been trying to say that the antlers of Xerneas and his legs make the X. This isn’t true, if you look closely the X is in his eye. It’s not a big announcement or anything, but just something I’ve noticed.
If you haven’t seen the trailer for the next game, you can view it after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
