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by Published on August 23rd, 2012 21:55- Categories:
- Nintendo 3DS News
Nintendo boss man Satoru Iwata has said that social features are now 'mandatory' in games - even single-player ones.
According to Iwata, connecting players in ways that allows them to interact - even when they're not online together - is now crucial to modern gaming."We have reached an era where even a single-player game experience [can] have a social component that is very important," he toldKotaku. "And I think that social component is mandatory."
Nintendo has a plan; Miiverse on Wii U is a feature that lets players share messages and/or tips about games with their friends. The home screen will have hoards of people's Miis gathering around the game icons that they're playing, and during gameplay, messages from other players can pop up at certain moments sharing their experience of that section.
Iwata compared this to pre-online gaming, when friends spoke amongst themselves about their experiences with games.
"Early on, when I played a Mario game, it was really fun for me to sit and chat with my friends about, 'Hey I found coins over here, there's a hidden place.' [or] 'This is how far I got.' That interaction was great," he said.
"Of course the Internet does provide a lot of that interaction, but it's not built for that purpose.
He later added, "What we really want to do is create a place where folks who are playing by themselves will not feel like they are playing by themselves. They'll be able to share those experiences and have that empathy."
http://www.computerandvideogames.com...-player-iwata/ ...by Published on August 23rd, 2012 00:50- Categories:
- Nintendo 3DS News
New Super Mario Bros. 2 for the 3DS has sold almost 1 million copies in Japan since its launch on July 28, holding the top spot in the sales charts with 152,026 turned over last week. Over its lifespan, New Super Mario Bros. 2 has sold 942,758 copies in Japan.
Japan is slow to catch the digital download craze for full games, selling just 5 percent of all copies digitally as of August 17. In the UK, New Super Mario Bros. 2 comes in second in the sales charts, behind Square Enix's Sleepings Dogs.
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/22/ne...-charts-again/ ...by Published on August 22nd, 2012 00:46- Categories:
- Nintendo DS News,
- Nintendo 3DS News
Unlike the PS Vita, which many would argue should be selling better than 2.2 million, Nintendo's 3DS has been faring quite well, selling 19 million units worldwide as of June. While there are far more people in the world who own smartphones than Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata believes both markets can co-exist and he insists that portable gaming machines aren't going anywhere.
"I think a lot of this discussion is based on the premise that the handheld gaming device market is shrinking or vanishing and I don't think that is true and I'd like to address that," he told Kotaku.
He continued, "Something that [Nintendo of America president] Reggie [Fils-Aime] said at E3 was that the Nintendo 3DS hardware was selling more or faster than the DS, and I think that's something... that a lot of people are aware of. But something that Reggie also said is that the 3DS software sales were exceeding DS software sales." The 3DS had sold 10.5 million units of software in its first 14 months, which is more than the DS had sold in the same period of time.
"I think this is proof that even though we see an increase in smartphones and tablets and whatnot and there's obviously a huge flood of games in the market, I think the software sales that Reggie alluded to and pointed out really prove that these people, even with this flood of free games and whatnot for these portable devices-[these] non-game-centric devices-are not keeping people from purchasing software for dedicated hardware," Iwata said.
For Nintendo, one of the key differences between the 3DS and smartphones is the kind of experience that the 3DS can provide for more serious gamers. Iwata sees smartphones offering games that are more "time fillers."
"I think within games you have two needs that people fill. One is the time-filler need. The other is that it's a very important time for me and I want to have a rich experience. Those are two separate needs, I think," he said, implying that the iPhone offered more of the time-filler need.
"The other thing is how much are consumers willing to pay to play. I think that consumers who are willing to pay money for a gaming experience are looking for something that is more rich and are willing to spend some of that valuable time on that experience. I believe that as environments change and as the world progresses we're going to have different ways in which people want to spend their time. That being said, I don't think we're going to see the desire to have, again, rich and deep sort of gaming experiences... we're not going to see that vanish. That's not going to go away," he concluded.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-not-shrinking ...by Published on August 20th, 2012 20:59- Categories:
- Nintendo 3DS News
SEQUEL WATCH: The latest data is in, and Nintendo's New Super Mario Bros 2 was the biggest selling individual format game released last week.
It managed No.2 in the Chart-Track All-Formats Charts, beaten by Square Enix's Sleeping Dogs.
But how well did it perform really? Should Nintendo be happy with the performance of its latest platform?
Much like New Super Mario Bros 2, the original New Super Mario Bros arrived at around 18 months after the launch of the console (Week 26 2006). But the market was in a far healthier state. Games retail generated roughly £16m during the launch week of New Super Mario Bros, in comparison, this week the High Street generated just £11m. There were no economic woes to worry about six years ago.
Also, DS was on the rise. The new DS Lite had recently been launched and Brain Training was performing strongly. During the launch week of New Super Mario Bros, £2.48m was made from sales of DS software alone. In fact, handhelds in general was enjoying a bumper summer as the No.1 game was Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories on PSP.
And yet, despite all this, New Super Mario Bros 2 has this week sold more units during its first seven days on sale than the original – 29.4 per cent more, to be exact.
So what does this tell us? Obviously Mario games have been continued big sellers on 3DS, there have been times this year when the Top Four 3DS games have all been Mario titles - Mario Kart 7, Super Mario 3D Land, Mario & Sonic and Mario Tennis Open. So it hardly comes as a surprise that New Super Mario Bros 2 has performed admirably when compared to its original.
It is also an encouraging sign for Nintendo that in some areas 3DS is tracking ahead of its predecessor.
Yet the real test for New Super Mario Bros 2 is how its sales will grow. The original New Super Mario Bros kept selling for months and years to follow, and by the end of 2006 it had sold just shy of 450,000 copies.
That's a mighty high figure for any game to reach in today's troubled retail market. Yet even if New Super Mario Bros 2 doesn't quite hit those heights, it does look likely that it will be the 3DS game to beat well into Q4.
The data used in this report does not include digital sales of New Super Mario Bros 2.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/seque...bros-2/0101521 ...by Published on August 20th, 2012 20:35- Categories:
- Nintendo 3DS News
There’s a new Super Mario Bros. game out for the 3DS handheld console. It’s called New Super Mario Bros. 2and features Mario, Princess Peach, Bowser, and the same fun gameplay you’ve come to expect from Nintendo’s most iconic game series. But this latest adventure stands out by not standing out at all."Read below for the rest of Jon's review.
http://games.slashdot.org/story/12/0...eatest-problem ...by Published on August 19th, 2012 01:55- Categories:
- Nintendo 3DS News
Today is the biggest release day of the year for the 3DS in the USA, first off the new Larger screened 3DS XL is to be released and also New Super Mario Bros. 2 is also released:
First off heres all the info you need about the 3DS XL:
Its Now the 19th of August and Nintendo have finally released thier larger screened Nintendo 3DS Console called the 3DS XL, after a masssively successful release in Japan and a rather muted release in the UK, Nintendo will be hoping to sell a bucketload in the USA.
The 3DS XL features a 4.88 inch stereoscopic 3D top screen, which is quite a bit bigger than the 3DS's 3.53 inch screen. The bottom screen measures 4.18inch bottom screen, compared to 3.02 inches on the 3DS. Battery life will be anything from 3 and a half hours to 6 and a half hours. Also you now have a 4GB Memory Card instead of the 2GB card bundled with the 3DS:
The release colours are Blue/Black, Red/Black and Silver/Black.
The New 3DS XL also features the least reflective handheld screen in Nintendo history, and that's thanks to an additional anti-glare treatment that's been applied to its LCD screens, Reflectivity on the Nintendo 3DS was about 12%, but its been decreased now to about 3%.
Now heres all you need to know about New Super Mario Bros. 2
New Super Mario Bros. 2 was released in Japan a few weeks ago and has sold near on 800,000 copies, well today in the USA its our turn to check out the biggest 3DS release of the year.
Mario and Luigi are back, and this time, their task is to collect a million coins. Super Mario Brothers 2 is a continuation of the DS game released in 2006. Familiar characters and props, such as the Super Leaf are back. Transform the pipe cleaner into a raccoon and all sorts of creatures to make your coin collection as exciting as possible. Make the Golden Flower bloom, put on the ring to turn your enemies into coins, and put on the block mask to generate coins when the pipe cleaners run.
There are more mini-games. Collect as much coins as you can in just one life span in the coin rush mode. And when you are dealing extra challenging stages, ask your brother to come help you out as Luigi.
Each level is littered with gold as coins rain down from overhead pipes, trails of coins are left behind special gold enemies and gold pipes transport Mario into coin-filled caverns. It’s up to players to collect as many coins as possible throughout their adventure.
FEATURES:
- The game records all the coins players collect throughout the game, so completing a level is only part of the fun. Every level is filled with golden opportunities, such as gold rings that turn enemies into valuable gold versions and a Gold Flower that gives Mario the ability to turn almost anything in his path into coins.
- Coin Rush Mode allows players to collect as many coins as possible across three levels and challenge friends to beat their record via StreetPass.
- New Super Mario Bros. 2 is an all-new side-scrolling adventure game featuring Mario and Luigi. Two players who each own the game will have the option to play the entire game in two-player multiplayer mode using local wireless.
- The return of Raccoon Mario gives Mario the ability to fly and access hidden areas.
- Players will have the option to either purchase the game at retail stores or download the entire game through the Nintendo eShop.
Amazon are selling New Super Mario Bros 2 for £29.99 ...by Published on August 18th, 2012 22:14- Categories:
- Nintendo 3DS News
New Super Mario Bros. 2 kicks off Nintendo's dual retail/digital distribution initiative on August 19. Before that, there's ... not that much new stuff to download on 3DS and DS this week. In fact, it's pretty much just Crazy Chicken: Pirates on both.
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/16/ni...s-picross-sal/ ...by Published on August 18th, 2012 22:05- Categories:
- Nintendo 3DS News
Currently sitting on a Metacritic average of just 78 per cent, New Super Mario Bros. 2 is comfortably the lowest-scoring mainline Mario game to date. That tally may be acceptable by many standards, but for one of gaming's most consistent performers, the numbers aren't good.The figure is well below the 87 per cent accrued by New Super Mario Bros. Wii, or the DS original's 89, while every other 2D Mario game released since Metacritic began aggregating data is in the nineties. You don't have to look too hard to spot the common thread here.NSMB 2 is still a fine game, no doubt, but time was when a new Mario platformer was something of an event. In his review earlier this week, Oli claimed to be "blasphemously bored" for portions of the game, and as a fellow Mario fan I'd be inclined to agree. When an argument can be made that it's not even the best platformer of the week - Jonathan Mak's musical oddity Sound Shapes may be flawed but it's undeniably the more inventive game of the two - then you have a cause for concern.NSMB2's secret worlds host some of its best stages, but the Star World can't hold a candle to Super Mario World's Star Road....
Or do you? The NSMB series is a massive seller and Nintendo as much as anyone needs the safe hands of a star performer like Mario, especially given the threat to the dedicated handheld market from mobile games. In a console business increasingly reliant on franchises, it's hardly surprising that Mario is more cash cow than sacred cow these days.Quite aside from that, there's also the small business of satisfying the demands of a market Reggie Fils-Aime recently claimed to be "insatiable", the result of which was the announcement of yet another 2D Mario, this time for Wii U. For the first time it seems we're likely to see two Mario platformers in the same year. But I'm not convinced this is the Mario that enthusiasts are still clamouring for. Still, it's sales rather than scores that are of most concern to Nintendo in the present climate.It seems unlikely that Nintendo is unaware of the irony in NSMB2's cash-grabbing conceit. It does, however, feel rather out of character for Mario, not least because there's no explanation for this sudden surfeit of gold. Wario would surely be a better fit for this scenario, even if he's hardly as big a draw as his arch rival."Maybe it's time for some of us to realise that we're not the target audience for these games any more."
A bigger issue is that this one gimmick is hardly enough to sustain an entire game. Outside Coin Rush mode it's essentially meaningless, beyond giving you even more lives than you'd normally accrue. There is, of course, an ultimate goal, but the reward for achieving it is in no way commensurate with the effort taken. It's fair to say the game will earn a million coins well before the majority of its players will.There's one particular design choice that suggests something of a creative malaise at the house of Mario. In EAD Tokyo's effortlessly brilliant Super Mario 3D Land - whose achievements are now thrown into sharper focus - Mario leaps up to hit a coin block, only to find his head getting stuck. He then leaps around awkwardly, hiccupping coins for a while until he finally disappears. It's a delightful, surprising pratfall; a wonderful subversion of expectations. It's used just a handful of time, and perhaps only that many to ensure no one missed it.Perhaps it's time the Koopalings were retired. Or at least given some more creative attack patterns.
In New Super Mario Bros. 2, it's back, only this time it's no longer a one-off, but a feature. Certain blocks you hit and keep on hitting will eventually turn gold; jump into them again and Mario ends up with a moustachioed block for a head. It's charming at first, but it's nothing more than a faint echo of a brilliant joke.Otherwise its inclusion is meaningless beyond allowing you to earn some extra coins, and though it initially seems to encourage riskier play as the coins emerge more quickly the faster you run and the higher you jump, you can earn the same amount by simply jumping on the spot until the gold geyser runs dry. It's symptomatic of a lack of inspiration when it comes to new ideas.Even Coin Rush mode, ostensibly a speedrunner's dream, lacks the purity of 3D Land's time attacks, where good old-fashioned speed is prized over the ability to exploit each level's richest coin deposits. The random selection of stages, meanwhile, ensures that score comparisons are hollow outside of the StreetPass challenges."For the first time it seems we're likely to see two Mario platformers in the same year. But I'm not convinced this is the Mario that enthusiasts are still clamouring for."
Perhaps it's unfair to single out NSMB2 for criticism when other problems have been rumbling beneath the surface for some time. The art style, for example, may have been tolerable for one game, but after three it's grown decidedly stale. From the original Super Mario Bros. through to Yoshi's Island, each gameby Published on August 18th, 2012 22:04- Categories:
- Nintendo 3DS News
The ability to download full retail games on 3DS hasn't gone down too well with Mario fans in Japan, nearly all of whom chose to grab his new quest via traditional retail outlets.
Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata has told Wall Street Journal (thanks Joystiq) that just five per cent of sales in Japan were downloads.Japan's other digital offering, Brain Age sequel Demon Training, faired better with 20 per cent digital sales.
Iwata suggested that a greater portion of people bought Brain Age digitally because of the convenience of playing the mini games daily without having to carry/swap cartridges.
The CEO called initial digital sales "a good reaction" to the new initiative.
Considering the £39.99 price (£10 over a boxed copy) that UK customers must pay for the download version of New Super Mario Bros. 2, we can't see its digi-sales going down to well in the region either.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com...-japans-sales/ ...by Published on August 18th, 2012 22:00- Categories:
- Nintendo 3DS News
Hardcore Nintendo fans know that when Pikachu graces a certain-to-be-rare Nintendo console, he seriously inflates its future value.
Nintendo has revealed a special Pikachu-themed 3DS XL (3DS LL in Japan) that will only be sold via the Pokemon Center store in Japan.The Pokemon Center will take pre-orders on the console from August to September 14, and it will be sold exclusively to pre-order holders, reports Andriasang.
It's unclear whether or not the machine will be produced in pre-defined limited numbers or stay in stock for a set period. But it will be sold for the regular price of 18,900, and you can bet your granny they'll go for a profit on eBay.
Right, where's the local release petition?
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