On July 7th, 2009 by Chris Schilling
I’m not going to make any bones about this: I love Iwata Asks. If you’re a fan of the big N, it’s hard not to read these fascinating and enlightening discussions about the trials and tribulations of game development at Nintendo without a smile on your face, not least because of the amount of laughter these round-table discussions seem to generate among the participants.
This time, it’s Wii Sports Resort which comes under the microscope, and among other fact-nuggets, we learn just how keen Miyamoto is to develop WuHu Island into a regular Nintendo ‘character’ (very - he even discusses a few game ideas he’s had for the place), the strengths and weaknesses of MotionPlus, and Miyamoto’s near-dictatorial management style.
Other highlights include the revelation that Air Sports was originally set to feature a hang-glider instead of a plane, that Miyamoto has spent ten years wanting to create some kind of water-skiing/wakeboarding game, and that the brilliant - if slight - skydiving was almost a last-minute addition.
There are also tantalising hints that Miyamoto might want to explore the more Pilotwings-esque events further, and news that the original concept for the game featured winter sports would perhaps suggest that Wii Winter Sports Resort could be a potential future release (although Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games might have nixed that idea).
Obviously, I strongly recommend you give it a read, but in the meantime I’ll leave you with my favourite exchange of the piece:
Shimamura: Well, no one goes to a resort for a sword fight, after all.
Miyamoto: Which isn’t to say that you can just make the sword fights take place on top of a banana boat!
All: (laughter)
Brilliant.
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On June 12th, 2009 by Chris Schilling
The DS remains buoyant, despite choppy economic waters
The games industry continues to suffer in the face of the global recession, with all consoles bar DS significantly down on 2008’s figures.
No doubt buoyed by the recent release of the DSi, Nintendo’s handheld was comfortably on top, selling 633,000 units, more than twice as many as the Wii in second place on 289,000. Wii was still comfortably ahead of the 360 and PS3 (on 175,000 and 131,000 respectively), but Nintendo will still be concerned at the year-on-year drop.
In software, UFC ruled the roost, but Electronic Arts will undoubtedly be pleased with the sales of their Wii Fit rival EA Sports Active, which was the third-biggest seller of the month, just a few thousand short of Nintendo’s evergreen effort. Elsewhere, Punch-Out!! performed much better Stateside than in Europe, reaching seventh place with a little over 150,000 copies sold. Not up there with the likes of Mario Kart and Smash Bros, but still decent for what is considered a more hardcore-friendly title.
Below is the full rundown…
Hardware
DS = 633.5K
Wii = 289.5K
360 = 175K
PS3 = 131K
PS2 = 117K
PSP = 100.4K
Top 10 Software
1. UFC 2009 UNDISPUTED - 360 - 679.6K
2. Wii FIT W/ BALANCE BOARD - Wii - 352.8K
3. EA SPORTS ACTIVE BUNDLE - Wii - 345.8K
4. UFC 2009 UNDISPUTED - PS3 - 334.4K
5. INFAMOUS - PS3 - 175.9K
6. POKEMON PLATINUM - DS - 168.9K
7. MARIO KART W/ WHEEL - Wii - 158.3K
8. PUNCH OUT!! - Wii - 156.9K
9. X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE UNCAGED ED - 360 - 120.7K
10. Wii PLAY W/ REMOTE - Wii - 109.8K
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On June 4th, 2009 by Chris Schilling
Nintendo of Japan has been busy trying to arrest sliding Wii sales in Japan by announcing the release of a new black-coloured version of its slightly-less-popular-than-it-used-to-be console.
Launching in Japan on 1st August, there will also be a special Monster Hunter Tri bundle featuring the new console, the game and a black Classic Controller Pro. Which will undoubtedly be HUGE.
A new red DSi will be released on 11th July, while Nintendo has also launched the official site for Wii Sports Resort, which eastern gamers are getting a month early - it arrives in Japan in just three weeks (25th June for those whose maths isn’t too hot). The site’s a little sparse at the moment, but you can get a glimpse of the (excellent) box art.
Finally, it seems that Chibi-Robo will be making a handheld return, with a new DS game set for release on 23rd July.
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