A press release issued today has confirmed that Nintendo’s president Satoru Iwata will be delivering a keynote address at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco this year.
GDC runs from March 23rd to the 27th, and Iwata’s speech will take place at the Moscone Convention Center, between 9 and 10am on the 25th.
It’s the first time Iwata has spoken at GDC since his 2006 appearance, where he spoke about ‘disruptive development’. He will be talking about ‘Discovering New Development Opportunities’ this time, which presumably will focus on DSiWare and - hopefully - MotionPlus. Whether he’ll hint at any new software is anyone’s guess, but undoubtedly there will be one or two nods in his address to forthcoming titles - Nintendo’s Q2 line-up will surely have been announced at that stage, and so we might learn a little more about Nintendo’s plans for 2009.
Hopefully Iwata will also discuss the opportunities for third-party developers on Wii and DS - 2009 looks like being a much better year for third-party titles on Wii, while Nintendo’s step back from first-party DS development has allowed other publishers to thrive with their handheld ranges.
Finally, it’ll be interesting to see whether he alludes to that recent patent for a video hint guide on Wii. Will he suggest that other developers take up that particular idea, or is that one Nintendo would like to keep for itself? We’ll know in just two months’ time.
Twelve titles qualified for Tokyo Games Show organiser CESA’s ‘best in show’ list, highlighting what the organiser feels were the top forthcoming titles for all consoles. Five of the games were Wii and DS titles, with the home console having one more game to shout about than its handheld cousin.
On Wii, Sega’s 428 (a quirky sound novel we’ll never see in the west) and Yuji Naka’s controller-free Let’s Tap were both celebrated while Capcom’s Monster Hunter Tri made a predictable appearance. On the DS, Dragon Quest IX got the judges all hot and bothered while potential WiiWii.tv Game of 2009 Gyakuten Kenji (an adventure set in the Phoenix Wright universe where you play as prosecutor Miles Edgeworth - DO WANT) also made the cut.
Of course, it’s bound to be pure coincidence that all the games on the list were from the show’s biggest Japanese publishers - Capcom, Sony, Sega, Square-Enix and Namco-Bandai. Yep, definitely an odd quirk of fate, that.
Considering everyone’s been banging on about the hardware, and the Wii’s impressive software line-up, it’s hardly surprising that there’s a lot less info buzzing about the internet when it comes to the software line-up of the DS and its sleek sort-of-successor.
What is noticeable, however, is that there’s plenty to look forward to, even before we get round to examining what we might see by way of downloadable content.
Most noteworthy of all? Check out a familiar-looking peripheral at the 20 second mark, have a gander at what looks awfully like a DS take on infamous cancelled GameCube title Stage Debut at 2:24, marvel at the return of one of the finest portable RPG series (Mario and Luigi) at 2:29, and consider the awesome possibilities of a create-your-own version of Wario Ware immediately afterwards.
If the last one allows you to share created stages online, it could almost be the DS’s own LittleBIGPlanet. Which is very, very exciting indeed.
Okay, that’s not great quality, to say the least. If you want to watch a better version, then click here instead. (That’s Nintendo’s Japanese site, by the way. I’m not Rick Rolling you or owt.)
Definitely. Well, according to trade news site MCV, anyway. Tomorrow, Satoru Iwata will apparently announce the imminent release of a multimedia DS - complete with MP3 and camera functions, and likely to be launched in Japan later this year. Because the PSP’s doing rather well at the moment, and evidently Nintendo’s none too pleased about that. Whether the capabilities can genuinely compete with the PSP’s superior hardware remains to be seen, but perhaps Nintendo has another surprise or two up its sleeve in terms of what the new console can do.
“According to our impeccable source in Japan,” the site claims, “Iwata will make the announcement at 5am UK time.”
Set your alarms early, folks. It’s going to be an interesting day. ÂÂ
Chris writes: Last week, friend and Telegraph games writerTom Hoggins attended a Bloggers’ Day for WiiWii.tv at EA’s Redwood Shores studio in San Francisco. While there he got hands-on time with a few games from EA’s Sims label, and he’ll be posting his impressions over the next few days. Today’s game is SimCity Creator.
Last Friday, we visited EA’s Redwood Shores campus to check out its upcoming Sims label releases on their annual ‘Bloggers’ Day’. Stumbling jet-lagged and bleary-eyed through the front door of the gaming behemoth’s offices, any malaise of the gathered bloggers was washed away by the sight of a gigantic screen showing off Crysis Warhead. Game pods and huge posters lined the walls, while we were doused in blue spotlights from the giant rig that loomed above us: “a leftover from E3†says our guide. And that was just reception; further exploration of the 23-acre campus gives a glimpse of a company that makes more money than God - and loves it. A giant fully-equipped gym here, an NBA-sized basketball court there. American glitz and excess resides in every corner- this is a company at the top of the biggest entertainment sector in the world and it’s not afraid to show it.
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And we’re all here to find out how they do it. EA are showing off their their latest MySims titles for Wii and DS: MySims Kingdom, SimAnimals and SimCity Creator. Each will sell a bazillion copies, of that there’s little doubt. Every title is pitched perfectly to capture the maximum amount of audience. What’s surprising, perhaps, is just how good they all looked.
GoNintendo is carrying an intriguing rumour that Nintendo will be holding a conference before the Tokyo Game Show. The conference is said to be taking place on October 2nd. It might, as the site suggests, be unusual for Nintendo to hold an event rather than attend TGS, but then it pulled a similar trick last year, when Monster Hunter 3 was revealed to be Wii-exclusive.
Whether there’ll be an equally surprising announcement this year, I’m not so sure, but I wouldn’t bet against a couple of game announcements for the early part of 2009 which are perhaps slightly unexpected. We’re due a pleasant surprise or two, after all…
Japanese site Inside-Games has posted a list of titles which will be appearing at the forthcoming Tokyo Games Show - essentially, Japan’s E3, only weirder, gaudier and (probably) better.
A swift visit to Google Translate later, and we’ve got a list which has plenty to offer DS and Wii owners, even though there are plenty more titles yet to be announced. Highlights? Platinum Games’ intriguing sci-fi RPG Infinite Line will be there, alongside Culdcept DS and Shiren The Wanderer 2 DS on Sega’s stand.
Meanwhile Marvelous has Rune Factory Frontier, King Story and Odin Sphere creator Vanillaware’s jaw-slackeningly gorgeous Oboro Murasama Youtuden, while Level 5 has the third Professor Layton game, and a home console version of DS footy-RPG Inazuma Eleven, which I’m betting will be on Wii. Unless Microsoft has got to them, too.
Expect to hear more from some big-name publishers in the next few days - hopefully we’ll see one or two surprise announcements. Like Ouendan 3, please, iNiS.
LostWinds creators David Braben and Steve Burgess have stated they are “not making any announcements†on the recently confirmed LostWinds sequel, but nevertheless offered a number of hints about the future of their windswept WiiWare hit.
Speaking at a LostWinds-centric Frontier Developments presentation at the Edinburgh Interactive Festival today, Braben and Burgess reiterated their intention to produce a follow-up to the critically-acclaimed platformer, identifying the world of LostWinds as one they would be “foolish not to return†to, before revealing a number of clues to the direction the franchise might take; Braben stated that he “would love to see†a full disc-based LostWinds release in the future, and even teased us with fresh artwork of a black, swirling thundercloud, a suitably foreboding and nebulous sample of things to come for little Toku and the world of Mistralis. Read the rest of this entry »
According to NeoGAF, Nintendo is holding a press event in Japan today, where it will be showing off Wii Music, Captain Rainbow, and - most importantly - some new coloured straps for the Wii remote.
The big N’s casual-pleaser will be arriving on 16th October, priced at 5800 yen, which is the lower price point for Wii titles in Japan. The fantastic-looking Captain Rainbow will be here on 28th August, costing 6800 yen.
As for the remote straps, they’ll be coming in white, pink, blue and green variations which will cost 300 yen each, or you can buy a pack of four for just 1000 yen. I was initially curious as to why Nintendo is bothering with white given that the standard strap is that colour, but then I glanced at my own remote which is now a fetching shade of brownish-grey and immediately understood.
Last revelation is that Valkyrie Profile is coming to DS, on 2nd October, and will retail for 5040 yen.
 
 
 
 
LostWinds creators David Braben and Steve Burgess have stated they are “not making any announcements†on the recently confirmed LostWinds sequel, but nevertheless offered a number of hints about the future of their windswept WiiWare hit.
 
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