‘Pokémon Go’ helps Nintendo break major stock market record
Nintendo continues to make headlines, all thanks to Pokémon Go. Now the video game giant had the biggest daily turnover of any company on the Tokyo stock market this past Friday, July 15th.
Nintendo traded 476 billion yen in one day ( $4.5 billion), according to Bloomberg, breaking the record previously held by energy company Tokyo Electric.
While this wasn’t the largest volume of Nintendo stock traded on the market (which happened on July 11th, a day after Pokémon Go’s first weekend), it was the highest value. Also, at $33 Nintendo’s stock price is still below the $70 high it hit in 2007 during its Wii days.
Pokémon Go has already added billions to Nintendo’s market value since its release. Though with all the success the game has been enjoying, there have been a few problems. Developer Niantic had to delay its international launch due to server issues caused by unexpected high demand. There have been a few security concerns as well involving Google accounts, and a Holocaust Museum in Washington DC wants to see the craze come to an end.
Source: Bloomberg
Server capacity delayed Japanese ‘Pokémon Go’ launch
Pokémon Go may be a smash hit in the US, Canada, UK, New Zealand and about 20 other countries — but did you know that nobody is playing the game in the Japan? It’s not for want of trying. Despite being the franchise’s homeland, Pokémon Go still isn’t available to Japanese users. What’s the deal? According to Niantic’s CEO, Japan’s servers just aren’t good enough to handle the game.
“At present, the server capacity in Japan is not powerful enough,” Niantic’s John Hanke told Forbes. “We are working hard with our partners in Japan to enable the servers to keep up with demand once the game goes online there.” That should sound familiar to players who already have access to the game. Pokémon Go has dealt with server issues ever since day one, and international expansion was slowed to ensure that new markets were able to handle the popular augmented reality title.
Even so, it’s a bit odd to think that Japan, of all places, is having to do without a Pokémon game — at least for now. Niantic says it expects to launch the title in its home country by the end of the month.
Via: Siliconera
Source: Forbes
After Math: Fun and games
This was a big week for diversions. Nintendo is sitting pretty thanks to its overnight smash hit, Pokémon Go — not to mention the excitement surrounding its upcoming NES Classic Edition mini-console. Additionally, MoviePass rolled out its revised film subscription rates. ESPN is finally giving eSports the attention it deserves. And Twitter tripled the size limit for displaying animated gifs to a whopping 15MB. Numbers, because how else will you know who holds the high score?
Ben Heck tears down the legendary Nintendo PlayStation
We got a good, close look at the Nintendo PlayStation last year and even talked to Sony veteran Shuhei Yoshida about it, but have you ever wondered about everything inside the ill-fated game console? Ben Heckendorn, aka Ben Heck, is happy to show you. The homebrew gadget expert has conducted an extensive teardown of the cancelled system (the same one we saw, even) that shows exactly what it’s made of. While it’s evident that Sony had the largest role in the machine, this was very much a collaboration — you’ll find a mix of both Nintendo and Sony chips in this prototype, on top of the occasional third-party component.
Ben also suspects that this PlayStation wouldn’t have fared well even if Nintendo and Sony had put their differences aside. Although it would have had a much faster CD drive than the Sega CD (a whopping 2X!), it otherwise wouldn’t have been any more powerful than the cartridge-only Super Nintendo. That would have put it on par with Sega’s rival unit, or even slightly behind.
This isn’t the end of it. Ben believes he knows enough that he might have a shot at repairing the console (the CD drive wasn’t working when we saw it). If so, it raises the possibility that you’ll witness a fully functional device before long. You might not ever see it play native CD titles, but it’ll bring new life to an important part of video game history.
Source: The Ben Heck Show (YouTube)
‘Pokémon Go’ expansion marred by a possible cyberattack
Good news! Pokémon Go is available in 26 more countries… if you get a chance to play, that is. Trainers can now grab the mobile game across a wider swath of European nations (such as the Netherlands and Sweden), but temporarily went down amid reports of a possible distributed denial of service attack. The internet collective PoodleCorp claims to have flooded Pokémon Go servers worldwide with enough traffic to effectively render them useless.
We’ve reached out to the developers at Niantic for its take on the claims and will let you know if it can shed light on the situation. However, it’s hard to know how much of this was due to the self-proclaimed attackers. As many players can tell you, Pokémon Go has had periodic issues since launch. Although it’s unlikely that numerous servers would fail on their own at the same time, there’s no firm evidence of a denial of service attack beyond the alleged perpetrators’ say-so.
PokemonGo #Offline #PoodleCorp
— PoodleCorp (@PoodleCorp) July 16, 2016
Via: Gizmodo
Source: Pokemon Go (Facebook), PoodleCorp (Twitter)
Rare US N64 disk-drive retail prototype found in Seattle
If you subscribed to Nintendo Power in the 90’s, you probably remember reading about the Nintendo 64DD, a console disk-drive add-on design to bring higher storage capacity, a real-time clock and internet connectivity to the Nintendo 64. You may also remember that it flopped in Japan, badly. The N64DD never made it to the US market — but it may have come closer to hitting store shelves than we previously thought. A collector in Seattle has stumbled upon a working US Nintendo 64DD prototype.
At glance, the unit looks almost identical to the Nintendo 64DD that hit Japan in 1999 — so much so that when Jason “MetalJesusRocks” Lindsey found it, he assumed it was merely a US developer kit. Turns out, it’s even more rare: the unit boots up without the aid of the “partner cartridge,” developers needed to get devkits running. It also features an english-language menu screen, something not present in official development units or the original Japanese retail model. The unit is even region-locked to the US, and won’t play japanese N64DD games. Lindsey (and Ars Technica) reached out to Mark DeLoura, a former Lead Engineer at Nintendo that worked on the n64DD, to figure out what was going on. The answer? This is most likely an unreleased retail unit, or at least a retail prototype.
That alone makes it a rare collectors item, but there’s one more mystery surrounding this retail prototype: it came with a unreadable, blue game disk. The development cartridge is unlabeled, and Lindsey has been unable to get it to boot so far — but DeLoura says the disk could contain a US retail-ready N64DD game or some of the demos he used to show the device to developers when he still worked for Nintendo. Lindsey says he’s working with the gaming community to find a way to read the disk. With any luck, we’ll have one more piece of Nintendo history to admire sometime in the near future. Until then? Check out Lindsey’s YouTube channel for a full rundown of the rare, retail hardware.
Source: NintendoLife, YouTube
Nintendo’s Classic Mini costs £50 in the UK
As if Pokémon Go wasn’t playing havoc with our nostalgia receptors already, Nintendo yesterday announced the Classic Mini: A palm-sized Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) clone complete with 30 preinstalled 8-bit titles. We know this future Christmas hit launches November 11th, but UK pricing wasn’t immediately available. Several retailers have now opened up preorders, however, pegging the price at £50 (with savings of a few pence to be had here and there).
The likes of Amazon, GAME, Zavvi and a few lesser-known retailers are offering presales of the retro reboot, with a note on Nintendo’s official store saying preorders will open there soon. An additional pad will set you back £8 at GAME or Zavvi — you get one in the box — though you can also use a Wii Classic Controller or Classic Controller Pro if you’ve got one lying around. Unfortunately, Nintendo didn’t create the lil’ NES with future software sales in mind, so 30 games is all you’re gonna get. With so many classics on board, though, you’ll probably find enough to enjoy to consider it money well spent.
Nintendo won’t offer additional games for the Classic Mini
Bad news, Nintendo fans: The Classic Mini that was announced earlier today won’t be able to play R.C. Pro-Am, Stadium Events, Little Nemo: The Dream Master or anything else beyond what’s in the NES-themed box. Nor will it be able to connect to the internet to download additional games beyond the 30 that come packed with it, according to a report from Kotaku. Nintendo won’t sell additional games for micro console, either, nor does the Chamber Lid (that’s what it’s called!) open for a nostalgia-fueled look-see. In that sense, this isn’t much different than similar offerings from Sega and Atari.
Any disappointment you may be feeling is similar to what those of us with big feet who were left out in the cold by the recent Nintendo/Vans collaboration endured. If you’re hoping for a possible mini version of a Super NES or Nintendo 64, the company’s mum on that for now. We’ve reached out with additional questions, however, and will update this post if there’s a response.
Source: Kotaku
Nintendo’s Classic Mini is a tiny NES with 30 games
That dusty old NES in your attic might be rife with nostalgic memories, but it’s a pain to drag out of its box whenever you get the hankering for a rousing game of Super Mario Bros. 3. Nintendo totally gets it, as well as the fact that you might want something a little more convenient to enjoy your classic games. Enter the Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition, a mini replica of the original console.
The diminutive version of one of the most influential home video game consoles of all time will launch with over 30 NES titles preloaded, including Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy and Metroid. The mix also includes some surprising choices such as StarTropics, but it’s a well-rounded sampling of the best the system has to offer.
The full list includes Balloon Fight, Bubble Bobble, Castlevania, Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Double Dragon II: The Revenge, Dr. Mario, Excitebike, Final Fantasy, Galaga, Ghosts’ N Ghoblins, Gradius, Ice Climber, Kid Icarus, Kirby’s Adventure, Mario Bros., Mega Man 2, Metroid, Ninja Gaiden, Pac-Man, Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream, StarTropics, SUPER C, Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, Tecmo Bowl, The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.
For $59.99, you’ll get the preloaded games, an HDMI cable, an AC adapter and one NES Classic Controller, which obviously looks exactly like the ones you’re used to.
The system launches this November 11th for $59.99 across North America and the UK. However, it is interesting to note that the UK edition will not launch with its own AC adapter, which is included with the North American edition.
Source: Nintendo (BusinessWire
‘Pokémon Go’ is now available in the UK
Pokéfans in Britain, rejoice. Pokémon Go, the AR video game that lets you catch colourful critters with your smartphone, is now available in the UK version of the App Store and Google Play. That means you no longer have to fiddle about with APKs or store regions to start your own adventure.
The app is already a huge success — both in its official launch markets and beyond — as trainers young and old try to build out their personal collections. It’s a fun, if shallow (and slightly unreliable) game that encourages people to go outside and explore their surroundings. But be warned, as the app can lead you into a whole host of strange locations — and crafty crooks have figured out how to use the game as bait for muggings. Unlike the regions of Kanto and Hoenn, Great Britain can be a dangerous place — so stay safe and keep your wits about you.
Source: Pokemon Go (iOS), (Android)
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