Nintendo: Expect five smartphone games by 2017
The first smartphone game from Nintendo should arrive in 2015
Nintendo plans to release at least five smartphone games by March 2017, the first of which should debut later this year. Speaking during the recent 2014 earnings Nintendo CEO and president Satoru Iwata said we should expect more than a simple port of existing titles. Given that smartphones are an entirely different animal than something that’s controller-based it takes some juggling.
“You may think it is a small number but when we aim to make each title a hit, and because we want to thoroughly operate every one of them for a significant amount of time after their releases, this is not a small number at all and should demonstrate our serious commitment to the smart device business.“
It is not clear what titles Nintendo plans to offer nor do we know for certain that all five will be for Android. We might hope and assume that this is the case but it has not been confirmed as of yet.
What sort of games would you like to see come to mobile devices? Is there a specific character or series you’d like to play on your Android handset? Leave a comment below!
The post Nintendo: Expect five smartphone games by 2017 appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Nintendo launching five smartphone games by 2017, one out this year
While many companies are embracing mobile gaming with open arms, Nintendo has been a bit reluctant to enter the scene. However, Nintendo, with their recent partnership with DeNA, is now ready to jump in.
Plans are to release one game by the end of this year. Nintendo won’t just been releasing a single game, though. Immediately after the company’s 2014 earnings, CEO and President Satoru Iwata said that they plan on launching five mobile titles by March 2017.
“You may think it is a small number,” said Iwata, “but when we aim to make each title a hit, and because we want to thoroughly operate every one of them for a significant amount of time after their releases, this is not a small number at all and should demonstrate our serious commitment to the smart device business.”
Keep in mind that these games won’t just be ports from much-loved console titles–they’ll be entirely new games designed to function on smartphones and tablets.
“Even with highly popular IP, the odds of success are quite low if consumers cannot appreciate the quality of a game,” he said. “Also, if we were simply to port software that already has a track record on a dedicated game system, it would not match the play styles of smart devices, and the appropriate business models are different between the two, so we would not anticipate a great result.”
Of course, we have no idea what Nintendo plans on bringing to the mobile platform. For now, we’ll wait patiently to see what innovations Nintendo has up their sleeve for the mobile industry. However, this is great news overall from the company, as Android has been taking over Nintendo’s market share. Maybe this move will provide them with more growth.
What Nintendo game would you like to see on the smartphone? A Yoshi version of Temple Run? Let us know in the comments.
source: Nintendo
via: The Verge
Come comment on this article: Nintendo launching five smartphone games by 2017, one out this year
Nintendo’s first of many mobile games is coming this year
Nintendo has revealed some new details about its plan to develop mobile games. Most notably, its first smartphone title will come out later this year, and it’s hoping to release four more before March 2017. That might sound fairly conservative — five apps in just under two years isn’t a particularly aggressive strategy. But Nintendo believes it’s paramount that it takes a considered approach. “When we aim to make each title a hit, and because we want to thoroughly operate every one of them for a significant amount of time after their releases, this is not a small number at all,” Nintendo chief Satoru Iwata said.
In an earnings briefing, he said the company’s chances of success were “quite low” unless the games maintain Nintendo’s normal level of quality. Although the console maker pioneered touch-based gameplay with the Nintendo DS, it understands that simply porting those experiences won’t be enough. To succeed, Iwata said the company will be “carefully” selecting franchises and characters to develop into smartphone games. He also emphasized that mobile will become a core “pillar” of Nintendo’s business. “If we did not aim to achieve a significant result, it would be meaningless for us to do it at all.”
Source: Nintendo
Nintendo will make 5 mobile games by March 2017
style=”display:block”
data-ad-client=”ca-pub-8150504804865896″
data-ad-slot=”8461248232″
data-ad-format=”auto”>
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();
When Nintendo announced that they had partnered with DeNA to make mobile games, we got a bit excited, until they went silent for awhile. Well, it’s time to get excited again after Nintendo president Satoru Iwata confirmed that Nintendo will make 5 mobile games by March 2017. Sure, that might seem like a long time away, but unless Nintendo releases all the games right before March 2017, we’ll roughly be getting a new game every 5-6 months. We’ll be stoked as soon as one game is released.
If that’s not enough to get you excited, then you might be happy to know that the producer who worked on releasing Mario Kart DS/Wii/7/8 will be heading up Nintendo’s smartphone development, a sure sign that Nintendo is actually pretty serious about its smartphone endeavor. Mario Kart on Android anyone?
What do you think about Nintendo’s two year play to release five games? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Gamesindustry
The post Nintendo will make 5 mobile games by March 2017 appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Nintendo plans five smartphone games by 2017, first one this year
Nintendo has long resisted the lure of mobile gaming, preferring to stick to its traditional, console-focused business model. So, in March, when Nintendo announced it’s partnering with mobile gaming giant DeNA to bring its first mobile games to market, fans of Mario & Co. were positively excited.
Now Nintendo offered some clues on how it plans to go about mobile gaming. Talking to investors after yesterday’s announcement of Nintendo’s 2014 financial results, CEO Satoru Iwata said Nintendo plans to release around five mobile titles by March 2017.
The first of these titles will be released by the end of the year.
The CEO said Nintendo wants to make each of these games a hit and “thoroughly operate every one of them for a significant amount of time after their releases,” in a sign of the company’s “serious commitment to the smart device business.”
.rvs_wrapper
width: 335px;
.rvs_wrapper.align_left
float: left;
.rvs_wrapper.align_right
float: right;
.rvs_wrapper.align_center,
.rvs_wrapper.align_none
width: 100%;
.rvs_wrapper.align_center
text-align: center;
.rvs_wrapper.align_center.cbc-latest-videos ul li
float: none;
display: inline-block;
vertical-align: top;
.rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos:not(.align_none) ul li:nth-child(2n+1)
clear: both;
.rvs_title
font-weight: 600 !important;
margin: 0 !important;
.rvs_wrapper.align_right .rvs_title
padding-left: 20px;
.rvs_title a
font-family: ‘Roboto Condensed’;
color: #3a3a3a;
.rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul
padding-top: 10px;
.rvs_wrapper.align_left.cbc-latest-videos ul li,
.rvs_wrapper.align_none.cbc-latest-videos ul li
padding: 0 15px 0 0;
.rvs_wrapper.align_right.cbc-latest-videos ul li
padding: 0 0 0 15px;
float: right;
.rvs_wrapper.align_center.cbc-latest-videos ul li
padding: 0 7px;
.rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul li > a
font-weight: 400;
.rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul li > a .yt-thumbnail
margin-bottom: 0;
@media only screen and (max-width : 480px)
.rvs_wrapper
width: 100%;
text-align: center;
#page .rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul li
padding: 0 7px;
display: inline-block;
float: none;
vertical-align: top;
Nintendo will not port existing titles to mobile, because that would result in a subpar experience for users:
“If we were simply to port software that already has a track record on a dedicated game system, it would not match the play styles of smart devices, and the appropriate business models are different between the two, so we would not anticipate a great result.”
Nintendo is still dedicated to consoles and sees mobile as a gateway towards the more premium experience offered by Wii, according to Iwata.
So, what should we expected from these first batch of mobile Nintendo games? All we know so far is they will be made for mobile (no ports) and they will have a cross-platform component. DeNA’s involvement may result in the inclusion of a strong IAP system, but that’s just speculation. Of course, Nintendo’s beloved panoply of characters will be front and center, Donkey Kong, Link, and Mario included. And that pretty much guarantees that Nintendo’s mobile games will enjoy a ton of attention, if not guaranteed success.
What do you hope to see in Nintendo’s Android games?
Nintendo rides are coming to Universal’s theme parks
Over the years, Nintendo has crafted a diverse roster of beloved video game characters. They’re colorful and instantly recognisable, so inevitably some fans have wondered whether a Disney-style theme park could be built around them. Well, wonder no more. Nintendo announced today that it’s teaming up with Universal to build new rides in some of its theme parks. It’s staying tight-lipped on the details, but says to expect “spectacular, dedicated experiences” based on Nintendo games, characters and worlds.
The move is another sign that Nintendo is becoming less protective over its homegrown video game franchises. The company is already working with DeNA to develop new mobile games, and last month the Wall Street Journal reported that a Legend of Zelda TV show was in the works. That rumor was later shot down (at least partly) by Iwata, but it still signalled Nintendo’s willingness to work with others. After all, these sorts of initiatives could help Nintendo to capture the imagination and support of a whole new generation of gamers. Something that’s increasingly important, given the lacklustre sales of the Wii U.
So what Nintendo rides would you like to see in Universal’s theme parks? A rollercoaster based on F-Zero, or a haunted house inspired by Luigi’s Mansion? Of course, there’s always Nintendo Land if you need some inspiration…
Source: Nintendo
Nintendo is finally making money again
Nintendo recorded its first annual profit since 2011 today. Its final results for 2014 (technically April 1st 2014 to March 31st 2015) reveal a $207 million operating profit on $4.6 billion in revenue. That’s nothing to write home about, and way lower than initially expected, but still represents a dramatic improvement from previous years’ consecutive losses. The past three months have actually seen a pretty heavy negative swing for Nintendo, with the international launch of new-and-improved 3DS models failing to make much of an impact, and the Wii U continuing to languish in 3rd place behind the PS4 and the Xbox One.
Wii U sales for the year totalled just 3.38 million, only 340,000 of which were sold in the latest quarter. Nintendo had predicted 3.6 million sales, missing its forecast by 220,000. 3DS sales, as alluded to earlier, were also weak. Nintendo initially expected 12 million sales for the year, later dropping that estimate to 9 million. It still managed to miss that lower figure, moving 8.73 million over the year, and just 1.7 million in the latest quarter.
Software is a mixed story. At the start of the year, Nintendo expected to sell 67 million 3DS games and 20 million Wii U games. It later adjusted that prediction to 61 million 3DS and 25 million Wii U software sales. What actually happened? Something in-between the two predictions, with almost 63 million 3DS games and 24.4 million Wii U games moved over the year. Looking at the bigger picture, Wii U titles sold better than initially expected, propping up a lack of demand for the 3DS and helping Nintendo eke out its slim profit. It’s fair to say that the release of well-received fan favorites like Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. helped Nintendo considerably in this area.
‘The Legend of Zelda’ looks set to miss its initial 2015 release date
So what’s next for Nintendo? It’s expecting to move fewer 3DS consoles and slightly more Wii Us, while software sales for both are predicted to be lower. That reflects the fact that, as far as we know, Nintendo doesn’t have many big games coming out over the next year. The Wii U Zelda game was going to be the huge 2015 release, but it’s now got a “TBD” in place of a release date, and looks set to miss this financial year entirely.
Nintendo hopes those figures, together with the expansion of the lucrative Amiibo toy line and a new partnership with mobile games specialist DeNA, will see it make a healthier $419 million operating profit next year. Nintendo has missed its expectations more regularly than it’s hit them in recent years, but for the first time in a long while, the company at least seems realistic about what it can achieve until its next-gen console arrives.
Source: Nintendo (PDF)
The Nintendo studio behind ‘Kirby’ talks its new game ‘BOXBOY!’
BOXBOY! did not hit the 3DS with the fanfare it deserved this spring. It’s a brand-new game, with brand-new characters and it’s published by Nintendo. Which is precisely the sort of thing the company’s greatest detractors claim it’s missing. Then again, even though the funny, little puzzle game is ingenious and addictive, it’s also as quiet and unassuming as the studio that made it: HAL Laboratory.
Much like BOXBOY!, HAL does not have the reputation it should. For 35 years, the first-party Nintendo studio’s pumped out games that are deeply traditional while remaining deeply experimental. The Kirby franchise, HAL’s signature work, has been both a major sales success with more than 30 million games sold and a hotbed for creativity (as in Kirby and the Rainbow Curse) and old-school style (a la Kirby: Triple Deluxe.) That little pink puff Kirby tends to dominate HAL’s output, which is what makes an original like BOXBOY! so exciting. So to get some deeper insight into the creation of this new Nintendo IP, I interviewed Yasuhiro Mukae, the director of HAL’s first original in five years, via a translator through email. We discussed HAL’s creative process, the secret to making expressive characters and what it’s like making games at one of gaming’s most consistent, if underappreciated, studios.
Cleverly manipulating boxes is the key to navigating BOXBOY!’s deceptively challenging traps.
What is HAL’s usual creative process? When trying out new ideas for the Kirby series for example, do you come up with the gameplay first and say, “This is good for Kirby!” or do you take Kirby and try to come up with something unusual for him to do?
Using BOXBOY! as an example, we often come up with ideas that go with the gameplay.
This goes for the Qbby character design, which is a match for the gameplay, as well as the assorted new tricks we came up with to make it more fun to advance through stages. We devote a lot of effort to expanding the range of gameplay.
The game idea came first. We started with the ability to create boxes, and we did the character design from there. The result is Qbby, with that really simple design. He looks simple, but he can create boxes, dance around and more. I think we created a really vibrant and charming character here.
How long did it take to develop BOXBOY!?
Between the initial experimentation we did and the official project launch, it was about a year and a half. We devoted half a year to experimentation, and once we kicked off the official project, it took us a year to wrap up the game.
Why did you make BOXBOY! so visually sparse? HAL has a penchant for bold, colorful games.
Those simple visuals were something we aimed for in order to differentiate ourselves from other games.
In the modern scene, with tons of games with colorful visuals all over the place, having a simple monochrome game like BOXBOY! is something we thought would draw gamers’ attention and make them take an interest in the game.
The game idea came first. We started with the ability to create boxes, and we did the character design from there. The result is Qbby.
It’s interesting playing BOXBOY! so soon after Kirby and the Rainbow Curse since it feels very traditional by comparison in terms of control. Kirby and the Rainbow Curse is purely about using the touchscreen while BOXBOY! is still about buttons and a d-pad. What is different about making a game for old-style controls and for games controlled only with a touchscreen?
Intuitive, easy-to-grasp controls were something we treated very importantly during BOXBOY! development. On that point, I’m sure that there was no difference in the direction taken by both BOXBOY! and Kirby and the Rainbow Curse. Also, the action of creating boxes forms the core of BOXBOY!‘s gameplay, so we focused a great deal on making that box-creating action easy, comfortable and fun, without requiring complex controls.
BOXBOY! takes the Pac-man approach to charming design and, apparently, gendered fashion.
How did BOXBOY! change from when it was first conceived to when it came out?
Ever since the idea phase, BOXBOY! was centered around the idea of creating boxes in order to make your way through puzzle landscapes. We were able to proceed with development without this core gameplay concept changing much at all, from the very beginning.
One major change that did occur was how the game is structured overall. At first, we created rather large stages that you could really sit down and spend a great deal of time playing. We later reconsidered this, restricting the amount of content per stage and changing the structure so you could complete each stage more quickly. We also added story elements in a move to encourage players to enjoy the game all the way through to the end.
Were there any ideas you tried to implement in the game that just didn’t work out?
There are a lot of ideas that we couldn’t make happen within the game. These run the gamut from ideas that didn’t even make it into the project plan to things that wound up lacking in fun after we implemented them. As for exactly what ideas we had, I hope you’ll allow me to keep them a secret.
HAL is very adept at visual storytelling. Both Qbby and Kirby are very clearly defined characters with a lot of personality that comes through even though they’re silent. How do you convey character and story to players without using words?
The secret lies in how we devote time to the characters’ expressions and motions. Qbby is a simple character — composed of nothing but a square body, some eyes and some feet — but we paid particular attention to his animation to make sure that gamers would find him engaging.
We also included a lot of variation in the animation, from the stage-complete dances to the little motions when there’s no player input. I think he’s become a pretty cute character as a result, one that’s fun even if you’re just looking at him.
[Image credit: Nintendo]
JXE Streams: Engadget vs. Upright Citizens Brigade in ‘Mario Kart 8’
Mario Kart 8‘s brand new 200cc races are fast. Very fast. Indeed, they are so damned speedy that they almost made our own Joseph Volpe throw up while he was having an insanely good time playing. Since we’re always up for a bout of stomach churning fun, the JXE Streams posse is diving back into Mario Kart 8 to check out the new 200cc races as well as the new downloadable characters. We’re also going to share the love with Mike Still, our very special guest from Upright Citizens Brigade.
Tune in at Twitch.tv/Joystiq, Engadget.com/gaming or right here in this post starting at 3:30PM ET for a look at all the new content in Mario Kart 8 on Wii U. What’s it look like when the Animal Crossing Villager rides a scooter around Rainbow Road faster than anyone has before? We’ll find out. You can also chat with us and Mike Still, the artistic director of the UCB theater in Los Angeles and host of Extreme Gaming Championship.
Dig the stream? Follow us on Twitch, and if you enjoy the comedic stylings of Mike Still you can follow him on Twitter.
[We’re playing a retail copy of Mario Kart 8 streamed through an Elgato Capture HD via OBS at 720p.]
Nintendo backs off of bringing Super Nintendo games to Wii U
Bad news for Super Nintendo fans: your Wii U fix is about to dry up. Nintendo’s Virtual Console, the download service offering older games on its consoles and handhelds, has never had the most robust selection. With Nintendo turning its eye towards N64 games, though, SNES releases are being left behind. According to Natsume, a publisher with a plethora of SNES games primed for re-release, Nintendo is done with 16-bit for now.
“At this point, it’s unlikely we’ll see any other Natsume SNES games coming to the Virtual Console, as Nintendo’s interest has moved onto other classic systems,” said Cee-Cee, Natsume’s Community Manager in the US, responding to questions about whether the company’s game Pocky & Rocky would hit Wii U. When fans asked follow-up questions on Facebook about other, possibly more popular games from the archive, Cee-Cee dashed any hopes. “If it’s not up now, it’s not coming.”
During its April 1st Nintendo Direct presentation, the company did announce that it would start releasing N64 games on Virtual Console, but that didn’t necessarily mean it would stop releasing SNES or NES games. It never shied away from releasing Virtual Console games for multiple old devices simultaneously on Wii. Nintendo may be more interested in committing its internal resources to new projects, though. Natsume said that even though most of the games on Virtual Console come from outside publishers, it’s Nintendo that does most of the work preparing them for sale.
“The titles for Virtual Console are handled by Nintendo,” explained Cee-Cee. “The publisher and Nintendo discuss which classic titles would be a good fit and have the best potential to sell. Once a title is agreed upon, Nintendo and the publisher work together to bring that title to the designated system, with Nintendo doing the bulk of the work.”
AIVAnet 