Tag: Industry - Page 24
Talking Point The Wii U eShop Could be a Developer's Dream
Nintendo hands over the reins
When it comes to download game platforms, Nintendo's had to evolve rapidly. The arrival of the DSi and Wii online stores brought the famous company into the realm of the download market for the first time; both services have produced a number of top-notch gaming experiences, and in some cases proved to be the making of...
News Jack Tretton Wishes Nintendo Every Success With Wii U
"Nintendo has a great heritage in the business"
President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America Jack Tretton has wished Nintendo every success with Wii U, ahead of the official launch in just a few short hours. Speaking about his own company’s heritage on the latest Official Playstation Blogcast, Tretton took the time to talk about Wii...
News Analysts Believe Wii U Will Be Put To The Test Come Summertime
Will Nintendo keep momentum?
As Nintendo of America’s Scott Moffitt pointed out recently, the response to Wii U has been nothing short of “phenomenal” as its North American launch date draws ever closer. Research firm IHS Screen Digest expects Nintendo to shift 3.5 million Wii U units worldwide by the end of December, meanwhile, which even...
Feature Shigeru Miyamoto - The Father of Modern Video Games
An era unlike any other
Today is Shigeru Miyamoto's 60th birthday, a key personal landmark but also one that should be celebrated in broader terms by the gaming industry. Miyamoto's well-known description as the "father of modern video games" isn't just casually applied praise, it's a title that's deserved and has genuine significance. Nintendo's...
News Ubisoft Boss Thinks Wii U Is Cheap, But Is Still Unhappy On Pricing
No pleasing some people
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has stated that although the Wii U is cheap when compared to devices like Apple's iPad, he's not 100% happy with the price of the system. Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Guillemot remarked: I always prefer lower pricing, so I can't say I'm happy. I'm never happy when the machines are expensive...
News Wii U Holiday Sales Projected to Exceed Wii Launch
Four year sales expected to be lower, though
With Wii U set to arrive, and Nintendo needing a strong performance to appease shareholders, market analysts are inevitably checking various sources of data and making their predictions on the system's outlook. The latest to do so is research firm IHS Screen Digest, with projections that bring good and...
News Nintendo Executive Describes Rise of Tablet Gaming as "Undeniable"
Believes these devices can be "allies"
In recent years Nintendo has continually faced the threat of smartphones and tablet devices to its handheld systems, though the Wii U GamePad's inclusion of its own touch screen is now attracting similar comparisons. It's not always a popular topic amongst Nintendo gamers, but the rise in popularity of gaming...
News Yasumi Matsuno Steps Away From Level-5
Taking a well deserved - but not permanent - break
It has been announced that Yatsumi Matsuno has left Level-5, the developers behind the Professor Layton series. Matsuno tweeted to his followers that he was retiring from the company due to personal reasons which he didn't state. Matsuno had only joined Level-5 in June last year and had been...
News Ubisoft: Wii U Stock Apparently Being Focused on US
Tense times for Europe?
Earlier today we reported that UK retailer GAME is bracing for a Wii U sell out, admitting that stock will be "tight on day one". This is a theme occurring regularly, with reports a couple of weeks ago of potential Wii U stock shortages in the UK, and the rather common knowledge that pre-orders are sold out at many US...
News Miyamoto Working to Encourage More Wii U Third-Party Developers
"I am trying to meet with the game developers individually"
One of the big challenges facing Nintendo and its Wii U system is to encourage more third-party developers to commit to major projects on the system. While Wii had a diverse library — perhaps more so than many think — it arguably lacked a lot of big-hitting titles from third-parties...
Talking Point Splinter Cell Director Doubts Triple-A Gaming's Future
"Lower-case aaa" may take over
While it's easy to get tangled up in technicalities when it comes to the graphical prowess of Wii U, one thing is 99% certain: the successors to Xbox 360 and PS3 will be more powerful, from a graphical standpoint. Whether or not the Wii U matches or surpasses the existing HD systems in this respect — it will take...
News Number-Crunching Reveals That Nintendo's Handheld Market Is "Stable"
3DS matching the sales performance of both the GBA and Nintendo DS
Lots of industry experts are arguing that the expansion of mobile phone and tablet gaming is having an impact on the fortunes of dedicated games consoles like the 3DS, but Gamasutra's Matt Matthews has taken a closer look at the figures and found that the truth is somewhat different...
News Wii Owners: Microsoft Wants You To Buy The Xbox 360 This Holiday Season
"I can't think of a better console for them to choose" says Microsoft manager
With the Wii U launching this month, you might assume that most Nintendo fans are saving up their pennies and getting very excited indeed about the new console. However, Microsoft's general manager of Interactive Entertainment product marketing Matt Barlow believes that...
News Nintendo Direct Broadcasts Attracting Around One Million Viewers
Videos proving popular with both core and casual players
The investor Q&A Nintendo held recently is throwing up all kinds of interesting stories. We already know that Nintendo President Satoru Iwata is warming to the idea of smartphones and has intentionally held back Wii U launch titles, and we now have some illuminating figures relating to the...
News Nintendo Is Holding Back Wii U Titles To Maintain Momentum Into 2013
"We realize the biggest challenge is to make sure that Wii U sells well even in the next year"
Talking in an investor's Q&A, Nintendo President and CEO Satoru Iwata has revealed that the company has intentionally held back certain Wii U launch titles to ensure that sales remain robust well into 2013. He said: If you look at how pre-orders are...
News Assassin's Creed III Micro-Transactions Sneak Into View
Wii U inclusion yet to be confirmed
Assassin's Creed III is one of the most high-profile multi-platform titles that'll be on store shelves for Wii U's launch. Nintendo gamers can look forward to a number of blockbuster hits that never saw the light of day on Wii, but at the same time these games may introduce one less-popular part of modern gaming:...
News Insider Reports Suggest That Focus On Eternal Darkness 2 Has Crippled Silicon Knights
Less than five staffers remain
After the critical disaster that was X-Men Destiny, things were looking pretty bleak for developer Silicon Knights. However, a recent report by Kotaku — based on interviews with former staff members — reveals just how bad things have become. The studio is believed to have less than five employees, including company...
Talking Point The Challenges When Writing About Games
Harder than it sounds
Various members of the Nintendo Life writing team will have seen one major issue clogging up their Twitter timelines in the past 24 hours, and it revolved around questions at the forefront of what we do: writing about video games. Video game writers often debate the whole practice of what you see on this site and many others,...
News GameStop Kids Store Launches, 80 More Planned
Mario and Pokémon plushes a-hoy!
Are you tired of going into a video game store and seeing M-rated games covering the shelves, with rows and rows of box covers full of guns and snarling faces? Help is at hand, if you live in the U.S. near Grapevine Mills Mall in TX, as there's a new GameStop Kids store in town. The first of a new range of 80 stores...
News Nintendo Download Sales Increase With 3DS
Online connectivity rate also on the rise
With plenty of information coming out of Nintendo's recent financial results and briefings, one particularly positive outcome is confirmation that the company's download sales are increasing for the first time since 2010. Considering the fact that Wii and DSi are on the decline due to newer systems, the...
News Wii U Stock Shortage Reports Surface in UK
Everyone stay calm
Although there are a fair share of nay-sayers and doubters surrounding Wii U and its long term prospects for success, there seems to be little doubt that it'll have a strong launch. Pre-orders are sold out at various retailers in the US, for example, while GAME told us a month ago that UK pre-orders are exceeding expectations. The...
News Pachter Pours Scorn Over Wii U Sales Projections
"Disappointing and unrealistic"
Whenever there are Nintendo-related sales figures to be discussed and dissected, you can almost guarantee that games industry analyst Michael Pachter will have some wisdom to impart. Nintendo recently proclaimed that it intended to shift 5.5 million Wii U consoles before April 2013, along with 24 million units of...
News Nintendo Issues a Statement on Its Foxconn Under-Age Workers Investigation
Confirms violation and further on-site inspections
Last week there was some unpleasant news that Nintendo was forced to confront, with the revelations that manufacturing partner Foxconn employed under-age interns to manufacture Wii U. Foxconn accepted responsibility and admitted that under-age employees had been hired and subsequently released,...
News Nintendo Targets 5.5 Million Wii U Sales This Financial Year
All before April
Earlier today we brought you the news that Nintendo had cut its profit projections due to half-year results, with the overall picture being one of disappointment if not disaster. One of the reasons for this was lower than expected 3DS sales, with six months worth of results showing around five million unit sales, leaving Nintendo...
Talking Point The Message in "I'm Not a Gamer" Commercials
Word-play, or hiding from being a gamer?
A little over a month ago we mentioned a new series of commercials that Nintendo was planning to run, which it described as the "Play As You Are" campaign. The goal of these adverts was to show "how all kinds of women and young girls can explore their interests and express their individuality using the...
News Nintendo Cuts Profit Projections After Half-Year Results
Losses continue to fall despite weaker than expected 3DS sales
Despite all of the hype and excitement currently around Nintendo and the upcoming launch of Wii U, in addition to its efforts to improve its download platforms and more, the company's been working against a backdrop of difficult financial results. Earlier this year Nintendo had to report...
Talking Point Affordable Consoles Come at a Cost
There are no easy answers
Earlier this week we reported on the news that Foxconn, manufacturer for many of the world’s biggest technology companies, employed under-age interns to work on Wii U manufacturing. Foxconn admitted that it had employed 14-16 year old school attendees and stated that it had “apologized to each of the students for our...
News MCV: Wii U Is A Stopgap System, Real Successor Is Still To Come
"It was never intended as a next generation console"
Video game trade site MCV Pacific has posted an interesting opinion piece which speculates that the Wii U is merely a stopgap to lift Nintendo's flagging fortunes following the false start of the 3DS (in the west, at least) and plummeting Wii sales. The Wii U hasn't been given a new moniker, but...
News Business Insider: Wii U Is The Most Fun I've Had With A Game Console, Ever
Glowing praise from an unlikely source
As the Nintendo-loving world waits with bated breath for the Wii U to launch and various skeptics pour scorn over its chances, it would appear that the new format has unequivocal support from one sector of the market, at least. Business Insider's Dylan Love got some hands-on time with the new console at a...
News Under-Age Workers Allegedly Worked on Wii U Manufacturing
The latest controversy for Foxconn
If you own a number of gadgets and gizmos from major companies such as Apple, Sony and Microsoft, it's in all likelihood been manufactured by Foxconn, based primarily in China. The reason we can buy technology at affordable prices isn't just because of cheaper parts and research, but due to low-paid labour in...
News Archos Uses Star Fox And Mario To Demo Its Console-Killing Tablet
UPDATE: Blogger posted video and installed emulators - nothing to see here...
EDIT: Since this story went live we have been contacted by the person who created the video, who has made it clear that they installed the emulators and ROMs themselves onto the demonstration device when it was shown at a recent trade show, and not Archos: Archos...
News Reggie: "Certainly Possible" Wii U Consoles Could Be Sold By Cable Providers
Nintendo of America president hints on the future of Wii U
In an interview with the Seattle Times, Nintendo of America President Reggie-Fils Aime left open the possibility of selling Wii U consoles through cable providers. While this might seem pretty far-fetched, it's well-known that Nintendo is hoping for big things from its Nintendo TVii...
News Retro Studios Gets a Bigger Office
Scaling up for Wii U development?
Metroid Prime and Donkey Kong Country Returns developer Retro Studios has moved to a larger premises, hinting that the company is expanding to handle significant support for Nintendo's Wii U console. According to n1ntendo.nl, the move was very hush-hush, and no press release was issued to mark t
News Pokémon Black and White 2 Catches a Strong UK Chart Début
Both versions in the top five
Pokémon Black and White 2 may be getting played on a lot of 3DS systems at the moment, but we shouldn't forget that it probably represents the last big hurrah for the humble DS. It's a big release for fans of the series that Nintendo no doubt hopes will perform well, and early indications in the UK charts are certainly...
News Former Sega CEO Was Instrumental In Securing Unity's Nintendo Deal
Development platform is being pushed out to first and third party studios
We've already touched upon the significance of Nintendo's agreement with Unity, but CEO David Helgason has spilled a few more beans in an exclusive interview with the lovely folks at VG247
News Guess What? Michael Pachter Isn't a Fan of The Wii U
Doesn't think third parties will succeed on Nintendo's new console
Wedbush Securities Digital media and electronics analyst Michael Pachter seems to have an odd relationship with Nintendo. He's forever casting doubt on the company's chances, taking any chance he can to stick the boot in and predict naught but doom and gloom for Mario and company...
Talking Point Nintendo Takes One Step Forward, One Back With Retail Downloads
It's not quite right, yet
During last week's Nintendo Direct broadcast in Europe, one eShop announcement that received relatively little fanfare was confirmation that a number of additional first-party titles were being made available on the platform. These titles stretch back to the earliest months of the system: now available on the European eShop...
News Teens Losing Interest In Social Gaming, Turning To Traditional Consoles
Research also shows the growth of digital downloads
Everywhere you look, there seems to be a story about how traditional consoles are under threat from social gaming, and that the console market as we know it is all but doomed. However, new research from Analyst firm Piper Jaffray reveals that attitudes towards social gaming are changing, with teen...
News Bridgestone Responds to Sony's "Kevin Butler" Lawsuit
All because of a game of Mario Kart Wii
Yesterday we picked up on the news of an ongoing court case between Sony and the actor behind Kevin Butler or, to be completely accurate, the actor's production company and Bridgestone. Sony's basic complaint was that the actor Jerry Lambert, so commonly known for his work as fictional Sony executive Kevin...
News Reggie: Time Spent on Rival Devices is a Missed Opportunity For Nintendo
Company looks to offer a broader degree of entertainment
Nintendo is entering a unique phase in its existance, a period where its rivals not only include Microsoft and Sony, but also Apple and Google. Despite Nintendo's best efforts to deny the threat, mobile and social gaming is most definitely on the rise, and many predict that the traditional...
News PETA Targets Pokémon Black & White 2 in Latest Campaign
Opportunism or a fair moral case?
Last year, with the arrival of Super Mario 3D Land, PETA — People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals — launched a campaign against Mario, on the grounds that his Tanooki suit encouraged the wearing of furs. It was a widely criticised move, as it disregarded the sheer fantasy of obtaining the suit from a...
News Kevin Butler Actor Seen Near Wii Console... Sony Takes Him to Court
Yes, really
Some of you may remember a news article that we posted around a month ago that starred fictional Sony VP Kevin Butler, which we did so with tongue firmly in cheek. We highlighted a Bridgestone tyre advert in which the actor who plays the character, his real name is Jerry Lambert, was seen near a Nintendo Wii, possibly causing indignation...
News Indie Developers Speak Highly of Wii U eShop
Positive comments suggest that Nintendo is working well with smaller studios
If you ask the average WiiWare developer how much money they made off the back of the service, you'd probably be shocked. In the past, indie devs have been less than positive about Nintendo's online portal, providing figures which make for very grim reading - even more so...
Talking Point Nintendo's Focus on the 3DS eShop
Gaming on a budget
This week’s European Nintendo Direct prompted the usual range of predictions before the event, ranging from optimistic but unlikely hopes to pessimism and predictability. What Nintendo of Europe boss Satoru Shibata gave us, surprisingly, was a broadcast heavy with eShop exclusives, some new and surprising and others with...
News Nintendo: Phones And Tablets Aren't Games Devices
UK PR director bullish about 3DS' forthcoming Christmas war against mobile
Nintendo UK's marketing and PR director Shelly Pearce has spoken to MCV about the upcoming war for wallets this Christmas, and has stated that the company is confident that its 'true' gaming systems will hold their own against devices like smartphones and tablets. When asked...
News Reggie: Miiverse Will be a "True Killer Application" on Wii U
An important part of the system
Unlike its predecessor, Wii U is a system that is steadily making a big noise about functionality beyond simply playing a game. In North America there's TVii, an app that allows subscribers of various TV services to navigate around programmes, access bespoke content and update social networks with comments. It's the...
Talking Point The Possibilities of New Super Mario Bros. 2 DLC
More Mario per system
We’re well aware that some of you may read the headline and tagline for this article and immediately think that we’re losing our minds, foolishly allowing ourselves to be suckered into paying more and more for our Mario fix. That’s a danger of course, which we’ll come to, but with this week’s first batch of New Super...
News Wii U eShop "More Open, Social and Indie-Friendly" Than Wii
We should hope so, too
Although we don't yet know much about Wii U eShop, we're continuing to hear good things about it from some developers with an inside perspective. The latest to step forward is Broken Rules, which is bringing Chasing Aurora to the new system this November. When it comes to giving a comparison with the download service on Wii,...
Feature Nintendo Life's Favourite Eurogamer Expo 2012 Moments
Magic moments
Eurogamer Expo 2012 has sadly come to a close, but if you've been following our photo stream you might have gathered that the Nintendo Life team had a rather lovely time indeed. We hosted our own StreetPass Zone and chatted to a lot of people (and lost our voices in the process in Damien's case); Push Square's Sammy Barker stormed...
News Sony: Wii U is Targeting "Niche Early Adopter Market" This Holiday
Nintendo's rival wants to lure families
The upcoming arrival of Wii U, and its inevitable push to be a big Holiday success, is naturally something for Nintendo's rivals to worry about. Sony, for its part, is introducing a new 'super slim' version of PS3 with just 12GB of memory, much lower than standard for the system, along with titles to attract...