Nintendo Announces A New Mario Game

Surprise, surprise! Nintendo has announced that a new Mario game is on it's way as a side-scrolling game for the 3DS.

Nintendo plans to release this new Mario game sometime during their next fiscal year, which is between April 1, 2012 and March 31, 2013. There is no details about the game, but Satoru Iwata claims that this game will be "totally new".

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Nintendo Announces Nintendo Network

Originally just being a logo on a 3DS game case, the Nintendo Network left gamers wondering what Nintendo has in store. Today Satoru Iwata announced what Nintendo's new network service has planned for the Wii U along with the 3DS.

As predicted, the Nintendo Network will be similiar to Sony's PSN and Microsoft's Xbox Live, which brings digital distribution, personal accounts for the Wii U and DLC.

"Unlike Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, which has been focused upon specific functionalities and concepts, we are aiming to establish a platform where various services available through the network for our consumers shall be connected via Nintendo Network service so that the company can make comprehensive proposals to consumers," says Iwata.

Nintendo's plan for the Nintendo Network is as followed:

Personal Accounts for Wii U - Nintendo will now allow personalized accounts for its next home console, which will allow multiple users per system. Online profiles will no longer be system-based. "We will also be able to construct and offer the [personal account system] by combining a variety of different services and content," Iwata said.

Digitally Distributed Packaged Software -Nintendo is exploring the idea of selling full retail games through the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. The company is not willing to say when this program will start, but it now has the full ability to do so. Iwata noted Nintendo would need to consider retailer relationships first. He also noted SD card space limitations would be another factor. "The significance of this business field will increase," said Iwata.

Paid Downloadable Content - As we've heard previously, publishers will now be able to offer paid DLC for different games, starting with Square's Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, which will allow players to purchase new songs for the rhythm-based game. The title releases in Japan on February 16.

TheAtRhythm: Final Fantasy will be the first game that will use the Nintendo Network.

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The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword babyfied for 5 year olds?

According to Eiji Aonuma, Skyward sword is the first Legend of Zelda game that was made fit to be played, and enjoyed, by everyone.

“Everyone is starting from zero. It’s the first Legend of Zelda game for everyone.

For one thing, it begins with how to use Wii MotionPlus as a tool. And once you become accustomed to this tool, you can experience the mysterious sense of it matching the movement of your body.

Skyward Sword director Hidemaro Fujibayashi agreed, saying “Speaking as the director, we paid constant attention this time to making the game playable even for five-year-olds or nine-year-olds. We tried to make something that would not have a setting enjoyable only by fans or something only the creators would be happy with. And more than anything, this time you can have sword fights with Wii."

These statements worrie some fans, does this mean that our dungeons are babyfied now? Hopefully not. Skyward Sword is supposed to have 50-100 hours of gameplay, but with baby dungeons, how can we expect the game to be substantial enough for that many hours? Can you imagine a Baby Water temple?

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Nintendo Is A Social Gaming Company

Nintendo tends to stay away from mobile games and apps which most people would call "social games", but Nintendo President, Satoru Iwata, insists that Nintendo is a social gaming company, but in a different way than how you'd regularly define social gaming.

During another Q&A, Iwata has this to say about Nintendo and social gaming:

"The keyword 'social' has rapidly become very popular in these last two years and some say that Nintendo may be behind the social age.

"They might mean that Nintendo, uninterested in so-called social games from a business standpoint, fails to ride on the boom of social games. However, I have a totally opposite view - Nintendo has been a company attaching a high value to human relationships for a long time."
 

"We have our roots in the playthings connecting people, as the company’s original business was playing cards. Therefore, we have always been aware of the human connections created by each of our products.
 

"It is true that on social networking services through the internet you can make a relationship with those to which you could not connect with before."

"On the other hand, I think that there has been no best answer yet to the relationship between a real network and a virtual network." He argued that nothing current social networks provide is as enjoyable as anything Nintendo has provided before.

"The big theme for us is to provide new and fascinating human relationships composed of various networks, a real network with those close to you, a virtual network with those distant from you, and networks beyond description created by your experiences of sharing the same place with someone or of visiting certain places and specifically provided by SpotPass and StreetPass."

In a sense, he is correct about this, you can easily socially interact with other players through their games. It might not be exactly like "social gaming" where you'd go to other players farms and harvest their crops, but you can do something pretty similiar in Animal Crossing - go to a friends town and help pluck some weeds. 

Nintendo might not be what we today call a social gaming company, but they are pretty close or at least a sub form of social gaming. What do you guys think?

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Iwata's Personal Apology Letter To 3DS Owners

Saturo Iwata, President of Nintendo, was kind enough to write a letter to all owners of the Nintendo 3DS apologizing about the recent price cut of the handheld system.

"To Those Customers Who Bought A Nintendo 3DS Before The Price Change

Greetings, everyone. This is Satoru Iwata from Nintendo.

Thank you very much for purchasing a Nintendo 3DS.

We have just announced a price drop for the Nintendo 3DS system effective on August 11 [August 12 in North America].

In the past, there have been price drops for video game systems some time after their release in order to broaden the user base further. However, never before has Nintendo chosen to issue such a dramatic price drop less than 6 months after a system release.

We are all too keenly aware that those of you who supported us by purchasing the 3DS in the beginning may feel betrayed and criticize this decision.

This unprecedented timing for a price cut is because the situation has changed greatly since we originally launched the 3DS. We decided it was necessary to take this drastic step in order to ensure that large numbers of users will continue to enjoy the 3DS in the future.

If the software creators and those on the retail side are not confident that the Nintendo 3DS is a worthy successor to the DS and will achieve a similarly broad (user) base, it will be impossible for the 3DS to gain popularity, acquire a wide range of software, and eventually create the product cycle necessary for everyone to be satisfied with the system.

Those customers who purchased the 3DS at the very beginning are extremely important to us. We know that there is nothing we can do to completely make up for the feeling that you are being punished for buying the system early. Still, we would like to offer the following as a sign of our appreciation to you.


We feel a strong responsibility to develop the 3DS as a platform — to ensure that, in the end, everyone is satisfied; we will make every effort to do so.

Additionally, we know everyone is waiting for Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7. They are scheduled for release in November and December, respectively, so we ask for your patience until then.

Thank you again, and we look forward to your continued support."

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Nintendo Changes Their Stance On DLC

DLC is a big part of games, it offers more gameplay for a game to keep players happy and helps build a strong relationship between consumers and companies, Nintendo doesn't believe in that thought. Nintendo believes that DLC actually hurts the relationship, but their view might be changing.

Satoru Iwata answered a question during a Q&A session in Tokyo about possible DLC in which Iwata has said that they currently are working on a paid item transaction system for the 3DS and Wii U; 3DS DLC will be available to developers at the end of this year.

It's not for sure if Nintendo will be using DLC for their games, but this system is mainly aimed at third party developers.

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Will the Wii U Support 3D?

Mercury News had an interview with Satoru Iwata but with one question that stands out from the rest. "Is the Wii U Going to Support 3-D?" In which Iwata replied

"If you are going to connect Wii U with a home TV capable of displaying 3-D images, technologically, yes, it is going to be possible, but that's not the area we are focusing on.

When it comes to 3-D, we already have the 3DS, and each owner of the Nintendo 3DS is capable of viewing 3-D images. However, when it comes to the home console, it depends upon the availability of 3-D TV sets at home, which, unfortunately, is not expanding enough. And rather than pouring a lot of energy into that kind of area, with the Wii U we'd like to focus more on each Wii U owner being able to have an equal opportunity to enjoy it."

The Wii U might not be 3D capable unless a 3D TV set blows Nintendo's mind and catches their attention; the chance for the Wii U to have 3D looks quite slim. I personally do not mind if it won't have 3D since I neither own a TV capable of the third dimension nor am I even slightly interested in 3D gaming experience; I really do not think that 3D will make such a boom for gaming, especially with the prices of the TVs.

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