Tag Archives: Nintendo

Hands-on: Nintendo 3DS

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After a flurry of rumors Nintendo finally revealed its next handheld to the world with the 3DS.  Its overall design does not depart from its predecessor the DSi.  There are two screens; the top is 3D-capable (widescreen 3.5 inches), the bottom is touch-sensitive.  No glasses required!  Button and camera positioning remains almost the same.  New additions include a home button, a Slide Pad (it’s an analog nub), a 3D Depth Slider that allows you to control the 3D effect from 100% to totally off, and a third camera positioned next to the one on the front allowing for 3D picture-taking.  It also packs an accelerometer and gyroscope.  All in all the 3D effect was quite pleasing and added a new sense of depth to the demonstrations and trailers.  It definitely takes a couple minutes to adjust your eyes to the screen but once that’s done the depth perception becomes a welcome addition to gameplay.  Your initial reaction will be “woah, this is neat.”  It’s worthy to note that there is a 3D boundary when you’re holding the device in your hands.  If you tilt the 3DS ever so slightly or try to have someone else watch what you’re doing from a slight angle the 3D effect gets completely distorted and essentially disappears.  As for the analog nub, it feels and works similar to the PSP’s nub and will likely make for some new interesting control schemes for 3DS titles.

Speaking of games, the 3DS section of the Nintendo booth did include a couple playable games but they were extremely barebones and there only to give people a glimpse into the 3D effect.  Samurai Warriors 3D had me fighting off an incoming army of ninjas.  Thought the 3D effect was there, the gameplay was rather stale and did not make for such a great experience.  On the other hand, StarFox 3D brought a sense of nostalgia over me and I quickly became immersed in the playable demo as I took flight in the skies and shot lasers at enemy planes.  A vast amount of 3DS handhelds were loaded with 3D environments that you could only explore by manipulating the camera angle with the nub.  Resident Evil Revelations cutscenes look fantastic in stereoscopic vision.  All in all, the 3DS is an impressive piece of hardware and I’m excited to see how Nintendo continues to build on the platform as we near its release in 2011.  3D is starting to become a trend in the movie industry and now in video games thanks to the PS3 and 3DS.  It’ll be interesting to watch the competing companies vie for the top spot with one bridging the gap between 2D and 3D gaming with glasses and the other doing it without them.

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Hands-on: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

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Game: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Publisher: Nintendo

Release date: 2011

In terms of control, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is a stellar improvement over the last Zelda game for Wii that was ported from GameCube, Twilight Princess.  The game requires the Wii MotionPlus add-on and true 1:1 motion is the result.  Though the short demo at E3 did not share details about the plot of the game it did help introduce how you will control Link for the better part of the game.  The Wii-mote is your sword and the nunchuck acts as the shield.  At all time you’re constantly whipping out your sword and shield to fight off enemies.  To bring them to the forefront it’s as simple as a quick forward moving shake of the controllers.  Most of the enemies came in the form of plants and the game makes it super easy to figure out how to kill them.  Plants open their mouths horizontally and vertically; so if a plant opens its mouth vertically you take out your sword and slice vertically to kill it.  Slice and dice is the name of the game here.  After learning how to kill the plants with your handy-dandy sword you quickly learn that you have a bunch more weapons at your disposal.  Hit a button on the Wii-mote and a menu pops up enabling you to select from weapons like a slingshot, bow-and-arrow, and a whip.  Many of the weapons, namely the sword and bow-and-arrow, work exactly like they do in Wii Sports Resort.  It’s pretty clear that Nintendo ported these 1:1 actions from that game to this one.  But that’s not an issue, really; I always enjoyed Swordsplay anyway.  Link can also throw bombs into the middle of growing baddies and boom they go.  With the aid of a map I was able to find my way through the plants and to a door with a wandering eye.  I was instructed to spin the Wii-mote (my sword) in a clockwise circular motion to confuse the eye to enter the door.  The demo concluded with an oversized scorpion boss.  To kill it the game hinted at slicing your sword at its pinchers.  I had very low health and ran out of potions so I died before I could kill the big baddie.

All in all Skyward Sword is definitely turning out to be a solid Wii title.  Before this year’s Nintendo press conference all we had was a teaser poster and now there’s a trailer and playable demo.  As a long-time Zelda fan there’s not much I can complain about.  The precise motion controls are a welcome addition to the franchise and a more cartoonish-looking Link and environment make the game feel less like Twilight Princess and more like uber-successful titles Ocarina of Time (my personal favorite) and Wind Waker.  There’s no cell shading here, but the graphics feel more friendly and colorful when compared to Link’s last outing.

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Nintendo press conference highlights: Nintendo classics make a comeback, plus 3DS handheld

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Nintendo’s E3 press conference took place at the Nokia Live theatre.  Are you a fan of classic Ninty titles like Zelda, Donkey Kong, and…Kid Icarus!?  Well read on then.



2010 is ‘year of the remake’ for Nintendo.  The show started off with a bang with the reveal of the next Zelda game called The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.  In it, the Wii-mote and nunchuck control Link’s sword and shield, respectively.  To take out the sword and use it to attack enemies, simply shake the Wii-mote.  The controls are described as being 1:1 thanks to the Wii MotionPlus add-on.  Link will have many weapons at his disposal, including a slingshot, bow-and-arrow, and a whip.  Though the demonstration headed by Bill Trinen and Shigeru Miyamoto fell victim to some glitches by “some technical difficulties”, the new Zelda game looked quite good.  It releases for Wii next year.

These next few games aren’t necessarily “classics” but they were announced so here you go: NBA Jam from EA and Mario Sports Mix.  The Mario game includes sports like beach volleyball, basketball, dodgeball, and ice hockey.  It’s due out sometime in 2011.  Next up, Wii Party!  It’s another Mii-based game that follows in the Wii Sports, Wii Play, and Wii Sports Resort genre.  It’s basically a bunch of mini-games you can place your Miis into.  Then there’s Dance Party 2 and it packs 40 new tracks and allows up to 8 players to get their groove on together.  It comes out sometime this year.  Then things started to bit crazy after Golden Sun: Dark Dawn for DS was announced, which releases this holiday season.

A revamped GoldenEye 007 is coming this holiday exclusively to Wii.  It stars Daniel Craig this time and features eight characters…yes, including Oddjob.  Next it’s Epic Mickey from Disney.  The game is set in a 3D world but there are 2D animated cut scenes abound.  Mickey wields a few tools, namely a paint brush and paint thinner, that expose or remove object from the game.  You are given a choice to find your way around obstacles by either painting around them or using paint thinner and in effect destroying bits of the world.  A side-scrolling Steamboat Willie level is included!  Next another “epic” game was announced, and this one stars not a mouse but a pink puffball; it’s Kirby’s Epic Yarn!  This sidescrolling platformer drops this fall.  Dragon Quest IX for DS, which supports up to four player local multiplayer action, lands in stores July 11.  A new trailer for Metroid: Other M reveals an August 31 release date.  Retro Studios, the developer behind Other M, is making another exciting game for Wii and it’s called Donkey Kong Country Returns!  This new side-scrolling platformer, complete with the soundtrack you know and love, plays very much like the original titles from the SNES and it comes out this holiday season.

Continue reading Nintendo press conference highlights: Nintendo classics make a comeback, plus 3DS handheld →

E3 2010: What to expect

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In just two days the Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo press conferences will be over and “the big three” will be showing off their latest innovations in hardware and games on the show floor at their respective booths at E3.  Let’s dive into each company’s plans and dissect what they have in store for us.

Xbox 360: You can expect massive titles like Halo: Reach, Gears of War 3, and Fable III to be demoed in real-time and hyped up during the Microsoft press conference.  But the buzz around Microsoft this year surrounds their gaming without controllers initiative codenamed Project Natal.  With a pre-E3 event called “Project Natal for Xbox 360 Experience imagined by Cirque du Soleil” you can expect the motion-capture accessory to dominate Microsoft’s offerings throughout the week.  With Natal Microsoft is first and foremost targeting the casual gamer, looking to expand to the same market Nintendo captured with the Wii.  Natal’s initial launch lineup will be announced and this first batch of games will likely take advantage of Natal in simplistic ways.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the Richochet and Paint Party games that were previewed last year end up shipping with it.  And there’s always little Milo who may certainly star in his own game.  If you’re the hardcore type, it would be remiss for Microsoft to ignore you after all these years of support.  I’ve seen video of Burnout Paradise being used with Natal and Fable III lead designer Peter Molyneux stated in an interview that the next Fable will incorporate Natal functionality.  Whatever the launch lineup may be, I would hope Microsoft has at least a dozen casual games to entice new gamers to their console and a sprinkle of hardcore experiences to satisfy their longtime users.  Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if a new version of the Xbox 360 dashboard took advantage of Natal with a gesture-based UI.  As of now we know Natal is expected to launch this holiday season; the press conference should make things more clear with not only a definitive release date and a price (fingers-crossed under $100), but also a final name for the hardware (although “Natal” has grown on me over the months).

Enough Natal.  Let’s talk games.  I’ve already hit on the big sequel exclusives like Bungie’s Halo: Reach, Epic’s Gears of War 3, and Microsoft Game Studios’ Fable III.  First person shoot XCOM from 2K Games looks fantastic (also available on PC), Capcom’s Dead Rising: Case Zero brings another compelling zombie shooter, and Microsoft Game Studios’ Avatar-based racing game Joy Ride will likely use Natal in more ways than one.  And you can’t forget about the next Assassin’s Creed game from Ubisoft subtitled Brotherhood.

Read on for PS3 and Wii/DS discussion, plus more about third-party games and some “bizarre predictions”! Continue reading E3 2010: What to expect →

Nintendo DS handhelds surpass Game Boy sales

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In their latest quarterly earnings report, Nintendo happily announced that their DS line of handhelds (DS, DS Lite, DSi, DSi XL) has officially sold more units than the their Gameboy predecessors.  The DS family has sold around 129 million units, briskly passing the 118 million Game Boy handhelds sold.  Although this makes the DS line the best selling handheld gaming device in history, the Sony PlayStation 2 still wears the crown when it comes to all video game devices with 140 million units sold.  Anyhow, way to go Ninty!  Nintendo 3Ds, come out, come out wherever you are.

[Via Nintendo; Engadget]

Nintendo Wii gets a new coat of paint, beefier baseline package

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Nine months after being released in Japan, a black-coated version of the Nintendo Wii console is coming to America.  Come May 9 consumers will have the option to purchase a white or black Wii console.  Both models will remain at $199.99.  But get this–the baseline package now includes a copy of Wii Sports Resort and a Wii MotionPlus accessory.  These new additions bundle with the standard fare that includes the Wii console, one Wiimote, and Wii Sports.  Now you can finally match your black Wiimotes and nunchucks with a console of the same shade.

[Via Joystiq]

Nintendo slips out details of the successor to the DS — the 3DS

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Hot off the heels of these latest rumors, Nintendo may or may not have slipped up in releasing a short but sweet press release about a forthcoming successor to the Nintendo DS handheld temporarily dubbed the Nintendo 3DS.  That’s right, as in 3D.  According to the press release found on Nintendo’s Japan website, the 3DS will allow games to be “enjoyed with 3D effects without the need for any special glasses.”  Whether or not the 3D tech will work like this DSi Japanese game is yet to be known.  It’s also important to note that it specifies the 3DS as the successor to the DS series (which includes the DS, DSi, DSi XL).  The 3DS will be backwards-compatible with both DS and DSi games.  Engadget scooped up further information; it looks like the 3DS will pump out 3D images using a parallax barrier LCD screen made by Sharp and Hitachi.  The 3DS will pack dual screens, each sizing at 4 inches diagonally, 3D control sticks (these just might end up being analog nubs), vibration feedback, faster WiFi transfers, and improved battery life.  We won’t have to wait much longer to hear the final word; Nintendo is expected to officially unveil the Nintendo DS successor this June at E3 2010.

[Via Nintendo; Engadget, here & here; Asahi; Nikkei]

Nintendo DS2 rumors: Bigger, better screens, accelerometer, Tegra 2 graphics, E3 unveiling

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The next iteration of the Nintendo DSi, the DSi XL, has yet to release in the States and already there’s word of an entirely new DS system.  Let’s refer to it as the DS2, shall we?  According to the latest rumors, the DS2 will continue the dual-screen tradition, but this time it will allow for gameplay to occupy a single screen or bleed onto the second screen, serving as one giant display.  The two screens will be bigger and boast a higher resolution.  Unfortunately the letters HD were not included in the mix.  Playing off past rumors, the DS2 will contain an accelerometer and an advanced graphics chip, possibly the NVIDIA Tegra 2.  Based on the hardware dev kit, the DS2’s graphics are comparable to Gamecube and even the Wii.  Lastly many developers have spilled a late 2010 launch window–that’s when they plan on having their DS2 games ready for showtime.  And what does that suggest?  Nintendo will likely reveal the next significant upgrade to the DS hardware line at this year’s E3 in June.  Remember, all of this is unofficial pieces of information being thrown into the rumor mill.  But boy doesn’t it sound tasty?

[Via Kotaku; Gizmodo]

Nintendo DSi uses camera & motion tracking to produce a 3D image

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Finally, the Nintendo DSi’s camera is being put to exciting use.  An upcoming Japanese-only game called Rittai Kakushi e Attakoreda will utilize the DSi’s (inner) camera and motion tracking software to follow your eyes and create a 3D illusion that you are looking behind or in front of certain objects in the virtual world.  The tech being used here is not so different from Johnny Chung Lee’s Wii head-tracking experiments.  Watch the demo above and it’ll all make sense.  Magical, isn’t it?

[Via BoingBoing; Gizmodo; Nintendo Japan]

Nintendo DSi XL coming March 28; plus 100 Classic Book Collection

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We’ve heard about the specs and now we’ve got the launch info.  Nintendo DSi XL, the next iteration of the Nintendo DS, will be made available for purchase on March 28 for $189.99.  That’s $20 more than the current Nintendo DSi that’s been out for some time now.  Initially the XL will sell in two color varients, burgundy and bronze.  The handheld will come preloaded with two DSiWare Brain Age games, Photo Clock, the DSi Browser, and Flipnote Studio.  If you already own a Nintendo DSi I cannot come up with a valid reason for wanting to make the jump to this new device.  Remember, the added value comes in an increase in screen real estate screen (from 3.5 inches to 4.2 inches), it comes with a larger stylus, and the screen is a bit brighter.  Besides that, it is nearly identical (internals and ports/switches-wise) to the DSi.  If you’ve got the original DS or the DS Lite and you’ve been wanting to get in on the dual camera gameplay, maybe it’s something to think about.  Look after the break to see the XL in action, Nintendo style.

In related DS news, Nintendo has teamed up with book publisher Harper Collins to create 100 Classic Book Collection, an eReader app of sorts that will be made available in the US on June 14.  For $19.99 Americans will have the opportunity to purchase the same 100 classic books Europeans have had access to on their DS’ for over a year now.  Joystiq makes a good point: “Why did it take Nintendo a year and a half to localize a bunch of books that were already in English?”  Anyway, the collection includes works from Shakespeare, Dickens, Twain, and a whole lot more.  Look after the break for the full breakdown.  Though Nintendo promises specialized scrolling and zooming options, I just can’t see the Nintendo DS (even with a larger 4.2 inch screen) becoming a viable eReader.  Unless of course getting maigrains is a hobby for you.

[Via Joystiq, here, here & here; Engadget]

Continue reading Nintendo DSi XL coming March 28; plus 100 Classic Book Collection →

Nintendo: The next DS will support motion control, better graphics; Netflix is coming to Wii

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In a recent interview Nintendo President Satoru Iwata splilled the beans on what to expect from the successor of the Nintendo DS: “[It will have] highly detailed graphics…And it will be necessary to have a sensor with the ability to read the movements of people playing.”  How interesting, Mr. Iwata.  I can see an advanced accelerometer placed inside a new DS-like portable gaming device that will allow for motion control in Nintendo and third party games.  As for the “highly detailed graphics,” this comment adds sparks to the fire about an NVIDIA Tegra chip being incorporated in the next DS.

In other Nintendo news, it was just announced that the Nintendo Wii will join the Xbox 360 and PS3 and finally support the Netflix service.  Like the PS3, the Wii will require users to place an “instant-streaming” disc into the console in order to stream movies and TV shows.  Obviously the Wii will not support HD content since its lowly graphics card can only handle 480p resolution.  And per usual, there will be no additional fee to watch Netflix on top of Netflix’s monthly fees.  If you’ve got a Wii and a Netflix subscription, head on over to Netflix to order your very own instant-streaming disc today.  What are you waiting for?

[Via Engadget, here & here]