Ruthie and I recently had the chance to ask Elder Prince of Blossomsoft a few questions about the Wii U. Though he currently has nothing in the works for the system, he is a well-respected indie developer whom you should all have on your radar – his upcoming remake of Eternal Eden for the 3DS is looking to be a fantastic addition to the handheld’s library, and he has previously teased designs for several other games following it. Continue reading…

A fresh rumour has just broken loose from 01net, the same site that accurately leaked a motherload of information about the Wii U several months ago – or as we knew it at the time, Project Café. According to their sources, Nintendo’s strategy of using slightly obsolete technology to minimize costs is on the verge of backfiring. Continue reading…

Michael Schade, the CEO of German developer Fishlabs, described the Wii U as a “Fisher Price iPad,” following a comment that the dedicated console market is dying – this shortly after an analyst predicted the exact opposite, no less.

Nintendo… if you read about what Iwata said about iPhone, how he didn’t take it seriously, and now they come out with a Wii U that looks like a Fisher Price iPad. I mean, they had a great success introducing the Wii, and you should respect that, but right now everything tells me that Nintendo are not in a good way.

His company is a studio that develops iOS games exclusively, and there’s nothing wrong with that; but this sounds almost like an insult to Nintendo. The iPad and the Wii U share a large touchscreen, but the similarities end there – the Wii U’s buttons, Circle Pads, and ergonomics set it apart as a viable gaming device, while the iPad’s slim form factor makes it a good business and web surfing device.

Special thanks to nintendo3DS for the tip.

Lewis Ward, an analyst of the International Data Corporation (IDC), believes that the console market still has lots of life left, countering many investors’ theories that mobile devices are out to eat Nintendo’s lunch.

Total console hardware and disc-based software revenues are on track to slide a few percent in 2011 compared to 2010. But prognostications that consoles have peaked as a product category are premature.

Furthermore, he sees the next generation of home consoles – which Nintendo will kick off with the Wii U next year – as one that will spark interest in consoles again, and will lead into a new age of “console-centric spending”.

I expect that the launch of the Wii U, a revamped interactive entertainment console from Microsoft in the 2014 timeframe, and the arrival of Sony’s ‘PS4’ circa 2015 – along with more than a few exclusive, innovative games – will help drive a new wave of console-centric spending in the next several years.

This means that Nintendo may potentially hold the keys to the future of the console space. How they handle the Wii U’s launch and lifetime support may play a major factor in determining whether consoles are still a viable market worth pursuing in a few years’ time. They’re confident words, and I hope for the industry’s sake that he’s right.

Just about everything and everyone you encounter in Spore is made by other players.

Nintendo have acquired a new patent for a “massively single-player online game” experience. The patent document’s description is rather vague, but the basic premise of the concept is that it allows many people to play online and affect each other’s experiences without directly interacting with each other, as is the case in a massively multiplayer online game (MMOG). If that still doesn’t make any sense to you, Maxis’s Spore is a prime example of a previously successful MSOG design in which your creatures, vehicles, and buildings could randomly show up in other people’s games. Continue reading…

Asura’s Wrath, an action game coming to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 next year, has a chance of making it to the Wii U as well, if Capcom’s latest comments are to be believed. They said they’d consider bringing it to the Wii U if enough demand is seen for it on their forums as well as the game’s Facebook page.

Now, the last time Capcom decided to run a fan-fueled project, it came to a grinding, unceremonious halt – many of you are probably still sour about the cancellation of Mega Man Legends 3, and it doesn’t look like it’ll be coming back despite the strong fan movement for it. That said, leaving a comment on the Facebook page takes all of ten seconds, so it might be worth a shot.

According to Danny Bilson, THQ’s executive VP, the company is looking to make a true commitment to the Wii U beyond just simple ports. He teased a touchscreen-powered inventory system for Darksiders II, and overall seems to be quite excited about actually making games for the platform.

We’re committed to that platform, so long as our developers find really interesting ways to use the controller so that it’s a unique experience and much more than a port.

Obviously, even to port some of the stuff over could be very profitable, but we’re really looking to use it. I mean, Darksiders 2 has a very deep loot and inventory system, and having that live and not having to click out of your screen is really a bonus in a game like that. And that’s just one really simple example. Some of the two-player stuff in the living room on independent screens where you can’t see each other is another one.

And then there’s the things you can do with motion sensors, and using the screen as a window – there’s all kinds of fun stuff. Even Nintendo had some fun stuff at E3 in their demo, throwing stuff from that screen to the other screen, things like that. You’re going to see that in a bunch of our core games. As many as it makes sense.

In stark contrast to the many developers we’ve heard acknowledging the Wii U with a “it’s interesting, but we’ll see…”-type attitude, THQ are truly fired up about it and are looking to make the very most of the system. With an attitude like that, I’d say they’ve got a decent chance at establishing themselves as one of Nintendo’s key third-party developers early on in the system’s life.

Nicalis, best known for their indie hit Cave Story, are now a licensed Wii U developer, if their homepage is anything to go by. We have no idea what they’ve got in mind for the system, but they most likely wouldn’t go to the trouble of acquiring a Wii U license if they didn’t have any plans for it. So, there’s a company to keep on your radar. Let’s hope we hear more from them soon.

This isn’t exactly the most recent piece of news – in fact, it’s all the way back from E3 – but as it was on Nintendo’s Japanese E3 site, there’s a good chance that many of you missed it (I know I did). What we’ve got is a brief interview with Katsuhiro Harada about Tekken Wii Successor, one of the only Wii U-exclusive games we know about at this point.

Meaning, what follows is some of the precious little genuine Wii U game footage in existence. Hit the break for the video and some screen grabs!

Continue reading…

Starting on August 28th, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Paper Mario, Mario Strikers Charged, and Punch-Out!! will be inducted into the Nintendo Selects line – the Wii’s equivalent of the GameCube’s “Player’s Choice” line or the PlayStation 2’s “Greatest Hits”. As part of Nintendo Selects, they’ll get a fancy red case and drop in price to a very attractive $20.

As we’ve still got a few more months to slog through as we wait for the Wii U, catching up on some of these games is a great way to pass the time. I, for one, completely missed Mario Strikers Charged and Punch-Out!! when they came out, so I’m looking into picking them up once their price drops take effect in about two weeks. I’ll post up a reminder about these games when they become available to purchase online.