Tag: Development - Page 3
Slow and steady
In March Nintendo announced its partnership with DeNA to bring its IP to smart devices in apps and games. It was a fairly drastic shift in direction, with the talk turning from apps that would have the sole aim of directing consumers to Nintendo hardware, to directly acknowledging the need for big-hitting franchises to have games on...
News You Can Own Sid Meier's SNES Development System, If You Have A Spare $9.5K
"The 'Holy Grail' of video game collecting"
Legendary game design Sid Meier is responsible for some of the most iconic titles in the history of the interactive entertainment industry. He helped found Microprose in the 1980s and has since produced the likes of Civilization, Sid Meier's Pirates!, Silent Service and F-15 Strike Eagle. It's now possible...
Exclusive Behind The Scenes On Playtonic's Yooka-Laylee
Meeting with a Rare breed of developers
They say that the apple never falls far from the tree, and that's certainly true of UK startup Playtonic Games. Based on an industrial estate in the middle of the rolling English countryside, this team of former Rare developers is but a stone's throw away from the historic town of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, where Rare...
First Impressions Hands On With Playtonic's Yooka-Laylee
Damien and Thomas share their initial impressions
The cat - or should that be chameleon - is out of the bag. Fledgling UK studio Playtonic Games has lifted the lid on the stars of its début title - Yooka and Laylee - and has sent Rare-loving Nintendo fans into a frenzy of anticipation by confirming that the game will be coming to the Wii U eShop...
News How Some Of Rare's Leading Lights Traded Platforming For Pensions
Preciousbluedot is using game design to change the world of finance
Just in case the news relating to Playtonic's début didn't get the Rare fans among you excited enough, we've got a little update on what another group of famous ex-Rare developers have been up to since leaving the legendary UK studio - and it's probably not what you were expecting...
News Pawbyte Launches Game Pencil Engine to Support Wii U Development
Suitable for the Nintendo Web Framework
Since Nintendo introduced the Nintendo Web Framework on the Wii U, there's been a substantial expansion of HTML5-based projects on the system's eShop. Easier to learn and implement than alternatives, multiple software suites are available to help developers program and port their games to Nintendo's home...
Video Go Beyond The Beards With This Behind The Scenes Look At Guitar Hero Live
FreeStyleGames opens its doors
Activision is relaunching its famous Guitar Hero brand as Guitar Hero Live, a game which not only offers a new-look controller but also focuses on using live-action footage to deliver a more immersive experience. It's coming to the Wii U - as well as other formats - this year. FreeStyleGames is the studio in charge,...
De-Minishing Returns
Remember Midora? It's a Zelda-inspired action-adventure which was successfully funded via Kickstarter to the tune of $73,470, and while it didn't meet its Wii U and 3DS stretch goals, developer Epic Minds insisted that it would still come to those machines - it would just take a little longer. However, there are doubts the
News Unity Support Is Coming To The New Nintendo 3DS
Say hello to "tens of thousands of studios and over 4 million developers"
It has been announced during the Unite 2015 Tokyo event that Unity support is being rolled out to the New Nintendo 3DS and New Nintendo 3DS XL. For those who don't know, Unity is a powerful development platform which is used by many studios and allows devs to create...
News RCMADIAX Takes to Twitter to Outline New Strategy, Release Changes and Move Away from Wii U
"There is a stigma attached to my name on the Wii U eShop"
Earlier this year RCMADIAX, who published the Wii U eShop's first Nintendo Web Framework game, announced that he was planning to step away from the Wii U. The developer has now taken to Twitter to provide a series of updates that indicate a quicker than expected move away from Nintendo's...
News Game Jam Tasks Developers With Creating A Zelda Title Starring A Female Link
Gender bending in the name of gaming
Remember when Nintendo revealed the Wii U Zelda title at last year's E3, and many people jumped to the conclusion that Link was - y'know - a chick? Despite Nintendo's denials that Hyrule's famous warrior was switching genders for the next big adventure, many fans rightly asked why Link shouldn't be female for at...
News Mobile Developers Extremely Positive About Nintendo's Move Into The Smart Device Space
"Nintendo will be another titan in the mobile game industry"
While industry analysts might be conflicted about Nintendo's partnership with Japanese mobile firm DeNA - a deal which will see Nintendo's IP finally arrive on smartphones and tablets - the mobile development community has reacted in an extremely positive fashion, seeing the Japanese...
News Shigeru Miyamoto Sheds Light on His Development Philosophies and More
Question Block
Every Nintendo fan knows about Shigeru Miyamoto and his vital role for the company. The gaming legend is or has been responsible for timeless franchises such as Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda and Donkey Kong. He has been at the forefront of Nintendo's creative endeavours for years, and a recent interview with TIME shed some...
"We are forming a joint development structure with DeNA"
Following this week's dramatic announcement of Nintendo's partnership with DeNA to greatly expand its move into smart device gaming and services, utilising core IP in the process, there have been plenty of questions around how the partnership will work and how, in practical terms, it'll affect...
News First Screens From Banjo-Kazooie Spiritual Successor Are Revealed, Kickstarter Coming In May
Former Rare developers considering amiibo-style NFC figures
Last month we reported on the news that a group of former Rare developers had formed their own company - Playtonic - and were looking to create a "spiritual successor" to the Banjo-Kazooie series. During this week's EGX Rezzed, Playtonic showed off the first screens from the new game -...
News Two Tribes Co-Founder Doesn't Think He Would Have Bought His Own Game
"I think we were trying to please everybody"
Toki Tori 2 was one of the Wii U eShop's first big exclusives, a puzzle platformer which built on the previous two games - one on Game Boy Color and the other on WiiWare - to offer one of the console's first big download releases. However, Two Tribes Collin van Ginkel has revealed that sales have been...
News The Man Behind Fluidity And Stealth Inc Discusses Leaving Curve Digital And Future Plans
"I want my future titles to be on everything, and that includes Wii U"
Jonathan "Bidds" Biddle is leaving Curve Digital to head up his own indie studio, called onebitbeyond. Biddle was employed as Curve's Design Director and is the brains behind series such as Fluidity (also known as Hydroventure) And Stealth Inc. This isn't the end of Biddle's...
News Capcom Had Two Game Boy Color Versions Of Dino Crisis In Development, But Cancelled Both
Everybody walk the dinosaur
Back in the 32-bit era, the world's biggest handheld was unquestionably the Game Boy, and its updated variant, the Game Boy Color. Any title which was big on domestic systems invariably received a scaled-down port on Nintendo's all-conquering mobile console, with varying degrees of success. Capcom was no stranger to this...
News Next Level Games Employee Suggests He's Working on a Wii U Title, Then Stealth Edits the Post
You cannot hide on the internet
It's no secret that Next Level Games, though it's an independent company, is currently committed exclusively to Nintendo projects - that was stated in early 2014, and nothing since has suggested any change. We'd like to think it's an ambitious project, too, as little has been heard from the company since Luigi's...
News Saints Row Design Director Was Working On An Open-World Wii U Game
Nintendo apparently pulled the plug one day before production
Unseen64's Liam Robertson - an expert at digging up cancelled gaming projects - has uncovered another interesting piece of into regarding an open-world adventure title that was in development for the Wii U. Chris Stockman - who served as Design Director on the original Saints Row - was...
News Yes, People Are Still Making NES Games In 2015
Just because they can
The NES is one of the most iconic gaming systems of all time, but it hasn't been on Nintendo's radar - at least from a hardware perspective - for quite some time. That hasn't stopped homebrew developers from continuing to support the vintage console, and as a result 2015 will see the release of The Mad Wizard: A Candelabra...
News Meet Playtonic, A Studio Of Ex-Rare Staff That Wants To Work With Nintendo
"Spiritual successor" to Banjo-Kazooie on the way
A group of former Rare employees has banded together to establish a new studio which is now working on a spiritual successor to the Banjo-Kazooie series. Speaking to EDGE magazine, the core members of Playtonic - Gavin Price, Chris Sutherland and Steve Mayles - have explained how they recently...
News Conker Creator Chris Seavor Reveals More Details On The Origins Of Rusty Pup
Latest game from former Rare duo is shaping up nicely
It's been a while since we reported on The Unlikely Legend of Rusty Pup, a new title for the Wii U and 3DS eShops from former Rare staffers Chris Seavor and Shawn Pile. Since bringing you the exclusive news that the title was headed to Nintendo formats, things have been a little on the quiet side...
News Nintendo Pitched For The Media Rights To Harry Potter Back in 1998
Bid would have made Potter a Nintendo exclusive
The Harry Potter book and film series may have reached its conclusion a few years back, but the franchise continues to be a massive money-spinner - not only for creator J.K. Rowling but also for the many licensed partners involved with merchandising and related products. Video games are naturally...
Extra pillars of Nintendo's business, not replacing video games
Just recently Nintendo delayed its financial results presentation and investor's Q & A until 17th February, an uncommon move for the company. Its latest financial results had brought a mixed outcome, with smart business streamlining and a weak yen increasing net profit projections,...
News Dead Or Alive Producer Feels That A Cultural Divide Exists Between Japan And The West
Team Ninja's Yosuke Hayashi on his "strong, sexy and confident" cast
Team Ninja's Dead or Alive series has been running since the days of the Saturn and PlayStation, and has built up a large following thanks to its excellent gameplay and depth. However, it's perhaps just as famous for its female characters, who boast somewhat exaggerated vital...
News Ninja Pig Studios Accused Of Stealing Pixel Art For Forthcoming Wii U Release Jumpy Cat
Meme Run developer in hot water
This week is currently set to see the launch of Ninja Pig Studios' next Wii U eShop title, Jumpy Cat - but the developer behind the infamous Meme Run is already in hot water thanks to accusations that it has used stolen pixel art in its new game. Jumpy Cat is slated for release on January 22nd in North America, but...
Video TreeFall Studios Releases Its First Ever Developers Conference
The hype is real
Indie developer TreeFall Studios -- creator of the infamous Wii U eShop title The Letter -- has just released its first ever Developers Conference on YouTube showing off the company's forthcoming projects. Several brand new titles were showcased, as well as announcements relating to fresh content related to Maze, which recently...
News Retro Studios Launches Twitter Account And Sets Off The Rumour Mill
"Peekaboo"
Everyone is on Twitter these days -- even Her Majesty the Queen of England -- but Metroid Prime and Donkey Kong Country Returns creator Retro Studios has only just jumped on the social media bandwagon. The company kicked off its
Feature Tales From The Frontline Of Game Boy Development
The Rise And Fall Of Crawfish Interactive
As the video game industry lurches from one generation to the next, the multitude of companies involved with producing software for the endless conveyor belt of platforms never remains static; just as studios are created to cater for the demands of new hardware, established firms are forced to close due to...
News The N64 Almost Got A Multiplayer-Focused Doom Sequel
Details regarding the cancelled Doom Absolution emerge
The N64 got an exclusive Doom title in 1997, but this wasn't the only game in the lineage that was planned for Nintendo's 64-bit system. The plan was to follow up with Doom Absolution, a 2-player competitive shooter developed to capitalise on the deathmatch craze triggered by Rare's excellent...
News Satoru Iwata Chipped In To Make Sure Super Smash Bros. Melee Made It To Market On Time
"Aaah, I wonder if it's alright to admit this?"
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata wasn't always in charge of Nintendo -- once upon a time, he was a humble programmer sat at his keyboard with dreams of becoming the next Miyamoto. In a recent interview with 4Gamer, Iwata admits that before he moved into management he had aspirations of being the...
News AI Program Can Learn To Play Game Boy Games, Next Stop: The Subjugation Of Humanity
When is Judgment Day due, again?
Developer Daniel Shumway has created an AI program which is capable of learning how to play Game Boy and Game Boy Color games. Named Piglet — but previously developed under the moniker WideEyes — it's a machine-learning AI built with Lua and designed to interact with the Visual Boy Advance emulator. Inspired by...
Weirdness This Back To The Future-Style VR Hoverboard Game Uses The Wii Fit Balance Board
"The Wii Fit board is actually a really awesome device"
The Back to the Future series is packed with memorable moments, but one of the most iconic has to be the hoverboard sequence in the second movie. Inspired by the classic film, Australian developer Kieran Lord has created Hoverboards Inc, a title built in Unity that uses Oculus Rift and the Wii...
News NINJHAX Exploit Is All About Nintendo 3DS Homebrew And Not Piracy, Says Creator
Hack intended to attract bedroom coders to the 3DS, not stinkin' pirates
Today marks the launch of the much-hyped NINJHAX exploit, which allows 3DS owners a backdoor to run unofficial software on their consoles. The hack is the work of 22-year-old student Jordan Rabet, and is so called because it requires a copy of the obscure puzzle platformer...
Weirdness Dan Adelman's Made a Game, Albeit a "Turd That Looks Like Woah Dave"
10/10 for effort
We're fans of Woah Dave! here at Nintendo Life; it's not easy to release a chaotic retro-style arcade cabinet experience for $5 while delivering fun and value, but developer MiniVisions seems to have pulled it off. Available now on the 3DS eShop in North America, it's published by Choice Provisions — formerly Gaijin Games — and...
News Shigeru Miyamoto Outlines Core Nintendo Philosophies, Not "Boring" Alternatives
"Think of ideas for games that could have never happened before"
There are few plaudits that haven't been directed at Shigeru Miyamoto, the key development figurehead at Nintendo throughout its history in the video game industry. From providing a breakthrough hit with the original Donkey Kong arcade to overseeing and directing multiple projects as...
News Expect To See More Spin-Off Titles Like Hyrule Warriors In 2015, Says Miyamoto
"I feel that next year's Wii U titles are plentiful"
The Wii U is home to some amazing games, but we've had to wait quite a while to get them. Nintendo has taken longer than expected to become accustomed to the demands of HD development, and this has resulted in some titles taking longer than expected to reach store shelves. However, according to...
News Want Bayonetta 2 On PS4 And Xbox One? You Might As Well Ask For Zelda Or Mario, Jokes Kamiya
"If Nintendo doesn’t say yes, it’s not going to happen"
As has been mentioned several times in the past, Bayonetta 2 simply wouldn't exist if it weren't for Nintendo. The sequel was started with Sega's support, but when that company pulled out, the project almost collapsed before Nintendo stepped in. Despite this knowledge, lots of Sony and...
Splitting the userbase
It was confirmed recently by Satoru Iwata, when revealing the New Nintendo 3DS models, that a port of Wii title Xenoblade Chronicles will be exclusive to the new hardware to utilise its improved CPU. It was unclear how common this would be, yet in today's surprise announcement of the hardware hitting Australia and New Zealand...
News Mother 4 Is On The Way, But It's Not Being Made By Nintendo
Fan project is aiming for a release this year
The Mother series — perhaps better known in the west as EarthBound (AKA Mother 2) — is one of Nintendo's most enduring franchises. However, it has been dormant since 2006, when Mother 3 hit the Game Boy Advance in Japan. Rather than wait for Nintendo to start work on a fourth game in the series —...
News Mitchell Corp Is Keen To Bring Strider's Spiritual Sequel To Home Formats
Along with many of its other arcade titles
Mitchell Corp might not be a household name with most gamers, but the more astute among you will recognise the name from such hits as Pang, Puzz Loop and Polarium. Founded by former Data East staffer Roy Ozaki, the firm has enjoyed a very close relationship with Nintendo in recent years, with its last title...
News New Legend Of Zelda "Only Possible" Thanks To The Wii U Hardware, Says Eiji Aonuma
"We can achieve this thanks to the hardware features of Wii U"
This year's E3 was notable for showing us the first footage of the next Legend of Zelda title, which is due to hit the Wii U next year. This new release promises a massive game world to explore, and has predictably become one of the most hyped Nintendo launches of next year. Producer...
News Shigeru Miyamoto Confidently Outlines Nintendo's Move From Casual To Core
"People take games for granted now"
The Wii and DS consoles were systems which achieved incredible global success and marked Nintendo's shift from "core" players to a much larger market, dubbed "casual gamers". Titles like Wii Sports, Wii Fit and Brain Training made gamers of people who had historically never taken any interest in interactive...
News Ghost Song Developer "Prepared to Move Heaven and Earth" for Wii U Release
Time needed to port Open FL project to the system
Ghost Song was a Kickstarter project that certainly caught the eye in 2013, with an obvious source of inspiration being Super Metroid, while its mechanics, setting and sense of style were certainly appealing. While it reached its funding goal for PC / Mac, it unfortunately fell short of its Wii U...
News Retro Studios Ramps Up Recruitment for a Variety of Vital Roles
Descriptions suggest Wii U project
What's Retro Studios working on? That question has been common since development of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze began to wrap up towards the close of 2013, while it's not beyond the realm of possibility that the talented studio will have begun work on its next major endeavour while DK's adventure was still...
Video Flying Carpet Level in Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is Weaving Together Nicely
More playable characters may also be coming
WayForward has been living up to its name, steadily chugging along on Shantae: Half-Genie Hero ever since the project exceeded its Kickstarter goal last fall. In their most recent update, the team provides a taste from one of the ga
News Nocturnal Outlines Flowerworks HD Sales and Future Wii U Plans
Interested in supporting user creation through the GamePad
Earlier this year Flowerworks HD: Follie's Adventure bloomed on the Wii U eShop, a HD remake of the colourful and rather popular WiiWare title. Available in North America and Europe, it's one of a small handful of titles that have made the transition Nintendo's most recent home console...
News XType Plus' Game-Breaking Bug Nearly Squashed
Get back to blasting
Due to the presence of a game-breaking bug, XType Plus was recently removed from the European Wii U eShop and omitted completely from the North American equivalent. Luckily, today the developer PhobosLab announced through its Miiverse account that the team behind the title have managed to locate the bug that has been causing...
News Gearbox Attempts To Extract Itself From Aliens: Colonial Marines Class Action Lawsuit
States that Sega "vetted, approved and accepted" the critically-panned game
While many of us have all but forgotten the ill-fated Aliens: Colonial Marines — a title which was released to scathing reviews and would eventually be cancelled on Wii U — publisher Sega and developer Gearbox Software are still fighting a
