Tag: Industry - Page 23

  • News Nintendo UK Looking To Maintain Wii U Momentum

    Focus turns to Q1 2013

    It's fair to say the Wii U's launch has been a success, with the system selling out across the United States and shifting 40,000 units in the UK. Extra shipments are coming in thick and fast to meet the extreme demand that you'd expect for a new Nintendo console at Christmas time. Nobody really doubted that Wii U would be...

  • News Pachter: "I think Nintendo becomes completely irrelevant"

    Outspoken analyst casts doubt on Nintendo and Wii U's third party appeal

    Michael Pachter - Managing Director of Wedbush Securities and someone who can always be relied on to stir up emotions - has made some interesting comments regarding Nintendo at the Digital Game Monetization Summit in San Francisco. Speaking mainly about the state of the games...

  • News Satoru Iwata is 53 Today

    Happy Birthday, Iwata-san

    Today brings us another Birthday for one of Nintendo's most well-known figures, with President Satoru Iwata turning 53 today. It would seem that, should he want to, Iwata-san will be able to continue in his current role for many years to come. Satoru Iwata had a passion for video game development from a young age, deciding...

  • News Reggie Fils-Aime Focused on Customer Feedback, Not Industry Critics

    "Every time we launch a new system, there are significant challenges"

    With the exception of Japan, which joins the party this weekend, most of the world has now had the opportunity to pick up a Wii U, or to at least be told that it's out of stock while extra supplies are brought in. Thanks to the wonders of the internet and Nintendo's own Miiverse,...

  • News Sony's President of Worldwide Studios Has A Wii U

    Shuhei Yoshida gets his game on

    Although most rabid fanboys would love to think that Sony and Nintendo's employees loathe each other so much that they can't even bring themselves to look at a system created by their rival, that obviously isn't the case. Just like common gamers, individuals within these two great companies will have access to a wide...

  • News Wii U Hits 40K Sales in UK Launch

    Might not sound like much, but it's a sellout

    Although Europe-wide figures are yet to surface, it appears that Wii U has been a sell-out success on its launch weekend in the UK. According to MCV's estimates, 40K units were sold throughout the UK, with retailers reporting that this effectively meant a complete sellout. Weeks ago there were worrying...

  • News Wii U Titles Make Début in UK Top 20

    Early beginnings for a small install base

    It may be tempting to read the headline that Wii U titles are just in the top 20 of the UK software charts and wheel out the "Nintendo is doomed" line, as anything other than number one is a disaster of epic proportions. Of course, that's not how the real retail world operates, and the early results for Wii...

  • News Final Nintendo Power Cover Pays Homage To First Issue

    Clay models make a comeback

    A few months back Nintendo revealed that Nintendo Power, the magazine with 25 years of history, would sadly not be making it into 2013. Advent calendar windows across the land are now being opened, and Nintendo Power’s doors will unfortunately be closed for the last time on 11th December when the final issue is...

  • Talking Point Nintendo Shrinks Prices and Consoles

    It's all about the money, mini, money

    When we first reported the rumour of a Wii Mini, we made the mistake of including a slightly mocking tagline that referred to flying pigs. With the existing Wii models already selling at such low prices, the concept of Nintendo arranging the manufacturing, packaging and advertising for a new model this late in...

  • News Game Designer Says "Wii U Isn't Sure of Itself, and That's its Greatest Virtue"

    Nintendo tackles modern technology habits

    There are plenty of us, outside of North America at least, that are waiting to spend serious time on Wii U, so concepts such as asynchronous multiplayer are still shrouded in some mystery; even early adopters are likely to still be discovering new uses for the system's GamePad controller. Plenty is already...

  • News Reggie: Sony and Microsoft Need To React To What Nintendo Is Doing With Wii U

    "Faster processors and pretty pictures won't be enough"

    The Wii U has its fair share of plaudits but its fair to say it also has an equal share of doubters as well. Since the new console has launched many developers have taken a swipe at it claiming its lack of power will make it outdated and irrelevant once Sony and Microsoft throw their new...

  • News Wii U Shifts 400K Units in Début Week

    It's "essentially sold out of retail"

    Nintendo's revealed its sales results to incorporate the Wii U launch and the Black Friday festivities, with NoA COO Reggie Fils-Aime weighing in with the company's perspective in an interview with CNET. Nintendo's total hardware sales — according to internal data — hit around 1.2 million units in the U.S.,...

  • News Reggie Fils-Aime: Wii U Is "Much More Graphically Intensive" Than Rival Systems

    Content from major devs to make for a "well-rounded console"

    While there's been much talk about Wii U in terms of its substantial launch lineup, as well as opinions on the system's operation system and functions such as Miiverse, there's also been plenty of discussion about CPU chips and graphical capabilities. Like Wii before it, some are...

  • Talking Point Nintendo And The Third-Party Challenge

    Can the Big N win over support for Wii U in the long run?

    With Wii U finally available in North America and shortly on its way to European store shelves, Nintendo fans across the world seemingly have a lot to be happy about. At long last, we’ll be able to experience our favourite franchises in glorious high-definition, along with some high profile...

  • News GoldenEye 007 Wii Dev Suffers Major Job Losses

    "Focusing mainly on mobile opportunities moving forward"

    Eurocom, the development studio probably best known for GoldenEye 007 on Wii, has today announced a large number of redundancies as part of a restructuring effort. The company has confirmed that its number of employees has dropped from over 200 to just 50. Eurocom has been in business since...

  • News Analyst Believes Nintendo Shouldn't Compete With Sony And Microsoft

    Wii U “in an awkward place with its identity”

    Wii U has a plethora of games for consumers to choose from on launch. There’s something for everyone – for the casual gamers there’s Nintendo Land and the like and for the more core gamers there are titles such as Tekken Tag Tournament 2: Wii U Edition and Call of Duty: Black Ops II. However,...

  • News THQ Enters Forebearance Agreement With Creditors

    Foreclosure delayed, for now

    THQ has been going through some difficult times lately. The developer currently has $16.4 million outstanding on its facility and two weeks ago it defaulted on a loan worth $50 million. Things were looking bleak, but it appears the company has entered into an agreement with the finance company Wells Fargo Capital Finance...

  • News 2K Boss Has No Doubts That Wii U Will Be Successful

    "Nintendo always impresses and surprises me"

    2K Games president Christoph Hartmann is clearly something of a Nintendo fan, and has made some incredibly positive noises to UK trade publication MCV. Speaking in an interview which goes live on MCV tomorrow, Hartmann was effusive in his praise: Nintendo always impresses and surprises me. The team...

  • News Wii U Becomes Profitable With One Game Sale

    Buy a game, make Mario say wahoo!

    It was confirmed in late October that Wii U will be sold at a loss, which gave the retail price some context and perhaps made some supporters nervous about the financial impact on the company. According to comments from Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aime, however, the loss on each console is evidently small...

  • News Wii U on Plenty of U.S. Christmas Lists

    The kids are alright

    With the Holiday season upon us, there are a number of gadgets vying to be the hottest attraction for shoppers, with Wii U doing its best to join in. Of course, so much money at this time of year is spent on kids, and according to surveys conducted by research firm Nielson, Wii U is high on a lot of wishlists. Of those...

  • News Wii U Software Discounts Hit Ahead of Black Friday, Analysts Weigh In

    Consoles reportedly sold out, over 2500 on eBay

    Now that Wii U has had a day or so to launch and fly off store shelves, industry analysts are starting to look at the early signs of success, or otherwise, for the system. It's all very, very early days, of course, but nevertheless a couple of interesting trends have emerged. For starters, and to the...

  • News Reggie - Wii U Is "Absolutely The Beginning Of A New Generation"

    Hints at some launch window surprises

    One big debate that has surrounded Wii U ever since it was revealed is whether or not the new console is the last through the door of the old generation, or the first to break into the next one. With the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 coming towards the end of their product life cycles it seems inevitable that their...

  • News Nintendo UK Appoints Simon Kemp As General Manager

    Simon says sell systems

    Nintendo UK has announced Simon Kemp as its new general manager earlier this afternoon, MCV has reported. A newcomer to the video game industry, Kemp previously worked in GlaxoSmithKline's Mergers and Acquisitions department, as well as a number of other marketing roles beforehand. He replaces David Yarnton, who stepped down...

  • 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...