Yesterday we brought you the news that a new Professor Layton title is heading to iOS and Android, so it only seems appropriate that we report on another DS/3DS title that's making the leap to smartphones and tablets. An iOS release of Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure, or Rhythm Kaitou R as it's known in Japan, is listed on SEGA's page for the Tokyo Game Show.
Like the Layton equivalent, it looks like this will be a freemium title with plenty of add-ons to buy separately. It's not clear how closely it'll follow the 3DS title, as it will apparently be re-worked for shorter play sessions and include a social feature, which could theoretically be similar to an online version of the StreetPass functionality in the original. As an indication of the early stage of development, even the featured screenshots are from the 3DS version.
It'll be interesting to see how the freemium model accommodates the story of the 3DS title, if at all, especially as that was a big part of producer Shun Nakamura's ambition when developing the game.
The approach we are taking now, of adding in plot, is my way of reviving music games. In this new method, I believe old-fashioned music games and Bemani style have a place to live.
As more developers and publishers release variations of the same game or franchise both on 3DS and smartphone/tablet platforms, we'll be able to see how the different experiences shape up.
[source pocketgamer.co.uk]
Comments 54
Why? Why keep showing this stuff on here... everyone's jumping on the cheap wagon...
Well, I can't say I'm thrilled to hear about this. I just beat it not too long ago, and it is a pretty good game. I'm sure it will work well for IOS, but doing stuff like this worries me... Though this won't have the excellent 2D cutscenes in 3D.
@HarmoKnight After highlight the Layton example (mainly because the two in the pipeline with be the first Layton games not exclusive to Nintendo systems), it seemed right to highlight this example.
There's a lot of interesting issues around this too, such as how it'll vary to suit iOS and also the freemium model. I for one enjoyed all of the content and storyline in the 3DS title: will this version stack up against that?
Great. This is f***ing great. ;-;
Maybe it's time to embrace IOS and Android gaming. I am seriously at the that point since you get more gaming for the Dollars. There is a wonderful mmorpg I play on Android called Iruna that I bet would run great on 3ds but we wont see anything like that. Im giving my 3ds through the first of the year if things don't get better in the Eshop and game releases im moving onto Android full-time to do my gaming. I've given nintendo enough time to get things going. Animal Crossing should have been released by now but, No we have to hold that title back! just rediculous. Where is the Robust online multiplayer Reggie? One good online game (Mariokart) doesn't make up for it! Well Heroes of Ruin is pretty good too. How long will Dragon Quest X be held out?
@Windy As I've learnt myself - owning an Android device - you simply cannot get the same experience as you get on a dedicated gaming device. Nothing is exciting about playing games on Android.
I know Nintendos not doomed, but all this moving to iOS and Nintendo power/europes version closing down is making me worried a little, I just wanna start hearing good news on NL
Misleading title. When you say Rhythm Thief joins Layton, I got all hyped up for a crossover.
@Cipher I beg to differ most of my time has been spent lately on my Android and the gaming is really getting good for it. Plus with the Ouya coming out and being a dedicated console for android next march things can really good for an android based gaming console. There are way more available good games on android and IOS right now than in Eshop. I want my 3ds to succeed over Android and IOs but my faith is waining. Maybe I will feel better when Animal Crossing comes out and the Christmas lineup. I cant wait for Code of Princess. We need some online multiplayer titles and im sorry but in the real world local wifi doesnt work. Most people I talk to who game on other systems dont even know the 3ds and wii can go online. I think They get to play alot of local wifi in the nintendo offices and think local wifi is a big success because of it. The ultimate and ive thought of doing this. Run an add in craiglist to have a game night at the library for Dragon Quest IX or other local wifi games and see what kind of turnout we get. It would be great fun. Personally I've been gaming since 1978 im an older guy and im about to give Nintendo my boot which stinks cause I have stuck with them a very longtime. For me they are at an all time low
Well miss informed people can affect sales as well, I bet if you told people wii and 3DS can go online it'll help, and for me Nintendo isn't getting stale, I've been finding SMB3/world is just as easy as NSMB series
Here's my hope: That the money earned from in-app purchases for this iOS version will help fund a new, full-price 3DS game. But perhaps that's wishful thinking...
this game retailed at around £29.99.... yet you can get it on IOS for less?
i think many 3DS owners of this game will feel cheated by sega by this.
searched the web iOS version seems to be free but is likely to be adding bonuses for purchase, like songs, stages and whatnot. a little unfair for the ones buying it for the 3DS price though
I have an ipad 3 and the DL circuit is brilliant albeit a bit dody on bugs and copyrights. However, people should understand these freemium apps with added DLC are not in the same league as the full 3DS/DS games. They're a different, sometimes completely different, way of experiencing the game's universe. Big fan of Layton and Rhythm Thief so I'll be investigating them. I hope these appear on the Wii U at least as well
iOS is an ace accompanying the 3DS and DS and Wii in my gaminy lifestyle. A delicious side-dish. But DOES NOT AT ALL beat dedicating console gaming. For me, it still has a heck of a way to go. Eg. analogue stick emulation on ipad's is awful imho. Thank frak the Wii U gamepad has d-pads and analogue sticks!
@misswliu81 Why? They get a great game on their platform of choice. That's like saying you should feel cheated for getting any game at full price because eventually it'll be used for half the price. If you got your money's worth, who cares if someone else gets to play the same great game you did, but for a price that may have been more convincing for them?
Honestly, this is a smart move. They obviously didn't reach a large audience on the 3DS, though it is slowly gaining in popularity from what I hear, so now's a good time to release it to a much larger audience and hopefully get the funds to finance the sequel they obviously intended to make.
The more I think about it, I think it's a win, win, win for everyone! It's a win for Nintendo because besides their awesome first party games, they can also say that they have talented developers making games for their awesome systems first. It's a win for the developers because they can say that their game comes from a well known and established console that will shine from all the other games that are out in the App Store and Android store. And it's a win for Apple and Android because they can also say,"yeah, we have that too."
For those saying iOS gaming is better than regular, I don't agree. In my opinion they are more like 2 minute at a time games.
@Pikminsi I don't think you'll get very far playing ASH or Chaos Rings for two minutes at a time...
Games used to only be an hour long anyways, and a lot of the games I've played on iOS are much meatier than a lot of the old NES games people used to praise.
I say most iOS games are the equivalent to a G&W + sorta thing if they made one, not horrid but still needs a little bit of time to get to even ALTTP type games
I love how people continue to insist that iOS is not a 'real' game platform despite daily evidence to suggest otherwise.
Not to worry. There's plenty more sand to bury heads in.
Theatrhythm will be next. Not that that would be a particularly difficult game to control on the iPad.
@Mickeymac Dude, you need to download Dragon Fantasy. It's right up your alley and you'll get hours upon hours of enjoyment out of it. I can't put my dang iPhone down lately, because of it!
@OlympicCho I agree. A game is a game no matter how small or different it is. Every 3rd party franchise and game are on iOS. Sonic the Hedgehog, Street Fighter, Monster Hunter, Chrono Trigger, Ghost Trick, Grand Theft Auto. Final Fantasy. The World Ends With You. The list goes on.
I'm thinking that people that say IOS and Android gaming are not real gaming haven't experienced it lately or even at all. Im going to list one game and onegame only which is a cross compatable game between windows, android, IOS and would make just a beautiful online 3ds or wii game and thats Star legends. we are seeing more andmore games of this type in IOS and in android and beleive me its plenty meaty! I'm givingNintendo till the first of the year and then it gets my boot in the rear. Can someone please get into nintendo's head and show them what to do. Iwant my beautiful 3ds to succeed but at this rate Sorry it isn't happening. First off! System sellers I have 2 of them= Dragon Quest X online and Monster Hunter 3ds dont waste anymore time and get them out! Animal Crossing 3d is another and has probably been in developement longer than any game ive seen in a while. Stop holding back games like Xenoblade and Last Story. thats all ive been ranting a ton today
LOL that's why I said MOST, seriously how many apps are there total? How many of them are must have none $1-$10 niche titles?
@Windy Well they are all out and AC will be by the end of the year... In Japan, but I'm trying to remember which country Nintendos from??? And which country apples from, of course apples going to be quicker getting there games to English speaking countries
Well one thing is a definate in the gaming markets. IOS and android have about 90% crap games with 10% being good. Ready for this shocker? the Eshop is running about 70% crap games but don't have near the software of the Apple market. Why is every single game rated High in the Eshop? That I cannot understand. I know the rating systems in the other markets are wacked but the Eshop is even worse
All I want is for the 3ds to succeed. But at the same time I want to give Nintendo a good yelling at Right now.
I do admit sometimes I wish Nintendo would allow me to put stuff on eShop, because I'd listen to people on NL and give them, mostly what they want:
mother, GBA games, more GBC, GG, Mega Drive, and maybe even some discount DS games that are out on iOS now. I have many things I'd change for them, but I'm ok for now
oh man im so waiting for Shining force from the gamegear. just a beautiful classic. It's not a system seller I must admit that's one I want for my own selfish reasons hee hee. But yes what you mention there at least to me sells more systems. They also need to educate people about the systems online capabilities.
SeriouslyNintendo needs to look at the comments in these articles. they will probably find more brainstorming here than anywhere. but who are we?
I'm seriously thinking of brining my DSi and my 3DS everywhere I go, because a guy at target a while back said he would get his daughter a DSiXL instead of the 3DS because he said they were the same, and that all the 3DS was, was a DSiXL only smaller and in 3D, I didn't correct him because IDK if he just didn't want to spend more $ but now I'm to the point I need to start showing off DSi VS 3DS! There's only one thing the girl wanted that isn't currently on the 3DS, and that's Flipnote Studio, but Flipnote can't be a system seller... Can it?
Y U No bring to Android???
Well Flipnote was pretty popular and alot of peeps have been begging for a 3ds version. October is going to be a good month for 3ds. Code of Princess looks real good I cant wait for that. I just beat Heroes of Ruin and loved it despite numerous bugs in the game it was still a bunch of fun. I have been so whiney lately about the 3ds but goodtimes are coming around guys. trust me on that. HarmoKnight looks great, Code of Princess looks great, Animal Crossing Looks great. the holidays will be nice. There will be plenty to play. I lose the faith on Nintendo from time to time but they always come through in the end.
@Windy Yeah, I'd say just don't sell you 3DS if something good doesn't come up right away, I had a friend who really wanted 3D Land and he got a 3DS before the price drop and was eligible for the many free games, but he sold the 3DS in sept because he couldn't stand to wait a couple more months and ended up rebuying a 3DS later on, but lost his free games, I'd take my system collecting dust over selling and regretting it. (not saying you would, but people in general)
@Slapshot Never heard of that one. After playing the first 4 Dragon Quest games, I think that could be a blast. Thanks, man!
I still plan on buying Rhythm Thief for my 3DS because I prefer 3D gaming over 2D, so I won't be buying it for my iPhone. I'm not concerned about games being ported or reworked for Mobile. "Plants Vs Zombies" was ported to Nintendo. It's no different than porting a 3DS game over to PS Vita. This isn't a Mobile vs Nintendo debate at all; this is about expanding sales beyond one platform. If I made a game, I would release it on as many platforms as possible to reach the largest audience I could because that increases the chance for sales.
And I think LEGEND_MARIOD has the right attitude. He's a big fan of Layton and Rhythm Thief and would like to support and revisit the franchises on another platform that he has access to. If Mario or Zelda was ported over to iPhone I would absolutely buy it because I like the franchises and would want to support them. I bought all the Mega Man stuff for my iPhone even though I have them on Nintendo consoles/handhelds because I love Mega Man.
This isn't Mobile vs Nintendo. This is bringing a video game to an audience who uses another platform.
iOS has some fantastic games, and works really well as a portable platform. The amount of games is sickening, you can easily download 10 good games FOR FREE every single week. There are entire websites dedicated to keeping you updated which awesome games have gone free. I keep running out of space on my 32 Gb iTouch and I only download 4+ star apps.
People who say iOS doesn't have any real games are as annoying as people who say Nintendo is for kids.
Oh iOS is for real gaming, believe me - but once again it doesn't at all replace proper console gaming for me. Also, though many of the top games are brill, they metacritic ratings for them are completely overrated. Massively so. Apple obviously having some influence there IMHO. Those who talk about Apple replacing Nintendo consoles et al for gaming are more irritating than those who don't understand iOS as a proper gaming platform (or an accompanying one)
I'm sorry, when my current time sink is a port of an iOS game to PC, I think I can safely say that real gaming exists on iOS. The game is a spiritual successor to Freelancer, essentially a starfighter simulator. Already sank over 20 hours into the iOS version, and sunk another 12 hours into the full HD PC version a few days after I got it. Galaxy on Fire 2 consumes my life.
@Happy_Mask Thanks!
Galaxy on Fire 2 is only 69p now as well :0 ...watch out for numerous copies of Rhythm Thief and Layton on iOS as well btw, like the Pokemon clone!
Nintendo are dooomed.
@LEGEND_MARIOID You just contradicted yourself. Just letting you know.
Also, you can like multiple things at once. No one's saying (or shouldn't be saying) that Mobile gaming will replace console game, for you or anyone else. It can compliment it, suppliment it, or at the very least coexist with it. But the two will always have enough distinct differences that they shouldn't replace one or the other entirely.
@Mickeymac I totally agree, I hate when people say Nintendos next to be bought out by apple since Nintendos clearly not doing it right... I see that sorta talk on this site way too much
I just wish that Windows Phone would get stuff more often. The OS has a much better UI than iOS, but since all the sheeple went and bought iPhones to be "cool" and "hip", that's where the money is, and as such, the developers follow, similar to how the hunter ruthlessly stalks the bison.
Guess I'll get this free version instead then.
@HarmoKnight After my wife bought me the 3dsXL last night I won't be selling any of my nintendo systems anytime soon. And holy cow this screen is just beautiful! Please Bring on the great games Nintendo not one of us here want to wait anymore and other platforms are catching up to you....the front runner
@SuperSonic95 HaHa! He said Sheeple! lol thanks for the great chuckle of the day. I have never heard that term in all my years and beleive me its alot of years. What a great word!
I got the demo of this game for 3ds and honestly it sucked. Why people would pay $40 for this is beyond me.
I wanted to love Rhythm Thief, but it had some major problems and I ended up only liking it. Still, to my understanding Sega is hurting right now, so as long as it gets much needed funds I'll be happy for them.
@HarmoKnight I was trying to go all Mobile gaming and the 3DS was going to be my device of choice. It still is my Device of choice. But my Android Tablet has been getting the love lately with new and online multiplayer games coming out like crazy. So it see's more of my play time. I still have hope for the 3DS but in todays gaming it's hard to move to one system as a dedicated player. Right now it's 3DS-First Android Tablet-second and I also play the Wii alot lately with the release of Last Story. Im also thinking of playing through Xenoblade again.
@Mickeymac how?
The rest of the comment I mostly agree with. iOS gaming actually encourages me to play my Nintendo consoles moreso anyway. I think its that quirky style of gaming that I like. In fact, I'd say Nintendo gamers would get a lot of joy am
nd satisfactory video game sessions ourt of iOS gaming.
It has very much been said elsewhere that Apple will replace or even should offer to buy out Nintendo (HOW INSANE). What are these people thinking?
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