Pokémon Sun & Moon
This month’s issue of CoroCoro magazine has revealed another couple of new pokémon that will debut in Pokémon Sun & Moon.
One of the pokémon is called Kiteruguma, is a Normal/Fighting type, and has Fluffy and Klutz as abilities. CoroCoro states that the people of Alola are scared of Kiteruguma to the point of even placing warning signs about it outside. Because of its strength, it can break anything in two. It also likes to hug its trainers, but raising one puts their life in danger since it’s so strong.
The other pokémon is the Ghost/Fairy type Mimikkyu, which has the ability Disguise.
Mimikkyu is said to hate sunlight and prefer dark places. The cloth covering its body is rumored to be a strategy to avoid the sun, and if someone tries to remove the cloth, it’s said they’ll become afflicted with an illness. Mimikkyu’s costume is based on Pikachu merch that was popular 20 years ago, because it wants to be loved by people like Pikachu is.
CoroCoro also teased a special “Southern Island Alola Guide”, which is to contain “all the important information that you need for your journey”, that will come with the next issue of the magazine, releasing on August 12.
You can find the CoroCoro scans with the two new pokémon below:
A brand new Japanese trailer for Pokémon Sun & Moon has also been released, which contains some new gameplay footage. In it, you can get glimpses of the two new pokémon, an improved pokémon amie, riding on pokémon, what seem to be new special moves related to the bracelet, etc.
Amazon is now offering a “Steelbook Dual Pack” for Pokémon Sun & Moon, priced at $89.99, containing both games in a collectible Steelbook case similar to the ones of the European Fan Edition.
Also, those who reserve Pokémon Sun & Moon at GAME will receive a special bonus figure based on Solgaleo or Lunala. Of course, the figure provided is based on the version that you choose.
Pokkén Tournament
Bandai Namco recently revealed that Darkrai is coming to Pokkén Tournament’s arcade version on July 20.
It would be surprising to not see it come to the Wii U version later, since references to Darkrai was found by dataminers on the game’s code, together with Scizor and Empoleon.
You can find the official trailer for Darkrai below, followed by some gameplay footage:
Pokémon GO
Niantic has started to send out Pokemon GO’s first updates. Version 1.0.1 / 0.29.1 has been released on iOS, and was shortly followed by Version 1.0.2 to correct a small bug related to the Trainer’s Club account login.
Here’s the full message about the first of those updates:
Thank you for your incredible response and support of Pokemon GO! We are working hard to improve the experience for everyone. This update focuses on making Pokemon GO more stable with the following improvements:
– Trainers do not have to enter their username and password repeatedly after a forced log out
– Added stability to Pokemon Trainer Club account log-in process
– Resolved issues with crashes
– Fixed Google account scopeFor future updates and latest news, check out our official site at http://pokemongolive.com/ and follow our social media channels at:
Twitter: twitter.com/PokemonGOApp
Facebook: facebook.com/PokemonGOAgain, we are humbled by the overwhelming response. Thank you!
Niantic Team
Pokémon has now been downloaded more than 15 million times, been installed between 10 million and 50 million times, and is being played an average of 33 minutes per day. This counts for both iOS and Android.
The game is also out in several other countries all over Europe, and even Canada. However, Niantic is still working on fixing several server issues. Moreover, the game is still not out in Japan due to server capacity, or incapacity in this case. Niantic CEO John Hanke explained:
“At present, the server capacity in Japan is not powerful enough. We are working hard with our partners in Japan to enable the servers to keep up with demand once the game goes online there. We expect it to be released by the end of July.”
Hanke has alsp recently told The New York Times that sponsored locations for Pokémon GO would be announced in the future. It seems like McDonalds might actually be the first of these locations, since dataminers have found references to the food chain in the game’s code. You can find more details about that from Gizmodo over here and here.
It’s now also possible to submit new PokeStop and Gym requests for Pokémon GO. Niantic opened an official form on the app’s support site over here. Besides submitting new requests, those interested can also ask to have a location removed.
Mashable has recently published a new article about Pokémon GO, containing commentary from John Hanke, CEO of developer Niantic. Hanke touched on topics like how pokémon locations are determined, player safety, future features, and other things. You can find these on the original piece over here. Hanke was also interviewed by Game Informer, where he talked about various other aspects surrounding Pokémon GO, such as the project’s early days, last week’s launch, and future plans. He also commented on how much Junichi Masuda from Game Freak and Shigeru Miyamoto have been involved in the project, the pace of updates, the success thus far, and much more. You can read the interview over here.
Moving on to other topics, Digital Foundry has published a new video that dives into the technical aspects of Pokémon GO, such as GPS tracking, augmented reality, and Google Maps’ huge database. You can watch it below:
It has been found that you can determine your Eevee’s evolution by nicknaming it Sparky, Rainer or Pyro (for Jolteon, Vaporeon and Flareon respectively). These names come from the original anime where the Eevee Brothers has nicknamed their Eeveelutions this way.
Paper Mario: Color Splash
Paper Mario: Color Splash was recently featured on Nintendo’s stage at Hyper Japan Festival. You can find a recording below:
The game’s producer Risa Tabata also shared some more details about the game with GameSpot, going over things such as the bigger emphasis on story and humour, the card system, variety of cards and challenges, and the game’s style, among other things. You can read the interview over here.
Style Savvy: Fashion Forward
Style Savvy: Fashion Forward will soon be available in North America on August 19, so Nintendo has announced that a demo will be published on the eShop two weeks prior on August 4.
Those who download this Style Savvy: Fashion Forward demo can also participate in the game’s first Miiverse contest themed “Black and White”, which “asks fashion designers in the making to submit their best look based on the contest theme for bragging rights”.
Nintendo says additional Style Savvy: Fashion Forward contests will be held on Miiverse after launch, and specific details about it will be shared in the future.
Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE
The Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Special Edition contains an art book which, towards the end, has messages from three of the project’s most important developers: chief director and game designer Wataru Hirata, director Eiji Ishida, and producer Shinjiro Takata.
You can now find a transcript of their messages below, if you are interested in reading them and don’t have the book:
Chief director/game designer Wataru Hirata
I think it was in 2011 when I was first approached by someone saying, “Hey, there’s going to be a collaboration with Fire Emblem – want to do it?” Next thing you know, five years have passed, and here we are handing the final product over to all of you. I’ve been making RPGs with Atlus for over ten years, but I think my anticipation for a project like this goes back even further… It’s hard to express the exact feeling I had when I heard the news about this project, but it was something like, “Finally”.
As a creator looking back on Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, the opportunity to collaborate on such a storied franchise as Fire Emblem, to work side by side with an industry giant like Nintendo, to have such interesting partners as Avex and Toi8, and to be developing for unique hardware like Wii U… it made for a fresh and stimulating time. And when you get the feeling tat the project you’re working on may be a “once in a lifetime” opportunity, it really fuels you to keep going. But when the road ahead is five years long, you still may feel sometimes like you’re going to run out of fuel.
When that happened, I would shift gears from the creator side of me to the fan side for that extra bit of fuel that would restart the engines and propel me forward. “If I want to hold people’s interest, I can’t do it halfway – it’s time to swing for the fences!” “People have been waiting for this, so I need to make it the best!” This was what my creator side was constantly hearing from my fan side over the last five years.
Now that it’s all over, I feel a bit lonely, and I might still feel over the course of the next year or two that I’m still working on this game, haha. But of course that’s not so. We developers have stepped away, and the time has come for Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE to belong to you. I do think that when it releases, I will turn back into a fan and play the game from that perspective. All I can hope is that you play the game with the same feeling.
Finally, I want to say a word of thanks to Satoru Iwata, who created the opportunity for this game to come into the world. It was my own small dream to be able to share stories of developing Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE with him in an “Iwata Asks.” Thank you, Mr. Iwata.
Director Eiji Ishida
I was on this project as a director, assisting the main director, Mr. Hirata. I also oversaw the game’s battle system.
Has everyone reading this now played the game already? Or are you digging into the box impatiently as you make your way home, oblivious to the stares of those around you? Regardless of which camp you may fall into, I want to thank you for picking up Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE out of so many possible games. I am terribly grateful.
As I write this on October 16, 2015, Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE is still in development, but hopefully much anticipated. We are in the home stretch, doing a test play and balance pass as PR efforts and testing ramp up. In fact, I just now confirmed the staff list that will appear in the final credits sequence. When I think about this project ending, I feel a sense of emptiness, but also a bit of relief as well, haha. This mix of feelings persist even as we proceed through these harried, breathless final days of development. (Oh, there’s a cool surprise waiting in the final credits, so please make sure you see them through to the end.) And don’t forget, if you run into a boss that’s breaking your spirit, you can adjust the difficulty at any time!
Looking back on this project, I think we’ve created something truly unique this time. Compared to what we’ve worked on in the past, this seems like something altogether different, haha. But what do you think? Did you pick it up thinking this is exactly what you’re after? If so, I would be very happy to hear that! Or did you pick it up thinking, “might as well give this a shot!”? If so, I would certainly like to hear your impressions after you try it out!
Atlus has created many versions of Tokyo, whether it is the end of Tokyo, the conception of Tokyo, imperial capital Tokyo, or even underground Tokyo, but I think we have created a new Tokyo here: Showbiz Tokyo. I hope it brings color into your gaming life, which seems like a fitting note to end my dedication on.
Producer Shinjiro Takata
One of the themes of #FE is serendipitous meetings, I think. The starting place for this project, after all, was the question of, “What would happen if Atlus and Fire Emblem met in an alley?” The title began development as a result of the energy and the efforts of a lot of people who came together somewhat serendipitously.
You have a lot of encounters like this when developing any game. This project profited enormously from the contributions of wonderful creators who joined it, like character designer toi8, Mirage designer Hideo Minaba, and music composer Yoshimasa Fujihara. It was my first time working with each of them, but we came together with enthusiasm and dedicated to develop TMS #FE. Foremost among these collaborations, working with Nintendo and Avex was a rare treat for me. We may not have any ongoing involvement with the Fire Emblem series, but my first encounter with Nintendo was on “Itsudemo Purikura Kiradeko Premium,” and the principal development staff who experienced the highs and lows of that project went on to create the SRPG Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor. I think it may have been that project which convinced them to see what Atlus could bring to Fire Emblem. (There was a time at first when we thought TMS #FE might also be an SRPG.)
I also want to talk about the setting of #FE, the dazzling world of show business. Most of our staff only knew about the entertainment world by the final products they’d consume. Since we didn’t want to present some pale imitation of how this world really works, we met with Mr. Aburai, who has produced many artists with Avex. Mr. Aburai taught us a lot about the entertainment world and helped us greatly with a critical element of this project: the songs. He treated each character in the story as an individual artist and took it upon himself to produce their work as if they were his own clients. He created several variations of each song, leading it through an authentic process of working with lyricists, composers, directors, engineers, choreographers, dancers, and all of the other necessary personnel at the forefront of production. I think the quality of these songs really comes through as you listen to the special edition CD and play the game.
TMS #FE is the result of all these valuable encounters harmonizing to create the final product. I don’t think we could have made this game by ourselves without the knowledge and techniques everyone involved contributed, so I would be very pleased if you enjoy their efforts. In closing, I hope that playing this game provides you all with joyous and serendipitous encounters that making it provided for us. Farewell.
Splatoon
Nintendo continues to celebrate the upcoming Splatoon event, the Callie vs Marie Splatfest, this time with printable alternative boxart for the game. You can find it below:
Besides that, Nintendo UK has uploaded the Squid Sisters’ concert at Japan Expo 2016. You can watch it in the video below:
NES Classic Mini
Nintendo announced during the week it will be releasing the Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Mini (Edition instead of Mini in NA), “a near-identical, mini replica of Nintendo’s original home console” that plugs into your high-definition TV using an included HDMI cable. The device includes 30 NES games built in, and launches on November 11 in North America and Europe with a retail price of $59.99.
You can find the official websites for this at the following links – North America / Europe
Here’s the full list of games:
Balloon Fight
BUBBLE BOBBLE
Castlevania
Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest
Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong Jr.
DOUBLE DRAGON II: THE REVENGE
Dr. Mario
Excitebike
FINAL FANTASY
Galaga
GHOSTS’N GOBLINS
GRADIUS
Ice Climber
Kid Icarus
Kirby’s Adventure
Mario Bros.
MEGA MAN 2
Metroid
NINJA GAIDEN
PAC-MAN
Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream
StarTropics
SUPER C
Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 3
TECMO BOWL
The Legend of Zelda
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
The console even allow for two-player gaming, since a second NES Classic Controller can be attached, though a Classic Controller or Classic Controller Pro can also be used. The NES controller will also be sold at retailers for $9.99.
When connected to a Wii Remote controller, the NES Classic Controller can also be used to play Virtual Console NES games on either Wii U or Wii. Note that the NES Classic Edition has multiple suspend points for each game.
You can find a few photos of the NES Classic Mini/Edition in the gallery below:
Virtual Console
Nintendo has recently released Wave Race 64 and Style Savvy for the Japanese Wii U Virtual Console on the eShop. You can find the official trailers for them below:
Miitomo
Nintendo has shared a new Japanese video promoting Miitomo in Japan. You can watch it below:
New Miitomo Drop stages and shop items have also been added. These include the following:
“Making a splash! Critters of the Deep #2”
– Dolphin head
– Dolphin suit
– Aurora shell
– Clownfish skirt
“Making a splash! Critters of the Deep #3”
– Moon jellyfish headdress
– Jellyfish dress
– Moon jellyfish tights
– Octopack
“Fun in the Sun! Summertime Style #1”
– Hibiscus hairpin
– FLower print ensemble dress
– Turquoise bracelet + ankle skirt
– Turquoise sandals
Miitomo Shop Items
– Metallic bodysuit
– Metallic bodysuit cap
– Panama hat
– Hibiscus Hawaiian shirt
– Tropical board shorts
– Bunny-heal socks
– 2-tone sandals w/ ribbon
– Turquoise necklace
2DS Price Drop in Canada
On July 15, the Nintendo 2DS will be getting a price drop in Canada, and start to be sold for $109.99. That’s coming down from the previous price of $129.99. Most of these systems come with either Mario Kart 7 or Yo-kai Watch pre-installed.
Nintendo at San Diego Comic-Con 2016
Nintendo will be present at San Diego Comic-Con 2016 next week, so the company has shared a list of games and activities that will be available at its space.
Here’s a look at Nintendo’s full game lineup:
Nintendo 3DS
Monster Hunter Generations from Capcom – Launching July 15
Metroid Prime: Federation Force – Launching Aug. 19
Style Savvy: Fashion Forward – Launching Aug. 19
Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice from SEGA – Launching Sept. 27
YO-KAI WATCH 2 – Launching Sept. 30
YO-KAI WATCH – Now available
Yoshi’s New Island – Now available
Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D – Now available
Kirby: Planet Robobot – Now available
Mario Kart 7 – Now available
Pokémon Omega Ruby / Pokémon Alpha Sapphire – Now available
New Super Mario Bros. 2 – Now available
Wii U
Splatoon – Now available
Mario Kart 8 – Now available
Pokkén Tournament – Now available
Those who are by Comic-Con can visit the Play Nintendo Lounge on the first floor of the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina to try out Nintendo’s games, compete in tournaments for a chance at winning prizes, and take photos with iconic characters. At Comic-Con itself, attendees with a show badge can visit Nintendo’s booth to participate in various Splatoon game-play activities and competitions.
Here’s an overview of Nintendo’s activities:
Play Nintendo Lounge (open July 21-23 from 10 AM to 7 PM, July 24 from 10 AM to 5 PM)
- Super Smash Bros. for Wii U 12 & Under Tournament (July 23): Nintendo fans that are 12 years old or younger and have parental consent can participate in a Super Smash Bros. for Wii U tournament at 2 p.m. on July 23. The tournament will be live-streamed on the Nintendo Twitch channel, so even people that can’t be there have a chance to keep an eye on the action. Tournament slots are limited for the one-day event, and fans will be able to sign up the day of the event on a first-come, first-served basis. The Grand and First Prize winners will each receive a prize pack filled with Nintendo products and merchandise.
- The Play Nintendo Challenge (July 21-22, July 24): Play through three elimination rounds composed of three different Wii U games (Splatoon,Mario Kart 8 and Pokkén Tournament) in a group to see if you can emerge victorious! Participation will be on a first-come, first-served basis. The Play Nintendo Challenge runs all day and takes less than 30 minutes to complete. Winners will receive an exclusive champion Nintendo T-shirt. Players who participate may receive other giveaways while supplies last based on how far they make it in the challenge.
- YO-KAI WATCH Voice Actor Event (July 22): Actors Alicyn Packard, J.W. Terry and Melissa Hutchison, who provide the voices for Jibanyan, Whisper and Komasan, respectively, in the YO-KAI WATCH video game and animated TV series, will be conducting a Q&A session, doing live voice demos and a table read of a scene from Season 2 of the animated TV series from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. PT. Select attendees will also have an opportunity to receive an autograph or take photos with the actors.
- Pokémon Fan Gathering Area (July 21-24): Meet up with fellow Pokémon fans to trade Pokémon, pick up some cool swag (while supplies last) and relax in a Pokémon gaming zone. The gathering area will be open during show hours.
- Photo Opportunities (July 21-24): At various times during all four days, popular characters like Mario, Luigi, Pikachu, Kirby and Jibanyan from theYO-KAI WATCH series will make surprise appearances to take photos with fans.
San Diego Comic-Con show floor (July 21 to July 24, BOOTH #235)
Nintendo x Universal Studios partnership
The latest issue of Mainichi Shinbun has new additional tidbits about Nintendo’s partnership with Universal Studios.
According to the publication, the boss of Universal Studios Japan said that the Mario area will “exceed” the Harry Potter section. He also said that “many” of Nintendo’s IPs are under consideration for the theme park aside from Mario. It’s once again shared that the Nintendo area of Universal Studios Japan will be open by the 2020 Olympics.
Meanwhile, Sankei Shinbun shared even more details.
It’s noted in the newspaper that Harry Potter area at Universal Studios Japan needed $400 million, however, the Nintendo section costs could exceed $500 million.
Other than that, multiple attractions/restaurants/stores are being jointly developed between Nintendo and Universal Studios Japan. The Nintendo area may also be “officially announced” to the public sometime before the year’s end.