Category: Gamespot

Longtime Mario Kart producer Hideki Konno has been placed in charge of Nintendo’s efforts in mobile game development, according to a report from Japanese business outlet Sankei.

Translated by Nintendo Everything, the report states the reveal was made by Nintendo President Satoru Iwata during the announcement of the company’s latest financial reports. The information was provided as a brief update on the company’s mobile development plans.

Although Konno was not named specifically, he has been producing the Mario Kart games since Mario Kart DS.

During the financial briefing, Nintendo also revealed it plans to release five smartphone titles by March 2017, and it is aiming to give each one significant staying power.

“Regarding the number of the titles, you may want to know that we will release approximately five titles by the end of the next fiscal year, which is the end of March 2017, said Iwata.

“You may think it is a small number, but when we aim to make each title a hit, and because we want to thoroughly operate every one of them for a significant amount of time after their releases, this is not a small number at all and should demonstrate our serious commitment to the smart device business.”

As previously announced, Nintendo’s has entered into a deal with the global mobile games publisher DeNA, which includes the creation of “new gaming applications featuring Nintendo IP, which [both companies] will develop specifically for smart devices.”

As part of its partnership with Nintendo, DeNA acquired a 1.24 percent stake in Nintendo, with Nintendo buying 10 percent of DeNA.

Nintendo recently announced a return to an annual profit for the first time in four year, revealing the company made a ¥41 billion ($350 million) profit for the fiscal year ending March 31.

As part of the earnings report the company also updated its launch schedule for upcoming Wii U games. Although it was previously expected to be available by the end of 2015, The Legend of Zelda for Wii U is now listed as “TBD.”

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Halo: The Master Chief Collection has been described by Franchise Development Director Frank O’Connor as a “black eye” for series stewards 343 Industries.

Speaking to Xbox Achievements, O’Connor addressed the tumultuous launch of Microsoft’s ambitious Halo anthology, which brought together improved versions of the first three games in the series into one package, but was unfortunately plagued by various matchmaking and other network issues.

“Halo: The Master Chief Collection is definitely a black eye for us,” he said. “We’re not going to rest on our laurels or hide from the mistake we made.”

O’Connor went on to attribute some of the woes to the complexities of bringing multiple engines together and trying to make them work harmoniously, as well as the multi-studio development effort.

“I will say that the nature of The Master Chief Collection – you’ve got five different game engines, you’ve got different studios working on it, you’ve got 343 working on putting it all together – the footprint and complexity was outrageous.”

Continuing, the 343 exec said having the game in the hands of players threw up hurdles that the studio “simply didn’t see in a test environment.”

O’Connor went on to provide assurances that the issues that contributed to The Master Chief Collection’s problems would not be stumbling blocks for Halo 5: Guardians.

“Halo 5 is being made by a completely different team. It’s a singular product,” he said. “It was built from the ground up for this new technology, rather than being sort of dragged kicking and screaming from 2001 and forced and shoehorned into a 2014 console.

“The problem spaces are still very challenging but they’re radically different. I think the beta is already a decent first step, in a retail environment, showing that we don’t have the same problems.”

The Halo 5 release date has been confirmed as October 27. Producer Josh Holmes recently confirmed that the game will use dedicated servers for all multiplayer, including custom games.

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Right on schedule, Nintendo’s Splatoon-themed Nintendo Direct video briefing will take place today at 7 AM PDT / 10 AM EDT. You can watch the entire event through the Twitch embed below.

Splatoon launches exclusively for Wii U on May 29. For lots more, check out GameSpot’s interview with the game’s director, which touches on the project’s origins and even its eSports potential.

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Resident Evil and Street Fighter publisher Capcom has announced that the company’s revenue was down 37.1 percent from the previous year.

During its latest fiscal year, which ended March 31, Capcom made ¥64.3 billion ($538.4 million). This figure represents Capcom’s lowest yearly revenue figure since 2004, when it generated ¥52.7 billion.

In its official financial review Capcom highlighted sales of Monster Hunter 4G and Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate as a key success.

In February, Capcom revealed more than three million copies of Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate had been shipped worldwide, while total franchise sales had reached 32 million units.

On the digital front, Ultra Street Fighter 4’s sales were described as “solid”. Resident Evil Revelations 2, which only became available in February, was said to have made a “strong start.” Dead Rising 3 was also mentioned as a successful title, however, this game was released in Capcom’s previous fiscal year.

Digitally delivered content was spotlighted as a major focus during the fiscal year as Capcom attempts to diversify distribution channels. The company has indicated it will continue to dedicate itself to this strategy and expects it will “deliver a sustainable growth going forward.”

By its own admission, Capcom did not have many major titles released on mobile devices, but profitability in this department was improved thanks to an “overhaul of the profit structure.”

Elsewhere in the business, Capcom reported its operating income has increased 2.7 percent from the previous fiscal year, likely as a result of streamlining production costs and increasing general efficiency. Net income overall was ¥6.6 million, which is an increase of 92.1 percent from the previous year.

Capcom’s biggest upcoming projects include Street Fighter V, which has been announced as exclusive to PlayStation 4 on consoles. Although it is believed to be an ongoing project, very little has been seen of Deep Down since its announcement.

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Nintendo has announced it made a ¥41 billion ($350 million) profit for the fiscal year ending March 31, returning the company to an annual profit for the first time in four years.

According to its latest fiscal report, global sales of the Nintendo 3DS family, which includes the 2DS, reached 8.73 million units. The New Nintendo 3DS and New Nintendo 3DS XL were said to have “got off to a good start and continued to sell well.” Previous models, however, “did not grow as anticipated.”

Pokemon Alpha Sapphire and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS reached 9.94 million units and 6.8 million units respectively. Nintendo described the performance of these two titles as “robust.”

Meanwhile, Tomodachi Life, Mario Kart 7, and The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D, meanwhile, showed steady sales, each selling more than two million units. Overall, Nintendo 3DS software for the fiscal year reached 62.7 million units.

Global sales of Wii U hardware reached 3.38 million units, while software was cited as 24.4 million units. Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U had sales of 5.11 million units and 3.65 million units respectively.

Looking forward, Nintendo’s outlook for the fiscal year of 2016 involves maintaining the performance of currently available games that have strong sales potential. Additionally, it intends to continue releasing new games to expand its install base. Delivering more downloadable content for Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U is one of the ways Nintendo is aiming to keep its more popular games active.

Specific details on the performance of Amiibos were not provided, but new waves of traditional figures as well as Amiibo cards and yarn-knitted Amiibo will be used to stimulate demand. An NFC reader and writer accessory for all Nintendo 3DS and 2DS will also be released.

Along with this, the company expects Xenoblade Chronicles 3D, a new Rhythm Tengoku, the new Fire Emblem, and “a number of key titles from third-party publishers” to contribute to attaining its projected operating profit of ¥50 billion (around $420 million) and net profit of ¥35 billion (around $290 million).

Three new Nintendo 3DS bundles have been announced for Europe. Nintendo also recently apologized for Amiibo shortages and promised to communicate better with fans on supply information.

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