Nightly News Roundup: 01.27.2012

Details from Nintendo’s investors briefing and more in tonight’s news roundup!

By Kevin Knezevic. Posted 01/27/2012 23:00 Comment on this     ShareThis

New 3DS and Wii U Details Emerge from Nintendo’s Investors Meeting

Nintendo recently held its January investors briefing this past week, and among the many topics discussed by company president Satoru Iwata were the developer’s plans for digital distribution and how they tie in to its current and future platforms.

According to Iwata, Nintendo is currently in the process of revamping its network service for 3DS and Wii U. The company’s new online infrastructure, dubbed the Nintendo Network, will allow for the sale of digital content (which will include digital versions of retail games alongside add-on content for existing titles) as well as a personal account system for its next home console. Fans of Mario Kart 7 may have already noticed that this service is responsible for that game’s community feature, which allows players to create and join special groups for online play. Iwata did not specify when the full service will be launching, but he reassured investors that Nintendo will be studying the market carefully to determine the right time.

In addition to that, Iwata also revealed that the company is hard at work on a new 2D installment of the Super Mario series, which will be released for 3DS before the end of the year. He did not confirm whether it will be a return to the sprite-based graphics of earlier titles or simply another iteration of New Super Mario Bros., but given the success of both the original New Super Mario game and its Wii followup, the latter seems much more likely. It is one of 200-plus titles scheduled to hit 3DS this year.

Regarding Wii U, Iwata revealed that the console’s new tablet controller will now include near field communication among its features. For those unfamiliar with NFC, it is the technology behind Activision’s popular Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure, which allows players to transfer data from special action figures into their games. Iwata mentioned a similar use for the Wii U controller when discussing the feature, citing figurines and trading cards as a possible way of integrating it into gameplay, but as expected he did not reveal any specific projects that utilize it. He also reiterated that the “final form” of the console will be on display at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo and that it will be launching worldwide by the holiday season.

A full recap of the briefing can be found at the link below.

Source: Nintendo


Capcom Drops Price of Resident Evil: Revelations

In a post on its official website, Capcom revealed today that it has decided to reduce the price of its upcoming 3DS effort, Resident Evil: Revelations, by $10 USD, placing it in line with the cost of an average 3DS title. The game was originally set to retail for $49.99, but the unpopularity of this decision was likely the impetus behind this change (especially as many already consider the cost of 3DS software too high to begin with). The company’s full statement on the price drop reads as follows:

“Late last year we announced the console-sized adventure that is Resident Evil: Revelations would arrive on a 4GB card instead of the standard 2GB card; this increase in memory size led to an increase in price as well, raising the retail cost to $49.99. And while we’re confident in the game’s value at that price (and the reviews reflect that sentiment as well), we’re also exceedingly pleased to say that after weeks of effort, we’ve been able to lower the price to $39.99.

“Since the announcement of the $49.99 price point, we’ve spent weeks looking for a way to bring your cost down to standard 3DS pricing. Today we can finally confirm we were successful in this, and hope the reduced price encourages even more people to check out this strong entry in the Resident Evil canon.”

Resident Evil: Revelations was released in Europe today and is slated to hit North American shores on February 7.

Source: Capcom


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