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It’s been a busy week in the world, gaming and otherwise. And while we may not be the best place to come for the latest updates about the attacks in Norway or the suicide of Amy Winehouse, our Weekly News Roundup is still your one stop shop for all Nintendo happenings from the past seven days. Read on to catch up on some of the week’s biggest stories.
Mega Man Legends 3 Canceled
In a shocking announcement that has made countless gamer depressed, confused, and/or furious, Capcom announced this week that they had ceased production on Mega Man Legends 3 for 3DS. The game was initially announced in 2010 and included an ambitious worldwide plan to build a global fan community that would actively participate in the development process, submitting ideas and voting on content, such as the design of new characters. The project gained even more notoriety when it was announced that a prototype version would be released with the launch of 3DS’s eShop, but gamers had reason to grow concerned when it was delayed with no new date in mind.
The bell tolls for thee…
This week Capcom officially killed the project with a statement that it failed to meet the “required criteria” demanded of it by the company. The revelation also came with an apology but many gamers are still disappointed and quite understandably so. It’s rare enough for games with cult followings to get new sequels, but to launch such a project with a major emphasis on fan interaction throughout production is unprecedented for any game. Had Capcom initiated development like any other game, it is quite likely that nobody outside of the company would ever have known it existed as no part of would have seen the light of day. But by so openly embracing the fans only to pull the rug out from under them, Capcom has put itself in an especially unfortunate position.
Add this in with the cancellation of Assassin’s Creed: Lost Legacy for 3DS and Nintendo’s revelation that it has no plans to localize The Last Story, Xenoblade, or Pandora’s Tower in North America, and you have a very sad month for core gamers.
Zelda Anniversary Symphony gets a Start Date
As part of the celebration for The Legend of Zelda’s 25th birthday, Nintendo announced plans for series of concerts to celebrate the series’ much loved music with a full orchestra. The tour will kick off in Los Angeles on October 21, at 8:00 pm PST. The concert will be held at the Pantages Theater with tickets starting at $35. Tickets go on sale on August 1st through Ticketmaster. While Nintendo previously announced the tour will include Japan, North America, and Europe, no further dates or locations have been announced at this time.
Assassin’s Creed is Coming to Wii U but it won’t be Revelations
When Wii U was announced at E3, numerous developers announced they were throwing in their support, and Ubisoft was right alongside them with their hugely successful Assassin’s Creed franchise. However, their contribution will not be the next entry in the franchise, subtitled Revelations, which is scheduled for a fall release later this year on Xbox 360 and PS3 and will serve as the the final act in a story arc that started with 2009’s Assassin’s Creed II.
Fans of both Nintendo and Byzantine architecture around the world weep.
This revelation (no pun intended) came from an interview between Yves Guillemot, Ubisoft’s CEO, and Swedish website, Aftonbladet. Naturally this led to questions regarding whether or not the title would be Assassin’s Creed III, but the CEO couldn’t reveal anything else at the time. The series is built on cryptic messages, worldwide conspiracies, and secret wars for the control of humanity so it only seems natural that Ubisoft would leave plenty of room for speculation.
Batch of new Skyward Sword Details
Eiji Aonuma sat down with Nintendo Power magazine and dropped a sizable chunk of new information on the upcoming Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. With regards to the the series’ lore, Aonuma confirmed that it will take place prior to the Ocarina of Time and will actually tell the story of how the fabled Master Sword came to be; something that will play into the game’s new emphasis on item customization. The Triforce will once again be featured, but not in the same manner as in previous entries. And in keeping with series tradition, music will once again come into play; this time as a playable harp.
In a somewhat interesting twist, longtime series villain, Ganon, will not be in the game at all. In fact, the new baddie, Lord Ghirahim, was designed to stand in stark contrast to Ganon. Where to old standard has generally been large, brutish, and dark, Ghirahim is a sleeker, more colorful, and seemingly flamboyant villain. Then again, Ganon has reared his ugly head quite unexpectedly in a few previous entries, so for all we know he could make a surprise appearance.
As for the world and characters of Skyward Sword, we once again have a few new tidbits. Aonuma promises that the world above the clouds feature both large and small landmasses in addition to the more dangerous world below and the large birds shown off in the E3 2011 trailer will be a major means of transportation. In another twist, Link and Zelda start the game as childhood friends and Zelda isn’t a princess, though she is obviously just as prone to being put in mortal danger. Finally, at the beginning of the game Link is attending a school to be trained as a knight.
At the time of the interview, Miyamoto had joined the team in banging out the final details and North American localization was just about to begin – all good signs that Skyward Sword will make its expected release date of Q4 2011.
And that’s all the news for this week, now it’s your turn. Enraged about the cancellation of Mega Man Legends 3? Planning on attending the Zelda Anniversary concert in October? Anticipating Assassin’s Creed on Wii U? Let us know in the comments!
