Nnooo Comments on Nintendo’s Notebook-Like App For 3DS
Last week, Nintendo of Japan held a press conference to announce a slew of new info on 3DS. Along with the release date and price point, the game giant revealed a few new pre-installed applications for the handheld, such as Mii Studio and AR Games.
One application in particular sounded very familiar — Memory Notebook. The pre-installed software allows users to jot down notes and/or save memos on the system. This system feature seems awfully similar to Nnooo Studios’ DSiWare game, myNotebook, which comes in six different colors.
I spoke with Nic Watt, CEO and creative director of Nnooo, via e-mail to get his thoughts on Nintendo’s announcement of Memory Notebook.
“The whole of the myLifeCollected range [includes myNotebook, myDiary and myPostcards] has been particularly popular for [Nnooo], with the myNotebook [versions] being Nnooo’s top-selling software,” Watt said. “We are taking it as a compliment that Nintendo has included a virtual notebook on the device, although until we see it, it will be hard to tell if it offers as much functionality as the myNotebook range.”
myNotebook is available in red, green and blue versions for 200 Nintendo Points each on DSiWare, while the carbon, tan and pearl versions cost 500 Nintendo Points each. Nintendo has not revealed a final price for 3DS in North America, but the system is set to hit sometime in March.
Source: Nintendojo
Epic VP Says Company Has No Plans for 3DS Games
Epic Games — behind the Gears of War franchise and Shadow Complex — is not working on 3DS, according to its VP Marc Rein. The game company made a portable splash in the past month by showcasing the Unreal 3 Engine running on Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch.
But Epic’s new portable prowess will not be found on 3DS. Joystiq’s JC Fletcher caught up with Rein at GDC Online in Austin, Texas.
“No,” Rein told Joystiq in regard to whether Epic has plans for 3DS software. “[3DS] is below our [minimum specifications], from what we can tell. We don’t have a 3DS, so there’s no way for us to verify that, but everything we’ve been led to believe is that it’s below our min-spec. You couldn’t do a game that looks like [Epic Citadel] on [3DS], for example.”
Rein noted, however, that things could change once Epic gets a chance to tinker around with Nintendo 3DS.
Source: Joystiq
Nintendo Reveals That Kirby Was Not Original Star of Epic Yarn
Nintendo announced Kirby’s Epic Yarn to much fanfare and applause at its E3 2010 press conference. But, at the same time, many people wondered why the game starred Kirby, since the pink hero’s sucking ability is nonexistent in the upcoming game.
Well, as it turns out, Kirby’s Epic Yarn didn’t originally star the round guy. Developer Good Feel revealed in an Iwata Asks feature — translated by Andriasang — that the game initially starred Fluff and was known as Keito no Fluff, or Fluff’s Yarn. However, Good Feel claims in the interview that the project was not coming together under its original banner.
As such, in summer 2009, Nintendo approached the developer about replacing Fluff with Kirby. Good Feel believed the title worked a lot better with the pink, round hero and thus became Kirby’s Epic Yarn.
Kirby’s Epic Yarn hits store shelves Oct. 17.
Source: Andriasang
I love how Marc Rein puts his foot in his mouth whenever he goes on a rant regarding Nintendo’s systems not being powerful enough to run his software. (We don’t have a 3DS, so there’s no way for us to verify that, but everything we’ve been led to believe is that it’s below our min-spec.)
Remember what I said about recognizable characters better for marketing? When Puyo Puyo hit the SNES, Kirby jumped on that too; suddenly, it became Kirby’s Avalanche.
And let’s not forget about how he invaded Super Smash Bros.
I have a hard time believing the ipod touch is a more powerful gaming system than the 3ds….