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The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20111227084146/http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com:80/nintendo
Facebook, iPhone, Twitter and Wii. Technology evolves at the speed of light. Msnbc.com's tech reporters look at the gadgets, games and innovations changing our world.
Legendary Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto — creator of long-running series including Donkey Kong, Mario and The Legend of Zelda — set off a bit of a firestorm Wednesday evening when a Wired report quoted him as saying he was planning on giving up his current, executive oversight role with the company in favor of a more hands-on approach to developing smaller, more personal games.
“Inside our office, I’ve been recently declaring, ‘I’m going to retire, I’m going to retire,’” Miyamoto said in the Wired report, referring to his current position at the company.
Nintendo’s Japanese stock dropped 2 percent on the news before Nintendo put out an official retraction, stressing in part that “Shigeru Miyamoto's role at Nintendo is not changing” and that his future priorities are “inclusive of overseeing all video game development and ensuring the quality of all products.”
Now, in an interview with msnbc.com’s In-Game, Miyamoto has repeated that assurance and clarified how he says his statements were misinterpreted.
“There is no plan to retire. I have no intention to retire,” he said through an interpreter. “And probably they won’t allow me to retire,” he continued, before quickly noting that this last part was a joke.
But what about that Wired quote that has him saying “I’m going to retire, I’m going to retire”?
“What I really meant by this was that people have to retire someday, sometime, and I am not the exception at all,” Miyamoto said. “The company really has to get prepared for that kind of thing.”
Miyamoto added that he’s long used mentions of his eventual retirement as a sort of motivational tool for his staff.
“It’s not just quite recently, actually, but for many years now I’ve been repeatedly telling this to the team at Nintendo so they can be more responsible,” he said. “So they can take on more important assignments and take the initiative to make quality games to finalize and commercialize for the company.”
“In that process, I say ‘You’ve got to be prepared for the time I’m going to retire,’” he continued. “In other words, I was spurring the younger developers to take on more important assignments.”
“As a matter of fact, when we look at the most recent work from the teams I’m supervising, games like Super Mario 3D Land and Skyward Sword, they were shaping up quite nicely, so I think they are coming very very close to what I want these teams to be. This is the thing I was trying to tell,” he said.
Looking ahead to that future retirement, which Miyamoto again stressed was not coming anytime soon, the designer said he was confident his team would continue to create the kind of experience Nintendo is known for.
“That is a feeling (I have) that they are growing up so that sometime, someday, if I needed to retire, they are going to carry on the ultimate responsibilities — they are going to make Nintendo-quality games,” he said.
“After all, a game is not made by one single person,” he continued. ”It is the result that reflects on the entire ability of the team. Now I think I have some meaning being involved in any development team.”
“The question is, if I’m out of there, what sort of ability will the entire team be able to exercise? My impression is they are growing up today so that they are going to be able to make something really great without me,” he said.
More from In Game’s wide-ranging interview with Miyamoto will appear here sometime next week.
For family game night at our house, my husband Richie and son Oz jump into the Wii game "Kirby's Return to Dreamland" together.
By Winda Benedetti
According to a recent study from the NPD Group market research company, 91 percent of kids in the U.S. between the ages of two and 17 are now gamers. But here is the surprising bit: The fastest growing group of young video game players is the toddler set — between two and five years old.
While some parents worry about whether playing video games is good for young children, I've found that gaming — when properly supervised and balanced with other activities — can be a great pastime not only for kids but for parents' relationship with their kids. Playing video games with your child is an absolute blast! It's a fun way to bond with your kid, plus it's a superb way to teach children some teamwork and puzzle-solving skills without ever letting on that you're actually, you know, teaching.
It just so happens that I have my own young gamer — my almost-five-year-old son Oz. He's been helping me test out some of the latest video games in an effort to find titles that are enjoyable and appropriate for kids four to 10. What you'll find below is a look at the pros and cons of seven games that are not only easy for young players to jump into, but are great for parents and kids to play together.
Kirby's Return to Dreamland – Wii - $50
Nintendo
Pros: Learning how to use video game controllers can be difficult for the youngest players, but this laid-back title — starring Nintendo's famous pink protagonist — is a fun, easy way to teach young hands to work buttons and a directional pad. The game is also downright adorable and relatively non-threatening for little players just trying to get the swing of things.
"Return to Dreamland" can be played by up to four people at a time which makes it a fantastic all-family game night option. Playing as Kirby and his pals, you and your children will need to use teamwork and cooperation as you to explore bright, colorful worlds and try to find the pieces of a lost spaceship that crash-landed on Kirby's planet, while fending off a host of relatively non-threatening foes in the process.
For this game, your child will turn Nintendo's Wii Remote controller on its side and use it as a traditional controller. And since this is a two-dimensional side-scrolling game, figuring out how to run, jump and fly the characters around the screen is fairly easy for kids to do. Meanwhile, the difficulty level ramps up veeery slowly, which means your child (and therefore you) won't get frustrated.
My son loves watching Kirby suck up his enemies to absorb their powers and is wowed by Kirby's new eye-popping, screen-filling Super Abilities. And when the going does get a bit tough, he can have his character jump onto my character's back for a piggy-back ride past the rough patches.
(It's worth noting that another excellent Kirby game to consider playing with young kids is last year's superb Wii game "Kirby's Epic Yarn.")
Cons: There really isn't much of a downside to this game other than the fact that seasoned, grown-up gamers familiar with Kirby's history may find this particular installment a bit too easy. But then again, this isn't about us is it?
Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster - Xbox 360 (Kinect required) - $50
Double Fine Productions
Pros: "Once Upon A Monster" offers everything a conscientious parent wants from a video game — non-violent gameplay that both activates the body and the mind. It also offers that delightful Sesame Street sensibility and, well, Elmo ... lots and lots of Elmo along with his adorable monster pals.
With the Kinect motion controller reading your child's body movements, this game acts as a kind of interactive story book throughout which your child meets various colorful characters and tries to help them solve the problems they're facing.
Winda Benedetti
Oz tries out his Kinect-enabled flying skills in "Once Upon A Monster."
To cheer up an unhappy monster, your child will make music by flapping their hands to bang on virtual drums. To help clean up a flower creature's garden, they'll hurl balls of virtual garbage into virtual garbage cans (as if tossing basketballs). And since the game features easy drop-in/drop-out cooperative play, mom and dad can jump into the action at any time.
Cons: The Kinect controller is often pitched as the perfect device for allowing young children to interact with games and virtual environments. After all, there's no controller to hold in tiny hands and no buttons or sticks to struggle with. And yet, my son ran into more controller-related frustrations with this game than any other on this list.
The thing is, little kids have a hard time standing in one place. They jump and flail their arms when they're relaxing. "Once Upon a Monster" asks kids to perform some pretty specific movements but frequently seemed to have a hard time reading my son when he performed them.
Be sure to take the time to make sure the Kinect is perfectly calibrated to your child's size (the game will walk you through the process). Meanwhile, urge your wiggle-worm to hold still a bit and try to focus on the specific gestures they need to execute to interact with the game. It may take some practice and some patience but the little whippersnappers learn very quickly.
Kinect Disneyland Adventures - Xbox 360 (Kinect required) - $50
Frontier/Microsoft
Pros: Imagine going to Disneyland — but a Disneyland without all the crowds and lines and cost ... not to mention the parental misery created by all three.
Welcome to a little game called "Kinect Disneyland Adventures." Sure, the Disneyland you'll find here is merely a digital recreation. But it is a pretty impressive digital recreation and one that you and your child can jump into and explore at your own pace.
Almost all of the Disneyland grounds have been recreated within this game and are ready to explore. With the Kinect camera reading your child's body motions, your kid makes an avatar to look like him or herself and then steers that avatar around the Disneyland grounds by pointing where she would like to go. She can run up to Mickey and give him a high five or give Snow White a hug. And these characters will send your child on various quests that will have them exploring the famed park.
Meanwhile, the rides are where the gaming action comes in. Head over to Peter Pan's Flight, where you and your child can fly through the air collecting coins or sword fight with Captain Hook. Step into the Matterhorn where you'll race bobsleds or ski down snowy hills.
The $50 lifetime ticket for you and your family to enter this virtual park will seem downright cheap compared to the hundreds of dollars a trip to the real Happiest Place on Earth will run you.
Cons: If you're not a fan of the Disney marketing machine, then this game is not for you.
Rayman: Origins - PlayStation 3; Xbox 360; Wii - $50 to $60
Ubisoft
Pros: One of the great joys of parenting is hearing your children laugh. And if you want to enjoy the sounds of your young gamer guffawing uproariously, then grab "Rayman: Origins."
Zany, crazy and hilarious not to mention utterly creative, "Rayman: Origins" is not only a delightful platforming game for up to four players, it is a gorgeous work of animated art.
My husband, son and I have been having an absolute blast playing this game together. Here Rayman and his friends have awoken a cranky granny and her minions with their snoring. And now you must run, jump, swing and fly through one surreal level after another, each filled with a colorful host of outlandish baddies to beat. My son unleashed the most splendid, unstoppable peals of laughter when we encountered the chicken-headed boss pictured above.
Kids will love this game because it is silly in all the best ways. Adults will love this game because each level is a cleverly constructed work of gaming art. (See In-Game editor Todd Kenreck's full video review at right.)
Cons: This game will grow more demanding for the very youngest players far more quickly than something like "Kirby's Return to Dreamland" and will have them facing down more intense challenges than some young kids may be ready for. But it's worth noting that, if a child fails to get past a particularly difficult part in the game while playing with a parent or older sibling, he or she will find his character popped into a bubble that floats safely along until another player pops him out to rejoin the action at a more manageable point.
Pros: My son loves both skeletons and swashbuckling tales of sword fighting, so perhaps it's no wonder he's a huge fan of "Medieval Moves." This game puts young players in the role of the boy Prince Edmund who finds himself transformed into a skeleton and thrust into a battle against a nefarious sorcerer and his army of undead.
Skeletons? Army of undead? Well, yes. "Deadmund's Quest" may sound scary but it is cartoony as can be. The story of Prince Edmund-turned-Prince Deadmund is presented in comic-book-style cut scenes and the bad guys are more goofy than they are blood-curdling. Meanwhile, this is an "on rails" game, which means your child doesn't have to worry about maneuvering Deadmund around this world. Instead, the hero is whisked through the medieval-themed environments almost as if on a roller-coaster ride. All your young player has to do is focus on knocking out the bad guys.
Since this game uses the PlayStation 3's Move motion controllers, kids get to do battle with a host of skeletons by swinging the orb-topped wand controller like a sword, or drawing it out like they would a bow and arrow. And the Move controls here work superbly. They are highly responsive and my son found the gestures and button presses easy to get the hang of.
The Move controls really pull young players right into what is nothing short of a thrilling adventure. And the multiplayer modes mean that we parents can jump in and try our own sword-swinging, arrow-shooting skills alongside our young companions.
Cons: Each youngster is different and you should consider whether doing battle with skeletons — no matter how bloodless and cartoony those battles are — is something that will thrill your child ... or scare 'em. This game may be most appropriate for slightly older kids (think seven to 10).
Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure - Xbox 360; PlayStation 3; Wii; Nintendo 3DS - $70
Activision
Pros: This title blends two things that kids love into one bright, enjoyable package. That is, it combines real-world toys with video gaming.
The starter pack comes with the game disc, three Skylander figurines — Spyro, Trigger Happy and Gill Grunt — and a plastic Portal of Power peripheral that you plug into the game console. Fire up the game disc and then pop an action figure onto the Portal of Power and suddenly an animated version of that action figure appears inside the game.
You and your child will take these characters on a colorful, humor-filled quest to save the Skylander world from the evil powers of Kaos. Each of the different action figures has unique powers and abilities and your child will need to think about how to best use these unique strengths to conquer the challenges and puzzles they face.
It really is pretty neat to swap these toys on and off the portal and see them pop into and out of the video game on the fly. Meanwhile, the more your child plays the game with a certain character, the more that character is upgraded with additional powers and abilities. And here's another cool bit: All those upgrades are uploaded to an RF chip in the matching action figure. What that means is, your kid can take their own action figures over to a friend's house and, even if that friend has the game on a different kind of game console, your child can pop their figurines onto their friend's Portal of Power and play the game with all their own characters' unique upgrades and customizations intact.
Cons: The $70 price tag for the starter kit is steep to begin with, but you may end up spending even more money than that. While the "Skylanders" game can be won with just the three initial characters, there are actually 32 Skylander figurines in all to collect (i.e. buy for around $8 a piece) and these additional characters unlock additional challenges and additional areas within the game.
My son was perfectly happy with the initial three action figures, but that doesn't mean every kid will feel the same. The more your child delves into this "Skylanders" adventure, the more you may hear them beg "I want more."
Fruit Ninja Kinect - Xbox 360 (Kinect required) - $10 download via Xbox Live
Oz and his friend Dexter - both 4 years old - slice and dice (and wear themselves out) with a game of Fruit Ninja Kinect.
Pros: I cannot tell you the joy that "Fruit Ninja Kinect" has brought to our household ... and to our son's bedtime routine. Simply put: There is no better way to wear out your kid to the point that he or she has no strength left to fight sleep.
"Fruit Ninja Kinect" (which I reviewed in full here) takes the gameplay found in the hit smartphone/tablet game and puts it up on your TV via Xbox Live and Kinect. Rather than swiping your finger across a touchscreen to slash fruit that's tossed up into the air, the Kinect camera keeps track of your body movements as you swing your arms and legs to cut down pineapple, kiwi, bananas and other nefarious foods.
This game was not made specifically for children, but it certainly brings out the child in everyone who plays it. More importantly: It's easy for children to jump into and I can promise you, their enthusiasm for the fruit-slashing ninja arts is a joy to behold.
The multiplayer mode is especially enjoyable to play with young kids. Sure, you can play it competitively, but there's also a cooperative mode that allows you to work together as you slash your way to a joint high score. And there's nothing like conquering evil fruit to bring you closer to your adorable rugrat.
Cons: The menu screens are very sensitive to motion and can be difficult for wiggly children to navigate, so you might need to help them get things started. Meanwhile, the difference in an adult's height and a small child's height can make it so the Kinect camera has a difficult time fully reading both players' movements. I suggest you have Kinect calibrate to your child (giving them the best game experience) and then play on your knees beside them.
Also be absolutely sure you give each other enough room when you play together — otherwise, with all those flailing arms, someone is liable to get a karate chop to the nose.
For more game news and holiday buying guidance, check out:
Winda Benedetti writes about games for msnbc.com. You can follow her tweets about games and other things here on Twitter or join her in the stream here on Google+.And be sure to check out the In-Game Facebook page right here.
Talk about 3-D. The racing karts from "Mario Kart 7" are more real than they might appear.
By Winda Benedetti
Nintendo's beloved, madcap "Mario Kart" racing franchise is known for its zany race cars, even zanier power-ups and for delivering nothing but high-speed, high-octane fun.
With the new "Mario Kart 7" game about to launch for the Nintendo 3DS, the game company has launched a new TV advertisement imagining what it might be like if we could really jump into the game's wacky cartoon karts and race them against our friends on colorful courses that seem almost real.
The ad itself is a pretty nifty blend of the real world and the animated one. Check out the below video for yourself.
But what's really cool, is catching a glimpse of how the ad was made ... and realizing that they used real, fully operational karts plucked from the game design when they shot the video. California-based stunt driving company Drivers Inc. posted the following behind-the-scenes footage from the shoot:
If only Mario's real-world kart also came with a real-world pop-out hang glider. I'd run right out and buy myself one. Alas, it looks like we'll have to stick to flying cars in "Mario Kart 7" which officially launches Dec. 4.
Winda Benedetti writes about games for msnbc.com. You can follow her tweets about games and other things here on Twitter or join her in the stream here on Google+.And be sure to check out the In-Game Facebook page here.
Ever since the Nintendo 3DS launched back in March, consumers have been waiting for Nintendo to give them a Mario game that truly showed off the power of the new portable game machine.
They wanted a good reason to drop first $250 and then $170 on this new gadget that displays 3-D images without requiring viewers to wear a pair of redorkulous glasses. Unfortunately, gamers have had to wait a long time ... too long, in fact ... for Mario to arrive.
But "Super Mario 3D Land" is finally here. Of course, the question is: Does it live up to expectations? And does it do for the 3DS what Nintendo needs it to do?
The short answer: Yes.
For the longer answer, read on for five reasons "Super Mario 3D Land" is worthy of your adoration ... and your $40.
It makes owning a Nintendo 3DS worth it If you own a Nintendo 3DS, this is the game you've been waiting for. In fact, this is the game that Nintendo should have launched when it launched the new handheld back in March.
It's too bad really. Perhaps if "Super Mario 3D Land" had been ready to go earlier, Nintendo wouldn't have struggled to meet initial 3DS sales expectations and wouldn't be in quite the financial hot spot it's currently in.
Nintendo
But it's here now and "Super Mario 3D Land" does just what Nintendo needs it to do: It presents players with a refined package of gameplay elements that really shows off what the 3DS has to offer.
That is, first and foremost "Super Mario 3D Land" presents glasses-free 3-D visuals in a truly delightful and creative way (more on that below). Meanwhile, the game – which finds Mario once again trying to save Princess Peach from that dastardly Bowser – also makes good use of the 3DS's gyroscope.
As you try to make your way through each level – racing against the clock as you bump into blocks, collect coins and hunt for each of the three Star Medals hidden there – you'll be given a chance scope out the world through a pair of binoculars. Simply move the 3DS around as you would a pair of real binoculars to take a gander at the landscape. It's a nice touch. Rather than forcing heavy-handed motion controls on the player, this subtle implementation adds a nifty little bonus to the game.
Meanwhile, "Super Mario 3D Land" also makes use of the 3DS' StreetPass system, which means you'll be able to compare speed scores with other players and exchange Mystery Boxes and the benefits inside them as well.
The 3-D effects are awesome rather than annoying I've been on the fence about this whole 3-D thing. For starters, playing a game in 3-D on the Nintendo 3DS (as well as on other machines) eventually exhausts my eyeballs and, depending on the game, can make me a feel a bit dizzy at times. (Hello "Pilotwings Resort.")
I've also been on the fence because, too often, 3-D can feel too much like a gimmick rather than like something that deeply enhances a game.
But when it comes to the 3-D in "Super Mario 3D Land," it has been so superbly done that I barely notice the eyeball fatigue and I don't feel my usual desire to turn down (or turn off) the 3-D magic using the device's 3-D slider. Furthermore, it truly feels like it adds something special to this game.
Why does it work so well? For starters, you'll be given the option to view the 3-D effects in either pop-out format (looks like the graphics are coming out of the screen) or pop-in format (looks like they are popping into the screen). Just press the D-pad and you can pick which way suits you and your eyeballs best.
Beyond that, the 3-D has just been so artfully done in each and every level, that it pulls you right into the Mushroom Kingdom like never before. This is already a bright, vibrant place, but now you really feel like you could reach out and touch it.
For those who are adamantly opposed to using 3-D, the good news is the game is still playable without it. However, the 3-D visuals certainly make solving various puzzles and finding various hidden items more intriguing. The way the 3-D tweaks your perspective on the Mushroom Kingdom is simply not to be missed.
The return of the Tanooki suit Though PETA may be up in arms about Mario' donning a fur suit in this game, one of the fun things about "Super Mario 3D Land" is seeing the return of the Tanooki power-up.
The tail-swinging suit – which gives Mario the ability to float and swat his enemies with a raccoon tail – first appeared in the good ol' NES game "Super Mario Bros. 3." More than 20 years later, it remains a fun and helpful addition to navigating the Mushroom Kingdom and conquering its various baddies.
But the Tanooki Suit is just one of several sweet power-ups that Mario comes across in the game. The Fire Flower power-up also makes a return – allowing Mario to toss balls o' flame at his enemies. And there are some new powers to uncover too – such as the Boomerang Flower, which gives Mario the ability to toss boomerangs at his enemies.
Figuring out when and how to best use these powers is all part of the fun.
A beautiful blend of old and new The level design in "Super Mario 3D Land" is simply a blast – not to mention a clever blend of old and new Mario gaming.
While the game is something of an old-school side-scroller at heart, Nintendo changes things up from one level to another – mixing in a variety of different perspectives. Sometimes you'll be presented with a level in the 2-D view from days of yore where you move Mario from the left to right through the world. Other times you'll see him from the top down perspective. Sometimes the game has you follow Mario from behind as he moves forward into the level. And sometimes a level will mix and match these different perspectives.
Meanwhile, from grassy, tree-filled landscapes to haunted houses to enemy-filled ships, you're presented with one memorable level to conquer after another. You'll help Mario walk on high wires, make his way across disappearing platforms, and slip past spikey enemies.
While you and Mario will face off against plenty of familiar enemies, there's a delightful array of new baddies to meet too – Goombas with raccoon tails and Piranha Plants that can spit ink seemingly right at you until it covers the screen with black goo.
And each level is just the right length – short enough to squeeze in during your spare moments and yet long enough to hook you and keep you coming back for more. Then, just when you think you're done ... there's more to come.
Mario in fine form More than anything, this game just looks great. Whether you have the 3-D on or off, the Mushroom Kingdom is bright and gorgeous to behold and certainly gives its counterparts on the Wii a run for their money in the visual appeal department.
And the game doesn't just look good, it sounds good too. The sound design and music are top notch and rarely hit that annoyingly repetitive note, even when you have to replay a tough level.
All in all, if you don't yet own a Nintendo 3DS, "Super Mario 3D Land" should give you plenty of good reasons to bump the gadget to the top of your holiday wish list.
Winda Benedetti writes about games for msnbc.com. You can follow her tweets about games and other things here on Twitter or join her in the stream here on Google+. And be sure to check out the In-Game Facebook page here.
You have to give it to the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals — they know how to leverage a pop culture event to promote their own agenda.
You see, Nintendo has just launched its highly anticipated game "Super Mario 3D Land." The game — which you play on Nintendo's new handheld 3DS game machine — features the famed plumber Mario making his way through a cartoon land filled with cranky mushrooms, man-eating plants and nefarious turtle creatures. On occasion, the mustachioed plumber dons a furry raccoon-like "Tanooki suit" which lets him float in the air and swat this colorful host of bad guys with a tail.
PETA, however, thinks Mario's fur-wearing ways are offensive and has — just in time for the launch of "Super Mario 3D Land" — launched its own campaign pegging Mario as a killer of innocent animals.
To be clear, the E-rated "Super Mario 3D Land" never suggests that Mario slaughtered an animal for its fur. In fact, the magical Tanooki suits that he wears in the game typically spring from magical squares that magically hover in the air. These squares magically give up the suits (which at first look like magical leaves) when Mario bumps his head into them.
But according to PETA's new "Mario Kills Tanooki" website, in real life, tanuki are raccoon dogs who are skinned alive for their fur. By wearing Tanooki, Mario is sending the message that it's OK to wear fur."
The site then offers visitors a chance to play a game called "Super Tanooki Skin 2D" in which you try to help a skinned Tanooki chase down Mario and reclaim his fur. (Don't bother, gamers, it's pretty lame.)
It's hard to believe that the folks over at PETA truly believe that a video game starring tiny man in a magical children's costume actually contributes to worldwide fur wearing. If they did believe Nintendo's new game had that kind of impact on behavior, then they should have also mentioned Mario's abuse of the turtle-like Koopa creatures.
But this is not the first time PETA has skewered video games as a way to grab attention. A few years back it spoofed the popular "Cooking Mama" game with its own game "Cooking Mama Kills Animals" to bring attention to the Thanksgiving slaughter of turkeys. And last year the non-profit created the game "Super Tofu Boy" as a parody of hit indie game "Super Meat Boy."
Of course, if you watch this PETA video about what happens to real tanuki racoon dogs, you can certainly see why the organization is up in arms about the fur business. (WARNING: The video is graphic and horrible and sad.)
If only PETA didn't feel the need to drag innocent bystanders through the mud to make its point.
Winda Benedetti writes about games for msnbc.com. You can follow her tweets about games and other things here on Twitter or join her in the stream here on Google+.And be sure to check out the In-Game Facebook page here.
There is a bit of good news for Nintendo among all the gloom -- Nintendo 3DS sales are improving.
By Winda Benedetti
It looks like the advance reports were (mostly) true: The House of Mario is hurting. Big time.
Japanese game giant Nintendo has posted its financial reports here, revealing that, for the first six months of this fiscal year, it experienced a loss of 70 billion yen or $923 million U.S. That is at least slightly better than the 100 billion yen loss Japanese financial newspaper — the Nikkei — predicted for the company yesterday.
But Nintendo also announced Thursday that it is forecasting, for the first time ever, that it will post an annual net loss of 20 billion yen ($264 million) for this financial year, which ends March 2012.
There was a time in the not-so-distant past when Nintendo game machines were practically spawning piles of gold for the company, what with the Nintendo DS line of gadgets dominating the handheld game market and the Wii flying off shelves and transforming legions of non-gamers into gamers for the first time. But as they say, what goes up ...
As of Thursday, Nintendo slashed its full-year operating profit forecast to just 1 billion yen, down from 35 billion yen.
The finger of blame here points directly at Japan's strong yen (which is impacting much of the country) as well as at Nintendo's shrinking hardware and software sales.
Nintendo's once ground-breaking Wii console is now aging and out-powered by game machines from rivals Microsoft and Sony. Nintendo does have a new game console in the works — the Wii U — but it won't launch until sometime next year.
Meanwhile, with smartphones and tablets transforming how and where people play portable games, the new Nintendo 3DS game machine has sold poorly compared to the company's expectations. Earlier this year, Nintendo was forced to slash the device's price from $250 to $170 after it spent only five months in stores.
Nintendo has now cut its forecast for 3DS software sales by 30 percent, down from 70 million units to 50 million units for the year that ends in March. It has, however, left its 3DS hardware sales forecast at 16 million units for the year (which some analysts think is optimistic).
But Nintendo points out that things are looking up for the 3DS. While the company sold a mere 710,000 units of the device from April to June this year, between June and September it sold 2.36 million units worldwide. That brings the total worldwide 3DS sales up to 6.68 million units.
And with the all-important holiday season coming — and the highly anticipated game "Super Mario 3D Land" on its way — perhaps there is a little silver lining in Nintendo's very cloudy sky.
Winda Benedetti writes about games for msnbc.com. You can follow her tweets about games and other things here on Twitter or join her in the stream here on Google+.And be sure to check out the In-Game Facebook page here.
Things aren't looking good for gaming giant Nintendo.
Word on the world's financial streets is that Nintendo on Thursday will post a loss of about 100 billion yen (that's $1.32 billion) for the first half of the year that ended on September 30. That's far worse than the 55 billion yen loss the company had previously forecast.
Japan's Nikkei business daily reported the news Wednesday — and that news hit the company hard with Nintendo shares tumbling as much as 7.5 percent to 10,800 yen.
So what's behind this staggering loss — which is expected to be confirmed tomorrow when Nintendo announces its July-September earnings? It seems to be a one-two punch.
For starters, Nintendo — along with many other Japanese companies — is suffering big losses thanks to a strong yen. Nintendo makes 80 percent of its sales overseas and, according to the Nikkei report, lost 40 billion yen ($526 million) in foreign exchange alone.
Meanwhile, the company has struggled to send its handheld Nintendo 3DS device flying off shelves as expected. Back in July it was forced to slash the price of the five-month-old device from $250 to $170. Meanwhile, Nintendo's Wii game machine — which once showered the company in money — has been on downhill sales slide for some time. It is, after all, five years old ... and also far outpowered by rival machines: the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Nintendo has certainly been taking steps to try to boost interest in the 3DS as the all-important holiday buying season approaches. It recently launched a 3-D video service for the device and revealed that the 3DS will soon be able to record 3-D video and stop-motion animation videos and. Even more importantly, Nintendo will soon launch big games such as the highly anticipated "Super Mario 3D Land."
And Nintendo has vowed to launch a new game console — the Wii U — next year as well.
But the road back to Nintendo's money-making heyday won't be easy. The 3DS will soon be up against Sony's rival PlayStation Vita game machine (launching in February) while the iPhone and other smartphones and tablets with their inexpensive game apps continue to lure people away from the once-dominant Nintendo DS line of gadgets.
Meanwhile, although In-Game editor Todd Kenreck and I liked what we saw when given a sneak preview of the Wii U at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, the device inspired confusion among many when it was first revealed and caused the company's share price to drop.
Still, while Nintendo may be down, I wouldn't count the company (home to gaming icons such as Mario, Luigi, Zelda and Pokemon, to name a few) out any time soon.
Winda Benedetti writes about games for msnbc.com. You can follow her tweets about games and other things here on Twitter or join her in the stream here on Google+.And be sure to check out the In-Game Facebook page here.
"Freaky Forms" is a new 3-D game coming to the Nintendo 3DS. The game company has spent the last few months rolling out new games and features in an attempt to bolster interest in the 3DS.
By Winda Benedetti
Nintendo's 3DS game gadget has had a rough go of it since launching in March. On Friday, however, the company unveiled some new features designed to give the handheld device a much-needed boost as the all-important holiday shopping season nears.
Leveraging the thing that makes the Nintendo 3DS stand out from all other game devices — its ability to display 3-D images without requiring the viewer to wear special glasses — Nintendo will release a system update in November that allows 3DS owners to record up to 10 minutes of 3-D video. The update will also let them create their own stop-motion animation videos.
Nintendo also announced that the Hulu Plus streaming video service will be available on both the 3DS and the Wii. Of course, as is the case with Hulu on any device, you'll have to pay a $7.99 monthly subscription to the company in order to have access to their catalog of streaming TV programming.
"Nintendo 3DS continues to evolve with great new features and functions designed to reinforce its position as a premiere entertainment device," Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime said in a press release. "All of these features, in addition to great upcoming games ... make Nintendo 3DS a smart gift option this holiday season."
In addition to the 3-D video and Hulu boost, Nintendo announced several new 3-D-focused games and apps that will soon be available for download via Nintendo's online eShop.
'Freakyforms: Your Creations, Alive!' will let players create and customize creatures and bring them to 3-D life and will be available in November for $6.99.
'Pushmo' is a 3-D game launching in December that asks players to solve puzzles by pulling and pushing blocks. Players can also create their own custom puzzles.
'Swapnote' is an app that will give Nintendo 3DS owners the chance to send 3D messages to their 3DS-owning friends. It will be Available for free in December.
'Dillon’s Rolling Western' is a 3-D tower defense game coming early 2012 that stars an armadillo who defends an Old West town by rolling over his enemies.
You can see these games and apps in action at Nintendo's site here.
Earlier this year, I chatted with Nintendo president Fils-Aime and he acknowledged that Nintendo had made some mistakes in how it handled the launch of the 3DS. In part, the company needed to have more big first-party games and digital offerings ready to go when the machine arrived, he said.
Nintendo has spent the last few months trying to correct those missteps. After finding itself forced to slash the price of the 3DS from $250 to $170 in July, the company has been rolling out new features and games for the 3DS in an attempt to bolster interest in the product (the highly anticipated "Super Mario 3D Land" arrives Nov. 13).
Nintendo clearly hopes to enhance and highlight the 3DS' unique 3-D features — something that grows more important each day as rival Sony prepares to launch its competing handheld game machine (the PlayStation Vita) in February.
Winda Benedetti writes about games for msnbc.com. You can follow her tweets about games and other things here on Twitter or join her in the stream here on Google+.And be sure to check out the In-Game Facebook page here.
Sony is counting on deep, rich games like "Resistance: Burning Skies" to convince gamers they should pay for and carry around another gadget.
By Winda Benedetti
It seems Sony has an answer for critics and analysts who fear the PlayStation Vita might be headed for a doomed launch thanks to competition from smartphones and a price tag that's starting to seem too high.
On Tuesday during a press conference at the Gamescom video game trade show, Sony did not announce a price cut for the machine as some have suggested they should. Instead, they unveiled a growing line-up of deep, rich, console-style games designed to appeal to those who think smartphone games are just too shallow.
Sony also revealed a couple of new social applications that can be downloaded onto the machine — applications meant to help it compete with those uppity smartphones. Vita owners will be able to download a Skype application to so they can make calls. A Foursquare application also will be available in the PlayStation Store for free, along with Twitter and Facebook apps.
Sony is trying to give consumers plenty of reasons to drop $250 or even $300 (for the 3G-enabled model) on their forthcoming gaming handheld when it launches early next year — something that may be a difficult sell now that seemingly everyone is already packing smartphones that do phone calls, social networking and gaming in one fell swoop.
Nintendo was recently forced to slash the price of its new 3DS handheld game machine from $250 to $170 after it failed to meet sales expectations. And so Sony finds itself under extra scrutiny as it sets out to give consumers a reason to pay for and carry around another device.
One big reason they're giving consumers is the games the Vita will play. Sony has built a powerful portable game machine with a sprawling screen, two thumb sticks and both front and back touch controls — all designed especially for those who want to play games with more oomph and depth than smartphone games offer.
Sony has already announced that console-style games such as "Uncharted: Golden Abyss" as well as a "BioShock" game — designed to appeal to serious players — will be arriving for the Vita. And on Tuesday the company added to that list.
Sony announced a new game in the best-selling "Resistance" sci-fi shooting franchise. "Resistance: Burning Skies" will be specially made for the Vita and will use the device's touch screen and dual analog sticks. The first-person shooter will feature an all new story, star a brand new hero and is set just before the events of "Resistance II." Here's a look at the Gamescom demo:
Sony also unveiled a forthcoming adventure game called "Escape Plan," in which players use the device's touch controls to guide two characters named Lil and Laarg through a labyrinth of puzzles and traps.
Meanwhile third-party publisher Ubisoft came out strong behind Vita at Gamescom, announcing they have six games in development for the machine — chief among them a brand-new "Assassin's Creed" title. They didn't reveal details about how the critically acclaimed action/adventure franchise will play out on Vita, but they did announce that it will arrive sometime in 2012.
Ubisoft said they're also making a new "Lumines" game for Vita and that "Asphalt," "Dungeon Hunter Alliance," "Michael Jackson the Experience" and "Rayman Origins" will also land on the device.
Sony
Sony also unveiled the game "Escape Plan" for Vita Tuesday during its Gamescom press conference.
In another bit of news, Sony revealed that all games made for Vita will be downloadable (you know, kind of like smartphone and tablet games). However, games will also be available in stores on a special Vita memory card.
It's still unclear which games, apps and services will be available immediately upon Vita's arrival. But after watching Nintendo struggle to meet sales expectations with the 3DS — a struggle caused in part by the lack of games and online features available at launch — surely Sony plans to come out swinging.
Winda Benedetti writes about games for msnbc.com. You can follow her tweets about games and other things here on Twitter or join her in the stream here on Google+.And be sure to check out the In-Game Facebook page here.
Is the PlayStation Vita doomed before it even launches? Some game developers say yes. Others happen to disagree.
By Winda Benedetti
There's no denying it: Handheld game machines are facing tough times these days. With everyone packing smartphones crammed with inexpensive game apps, video game companies are having a hard time getting people excited about carrying around a similarly sized gadget whose primary job is to play much more expensive games.
Nintendo recently discovered just how much the handheld gaming landscape had changed when sales of its new Nintendo 3DS gadget failed to meet expectations, and forced the company to slash the price by $80 after just five months on the market.
Lyle Hall and Matthew Seymour of Heavy Iron Studios are two developers who believe the Vita is headed for a doomed launch — and they aren't afraid to say so.
Live Poll
Will you buy a PlayStation Vita?
156477
Yep, I can't wait for it to launch.
19%
156478
I'd like to, but the current price is too expensive.
19%
156479
No, I'm going with Nintendo's 3DS.
11%
156480
Why would I buy a dedicated game machine when I've got a smartphone?
51%
VoteTotal Votes: 2356
"If people aren't willing to pay $249 for a Nintendo 3DS, why would they pay $299 for Vita?" Hall, president of Heavy Iron, told GamesIndustry.biz in a recent interview. "People don't want to carry more than one thing in their pocket. That’s why Android and iPhone have done so well. They are the devices of choice. They offer multiple functions outside of gaming."
Heavy Iron, formerly a THQ subsidiary, has developed several games based on movie properties as well as the new "UFC Personal Trainer" game for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii. Meanwhile, Seymour previously worked for the likes of 2K Games and Microsoft Game Studios
Says Seymour of the pending Vita launch, "With all due respect to Sony and Vita, it's a car wreck."
Vita will launch in Japan at the end of this year and will launch in the U.S. and Europe early next year. I got my hands on the device at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in June and was impressed with many aspects of the machine. In fact, here's a list of all the things I liked.
Still, while the Nintendo 3DS is a different gadget with, perhaps, a different audience, I can't help but agree with Hall and Seymour to some degree. Nintendo's experience with the 3DS makes things look far more grim for Sony and the PlayStation Vita.
Certainly, with Nintendo finding itself forced to slash the price of the 3DS from $250 down to $170, it suggests Sony might have to revisit the price it announced for the PlayStation Vita — $249 and $299 (for the 3G model).
But not all game developers seem to think the Vita is doomed.
Japanese magazine Famitsu recently conducted a survey of game developers and gamers themselves trying to gauge attitudes about the Vita. And the feedback was resoundingly positive.
Tomonobu Itagaki, a former Tecmo/Team Ninja director who now works for Valhalla Games, called the device "really amazing."
"I've worked on a portable game only once in my career, but I think I'm going to need to change my stance toward portables, and I think the game business will need to join me on that," he said, as translated by game site 1up.com.
"It's a platform with the sort of new features that get creators excited about making new kinds of games, and that alone means there's a good chance at seeing some really innovative stuff done with the system," said Akihiro Hino, CEO of Level-5. "I find its console-caliber specs to be really fascinating, and I'd love to release a product that takes advantage of those specs."
"What’s cool about PS Vita is that it seems to have all the benefits of an iPad-type device with the touchscreen and motion controls. But it has dual analog sticks," he said during a recent Sony interview. "You can finally play a shooter, a real shooter, on a handheld. Seriously, that’s a hole in my soul right now. Now I’ll have something I can play real shooters on, and that’s really important to me."
Ultimately, it seems that if Sony can learn from the mistakes Nintendo admits it made with the 3DS — launching without a strong line-up of games and without support for downloadable games and videos — perhaps Vita stands a better chance at launch. And if it could cut the price ... well that would help too.
Certainly Sony is betting that while some people will be satisfied by smartphone games, plenty of others will still pay a premium for in-depth portable games — and they'll even be willing to carry around another gadget to play them.
Winda Benedetti writes about games for msnbc.com. You can follow her tweets about games and other things here on Twitter or join her in the stream here on Google+.And be sure to check out the In-Game Facebook page here.
Can a new color, a new price and some new games revive the Nintendo 3DS' flagging sales?
By Winda Benedetti
The Nintendo 3DS may be down, but don't count the struggling new game system with the eye-grabbing 3-D powers out just yet. Or so says Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America.
For the first time since Nintendo revealed the extent of its financial woes and slashed the price of its 3DS game system by a whopping $80 (this after a mere five months on store shelves) Fils-Aime is talking about what went wrong with the gadget's launch and what Nintendo plans to do to fix those mistakes.
I had a chance to talk with him Tuesday and one thing seemed clear: Nintendo is shooting for a 3DS comeback this holiday season.
The company has just announced that it will launch the 3DS in a new color — "Flame Red" — here in the U.S. starting Sept. 9. That new color comes as the new $170 price officially goes into place on Friday and as Nintendo begins rolling out several high profile games that many gamers have been (impatiently) waiting for — "Starfox 64 3D" on Sept. 9, "Pokemon Rumble Blast" on Oct. 24, "Super Mario 3D Land" in November and "Mario Kart 7" in December.
But with many a skeptical eye now trained on the portable game machine, can the company re-start the 3DS' flagging momentum? Once that kind of forward motion is lost ... can it ever be regained?
The coming months will answer these questions for certain. But in the meantime, here's what Fils-Aime had to say about the mistakes Nintendo made with the 3DS launch, how it plans to kick-start interest in the 3DS in time for the holidays and why those who think Nintendo can't recover from this are wrong:
Nintendo has struggled with 3DS sales and the price cut was quite surprising. But why do you think Nintendo has had such a hard time with the 3DS?
Fils-Aime: First, a couple of data points. Over the course of about six weeks on a global basis in our last fiscal year, we sold about 3.7 million units of 3DS hardware. Last week, for the current fiscal year, we reaffirmed that we are projecting to sell 16 million units of 3DS hardware this fiscal year. So essentially, over the course of 14 or 15 months, we're projecting that we're going to sell just under 20 million units of hardware.
I share that just to put into perspective that, certainly, that is not meeting our expectations. But the use of the word 'failure,' I think is a little harsh in terms of what we've actually been able to do with the Nintendo 3DS platform. Now, when you compare it to a platform like the DS where, just in the U.S., we've sold over 50 million units, certainly it is fair to say the launch of the Nintendo 3DS has not met our very high expectations.
What do you think the primary cause of the poor 3DS sales is? Is it price? Is it a lack of big games at launch? Something else?
Fils-Aime: I would highlight three things — and these are three things we've taken steps to address.
First, making sure that we had key first-party games to drive the hardware. We've addressed that with the launch of "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D" which is doing exceptionally well globally. And certainly with the upcoming launch of "Starfox 64 3D" plus "Pokemon" plus the two Mario games, we think we've got a great lineup of first-party games that will drive the install base and then certainly there is strong support by third party publishers as well.
The second thing we've identified and addressed is the digital side of the business. The 3DS launched without a digital shop at the time. We addressed that back in June with the launch of the eShop plus the launch of Netflix and Nintendo Video just in the last few weeks. So certainly making sure we have a robust digital series of offerings has been very critical and we've fixed that.
And thirdly, certainly, making sure the overall value equation is as strong as possible. These are still tough macro economic times. People are concerned and we need to be as sharp as possible on the value side. And now with the $80 reduction in price for the Nintendo 3DS, we believe we've made it as strong a value proposition as possible.
But why did Nintendo launch the 3DS ahead of having that digital shop ready and ahead of having those big games ready? Why not wait until all of these pieces were ready to go?
Live Poll
Can the Nintendo 3DS make a comeback?
156068
Absolutely. The new price and new games will send it flying off shelves.
29%
156069
Maybe. Maybe not. Excitement over the 3DS has already dwindled and it will be hard to get that back.
36%
156070
No way. That ship has sailed. Gamers are now waiting for the next big thing.
35%
VoteTotal Votes: 1104
Fils-Aime: Here's what's so interesting about this business — as we were preparing for launch, we had very positive signals in the marketplace. We had very strong pre-sales being reported to us by retailers. We had an exceptionally strong first day of sales. So the issue really is maintaining the momentum for the platform. And those three requirements that I just touched on really needed to be there to maintain that strong initial burst of activity and make sure that we would power through the first year of availability.
So I would argue it wasn't so much launching it too soon, I would argue that we needed to do a better job following up the launch with these key initiatives. We needed to have a much shorter time between the March 27 launch of the 3DS and what ended up being a good three or four months before a lot of the capabilities were brought to bear on the market.
So you're saying that Nintendo launched the 3DS when it did because things looked good at that time?
Fils-Aime: That's exactly right.
For you and other executives, is there this feeling like, 'I just wish we'd launched the 3DS at the $170 price to begin with'?
Fils-Aime: What I would say is that, in retrospect, we should have made sure that the sequence of software was there and we should have had the digital offerings ideally available at launch if not shortly thereafter. And if we would have done that maybe the product would have sustained at the $249 price point.
But the fact is that we didn't. The fact is that those elements weren't there. And this business is a momentum business. We need to have strong momentum now going into the holiday season. And the reason that that's important is that we need to get consumers talking positively about the device, we need to get consumers asking for the device, putting it on wish lists. These steps are critically important in this business. Because it's part fashion, it's part entertainment. It is truly a momentum business and we need to re-energize our momentum right now.
But how difficult is that to do? As much as Nintendo is addressing these issues, once you've lost momentum, how worried are you about regaining that momentum?
Fils-Aime: That's a good question. And what I would tell you is that what we've learned is that the only way to regain momentum is to layer a series of initiatives on top of each other that, together, make it compelling for the consumer to buy in. One initiative is not enough. And that's why we've layered in the price reduction plus the new color plus the key software titles, plus the strong support by third-party licensees as well as by retailers. You need to have all of these elements in order to reinvigorate that momentum.
About the new Flame Red 3DS color — have you found that a new color actually affects sales?
Fils-Aime: That color actually just launched in Japan. And we've already seen a very positive response in that market to the new color.
Colors do have an impact on sales. In the handheld space it really becomes one more reason for consumers to buy into a platform by having a particular color that they like. We've done a tremendous amount of research on colors and we find red is a color that has positive appeal for both men and women which is very important for us as we drive Nintendo 3DS. And so we do believe it will have a positive impact on our business.
The drastic price reduction certainly caught a lot of people's attention. Do you expect to see immediate results when the new price goes into effect Friday?
Fils-Aime: We believe the response to this is going to be significant and that it will build over time. And I think that based on some early reports we're getting from some retailers who have already begun reducing the price in order to jump-start their business. They are reporting very brisk sell through, and that is without a lot of consumer messaging at this point.
So we believe that, beginning Friday, we'll have very strong sell-through activity and it'll continue to build with the new color and with the key software titles.
Nintendo has offered 20 free games to those who picked up the 3DS at the initial price. Still, we've seen some resentment among early 3DS adopters who feel like, 'Hey, I spent so much more money on this machine!" What would you say to those people who did run out and pick up a 3DS for $250?
Fils-Aime: What we are saying is, first, these are our most loyal customers. They do buy our products on launch day and stay up so they can be at retailers at 12:01 in order to purchase a product. And to them we say, 'Thank you for the loyalty and thank you for the support.' And that's why we're making available these 20 digital games.
And many of these games will only be available to these ambassadors. They'll not be available to anyone else, not for purchase, because we believe it is critically important to reward these early buyers.
[For details on how early 3DS adopters can download their 20 free games — including the 10 Game Boy Advance games that only they will have access to — follow this link.]
With the 3DS price drop and some of Nintendo's other financial struggles, some critics are saying, 'This is a sign of Nintendo's decline, they're not going to be able to pull out of this.' What would you say to those people?
Fils-Aime: You know, I would point them to those similar types of stories that were being written about Nintendo oh, say, in 1998 and '99 as we were in a pitched battle with some of our competitors at the time. Or those same stories that were written back in 2002 and 2003.
All I can tell you is that we are a company focused on innovative experiences. We are a company that, fortunately, has some of the strongest franchises in not just video games but in all of entertainment with Mario and Zelda and Pokemon.
We are a company that has faced lots of naysayers and have continued to do quite well for ourselves. So I wouldn't bet against what we're looking to bring to the market.
Winda Benedetti writes about games for msnbc.com. You can follow her tweets about games and other things here on Twitter or join her in the stream here on Google+.And be sure to check out the In-Game Facebook page here.
No, this is not a giant Game Boy. It just looks like one.
By Winda Benedetti
Surely this is some kind of violation of all things Nintendo holds sacred. And yet, it's also pretty dang sweet.
Lootiful, designer of "gear for geeks," has created an iPad 2 case that transforms your Apple tablet into an over-sized, old-school Game Boy. Or at the very least, it makes it look as if your iPad has been transformed into a Game Boy model circa 1989.
Lootfiul says pre-orders are coming soon. Until then, you can disguise your iPhone 4 as a Game Boy with Lootiful's similar-looking wrap called the iPWN! case.
But surely, Super Mario himself is not going to be happy about these Apple products daring to pass themselves off as a renowned member of the Nintendo clan.
As everyone knows, Nintendo's mascot is sick and tired of those cheap App Store games stealing his business (just look at what's happened to Nintendo's new handheld game machine, the Nintendo 3DS). And Mario willhave his revenge.
Winda Benedetti writes about games for msnbc.com. You can follow her tweets about games and other things here on Twitter or join her in the stream here on Google+.And be sure to check out the In-Game Facebook page here.