Miyamoto: Skyward Sword 2010 release was possible, but “would have been a waste”
Christmas 2010 release would have been “most convenient for the company”
Another Iwata Asks, another newsbag full of interesting chunks of info. For reasons that I find difficult to fathom, Official Nintendo Magazine tends to post Nintendo related articles now and again; and one of their most recent posts picks up on something in the latest interview that will serve to reinforce the popular opinion that Nintendo is more caring and dedicated to quality than most other videogame companies. That something is: a sellable version of Skyward Sword could have hit shelves in time for last Christmas, but it wouldn’t have been the polished-to-a-blinding-degree product that we now have.
“If we’d only been thinking about what was most convenient for the company when we made this new game The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, we probably would have put a half-finished product on sale last Christmas by saying that we have managed to make it on time just because it was the order from the company.” said Miyamoto.
“If I had said last Christmas, ‘We need something to be our big end of the year product. Make a new Legend of Zelda game,’ you would have made some sort of game. Because you would have spent as much time as you had and put in as much energy as you could to make it.” growled Iwata, fire in his eyes (maybe).
It’s hard to decide what’s more surprising; that the main Skyward Sword game was put together in just six months, or that the same amount of time was spent sharpening and polishing the experience. Miyamoto explains: “We spent six months making the game, and another six months fine-tuning it. Because the game we were making was so huge, we needed to work that hard on it. Otherwise it would have felt like a waste. We spent so much time making a really good game and it came out so well that it would have been a waste not to make sure that it was really polished.”
‘Blizzard DotA’ Completely Rebooted Since BlizzCon 2010
Last October, Valve finally revealed that they had been, in truth, working on a sequel to the “Warcraft 3″ mod, “Defense of the Ancients.” Based on what’s been discussed so far, it sounds like most of the modifications among “DotA” and “DotA two” are in Valve’s graphical improvements over the original, no cost mod. Meanwhile, throughout Blizzard’s BlizzCon 2010, the company announced that “Blizzard DotA” was an internally created “StarCraft two” mod, built employing that game’s map editor. Whilst “DotA two” had a presence for the duration of GamesCom last week, it sounds like Blizzard are going back to the drawing board on “Blizzard DotA.”
The entire “Defense of the Ancients” scenario is a bit weird. If you’ve in no way played, the original mod is essentially a tower-defense title, but consists of much deeper character development and customization than what is usually seen in the genre. Given that the title was an off-shoot of “Warcraft three,” created by Blizzard, it makes total sense that Blizzard may well be involved with the franchise going forward. Effectively, that isn’t exactly what happened.
The original “DotA” mod was much more or much less developed by the community, and as such, belonged to said community. Sadly for those involved in the project, that also meant that there really wasn’t much in the way of a legal trademark out there, which left the door open for Valve to secure the name “DotA.” Some of the principal contributors to the project, who have considering that moved on to Riot Games and designed “League of Legends,” had been less than thrilled.
Regardless, Blizzard has maintained more than the last year that they were working on their own “DotA” mod, to be released sometime about the upcoming “Heart of the Swarm” expansion for “StarCraft 2.” Speaking to EuroGamer, Blizzard lead designer Jonny Ebbert has stated that the mod has been “completely rebooted.” He discussed some of the challenges the team has faced with the mod, and discussed the new approach.
“Getting it proper and just meeting the Blizzard high quality bar, and questioning a lot of the assumptions behind the genre, which is what we do at Blizzard,” Ebbert mentioned. “What we showed at the original BlizzCon, we’ve fully flattened it considering that then and completely rebooted it simply because we just thought, there’s more we can question on this.”
Biggest disappointments of 2010
Written by GoozerNation Staff
Wednesday, 11 May 2011 06:00
Several members of the GoozerNation editorial staff got together to discuss the biggest disappointments from last year. Here now, are their thoughts on which video games bit the dust.
Erik Kubik:
Nintendo: Sony Outsold Nintendo In Japan During 2010
Enterbrain, the publisher behind revered Japanese gaming publication Famitsu have revealed that for the first time since their release the Nintendo Wii and the Nintendo DS have been outsold by Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Sony’s PlayStation Portable.
Enterbrain also revealed that Sony’s Playstation Portable was the best selling games platform in Japan during 2010 by shifting an incredible 2,640,499 units. However the PlayStation 3 outsold the Wii by a margin of less than 10,000 consoles.
Source
Indie Game Links: Best Games of 2010 and 2011
Today’s collection of independent game links includes more indie game previews, a couple of development updates, the usual round-up of interviews with developers from around the ‘net. (image source)
The Joystiq Indie Pitch: Guns of Icarus
“We’re giving indies the chance to sell you, the fans, on their studios and products. This week we talk with Howard Tsao, Founder of MuseGames, about his steampunk airship title Guns of Icarus.”
Wired.com: Games Work ‘Neurological Magic,’ Says QWOP Creator
“Bennett Foddy, deputy director of the Institute for Science and Ethics at Oxford University, makes games about embodiment, and the ‘neurological magic’ in gaming which allows us to inhabit the heroes on screen. But unlike most artsy, experimental games with a point to make, Foddy’s free Flash games are hilarious, alarmingly addictive and eminently playable.”
The Great Gatsby: The Great Gatsby for NES Soundtrack (audio)
“We’ve been thrilled by the response to Gatsby, so as a bonus, we’ve uploaded the original soundtrack for free download at Last.fm. If you like it, be sure to check out some of its influences: Billie Holiday’s early tune ‘It’s Like Reaching for the Moon,’ Chopin’s Nocturnes, and of course, the classic soundtracks of Mega Man, Ninja Gaiden, Castlevania, et al.”
Matt Chat: Interview with Agustín Cordes (video)
“This is the first installment of my extensive interview with Agustín Cordes, designer of the award-winning Scratches and the upcoming Asylum. In this episode, Cordes and I discuss Asylum, the engine formerly known as Kinesis, Scratches, horror, indie development, puzzle design, and plenty of other topics. Cordes also gives me several scoops, preview footage, and exclusive insider information.”
Mobcast: Indie developers speak out (audio)
“In this week’s indie-themed episode of the Mobcast, Area 5′s Matt Chandronait, Cryptic Sea’s Alex Austin, and Runt Inc.’s Richard Horne join Bitmob’s Brett Bates. The crew discusses their most anticipated indie titles, how consoles limit creativity and distribution, what consumers look for in a non-mainstream game, and whether the term ‘indie’ indicates a genre or a design method.”
F1 2011 Coming In September – F1 2010 Now 50% Off
That’s about as many numbers it’s possible to stuff into a headline. Codemasters have announced that F1 2011 will be coming out this September, and Steam is offering F1 2010 at 50% off this weekend.
F1 2011 will be released on September 23 for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, with versions for 3DS and NGP in development. Codemasters say the game will feature “wide-ranging technical and gameplay advancements on and off track and vastly extended competitive and co-operative multiplayer components.”
They’re also offering fans the chance to “star in future Development Diary videos.” All the information you need to enter this competition is on the game’s Facebook page.
On a similar note, F1 2010 has gone on sale for 50% off on Steam this weekend, no doubt hoping to cash in on the Australian Grand Prix this weekend which begins the new F1 season.
Incoming search terms:
- f1 2010
2011 BAFTA Winners: The Top Games of 2010
Despite a complete lack of the letters “V” or “G” in the acronym, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts has been recognizing excellence in video games since 1998. Although BAFTA is much easier to say than BAFTVGA.
Either way, at an award ceremony yesterday, the prestigious academy handed out statues of shiny gold faces to the best of the best in video games for 2010.
Although there may have been a distinct lack of skanky psuedo-celebs or awkward Neil Patrick Harris joke deliveries, there was no shortage of praise going to some very familiar titles this year.
Taking home the BAFTA Fellowship prize was Lionhead Studios top man, Peter Molyneux. The Fellowship award is akin to a lifetime achievement award. It’s a huge honor for anyone to have bestowed upon them, and in winning, Molyneux joins the likes of Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto, who won the award last year.
Have a look at the winners:
Incoming search terms:
- bafta
