News::Nintendo says it's not stopping Wii U production

Contrary to reports from Japan's well-regarded business rag, Nikkei, Nintendo has told ITMedia that it has no plans to halt Wii U production so soon. "That's [Nikkei's report] not an official announcement. We plan to continue production through the rest of the year." (Admittedly, Nikkei's Nintendo scoops have been hit and miss in the past.) Despite rolling out a steady stream of new hits, the console is failing to gain the traction of the original Wii, and the higher-powered PS4 and Xbox One continue to make Nintendo's home console a distant third in installed user numbers. The games maker is hoping more exposure, courtesy of its tip-toeing foray into mobile, might help improve sales.

Source: NLab (ITMedia, Japanese)

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News::'Hyper Light Drifter' is set to launch at the end of the month

Heart Machine announced via Kickstarter on Tuesday that its forthcoming retro 2D RPG, Hyper Light Drifter, will be released at the end of March. The game, with a style that harkens back to 16-bit action-adventures, follows a helmeted hero as he hacks, slashes, dashes and shoots his way across a massive, dream-like world map in search of a cure for his debilitating disease. Heart Machine is offering HLD on Mac, Windows and Linux through Steam (though there is a small chance the Linux build will be delayed slightly). You can check out the latest trailer below.

Via: Kickstarter

Source: Steam

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News::Backstage with the winners of the IGF and GDC Awards

The Independent Games Festival and Game Developers Choice Awards are the highlight of GDC week. They both honor the best games of the past year in two glamorous, back-to-back ceremonies in downtown San Francisco. This time around, Her Story took home the IGF's $30,000 Seumas McNally Grand Prize, and The Witcher 3 nabbed the coveted Game of the Year prize during the GDC Awards.

Other winners across a range of categories include Undertale, Ori and the Blind Forest, Rocket League and Life is Strange. Nine members of the Girls Make Games program, which offers summer camps designed to encourage young women to break into game creation, walked away with the ID@Xbox Rising Star award for their project, The Hole Story.

We spoke with some of the big winners on-camera directly after they received their awards, and they had plenty to say (and celebrate).

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News::Nintendo reportedly stops Wii U production in late 2016

You might need to bid farewell to the Wii U sooner than you think. Nikkei sources claim that Nintendo is halting production of its struggling home console at the end of 2016, and that the gaming legend is already discontinuing some accessories. Nintendo hasn't confirmed anything (we've asked for comment), but it's easy to see this as preparation for the NX system you'll likely hear about this year. Just don't see this as a guarantee that the NX will ship this year, even if it's true -- stopping production doesn't mean that Nintendo is stopping sales, and it might keep the Wii U around for a while longer as it clears remaining stock.

Via: VentureBeat

Source: Nikkei (translated)

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News::The world's largest Pokemon card is actually 13,000 cards in one

Pikachu has evolved once again -- this time into a massive mosaic featuring his original pose as drawn by famed Pokémon illustrator Ken Sugimori. The mosaic is 32 feet tall, 23 feet wide and it's created out of 12,987 individual Pokémon trading cards. And yes, you better believe that's a new record for trading-card mosaic art.

British artist Quentin Devine completed the work as part of The Pokémon Company's year-long 20th anniversary celebration of the Pokémon franchise. Devine previously made a mosaic of the Mona Lisa entirely out of fan self-portraits, and a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II using penny coins.

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News::Sony closes 'Driveclub' creator Evolution Studios

You likely saw this coming, but it's still sad to say: Sony has confirmed that it's closing Evolution Studios, the developer behind both the MotorStorm series and the troubled Driveclub. The tech giant isn't saying exactly what prompted the closure (we've published its full statement below). However, it tells us that the shutdown followed reviews of "short and medium term" plans, and that it's devoting attention to studios that will be in a "stronger position going forward." In essence, it didn't see Evolution's work leading to a bona fide hit in the near future.

Source: Gamesindustry.biz

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News::'Minecraft: Story Mode' gets three extra episodes in 2016

The first four episodes of Minecraft: Story Mode came out in quick succession, giving players a tightly crafted tale before Christmas. But with one episode remaining, developer Telltale suddenly went quiet about when its adventure would be wrapping up. Today, we have a date -- and it's not quite what we were expecting. Episode five will launch on March 29th, followed by a further three episodes later this year. These are being described as "additional escapades" and won't form part of the season pass, so you'll need to pay a little extra if you want the complete story.

Source: Mojang (Blog Post)

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News::Sony kicks off 'Makers & Gamers' docu-series with 'Journey'

Journey was not a financial success, but the PS3 game -- which takes players on a spiritual trip through a quixotic landscape -- is undeniably a masterpiece. Considering the deep impression it made on players, it's fitting that Sony is premiering its Makers & Gamers series with a documentary on the title. The short film details how Journey helped Sophia Ouellette deal with her father's death from cancer when she was 15. "I needed to tell the people who made it how their game has had such a big impact on me," she says.

Source: Sony

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News::'Star Fox 64' lands on the Wii U Virtual Console this week

Star Fox 64 is an unequivocal classic that introduced Fox McCloud to a new generation of Nintendo fans. Now, with a fresh Star Fox game headed to the Wii U, Nintendo has decided to re-release the beloved space shooter on its latest home console. It'll be available in Europe from March 24th through the Wii U Virtual Console, with a 50 percent discount up until the release of Star Fox Zero on April 21st. So whether you're new to the franchise or returning after a long Lylat Wars hiatus (as the game was known in Australia and Europe), this should be a good way to dive back in.

Via: Eurogamer

Source: Nintendo of Europe (Twitter)

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News::'Rocket League' maker has 'figured out' PS4/Xbox One cross-play

When Microsoft announced that it was working with developers to expand Xbox Live to play nicely with other platforms, it was Rocket League developer Psyonix leading the charge. Gamers immediately asked whether that meant Xbox One owners could soon smash into PlayStation 4 buddies, but Sony has yet to confirm whether that's something it wants to enable.

Sony Worldwide Studios' Shuhei Yoshida told Eurogamer at GDC 2016 that "policy and business issues" were likely the biggest obstacles, rather than technical demands -- a message that Psyonix vice president Jeremy Dunham has now mirrored. Turns out, the studio has already connected its Xbox One and PlayStation 4 games and is now waiting for all of the relevant parties to decide on how things should play out.

Source: GameSpot

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News::Nintendo's Miitomo app racks up 1 million users in Japan

Nintendo's first smartphone app is performing well in Japan. Miitomo, which the console maker launched on March 17th, has already snapped up 1 million users on iOS and Android. Of course, Japan is Nintendo's home turf -- so some success was always likely -- but the number still bodes well for the app's international release. While the exact launch date is still unknown, Nintendo has said it plans to launch Miitomo in 38 regions, including Canada, the US and the UK, sometime later this month.

Via: CNET

Source: Miitomo (Japan)

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News::Pre-order the $400 PlayStation VR 'core' bundle March 29th

Despite Sony saying last week that its $400 PlayStation Virtual Reality headset wouldn't go up for pre-order, here we are hours before the $500 "Launch" bundle's pre-orders go live with news of when the cheaper, headline-grabbing bundle will be available for reservation. Phew. Come Tuesday, March 29th at 10 AM Eastern Sony says you can put your name on the list for the PlayStation VR core bundle at "participating retailers."

Via: PlayStation (Twitter)

Source: PlayStation Blog

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