New Nintendo Direct scheduled for April 1st

New Nintendo Direct scheduled for April 1st

Yesterday we saw rumors swirling about an upcoming Nintendo Direct on April 1st. We’re wary of posting anything with that date in mind considering how often it’s linked to pranks, but Nintendo themselves have confirmed that there will be a Nintendo Direct tomorrow dedicated to showcasing the upcoming games for both Wii U and Nintendo 3DS.

The timing on this one is a little bit different, as we’ll be getting an evening Direct instead of the early morning Direct that we’ve become used to. Still, it’s about time we’ve heard from Nintendo what they plan on releasing this year, especially since Eiji Aonuma broke the news that the new Legend of Zelda is not coming out in 2015. Here’s the full schedule adjusted for various time zones around the world.

• US PST: 3pm
• US CST: 5pm
• US EST: 6pm
• UK GMT: 11pm

What are you most looking forward to tomorrow?

Source: Wii U Daily

Here’s the SMG style squirt gun from Splatoon [VIDEO]

Here’s the SMG style squirt gun from Splatoon [VIDEO]

Nintendo of Japan has been doing an excellent job of highlighting some of the unique weapons that players will be able to equip their Inklings with once the game releases in May. We’ve already seen the big paint roller and the grenade-launcher mortar gun, but this short video gives us a look at the quick-shooting SMG of the Splatoon world.

As with any SMG, this gun seems like it’ll be the most effective at mid-range, so you’ll have to get in somewhat close in order to get your opponent whittled down. It doesn’t have the stopping power of the hot blaster or the paint roller, but catch an inkling by surprise and you’ll probably take them out of that section of the map.

What gun do you want to see demonstrated next?

Source: Wii U Daily

Frozenbyte is pleased with sales of Trine: Enchanted Edition on Wii U

Frozenbyte is pleased with sales of Trine: Enchanted Edition on Wii U

Finnish developer Frozenbyte’s Trine: Enchanted Edition was recently released on the Wii U eShop, sporting the graphical enhancements of the Trine 2 engine but featuring the story from the original game. Wii U fans have been eager to play the game, but one took to Twitter to ask the developers whether or not they’re pleased with how well the first game is performing on the Wii U. Frozenbyte responded that they’re happy with sales and how the game is performing.

Of course, the fan’s motive for asking the developers whether or not they’re pleased with the sales of the Enchanted Edition of the game come from the developer’s recent announcement of Trine 3 for PC. Trine 3 has not been confirmed as coming to Wii U, so it’s likely that sales of Trine: Enchanted Edition and Trine 2 will determine whether or not Frozenbyte will port the game to Wii U when it’s ready. Either way, this looks like a good sign for getting Trine 3 on Wii U.

Source: Wii U Daily

Playtonic is interested in doing cross-promotion with Rare

Playtonic is interested in doing cross-promotion with Rare

Playtonic Games announcing their spiritual successor to Banjo Kazooie in the form of an entirely new property is exciting news for fans of the old Rare games. Microsoft hasn’t really utilized Rare’s properties beyond giving Killer Instinct to another developer, but Playtonic’s Gavin Price says he would be down with cross-promotion of their projects with Microsoft’s Rare, if the parent company was kosher with it.

According to Price, he’d love to feature Banjo & Kazooie in their upcoming project as an homage to the roots of it.

I wanted to get across with my Rare comments how that even though we’ve left them, lots of people are still there who we consider to be our friends and of course we wish them well with whatever they do in their future careers. I don’t see us collaborating on a game in future, more a sense that we help cross-promote each others games in fun ways if the chance arose either in Ukulele or other games we do in future. For example, IF Rare and Microsoft were up for it, it would be great to have a certain Bear and Bird lost in one of our worlds and needing the help of our new heroes to get back.

Playtonic Games is made up of several former Rare employees who left the company to pursue their own goals. Earlier this year, the dev team announced Project Ukulele, which is supposed to be a throwback to the classic platforming action from Banjo Kazooie, albeit with entirely new characters. It’ll be interesting to see if the team will be able to recreate the magic of memorable mascots and perhaps we’ll get a better sneak peek at what the team is working on at E3 this year.

Source: Wii U Daily

New details about cancelled sequel to ZombiU surface [RUMOR]

New details about cancelled sequel to ZombiU surface [RUMOR]

ZombiU is one of the most unique exclusives to ever grace a home console and for many, it became the primary reason to become an early adopter of the Wii U. Despite that, flagging sales of the Wii U led Ubisoft to consider the ZombiU experiment a failure, as the game didn’t sell quite as many copies as they hoped.

According to an insider close to the company, ZombiU 2 was briefly in development after the release of ZombiU in 2012. The team had around 5 to 10 members at the beginning of 2013 and it differed in scope to the first game. Here are the details we know about the now cancelled project.

• ZombiU 2 was in development for a short period back in early 2013
• Roughly 5-10 staffers worked on the project
• The game never left pre-production
• It didn’t take long for the game to be cancelled
• Explore a “run-down, zombie apocalypse setting”
• Would have featured co-op
• One player would control the GamePad, while the other would use the Pro Controller
• Players would get split up via multiple routes at points during the campaign
• This co-op would be local only
• More melee weapons were another desire of the team

The addition of co-op and the ability to explore a zombie-infested apocalyptic world is certainly interesting and we would have loved to see more from the team that put the first game together. Unfortunately we know how that went, especially with Ubisoft’s later releases on the Wii U.

Does the setup for ZombiU 2 interest you at all? Did you play the first game?

Source: Wii U Daily

Is Nintendo delaying Zelda in order to release it on the NX too?

Is Nintendo delaying Zelda in order to release it on the NX too?

Nintendo shocked everyone when they announced that the upcoming Zelda game for the Wii U will be delayed until 2016. Not only that, they won’t be showing off the game at all at the upcoming E3 2015. Bummer.

The official reason from Zelda developer Eiji Aonuma is that the development team has “discovered several new possibilities for this game”. He said that the developers would like to “bring all these ideas to life”, and to make it the best Zelda ever.

But perhaps there is another reason for the delay. A more practical, and business-driven decision. When Aonuma says “several new possibilities”, that cold have something to do with Nintendo next console, the NX. The “new possibilities” of more powerful hardware in the NX.

Not to mention that the NX is rumored for a 2016 release, as hardware maker AMD has gone on record saying that they have developed a new architecture for a console slated for a 2016 release.

This is exactly what happened to Zelda Twilight Princess. It was originally meant to be released only on the GameCube. Then it got delayed, then Nintendo announced that it would be coming out to the GameCube and their new console, the Wii. In fact, Twilight Princes was a Wii launch title.

This could be what’s going on with the new Zelda: Nintendo is planning on releasing it both on the Wii U, and their upcoming NX console as a launch title. It would also signal that Nintendo is finally done with the Wii U.

By delaying Zelda to 2016, Nintendo would have an amazing launch title for their new console, and Wii U owners will still get their Zelda game. Albeit a bit late…

Source: Wii U Daily

Zelda Wii U game won’t be shown at E3 2015

Zelda Wii U game won’t be shown at E3 2015

Nintendo shocked the gaming world (and Wii U owners) yesterday by announcing that the upcoming Zelda Wii U game was delayed to 2016. Now we’ve gotten even more bad news from Nintendo.

Not only has the company delayed Zelda to next year, they won’t be showing off the game at E3 2015. A company spokesperson said that this year’s E3, which takes place in Los Angeles in June, will only focus on 2015 Wii U and 3DS games.

Here’s what Nintendo told IGN about showcasing Zelda at E3:

“Because we’d like to focus on developing the game [Zelda], we aren’t planning on showing it at this year’s E3, where we will be highlighting games launching in 2015.”

If Nintendo will focus E3 on Wii U games that will be released this year, they better announce a few new ones (Metroid?). Because Zelda was the one game every Wii U owner was looking forward to, so Nintendo better have something half-decent as a replacement.

Or maybe they’ll just reveal the new NX console…

Source: Wii U Daily

The Legend of Zelda Wii U won’t be out in 2015

The Legend of Zelda Wii U won’t be out in 2015

For Wii U fans expecting the latest installment in The Legend of Zelda franchise, you’ve got quite a bit longer to wait now, thanks to a video posted on Facebook by the series producer, Eiji Aonuma. In it, Aonuma apologizes to fans and says, “We are no longer making a 2015 release our number one priority.”

The game is based on an open world concept, which is something new for the Zelda series. Aonuma has been careful about the footage we’ve seen so far, with especially with the clip shown at last year’s E3 event and again at the Video Game Awards last year. According to Aonuma, the reason the team has decided not to target a 2015 release is that new possibilities have been discovered in the game and the team wants to explore them to ensure the best experience is delivered for players.

Ouch. That certainly hurts, but as Shigeru Miyamoto is fond of saying, a delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad.

Source: Wii U Daily

1001 Spikes getting off-TV play patch next month

1001 Spikes getting off-TV play patch next month

1001 Spikes is one of the most difficult platforming games since Super Meat Boy came out in 2010. It’s been well received across all platforms its been released on and Nicalis has been hard at work offering updates for the Wii U version. According to founder Tyrone Rodriguez, the company is putting the final touches on a patch for next month that will add the ability to play the game on the Wii U GamePad only.

According to the tweet, the patch will be ready to be submitted to Nintendo of America next month, so if all goes well with that process, you could be enjoying the punishing difficulty of 1001 Spikes without a TV very soon.

Source: Wii U Daily

Song of Seven successfully Kickstarted, coming to Wii U

Song of Seven successfully Kickstarted, coming to Wii U

Earlier today the Song of Seven Kickstarter was successfully funded so that the team at Enlighted Games can create the first chapter. If you’re unfamiliar with the project, it’s a story-driven character game similar to some of Double Fine’s productions like Grim Fandango and Broken Age. The game follows the protagonist through a story that can develop in several different ways thanks to conversation trees that result in different outcomes.

As for the gameplay, there will be puzles and riddles, all set along a unique path. According to the game’s developers, Song of Seven is designed to be played like the game version of a short-story, in which each chapter is self-contained, but it also links together through an overarching story. The description sounds very similar to what Telltale Games does with its series of video games, releasing them across five episodes for a full “season” of a game.

The first chapter of Song of Seven begins in an isolated village, where the main character meets Emma, a young inventor. The two venture off together and stumble into ancient ruins of a forgotten temple. Once inside, the doors shut behind them, so it’s up to the player to guide the duo through several puzzles and challenges in order to help them escape.

Current estimates put the game as being ready by February 2016, but if we know anything from past Kickstarter projects its that there will always be some unforseen delay. Either way, we’re happy to see something so creative get the backing it deserves and I’ll personally be watching this project closely as it matures.

Source: Wii U Daily