You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
While the Nintendo Wii U is an interesting console, reports are saying that it is not doing as well as Nintendo had hoped, although hopefully with the release of some exclusive Nintendo titles, sales might see an improvement. Well the […]
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There’s nothing more frustrating than watching a product or service get announced, then having to wait an age to try it out. Nintendo hears that, and has announced via Nintendo Direct, that during E3 week, Best Buy will have playable demos of as-yet released Wii U games in 100 stores across the US and Canada. Given that no one was likely expecting any new hardware from the firm, it’s clear the gaming stalwart is looking for other ways to stir-up some interest. There’s no mention of titles, so we’re left to assume they’d be the games announced at the show. Either way, scratch out that week in June to make sure you find out first hand. Scrub right to the end of the video past the break to see the announcement for yourself.
Via: Joystiq
USSR and the USA. Batman and Joker. Christoph Waltz and… well, everyone. It’s pretty tough to look at the world’s best-known rivalries and exclude one of history’s finest — that being, of course, Sonic and Mario. The gritty battle between Nintendo and Sega gave fans on both sides plenty to converse about over the years, and one might say that the video game industry as a whole benefited from the back-and-forth. Now that Sega is a shell of its former self, though, the company’s most iconic character is turning to its archrival in search of shelter. On the console side, Nintendo will be the exclusive home for Sonic games going forward, with the Wii U and 3DS set to become the homes for the next three titles — details of which should be revealed “in the coming weeks.” (Update: Looks as if Nintendo has outed a few more details. Sonic Lost World and Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games have been name-checked in particular.)
Meanwhile, Android users will be pleased to know that Sonic the Hedgehog was released today in the Google Play store. It’s available for $2.99, while iOS users are also being granted a free update to coincide.
Filed under: Gaming, Mobile, Nintendo
Via: Joystiq
Source: Nintendo, Google Play
Historically, Nintendo has been one of the strongest companies in all of the gaming realm. Back in the 80s, the Nintendo game consoles were the most popular out there and even only a few years ago the company did exceedingly well in both the mobile and console markets. Things have begun to change significantly for Nintendo and its profits are plummeting as a result.
Nintendo took another hit this week after EA, one of the biggest game developers out there, announced that it had no new games for the Wii U in development at this time.
Considering the struggles Nintendo was having getting customers to purchase the Wii U already, knowing that some the biggest game franchises on the market such as Madden and FIFA will no longer be available is a significant blow.
In fact, back in the late 90s when EA decided not to produce its incredibly popular sports games for the Sega Dreamcast, Sega never produced another console. Could EA’s decision to develop no more games for the Nintendo Wii U be the end of the console? Without high quality and popular games the console is certainly on life support.
Perhaps Nintendo should start to think like SEGA, and reinvent itself as a software company. Can you imagine playing Mario Bros. or Metroid or Zelda on your iPad (without hacking.)
[via Kotaku]
If you follow the gaming industry at all, you know that Nintendo has been struggling significantly over the last year or so. While the company rode high on the incredible popularity of the original Nintendo Wii years ago, it has been unable to replicate that success with its latest generation console. The Nintendo Wii U has proven unpopular to the point where many game developers see no value in developing video games for the system.
One of the biggest game developers in the gaming universe is EA, which produces franchises such as Madden NFL, The Sims, and the Battlefield franchise. About two years ago, EA announced an “unprecedented partnership” with Nintendo hinting that a number of video games for the console would be coming. Fast forward a few years and EA is now saying that it has not one single game in development for the Nintendo Wii U now.
EA hasn’t ruled out the possibility of developing games for the console in the future, but the company currently has no games in development for Nintendo’s latest hardware. This is a rather surprising revelation by EA considering it and Nintendo were throwing in together to the point that in 2011 at E3 Nintendo’s CEO and EA’s CEO took to the stage together to talk about the Nintendo Wii U and the number of games coming for the console.
EA did develop and launch video games for the Nintendo console early on including versions of hit games such as Mass Effect 3, Need For Speed Most Wanted, Madden NFL, and FIFA. However, none of those games launched first on Nintendo’s new console or were exclusives. In fact, they had all been available previously on the other game consoles. EA spokesperson Jeff Brown told Kotaku this week that the earlier run of games for the Nintendo console was EA delivering on its E3 2011 content partnership.
If EA saw value in designing and developing games for the Wii U, you could bet that the company would be doing it. If you’re a big fan of the Wii U, EA’s lack of support for the console means you will have no NFL video game to play because EA holds the exclusive license. It ever a console needed a massive first party video game success, the Wii U is it. However, it looks like Nintendo will have to step up and develop any successful games to drive desire for the console itself, and it doesn’t exactly have a strong track record in recent years for developing hit video games.
SOURCE: Kotaku
EA has nothing in the pipeline for the Nintendo Wii U is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Earlier this month, EA DICE’s Johan Andersson dropped a major bomb: Frostbite 3 won’t be ported to the Wii U. The news meant that the company’s next-gen franchises were doomed to skip the console: No Battlefield 4, no Star Wars games, no Mass Effect spin-off. Now, EA’s Jeff Brown is saying the same fate applies to all of the company’s titles, telling Kotaku that the company has “no games in development for the Wii U currently.”
The confirmation isn’t too surprising, but it is a crushing blow to fans who were banking on EA’s 2011 promise to support the console. Although Brown wouldn’t rule out the possibility of the company returning to the platform, Kotaku was told that EA feels it fulfilled that promise by releasing games like Mass Effect 3 and Need For Speed Most Wanted during the Wii U’s formative months. Despite the loss of third party support, Nintendo has previously urged gamers to be patient. After all, E3 is just around the corner.
Filed under: Gaming
Source: Kotaku
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