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Yoshi's New Island arriving in spring 2014 [Update: Trailer added]
Nintendo announced that Yoshi's New Island will launch in spring 2014 for 3DS during today's Nintendo Direct livestream. What's more, the series' original creator Takashi Tezuka is working on the project. Yoshi's New Island was first announced in June and was originally expected to launch this holiday season. Nintendo President Satoru Iwata also announced a new Wii U action game known as Hyrule Warriors during the stream.
Legend of Zelda prototype cartridge goes to auction: $150,000 proves your loyalty to Hyrule (video)
And you thought that Nintendo World Championships gold cartridge would make a nice start to the retirement fund. An eBay auction from tjcurtin1 is offering a prototype NES cartridge for the US release of The Legend of Zelda at a Buy It Now price of $150,000, or roughly ten times more than the typical final bid that Price Charting quotes for a typical NWC cart. While it looks like an unassuming yellow chunk of plastic, it's actually a Nintendo of America copy from February 23, 1987 -- half a year before the definitive action adventure reached the US market. The game still plays and can even save its game on the still functional, industry-first battery backup. Just remember that it's not necessarily going to reveal any design secrets from Shigeru Miyamoto or Takashi Tezuka: the seller warns that he can't see any practical differences between the early copy and the (also included) shipping version. Anyone well-heeled enough to buy the prototype is therefore going solely for the collector's value. But for those determined to be the coolest kid on any block about 25 years late, there's only one way to go.
Old Nintendo picture book highlights young Miyamoto, other Mario vets
When Chris Covell went to a "local library" recently -- local for him being "in Japan" -- he didn't grab just any book. Instead, he grabbed a picture book made for children named "The Stars of Famicom Games: How Video Games Are Made," wherein legendary Japanese developers like Shigeru Miyamoto, Koji Kondo, and Takashi Tezuka are caught in revealing images, behind the scenes of Super Mario Bros. 3's development. Beyond all the devs looking many, many years younger (the images were taken in summer 1989), the photos depict an all-star development team crafting one of the most beloved gaming experiences of all time. If your morning has been sadly devoid of EPROMs and late '80s Japanese haircuts, this conveniently translated feature is perfect for you. [Image credit: Chris Covell]
Iwata Asks: 25 years with Miyamoto's dev posse
In the most recent edition of Iwata Asks, Nintendo prez Satoru Iwata gathers up Takashi Tezuka and Toshihiko Nakago for a thorough discussion of their time with the company, the many projects they've worked on and their 25-year-long partnership with Shigeru Miyamoto. Let's break it down: Takashi Tezuka and Toshihiko Nakago both started at Nintendo around 1984, helping to shape everything from Balloon Fight to Super Mario Bros. These guys were part of the team that developed Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda -- at the same time. During the 10-page chat, a plethora of interesting tidbits are revealed about some of the game industry's most influential Nintendo titles. Did you know that Zelda was initially designed as a dungeon game without an overworld? Or, how about the revelation that World 1-1 was created last, after the rest of the levels in Super Mario Bros., and designed implicitly to teach the game to non-gamers? The chat even gets into the lurid sleeping arrangements of Miyamota-san and Nakago-san while on business trips for ExciteBike (spoiler: it's not that lurid).
Koopalings to return in New Super Mario Bros., Yoshi on the sideline
According to a recent Nintendo Power interview with Takashi Tezuka, New Super Mario Bros. for the DS will feature the return of the beloved koopalings. This welcome addition should significantly boost the game's boss element. Tezuka also confirmed that Bowser and Toad would make appearances. As for the green dinosaur, since the game is a throwback to the NES Super Mario Bros., "Yoshi doesn't really fit," says Tezuka.Tezuka also noted that the game will be set in the Mushroom Kingdom and that there will be no boss battles in 2-player mode, no WiFi connectivity, and no microphone functionality. Finally, when questioned about the possibility of a console-bound Mario side scroller, Tezuka replied, "The probability is not zero, but no further comment at this point." Then he just laughed.[Thanks, Ahms]
