noa
Latest
Penthouse 3D channel to fill European screens with three-dimensional smut, starting today
Penthouse already promised its US audience a 3D channel in the second quarter of this year, but, for whatever reason, it's dishing the goods to Europeans even sooner -- as in, right now. March 1st marks the pan-European launch for Penthouse 3D, an all-new channel that will be composed of "100% Full 3D Native HD" content, which, judging by the preview videos available online, looks like a classic case of passive-glasses 3D. Still, Penthouse says it's been shooting in 3D since last summer in preparation for this launch, so we don't expect there to be a content shortage for those who prefer a little more depth to their adult entertainment. Full press release after the break.
Nintendo patent application describes a grocery list app, takes the DS shopping
If your pocket or purse makes room for a smartphone there's a good chance you've started managing your shopping lists digitally. Nintendo, however, is trying to make an ever-greater case for taking your DS with you instead, and if instant trading of content with strangers isn't enough incentive, maybe tracking groceries is. Nintendo of America has applied for a patent describing an "in-store wireless shopping network using hand-held devices." Those devices are, of course, game systems, and the images with the patent app all show a DS being used to track needed quantities of such exciting items as milk, eggs, and salsa. The picture below gives an idea of what the interface might look like, talking to a database of items and their locations to give shoppers an idea of where to find things in the store. Net result? Planning your route becomes a thrilling strategy game -- or at least keeps you from getting lost in the supermarket, ensuring you can continue to shop happily.
Nintendo Wii has lion's share of female console gamers
Nintendo's been doing a bit of digging and it turns out it's already won the console wars. If we're only talking about the ladies, that is. A whopping 80% of American female primary gamers (the person who primarily uses the console rather than the occasional dabblers) do their thing on the Wii, which we see as a clear indication to the graphics-obsessed Xbox 360 and PS3 developers that women prefer their games to be fun to play, rather than just look at. Maybe if we also stopped dressing female characters in swimsuits, they'd find non-Wii games relatable too -- that's just a guess though, probably wrong.
Nintendo hires two new execs
Nintendo has welcomed with open arms a pair of new executives to head up positions at the company's new offices in Redwood City. The first new employee is Denise Kaigler, who will serve as vice president of Marketing & Corporate Affairs and take over for Perrin Kaplan. Kaigler will handle corporate communications, public relations, government affairs, investor and analyst relations, and internal communications for Nintendo of America. She will also have her hands in on the global coordination of the company.The other new addition to the team is Bill Van Zyll. Zyll will be the new director and general manager of Latin America. Zyll comes from a 15 year stint at the Whirlpool Corporation, where he handled a variety of duties and even got some experience working in Latin America. This will no doubt help him transition into his new position at Nintendo.
Nintendo's Beth Llewelyn quits
Shake that tree, shake it and watch the Nintendo executives fall out and everything end up like people said it would. The latest person in the Nintendo executive culling is Beth Llewelyn, senior director of corporate communications at Nintendo of America, as she officially resigned today. Not only that, but Golin Harris' Julia Roether, guru of Nintendo's PR company in the States, also peaced-out. That sound you hear is Nintendo's PR department running around without a head. We now wait to hear Perrin Kaplan's exit cue.Although some less-than-charitable things can be said about the way Nintendo's PR was run up to this point, it could simply be the same issues as Sony had to deal with taking orders from Japan. Sony of America was starting to turn things around with Dave Karraker, but then he left after less than a year (we really miss Dave). We now wait and see who the replacements are. Will it be business as usual, or will Nintendo's PR alter dramatically?
NOA's Reggie Fils-Aime talks Manhunt 2, AO titles
Talking with Nintendo of America's Reggie Fils-Aime about WiiWare, Newsweek's N'Gai Croal used the opportunity to bring up Nintendo's stance on games rated Adults Only by the Entertainment Software Rating Board, first in relation to their "hands-off" approach to the download service and then with the recent Manhunt 2.Fils-Aime makes the company's stance with the ESRB very clear: no AO-rated titles. "This is not an image issue, Wii welcomes games rated E, T and M," he said, adding that he doubts Nintendo will ever approve an AO-rated title.Concerning Manhunt 2, Fils-aime said that, "What Rockstar has right now is a game rated outside our spectrum, outside any manufacturer's spectrum," and asserted that they are still interested in releasing the game if it receives a Mature rating.
DS Daily: Do you get a little Tingly?
With the news -- following long-discussed rumors of a non-Japanese release -- that Freshly Picked: Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland is on its way to a European release, we figured it might be a good time to resurrect discussion of a US release. Of course, that probably hinges on whether or not NoA believes it would sell. So -- would you pick up a copy of Tingle's RPG? It's freshly picked ... how could you ever resist? Frankly, we'd be all over that like flies on things that are smelly.
Rumor: Kaplan, Harrison and Llewelyn leaving Nintendo of America
Or rather, Nintendo of America is leaving them. According to Game Informer Online, which earlier this month broke news of the Redmond giant (no, not that one) relocating its sales, ad and marketing departments to either New York or San Francisco, approximately 90% of the employees in the affected areas have opted to remain stationary and accept a severance. Included in those leaving Nintendo are senior director of public relations, Beth Llewelyn, vice president of marketing and corporate affairs, Perrin Kaplan (pictured), and senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications, George Harrison. The executive trio's time of departure is still unknown, though GI asserts that Perrin and her pals will likely stick around until after next month's Min-E3 event in Santa Monica.
Harrison: Wii lifecycle may exceed five years
Chris Kohler of Game|Life interviewed Nintendo of America VP George Harrison about the future of the Wii system, and his responses were, well, generally unsurprising. We wouldn't expect Nintendo to suddenly change their strategy in the midst of such success.Harrison said that because of the high prices of the Wii's competitors, he expected the Wii to have a lifecycle longer than the traditional five years. (Would that mean more than 35 million installed units in the US?) And it'll continue to have a pack-in for some of that lifecycle, since Wii Sports is a "cultural phenomenon" that is helping to draw people in to the system.Harrison also mentioned that more Wii software targeted at Nintendo's new "expanded" audience would be revealed at E3, and that a game download channel is in development.There's more, including some weird comments about localizing Virtual Console games and a response to the continuing shortages. Go read the whole thing, if you are so inclined.
Harrison: 35 million US Wiis by 2012
The success of the Wii has Nintendo feeling pretty confident about themselves. They've sold about 2.5 million units since launch, and probably would have sold more if there had been more.Naturally, the six months following launch are completely representative of the console's whole life cycle, which is why Nintendo of America VP George Harrison, in a statement to Bloomberg, was confident enough to predict that the United States would have an install base of 35 million Wiis by 2012.We aren't business experts, but we think Harrison might be committing a Disco Stu Fallacy here. "Did you know that disco record sales were up 400% for the year ending 1976? If these trends continue...ayyyyy!"
Reggie on the Wii effect at the Nintendo Media Summit
This morning, at the Nintendo Media Summit, NoA President and resident badass Reggie Fils-Aime had some interesting statistics on the Nintendo juggernaut. While a lot of it may not be the best news for the hardcore gaming contingent, the massive revenue increases indicate that the wider potential market may well be what powers the industry in the coming years. One particularly telling statement backed up the figures: "We don't consider Sony and Microsoft as our only competitors. We're competing with other leisure time entertainment. If people stay at home and play Wii bowling instead of going to the movies, we win."It's not all gloom and doom for the hardest of the hard, however. Reggie had some interesting things to say about this summer's highly anticipated Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. It "will reinvent the control scheme for a first person shooter. It's the closest you can get to PC control in a [console] game." A lot of people hoped Red Steel would pull that off for the Wii at launch, but leave it to Nintendo to really show us what the Wiimote and nunchuk combo can do for the FPS.Reggie also added that the DS continues to print money, just in case none of us knew.
Rumor: No more Nintendo Power?
Word is that we're looking at the end of an era. IGN's Matt Casamassina reports that Nintendo Power is in its last days, at least, as we know it today. While it may just be that a restructure is in the cards for the magazine, rumor has it that the employees are being told that they need to find new jobs by September.Nintendo Power's been churning out the fanboy news for nineteen years now, but these last few have been a rough time for all sorts of print media, with the rise of the blogosphere and instant information. We wouldn't be surprised to see Nintendo Power shut its doors ... but we would be a little sad.
Iwata reminds Nintendo of America who's boss
(Hint: it's Iwata. Iwata is boss.) Nintendo just released their financial results briefing, which contains a transcript of a question-and-answer session with Nintendo president Satoru Iwata. Ever wondered what it would be like to work for Iwata? This quote should replace that wonder with terror: "When I received a report from the U.S. that they sold 1 million Pokémon Diamond & Pearl already, I asked them, 'why did you sell only 10,000 Brain Age last week, when Europe sold through 30,000?' This is a typical example of how I communicate with our people in the U.S."Why would Iwata be so mean in the face of ostensibly great news? Because he's a huge jerk? Probably not. For one thing, Pokémon selling a million copies doesn't mean that anyone at Nintendo of America did anything particularly well. All they had to do was release it, making sure that the word "Pokémon" was clearly visible on the box.But more importantly, Iwata isn't looking just to sell a bunch of games. He wants to expand the gaming market in the US like the DS has in Japan, and for that, Brain Age needs to get into non-gamers' hands. Then Nintendo can sell a bunch of games to them as well as to Nintendo fans. As Iwata notes in the report, 500,000 DS systems were sold in the US in March, which is a large number, but not as large as the 600,000 to 700,000 sold in Japan each month.[Via NeoGAF]
Fat lady sings: Opera free longer, but final version delayed
So, there's good news, and bad news in the Wii camp. Which do you want first? Okay, the bad news it is: the final version of the Wii Internet Channel is delayed. Although delayed in the nick of time, as it were. It was supposed to be available in late March ... and here we are in late March. No final Internet Channel sighting over here, up in the crow's nest? Negative sir, only the beta. Opera tells us that it will now be available some time in April ... although no actual date has been announced yet. Our money is on late April, it's possibly too much to hope for an Easter surprise.Onto the good news, then: the Wii Opera browser will be available longer for everyone's favorite price ... FREE! That's right folks, don't order yet because er, you don't need to. You can just go ahead and download the free beta, and then grab the real goods when they're offered up in April. The Opera browser will cost 500 Wii points ($5 for Americans) after the free period, which was set to end in June, but will now be sliding to July. The only great unknown is the current beta browser, which was good until the end of March -- will they be extending that until the real one comes out?[Thanks, tqt]
Sony sez Nintendo Wii is an "impulse buy"
Here's one that's sure get at least half (or so) of you fired up. In speaking with the New York Times, Sony Computer Entertainment of America spokesperson Dave Karraker was boasting about how "100,000" PlayStation 3 units were being shipped stateside each week, and were continuing to "sell out" nationwide. Aside from the fact that a large majority of the country can find, secure, and purchase a PS3 now without worry over being shot up or forced to pay ridiculous prices, Mr. Karraker proceeded to dig himself a little deeper by insinuating that Sony's latest console is "much more powerful and should therefore be regarded as being in a different category." As if sparks weren't already about to fly, he then stated that Nintendo's Wii "could be considered an impulse buy more than anything else," simultaneously slamming any citizen who doesn't consider $250 a drop in the bucket and indirectly proclaiming that millions upon millions of Americans are still unable to resist their "impulses" by snapping up Wii units as quick as they arrive. Of course, he attributed the vast shortage of Wii consoles to Nintendo's stingy shipments, but the Big N's vice president of marketing, Perrin Kaplan, simply deemed that "absolutely inaccurate." So, inquiring minds are dying to know: was your Wii purchase well-planned, or are you still coping with buyer's remorse?
Reggie's on the phone for you
NoA president (and popular photoshop subject) Reggie Fils-Aime made a special guest appearance on phones and answering machines across America yesterday. If you pre-ordered a Wii at GameStop, you got the message included after the jump. If you didn't ... you can still hear it!Nothing like getting a recorded message from Reggie to make the waiting a little easier.
