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Free-to-play Steel Diver launches today on 3DS eShop
Steel Diver will surface on the 3DS eShop today, Nintendo announced during its Nintendo Direct presentation. It should be available right after today's Nintendo Direct. The new Steel Diver is a first-person, free-to-play take on Nintendo's original 3DS launch game. The eShop download will be free, but it can be upgraded to a premium version that includes many additional, superior ships, customization options and all of the single-player missions. The free version allows access to seven single-player missions and two subs. There will be five ships sold as individual DLC, though only premium accounts are able to purchase DLC. All players will have access to local and online multiplayer. Steel Diver joins Rusty's Real Deal Baseball as Nintendo's first free-to-play games. [Image: Nintendo]
Steel Diver is Nintendo's first free-to-play game
Nintendo is working on a free-to-play version of Steel Diver, the 3DS launch title that served as a submarine simulator, shoot-em-up and strategy game, Nintendo executive Shigeru Miyamoto told IGN at E3. Nintendo will develop a fresh game, with new design, for the free-to-play version. Miyamoto didn't announce any platforms, but said Steel Diver will be available at retail along with the digital launch. "There is something we're doing with the Steel Diver idea that I think is going to open things up with that game," he said. "It's going to be very fun. We're exploring from a perspective of where we can take that from a multiplayer standpoint – it's going to have this four-player battle mode that I think is going to be very interesting." Nintendo was unsure about how to handle the free-to-play model, whether with microtransactions or subscriptions, but the team's main focus was to retain entertainment value, Miyamoto said. The free-to-play Steel Diver should pop up direct from Nintendo "relatively soon." Last year during E3, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata noted (again) that the company wasn't interested in developing free-to-play games, but reassured investors that the Wii U supported that structure.
Enterbrain CEO: Earthquake cost the Japanese game industry 7.3 billion yen
If you've kept up with the game delays and cancellations that happened as a result of the catastrophic earthquake which struck Japan last month, you probably understand the extent of its effect on the gaming industry. Enterbrain CEO Hirokazu Hamamura recently put a number on the devastation: At a recent seminar, Hamamura revealed that according to Enterbrain's calculations, the quake caused the domestic games industry to lose ¥7,330 million ($90 million) in potential sales. That number was divided into ¥4,470 million in lost software sales -- attributed to the delay of Steel Diver, Dead or Alive Dimensions and 29 other titles that were either pushed back or canceled wholesale -- and ¥2,860 million in lost hardware sales. Hamamura ended the seminar with a hopeful message, though, explaining that most of the delayed titles had been pushed back to the first quarter of the new fiscal year, which could prove to be a boon for Japan's gaming industry. We certainly hope that's the case as well.
Steel Diver out in Europe on May 6
European 3DS owners: Do you all harbor an unspoken, shared desire to live the life aquatic? We can't blame you -- as promised, things truly are better under the sea. Fortunately for you, Nintendo has announced that the naval combat simulator and North American 3DS launch title Steel Diver will make its way to Europe on May 6. This information comes to us from the game's official European site, which doesn't include any information on why the game's taking over a month to travel overseas. Are submarines just that slow?
Reggie Fils-Aime on the competition and what it means to be a 'garage' developer
A few minutes before Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime handed over the first 3DS sold in the US (as seen above), he spoke with me on how the new portable stands out from the competition, what Nintendo considers a "garage" developer versus an "indie," and what he's playing at launch (spoilers: it's not Nintendogs + Cats) "At its heart, what Nintendo's trying to do is to bring more and more consumers into gaming. And to do it in a way that's fundamentally different than anyone else," Fils-Aime told me, explaining his company's continued adherence to the "Blue Ocean" business strategy. "With the Nintendo 3DS -- yes, it's a handheld, but 3D in the palm of your hand without glasses. A full range not only of games but of other elements -- photography, video. It's not what people expected. Which is, at its heart, what the Blue Ocean strategy and Innovator's Dilemma (which was the other book we used to demonstrate our strategy) are all about." Because of this strategy, among other things, Fils-Aime remains unconcerned with the competition -- whether that competition be from Sony's upcoming NGP platform or from the smartphone crowd. "First off, it's a product that isn't out yet," he said of the NGP. "It's a product that hasn't had an announced price point, it hasn't had an announced availability. So, how that product impacts us is to be told in the future." %Gallery-119783%
Steel Diver trailer fire, fire, fire, fires away
We bet you're tuning into the Steel Diver launch trailer posted below because you're trying to decide whether or not to add it to your 3DS launch purchases. Little do you know that you're actually tuning in because you want to hear the word "Fire!" squawked through a radio about 40 times.
Steel Diver review: Thrown into the deep end
At first glance, Steel Diver might look like a fairly standard side-scrolling shmup. Truth be told, its an extremely challenging side-scrolling ... well, it's part shoot-'em-up, part submarine simulator and part strategy game. The sum of these parts is actually a lot more compelling than the game taken at face value. Putting the 3DS' capabilities to thorough use, Steel Diver presents a side-view slice of the ocean that's as deep into the screen as it is from the surface to the ocean floor. It's in this miniature sea within your handheld -- complete with schools of fish, air bubbles and volcanic vents -- that you pilot three submarines, each with their own strengths and drawbacks, on increasingly difficult missions.%Gallery-114685%
Miyamoto 'mortified' by Steel Battalion, has wanted to make similar game
"I always wanted to make a flight-simulation game," designer Shigeru Miyamoto confessed in a new edition of Nintendo's Iwata Asks column. The Nintendo president seemed confused by that admission, reminding Miyamoto that he had worked on Pilotwings. Apparently, Pilotwings wasn't the kind of flying game Miyamoto had in mind. "That game was about you enjoying the flying experiences," he said. "It's a bit different from the kind of flight-simulation game I wanted to make." Instead, the designer has wanted to create what gamers would consider a realistic or hardcore sim, not unlike Microsoft Flight Simulator. "The difficulty level is high with these simulators when we see them as video games, but that difficulty is one of the greatest charms for them," Miyamoto added. Although Nintendo's games typically appeal to the mass market, Miyamoto expressed his long-standing desire to make a complicated game. "I wanted to make some kind of simulator where you would control something huge, but they beat me to it," he said, referring to Capcom's Steel Battalion game on the original Xbox, which included a controller with about 40 buttons (pictured above). "I felt so mortified when that was released." Steel Diver may not be Miyamoto's long-desired flight simulation game, but it's a close approximation of his original vision. "Controlling a submarine is like a slower version of a flight-simulation game," he joked. The game may not include its own Steel Battalion-esque controller, but Nintendo can at least "put lots of dials" on the 3DS touch screen. [Photo credit: John Tregoning]
Nintendo 3DS to launch with 18 games in North America, $40 each for most
The North American launch details for Nintendo 3DS have been finalized. In addition to Face Raiders and AR Games, both pre-installed on the hardware, the system will launch with three first-party games: Pilotwings Resort, Steel Diver, and nintendogs + cats. Each first-party game has a suggested retail price of $39.99. Thirteen third-party games will be available on March 27th, including Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition and Rayman 3D. Nintendo promises that thirty games will be available for the platform by E3 expo. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, Star Fox 64 3D, Kid Icarus: Uprising and a new Mario Kart game will all be available before year's end. You'll find the complete launch lineup listed after the break.
Reggie articulates what's compelling about Nintendo's 3DS launch games
Just as Super Mario 64 DS ushered in the era of the original DS system, it seemed fitting that a 3D-enhanced version of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time -- the cherry on top of last June's "E3DS" scoop -- would be the linchpin of the 3DS hardware launch this March. Except, it's not going to happen. Footnoted in a vague announcement that more than thirty 3DS games would be released between the system's launch and E3 2011 (in early June) was the equally ill-defined update that Zelda: OoT 3D was still "in the works," along with other triple-A Nintendo iterations for the new handheld, including Mario Kart, Paper Mario, Animal Crossing and Star Fox -- not to mention the ballyhooed Kid Icarus comeback, Uprising, which did impress at last week's preview event. "Mario, Zelda, all of those titles are coming," Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aime told MTV Multiplayer. "From our perspective, we like to launch titles when they're ready. And so they'll be ready. They'll be ready soon -- just not in that initial time period of late March to early June." In other words: "after E3." That leaves Nintendo with a somewhat dubious 3DS launch "window" lineup (we still don't know exact release dates) of first-party titles -- three to be exact: Nintendogs + cats, Pilotwings Resort and Steel Diver. You could make a case for those first two serving strong supporting roles in the hardware launch; and Reggie, off the top of his head, said that the Nintendogs and Pilotwings franchises have combined to sell "tens of millions of copies," despite neither being a particularly prolific sequel bearer. Steel Diver, on the other hand, is an unknown (it began as a tech demo for the original DS) and stars ... a rather drab submarine. Astutely sensing our apathy for the game, Reggie explained that "from a compelling standpoint, we think it's awfully compelling." If you're not buying it ... you could just buy Street Fighter IV again.
3DS 'launch window' to include more than 30 games leading up to E3
Did you hear? It's got a built-in pedometer! The 3DS measures your steps as you walk -- right there in your pocket! Even better: You can pull the thing out whenever and snap all kinds of pics -- the thing's got three cameras! And get this: It also pipes out music, browses the internet and even plays games. True, you've already got a pile of old DS games (and now defunct DS devices) that you could be playing on your new pedometer, but more than 30 three-DEE titles are expected to be released during the 3DS "launch window" (which begins March 27 and promptly closes on June 7 with the start of E3). We've listed 24 of the apparent launch-window releases after the break (though Nintendo's being coy about exact dates), including Nintendo's own Nintendogs + cats and Pilotwings Resort, plus a hearty helping of third-party support; with notable newcomers, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked (previously unannounced outside of Japan) and Crush 3D, a possible port of the 2007 PSP platforming puzzler from Sega. Don't look at the date ambiguity in dismay -- see it as an opportunity! Beginning in late March, you can walk to and from GameStop in anticipation of a new batch of games each Tuesday for ten whole weeks, and the 3DS will count your steps -- each and every one of them! And just imagine how many Street Passes you're going to rack up?
Watch these lucky people play Nintendo 3DS before you can
As if you needed any more proof that the Japanese public has more carefully manicured hands that you do, the videos we've embedded after the break of folks playing Nintendo's 3DS on Japan's MX TV feature nothing short of the prettiest thumbs we've ever seen. Also, tons of 3DS gameplay (in 2D), so there's that.
