Mentioned in the SSBB thread, the Iwata conference bullet points
- 45 Wii games, 79 DS games being developed by Nintendo, first info on these games at end of Summer
- Many of these games are “real gamer games” such as Super Mario Galaxy
- Wii production increased, 14 million for next fiscal year
- Increased Wii shipment should become apparent next month
- 2.5 million DS units being made a month, this tops the GBA popularity height which was 2.3 million a month
- Iwata’s goal isn’t in pushing hardware, it’s in selling software. Long term final goal is 300,000,000 units of software sold
- The above figure includes Nintendo games and third party games
- Wiimote/Nunchuck for FPS games was talked about again. Iwata says Metroid Prime 3: Corruption testers are saying current setup feels very close to keyboard and mouse.
- Iwata hopes that EA can innovate with their sports titles due to the Wiimote/Nunchuck
- 3.3 million Virtual Console titles were downloaded. Specific details on game by game basis were not given
- Iwata doesn’t plan on bringing their software to cell phones at this time
- Nintendo is already looking a number of different options for hardware development on future consoles
And for fans of Xenosaga/Baten Kaitos
April 27, 2007 - Nintendo may have just become a major player in the RPG field. Bandai Namco Holdings issued a press release today announcing that it will transfer 80% of its 96% stake in Monolith Soft to Nintendo, effective May 1.
As reason for the move, the firm cited considerations involving the future growth of the Monolith studio and the desire to strengthen its relationship with Nintendo in the console software business.
Monolith is known primarily for its work on the Xenosaga series, which has been mostly a PlayStation franchise. On Nintendo platforms, the developer brought Xenosaga I&II to the DS and also supported the GameCube through Baten Kaitos and its sequel.
This isn't the end of relations between Monolith and Bandai Namco, though. In addition to retaining a 16% stake in the developer, Bandai Namco says that it will continue to make use of the studio for planning and development. What this means for the Xenosaga series is anyone's guess at this point, but we'll let you know if we hear anything.
They are currently developing Disaster: Day of Crisis for the Wii, and I do hope this means a stronger RPG presence on the Wii.