Nintendo’s pre-TGS show, wild 3DS rumors

Though it once again won’t have a major presence at Tokyo Game Show next month, Nintendo will hold its own pre-TGS 3DS trade show, dubbed “Nintendo Conference”, on September 13 that will be “open to industry people, analysts, investors and journalists, but not to consumers.”

There’s also some crazy speculation of a 2012 hardware revision for the Nintendo 3DS that “radically tone[s] down” the system’s 3D aspect, and an accessory that adds a second analog stick to the right side of the portable. Both ideas sound preposterous, in my opinion, but not totally impossible. I’m very skeptical about these reports!

I much prefer the gossip that Nintendo will make a huge game announcement at this conference — maybe Dragon Quest X for a dual Wii/3DS release? Or a new Pokemon?

Or if you believe these somewhat credible rumors, Capcom will unveil Monster Hunter Tri G for 3DS (and Monster Hunter 3rd P HD for Vita), Square Enix will bring out a 3DS sequel for Final Fantasy: The Warriors of Light 2, and Dragon Quest X will be an MMO title.

Buy: Nintendo 3DS (Flame Red, Black, & Blue)

Find: Nintendo DS/3DS release dates, discounts, & more

See also: More Nintendo 3DS news

[Via Wall Street Journal, Inside Games]

tags / nintendo 3ds / 3ds / nintendo conference / gaming / circle pad / tokyo game show / tgs 2011 / ec

Nicalis considering more Cave Story ports

Nicalis and Daisuke “Pixel” Amaya (Cave Story’s creator) are reportedly considering more console adaptations for Cave Story beyond WiiWare. Neither have announced specific platforms they’re leaning towards, but it’s not like there are dozens to choose from: XBLA, PSN, DSiWare, and Apple’s App Store are the likely contenders.

A commercial portable release would be especially welcome — remember how  RavenWorks was working on a sanctioned Cave Story port for GBA and then DS a while back? The demo he put out (no longer available) had a lot of promise! From what I’ve heard, the game’s homebrew PSP port is quite nice, too.

Nicalis has also mentioned bringing more of Pixel’s games (e.g. Guxt, Ikachan) to consoles. The studio is playing around with the original PC version of the Cave Story for something, and “the very different, rarely seen Cave Story Beta”, too. It’s great to hear they’ve got more in the works than just NightSky and La Mulana!

No word yet on when Cave Story’s European release or a fix for the music problems. The studio did show something secret at TGS, though, according to Destructoid…

Buy: Nintendo Points Cards

See also: More Cave Story!

[Via Destructoid, Image via Koutaro]

tags / cave story / daisuke amaya / ec / nicalis / pixel / tokyo game show / tgs 2010

I heard Kaiju Busters is butt

I was ecstatic when I learned about Namco Bandai’s Kaiju Busters, a Monster Hunter clone for DS featuring famous Japanese monsters like Gomora. When I discovered you played as an officer from Ultraman’s Science Patrol, my eyes widened and my bowtie spun at a speed that lifted me off my chair several inches.

Unfortunately, one of my informants on the street — yes, I’m kind of old school, relying on small-time dealers and other shady characters for my import gaming news instead of just trawling message boards — recently whispered in my ear that he tried out Kaiju Busters at the recent Tokyo Game Show and found it disappointing.

I grabbed him by the collar and threw him up against the wall, threatening to send him up north if he was jivin’ me. He swore up and down the intel was good, and said the controls were unsatisfactory and the monsters teleported around the screen in a way that didn’t seem intentional.

I tried to convince myself that he must have played an early, buggy build at TGS, but when I closed my eyes and tried to sleep later that night, I couldn’t forget the words he used to describe the game: Kaiju Buttsters.

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tags / namco bandai / kaiju busters / boxart / imports / tgs-09 / tokyo game show / ec