E3 Hype

We are less than one month away now from E3, the major players have announced their presentation schedules and it is looking to be a really good year (of course, I could just be riding the hype train).  Not only are the major consoles presenting - Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo - but additional companies are staking their claim to the E3 spotlight.  According to IGN: Ubisoft, EA, Bethesda, Square Enix and the PC Gaming Show (AMD and PC Gamer) will all be hosting their own E3 press conferences (1).  These conferences will, hopefully, announce exciting new projects.  I can't see why companies such as Bethesda and Square Enix would hold their own conferences if they didn't want to promote something awesome in relation to their upcoming and unannounced titles.  In my opinion, it's a show of confidence.  But, as I said before, one must be careful to not get swept along by the hype train.



At the very least, all of these conferences prolong E3 week and keep the excitement for gaming's future alive. While E3 technically goes from June 16th – 18th (2), five companies will give their presentations in the two days before E3 officially starts. (1)  Add to that the various streaming events (3) and E3 is much more accessible for those of us unable to attend in the flesh.  Nintendo has even partnered with Best Buy again to make their upcoming game "Mario Maker" available for the masses to try on June 17th and 20th. (4)  And don't forget about their Nintendo World Championships, you know...if you're one of the first 750 people in line at one of the eight participating Best Buy locations to get your participating wristband. (4)

What are you hoping for from this year's E3?  More info an on announced game?  New game announcements?  Surprises out of left field?  Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for visiting!  


(1) - http://www.ign.com/wikis/e3/E3_2015_Live_Streams_and_Press_Conferences
(2) - https://www.e3expo.com/
(3) - https://www.e3insider.com/home (site to be updated on June 1st for E3 2015)
(4) - http://e3.nintendo.com/

Pro Level Kickstarters

I find crowd-funding fascinating, especially when game industry legends are involved in the project.  It seems that ever since Tim Schafer (Day of the Tentacle, Grim Fandango) raised $3,336,371 through Kickstarter for a new adventure game, more and more gaming veterans are seeking the support of their fans to continue their work.  In most cases, they are making spiritual successors to the franchises that they made legendary.  

Aside from Tim, Mega Man legend Keiji Inafune serves as a prime example.  According to both Kickstarter and the homepage for Inafune's project Mighty No. 9, $3,845,170 was raised - just over 4 times the original $900,000 goal.  Two more recent examples are Yooka-Laylee, in development by the minds who brought you Banjo Kazooie, and Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, from Castlevania legend Koji Igarashi (Symphony of the Night).  Both projects met and surpassed their Kickstarter goals in one day, and both are spiritual successors to the games I mentioned from the developers' histories.

So, what is it that makes these projects so successful?  Is it, like with Hollywood blockbusters, the names associated with the projects?  Is it the promise of a new, albeit spiritual, entry into beloved franchises that have either been forgotten or altered beyond recognition by the big publishers?  Both perhaps?  Or is it a mix of nostalgia and the human willingness to stick to things they already know (again, like Hollywood blockbusters)?  No matter the answer, crowd-funding has certainly made a lot of people's dreams come true.  This is an exciting time to be a gamer, I hope these projects do well and that they deliver the experience their backers were looking for.   

For those interested, the Yooka-Laylee and Bloodstained Kickstarters are still going (as of today - 05/14/2015) so if you are interested check them out.  There are only stretch goals left to reach, but why not?  Feel free to leave your thoughts on pro level Kickstarters in the comments below, especially why you think they have been so successful, and as always - thanks for visiting.

Active Kickstarters

Yooka-Laylee: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/playtonic/yooka-laylee-a-3d-platformer-rare-vival

Bloodstained: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/iga/bloodstained-ritual-of-the-night

Historical Kickstarters

Double Fine Adventure (Tim Schafer): https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doublefine/double-fine-adventure/video_share

Mighty No. 9: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mightyno9/mighty-no-9/description

Mighty No. 9 Homepage: http://www.mightyno9.com/

Nintendo Theme Park and Paper Mario Wii U Rumor

Well, it’s been about a month since my daughter was born and even though we’re all still sleep deprived I have to press through the tiredness to comment on some of the recent Nintendo news/rumors.

This last Thursday, May 7th, brought a surprise announcement from Nintendo and Comcast owned Universal Parks and Resorts.  The two companies reached an agreement to use Nintendo IPs (intellectual properties) in Universal theme parks.  While most people are, understandably, comparing this situation to a real life Nintendo Land there are no details on the project’s vision and plan.  Personally, I have high hopes for this project and can’t wait to take my family on a vacation to a Universal park.  For me, Disneyland is no longer the happiest place on earth J .  I’ve included a couple links to articles on the subject, but there are a lot more out there.  I think this is a really good move for Nintendo, even if their presence at Universal ends up being small it will still promote Nintendo’s characters to a very different demographic than their usual target group.

Aside from the above official business announcement, Japanese message board 2channel posted a very interesting rumor on Saturday concerning a possible Paper Mario game for Wii U.  The rumor’s source explains they were attending a job expo (in Japan) where an Intelligent Systems employee mentioned they were currently working on a Paper Mario game for Wii U.  The post includes a picture of the brochure received at the expo as proof of the interaction.  While this is not the first Paper Mario related rumor we’ve had this year, we had a false leak on a potential 3DS version for Paper Mario and the Thousand Year Door earlier this year, this one is oddly vague enough to be believable.  I believe the expo happened, and while unlikely an employee would talk about an unannounced game it could happen – especially if Nintendo is trying to create some additional interest an excitement for E3 next month.  I suppose we’ll have to wait and see.  What do you think, with all the false “leaks” in recent months could this rumor be true?  Leave your comments about the rumor and the possible Nintendo themed Universal attractions below and, as always, thanks for visiting!


Theme Park Info
CNN Money: http://money.cnn.com/2015/05/07/media/nintendo-theme-park/
CNET: http://www.cnet.com/news/nintendo-inks-deal-with-universal-theme-parks-for-themed-rides/

Rumor Info
Japanese rumor source: http://wktk.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/ghard/1431178408/
IGN Article: http://www.ign.com/boards/threads/rumor-paper-mario-wii-u-in-development-by-intelligent-systems.454471863/
GameXplain Video Discussion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cj6yQ02I1s