Nintendo Goes Mobile
Early Tuesday morning, Nintendo and DeNA (a large mobile gaming firm from Japan) announced a partnership that would bring Nintendo’s iconic characters to games on iOS and Android devices. The news comes as a surprise, as Nintendo has consistently reinforced the desire to keep their valuable IP exclusive to dedicated gaming platforms. However, after a few years of low profits and increasing pressure from shareholders – Nintendo seems to have changed their tone.
Nintendo CEO Saturu Iwata promised this wouldn’t mean the end of dedicated gaming hardware from the company. All games developed for mobile platforms would be made from the ground-up for the devices, rather than ports of existing software. In addition to bringing Nintendo games to mobile, DeNA will also be working to create a “membership service” that bridges all of Nintendo’s current platforms, plus a system currently in development under the codename “NX”.
Montana Takes On Madden?
Joe Montana hasn’t been the first name in football since the Sega Genesis era, but that may be changing very soon. The iconic football star has taken to Twitter, teasing the upcoming “Joe Montana Football 2016”. Currently, the only official information we have is a single screenshot, and that it will be running on Unreal Engine 4. But it’s the rumors that make this story interesting. Shortly after the reveal, an anonymous Reddit user posted information suggesting that the game will be exclusive to Microsoft hardware, was development in partnership with 2K Games (of the NBA 2K series), and has licensing rights to NFL teams, franchises and players.
That last bit of news is of particular importance, since EA has had an exclusive contract with the NFL since 2008, which has ensured that they were the only name in multi-platform football games. But for ‘first-party’ titles (meaning only appearing on XBox or Playstation), licensing may still be on the table. Could Microsoft be making a move into Madden’s turf? Only time will tell.
The Father Of Metal Gear Solid Exits Konami?
On Thursday, a series of suspicious updates to the official Konami website for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain caught the eyes of some eagle-eyed fans. Overnight, references to series creator Hideo Kojima were removed from official box art – as well as the logo for developer Kojima Productions. Konami issued a statement denying anything was amiss, stating ”Konami Digital Entertainment (including Mr. Kojima), will continue to develop and support Metal Gear products. Please look forward to future announcements.”
However, a source from inside the company speaking to Gamespot paints a much darker picture. The source claims that Kojima had a falling out with Konami executives, who have instituted a large-scale communications block on Kojima Productions. Several lead developers have allegedly also been reduced to contractors within the company, rather than full-time employees. “After we finish MGSV, Mr. Kojima and upper management will leave Konami. They said their contract ends in December,” the source claimed. This exit places the fate of the Metal Gear franchise into question, as well as Kojima’s next project – the highly publicized Silent Hills, with Guiermo Del Toro and Norman Reedus.
Follow Chris Berg on Twitter, @Mushroomer25